in the region. not only by number of soldiers on our land, ground, but also by increasing prepositions of the different equipment and ammunition in the region. because in our case, if you speak about possible aggression, the most important issue is time of response. and if we want to shorten this time, we really need higher presence of nato forces in the region and also prepositioning of equipment, technique, ammunition in the region. it will be more shorter, because if we just u.s. decides to help and we are sure you will decide. but anyway, we need many days to transport equipment to europe. it means we need to find solutions. and also will be one of the questions what we will discuss probably during the next nato summit in warsaw, how we will continue with strengthening of nato presence in the region. >> you mentioned sanctions a little earlier. do you think the sanctions against russia definitely should be extended beyond this year? >> yes, i think so, i think so. but anyway, the economic sancti

but for the region. we believe we have the resources we need to continue conducting that. >> i would hope that would be

at the end of the day, to the region, so at the end of the day we see regional partners flocking to haveconversations with russia, where as basically their conversations were largely with us and our partners in this coalition. i think we are opening a door to and influence that is not going to service well. >> senator menendez, i respectfully think the prospects of russian influence in our region are exaggerated. our influences in the region and many have paid a visit to moscow live pretty securely under a large u.s. defense umbrella. it protects them from iran, and from other threats. they know, because they are not stupid, that the russians cannot replicate that. they know that the russians may supply some military equipment but they also know that the partner of choice for their military development is the united states. so, yes we see the pay visits to moscow, i do think the chances for russian penetration in the area are frankly exaggerated. >> okay, so you you do not have that concern. why, if all russia wants and all iran wants is the same angles we want, why haven't we had to hav

a number of visited the region. i want to thank all the members for their participation and expertise and time. delighted to welcome rendon invaluable member of the task force. he is most knowledgeable on constitutional and legal issues in the region. thank you for your contributions. we also have interrater -- contributor -- a key interrogative on these issues. she is now home and in simple and thank you for -- and in simple -- thank you. for those who would like us to mail you a copy of the actual glossy report there is a china she on the -- there is a sign-up sheet on the cookie tray and we will mail you a copy if you would like one. so we are delighted to review the recommendations. i will talk briefly. david will talk briefly and we will answer questions and in probably at 1:00. -- promptly at 1:00. this region is one in crisis. you have the collapse of the iraqi state. the brutal sweep of isis through the region. a flood of 4 million refugees and another 6 million displaced in syria. half of the country has mo

first, we see this as a regional issue.we try not to view this as a segment that's in iraq and a segment that's in syria. as is the case in an environment where we had to deal with daesh -- my point a moment ago, i talked about how far we have come in a year. where daesh was for all intents and purposes splintering iraq in an irreconcilable way. had done enormous damage to syria. we took them on head on for aun intents and purposes. the intent of the first year of this coalition and our operations was to grind them to a halt, stop their momentum and set the conditions ultimately to begin the process of containing, degrading and defeating them. that's what's been under way for the first year. i think what secretary carter is referring to is that we fine ourselves now in a position where we're able to bring pressure to bear on daesh, if you will, around its periphery. so, for example, the bilateral agreement that we have entered into with the turks to facilitate the closure of the border, the final 98 kilometers of the border

in the region is counterterrorism. the only group that is showing any commitment and capability to fighting isis, are the peshmarga, and we need to cooperate with them more fully in their present form and as they institutionalize and iraqi/kurdistan becomes more viable and stable, to formalize our cooperation with them. >> i would add to that. iraqi/kurdistan is a sea of stability and democracy in a area of neither. to have a pocket of stability in the region for the united states, will be serving our interests. we will be there for a long time. this, these troubles are not going away. we have a great friend in turkey and more countries that are close allies and stable in the region are directly in our u.s. interests. and i think, explaining to the american public very clearly why that is, is a very good suggestion. which we will take on, and perhaps look at that as well. and make it clearer. >> let me express my personal view, nancy said we have a great friend and ally in turkey. it has been a great friend and ally. a

last convened in last july of this year a lot has happened around transportation in our satey and region. at the state level as you may have followed in the press we were very hopeful the governor and legislature through the legislative session on transportation would actually produce sig cnts revenue for transpor maintenance and infrastructure impruchbments. assembly members chew and mullen strongly advocateed for transportation to be incrude cloouded and i pressed for transportation and safer streets alt a hearing held in oakland. unfortunately the ledge #14r5i67er waechbt able to secure the 2/3 votes need today move forward a transportation focused revenue package. subsquentsly the special session was extended and we remain hopeful that some sort of proposeal can which out of the legislature with our serious transportation funding challengesment mean while, we have many positive mile stones to celebrate in san francisco. i was pleased to tour the central subway projects which is making progress on station construction and aquipping the tunnel construction. commissioners ist crian kim

the only country in the region that had the will and resources to be able to maintain regional stability was iran, which was a close ally of the united states. option was saudi arabia, but they did not have the military capability to play that role, nor were they particularly willing to play that role. they did not want to open themselves to accusations from the arab nationalists of being a sort of proxy for the united hades, whereas the shah no such qualms and was happy to take on that role. that that is not a sufficient explanation, because the johnson administration, in 1968, faced this same dilemma and came to a different conclusion to the one you listed. date decided to continue with the policy of balancing iran and saudi arabia. they said a balance of power between iran and saudi arabia was the best way to maintain . this was the famous twin balancing policy. pay lip service to the saudis, but everyone knows the reality is that the shah has assumed the mantle of regional primacy. why? is conclusion i've come to it had a lot to do with the personal relationship between rezard nixon

given the tremendous demand we see on all our transit systems and in light of the regions grow we need to plan forerally and subway tanst in all of san francisco. as result earlier this month i introduced legislation calling for san francisco to prepare a subway master plan and i know the transportation authority will be a participant in that process. we shouldn't repeat past mistakes where we completed the market street and bart and waited several decades before plang more subway lines mpt we need to insthur successful deliver of our current endeavors including the transbay terminal , cal trainect fiication and cal train and high speed rail. we had a reliminary report from the transportation commission which i requested along with colleagues on the mtc in terms of cost review the transbay transit center project. i look flward to working with our director to bring the studies findings and recommendation tooz the full authority later this fall. i also want to note that we found out through the grapevine that 2 member s of the assembly [inaudible] introduced assembly bill 24 which dissol

in the region is counterterrorism. the only group that has shown commitment and capability of fighting isis are the peshmerga. we need to cooperate them more fully in their present form as they institutionalize and iraqi-kurdistan becomes more viable and sovereign to find ways strengthening our cooperation formally through erbil. >> i would just add to that iraqi-kurdistan is sea of stability and democracy in a region of neither and for the united states to have a pocket of stability in the region will be serving our interests. we'll be there a long time. these troubles are not going away. we have a great friend in turkey, nato ally. more countries are allies and stable in the region is more directly in the u.s. interests. explaining to the american public clearly why that is very good suggestion biel take on and perhaps look at that as well and perhaps make it a little clear. >> let me express my personal view. nancy says we have a great friend an ally in turkey. certainly it has been a great friend and ally. we hope

nadia lives in upper egypt, one of the poorest regions in the country. located about an hour's drive south of the capital cairo, it's called upper egypt, because it's up river as the nile flows. and has been left behind in terms of development. but now efforts are underway to change that by raising the community's self sufficiency and helping to build up small businesses like nadia's. the hayat human security project in upper egypt aims to give people a chance to impact policy and to change lives. with support from the united nations' trust fund for human security, the project offers the people of upper egypt help like agriculture training and business development advice. medhat rasheed is a hayat field manager. medhat: the goal of hayat project is to enhance the livelihood of those most vulnerable--and also is to establish, uh, social safe nets for the people out there. daljit: people like the widow and chicken trader nadia. realizing that her business could never grow if she continued to pluck chickens by hand, she pooled money together with neighbors

went greenland, and the polar regions. like a said before, there were technological reasons, advancements in meteorology, flight, and these kinds of things. what i want to look at more is the impact on americans in these regions, and how that is shaped greenland and antarctica. host: what is next for you in terms of your research at cornell? guest: i will turn my research into a book, "star-spangled ice," as we discussed. i will also look at women involved in the story. apparently there is some spying in greenland during the second world war. host: how so? guest: i do not know the whole story, but apparently there was some intel's on greenland, and reporting back to the state department. those three women stood up in congress for greenland. ambassador, toe denmark, apparently showed roosevelt her slideshow of her visit to greenland, which got him interested in the island. i think their story is interesting, and emergent andghtly from our -- emergent slightly. host: good luck with the book. thank you for being on c-span 3.

nadia lives in upper egypt, one of the poorest regions in the country. located about an hour's drive south of the capital cairo, it's called upper egypt, because it's up river as the nile flows. and has been left behind in terms of development. but now efforts are underway to change that by raising the community's self sufficiency and helping to build up small businesses like nadia's. the hayat human security project in upper egypt aims to give people a chance to impact policy and to change lives. with support from the united nations' trust fund for human security, the project offers the people of upper egypt help like agriculture training and business development advice. medhat rasheed is a hayat field manager. medhat: the goal of hayat project is to enhance the livelihood of those most vulnerable--and also is to establish, uh, social safe nets for the people out there. daljit: people like the widow and chicken trader nadia. realizing that her business could never grow if she continued to pluck chickens by hand, she pooled money together with neighbors

the setting, the great hall in the regional capitol.r government official told the assembled guests that the region's stability was still being threatened by violent groups. they were the common enemy of all the people. >> translator: we must make a firm first to strike proactively and resolutely crack down on violent terrorist activities according to the law. >> reporter: here celebrations were even more muted, and non-existent in this nearby village. people we met here were all ethnic music uyghurs, some old enough to remember when people in's liberation army marched in. >> translator: i was so young. i was so scared. i cried. >> reporter: but she says her life is far better now. >> translator: we have enough to eat and enough clothes. life was really hard before. >> reporter: talking to foreign journalists carries risks, so none wanted to give their names. this man claims of discrimination by haan chinese. >> translator: my boss was haan, but he stopped hiring people after those attacks carried out by us uyghurs. >> reporter: the gov

we also learned from 911 that regional threats become global very quickly. we have seen that id is transmitted by terrace in rocca and most will can reach impressive bull mines in minneapolis and mississippi. we are aware as well that events in the middle east can affect perception on every single continent. people on every continent are influenced by the spiritual and ethical traditions that have their roots in those ancient lands. i hear about this everywhere ago, people are amazed. it is good to see the former prime minister here. i am amazed. he knows what i am talking about, all over the world. or and ministers, prime ministers, presidents, they say to me no matter where i visit, you have to do something about the middle east. you have you have to change this because it affects us. it is true of course that we rely less on middle east oil than we used to. but it is also true that the energy market is global. any serious disruption of gulf oil supplies can quickly harm our financial systems, lower lower exports, cost millions of jobs, that's an interest.

more than 3500 meters above level in the heart of the tibetan autonomous region.t plays a central role in tibetan buddhism and watts once the capital of tibet. the breath taking palace is a world heritage site. the palace has an area of 13,000 square meters and some say it has 2,000 rooms. it used to be the moment home of the dalai lama, the country's spiritual and former political leader. nearly 13 million tourists visited the region in 2014. 90 percent of them were from other parts of china. foreign nationals need special permission to enter the tibet autonomous region. such permission is not easily guaranteed. the influx of chinese tourists has led to the construction of five star hotels which would once have been unimaginable. the population has increased by more than 100,000 in the past decade to over 500,000, a majority of the residents are from other provinces. along with the palace, there's another must-see destination in lhasa. it's the jokon temple in the center of the ancient city. this image of the temple was taken 12 years ago. people are flying flat

let's move on to other markets in the asia pacific region. in chie narks the shanghai added .1% and extended the winning streak to a fourth day. investors booked profits, but others bought on hopes of stimulus as the communism par is underway. taiwan retreated from yesterday's close in highest in three months. manufacturers sold ahead of earnings results from tech giant, apple. hong kong rebounded .1%, and singapore snapped four days of gain down 1%. mumbai stretched losses to a second day falling .4%. here's a look at the other business stories we are following. >>> prices of corporate services in japan rose 0.6% in september from a year earlier, the 27th straight monthly increase. the officials at the bank of japan say the reason for the rise is growing number of tourists from home and abroad pushed up hotel charges. the health, labor, and welfare ministry white paper estimates the number of people in japan falls to 87 million people by 206. officials estimate 40% of them will be 65 or over. they say there should be better support for pregn

was ahis approach regional one. he was trying to solve a regional issue, to try to gain traction and momentum. this is not something i think was of great interest to nixon or kissinger, unless it had a consequence for the global cold war. the two, where the policy in the israeli issue was under rogers, this regional approach, in the gulf it was the global one, the cold war approach and the shah understands this and he wants, to get what he from washington. assetsent himself as an for the u.s. in strategies of containment. succeeds andly he the writer's plan -- rogers plan fails and that shows you how much of the rogers plan had traction in washington. and that applies to today, where you stand depends on -- may 30, 1972,e on following nixon's trip to moscow, where -- became a doctor and the united states and russia to tehran mayoes 30 and the right that -- write that the doctrine of iran's policy was not applied. russiat it have made more vulnerable? roham: there were two things he did on the way back moscow, one th

of the region currently? >> it's about 7.5 million today so while we're seeing huge numbers in terms of city growth the 15% growth that we're seeing in the region that will accrue to the city is what we're at today with regional population and jobs. we're 15% of the regional jobs and population roughly, 14, 15, 16% that range so it's not out of the realm of possibility or extreme we're seeing this much grow begin gifnlg r given the -- given the interest internationally and we think it's substantial and the planning department needs to take a bigger role and attack the challenges and as we work with the mayor's office and the mayor's office of housing is the issue of equity and inclusiveness. the city is changing dramatically. the economic conditions are changing in the city and we're working with the port on their development sites and others on the issues of equity, inclusivity, affordable housing and broad access to all city services. clearly that's a very important issue to the mayor, to the planning commi

we see that as a threat to us and to the region. and to order in the region. your definition regarding countries and integrity of the country and so on. what we say is that iraq is not a new country just being put together. iraq is one of the oldest civilizations of the world. it has gone through transformations, change of systems from kingdom to represent and so on. so don't deal with the country and dismiss its existence and so let's reshape its, let's redo it. there are certain facts on the ground which you have to -- you cannot dismiss. that's to do with the people, heritage, history, cohesion, tribal system and others as well. we have no single tribe in iraq which is only sunni or shia mix. we have no single province which is existing by one demography. that's what we want to move forward together. however, since 2003, there has been a new social contract we're trying to look at how we can work with each other, with others as well. nobody is denying that. nobody is saying we are in full harmony. but no one in iraq is saying we need to divide the country.

i'm in the region constantly. hurt us significantly as far as people believing they could rely on what we as a country say. i have stood with the president. i believe when the president says that there's a red line on behalf of our nation, it is something, whether you're republican or democrat, you should stand behind. i did it in committee. we passed an authorization for the use of military force during a recess period. we came back, i think a high moment of the foreign relations committee, and we didn't take those steps. >> one of the terrible consequences of the turmoil in syria is this flood of refugees we see in europe. given our role in the world, and also our role in this particular conflict, does united states have obligation to do more to address this crisis, not only including sending money and aid, but also in accepting a significantly increased pflum per of syrian refugees? >> look, we are certainly largest contributor of aid and i think people understand that. the countries all together in europe just

last convened in last july of this year a lot has happened around transportation in our satey and region. at the state level as you may have followed in the press we were very hopeful the governor and legislature through the legislative session on transportation would actually produce sig cnts revenue for transpor maintenance and infrastructure impruchbments. assembly members chew and mullen strongly advocateed for transportation to be incrude cloouded and i pressed for transportation and safer streets alt a hearing held in oakland. unfortunately the ledge #14r5i67er waechbt able to secure the 2/3 votes need today move forward a transportation focused revenue package. subsquentsly the special session was extended and we remain hopeful that some sort of proposeal can which out of the legislature with our serious transportation funding challengesment mean while, we have many positive mile stones to celebrate in san francisco. i was pleased to tour the central subway projects which is making progress on station construction and aquipping the tunnel construction. commissioners ist crian kim

allies in the region agree on what they say is the short citedness of assad's supporters.nt syrian opposition fighter to prevail. >> translator: we should solve the syrian cries bice political methods. the country needs a temporary government to protect those civil and military facilities then create a new constitution and general lex. but into shar al-assad should be excluded. >> reporter: but on the ground the russian, iranian and syrian a lines has halted the rebel advance. as every force declares it is the one fighting isil, the group continues to gain more territory. and more syrians continue to die. al jazeera. >>> eight armed ethnic groups have signed a historic peace deal. aimed at ending more than 60 years of civil war and resolving tensions ahead of november's elections think of but divisions remain and not every armed group is signing. myanmar's ethnic diversity is at the heart of the conflict. there are more than 130 ethnic groupings, the late ethnic minorities across myanmar, eight of them have armies and there are dozens more armed groups fighting government

regional center for the [ inaudible ] diplomacy for central asia.o the agenda of the council continues to be a very extensive. i believe that in september all discussions were very fruitful, at least we managed to understand each other better, at least in terms of the understanding of the terrorist threats, i believe that that's the call [ inaudible ] would continue discussing those challenges, aiming at reaching new agreements. thank you. i'm ready to answer your questions. >> i want to give the first question to [ inaudible ] association president. mr. president, the floor is yours. >> mr. lavrov on behalf of [ inaudible ] thank you very much for this press conference. it was very needed at this point. and the -- my question is this, you said create a resolution that practically says that the state attacked by the terrorists must be part of the anti-terrorism resolution. do you think this will have a chance to fly soon? >> translator: you know, we are in a diplomatic process. there are many resolutions, which were initiated and have turned out to

pressure are spinning moisture into the region. temperatures have managed to stay fairly warm in the upper 30s and lower 40s. the wind speeds are very light in the 5 to 10 mile per hour range from the east and southeast. the dayplanner reveals high temperatures rising near 60 this afternoon. here's a look at your stormcast hd where the remnants of hurricane patricia are going to move northward today. this will spill about a tenth to a quarter of an inch of rain in northwest iowa communities. then we'll have strong winds from the northwest take over tonight. the wind will gust near 40 miles per hour tomorrow. temperatures will be cooler in the low to mid 50s moving forward. today your high temperature is 59 with mostly cloudy skies and some showers. tonight, we'll fall to a low of 40 with clouds. tomorrow, expect a high of 52 as we clear out quickly with sunshine. the wind will be strong! here's a look through your 7 day forecast where we have slim rain chances today and friday. otherwise, it'll be dry and kind of cool with 50s and

most of the region is dry. we talked about this yesterday how most of the rain would hold off to this evening and the overnight hours. to the south, the area of heavy rain in through portions of southern virginia, the raleigh region, all of this coming off the atlantic, up right into our region as we move on through the day tomorrow. something else that's going to move in, much warmer temperatures. right now we're on the cool side. 55 leesburg. only 46 degrees in le ray. temperatures tomorrow will go up. we'll be close to 730, and allos for the potential for strong thunderstorms to develop. we'll talk more about that. the rain isn't the only thing to worry about. we're talking wind as well. i have the complete forecast in just a minute. >> thanks, doug. >>> the remnants of hurricane patricia are still having an ill packet on people in south carolina. right now parts of charleston are under water. that storm system is dumping rain and creating some really high winds, pushing the ocean closer to shore. south caro

tracking areas of rain across the region. lots of rain falling inside the beltway and heavier rain into parts of loudoun county right around the leesburg area impacting 15. it is a soggy day and it will be soggy tonight. right now we're at 57 degrees. not only are we dealing with rain at times throughout the overnight hour, but it's breezy and cool. at 11:00, the temperature of 54 degrees and lows tonight around 50. a chilly start tomorrow and a raw, rainy day so be prepared and take action now and the period for flash flooding seems to be tomorrow so clear your gutters and check your sump pump and doug has more impacts for the rain tomorrow and saturday coming up. >>> the white house says there are significant concerns over a new report about the secret service. >> yeah. that's right. high-ranking officials are accused of retaliating against a republican congressman by digging up information to embarrass him. he's investigating his conduct and he's one of the most vocal critics. now a new report reveals 45 secret service emp

earthquake hit afghanistan, hundreds are known to have died with shock waves rippling across the region. hello there i'm barbara serra. this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up: al jazeera uncovers evidence of genocide, allegedly coordinated by myanmar's government against rohingya muslims. a gun battle in southern turkey, two police officers and seven i.s.i.l. fighters are killed. and, processed meat is linked to cancer, and the world health organization says red meat is risky, too. >>> a strong earthquake with its epicenter in northern afghanistan has shane buildings froshaken buildingsfrom kabul te u.s. geological survey says the magnitude was 7.5, that's a powerful tremor, and the world only 20 quakes a year measure higher than 7. a tv station in afghanistan capital kabul was broadcasting the moment the earthquake hit. al jazeera april jennifer glasse was in kabul when the earthquake hit and sent us this update a short time ago. >> reporter: the dead and wounded here in afghanistan are in 11 of the country's 34 provinces really an indicator of how widespread this earthqua

the quake hit the region monday. jolts were felt as far as pakistan, india and in tahar, students fleeing a girl school created a stampede that left 20 dead and more than 100 injured. afghan officials are having difficulty gauging the extent of the damage as mobile phones aren't getting a signal in most parts of the country. pakistani authorities have deployed military forces for rescue operations. officials there are also struggling to ascertain the extent of the destruction. damaged network base stations knocked out mobile coverage in some areas. authorities plan to dispatch aircraft to survey the situation. >>> turkey has a general elect scheduled this weekend. authorities are stepping up efforts to combat islamic state militants in a bid to maintain stability in the country. security forces raided the hideouts in the southeast. turkish officials say seven islamic state fighters were killed and a dozen others were detained in the city of diyarbakir. officials said the militants had a large stock pile of guns and a

region knowbe whether the press reports are accurate. another area where it seems like in action seems to be inviting more russian aggression. operations are changing facts on the ground. you talked about the arctic. a major area of importance to the u.s.. strategically and economically, in the future, but you said it is fair to say we are late to the recognition of that. it is also fair to say the russians are not linked to the recognition of that. since your confirmation, the russians have done the following in the arctic. a new arctic military command. 14 new operational airfields in the russian arctic. announcements of up to 50 new airfields by 2020. a 30% increase of russian special forces in the arctic. 40 icebreakers. we have two and one is broken. huge and claims. increased patrols. a major military exercise in march that cut the military off guard. 3000 militaryover vehicles. 41 ships. 15 submarines. hundred 10 military aircraft. airborne troops in that exercise. a lot of this concerns the committee. which the president vetoed,

the tpp will support jobs and drive sustainable growth across the asia pacific region.ut it's not a done deal. the accord faces much debate in each of the 12 countries. shinzo abe praised the agreement saying it ushers in a new century for the asia pacific region. >> translator: the tpp will create a huge economic zone with a population of 800 million, and that accounts for nearly 40% of the global economy. japan is joining a pact that will provide benefits for the next 100 years. the tpp will help make our lives better. >> abe called the agreement an ambitious attempt to create a sustainable economic zone where fair rules properly evaluate the quality of services, intellectual property, and items in many other fields. he said the government will set up a task force comprising all cabine ministers to address concerns over the tpp's impact on japan's farming industry. the head of the japan business federation welcomed the deal. >> translator: i believe everything decided under the tpp will play a significant role in the development of japan's economy. >> he said japan's

it is not a local or regional problem. it is our collective program. jordan has begun a collaborative effort to reach out to countries in africa to help coordinate stakeholders and build a partnership to address our threats. we are certain there is no alternative to a comprehensive approach and close coordination among all stakeholders that camrese the threat of their terrorist threats across the region. we hope this aligns security efforts under a unified strategy. finally, we cannot tackle this threat in a vacuum. the world that allows the pakistan and iran commitment is not sanctioned. winning hearts and minds remains a big challenge as this will also require in the longer and medium term dealing with governance, poverty, youth, job creation and education. it is only by stabilizing the entire regime, giving people hope instead of fear and destruction, that will truly address these and other challenges including the outpouring of refuges many who are fleeing from terror and seeking a decent life far from their homes. thank you, mr. president. [applau

but clearly he'd like to see regional efforts being stepped up against boko haram and the fight being take on the the group by the countries in the area. >> sweden has a long history of accepting refugees but some syrians who have fled war have received a cold welcome. >>> and police in new york accused of spying on muslims. >> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. >>> good to have you with us. these are the top stories on al jazeera. palestinian president is calling for international intervention following another day of violence. on wednesday israeli forces shot dead two palestinians after reported stabbing attacks >> there are reports iran is deploying thousands of troops to syria to help the government offensive in aleppo and hama. meanwhile the united states and russians talk air safety. they're engaged in separate air campaigns against isil fighters and opposition groups >> eight arm add ethnic groups have signed a historic peace deal to en

a number of us visited the region. thent to thank all of members for their participation and expertise and time. i am delighted to welcome brendan o'leary, who has been a member.able he the most knowledgeable on constitutional issues in the region. thank you for your contribution. christina, who has been a key soccer on these issues. on these issues. also, the atlantic council provided invaluable support. likehose of you who would us to mail few copies of the pretty looking glossy report, there is a sign-up sheet on the cookie tray. we would be happy to send you a copy. to review theed recommendations. i will talk briefly. david will talk briefly. we will answer some questions and end at 1:00. thisnathan mentioned, region is one in prices. you have the collapse of the iraqi states, the brutal sweep of isis, the flood of 4 million refugees and another 6 million displaced in syria. have of the country has moved from syria. the latest moves by russians have upped the ante, propping up the assad regime and increasing the c

the fastest growing region in the world and the wealthiest region in the world. we have strong alliances. where bound militarily to asia so the last thing we would want to see happen is a reduction in u.s. imports, a reduction in the agenda setting powers of united states and an inability of the united states to lead and to assist in the reform of asian economies and a way that's compatible with u.s. interests. these are things we must pursue, actually must pursue sub .1 is tpp as an agreement is critical for all of those things to come to pass. put aside china. tpp is critical for our conditioning in asia in a strategic way, and an economic way in an agenda setting way, in a leadership way. and given our security alliances with asia we ought to do everything we can to ensure that their region is stable and prosperous, good for them and good for united states. if you add time into the equation who ginsing has prohibited an objective of power and a strategic -- we did not see with his predecessor at all. this is noteworthy in asia in particular. where xi's u.s.-ch

the main reason is americans look at israel and see israel as the only democracy in the region, the region itself today is characterised by unbelievable turmoil. if there's tension between the president and the prime minister, the trajectory will remain what it has been. >> for the last few years binyamin netanyahu spoke about external threats. you wrote an op ed where you point out the palestinian issue which is not on everyone's radar. is that a problem. now we are seeing flare-ups in jerusalem, what some think is a third intifada, and you have what looks like an israeli administration that doesn't want to deal with the issue. >> in a sense, israel is not different from other countries in the region. the difference is palestinians are there, the proximity is close, it's hard for the israelis not to address the issue, but a reason you are seeing a level of frustration is the rest of the region is not paying attention. because the civil war is a catastrophe, from a humanitarian standpoint. because there's proxy wars, the - all the other issues have been the priority yore the countries regi

but for the region. we believe we have the resources we need to continue conducting that. >> i would hope that would be the case. thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you both for testifying today. admiral, in your testimony you point out that we insist that all maritime claims be deraved from naturally formed land features in accordance with international laws reflected in the law of the sea convention. are we at any kind of a disadvantage because we haven't been a signatory to the law of the sea convention? >> senator, i believe we are at a disadvantage because we don't have the moral high ground that other countries who are cigna tors, including china and russia have. so when china makes these outrageous claims in the south china sea, and the philippines challenges one of those claims and we support the philippines' right to make that claim, at the same time we're not a signatory, that looks strange. when russia makes claims in the arctic circle and they tell us, you have no standing

this region is very strategic. the size of western europe, but with a population of just 11 million. it borders eight countries. the government denies repressing the culture. 60 years ago, the people here made up 90% of xinjiang's population. today it is less than half that. some worry that the silk road project will lead to even more chinese settlers, altering the balance still further. adrian brown, al-jazeera. >> let's get the weather now. there's a hurricane threatening the bahamas? >> a major hurricane, category 3 and above. if you look at the weather map, you can see it there. we'll come it to in more detail in a moment. meanwhile we've had a lot of clouds and rain pushing up along the eastern seaboard of the u.s. and canada, associated with this weather front. we've seen some more impressive rainfall totals being reported, heading southward over the last 24 hours over new york and baltimore in maryland. it looks like as though there will be more rain to come in that area, but from a different source. it is o