. >>> rosiland jordan is live for us in washington with the latest. siland how quickly can he see these flights between the u.s. and cuba start? >> reporter: well, u.s. officials are estimating that it could take several months, perhaps not before september that we would actually see u.s. air carriers flying in and out of havana and out of nine other smaller airports on the cuban island. this is really coming down to bureaucracy. the airlines have 15 days to put in their operations to carry out these flights. and they have to comply with cuban aviation rules as well. it really comes down to how quickly the bureaucracies can get all of the paperwork processed and get all of the dealed approved and signed for, and of course, the airlines would have to work out payment agreements with the cuban civil aviation authority for access to the airports, but they are thinking probably as early as september. >> so ros what does this mean for those of us that actually want to travel to cuba. >> well, if you were planning a vacation on the beach somewhere, don't pla

rosiland jordan joins us now live from washington, d.c.t are you hearing from the authorities where you are, ros? >> reporter: well, the pentagon spokesperson has said that the air strikes were aimed after going after the tunisian who was said to have been a senior isil facilitator inside libya. they have not physically confirmed that he is dead, but he was definitely the target. the pentagon also has not confirmed how many people, how many isil fighters were killed in this attack, or whether there might have been any civilian casualties. we are expecting to hear from peter cook at the pentagon in the next hour. we do understand, though, from pentagon sources that the air strikes were carried out by two f-15e, air force fighter jets flying out of the united kingdom, and they carried out the strikes and apparently have returned to base without any harm to the jets and to the crew. we don't know again, how many people were killed, but the pentagon is saying that this was a significant strike against isil which has been trying to establish a

. >> rosiland jordan joins us live from washington, d.c.t more do we know about the target, and the impact of these air strikes in libya? >> well, even those peter cook briefed us for about 45 minutes, we don't know much more than that, other than this training camp was being used to orchestrate potential attacks on the u.s. or in u.s. interests overseas. we also don't know, even though pentagon officials have said on background that two f-15 fighter jets that were based in the u.k., were taking part in the strikes on this camp. we also don't know whether or not the pentagon has confirmed that the top-ranking official of isil has been killed. but one thing he did stress was this air strike was carried out with the knowledge and we assume the consent of libyan authorities so it might be easier to confirm, one, how many were killed and whether he was actually one of those killed in the attack. >> what might this indicate about medium to long-term u.s. intentions, possible further engagement in libya? >> reporter: well, that's a difficult ques

let's go to my colleague rosiland jordan joining us live from washington, d.c.w we're expecting to hear pretty soon on camera from the state department. what have you heard from them so far? what are they saying about what happened in libya? >> reporter: well the state department has been putting all of the questions to the pentagon and the spokesperson there, peter cook, should be briefing any moment now, david. what we are expecting to hear him expand on is the statement from the past hour, which he said the u.s. believes but can't confirm that the isil leader in libya was apparently killed in this air strike. pentagon courses have told al jazeera that two u.s. air force f15-e's screaming eagle fighter jets left the u.k. and carried out these air strikes west of the capitol tripoli. there are multiple reports indicating that at least 30 at this training camp were killed, perhaps as many as 50 people. we may get more incite from peter cook in the next few minutes about the success of these air strikes. however, it is important to stress, david, that the u.s. ha

. >> rosiland jordan joins us live now from washington, d.c. hi, ros.bama in his speech said that guantanamo was a stain on the u.s.'s record, but what else did he have to say in this long-awaited report and speech? >> reporter: well, he also said that this is a very expensive prison for the u.s. taxpayers. they spent about $455 million a year just to run this prison, including the operation of the military commissions, the special trial process for those accused of carrying out attacks against the u.s. or u.s. interests. and the president said that there needs to be a -- that the american taxpayer should not be supporting this, but he really did try to hammer home the idea that this is hurting the u.s.'s credibility on the global stage. the president said several times that allies that would work with the united states on issues, such as trying to fight isil or daesh, and trying to deal with other problems of extremism around the world, have a real problem in their own countries because of the existence and ongoing detention of these men at guantanamo

. >> rosiland jordan joins us live now from washington, d.c. hi, there, ros.o what else did obama say, and what has been the reaction so far? >> reporter: well, the president also said that closing guantanamo essentially will remove what he calls a stain on the u.s.'s reputation around the world; that it is impossible for the u.s. to talk about human rights and about rule of law when guantanamo still exists. he pointed out that isil or daesh is using the images of people in the orange jumpsuits in their own propaganda videos. we have seen this several times when they have killed western hostages, and the president said that he wants to remove that sort of incitement, another way, as it were of trying to defeat isil. the reaction here on capitol hill is falling as you might expect along partisan lines. democratic legislatures say that they support the president's efforts to close guantanamo, however, republicans, including the senate majority leader are very much opposed. >> it would be illegal under current law to transfer a foreign terrorist at guantanamo int

is al jazeera's rosiland jordan, we have been hearing in the last hour the secretary of state has beenking about the issue of syria, ros. what did he have to say? >> well, what the secretary of state john kerry was meeting with the egyptian foreign minister at the u.s. state department in the past hour on tuesday, and he was asked about the ongoing situation to end the syrian civil war, and the fact that peace talks have been suspended until february 25th, and basically the secretary repeated his criticism of moscow, one that he has been making in several days. let's listen to what john kerry, the u.s. secretary of state had to say about the russian role in the syrian civil war. >> well, there's no question, and i have said this before publicly, that russia's activities in aleppo and the region right now, are making it much more difficult to be able to come to the table and to be able to have a serious conversation, and we have called on russia, and we call on russia again to join in the effort to bring about an immediate ceasefire and to bring about full humanitarian access. that's wh

al jazeera's rosiland jordan reports. >> top gun, not just one of the biggest movies the 1980s. but it's also an example of a successful collaboration between hollywood and the u.s. military. now, the u.s. government is looking to the entertainment world for advice on how to defeat i.s.i.l. the group uses social media to recruit young would be fighters. secretary of state john kerry recently sat down with movie executives for advice on how to challenge i.s.i.l.'s messaging. >> folks in hollywood and silicon valley who are really experts in conveying messages, whether it's through film or through entertainment, are worthwhile to listen to and to seek -- we should be seeking their advice how we could be doing our job better. >> on wednesday another meeting of government and industry to figure out how to undermine i.s.i.l.'s message. but in the past this kind of cooperation has been controversial. >> these bombs will go off today. >> what do you want from me? >> it's the truth i swear to you on my family's life. >> reporter: critics hate the glorification of torture in shows such a

rosiland jordan joins us live from washington, d.c.ve heard from the pentagon, the department of defense within the last hour. what have they said about this? >> reporter: well, david, what the spokesman said was basically the u.s. considers isil a national security threat, and that it reserves the right to go after isil targets any time, anywhere. here is just a bit of what he had to say near the beginning of his briefing in the past hour. >> overnight we conducted an air strike in libya, targeting an isil training camp, a tunisian national who is an isil senior facilitator in libya, and associated with that training camp. we took this action after determining that both he and the isil fighters at these facilities were planning external attacks in the region. of note he was named a suspect in the march 18th, 2015, deadly attack on the bardo museum in tunis, and had facilitated the movement of potential isil affiliated fighters from tunisia, libya, and on to other countries. this is a clear demonstration of the commitment to go after i

let's go straight to our correspondent in washington, d.c., rosiland jordan.alind what more are you hearing about this strike? >> well, the pentagon spokesman peter cooke has just released a statement confirming that there was an air strike against an isil training facility northwest or so of the capitol, tripoli. and he goes on to say, and i'm going to quote from his statement, destruction of the camp and removal of [ inaudible ] also known as sabir with eliminate an experienced facilitator, and is expected to have, quote, an immediate impact on isil's ability to facilitate its activities in libya. and he goes on to say the u.s. is committed to hunting down and destroying isil wherever it feels necessary. this is very significant because even though the pentagon is not yet confirming how many people were killed in this air strike, they are basically sending the message that as the new unity government in libya comes to power, that the u.s. is more than prepared and is willing to act to are move a fundamental security threat, not just against the libyan people

let's get the latest from rosiland jordan from washington.t is the reaction to the agreement in munich, and how might washington react now to bashar al-assad saying he wants to retake the whole cou count -- country and that this might take a long time. >> as far as the obama administration is concerned, bashar al-assad retaining control, staying in power as the president of syria is a non-starter. the u.s. has long said that assad's legitimacy has vanished in large part because of the ongoing shelling of civilian targets, the ongoing brutality, the u.s. does not believe that at the end of the day when the civil war is finally over that assad will still be in power. do they want him to leave immediately? that had been the case, now they are at least willing to entertain the idea that he would be still the head of the government during a political transition process. we're not there yet. as for the deal itself, to try to get the ceasefire started in the next seven days, well, it's not immediate, which is what any obama administration had wanted