come to order the committee will come a the joint chiefs of staff for a hearing on afghanistan and south asia the secretary previously indicated he would be back to discuss the approach to this region once it was decided and that is the topic for today i a understand there are many issues facing the department and this committee but with time and focus please confine your questions to today's subject united states officially launched operation in during freedom october 7, 2001 almost exactly 16 years ago approximately 2,400 service members have lost their lives in the conflict and another 20,000 wounded. as this administration formulates its policies the american people and members of congress have basic questions such as does american national securities towards our presence in afghanistan? do we have a strategy to succeed or avoid failure? how was this administration is approach different from previous? can we ever be successful in the face of of dien duplicity and corruption? both have considerable experience with this conflict and i believe they are as authoritative as anyone to provide t

our goal is a stable and secure south asia. a political settlement in afghanistan is only possible if the taliban rejects support or conduct of terrorism. based on the intelligence community's analysis and my own evaluation i'm convinced we absent ourselves from this region to our ultimate peril. the new condition-based approach has set the stage for regional and afghan national chains. our new strategy vigorously reviewed and approved by donald trump is, quote, are 4 plus s which stands for regionalized, realigned, reinforced, reconciled and sustained. the first are, regionalized, recognizes challenges exist beyond afghanistan, the strategy adopts a geographic framework with a holistic, comprehensive view. india, pakistan, iran, russia and china were considered at the outset rather than focusing only on afghanistan and then introducing external variables late in our strategic design. my visit last week to india was in part to thank for their continued generous development support in afghanistan and we discussed ways to expand

strategy in afghanistan and south asia. we welcome secretary mattis and chairman dunford back to the committee. we thank you both for your many years of distinguished service and leadership of our men and women in uniform. 16 years ago this week u.s. and coalition forces began combat operations in afghanistan to eliminate the al qaeda terrorists who attacked our nation and removed the taliban regime that gave them sanctuary. very few, few would have predicted that 16 years later we would still be fighting what has become america's longest war. to date, we have achieved our mission to prevent afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for terrorists to attack america or our allies and partners. but that success has come at a tremendous price, more than 2,000 americans have given their lives in this war and over 20,000 have been wounded. i repeat, over 20,000 have been wounded. while we are still denying safe haven to terrorists in afghanistan, there is no escaping our present reality. as secretary mattis and general nicholson ha

the uncertainty about the nato campaign is due to president trump's new south asia strategy. this strategy had been welcomed almost uniformly by leaders in the south i than and the nato led campaign. we must always remember we are in afghanistan to make america safer and insure south africa cannot plot attacks against our homeland and partners or allies. >> it's a goal. a police settlement is only possible if taliban conduct support or conduct terrorism. based on ni analysis and own evaluation, i am convinced our new conditions-based approach has set the stage for regional and african change. our new strategy vigorously reviewed and approved by president trump is quote r 4 plus s unquote which stands for regionalized, realigned, reinforce, reconcile and sustain. the first r, regionlize, recognizes challenges exist beyond afghanistan. the strategy adopts a geographic framework with a holistic comprehensive view. india, pakistan, russia and china. were considered at the outset rather than focusing only on afghanistan and then introducing external variables late in our strategic

partner in south asia. our relationships in the region stand on their own merits. we expect pakistan to take decisive action against terrorist groups based within their own borders that threaten their own people and the broader region. in doing so, pakistan's further stability and peace for itself and neighbors improving its own international standing. even as the united states and india grow, our economic and defense cooperation, we must have ann eye including other nations which share our goals. india and the united states should be in the business of equipping other countries to defend their sovereignty, build greater connectivity, and have a louder voice and a regional architecture that develops their economies and promotes their interests. this is a natural complement to india's act east policy. we ought to welcome those who want to strengthen the rule of law and further prosperity and security in the region. in particular, our starting point should continue to be greater engagement and cooperation with indo pacific democracies. we are already capturing the be

presidents announced his new policy toward the south asia strategy. what people tend to focus on but one of the differences on how we approach the challenge is we see it as a regional issue. it is not solely and afghanistan issue. india is an important element of how we achieve the ultimate objective which is a stable afghanistan, which no longer serves as a platform for terrorist organizations. simply, we quite will deny terrorists the opportunity, the means, the location, the wherewithal, the finance, the ability to carry out attacks. threat to that inicy finds its locus afghanistan. the greatest beneficiaries are going to be afghanistan. provides -- india provides economic conditions that provide for the needs of a diverse ethnic group of people in afghanistan. commitmentbout a that we are not going anywhere. we will be here as long as it takes for you to change our mind and decide you want to engage with the f in government and a reconciliation process and develop a form of government that does suit the needs of the culture of afghanistan. they ha

our goal is a stable and secure south asia. a political settlement in afghanistan is only possible if the taliban reject support of or conduct of terrorism. based on the intelligence community analysises and my own evaluation i am convinced we would absent ourselves from this region to our ultimate peril. our new conditions-based approach has set the stage for regional and afghanistan national change. our new strategy vigorously reviewed and approved by president trump is, quote, r 4 plus s, unquote, which stands for regionalize it, realign it, reinforce it, and reconciliation, coupled with sustaining it. the first r, to regionalize it, recognizes challenges exist beyond afghanistan and adopts a geographic framework with a holistic comprehensive view. india, pakistan, iran, russia, and china were considered at the outset rather than focusing only on afghanistan and then introducing external variables late in our strategic design. my visit last week to india was, in part, to thank them for their continued generous development su

our goal is a stable and secure south asia. a political settlement in afghanistan is only possible if they get report of our conduct of terrorism. based on the intelligence community analysis and my own evaliation, i am convinced we have sent ourselves from this region to our ultimate peril. our new conditions-based approach has set the stage for regional and afghanistan national change. our new strategy vigorously approved and reviewed by president trump is quote r 4 plus s unquote, which stands for regionalize it, realign it, reinforce it and reconciliation coupled with sustaining it. the first "r," to regionalize it recognizes chal 7gs exist beyond afghanistan and adopts a geographic framework with a holistic comprehensive view. india, pakistan, iran, russia and china were considered at the outset rather than focusing only on afghanistan and inintroducing external variables late in our strategic design. my visit last week to india was in part to thank them for their continued generous development support in afghanistan. we a

our goal is a stable and secure south asia. a political settlement in afghanistan is only possible if they get report of our conduct of terrorism. based on the intelligence community analysis and my own evaliation, i am convinced we have sent ourselves from this region to our ultimate peril. our new conditions-based approach has set the stage for regional and afghanistan national change. our new strategy vigorously approved and reviewed by president trump is quote r 4 plus s unquote, which stands for regionalize it, realign it, reinforce it and reconciliation coupled with sustaining it. the first "r," to regionalize it recognizes chal 7gs exist beyond afghanistan and adopts a geographic framework with a holistic comprehensive view. india, pakistan, iran, russia and china were considered at the outset rather than focusing only on afghanistan and inintroducing external variables late in our strategic design. my visit last week to india was in part to thank them for their continued generous development support in afghanistan. we a

eastern areas looking dry and fine taipei sunshine and twenty five degrees so move across into south asia the monsoon is now retreating away quite sharply we've still got some heavy showers affecting parts of the south as you can see there and that's where we're still going to see more showers across an article and down toward shore lanka but central northern areas all looking dry and fine temperatures in delhi suspected to reach thirty two degrees so the humidity will increase perhaps a little bit in the coming days finding crotch in pakistan highs of thirty three across into the arabian peninsula it's fine here in doha the humidity still falling way temperatures not quite as high as they have been very pleasant nice day in abu dhabi two with a high of thirty three on the other side the potential paths little bit lifted dust otherwise sunshine in mecca and highs here of thirty eight degrees. on counting the cost john to chew point zero zero how president xi jinping wants to reboot the economy with a high end robotics look at what i do it all makes is causing tension along the river plus

pakistan is an important partner in south asia. in the regionips stand on their own merit. they expect pakistan to take decisive action on terrorist groups within their own borders that threaten their own people and the broader region. in doing so pakistan furthers stability for itself and its neighbors and its own international standing. even as the united states and india grow our cooperation, must have an eye to other nations that share our goals. build greater connectivity and have a louder voice and regional architecture that promotes their interest and develops their economy. this is a natural complement to india's act east policy. we should welcome those who want to strengthen the rule of law for further prosperity and security in the region. our starting point should continue to be greater engagement and cooperation with indo-pacific democracies. our important engagement between the u.s., india, and japan. there is room to invite others, including australia, to build on the shared objectives and initiatives. and can also serve as a clear example of the diverse, dyna

and acro55 south asia, the monsoon i5 rather than the 405.so the reins here, dry and brighter weather for new delhi. but the monsoon doe5 and brighter weather for new delhi. but the monsoon does not only occur over india, stretching acro55 but the monsoon does not only occur over india, stretching across the bay of bengal into south—eastern pa rt5 of bay of bengal into south—eastern parts of asia, and the weather, the 5torms have been relentle55 acro55 southeast asia in the last few weeks, especially around thailand, malaysia, the malay peninsula, xhosa —— extensive rain, laos, cambodia, the5e —— extensive rain, laos, cambodia, these areas, that will continue on tuesday. and more rainstorm5 around indonesia. what about australia? if you are lucky enough to be heading there, fine weather in perth, it was very ha rd last there, fine weather in perth, it was very hard last week acro55 eastern pa rt5 of very hard last week acro55 eastern parts of australia, temperatures well up, way above average for the time of year, but it does look as though t

stop here in afghanistan, coming to the south ager region region as part of the recently announced south asia policy and strategy president trump has put forth. i want to thank ambassador lawrence and general nicholson for their leadership and the incredible military effort of the men and women in uniform here, as well, and all of the effort they put forth to work towards a peace, which is really our objective. i think the u.s. has made it clear in terms of our support for afghanistan, the support for a sovereign, unified, and democratic afghanistan, starting it has to peace, prosperity, and self-reliant. -- we are not haveng -- providing safe to any terrorist or extremist in this part of the world. it's ok. that's all right. we also want to work with regional partners to ensure that there are no threats in the region. this is very much a regional effort. you saw what was rolled out in the strategy itself. we are denying safe haven to terrorists in the region. we are working closely with pakistan in that regard. president has assured me of his commitment to continue to reform here in afghanis

us secretary of state rex tillerson is on his first official visit to south asia on the agenda meetings with the pakistani prime minister show he khan abbassi and indian prime minister narendra modi. the trumpet ministration hopes to expand its ties with india seeing it as a stabilizing force in a volatile region president trump and prime minister modi are committed more than any other leaders before them to building an ambitious partnership benefits not only our two great democracies but other sovereign nations working toward greater peace and stability a deepening of american and indian ties is a sensitive topic for pakistan india and pakistan are locked in a decades long stalemate over the disputed region of kashmir the u.s. is stressing both countries are crucial partners but u.s. president donald trump is seizing the momentum of recent cooperation by urging pakistan to help release other hostages and join in future counterterrorism operations natasha going to name al-jazeera. let's bring in our guest joining us from islamabad. former pakistan ambassador to afghanistan in kabul him

to south asia, where there is a little depression that has been developing through the bay of bengalgs are quiet. a few scattered showers down to the south and affecting sri lanka and the mall dines. —— maldives temperatures into the mid 30s. let us temperatures into the mid 30s. let us look at the rain in detail. detail. moving out into the north east. stretch eight cross bangladesh and into myanmar. the intensity of colours we could see as enough as 200 to 250 millimetres and that may lead to localised flooding. stormy weather conditions in the pacific, bringing gales and heavy snow fall to the northern rocky, fingers cross it will affect northern california which will come as welcome news after the wild fires. some of that rain is heavy as we push across british colombia, down through parts of oregon and perhaps just fringing with northern california, the heaviest of the rain was like least through thursday and friday. this is storm brian, a deep area of low pressure bringing severe gales in the south—west coast of the uk. the winds really strengthening during the day on saturday.

strategy we spoke about it in south asia strategy we spoke about itina south asia strategy we spoke a regional context. it is not just about afghanistan. this is about the importance of pakistan, and pakistan's long—term stability as well. we have concerns about the future of pakistan's government too. in terms of them, we want their government to be stable. we want to be peaceful and many of the same issues they are struggling with inside pakistan are our issues. so we think there is opportunity for us to strengthen that relationship, we're going to be working very hard at all levels from the state department, to the defence department, to our intelligence communities as well as economic commerce opportunities as well. so, it really is a reunderal approach and pakistan is critical to the long—term stability. studio: that's rex tillerson, there was speculation he might be going to announce his resignation. he is not. he's staying. he said there has never been any consideration in his mind to leave. he said his commitment to president trump is still strong. there is much to be done.

inaugural two plus two dialogue early next year in august president trump announced a new strategy for south asia one that redoubles our commitment to afghanistan and with it to peace debility and the greater south asian region india plays an important role in this effort in the fight against terrorism the united states will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with india terrorist safe havens will not be tolerated. with knowledge with gratitude india's generous contributions to development in afghanistan including construction of the salma dam and the afghanistan parliament building and the three billion dollars it has provided already in development assistance we also look forward to further cooperation in the broader indo pacific region as we both promote a rules based approach to the commons and a transparent and sustainable approach to economic development we're glad to be joined in this effort by our close mutual partner japan and i was honored to spade and a trilateral discussion on these topics with my friends mr for was and mr kono in new york last month in addition to our partnership

you've seen this in the development of a broad number of strategies from cuba to north korea to south asia. and so what i think the president has done is helped us restore our strategic confidence. he got the national security council out of the tactical data to be business and supervising cabinet officials who do not need supervision. they need support and they need

asia. pollution is an endemic part of life throughout south east asia and south asia.death and disability. but what it also does is it impacts children, especially in terms of their development and their ability to become bright and capable citizens of the future. i think, umm, when you look at statistics and see how much of an impact it has, it is something we need to put more attention into than we have so far. it is interesting because the report goes into looking at stages of development a country is going through to assess just how badly polluted those countries are. correct. as you see countries go through this industrialisation and urbanisation we have seen, you can see a burden from that time of pollution that goes on top of the sanitation issues you see in very, very poor countries. those two together produce just enormous impacts on health. what solutions would you suggest? what do you propose in the report to mitigate this? this is the good story in it all. these things have well structured solutions. there are examples. bangkok has done well with air pollut

the goal is to talk to commanders to about how we're carried out the isis campaign and south asia strategyrtners. at south, he will discuss opportunities to build and foster greater partnerships with our southern neighbors. on isis, there getting desperate. civilians are running towards the iraqi security forces and syrian democratic forces because they know they are the good guys. thousands of the fighters are surrendering because they know isis can't win. coalition forces support iraqi forces as they liberated and entered the final phase for rocket. more than .4 million iraqis and syrians have been liberated from the grip of isis, territory by the size of california. the coalition will continue to strike isis wherever they are found. local forces in iraq and syria have fought valiantly to liberate cities from isis. it is because of their efforts and their tremendous sacrifices that i can say isis is on the run. so with that we will take your questions. >> a question about the release of the coleman family from captivity in pakistan. did the u.s. military played any role at all in either

they are a force for stability in south asia. they are a force for stability in the indo specific region -- indo pacific region. they are coming into their own economically. there is an opportunity here that we have not experienced in inades to tie us together terms of a broadened level of cooperation and natural alignment with each other's interests. >> as a follow on to that, do you have anything you are ready today to announce would designate specifically that we would be doing that we haven't done in the past with india? >> there are a number of things in motion right now and decisions will be coming very soon. we are both working to turn these big words and do right intoal realities -- pragmatic realities. i am optimistic. it is not like we have to convince them terrorism is a threat. i don't have to convince them we have nefarious designs on the indo pacific area. doing in things we are terms of their support in afghanistan, development funding. they have been generous for many years and they have achieved a degree of affec

so you've seen this on north korea, on south asia, on the iran strategy, on the cuba, the president's cuba strategy. we can go on. these are well developed. many of them are implementing now, have been in implementation for a while. and others are still in development. they're up front. it allows the departments and agencies to coordinate their efforts. >> great. >> so let's start talking about one of those, the major first order challenges you describe which is iran. obviously a big announcement on friday. the president's speech laying out a new comprehensive strategy. and it's fair to say a lot of the discussion has been telescoped down on exactly which condition of a nara is the president refusing to certify on. so i want to take the conversation up to a broader level. you talk about using all instruments of national power. i want to go through various theaters of operation where iran represents a significant threat to the united states and allies. what are you trying to achieve to begin with in iraq? >> so in iraq, it's easy to say and maybe hard to do. what we would like to do is

de-escalate the situation on the korean peninsula and create comprehensive security are not just in the south asia region but in the world as a whole. we can see attempts from nato countries and unions to create this balance to use the factor of force. one of the most important problems of this regard is the effort of the u.s. and its allies in the asia-pacific and in other regions to create an antimissile defense system and move it, the elements of this system closer to russian and chinese borders. our calls are managing the risks regarding the quantity of this balance remaining unanswered. we see the plans to continue the deployment of the weapons on the borders in europe and eastern europe and we are worried about what is happening. this can all lead to lowering the threshold. we support the banning of the president nuclear weapons on the territories of other states and we call on the use of other nations for your interest in terms of nuclear weapons and for intermediate and short range missile treaty we have talked a lot about that and we have this expressed our concern but that, but washingto

and marrying old men is the norm here twenty thousand underage girls marry every day mostly in south asia and rural west africa says the world bank and save the children under age weddings are often organized by parents in the village when they grew up boys are seen as contribution to the family by farming or working girls do the same but they're seen as an extra mouth to feed and so few get to finish school instead they.

and our approach to south asia and specifically afghanistan means building upon our relationships with india and pakistan to stamp out terrorism and support the afghan government in providing security for their own people. and isis's fraudulent caliphate in iraq and syria is on the brink of being extinguished thanks to a new strategy led by the president. what we have accomplished, we have done as a team. similarly secretary mnuchin has levied sanctions. countries must increasingly decide whether they do business with north korea or peace loving nations. ambassador haley has spearheaded and achieved enormous success passing the toughest u.n. sanctions the date on north korea. general mattis and i communicate virtually every day and we agree there must be the highest level of coordination between our diplomatic efforts and our military efforts. you can't have a stronger partner than a secretary of defense who embraces diplomacy. and i hope he feels he has the partner he needs at the state department. this is just the beginning of the list of partners and friends across the government wh

in south asia they are a force for stability in that specific region. they are nation coming into their own economic he is a great nation as they have steady growth rates going on right now and i think there's an opportunity here that we have not experienced in decades to tie us together in terms of a broadened level of corporation and the natural alignment with each other's interests. >> as a follow-on to that do you have anything you are ready today to announce or designate specifically that we will be doing that we haven't done in the past? >> there are a number of things in motion right now sir and decisions i think will be coming very soon. we are both working to turn these big words into pragmatic realities and because i see both sides working together on it, i am optimistic. it's not like we have to go over there and convince them that terrorism is a threat. they have felt what has happened there. not had to convince them of you don't have the various designs on the indo pacific area or to democracies that we'll can work together on this. there a

secretary of state makes tellus a whirlwind trip of south asia has continued with a stop in pakistan it was his first official visit to the country to meet the new prime minister to listen says a stable pakistan is good for the entire region and tasha can name has more of what the trumpet ministration is hoping for. in south asia all roads lead back to afghanistan for the united states as it tries to find a way to end its longest war to underscore that fact u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson made a surprise stop in afghanistan to meet with the president before traveling to pakistan and this whole strategy this is a conditions based approach and so our relationship with pakistan will also be conditions based it will be based upon whether they take action that we feel is necessary to move the process forward of both creating an opportunity for reconciliation and peace in afghanistan but also assuring a stable future pakistan. the u.s. and pakistan are allies but the relationship has long been complicated the u.s. says pakistan is creating safe havens for the taliban which is made si

what they do this posture is in any of those particular places. >> you mentioned the policy in south asia going to give a speech yesterday talking about the importance of the partnership. the chairman and the joint chiefs weeks ago talked about pakistan and some of the difficulties we've had been part of the intelligence services and relationships. thinking about that part of the world, what is the right state for pakistan at the time that we obviously doubled down in afghanistan, committing to india but seemed to be compounding pakistan a bit more sober these days. >> i think history would indicate high expectations for the pakistani's willingness to help us in the fight against radical islamic terrorism should be set at a very low level. our intelligence would indicate the same that is i think we should have a real conversation about what it is that they were doing and what it is that they could do and the american expectations on how they will behave. the secretary i think is right about our desire to have a constructive relationship with the pakistanis but equally the president has ma

tillerson has arrived in the iraqi capital baghdad the latest stop on his trip to the middle east and south asia earlier he made an unannounced visit to afghanistan meeting the president ashraf ghani and the country's chief executive at the background base to listen says the u.s. is committed to its presence in the country until the situation is more stable. well the president made it clear that we're we're here to stay until we can secure a process of reconciliation and peace it's not an unlimited commitment he's also made it clear it's not a blank check commitment that's why it is a conditions based commitment but i think if if you consider the current situation in afghanistan and we were talking about this a few minutes ago and you look a few years in the past what circumstances war afghanistan has come quite a distance already in terms of creating a much more vibrant. population a much more vibrant government well tennison is in iraq to me a prime minister a body for a second time in the past few days a body has criticized the secretary of state for comments he made in riyadh saying iranian

joseph dunford will testify at a house armed services committee hearing on military strategy in south asia. live coverage starting at 1:00 p.m. eastern. all those online at c-span.org or on the free c-span radio app. >> the c-span bus is traveling across the country on our 50 capitals tour. we recently stopped in annapolis maryland, asking folks what's the most important issue in their state. >> hi. i'm xena. i live in annapolis, in maryland, and i teach at sta john's college where we're filming now. and an issue that a lot of us in maryland are concerned with is our heritage, the heritage of slievry, and the heritage of the civil war. i'm sure many of you heard, there's a statue of the justice who wrote the dread scott decision that was taken down in front of the state house. my real concern is how do we have conversations about our past? and here at st. john's, we read frederick douglass. we read the dread-scott decision, speeches of lincoln, and try to have real conversations with one another about the issues and different points of view you might have on them. i suppose that's one of t

partners south asia our relationships in the region stand on their own merits we expect pakistan to take decisive action against terrorist groups based within their own borders that threaten their own people and the broader region. the u.s. has long claimed both relationships are basically equally important but when tillerson spoke about india his was a noticeably different tone casting it as a critical economic and military alliance in this period of uncertainty and somewhat i just india needs a reliable partner in the world stage i want to make clear that our shared values and vision for global stability peace and prosperity the united states is that pardner. it with india is you it's optimism which powerful democratic example and it's increasing stature on the world stage it makes perfect sense that the united states at this time should seek to build on the strong foundation of our years of cooperation with india in india to visit a cultural site. have a news conference and actually sleep in india he didn't do any of those things in pakistan the u.s. might deny it but with this visit

so wet one in yang gone moving further south across asia it's looking pretty wet across parts of the philippines generally little bit of a dry spell across southern parts of vietnam and cambodia but across thailand the weather is looking pretty wet and generally at the moment coming southward through kuala lumpur and singapore we're going to few showers but i think generally here weather conditions are not looking too bad that had a across into south asia we've still got some heavy showers across more southern portions of india for central and northern arizona is all dry and fine pretty warm in delhi thirty seven and should be fine across in crunchy with a nice some temperature here of thirty three the weather sponsored by cat time. and age old part of spanish culture no one can stop thinking about the bullies in my life others are explored and a symbol of central government. we shouldn't carry on something that goes against the morals of got alongside to visit the capital a nationalist perspective of the present banished culture in. catalonia bullfight its time on al-jazeera wild. a

there are enormous interests in south korea and japan and asia as well. we shouldn't just focus solely on this icbm threat, but the conventional weapon systems in the hands of this man and the other elements of their nuclear program and other delivery technologies of those deliver systems. we tend to focus on this missile trajectory issue. make sure from an intelligence assista standpoint we have not lost the -- we're staring at every tree to make the forest, not just a particular tree. >> can i ask about a separate grove? >> you can ask about anything you want and i'll choose not to answer anything you want. >> i'm loving this by the way. "the new york times" had an interesting and important article about north korea's cyber capabilities and how those have increased over time, 6,000 cyber analysts, how they spread them around in southeast asia and other places. can you speak to how serious this cyber threat is from north korea? they've attacked the south korean banks and the dark seoul attack in 2013 c. they've obviously been implicated in other heists.

as we rolled out the south asia strategy, we spoke about it in a regional context. it is not just about afghanistan. this is about the importance of pakistan and pakistan's long-term stability as well. we have concerns about the future of pakistan's government too. in terms of them -- we want their government to be stable. we want it to be peaceful. and many of the same issues they're struggling with inside of pakistan are our issues. so we think there is opportunity for us to strengthen that relationship. we're going to be working very hard at all levels from the state department to the defense department to our intelligence communities as well as economic commerce opportunities as well. so it really is a regional approach and pakistan is critical i think to the long-term stability of the region. thank you very much. >> you have been watching secretary of state rex tillerson in what turned into an impromptu news conference after unsched e unscheduled remarks to reporters about our reporting here at nbc news that the had threatened to resign, that vice president mik

and our approach to south asia and specifically afghanistan means building upon our relationships with india and pakistan to stamp out terrorism and support the afghan government in providing security for their own people. and isis' fraudulent caliphate in iraq and syria is on the brink of being completely extinguished, thanks to an aggressive new strategy led by the president. what we have accomplished, we have done as a team. similarly, secretary mnuchin has levied economic sanctions on north korea and related entities. countries must increasingly decide whether they will do business with north carolina or with the community of peace-loving nations. ambassador hailey has spearhe spearheaded and achieved enormous successing wi enormous success, passing the toughest u.n. sanctions to date on north korea. general mattis and i communicate virtually every day and we agree there must be the highest level of coordination between our diplomatic efforts and our military efforts. you can't have a stronger partner than a secretary of defense who embraces diplomacy. and i hope he feels he has th

his speech on the south asia strategy i think is very important. these are substandard speeches that lay out a clear direction for voran policy. it's part of this group of speeches that explain to the american people how the president is prioritizing threats to their security and how we are doing that for a coherent approach to these national security challenges. >> we talked about the guard corps again as a transnational criminal organizations as a severe threat to our allies and the iranian people. u.s. national security. what are you trying to achieve with the hezbollah part of the strategy and the role that hezbollah is playing in the iranian business model of trying to replicate his follow throughout the region? what is the hezbollah strategy? >> it's similar to the strategies against other directed acts under network organizations that are fomenting violence and oppression. the hezbollah strategy is similar in a lot of ways in terms of getting their government attached and we need to reinvigorate our efforts there. there's an informational di

it is the first stop on his week long tour of the middle east and south asia.bia tillerson will attempt to seal a new alliance between the saudis and iraq. u.s. officials see it as key. >>> president trump's former chief strategist steve bannon delivers a blistering attack on former president george w. bush. bannon responded to mr. trump's criticism of president trump -- mr. bush's criticism that is of president trump, america first agenda. >> there's not been a more destructive presidency than george bush's. >> it's clear he didn't understand anything he was talking about. he equates the industrial revolution the agricultural revolution globalization he has no earthly idea whether he's coming and going just like it was when he was president of the united states. >> reporter: well, bush never mentioned president trump by name but thursday's speech in new york was a.m. clear rebuke of his presidency. >> discontent depend and sharp pend partisan conflicts. bigotry seems emboldened. our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication

let's go to south asia now at least after at least forty three afghan soldiers have been killed in an assault on a military camp in may have on the in kandahar province now the taliban says it was behind the attack let's go straight to jennifer glass who's in the afghan capital kabul with the very latest what more information seems to be. arriving in terms of this particular attack jennifer. also it happens in the middle of the night the taleban detonating what they call an armored vehicle at the chatham you afghan army katmai ones that's in western kandahar province near the border with helmand it's home to about sixty afghan army soldiers only two of those soldiers. survives on harm's not wounded as you say forty three were killed nine were wounded six are still missing the afghan ministry of defense says that ten afghan soldiers ten afghan fighters were also killed in that attack after the detonation of the of the vehicle but the taleban storms that army base and of course it was in the middle of the night just before three o'clock in the morning so many of those soldiers would hav

posture is in any of those particular places. >> you mentioned the afghanistan policy in south asia. secretary tillerson is going out to india to give a speech to talk with importance of that partnership. the chairman of the joint chiefs a few weeks ago talked about pakistan us of the difficulties we had with the pakistanis, apart the intelligence services ties, relationships, maybe even facilitation of terrorist actors that even dangerous for u.s. troops and interests. thinking about that part of the world and the role that you play, what is the right steady-state relationship with pakistan at the time when we have opposite double down in afghanistan, committing to india, but seem to be confronting pakistan a bit more soberly these days? >> i think history would indicate that high expectations for the pakistanis will is to help us in the fight against the radical islamic terrorism should be set at a very low level. our intelligence would indicate the same, that is i think we should have a very real conversation with them about what it is that they're doing and what it is they could

stopping terrorism nato members are not contributing more to shared security and our approach to south asia and specifically afghanistan means building upon our relationships with india and pakistan to stamp out terrorism and support the afghan government in providing security for their own people and isis is fraudulent caliphate in iraq and syria is on the brink of being completely extinguished thanks to an aggressive new strategy led by the president what we have accomplished we have done as a team. similarly secretary mineta has levied economic sanctions on north korean related entities countries must increasingly decide whether they will do business with north korea or with the community of peace loving nations ambassador haley has spearheaded in achieved enormous success passing the toughest u.n. sanctions to date hold north korea general madison ah communicate virtually every day and we agree that there must be the highest level of coordination between our diplomatic efforts and our military efforts you can't have a stronger partner than a secretary of defense who embraces diplomacy a

girls marrying old men is the norm here twenty thousand underage girls marry every day mostly in south asia and rural west africa says the world bank and save the children under-age weddings are often organized by parents in the village when they grew up boys are seen as contribution to the family by farming or working girls do the same but they are seen as an extra mouth to feed and so few get to finish school instead they marry and become pregnant early hoping to give birth to a boy year olds. so this is an days home she hasn't been back here for years just a few months ago she called her mother for the first time to tell her that she's sounding well but she didn't tell her her whereabouts so i want to. let now than they were in days mother. so i went there she is. tells me she's ashamed for what her daughter did for coombe but it's better to be married early rather than to deal with the shame of an accidental pregnancy. and i don't regret it i manage safety by marrying her off. but the pain of losing her daughter is evident. of course i miss my daughter she says i want her back. and they

picture here yangon thirty one draw and sunny it's not often i say that now as we head across into south asia most of india pakistan bangladesh nepal it's all looking fine once you come further south into tamil nadu and across towards carolinas a different picture we still got some heavy monsoon rain you see from the rainfall totals we're getting up continue across sri lanka too so that's where we're going to see further heavy rain occurring in the course of wednesday and indeed through into thursday but for many central northern parts of india all looking fine cooling off a little bit has been pretty hot in new delhi in recent days but just thirty is a nice one they're looking at warm weather thirty five as the maxim here in the arabian peninsula always lovely here at the moment thirty four degrees in doha a humidity so little bit high for this time of year but dropping slightly should be a pleasant day in abu dhabi for the top temperature of thirty two. short films of the hook and inspiration. stories of three young women challenging the world around them. al-jazeera selects at this time. h