u.s. military troops to train and advise, in areas around the globe. e tried to be very clear, that this was not u.s., these were not u.s. soldiers operating under military authorization. you can imagine that didn't sit well with some members of congress. members of congress, tim kane comes to find. democrat of virginia comes to mind immediately saying that we need to reauthorize war, war resolution, if we are going to continue doing this kind of stauf round the globe. -- stauf round tuff around the. this was outside the scope of what they were authorized, the military. or believe general mattis they weren't operating under military authorization. >> the united states military forces operate under, a number of different authorities. for secret clandestine covert activities. you know, in actuality, i mean the members of congress have it right. the united states has been conducting missions that the military calls training or advise and assist or train and equip for, you know, 15 years now. but, many of these missions have, as we have come to, understand

u.s. military activity is a 'recruiting tool' for terror groups across west africa." also his piece, the "u.s. will invade africa after an attack in new york according to pentagon wargames." waging a massive shadow war in africa." he is the author of "tomorrow's battlefield: u.s. proxy wars and secret ops in africa" and his latest book is "next time they'll come to count the dead: war and survival in south sudan." welcome back to democracy now! >> thank you for having me on. amy: let's begin in south sudan. why did nikki haley go there? talk about the protest that occurred there. dispatchedley was they're basically as the result of a speech last month that president trump gave to african leaders at the united nations. it was a very tone deaf speech whwhere he and fact lauded the achievements of an african country that doesn't exist, nambia. in the speech, he also mentioned that there were conflicts in the democratic republic of congo and especially south sudan that needed tending to that he was dispatching nikki haley to do something about it. what it was was never exa

u.s. military bases and libya itself. and gadhafi had you know considerable political support across the continent for his position nelson mandela's view was almost identical to get us that there would be no african forces commanded by foreign military officials and there would be no foreign militaries occupying any part of africa are operating with that offer. gadhafi had been playing a complex game with the west for a long time president ronald reagan had labeled him the mad dog of the middle east and had tried to assassinate him in one thousand nine hundred eighty six by bombing his palace. the libyan leader is independence and influence flowed from the vast petroleum reserves the largest enough account which he had nationalized when he took power. well starting in the in one thousand nine hundred ninety s. moammar gadhafi became a kind of luminary a leading voice certainly one of the loudest voices for a maximum version of african integration he was seen across africa as being the successor of kwame nkrumah in terms o

u.s. military, the greatest military on the plan net.ike to think in terms of things turning military, but that's always an option. the great thing about our military is it's

u.s. military thought because not having u.s. military bases here meaning that actually keep this settled in in the korean peninsula over the last several years we've built a new installation here kampung free us army garrison can. humphreys cost korean taxpayers eleven billion u.s. dollars it was moved from seoul to peeling tack in two thousand and six so those people living in tents there has to be evacuated but there are farmers and of course they are very close to their lives because that's where they are living for but then governments. wirelessly crack selling those villagers and also. evacuate them with the soldiers actually effectuate all the villagers in that area that struggle is one of the. harshness the struggle that we've ever had in our in our civil society movement. more recently protests erupted over the u.s. deployment of the terminal high altitude area defense or that while president was elected in two thousand and seventeen on a platform of rejecting the missile defense system he caved almost immediately once in

u.s. military's active. years of the countries in somalia libya cameroon as a permanent military base in djibouti it's and is building the drone base i mention by your hundred million dollars defense secretary james mattis stated quote we call for an internal defense training and we actually do these kinds of missions by with them through our allies why to keep them on the spread of the military industrial complex of friends i don't even work so that way when they go to buy a product and buy our product or a corporate product that we but that's what it all comes down to it's about money and then i guess the only people honestly doing business there realistically is china because they're making money they're above board right you know we're making money for bombs they're really enjoying something they can build or it was last time and now and what i think yes they will profit from it and it isn't going to be perfect there are at least doing something that's somewhat productive for the people there even if ther

u.s. military is operating in this world is a full time head spinning headache. headache of a job so is any wonder that when four u.s. special forces soldiers are killed in the line of duty in the african country of niger the number one question on people's minds across the united states was truthfully weight we we have troops in niger what in the hell are we even doing in niger even our own members of congress apparently have no idea what our military is up to these days and that stretches across the aisle as both senators chuck schumer and lindsey graham were clueless about u.s. operations in niger with graham telling n.b.c.'s meet the press quote i didn't know there was a thousand troops and. this is from a man who actually. well . he used to be. many wars in too many places does he graham can't keep track of the more thank you so what exactly is the u.s. mission in niger or the rest of africa for that matter well according the united states africa command website yes yes they have a website the united states military is in niger because a safe stable secure an

u.s. military. u.s.ops are in this part of west africa and in niger to assist local forces there in their counterterrorism fight against al-qaeda elements and other insurgent elements in the area. there is also throughout west africa, including next door mully, a not insignificant military presence. the u.s. also conducts routine drone operations over parts of africa, surveillance and recognizance that has been acknowledged. to ensure that they have the latest intelligence about where forces may be on the ground. tonight, we are getting no details beyond this statement that u.s. forces working with niger forces have come under hostile fire in this area of southwest nigr near the worder. we'll stay on this story, bring details to everyone as soon as the military makes them publicly available. wolf. >> do we know how many u.s. troops are there providing security and training to the forces? >> well, this number is generally not discussed because it ebbs and flows over time. this is like so many military ope

u.s. military personnel participated in it. they could have done this anywhere in africa, there's a reason they did it in chad. in this country, we tend to be more focused when we think about isis, we think of them in iraq and syria, but they got close to declaring caliphate, in that part of the world. part of boko haram, now calls itself a province of the islamic state of isis, but the lead offense against them really has been the military of chad. and it's interesting, even though the chad military has been leading the fight against these groups, there haven't actually been many attacks by these groups inside chad. and there's not a lot of chadian civilians who have been joining the islamic militant groups. nigeria has a really big problem with them. nigerian troops go and fight these guys and chad does too. troops from niger fight these guys and chad goes too. mali has a big problem with these guys. chad goes too. it's not necessarily their homegrown problem. but chad leads it. this has been much worse of a problem in their

u.s. military is now bringing the fbi into this investigation in niger. it's pretty unusual. >> well, i think john kirby had it right. it is not unprecedented for the fbi to work with their military colleagues on an investigation like this. of course the fbi has responsibility for investigating the deaths of americans overseas. they have a very extensive international presence. they have legal attaches all around the world including in west africa, their closest legal atta is in nigeria. i'm not surprised they're calling upon their expertise for a military death here, but as john said it's not unprecedented. >> not unprecedented but pretty unusual. what is the u.s. role over there? a lot of americans woke up and discovered four american troops were killed in niger and they asked themselves the obvious question, what were american combat troops doing in niger? i assume this was going on during the obama administration as well. >> sure, i think what you're seeing here is and unfortunately it's under very tragic circumstances that we're focusing and people wi

u.s. military presence there. listen. >> i can say this to the families, they were there to defend america, they were there to help allies. i didn't know there was a thousand troops in niger. john mccain is right to tell the military because this is an endless war with without boundaries, no limitation on time of geography, you to tell us more. >> you heard senator graham saying we didn't know we had 1,000 troops in niger, did you? >> no, i did not. >> the pentagon says it regularly briefs members of congress on u.s. military operations in africa and president trump in june sent a letter to congress saying that there were about 1,000 u.s. troops in niger and neighboring cameroon, but members of congress saying they want more briefings and potentially even hearings on what the u.s. military is doing in west africa and specifically what happened in that ambush that left four u.s. soldiers dead. john and poppy. >> all right. ryan browne at the pentagon, thanks so much. joining us now senior political analyst and the

u.s. military leaders to train and assist partner governments in the fight against isis and other terror groups now new details emerging. the authority to use armed dron drones. good morning to you, david, what are we learning? >> reporter: good morning. yes. well the key issue here is that this investigation is still on going and as to what happened with the deadly ambush just a couple of hours' drive from where i'm standing now. locals you speak to here will all tell you that that border region between niger and mala is very volatile. there have been a number of attacks against nigerien soldiers. one key question is was there any kind of intelligence failure that sent the soldiers into harm's way. another that you mentioned is the u.s. officials here have been trying to push for armed drones in this particular area. something they haven't gotten any authorization to do yet. it's worth pointing out that probably wouldn't have had a huge effect on this particular ambush because even the french fighter jets scrambling to try and assist the americans in distress weren't able to engage with the en

u.s. military is investigating exactly what happened. why do you think the president hasn't said anything about these fine service members who have been killed? >> i'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. it is a rapidly unfolding situation. perhaps he is waiting to get more information. i'm not reading anything into it at this point. i think that people should wait until we get more information about it. it is of course a tragedy and these are very fine -- these are very fine soldiers.

u.s. military were made for each other i don't think the n.f.l. entagon or natural partners but i do think the n.f.l. in the military kindred spirits i did a story in us a couple years ago about the lingo the bomb there's a sort of controlling your own ground protecting your turf the battlefield the quarterback is always the field general and there's all these sort of phrases that are militaristic that go into football and i spoke to several top generals and they all kind of spoke to the values that football kind of gives that is almost a training ground for soldiers there is a lot of potential for brands energy between the n.f.l. and the pentagon. really. this team offers a stage on which to you know performing it gives the pentagon this opportunity for real spectacle you know that of real life living a celebration of what the defense department stands for it works both as a tool for recruitment and also as a propaganda tool to solidify the american people support for the military and for american foreign policy an expansive american foreign polic

u.s. military leaders to train and assist partner governments in the fight. erging about efforts before the attack to upgrade military assets in region including the authority to use armed drones. cnn's david mckenzie. if they had armed drones any sense of what type of difference that might have made? h. >> reporter: dave, it's very hard to speculate after the fact. i think it's one thing worth mentioning is that those french fighter jets that were scrambled to the scene of this deadly ambush weren't able to engage with the enemy because they say it wasn't clear whether they would have a friendly fire incident given the proximity and chaos of that particular fire fight. we don't know. but certainly, it is true, as you say, u.s. officials saying for some time here in niger they've been trying to get authorization to arm the drones to have drones here and other assets in country to help this mission. which is a mission covering a vast area. i must say just coming into this country and looking at the terrain as i have before when coming here, you really see how r

u.s. military. that is now being investigated both by the military and by the fbi. these new reports suggest some of the specifics about where that failure might have turned fatal. there is a lot that is hard to get our heads around about this ambush and the loss of these four soldiers. i mean, regardless of the oddities and failures of this particular administration, it's strange overall that leading senators with defense responsibilities don't know about u.s. troops serving in danger in a particular country. 800 u.s. troops in niger, more than any other nation in western africa. separate and apart from anything specific in this administration. it also remains a weird thing that the pentagon's africa command, africom, is headquartered in stuttgart, which is not in africa. i mean, regardless of this administration, preceding anything specific about this presidency, there are hard things to get your head around in terms of american responsibilities and expectations here. it remains hard to get your head around the thing that this deployment technically is probably le

u.s. military was extremely upset about that they were very worried about it because they knew that the north koreans might well consider that to be a prelude to a u.s. attack on north korea that the north koreans would regard any particular particularly any move by the united states to evacuate civilians from seoul which was being contemplated in conjunction with those sanctions to be a proud to an attack on north korea so it's a very very sensitive matter it's very tricky to draw the line precisely the right place and i'm worried that this administration will go too far in this regard russia and china have been expressing concern ironic you mentioned clinton because they again the british foreign secretary this week said he loved it the old days when russia was complying with a with a clinton administration symptomatic of some ideas in washington that they like it when rusher is a kleptocracy run by the i.m.f. why. i think what they're are longing for is are the days when they had a yeltsin in power who was let's face it he was more or less a u.s. lapdog during the time that he was he was i

u.s. military strategy in afghanistan creately at the cato institute in washington, d.c. panelists discuss the current situation in afghanistan and whether a negotiated settlement or removing u.s. troops was an appropriate option moving forward. this program is 90 minutes. >> good morning. i'm christopher prebble the vice president for against and foreign policy studies at the cato institute. thank you for being here and thanks to our outstanding conference staff who do a terrific job organizing our many events. welcome to those of you watching on c-span and online at cato.org. following the september 11th terrorist attacks in october 2001 the united states initiated combat operations against al qaeda targets inside of afghanistan and against the taliban government that had harbored the terrorists there. in the ensuing 16 years u.s. goals have changed marginally but they typically include defeating al qaeda and other terrorist groups with global reach, strengthening the afghan government and security forces to prevent the taliban from retaking political power and denying t

u.s. military spokesman told reporters that 90% of raqqa has been recaptured from isis and roughly 100 militants remain in the city. that's not the biggest threat to u.s. backed fighters there. >> the fight in raqqa is more about a feig against ieds and explosives than against isis. >> highlighting the dangers of the roadside bombs, colonel dillon said a u.s. backed commander was killed while walking in raqqa yesterday. 350 isis fighters have surrendered in the past week. the pending fall of the isis de facto capitol doesn't mean the end of isis yet. the fighting will continue in eastern syria. isis only controls 3% of iraq in the border along syria. questions remain about the hundreds of u.s. troops in syria. senior u.s. and russian military officials we learned met face to face last week for the second time in a month as both countries seek to stay out of each other's way there. >> shepard: they're careful to point out there's still a threat from the islamic state. >> the president is worried where done isis go next. there's no question when a terrorist group loses its capitol however that it'

u.s. military industrial complex these countries around the world are tired of funding america's military adventurism by being a party to the empire of debt as it's known around the world the u.s. dollar and they want to split off they want their autonomy in china wants autonomy russia wants autonomy iran wants autonomy they want they don't want to be ruled over by the u.s. dollar anymore so this gives them away this this this contract futures contract based in un for oil convertible into gold means that these countries can finally in a spin in place since the end of world war two escaped the brentwood u.s. dollar had germany empire of date supremacy world reserve currency that is the u.s. dollar and we're in the new new beginning i think is there anything then that the u.s. can do about this because it's not going to be happy that it's going to lose the petro dollars would you expect it to fight back. well they're exactly right they will fight back they will start a war you know maybe they'll start a war between japan and china you know maybe they'll start a war with north korea you know

u.s. military as well set up their headquarters for that fight in chad. then in 2015, another permanent multi-national joint task force was set up to fight islamic militant activity where groups like boko haram, headquartered in chad. and there's a reason there was so many regional activity in that region of the world. bo boko haram had a lot of territory. that's why these efforts were set up. there's a reason all of these groups were headquartered in chad. because all the experts say that pound for foupound, that milita in chad and the chadian special forces are the best, most battle hardened, most effective military for fighting islam bei extremism in that part of the world. in 2015, they brought in troops from niger and chad and they kind of routed them. they claimed to be a new islamic emirates and they were the other part of the caliphate. but that regional military effort against them led out of chad broke that stuff up, took back all those towns, shut them down. and chad is not a rich country. they've got oil so they've got a little bit of money, b

u.s. military was extremely upset about that they were very worried about it because they knew that the north koreans might well consider that to be a prelude to a u.s. attack on north korea that the north koreans would regard any particular particularly any move by the united states to evacuate civilians from seoul which was being contemplated in conjunction with those sanctions to be a proud to an attack on north korea so it's a very very sensitive matter it's very tricky to draw the line precisely the right place and i'm worried that this administration will go too far in this regard russia and china are being expressing concern ironic you mentioned clinton because that again the british foreign secretary this week said he loved it the old days when russia was complying with a with a clinton administration symptomatic of some ideas in washington that they like it when roger is a kleptocracy run by the i.m.f. well i think what they're are longing for is are the days when they had a yeltsin in power who was let's face it he was more or less a u.s. lapdog. ugh during the time that he was he w

u.s. military personnel. the u.s. has the authority to prosecute campaigns against the taliban, al qaeda, and associated forces including isis and is currently not taking any new additional authorization for the use of force. the 2001 8 umf remains a cornerstone for ongoing legal operations and continues to provide authority relied upon to defeat the threat. however, should congress decide to write new legislation, i submit several recommendations the united states would consider necessary to a new eight umf. first, it must be in place prior to or simultaneous with the repeal of old ones. failure to do so could cause operational paralysis in confusion in military operations. diplomatically speaking, it could cause our allies to question our commitment to defeating isis and potential repeal of a amf without an immediate and appropriate replacement could raise questions about the domestic united states activities against the taliban, al qaeda, and associated forces including isis as well as our detention facilities at g

u.s. officials tell me this was a negotiated release, not a military rescue by either the u.s. r pakistani military. the state department has been pressuring the pakistani government to use its influence on the group for some time. >> bret: jennifer griffin, thank you. army sergeant bowe bergdahl will indeed enter a plea monday to charges he endangered comrades by walking off his post in afghanistan in 2009. we reported he is exacted to plead guilty. no word on whether there is an agreement on his punishment but the misbehavior before the enemy charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison while the desertion charge is punishable by up to five years. the new fbi director seems to be defending the bureau's refusal to give up information to congress in the russia investigation. citing a need to protect sources. this as christopher wray says the fbi is not investigating former fbi director james comey. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge reports. >> after opening the fbi office in atlanta, fox news asked christopher wray whether there is an investigation into j

u.s. military and fema can't be there forever. there will be a time to which the u.s. military and fema generally speaking can withdraw. reporter: president trump drew fire today for his plans to expand access to health care for small businesses and individuals. >> we are moving toward lower costs and more options in the health care market and taking crucial steps towards saving the american people from the nightmare of obamacare. reporter: in an executive order directing his lieutenants at treasury, labor and hhs to allow small employers to band together and buy health insurance across state lines. plan would give people access to short-term limited duration insurance and allow employers more flexibility with health arrangements to pay for employees' medical needs. short-term plans are exempt from obamacare coverage protection. in a statement, senator chuck schumer saying it couldn't be further from the great health care the president promised. it would send costs soaring for older americans than those with preexisting conditions and add further chaos to the markets. i

u.s. military. with regard to the fbi, it's fairly normal in counterterrorism cases for them to conduct investigations to get information, intelligence that may be related to threats to the united states. and i believe that's the capacity in which the fbi is conducting an investigation right now. >> a quick follow-oup whether the troops were wearing body armor. >> i don't personally know how the soldiers that day were equipped if they were wearing body armor. >> you talked about the difficult of next of kin noteification. obviously there's a big political discussion about the right way to do that. can you talk generally on just the difficulty, the challenge of conveying to american families when their loved one is lost, what they died for. >> yeah, one, i think what you just zeroed in on is one of the things we try to do when we do this. i've certainly had to do it myself is you want the family to understand the why. and it's one of the most important things we try to do. in this particular case, be

u.s. military and about our modern wars. and ultimately he ended up coming back to the u.s. to become a military journalist. for a long time he served as defense editor at "newsweek" magazine and he started to write a syndicated column for king features. in november 2004, a year and a half into the iraq war, david hackworth in one of his syndicated columns, he broke the news that the george w. bush administration's defense secretary donald rumsfeld was using an auto pen, using a machine or stamp or something, using some sort of machine to automatically sign the more than 1,000 condolence letters that the bush administration had had to send to families of soldiers who had been killed in iraq. they were machine signed, form letters. the pentagon initially denied it and then they repeatedly denied it, but david hackworth turns out had him dead to rights. he had great sources. he had interviews with a dozen family members who were next of kin to u.s. soldiers who had been killed in action in iraq. he found two pentagon-based colonels who backed up the assertion, who were said to

u.s. military.his is, you know, joint risk for both countries, if they did get hacked into, and it is something that would be so sensitive that it would be very closely held. so not a surprise. they are saying that they are aware of it. they're sure of the security of u.s. war plans, but not saying more than that, kate. >> and there's a lot going on the north korean front right now. in addition to that, we have the president, who we have learned is being updated on the military options, to be put beforehand, with regard to north korea. but also this show of force on the korean peninsula. what's behind it? >> well, we saw, again, yesterday, u.s. b-1 bombers fly off korea in the vicinity of the sea of japan, the east sea. this is something that they've done before. working with both japanese military and south korean military, according to the south koreans, staging some mock missile firing drills. when we say "show of force," that's exactly what you're really talking about. putting the airplanes out

u.s. military is doing overseas. three suicide bombers have killed more than a dozen people in the know the nigerian city of my degree it's attacks come after weeks of relative calm. in the nigerian capital abuja. rescue workers picking up bodies and parts of bodies after one of the blast most of the victims are closing their businesses for the day they're tired targeting a crowded area for maximum damage. emergency workers arrived at the scene almost immediately and there was a threat of more bombings as of yesterday read that night up to the top of the studio. devised one of the most hard to decide players because there are more suicide bombers. no one has claimed responsibility for the attack but book or army suspected sources say the attackers sneaked into my degree hours before the blast but there are fears the group may have sleeper cells in the city the money area with its market and bus stations was hit several times they say well . it's been seven weeks since the last suicide bombing in my degree the latest

u.s. military has there in africa? because i've read that a lot of citizens there, they don't really know what the u.s. is doing there, so there's a very sort of tentative relationship. >> that's right. so there's about 800 u.s. soldiers in niger. some of them are doing u.s. embassy security duty, some of them working at the bases that we have there and there's a percentage of them that are doing the train, advise and assist mission. they work with the nigerian military. they're training them on various things. everything from interdiction of militants moving through the country up into mali across the borders, interdiction of smuggling. isis and other militant groups move gold and things across the borders and are able to use the money from the sale of those goods to fund their terror. they also work with them on things like human rights. teaching them about basic human rights. one of the key things that special forces have historically done is again what i said this key leader engagement. they like to get in with the

u.s. military officer general joseph dunford has accused pakistan's intelligence agency of having ties to groups an accusation that pakistan denies the sullivan job and reports. these are some of the taliban fighters the thirty nine member alliance has been trying to defeat since two thousand and one donald trump is the third president who's come up with another new strategy to win the war and of learning stand his defense secretary and joint chiefs chairman have bearden public hearings before the senate and house armed services committees to explain this strategy shift and once again u.s. officials say pakistan is among the reasons the a failed it's clear to me that the i.s.i. has connections with with terrorist groups and if i could just follow up on something secretary mabus i think over the last several years we've had a bilateral approach to trying to effect the change in pakistan's behavior. it's not about says the latest round of accusations are absurd the cia paid back son millions of dollars to set up the fight to the end of the understand in the one nine hundred seventy s. by his

u.s. military and fema can't be there forever. the minute you go anywhere as a first responder, you are trying very hard, working very hard to work yourself out of a job. there will be a period in which the u.s. military and fema generally speaking, with the government and people of puerto rico are recovering sufficiently and starting the process of rebuilding. i've talked many times to the governor of puerto rico, great relationship. we saw him when we were down there last week. our country, we will stand with puerto rico until we get the job done. at the about fa waexactly accurate, they are not going to be there forever. the whole point is to start the work yourself out of a job and transition to the rebuilding process. >> in light of the president support falling out, what is the president's response to the u.n. agency that has been in the schools and our tax dollars going into that? in light of pulling out -- >> the responsible way to look at any program, certainly when i did this in iraq and other places i have been, when we

u.s. military do not leave its troops behind. the war is morphing, you will see more action in africa and not less. >> if you want to get into a debate with a four star marine general, i think that's something highly inappropriate. and even for someone that's empty about who were stunned. if you don't understand that reference, i will put it in the south, all hat and no cattle. >> there is a credible issue with the president and now there is a credible issue with the chief of staff. isis no longer rules here. they left behind the city scarred by their occupation. ♪ >>> i want to wish you a good morning, i am diane gallagher. >> i am martin savidge. a soldier died fighting on the war on isis. we take you to his final resting place. sergeant la david johnson be laid to rest. flags are flaying half staff in his honor. >> it is porimportant to know t this is based on early report, there is no word on how he was separated or why his body was recovered two days after those of the other three soldiers who were also killed in that attack

u.s. military officer general joseph dunford accused pakistan's intelligence agency of having ties to. fifteen cuban diplomatic staff has been expelled from the u.s. the united states says it took the decision after have failed to protect its staff from alleged sonic attacks cuba's government denies accusations that it was involved and is calling the response from the u.s. reckless and unfounded latin america editor lucy and human reports. cuba is fuming over washington's decision to expel fifteen more cuban diplomats but would it cause unfounded charges of mysterious acoustic attacks against u.s. diplomats in atlanta and many. the foreign ministry energetically protests and denounces this unfounded and acceptable decision along with the pretext used to justify it that the cuban government has not taken the appropriate measures to prevent these alleged incidents from occurring. after months of inconclusive investigations more than sixty percent of u.s. embassy staff here is packing up to go home ordered to leave cuba to protect their health from possible news sonic attacks that have rep

u.s. military mission in niger left four americans dead. sources say the soldiers were looking for isis leaders after learning the terrorist group was recruiting and looking to expand. the ambush death of the four americans has many questions whether it was a failure of intelligence, preparation or both. numerous investigations are expected from the u.s. military and lawmakers. >>> new at noon, some world war ii veterans are receiving a national honor nearly 75 years after their service. kpix 5's jackie ward on how their sacrifices are finally being recognized. >> reporter: bipartisan leaders of the u.s. house and senate were able to put politics aside for at least a moment to present a congressional gold medal in honor of filipino world war ii veterans today. the 73rd anniversary of the battle of a gulf. inside the u.s. capitol, filipino world war ii veterans were awarded the highest civilian honor the united states government can bestow. >> i don't have to tell you that this is a day that's long overdue. >> reporter: in july 1941, more th

u.s. military. with regard to the fbi, it's fairly normal in counter terrorism cases for them to conduct investigations to get intelligence that may be related to threats to the united states. i believe that's the capacity in which the fbi is conducted an investigation right now. >> quick follow up on whether or not the troops that were wearing body armor. >> i don't know how the soldiers that day were equipped, if they were wearing body armor. >> and you talked about the difficulty of next of kin notification. there's a big political discussion about the right way to do that. can you talk generally the challenge of conveying to american families when their loved one is lost what they died for? >> yeah, one, i think what you just zeroed in on is one of the things we try to do when we do this. i had to do it myself. you want the family to understand the why. one of the most important things we try to do in this case is explain what their loved ones were doing was related to the protection of the home

u.s. military presence there and specifically on what went wrong during this mission which left four u.s. soldiers dead. kate? >> yeah. all right. let's see what the next hours and days bring. ryan, thank you so much. bring in two members of congress, both members of key house committees on this issue and both iraq war veterans, republican congressman lee zellen sits on the foreaffairs democratic congressman ruben guyygo. thank you so much for being here. i appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. >> lot to discuss. congressman, first to you, miss johnson, the sergeant's widow, she said she still doesn't know anything about how her husband died. are you satisfied with what you have heard from the pentagon so far in terms of actually what happened? >> absolutely not. we don't know exactly what happened, both to sergeant johnson. we have no clue what the conditions were. i would also like to know the usual things that usually go into these types of missions, where was the close air combat support, who were the allied forces, what was the mission, were they truly on an assist and train mis