we were not in afghanistan. where we were providing assistance to the aden. >> i garble that because i got confused with connectivity there i was talking what about it was done and that's, you know, that's the war. that was the great lament o that. gosh we pulled out and evything went to hell. you know i only we had ge in it would have beenixed and that's what i don't believe to be honest. >> well i would take the one lesson that we did not do that we could have done is kept a close intelligence and probably a special operations presence embedded with northern alliance forces which we're still surviving at the end of the 1990s, and we could have i think the 9/11 commission report highlights this we could have conducted a tax against glad at that point we did not we did not pull trigger clinton administration had bin laden within its sights so having a presence there, would have allowed us to conduct some action. >> based on that one quick point, though -- there are risks in doing what you just described. okay? b

of afghanistan in afghanistan. the problem is, of course, if you send the money to the government such as that there's a problem of corruption. the government also has a very poor record of what is known as budget execution. that isn't being able to use the money to implement programs. so a lot of it sits there and years rather than being stolen or used. and that's why aid providers go outside the system. but there's just as much corruption in the aid that goes outside the system as there is in the aid that goes inside the system. while aid organizations and the afghan government will refute what you just said, that in this book you say that u.s. policy and cash effectively enabled the how conny network, which you might have to explain what that is. how did, how did the aid money end up helping the militant movement that obviously threatens the lives of men, women and children in afghanistan and beyond? well, i am not sure what you are referring to in the book. the economy network is a part of the taleban, as i sai

india ande of pakistan and afghanistan, pakistan's decisions forever in afghanistan had been affected by the threat pakistan had felt from india. so indiana has been the sector that has loomed over pakistan's behavior. so for threat on india on its wanted border, pakistan the serious strategic debt on the western border and that defined the decisions of afghanistan. pakistan now argues it has moved that is the official line. but what we could see is that because india has not been involved in the afghan process, it has really made pakistan's fear when it comes to involvement in afghanistan over the last couple of years. playing a big role in the peace process. it really has not cultivated a relationship with the taliban to be able to have any leverage over it. so it has actually made pakistan feel more confident and secure and has allowed it to become a key partner of the trump administration in helping along the discussion. benefitthat has been a on the unmet assessment. so my argument would be, right -- two other quick things, india and pakistan are not in a great place. his has to

leaves afghanistan? seeming on-site will saudi thirst to blast away yemen unslaked saudi thirst to blast away yemen is sated. these seem set up to go on forever. heard about in discussion afghanistan, is whether we need to negotiate a new deal? whether the taliban noncompliance causes a recapitulation of what we are trying to do? we have many of these discussions about progress, decline in the absence of a and endstate.of a >> thank you, i want to come back to the southeast -- south asia theater with the same question for medea and fonda -- vonda. i'll be leaving in questions from the audience. their questions about the kind of in afghanistan peace deal we might expect. and how you would link the prospects. medea preferring to stay months or years and i'm curious about the timeframe. da with the u.s. and nato forces having already left by smart late spring 20 21, what prospects you would see on issues like afghanistan's woman's rights, prospects for power-sharing. between the taliban and elective governm

the sun could be setting on the us presence in afghanistan. american soldiers have been fighting here since 2001, helping stabilize the country after overthrowing taliban rule, but suffering over 2000 deaths over time. troop numbers have winked. now, outgoing president, donald trump will further reduce the number of soldiers here and in iraq. in light of these tremendous sacrifices and with great humility and gratitude to those who came before us, i am formally announcing that we will implement president trumps orders to continue our repositioning of forces from those 2 countries by january 15th, 2021. our forces, their size in afghanistan will be 2500 troops,, or 4 sides in iraq will also be 2500. as u.s., troop numbers dwindled extremist gained in strength. this attack on a kabul university last week killed 22 people. it was claimed by the so-called islamic state, which has emerged as a rival to the taliban. the taliban themselves have stepped up their attacks on security forces and civilians violating an agreement that foresaw the withdrawa

troops in afghanistan to less thananuary 3000 service members in each country. the announcement came nearly a week after miller replaced mark esper as head of the defense department under the direction of president trump. >> i'm chris miller, acting secretary of defense and i'm here t mr. miller: i am here to update you on president trump's plan to bring the wars in afghanistan responsiblea conclusion and to bring our brave service members home. to canada har and fallujah. hundreds of thousands of america's sons and daughters who answered the call to serve in our armed services have brought us to this point. their efforts and sacrifice will go down in history as showing the strength, commitment of a force that is unlike any the world has ever seen. just last night, i joined vice president pence and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff to have the soldiers who perished in the middle east. this was a somber and hum bling moment that reminded us of the tremendous sacrifices of the men and women of the united states military of our armed services take an oath to de

we remind committed to assisting afghanistan in resisting it. terrorism. resisting the taliban forces providing in cooperation with other countries. i label of stability and to live the lives curity . as it you'll, country can build for itself of a strong and prosperous and secure future. it took the australian prime minister a bit more than 13 hours to fly over to kabul, to say all that a bit more than 13 years ago. by then. australian troops had already been engaged in the war torn country for several years, almost 20 years ago since the aussies got involved. their number one military man has no other choice, but to say, sorry, i sincerely and unreservedly apologize for any wrongdoing. by a stray in soldiers. i say no choice because allegations of 39 civilian deaths at the hands of his defense force as a result of blood lust and competition. killing deserve an apology or actually much more than that large parts of the military report. we can't even read their blacked out, but even what's available, sounds horrendous and disgusting. this shameful record i

by january 15, 2021, our forces, their size in afghanistan will be 2,500 troops. our force size in iraq will also be 2,500 by that same date. this is consistent with our established plans and strategic objectives, supported by the american people and does not equate to a change in u.s. policy or objectives. moreover, this decision by the president is based on continuous engagement with his national security cabinet over the past several months including discussions with me and my colleagues across the united states' government. i have spoken with our military commanders and will re-execute this repositioning that protects r fighting men and women and diplomatic corps and our allies that are critical to rebuilding iraq and afghanistan for lasting peace in troubled lands. just this morning, i spoke with key leaders in congress as well as our allies and partners abroad to update them on our plans. we went in together, we adjust together and when the time is right we will lead together. i met with the attorney general and president general of afghanistan who expressed

troops in iraq and afghanistan to 2,500 in iraq, 2,500 in afghanistan all of this to take place by january 15th. so just a few days before joe biden the president-elect becomes president joe biden. i want to bring in now our military and diplomatic analyst john keshi and cnn security analyst vivian solana to talk about this. your reaction to this? knew it coming. i want you to address the part where he call it is a prudent well-planned and coordinated transition. >> exactly my first point as i linked to him. to details, no indication where these troop, coming from, what skill sets are left behind, wa parts of the advise and assist in counterterrorism missions we conducts and what we won't contact. an awful lot we need to know about this withdrawal or it's a math problem, trump drew a line in the sand and said 2,200. that's it. no justification why they're doing it. conditions on the ground, talking everything being conditioned based. gave no indication conditions on the ground actually warrant this kind of withdrawal. as a matter of fact, as recently as a week or so ago the special investi

army since 9/11 to afghanistan. currently the division headquarters and members of the first brigade combat team are operating in afghanistan with the second brigade combat team at scheduled to deploy to the region throughout this fall. i want to wish our tenth mountain soldiers are very happy thanksgiving. i know this is not the first thanksgiving for many of them or away from the friends and family at home. given your experience advising military commanders, how can we balance the production of forces in afghanistan with the necessary force protection measures to ensure that our remaining troops that are in country are protected and able to safely conduct their daily operations and mission? i want to ensure we are keeping force to the absolute highest level. >> force protection is obviously essential. as our logistics and other components of that. i think the question we talked about numbers is, as you are implying think, it's not just a number of characters and forces that are striking targets or arresting or eve

you have to get on to saudi arabia and afghanistan. you have pakistan, lot of iran have a shot and already china and india. so everybody is really concerned. they were allies in europe, the us allies, on the ground in afghanistan and iraq. they all consent by what the president might be doing from now and january 20th when he is when he, when he leaves, when he leaves office. so all the that but that the main idea is to actually this is this policy is completed that event by domestic competitions, by the president must not be one. he wants to 10 his supporters that i almost fell for all the promises that i made during my election campaign. so this is my biggest, he probably if he is going to run for that 2024 elections, he will bring the war these issues back and build on guys. when i was the president . i did this, i can drive up at moments a different take. i want to come back to you shortly when i want to talk about some other issues of iraq and iran in the hope these johnny, i'll just come back to you in the mean time, the peace ta

i don't think we want to let afghanistan fail. and again, part of "the issue " not just the military rent. part of it is also the aid that we need to provide in one of the things that i i recommended in y testimony, my written testimony reese and it was also to make it very cle to the afghan government that we areoing to provide sustained assistance to the government like we do in other countries. and that we would be of supporting partner in the next several years. so think the issue is not to just focus on the military forces but what are we doing in terms of state department and u.s. agency for international development assistance. when we doing on the intelligence aid. the stuffr has not been cleared. so actually would like to hear more clarity and what nonmilitary types of assistance are happening. kim: as would i. and i work in afghanistan about ten years ago. and then also it i visited afghanistawith the number of my colleagues in a bipartisan group a year ago. these are the exact same questions that were heard which is wha

troops to come home from afghanistan. the move is drawing fire from america's nato allies including germany. plus, two fatal crashes kept it grounded for two years. after months of scrutiny, the boeing 737 max has been cleared to fly again. ♪ i'm brent goff. to our viewers in pbs in the united states and around the world, welcome shade we begin with politics and the pandemic. lawmakers in berlin have voted to give the german government new powers allowing it to introduce restrictions to tackle the coronavirus. the german president signed the bill into law this evening. it takes effect tomorrow. thousands of demonstrators took to the streets today to protest as politicians debated the legislation. >> water cannon and pepper spray deployed by paris -- by police to disperse demonstrators. thousands gather near the german parliament building. many in the crowd not wearing masks or maintaining social distancing. they were protesting against coronavirus restrictions, which they see as a violation of their civil rights. >> in

we've been in afghanistan for almost 20 years and no need to. i want to stay any longer than necessary. but at the same time, the price for leaving too soon, or in including 1000 when he could be very high in afghanistan, risk becoming once again a platform for international terrorists to plan and organize attacks on a young man's. so i guess it means more apologies could only be on the way. cher horst, a former governor of afghanistan's gosney province notes, australia is not the only member of the u.s. led coalition to have carried out such appalling actions. these are something that is very serious and we feel that that is beyond our comprehension. and i'm really appalled that that how could anybody in the name of humanity will even do that, especially with this poor afghan people. and we hope that that will manifest to something real and not only for the australian, but also other nato countries. and also, united states who have committed similar acts in afghanistan also needs to pay heed to this issue and reconcile their own differences tha

>> from the eastern med to afghanistan, including afghanistan but not including turkey. >> i have to go back andlook at turkey . one way or another 10th of a percentage point. >> thank you for those "and now honda over to you and your intriguing on this issue likeeveryone because again , you've been such a soul work of the afghanistan conflict that i believe it's fair to say you explain in this market that you have decided these process requires a look at the us military posture and a different approach and of course i very much eagerly anticipate your thoughts on somalia as well so my friend over to you. >> you might. leslie, a bit on the comments and it's something that justin phsaid. that's when these things we think about us military engagement, in situations such as afghanistan, somalia or iraq, is to think not solely in terms of the developments and in the us interest and dividends on the ground but also be politicals. this is rarely done in us strategy where once engagement is launched, the predominant way looks at how to make the missions succeed. rwhether it's a military mis

australian troops are accused of murdering 39 civilians in afghanistan. an official war crimes report describes the practice as bloody also this hour as the u.s. death toll from the pandemic passes a quarter of a 1000000 health care workers complain. they're devastated by it all and not least the risks they're having to take. we have noticed that it's ok for us to be exposed . you can even follow the week, you make an automatic plus countries discuss mandatory vaccination as the solution to rising numbers of cocaine victims. we debate the issue with our guests. what should we do that vaccination should be obliged people to have the vaccination. we should totally useless larry sheets. we're going to start really, people back to the liberating convention. one of the things compounding the humanitarian disaster. here is the sheer goodness of the mobs in this country and refugees return home to nagorno-karabakh. as russian peacekeepers secure the only route linking the region to armenia, party takes the trip and tests its safety. this is our to international

we were not in afghanistan. where we were providing assistance to the aden. >> i garble that because i got confused with connectivity there i was talking what about it was done and that's, you know, that's the war. that was the great lament of that. gosh we pulled out and everything went to hell. you know if only we had gone in it would have been fixed and that's what i don't believe to be honest. >> well i would take the one lesson that we did not do that we could have done is kept a close intelligence and probably a special operations presence embedded with northern alliance forces which we're still surviving at the end of the 1990s, and we could have i think the 9/11 commission report highlights this we could have conducted a tax against glad at that point we did not we did not pull trigger clinton administraon had bin laden within its sights so having a presce there,ould have lowed us to conduct some action. >> basedn that one quick point, though -- there are risks in doing what you just described. okay? bec

especially when you look at afghanistan, afghanistan is a mess. afghanistan is a complex case that is not -- it's not easy to solve with a build up of troops or a draw down of troops. it's not easy but is president trump doing the right thing here? >> i don't think there's any strategic rationale for what president trump is doing. it's not going to facilitate negotiations, it doesn't increase the security of the afghan government or our own forces. we have a lot of civilian contractors in there, many former military, so the 2,500 number is misleading. may have 10,000 americans there. but in order to be safe you have to have intelligence, you have to have the logistics, you have to have security, you have to have some offensive capability from armed helicopters, you can call in aircraft but they're based in the area so somebody is maintaining and flying those aircraft. so there's probably a minimum force size package i'm sure that general milly and secretary esper are aware of that and that's why they didn't want to call it down. here's the other t

will withdraw from afghanistan and 500 from iraq leaving 2 in.

forces from afghanistan. he thought such a hasty withdrawal would have very bad consequences for the national interests of the united states and his allies. it would give the impression the united states does not care about their allies. it is abandoning them because most probably if they were to withdraw today, the taliban would take over. we know that. in iraq, we know the hasty withdrawal by troops would also lead to expanding the influence of iran. the u.s. withdraw from any region of the world actually is leading toward increasing competition between rivalries. in iraq, you have iran, turkey, saudi arabia, europe pakistan, you have russia. china and india. everybody is concerned. the u.s. allies in europe, underground, in afghanistan, in iraq, they are concerned about what the president might be doing from now until january 20 when he leaves office. the main idea, this policy is completely driven by domestic calculations by the president. most probably he wants to tell his supporters, i almost fulfilled

presence in afghanistan. american soldiers have been fighting here since 2001 to help stabilize the country after overthrowing the taliban. a mission that's cost more than 2000. u.s. lives over time u.s. troop numbers have waned now outgoing president. donald trump wants them reduced to a skeleton 4th by january 15th, 2021. our forces, their size in afghanistan will be $2500.00 troops. this is consistent with our established plans and strategic objectives. supported by the american people and does not equate to a change in u.s. policy or objectives. as american forces disengage extremists a growing bolder, this attack on kabul university last week killed 22 people. it was claimed by the so-called islamic state, which is emerged as a rival to the taliban. the taliban themselves have stepped up attacks on security forces and civilians violating an agreement that foresaw the withdrawal of all u.s. soldiers by may next year. criticism of the latest drawdown even came from within president trump's own party. reall

ice is good rebuild in afghanistan. -- isis could rebuild in afghanistan. we went into afghanistan together, and when the time is right, we should leave together and coordinate it in an orderly way. nato allies to uphold this commitment. patricia, good morning. caller: good morning. host: what do you think about this, patricia? do you support it? caller: i support bringing troops home, yes. the caller before me made every point i was going to make. the only thing i believe is that if it was vice president biden making the decision, it would be graded with all kinds of praise -- making the decision, it would be greeted with all kinds of praise. i think because donald trump is making the decision, so many callers have just called in and say they disapprove. i believe it is a matter of politics. the point about the poppy fields was excellent, just excellent. host: patricia, what do you think about republicans on capitol hill, who, some of them, disagree with the president? caller: there will always be disagreers in any political organization. that is why it is

a double blow for afghanistan. a deadly bombing coincides with international donors cutting aid. pandemic pain for london's iconic black cabs. more than a fifth of them off the road. ♪ a new team with a very different vision and a renewed commitment to lead the world again. that is the message from u.s. president-elect joe biden as he unveils top members of his administration. the president-elect spoke surrounded by the men and women he has picked to be his foreign policy and national security chiefs. it comes as biden's margin of victory continues to grow. pennsylvania and nevada have become the latest states certify the president-elect as the beginning -- as the leader. the latest from wilmington. >> president-elect biden was unequivocal as he presented his national security appointments and nominees. >> it is a team that reflects the fact america is back, ready to leave the world, not retreat from it. once again, sit at the head of the table. ready to confront our adversaries and not reject our allies. ready to stand up for our values. >> much was made of the backgrounds of

troops have been stationed in afghanistan since 2001 and in iraq since 2003. to get more on this, i am joined by our washington correspondent, oliver. how is trump's orders for true productions, how is that going over with the defense community in washington? oliver: he is receiving a lot of criticism. even from within his own party. a look at bringing american soldiers home has been one of the core promises donald trump made, even back in 2016 when she rant -- when he ran for election. he delivered on this promise in 2019, last year. basically strengthening russia and the turks there and of course, weakening his allies in the fight against isis. it is happening again in afghanistan and in iraq. analysts call this a huge gift for the taliban. we also heard the nato secretary saying that afghanistan could become a platform for international terrorist. essentially throwing the country back for years. we have to be careful because as you know, it takes a long time to prepare such a troop withdrawal. we will have to see if it is possible to withdraw all those troo

nato-led coalition in afghanistan were not ready and did not recommend that drawdown in afghanistan. that is the one that is of such critical concern right now, because the taliban have not lived up to their promise of reducing violence and renouncing al qaeda. that raises some serious questions about can the afghan government, over the long haul, really survive at this point? and what the taliban may do next. there is no leverage with so many u.s. troops gone that there reasonably going to stop the taliban at this point many observers believe believe. this is really a critical issue. today, what we had here at the pentagon, chris miller, who has been acting secretary for barely a leak and leave when biden is inaugurated nou inaugurated announced it and twarned turned around and left. >> senate confirmed, esper wrote this memo saying now is not the right time to draw down troops. he wants to get troops out of afghanistan. just a question of whether or not this is a responsible exit. how did we get here? >> reporter: well, because president trump basically made the decision to move ah

they came to afghanistan after the 911 attack happened to me york. so they actually came to afghanistan, partly to save their own, a source from terroristic attacks. now because the americans want to leave, we just ignore the woman it's a question, u.s. government cannot answer and they did not agree to speak to us. what is clear is that after the death of tens of thousands of people, many view a peace deal with the taliban as a stunning betrayal. baggage that was ironically all within the bounds of all those american and nato soldiers who have been killed. they weren't fighting me. i didn't kill them. they were fighting the taliban. the same taliban that you're now going to bring back into power. is the face of who country and its women has never been more. she also has a warning for the west. and i guess just add another day on the call if american politicians can play with the future of afghan women like this, then they can make the same deal for their own women. it's possible. so american women need to stay vigilant because their politicians can

the sun could be setting on the us presence in afghanistan. american soldiers have been fighting here since 2001, helping stabilize the country after overthrowing taliban rule, but suffering over 2000 deaths over time. troop numbers have winked. now outgoing president, donald trump will further reduce the number of soldiers here and in iraq. in light of these tremendous sacrifices and with great humility and gratitude to those who came before us, i am formally announcing that we will implement president trumps orders to continue our repositioning of forces from those 2 countries by january 15th, 2021. our forces, their size in afghanistan will be 2500 troops,, or 4 sides in iraq will also be 2500. as u.s., troop numbers dwindled extremist gained in strength. this attack on a kabul university last week killed 22 people. it was claimed by the so-called islamic state, which has emerged as a rival to the taliban. the taliban themselves have stepped up their attacks on security forces and civilians violating an agreement that foresaw the withdrawal

for the taliban in afghanistan. also, nato secretary general stoltenberg said that afghanistan could become again a platform for international terrorists. so essentially throwing the country back for years. but we do have to keep in mind clear though, that it takes time to withdraw. troops from an assignment like this in time is exactly what the outgoing u.s. administration doesn't have. it's just a little bit under 2 months left until president elect joe biden takes office. and that's right, and you mentioned some republicans are unhappy about this decision. we know that even trump's close ally mitch mcconnell, the republican senate majority leader, opposes the idea. let's take a listen to what he had to say. erupted with the role of u.s. forces from afghanistan, now, would hurt our laws and the light. you're like, the people who wish us harm violence of fucking afghans is still rampant. the taliban is not about and by the conditions of the so-called peace, the consequences of a premature american exit would likely

forces in iraq and afghanistan with respect to afghanistan. and u.s. forces will be reduced from 4 and a half 100228 half 1000, and this is set to take effect before he leaves office. well video, contra furry is live for us in the afghan capital kabul, as i've been much of a reaction that there are 2. there isn't because it's almost midnight here in kabul in the afghan capital. so afghans will be waking up to the news tomorrow morning and it's something that it has been largely input has made it here because all the signs and the indicators were there for days. now, a lot of people here that he knew it was a decision that was coming, but there were still so many who are trying to also warn the trumpet, ministration against the citizens here. and it could come of that shock that it happened so abruptly and specially after were hard on nato comments earlier today. also warning against hasty withdraw otoh. there should be a lot of reaction here tomorrow, both from a government also probably thought from ah, but hard done. and i can tell you that this day,

he is an afghanistan specialist. good to talk to you, thank you for your time. it is a cut of 2000 troops actually that significant? it is significant in the sense that the us is only going to be able to focus only going to be able to focus on counterterrorism operations, it's really going to have to cut back its train, advise and assist mission which means the afg ha n assist mission which means the afghan government is the one going to feel the brunt of this, its national security forces, its army and police which are going to see much of your training assistance and advice. i think that's where we will see it in the state of the war. the afghan government as a whole is hardly stable at the moment, how damaging could it be? i think what we will see is a major taliban offensive in early 2021. i mean, this time of the year, violence levels easily declined somewhat because afghanistan goes into winter, especially in the mountainous areas. i would expect the taliban to come out with a vengeance in 2021 and start to attempt to retake cities with a much lower intern

i want to pick up on afghanistan for a moment. there is talk of a purge at the pentagon right now, president trump installing loyalists who have 2 things in common. their opposition to u.s. troops remaining in afghanistan and their desire to bring those troops home. what is the likelihood in your opinion that trump will order a total withdrawal by year's end? you know, they're also really inexperienced. and the news that i'm getting indeed is that disagreement on afghanistan was a top reason why president trump decided to sort of call the top of the d. o. d. look that this is the longest standing or in american history. and president trump campaigned on many things, but one of them was bringing the troops home. so even though frankly, this decision is not going to have any impact on the elections, and nor is he going to have any real impact on trump's move. all i do think that he individually would like to be able to say that i personally end this war and i think that's a big piece of it. he was slow, rolled by general mattis back