week, michigan senator carl levin traveled to and met with president karzai. today, the senate armed services committee chairman about improvements in the country as the u.s. and prepare to remove troops from afghanistan in 2014. from the council on foreign relations. is an hour. >> welcome to the foreign relations. i'm johnathan karl. a high honor to be here with levin. introduction.s no interduck carl levin is the chairman of the senate armed services from the great state of michigan and of special interest to me, just back from a trip to afghanistan where he commanders over there and also had a one on one president karzai. i'm eager to hear about that and senator levin has some tomarks about the trip afghanistan and then we will have a conversation. levin?r >> well, thank you, jon. we appreciate the invitation to join you this morning and look forward to that conversation as well. just here to share my ideas but hopefully to receive ideas that we all need in this kind of a world that we live in. mentioned, i recently returned from afghanistan where couple d

afghanistan's leader hamid karzai is putting the brakes on a treaty which would allow american troops to stay in their country twenty fourteen washington wants a quick deal with karzai says any agreement should only be ratified after next year's afghan presidential elections are now meantime elders from all across the country are currently debating whether to back the accord and he will activist brian baca he says president karzai is in a very delicate position. karzai is worried of course that he owes his existence to the presence of the american forces that have kept him in power and yet at the same time he knows that millions of afghans resent our angry indignation about the fact of the united states government has run roughshod over their country for the last twelve years what the united states is proposing is that the united states will maintain military bases and soldiers in afghanistan for a quarter of a century twenty twenty four is almost a quarter of a century after the two thousand and one invasion this is a clear instance of a colonial relationship where the united states

karzai rebuffed 2500 tribal elders who debated for four days. the group agreed the afghan leader should sign a deal. karzai indicated he would not sign the agreement before he steps down as president in april, but he will try to squeeze more concessions from the americans. >> translator: we will fix the agreement and continue our negotiations on it with america. >> reporter: he demanded a release from afghan prisoners from guantanamo bay. some experts say karzai is trying to separate himself from past afghan leaders. >> that has influenced him to make it seem like he's intransigent, that he's willing to stand up to the foreigners. >> reporter: failure to sign the security agreement could mean that afghanistan loses $8 billion in aid. and in pakistan, the government ignored pleas from u.s. officials to facilitate the release of the doctor who assisted the u.s. government prior to the bin laden raid. pakistan has now leveled murder charges against him. >> it's unacceptable, and these trumped up charges that relate to a case a long time ago where i

karzai lashing out again at the u.s. the same week karzai told susan rice he will not sign a bilateral security deal until certain of his conditions are met. now, if that agreement is not signed, that means u.s. troops might leave afghanistan for good. going to bring in michael o'hanlon of the brookings institution to recently wrote an op-ed for the "new york times" what the u.s. should do and not do when he complains to us. can you explain why karzai is pushing back so strongly against this agreement? >> there are two main reasons. one is he's a frustrated and somewhat exhausted guy emotionally by this 12 years of liedership on the war. he blames a lot of it on us. he wonders why we can't be more careful about these strikes that kill civilians. he fails to appreciate what care we have taken and the number of civilian casualties is the lowest ever in history for this kind of war. then there's the machiavellian cunning side. i think he wants leverage over us and he sees this bilateral security agreement as something he th

hamid karzai is pushing them to help talk to the taliban. it was a backer of the taliban when it ruled the country during the late 1990s. the visit comes at a time when hamid karzai is locked in a dispute with the u.s. over a security pact. it covers the role of u.s. soldiers that will remain in afghanistan after the pull-out. let's speak to jane ferguson who is in kabul. the first time the pakistani prime minister has been in kabul since he took his third term. what is he doing there today? >> we are likely today to see high-heavily talks between prime minister nawaz sharif and hamid karzai. nawaz sharif is likely to meet with the high-peace counsel, the body of elders gathered together since 2010 to try to push forward peace talks. they have been fraught with difficulty and stopped and started over the years. it will be crucial to his visit, speaking with the high suppose counsel. and we have spoken with a senior member this morning, who pushed the fact this they want the pakistani authorities to facilitate direct talks between the governm

afghanistan's elder just met with president karzai four days. the elders are endorsing a deal on the table and urging karzai to sign it but he is refusing and wants to wait until after presidential elections in april even though the u.s. has set a firm year-end deadline for him to sign. >>> al qaeda northern border of turkey a town falling over the weekend to al qaeda fighters and that could make it a real challenge for rebel forces to bring in supplies from turkey. a chilling report from a london think tank says more than 11,000 children under the age of 17 have been killed in syria's civil war. more than two-thirds of that by execution. >>> protests becoming more difficult in egypt. the interim president has signed a new law requiring protesters to notify the police three days before any demonstration takes place and they have to turn over their names and addresses and their demands before they can get permission to march. human rights groups say this will make it much harder for egyptians to challenge their government. >>> president obama is

troops staying in afghanistan, but president karzai introduced a possible snag. a father says their elderly father is being held by north korea. >> a historic day on capitol hill, as the senate makes it's biggest the controversial move will end the grid lock over the president's executive and judicial picks. libby casey joins us now from capitol hill with more on is significance of this move. great to see you, the president certainly didn't waste much time reacting to the vote, did he? >> that's right. he was supportive of it. now pack in 2005, when mr. obama was senator obama ma, he was actually opposed to changing the rules regarding the filibuster. using the so call nuclear option, but the white house says times have changed because the republicans in their words have become more obstructionist. >> it's harming our economy, and our democracy, and it has brought us to the point where a similar majority vote no longer seems to be sufficient for anything. even routine business. >> a lot of pub back from republicans including senator john mccain who of course ran

that was in relation to president hamid karzai's announcement that he would not sign until april. sunday he stuck to his position that he needed more time to get a better deal from washington. that didn't satisfy the head of the jirga, the drama playing out on tv. >> translation: i want to repeat again - americans cannot go into our houses after the bilateral document. they cannot kill anyone in their house. the afghan people will be safe, peace will come. it will not be a case of americans sitting in their place and we'll have a war. i don't accept that. this decision is historical. >> translation: whatever the president is saying is right. americans do not have any right to enter afghan houses. they have given us that in writing and promised. a superpower cannot break their promise. if they do we are ready to protest. >> translation: sir, no protests. termina terminating the bilateral, they have to promise they are not killing afghans in their houses. they have to do that. . >> translation: okay, all right. sign this first. if they break the promise we know what to do. >> transl

afghanistan's leader hamid karzai is putting the brakes on a treaty which would allow american troops to stay in the country after twenty fourteen washington wants a quick deal karzai says any agreement should only be ratified after next year's afghan presidential elections now elders from all across the country are currently debating whether or not to support the accord and he wore activist brian baca says president karzai is in a very delicate position. karzai is worried of course that he owes his existence to the presence of the american forces that have kept him in power and yet at the same time he knows that millions of afghans resent our angry indignation about the fact of the united states government has run roughshod over their country for the last twelve years what the united states is proposing is that the united states will maintain military bases and soldiers in afghanistan for a quarter of a century twenty twenty four is almost a quarter of a century after the two thousand and one invasion this is a clear instance of a colonial relationship where the united states invades

in the united states government in place to karzai as president about twelve years ago so he is our man there's a great deal of trust and i think the only thing karzai is afraid of is the withdrawal of his protection at the point that american troops leave afghanistan karzai must go with them if you want to remain a viable part. do you think the tribal leaders will approve the deal i think that they won't approve it as written number one and i also don't think the parliament which also must approve the deal will approve it as written and of course you've reported this is what we remember from iraq that was the sticking point in iraq was jurisdiction over abuses in criminal acts conducted by american soldiers in the country itself so that's a huge problem it's a it's a sovereignty it's a clear sovereignty issue and it does galvanize people so i don't believe that the loya jirga or the parliament later will approve that aspect. without an accord the u.s. says it will pull out all its troops do afghan security forces have the capability to maintain stability in the country. well not no

it's not clear, scott, how much time karzai has to cooperate. the u.s. has said this agreement must be signed by december 31, but white house officials tell us that's a soft deadline that could easily slip into early next year. >> pelley: major, thank you. a disaster is unfolding tonight off the bahamas. at least 30 people were killed when a sailboat packed with immigrants from haiti struck a reef and flipped over. more than 100 were rescued. video from the u.s. coast guard shows dozens clinging to the hull of the capsized boat. the search for victims continues in very rough seas. pope francis challenges priests to get their shoes muddy as he presents his vision for the church. and an interview with syrian children is interrupted by a mortar attack when the cbs evening news continues. honestly, i wanted a phone with a better camera. my boyfriend has a lot of can't-miss moments. i checked out the windows phones and saw the lumia 1020 has 41 megapixels. so i can zoom way in even after i take the picture. and i can adjust the shot before i take it so i get

but president karzai is saying essentially not so fast. he's insisting on signing an agreement potentially leaving the deal up in the area. richard enfwel hgel has the lat. >> reporter: this has implications for the future stability of afghanistan. today about 2500 met for a traditional inju tradition traditional jirga and they decided to vote for the deal. it sets for the framework for thousands of american troops to remain in this country for potentially years to come staying on bases just like this one, including this one in fact, training afghan security forces and pumping billions of dollars directly into the government budget. it funds the army and providing training and satellite technology and drone imagery, things the afghan forces they say to continue fighting the taliban and al qaeda. the tribal elders said they want this deal. the united states has said that it would accept this deal even though it would mean billions of dollars keeping troops in the country for years to come. then president karzai at the end of the meeting, th

hamid karzai is trying to get the last little bit out of this. he may not realise this is another american red line. if we leave afghanistan in toto. which we plan to do, we need to start that soon. you do things differently if you go down to 10,000 or down to zero. >> why would karzai do this as kerry and president obama are out there celebrating a deal. why embarrassing them? >> part of this is the awkward position that hamid karzai is in. he's in a bad spot. americans think he's impossible to work with, many of his own people think he's a puppet of america. he really is in a hard spot where it's hard to please both sides. >> the u.s. paid to train and equip afghan security forces. american bases will stay and leave the numbers, depending on what the americans or the afghans want, between 7-15,000 troops, given what happened in iraq, after the u.s. troops pulled out the violence increased, why would afghanistan baulk. >> that's a good question. why are the av bans baulking. ultimately they need us there so the money flow, the international comm

. >>> karzai says the strike indicates that the u.s. has no regard for the lives of the afghan people. he is using it to bolster the refusal to sign security agreement with the united states crucial for the u.s. forces to remain in the country after the first of the year. >>> and joining us now to talk more about that is lieutenant general tom mcanerny, fox news military analyst. welcome, general. god to see you. >> thank you, doug. >> karzai shifting the stance on the agreement day in and day out. what is his motivation for doing so? >> it baffles me. the gathering of all the tribal leaders said they agreed with the agreement as it was reached. karzai continues to purr cyst and things that are not reasonable. for instance, no u.s. forces can go in to afghan villages or homes without prior approval. which means the taliban fled in there will get a sink ware. they want to us work with the taliban to restart the me goshiations. doug, the taliban is like putting a cancer if to a government. radical islamist. there is no way you can get any

if you don't sign, we'll be upset and leave until the issue is settled. >> hamid karzai's opposition says delay tactics come from a desire to control the elections. it's not about the concerns that the afghan people have about articles in the bilateral agreements. he's demanded this person, and he mentioned part of it, indeed, in the inauguration speech. he linked the signing of the bilateral agreement with the elections. >> abdullah believes hamid karzai wants the u.s. to support a candidate of his choosing. ever his motives for such decision, president hamid karzai's political moves put him in the lead on this security pact. >> jane ferguson, al jazeera, kabul afghanistan. >>> well, here at home the united states is bracing for rough travel during the holidays, a large storm is pushing through the south-west. it's expected to bring snow and sleet to parts of the east coast and the south later this week. ice is snarling highways and airports. the storm has so far killed eight people. >> that's right. more tricky travel on the way as we head into tonight. particularly across i-35, wh

and it was addressed by barack obama in a letter to karzai, which was handed out to jirga members. they are now saying they may want to have that inside the security agreement. but beyond the jirga hall itself, the political crisis has ton about this security agreement as delegates are leaving after their day of debate today the head of the jirga was extremely anger in response to news recently that afghan hamid karzai said he will not sign it until after elections this next year if at paul. the members of the jirga were angry saying karzai had no right to say something like that and that it was not said in interest of afghanistan. now there may be an around this crisis. potentially instead of one signature from the president of afghanistan they may be able to substitute that for two senior members the signatures. what everyone is waiting for is karzai's closing speech tomorrow where he will explain if and why he would de play the signing of the agreement. it started the mood for this whole jirga from the beginning, and people will be watching closely to see if his closing speech c

one is president karzai's insistence american troops should never search or attack afghan homes. operations which in the past have resulted in the deaths of afghan civilians. but the u.s. wants the right to send in its own troops, for instance, to rescue a captured american soldier. for that, karzai wants a letter from president obama expressing regret for past civilian casualties and promising u.s. soldiers will only enter afghan homes under extraordinary circumstances. the second issue is immunity for u.s. troops from prosecution under afghan law. without it, the u.s. will pull all its troops out. but president karzai said last month he didn't even discuss immunity with kerry during their marathon negotiating sessions and would leave the entire issue up to the loya jirga. the agreement says nothing about how many american troops would remain in afghanistan after 2014. the president has not made a decision yet, but the number is expected to be around 5,000 to 8,000 compared to the present 48,000. >> pelley: david martin at the pentagon for us tonight. david, thank you very much.

afghan president hamid karzai released a statement accusing u.s. forces of raiding two houses in nangahar province, killing two innocent civilians. he said this gets to the heart of the bilateral security agreement and is what he wants to prevent in the future. isaaf forces responded with strong language saying it was an afghan-led military rain. 100 afghan commanders raided two houses, two were killed and they were accompanied by 17 coalition mentors. they said an unnamed source with isaf said it's unfortunate that the afghan president would use civilian deaths as a weapon. strong language from both sides on the bilateral security agreement. >> polls will open in moray tainia, comingar the legitimacy of the president who came to pour in a military coup. opposition parties are threatening to boycott the votes. >> this is the manslaughter tainian tapp tall -- more it anian capital. people were singing. behind the carnival air, a nation hit by poverty and ipp stability. it's the first elections since a coup toppled the president. the leader is in pow

. >> hamid karzai pushed for guarantees that the u.s. would push to fight against foreign aggression. specifically that's a demand for the u.s. to confront pakistani support for armed groups operating in afghanistan. >> afghanistan in the past few decades experiences proxy wars. we have been talking to the u.s., hoping to have a kind of definition for foreign aggression, which could include proxy war and traditional aggression we have seen. >> the heated debate shows it's not a matter of a few u.s. military bases. if the afghan government signs, they want the conditions to be specific. over a year of negotiations between washington and kabul brought the two sides closer. there has been no final agreement. now the afghan president is turning those issues over to a consultative debate in the capital to see if the country's community leaders can give it their support. >> and afghanistan's president hamid karzai is addressing the council, the loya jirga now. this is, in fact, a live look as he briefing them on the security pact with the u.s.

the president hamid karzai refuse to say sign the agreement un

karzai is worried of course that he owes his existence to the presence of the american forces that have kept him in power and yet at the same time he knows that millions of afghans resent our angry indignation about the fact that the united states government has run roughshod over their country for the last twelve years what the united states is proposing is that the united states will maintain military bases and soldiers in afghanistan for a quarter of a century twenty twenty four is almost a quarter of a century after the two thousand and one invasion this is a clear instance of a colonial relationship where the united states invades and occupies a country uses various pretexts and then maintains military bases so that ultimately whoever is the government after karzai the u.s. will be the determine or the real power in afghanistan and some of the global headlines for you. to egypt where yvonne the clashes between supporters and opponents of the muslim brotherhood of left three people dead including a ten year old boy police intervened firing into the air and showering the people with

there are some sticking points, and president hamid karzai threw his u.s. counterparts a loop when he said he did not plan to sign this crucial security agreement that would protect u.s. troops if they do stay past 2014, that he didn't plan to sign it until after the april presidential election, an election in which he has to step down according to the constitution. the white house has already pushed back saying they expect an agreement to be signed by the end of the year. they need mat much -- that much time in order to plan for withdrawal of troops still in afghan. the state department saying this is not acceptable, this bait and switch that karzai pulled, and then karzai, at the same moment he was supposed to sell this agreement to the 2500 elders at the tribal meeting in kabul, ya, he uses the opportunity to say he doesn't trust the americans. so an incredible show by president karzai in kabul. >> he has been a joyous partner for all involved. you mentioned a bait and switch. what compromises did the united states have to make and there is a sense for w

afghanistan's leader hamid karzai is putting the brakes on a treaty which will allow american troops to stay in the country after twenty fourteen washington wants a quick deal but says any agreement should only be ratified after next year's presidential elections elders from across the country are currently debating whether to hold on to oxidize brian becker says president karzai is in a very delicate position. karzai is worried of course that he owes his existence to the presence of the american forces that have kept him in power and yet at the same time he knows that millions of afghans resent our angry indignation about the fact of the united states government has run roughshod over their country for the last twelve years what the united states is proposing is that the united states will maintain military bases and soldiers in afghanistan for a quarter of a century twenty twenty four is almost a quarter of a century after the two thousand and one invasion this is a clear instance of a colonial relationship where the united states invades and occupies a country uses various pretext

with the karzai government. we are joined from washington this morning. first with, your reaction to that apology by the general. >> two fold. first of all, i think it's appropriate that the general apologizes when there is collateral damage on these drone strikes. i think we all recognize it is necessary to continue to prosecute this war against terrorism, and that unfortunately necessitates these types of actions. >> what about what the white house is calling zero option, pulling all u.s. troops out of afghanistan by the end of the year if karzai does not sign? >> if we don't have sovereignty over the judicial prosecution of our soldiers, the u.s. has a responsibility of not letting our troops be under foreign jurisdiction in these types of prosecution. it will be necessary, although significantly dell tarrous to our affects of what we're trying to achieve in the long run. >> should we consider as the united states arizonay being an ally or adversary. was it a slap in the face when he tacked on those precondit

karzai insists he won't sign the agreement until the u.s. does more to promote peace and stability, ends raids on homes and transparent elections. news of the country is considering public stoning of adulterers. susan rice in afghanistan on a four-day visit and will meet with president karzai tonight to try to get relations back on track. coming up here in two hours president obama will call on congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. what will bring republicans to the table? we will discuss why there may be a change of heart on the right and how grassroots pressure could rewrite the playbook. that's next on "now." >>> president obama speaking this afternoon in san francisco where he will once again call on congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. only six months a bipartisan reform bill stalled in the house. some reformers are finding pressure points to push the senate bill or shame the house into voting on something. activists ranging from liberal organizers, conservatives, evangelical leaders fasting for two weeks tryi

twenty minutes past the hour here in moscow afghanistan's leader ahmed karzai is putting the brakes on a treaty which would allow american troops to stay in the country after twenty fourteen washington wants a quick deal but karzai says any agreement should only be ratified after next year's afghan presidential elections in the meantime elders from across the country a currently debating whether to back the accord and he will activist brian becker says president karzai is in a very delicate position. karzai is worried of course that he owes his existence to the presence of the american forces that have kept him in power and yet at the same time he knows that millions of afghans resent our angry indignation about the fact of the united states government has run roughshod over their country for the last twelve years what the united states is proposing is that the united states will maintain military bases and soldiers in afghanistan for a quarter of a century twenty twenty four is almost a quarter of a century after the two thousand and one invasion this is a clear instance of a colonial

president hamid karzai is sticking to the condition. he won't sign the agreement until after presidential elections next year. >> translation: hamid karzai doesn't have the right to say these words. this is a big mistake. whether we want from them and hamid karzai wants from them, it has been accepted. he wants to delay the agreement. this is not for the benefit of afghanistan. this is to the dertryment of afghanistan. >> in the busy market of the capital people are worried about their future if the agreement is not signed. >> translation: if pakistanis are enemy, if iranies are enemy and we make america our enemy, how do we make a living. we need support to make a living and develop a stable future >> some believe hamid karzai is worried about his legacy. he doesn't want to be remembered as a president intimidated by foreigners. they point out the country should come first. >> translation: even if hamid karzai sacrifices, he should do an historic thing for the country, where afghanistan, its borders and army are stronger. he should sig

karzai is insistent that the pack instead be signed by his successor in april. us national security adviser susan rice traveled to afghanistan over the weekend and met with karzai to speak about moving the pack forward according to the white house race reiterated that with out upon signature. the us would have no toys that in uta planning for post twenty fourteen future and wish there would be no us or nato troop presence in afghanistan but karzai is seemingly rejecting the track and said outlining new conditions for signing the agreement the conditions included included but were not limited to for treating afghan citizens from the us detention center at one time all that well it's now been over six months since president obama took to the podium at the national defense university and spoke about the need for more accountability and transparency for the u s drone program. the very precision of drone strikes and unnecessary secrecy often involved in such actions can end up shielding our government from the scrutiny. the troop deployment and bikes. it also leave a

-led coalition has apologized for yesterday's strike but karzai says it shows the u.s. does not respect the lives of afghan civilians. for years, our innocent people have become victims in war under the name of terrorism and they have no safety in their hoemd, end quote. u.s. officials say if karzai does not sign that security agreement this year, they'll start making plans to withdrawal all american forces after 2014. katherine live with the news from washington. what's the response? >> isaf acknowledging the incident with coalition officials telling reporters it was a midlevel taliban commander. the statement reads in part, isaf deeply regrets any civilian casualties caused by this air strike yesterday. isaf is committed to assuming all those are taken to prevent civilian casualties. the general in afghan called hamid karzai late last night to personally convey this message, and promising to investigate what happened and how an afghan child became collateral damage in this strike. based on his statements, though, karzai is digging in by saying the strike is another ex

all troops out of the country and let afghan troops take on the taliban on their own president hamid karzai and u.s. secretary of state john kerry have already reached a draft agreement to rewrite immunity for u.s. troops for at least another decade now the tribal elders have their hand that modifying the deal after their vote it will go on to afghanistan's parliament then back to karzai for his signature but in a surprising turn corners announced today that he plans to defer signing this bill if a success until his successor is chosen after the elections earlier i was joined by scott horton he's a contributing editor at harper's magazine i first asked him how important is this decision coming out of loya jirga and what it likely pass. well i think this is a key issue frankly. is. the most prestigious most powerful institution in afghanistan it's the supreme council or the elders council . and it has tremendous credibility and power and it's because it's such a large one will be body it's very difficult to say going into it how the church is going to deal with these issues and i'd say the a

very interesting now president karzai administration announced today that they wanted to lay down any agreement until his successor was elected in april. what the last in line to wait since they have such strict deadlines are and also another question is is karzai just trying to get more concessions from the west but this proposed delay. well the bill that would report that the admitted he made a strong point earlier about today's game of the state he wanted to see a written letter of apology from the united states for up to have caused our party of american forces in afghanistan. and this does do a what is that very very hot issue within the country. and that's nitrates that big dark to sew all around the country on and secret detention arrangements of the stuff of what the us much of which is deducted party but the chase or via the special. special forces unit. um there in afghanistan amid the threat to the top of two point four three or four years now he's continued to press it. i'd say to you today you know whether his side to their successor is a lesson to be issued and whether i

it is something that president karzai has made an issue of over and over again. there was an incident earlier this month where two afghan boys were killed. they have to seek the approval of afghans beforehand, and karzai turns around and says again, no, if one american soldier goes into an afghan home there will be no agreement. that's the kind of contradiction that they are dealing with. >> jennifer glasse thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. still ahead. at odds over the path of b52 bombers. china is angry about the u.s. war planes venturing into that area's disputed air place. >>> and why the book business is hurting. it is not why you might think. ♪ >>> the first book ever printed in america sold for a record $14.2 million. the book translated in 1640 by pure tan settlers was just auctioned off in new york. it was bought by u.s. businessman david rubinstein. that little book of psalms may have fetched a high price, but sales of new books are another story. john terrett has the story. >>> barnes & noble is the last nationwide mega bookstore its retail

president karzai has driven negotiations belong -- beyond the 11th hour, insisting the deal should future u.s. raids on afghan homes. optimists among the delegates believe the deal will be signed. >> the only thing which gives me high confidence and hope that this is not going to be a jirgae jurga, bur a bonding of the nations together, is that the stakes are high for both nations. abandoning a country strategically located as afghanistan, it will be committing the mistakes of the previous powers. >> there are many critics to say international troops have not brought security and should leave. >> 10,000 soldiers in afghanistan, what they want to do. want more than 100,000 soldiers in afghanistan, but they cannot succeed with that. >> a-bomb close to the area -- a bomb close to the area where the jirga will be held killed 10 and injured more. the taliban have threatened further attacks. the explosion is a reminder of the security threat still facing afghanistan, but woven into the very fabric of this nation is the legend of a people never conquered. tot is why the decision invite american

karzai is insistent that the pact instead be signed by his successor in april u.s. national security adviser susan rice traveled to afghanistan over the weekend and met with karzai to speak about moving the pact forward according to the white house rice reiterated that without a prompt signature the u.s. would have no choice but to initiate planning for a post twenty fourteen future in which there would be no u.s. or nato troop presence in afghanistan but karzai is seemingly rejecting that threat instead outlining new conditions for signing the agreement the conditions included but were not limited to returning afghan citizens from the u.s. detention center at guantanamo bay. well it's now been over six months since president obama took to the podium at the national defense university and spoke about the need for more accountability and transparency for the u.s. drone program the very precision of drone strikes and the necessary secrecy often involved in such actions can end up shielding our government from the public scrutiny that a troop deployment invites could a

. >>> afghan president hamid karzai is rejects u.s. demands that he sign an agreement by the end of the year. tribal leaders are reviewing the deal to keep u.s. troops in afghanistan until 2024. the afghan leader wants the deal on the table agreed to by the loya jirga, but he doesn't want to sign it. how is that going over the white house? >> he doesn't want to sign it. he wants to wait for elections next year, next airline in afghanistan. the white house, u.s. administration, the military, all say no way. that is a bad idea. you're right, president obama had written a letter to m hamid karzai, his counterpart in afghanistan, and president obama tried to follow through on the promise to end combat operations in afghanistan. now america's longest war. he wants to end those combat operations by the end of next year. to do it they have to have a basic security agreement. they call it a bsa. where will u.s. forces remain in afghanistan? what will their duties be? what kind of constraints are they going to be operating under, and how many r

you have to really read into karzai's thinking to answer that. he could sign it right now. he could have signed it in fact days ago. instead, he decided to call this l loya jirga in order to get their approval which is not really required by afghan law. it seems to and this is according to the politicians and analysts that we have spoken to that karzai is thinking of his legacy. he doesn't want to be the man who signs the document, committing his country to have foreign forces here for a decade or more. he would rather be remembered as the person who brought afghanistan with u.s. help out of the dark ages and changed it from a country that was run by the taliban where girls couldn't go to school to a country that's more modern and sophisticated and prefer to have the next president sign the document and deal with the legacy of what will happen in the next phase in this country which is far from certain. >> all right. richard, thank you very much for the latest information out of kabul. greatly appreciate it. >>> still ahead, kennedy cousin michael skakel freed for now after

hamid karzai told the group that barack obama sent him a letter assuring him the security pact is in afghanistan's interests and said u.s. troops will enter afghan homes only in exceptional circumstances. >> in pakistan a suspected u.s. drone hits a religious school in the north-west of the country. six were killed. the u.s. says the school is controlled by the haqqani group, linked to the taliban. secretary of state john kerry says counter talks offer the best chance in a decade on iran's nuclear program. six world powers will continue talks on tuesday. >> back in geneva, less than two weeks after the last talks stalled. the e.u. official in charge of foreign affairs, catherine ashton - an interim deal on iran's program seemed close. pressures, constraints on both sides have been growing since

does karzai have any leverage here? >> i think karzai's leverage is that he wants to appear in front of his own people and he has for a long period of time in a kind of maverick way as standing up to the united states. he after all, while he still enjoys leadership of his home country in one way or another, doesn't want to seem to be collapsing in the face of the united states. this is interesting, because the group, the loyal jirga enforced his signing this particular agreement. it's quite clear if he waits until after the election which is his proposal and lets his successor sign, it will be very awkward, if not difficult for the united states in its planning to make this happen. i talked to some afghans. they believe over the period leading up to the afghan elections in late spring that there will be a kind of evident here to pull this together and i hope there will be. i think that the notion of a confrontation now is not beneficial to afghanistan or the united states. in the long run, this agreement is quite essent

thank you, bill. >> what do you think happens post-karzai? obviously -- >> i am obviously more optimistic i just see evidence of progress it if we can maintain and work out a bilateral agreement for us and our allies that allows us to have a small but effect his -- they don't like the taliban and they like their army. they have no confidence in the government in terms of being corruption free or anywhere near it. the lack of services remained there. the afghan people have great confidence in their government, they don't. they do have confidence in the army. a few years ago, they did not have a lot of confidence in the national police. they seem to now, from what we can see in the local police, which i now is -- which i think is now about 25000 and they are trying to increase to 40,000, they really have confidence the own elders have connected the two. they are protecting their own villages. that heart, the security part emma i believe will continue to give the taliban problems. they will continue to be a force particularly in rural areas. i d

i mean fundamentally karzai has a colonial relationship he is the colonial subject to a colonial master and the colonial master of course is washington karzai is worried of course that he owes his existence to the presence of the american forces that have kept him in power and yet at the same time he knows that millions of afghans resent our angry indignation about the fact that the united states government has run roughshod over their country for the last twelve years we know that there were no afghans on those planes that attacked the world trade center of the pentagon on september eleventh and yet tens of thousands of afghans are dead so cars i was playing a game he wants to do the bidding of the united states he owes it to them they pay his way they pay him millions of dollars but he has to distance himself at the same time to maintain credibility and there is quite a strained relationship in the moment tween him and washington and yet the u.s. is really keen to sign this deal as swiftly as possible isn't it why do you think there is then this delay from the afghan side i mean you'v

what is going on with president karzai? are all of these elders who are getting into the fray now making new demands that were never in the deal to start with? >> well, karzai is certainly making new demands that weren't in the deal from the u.s. point of view. he wants all the afghan detainees in guantanamo bay released back to afghanistan. he wants promises about how the u.s. military will operate in afghanistan. he is throwing a lot of wrenches into all of this. so, where does it leave things right now? oddly enough, if there is no agreement, all the u.s. troops pack up and come home by the end of next year. but that's not really what the administration wants. they want to leave up to 12,000 u.s. and nato troops there with the security agreement about how they will operate for all the reasons you heard. you know, the worries about al qaeda, the worries about iran causing trouble in afghanistan. and a lot of people say it's been 12 years. is it time for the troops to finally come back home, ashleigh? >> since i have you,

he was angry and said karzai had no right to make a decision like that, and if he did, it was not made in the interest of afghanistan. now another senior source has told al jazeera that there may be an away around this. they may able to substitute that with two senior government figures, and that could go com e way of resolving this argument. everyone is waiting for karzai's closing speech tomorrow where he will explain if and why he would delay signing this agreement. >> honduras will hold it's first election four years after a coup. it's been often described as the murder capitol of the year with corruption conditioned human ans abuses. adam rainey has more in hondur honduras. >> reporter: like many hondura hondurans, waiting for justice, he has come to the attorney general's office hoping for an update on his officer's murder. he is there is more confusion on who is handling his case than answers. >>> emma, a political activist, was killed two years ago in broad daylight and surrounded by witnesses. he supported the party, more of its members have been attacked and killed than all o

in a meeting monday susan vice met with president karzai in afghanistan. she stressed to the president the significance of signing the agreement beyond the 2014 pullout. afghanistan needs the allied forces to continue training afghan forces to insure stability and security in that country. the country's 2,500 tribal ann and regional leaders known at loya jirga said the office rebuffed them. and his office says he won't back down from his refusal to sign the agreement. it's part of the ramifications we were talking about. what's going on in guantanamo bay as it relates to afghan detainees. hamid karzai wants half of them to be released. he also wants assurances from the u.s. that its forces will not conduct raids on homes in afghanistan plus he wants the u.s. to be committed to reigniting peace talks with the taliban. it's a head scratcher because some experts are saying why would karzai do this and they are saying he's doing it to appease his domestic base to show them he can stand up to a major super power. but it comes with many risks, and one is losing

thank you, bill. >> what do you think happens post-karzai? clay, obviously -- >> i am obviously more optimistic i just see evidence of progress it if we can maintain and work out a bilateral agreement for us and our allies that allows us to have a small but effect his presence there -- they don't like the taliban and they like their army. they have no confidence in the government in terms of being corruption free or anywhere near it. the lack of services remained there. the afghan people have great confidence in their government, they don't. they do have confidence in the army. a few years ago, they did not have a lot of confidence in the national police. they seem to now, from what we can see in the local police, which i now is -- which i think is now about 25000 and they are trying to increase to 40,000, they really have confidence because the own elders have connected the two. they are protecting their own villages. that heart, the security part emma i believe will continue to give the taliban problems. they will continue to be a force par

president karzai continues to insist on delaying the agreement until after next year's elections. yesterday karzai rejected the recommendation of the country's of elders to advance the deal with the united states. karzai said he wants more negotiations and said there would be no deal unless american forces stopped raiding afghan homes. demonstrators have a new obstacle. looking to stop the psych of protests there, the president banned public gatherings of more than ten people. failure to comply are the law can result in fines of $44,000 and prison terms as long as seven years. activists are already denounced the law saying they'll allow further repression by the military forcesment president obama on the road again. he's on a three-day fund-raising swing along the west coast. an effort to build the war chest for the democratic candidates running in the 2014 midterm elections. the trip began in washington state. the president will head from seattle to san francisco later today. they'll wrap things up tomorrow in l.a. of course with events at magic johnson's home and at the headquar

presidential election well karva karzai was called by our ambassador in a kabul i can bury it's not an adequate strategic partner and didn't he show that today kerry was mousetrap and thinking how to deal karzai goes and tells the jirga look you know we have to vote on this and i'm not sure i trust the u.s. they don't trust me and so we're at all oral in this is what i can bury worried about that is what you have a reliable partner to work with you're up to this trick without a paddle and also you know that i can very said with this way back in november november nine of number six of two thousand and nine he said you know i think that karzai would like to have us investment more freely in there because he thinks that the u.s. is just interested in in fighting it in eternal war on terror and permanent military bases to have influence in that immediate area well i can very had it exactly right course he is acting that way it's an insoluble problem as long as the populace nani's play the game of feeding the insurgents the parker studies or our loyal allies of course and this whole questio

karzai says u.s. should acknowledge the past mistakes. obama notes afghan concerned about the citizen safety and privacy and pledges to ensure afghan homes and laws are respected but offer no apology for civilian deaths. for the u.s., it's a delicate balance between showing remorse and defending u.s. actions in the 12--year-old war a tightrope act. >> we have of course throughout the war indicated regret when instances of civilian casualties but they understand the great sacrifices americans have made on behalf of their security. >> elise is with us to talk more about this, as all things afghan, it's complicated even if the meeting of elders signs off on the deal. president karzai might not sign it until after the election in april, when he won't be president anymore. talk about trust, i don't trust them, they don't trust me, the fact is he needs the u.s., u.s. dollars. he's got a military that can't pay for itself without billions of dollars going down the line and other things, too. that's the reality, isn't it? >> reporter: that's righ