to be born in the afghanistan. plot could be a harder lot for a person as a baby she was left to die in the sun not to have to suffer or her life but she survived and advanced and believes in the future of her homeland fawzia koofi wants more than just to improve the stories of women in afghanistan she wants to be the first woman president in the history of her life. and our guest today if koofi an afghan politician running for president in two thousand and fourteen how is it so great to have you on our show today first of all let me just say that i admire your courage to do what you are doing in afghanistan i'm aware of the situation with women's rights in afghanistan is far from being perfect it's almost a curse to be born a woman there but still these seem to be optimistic about changes to the lives of afghan women what what goes through how exactly have things changed for women in your country since two thousand and one. it's a pleasure for me to be in your show thank you so much for what you have say. while i

or nato troops in afghanistan. let me make clear, however, that plans are not decisions and assure you that we are not about to decide to abandon all that we in the afghan people have achieved. based upon the results of the expressions of public opinion throughout the country and discussions the route my own visit last week, i don't believe that there can be any serious doubt that the afghan people want the united states and nato forces to state and recognize that the bilateral security agreement is a necessary prerequisite. also the keystone of a much wider international permanent involving over 70 countries ready to provide economic and security assistance to afghanistan beyond 2015. the regional neighbors with the exception of a iran also understand the importance. and a stand that they have all personally urged the president to conclude this agreement. as you know, several of these leaders are no fans of american military presence in central asia, but they all seem to recognize that without continued internatio

the transition in afghanistan and the way forward for u.s. afghanistan, and pakistan. i lead a delegation to cobble this weekend with mr. kennedy and dr. barra. we had the honor to meet with our men and women that serve our country in afghanistan. they do a tremendous job day in and day out. while in afghanistan, we had the opportunity to speak with mr. karzai and it seemed like he was pre-optimistic about the final security agreement. he was looking forward to its completion, now, however, he is balking at signing the agreement. it is grand council endorsed. as recently at this last weekend, he has lashed out at the u.s. and accused us of threatening him. karzai's flirting with iran is dangerous to our security interest. we are complex and concerned. >> we are pleased to be joined by representatives of the u.s. department of state, the agency for international development, and the department of defense. ambassador james dobson serves as the representative for afghanistan and pakistan. he has filled a number of senior positions at the state department and white house.

and afghanistan is a single example. but at the same time you will remember that you have to cope with the libya conflict and many other engagements. mali for example. >> that is another perspective as well. >> and a lot of nato supporting countries. and that is the conclusion, the conclusion is that firstly, we must absolutely take the lessons in terms of command control, in terms of stability, and we are building a new future mission network, very much different. and we had to build in afghanistan, because it didn't exist, to make sure that all of the forces were under the command and control that was effective enough, with the joint intelligence, and it was absolutely crucial. so we will build on those lessons. and we must capitalize as well on our ability to work together. all together, 50 countries working under the nato umbrella. so it is crucial that we are able to project forward. and this is exactly the aim of the connected forces initiative that we launched and that we are implementing now. one year ago, this w

afghanistan and the communist takeover of afghanistan which happened in 1979, china, the rise of deng xiaoping and the beginning of a turn towards the markets and to mao and his cultural revolution. poland as you mentioned the election of the polish pope pope john paul ii in his return to his homeland and the precursor of the solidarity movement. great britain and and the election of margaret thatcher and the tom alt over the british economy that has been really lost as part of the historical narrative of written after thatcher. i'm looking forward to coming back to that a number five of course the one probably the most people think of first when they think of 1979, the iranian revolution the toppling of the shah and the hostage crisis. wow that's an awful lot of ground to cover. let's start with thatcher. there has just been huge outpourings of tributes to thatcher on the occasion of her death. magazine covers revisited. your book takes apart some of the myths of margaret thatcher. >> guest: well i tried to do that. it's always a challenge because you want to show why somebody is wor

to be born in the afghanistan defeat. could be a harder lot for a person as a baby she was left to die and not to have to suffer or her life but she survived and advanced and believes in the future of her homeland follows you koofi wants more than just to improve two thirds of women in afghanistan she wants to be the first woman president in the history of her life. and our guest today fousek koofi an afghan politician running for president in two thousand and fourteen so great to have you on our show today first of all let me just say that i admire your courage to do what you are doing in afghanistan i'm aware of the situation with women's rights in afghanistan is far from being perfect it's almost a curse to be born a woman there but still the it seemed to be optimistic about changes to the lives of afghan women well what goes through how exactly have things changed for women in your country since two thousand and one. it's a pleasure for me to be in your show thank you so much for what you have say. while i think for t

decided that the government of afghanistan should go ahead and have the. security agreement with united states partly you know that our history is full of fight for freedom these are values that each and every afghan will fight the last drop of their blood but in the meantime because of the wrong neighborhood we are located especially the two neighbors that we are located pakistan and also somehow iran we don't have good experience of their influence in afghanistan they have been we shipping policies in a way that. that it's more of insecurity and insurgent promoting insurgency in afghanistan so therefore i think people in afghanistan would like to continue to have a partnership with a country which is you know in a way a superpower and have a backup of a strong country that's why this group of like two thousand in there is that came from different parts of afghanistan yesterday they have approved afghan government to sign this agreement so i think the nation of afghanistan would like to have you know if you compare. now with one thousand nine hundred six

she shuttles between the united states and afghanistan. she has some commercial clients in afghanistan, but she felt she could really make a difference. as she was looking into cases, a lot of things weren't working in afghanistan sxrgs she feels like she made very, very big changes. >> that's quite remarkable and part has to do with the interest so many in the west have had with the role of women in afghanistan and how things have changed during the time of the u.s. presence there. have they really, though? >> sure. there's huge changes, but afghanistan was coming from practically zero under the taliban. women couldn't go to work. women couldn't go to school. they couldn't have any positions of power. they couldn't even go out on the streets on their own . if their shoes made a sound on the street, they could be beaten up by the taliban. a lot of things have changed. we see millions in school and lots of women in the government and parliament. women have prominent roles in many parts of country, largely in the cities and rural areas. for

afghanistan relations does this mean u.s. troops could remain in afghanistan beyond the planned twenty fourteen pullout the latest on the hearing coming up. in the nation's capital is marked with a series of local police scandals multiple officers have been investigated for corrupt activities with one of them committing suicide more on the police corruption in d.c. later in the show. it's wednesday december eleventh five pm in washington d.c. i'm sam sax and you're watching our two. today on capitol hill the chief of the n.s.a. general keith alexander field a question from lawmakers on the senate judiciary committee the focus of the hearing is continued oversight of u.s. government surveillance authorities and it's hearings like this one that have been a common staple on capitol hill since june since edward snowden begin spilling the n.s.a. secrets out on to newspapers around the world the latest secret published today in the washington post reveals how the n.s.a. is using the same techniques that corporate online advertisers

and afghanistan relations so does this mean u.s. troops could remain in afghanistan beyond the plan's twenty fourteen pull out the latest on the hearing coming up. in the nation's capital is marked with a series of local police scandals multiple officers have been investigated for corrupt activities with one of them committing suicide or in the police corruption in d.c. later in the show. it's wednesday december eleventh four pm in washington d.c. i'm same sex and you're watching our t.v. and today on capitol hill the chief of the n.s.a. general keith alexander is fielding questions from lawmakers on the senate judiciary committee the focus of the hearing is continued oversight of u.s. government surveillance authorities and it's hearings just like this one that have been a common staple on capitol hill since june since edward snowden began spilling the n.s.a. secrets out in newspapers around the world the latest secret published today in the washington post reveals how the n.s.a. is using the same techniques that corporate online a

withdraws from iraq and afghanistan. syria, where there is a long time of inaction and then the about face by the obama administration on military action, egypt where they see they did not support mubarak more forcely. the middle east thinks, you know, what about us? and i think it's a very dangerous neighborhood. and so the pattern that the saudis and their gulf allies see is one of increasingly stringent circumstances that they feel they are dealing with alone. >> and what does the administration need to do about it? >> the administration needs to redouble their engagement. if they are pivoting to asia, they also need to pivot to the middle east. the united states is very important security interests. obama himself needs to personally engage with the leaders and the entire u.s. government needs to reassure and make sure that they understand we have their back. >> gentlemen, thanks for joining us. we appreciate it. >>> coming up, the chief of canada's armed forces. you are watching this week in defense news. there's onl

we -- in afghanistan. we visited the prison in afghanistan, and we visited -- i think right now 59 t.c.n.s in prison. mr. ambassador, do you have any idea what, are we going to do with these t.c.n.s? the afghans don't want them. i wouldn't, either. now we have to figure out what are we going to do with them as we reach the post-2014. are any of you familiar with that situation and have any ideas for what we do? >> in general we are going to have to do something with them by the end of 2014. some of them will be turned over to the afghan. some will be returned to the country of origin when those countries undertake to deal with them appropriately. >> let me ask one more question because my time is running out. now we are into this kind of reduction posture. i think the vast majority of american forces are now focused on withdraw instead of taking the fight the enemy. that's unfortunate. how do you think the offensive went against hakani? do you believe it was completed or do you believe we are leaving too q

the taliban is on the -- on the move again in afghanistan. i think this is like a lot of marriages that looked good on paper but dissolved when he found you had a partner untrust worthy. karzai himself became an unworthy partner for us. whether or not he is going to sign this remains to be seen. i think anybody who places a bet one with another on how karzai thinks or what he will decide, i think that's bad money. and so we don't know what's going to happen. what i believe personally, it is time for divorce. i think it is time for us to come out of afghanistan. i think it's time for the aid to draw up. i think we have placed bet after bet after bet in that country that has failed to pay off. >> you don't want 10,000 troops left behind? >> i don't want 190,000 troops. i don't think want the aid to their military them need to become their own sustained security. they are doing much more today militarily for themselves. i think that process has to be accelerated and continued and i think it's time for us to come home. >> your setup piece kind of

plants can end up in a positive way in afghanistan. holy . now santa congressman barr blockers question six point seven billion dollars is being spent in afghanistan. each month. some are interesting questions of rounds during the course of this hearing what the us is still doing in afghanistan. what the mission is and what success of unrealistic clean looks like there seems to be of a lack of a clear definition on what our mission is. what is the end state that but our troops are trying to accomplish or that we are trying to accomplish there. i can't think of the last time i saw the president of the united states tell the american people why we're in afghanistan what is the endgame. i mean what we what we are hoping for that though have a stable government. one that's not right with fraud waste and abuse and that will run a country that we can be good allies with trading partners questions congress members themselves are still trying to get the entire steel and most importantly the moniker stairs today said they don't want another right scen

stability in afghanistan to withstand. the u.s. is working to support those forces in afghanistan against the taliban. but, frankly without a clear u.s. commitment they will be having questions about what the outcome will be and a lot of people will be wondering if they need to make a reconciliation or peace with the taliban instead. thank you for joining us on consider this. my pleasure. >> now let's turn to egypt. the u.s. continues calling for dialogue and democracy. but wednesday the military backed government abandoned both. they designated the muslim brotherhood which won the last election a terrorist organization. what move followed a series of attacks on police that the government blamed on brotherhood supporters including one attack on tuesday that claimed at least 15 lives. for more, let's check in with jim walsh, research associate with mit's security studies program. from watertown, massachusetts. thank you for joining us. first, what is your reaction to the designation that the muslim brotherhood is now a terr

afghanistan and the communist takeover of afghanistan which happened in 1979, china, the rise and the beginning of a turn , and then end to the cultural revolution. poland, as we mentioned, the election of the polis to the polish pope john paul the second and his return to the precursor of the solidarity movement. great britain, the election, and then the tall malts over the british economy that has been lost, part of the historical narrative of britain after thatcher. some looking for to come back to that. and then number five, of course, the one parlay that most people think of first, the iranian revolution, the toppling of the shah end the hostage crisis. that is an awful lot of ground to cover. let's start with thatcher. there is a huge outpouring of tributes your bird texas are some of the myth. >> guest: i tried to do that. it is always a challenge because you want to show why someone is worth knowing about in the first place. there's been a lot of revision of the history of thatcher come but, of course, first of many have to establish why she was a board in the first place. a v

i interviewed the only woman chief prosecutor in afghanistan who has 23 bodyguards, and yet despite the actual attempt on her life, continue to prosecute in cases of violence against women and corruption, and all the while fears that the united states and international the inl community may be about to sell out afghan women individual quote reconcile with the taliban. the question i asked myself time and again is why are these people not more well-known internationally? everyone knows who osama bin laden was, but very few people know about all of those on the ground who are challenging people like him. what i set out to do in this book is to change that, or at least contribute a little bit towards that change. i did this for very personal reasons because my own father was an anthropologist of muslim heritage and raised his life throughout the 1990s to stand up to extremism in his home country of algeria. what i remember is even when he's driven from zone and forced to stop teaching at the university due to death threats from the fundamentalist armed groups, he remained inside algeria an

troops in afghanistan. they want to get this agreement for a number of troops, probably about 10,000,to remain after the end of 2014. the job of the u.s. troops will be to help train and assist afghan forces and do the very dangerous work of continuing to go after terrorist targets in afghanistan. he hasn't signed the agreement, and the u.s. is getting increasingly frustrated with him given especially the price that u.s. troops are paying. >> all right, barbara, appreciate the update. thank you. >>> more than 12 years long this of course is america's longest war. now another searing chapter. the story began when a four-man navy s.e.a.l. team found themselves badly outnumbered in a long and vicious fire fight. only one s.e.a.l. survived. his name is marcus latrell. he told me the story that first aired on "60 minutes." what happened after he says they were surprised by goat herders and their goats. he and his teammates weren't the only casualties in the battle. a chopper that had rushed to help latrell and h

afghanistan relations so does this mean u.s. troops could remain in afghanistan beyond the planned two thousand and fourteen pullout the latest on that hearing coming up and the nation's capital is marked with a series of local police scandals multiple officers have been investigated for corrupt activities with one of them committing suicide more on the police corruption in d.c. later in the show. it's wednesday december eleventh eight pm in washington d.c. i'm sam sachs and you're watching r.t. now today on capitol hill the chief of the n.s.a. general keith alexander fielded questions from lawmakers on the senate judiciary committee the focus of the hearing was continued oversight of u.s. government surveillance authorities and it's hearings just like this one that has been a common staple on capitol hill since june since edward snowden began spilling the n.s.a. secrets out into newspapers all around the world the latest secret published today in the washington post reels how the n.s.a. is using the same techniques that corpora

would like to ask you about afghanistan. the obama administration thought fought the deal to keep the troops there since -- two 2014. do you see any way of resolving this before the incident the year or will the stride on until afghanistan elects a new president? afghanistan approved it. no one has said that they are going to need to change it. president karzai has said he does not want to be the one who signs it. he is holding off on signing it until next year. it is a problem. there is no question about it. the substance is basically what both sides are comfortable with. president karzai is spilling new ideas, i do not know. it does not sound like it. it is whether or not to get so it. formally signed i the hope is we will get it signed before the elections. is his refusal to sign. >> he wanted to renegotiate. --wanted to have the avenue afghanistan taliban members released from guantanamo. he wants no more rage or bombing of afghan houses like the one that just happens. is this rhetoric? is it something we need to come to

peace agreement that was dropped to do with afghanistan. over a long period which was agreed to by both sides which posture the afghan national assembly overwhelmingly supported by the afghan national assembly. i'm in the las minute was jettisoned by afghan president karzai he said he'd leave it to whoever came into office often enough that next year's elections in april. really up setting the apple cart because the entire first millet re process in afghanistan resides at home. this agreement being put into place at the moment as you mentioned of all major u s forces. involving combat operations even if it's not in direct combat. perhaps giving things like this support afghan forces that will wrap up by this time next year that i want to leave a strong presence in its place a training mission of assistance mission he could come with about eight billion us dollars but it needs to have this agreement in place only this what they really trying to nail through this meeting but it is breaking but brings mentioned clearly present cause by the afg

there are currently some 43,000 american forces in harm's way in afghanistan. under a pending security agreement with the afghan government that number could drop to 7,000 to 10,000 by the end of 2014 but would commit u.s. forces to another ten years in afghanistan to train afghan military forces and keep al qaeda in check. >> al qaeda would still love nothing more than to say after 12 years of combat that they have outlasted us. >> that was jim miklaszewski reporting for us. >>> a rare moment of bipartisanship is expected in washington today. the senate is expected to give final approval to the two-year budget agreement. nbc's tracie potts joins us live from washington. good morning to you. when we heard about the deal going through, it's like a purple unicorn. is this a blip or a real shift in mood? >> reporter: that's a good question, richard. it is rare. maybe it is a blip for now. but it's a blip on a really important issue. by the end of this day, we could actually have a budget in place. not just for this year, but for the next two years. the house appro

they are as the new afghanistan. many soldiers being stationed here is to take you to try at christmastime. this is the discipline to manage difficult situation we have to deal with here that comes with the job. most of the oldest note that this is all for making the best of it together with our comrades trying to get up a christmas the mood. and in this helicopter is a special christmas treat for the soldiers. handled it in bed for him. we christians believe jesus was born and fifty thousand is the top bloggers to be popping those skulls from austria salute to israel and with scandal in bethlehem. it now this light has arrived and was nice to read for all the soldiers here. it's a small miracle fantastic. i owe. it's a good sign that this clean and peaceful buckland has come to us here in afghanistan. this country needs peace. this will probably be the last christmas that german soldiers have to spend in afghanistan away from their families. day says commendation the country will come to an end of the middle of next

it's a very precarious time for afghanistan. nato and the u.s. wants to secure security arrangements after their major withdraw in the coming here. it is also interesting to note as nato forces have taken a back seat, there have been fewer and fewer fatalities. this number today is pretty bad. >> phil ittner joining us live from london, phil thank you very much. >>> a new deal is bringing ukraine closer to russia. russia offering to lower gas prices to ukraine during a meeting between the leaders of both countries earlier today. they agrees to a deal worth $15 billion in securities, and a 33% discount on gas. opposition protesters have been protesting for weeks now. >>> now to nairobi. >> reporter: up until now we had only heard one side of the story, that being the version given to us by the president who accused his former deputy of masterminding this aledged attempted coup. now, the spokesman of the president tells us he does not want to comment at all on these allegations that the vice president had attempted to stage a coup. i tried to ask h

thanks for joining us afghanistan's accuse the u.s. of forcing it into an unfair contract with nato by cutting off fuel supplies to the country's security forces president cause i recently rejected washington's deal to let the alliance's troops stay off the twenty fourteen but now says pressure is being applied to drag him back in. half an offer ports now want to buy couple refused to sign the deal in the first rise. in war getting out as often harder than going in and nowhere does that hold more true than in afghanistan president obama promised to withdraw combat forces by the end of twenty fourteen. full responsibility for their security in this war to a responsible. but the two countries have been at all odds over a deal that would keep some u.s. troops past that deadline washington wants the pact signed before the end of the year it's imperative that we conclude the bilateral security agreement as soon as possible but afghan president hamid karzai says not until the u.s. cleans up its act so the issue of. sovereignty and detentions

troops in afghanistan. they want to get this agreement for a number of troops, probably about 10 thousa,000 to remain a 2014. the job of the u.s. troops will be to train and assist afghan forces and do the very dangerous work of continuing to go after terrorist targets in afghanistan. he hasn't signed the agreement and the u.s. is getting increasingly frustrated with him, given especially the price that u.s. troops are paying. >> yeah, all right. barbara appreciate the update. thank you. >>> more than 12 years long, this is america's longest war. another siring chapter. the story began when a four-man navy seal team found themselves badly out numbers in a long and vicious fire fight. one sale sueal survived. his name is marcus. this is his account of a mission that went wrong after he says his unit was surprised by of all things, goat herders and their goats. they weren't the only american casualties a. chapper with 16 special operations forces to help latrel was shot down. this was the largest loss of life

afghanistan, you ask whether this is a malign or a benign trend. if it spread, if it affected the upcoming elections in any way, it could become a line. ridiculed, by the way, as the secretary said. -- predictable, by the way, as the secretary said. what hangs in the balance, the --ger the bsa is under unresolved, is the confidence of the people is sagging. they are questioning whether we are actually going to be there for them and continue to loud bnsf to do so -- develop so it nsfcounter -- to allow the to develop so i can counter the taliban's efforts. reasons for it to be signed soon, there is one. >> [indiscernible] >> are you asking me for a redline? i'm not going to give you that. [laughter] >> nato said yesterday or the day before that it had to be done by spring. with logistics, we will get it done. why can't it wait? i just described why he cannot wait. the afghan security forces are of overcoming, and in most cases, overwhelming their taliban competitors for control of afghanistan. they have some systemic problem, -- logistics, intellige

to be born you know afghanistan. plot could be a harder lot for a person as a baby she was left to die in the cell and not to have to suffer or her life but she survived and advanced and believes in the future of her home. once more than just to improve the fate of women in afghanistan she wants to be the first woman president in the history of her. and our guest today found zia koofi an afghan politician running for president in two thousand and fourteen so great to have you on our show today first of all let me just say that i admire your courage to do what you are doing in afghanistan i'm aware of the situation with women's rights in afghanistan is far from being perfect it's almost a curse to be born a woman there but still there seem to be optimistic about changes to the lives of afghan women what what goes through how exactly have things changed for women in your country since two thousand and one it's a pleasure for me to be in your show thank you so much for what you have say. well i think for the woman's lif

we have done it before here now twice in iraq and afghanistan. protective periods of counterinsurgency long-term, even after they -- the immediate -- threat were taken down followed by extensive amount of nation building, et. cetera. you do it every time or is there an achievement easier way to do this? >>ideally, you will not have to wage future counterinsurgency by sending thousand of thousand of american -- i think being to be partner -- which is something we can do with some degree of success. we have seen the strategy backfire. we wound up overthrowing the government. to my mind, a great template of how to do this successfully comes from somebody we tend to forget these days but should remember. edward, the quiet american once a legendary figure. a former advertising man who joined the air force and the cia. and sent to the philippines in the late '40s when they were facing the rebellion. one of the major communist uprising of the post world world war ii period. what he did was didn't send an army to back them up. he drove to the boondocks t

afghanistan and pakistan. pakistan is quite a complicated relationship and one that i expect will probably continue to be complicated. ambassador, as you alluded to i believe and i hope that the pakistanis are starting to understand the taliban is their problem, too. and it's no longer a tool they can use to posture against india wholetever went into that calculus there. the point i want to make from this, the people of afghanistan, there is message that has not gotten out to the united states. the people of afghanistan are good people. the people of afghanistan want to live in freedom. the taliban's approval rating in afghanistan is something like 10%. slightly higher than congress, but it's still about 10%. which means the taliban are not popular in afghanistan. this is a message i don't think has gotten out. karzai, and in karzai's posturing to do whatever it is he calculates he wants to do, we met with him as well, and i got a very different view coming out of the meeting one on one with karzai and what i

is this afghanistan's last chance? >> interestingly, general michelle saying he is helping to put forward a new breed of april began citizens. you can remember pilots we've met. afghan pilots how proud to be flying c 130s in those c 208s. you know you're looking at a new kind of afghan. a person connected to the world. a person not burdened down by religious prejudices. these young leaders, men and women, aviators that general michelle is working with that are going to be the future of afghanistan not only as a military, but in their future going forward. >> you traveled around the world. as a s.e.a.l., and just a private citizen. comparatively, do you see it? there are challenges here. let's not kid ourselves anyone can turn in a moment's notice. that is a reality in afghanistan. do you see enough of a march from those who want a free society? or a few tour outside of taliban? outside of radical muslims? that kind of area? >> you know, it's razor thin. because it's one thing to sit here and talk about what the afghans

will go back to r t international live from moscow the military mission in afghanistan is accomplished at least that's what the u.k. prime minister told soldiers there in a pre-christian visit is cheering words calm as drug trafficking in the country reaches record levels and the afghan national army surrenders key checkpoints in southern afghanistan to taliban in return for an end to attacks we spoke to an iraq war veteran who believes that cameron is trying to put a brave face on sorry business. mission accomplished was used by cameron because you know politicians don't really say hey you know that wildly unpopular war that we sent you and your children to die and it's like for over a decade well we messed up and it was all of which they're not going to say mission accomplished by cameron that we died for years and a colonial exercise that was a total bloodsoaked disaster due to the arrogance of rich politician who thought they could dominate the land and resources of poor people in afghanistan using the blood of working class people from the united states and from the u.k. and it's

almost half of all afghanistan imports pass through here. these trucks will soon begin the precarious journey distributing the flour and other goods across afghanistan. many of the roads are still dangerous. that is why security matters so much, to try and increase the chances of more business, improve the security and perhaps the trading relationship between afghanistan and the rest of the world. it is cyber monday in america. more than 130 million americans are expected to scour the internet today for holiday discounts. one of the drawbacks to buying online is there is no instant gratification. you have to wait a few days to get your goodies. if amazon has its way, that will change. the company is testing a new way to deliver a package in 30 minutes or less, using unmanned groans. for more on this project, i spoke with the -- unmanned drones. for more on this project, i spoke with the executive editor of cnet. is this for real? is for bezos said this real. they are actively testing these drones. it will drop the package right on your front

, the united states goes down to zero in afghanistan. can we fight al qaeda with no troops in afghanistan? is the zero option viable? >> if there's not a bilateral security -- as we sit here today, there are around 50,000 troops, that's not only on the front page of the newspaper every day, there's 50,000 troops in afghanistan today, we're on track to finish this mission by december 13, 2014 and we will finish the mission by then. the question on the table is what kind of presence and what kind of support will the united states and the international community provide after that date? we will acquire and we have negotiated with the afghan government certain protections and understandings with the afghan government. if we don't have the kind of assurances we need, the kind of elements of an understanding that we need, it's not possible for us to do this. now, you asked an important question about u.s. interests, the united states has a lot of options in pursuing its interests. this would be optimal from the afghan perspective. the big risk

we're in the process of withdrawing from afghanistan right now. we hope to accomplish that mission by the end of december 2014. whether there should be support of presence of u.s. troops after 2014 inside afghanistan. >> why should there be? >> well, for a couple of reasons. first of all, president karzai should sign the agreement. it's been approved by a large assembly of leaders. they got together and looked at the proposed agreement with the united states after 2014, and asked -- recommend that president karzai sign it. he should sign it. it's in our interest. that said, his refusal to sign it up to this point is reckless. i also adversely impacts our ability to plan for post 2014. >> fine, if he doesn't sign it, we'll really pull everyone out? >> at some point, george, it becomes impossible to make those kind of plans. number one. number two, yes, if the united states doesn't have a bilateral security arrangement with afghanistan, that supports its troop presence there, the united states cannot be present in afghanistan after december 31st, 20

troops in afghanistan forever and ever and ever. even if that happens, which seems doubtful to me, but even if they got that agreement, there would still be no plan for there to be a base for u.s. marines at camp leatherneck. the marines are leaving. they have been winding down there for a very long time now. they have to plno plans to stay. but we have just finished building this $36 million football field-sized state of the art u.s. marines headquarter building at camp leatherneck. a two-star marine general tells "the washington post" that this facility at camp leatherneck is better appointed than any marine headquarters, anywhere in the world, including the united states. a two-stammer army general tells "the post" that the operations center, inside this building, is as big as the one at centcom, in tampa. the operations center there is as big as the one at the supreme allied command headquarters in europe. and this headquarters building has never been used and it will never be used. the marines started saying a long time, like a

certainly my time in afghanistan made it graphic for me. it wasn't sanitized what it is with the operating rooms and our different transplant teams and things like that. it was more raw and visceral. yet, the common understanding that i come away with is that we don't have a lot of time here. no one knows how much we have. it sounds clichÉ and its like i have heard that before, but i feel like i have lived it. i continue to live it all the time. >> in the book, you describe with the main character, that he actually put his hands around the heart and massaged the heart with the chest cavity open. how many times have you done something like that? >> every time we do a case. >> explain how that works. >> it depends what you are doing it. almost any heart surgery, you have to manipulate the heart as the surgeon. whether you're during a coronary artery bypass graft were transplanting the heart, we have to remove it from the patient and we put it back in and implant it. it sounds strange to say this but it is routine for us to do that. i remembe

troops in afghanistan forever and ever and ever. even if that happens, which seems doubtful to me, but even if they got that agreement, there would still be no plan for there to be a base for u.s. marines at camp leatherneck. the marines are leaving. they have been winding down there for a very long time now. they have no plans to stay. but we have just finished building this $36 million football field-sized state of the art u.s. marines headquarter building at camp leatherneck. a two-star marine general tells "the washington post" that this facility at camp leatherneck is better appointed than any marine headquarters, anywhere in the world, including the united states. a two-star army general tells "the post" that the operations center, inside this building, is as big as the one at centcom, in tampa. the operations center there is as big as the one at the supreme allied command headquarters in europe. and this headquarters building has never been used and it will never be used. the marines started saying a long time, like as of 201

. >> defense secretary chuck hagel arrived in afghanistan to visit with american troops. but in the line of tension between the two countries he is not scheduled to meet with the afghan president. despite american objections he continues to insist on the release of afghan prisoners from guantanamo. otherwise karzai says he won't sign a new security deal. failure to reach an agreement could mean the withdrawal of troops from afghanistan in 2014. >>> an 85-year-old man held in north korea was set free today. he was reunited with his wife. during his captivity he appeared on north korean state television reading what was described as a confession. he was removed from a plane as he was about to leave that country. north korean officials claim he was conspireing with anti-government parties in north career yeah. >>> the prime minister of japan is trying to defuse a conflict between japan and china. they lay claim to islands in the east china sea. china had a cool reaction to the proposal. a foreign ministry spokesman said, quo it, the problem is gentleman man cannot look strai

this bookwork for traveling to and from afghanistan. it is long for research and writing that is my home. i had a great career with u.s. world news report, and gave me time and space to do the in- depth research that i love. host: do you have any formal involvement with the u.s. military in any capacity? guest: our corporation does the analytical work for both the u.s. military as well as the u.s. government as well as nonprofit and private sector. a big chunk of their work is forg analytical research dod and other institutions. according to your bio i have here, you are a senior fellow? guest: i am actually the chairman of the army board of visitors. that is an unpaid position. it is a group of us, six civilians. are asked our advice about curriculum and other things. i am also on the board of the national defense university, and similarly it is an unpaid position. these institutions have a huge number of international military and civilian fellows each year, or students. the student body is very mixed, and this is a critical way we --

or nato troop presence in afghanistan. we simply can't do it. >> joining me now, white house correspondent for the "new york times," michael shearer and cnn senior political analyst, ron brownstein. happy new year. little parting gift. let me ask you about the numbers on afghanistan. they struck us as being -- obviously the war is not popular but this unpopular, almost the level of the approval of members of congress unpopular. let's put up another number from the cnn polling. is the u.s. winning the war in afghanistan. 33% yes, 60% no. ron, what is striking, this is the war that americans all thought was a worthwhile cause in the beginning because of september 11th and rooting out al qaeda and osama bin laden. >> it may be as simple as you're still there 12 years later with inconclusive results despite incredible heroism, commitment and performance by the american military. and you know, you kind of look at these numbers and in that sense they're not surprising given that we're still doing this and there are consequential

tonight, six american soldiers have been killed in afghanistan. a lot of questions about what happened. our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski is there tonight. >>> living in fear inside syria. families left terrorized by a new kind of attack. we'll get a report tonight from our team on the ground. >>> the home front. the wives of nfl players have been stricken by head injuries over the years in the trenches. tonight their fight to hold their families together after learning the big nfl settlement may not cover the costs. >>> and against all odds. there's so much money on the line in tonight's lottery drawing. we'll take you where the line stretches from one state into another. "nightly news" begins now. >>> good evening. tonight six american families are in the process of receiving the worst possible news. eight days before christmas they are learning they have lost a loved one overseas. it was a blackhawk helicopter carrying u.s. soldiers. it went down in afghanistan. a fight ensued. tonight six americans are dead. there was one survivor. t

we have a report from inside afghanistan. >> reporter: amid the mountains of eastern afghanistan. santa claus is already coming to town. it's the uso's annual christmas cowboy sporting gifts and good cheer. it's led by santa whore seherse. >> i love these guys. they need a little piece of home and i love providing it to them. >> volunteers pitch in on behalf of fellow soldiers. >> it's just creating a smile and putting it on someone else's face. >> they're the only sant why's helpers carrying side arms, all gifts are donated like flat screen tvs and the latest x box. even a bicycle is assembled by committee. >> you don't have any parts left over, do you? >> i don't think we do. >> i always did. >> the gifts are tossed on to helicopters for delivery. this time to base. the soldiers here are preparing for a mission outside the wire. only days before christmas. the uso invasion provides a welcomed break from the war. even seasoned combat veterans get a lift. >> i like candy every once in a while. >> the uso convoy delivers the holiday packages to the most isolated and dangerous bases

there are 47,000 soldiers and marines in afghanistan tonight, and as the u.s. winds down operations there, this may be the last year for this particular christmas tradition. our making a difference report tonight from our correspondent, jim miklaszewski, inside afghanistan. >> reporter: amid the soaring snow-capped mountains in eastern afghanistan, santa claus is already going to town. it is the uso's annual cheer, and christmas convoy to the u.s. boots on the battlefield. led by santa herself, regina wages, the uso director here. >> i love these guys, they need a little piece of home and i love providing it for them. >> reporter: volunteers pitch in on behalf of their fellow soldiers. >> it is just creating a smile, putting it on somebody's faces. >> reporter: they're the only santa's helpers carrying sidearms. all gifts are donated. flat screen tvs and an x-box and a bicycle. >> you don't have any parts left over, do you? >> i don't think we do. >> i always did. >> reporter: the gifts are tossed onto helicopters for delivery. this time to the base. the soldie