in afghanistan. we have been doing a series of events on afghanistan over the last year. we recently hosted abdullah abdullah about two weeks ago. we couldn't have done this without the partnership of ambassador tony weng, the senior adviser here. thank you for everything. i think we're going to have an interesting and constructive conversation today. when i think about people who are qualified for their jobs or the right people at the right time, i can't think of a better person than my friend greg uygur. fz who served both in pakistan and afghanistan has served some of the toughest places in the world for the united states of america. greg is a friend. greg is a patriot. greg is a really qualified individual. thank god that greg uygur has raised his hand and agreed to do public service again. thank you very much. come on up here. give him a round of applause. [ applause ] >> it's very nice to see many of my old friends here in the audience. particularly my friend from cairo who has done a lot of th

we got peace in afghanistan. extremism was defeated within a month it creeping invasion of our country from our neighboring country was was was removed within a month not because the foreign forces were. the only factor of doing that but because the afghan people were supportive the afghan people wanted a change and the region supported the united states and its allies with tremendous goodwill they all began to help us in the beginning of my government my troubles to this country even when afghanistan had nothing no government no administration no means no money nothing wherever i went for example when i went to moscow russia sent me a plane took me to moscow brought her back and helped china do the same iran if anybody india turkey europe the arab countries why isn't that environment there anymore because something has gone wrong and that something has gone wrong is because of the forces who are there to improve things but things do not approve so naturally there are questions and questions are founded on. funda

we got peace in afghanistan. extremism was defeated within a month the creeping invasion of our country from our neighboring country was was was removed within a month not because the foreign forces were. the only factor of doing that but because the afghan people were supportive the afghan people wanted a change and the region supported the united states and its allies with tremendous goodwill they all began to help us in the beginning of my government my travels to this country even when afghanistan had nothing no government no administration no means no money nothing wherever i went for example when i went to moscow russia sent me a plane took which was converted back and helped china do the same iran if anybody india turkey europe the arab countries why isn't that environment there anymore because something has gone wrong. and that something has gone wrong is because of the forces who are there to improve things but things are not to prove so naturally there are questions and questions are founded on. fundame

in afghanistan or this is a shifting pattern in the u.s. strategy towards pakistan well it's unfortunate but i would look at it as if they are shifting their failure. into pakistan sitting there no one has done for so long and they have still not defeated the taliban really call them out of having a presence along with nato forces for more than one hundred fifty thousand clubs. but the alabama admitted defeated though they claimed i mean by by day i mean american there claimed that al qaeda is finished destroyed and taliban are completely been removed and weakened they would not be able to regroup or to be a threat to us but now we see again it is a threat to them again so they have bed leave failed didn't have a understand lit them accepted fact and tried to find a peaceful solution. than problem cannot be dissolved through cool as methods of whether it is it was in afghanistan or putting pressure on pakistan so they have to they have to leave isn't their policy and they need to revisit policy as you say take interest in the resulting ok l

of afghanistan know, the united states of america stands with them. i just came with a meeting with the president. we discussed the progress we have made in this country in america's commitment to the afghan government and the commitment of the afghanis to their freedom. i said to them what i say to you now. under president donald trump, the unitedorces of states will remain engaged in afghanistan until we eliminate the terrorist threat to our homeland, our people, once and for all. [applause] vice pres. pence: it really is humbling for me to stand before you today. my father was a combat veteran. served in korea. i'm the proud father of a united states marine. but my life never took me into the uniform of the united states. but every time i am with men and women of our armed forces i am inspired. i am inspired by your courage, by your selflessness, by your love of country and your patriotism. you stand here on a frontier of freedom. you stand tall and proud in defense of our families, our citizens and our most cherished values. your mission is vital.

crumbling from iraq to afghanistan and everywhere between. [applause] all across the country we have one new victories. nevada what they call themselves or where they are hiding. -- no matter what they call themselves or where they try to hide. the road before you is promising but perilous. this commander in chief is clear i about the threats you face and the challenges that lie ahead. but let me assure you, president trump hazard back. [applause] trump has your back. he will always be unwavering in his commitment to give you the tools you need to win. our allies have stepped up as never before. resolute support has brought together the u.s. with 38 other countries. they are sending their best and bravest to the coalition. today you stand shoulder to shoulder with them. and president trump will continue to forge cooperation with our allies and we will never ignore the dangers you face, even when they emerge from beyond the dangers -- the borders of afghanistan. pakistan has provided safety for the taliban for too long. those days are over. [a

terrord that the 9/11 attacks were hashed out of afghanistan. he also talked about some of the military policy changes that the trump administration has implemented since taking office, including more engagement and leadership on the ground. due to technical difficulties, the beginning portion of his remarks are not included in this video. vice pres. pence: the taliban struck the u.s. on september 11, 2001. we all remember that day. the day we saw innocent mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters, lose their lives. the american people understood this for what it was. it was an act of war. as one nation and one people, we vowed to win this war on our terms on this soil, and together with our allies, we came here to afghanistan to liberate its people and prevent the terrorists from ever threatening our homeland again. we are staying in that fight and will see it through to the end. [applause] vice pres. pence: this very base , bagram airfield, has been at the heart of our campaign since the beginning. as president trump has said, it is thanks to you

, we had to, change fundamentally the character of afghanistan. - the estimate for afghanistan and iraq, if you add all of this, is in the three plus trillion dollars, maybe more. that's if you sort of add everything. that's a real number, i mean that is, that's the cost of running the entire us government in a year. that's 20% of all of the money spent in america in a year. - [narrator] washington seeks to transition responsibility for security to the afghan government. - for all intents and purposes, the president's mission to me was to transition the theater. we had a lot to do. close down the theater, transition nato from a main force, ground force unit, to an advisory force, move the ansf into the lead, and recover the american 33,000 troops. - but the united states has made some big compromises along the way. its eagerness to try to hand things over to afghanistan, and its lack of success in building a really effective afghan national force, has led it to rely on either warlords who can keep the peace, so called, in certain parts of the country. or it has led the united states to

in afghanistan. panelists talked about access to capital, transportation issues and economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs. the center for strategic and international studies host ed this event earlier this week. >> let's get started. i'm dan rundy. we're going to have having a cop ver sags about the private sector in afghanistan. bev w we've been doing a series. we recently hosted abdullah abdullah about two weeks ago. before that -- we couldn't have done this without tony we thing thanks very much, tony, for everything. i think we're going to have an interesting and constructive conversation today. when i think about people who are qualified for their jobs or the right people at the right time, i can't think of a better person than my friend greg. fz who served both in pakistan and afghanistan has served some of the toughest places in the world united states of america. greg es's a friend, a a patriot, a really qualified individual. thank god he has raised his hand and agreed to do public s

let's bring in afghanistan specialist florian. asia florian i asked his claim responsibility why do you think they targeted this venue. said in the report majority of the people visiting this session of people and shia are a kind of in quotation mark natural enemy of the as they think they're. not real muslims but infidels and others of us also shared a lot of sunni extra because another another player comes into the game and then there's the know of afghanistan told us that the real aim not the shia people are really the taliban because the taliban is both this extreme a grooved active in afghanistan they are fighting over the allegiance of the sunni extremists and the positive taliban are targeting more the afghan forces and governmental virk has no tries to make a point in this sunni extremist groups by targeting shias and getting more awareness of them ok what can you tell us about the presence of i asked in afghanistan help make a threat is the group right now. yeah well it's a difficult question because as they made the thir

iran has been a tremendous help to afghanistan. you know iran is clearly against extremism iran is a country against whom extremism is directed they know it and we know it. so iran is a tremendous help to afghanistan it was in spite of the u.s. presence in afghanistan in spite of the differences that they had the intensity of the differences you know that was there between them iran help afghanistan in an understood u.s. presence in afghanistan and never bothered us because of that and we also short our our our independence and our goodwill and told them that well the presidential gurney understands that when i know he well when we go in we will he must make sure that afghanistan is not used for an american agenda against iran that is what i made sure when my government he or any afghan government must make sure that afghanistan is not used by any power against our neighbors but obviously your you mean the daughter and doesn't seem to understand that he's evolving on trying to understand russian dominick donald trump has his own ag

the purpose for which they send their sons to afghanistan.

in afghanistan or this is a shifting pattern in the u.s. strategy towards pakistan well it's unfortunate but i would look at it as if they are shifting their failure. into pakistan sitting the no one has done for so long and they have still not defeated the taliban if you really call them out of having a presence along with nato forces for more than one hundred fifty thousand troops. but the alabama admitted defeated though they claimed i mean by by day i mean american there claimed that al qaeda is finished destroyed and taliban have completely been removed and weakened they would not be able to regroup or to be a threat to us but now we see again it is a threat to them again so they have bed leave failed didn't have a understand lit them accepted fact and tried to find a peaceful solution. of our problem cannot be dissolved through cool as methods of whether it is it was in afghanistan or putting pressure on pakistan so they have to they have to leave isn't their policy and they need to revisit the policy as you say take interest in the r

in afghanistan or this is a shifting pattern in the u.s. strategy towards pakistan well it's unfortunate but i would look at it as if they are shifting their failure. into a pakistan sitting the no one has done for so long and they have still not defeated the taliban if you really call them out of having a presence along with nato forces for more than one hundred fifty thousand troops. but the alabama admitted defeated though they claimed i mean by by their i mean american their claim that al qaeda is finished destroyed and taliban are completely been removed and weakened they would not be able to regroup or to be a threat to us but now we see again it is a threat to them again so they have bed leave failed didn't have a understand lit them accepted fact and tried to find a peaceful solution the problem cannot be dissolved through cool as methods of whether it is it was in afghanistan or putting pressure on pakistan so they have to they have to leave isn't their policy and they need to revisit policy as you say take interest in the resultin

the purpose for which they send their sons to afghanistan. for the mothers are concerned we highly appreciate but that is not what's happening on the ground in afghanistan. as their children are dying in afghanistan sort of thousands of our people there for war is not the way forward there for bush and must. it's taught. as a country deeply involved historically in that part of the wood to look for peace and . for it issues here that would bring parks them closer to afghanistan and us closer to box. and that's it for one of your favorite shows of the season will be back with a whole new episode to going on the ground on wednesday the seventeenth of january till then keep in touch via social media have a happy yuletide. seem wrong wrong wrong just don't call. me. yet to see palin just come out. and indeed from an equal betrayal. when something you find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground . as a civilization just a tiny bit more advanced than we are that they can already pick up jerry springer or any other sit coms inter

they are crumbling from iraq to afghanistan and everywhere between. [applause] all across the country we have one new victories. no matter what they call themselves or where they try to hide. the road before you is promising but perilous. this commander in chief is clear i about the threats you face and the challenges that lie ahead. but let me assure you, president trump has your back. [applause] he will always be unwavering in his commitment to give you the tools you need to win. our allies have stepped up as never before. resolute support has brought together the u.s. with 38 other countries. they are sending their best and bravest to the coalition. today you stand shoulder to shoulder with them. and president trump will continue to forge cooperation with our allies and we will never ignore the dangers you face, even when they emerge from beyond the borders of afghanistan. pakistan has provided safety for the taliban for too long. those days are over. [applause] president trump has put pakistan on notice. as he said then i say now. pakistan has muc

the real numbers around thirty thaws the insurgents in afghanistan according to sources in afghanistan and the people who say like russian media that ten thousand s. supporters in afghanistan i don't believe his numbers the reality is that as operating in very small pockets in the east of afghanistan and recently old siddha north of afghanistan and it's very difficult to see who is taliep and who is and i support it because those are many groups who are groups and going to i as the satisfied with their own leadership and they go also back then the leadership of the target but meets the requirements of the smaller groups so i think it is a minority in afghanistan very interesting a back and forth there between those two groups what this attack does do is reveal the continuing security challenges in of gonna stop germany's defense minister recently said that the draw of international groups farm afghanistan is happening too quickly and that a longer term commitment is needed so and do you think members of the international coalition currently in afghanistan will be receptive to her messa

in afghanistan or this is a shifting pattern in the u.s. strategy towards pakistan well it's unfortunate but i would look at it as if they are shifting their failure. into a pakistan sitting the no one has done for so long and they have still not defeated the taliban if you really call them out of having a presence along with nato forces for more than one hundred fifty thousand troops. but the alabama admitted defeated though they claimed i mean by by day i mean american there claimed that al qaeda is finished destroyed and taliban have completely been removed and weakened they would not be able to regroup or to be a threat to us but now we see again it is a threat to them again so they have bed leave failed didn't have a understand lit them accepted fact and tried to find a peaceful solution. of our problem cannot be dissolved through cool as methods of whether it is it was in afghanistan or putting pressure on pakistan so they have to they have to leave isn't their policy and they need to revisit policy as you say to take interest in the

influx of weaponry into afghanistan has created a completely new world. so the taliban which emerged they are backed by pakistan president obama had closed to 90,000 troops in afghanistan and he pulled them all out and the war continued now owe a new president will take the gloves off been allowing the sca more latitude with jerome -- drowns and and give commanders the latitude to do what needs to be done to clean this up, their support than more villagers you will kill then you will send every boy cousin relative and extended family to the taliban out of revenge so what are 15,000 troops going to do that 90,000 couldn't? that is a long winded way to answer to say the only way it is resolved is in islamabad. i say that but i mean other nations. there was one negotiation so far peace talks begin 2014 in "the new york times" at the table you have representatives of afghanistan and a the taliban i have heard different stories the u.s. has said that we did not have anybody in the room but the chinese were in the room but what is interesting is on one side rep

afghanistan has been in more now since 1978. clearly, since 1979 -- out of which came the tragedy of 911 and so from president bush when in to try and destroy al qaeda and was asked and wanted to more than anything else get ben london and omar didn't want to do it and it was clear to me that no other way that he would go against his ancient tribal code and give up a guest in his home that is called [inaudible] but it was a movie about an american soldier named latrell who was shot down and the only one who survived in a taliban attack and a shepherd took latrell in and against his own tribesmen and villagers to protect him because that is required under tribal law. that inability which is ancient afghanistan coupled with what hamas him in the vast influx of weaponry into afghanistan has created an in the new world. the television which emerged to try and cleanse the land of their aaron's brothers today are backed by pakistan and today still wage war and president obama had close to 90000 troops in afghanistan and then he pulled

the war in afghanistan which is why we caught up with the former president of afghanistan hamid karzai at the central london undisclosed location. been an atrocity in less vegas that's seen making the headlines around the world it's always the ads early any of the fairly five thousand dead or wounded by shootings in the united states far more than military deaths or injuries in afghanistan but immediately after reports came up people suspected isis symptomatic of the fear that extremism is no borders the tragic shooting in in the united states my condolences to the american people in this very sad incident we. feel their pain because we have gone through a lot and almost every day we can get a criticism of the obama administration's response to violence in afghanistan in a moment but it's clear the president on trump as a candidate was talking about isolationism some said his response to terror in your country has been a near nuclear attack on your country apparently without even the permission of afghan authorities we don't want our country to be bombed with. huge huge. destruction of

military in iraq and afghanistan and massive craters known as burn pits open burn pits were outlawed in two thousand and ten so why are they still being used in the united states there was always a yellow haze over there. and everybody that you talked to had some type of response or you issues with it showed that i had a titanium aluminum iron chromium steel. silica in my bones there's nowhere else that i could have got modalism along i've never worked in anything that would have exposed me to. millions of pounds of munitions and other waste or burned by the pentagon in the united states every year there are nearly two hundred open air burn pits in the u.s. an investigation by the news website pro publica has revealed these sites have little to no oversight and residents living near the burn pits report respiratory by roid and other health problems health problems that more than one hundred thousand military veterans have also reported to a burn pits registry set up by the u.s. department of veterans affairs or v.a. it's not just us better ins and citizens that say they're affected s

afghanistan doesn't really have that, most of the divides in afghanistan are defined by ethnic divides. islamic state would find it difficult to develop strength in this country, because it would not be able to look to the sectarian divides that allowed it to flourish and come very strong in iraq and syria. we have to leave it there. many thanks for joining syria. we have to leave it there. many thanks forjoining us. a british medical team is flying to bangladesh to help rohingya refugees who've fled myanmar. hundreds of thousands of rohingya muslims are living in refugee camps, following widespread persecution at home. more than a0 doctors, nurses and firefighters from the uk will spend six weeks in bangladesh tackling an outbreak of diptheria in the camps, as claire fallon reports. leaving manchester airport, british medics heading for bangladesh and a refugee camp where those that have survived and escaped persecution now face another threat — diphtheria. the makeshift home to more than 600,000 rohingya muslims, this is the cox's bazar refugee camp. those living here left neighbou

in afghanistan? >> i.s.i.s. has proven to be a surprisingly resilient force in afghanistan over the last couple of years. it emerged in early 2015, predominantly composed of former pakistani taliban, that is a different group than the afghan taliban, though it has undoubtedly attracted some local adherence, as well, including other militant groups such as the islamic movement of uzbekistan, which is an afghanistan-focused group. it has suffered considerable pressure from the u.s. forces in afghanistan, from afghan government forces and, indeed, from afghan taliban forces as well, but, despite claims of success and the progress against the group in afghanistan over the last year and a half, as you saw in today's events there, it has proven resilient and it has proven able to regenerate its forces. >> sreenivasan: how much of this is due to the porous and somewhat lawless border with pakistan? >> that's certainly a factor that facilitates the endurance of a variety of militant groups in the region. it's not just a

strategy here in afghanistan. the vice president's trip here was in large part to count that strategy and to proclaim that he believes that there are real improvements being made on the ground here in the fight against the taliban and, of course, against al qaeda and isis militants here in afghanistan, jake. >> jeremy, thanks so much. sarah murray is live at the white house. and sarah, i have to say, it's rather unusual, the vice president making this trip before the president. >> it is. it's extremely unusual, jake, and extremely unusual when you think about this president and what he ran on, supporting the troops and keeping america safe. it's note that believe we are now almost a year into donald trump's presidency. he has not been to iraq. he has not been to afghanistan. and that mike pence is making that trip before him. now, this is a break from the norm from prior presidents, george w. bush went abroad to visit the troops eight months into office. former president barack obama i think was in office about th

afghanistan has long been the world's largest producer and exporter of opium. the substance from which heroin is derived. and ever more opium poppies are being planted the united nations says the area under cultivation has sought sixty three percent in just one year. and opium production has rocketed this year by eighty seven percent much of the drug trade is now under the control of the taliban for whom it's a huge source of revenue opium and heroin use is spreading fast within afghanistan as well a full ten percent of the population is believed to be addicted. twice a week liner hidari goes down under this bridge in kabul a grim site awaits her this is by far the most horrific spot in the afghan capital the city's drug addicts are holed up here thousands of them just trying to survive this dark hell the stench of excrement urine and vomit is unbearable rats scurry along the walls every morning between five and ten dead bodies are carried out laila haidari is the angel of campbell's drug afflicted. if whatever you want to come with me you should stand out. fro

destruction of weapons and bombs we want peace in afghanistan and the united states can talk ganesan to bring peace and stability and to defeat extremism. we have moved.

security sources say that is is defeated in afghanistan, despite all of this, oui’ afghanistan, despite all of this, our sources say that is fighters are operating in the north of afghanistan and in the eastern provinces like kandahar and provinces like kandahar and provinces bordering with pakistan. 0k, thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news: the queen will pay tribute to the people of match in their christmas day broadcast. the pope urges the world not to ignore the plight of migrants forced to leave their countries because of violence. military personnel spend time away from home in iraq and afghanistan. lawyer plumber was arrested in 0ctober lawyer plumber was arrested in october when she was found with 290 tramadol tablets in her suitcase, the painkiller is legal in the uk, but not in egypt. the family has maintained she wasn't aware the drug was illegal. if found guilty she faces up to 25 years in prison. surrey police are trying to identify a man who was found unconscious in a ditch yesterday, they have released pictures of his clothing in an attempt to track down his fan

the real numbers around thirty thaws the insurgents in afghanistan according to sources in afghanistan and the people who say like russian media that ten thousand s. supporters in afghanistan i don't believe his numbers the reality is that as operating in very small pockets in the east of afghanistan and recent the old city and north of afghanistan and it's very difficult to see who is taliep and who is and i support it because those of many groups who are a taliban groups and going to i as the satisfied with their own leadership and they go also back then the leadership of the target but meets the requirements of the smaller groups so i think it is a minority in afghanistan very interesting a back and forth there between those two groups what this attack does do is reveal the continuing security challenges the end of gotta stop germany's defense minister recently said that the withdrawal of international groups from afghanistan is happening too quickly and that a longer term commitment is needed so and do you think members of the international coalition currently in afghanistan will b

military and how he envisioned mining some of the most war torn provinces in afghanistan to help fund security operations and obtain strategic mineral resources for the u.s. once life for example shows that he believes that there's one trillion dollars worth of rare earth metals and things. like lithium for batteries in just helmand province and he wants to go get it he'll give the us government a cut and his private contractor says securities in his hit man his guys will go in there and and take it but you want to do a leveraged buyout of afghanistan he's pledging their collateral of the rare earths to fund his takeover of the country and to sell off the rare earths and to get a fee on the invasion now dick cheney pitch that the invasion of iraq would pay for itself from the revenues on the oil's yeah i thought it was a mob chalabi. that's right same call of multi-trillion dollar catastrophe and human rights to sources with a leveraged buyout of libya a quasi i leveraged buyout between hank paulson or john paulson hedge fund manager and lloyd blankfein of goldman sachs to turn that c

we have worked with the military in afghanistan. we have worked with intelligence forces to develop their capability. i think they've gotten much better at the job they are doing. i think they really have improved a great deal. time they need to have u.s. support in that effort. otherwise if the u.s. is not there assisting them they are not going to do the kind of job that needs to be done. that's why it's important that the u.s. be involved. countryit remains a that continues to have a lot of corruption. government as a result of that corruption doesn't have a lot of sway with the tribal leaders and the various other leaders in afghanistan. until they get that act together you're going to be dealing with different tribes who have different approaches to dealing with the taliban and the enemy. lastly, it's pakistan. pakistan has always been a problem. fors been a safe haven terrorists to come across the border and attack in afghanistan and then go back into pakistan. and we have made every effort possible during the time i was there

been in afghanistan the u.s. since post september eleventh and many people are talking about this being a never ending presence but the problem has been is there's never been a consistent sustained program by u.s. administrations in the past to actually commit to a gun is not to help provide the security training its national security forces general john nicholson who is the senior u.s. commander on the ground in afghanistan he has requested an additional troop surge which it seems that the u.s. and nato have agreed to we will see more trainers coming into a gun is done in twenty eighteen that is absolutely critical and essentially for a gun is done stability of god is done needs to have at least three years of consistent policy by western leaders especially the united states and they are early is that since two thousand and one that has never been that that has never existed. so i don't think i have thank you very much good to talk to you. as two thousand and seventeen comes to an end we're looking back at some

that we felt our students had been marking the anniversary of the soviet invasion of sunni majority afghanistan when the blast tore through the building eyewitnesses describe several explosions on the compound . while we were moving the wounded to the hospital a second explosion went off i. think if you minutes later. the injured were brought to nearby hospitals with several wounded taken in for surgery on. the fourth well. i was there for a book returning. to talk there was a huge bang so the rules from inside the hall as. my face was burning. fell off my chair and i saw other colleagues around me on the ground although the smoke was everywhere. i don't know what happened next with. what the. armed guards patrol the area where the explosions happened so called islamic state has claimed responsibility for the attack afghan president ashraf ghani called it an unpardonable crime against humanity he pledged to destroy terrorist groups. all along now from kabul is journalist talk dairy talk here we heard in that report that the president of afghanistan has condemned this attack but is the afghan go

military in iraq and afghanistan and massive craters known as burn pits open burn pits were outlawed in two thousand and ten so why are they still being used in the united states there was always a yellow haze over there. and everybody that you talked to had some type of response or you issues with. i had a titanium aluminum. chromium steel. silica and. there's no word that i could have got metals i've never worked in anything that would have exposed me to. millions of pounds of munitions and other way star burned by the pentagon in the united states every year there are nearly two hundred open air burn pits in the u.s. an investigation by the news website pro publica has revealed these sites have little to no oversight and residents living near the burn pits report respiratory by roid and other health problems health problems that more than one hundred thousand military veterans have also reported to a burn pits registry set up by the u.s. department of veterans affairs or v.a. it's not just u.s. veterans and citizens that say they're affected studies have shown a higher incidence o

. >> afghanistan is a completely different dynamic. it is literally a semi-medieval place in which tribal politics and street level retail behaviors dominate everything. these are the people who ' alexander the great had trouble with. >> the hard part was getting a group who are they, where are they bad guys. >> for a war in its eighth year, it appears to flynn that american forces are disadvantaged. >> we weren't winning. the taliban was persisting. we were not progressing towards an afghanistan that could stand on its own. >> flynn feels fault lies with washington, not just kabul. >> his canritique is that obama does not see that war, does not see us involved in a global conflict and, therefore, is not focused on designing a strategy that will enable us to win that war. >> once again, skirting standard procedure, flynn avoids military oversight and uses a washington think tank to public fixing intel, the paper is a scathing critique of the obama administration's approach to intelligence in afghanistan. it sends a lightning bolt throu

invasion in afghanistan because it's the anniversary of them so the suicide attack or most probably they knew about the cultural event and they targeted and which for which which were followed by two form class as well as my sources tell me and as a result forty people were killed and thirty one that it's still i mean the afghan ministry of health say that the. toll is rising so the students were there was a cultural event and over the last few weeks actually the eye of the so-called ices their things just targeting sunset here in afghanistan including mosques and such as vents and of course to hear that we've been seeing a series of violent attacks in kabul lately how fragile is the security situation there at the moment. well the security situation has been quite qualm over the last few days except for one attack which happened a couple of days ago which as a result ten people were killed except that i think kabul was almost almost. people were spending like their normal life but it seems that now i think it is changing last night that i could see loads of security personnel on the str

and then the most in afghanistan as well. now, you had never before had people working for you directly who were killed in combat. now, this experience, had people work for you. yeah. yeah. what was that like to have the command of people who were dying? it's-- you know, it's... it's a chilling experience, actually, the first time. i remember the radio call when our first soldier was killed. and it takes the wind out of you. i remember hearing when a sister unit, the 3rd infantry division, which really spearheaded the fight, along with the marine division, up to baghdad on the ground with tanks and bradley fighting vehicles. i remember the radio call. i was monitoring their net because we were all fighting together. and hearing that they'd had a couple of heavy vehicles blown up-- right. --it's a chilling... and then i remember the first suicide bomber report. and this is one where you realize, you know: "how in the world do you deal with an enemy who's willing to blow himself up to take you with him?" it's a very, very diffi

military in iraq and afghanistan and massive craters known as burn pits open burn pits were outlawed in two thousand and ten so why are they still being used in the united states there was always a yellow haze over there. and everybody that you talked to had some type of respiratory issues with. head titanium aluminum. chromium steel. silica and. there's no were. never worked in anything that would have exposed me to. millions of pounds of munitions and other way star burned by the pentagon in the united states every year there are nearly two hundred open air burn pits in the u.s. an investigation by the news website pro publica has revealed these sites have little to no oversight and residents living near the burn pits report respiratory by roid and other health problems health problems that more than one hundred thousand military veterans have also reported to a burn pits registry set up by the u.s. department of veterans affairs or v.a. it's not just us better ins and citizens that say they're affected studies have shown a higher incidence of birth defects in iraqi children living

just afghanistan. they have safe haven elsewhere as well, right? do we know where they are and how they are able to continue to recruit? >> absolutely. they are operating in the southern philippines, in libya. they have a presence in the west, in the united states. 25 to 30% of the foreign fighters from europe have returned home. so they are able to displace in a range of places. the other thing we need to remember is these guys have taken a major blow in 2017 and they will be very eager to reassert themselves and show their relevance on the global stage in 2018. i think that means them hitting us at home even more so than we've seen in the past. >> rick: that's frightening. >> it is. and understand that isis, if al qaeda practices terrorism isis practices horrorism. they like to hit us where we live, work and play. that's what i'm thinking about as we go into the new year. what does it mean to you, your family, my friends and family on main street, not necessarily wall street. because that's where the

[inaudible] joined the army in 2008 and was twice the play to afghanistan. it was during his second deployment that they tackled a suspicious local man making his way toward one of the patrols, setting off the man suicide vest. four died but many were spared as a result of his swift action. captain grover spent three years in recovery. his book, eight seconds of courage which will be available after l lunch recounts his early life and friends, his tough army ranger training and the courage it brought him to take the brave action that saved those many lives. how can we think a man whose own sense of responsibility inspired him to take that action. perhaps president obama have the right idea when, in 2015 and on veterans day he awarded our nation's highest military honor the congressional medal of honor to captain grover, the first immigrant to be so recognized since the vietnam war. please join me. [applause] >> wonderful. many congratulations to you. thank you for being here with us. >> it's a real honor and privilege to be here with you. one of the things i

my first tour in afghan does afghanistan we had a great idea from the civil affairs folks, create -- passed out cards, right? business cards to the local afghans in different villages, and the point was, if you -- came into your division, just call the number on the back of this card and let us know. 75% of them couldn't read so that was a problem. there's in uber-app, but we actually put out translator phone numbers and what happened is the locals figured, oh, if we appear to be helping the americans, then we just call them and tell them there's taliban here and they come, they think we're friends, then they'll give us fuel, build us a retaining wall, build us a mosque. so, -- heck, they're smart. so they called us one night, and said, taliban is here, and they -- so we took off as a unit to that village. make a long story short, the taliban was never there what happened was, instead, it's pitch black dark. i'm over here -- trying to figure out where the enemy is, and the people are -- open the door, mad at us because it's the middle of the night. i fall into the sewage. it's really

off the soviet union's invasion into afghanistan. in one thousand nine hundred seventy nine apparently a lot of. wear attending this panel discussion so why exactly this gathering is hard to tell it is but it is likely that it was just like because it was a shi'ite gathering and it was not like a specific reason why this gathering exactly what this attack does although i highlight is the fact that security challenges remain very precarious in afghanistan where you are and it goes beyond the taliban describe to us that the extent of the i.a.s. presence in afghanistan how big are they there. yes it is important to note that. has a presence in afghanistan is like a very small fraction compared to older his searchings the biggest inserts a group is by far probably bomb so i see is present but only a small pockets. clearly confirmed by his presence is in the east of the contents not that far away from call there is like remote territory mountainous so it is hard to see says say how much the cell that conducts attacks inside call groups is

afghanistan has long been the world's largest producer and exporter of opium. the substance from which heroin is derived. and ever more opium poppies are being planted the united nations says the area under cultivation has sought sixty three percent in just one year. and opium production has rocketed this year by. seven percent much of the drug trade is now under the control of the taliban for whom it's a huge source of revenue opium and heroin use is spreading fast within afghanistan as well a full ten percent of the population is believed to be addicted. twice a week liner hidari goes down under this bridge in kabul a grim site awaits her this is by far the most horrific spot in the afghan capital the city's drug addicts are holed up here thousands of them just trying to survive this dark hell the stench of excrement urine and vomit is unbearable rats scurry along the walls every morning between five and ten dead bodies are carried out lie low haidari is the angel of campbell's drug afflicted. and. if what do you want to come with me you should stand up. a vo

military in iraq and afghanistan and massive craters known as burn pits open burn pits were outlawed in two thousand and ten so why are they still being used in the united states. there was always you look. and everybody that you talked to had some type of wrist which were you shoes with. titanium aluminum. chrome steel. silica. is no word that actually got metals i've never worked in anything that would have exposed me to the. millions of pounds of munitions and other waste or burned by the pentagon in the united states every year there are nearly two hundred open air burn pits in the u.s. an investigation by the news website pro publica has revealed these sites have little to no oversight and residents living near the burn pits report respiratory by roid and other health problems health problems that more than one hundred thousand military veterans have also reported to a burn pits registry set up by the u.s. department of veterans affairs or b a it's not just us better ins and citizens that say they're affected studies have shown a higher incidence of birth defects and iraqi child

afghanistan has long been the world's largest producer and exporter of opium. the substance from which heroin is derived. and ever more opium poppies are being planted the united nations says the area under cultivation has sought sixty three percent in just one year. and opium production has rocketed this year by eighty seven percent much of the drug trade is now under the control of the taliban for whom it's a huge source of revenue opium and heroin use is spreading fast within afghanistan as well a full ten percent of the population is believed to be addicted. twice a week liner hidari goes down under this bridge in kabul a grim site awaits her this is by far the most horrific spot in the afghan capital the city's drug addicts are holed up here thousands of them just trying to survive this dark hell the stench of excrement urine and vomit is unbearable rats scurry along the walls every morning between five and ten dead bodies are carried out laila haidari is the angel of campbell's drug afflicted. if whatever you want to come with me you should stand up. a vo

the war in afghanistan is winding down. al qaeda has been decimated. >> flynn vehemently disagreed with that assessment and grew concerned that u.s. intelligence on the terror group was being watered down. >> and he was very upset about that. he called that the big lie. >> it is a shortcoming, a major shortcoming. >> once again, flynn did not hesitate to share his criticisms in public, outside the chain of command. >> is al qaeda on the run and on the path to defeat? >> they are not. >> the white house would black out whole passages of his testimony and he would go up there and give it any way. >> inside the intelligence agencies, some grew concerned that flynn's position sometimes contradicted the facts and the intelligence. flynn facts, they called them. people talked about flynn facts. you heard this expression. >> i was hearing from more than one source in dia about what became flynn facts. that concerned me. >> can you give me an xample? >> i think he was convinced the iranians were behind the benghazi attack. which th

we have worked with the military in afghanistan. we have worked with intelligence forces to develop their capability. i think they've gotten much better at the job they are doing. i think they really have improved a great deal. at the same time they need to have u.s. support in that effort. otherwise if the u.s. is not there assisting them they are not going to do the kind of job that needs to be done. that's why it's important that the u.s. be involved. thirdly it remains a country that continues to have a lot of corruption. and the central government as a result of that corruption doesn't have a lot of sway with the tribal leaders and the various other leaders in afghanistan. until they get that act together you're going to be dealing with different tribes who have different approaches to dealing with the taliban and the enemy. lastly, it's pakistan. pakistan has always been a problem. it is been a safe haven for terrorists to come across the border and attack in afghanistan and then go back into pakistan. and we have made every e

talk about the challenge of dealing with place like afghanistan. after all the years, it is the longest war with had with america. a challenge and frankly that is the reason we're still there and still plagued because it is not easy. it is not easy. it wasgot afghanistan -- the place where al qaeda came together and developed plans for 9/11. we drove into afghanistan and the leadership from al qaeda made its way into the tribal areas and pakistan so we then had to take them on an pakistan and thanks to the agency that we were involved with, i think we did one hell of a job going after their leadership. at afghanistan remains continuing challenge. for a lot of reasons. first of all, the challenge of being able to go after the television effectively -- the the taliban in a way that not only goes after the securesbut then afterwards. the problem is we go after them, then they are right back. we've worked with intelligence forces to develop capability and i think we have gotten much better at the job we're doing, i actually think that you know, we have