, the united states invades iraq. >> my fellow citizens, at this hour, american and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm iraq, to free its people, and to defend the world from grave danger. >> when the u.s. invaded, it hadn't thought much about the day after. it was very much focused on overthrowing saddam. and what happened in the initial weeks was a total power vacuum. >> as the american occupation quickly devolved into chaos, one man seized the moment. that man is abu al zarqawi. the godfather of isis. in 2004 he swore allegiance to osama bin laden and became the leader of al qaeda in iraq. >> the u.s. has described him as one of the world's most dangerous terrorists. >> his ultimate goal was to create an islamic state. and events in iraq were going to give him the chance to realize his dream. >> the old military needed to be formally disbanded. >> saddam hussein's military was out on the street. and then american sold yourself captured saddam himself. >> we got him. >> sunnis were out of favor and out of jobs, but they had guns and organizatio

, i.s.i.l. is losing ground in iraq and syria but don't kid yourself. it is far from defeated as a global force of violence. after blitzing across both countries in 2014 i.s.i.l. fighters have spent the last six months getting killed or driven out of some key places. like ramadi in iraq and aleppo in syria. what's more, i.s.i.l. last lost some key road connections, linkining the iraqi city of mosl with territory it controls in syria. american special force he are helping the iraqi government and cushtkurdish informs rolling i.. back. and syrian troops are fighting both i.s.i.l. and the u.s. backed rebels. either way, i.s.i.l. is on the defensive now in both syria and iraq butter the group is very much on the offensive everywhere else. the i.s.i.l. ideology is morphed into a franchise that's being taken up by the likes of boko haram in nigeria and grille la a groups. the same story in libya. the new local i.s.i.l. franchise announced itself last year when it murder twuf 21 egyptian chris in front of cameras. but as i.s.i.l.' i.s.i.l.'s fore started to turn, regrouping, in february,

suffered at the hands of iraq's government. >> they are law of order. people don't like, i ask if they like their security so they take taxes and take care of the poor. >> this is a video for deaf juhadis who wish to join isis. the isis minders kept him away from only one group. he was not committed to speak to or go near a single woman. >> and you think you would win the war. >> perhaps the most astonishing thing is this. >> they wanted to provoke the united states to bring ground troops to the country. it's a clear target. they want the americans to bring their boots on the ground. they want to fight the americans. that's their dream. the ultimate fight against the americans. that's what they want. >> they do want to fight their americans on their own turf. in this regard isis has a different dream than al qaeda. isis may do this but to further its aim of building a state. still, you cannot understand isis without going back to al qaeda and its signature moment. it's spectacular attack. >> september 11, 2001. 19 al qaeda operatives hijack four planes, knock down two skyscrape sk

commanding combat team 5 on the battlefield in iraq. you have got probably more experience in this war than anybody i know. what has changed over the course of those years between 2003 and now? >> today we're probably dealing with a more virulent strain of extremism in the form of isil. >> is it something that can be contained and defeated? >> it can be and will be defeated. it requires a couple of things, first deny sanctuary and require us to build the capacity of the partners for security with their own borders and require us to cut off the resources, the flow of foreign fighters, undermine the credibility of their narrative. >> undermining isis narrative isn't easy. as fast as one can push the send button, isis propaganda is spread on social media, horrific videos via dabiq the digital magazine. isis claims like all jihadis to follow the paths of islam's founder mohammed who established the first islamic state orac caliphate in the seventh century. >> the most common misconception of isis is, again, the one that they aren't islamic. unfortunately, isis is very islamic. >> timothy f

in iraq. the removal of this isil leader will hamper the organization's ability to conduct operations both inside and outside of iraq and syria. this is the second senior isil leader we have successfully targeted this month. after confirming the death of isil's so-called minister of war a short time ago. a few months ago, when i said we were going to go after isil's financial infrastructure, we started with the storage sites where it holds its cash, and now we have taken out the leader who oversees all of the funding for isil's operations. hurting their ability to pay fighters and hire recruits. as i have said our campaign plan is first and foremost to collapse isil's parent tumor in iraq and syria, focusing on its power centers in raqqa and mosul. in syria, motivated local forces that we support recently retook a town, and severed the main artery between syria and northern iraq, and as a result, it has become much harder for isil leaders and forces to travel between raqqa and mosul. i'm also pleased to see that iraqi security forces have moved from their staging base and a

, the -- the -- a number of the leaders of isil were in detention in iraq back in former years -- >> you are watching al jazeera. you are with the news hour here. the news conference coming to you live you can see it there. ash carter the u.s. defense secretary is taking us through the latest developments in the fight against isil. it is the second time they have eliminated a key member of the cabinet of isil. mr. carter saying it makes it more difficult for isil to travel between raqqa and mosul. he says in syria and iraq, we are seeing the shaping of the fight yet to come. he was basically saying -- flanked there by the joint chiefs of staff -- they have targeted the main isil person responsible for recruiting new isil fighters as well. we'll go back to this news conference and get a real sense of what they feel they have achieved. >> we're not reluctant jennifer. what we track is the number that are in our force management level. that's 3800. but this is nothing inconsistent with what has been going on for 15 years. those have not been counted -- in other words there is a co

raging. isis is still in iraq and syria at the crime scene. there are huge flows of refugees. it is hard to get testimony. we do know enough, we know too much. the knights of columbus this week, or last week, released this report on their website and it has thousands of names of christians who have been killed, raped, or tortured because they are christian. they believe it is only the tip of the iceberg. we are hearing new cases that are not in this report. i was talking to cardinal mccarrick, who has just gotten back from iraq, touring the refugee camps. he said a woman told him, and it is not in this report, that she saw her husband crucified on the door of their home. i work for an edition for relief and reconciliation in the middle east. it supports refugees from iraq and jordan. it seems like every family that we are helping has a story. i'm thinking of georgina, a young gal that left iraq when isis came in. she left in a car with her grandmother. her parents, and three brothers and another car. they never arrived. only she and her grandmother arrived in jordan. she doesn't kno

the hands of iraq's government. >> first of all, instead of anarchy, they have now law and order. and people don't like isis but they like their security. so, they take taxes. they take care of the poor. >> bizarrely, isis even reaches out to the disabled. this is a recruitment video for deaf jihadis who wish to join isis. tottenhoffer's isis minders kept him away from only one group. he was not permitted to speak to, or even go near, a single woman. >> and you think you would win the war. >> perhaps the most astonishing thing tottenhoffer heard is this. >> they want to provoke the united states to bring ground troops to the country. it's a clear target. they want the americans to bring their boots on the ground. they want to fight the americans. that's their dream. the ultimate fight against the americans. that's what they want. that's what they hope. >> they do want to fight the americans on their own turf. in this regard, isis has a different dream than al qaeda. osama bin laden wanted to perpetrate large-scale terror attacks against the west. isis may do this but to further its ai

would like to highlight ongoing training efforts in iraq. today, the us-led coalition has trained within 20,000 members of the isf, providing them the skills and equipment to succeed on the battlefield. particularly noteworthy, has been a training the coalition has provided iraq a special operation forces. recently, 459 trainees graduated from the commando course in baghdad. commando course is eight weeks long and included training in urban combat, close close quarters of battles and battlefield medicine. of note, the course was taught by iraqis with advisers from the coalition serving as mentors. we welcome those new 459 members of the iraqi counterterrorist service. moving to syria, on the line which is star number seven in the upper left-hand corner of the map, opposition forces continue to engage isil along with the troops. opposition forces seized towns and villages and repelled the tax and other villages. i have video i would like to show you. it demonstrates some of the precision that we bring to the battlefield. so please roll the video. [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible]

iraq. you have got probably more experience in this war than anybody i know. when's changed over the course of those years between 2003 and now? >> today we're probably dealing with a more virulent strain of extremism. >> is it contained and defeated? >> it can be and will be defeated. it requires a couple of things, first deny sanctuary and require us to build the capacity of the partners for security with their own borders and require us to cut off the resources, the flow of foreign fighters, undermine the credibility of their narrative. >> undermining isis narrative isn't easy. as fast as one can push the send button, propaganda is spread on social media, horrific videos via dabiq the digital magazine. isis claims like all jihadis to follow the paths of islam's founder mohammed who established the first caliphate. >> the most common misconception of isis is, again, the one that they aren't islamic. unfortunately, isis is very islamic. >> timothy furnish has a phd in islamic history, a u.s. arabic specialist and written numerous books on islam including "sects, lies and the cal

some message from online and decided to commit a terrorist attack. they were trained in iraq or syria and coming back because they have passports. is there enough scrutiny or is that an impossible task to check everybody at the border coming from syria or turkey? >> charlie, one of the great advantages we have is there is this big piece of water between us and these cases. one of the vulnerabilities -- i'm sorry. one of the great advantages of the european union is they have a union they can easily cross borders. it's good for their economics, it's good for their social, crossover their society, but it comes with vulnerability. you see increasing questions being asked by various nations of when you have a known terrorist who managed to make his way from brussels into paris to do the attacks that occurred earlier this year, who is someone who had already been in paris before, then back to brussels, then back to syria, then back to belgium, that that comes with a certain cost, and this is an old tug of war in the argument about terrorism, which is what the terrorists' goal is, par

place in the world cup. unnerving >>> from the islamic state of iraq, fighters have killed at least 18 iraqi soldiers in an attack on an air base. 10 suicide bombers stormed anbar province homes to u.s. military trainers as well as iraqi forces. elsewhere in iraq, funerals have been held for more than 40 people killed when an is ill suicide bomber starting a ball stadium south of baghdad. is ill appears to be on the tree treat. in palmiera, one place, government forces have taken several districts. details on that in a moment. first, our correspondent in baghdad has more on the attack on that military air base in iraq. >> reporter: 8 to 10 fighters have succeeded. some say they blew themselves up and some were killed. they said clashes have been between those before they are killed and also iraqi forces. some fighters, some soldiers from iraqi forces killed in these clashes before iraqi forces killed all of those people. but he didn't say exactly how many iraqi soldiers have been killed in this operation. the source did not talk about whether those fighters reached their facilities or

online and decided to go for that terrorist attack. they were trained in iraq or syria. and they are coming back because they have passports. is there enough scrutiny or is there possible task to -- john: one of the big advantages we have is this big tease of -- big piece of water between us and these cases. one of these vulnerabilities -- excuse me --it is good for their social society. it comes with a vulnerability. when you have a known terrorist who managed to make his way from brussels into paris to do the attacks that occurred earlier this year, for someone who had already been in paris before and back to brussels, then back to syria, then back to belgium, that comes with a certain cost. this is an old tug-of-war in the argument about terrorism. part of the goal is to cause the government to limit people's freedom, to cause people to question whether the government can protect them, to cause people to be distrustful of their government. charlie: to cause people to change their way of living. john: exactly. i think european face a great challenge here. we have the ability to

joint chiefs of staff. we met in 2003 colonel commanding combat team 5 on the battlefield in iraq. you have got probably more experience in this war than anybody i know. when's changed over the course of those years between 2003 and now? >> today we're probably dealing with a more virulent strain of extremism. >> is it contained and defeated? >> it can be and will be defeated. it requires a couple of things, first deny sanctuary and require us to build the capacity of the partners for security with their own borders and require us to cut off the resources, the flow of foreign fighters, undermine the credibility of their narrative. >> undermining isis narrative isn't easy. as fast as one can push the send button, propaganda is spread on social media, horrific videos via dabiq the digital magazine. isis claims like all jihadis to follow the paths of islam's founder mohammed who established the first caliphate. >> the most common misconception of isis is, again, the one that they aren't islamic. unfortunately, isis is very islamic. >> timothy furnish has phd in islamic history, a u.s

team 5 on the battlefield in iraq. you have got probably more experience in this war than anybody i know. when's changed over the course of those years between 2003 and now? >> today we're probably dealing with a more virulent strain of extremism. >> is it contained and defeated? >> it can be and will be defeated. it requires a couple of things, first deny sanctuary and require us to build the capacity of the partners for security with their own borders and require us to cut off the resources, the flow of foreign fighters, undermine the credibility of their narrative. >> undermining isis narrative isn't easy. as fast as one can push the send button, propaganda is spread on social media, horrific videos via dabiq the digital magazine. isis claims like all jihadis to follow the paths of islam's founder mohammed who established the first caliphate. >> the most common misconception of isis is, again, the one that they aren't islamic. unfortunately, isis is very islamic. >> timothy furnish has a phd in islamic history, a u.s. arabic specialist and written numerous books on islam includin

deploys u.s. marines on the ground in iraq to help coalition forces fight isil. >>> and an event not seen in nearly a century, as cuba prepares to welcome a current u.s. president. we explore the tumultuous relations between the two nations. ♪ >>> turkey's interior minister said the suicide attacker responsible for saturday' blast was a member of aisles. for other people were killed and dozens wounded when the bomber detonated his device on a crowded street. omar al saleh has the latest from istanbul. >> reporter: a somber mood hangs over the street. this is the heart of istanbul's commercial lifeline. a place where locals and tourists hang out. after a suicide bombing on saturday the avenue is overshadowed by fear. people here hold a vigil for the victims. >> translator: we came here right after the incidents and left red carnations to share our pain. >> reporter: security camera footage captured the moment the blast went off around noon. witnesses say hundreds of people ran for cover when a loud explosion was heard. a day later the security forces are still searching for clues. t

, which is first to destroy isil, and its parent tumor in iraq and syria and collapse its two power centers in raqqa and mosul. second, to combat the metastasize of the isil tumor worldwide and, third to protect the homeland. many of the troop is smoked to at fort campbell are now rotating into iraq. to assume the train, advise and assist mission which soldiers from the 82nd airborne have been fulfilling so effectively. because of our strategy, and our determination to accelerate our campaign, momentum is now on our side, and not on isil's. our partners on the ground in iraq have retaken ramadi and-making games in anbar, while statement we are making operationally significant strides in our campaign to dismantle ice until syria. in the last few days, capable local forces supported by the united states have reclaimed shadadi, a critical node for isil training training and logis well as the oil enterprise. as our partners take control of shadadi i believe we'll learn a great deal more about isil's criminal networks, criminal enterprise, and what it does sustain them. by encircling and

revolution, libya after the fall of qua dafie, withdrawal from iraq and the crossing of the chemical red line in syria, this president walked away and ignored the lessons of history that power abwho ares a vacuum, that wars don't end because politicians say so, that the perils of indecision and inaction often outweigh the risks of action and that while america cannot solve the problems of the middle east, american leadership is indispensable to managing them. with major policy decisions hanging in the balance right now, our nation cannot afford to ignore these lessons again. in afghanistan, the president has told our enemies we will proceed with a calendar based decision to cut u.s. troop presence in half by the end of this year. and he's yet to explain the consequences of reducing u.s. troop levels from 9,800 to 5,500. significant reductions to isr and close air support capacity diminished operational flexibility of u.s. counterterrorism forces and perhaps the most dangerous mission at all the highest levels of the afghan military presis eye when their pore is needed most. all this tran

killed and more than 30 people arrested. jordan has said that because of its proximity to syria and iraq and its general proximity to conflict in the region, it is at risk for serious threats from isil and sympathizers in jordan. these were described as outlaws by jordanian officials, indicating because it didn't say that they were a different nationality that they are in fact jordanian. this has been as well as a threat from the syrian conflict. very much homegrown threat here in jordan for many years. >> the gulf cooperation council designated hezbollah as a terrorist organization. the move deepened a wrist with lebanon where hezbollah is a leading political power. in 2013, the g.c.c. imposed sanctions on hezbollah members in response to their intervention in syria's civil war. two weeks ago, saudi arabia announced it was cutting $4 billion in aid to lebanese security forces and i should travel warnings to the nation. on tuesday, hezbollah leader sharply criticized saws rain for the punitive measures and insisted that his shia group would remain in lebanon's coalition government. earli

iraqi specialist was reportedly captured by u.s. special operation forces in northern iraq three weeks ago. unnamed u.s. military officials say that the specialist worked for saddam hussein now-dissolved military industrialization authority, before joining isil. u.s. officials say he also provided information about how isil has used mustard gas during attacks. unnamed officials say u.s. special operations forces and somali troops carried out a raid at an al-shabaab training camp in somalia, killing 19 militants. this comes only days u.s. days -- this comes only days after u.s. airstrikes in somalia killed more than 150 people it identified as militants at an al-shabaab training camp, marking one of the deadliest u.s. attacks to date in the so-called war on terror. the u.s. head of volkswagen has resigned amid the ongoing fallout from the auto giant's emissions cheating scandal. michael horn had served as the u.s. chief executive since 2014. this comes about six months after the global head of volkswagen, martin winterkorn, also resigned. the justice department has sued german automaker

syria and in iraq. in pakistan these terrorist groups splintered away from that, they have been attacking all kind of minority communities and christians are one of them but also attacking the shoo ya who are a minority in pakistan. some cases sikhs. they are going after all of the minorities they can possibly target. but in this instance they specifically targeted the christians on a holy day in a place they knew christian families would be out with the children having a picnic, enjoying easter sunday. this has never happened before. this easter sunday has been observed in pakistan in lahore for decades. i'm sure christians in that city and pistan in general are looking over their shoulders and with a great deal of concern and anxiety. >> i have been to lahore and the park and it was a popular place but i'm not sure it will be popular right now, sshlgly for christians. what does it say? you studied this and know what is going on. it is heart-breaking to see the christian community and in syria and iraq literally destroyed, their towns destroyed. what does it tay about what is g

5 on the battlefield in iraq. you have got probably more experience in this war than anybody i know. when's changed over the course of those years between 2003 and now? >> today we're probably dealing with a more virulent strain of extremism. >> is it contained and defeated? >> it can be and will be defeated. it requires a couple of things, first deny sanctuary and require us to build the capacity of the partners for security with their own borders and require us to cut off the resources, the flow of foreign fighters, undermine the credibility of their narrative. >> undermining isis narrative isn't easy. as fast as one can push the send button, propaganda is spread on social media, horrific videos via dabiq the digital magazine. isis claims like all jihadis to follow the paths of islam's founder mohammed who established the first caliphate. >> the most common misconception of isis is, again, the one that they aren't islamic. unfortunately, isis is very islamic. >> timothy furnish has a phd in islamic history, a u.s. arabic specialist and written numerous books on islam including "se

the next 60 minutes. mourning in iraq for the victims of a suicide-bombing at a football match after isil attacks civilian and military targets. as brussels continues to mourn its dead, belgium police charge three suspects with terror offenses. >>> the battle for palmyra, syrian government forces say they've taken control of three parts of the city. >> and rocking havana, the rolling stones plays for a historic crowd in cuba. >> in twenty20 championships new zealand unbeaten in the competition after a crashing defeat at bangladesh. hello, fighters from the islamic state in iraq and the levant have killed at least 18 iraqi soldiers. ten suicide-bombers stormed the air base in anbar province. eight were killed and the other two blew themselves up. this is what we know about the air force base. it's located in anbar province 120 kilometers from ramadi. hundreds of advisers and trainers use that base to support iraqi troops. however, the u.s. military said that there were no attacks near the u.s. side of the base. they launched an operation to retake anbar province, 60% of the province i

kurdish targetse tarn northern iraq. hi alert, new video emerges of sunday's deadly hotel attack. >>> and best teacher. a palestinian ex refugee wins global award for her work with students traumatized by violence. good evening i'm antonio mora, we begin al jazeera america international news hour by a surprise decision by russia, on the fifth anniversary of the war in syria. russian president vladimir putin announced this morning he is withdrawing most of russia's troops. gathering in geneva for a new round of talks to end the conflict, it's unclear how many russian troops will remain in syria, it is unclear if russia will continue to conduct air strikes against terrorists, putin says he hopes the pullout is a step towards peace. >> translator: i hope this will significantly increase the level of trust of all participants in the political process in syria, and will help solve the syrian conflict peacefully. >> the u.s. has adopted a wait-and-see approach to the announced pullout. the white house has been against the russian deployment in syria from the start. al jazeera's jamie m

not want to go in. you are going to destabilize the entire middle east and they went into iraq and it was a mistake. now, obama gets out. the way he got out was so bad. he puts out a date. the enemy says, wow. they cannot believe it. he pushes out a date. bad thing to do. in all fairness, we should not have been there but we should have left some troops behind. iran is taking over iraq. iraq as the second largest oil reserves in the world. the iran deal -- i used to say one of the greatest deals i have ever seen was the iran deal, but actually, the greatest deal i have seen is just now. iran is taking over iraq. second largest oil reserves in the world. that is the greatest deal. they have been fighting with the iraq forever and they go 10 feet one-way, 10 feet the other way and then they rest. then they go again. for years and years, they fought. but they were the same. they were equal military strength. saddam hussein would drop gas. they would complain, they would drop gas. this went on forever. and then we obliterated one of the two powers. to me, it was obvious. i said, don't

said this was a good idea. iraqd the former master to on ourssador on iraq show. he said, this is exactly what isis would want the united states to do. how do you respond? trump: i'm ok. we have to be vigilant, careful. theew york city, we had strongest police department, amazing people. if you talk love vigilance, we were watching closer than anybody else, an amazing group, and actually cut people. mayor who isby a .rossly incompetent, de blasio they ended it. we should bring it back. we have to be vigilant, and look, even if it is at the mosques. not: i think you are responding to the substance of the argument. you think the master is wrong? mr. trump: i think he is wrong. we have to be smarter, and much more vigilant. your career, which has been very successful, what is an analogy -- the closest decision you have had to make to a decision that the president would have to make? mr. trump: no but he makes decisions like that you are talking about lives. potentially thousands of lives. when you don't make decisions, you're often talking about many more lives. presidentple, iwatch

relationship with the chinese and we're just going to withdraw from the wars in iraq and afghanistan, and you know, we'll be okay. actually, with less of an investment. and kind of reality set in. and on both accounts, we have a significant challenge. in that respect, senator mccain i think is spot on. the notion that, somehow, you needed goldwater-nichols to get there, too -- you know, i think there are a number of things we have to do first, and i think we could do a lot to get after the challenges posed by china and russia and the threat posed by isis without getting to goldwater-nichols. my concern is, relevant, important thing to do, but i think some of the resource issues as well as just getting after some of the planning and focus on war fighting as opposed to, you know, managing, you know, budget control acts from year to year. it would go a long way to stabilizing our security. >> all right. right here? next question. >> thank you. john harper with "national defense" magazine. this two-year budget agreement was supposed to bring some stability to the dod budget,

for some external affairs and plots. he dated back as early as being with al-qaeda in iraq. the removal of this isil leader will hamper the organization's ability to conduct operations both inside and outside of iraq and syria. this is the second senior isil leader we have successfully targeted this month. after confirming the death of isil's so-called minister of war a short time ago. >> al jazeera's alan fisher is live for us in washington, d.c. right now. and alan, how significant is the death of this man? the u.s. has been quite cagey about how and where he died. >> reporter: they gave know information about whether this was carried out in iraq or syria or how the operation was carried out, simply saying that he was eliminating. and ash carter said we believe we have killed him that is because back in may 2015 the iraqis at that point said they had killed him, although the u.s. said they had no information at that point to confirm, clearly knowing that history, the americans must feel they are in pretty safe grounds saying they carried out this operation. the americans belie

said you are 100% behind it. we had ryan crocker on the show, the former ambassador of iraq and he says it is the worst idea , you can imagine. it would be exactly what isis would want us to do because it would portray the united states as being indiscriminately prejudiced against muslims. how do you respond? donald trump: i am ok. we have to be vigilant, we have to be careful. in new york city, we have the strongest of police departments which is amazing people. , we have the strongest, if you talk about vigilance, we were watching closer than anybody else. and it was an amazing group. they actually caught people in terms of stopping attacks. it was ended by a mayor that is grossly incompetent. we have an incompetent mayor of new york city, as you probably have heard. they ended it. for no reason. we should bring it back. we have to be vigilant. we have to look, even at the mosques. i am ok with it. there is a problem. john: i don't think you are not responding to the substance of the argument. are you saying that is wrong? the analysis that isis would take it as a victory? donald

he's only describing as in parts of iraq and parts of syria, that's not what the enemy that we are facing, this radicalized islamic state, that's not how they define their battlefield. their battlefield is brussels, paris france, their battlefield is places in libya, mali. their battlefield is san bernardino, california. that's the caliphate that they see. so these tactical actions that our great military forces are being limited to in places like iraq and syria, they're only going to do so much, and frankly, what we're going to have is we're going to have a big mess left for the next administration, whoever that administration is. i know there's a lot of rhetoric today about what to do and there are some solutions to this problem, uma, but john kerry's remarks are remarks that to me are unrealistic and he's living in a dream world. >> added to this, defense secretary ash carter yesterday said, quote, momentum is clearly on our side, yet critics such as yourself are saying we haven't defined the enemy. what kind of leadership is needed right now? >> i listened to secretary carter's

of isil were in detention in iraq back in former years, including the head of isil himself in iraqi detention. so it is important that these are people who have experience. they are people who have shown dedication over the years. >> does it give you pause about releasing prisoners from gitmo? >> well, as far as gitmo is concerned, that's the very reason why we need an alternative detention facility to gitmo. because it's not safe to release everybody or transfer it to the custody of another country. that's the very point of that. >> reporter: general, we've just heard this week that there are 5,000 u.s. troops on the ground in iraq. why is the pentagon and senior military leadership reluctant to say it's more than 3800? >> we're not reluctant. what we track is the number in our force management level. that's 3800. this is nothing that's inconsistent with what's been going on the last 15 years. people that are in direct support of the embassy, those have knot nnot been counted. it's a consistent way of counting that's been going on for 15 years. at any given time we have 3800 direct

in syria and iraq. what they didn't know at the time was that isis was already sending trained bombers to europe. the paris attacks certainly put those questions to rest. and isis appears to have more of a loose control over those attacks. the bombers have some autonomy over when and where they are going to attack. now investigators are racing to try to figure out to t support and the money system that these attacksers have in europe and where isis is looking to strike next. >> evan perez live from washington. >>> authorities in belgium under scrutiny in the wake of the brussels terror attacks. many questions whether officials have missed major warning signs, just months after similar coordinated attacks were carried out in france. in paris. i sat down with the u.s. defense secretary ash carter to talk about it. >> it is not enough that we defeat them in iraq and syria. what brussels tells us is that they have a sympathizers, people who are belgians or french, who live there already. and there are an important part of the fight is also going to be a homeland security and intell

fitzgerald, tim wynn who served in the invasion of iraq and he's with the veterans -- he's treatment corps graduate. welcome. justice for vets by the way advocating for something called a veterans treatment court. that's something we'll look at, but let's start with the new public service announcement that was just created to help educate the public about this. and you might recognize a number of familiar faces. >> a decade of war has taken an unprecedented toll on our men and women in uniform. most veterans return to our communities as leaders. but everyone's journey home is not the same. >> hundreds of thousands of our veterans are suffering from the trauma of war. >> without assistance, the downward spiral can be quick and destructive. >> it doesn't have to be this way. >> at justice for vets we believe that every veteran should have the opportunity for treatment and restoration. >> justice for vets is the only national organization dedicated to the expansion of veterans treatment courts. >> veterans treatment courts held the veterans accountable for action. >> by providing structure, c

say, he actually was for the iraq war. i was against the iraq war. many months before it started, i was like, i don't know. this is the first time. in all fairness, i have been a great businessman over the years. i was asked to the businessman, it did not sound good to me. by the time that started, plenty of proof on it, there are plenty of articles from very early on. hillary clinton wanted to do it. hillary clinton would be such a bad president. she does not have the strength, or the stamina to be president to be a good president. people wanted to go to iraq -- i didn't. i probably would be the last to use it. but i have to say this, there are -- john: you would probably be the last to use nuclear weapons against isis? but you would rule in the possibility of using nuclear weapons against isis. donald trump: i am never going to rule anything out. even if i felt it, i would not want to tell you that. because at a minimum i want them , to think maybe we would use it. it is the worst thing when we do these interviews, with everybody, not me, and you ask a question like that, everybod

>> isis got its start as al quaeda in iraq in '04. it changed -- it morphed into something called islamic state of iraq in '06. so here's eight years between the start of ic and isis in '14. and all that time, this group has been raping, torturing, and murdering particularly targeting christians as a main civilian target. and one of the biggest ways they did attack christians is by taking hostages for ran some. and this is really a silent, one-by-one genocide. thousands, i think thousands of christians, i think, have been taken for ran some. and many of them have been tortured and killed. bishops and priests have been killed trying to redeem their congregation. wives killed bringing ran some money for their husbands. this has been going on all this time. one of my close friends from iraq, he's been featured in the knights of columbus ads on tv, he himself was taken hostage and tortured and beaten. shot in the leg. they came at him with hammers, broke his teeth, nose, and back. finally he was released with ran some. entire towns have been taken captive in syria. there's 200 christi

military targets in i q iraq. >> the coalition waited 48 hours after the u.n. deadline expired, then began their attack. h-hour was 0300 on january 17, 1991. that was when the first bomb would fall on baghdad and when operation desert shield became operation desert storm. over 600 planes were launched that night from bases throughout the arabian peninsula, from turkey, from carriers in the red sea and the persian gulf, from the indian ocean, from even as far as the united states. >> now, to give you some idea of the order of magnitude within the first 24 to 30 hours, we launched over 300 tanker sorties alone to support the strike package that went in through that period of time. there had never been any launch as big of support packages ever in the history of the air force that incorporated that many tankers. >> in their opening attack, the allies combined their stealth and precision technology, electronic warfare tactics and the classical elements of mass and surprise. >> we had been here since august, and so he had seen every day an awac sitting up here, f-15s in defensive mode. he

weapons. >> there are u.s. military forces that are on the ground in iraq that are part of these forces that are dedicated to carrying out raids. >> u.s. special force he reportedly capture a significant official at i.s.i.l.'s chemical weapons program. losing hope. >> there was little assistance. all my clothes are soaked. look at the weather. we are dying here. >> a main refugee route to europe is shut down stranding thousands in squalid conditions. while diplomats say, the stalled talks will resume on monday. >>> rhetoric and the side step violence the retribution it generates has to stop. >> on day 2 of his visit to israel vice president biden criticizes palestinian leaders for not speaking out against attacks that one that left an american student dead. >>> and moving forward, myanmar prepares to elect its first democratically elected president in 50 years. good evening, i'm antonio mora. we begin al jazeera america international news hour with what could be a major development in the fight against i.s.i.l. u.s. forces reportedly captured a key official who's trying to develo

isil said that this teenager carried out an attack in iraq that killed dozens of people. >> prosecutors file more charges against those involved in brussels attack. >>> yemen, one year on. the war looks to an april cease-fire agreement. >>> and a metro project that critics say will destroy parts of a historic pakistani city. we begin in iraq where there have been two major attacks. one at a football steam and one at the air base where dozens of people have been killed. the air base is located in anbar province 120 kilometers from ramadi. hundreds of u.s. military advisers and trainers use the base to support iraqi troops. however, the u.s. military is saying that there were no attacks in or near its site of the base. last week they would retake anbar province. 67% of the have vince is now controlled by isil. the attack comes from an attack south of baghdad. 30 people were killed when a suicide-bomber clu blue himself up. >> the explosion killed dozens of people. it happened south of baghdad. the losses on the battlefield may have provoked the increase attacks like these.