camp marmal is the largest base in northern afghanistan. nato's mission here centers on training the afghan national army. >> the complexity, when we first got here i started thinking about it. it almost becomes overwhelming. >> this is the us regional garrison commander, responsible for daily operations in the north. >> there's a lot of great contractors that come up here. local nationals, third country nationals, us expats. they're really good, they work together. >> what are the contractors doing? >> everything, everything you can think of. they work in the dining facilities. they help maintain the living facilities. what it does is that it allows the soldiers to concentrate on their primary mission, rather than having extra duties. we could not do our mission without them. they do a good job for us. >> two american companies manage the military's facilities in afghanistan: the fluor corporation, and dyncorp international. these companies are called 'prime contractors,' because the us government hired them directly. >> they all work toge

we traveled to afghanistan in the midst of this transition. but on the base we found a story that isn't being told. the people doing the day-to-day work here are mostly civilian contract workers - men from india and nepal, who traveled to a war zone just for the promise of a good job. for many of them, that promise turned out to be a lie. they ended up deceived and indebted, victims of human traffickers who thrive on military contracts. fault lines examines the lives of these workers - and investigates how the american military has come to rely on an indentured workforce. camp marmal is the largest base in northern afghanistan. nato's mission here centers on training the afghan national army. >> the complexity, when we first got here i started thinking about it. it almost becomes overwhelming. >> this is the us regional garrison commander, responsible for daily operations in the north. >> there's a lot of great contractors that come up here. local nationals, third country nationals, us expats. they're really good, they work together. >> what a

we did not invade afghanistan unprovoked. we did not go in and kill the communist leader of the country which we have helped impose on the afghans before. we went into for because we were attacked by a terrorist organization based in afghanistan supported by the afghan government. our warheads u.n. legitimacy. the soviet war was condemned by the general assembly. the only democracy i in the word that voted for the soviet union in the 1980s was india. every other democracy was on the side of the mujahideen. their war encountered a true nationalist insurgency. the mujahideen were able to draw from every element in every ethnic and sectarian part of the country. whose backs, pashtuns, universally. this war as much more pashtun uprising. the taliban is a basically pushtan the organization. the one big similarity is pakistan, huge similar to. pakistan backed the mujahideen, the cia in the 1980s. pakistan backs the taliban today. rarely in one generation deified seymore over again, but on opposite sides. essentially that's what we'

go to afghanistan, convince the northern alliance that they should work with us and let the u.s. military come in to the valley for an operation. defeat the taliban. track bin laden down, kill him, cut his head off, put it in a box on dry ice and ship it back to the united states. i didn't know where i was going to find dry ice in afghanistan. >> two hours from now, president bush is to address a joint session of congress and the nation. in a rare break with tradition, the vice president will not be there but also in a secure location. the would us calms that a reminder of how serious this it. >> the president of the united states. >> my fellow citizens, for the last nine days, the entire world has seen for itself the state of our union and it is strong. >> september 20th, 2001 speech to the joint session of congress was a powerful speech, and it was, i think, maybe george w. bush's best speech. >> -- terror unanswered can not only bring down buildings it is threaten the stability of legitimate governments. and you know what? we're not going to allow it. [ applause ] every nation

>> just an hours drive from kabul, is charkh district, afghanistan. as the us and nato prepares to pull out most of their forces later this year, i travelled here to try to see what life is like in areas of afghanistan under the rule of the taliban. after days of negotiations, through intermediaries - i was told i would be allowed in, with a camera. >> i'm actually quite nervous and the reason is that five years ago when i tried to embed with a group of insurgents in helmand i was kidnapped and i was held for a week. i was lucky and managed to escape from them but still i don't hope that i will end up in the same situation. >> this sort of access is incredibly rare... its also risky - this is taliban country. >> charkh is a cluster of dusty settlements surrounding a small, central town. the taliban of charkh were burying their dead. >> one of the two taliban fighters killed in an attack on a local afghan army base. a lot of inhabitants from this village in charkh have gathered today. >> they're here to pay their respects. they're here also to mourn, a

ambassador to afghanistan karl eikenberry about dostum's return to afghanistan. eikenberry wrote in the 2009 cable quote "dostum's return would endanger much of the progress made in afghanistan over the past five years, create a source of friction in the afghan government's relations with the international community, and could well cost karzai's government the continued support of the united states and most of the international community." your response. for thetill waiting massive road tests. -- protest. it is that simple. everyone knows what abdul rashid dostum did. most had relatives in that convoy and died. one of the questions that does not seem to come up too often is why were they there for up to 10 days question mark my information is that americans on the --days? my information is that americans on the ground had to make sure that no al qaeda slipped through, so they were forced to stay in those containers for all of those days in searing heat, suffocating, lighting into each other's limbs trying to get fluid because the americans needed to know. chevron

past is behind the afghanistan of yesterday, it's not the afghanistan of tomorrow. and that the government paved the way for a prosperous future. he repeated a scene that he saw throughout the election campaign, that he as a politician, and his ministers and government will be servants of the people, they'll serve the people and take care of the people of afghanistan. their responsibility is to the people of afghanistan. he reassured that the unity government will work together, it's not about a government of division or dividing power. words of encouragement, support to the afghan people, watching to see how the unity governments can and will work together. >> one of the big ongoing challenges for the new president is, of course, security. reports of major attacks in ghazni and other provinces and an attack on the airport this morning. >> that's right, there was a bombing this morning, and the attacks was a suicide bombing against the district headquarters christopher gibson. the taliban claimed responsibility, the four attackers, four police, two civilians and mem

he talked about afghanistan as well, she said that if you have fought in afghanistan. in three months wil we will be t of there. he talked about the compass meant on the ground in afghanistan and said we will leave afghanistan. no discussion over an agreement that will be put in place. critics have said he left the door open that created this situation with isis in iraq by not having a forces agreement, he did not address that specifically. a lot of people watching how that outcome going to be brought in that situation in three months. let's bring in wendell who has been watching this from the white house as well. wendell, what do you take away from the president's statements today? >> martha, the president reinforced his position the american forces sent to iraq will not have a combat role. he really punctuate that hard. he said this is not and will not be america's fight alone and set as your commander in chief i will not commit you to another war in iraq. those comments, a day after the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said under certain circumstances the curre

go to afghanistan, convince the northern alliance that they should work with us and let the u.s. military come in to the valley for an operation. defeat the taliban. track bin laden down, kill him, cut his head off, put it in a box on dry ice and ship it back to the united states. i didn't know where i was going to find dry ice in afghanistan. >> two hours from now, president bush is to address a joint session of congress and the nation. in a rare break with tradition, the vice president will not be there but also in a secure location. the would us calms that a reminder of how serious this it. >> the president of the united states. >> my fellow citizens, for the last nine days, the entire world has seen for itself the state of our union and it is strong. >> september 20th, 2001 speech to the joint session of congress was a powerful speech, and it was, i think, maybe george w. bush's best speech. >> -- terror unanswered can not only bring down buildings it is threaten the stability of legitimate governments. and you know what? we're not going to allow it. [ applause ] every nation

afghanistan has served no purpose? has the taliban been eradicated? definitely not. does that mean that the war was a success? that's definitely a different story. this is what this book in many ways is about. how did we get into the situation we are in now? how did we get into a situation that everybody in 2002's thought had been more or less eradicated or what was left of it was essentially residual. how is it that this movement has come up again and this is what this book by hassan abbas is about. i'm happy to say that this is an attempt to bring an objective perspective looking at a different angle. this is a three-dimensional aspect of the book which in my opinion is of interest. the role of kabul is something that is discussed. the role of western policy and again this is something which is slightly less discuss. today we tend to say mission accomplished or so we would like to believe. for that matter we are delighted today to welcome the author's hassan abbas and let me say for most of you, for many of you at le

something that has never happened in afghanistan. we are seeing at the presidential palace the afghan dignitaries. there were helicopters early this morning over the city, as international dignitaries were ferried in. the streets are silent here, police are everywhere, security is very, very tight in kabul as we get ready for the historic inauguration, and it's historic for two reasons, not only the first democratic transfer of power, but it's something never seen before. afghanistan will be ruling alongside abdullah abdullah, and he is expected to be sworn in as the new chief executive officer of afghanistan, in a unity government. the chief executive officer position, something brand new. ashraf ghani will have to create that by decree, the first act as president, and the unity government will rule the country, afghan watching and waiting to see if this will work the the process is taking nearly six months since afghan came to the polls. it's relieved that afghans are over, and there'll be a new president soon. >> jennifer glasse r

today's afghanistan is different to yesterday's afghanistan. >> ashraf ghani there, the new president, of course, of the country. i spoke to our correspondent in kabul david lloyd. >> reporter: this was a speech that was full of promises to end corruption. at one point, he said, we will end poverty. reforming the judiciary. looking after widows and orfans. development change. a real sort of sense of the kinds of things that any new government would promise. and you would want to see a new government in afghanistan promising those things. but he knows that he can't do anything without security being resolved. and this is the year when the tall been have made their most concerted effort to disrupt the afghan state since they fell from power in 2001. and ashraf ghani said very clearly in this speech, we don't want any foreign fighters in afghanistan. we don't need lessons from foreign fighters in jihad. now the jihad that afghanistan remembers was the struggle against the russians in the 1980s, the islamic struggle against the russians. he said, we are an islamic state. we know about the

troops in afghanistan. there is expectation that they won't be able to take over the country like they did in 1996. if they came to the same analysis would they be willing to come to negotiation process? president ghani in his first inauguration speech said it would be a priority for his administration but the other side has to play. >> besides being sworn in, president ghawn created ghani a position for his presidential opponent abdalla abdalla. how important is it for afghanistan to get its economy back up to a more profitable level, as it relates not only to this stability of the country but also its security? >> yeah, well it's extremely important as i mentioned before, you have the immediate important importance of the shortfall of revenue. i think donors will come in and help out with that. but a loss of business is cf, confidence. sustained many of the urban economies so there's a huge need for afghanistan to begin to develop indigenous source he of revenue and produce in order for the country to be

it's a new position in afghanistan. a lot of horse wrangling has been what will the chief executive's role be, how much power will they have. in the end the agreement comes out to a 50/50 power sharing deal, with each man able to share council minister's meetings, each appointing their own provincial governments around the country. a true power sharing deal in afghanistan. at the end, as you said, of months of political stalemate. a first round of elections in april. sa second round between ashraf ghani, and abdullah abdullah. that was widely contested, considered to be corrupt by both men. that triggered international involvement. the u.s. secretary of state came in and the two men agreed to have all 8 million ballots reviewed and recounted. looked at to throw out the ballots. we are not sure what form at that will take. abdullah abdullah has been asking because the review i don't say didn't do what he wanted it to do. he said it didn't throw out the unvalid votes. he wants a winner and second-place candidates. we are

. >>> afghanistan to sign a long-awaited security deal allowing some u.s. troops to stay on the ground. >>> i'm outside new delhi where a gandhi statue is being made. we speak to the artist, still busy at the age of 89. >>> fighters from the islamic state of iraq and levant are closing in on a strategic town in syria, next to the border with turkey. i.s.i.l. is within 5km of kobani, and there are reports of coalition strikes in other areas of syria. i.s.i.l. began their advance sending tens of thousands of kurdish syrians into turkey. stefanie dekker reports. >> reporter: more shelling in the town of kobani. the attacks intensified or the last few days, and is intensifying the anger on the turkish side of the border. many kurds have come to protest saying the government has not done anything to stop the price. >> translation: we are protesting because i.s.i.l. and turkish government is planning against us. if our town falls, we'll take up arms and not care about the turkish government. >> reporter: they were dispersed and many injured. the turkish forces ar

by the events in afghanistan the last 30 years. so by default, my books have also been a kind of a chronic thing of the troubles in afghanistan over the last 30-plus years. and in some ways, my books have been windows into afghan culture, afghan life for many of my western readers. it's a mixed blessing in the sense that, a, people now if they read my book, they see there is so much more to afghanistan than the kings of tora bora and the taliban. i don't want them to think that this is some kind of exhaustive manifesto on afghanistan. it is a novel, and every novel is written with a narrow "viewpoint" and mine is that of a person living in exile. so that has to be understood by readers. >> khaled hosseini thank you for talking to al jazeera. >> thank you. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello from doha, this is the news hour on al jazeera. dozens of syrians including civilians are killed as government forces launch air strikes in italy. the global fight against the islamic fight and has it expands also into syria. in othe

because afghanistan is in a very critical time and doctor or president ghani knows that in afghanistan. for the sake of that i think he is in a hurry and like his american counterparts to have it signed in order to have is a clear mission of afghanistan. but you should not forget that when i'm talking of a critical time it's -- it includes the particular situation, security situation and economic situation of afghanistan. just a few days ago you saw that in the province of afghanistan more than 1,000 taliban stormed the district and likewise are going gone in various parts of afghanistan so it means the insurgents are strong enough to challenge afghan security forces if there is not a continued international commitment. >> so the aim is for afghans to take over their own security but let me ask you are afghan security forces ready or even committed to taking over their own security? >> i think afghan security forces have already shown this commitment, the officials in afghanistan. i think there is a strong particular will to take control of the security situation in afghanistan. but we

so there's been a breakdown inside afghanistan itself. hamid karzai breaking relations really with many people in this country by refusing to allow foreign troops to remain at the end of 2014. but now they will remain in this training mission and also crucially in a counterterrorism mission, fighting against the remnants of al qaeda and looking against the border into pakistan, where, of course, there are many more attacks being planned on the outside world than there are here in afghanistan. >> david loyn for us there in kabul. right here is aaron talking apple. >> talking apple, ireland, and tax. very little tax, in fact. that's the story. thanks very much, geeta. hello there. ireland could get raked over the coals in europe for the tax deals it's been offering to attract international companies like apple. the deal says the european commission amount to offer apple unfair state aid. it's part of a broader investigation into tax policies to the likes of ireland, the netherlands and luxembourg. the commission has been examining whether t

it's a whole new form of government for afghanistan. there'll be a president, as is it'sing nayed in the constitution, but the real question is will the two former rivals be able to rule together, and rule effectively to govern afghanistan at a critical time. as you heard, many people know the economy is terrible. security is delicate. everyone will watch to see how well the unity government works. >> you mentioned how delegate the situation is, and how critical a time it comes at. deals have collapsed at the last moment. what makes this different? >> well it's been hart fought out and signed in front of a nation. every television channel carried it live, and they hammer youed out the agreement. if there was concern between the time it was initialled last night and signed. maybe that someone could back out. they recognise a critical time. the new president has to sign a bihateral security agreement in the united states to keep the u.s. forces here. they realise it couldn't go on. it's hampering the economy, afghanistan was suffering. it

reaction to this afghanistan power-sharing deal. live from washington. tom, what specifically have we been hering from the u.s. secretary of state john kerry because he brokered this deal. he must be breathing a huge sigh of relief. >> reporter: according to the state department, he placed 30 calls in the rung-off, the presidential run-off in afghanistan in june to try to get the two parties to come to some kind of consensus. first of all, on an audit of the election and then finally, on an agreement on who would become the president. in statement, he said americans know very well the road to democracy is con tentious and challenging but leads to the best place. it doesn't happen overnight. we have had our own con tentious elections and witnessed their aftermath. i have lived some of them. he elections are not the end. they must be the beginning where afghanistan and its people move forward on a reform agenda and make improvements in the electoral process. according to the text of the agreement between ghani and abdullah, there are a lot of questions abo

afghanistan has sign add long delayed agreement. the national security advisor sign add deal in a televised ceremony, and it comes four hours after he was sworn in as the new president. more now on the situation in syria, her agency needs more fans and needs them urgently in order to help support the millions of refugees. >> without the funds the world food program will be forced to end it's operations completely, within two months. >> rations have already been cut in order to reach as many people as possible. winter is fast approaching and vital supplies are needed to protect people from the cold. neighboring countries also need urgent support, so that they can continue to shelter millions of refugees. >> valerie amos both said that both isil and the government are to be blamed for the worsening of the humanitarian situation in syria. and activists are reporting that more syrian government air strikes and rebel held areas, now reports some syrians fear that the u.s. campaign against isil is giving a free reign to bashir al-asaad's

the question is whether it means almost 13 years of war in afghanistan, additional war in afghanistan has served no purpose. i mean, has italo been been eradicated? perhaps not it is simply a different story. and to say with this book in many ways this about. how did we get to the situation we are in now? how did everybody in 2002 be more or less eradicated both of us essentially residual? how was it this movement has come up again? this is what the book by hassan abbas is about. i'm happy to say this is an attempt to bring a plaintiff perspective on the way things are moved looking at different angles and the dimensional aspect of the book, which in my opinion is of interest. so this is something that is the very discussed about. western policies again. today we tend to say we believe the mission accomplished or so we like to believe. with the media and the decision-making so on and so forth. so for that matter, we are delighted today to invite the author hassan abbas. for most of you come in many of you that they say he is professor and chair of the department of regional and analyt

afghanistan reaches an agreement that will keep u.s. troops in the country. and protests still spreading in hong kong. and we'll be looking at an effort to save nigeria's drill monkeys with a report that half of the population has disappeared. ♪ >>> two months ago, iraqi forces were caught very much by surprise when a large part of their country was overrun. now they say they are fighting back against isil, and having some success. significant gains the army says have been made against the fighters against the islamic state of iraq and the levant. iraqi soldiers claim to have recaptured 16 villages east of the capitol, bagdad. more than 100 isil fighters were reportedly killed. now almost all of the province is back under their control. in anbar province, fronts are being fortified. >> translator: it's a formidable defensive line, and we're satisfied with the troops in place. our morale is high, and people in the role are a cooperative. >>> while in northern iraq, a town was captured by isil fighters. it is just 15 kilometers south of kirkuk, and isil has b

and afghanistan under his leadership. however, he went on to say that karzai was a nationalist and a patriot, and said that he did what he had to do for out of love for his country. that said the u.s. is much more pleased to be dealing now with the presidency of ashraf gandhi and the chief executive abdullah abdullah, two men that they believe will be much more cooperative especially when it comes now to the imminent change from a command of posture the u.s. military has had in afghanistan to training and supporting the afghan military starting at the beginning of 2015. >> yes, it looks as if the lack of acting signing that really annoyed washington, wasn't it, and we understand that it's due to be signed within hours. on tuesday. local time. trying to get some of the budget savings that would come from shifting from a military combat operation to a training operation. it's much less expensive. and it also under scores the u.s.' concerns about whether ham mid karzai had been dealing with the west in good faith, or whether

afghanistan has served no purpose? has the taliban been eradicated? definitely not. does that mean that the war was a success? that's definitely a different story. this is what this book in many ways is about. how did we get into the situation we are in now? how did we get into a situation that everybody in 2002's thought had been more or less eradicated or what was left of it was essentially residual. how is it that this movement has come up again and this is what this book by hassan abbas is about. i'm happy to say that this is an attempt to bring an objective perspective looking at a different angle. this is a three-dimensional aspect of the book which in my opinion is of interest. the role of kabul is something that is discussed. the role of western policy and again this is something which is slightly less discuss. today we tend to say mission accomplished or so we would like to believe. for that matter we are delighted today to welcome the author's hassan abbas and let me say for most of you, for many of you at le

ashraf ghani has been sworn in had afghanistan's new president. the first democratic trancics of power. he'll head a unity government following a power sharing deal with abdullah abdullah. >>> a call for electoral reform. riot police fired tear gas. >>> activists say the u.s.-led coalition hit four syrian provinces in the fight against i.s.i.l. an air base and gas factory among the targets. three refineries were attacked overnight. the command center was also hit. >> india's prime minister has been given a rock star welcome in new york. thousands of americans greeted narendra modi at maddison square garden, a turn around for a man once banned from entering the united states. >> reporter: just a few years ago narendra modi was denied a u.s. visa, the only person to fall fall of the u.s. international freedom that sanctions violations of religious freedom. that was then. now he is feted by 20, 500 members of the indian community and corporate leaders. he basked in their adulation from a revolving stage. >> reporter: we should join hands for mother i

>> as us forces prepare to pull out of afghanistan after twelve long years, al jazeera's fault lines travelled there. >> the taliban fighters, they're running towards the base now. they're trying to raid the base. >> over several days, we gained extraordinary access to a group of self-proclaimed taliban fighters. >> and the mortars are landing in the areas where we are. >> it was an insight, in part at least, into what the war in afghanistan looks like - from the other side. >> the fighter jet is still in the air circling looking for a target. >> kabul, afghanistan afghan president hamid karzai is currently refusing to sign a treaty that would leave a small nato force in the country. if nothing changes, all foreign soldiers will leave by the end of this year. in secret, karzai has been negotiating with the taliban, in order to avoid a full-blown civil war. since 2005, the taliban has clawed back territory. they now dominate large parts of the country. >> but approximately only one hour's drive from here, right over behind the mountain there, is logar. and in logar there's still a war

we were attacked from afghanistan on 9/11. so the point is that we are not bound by -- these are just -- so the point is that we are not bound by -- these are just -- this is the situation now. we already have an agreement in place that will allow us to have a long-term presence in afghanistan well past 2016. >> i agree. one of the misconceptions i think americans in general have about afghanistan is we're dealing with this intractable problem that's a centuries long one but afghanistan was actually the developed partner. when you look at afghanistan, pakistan back in the 1950's and 1960's and even in the 1970's. it was the one pakistan was afraid of because they were doing so well. and they had a well developed economy. they had international trade. they were on a path toward development. it was really only since 1979 that disastrous invasion by the soviet union and the civil war that had begun just slightly before then that we really have developed the afghanistan we all know today. ut there is a past we can look back at and

bbc news northern afghanistan. >> john is back from afghanistan with us here in the studio. imagine a potential future where islamic extremists have a strong hold in afghanistan. it would be a deja vu as if the last 13 years didn't happen. >> there's a loss in islamic extremism there in afghanistan. always has been the organization that this commander was fighting for which has been extreme for a long time. the difference is between what's going on in afghanistan and what's going on in the middle east. afghanistan has always been pretty much the kind of in itself mountains and deserts cut off from the outside world. they feel different, speak different languages and so forth. the possibility of some kind of link up even with smallish groups like his, he himself says it's not terribly interested in that kind of thing. it looks as though it might be part of a wider deal if ever that come about in afghanistan. seems a long way away at the moment. individual commanders could well make links of their own. that would make things rather difficult. >> the political void in the momen

so it is an important step in afghanistan. bill: when you're building a coalition of european partners how iraq has become the good war again. it's stunning. we had chris wallace on "fox news sunday" with tony blanken, the deputy national security advisor and what wallace offered a year ago the president said we're ending these wars. after 10 years of war there will be no more from the united states. here is that exchange. >> how could the president has been so wrong. >> the president was exactly right. what we're doing is totally different than the last decade. we're not sending hundred of thousands of american troops back into iraq or afghanistan or anywhere else. we're not spending trillions of americans dollars. what we're doing is supporting local forces with unique assets air power, training equiping them, intelligence. they will do the fighting on the ground. we can't want it more than they do. bill: so what the administration will argue, pete, if you don't put troops on the ground which there are 1600, 2,000 in iraq, i

and this is not uncommon in afghanistan. many times it's also to add prestige to the family. it's a patriarchal society. so a son will carry on the family name, the legacy, will inherit the property, so you need a son to show to the outside world that you have strengths in the family and the family isn't weak. it's incumbent upon every woman and every family, in a sense, to have sons, and then it will also afford them a sense of movement. if they're girls, many times in dangerous areas, it might be hard for them to get to school. >> jon: right. and disguised as a boy, you would have right of passage in a way that a little girl wouldn't have, normally. and then there's also the practical element. maybe you need a son to bring income in to the family, and you disguise the girl to go out and work in a store and support the family. >> jon: this is not basically a purely rural or outside. this is endemic? >> it cuts the cost, social class, level of education, ethnicity, it's been going on a long time in afghanistan and essentially a creative way to buck the system in an impossible

>> real perspective, consider this on al jazeera america >> >>> afghanistan's rival president call candidates sign a power sharing agreement. >> hello, welcome to al jazeera, i'm darren jordan in doha. also coming up, more fighting in yemen's capital. helicopter and jets deployed in sanaa. >> one year on, kenya remembers the victims of the westgate shopping mall siege. >> you look at the spoke resulting from air strikes and you spot shapes as well. >>> and we meet the artist who is inspired bit the conflict in gaza. >>> one person has been in an explosion in the egyptian capital. four others have been wounded. we'll bring you more news on that as we get it. >>> there are reports of a huge explosion and smoke above a hospital in the yemeni capital sanaa. it comes amid fighting, and the government and houthi rebels reaching a peace deal on saturday. >> the u.n.-brokered deal promises peace. many are worried that it won't last, and the continued fighting won't inspire confidence. the violence 24 hours after the united nations announced a breakthrough in the peace process. >> translation: after i

those are the words of abdullah abdullah, the loser in afghanistan's electoral runoff. >> afghanistan's electorate commission says that abdullah abdullah's rival ashraf ghani, one, which was a surprise since abdullah won the popular vote. the process is hopelessly deadlocked. president barack obama spoke with post candidates over the weekend, urging them to implead a power-sharing deal. abdulla says that is no longer an option. >> today our political talks have reached a deadlock. i hereby announce we will not accept the fraudulent announcement of election results. to those who believe we accepted wrongdoing and misunderstood is, i want to make it clear we will not accept a fraudulent government for even one day. >> and that is outgoing presidential candidate abdullah abdullah. nato allies are preparing to with draw their troops from the country by the end of the year. >> 1700 soldiers from the german bundeswehr are still in afghanistan. most in the north of the country. we have this report. >> up to 400,000 people live here in the far north of afghanistan, on the edge of the hindu kush

you go to northern afghanistan, or western afghanistan, and women had a job, they're out getting ice cream, family outs at night. totally fine. go goh to kandahar you barely see women on the streets and if you do, and they're in burqas. so a left to optimism probably depends on where you are in afghanistan. >> i wanted to ask you about both candidates and you really think they are going to fake a final result and if there is still opportunity there of kind of coup d'etat, and also about you, what's next for you, and if you could come back to afghanistan to report or what? >> i don't know if they would be willing to accept a final result that doesn't have them winning, each side. throughout this process, a lot of the western and afghan officials involved said, you know, when the candidates talk about legitimate outcomes, they seem to mean, me winning. each side seems to think the only legitimate outcome is their victory, and that's a dangerous place to be in. and i'm not quite sure. the abdullah guys made it clear they think it's not valid, they're pulling out and saying they're not g

and finally, we get to afghanistan, which is the final hoop. and we were in jalalabad, not too far from where you know, from tora bora, of course, where al-qaeda is presently holed up. c-span: now were -- had you been to afghanistan before that? >> guest: yes. c-span: when? >> guest: i went in '93 for quite some time during the -- there was a war you know, the war in afghanistan between the forces of i mean, it was a civil war in afghanistan, even after the communists -- the afghan communists were defeated, which is ripping you know, the ironic thing is kabul, the capital, had basically survived the whole communists without being destroyed. it was the afghans themselves who destroyed it, principally, the gulbuddin hekmatyar, who was the prime minister at the time, who was probably the only prime minister in history to be shelling his own capital on a daily basis. so i was there in '93 during that period. we interviewed hekmatyar. we also interviewed ahmed shah massoud, who, of course, is now dead, unfortunately. and we and that was in the conte

fights in afghanistan. these obama administration rules of engagement and tactical directives have not only resulted in skyrocketing casualties for u.s. troops, but have resulted in significant increases in civilian casualties as well. and emboldened enemy who fights without any of these restrictions that we impose on our forces as do other civilized countries. that enemy is now far better able to kill and maim both civilians and u.s. fighters without significant fear of reprisal because of the overly restrictive limitations, rules of engagement mandate. a few brief quotes from tactical directives will make this apparent. this is general mcchrystal in 2009. i recognize the carefully controlled and disciplined employment of force entails risks to our troops and we must work to mitigate that risk wherever possible. but excessive use of force resulting in an alienated population will produce far greater risks and the use of air to ground fire or air to ground munitions and indirect fires against residential co

itself with presence of the troops in afghanistan. so you can only imagine how the situation will deteriorate and what afghan government will be able to do once the troops left afghanistan. and even during actually the presence of the nato troops in afghanistan we were talking only probably about kabul as the only secure place in afghanistan despite actually the attacks that happened once in a while inside kabul itself. so leaving afghanistan without a solid security plan will exacerbate the situation and the problem will become much more complex. >> that is afghanistan and we will hear in new york from the palestinian president to address the u.n. general assembly a day after he reached a deal to reach a unity government with hamas and says who will govern the gaza strip after an earlier agreement in june collapsed and allows for reconstruction of gaza and it was six weeks in july and august and he will announce a plan at the general assembly to end occupation in three years and wants the u.s. security council wants to demand israel

inside afghanistan. but the supreme leader decided not for iran to intervene. but this is very, very range. >> when you talk to americans about iran and the united states, obviously one of the great issues is israel. while the rhetoric has changed dramatically out of tehran since rouhani replaced ahmadinejad, and it seems to me rouhani has extended himself to say we are not holocaust deniers. we do not want to wipe israel off the face of the map. i still won wanted to ask you, for those that would be curious, what would -- assume the u.s. and iran do reach a kind of reproachment now. is it possible to imagine iran any one day recognizing the state of israel? if that is not possible, its possible to imagine iran not protesting the existence of the state of israel? is there a possible compromise there? >> first of all, warren, tell me what is the change in israeli position during ahmadinejad and rouhani? the israeli position has remained the same. therefore it doesn't matter if someone in iran denies holoc

it is unsung heroes of iraq, afghanistan and the home front, which is clearly intentional. talk about the deeper side of this. tell me more about what was revealing to you about the deeper side, not just the combat side? >> i set out right essentially combat stories. i wanted to do with these guys were doing that i found amazing. as i started interviewing them and getting to know them and e-mailing with him and talking with their families, i said there's more than just combat. it's more than the linear plot line of bang bang shoot them up stuff. that's exciting but when you made that up with his other half of the guy that i know it became incredibly compelling. that was something i had to incorporate. i get example, one of the guys is a marine named james hassell, and james was an 18 year old kid, enlisted in the marines, felt it was his calling, his destiny. but his mother was furious. she was patriotic and wanted to defend the country but she did want her son to do. and so james indicated moment that i describe in the book, he finally said to her, he promises her that he'

role in the war in afghanistan. that's not that it's not a an important relationship for obama not at all but i think with troops leaving afghanistan, u.s. troops leaving afghanistan it will create more space for these two groups to reengage. >> mr. gupta. >> i think the u.s. is very concerned, pakistan, india isn't just worried they'll have terrorists coming into kashmir but that pakistan will grow increasingly more unstable. we have seen in the past few months that the current prime minister nawaz sharif, that there might be some sort of change that india and pakistan could go ahead and have talks. but now no political plit politl legitimacy with nawaz sharif. >> do you think that will shift the relationship between u.s. and pakistan? >> when president shi visited india he didn't go to pakistan. in general you'll see south asia and how people in general look at it, you're going to see a shift, as michael said early on that, but keep the focus going. >> taking a look at some of the numbers showing economic cooperat