joining us now live from kabul is nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel. thanks for being here tonight. >> it's a pleasure to be with you as all. kabul is missing you. you'll have plenty of time to come back, it seems. >> i know that spot, and i have a feeling we're going to be seeing you long there longer than we expected to be. >> what struck you about this draft agreement when you first got a hold of it. as you mentioned, there eels always been this vague notion. there's never been in enduring presence. but really it was all big. it was never clear how many troops were going to stay, it was never clear how long they were going to stay, and some of these questions remain unanswered. but what is clear, when you see a draft of this document, is that u.s. officials and afghan officials behind closed doors have been very hard at work hammering out a detailed agreement that would allow u.s. troops to stay here for decades or at least a decade or not. the document talks about going up through 2024, and beyond. it outlines a variety of commitments like the afgh

>> richard engel, how much room do you think hamid karzai has? how willing are they, how willing is the karzai government to negotiate with the obama administration on the language of athere's a great deal of flexibility. in fact, karzai's government does not want this letter. this is about karzai himself. by the way, karzai is not particularly concerned about winning over public opinion. karzai has said he's not going to run in the next elections, which are just in april. so this is more about his legacy. he wants to be remembered by his people as the man who came into this country who helped bring it, if you will, into a modern era and then who stood up to the americans and said we're going to keep an american presence here for our long-term stability, but we're going to do it with the americans begging to stay and with them confined to their bases. so it is not that he has an aggressive populous and is facing an imminent election. >> ayman, i want to turn quickly, if we can, over to the bombing in beirut. i wonder whether you think retaliation

>> richard engel with us from kabul tonight. richard, thank you. >>> and there was a worrisome piece of news from that region earlier today. word from beirut that at least 23 people were killed by a pair of suicide bombers who attacked outside the iranian embassy. a sunni group linked to al qaeda has claimed responsibility and says there would be more attacks unless iran and hezbollah stops supporting the assad ve sheem in the syrian war. >>> there is news tonight regarding safety in the skies and airline pilots, for that matter around the world are relying these days too much on automation in the cockpit and losing basic piloting skills. a new faa report to be released later this week warns of what they call automation diction and calls on airlines to reinforce basic flying skills. nbc's tom costello has our report. >> reporter: it's the end of a long cross-country or international flight. but in today's highly automated cockpits, how much flying do the crews actually do? captain karen kahn has spent 36 years as a pilot for a m

richard engel tonight with u.s. troops in afghanistan where a much-needed holiday break didn't last long and came to a sudden end. >>> and those who serve. for a job that requires heavy lifting, employers are finding it pays to turn to those who carried the load in the past. "nightly news" begins now. >>> good evening. in some places across this country tonight it's as if someone announced we are in danger of running out of stuff and those who need stuff better buy it now because it is going away forever. it is that day on the yearly calendar when people in recovery from thanksgiving head out to be part of a massive crowd streaming through malls and stores, in some cases whipped into a crazed, violent frenzy. however much web retailing has taken hold in this country forever, today was devoted to old-fashioned shopping from one end of the country to the other. here is the scene live at the mall of america in minnesota and the park meadows mall outside of denver. then there is john yang in chicago to start us off. goo

deal obtained by richard engel would commit u.s. troops until the end of 2024 and beyond. we'll have a live report from kabul on what this would mean for those serving in america's longest war. >> we came here for a mission, and we take care of the mission and we go home. >>> battle lines. the fight to have outside prosecutors take over military assault cases. but on this, the senate sister hood is divided. >> we should not do what the generals are telling us to do. this is our job. >> we will be creating more problems than we will be solving if we make the change as advocated by senator jill brand. >> and the legacy lives on. 50 years after president kennedy first established the medal of freedom, president obama presented the awards to legends today from ernie banks to oprah winfrey and bill clinton. and moments from now we'll be going live to arlington national cemetery. president obama and former president clinton will lay a wreath at kennedy's grave, the eternal flame. and as we mark this anniversary of his death this week, robert mcneil and jim lair will be joining m

richard engel broke a huge story today and he's here live next. and just give them the basics, you know. i got this. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'll help you get there. shhhh! i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh what a relief it is! >>> we are accustomed to thinking of the end of a war as a good thing. a time for skipping out into the streets and grabbing swung good look and giving them a kiss. we are so very happy when a war finally ends. >> the very last of them would be home for christmas that year, the war wa

nbc news chief correspondent richard engel has the details. >> reporter: nbc news obtained this draft of a u.s./afghan security agreement. it's still unsigned, but it describes a sweeping long-term relationship with the united states paying for afghan security forces and maintaining outposts in this country perhaps until 2024, and maybe beyond that. u.s. troops training, equipping and advising afghan forces, and hunting al qaeda. moving off base would be extremely restricted. afghan officials want 10,000 to 15,000 troops to stay, for a decade at least. u.s. officials talk of 7,000 to 8,000. >> i think they're on their feet, a little nervous about taking the first few steps without us, but i think they can do it. >> reporter: but most afghan troops don't want u.s. troops to leave. >> we need strong support from international community. >> reporter: why not just leave? the afghan government could collapse and again become a haven for insurgents. after so many years would a force of 7,000 make a difference? iraq stands as a warning. there was no agreement there when the u.s. left and the

>> richard engel live from afghanistan for us tonight. richard, thank you. >>> still ahead for us this evening, secret agents. a plot right out of "homeland," a name from the beatles and a real life thriller exposed. >>> and later, hold the phone. who is that on the other end of the butterball hot line? >>> it's the kind of thing we never know about while it's happening because we're not allowed to, but tonight we are learning more about a secret area at guantanamo bay called penny lane where after 9/11 the cia took a sizable risk. we get more on the story from our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. >> reporter: hidden only a few hundred yards from the guantanamo prison's administrative offices a top secret compound of cottages now abandoned, but ten years ago, following 9/11, code named penny lane. an ironic allusion to the beatles song just as gitmo was code named strawberry fields. in fact, what went on at penny lane was more like "homeland" than a magical mystery tour. >> it's not a trial. it's a quick execution you'

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richard engel, nbc news, kabul. >>> now to the other story that our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell has been following for us today. an elderly american veteran, an 85-year-old man, detained on a tourist trip to north korea. and as andrea reports for us tonight, there are tense negotiations underway to set him free. >> reporter: merrill newman fought as an infantry officer for three years during the korean war. the retired teacher's life dream was to go to north korea, say family members. after nine days on a tour of the world's most isolated nation, newman and a friend were about to leave when a military officer boarded their plane taking newman away. he hasn't been seen since. alarming family and friends from his retirement home. >> i think they're all worried. >> reporter: now it's a matter of high-stakes diplomacy. what can you say to pyongyang, to the north koreans about the american being held? >> well, north korea really needs to recognize the dangerous steps it has been taking on many fronts. this is obviously one of those moments where north korea needs to f

richard engel, nbc news, cairo. >>> now to this widening and nsa spying story. all of it coming by leaks by the former u.s. defense contractor edward snowden. tonight's revelations involve very big names in the internet and e-mail world. now big companies are calling for new privacy laws to stop u.s. intelligence agencies from breaking into their data overseas. for more on all of it we turn to our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell in our d.c. newsroom tonight. andrea, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the tech companies worry they are losing an arm's race with the nsa which nbc news confirms has been hacking into google and yahoo data centers around the world as fast as the company has put up firewalls. vacuuming up e-mail and phone records. google and yahoo data centers in all corners of the globe reach targets by data collection by nsa and british intelligence. as first reported in the "washington post" they found more documents leaked by edward snowden, hundreds of thousands of e-mails, search queries and other activity collect

richard engel with the latest in politics in cairo tonight. and the second trial. richard, thanks. >>> gas prices are in the news tonight in this country. the national average of a gallon is now $3.25 a gallon, lowest level of the year. experts predict it will continue to fall. close to $3 a gallon. drivers in at least 35 states are already seeing $3 a gallon gas in some areas. that's because the price of oil is now down below $100 a barrel. currently at $94. still falling thanks, in part, to the current natural gas boom which has of course come with environmental controversy. >>> the idea of being bullied in the context of the nfl was tough for a lot of people to understand at first. how it could happen in such a highly charged atmosphere where just making the team tends to reward the very toughest. but a story is emerging from the miami dolphins about a young player and fear, intimidation, race and in part an ongoing football tradition. our report tonight from nbc's kerry sanders in miami. >> reporter: miami dolphins offensive tackle jonathan martin is 6'5", 312.

richard engel, nbc news. cairo. >>> another developing story we're keeping a close eye on in that region, an outbreak of polio in syria and the possibility of those trying to escape the civil war. nbc chief medical editor nancy snyderman is following this. good evening. >> reporter: good evening. when the reports of polio broke last week, the world took notice and the world health organization confirmed at least ten cases. experts tell nbc news, they're concerned that could be the tip of the iceberg because polio does not respect borders and as refugees flee, the virus can flee with them. in jordan where the largest refugee camp is, about 120,000 people in a semipermanent camp, almost 19,000 children were immunized with oral polio vaccine, trying to stop the spread of this disease. in lebanon, the concern is a little greater. they've had more than 1 million refugees crossing the border and unlike neighboring countries, the refugees are not concentrated in one area. in fact, they're in cities, in towns and in

>> richard engel live from afghanistan for us tonight. thank you. >>> still ahead for us this evening, secret agents. a plot right out of "homeland," a name from the beatles and a real life thriller exposed. >>> and later, hold the phone. who is that on the other end of the butterball hot line? f the butterball hot line? ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of all day pain relief. this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills. this season, discover aleve. i started part-time, now i'm a manager.n. my employer matches my charitable giving. really. i get bonuses even working part-time. where i work, over 400 people are promoted every day. healthcare starting under $40 a month. i got education benefits. i work at walmart. i'm a pharmacist. sales associate. i manage produce. i work in logistics. there's more to walmart than you think. vo: opportunity. that's the real walmart. i get out a lot... except when it's too cold. like the last three weekends. asthma doesn't affect my job... you missed the meeting

kate. >> richard engel in afghanistan. we thank them for their service. >>> even before a lot of turkeys were in the oven, hours before the football games, holiday shopping kicked off across the country this morning. and as it creeps earlier and earlier, more than a dozen major retailers from target to macy's are open. according to the national retail federation survey, 33 million people are expected to shop today. and that has some people asking -- if it is all too much too soon. here's nbc's john yang. >> reporter: before dawn in suburban chicago, desiree shuffle is where she wants to be, first in line at k mart. >> this is what i live for to be number one. >> reporter: husband bobby and mom laurie are here too. >> whatever the boss says today. >> go get the pajamas. the toys. the barbies, the hotwheels. >> reporter: she is hot on the trail of a nintendo video game for her son, only nine are in stock. >> right now i just saved -- $165. on one item. >> reporter: racing from store to store is a family tradition. she liked

richard engel plans to be with american troops for thanksgiving dinner tomorrow in afghanistan. the pentagon is supplying 45,000 meals, trying to ensure everyone who is deployed gets a hot meal, even at remote fire base where is the food has to be flown in. we hope you remember them all at your own thanksgiving table. >>> turkeys are in the news generally toght. starting with the annual turkey pardon at the white house. gave us a chance to see daughters sasha and malia, now 12 and 15. the turkeys chosen to be spared by the president get to live out their lives on a farm. >>> by the way the pew research center says like the americans eating them, turkeys have gotten bigger over the years. in 1980 the average live bird weighed 19 pounds on average. they have now ballooned closer to 30. with all the work awaiting us on thursday, the pizza industry reports thanksgiving eve -- tonight -- is for many the second biggest day of the year for pizza sales behind super bowl sunday. >>> a glittering charity gathering at kensington palace in london last night benefitted the homeless. yes, tha

nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel was inside the morsi trial. what were you seeing? >> reporter: well, i've been to quite a few trials over the years and norpally they are quite boring pro seed do you recall durl affairs, he started to say he was a victim of a show trial and victim of a coup. he wasn't the only person yelling. as he was screaming at the judge say this was all nonsense and the court was illegitimate. several journalists in the room, egyptian journalists who are pro hill military and support the coup against morsi, they started yelling at well and trying to shout him down. the journalists who were smoking and standing on chairs, some of them took off shoes. i thought one was going to throw his show at morsi and chanting, death, death, death, saying that he should get the death penalty. as you had the defendant, mohamed morsi yelling at the judge calling the trial illegitimate and you have journalists yelling death at the defendant. >> richard, that's an extraordinary scene that you've witnessed. what do you make of that in light o

richard engel is on the ground to tell us why. and big brother/big business. the new trend in health care that has employers paying attention to more than the bottom line. they're also watching your waistline. does it go too far? and giving directly. no organizations, no charity groups. what if we gave directly to the poor. there is a group doing it. and it's today's big idea. lots to get to, but we start with that ground breaking deal hammered out in geneva last night. iran will get initial relief from some sanctions. essentially billions of dollars in oil money that had been frozen in exchange, iran agrees to halt what is called high grade uranium enrichment. iran will not stop all uranium enrichment. and it cannot install centrifuges, those devices used to enrich uranium. again, this is all a temporary deal designed to provide a six month window to reach more comprehensive agreement. let's go live to london where john kerry arrived earlier today. first of all, what has been the reaction to this deal from around the world? >> we're seeing mixed reactions com

>> richard engel in afghanistan this morning. thanks. >>> want to turn to the weather system that is pummeling people across the country. janel klein is in ft. worth, texas, this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica. the roads in texas and throughout much of the west are dangerous blamed for deaths and crashes, including one involving singer willie nelson's tour bus. the storm is not done yet. heavy snow and near whiteout conditions brought traffic to a standstill in new mexico on saturday, not to mention the high winds. >> hard to keep control of your car especially under the bridges and stuff, it whips you. we almost saw a semi jackknife in front of us. >> reporter: in philadelphia as temperatures begin to drop, workers load up the last few deliveries of fire wood before it gets really cold. >> people call at the last minute, it's cold, we got to get some wood. >> reporter: officials are issuing a code blue of the area until tuesday morning. >> looking forward to some good warm heat from the wood. the kind of

richard engel tonight with u.s. troops in afghanistan where a much-needed holiday break didn't last long and came to a sudden end. >>> and those who serve. for a job that requires heavy lifting, employers are finding it pays to turn to those who carried the load in the past. "nightly news" begins now. >>> good evening.

richard engel in kabul tonight with news of a deal that could keep the u.s. in afghanistan for ten years or more. >>> sounding a warning. from the faa, about what they see as a growing danger to modern aviation. >>> and a letter from jackie, seen for the first time, written to another woman who lost her husband to oswald's bullets that day in dallas, tonight, she shares her memory with tom brokaw. "nightly news" begins now.

. >> richard engel spoke with troops currently deployed in kabul. >> it's very important. >> everyone understands what they are doing when they sign the contract. >> jim miklaszewski joins us now. last word from the state department is that this is all still under review. >> oh, absolutely. and quite frankly, people here at the pentagon at the state department over at the white house are a little bit surprised that anybody in congress would be taken by surprise by this 2024 date for u.s. troops to remain in afghanistan to provide some type of training and assistance and even conduct counter terrorism operations well after the official combat role has ended in 2014 because president obama and hamid karzai signed an agreement, the strategic partnership agreement is what it's called, which laid out the 2024 deadline in may of 2012. a year and a half ago. but what the problem is that there are some details within the agreement that still have at the very highest levels of the government here in washington concerned and that is primarily that the karzai government is trying to put severe r

. >> chief foreign correspondent richard a richard engel is monitoring the negotiations. is this karzai being karzai, the flaky guy that the u.s. is used to dealing with, never knowing where he's going to come down on an issue, saying all sorts of threatening things and then finally doing what we ask, or is this deal in real jeopardy? >> reporter: it seems like this deal is in real jeopardy, but it's very hard to know. this could be karzai negotiating, him posturing or karzai has taken a decision that he wants to make a deal with the taliban, make a deal to reintegrate the opposition into the future government of afghanistan, and in order to do that he can't have a deal with the united states. so i really don't think we know at this stage how serious karzai is. i've spoken to many different afghan officials and some of them have told me they don't think that karzai wants a deal with the united states. they think he would rather be the person who signs a deal that sees american troops leave with some integration process. if you look at the new demand karzai is putting forw

we'll go live to richard engel in ckabul to explain why americn support may be necessary. and when we come back here, we huddle around the cooler. like a rolling stone like you've never seen it before. why the new bob dylan video has gone viral. [ female announcer ] i like to mix things up a bit with grands mini pot pies. only four ingredients. and a few easy steps. weeknight dinner in a flash. and my family devours them. pillsbury grands biscuits. make dinner pop. but, dad, you've got... [ voice of dennis ] allstate. with accident forgiveness, they guarantee your rates won't go up just because of an accident. smart kid. [ voice of dennis ] indeed. are you in good hands? >>> we talked about the record breaking $13 billion settlement with pchlt mpmorgan chase. if you want to sound smart, tell your friends jpmorgan had nearly $24 billion revenue last court, but reported a $400 million loss mainly stemming from legal fees. bank settlements add up to almost $20 billion. let's go for tto the cooler. former president bush stopped by "the tonight show". >> president obama is koop

richard engel, nbc news, kabul. >> george zimmerman has been released after a jail after charges related to a domestic dispute. the judge set zimmerman's bond at $9,000. he also imposed other restrictions including requiring zimmerman to wear a monitoring device. the former florida neighborhood watchman was arrested monday after a 911 call to his girlfriend's home. he faces domestic violence charges of aggravated assault, battery and criminal mischief. his girlfriend told deputies zimmerman pointed a begun at gu and prosecutors said she feared for her life and zimmerman had mentioned suicide. >> i didn't see anything and i don't believe mr. downey saw anything that caused us any 3450ed conce immediate ker need concerns. in speaking with mr. zimmerman, he's clear and coherent. he understand what's going on. >> while on bond, zimmerman cannot have any contact with his girlfriend, travel outside of florida or possess any weapons or ammunition. he'll be back in court on july 7th. in july, he was acquitted of shooting death of trayvon martin and was officially served divorce papers while in j

nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel spent the last several days with the tenth mountain division and reports from forward operating base gamberi. >> reporter: it helps to be at a few thousand feet to appreciate how hard it has been to fight in gans. 12 years in these mountains. osama bin laden once had a house down there not far from tora bora. but times have changed. lieutenant colonel al boyer, tenth mountain division, is part of the new mission. he is an experientialed war man. seven deployments in iraq and here. today he is a diplomat of sorts visiting the afghan general. relations are more important than ever because afghans do most of the now. but americans have been killed in meetings like this so u.s. troops need armed escorts. guardian angels like staff sergeant travis drudge from wa dbush, indiana. >> if they're not trustworthy, that he stay on guard. >> reporter: with a young son and a taught on the way, he is more cautious now than other deployments. >> you think more about your family, the wife, the kids, than just yourself. >> reporter: but most american tr

we'll have the latest from nbc's richard engel who is there. >>> and the smoking gun, up next, we'll talk live with the dallas deputy sheriff who actually discovered lee harvey oswald's murder weapon 15 years ago. ♪ ♪ no two people have the same financial goals. pnc works with you to understand yours and help plan for your retirement. visit a branch or call now for your personal retirement review. it's donut friday at the office. aso every friday morning they psend me out to get the goods. but what they don't know is that i'm using my citi thankyou card at the coffee shop, so i get 2 times the points. and those points add up fast. so, sure, make me the grunt. 'cause i'll be using those points to help me get to a beach in miami. and allllllll the big shots will be stuck here at the cube farm. the citi thankyou preferred card. now earn 2x the points on dining out and entertainment, with no annual fee.to apply, go to citi.com/thankyoucards could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know that when a tree falls in the forest and no one

joining me now from afghanistan is nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel. richard, rice thought she was nailing down a deal that had been negotiated by john kerry and, instead, we had either karzai being karzai or karzai trying to play to the post-war taliban or other aspects of local politics. what is your assessment? >> reporter: well, i'm not sure exactly what karzai is trying to get out of this deal, and a lot of people are speculating and there's a great deal of frustration. most afghan analysts that we've spoken to believe that this has to do with local politics and that this has to do with karzai securing a future political position for himself. in april karzai is supposed to step down. he can't run for another term. and he wants his political allies it to win and he wants himself to have a future role in politics. so how does he ensure that? he can ensure that by -- to be strong and seem like he's pushing the americans aside, that he's a person who came here and built a modern nation telling the americans, thank you very much, it's time to leave. ma

richard engel tonight with u.s. troops in afghanistan where a much-needed holiday break didn't last long and came to a sudden end. >>> and those who serve. for a job that requires heavy lifting, employers are finding it pays to turn to those who carried the load in the past. "nightly news" begins now.

engel who in december, 2012, is taken hostage with his crew. five days later, they escape to safety. engel and his colleagues are part of a small group of courageous journalists risking their lives to report from syria. some of the most extraordinary images are being captured by manny, an independent french photographer and filmmaker. manny uses a fake name in order to protect his identity. >> before becoming a journalist, i used to teach kids in middle schools in paris. >> as a young man, manny also teaches in syria where he travels to study arabic. >> i started going syria quite early in my life. >> when he decides to switch careers and become a journalist, the syrian conflict beckons. >> when these movements happened in the arab world, i thought, okay, this is something that is really important that is happening. i lived there and i know those people. >> using his teaching credentials as cover, manny sneaks into the country. >> i had to go through the border illegally. the biggest danger you're facing is to be discovered. >> in syria he begi

yesterday's richard engel obtained and posted this draft agreement between the american government and the afghanistan government, calling for an enduring military presence in afghanistan long after 2014 when u.s. troops were supposed to come home. richard reporting yesterday that in the draft agreement, in a sense, the war in afghanistan just starts all over again. albeit on a smaller scale but with a time frame that stretches past 2024. richard telling us here is struck him that the afghan government convening a loya jirga. then today, nbc news reported that a bipartisan group of senators is going to bring their own amendment to the defense budget that would require a congressional signoff on any extension of the u.s. troop commitment in afghanistan past 2014. and look at this coalition, sponsoring the idea of there being a time line in afghanistan that congress has to vote on. republican rand paul, obviously both from the far right, democrats ron widen and jeff merkley, both from the list, also joe manchin, from the land of smack dab in the middle. john mccain is never going to vote

if it turns out as richard engel and others are reporting in kabul that we're there years and years at nine locations that could be called bases. with billions more invested, most importantly american lives, what is the political import for the president? >> it's a tough issue. this country, as the president noted, is weary of war. there's a burden on the administration to demonstrate as secretary kerry suggested this is a limited engagement. now in terms of counter-terrorism, andrea, you know better than most there are real threats. a lot of threats emanate from that reason. there's reasons you need counter-terrorism forces there. the president has to balance responsibilities protecting americans, the real sentiment of the american people about being elsewhere in the world right now. they will have to work issues through. >> i'm sure the president and advisers would feel better if they weren't dealing with hamad karzai, undenied reports of cash, cia cash going to him, his relatives and others. the corruption there as well. it's a pretty poor choice between that on the one hand and res

in 2008, nbc news' richard engel the network's chief foreign correspondent, heads to afghanistan to report the story of soldiers based at a lonely outpost called restrepo. >> we didn't know what we were going to find. we went to the korangal valley which at the time was the most dangerous place in afghanistan. so we knew we would see action, we would see combat. >> engel and his crew, producer madeline herringer, and cameraman redden edwards, land right in the middle of the action. the men of viper company are trying to clear the valley of taliban fighters. the crew is there to document the action. >> pretty much every day this outpost came under attack. and pretty much every time the soldiers went out there to do a patrol in the area, that patrol came under attack. >> while living with the men for weeks at a time, the crew experiences the harshness of the environment. >> the troops are out there for a year and a half. it's pretty tough. there's no showers, the food was pretty much all out of a plastic bag. so the living conditions were pretty bad. >> every conflict is different. in iraq,

richard engel joins me by phone from ckabul. tell me about the white house response and details of this information and the document. >> i'll start with the document itself which i'm holding in my hand, 20-page typed document and draft of an agreement that is not been signed between the united states and the government of afghanistan. but it does however give an indication of the scope and the scale of this possible agreement, agreement which is being discussed right now and being debated among afghan and now starting to become public in the united states. the agreement would have u.s. troops maintaining bases in afghanistan, small out posts. they would be mostly confined to these bases. the exact ability of american troops to moch outside those would be quite limited. we just heard tonight from the afghan government that american troops would be able to do a limited number of raids independently, counterterrorism operations as long as they weren't excessive. and what's most significant is the time frame. this agreement talks ab

we'll have a live report from richard engel in afghanistan where the fate of thousands of u.s. troops hangs in the balance as the white house issues its own threat. >> if the agreement isn't is signed promptly, what i said to the president is we would have no choice, we would be compelled by necessity not by our preference to have to begin to plan for the prospect that we will not be able to keep our troops here because they will not be invited because it will not have been signed. >>> president obama strikes back at critics of the iran deal. >> we cannot commit ourselves to an endless cycle of conflict. tough talk and bluster may be the easy thing to do politically but it's not the right thing for our security. >> but will congress jeopardize the deal by demanding new sanctions? >> after all, the ayatollah wants that bomb, and as he continues to organize these rallies in downtown in the capital where people are yelling death to america. >> we shouldn't get a deal just to say we have a deal. we have to get a deal that decreases the likelihood of military intervention and stops

richard engel joins me now and senator kerr senator kerry said our troops won't be there forever, but karzai said prepare for the doubling. what have you heard? >> if you heard that doorstep interview by the great andrea mitchell and she stopped secretary kerry, he said we don't plan to be there years and years, but he didn't say what years and years really means. today, the afghan president, hamid karzai had a very specific idea of what years and years means. he addressed a large gathering of tribal elders here and said that they should be prepared for american troops numbering 10 to 15,000. probably closer to 10,000, staying here for at least a decade. and then gradually drawing down from there. whether that is the official agreement that has been put in place between the u.s. and afghanistan remains clearly undecided. >> and richard, regarding the time line karzai requesting or desiring that it not be completed until after the presidential election, tell us why he is trying to stall there. >> it's hard to know. you have to really read into karzai's thinking to answer that. he could

here's nbc's richard engel with more on what the agreement could entail. >> reporter: u.s. troops training afghan forces and hunting al qaeda. movement off base would be severely restricted. afghan officials want 10 to 15,000 troops to stay for a decade at least. u.s. military officials talk of 7 to 8,000. u.s. troops here now mostly do training. the u.s. air force in kabul with afghan airmen. >> i think they're on their feet, a little nervous taking their first steps without us. i think they can do it. >> reporter: most don't want americans to leave. >> we need strong support from international communities, especially from u.s. >> reporter: why not just leave? the afghan government would likely collapse, afghan could again become a haven for terrorists. after so many years, would a force of 7,000 make a difference? iraq stands as a warning. there was no agreement there when the u.s. left and the civil war has come back with a vengeance. an afghan agreement might prevent a prepete of that, not e -- a repeat of that. not changing the war, just changing it. >> they want presi

nbc's richard engel is covering it all for us in kabul. richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is a big story and one that set the white house on its back food. today, president hamid karzai told a gathering of about 2,000 elders that if a joint security agreement is signed, that 10,000 to 15,000 troops, most of them americans, will stay in this country for another decade and then gradually start to draw down. the white house is saying that no final agreement has been reached, that this is still a document that has to be approved by the afghan government formally and washington, but today, hamid karzai is prepping his people for almost doubling the length of the u.s. longest war in american history. on that letter, the afghan government published a copy of that letter. it says it's from the white house in which president obama doesn't exactly apologize for past mistakes and abuses in this country, but is very sympathetic to the afghan people and says that in the future american troops should they stay behind won't enter afg

richard engel broke this story and joins us from kabul. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. thousands of afghan officials are starting to gather here in kabul to vote starting tomorrow on a joint u.s.-afghan security agreement that if passed by both afghanistan and the united states could keep u.s. troops in this country for a lot longer. at a base in kabul, u.s. troops today training the afghan air force and doing what they're famous for, coping with whatever comes their way. >> we came here for a mission and we take care of the mission and then we go home. >> reporter: news of possible u.s.-afghan agreement that could keep u.s. forces in afghanistan for years taken in stride by the sergeant melendez from georgia. >> i think every soldier and sailor understands what they're doing when they sign, you know? sign the contract. >> reporter: but american troops may need to keep that resolve for a long time. a draft of the agreement ed by sweeping relationship with the u.s. paying for forces staying on as trainers and move