has resume talks with the afghan taliban announcement came as the u.s. president made a surprise visit to afghanistan where he met with president ostroff ghani. sudan's government has approved a law to dismantle the regime of former president omar al bashir the country's prime minister says the decision was not an act of revenge but aimed at reserving the dignity of the sudanese people. iraqi security forces have killed at least $33.00 protesters in the city of nasiriyah as anti-government demonstrations worsen the army earlier dispatched troops to the provinces with instructions to restore order. a poll has emerged as the winner after the 2nd round of voting in europe was a presidential election the conservative edged out his rivals by promising to turn a rally a slowing economy and tackle the country's rising crime rate it's possible reports . he's the youngest president in your wise history at 46. 1 the 2nd round of the presidential race in this tiny south american nation. even though the elections took place last sunday the results have only just bee

has resumed talks with the afghan taliban in ounce mccain as the u.s. president made a surprise visit to afghanistan where he met with president. to dance government has approved a law to dismantle the regime of former president omar al bashir the country's prime minister says the decision was not an act of revenge but aimed at preserving the dignity of the sudanese people. brocky security forces have killed at least $33.00 protesters in the city of nasiriyah as anti-government demonstrations worsened the army earlier dispatched troops to the provinces and structures to restore order. activists in hong kong are calling on world leaders to follow the u.s. after president signed a bill backing pro-democracy protesters the law allows the u.s. to sanction chinese and hong kong officials guilty of human rights abuses beijing is accused trumps administration of sinister intentions and has vowed to respond sir clark has more. in central hong kong i gather to say thank you to the united states president donald trump signed into law the hong kong human rights an

this is not a taliban bike. there was another guy with them and he was asking me questions in english. then they threw me in this room and left. >> reporter: he was lucky. some of these night raids are conducted by afghan specia forces connected to the country's intelligence agency, backed by the c.i.a. human rights watch says these forces, in their hunt for the a taliba unlawfully executing people. in many cases innocent civilians are also killed because of mistaken identity, poor intelligence or even political rivalries in the community. in a report released last month, the u.s.-based organization says: "these troops include afghan strike forces who extrajudicial exec andfor enforced disappearances, indiscriminate air strikes, attacks on medical facilities, and other violations of international humaniherian law, oraws of war. they largely have been and overseen by tha.equipped, they often have u.s. special forces personnel deployed -oalongside them during ki capture operations." because these forces cige under

and taliban are talking again but where will talks end up. and we need to feel some nuns fighting to change in green prejudice. i've been a strategy welcome to date of the news asia it's good to have you with us if you live in coastal areas of china india vietnam all time and you may have to move within the next 5 to yes the reason sea level rise. a new study predicts that by 2050 increases in sea levels are due to melting ice sheets could affect more people than previously estimated cities such as shanghai. could be at risk of annual flooding and by 2100 some areas me go permanently underwater i just like to emphasize here that this is just a new estimate based on a new land television model let's just take jakarta of the map of jakarta behind me as an example to my right is an earlier prediction showing the areas that could be prone to flooding by 2050. is the new estimate mumbai here is the earlier estimate and right here is what is being predicted same before an officer not here with bangkok behind me each of the maps shows the same thing

with the taliban. also this hour a meeting between the chief of nato one for each president fails the result tensions within the alliance with still posting on its purpose we can go on. and we believe you are in the grip of political instability. was brutally beaten and publicly humiliated by rivals of ousted president. be. my hero. and i want people to. believe. that. thanks for joining us just on 12 here in. the program u.s. president donald trump has chosen to spend his thanksgiving taking part in the perfect photo opportunity and his 1st ever visit to afghanistan and greeting american troops based there had a message for them he told them that talks with the taliban declared dead 2 months ago on. joining the shoot. to get more updates on this maria thanks for joining us what is behind this surprise visit well yes they call it a surprise these a. but the motives behind it are rather clear since day one day one of his presidency mr trump wanted to and the war in afghanistan this bloody almost 2 decad

and the afghan taliban have resumed the taliban has told al jazeera some meetings have taken place to pave the way for the resumption for formal talks president donald trump canceled negotiations in september following the death of the u.s. soldier but he told troops on a surprise trip to afghanistan that he believed the group was willing to strike a deal roslan jordan has more. the u.s. commander in chief celebrates thanksgiving with troops at. air base in afghanistan a tradition going back to the start of the conflict against the taliban in 2001 but after 18 years it's a war washington is struggling to finish and donald trump says he's lies in the hands of the taliban the taliban wants to make a deal we'll see if they want to make a deal it's going to be a real deal but we'll see but they want to make a deal and they only want to make a deal because you're doing a great job that's only as they want to make you trouble announced for the 1st time the taliban is interested in reaching a peace agreement with the government in kabul this after they released 2 western hostages and 10 afgh

soldier in a bombing claimed by the taliban talks had been making progress up until then the taliban has confirmed to al jazeera that some meetings have been taking place to pave the way for the resumption of talks the group also recently released 2 western hostages and 10 afghan soldiers in exchange for 3 of its senior leaders but officials say there's still no sign the taliban is ready to give up its weapons in exchange for a role in afghan politics demilitarization is a key demand from afghan president ashraf ghani but he's been sidelined while u.s. and taliban negotiators meet still ghani joint tromp on stage by graham air base and tweeted out highlights of the moment apparently keen to show he is relevant in the peace process for donald trump the priority is cutting down the number of u.s. troops in afghanistan from about 13000 to just over 8000 and to help the afghans handle their own security we're bringing you down very substantially. will be down in a number that's very that's a good number and we're going to stay until such time as we have a deal or we have total victory an

>> much depends on how the taliban reacts to this offer as well as the territories the taliban is controlling. there is dispute on dod numbers, and other open-source reporting that contests that information. it remains to be seen. the taliban is on the sidelines, it may not happen. todd: do you think the president can fulfill the campaign promise to extract us as much as possible from the region without creating a power vacuum that will be filled by let's call it what they are, our enemies, iran, russia? >> you hit the nail on the head. countries on the sidelines and on the periphery of afghanistan are simply waiting for america to make the mistake it made in syria on another side of the globe and afghanistan is the other side. russia has interest in afghanistan, pakistan to afghanistan at least, all these countries are looking to capitalize on american power vacuum. if they see the numbers drastically declined, the taliban has an uptick in attacks, they have an incentive to work with the taliban and make it look like america was driven out of its longest war. carley: donald trump called of p

soldier in a bombing claimed by the taliban talks had been making progress up until then the taliban has confirmed to al jazeera that some meetings have been taking place to pave the way for the resumption of talks the group also recently released 2 western hostages and 10 afghan soldiers in exchange for 3 of its senior leaders but officials say there's still no sign the taliban is ready to give up its weapons in exchange for a role in afghan politics demilitarization is a key demand from afghan president ashraf ghani but he's been sidelined while u.s. and taliban negotiators meet still ghani joint tromp on stage by graham air base and tweeted out highlights of the moment apparently keen to show he is relevant in the peace process for donald trump the priority is cutting down the number of u.s. troops in afghanistan from about 13000 to just over 8000 and to help the afghans handle their own security we're bringing in denver substantially and we'll be down in a number that's very it's a good number and we're going to stay until such time as we have a deal or we have total victory and

this is not a taliban and bike. there was another guide with them and he was asking me questions in english. reporter: and he was lucky. some of the night raids are connected to the intelligence agency backed by the cia. human rights watch say they are unlawfully executing people. in many case innocent civilians are also executed. the u.s. based organization says -- these troops include afghan strike forces who have been responsible r executions and forced disappearances. r and otolations of international humanitaan law or the laws of war. they largely have been recruited and trained by the cia. cithey often have u.s. s forces personnel deployed alongside the during kill or pture operations. because these forces, under intelligence rather than the military, getting answers about alleged abuses are near impossible. kate crk runs the afghan analyst network which monitors >> in terms of accountability, they are unaccountable in this country. nsidering the fact that they seem to be breakin the chain of conventions on a

even the taliban and. if we go to peace talks with a group we have to understand it is a group, regional power at best even in its own country. everything from borders that are established to the culture, the afghan people are not necessarily looked at as a holistic group. as we work with the taliban we are trying to illuminate the terror they are trying to impose. we can't guarantee they will have say in 5 or 10 years. much less next year. we have to work with the afghan government and other leaders to establish any semblance of peace or treaty but it the end of the day we are talking a group of people who outlasted the soviets and outlasted us for 20 years. as long as they want to be with themselves or their neighbors or to host people that would be at war with us our presence is the best thing we can do to stop that. todd: how concerned are you that a reduction in numbers in that region will lead to a power vacuum that will be felt not only by isis and groups like that but also by iran, russia like you

restarted talks with the taliban. that's notable because we know the president's policy objectives are to reduce the size of the u.s. force in afghanistan to try to end the longest war. of course, a lot of his military advisors and allies in the senate are telling him that the presence of the u.s. in afghanistan is keeping things more stable, and not to reduce the numbers too quickly. so this is a trip where the president gets to have some of that interaction with members, men and women in uniform, to be able to be seen there in that commander-in-chief role without some of the controversy. it was notable he did not the talk about democrats or partisan politics in his address. we've seen him get political with service members before that. that didn't happen this time. >>> all right, kelly, thank you. i want to bring in michael crowley. he traveled with the president to afghanistan. he joins us by phone. michael you were there with the president. tell us exactly what happened. >> first of all, kind of an amazing experie

is resume talks with the afghan taliban announcement came as the u.s. president made a surprise visit to afghanistan where he met with president musharraf gone. saddam's government has approved a law to dismantle the regime of former president omar al bashir the country's prime minister says the decision was not about to revenge but aimed at preserving the dignity of the sudanese people. under iraqi security forces have killed at least $33.00 protesters in the city of nasiriyah as anti government demonstrations worsened the army earlier dispatched units to the provinces with instructions to restore order. now for the maldives president that delhi i mean has been handed a 5 year prison the money laundering the court rule you mean that taken a $1000000.00 in state money collected for landing fees he's also been ordered to pay a $5000000.00 fine the president for 5 years until a surprise defeat last year follows an al-jazeera investigation which expose corruption within the movie's government. activists in hong kong are calling on world leaders to follow t

rights watch says cia backed afghan soldiers are killing civilians as part of their fight against the taliban. plus the smog suffocates delhi and for it is official those extreme circumstances demand extreme measures we'll tell you what they're trying out. i'm melissa chan you're watching d.w. news asia thank you for joining us cia backed afghan paramilitary forces have killed civilians and night raids kidnapped people and bombed villages that's according to the latest human rights watch report these documented incidents took place in mostly taliban controlled areas of afghanistan and have increased significantly over the past 2 years in parallel with u.s. efforts to exit its 19 year war there human rights watch says what is happening are war crimes the cia has responded and says its operations are done quote in accordance with law and under a robust system of oversight but for afghan civilians this rationale offers little in the way of justice for their loved ones killed as collateral damage. or afghan villagers burying their dead. farm workers harvesting pine nuts were among the victims cau

that's according to the latest human rights watch report these documented incidents took place in mostly taliban controlled areas of afghanistan and have increased significantly over the past 2 years in parallel with u.s. efforts to exit its 19 year war there human rights watch says what is happening are war crimes the cia has responded and says its operations are done quote in accordance with law and under a robust system of oversight but for afghan civilians this rationale offers little in the way of justice for their loved ones killed as collateral damage. on afghan villagers burying their dead farm work. harvesting pine nuts were among the victims caught up in a u.s. drone strike in september targeting so-called islamic state militants in the east of the country. rights monitors deplored the mounting civilian casualties even as the warring parties step up efforts to reach a peace deal there seems to be movement toward some kind of a settlement and a possible u.s. troop withdrawal so both sides are ramping up their military activities trying to cause as many casualties as cause as much damage

can the taliban? i think that's a different question. >> julie: before i let you go, what does this say about trump's negotiating style? >> is very consistent. on the one hand, he demonstrate he's going to protect u.s. interests, and to be there and stay there. in a sustained way. on the other hand, any time the other side wants to stop him he's willing to talk. he is very consistent. chinese, russians, ukrainians iranians, andtaliban. >> julie: we appreciate you coming on. democrats going antsy, if you want to call it that, head of the highly anticipated pfizer report. why they are questioning the inspector general's judgment, and what they say his investigation ignored. plus, a war of words comes to a head at a d.c. bar. what sparked the feud between a former governor and the deputy acting dhs secretary? ♪ - [spokeswoman] meet the ninja foodi grill. get the perfectly grilled flavors of an outdoor grill indoors, and because it's a ninja foodi, it can do even more, like transform into an air fryer.

troops based there with the taliban. meeting between the chief of nato and france's president fails to resolve tensions within the alliance still casting doubt on its purpose look at whether nato can go on as it is. and with bolivia in the grip of political instability we talked to a local man who was brutally beaten and publicly humiliated by rivals of ousted president morales. also cut off my hand. but they can't change me and i want people to take a step back and see to believe them people cannot believe like this. live from moscow thanks for joining us in r.t. international. 11 am here in the capital welcome to the program u.s. president donald trump chose to spend his thanksgiving taking part in the perfect photo opportunity paying his 1st ever visit to afghanistan and greeting american troops based there and he had a message for them in another apparent u. turn he told them that talks with the taliban declared dead 2 months ago are back on. to get some more updates on this maria what exactly is behind this visit we

have taliban peace talks restarted as president trump claims? well, a new statement just obtained by cnn puts that in doubt. we'll discuss, next. what does it take, to call yourself an explorer? traveling to the darkest depths of the ocean. pushing beyond the known horizon. passing through... "hey mom," "can we get fro-yo?", >>"yeah, fro-yo." "yes." the all-new 2020 ford explorer st. with intelligent 4wd and terrain management system. it's the greatest exploration vehicle of all time. well you remember what happened last year. you can't bring a backup thanksgiving to my sister's house. it's not like we're going to walk in with it. we'll bring it in as we need it. ...phase it in. phase it in? yeah, phase it in. phase it in? i'm max, i was diagnosed with aplastic anemia and if i didn't find a donor, i probably wouldn't be here right now. be the match uses the power of the cisco network to match donors with patients faster than ever, saving lives like max's. me and dylan are dna twins. ♪ ♪ dylan's like my brother. ♪ ♪ cisco. the bridge to p

afghan government and also among taliban who still favors war listed favors conflict because they have vested interests in conflicts and anything that is deemed to end this conflict it will not serve their interests so they will oppose it and the lines that they are sending is that the taliban have indulged in suicide attacks they have good afghans and now we have one of their a brother of their leaders who was responsible for their finances in our custody how could you let him out he should be executed but this is not going to solve the . and the future of afghans as far as this whole peace process is concerned this is a good confidence building measure and africans the taliban the afghan government the afghan people should be happy about it because i think if this ultimately leads to an introduction dialogue and negotiations between the taliban and and the afghan government why not good to get your perspective on this one of them thanks very much for being. our fire chiefs in australia say the bushfires they're sweeping across parts of the country have reached catastrophic levels str

. >> the taliban wants to make a deal. we'll see if they want to make a deal. it has to be a real deal. we'll see. >> this was president trump's first trip to afghanistan. white house correspondent kaitlan collins has more on the trip. >> reporter: yeah, abby and christine. the president making this unannounced trip to afghanistan. when the president hit the ground, he met with the troops and served them thanksgiving lunch. and he made some news speaking to reporters, saying they restarted peace talks with the taliban, that ended abruptly three months ago when the president said he was scrapping them and some leaders at camp david when they were going to come home. after he believed that the taliban attack left one soldier dead. now, the president says they've restarted. he thinks the taliban will be more open to a cease-fire, which would be noteworthy that was a big sticking point last time around. this trip was kept under wraps well by the white house and secret service. he left florida on wednesday night, flew to washin

has resumed talks with the afghan taliban announcement came as the u.s. president made a surprise visit to afghanistan where he met with president. so the government has approved a law to dismantle the regime of former president omar al bashir the country's prime minister says the decision was not an act of revenge but aimed at reserving the dignity of the sudanese people. his security forces have killed at least $33.00 protesters in the city of nasiriyah as anti-government demonstrations intensify the army earlier dispatched troops to their provinces with instructions to restore order. 2 weeks of impeachment hearings in the u.s. have done little to shift the american public's opinion on president donald trump analysts say the republican controlled senate is unlikely to try to convict him but the presidential election less than a year away it could be up to swing voters to decide if trump gets a 2nd term in office as pastor reports many are watching closely. the streets of media pennsylvania are adorned for the coming holidays but as. matthew cole forbes

washington peace talks with the taliban. meeting between the chief of nato and france's president fails to result tensions within the alliance with still costing doubt on its purpose look at whether nato can go on in its current form. and with bolivia in the grip of political instability we speak to a local man who was brutally beaten and public feature water bottles about president morales. my here. but they can't change my views and i want people to take a step back and say they believe in people cannot believe like this. live from moscow watching our teams and national thanks for joining us the program today i'm daniel. a u.s. peace talks with militant group the taliban have resumed that's according to president trump the u.s. leader made the claims are on a surprise visit to u.s. troops in the country it's his 1st visit to afghanistan. in the studio for more updates on this maria obviously 1st visit to the country as we stated there in the midst of these negotiations what more do we know well we can say that it was a rat

the trouble is that the taliban have never actually agreed to this in fact they've made it absolutely clear that they you know they want to talk with the americans and they don't even formally recognize they the government it describe it as pockets so i suspect that there is some kind of figure here for the taliban must have given some kind of reassurance to allow the president to come on t.v. but there's nothing to indicate the taliban change their political refusal to negotiate with the government the war carries aren't the fight here the way that the killing continues but at the moment we don't have any viable peace process and the taliban are adopting demands which guarantee that and the goes to remain to block for the moment an explosion in a coal mine in northern china has killed at least 15 people and injured others 35 miners are working on the ground and chancy province when the gas blast happened china's mining industry has a poor safety record and accidents are common. i mean this epidemic has forced the closure of all schools in the banning of public gatherings in some more

and the taliban. >> yeah. right now white house officials are not giving a lot more detail about what it is these negotiations that the president said have started back are going to look like. now, yesterday wasn't the first day that the president hinted at this. he said as much last week in an interview with fox and friends, and what's notable about this, it's less than three months after the president declared these talks with the taliban dead and that they collapsed in stunning fashion after inviting taliban leaders to camp david, a trip he announced he was later scrapping because of that attack that left an american soldier dead. the president got out of here in secret fashion. he left about 7:00 wednesday night. took a military plane that was bare bones to d.c. where he then inside an airport hangar got on the other plane, the same model as air force one, the one he took down here. that's when they made that trip in the middle of the night to afghanistan, with all the lights in the plane off to not give a

will have its portion but taliban is just waiting. they know they know we're not going to hang around forever and that and that trump has already announced we're moving out all they have to do is wait us out and they've already begun their own constitutional committee of what they want in a success in a succeeding government and it does not include the existing government that. i know they want to talk to them for the most part you know it's interesting because when i look at this strategy that they're kind of employing you know words like ok we're drawing troops we're going to just bomb the living hell out of this country. does that actually work i mean has that ever worked in the theater of war where you just you bomb them to the negotiating table specially in afghanistan i just don't see the target i don't see the military advantage there no no in an effort in afghanistan in particular it's very very difficult because because it's mountainous it's rugged and flat land sure it's not it's not poland we're trying we're tanks would rol

now the taliban wants to come back to the table, he said. >> the taliban wants to make a deal and we're meeting with them. we're going to stay until such time as we have a deal or we have total victory. and they want to make a deal very badly. >> reporter: obviously there he's saying the taliban is the one that wants to make the deal very badly. we should note the details on what these talks look like or how they're going to happen are very thin. so right now it's just his announcement that we know. i want to give a little context that you talked about, john, about the week that this comes after -- this trip comes after. it was a week of tension between president trump and top u.s. military leaders following the president against the advice of the president intervening in three war crimes cases. the week really ending with the resignation or ouster, firing of the secretary of the navy richard spencer. even as early as tuesday of this week, he was calling the pentagon the deep state. so this is clearly sending a message hear to the troops. he makes this big announcement about pulling tro

and the taliban had restarted. at stake, the fate of peace in the war-torn nation. but also at stake, progress for women there, who when ruled by the taliban, could not work, study or even leave the house without a male escort. special correspondent jane ferguson reports. >> reporter: in one of theug tost countries in the world to be a woman, this clinic offers a refuge. the afghan women visiting dr. najmussama shefajo this morning will get some of the best care in the c>>ntry. his is x-ray of the uterus and the fallopian tubes. >> reporter: she is one ofis afghann's top gynecologists, an expert on women's reproductive health. dr. shefajo gave us a tour of teher clinic, full of the technology, that she imported herself. for the patien that you see, how important is this sort of equipment? for the patient, we rea diagnosis soon and there is no need to go out of the teuntry. >> rep so it saves lives? >> yeah, of cose. >> reporter: to the doctor, interactiowith her patients is important. here the mothers s the baby, her own ultrasound. how do they react? >> they are ve

the taliban wants to see a u.s. withdrawal and we are asking the taliban to renounce terrorism as part of the agreement. there's an inconvenient truth. the united states has already started drawing down troop presence in afghanistan just over the last year. we've been rotating troops out and not replacing them. so the taliban does know that while we still have a significant troop presence we have already started diminishing leverage in the negotiations. so we are not in the same position as we were in september when we were looking at an agreement with the taliban because we have less troops and also because the taliban knows that president trump is heading into an election year, he campaigned on bringing these troops out. so from that perspective i don't think we have the same balance of power in these negotiations as we did just a few months ago. >> the president will head to the nato summit next week. and it comes on the heels of this announcement that the u.s. is going to cut back on the funds and the money spen

now the taliban. how do you see that factoring in here? >> well, i think, again, this is just a return to the talks that have been going on for quite some period of time. whatever caused the president to cancel them and whatever has caused the president to turn them back on again, i would agree with josh that a lot of this has to do with campaign promises of ending dumb wars in the middle east. that's really not as important as the fact that we're getting on with these talks. we're going to reduce american forces. that's just an inevitability as you said. after 18 years. we ought to really start thinking about how much longer we're going to stay there. so the talks are back on. i'd expect as josh does that we'll see some sort of agreement before election time. and we will continue our slow, steady withdrawal to the point where i would expect, if there is a second trump term, we will not see troops in afghanistan other than perhaps counterterrorism forces within two years. >> josh, do you see it as an inevitability that the troops will come

and the taliban the taliban had taken the position that the afghan government is only a puppet as they said of the u.s. and that they insisted on talking to the u.s. directly but what this may mean since it became clear that the u.s. targets that had gone quite a ways towards the possibility of a peace deal. are now being canceled at the at the whim of the u.s. president so they really they may well have realized that it's going to be necessary to engage in direct talks with the afghan government itself if that happens because the prisoners that are to be exchanged are being held in the custody of the afghan government although they're being held in the prison at bagram airport the u.s. control airport officially there under the authority of the afghan government which would make the decision to release them so that would put the afghan government in a different position where they would be able to engage directly with with the taliban which up until now had refused to talk to them directly similarly until now the afghan government has refused to talk about prisoner exchanges but i thi

he says negotiations with the taliban are now open once again. >> the taliban wants to make a deal. we'll see if they make a deal. if they do, they do. if they don't, they don't. that's fine. >> president trump was short on details and what those negotiations might look like is still unclear but you will recall it was back in september when a previous attempt at an accord went sour. the president floated a possible camp david meeting to broker a deal with the taliban and then called it all off on twitter. remember, it is almost an election year and according to a next guest, the president could be looking for a foreign policy win, something that he can campaign on. joining me now, "the new york times" white house correspondent michael crowley and medal of honor recipient and military analyst colonel jack jacobs. first off, the president going to afghanistan and making this announcement about the taliban, was this something that was preplanned or is this something that he just announced out of the blue? was his staff aware of it? >> well, katy, you never know for sure with this presi

pay has fostered a visit to afghanistan using the occasion to tell us troops base that talks with the taliban. could live here in the grip of political instability we talked to a local man who was brutally beaten and publicly humiliated by rivals of ousted president evo morales. the also cut off my hair. but they can change mine and i want people to seek a step back and see the believe in people who cannot live like this. and a meeting between the chief of nato and france's president fails to resolve tensions within the alliance with the manual my problems still cost and doubt on the part we look at whether nato can go on as it is. 2 pm this friday afternoon here in moscow you're watching national with me suspect in a welcome to the program lots of stories here this hour starting with this one u.s. president donald trump chose to spend his thanksgiving taking part in the puff backed photo opportunity paying his fast ever visit to afghanistan and greeting american troops based there and he had a message for them he told them that talks with the taliban declared dead just 2 months ago about kor

the president is saying the taliban wants a cease-fire and the taliban is denying any such offer was made or they say their terms are still the same. whom do we believe here judy? >> you are going to believe me or your lying eyes. know when knows what the president has in mind. what is clear is two months ago after he said there was going to be a four-part deal he scratched scratch that deal by saying immediately after the taliban had an attack that killed one american and 12 other people that the deal was off. negotiations were off. now the president i believe is seeking a foreign-policy achievement that he can point to during pre-election and election season and once those talks to begin again. that's only thing that makes any sense here jon. let me just break this down for you in terms of what's going on on the afghan side and in afghanistan. the afghan taliban are on the dash controlling 50% of the territory of afghanistan. to come the newly-elected government of afghanistan is headed by ashraf ghani the president that's in dispute so there's no real head of the afghan government

and the taliban can agree to a settlement. but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are going to follow through. >> exactly. >> so, all of this are kind of part of the broader set of considerations of the administration will have to consider. >> indeed, thomas gift with university college of london, good to see you so much. >> thank you, michael. >>> pro democracy protesters have returned to the streets of hong kong. right now, hundreds of students holding a rally in the city's financial district calling for reforms and denouncing police brutality as they have for months now. police say 6,000 people have been arrested with the protests. >>> and protests are flaring in iraq, they do appear to spark some political change potentially after almost two months of unrest the country's foreign minister says he will submit his resignation to parliament. it is significant he hasn't submitted it to the president which would be more immediate. he does say he's going to step down after iraq's top shiite cleric criticized the response in

soldier in a bombing claimed by the taliban talks had been making progress up until then the taliban has confirmed to al jazeera that some meetings have been taking place to pave the way for the resumption of talks the group also recently released 2 western hostages and 10 afghan soldiers in exchange for 3 of its senior leaders but officials say there's still no sign the taliban is ready to give up its weapons in exchange for a role in afghan politics demilitarization is a key demand from afghan president ashraf ghani but he's been sidelined while u.s. and taliban negotiators meet still ghani joint tromp on stage by graham air base and tweeted out highlights of the moment apparently keen to show he is relevant in the peace process for donald trump the priority is cutting down the number of u.s. troops in afghanistan from about 13000 to just over 8000 and to help the afghans handle their own security. we're bringing you down very substantially and will be down in a number that's very it's a good number and we're going to stay until such time as we have a deal or we have total victory

look at the taliban. the taliban are sunni muslims. they are from the dominant muslim sect from afghanistan. what's the difference between them and non-taliban sunni muslims? the difference is not that great. what they actually believe in what they observe is not that different. in many cases, it is coincidence. it's the same. praying five times a day, observing the religion in the same way, the difference is that most people, most afghans do not want to see violence and extreme cruelty used to propagate or to enforce their religion. host: fact two photos per the also from kabul, scavenger boy gathering garbage near the old royal palace. pamela: yes. when i was looking at this picture the other day, it is good to show it. that palace has now been completely renovated. it is undergoing this massive renovation. it's very beautiful now. that was built in the 1920's. he lived there and it was a beautiful old palace that was destroyed in successive wars. it stood for years as an emblem and an eyesore of all the terrible violence that has de

the taliban says it's willing to restart peace talks with the u.s. as president trump tells troops in afghanistan he thinks the group is ready to strike a deal. this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up hoping to rise traces of president bashir new government passes a law to dissolve his party and dismantle his regime. a new polluting.

now the taliban wants to come back to the table, he said. >> the taliban wants to make a deal and we're meeting with them. we're going to stay until such time as we have a deal or w

the degree of control that the taliban has over the water fairly has increased and the u.s. forces are said to draw down the you know they can root them out and eventually win this war for him a victory for a very pure political victory for domestic gains got less than 12 months for the reelection and he wants a sure success and i think the taliban know that they want to extract a lot of concessions pakistan which backs of taliban is going to try and extract more concessions so really the onus is on the countries in the region you know the neighbors are going to standard try and stabilize it because as far as the all rule of the u.s. being the policeman or the sheriff will may do in order and balance of power all their lives or were and trump is simply saying you know i give up but simply putting a bridge last resort a sheen on it. now to a country that's been touring headlines for a while now the mayor of a small town in bolivia who was brutally assaulted by protesters mad unrest triggered by the country's political crisis is refusing to resign patricia arch a has now left

special operations commander in afghanistan said the strategy behind this surge in bombing is that the taliban may be more likely to agree to a peace deal acceptable to the united states and the afghan government if the taliban believes they can win the war in afghanistan. right because up until now what we've only been lightly involved in the longest war in u.s. history we've just kind of bad of them around like a kiddie so that really jones went on to point out that despite the recent surge in bombing the taliban does not appear to be coerced and still believes it can win on the battlefield. so let's kick things off today with a look at the latest efforts by the u.s. government to keep on pouring money and missiles into the war but never read as we start watching the hawks. it looks like. it's really. hard to see. what it's like you know that i got. with. the. world we're going to watching the hawks i am tyrrel them tour and joining me today today to discuss the latest record breaking numbers in afghanistan is former secretary former senior security policy analyst in the office of the secret

and for trump to say, well, the taliban want this and the taliban kind of deny it and say their negotiating position has not changed indicates kind of a credibility gap between what the president says and what the actual truth is. and so he seemed to go a little above -- over his skis but, you know, he does want the taliban to come to this position, but as we withdraw u.s. troops, even without a deal, we're losing leverage already, and so that makes it much harder for us to get the taliban to agree to what we want. >> since we're talking about international policy, general, as was mentioned, next week we have a nato meeting of leaders. this is definitely a space that you know quite well. however, at the moment, nato and its leaders fairly dysfunctional because of domestic politics in the respective member nations themselves. what are you looking for in this meeting as president trump goes abroad? >> well, i'd like to see the baltic defense plan approved. turkey has -- president erdogan of turkey has blocked nato approval of this. that's the first thing. secondly, i'd like to see the united

is now resume peace talks with the taliban but what do you think is the taliban strategy going forward given the collapse of the peace talks in september and troublesome council their proposed visit to camp david of a does a taliban even trust donald trump. well look i think the taliban understands that this president is a very unconventional president and the things in washington are not just chaotic but often able to be written rule the dorms of us society are able to be written almost overnight and that's the doubt i think expect your i don't think that they lost confidence that they can get somewhere and present chum but i think this that represents a moment frankly this this this announcement by the president of reopening i'm not going to unity and i think that 'd there are people who are part of the republican the sabbath class here in washington and they're pretty angry because they were pretty angry when it was announced that the president wants you break the taliban over to get a bit so there are people here we're going to be critical of the president or what and that's how we