NewsHour talks to the Washington Post’s David Ignatius and authorJarret Brachman about the alleged Jordanian double agent whosuccessfully completed a suicide mission against CIA operatives inAfghanistan. The incident has brought to light long-standingintelligence ties between Jordan and the United States.
President Barack Obama spoke to the press after meeting with members ofhis cabinet and other officials about the recent attempted terroristattack. The president said that the failures of the intelligencecommunity lay in the integration and understanding of intelligencerather than the information gathering itself. He has called for tworeviews — one of aviation screening and one of the counter-terrorismwatch-listing system.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is accusing NATO and U.S. forces of taking the fight against the Taliban too close to home. In an interview with Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, Karzai said that if night raids continue on Afghan civilians, foreign military forces will have more than just the Taliban to deal with. Karzai says that he wants Afghan sovereignty returned to the people.
Afghanistan’s parliament rejected 17 or President Hamid Karzai’s 24 cabinet nominees. NewsHour’s Margaret Warner speaks with Afghanistan’s ambassador to the U.S., Said Jawad, about what the vote means for his country’s political future. Said says that though the rejections could be seen as a setback, the parliament’s decision is a step in the right direction for the democratic process in Afghanistan.
The Sahara no-man’s land of Northern Africa has proven to be a breedingground for an offshoot of Al Qaida. The group operates in the borderareas between Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Morocco and may beresponsible for several disappearances in Mauritania. Al Jazeera hasexclusive footage of the fighters in their dessert camps. Mohammed Vallreports from Mauritania.
Al-Qaida has claimed responsibility for the failed Christmas Day planebombing, and since then, Yemeni security forces have begun aconcentrated attack against militants with the help of U.S. specialforces. WorldFocus’ Martin Savidge speaks with military analyst AnthonyCordesman about the U.S. role in Yemen. Cordesman says that bringingstability to the crumbling nation may be beyond military help.
More than a week after an attempted terrorist attack on a Christmas dayflight to Detroit, President Barack Obama talks to the nation in hisweekly address.The attack, reportedly organized in Yemen, highlights a hole in U.S.intelligence operations. Obama’s plan to fight extremism in the fragilenation of Yemen includes strengthening and cooperating with the Yemenigovernment.