information. >> they will start an investigation. >> you have to fight. not get this man just for asking a question. >> now playing at a theater near you. >> and now, "bbc world news america." american special operations forces will be sent to northern syria to assist local troops fighting islamic state. residentbritish imprisoned at guantanamo bay was returned home to the u.k. after almost 14 years. the highly publicized campaign to win his release. , onenor of halloween photographer takes us on a two or of the most haunted houses in america. welcome to our viewers in public television in america and also around the globe. for the first time u.s. troops will be deployed on the ground in syria. the white house announced that a small number of special operation forces will be sent to the north of the country to help local troops fighting islamic state militants. as the u.s. came secretary of state joined with his counterparts from russia, saudi arabia, iran, and other nations to work on and to fanatics solution to end the fighting in syria. nick bryant reports. special forces in action in iraq. dramatic helmet cam footage showing how they rescued hostages during this recent raid on an islamic state is in. shift in u.s. policy. the announcement that for the first time since the civil war began four and a half years ago, american boots will now be on the ground in syria. >> the president does expect that they can have an impact in intensifying our strategy for building the capacity of local forces inside of syria to taking the fight on the ground to isolate in their own country. reporter: the plan is to advise and assist moderate rebels rather than u.s. forces to engage in combat. the deployment is small, fewer than 50 special forces troops. speaking at talks in the syrian conflict in vienna the u.s. secretary of state john kerry said the intensified military campaign against the group comes at a time of heightened diplomatic activity. john kerry: we are employing a two-pronged approach. we are intensifying our counter-dash campaign and diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. russian planes in the sky above syria and troops on the ground this lt sided more complicated and potentially dangerous. it heightens the nightmarish risk of a major clash between the powers. intention of engaging in the large-scale fights. the fear is of mission creep, how a small intervention can quickly become a protracted involvement. anchor: for more on today's developments i spoke with admiral james still rate is -- itas. militaryr saying the campaign will be beefed up and talks in vienna and this announcement. they said they will not do it but there are. boots on the ground in syria and still in iraq. why now? guests: it is inevitable because we are losing. we are not doing what we need to do and there are two tasks on the table. we have to militarily defeat islamic state. there is not going to be a military solution to the assad regime, there needs to be a diplomatic approach. the administration is taking a small step. i would argue we will need more troops on the ground before this is over. it because until now in the last few weeks or the last month america was doing its thing, not being very vocal about changing its military tack. russia came in and that changed the dynamics. would you agree that russia has forced the hand of the obama administration? that is overstating it bit but not by much. is toussia's game here force a diplomatic solution. they have effectively done that. other: what are the contributing factors? guess: it is the inability of kurdish forces to get traction. pressure islamic state against the iraqis in the south where we are not sing a great of forward motion on the part of the iraqi security forces. and the consultations of the russians to the west. there have to be a change of strategy when you put that together. anchor: let's look at the landscape. s targetingstrike opponents. and bolstering the regime and then you have the u.s. going in on the ground targeting targeting -- pro-assad forces. it is a very messy picture here. what is the strategy? guess: it is. the strategy lays down something like this. in the west you have categorized it right. that is where the russians are striking against the anti-assad insurgents. in the center is the islamic state. that is where the vast majority of the u.s. effort will go. you will see the u.s. prioritize its military power against the islamic state in the center and in the far west is the kurdish entity which will also be computing against the islamic state. very simply priority one, go in thehe islamic state center, priority number two, go after the assad regime but initially that will have to be a diplomatic approach. kerry: we heard from john in their report saying we are going to go back to the table in two weeks time. some kind of foundation -- foundation for talks there. but how hopeful are you that they will make any kind of headway? start with the bad news. with so many nations around the table, iran and saudi arabia who had be placed at the table in such a way that they would not make eye contact with each other is going to be a very difficult set of multilateral negotiations. this is the good news. they are there. think of the balkans in the 1990's. in some ways a similar situation. complete disruption in the country and yet eventually we had the dayton accords. they can work but it will take caught -- time. anchor: thank you for your time. residentbritish imprisoned in guantanamo bay has u.k.released back to the this afternoon. he was born in saudi arabia and detained for nearly 14 years. american officials accuse him of fighting with al qaeda in afghanistan. he claimed he was there doing charity work. our special correspondent reports. freedom, flying to detainee 239 now a long way from guantanamo where he spent his last 13 years. landing in london. he was never charged, never tried. his family say his return is amerco. -- a miracle. sooner or later [indiscernible] nobody is sure. i don't know. obliged: he said i feel to every individual who thought for just is not just for me but to bring an end to guantanamo. without their devotion to justice i would not be here in britain now. he left the airfield here for a medical checkup. the hangar door shut so no side of him back in britain. at some stage he will meet the son he has never seen who was born on the day he arrived in guantanamo. wants to obviously reconnect with his wife and his family. so difficult after you have been held incommunicado from them for basically the entire children's lives. a really wonderful father and a real family person. reporter: he went to afghanistan in 2001 and with his family to washarity work area he captured trying to cross the border with pakistan a few months later and handed over to u.s. forces. he faced to said interrogation and torture while held at u.s. bases in afghanistan before he was then transferred to guantanamo bay in february 2002. documents from the american department of defense claimed he was a close associate of osama history ofnd had a participating in jihadist combat. he denied any involvement in terrorism. >> we are tired. even if you leave us to die, cs. his was the voice that was heard when america film that guantanamo. >> let the world here what is happening. reporter: he has been there so long because he -- of what he knows, his enteric -- his attorney said he said. british intelligence officials questioned him and knew he was being tortured. >> in my view he has so much evidence and so much knowledge in his storage that he will embarrass the governments of the u.s. and britain. wary.er: others are >> it is important that we do not regard him as a saint. this is someone who the government has assessed has arranged to ties to al qaeda and osama bin laden. inorter: so many years guantanamo have damaged his health but not his resolve. an overcrowded boat with 150 people were rescued off the greek island of lesbos on friday morning. everyone on board was brought to shore safely. rescue came after 22 people drowned overnight when two boats died in the aegean sea. more than 700,000 migrants crossed to europe by boat so far this year. has been ays there major step forward in tackling global warning -- warming but more needs to be done. the plan submitted by 146 countries cover 90% of global carbon emissions and the target of stopping temperatures rising by a certain amount is still, they say, within reach. david: this is no ordinary fire. great swathes of indonesia are burning. the forest cleared to make way for plantations. fires happen every year here but these are bigger figures than usual and they have global and locations because vast amounts of carbon dioxide are being given off. as much as germany produces in a year in the past month. at all that to the greenhouse world as more countries industrialize and burn more fossil fuel. the challenge for years has been greenhouse gases are shooting up while scientists say they need to be cut to avoid the worst effects of global warming. the u.n. asked countries to come up up with their own individual pledges to cut emissions. 146 of done that. given howle number long any had refused to do anything about climate change. the latest science is that a rise in global average temperatures of more than 2 degree cents -- celsius would be dangerous and the u.n. reckons that with all the plans to cut there will bee's a rise of 2.7 degrees. the key to is whether everyone will do with the promised. >> where no longer on track 245 degrees. we are currently if all those plans are implemented, we are on track to stand or three degrees. is it enough? no. reporter: what does this mean for the countries that are most vulnerable like the island nations in the pacific? they fear being right -- wiped out as the sea rises and they want much more done to help save them. >> we are two meters above sea level. those low-lying countries will be underwater by midcentury if we do not do anything. reporter: with the forest fires of indonesia and all the other sources of greenhouse gas there is pressure to limit the potential dangers of global warming and all this will come to a head when world leaders meet for summit on climate change in paris in just over a month. watching "bbce world news america." still to come on tonight's program. at 40, "bohemian rhapsody" still going strong with lyrics that keep us guessing about the true meaning. goes to the polls on sunday for the second time in five months. the governing ak party hoping to win back its majority. our turkey correspondent has been looking at why this election is so important and the key factors. reporter: this election is crucial because it will choose a government that will decide on the issues here and the wider region. the world is watching. turkey is closely tied to the fate of neighboring syria. it's governments have led oppositions to assad regime and has been criticized for getting too close to radical groups. could this election change the syria policy? turkey as part of the anti-i.s. coalition and it is vulnerable. the and kara -- ankara bombings were blamed on this position. turkey hosts over 2 million migrants and refugees. it is a main gateway into europe so solving the migration crisis depends on turkey and the government that fewer can work with. piecevernment made a progress. turkey is the west's vital ally in this region. this election will determine its future. will he get the majority he wants or will it mask the start post-erdogan-- the era. anchor: 40 years on, "bohemian rhapsody" still remains popular. is thisthe real life or just fantasy? it is the song we all know the lyrics to but cannot work out what it means. i spoke a short time ago to the contributing editor of "billboard" magazine. everybody wants to know that crucial answer to the question, what is the success behind this tune? is such an unconventional and on song and it is a great work of art. the sort of thing that transcends formulas and transcends the norm. i was a little kid when it came out and it did not sound like anything else on the radio. boy i'm just a poor i need no sympathy ♪ anchor: there was conversation that the record company was not sure about it. when the group presented the song to their label emi, the label not surprisingly was opposed to going out a single that was him a six minutes long. the longest song to chart before that had been the beatles "hey jude." beatles innot the 1975. the record company was proposing editing it or putting part of it out because it is a very unconventional song. there is not really a chorus. there are verses but in all these different sections. what they did was the group took it to a friend of theirs at the named all places, dj kenny everett and they gave it to him and they said this is for you to listen to. don't put it on the air and he said don't worry, i won't and of course he did. he played it something like 10 times in two days. there was a huge response. people went out to buy the single and they could not so him i was forced to rush release it and think have and they did. it is one of the most extraordinary singles in history. anchor: do you like it? guest: i love it. anchor: what is it that makes it unique and unconventional? guest: it is unusual and a story that is compelling. no one knows what is going on. freddie mercury was asked many times what it is about and he did not really say. he said there's a lot of fantasy and it and whatever you want it to be, that is what it is. people projected all kinds of things onto it. that is just the story and just the lyrics. they are -- there are incredible melodies. no one had ever heard a thing about -- like the operatic section which is full of words that he strung together. is at the front of every chapter in the koran. it is about how it sounds create it also not for nothing has one of the most beautiful guitar solos ever put in a rock song. >> ♪ guest: it adds so much to the song. anchor: thank you. we appreciate your inside. -- insight. one dancer is drawing attention for her way of breaking up conference between teenagers. it went viral online. this is so last year. this is the latest dance craze. never heard of it? you have now. dance from a the "watch me." everyone is doing it including this washington police officer. called to a disturbance england -- involving a group of teenagers one of them said they would leave if the officer danced. she obliged. the teenager said i never expected cops to be that cool. the world's most powerful man loved it. president obama tweeted who knew community policing could involve that question mark a great example of police having fun while keeping us safe. coppers andt presidents who love it. would-be presidents to. and a-list actors. daughters, young and old have caught the vibe. is the arresting sight of a washington police officer dancing on the beat that has captured the imagination. >> you kidding me? anchor: i am not doing that for you. it is a day away from halloween. haunted houses have become quite a tradition. what better way to celebrate the holiday than to search out the creepiest properties? that is what a photographer has done in his travels and he spoke with us at the bbc world service. ♪ >> the house behind me is a beautiful house. it has been abandoned now for over 20 years. it is a brilliant design and up to demise is a haunted house. -- ap demise as a haunted house. that was a town that sits on the corner of texas and arkansas. it was plagued by a serial killer that was never caught in 1946. even till this day, it has left the townspeople in panic and disarray every time there is a full moon because that is when the serial killer would strikera ghost or felt a presence when you are in these houses? x i am a big skeptic for the most part. as i have done this for several years going in there have been things. they have things that have come up that i cannot explain. when i am editing pictures and i see a figure i do not know what that is. it could be a derelict hiding watching me which is just a scary to me. other times there is sounds i could not explain. just weird sounds. trick-or-treating got underway early at the white house tonight. president obama and the first lady busy handing out treats for the children who stopped by dressed up in their costumes. pretty impressive. that brings today's show to a close. you can find much more on all the days news on our website. happy halloween and have a great time this weekend. from all of us here, thank you for watching. see you soon. goodbye. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs, and sony pictures classics now presenting "truth." >> what is our next move? >> them i have something for the election. >> the president have gone awol. >> parts of his file being tossed in the wastebasket. >> do you have these documents? >> we have no information. >> we will start an investigation. >> this is bad. >> you have to fight. not get this meant just for asking a question. >> rated are now playing at a theater near you. >> "bbc world news" was captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the u.s. ramps up its role in syria, sending special forces on the ground to try and end the war. then, a look at organized labor's role in this race for the white house. >> they're essentially withholding their endorsement, i think they actually pushed hillary into the position they want on the so called cadillac tax in obamacare, which they want repealed. >> woodruff: and it's friday. mark shields and david brooks are here, to analyze another full week of news. all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.