the nisei a few words about afghanistan. you can also summarize what we have done in afghanistan in one sentence and where we are today. we are losing the war in afghanistan, but it is not yet lost. i hope. general mcchrystal's report courtesy of bob woodward, you all have an urgent deave to read. at the key hit the nail on the head. he got it exactly right. -- i think he hit the nail on the head. i think you should read the amex which talks about detention facilities in afghanistan in which he says we no longer control of the detention facilities in which we are keeping captured insurgents. they are defacto under the control of al qaeda and caliban. war record that takes place in those detention facilities than anywhere else in afghanistan today. -- they are under the control of al qaeda and the taliban. when you lose control of these camps you are in a deep hole. every major statistic we have it demonstrates the momentum is entirely with the taliban. bob gates reiterated that several times in his statements last week on th

visit our troops in afghanistan. he is absolutelabsolutely right that we must move quickly on additional terms will be going to afghanistan in the next few days. we have called the conference for june the 28th to bring together all the powers that have been involved in afghanistan, the 43 nation coalition. that will discuss and agree i hope on civil coordination. president karzai has agreed to come and he will have to report on reforms that he has promised to make in his administration as he started his second period of duty. at the same time, we are making available all the equipment is necessary, helicopters and vehicles, to our armed forces but i can just add one thing that 80 percent of the deaths have been the result of explosive devices. and we've now brought in far more severe as equipping. would've brought an extra engineers that were brought in extra drones to survey the area. would have brought in more intelligence officers and we're backing up our troops with the best equivalent possible. we will do everyt

that originated in afghanistan. this is not an issue whether or not we want an end it's how we want an end and that's really what i was looking for today was some answers as to how we're going to get that end, not an arbitrary deadline and what concerns me with arbitrary declines when you look to guantanamo this is an administration that said we're closing guantanamo in 12 months which is something i opposed but now we're going to be drawing down from afghanistan in 18? we couldn't accomplish closing guantanamo with a handful terrorists that we have complete control but in afghanistan where there's certainly an innumerable amount we're going to begin a drawdown in 18 months. now, admiral, you said that -- i believe if i got this right that the taliban are making more than the afghan army. you know, several members have asked you questions about the drug trade and i have a chart i want to hold up, mr. secretary. this is looking at the drug trade from 1995 to 2009. i think this is important for us to look at because e

in afghanistan. they performed with courage and restraint. one lost his leg in the process. whatever a program now attaches to others i owe those gallant men, state department and contract employees my gratitude. i wanted to have this moment to express it. to sum up the problems that i wanted to talk about are the inadequate security communications that you referred to in the previous panel, security mobility issues, especially the need for expanded air assets that may be required, utilizing local security forces for prts and branch posts and accepting some greater degree of risk when the gains warrant. finally, the consideration of funds for security emergencies. the report observed the changing security conditions that govern our life. that has produced a vast expansion of security facilities and resources. but there are still gaps between some of our standards and practices and the needs that we have to serve. we lack the standards, not the equipment, to provide secure deployable computer-based co

troops in afghanistan. in this 40 minute interview, we'll talk with them about his experience in the u.s. army and air force. this was his second trip to afghanistan. >> my first trip was for -- -- was to the province in the south. on this trip i wanted to go back to the south and see if i could detect progress or see if things had gotten worse, but also could use some areas in afghanistan i had not visited before. in 2007 i spent my time in kabul. this time i headed out to one of the agricultural district south kabul to see a different facet of the war effort. >> heidi make the arrangements to get there? >> you can buy commercially into kabul -- you can fly commercially into kabul. >> october was the deadliest month for u.s. servicemen and. how concerned are you for your own personal safety and what measures do you take to protect yourself? >> if you are in bed, if you are required to wear much of the same protective gear that the u.s. troops duke, a helmet and a best with armor plates and it. and you writ

into a peaceful afghanistan? guest: afghanistan has tremendous agricultural potential. before the soviet invasion in 1979, afghanistan was a major food exporter. raisins, fruits. it has farmlands and orchards. it sustained a country based an agricultural economy. it has the potential to produce a lot of agricultural products. many countries around them could actually be markets for them. agriculture generates jobs because people work on the farms, feeding their families and earning money by working on the farms. there is also potential for a lot of reconstruction in afghanistan. they have a lot of roads and dams, rivers etc. to belong. -- build on. afghanistan could serve as a conduit of trade between central asia and the persian gulf, the indian ocean region. all of these activities would put money into the economy. money into the economy would generate additional demands for a variety of other services and goods, producing a self sustaining economy that would employ more and more of the population. we have to b

in afghanistan, we have got to win. we cannot have another vietnam in afghanistan. the surge worked in iraq and it can work again in afghanistan. we are going to win. host: harvey, missouri. caller: hello? congress has never made out to their promises made to the veterans in the 1960's, how host: ok last phone call this morning on what you want from a health care bill. >> at 8:00 p.m. eastern, president obama will deliver a national address from the u.s. military academy at west point. the president will lay out his plan for u.s. troop levels and american involvement in afghanistan. he's expected to announce an order to deploy 30,000 more troops and detail the afghan government's changing role in the war. we'll air the president's speech on one of the three c-span networks, along with c-span.org and c-span radio. a live picture on c-span2 of the -- of senator orrin hatch debating and the rest of the senate tonight continuing a second day of floor debate on h.r. 4590, on the $848 billion plan to expand health insurance coverage. among amendments debated today, one by

first, afghanistan. on saturday and sunday, i visited our troops in helm and at kandahar, met with members -- met with commanders on the ground, including meetings with afghan army leaders, and i had a meeting on afghan security committee with the chief of defense and security services, and i talked to the knee through -- talked to the naval general secretary. by first -- a first day -- as i wanted to congratulate our brave armed forces, for the work they do day after day. i think i speak for everyone when i said that the thoughts and prayers of the house and will country are with them. the british people are safer at home because our troops are fighting for our city this christmas in afghanistan. mr. speaker, i also wanted to assess the progress to reinforcing our campaign in afghanistan. in my meetings with president karzai, as they begin preparations for the conference on afghanistan in london in january, and then that i believe will galvanize the international effort on political and economic progres

let me say a few words about afghanistan. you could also summarize afghanistan in one sentence. we are losing the war in afghanistan, but it is not yet lost. i hope. the report, courtesy of bob woodward, which you all had a chance to read, is an excellent summary of the situation in afghanistan. i think he hit the nail on the head. he got it exactly right. if there is one part of that report that it urge you to look at, the and next the talks about detention facilities in afghanistan in which he says, we no longer control of the detention facilities in which we are keeping captured insurgents. they are defacto under the control of al qaeda and the taliban, more radicalization and recruitment for al qaeda takes place in those detention facilities than anywhere else in afghanistan today. when you have lost control of the prison camps in which you are putting insurgents and counter insurgency, you are in a deep, deep hole. every measure we have demonstrates the momentum is entirely with the taliban today. bob gates reiterated that several times in his statement last week on the hil

marines and soldiers got ready to go to afghanistan. at the same time, nato defense ministers discussed their contributions to the cause. judy woodruff begins our report. 16,000 u.s. soldiers an marines began to get their orders to join troops already on the ground in afghanistan. they account for more than half of the 30,000 reinforcements being september to the war zone by president oa. >> i'm extremely confident we can succeed in this mission, in great part because of you. but i don't underestimate the challenge. >> woodruff: the chairman of the joint chiefs admiral mike mullen visited soldiers at fort campbell, kentucky, this morning. it's home to the army's 101s airborne division which had orders to return to the fight even before the president's announcement. >> i am sure that we will sustain an increased level of casualties. i expect a tough fight in 2010. >> woodruff: later at camp lejeune, north cara, mullen briefed some of the 8,000 marines who will be part of the first wave of this coming surge. the lead contingent, 1500 mari

ambassador to afghanistan, karl eikenberry. also live this afternoon, a senate homeland security subcommittee looking into how the government insures diplomatic security. the state's apartment -- the state department spends nearly $3 billion per year that is live at 2:30 p.m., eastern. today on c-span, "washington journalÑi"is next live with your phone calls. that is followed by our coverage of the u.s. house. today, members are scheduled to work on changes to tax rolls at financial industry regulations. in about half an hour, analysis of proposed health care legislation with congressional quarterly. then the international union discusses president obamas jobs policy at 8:00, eastern. we will talk

speaker, first of all, let me deal with afghanistan. it is right that at the conference discussing afghanistan not only the coalition partners should be present, but it is very important to recognize in the long-term afghanistan feature is dependent on non-interference by immediate neighbors and economic and cultural cooperation between afghanistan and their neighbors. we will do what we can to advance that process forward, difficult as it has been to get some of the neighbors in to talk to each other. that is part of the discussion that will take place at the conference, and there will be discussions also in pakistan. if we can have on both sides of the borders action being taken against al-qaeda and action also does the taliban we have a better chance of succeeding in our objectives. when president karzai comes to london we will expect that he will be able to show progress in the anti-corruption laws that he is proposing, the anti-corruption task force that he has set up. there were 12 arrests last week for corruption. obviously peopl

military in afghanistan? guest: the one issue the i wish the president would have addressed is the benchmarks to measure success and failure. we know that al-qaeda is a few hundred terrorists on the other side of the border. there are not in afghanistan. we know who their leaders are. how well are we doing that decimated in the number? how well is pakistan to rein in turning into a counterinsurgency forces, and moving from south waziristan into north waziristan? how well are we doing in afghanistan in leaving conditions behind the batter in hospitable to al-qaeda when we redeployed? we're placing our security in the hands of the -- as the president had in his speech, and by which this would have been brought out more, reliance upon local, provincial governors, tribal chiefs. with only 20,000 taliban in afghanistan, and 70% of them there for a wage, how do you get them out? those are the type of benchmarks such give the public an understanding if the strategy is a work is not working. host: former president mu

and me in afghanistan. interest to fight a bharal enemy in afghanistan. -- to fight a brittle enemy in afghanistan. one cannot separate this from stability or lack of stability in pakistan, in mission test nuclear capabilities. it has become an epicenter lately. other neighbors of afghanistan have nuclear ambitions. your presence is beneficial for both of us. i know that being in afghanistan is dangerous. so many precious lives of americans have been lost and they are irreplaceable. but not being in afghanistan is equally dangerous. as president obama has said, the historic strength of the united states is to end wars and to prevent conflicts. security aside, you have improved the life by your presence. hundreds of children are going back to school. and refugees have returned back to afghanistan. we have seen drastic changes. it is all due to your assistance, support, and presence. what is success in afghanistan? success in afghanistan is protecting the united states by building the security institutions of

i also don't think that afghanistan today is afghanistan of the soviet union or rock 2007. let's deal with the situation that we have, not with analogies to other places. but i understand the question. [inaudible] >> certainly in terms of domestic american politics, there is a parallel. the president finds himself in a terrible situation. while the critics of the war are nancy pelosi democrats from san francisco, cambridge, and the new york city. all the supporters of the war are sarah palin republicans. it is a terrible place for a democratic president to be. the people he has to convince to support him are his natural constituency. sarah palin is just looking for the opportunities for him to screw it up. the politics of that are terrible for the president. >> you mentioned that we do not know where bin laden is. there have been reports over a number of years -- if he is not stayed in iran, calling back and forth to are wrong. there were reports in 2004 and other people had photographic evidence. that he and me -- he may have been there until january 2009. what about islam

, we had 300 in afghanistan. we will have 1,000 and we're continuing to grow. it's an all-government effort. department of treasury is on the ground. department of agriculture. drug enforcement administration. federal aviation administration. department of state. usaid. this is truly an impressivest. >> okay. general? >> the one point i would make, when you talk about military it may not look like what you traditionally think. we have military partnered with his. we're doing agricultural development, enabling civilian expertise. i think it's key we understand we're trying trying to do this with every part of our capacity that we have. >> thank you very much. >> the time of the general has expired. >> thank you, gentlemen, for appearing today. mr. ambassador, appreciate your emphasis on agricultural development. i think that's noteworthy. before my question, i want you all to succeed. the down side, gravity of the down side to not succeeding is very apparent. with that said, mr. ambassador, and this was touched up

. >> lehrer: also tonit, on afghanistan the u.s. command anthe top diplomat told congress the boost itroops will halt e taliban within a ye. >> woouff: meantime, britain marked its 100th cbat death in afghanistan this year the newshour margaret warner is in london. >> warner: pme minister gordon brown has pledgedo sendn additional 500 troops to afghanistan. but the war is incasingly unpopulahere. i'll have a special report from britain. >> lehrer: psident obama outled new stimulus and jobs proposals and he calleon americans to snd their way out recession. we'lhave a debate about his proposals. >> woodruff: and ray suaz continues our ries on the nation's economy. tonit, how ann arbor, michigan, is being helped by cockroach. >> sort of geiger counter und. >> exactly. >>t's coming from this here? >> exactly. >> lehrer: that's l coming up on tonht's pbs newshour. major funding for the pb newshours provided by: >> this ishe engine that coects abundant grain from the american heartlando haran's best sellinghole wheat, while keeping 60 bil

efforts in afghanistan. this committee under the leadership of chairman kerry and senator lugar has taken the lead in passing legislation to dramatically increase help to pakistan authorizing a $7.5 billion over five years of assistance. these funds make it footbapossi support pakistan and education, water, agriculture and governance. we're developing a civilian assistance strategy to reduce poverty and vulnerability to terrorist recruitment that poverty breetsds. a and significant projects. we hear repeatedly from pakistanis who want to be involved and under the leadership of paterson, we're working closely to develop a program that reflects their needs and work through pakistani institutions develop programs wherever possible with a goal of abling nongovernmental organizations. jus as we need strong local partners for assistance programs to succeed, we need international partners to support pakistan the development and democracy helping pakistan build on its success. we're working closely with pakistan and

policy in afghanistan and pakistan. >> if the the economist magazine" held a conference earlier this month. next we'll hear from a panel that includes "meet the press" host" david gregory. house republican whip eric cantor and press secretary joe lockhart. this is an hour. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome daniel franklin, congressman eric cantor, joe lockhart, adam boulton and david gregory. [applause] >> well, peter's taken you around the world once. we'll go around the world but starting i think in this cunagin. and let me introduce our panelists first of all. congressman eric cantor, of course, very familiar to everyone, not just in this town but in this country. republican whip. and a busy year ahead of him certainly. lockhart was chief spokesman, as you all know, for the clinton white house and is now a joe lockhart was nd managing director of the global park group, which is a large and flourishing specialist in media relations, and, of course, very familiar around this town as well. adam boulton is an extre

in afghanistan, the u.s. agency for international development participates and a voting that -- as a voting member. their participation prevents duplication of effort in helps identify problems with sustainment of projects nominated by the cerp program. the time, energy and ingenuity that people have devoted to improving this program reflects a desire to spend taxpayers' money wisely and maintain a program that is a valuable tool in iraq and afghanistan. more improvements can be made in the management to maintain flexibility and the accountability of this essential field-driven program. to that end, the deputy secretary will lead a review of the program to determine how best to enhance the department's guidance, management and oversight. this report will be completed and made available in the spring. thank you for the tremendous support of the congress to this program. i will be glad to address any questions on cerp. thank you. >> chair while mccaskill, senator bennett, members of the subcommittee, thank you

of command in afghanistan and iraq have a tough job. the commanders have to strike a balance between achieving results, and measuring performance, but at the same time ensuring accountability. and following the rules. this involves simultaneously managing programs in the field under the difficult conditions that you describe. at the same time, guarding against fraud, waste, and abuse. i want to go back to the september 30 report the you noted earlier in terms of what you noted, was dod noted as oversight for the contract but has been reflected in the failure to ensure the contractors were basically in meeting standards. the concern i have is that we just returned from afghanistan. we saw there was the president announced the increase of 30,000 troops within the next year. we saw the nato training missions stand up as a three- store command. we saw the isap still ended up. there is a tremendous amount of change and growth. the framework that you described in your september 30 report dealt with conditions prior to september 30. the questi

half of this territory is in afghanistan, half of it is in pakistan. ultimately, in order for us to eradicate the problem, to really go after al qaeda in an effective way, we are going to need more cooperation from pakistan. there is no doubt about that. >> kroft: you're a student of history. the british lost the revolutionary war and the americans lost the vietnam war in spite of the fact that they won almost all the major battles. they lost it because it got to be too expensive, it was too far away, and not enough people cared about it. aren't you facing some of those same problems right now? >> obama: i think what is true is that, if we have an open- ended commitment in a place like afghanistan with no clear benchmarks for what success means, that the american people, who have just gone through the worst financial crisis since the great depression, who've already endured eight years of war, at some point are going to say "enough." and rightly so. >> kroft: in afghanistan, you can make the argument that it's not really even a country, that it is a co

troops in afghanistan. that is a pretty significant commitment. >> for the record, madam secretary, you made the statement about karzai in the speech he made. i hope it is not just empty words. for the record, if you would give us your indication, your feelings about what he can do now to accomplish what you had suggested. >> i certainly will, but if i could just quickly add, one of the most important parts of his speech was his assertion that afghan forces would be taking responsibility for many important parts of the country within three years, and that they would be responsible for the entire country within five years. that is very much along the lines of the kind of partnering in transition that we think is realistic. we just have to keep the feet to the fire and keep pushing it forward. >> there has been much made about this withdrawal goal as arbitrary. based on the advice of general mcchrystal and your it buys about expectation of what the situation on the ground would be in 2011, given these additio

al qaeda is still on the border between afghanistan and pakistan. it is very disruptive boast to the pakistan knees and the afghanis. -- pakistanis and the afghanis. it is an area where were have to have a presence, but it should not be combat troops. it should be trainers and support elements. we will get to the point where afghan forces are able to handle their own security with some limited assistance. >> on a related note, where you see that civil society portion of this in 2011? some of your more progressive colleagues have concerns about the government right now, its legitimacy and whether it will affect our mission there. how do you see that playing out? >> there is a definite lack of governmental capacity. that will not be cured in a brief time. regardless of the situation in kabul, being able to extend the government to the provinces is going to be very challenging. one of the problems with our approach to afghanistan over many years is that there is a bit of a cultural disconnect. afghanistan has never had a strong central government, but

troops in afghanistan. that is a pretty significant commitment. >> for the record, madam secretary, you made the statement about karzai in the speech he made. i hope it is not just empty words. for the record, if you would give us your indication, your feelings about what he can do now to accomplish what you had suggested. >> i certainly will, but if i could just quickly add, one of the most important parts of his speech was his assertion that afghan forces would be taking responsibility for many important parts of the country within three years, and that they would be responsible for the entire country within five years. that is very much along the lines of the kind of partnering in transition that we think is realistic. we just have to keep the feet to the fire and keep pushing it forward. >> there has been much made about this withdrawal goal as arbitrary. based on the advice of general mcchrystal and your it buys about expectation of what the situation on the ground would be in 2011, given these additio

troops in iraq and afghanistan. there are a couple of new developments this morning from "new york times." bobby jackson from c-span radio with a look at other sun morning programs and issues and guests. >> the guests on "meet the press" hosted did i davidç gregory will be robert gibbs. new york independent mayor michael bloomberg. massachusetts democratic governor duval patrick andç ne gingrich. on abc this week jake tapper will talk with robert gibbs. janet napolitano and rich mcconnell. fox news sunday will include richard shelby and committee member and south carolina republican jim demint. on fox news sundayç pennsylvan democratic senator arlen spector and robert menendez. and the chair of the democratic congressional campaign committee chris van hollen. on "face the nation" you will have robert gibbs, house majority whip james clyburn and peter king the ranking member of the house homeland security member. and cnn state of the union hosted by john king will have secretary napolitano, andrew card and john

i also don't think afghanistan today is the afghanistan with the soviet union. 2007. let's deal with the situation we have, not to an alies to other situations. >> what about the potential of creating -- do you know the differences in the situation in afghanistan, the potential of a long, drawn out, draining war that ultimately would have to pull out of? >> certainly in terms of domestic politics there is a great parallel. the president finds himself in a terrible situation. all of the critics of the war are nancy pelosi democrats from san francisco, came bridge, and new york city. all the supporters of the war are sara palin republicans from alaska and arizona. it's a terrible place for a democratic president to be. people he has to convince to support him are his natural constituencies. he doesn't have to convince sara palin. she's just looking for the opportunity to say you're screwing it up. the politics of it are terrible for the president. >> you mentioned that we don't know where bin laden is and there's been no credible reports and very few bad reports. but th

, afghanistan. -- brigadier-general gary patton is joining us from kabul, afghanistan. next call is from california. caller: i was pleased to hear you mention education and the infrastructure around people who live there. i think by reaching out to them more in a humanitarian effort and acting like a police force to try to protect them to allow them to try to grow their culture [unintelligible] host: michael, thank you for the call. general patton, your thoughts on his comments? guest: i'm sorry i did not pick up his name, but i did hear that he was from oakland, california. their christmas to you, sir. he was talking about dallas -- merry christmas to you, sir. he was talking about elements of their society. we realize there are parts of society over here that we have to work on, especially one area is corruption. that is just part of doing business over here. the military and the police force are not exempt from elements of corruption. another thing we're looking at doing is in the electronic fund

troops in iraq today amid the new focus on afghanistan. at a town hall meeting at the kirkuk air base, he told soldiers and airmen their mission remains critical. he also said what happened in iraq could be a model for the u.s. surge in afghanistan. >> it is going to be a tough fight particularly in the next -- in the next 12 to 18 months. frankly i think it will look a lot like the surge here in the first six or eight months. and the first six or eight months of 2007 were pretty tough here. but then i think in the longer term, it is going to get a lot better >> sreenivasan: president obama also had more to say about setting a timetable of july 2011 for starting a troop drawdown in afghanistan. he told the cbs program "60 minutes", he wants afghans to realize they are not "a permanent protectorate" of the u.s.. a u.s. drone aircraft attack apparently killed a senior al qaeda operative in pakistan this week. a number of news organizations reported the strike today. cbs news cited local pakistani media, as saying the victim was the number th

, we had 300 in afghanistan. we will have 1,000 and we're continuing to grow. it's an all-government effort. department of treasury is on the ground. department of agriculture. drug enforcement administration. federal aviation administration. department of state. usaid. this is truly an impressivest. >> okay. general? >> the one point i would make, when you talk about military it may not look like what you traditionally think. we have military partnered with his. we're doing agricultural development, enabling civilian expertise. i think it's key we understand we're trying trying to do this with every part of our capacity that we have. >> thank you very much. >> the time of the general has expired. >> thank you, gentlemen, for appearing today. mr. ambassador, appreciate your emphasis on agricultural development. i think that's noteworthy. before my question, i want you all to succeed. the down side, gravity of the down side to not succeeding is very apparent. with that said, mr. ambassador, and this was touched up

contractors in afghanistan. considerably speaking, then, the total war fighter and contractor work force in that country will likely skied 300,000 by the end of -- exceed 300,000 by the end of 2010. the u.s. military in -- presence in afghanistan is large and growing but we must note the challenge there is also large and becoming more acute. afghanistan is nearly the size of texas. but unlike texas, is mostly mountainous and subject to brutal extremes of weather. the afghan population is estimated at 29 million. they are mostly rural, mostly poor, mostly illiterate. these conditions and a mounting insurgency pose great challenges to military operations as well as to the governmental, nongovernmental and contractor organizations that provide security, reconstruction, logistical, and humanitarian assistance. it is safe to say none of the country's -- countries assisting afghanistan and -- wants to have a long-term military presence there. certainly the united states does not. that is why building well-trained, wel

take lead responsibility for afghanistan's future. we will meet these objectives in three ways. first, we will pursue a military strategy that will break the taliban's momentum and increase afghanistan's capacity over the next 18 months. the 30,000 additional troops that i'm announcing tonight will deploy in the first part of 2010 -- the fastest possible pace -- so that they can target the insurgency and secure key population centers. they'll increase our ability to train competent afghan security forces, and to partner with them so that more afghans can get into the fight. and they will help create the conditions for the united states to transfer responsibility to the afghans. because this is an international effort, i've asked that our commitment be joined by contributions from our allies. some have already provided additional troops, and we're confident that there will be further contributions in the days and weeks ahead. our friends have fought and bled and died alongside us in afghanistan. and now, we must come together to end th

our troops in afghanistan. i pay tribute to them for visiting our troops, but i pay greater tribute to our troops for the great work that they do. he is absolutely right that we must move quickly. our additional troops will be going to afghanistan in the next few days. we have called a conference for january 28 in london, to bring together all the powers that are involved in afghanistan -- the 43-nation coalition. that will discuss and agree, i hope, on civil coordination. president karzai has agreed to come, and he will have to report on the reforms that he promised to make in his administration as he started his second period of duty. at the same time, we are making available all the equipment that is necessary -- helicopters and vehicles -- to our armed forces. i can just add one thing, that 80% of the deaths have been the result of explosive devices. we have now brought in far more surveillance equipment, we have brought in extra engineers, we have brought in extra drones to survey the area, we have brought

this is true in afghanistan. this is true in failed states like somalia, where tourism and piracy is joined by famine and human suffering people -- terrorism and paris is joined by famine and human suffering. -- terrorism and piracy is joined by famine and human suffering. this will be true for years to come. leaders and allies demonstrate this truth through the courage they showed in afghanistan. but in many countries, this is a disconnect between the efforts of those who served andç the ambivalence of the broader public. i understand what war is not popular, but i also know this -- the belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it. peace requires responsibility to. peace entails sacrifice. amt was the international reception to the president's words in reference to our allies and making a unified effort in afghanistan? guest: it was not hostile, but i don't think it made an overwhelming impression. if i could just talk a minute about the issue of allies in afghanistan, there is a fundamental d

fisrtrs,t southern afghanistan s key for success in afghanistan overall. why? because it is the pashtun tribe that is dominant there. there will not be any lasting solution without the support of the pashtun tribe. secondly, over the last 12 months, the situation in southern afghanistan significantly changed. -- it developed from a b grade -- brigade-type of headquarters towards eight headquarters that was focusing on how to deliver -- towards a headquarters that is focusing on infrastructure and security, in which the planning horizon was to find on how long it takes to implement the effects of government -- and security, so stabilization was the core of our planning process. besides that, with the influx of additional coalition forces, we started with about 18,000 soldiers. we now command about 40,000 soldiers day-by-day. why that change? of course, three reasons. one, i think we all recognize that the key for success in afghanistan is the situation in southern afghanistan. secondly, the counterinsurgency can only be successful if you have a force to do count

afghanistan, mr. secretary and admiral mullen, is undoubtedly the center for terrorism in the world. so i ask you, are you fully comfortable with the president's strategy, including the target date to begin redeploying troops out of afghanistan? i ask each of you. >> first of all, mr. chairman, i am very comfortable with the president's strategy. i believe that each of these conflicts that we're engaged in needs to be assessed individually. there are some parallels and there are some areas where they are different. i have been adamantly opposed and continue to be opposed to deadlines, but i regard the july, 2011 date as the beginning of a process and has required balancing between signalling our commitment, which certainly should be signaled by this president's approval of 52,000 more troops this year and lighting a fire under the afghans to give them a sense of urgency that they have to be prepared and preparing to take over responsibility for the security of their country. my hope is as that process

>> we're in afghanistan. >> yeah, you are. we are. >> again, i think -- we have a plan that is -- that incentivizes actions, whether it's training security forces, whether it's improving governs -- governance. if those that are responsible and they are at a different level are providing the services that a government has to and needs to provide its people then we'll have a great relationship with working with those people. yet, those people -- let me finish. if those people don't, then we will find people that will. >> why? >> because we have -- we will have by the -- by sometime next year, by middle of next year, 98,000 american men and women in addition to -- right. but, helen, i think if you -- you ask the afghan government whether they want us to be there right now helping train their national security force and helping to root out the insurgesency in the taliban, yes, they approve of us being there quite clearly. i think what's important is understanding -- they understand we are not going to be there forever, that they a

and afghanistan. and it's probably surprising to the american public, but most of the elders actually appreciate the fact we're there. on the other hand, they're very keenly aware that the military's not just there for fire power but something i call brain power. and i think that's one of the things the american public should be more aware of, of the 22,000 troops deployed this year these are reservists and national guard they're veterinarians, horticulturalists, engineers civil engineers and i think is it 34,000 troops that we're -- >> 30,000. >> 30,000. so about a third of those troops are, again trainer troops. and the people in afghanistan they can differentiate and they want, they say what we really need is not only protection, but we want the training. and that also there are good things happening in afghanistan there's 80,000 troops now trained. the goal is 180,000. there is a central banking system as i mentioned there's an eisenhower air/road building program. the road is now complete from ka

policy in afghanistan. tonight, on "america and the courts" encore presentations from c-span's supreme court week special. the supreme court jurn aferlist lyle denison an joan biskubic on covering the courts and appellate attorney maureen maloney on arguing before the court tonight at 7:30 p.m. eastern here on c-span. in the mid '90's, newsweek named omar wasow one of the 50 most influential people to watch in cyberspace and since then he has created the social networking site blackplanet.com and explained new technologies on oprah. sunday night he talks about his current studies at harvard and what's ahead. tomorrow on "news makers" national institutes of health director dr. francis collins on the latest developments in stem cell research, the future of genome technology and how nih may be affected by the healthcare bill making its way through congress. he is interviewed by reporters from usa today and c.q. weekly.com. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cab

afghanistan has never had a strong central government but powered in the provinces. and the afghany's in this complex of the central government that is weak, and that's out of sync with their history. we have to move more to a provinceable level, they look to local province leaders and tribal leaders. and part of the strategy of general mcchrystal is to align our efforts with the culture, and that makes sense. >> does that mean at a local level we need to empower tribes to provide their own security? is there going to be some provision that you would have something like the sons of iraq where you play locals? >> i think there is something to a response fund or something comparable to that, to provide security , it may be more cost effective and may be better. since afghan's have more insight into that. i think there is an effort to be practical and innovative and try different approaches. much that was done in iraq with the army and marine colonels and saying that we can use these people. i think all of these options are seen. there is much more of a sensitivity of t

so, here we are, in afghanistan. and i know many of you, because you reference in your testimony, have gone through siger's book of hard lessons. i know you understand the challenges we face in contracting, but one thing is clear -- we will have more contractors in afghanistan and we will have men and women in uniform. there is no doubt about that. we will spend a significant chunk of the tens of billions of dollars in afghanistan and will be spent for contractors. the purpose of this hearing, and it will be the first of several hearings we will have, is to get an overview as to how the ground has changed as a relates to contract in during a contingency. how is the coordination occurring? how integrated is the effort? most importantly, is the mission now saturated with the knowledge that if we are going to have contractors, do supply lines, make breakfast, do the laundry, build not only the buildings for men and women in uniform but buildings and roads for the people of afghanistan, do that taxpayers have a better sh

troops heading ing tin afghanistan. "larry king live" starts right now. >> larry: tonight, is tiger woods in hiding? he snubbed investigators looking into his mysterious car crash and now he's a no schiff show at his own tourney. what's going on with the world's most famous golfer? and then, the white house party crashers. publicity seekers or high-level security risk? the couple's friends are here to tell us why they thought the salahis were invited. plus jesse ventura, he has a plan to end the war in afghanistan. what is it? next on "larry king live." good evening. golf superstar tiger woods still is not taking questions about the suv crash he was in early last friday near his home in florida. now he's not going to be taking part in his own golf tournament. he cited injuries he sustained in the mysterious one-car smashup as a reason for the decision. a story alleged that woods and a new york nightclub hostess had been having an arrangement in australia. the woman met in los angeles sunday and met with her attorney, gl

that's not the case inside afghanistan. we have the courage and determination of canadian forces are an inspiration. many countries have devoted a significant proportion of their national resources to this mission in afghanistan. and canada's absolutely a leader in this regard. this includes the young men and women you send abroad who are willing to pay the highest price to defend the afghans and the rest of us from threats that flourish in an unstable afghan state. we owe those troops our support, but that support must be informed by an understanding of the situation, the mission and the chances for success and it's in this spirit of promoting that level of understanding that i'm here today. let me talk about the situation in afghanistan as i see it. and we must approach our attempts to understand the situation in afghanistan with a degree of respect with a complexity of the environment. i commanded forces in afghanistan in every year since 2002, but i will tell you i still have much to understand. it's best to approach th

the year in afghanistan would mean a taliban takeover of much if not most of afghanistan. the taliban ruled areas could in short order become a sanctuary for al qaeda as well as the staging area for research and militant groups on the offensive in pakistan. success in south and central asia by islamic extremists would beget success on other fronts. it would strengthen the al qaeda narrative, providing renewed opportunities for recruitment, fundraising, and more sophisticated operations. it is true that al qaeda and its followers can plot and executed tax from a variety of locations, from munich, to london, to denver. what makes the border area between afghanistan and pakistan uniquely different from any other location, including somalia and elsewhere is that this part of the world represents the epicenter of extremist jihadism. foreign muslims defeated one superpower and causing its collapse at home. for them to be seen to defeat this so remaining superpower would have consequences for this country and the world. some say this is similar to that, though -- domino theory th

military in afghanistan. and later, the director of the secret service testifies about the security breach at the white house state dinner last week. >> american icons, three original documentaries on c-span now available on dvd. a unique journey through the iconic homes of the three branches of american government. see the exquisite detail of the supreme court are the eyes of the justices. go beyond the velvet ropes of public tours into those rarely seen spaces of the white house, america's most famous home. and export history, art, and architecture of the capital, one of america's most symbolic structures. american icon, a three disc dvd set. it's $24.95 plus shipping and handling. order online at c-span.org/store. >> new hampshire senator judd gregg or letter this week to republicans recommending a slow debate on health care legislation. senators discuss the communication on the senate floor for about ten minutes. you can read the letter at c-span.org/health care. >> madam president, this is the fourth day

yes, sir. >> we've been in afghanistan for eight years now. you all are, obviously, familiar with it from the first part. what advice would you give the white house now while they're trying to assess the future of our, our future in vietnam, in afghanistan? [laughter] >> yeah. interesting you had the freudian slip of vietnam. [laughter] you and i are, we're of that same generation. yeah. would you like to take a stab at geopolitics? >> wow, that's crazy. [laughter] >> i'll help you. >> yeah, i'll need a lot of help. [laughter] basically, one thing that i realized when i was there is that in their memory, the afghans, it's almost like they kicked the british out, i don't know, a couple years ago, and the russians were, like, last week. yeah, we got them out of here last week. so they had, their sense of time is very, very here and now and current, but they, they remember. and they were hoping when i was, when i was there in august and september of 2003, they were really hoping that america would follow through. they were really thankful. i got

ultimately, the need for a good governance to be established in afghanistan for economy that allows afghanistan to be a sustainable -- to have a sustainable country all-important -- i do believe the president's strategy and the way we're going now the implementation does address the essential government services that are needed, the essential pieces of the economy. again, i'll just quickly mention agriculture. we see the absolute need for agriculture to help improve security, to help improve -- >> okay. let me just interrupt a minute and i really respect it. tell us where our civilian surge will come. of course, we want the civilians -- afghani civilians to do all this and we need to help them. how will our civilians help? >> well, first of all, congresswoman -- >> how many? >> congresswoman, the surge -- the civilian surge has been ongoing. we're soon to triple our presence over the ground in the past year. so the surge is not something that we're ready to launch. we're going to add to our capabilities on the ground. our areas of emphasis are in the areas of -- are focused on what's necessary

afghanistan? we have examined and looked closely at the policy review, and i would note that in all the policy review i have been part of way back to the vietnam policy when i work for some of the people i can see in the room and with others, this has been the most narrow, the most detailed, the most methodical review i have ever participated in korean president obama himself shared numerous meetings, and we had meetings with the principles and death duties common and we're going to have another one -- with the principles and duties, and we're going to have another one. the consensus of this discussion over and over again was that you could not separate taliban from outside--- al qaeda. if it weren't just another group with certain for the view we do not agree with, it would be a serious problem, but it would not justify our commitment of what will ultimately be 100,000 american troops and a good number of allied troops numbering in the 34,002 35,000 at least. the separation of the taliban from al