today now explain to me what the fact is all play all comparable between libya and afghanistan. there are a lot of similarities here between afghanistan and libya we have the need to intervention military intervention it is through this intervention is not actually sending troops on the ground but the same. in a way or another and try to say libya could and like afghanistan the other point is you know leave where we could turn to a failed state like what happened in afghanistan nobody can predict what will happen after that we know if we would be removed from power because he cannot actually fight need to do so and he has a good backup abilities but the big question is you know whether that positional council which is that or presenting that label will be able first to contain the huge differences huge divisions in its ranks second whether it is capable to run the country and to keep. as a united state that seems like an excellent overview of the issues in libya but let's talk about the more specifically first of all where do you think gadhafi is that maybe what's he going to do

said from afghanistan. or they are losing seven billion dollars a month the same thing in iraq you know now iraq is a completely different story and then you know that democracy in iraq is very valuable democracy do you think the rebels basically sold off oil when they accepted rest and radically support their finitely the need to bombardment played a major role in the success of the variable to capture most of the suitcase. to advance toward tripoli so. because you would believe there was a deal struck between i believe. that meatballs and britain and france in particular we know nato is not a charitable organization we know. france there are looking for contracts for all and they are not for business and the media is destroyed completely undercut by for the general there is no infrastructure at all so i believe that lead is very lucrative there you know that we want to share how much. business actually was a grete by the powers and even consisted of council. companies especially with them france we don't

down so what was going on in afghanistan we have a difference and even sought to make an intelligence about this problem and be made by the government done in ninety nine now do we can. leave as a confirmation because according to these files bush personally president bush was asking where was corny as minister to stop the prime and you know against them when the. publisher of some allegation or the ten out of these or the member of the government of the defense minister. on the blue mosque only person won't deny that they said that the was not by meant why we can exclude boars now or give us the evidence that the government was paying some tribes on the taliban's in afghanistan ok so let's talk a bit more about what happened in two thousand and nine when these allegations first came out the response from the italian government are true there was not as. you have to feel that everything about afghanistan in italy is a very particular question because we never say that italian troops are in afghanistan for war we always say to the parliament that it's a peace mission and so everything

it is neat that i just returned one month ago from my fifth appointment to afghanistan. to come home to have a book coming out is very special. >> the process of the book? >> your review? >> the review relieve took about a month and a half and went through it pretty thoroughly. but this is really starting to resonate that it is about victory. for what we could do on the ground i was just lucky enough to be a part of it. it was a small group of ordinary men who did something extraordinary. it is about the men who directly put themselves confronted the enemies and came to the aid of an entire force. >> did you have been april report before you went on fox? >> there was someone there from the army and we discussed the issues that would arise and they did. but thank you. but what is important died just want to stick to the story line that is about the men and what they accomplished and how important the public outside the military and special operations need to look at seven afghanistan and what it is. especially kandahar which is the crossroads of five major cities. all of

bodies confiscated more than two tons of drugs coming from afghanistan. closely need of criminals are different members have a particular role to play they include masterminds traffickers go betweens. and consumers. the whole network is a will machine. police in the whole amount of confiscated heroin into a special laboratory here it becomes clear that drug traffickers are willing to resort to any trick to make sure their supply gets through in one of the consignments laboratory staff discovered heroin tucked away inside dried grapes. and these reasons were soaked in water before hand so this seat could be removed then tiny packets of herion were inserted in the place. the republic of tajikistan is situated in the foothills of the permian range in central asia which is a landlocked country bordering afghanistan in the south as biggest on in kyrgyzstan in the north and west and china to the east the country significantly lacks major transport routes due to its vast distance from the sea mountains cover ninety three percent of the country's terrain stone is

economy shock so why are we still in afghanistan. the problem is a lot of these kids don't know once they get him it's hard to get out while it's lights camera and combat while the u.s. military in gauge is a young americans with hollywood films and video games why isn't anyone pressing the reset button on pentagon recruitment. and their riders without a cause at least that's what david cameron would have you believe about london's rebellious youth now the prime minister pins the blame on a quote sick society well we'll speak to that of the people of that society to get their take. on eating up thursday august eleventh eight pm here in washington d.c. i'm lucy coughing up and you're watching our t.v. . well it's been a summer like no other the american economy has been in crisis our suburbs are falling into poverty schools are struggling cities are on the edge of bankruptcy and of course jobs are few and far between but congress the u.s. congress is of course out on its annual summer break now i do want to give our elected leaders so

this was ordered by the king of afghanistan. we're talking about a bottomless pit to getting to the mission and whether it can ever be achieved. what is the goal? >> i think these kind of horror events, i do agree with the secretary, it's about the families now. i feel it's how the president handles this as commander in chief. i hate to see this brought in on the fiscal crisis. it's about people and our nation. >> people were asking why he didn't come out over the weekend. >> i think the commander in chief has a personal responsibility to the families of every service person. this is one of those critical moments he should be there. we'll see what he says today this is going to rip the scab off every feeling about this war. joe biden who gets beat up for his mental limitations who was the one that understood this should be a counterterrorism operation. he was beaten down by the sophisticates who said we have to stay there. what are they offering here in terms of a bottom line? we leave in five years the taliban takes over? we le

presence in afghanistan does harm to al qaeda. whether or not leaving now poses a challenge to afghan's governmt. democrats would vote unanimously to speed up the withdrawal. the president would decent from that. the republicans are split on this issue. i don't think any presidential candidate other than jon huntsman wants the debate about this. >> we talked to john kerry earlier on the program. he reacted this way. >> the tea party downgrade because a minority of people in the house of republican zentives countered the will of many republicans who were prepared to do a bigger deal, $4 trillion, have a mix of reductions and reforms in social security, medicare and medicaid and recognize we needed to do revenue. >> alan greenspan, 15 seconds. what is the prospect they get to the issues they get to? >> very long. it's going to require one person among the 12 to switch positions that their party has held very strongly. >> we don't know who the 12 are yet. it's a question of who gets on there. thank you all very much. before we go, a

like afghanistan. you know we could turn to a failed state like what happened in afghanistan nobody can predict what will happen after combat and we know it would be removed from power because he and i actually need friends and he hasn't called back. but the big question is you know that positional council which is the representing the rebels will be able first to contain their differences their visions and it's their second whether it is capable to run by country and to keep it leap yeah as a united states that seems like an excellent. issue. let's talk about the war specifically first of all where do you think it's. going to do you think you'll fight to the bitter end if it is a very cunning despite to many people and that words you know describe him as a crazy man i met him where three times in my life he is you know. whether we like it or not he very well we don't know where he is actually hiding it took many to under american fifteen years to find osama bin laden and kill him i don't know how many

in afghanistan for war we always said to the parliament that. a peace mission and so everything about afghanistan is covered by a deep secret state secret the military secret and most of all disinformation all the evidence about what italian troops in the every day in afghanistan fighting. what all the troops do in afghanistan in italy is the neither the eleventh why did the italian forces take this approach towards easing. it's a traditional way i mean all the forces doing it can stand the prufer of british forces paying some tribes in. cash there was an incident in two thousand and five or. the scene one of the fair play from the breed for the real life or as crash of the south from afghanistan and his was full of money there was this man a burning with the cash money dollar left and they were used to ride according to. many sources including these files. secret service where just two hours some sort of quiet say ok troops are going to stay here for six months we don't care what they are going to do in the future we just want six safe months a

in afghanistan it's different because in afghanistan it's a nationalist resistance movement it's not only the taliban in afghanistan it's warlords it's loosely natwar it's it's tribal warlords as well they're more or less united to expel the foreign invader which is the story of afghanistan as a collection of warring tribes that when they're not fighting themselves they're fighting a foreign invader so that's why designers have been spending ad billions of dollars on foreign aid on humanitarian projects working out no no because that most of the money doesn't go to many terror projects because. before the big get to the community spirit supposed to help did they are blown dirt by ministers and functionaries in kabul serve these ministers are more or less ruled by gangs in kabul in fact saw the little bit of money that trickles down to a brutal acts like an old building schools or some highways it's not enough and when you when you. make a comparison between american help for the stroke x. and actually chinese or indian involvement direct involvement with some communities it's an enor

or invasion and occupation of afghanistan the worst now is our top. true true. taliban in the beginning ten years ago they went there to remove taliban from power. to destroy it and for us to actually know it is you know there are thrown poll on there are talking to tell about it and they want to have an exit from afghanistan or they are losing seven billion dollars a month the same thing you made up you know now it's a completely different story there is you know the democracy in iraq is very vulnerable democracy do you think the rebels basically sold off oil when they accepted rest and military support and definitely the need to bombardment played a major role in the success of that it took most of the cities of lee vance tarpley probably so. presumably there was a deal struck between there and levy and it will that meet those but it didn't and france in particular we know nato is not charitable organization but we know. france there are looking for contacts they are looking for they are looking for business in the media is destroyed completely undercut their

and sadly, any number of these guys up and down eastern afghanistan. while we out here may think this is rather extraordinary, it's what they have been doing, what the u.s. troops have been doing in afghanistan, day and night, day after day, week after week, jeff. >> barbara starr, appreciate you staying on top of the story throughout the weekend. if you hear anything else, let us know. >> you bet. >>> president obama is offering his condolences and prayers to the families of the american s.e.a.l.s and afghans killed in the chopper crash. he returned to the white house from camp david a little while ago. cnn's athena jones is at the white house. any plans for the president to talk given the current developments? >> well, not so far, joe, there was no plan to hear from him today or see any more statements on this subject. he just returned -- didn't speak to the press as he walked back in the white house but the white house did put out a statement after the crash and i want to share what the president had to say. sent his condolences and thoughts and pra

that's the reason why we went to afghanistan as a result of 9/11. so, there's no doubt in my mind that we would have al qaeda presence and influence in afghanistan and even a return to a base for a tax on the united states of america. also, there's a fundamental question, do you want to condemn the afghan people to the rule of the taliban? i think we should try to avoid that as well. >> all right. senator mccain, thank you for your views. >> thanks for having me on. >> coming up, the state of the economy. the unprecedented downgrade of the u.s. credit rating and a volatile week on wall street fears we may be facing another recession. we'll have opinions from alan greenspan and austan goolsbee and how the economy will play on the race for the white house. with us rachel maddow and alex castellanos. it's coming up after the break. we know why we're here. to chart a greener path in the air and in our factories. ♪ to find cleaner, more efficient ways to power flight. ♪ and harness our technology for new energy solutions. [ female announcer ] around

afghanistan started out with a reasonable possibility. it has deteriorated. we defend western europe against nonexistent threats. i want america to be strong and able to defend itself, but i don't want us to take on the job of policing every political dispute everywhere in the world. we could reduce our military spending by $250 billion a year, 140 billion from the iraq and afghanistan wars, and over 100 billion in western europe, japan and other wealthy nations and bring that money home. we could use half of it to bring down the deficit and half to produce jobs. there are today 600,000 fewer local employees, public works employees, people who shovel the know and pick up garbage, police officers, firefighters because we have sent the money overseas in ways that is useful. i want to help fight poverty and aids but now we have to say to our friends on the other side who say we must cut spending, don't tell me to tell a 78-year-old woman living on $19,000 a year she gets no cost of living where you will continue to pour money in to coffers. at this point, i agre

down so what was going on in afghanistan we have the. source to tell intelligence about this by him and be made by the government done to ninety nine. do we can. leave as a confirmation because according to these files personally president bush was asking where was corny as minister to stop the man in afghanistan when the. publisher of some allegation all of the ten out of these of the member of the government of the defense means the. only person known deny that they said the was no by meant why. was now will give us the evidence that the taliban government was paying some tribes the taliban's in afghanistan ok so let's talk a bit more about what happened in two thousand and nine when these allegations first came out the response from the italian government there was no response you have to feel that everything about afghanistan he need is a. question because of the we never say that italian troops are in afghanistan for war we always say to the parliament that. a peace mission and so everything about afghanistan is covered by a secret

while optical in afghanistan. that left him as a quadruple amputee. he's been able to move on with his life somewhat, and yet he ran into and continue to run into bureaucratic hassles. and delays in trying to complete the integrated disability evaluation system, a process that was supposed to alleviate these types of problems. every determination cannot be made for some has lost all four limbs, what hope is there for the others who have lesser wounds, or invisible wounds? members of the rand corporation will talk about the gaps in access to mental-health services at the va in particular, the long wait times for appointments. i'm disappointed, however, that the va, our friends at the va will not be here to offer the testimony, and i'm sure we will follow up with them, madam chair, with your leadership. there are a few problems. these are just a few problems that we have and taken into -- intend to persist as we've all learned, as those of the committee we've all noted these throughout our time here. so we have to look at costs for caring for injured tr

like afghanistan the other point is you know libya. and i have been in afghanistan nobody can predict what will happen after that we know very from would be removed from power because he actually i need something hasn't got the credibility but the big question is whether that position of council which is the representing that will be able first to contain the huge differences in divisions. second with it is capable to run the country and keep it as a united states that seems like an accident. let's talk about the war specifically first of all where do you think gadhafi is that there may be what's he going to do you think they'll fight to the bitter end their fears are very kind of despite to many people and better words to describe him as. i met him . in my life for you know why should. we like it or not he very well we don't know where he is actually hiding it took the need to under american fifteen years to find osama bin laden and kill him i don't know how many months how many weeks how many years and you know that it will take him

as america launched the wars in both afghanistan and iraq. david gergen, i want to start with you as someone who has been in the white house, often brought in in times of crisis. i am a understanding the darkest day of the presidency to hear about the downgrade and then hours later, this horrible tragedy in afghanistan? >> i don't think you're overstating it. this past week i think was one of the toughest, perhaps the worst weeks the president has had. the markets fell so sharply even as he announced the debt ceiling agreement and then he had the friday, saturday, and then this weekend. and so it is tough. but i think the president discovered today that words alone are not enough. he tried very hard to reassure investors, as you know, he came out this afternoon and when he spoke, the dow was down around 400. by the end of the day, it was down 600. he has to go beyond words. he has to take some actions now. i think to reassure americans. the real, one of the real problems with what happened today is it can spook consumers. it makes people fear

afghanistan first, iraq first. it makes a lot of sense unless you think we have limited oversight over these folks and when we have limited oversight, that means that money can get wasted. we have to do something about that. we also have to think about projects that we start but are not sure can be finished or sustained. our report talks about that as well. what is the point of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on projects that will then fall into disuse? and then we'll have a hobson's choice. either to let it fall into disuse and write it off as a waste or to keep spending our taxpayer money for god knows how long in order to keep the projects going. we need to avoid those sorts of things. $206 billion is a lot of money on contracting. but so is 60 billion in waste, of which a considerable amount, maybe as much as 18 billion, is pure fraud. we've got to do something about that. we need to do it for or troops, for our civilians, for our contractors and for the american people. >> i took a particular interest

then you get to afghanistan and realize how much more complicated afghanistan was than iraq could be. the fact that we put a focus on afghanistan is a good thing. the question is, do you think about the time that was lost? that we had had insufficient support op the ground who would really conduct a strong surge. >> we'll get to one more must read. new york times, barack obama blazed like luke sky walker in 2008 but never learned to channel the force. now the tea party ran off with his lightsaber. when he had power, he didn't use it. he wanted to be a transformational president like ronald reagan. reagan showed strength without raising his voice. now, when the high school principal has been browbeating congress to create jobs, he is distracted from that task as he tries to save his own. there's really sering -- there was an incredible pete in the new york times. what happened to obama's passion. i don't know if it's that fair. >> to follow up with what i said at the top of the show, in passion steve rattner said, when he had power, he didn't use it. as maureen said, we had all these c

what all the troops do in afghanistan in italy is the neither the role the levels why did it telling forces take this approach towards easing. it's a traditional way i mean all the forces are doing the pakistan with proof of british forces being some tribes in. cash there was an incident in two thousand and five or. the c. one hundred for the from the breed for the regular for it's a clash of the south from afghanistan that is was full of money there was this money barreling with the cash manning dollars and they were used to provide. to. many sources including these five italian secret service where just two hours some sort of quiet say ok italian troops are going to stay here for six months we don't care what they are going in the to do in the future we just want to six safe months and this is the prize we are going to pay for let's talk about. and it's late involvement in libya at the moment what's the public opinion on libya is a different question because libya. is a big economic call affair for italy. traditionally lean with the telly for. gas for the tour for the interests of

down so what was going on in afghanistan we have the difference and the source and in pentagon. and. by the government ninety nine now do we can mix. give us a confirmation because according to these files personally president bush was asking where was corley first minister to stop the prime and in afghanistan when the. publisher of some allegation. of this or the member of the government of the defense means the. person won't deny that this was not why we can exclude boys now or give us the evidence that the government was paying some tribes and the taliban in afghanistan ok so let's talk a bit more about what happened in two thousand in the lane when these allegations first came out the response from the italian government there was no response you have to feel that everything about afghanistan he need is a. question because of the we never say that italian troops are in afghanistan for war we always said to the parliament that. and so everything about afghanistan is covered by a secret state secret military secret and most of all this information all the evidence about what i

>>> president obama receives news of the overnight ambush in afghanistan. the deadliest sick. -- single combat incident since the war began. >>> two innocent bystanders have been shot. one died. >>> and the finger-pointing begins after the nation's credit rating is downgraded. >>> good evening, everyone. i'm heather holmes. >> i'm ken wayne. >>> begin with a stunning -- we begin with a stunning blow to the u.s. forces. the taliban claims its insurgents used a rocket to bring down the chinook helicopter. it happened -- it happened about 60 miles south of kabul. the navy confirms the 32 s.e.a.l.s who died by long to the same unit who killed osama bin laden. none of the men on that mission died. it's the deadliest single losses for u.s. forces in afghanistan since the war began in 2001. >> translator: too early to say if this was from a strengthening taliban force. there has to be an investigation. >>> the white house released this photo of president obama getting the news at camp david today. the president said his thoughts an prayers go out to the -- and pra

from afghanistan heroin find its way to educate stan and then on to russia and europe. in two thousand and ten to stan's law enforcement bodies confiscated more than two tons of drugs coming from afghanistan. roots of criminals who are different from members of a particular role to play they include masterminds traffickers betweens resequence and consumers. the whole network is a will machine. police in the whole amount of confiscated heroin through a special of oratory here it becomes clear that drug traffickers are willing to resort to any trick to make sure their supply gets through in one of the consignments laborde free staff discovered heroin tucked away inside dried grapes. and these reasons were soaked in water before hand so the seeds could be removed and then tiny packets of parian were inserted in the place. the republic of tragic istana situated in the foothills of the permian range in central asia and is a landlocked country bordering afghanistan in the south as biggest on in kyrgyzstan in the north and west and china to the east the country significantly l

do you think that she may be able to return home to afghanistan not to her village not to. but i mean if she the painting what she does i mean perhaps she can go back to couple and work there who move so do you think she will want to go back on their hard earned do there still fickle to say i mean i really don't know you know no one has access to i share i have very close access to the the organization that looks after her but i don't get on the phone and have a conversation with you know they're still trying to protect her from the media you set up the media issue first and the foundation no no i did that well internet no they say that but us i really try wherever i go to advocates and ask people to donate funds to the b.b. i should find what is it from the word to doing well really you know it's very expensive living in new york and it's not that she's going to go shopping with their money in some movie you know she needs to be educated she needs caregivers and it's a very expensive process so that fund the one hundred percent of the money put into their fund will go to b

suffers the single greatest loss of life in afghanistan. tonight reaction from the pent approximate gon and a look at the road ahead after losing some of america's best and bravest warriors. plus, a blow to our pride and our global status. america's triple a credit rating downgraded for the first time ever. in minutes, financial and political fall out and how it will affect you. >>> and would you do this for money in the man who entered the lion's cage and lived there for weeks. >> we'll have more in tan stan. helicopter crashing late last night in afghanistan near carul, the capitol. here's the scene today. 30 americans dead including elite navy seal team six. we learned that the group was not the one involved in the mission that killed osama bin laden in may. seven afghan one translator died. president obama in camp david in maryland getting word of the crash and tonight our nation in mourning. mourning the greatest loss of american lives since combat in afghanistan a decade ago. jennifer? >>reporter: harris what i can confirm well were 2

in that attack in afghanistan. >> yes. and it is unfortunate. it has been a long weekend. i have been contacted by a lot of friends that i have not heard from in years that we graduated together, and john was 33, and we graduated the class of '96 from the silum springs high school, and great guy, great humor and mentally sharp, and physically fit, and no more better for an ideal soldier was john brown. >> and his dad described him as a modern day rambo, and healer and defending our nation. we give you our condolences who loved these men who gave their life for our country. >> thank you. >>> and part of the population is facing a staggering unemployment rate, 15.9%, and the goal is to get tens of thousands of americans hired. we will go there live. take a look at this, please. do you see anything wrong with this picture? why this newsweek cover of michele bachmann has some of the supporters saying that the magazine is trying to make her look quote crazy. >>> and live pictures of london after new clashes of two days of riots just miles from the site of next year's olympics a

our ballots is the nickname soviet soldiers gave to the strong cindy winds of afghanistan over twenty years ago they regarded as their main enemy as they struggled for air missions over high noun tins in extreme weather and now it's easy to describe these the soviet designed am i seventeen which made its name as afghanistan viber its. helicopter may not be the most advanced but it's well protected from a destructive sound unlike many of its alternative is very powerful and perfect for the extreme climate of afghanistan it will be able to operate here for about twenty five years and. the u.s. led mission in afghanistan will end soon when nato troops go there and my seventeen's will maybe come back to face the ban is when once again russia will ship twenty one helicopters to venice than to help the country's security engineers and pilots work together to perfect and ease operating and why seventeen while it seems quantum physics to me afghan pilots are already familiar with the machine many of them trained under soviet air force instructors even now twenty years later speak perfect russ

way or another and try to say libya could like afghanistan the other you know libya. could turn to a failed state like what happened in afghanistan nobody can predict what will happen after that we know that they would be removed from power because he cannot actually need police and he hasn't got back up abilities but the big question is you know what that position and council which is that are presenting that will be able first to contain their differences divisions in a second whether it is capable to run the country and to keep you leave as a united states that seems like an accident of the issues but let's talk about the more specifically first of all where do you think gadhafi is that maybe what's he going to do you think you'll fight to the bitter end qaddafi is a very cunning despite to many people and that i mean i would describe him as a crazy mad i met him three times in my life he is you know i shoot politicians whether we like it or not he calculates very well we don't know where he is actually hiding it took the need to american fifteen years to find osam

from cape cod on his fourth tour in afghanistan. he was known to keep an american flag tucked in his body armor next to his heart. and aaron vaughn from tennessee was a s.e.a.l. who asked to return to combat six weeks ago. kimberly vaughn, aaron's wife, spoke on the "today" show this morning about their 2-year-old son and newborn daughter. >> i'm proud that i will get to carry on his legacy through our children, who will take away his strength and his love for this country. and they will know what an amazing man he is. was. >> nbc's atia is live in kabul for us. do we know more about the mission that these troops were on? >> reporter: hello, thomas. we are hearing from nature foe officials who are confirming what exactly happened saturday during the overnight raid. they're saying this helicopter carrying the men were actually a part of a reinforcement team going in to help u.s. army rangers who were pinned down in a fire fight in the tanji valley in wardak province. when their chinook helicopter was coming down, that's when the tal

service members in afghanistan. with us, "hardball's" chris matthews, cnbc's ron insana and william co-when. plus congressional black caucus chairman and his group's plan to get african-americans back to work. we'll see you in 15 minutes right here on "andrea mitchell reports." >>> for texas govern rick perry the road to the republican nomination could be paved with prayer. >> you call us to repent lord and this day is our response. for thien is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. amen. >> this weekend perry hosted 30,000 of his closest church friends. they got together for the response, a revival type prayer meeting many the heart of texas. "the washington post" reports perry could just be days away from announcing whether he'll seek the gop's 2012 presidential nomination. by the way, we're just learning now that while all the rest of the republican contenders will be in ames iowa for the straw poll, rick perry's going to be in new hampshire. msnbc political am nis karen finny is a former democratic na

servicemembers in afghanistan since the war started in 2001. 30 u.s. troops were killed in a helicopter crash early yesterday. americans across this country are reacting. >> my nephew is over there. any time you hear of any mass killings, it just brings it home and makes you more nervous about what's going home. >> we have team coverage this morning for you. thanh truong is live in norfolk, virginia, for reaction there and atiya is in afghanistan. what's the latest you are hearing about the circumstances surrounding the crash? >> reporter: good morning, alex. we are still waiting to hear from u.s. and nato officials who say what went down in the district of wardak province yesterday. the most devastating loss americans have faced in afghanistan in the last ten years of war. the u.s. and nato still fairly tight-lipped. the majority of information we got since yesterday was from washington. many people are scratching their heads as to why the special forces were even down in this district. that's usually where the tenth mountain division of the army oper

troops in afghanistan since the start of the war. nato deaths have in fact decreased by approximately 20% in the last six months of this year compared to last year. and as u.s. forces prepare to withdraw from afghanistan, it will be the special operation forces that will be relied upon more and more. alex? >> atia, i'd love to hear the reaction there in terms of morale. what type of toll does this take on the soldiers there in afghanistan? >> reporter: well, alex, this is likely going to take a heavy toll on the men that are a part of the navy s.e.a.l.s unit that actually sacrificed 22 lives yesterday and you know what, these men, women in uniform in afghanistan who come from the united states and all various different coalition countries, they know they have a mission when they come to afghanistan. the majority of them believe in that mission. although this will break a lot of hearts, it will bring a lot of tears. at the same time, they know that they have a job to do. >> we will stay focused and pray for their safety and security.

they are going across the border and attacking our forces in afghanistan. is clear there is a relationship there. there is a relationship with l.e.t. this is a group that goes into india and threatens attacks there. they do not provide visas. and yet, there is no choice but to maintain a relationship with pakistan. why? because we are fighting a war there. because we are fighting al qaeda there, and they do give us some cooperation in that effort, because they do represent an important force in that region, because they do happen to be a nuclear power that has nuclear weapons, and we have to be concerned about what happens with those nuclear weapons. so for all those reasons, we have got to maintain a relationship with pakistan. and -- as i said, it is complicated. there will be ups and downs. the secretary and i have spent countless hours going to pakistan, talking to their leaders, trying to get their cooperation. >> let me ask the two of you to take us into a conversation you might have together in the privacy of several hundred people. [laughter] this w

are gaining ground in afghanistan there and becoming stronger and stronger. but it is not possible for far their foreign troops to confront it's because of the people of afghanistan pays the fear all for war. i website has plenty on our top stories at the moment and plenty more here's what's online few right now or should you a lot more you can check out the dramatic video life is battling a warehouse plays in the south of moscow. from website from london to understand the group of hardline muslims want sharia law introduced in the u.k. which pretty condone tempi taishan is for petty theft and to illustrate the point you can check out our cartoons section where we draw on all the major stories that's all available with plenty of other features an r.t. . please. the. people loyal to former ukrainian prime minister yulia tymoshenko continue to protest against her arrest and supporters of set up a tent camp in the center of the capital kiev she was arrested on friday for contempt of court he's an ex you just ski has more now from this part. several dozen support

led mission in afghanistan will end soon when nato is troops go to m.-y. seventeen's will make it come back to face the afghan is whence once again russia will ship twenty one helicopters to afghanistan to help the country's security in years and pilots work together to perfect and ease operating of m y seventeen and while it seems quantum physics to me afghan pilots are already familiar with the machine many of them trained under soviet air force instructors even now twenty years later speak perfect russian you know when. i graduated from a pilot school in the russian city of christendom in one thousand nine hundred four when i got back to afghanistan to serve in the army we only had soviet aircraft those machines were the best to get to the most difficult and isolated parts of the country with the us will be for afghanistan's m.-i seventeen's something which put american helicopter manufacturers in a spin with congress and using russian military aircraft the countries had plenty of helping hands after the soviet invasion and russia provided millions of d

afghanistan, 31 u.s. special operations forces and seven afghan soldiers have died an a nato helicopter crashed during an overnight operation. it happened in the tangi valley just west of kabul. the worst single loss of life since the war began. a report from kabul, afghanistan, just a few minutes from now. >>> meantime, our other top story. the u.s. facing financial uncertainty now that the standard & poor's lowered the country's aaa credit rating pap completely unprecedented move. the u.s. has always had the highest credit rating possible, going back to 1917. a standard & poor's statement you see, the big fight in washington over the debt ceiling shows the law making process is less stable, predictable than previously believed. the u.s. is viewed less credit worthy than canada, france and the uk among other country. the same status as belgium and new zealand. one step above bermuda, kuwait and the beleaguered country of spain. good morning to you at the white house. i say the word good, parenthetically.