the main source for the taliban, financial resources for the taliban, is the --. we are giving according to the places five, 10, sometimes 20% just to be able to work in the countryside right now. so it is unstable. we are putting far too much money in afghanistan and if he put in that amount of money you are creating -- the fight against corruption does make sense. when you are putting $1 million in one province because sometimes it is that amount of money, you cannot do something with the money. so of course you find -- with a suitcase with 40 or $50 billion going to dubai because there is no way -- okay, it is is the culture and it is bad but also there is no way and most of the people would do the same thing. so those are my two points but thank you for the question. >> did you mean to say massoud's brother? barbara has a quick follow-up and then we will move to. >> just a quick follow-up and that is the nation-building efforts such as it is. again i accept a lot of the money is flushing over into corruption but can you give any evaluation of the efforts that

they joined the taliban. and they are going to keep in their own camps and allow the united states army and the millions to keep fighting. so, if you look pakistan has given up a very grave sacrificed in the last 18 months. as far as counter-terrorism is concerned, what we have done in the military basis, certainly the terrorist, but as far as counter-terrorism within the heartland of pakistan we are at zero. we have done nothing. people have been caught here and there, but really we have done nothing because there is no counter-terrorism force and pakistan. our situation politically, shuja nawaz talked about it. the coalition government. the existence is ingenuous because they are being blackmailed by minority partners , two minority partners, if not one. the julif and mgm. as far as the government is concerned certainly i agree that richard holbrooke lost because he was more pakistan centric. he certainly did a lot for pakistan and the present government. the president pakistan government will find it very

they joined the taliban. and they are going to keep in their own camps and allow the united states army and the millions to keep fighting. so, if you look pakistan has given up a very grave sacrificed in the last 18 months. as far as counter-terrorism is concerned, what we have done in the military basis, certainly the terrorist, but as far as counter-terrorism within the heartland of pakistan we are at zero. we have done nothing. people have been caught here and there, but really we have done nothing because there is no counter-terrorism force and pakistan. our situation politically, shuja nawaz talked about it. the coalition government. the existence is ingenuous because they are being blackmailed by mty pers , two minority partners, if not one. the julif and mgm. as far as the government is concerned certainly i agree that richard holbrooke lost because he was more pakistan centric. he certainly did a lot for pakistan and the present government. the president pakistan government will find it very difficult

the taliban. today it is very different. the al qaeda does not have that strength and it doesn't have the numbers but nonetheless al qaeda operatives played a key force multiplying rolled in strengthening or posting up the capabilities of its allies and associates elsewhere. just as we and our allies embed officers and ncos with host nation forces to train them up and strengthen their command capabilities to provide them with additional training and intelligence and so on, that is exactly what al qaeda does. but interestingly i'll qaeda's focus in improving the capabilities of its allies and associates isn't just restricted to kinetics. they play a very extremely important non-kinetic role in improving information operations and psychological operations, the propaganda capabilities of its allies and associates and al shabaab and somalia i think is the perfect case in point that demonstrates both of these but as i said this is across the board. on the one hand we know a senior al qaeda commander in

the taliban. today it is very different. the al qaeda does not have that strength and it doesn't have the numbers but nonetheless al qaeda operatives played a key force multiplying rolled in strengthening or posting up the capabilities of its allies and associates elsewhere. just as we and our allies embed officers and ncos with host nation forces to train them up and strengthen their command capabilities to provide them with additional training and intelligence and so on, that is exactly what al qaeda does. but interestingly i'll qaeda's focus in improving the capabilities of its allies and associates isn't just restricted to kinetics. they play a very extremely important non-kinetic role in improving information operations and psychological operations, the propaganda capabilities of its allies and associates and al shabaab and somalia i think is the perfect case in point that demonstrates both of these but as i said this is across the board. on the one hand we know a senior al qaeda commander in

therefore some people do not support the taliban, but they don't oppose the taliban either. even today the taliban provides at least what is most needed to better than government in an area of the essentials. a sense of security and a sense of justice. having said this, i don't think the taliban is a better option. but if the taliban has to be defeated, which they must be defeated if you want to have a stable government in afghanistan, then what is needed is government, which is supported by the international community, at least should perform better than the taliban. it's not. thank you very much. [applause] ? >> we are going to go directly into our next presentation. if you have questions at the end of the two. our next speaker is well known to us. executive director in islamabad at the center for research and security studies, which is focused on his second book which is "al qaeda, the connection of taliban in the tribal areas." i hope we will hear lot today about that if and north waziristan and the new tinderbox. >> good morning. thank you, michael. i'd like to express

and the taliban to be his enemies and given a choice he would side with the taliban. >> the taliban. >> how do we win? >> this is the nature of the problem and the question comes back to is this worth the kind of effort we're making? do we have other priorities in the world? do we have the better use for $117 billion? and what about those live that is are at risk? >> all right, peter, andrew, thank you both so much for joining us. >> sure thing. >> thank you. >> thank you, guys. thank you. >>> later on "parker spitzer," a tribute to larry king on the last night doing a live program on this network. you won't want to miss it. >> smell the fresh air of london again. if justice is not always an outcome, at least it is not dead yet. during my time in solitary confinement, in the bottom of a victorian prison, i had time to reflect. you don't decide when vegetables reach the peak of perfection. the vegetables do. at green giant, we pick vegetables only when they're perfect. then freeze them fast so they're are as nutritious as fresh. [ green giant ] ho ho ho. ♪ green giant >>> tonight, o

is hitting al qaeda and the taliban where it counts in both afghanistan and pakistan. that was the overarching assessment of the administration's review. >> i can report that, thanks to the extraordinary service of our troops and civilians on the ground, we are on track to achieve our goals. >> reporter: the review came just one year after the president announced a surge of 30,000 more u.s. troops to afghanistan. among the positives, the report cited progress in dismantling and disrupting the leadership of al qaeda in pakistan; reversing the momentum of the taliban in afghanistan and recruiting and training afghan security forces. the president particularly emphasized the impact of u.s. air strikes against militant leaders hiding out in pakistan. >> today, al-qaida's senior leadership in the border region of afghanistan and pakistan is under more pressure than at any point since they fled afghanistan nine years ago. senior leaders have been killed. it's harder for them to recruit; it's harder for them to travel; it's harder for them to train; it's harder for them to pl

in the taliban gold -- >> the taliban googled. >> have you seen mollah zero facebookullah omar's page? he went to an interesting party last night. but they are so brutal and ruthless. you can confirm this, david, if i get this wrong. they are so ruthless that instead of realizing what david was trying to do, they got a harsh because you are the best friend of richard holbrooke and he is barack obama's special representative to this region. it did not help at all. is that a fair representation of what happened? >> yes. they had watched documentary. >> it leads to a natural next question. david was precisely where he was meant to be in order to expose the atrocities, whether in bosnia, on the other side, or in afghanistan. unfortunately he had to pay the price for a long time. but the fact that the taliban googled might be a laugh line, but that means that they are savvy. they understand what they are dealing with, how to reach the audience that they want to reach, and how to manipulate the public's face and the hearts and minds space. >> and the cliche of that which is accurate. they'r

the taliban threw everything they had at these marines, never letting up. in may, sergeant jim morse had to break off an interview with us when the taliban attacked just outside his base. >> sounds like our patrol is taking contact. >> reporter: bad guys. you need to leave? >> i do. i do. >> original shots were west. >> reporter: the marines on the roof quickly squared them off. but in june, crusher one outnumbered 4-1 by the taliban almost got overrun on a patrol that turned into a four-day fire fight. >> there was a few times where i was wondering if, you know, too many of us were going to get out safely. i had my doubts a couple times. >> reporter: the taliban fighters came so close to the unit that corporal jacob schmitt had to toss grenades at them just a few yards from his position. ( explosions ) >> if you can get through this, what else can life throw at you, really? >> reporter: the marines fought them off. nobody was killed but five men were medevaced, including the squad leader, staff sergeant paul worley, who was shot in the leg. >> i guess when

it is key taliban -- the taliban fighters that are moving into afghanistan occurred >. >> is al qaeda not in afghanistan because we of troops there? >> you know the answer. the argument, if i may interrupt is do you really need 100,000 troops for them to come in, and vice president joe biden argued, look, if we control the intelligence, control the air space, have sufficient special operations forces, we can make sure al qaeda does not come back into afghanistan. i am trying to think like president bush on what would joe sixpack think of this. there seems to be a disconnect, no? >> when you look at what we are trying to do and afghanistan as expressed by president obama in the march, 2009, white paper and the december 1, 2009 speech in west point. it is minimal -- to deny, disrupt and to dismantle al qaeda. it is pretty minimal. at the same time, there is the assumption that an order for you to do that in afghanistan you have to create or you have to go down some pretty maximize means. you have to build a certain key institutions in afghanistan. >> nation-building, right? >> instituti

the taliban are pashtuns, but pashtuns are not taliban. that is my message. i do not want to live in the history. i have a new life. >> on that note, we are going to end our discussion. thank you very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> thursday on washington journal, the co-founders of the note illegals a movement. davod fri, amd wo;;oaid frum anm galston are our guests. tracy fox will discuss a childhood nutrition at schools. washington journal take your calls and e-mail's live every morning starting at 7:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. monday, january 3, a debate among the candidates for the republican national committee chairmanship. this event is presented by americans for tax reform. the current chairman will debate five opponents. that is live on monday starting at 1:00 p.m. eastern here on c- span. after this,phyllis bennis on booktv. join our 3 our conversation with your phone calls, in elemails, and tweets. what's previous programs bond book -- watch pre

the taliban say they carried out the attacks. dozens of injured were rushed to the next sitting with its main hospital, they have witnessed scenes like this time and again. >> my brother was injured in the blast. many others are also hurt and dead. these poor people. >> the army has been carrying out an offensive against the taliban across northwest pakistan, but it is trying to get locals to fight the taliban themselves. the problem is the army operations and its militants flee elsewhere to regroup. the problem is trying to -- with trying to mobilize locals as the taliban has no hesitation in striking back against them in brutal ways. >> the u.s. secretary of state has met japanese and south korean ministers to coordinate responses to north korea. hillary clinton said china had a special role to play and repeated for north korea to enter negotiations it must cease its provocative behavior. two weeks ago shells from the north killed two people on the south korean island. the south is vowing to retaliate if it happens again. >> wh

i came to interview the taliban. people are angry at me and they were just delusional and we just decided the only way we could end this would be to try to escape and they moved us to this house, it was very close to that pakistani base and we didn't think it would work and it did. we're so lucky. >> and you snuck out while they were asleep. >> we had a ceiling fan in the room where we slept with the guards. and there was an old air conditioner called a cooler, and it made a tremendous amount of noise, and that was what made us -- with the power back on, we decided that kind of covered up the sound we made and i had found a rope, it was a car tow rope and made it to the roof. lowered ourselves down the wall and, you know, it's just a miracle. >> how did you hear he was released? >> david called home and my mother picked up and she took notes on a post-it pad so when i ran home there were all these little stickies strewn across the living room and very quickly we got on the phone. we called "the new york times" and th

but in its that gains against the taliban are fragile and precarious. clinton somerville is in the afghan capital for us. >> president obama all the recalled president hamid karzai to give him a heads up on the review. has been agreement that military progress has been made fighting insurgents and taliban but this review will give more than just the military campaign here in afghanistan. now more american troops fighting in afghanistan and ever before. but our day and all the firepower making a difference? the president's review will say, yes, progress is being made fighting the taliban in the south of the country. 30,000 extra american troops -- giving president karzai's government because for hope. >> a year ago time was an enemy and the overwhelming consensus among the talking heads was that afghanistan was doomed. that conclusion has proven false. time has not yet become a friend. but momentum of the opposition has been clearly arrested, and in some cases, reversed. >> president obama once combat troops out by the end of 2014 with a draw down starti

they have to be active in pursuing the taliban. we can't be successful in that region if they are not cooperative partners with us. they have to do their job to help us defeat the taliban. jenna: you're going back to afghanistan? do you have a trip planned in the future for the new year? >> i love to get back there in the new year. i love to go back. it is great to sit down with men and women in uniform especially on the front lines. they're doing such a great job. you really understand what it takes when you talk to them and you understand the high level of morale they have and focus they have on accomplishing this mission. it really lifts you up when you go there to visit with them. jenna: speaking with you makes it feel closer to them and we appreciate your perspective sir and look forward to talking to you again soon. >> thank you, generics when we come back, tensions are mount mounting between the u.s. and iran. why one general in iran, a military leader is threatening the lives of our top military brass. that is coming up nex

then the taliban killed his father. then his brother. and then they killed his 11-year-old son with a suicide bomber. and yet, despite unspeakable sacrifice, 43-year-old bismullah khan still supports the u.s. "you have given us our last chance," he says. "if i quit now, how will we survive?" for bismullah, survival is about fighting. for jan, it's about hiding, as i learned when i left him. someone followed me, i'll never know if he was taliban. jan has to deal with that fear every day of his life. nick schifrin, abc news, kunduz, afghanistan. >>> and still ahead on "world news," can you name this woman? do you recognize her? her hair is now red, but her name is at the heart of a scandal. >>> and, the video that could change your mind about how you travel with your child. >>> we also have the question, could a glimpse of your future self change your behavior right today? i'm that guy that doesn't take directions. i had a heart problem. i was told to begin y aspirin regimen. i just didn't listen until i awoke withpains in my chest. i almo

of the taliban, but not the inner circle of the taliban. the outer circle are the opportunists. the middle circle are those commanders who go to pakistan, receive training and resources, come back, and lead small groups. the inner circle is so well- protected, a grocer can claim to be one of them and start negotiations. that is where we need to put pressure. put pressure on the inner circle, on the leadership, so they see the heat, and come to talks and to terms. demographically, in the next 20, 30 years, afghanistan will be around 70, 80 million people. pakistan will be over 300 million people. there segmenting in energy production, in education -- they are stagnating in energy production, in education, in the economy. for them to be creating these proxy groups and create a literature of religious war, and keep sending them to afghanistan either to promote your agenda or get killed there, in either case, it is a win-win situation for pakistan. so, i am not anti-negotiations or anti-peace. i say, we have not done the basics to call for a de

it's not just the taliban who do it. it is part of an ancient culture which is in extraordinary stress. it doesn't just happen in afghanistan. as you certainly know. now, let me get back -- >> we have one more minute. >> but i have to question the core point. after the troops believe, we must remain with economic and social development to prevent this kind of thing from happening. and we must continue to train the afghan police and army. that's not going to be cheap. and it's going to be an international effort. and that is -- that goes to your question about nation building. >> let me ask you this because we do have one last question and it goes right to this culture thing. you at the beginning said success depending on how people define that, i want to ask you about that because a lot of people say well, we promised to bring themdy s we promised this, we promised that and we can't because of their culture. we can't because they are not disposed to it. do you think sometimes that people maybe in the west get the wrong i

but an informant says this family is giving refuge to taliban bombmakers. wall murals were the first clue that this wasn't friendly territory. >> that's in the wall. >> reporter: then, there was the suitcase that the family told heeder it couldn't open. >> i told him that they open or i open it. they refused. they said it was empty. >> reporter: inside, a family photo album -- of sorts. >> somewhere in a building with weapons. >> reporter: the search is pressed. sergeant heeder carfully checks for hidden explosives above ground and below. >> there's a well that we drove by every day and we ended up finding 100 rpg rounds, grenades and rockets in it. >> reporter: after an hour's search, in an outhouse we just walked by, a bomb is found. but jihadist murals, photographs of gunmen and even a bomb are not enough to arrest the men of the family. not enough evidence, huh? >> reporter: they decide to shift gears, again, and tries to make friends out of enemies. >> i don't think you're taliban. but i think you turn the other way when taliban come through. >> report

they joined t taliban. and they are going to keep in their own camps and allow the united states army and the millions to keep fighting. so, if you look pakistan has given up a very grave sacrificed in the last 18 months. as far as counter-terrorism is concerned, what we hae done in the military basis, certainly the terrorist, but afar as counter-terrism within the heartland of pakistan we are at zero. we have done nothing. people have been caught here and there, but really we have done nothing because there is no counter-terrorism force and pakistan. our situatn politically, shuja nawaz talked about it. the coalition government. the existence is ingenuous because they are being blackmailed by minority partners , two minority partners, if not one. the julif and mgm. as far as the government is concerned certainly i agree that richard holbrooke lost because he was more pakistan centric. he certainly did a lot for pakistan and the present government. the president pakistan government will find it very difficu

s the money doesn't go to the taliban. i think basically what i suggested we followed was alternative crops which are brought up. which are brought over. so that the farmers knows whatever he's going to produce is going to be brought over. that would be a better way of going about it. at the same time, i think at least it's a start. at least you are not growing poppy and the poppy is not going to laboratories. one of the things that occurs to me, you know, all of these players which are there in kabul today, they all have houses and links in dubai. and they all want money in dubai. they don't want to stick around and wait for the taliban to take over the country. they are going to take off. not the same north lands that we knew in the massuod. >> i don't know the deal. so i comment marginally. we put the taliban in a difficult place from our states -- i mean the individuals from businessmen in pakistan and the international works and international aid which is the main source of money. so opium is not that ridiculous. and

at least 50 people were killed as an anti-taliban leading pakistan. two bombs went off during a gathering of tribal elders. this report from islamabad. >> this compound was full of people meeting to discuss how to tackle the taliban. it is where two suicide bombers dressed in police uniforms blew themselves up. local tribal elders, government officials and journalists covering the media are -- covering the meeting are among the dead. the taliban say they carried out the attack. dozens of injured were rushed to the nearby hospital. this place has witnessed scenes like this time and again. >> my brother was injured in the blast. others are also hurt and dead. they are poor people. >> the army has been carrying out offensives against the taliban across northwest pakistan. it is also trying to get locals to find ways to fight the taliban themselves. the problem with the army operations is militants flee elsewhere to regroup. the problem with trying to mobilize locals is that the taliban have no hesitation with striking back against them in brutal ways. >>

plusou have afghan, taliban and pakistani taliban working totally together and both sides of the border. what is the worst? i am not sure it is the better situation and honestly i don't think it is a very important strategy being gained. >> let me add to that. i think there is an additional danger and gilles mentioned that in his opening remarks which is but very powerful budding relationship between the afghan taliban, the pakistani taliban and the punjabi military groups which are a far more serious threat regionally and globally now as all the current reports are indicating. they have links in india with bangladesh and with people in europe and north america. these groups are much more dangerous and can certainly create a very serious problem in the heartland of pakistan where it will be near impossible for the pakistan military to be deployed in the punjab. they can also create a very serious situation with india. if another mumbai attack occurs i think prime minister singh will find it difficult to resist the clamor for some kind of action against pakistan so i would say that is th

and risk the taliban coming and killing their families. because they don't think the taliban is going to get to come back. that's good news. the other factor here, wigs the most important one, is pakistan. the most terrible taliban faction, the hakani network, is operating not only out of pakistan but with the support of pakistan's intelligence agency. chris: that's the problem. how does the war ever end? >> i don't see how they hold it. >> there are leaks that we're going to start doing a lot more aggressive special ops. chris: you cover the hill and everything else. the politics of this seem to be dreadful. >> the politics are dreadful. as the president tried to sum up and sort of polish up this review on by saying they're making progress, but of course it's fragile. the progress that's being made. there's also political calculation which is that this president campaigned on and promised to end the wars in iraq and afghanistan. in a reasonable way and coming up on a re-election and no doubt the president wants to say it's the most libera

the people to replace him would be the taliban and the taliban would open up afghanistan once again to al qaeda. the only reason they're not in large numbers in afghanistan now is because the troops we have and the afghan army is getting better so we've literally driven them out. i want to keep them out and secure the gains we've had. >> it sounds to me like what you're doing is creating a permanent presence in afghanistan akin to what we have in korea propping up a corrupt regime when al qaeda has already left and we're going to support a puppet regime to take money from other corrupt nations to what end? the enemy is al qaeda. >> the end is securing u.s. national security interests. i'm glad we have troops in korea. >> senator, but senator, the objective here, i always thought, was defeat al qaeda which is the terrorist group. >> no, no, no. >> you're saying that's not the objective? >> the objective for our country is to never be attacked again by islamic extremists. >> you're now suggesting a dedication of resources that i don't think i've heard from anybody about air bases in afgh

the taliban captured two afghan border police in the area last month. there were also reports that some afghan soldiers are working with the insurgents. that hasn't been confirmed, but it's a big concern. >> if they was working with them it would just kind of threw a few things off. >> reporter: once safely back at base, sergeant gibbson switches from camouflage to cowboy hat and turns on the christmas lights. >> ♪ we'll bring you right back here... ♪ >> reporter: it may not be most people's idea of a holiday, but for now it will do. >> ♪ on a flat bed truck... >> reporter: mandy clark, cbs news, kunar, eastern afghanistan. >> mason: still ahead on the "cbs evening news," the holidays wouldn't be the same without them. and one family's on a mission to make sure everyone gets a christmas tree. but up next, fed up with a failing school, parents stage a takeover and the law is on their side. >> i'd like to say hello and merry christmas to my lovely wife who is now in findlay, ohio, and also my home station base in michigan. merry christmas! christmas

number one, even though they increased the number of kills of taliban leaders and taliban forces and have been able to push the taliban out of areas where the u.s. has been able to go in big numbers, they haven't been able to eliminate the taliban threat. the taliban has been able to hold on to areas where we can't put a large number of u.s. forces. number two, there's the continuing challenge of pakistan, which provides a safe haven to the taliban and their allies. and even though the united states has been pushing hard on the pakistani government to crack down and not provide those safe havens to the taliban, they've only had limited success there. the third, major challenge, we talked about just a minute ago, corruption and a weak central government in afghanistan. then, against all that is, general petraeus knows he is fighting the clock, as well. even though, as martha pointed out, there are unlikely to be major changes announced by the president, in his december review of the afghan policy right now. he has promised significant reductions of u.s. forces, come july. and said he

they were all taliban recruits. but during the fighting last year they were captured by pakistani soldiers. since then they've been in an army-run rehabilitation center. they include 21-year-old aziz ahman, on the right here. today he and 45 others graduate. >> these boys, they were sort of militants who were facilitating the terrorists and all that. they were picked up. they've been put through a process, and they are now going back to the society as useful and productive members of the society. >> they may be celebrating with the former michael i tants now, but the soldiers simply can't be sure they won't rejoin the taliban once they're released. we meet aziz a few days later, back with his family. he's scared of being arrested again, so he's careful of what he says. he does admit his association with the taliban but won't talk about what he did with them and instead thanks the army. but he says there is one important thing that will stop men like him joining the taliban the "since i've been released, i've been do

he was outnumbered three to one by the taliban, taliban backed by pakistan, al-qaeda was in there, and massoud fought them off. and he was even organizing, he convened a conference of afghan leaders from all over the world in a field in northern afghanistan while i was there. fifty plastic chairs in a circle, and he said we need to form a government for this country for when the taliban falls because they will fall. this was in the fall of 2000, and he was already convening a government in embryonic form to take care of afghanistan when the taliban eventually fell. he never lived to see it, tragically. but to answer your question, one of the great things about massoud was that he really believed in afghan dignity and independence from the meddling of foreign countries. and every neighboring country has meddled with afghanistan, that's why it's such a troubled country. soviet union, iran, pakistan, united states, and he was, you know, he was one of the reasons pakistan would not support him is that he refused to allow pakistani intelligence undue influence in afghan affairs, so they jus

forces are gaining on the tall batch and drops -- on the taliban and troops are gaining on the troops in afghanistan on the war strategy. the report suggests president obama's troop build up has enabled progress and heightened the sense of purpose in the region. al qaeda senior leadership is "weaker and under more sustained pressure than any point since 2001." on the u.s. relationship with pakistan "substantial but also uneven." the report states that "gains made are fragile and reversible." president obama said the u.s. is on the right track. >> senior leaders have been killed. it is harder for them to recruit and travel and train and plot and launch attack. in short, al qaeda is hunkered down. it will time to defeat al qaeda and it remains a ruthless and resilient enemy bent on attack. we are going to remain relentless in disrupting and dismantling that terrorist organization. >>shepard: in the review there is an acknowledgment the war will likely last at least another three years. our national correspondent at the pentagon, based on this review, what are the main problems facing ou

now taliban are getting much stronger. there are no surge troops to send into those areas, so they remain very, very troubling, tony. >> nic robertson for us in kabul, afghanistan. cnn national security analyst peter bergen has been going over the report in some detail. he joins us now from washington. let me start with a pretty bask one. any surprises for you, peter? >> no, i mean, the contents of this report have been dribbling out over time, general petraeus in afghanistan and the white house have sort of been saying for some period of time that, you know, this is not going to mark some huge change in strategy. they used the word "diagnostic" in a briefing i attended today with senior administration officials, meaning that this is a status report, somebody in the meeting described it as an annual report, this is not, you know, a change of direction, more of an assessment of where we are. i don't think there are any big surprises in the report, but in the briefing, there's some -- some of the things that came out which i

in much of the country, the taliban's momentum has been stopped or reversed, and u.s. troops will begin leaving in july as scheduled. more now from david martin at the pentagon. >> reporter: a year ago, the u.s. was, by many accounts, losing in afghanistan. now the commander in chief says the tide of battle has turned. >> we've gone on the offensive, targeting the taliban and its leaders and pushing them out of their strongholds. >> reporter: defense secretary gates is just back from visiting u.s. troops in afghanistan. >> the sense of progress among those closest to the fight is palpable. the taliban control far less territory today than they did a year ago. >> reporter: but progress is only temporary unless afghan forces can take over the fighting from the americans. and that will require 18 to 24 months, depending on the area. for instance, the former taliban stronghold of marjah in southern afghanistan where the marines launched an offensive 11 months ago. >> if you look at marjah in terms of next summer, so six months from now, we think we're going to be in a pret

>> the taliban was rebuilding. we were not surprised. by the fall of 2005, we wrote cables which predicted quite explicitly a major taliban offensive in 2006. the writing was on the wall. by the fall of 2005, we knew that we were against a much larger threats and we asked for some help. we did not get much help. i asked for $600 million for 2006. after prolonged delay -- deliberation, i got 43. we were under strength. we did see the problem of the sanctuary is getting bigger and bigger. the bush administration gradually took the more seriously. toward the end of the administration the private pressure on pakistan had done much larger. there are two problems. if we are going to -- this whole business of davis has increased their believe that we're going to leave. why should they be entering a to-front war and they still see pakistan as their biggest threats? that is their view. what we do has an impact on how people respond to what we asked for. president karzei has had this view for years. if we would just put enough pressure on pakistan

there are already cases of reintegration of reconcilable elements of the taliban. in other words, midlevel leaders and below. >> reporter: i'm talking about the top level. >> 2 dozen. well, you know, in iraq, we never reconciled with the top level al qaeda in iraq leaders. what we did is we were able to reconcile with the midlevel leaders and the population that, in some cases, was opposing the new iraq. this is not a case where you see the hill that you have to take, you take it, you plant the flag and you go home to a victory parade. this is a much more complex endeavor than that. and it requires a very comprehensive approach. >> reporter: what does it look like, that victory? >> well, it looks like an afghanistan that can secure and govern itself. >> reporter: and you're confident that the afghan government will be able to take over, afghan army will be able to take over by 2014? >> i don't know that you say "confident." i think no commander ever is going to come out and say "i'm confident that we can do this." i don't think there are any sure things in this kin

the afghans heat the taliban. most afghans hate the taliban. but they also hate corruption. we are giving them this weird choice. we're here to protect you from the taliban but also giving you a corrupt government. i don't think there's any tactic in the war that will succeed until we solve that basic contradiction in our policy. >> host: "war" is published by 12 or books. next call from texas. >> you just mentioned the corruption. is this a corrupt government, we are allies with a corrupt government that doesn't give us any type of loyalty from the people outside the corruption and with all this corruption people outside the corruption getting no services it is a losing partnership with the corrupted government. >> i think you are right so the question is how to change the government so it is not correct. that is something the afghan people can be proud of and support with conviction. i am afraid the only way to do that is to call hamid karzai's bluffing leave afghanistan. if we do it will be a bloodbath. it will go back to the civil war of the 90s. enormous amount of suffe

i think the isa in pakistan is in bed with the taliban. they like the taliban because they're on the same side against the indians. they don't like karzai. there's so many strange alliances over there that we can't even figure out and yet we think that we're fighting a war. that's my worry. your thoughts on that as the last question. the murkiness of it. >> i think that you're right, it's a very complicated, strategic picture. i think where pakistan and its leadership really is one of the critical questions for us and i think that this war has become increasingly unpopular because the average american is convinced that it's not winnable in the long term. i'm going to support the president's efforts in the next few months. but at this moment i'm looking forward to us making a tough strategic review and making responsible decisions by next summer. >> well, congratulations, senator coons, and thank you for beating christine o'donnell, that was an important election i think for life on this planet. anyway, up next, who's the republican congres

guest: that is the taliban traditional stronghold. they tend to come mostly from a more populist ethnicity from the south and east. you also have a long border with pakistan, which has provided a safe haven for taliban and other insurgent groups. there is a former fighter against the soviets who are fighting in the east of the country. then there is another network between the two. each of these get support and protection from over the border in pakistan. it is much easier to get fighters and supplies there. the population there is more sympathetic to the taliban. i think there for you have a stronger presence and that is where a lot of the concentration of fighting is. having said that, i think it is important to recognize that the fight is not just in the south and east. in the north, in the west, these are also areas or the taliban has made and roads. i think there is a tendency for them to move fighters and try to attack elsewhere to keep the threat up against the afghan government. that is something that needs to be watched very

>> the taliban is resilient. if you kill their leaders, they can come up with other leaders, but they will not be as skilled. they won't have the same level of experience. this is why this takes a sustained, substantial commitment. >> let's talk about the time line for u.s. involvement here in afghanistan. i wanted to bring out a pretty remarkable passage from jonathan alter's book "the promise." you've probably seen it. he talks about an oval office meeting between you and the president, last november 29th, where the president reportedly says to you, david, tell me now. i want you to be honest with me. you can do this within 18 months? sir, i'm confident we can train and hand over to the afghan national army in that time frame. >> first, i'm not going to comment on what i think are probably third-hand accounts of conversations in the oval office. you have been in the oval office. and you know it's best not to relate what takes place there. >> did you think then it was possible to turn over controlled to the a.n.

in the taliban gold -- >> the taliban googled. >> have you seen mollah zero febook mullah omar's page? he went to an interesting party last night. but they are so brutal and ruthless. you can confirm this, david, if i get this wrong. they are so ruthless that instead of realizing what did was trying to do, they got a harsh because you are the best friend of richard holbrooke and he is barack obama's special representative to this region. it did not help at all. is that a fair representation of what happened? >> yes. they had watched documentary. >> it leads to a natural next question. david was precisely where he was meant to be in order to expose the atrocities, whether in bosnia, on the other side, or in afghanistan. unfortunately he had to pay the price for a long time. but the fact that the taliban googled might be a laugh line, but that means that they are savvy. they understand what they are dealing with, how to reach the audience that they want to reach, a how to manipulate the public's face and the hearts and minds space. >> and the cliche of that which is accurate. they're no

the pakistani military did wage campaigns against pakistani taliban last year in the swat valley and the south waziristan tribal region. but so far, pakistan has resisted going into north waziristan and militant-ridden areas of the expansive southern province of baluchistan. even so, defense secretary gates said there is enhanced military- to-military cooperation, and it is getting results. >> everybody knows that failure to deal with the safe havens does present a real challenge, but i would argue that we are in the process of dealing with those safe havens-- the pakistanis on their side of the border, and afghanistan and pakistan and us working together. >> warner: there's a decidedly different view from retired general jack keane, advisor to the u.s. commander in afghanistan, general david petraeus. on "the newshour" last night, keane said pakistan is double dealing. >> make no mistake about it-- the evidence is unequivocal that the government of pakistan, and the military leadership of pakistan, aids and abets those sanctuaries. we have clear evidence to that... that fact. that's