spitzer. spitzer-weiner, they would have so much to talk about. only in america could that actually be a possibility. only in america. from new york, good night, america. captioned by closed captioning services, inc >> bret: good evening. i'm bret baier. this is a fox news alert. democratic new york congressman anthony weiner today tearfully admitted lying about scand louse communication with his women other than his wife but was adamant about not resigning. still, the democratic leader of the house is already calling for an ethics investigation. weiner held a news conference two hours ago. senior correspondent eric shawn was there. good evening, eric. >> reporter: good evening, bret. "i lied and i'm not resigning." those are the words of a contrite and tearful congressman anthony weiner. the veteran congressman from brooklyn and keeps, new york, apologizing to his wife and

constituents and admitted yes, he did send the racy tweet to the 21-year-old student in seattle and much more. and said through the years before and after his marriage he has had what he called inappropriate explicit contact of communication, not physical. never met with the women. but with six women through the years. some of them are coming forward. one is a middle aged nevada woman who says she has 200 sexual explicit messages with him and had phone sex with him. another woman, texas nurse said she received shirtless and bare-chested photos of the congressman similar to those sent by former congressman chris lee who had to resign over that this past february. weeper photos were distributed today on the internet at biggovernment.com run by the con seventive blogger andrew breitbart. weiner has been married for less than a year. his wife is huma and has been a long-time aide to secretary

of state hillary clinton. she says they are angry they're not splitting up and his political future today is the furthest thing from his mind. >> last friday night i tweeted a photograph of myself as i intended to send it as a joke to a woman in seattle. it realized i posted to twitter i panicked and i said i had been hacked. i stuck to the story and it was regrettable mistake. the woman was dragged into this and bears no responsibility. i'm so sorry to have disrupted her wife in this way. to be clear, the picture was of me and i sent it. i'm deeply sorry for the pain this caused my wife huma and our family. moy constituents, my supporters and staff. in addition over the last few years i have engaged in several inappropriate conversations con ducted over twitter, e-mail, occasionally

on the phone with women i met online. it exchanged messages and photos of explicit nature with six women over the last three years. for most part these communications took place before my marriage, though some sadly took place after. to be clear, i have never met any of the women or have had physical relationships at this time. i am not resigning. i have made it clear that i accept responsibility for this. people who draw conclusions about me are free to do so. i have worked for people in my district and politics for 20 years and hope they see this in a light it is, a regrettable mistake. i love my wife very much. we have no intention of splitting up over this. >> he said what he did was dumb and self-destructive. as for andrew breitbart, breitbart took the podium before weiner's news conference and explained what he did.

he said his goal was try to expose hypocrisy. >> in listening to him break up, how humiliating, i can't imagine a more humiliating thing than to do than that press conference. he made his bed. he will have to lie in it. it was sad. he's got -- he has a problem for the democratic party right now, because, you know, if he steps down, -- if he stays, i mean, he has got serious problems. >> reporter: breitbart said he is withholding an explicit photograph to save weiner's family. weiner had been considered a top contender for mayoralty of new york next year. he could be in for a tough race. says he intend to seek re-election. it asked if he intend to cooperate with the house ethics committee and he said

he would. bret? >> bret: eric shawn, thank you. last wednesday, congressman weiner brought in several journalists for what appears to be an unsuccessful attempt at damage control. according to congressman today, bald-face lying. fox news was invited. here is some of the conversation i had with him. >> is this twitter picture in question a picture of you? >> well, let's remember the twitter picture in question is a hack or a prank that someone post op my twitter page with someone else's name in it, who says she never got it, i don't know her, she doesn't know me. we're trying to get to the bottom of what the picture is and i will say this, i know for a fact my account was hacked. >> hacked? hacked in to. the account was hacked? >> well, someone tweeted something saying it was me and they weren't me. choose whatever word you want. hacked or franked. whatever you call it. it happens hundreds of

thousands of times every day. what this is, is someone makes mistake, this is, i believe, time for us to focus on this. take a step back and say this isn't a big crime. this is the person who is named in a twitter never got the photograph and says she doesn't know me and i certainly don't know her. it didn't send the frank to myself with a picture making few of my name. >> bret: you definitivety will want send it but you can't definitively say whether it's you or not. >> i can say i did not say this. i can say it looks a lot like a prank and a joke about my name. >> bret: let's go to correspondent doug mckelway in washington to talk about the ethics questions that are already coming up. and other political reaction. good evening. >> a lot of folks examining this hour, whether what representative weiner did was a violation of house rules or breaking the law. he addressed that question specifically in the press conference this afternoon. >> i don't see anything i did

that violated any rules of the house. i don't see anything i did that violated my oath of office to uphold the constitution. i have engaged in inappropriate online conversations with people that included photographs. it was a mistake to do that. i don't believe i did anything that violates any law or any rule. >> one of the women who is alleged to have engaged in a computer sex and telephone sex relationship with weiner told radar online, quoting now, "i gave him my number and he called me from his office and me proceeded to talk dirty for 30 minutes. a few days later, i tried to call him back on that number but the number wouldn't connect to his office. instead there was a recorded message that it was outgoing u.s. congress line only. if true, that may be significant. house rules state anything supported with official funds is an official resource. that is from the house ethics manual. further, representative weiner's series of interview

on wednesday, june 1, with major media and including this network were conducted in the congressional office to perpetuate what the congressman has now admitted was a lie. there are procedures in place if an ethics complaint is brought against congressman weiner. first, referral must be made to the ethics committee. the ethics committee would have to determine the facts of the case. investigateive sub committee would be empamed. congressional equivalent of a grand jury. the panel would issue a report. if it recommends punishment, the entire house would vote whether to punish him. but there is another option. any member could potentially craft a resolution which could be brought before the house to recommend reprimand, censure or expulsion. they could vote on the resolution. and nancy pelosi has asked for a house ethics committee investigation of representative weiner to determine whether any official resources were used or any other violation of the house rules occurred. bret? >> bret: doug, thank you. just to quote from the

leader's statement. "i'm deeply disappointed and saddened about the situation, for anthony's wife huma, his family, staff and constituents. i am calling for ethics committee investigation to determine if any official resouses were used or any other violation of house rule occurred." let's talk about anthony weiner's troubles with larry sabato, director of the center for politics. good evening. >> good evening, bret. >> bret: larry, can he survive this? >> he can survive it. at least he can stay in congress potentially. though there are a lot of people who think he should resign. not all of them are republicans. this has been a major distraction for democrats. it is continuing to be. they wanted to focus on medicare. instead, they are all talking about x-rated photos. >> bret: what about this from a new york delegation perspective and the

constituents' perspective when he comes out and calls us in the office a promulgates a lie as we heard today. what does it mean politically as he is standing there saying he won't resign and he didn't violate any laws? >> well, we've always said and how many scandals have we been through, 30 or 40 years, it's the coverup and the lying that get you. not the original offense. this was just a bold-face lie. lie after lie after lie. no question about it. he has a year-and-a-half to until the next election. comes from a heavily democratic district. if he would be challenged it would be in a primary. the real penalty he was the front runner for the next mayor of new york city. somehow, i don't think it will happen. not that the scandal will keep him from being mayor but new

york doesn't want to be aial that or international joke. >> it didn't take long for republicans to jump on this. within the fast few minutes, national republican campaign committee put out a statement saying in part it's time for the democratic leadership to explain why congressman weiner's actions never aroused suspicion and when they rushed to his suspense so many americans were shocked and confused by his bizarre and disturbing behavior. not surprised, i'm sure, by that quote. what does it mean in the big picture heading toward election beyond congressman weiner's district? >> well, it's an embarrassment. it's an embarrassment to the party. contrast to what is going on with congressman weiner to what happened to chris lee, another new york congressman involved in a somewhat similar scandal involving a shirtless pic. what happened with him? he resigned instantaneously. in fact, most of us heard

about the scandal after he heard his about resignation. that's how quickly it occurred earlier in year in new york 26 where the special election was just held there is a contrast to be made there. fair or up fair, that's politics. you have partisan attacks in situations like this. that's why they detest the situation when members involve in scandal. >> bret: last thing, he said he did not violate or the law and did not think he used congressional resources in what he did. this is a quote from the house ethics book. anything supported with official funds is official resource, including congressional offices. the question is he called all the reporters, including myself, in his congressional office to make this defense. someone could link it to that line, couldn't they? >> absolutely. look, it doesn't take that,

just that to get a reprimand from the house. you can be reprimanded from the house for embarrassing the house, for bringing the house in to kind of ill-repute, i think applies in this case. so it's possible that someone could pursue ethics charges against congressman weiner. whether they would succeed or not, i don't know. only, it would further embarrass the congressman who is clearly deeply embarrassed. >> bret: larry, thank you for your time. >> thank you, bret. >> bret: when we return, the newest candidate in the 2012 race for the white house. i had a het problem. i was told to begin my aspirin regimen. i just didn't listen until i almost lost my life. my doctor's again ordered me to take aspirin. and i do.

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>> bret: the man who was once the number three republican in the senate now wants to be number one. on the g.o.p. presidential ticket. correspondent molly lion reports from pennsylvania on the latest candidate in the republican field. >> i'm announcing today i'm running for president of the united states. [ applause ] >> join the fight. >> reporter: in somerset, pennsylvania, joined by his wife and seven children, rick santorum made the bid official. it was held near the coal mine where he grand father worked. santorum, fiscal and social conservative, best known for opposition to gay marriage and abortion right went after president obama today on two fronts. moral and financial. >> he devalued the currency. he's not just devalued the currency, he has devalued our culture. through not standing up for

defense of marriage act. >> yeah. [ applause ] for federal funding of abortion. >> the former senator faces considerable challenges in a crowded g.o.p. field. he lacks nationwide name recognition and latest gallop poll shows him trailing with 2% support in 2006, he lost the bid for re-election to the senate by a landslide 17-margin, defeated by bob casey junior. santorum needs to prove he can still be a winner and competition includes several fellow conservatives, like herman cain who is rising in the polls and getting noticed by the main stream media. >> we are not surprised but we are surprised how quickly the media and others is catching on. the strategy was to develop a strong ground game. >> texas governor rick perry is weighing a run and called if arrest massive prayer meeting inviting fellow christian and governors from across the country to reliant stadium in houston to appeal to god to help america through crisis. >> path to jesus.

>> the august event appears to indicate perry is courting evangelicals ahead of a possible white house bid. sarah palin, whose bus tour last week, fueled speculation she may still enter the race told chris wallace on "fox news sunday" what she would do to fix the economy. >> what president palin would dut do is cut the federal budget and making sure we are not crowded out private sector investment and we will cut the spending. we have no choice. we're going broke. we're going bankrupt. >> santorum has spent time in the early voting states making more than 45 visits to iowa, new hampshire, and south carolina combined focusing on the social conservative voters. despite the odds, he said he is in it to win and stands by his conviction. in somerset, peninsula, molly lion, fox news. back to you. >> bret: thank you. the price of gasoline dropped a half penny overnight. national average is $337973.77 a gallon.

crude oil lost $1. 1.21. stocks were down today. former fun international monetay fund chief dominique strauss-kahn pleaded not guilty to charges he tried to rape a hotel maid in the first court appearance in two weeks. strauss-kahn is charged with several crimes resulting from the alleged incident last month in manhattan. nobel prize winner economist peter diamond says he is withdrawalling the nomination to federal reserve board. republicans questioned diamond's practical experience. the m.i.t. professor nominated twice by president obama. the white house blames what it calls partisan obstructionism. still ahead, we will tell you whether yemen's embattled president plans to return to his country. first, plans to get american troops out of afghanistan.

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>> bret: president obama met with his national security team on afghanistan and pakistan today. at the top of the agenda, how many troops to bring home when the withdrawal from afghanistan begins next month? white house correspondent wendell goler reports the president is being advised, proceed with caution. >> on a farewell visit thanking troops in afghanistan before the end of the month retirement, defense secretary robert gates warned against bigger than expected troop withdrawal in july. >> we still have a ways to go. i think we shouldn't let up on the gas too much. at least for the next few months. >> some of his critics contend the cost of the war is pushing the president to bring home more than the three or 4,000 seasonals he planned and the death of usama bin laden is giving him an excuse. his aides say neither is the case. >> we're now at a point, as envisioned by the president's policy where we can begin the

drawdown. the pace and slope will depend on conditions on is ground. >> it depends how much the taliban has been degraded and whether the afghan troop training is on schedule. faster than expected troop training in iraq allowed faster u.s. withdrawal through, but it's not going as well in afghanistan according to illinois senator mark kirk. >> the afghans are three years behind the iraqis. i think that the petraeus recommendation will be to start the major withdrawal in 2014, not 2012. >> but the current plans are for all foreign troops to be out by the end of 2014. general david petraeus the u.s. commander in afghanistan is one of several key officials who are changing roles. moving to head the c.i.a. why leon panetta who favors fewer troops on the ground and more focus on drone strikes becomes secretary of defense. on this day, mr. obama held what may be the last monthly meeting of the afghanistan and pakistan security team before the decision is announced.

michael believes we'll only see modest withdrawals this year and most of next. >> i think the drawdown will accelerate in the fall of 2012 because that is the end of the next fighting season. and we're fing to need two more fighting seasons to really consolidate gains in the south of afghanistan first and then next year in the east of the country. >> he says speeding the withdrawal wouldn't save a significant amount of money. the president's afghan surge in the face of public opposition showed a commitment he is unlikely to back away from. >> the president would have to change his strategy to do anything more ambitious. it doesn't mean he won't but money is against it. >> officials say privately that bin laden's death and the soaring war cost could strengthen reof some of the president's advisors who want to bring troops home more quickly and they include vice president biden. but mr. obama has overruled him in the past. bret? >> bret: wendell goler live on the north lawn. thank you. the number of american forces in iraq has been dramatically cut. a year ago, vice president joe

biden said on cnn that iraq could be one of the great achievements of the obama administration. but troops in iraq today suffered their worst losses in two years. as five american trainers were killed in a rocket attack in baghdad. national security correspondent jennifer griffin has an update. >> there are no u.s. combat troops left in iraq. they pulled out last august. but there are 47,000 u.s. troops still there. >> since the president has come in to office we have withdrawn 100,000 u.s. troops from iraq. we'll draw down to zero by the end of the year. >> five u.s. service members were killed by incoming rockets as they slept in the bar ranks in eastern baghdad near sadr city. the highest death toll for u.s. troops in two years so far this year, 29 u.s. troops have been killed. down from 475 in the first five months of 2007. at the height of the sectarian violence.

>> we lost u.s. servicemen today. >> all 47,000 u.s. troops must leave iraq by the end of the year, according to a status enforcement agreement signed by president bush. unless the prime minister nouri al-maliki asks the u.s. to stay. in april, admiral mike mullen on a visit to iraq explained how withdrawing the troops comes down to physics. how long it takes to move soldiers and equipment. why the pentagon needs a quick decision from the iraqis. >> i think that the timeline is in the next few weeks. >> the white house says there are currently no negotiations with iraqis about u.s. forces staying. >> there are 52 weeks in a year. we are moving along, according to the existing agreements we have. >> two weeks ago, basha supports took to the street demanding all supporters leigh now. >> the great fear in the administration is iraq will fall apart after we leave. the country could unravel in

2012, which, of course, is election year. >> two iraqis that fired the rockets that killed five americans today were killed instantly when one of the rockets backfireed and exploded prematurely. prime minister malia is weighing whether to ask u.s. troops to stay. bret? >> jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. thank you. today is the 67th anniversary of the d-day invasion. senator john kerry joined other veterans in commemorating the landings in normandy, france. next up, the top story at the bottom of the hour. reaction to the comments and the apology from representative anthony weiner. [ male announcer ] to the 5:00 a.m. scholar. thewo trains and a bus rider. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be ♪

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>> bret: no grapevine tonight. the top story at the bottom of the hour, new york democratic congressman anthony weiner today confessed he had inappropriate exchanges with women online. weiner maintained, however, he sees no reason to resign. let's go back to new york to get update from senior correspondent eric shawn who is at the news conference. good evening, again. eric? >> hello, bret. he stood there for an hour taking all the reporters' questions. congressman anthony weiner was clearly humiliated, embarrassed, contrite and tierful, choking up when he talked about his wife huma who has been married to for less than a year. he said what he did on the internet was dumb, self-destructive and he says he takes full responsibility for it, having explicit and

inappropriate communications with at least six women over the years. he said that he did send the tweet to the 21-year-old college student in seattle. today, more pictures were posted on line. andrew breitbart, the conservative blogger site of bare-chested and shirtless weiner. weiner said he would not resign and he apologized. >> to be clear, the picture was of me and i sent it. i'm deeply sorry for the pain this has caused my wife huma and our family. and my constituents, my friend, supporters and staff. in addition over the past few years i have engaged in several inappropriate conversations conducted over twitter, facebook, e-mail and occasionally on the phone with women i have met online. i am not resigning. i love my wife very much. we have no intention of splitting up over this. >> reporter: he was referred to the first twitter picture that started this and as for a

possible house ethics committee investigation, i asked him if he would cooperate. congressman weiner said yes. bret? >> bret: more on this with the panel in a minute. thank you. now to news overseas. supporters of yemen's regime opened fire on opposition protesters today killing six people. it happened at a time of increased uncertainty. correspondent carl paladino lookpal --correspondent greg pat looks at why demonstrators were celebrating. >> for the moment, of the yemeni president ali abdullah saleh. in the past, he will not come back, this man says. this the end of oppression. >> saleh was injured friday in a rocket attack by opposition forces flown to riyadh, saudi arabia, with the family members for treatment over the weekend. his vice president is technically running things. yemeni opposition endorsed him and the possible transitional figure. >> this is apparently an

attempt by the opposition to really start the clock, move the transition forward. >> the hitch is saleh claims he will be back. in as soon as a couple of days after the treatment is complete. >> if it takes longer or he doesn't return at all, he has left sons and other family members in charge of key yemeni security bodies they were involved in more deadly clashes today. >> unfortunately, the president still has a few tricks up his sleeve. even if he isn't able to return to yesmen, he can still wreak havoc. >> the obama administration is being careful in the response, not yet knowing the fate of saleh. >> we are calling for a peaceful and orderly transition. a fon sigh respect transition con -- nonviolent transition consistent with the yemen constitution. >> they have their own agenda. country marked with years of strife could face trouble. all the while, al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula based in

yemen and targeted the u.s. in the past can only profit. >> aqap the most dangerous branch of al-qaeda has a long-standing presence inside yemen. if chaos continues, that foothold, presence will increase. >> but arguably, this is a big but, an am list told me if the various factions in yemen can get their act together to form a real democracy, it could be the death knell for al-qaeda in yesmen. a big if. in london, greg palkot, fox news. >> bret: as we were discussing congressman weiner has tough questions to answer but he will not step down. we will talk about today's tearful apology and what is next with the fox all-stars when we come back. we used to bet who could get closest to the edge.

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to be clear, the picture wasn't me. anwas of me and i accept it. i'm deeply sorry for the pain this has caused my wife huma and our family.

and my constituents, i supporters, friends, staff i don't see anything i did to violate rules of the house or my oath of office to uphold the constitution. >> you definitively didn't send it but you can't definitively say whether it's you or not? >> i can definitively say i did not send this. it looks a lot like a prank, a joke about my name. >> bret: that interview was laz wednesday in weiner's office. today a tearful apology where he said 20 times he takes responsibility for sending not only the twitter pic in question that we have been talking about, but a number of other pictures and conversations online with some six women over the years, according to the congressman. he says he will not resign. what about all of this? let's bring in the panel. fred barnes, "weekly standard." juan williams, columnist with the hill. and sindcated columnist krauthammer.

fred, when you write political pieces you can't imagine something like today. people would say that is too far a jump to make. it happened. >> it did happen. you were there last week and the line you used, certainly had an expression of disbelief. on your face. for good reason. we have to look at this, remember what he did today was plan "b." it was after denials didn't work. we went to contrition today. it's not clear if it will work or not. it's not over yet. we have photos out there, that are apparently x-rated, explicit, e-mails. all of these things will come out, i feel certain, because practically everything comes out these days on the expect. one way or another. >> bret: he says he didn't do anything illegal and didn't violate his oath of office to the constituents.

>> used to be, maybe it's way back, but if you did something horribly inappropriate and wrong and was embarrassing to you and the family and the political party and even your country, you would resign as a matter of honor. now congressman weiner takes the position i didn't violate the law so i can stay. that's not quite the republicans took, with chris lee, as larry sabato pointed or the when you interviewed him. he was told by speaker boehner be out of here by the end of the day. he was. >> bret: that is the new york congressman who resign after the purchase surfaced on quaker. juan, your thoughts? >> i don't think he will resign. pressure will be terrible. he took a beating today and stood in front of the microphones and answered all the questions. in a sense he's now come clean. we don't know. he doesn't have much credibility given he was lying last week. when you stop to think of the

precedent, clinton in the white house or chris lee or charles rangel. these are violations. they end up in the ethics committee. charles rangel is still there. vitter is there on the republican side. >> sorry to interrupt. nancy pelosi called for an ethics investigation, the house democratic leader. just moments ago we have a statement from congressman weiner saying, "i welcome and will fully cooperate with an investigation by the house ethics committee. i'm deeply sorry, to my family, staff and constituents." >> right, he will have to i think really respond in some way that stops the questions. that is the consequence. if the democratic leadership, in how fred talked about speaker boehner had lee resign, if you lose -- if he loses support from nancy pelosi and the like, well, then he is a goner. >> bret: charles? >> i think she a goner. it will probably be certainly in the long run or the medium run and maybe even in the short run. i think the story will

continue. there will be drip, drip, drip. i think there is however a lesson in what you mentioned, juan, which is the clinton president. i think the message for the republicans, there is a quote, i don't know if you had it about the national republican campaign committee, sort of calling on the democrats to look into this. and to ask themselves why there was no suspension. is it tempting for republicans to jump on this, but they shouldn't. the only way to survive if you are a clinton and the scandal he had is the perception emerges that the opposition, your opposition is persecuting you, piling on, et cetera. clinton went through the same stages. he lied and did contrition. then republicans went ahead with starr report and the mood, perception changed and clinton ended up in a sense the winner politically. i think in the case of

congressman, it's clear the democrats want to get rid of this. it will distract them they are already upset about it distracting them over the medicare issue. the other example you mention, the chris lee example, where the republicans cut their losses so quickly, it's true in the end they lost the seat. but the scandal stopped because he wasn't a congressman. gone before you heard the scandal. for purely partisan politics the democrats will be hurt the longer he survives. >> the ethics committee investigation helps democrats for this reason they can say well, we amount talk about it because it's under investigation by the ethics committee. >> whether or not a democrat talks about it, it will be in the media,en the internet every day nonetheless. >> it us tracts from the democratic message. so i think it comes down to the leadership. at the moment, he has the leadership. pelosi saying she advised him today and calling for the

ethics investigation. that gives democrats some insulation. it comes back to the idea if this becomes a constant distraction for more than the next week, then the chances are bad. for the moment he hang in there. >> bret: he says he didn't think he used congressional resources over the many communications. one woman says she called back and said she got the line at the office. the other thing is the house ethics manual. anything supported with official funds is an official resource, including congressional offices. the regulations generally advance solicitation, commerciacommercial -- >> bret: he called all the reporters including me in his office and spent the day with this, what he says now is a lie. that s that tangential? >> no. it's clear violated the rule.

that's not a matter for expulsion. that might be grounds for censure or repry mand but they -- repry mand but they aren't going to expel him because you interviewed him in his office which was paid for by the taxpayers and he was lying. >> bret: you think i doesn't go away? >> i don't think it goes away in the short. the question is how long it lasts. his district has been trending republican, you know. it's an interesting district, brooklyn and queens. a lot of orthodox jews. they have been volting more republican. >> bret: last word. >> the issue everybody understands is not misuse of the congressional office. it's like al capone and taxes. or criminalization of the john edwards behavior, almost elicits a backlash. people say look, he was a terrible human and all that. you're trying to make it illegal looking for a money by looking for money violation to hang this. let's say in the weiner case, the events speak for itself. the democrats are really worried and hoping it will simply go away.

which would mean he has to go wayway. >> bret: next up, the president considers how many troops to bring home from afghanistan. ♪ ♪ introducing purina one beyond a new food for your cat or dog.

>> bret: at the white house today in the situation room, the president met with his national security team, talking about afghanistan. before the end of the month, there is expected to be a recommendation on a bigger than expected troop withdrawal. sometime next month. defense secretary gates said he doesn't want it to be too big. "he shouldn't let up on the gas too much at least in the next few months." he's getting ready to retire. back with the panel. what about the numbers and what exactly happens? >> if you make a strategic arguement that the war is not

succeeding, that the surge has not succeeded then you could have an argument for accelerating the withdrawal and leaving afghanistan altogether. it was our last roll of the dice. but that is not what the pentagon is saying. that is not what people that i respect are telling me about. we heard earlier on the show. we have had remarkable success in the south. kandahar and helmand province and we'll probably need another fighting season or two for eastern afghanistan. that was the original strategy. in the absence of demonstration it's not working the president is committed to it. he also said the savings from withdrawalling an extra say, ten or 15,000 troops is relatively trim, small fraction. but could cost us success in the war. >> bret: after the death of the killing of usama bin laden, there is politically a push on capitol hill to speed the process up. >> what we had was a vote last

month, amendment, call for a speedier withdrawal of troops from afghanistan. they're both failed by a small margin, but the news was they had, i believe it was 23 to 26 republicans break from the leadership. and threaten to support this. in fact, walter jones, congressman from north carolina. which is where camp lejeune is, a strong antiwar vote. you can throw in democrats who have been out there saying we've got to get out of afghanistan. pointing to the cost. $8 billion a month or something. how can he justify that. and hamid karzai is unsettling the country. why is america there. >> bret: go ahead, fred. >> they want to get out of afghanistan, withdrawal as many troops as possible in july when the president is going to withdrawal some. the recommendation he will get from general petraeus, though,

will be fewer than 5,000 troops. any more than that as charles says you jeopardize ultimate success that has been laid out by secretary gates. you knock out the safe havens hs there and turn back attack by taliban and in 2013 when you are supposed to bring out all the troops or most of them that'll the way you do it. not by pulling them all out now. the struggle here unanimously between the pentagon believes, secretary gates leading the generals, mike mullen, petraeus and all of them believe it should not be a large withdrawal. there are some staffers at the white house and members on capitol hill who want a big withdrawal. it doesn't help obama politically to do that when you are winning a war. >> panetta is coming in and he

may favor using drones as opposed to boots on the ground. >> bret: that's it for pam. stay tuned for inspiring pep talk. [ wind howling ] [ technician ] are you busy? management jt sent over these new technical manuals. they need you to translate them into portuguese. by tomorrow.

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>> bret: finally, after a day like today, when everyone probably wants to take a shower, perhaps it's time for some inspirational words, in the form of a motivational speech delivered by a 6-year-old in what is now a viral youtube video. >> what do you have any words of wisdom? what about for all the other kids trying to learn how to ride their bike? can you say anything to them? >> everybody, i know you can believe in yourself. if you believe in yourself, you will know how to ride a bike! if you don't, you just keep practicing. you will get the hang of it, i know it. if you keep practicing, you -- you will get the hang of it and