. >>> afghanistan debate a. new book cites fierce divisions within the obama administration for strategy for winning the war. >>> and as bedbugs rattle the northeast, experts and exexterminators plot a counterattack. this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, september 22nd, this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, september 22nd, 2010 captioning funded by cbs >>> good morning, everyone on a wednesday. good to see you. i'm terrell brown in for betty nguyen this morning. >>> the senate majority leader says he won't wait to try to lift a ban on gays openly serving in the military planning to bring it up after the election but some activists say the democrats missed their best chance to end don't ask don't tell yesterday. joel brown reports. >> reporter: senate democrats took a big political gamble and lost. >> the motion is not agreed to. >> reporter: their election-year effort to repeal the military's don't ask don't tell policy failed by four votes. democrats tried to include the repeal in a military spe

detailing big fights from the obama administration's policy in afghanistan. o (speakinin international language) d he said unto them go ye into a of the world and preach the gpel preachhe gospel ♪ every cature in the world. pplause) >>> a white house official says the new bob woodward book called "obama's war" does not show anything new about the strategy in afghanistan. shouldn't be surprised about the war strategy. john hendron reports. >> the book hit like a bombsll. >> what i think is stking is that obama places politics at a pretty high premium in deliberations about iraq. >> bob woodward's new book porays president obama seeking a way out of afghanistan sayin i want an exit strategy. he says he pressed top advisers. when he didn't get terms, he drew one up himself saying he couldn't lose decratic party support for the war. >> he promised change. it really isn't all that different from the politics of previous white house. >> the book also says richar holbrook, the president' envoy to afghanistan, said of the surge it can't work. holbrook called the most egotistical bastard i've

and our support for afghanistan will endure. but make no mistake, this transition will begin because open ended war serves neither our interest nor the afghan people. indeed one of the lessons of our effort in iraq is that american influence around the world is not a function of military force alone, we must use all elements of our power including our diplomacy. a vision that recognizes the real dangers that exist around the world, but also the limitless possibilities of our time. today, old adversaries are at peace and emerging democracies our responsible. now markets of goods stretch from the asian to americas. billions of young people want to move beyond the shackles of poverty and conflict. as the leader of the free world, america will do more than just defeat on the battlefield those who offer hatred and destruction. we will also lead among those who are willing to work together to expand freedom and opportunity if for all people. that effort must begin within our own borders. throughout the history america has been willing

the in fighting in afghanistan? >> it does. people seem apparently shock that there's infighting in the white house. and i would be disappointed if there wasn't. this is a badly flawed strategy. it has a number of holes in it. not least of which is it's not properly resourced. if you were really serious about standing up a functioning nation state in afghanistan, which is our professed goal, you can't do it with even 100,000 troops. you need far more troops and to be there for a very, very long time. >> that's exactly what general petraeus said and i'll ask our graphic folks to skip ahead to the quote from general petraeus from this book. he apparently said to the president, "you have to recognize, also, that i don't think you win this war. i think you keep fighting. this is the kind of fight we're in for the rest of our lives and probably our kids' lives at the same time." the president has already said, look, this can't be a war without end. among other things, i'll lose the democratic party. he got to be president in part on

just fanatics try to take away our freedom in afghanistan in iran and right here in central florida was yourself your own husband daniel webster wants to impose his radical fundamentalism on us she should submit to me that's enough by webster tried to deny battered women medical care in the right to divorce their abusers and submit to that he wants to force raped women to bear the child submit to me the taliban dan webster hands off our bodies and our laws. well he is certainly not holding back with that what he's comparing.

afghanistan and why we talk about the cia a soldier or b. as a muslim country and one of the leading muslim countries in the world every participated at the time on the war so here we have a very simple powerful muslim country involved in the war where you are receiving weapons from the u.s. no it's not talk about the out of when we were there. we just get the weapons if you ask me of my own experience it's from two main parties you know i am my personal experience here i thought that i didn't have any now what he's very famous because of what so-called. weapons used to be from his like from his commanders and people who are on the frontline and from. as well. we are libyans we used to cooperate with him a lot so it's that if you talk about my own i believe if you ask any single arab or muslim you know he's not the guy and he participate in the jihad he will give you the name of a local commander so you never directly met any cia representative in afghanistan i've never ever seen anyone there. for a minute i've seen either don't know this or

paul asli reporting there from afghanistan's capital kabul cray shoes from the think tank project for pakistan of the twenty first century he says the death squads may become a major source of problems for both afghanistan and pakistan. the united states continues to rely on warlords in afghanistan when when i heard about the this mercenary force of three thousand well trained up guns i still there's one part of the story that is still missing and that is where these three thousand of gun volunteers for this mercenary army came from and i have no doubt about the answer to this question and that is they came and they were recommended by some of the warlords of course as you know there is a there's a problem of loyalty and enough to understand you cannot recruit people without knowing exactly where they coming from so most of this three thousand force must have come recommended from some of the warlords and these warlords are really milking the u.s. government and the u.s. military they're making a lot of money and of course we all know the story of what happened in tora bora back in no

not fanatics from afghanistan. mr. obama told woodward, if terrorits stage another big strike like 9/11, he believes we can in his words, absorb it. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> nbc's chief correspondent jim miklaszewski will join us later in the broadcast with more on the afghan strategy and woodward's new book. >>> coming up, a hero's welcme for veterans in the nation's capital. >>> doug returns with a look at the full forecast as the final hours of summer wine down. >>> i'm mayor gilchrist in maryland. the intercounty connector could open. >>> good evening. it's been a challenging afternoon with delays. let's look at springfield. as you can see, mainline very heavy this afternoon as you head toward newington. fortunately the delays do not last. by the time you hit lorton, you're back to the speed limit. it is just on and on the brakes. nothing too standg. around the capital beltway, here is the pace on the inner loop as you make your way toward kennelworth. elsewhere around the capital beltway, we

it was bin laden when the russians went into afghanistan, attacked afghanistan that the c.i.a. got in touch with and him and amadge din, i believe, ran the russians out. he was our friend. he knows all about the c.i.a. it was america that came to saddam hussein's rescue when they threw the shah out. who are we kidding? obama doesn't want him caught. it was 19 obamas that came from saudi arabia. host: more this morning in the new york post. the memorial service in the city and also the reflecting pool where governors paid their tribute. also michael bloomberg in attendance. this, from one of our regular tweeters. john joining us. independent line good morning. caller: good morning, sir. i just wanted to say, for example, a lot of people who try to take advantage of this situation for their own personal gains. for example, we have soldiers right now in korea. we have soldiers in germany. so it would only stand to reason that, after we leave iraq, we would still have soldiers in iraq. and as far as, for example, our security on our borders, i'm pretty sure in every state in the un

to sustain our global supremacy nowhere in afghanistan before because of nine eleven. nine eleven involved a horrendous crime against the american public and its cold for measures designed to make certain that that doesn't occur again. american role on the huge continent of your radio it's much more benign it involves alliances with some key countries it involves improvement in relations with some previous antagonists so it should not be confused with the operation in afghanistan which has a very specific historical motive and a very specific objective now i want to ask in an interview with a french magazine in one thousand nine hundred eighty you called the covert funding of the mujahideen prior to the former soviet union's invasion an excellent idea according to their analysis of what you said the dismantling of the soviet union was to a degree more important than quote some stared at muslims and that you don't regret it do you stand by that statement now yes although that version of so-called interview was not really an interview the interview was an extensive inter

, what shouldn't be done in afghanistan, and what can be done in afghanistan. a lot of the book is about politics. for example, president obama is quoted as saying "i'm not doing 10 years. i'm not doing long-termination building. i'm not spending $1 trillion." i have two years with the public on this. i want an exit strategy. i can't lose the whole democratic party. of course, today is wednesday. that means when's with juan. the npr analyst juan williamss us. >>guest: think to johnson and vietnam, and you could see the members of the administration going at each other, and eisenhower, people are at each other's throats getting rid of generals and the like. here we have a situation that is interesting with the military versus military. we have chairman of the joint chiefs, for example, mullen, saying his deputy is going behind his back to get to the white house. that is very interesting, you thinking those guys are not open the same page. or you think about the idea you have a special envoy holbrooke arguing that the plan the president is putting out is in the w

polished afghanistan's biggest jail many of the five thousand prisoners here are doing time for drug smuggling and all drug use but the locks are not a sure safe way of keeping the drugs out. there. these are the different kinds of drugs we collected over the past years. this is a mix of all your contacts. but then all of this is opium. this is the kind of tricks drugs inside a calm family members coming to visit bring these with them we found drugs in shoes over the years prison guards have been charged with mending a hand. yes it's true when i joined a few years ago lots of guards were involved in smuggling drugs into the jail. they are not very good that you don't have enough and there are a lot joining the produce truth out of the people joining the police to solve themselves but the ministry of cantona katic insists it's now got a hold on the problem before the police can become a police he detested he would have sort of tests before coming to before going through the exercise of our becoming a police sergeant. this is something that has been developed an army level but question

response from the us and i remember i thought i told him and already it's not going to afghanistan the u.s. will try to dominate the whole region let's go back into your history for a moment because you fought with and are proud of having fought with them what you had seen in afghanistan against the soviet union how much do you know about links between the mujahideen and the cia at the time from the muslim perspective the war it's not against russia which is the exist country now it was against communism even the soviet union muslims they've been provoked because of communism you know it's problematic issue even in the. muslim countries in the west because you know communism used to be labeled like the anti religion and god you know muslim christian or jewish so it's very important like the ideological motivation how muslims. participate in perth to go on for there but i know it was within the context of the cold war between the son. union and the u.s. so the mujahideen and when they fought there if you take it from the of going in perspective you know it's just a continuing invaded an

pulis lee ever pushing back from afghanistan's capital kabul and. from the think tank project for pakistan in the twenty first century he says that back schools may become a major source of problems for afghanistan and pakistan. but the united states continues to rely on warlords in afghanistan when when i heard about the mercenary force of three thousand well trained of guns i still there's one part of the story that is still missing and that is where these three thousand of gone volunteers for this mercenary army came from and i have no doubt about the answer to this question and that is they came and they were recommended by some of the warlords of course as you know there is a there's a problem of loyalty and enough to understand you cannot recruit people without knowing exactly where they're coming from so most of this three thousand force must have come recommended from some of the warlords and these warlords are really milking the u.s. government and the u.s. military they're making a lot of money and of course we all know the story of what h

in pakistan and afghanistan today protestors burned u.s. flags and shouted anti-american slogans in anticipation of the weekend burning. >> (translated): if they burn the koran than, god willing, all the islamic organizations will join together and give a lesson to americans-- jews and christians. the sky and the people on earth will watch this happening. >> suarez: back in washington, a department of defense spokesman said a strong message of disapproval had already been relayed to jones. >> i think the message is out there loud and clear. it's impossible to miss the message that is coming from the leaders of the united states military, the united states government, our diplomatic leaders, some of our... from all walks of life, frankly. >> reporter: at a peres conference held by the council on american islamic relations, speakers called on jones to examine the koran before burning it. >> education is very, very important. we believe that he has not given himself a chance to read and reflect on the koran. however, we believe in freedom of e

why are we spending $2 billion a week in afghanistan? when are we going to get out of afghanistan? >> iowa and new hampshire, the states that will dominate the republican contest, both had those isolationist, passivistic. those two conflicts in iran and afghanistan are costing the united states too much money. as we've said before, even though the republicans tend to be critical of the president for not being tough enough in those conflicts, there's room for a republican to come in and stay these wars are too expensive. in new hampshire, i found what you found, lots of people feel that way in the republican party and independents. >> also, i think that was the number one thing that we both commented on about new hampshire voters. the number two thing, a lot of "morning joe" viewers up there. >> tons. >> let's bring in right now republican senator from tennessee, which, by the warks home of the vanderbilt commodores, bob corker. and also national political correspondent for new yorker magazine john heilemann who actually dabbled in witchcraft. >> warlockism. >> you actually joined,

he was in afghanistan in october 2007. they were ambushed by the enemy and even though the firing was happening from the enemy the sergeant giunta got hit in the chest plate and ran directly into the ambush to try to save some of his comrades there. let me bring in jim miklaszewski. when's the process now? when will he actually receive his medal? >> reporter: well, contessa, you know, i want to make the point here that you saw sergeant giunta stop at the point that the firing started and he is reluctant to talk about that. he's still somewhat troubled by what had happened and the fact even though he rescued one of his fellow soldiers, that soldier died with another soldier and when asked himself if he considers himself to be a hero he'll refuse to acknowledge that. and instead say it was those on the left and right who were the real heroes and all the u.s. service members in afghanistan who go out on the missions and encounter this kind of threat every day. as far as the award itself, or the honor, the medal of honor that

that's why we have to have a withdrawal date for the troops in afghanistan. according to bob woodward that's how the president feels. >> reporter: i wonder about the troops serving over there and those who have served there and made large sacrifices, what they think when they hear words like that. we are take being at face value that everything woodward says in the book is correct. for the president to put politics above victory, and he's very clear about that, it is about politics it has to be disconcerting as the ambassador suggested not just to our military people but to everybody in the united states. megyn: simon, apparently according to the book some of the president's own advisers have serious doubts about the president's afghanistan strategy. they say, for example, richard holbrooke his special representative for afghanistan/pakistan was quoted as saying. it can't work. there was push back on the president and the president basically sent the 30,000 troops to afghanistan because he was trying to pursue a strategy that the president really ultimately i

and what about the war in afghanistan? woodward's book gives vivid portraits of what he calls the veterans. the five blocks of granite lead by the brilliant general david petraeus, maneuvering against the new president to get a 40,000 troop surge in afghanistan and an open-ended commitment. the wary president battled them back. >> they said 40,000 and the president pushed them in the most direct way, i want options, you promised options. and he never got them. >> reporter: of all the things you learned, what surprised you the most? surprised you the most? >> that in many ways, this is the obama we don't know. he just says, without qualification, this has to be a plan for a handoff to the afghanis, and for us to get out of afghanistan. there can be no wiggle room. that is his bedrock conclusion. he wants out. he said, "i'm not doing 10 years. i am not doing never-ending nation building. i'm not going to spend a trillion dollars." >> reporter: what's the angriest he gets at the military? >> at one of the meetings, if i can q

>> you can't solve afghanistan unless you solve, ah, pakistan as well, for example. and, i think an envoy into a place like that can be very, very useful. >> with holbrooke, you clearly have support. with ambassador holbrooke, ah, you clearly have the support of the president and there is a particular utility because of the interrelationship of the afghan and pakistani issues, but separate countries so that one ambassador doesn't easily link. >> i think you'll see an increasing amount of traction on, ah, for our diplomacy on darfur because of the special envoy and because there's still so much interest in the united states in this question. >> we started out early... did you want to comment on that? >> i do want to comment, ah, very briefly on ambassador grossman's point. um, this, i'm hoping very much that we do get, ah, get traction on darfur. when the announcement of the administration's approach, ah, back in the, in the fall that, ah, they were going to, that we were in affect, urging the parties to the conflict to go home, was very controversial at the time that

has to abandon any efforts to eradicate him poppy fields in afghanistan what is really striking just recently the same approach has been replicated regarding the fight against corruption the main logic among the us decision makers who are trying to sabotage the general petraeus efforts in afghanistan is based on a false assumption that if you push too hard against the drug farmers or against the evident politicians they will be driven into the hands of the taliban nowadays the us foreign policy in afghanistan is completely torn apart by the turf battles between the different american agencies on the one side the cia provides the political cover for its corrupted and drug infested assets on the other side the d.a. and f.b.i. doing their best trying to overcome the resistance from that afghan president who also provides political cover and protection for he's warlords for his corrupted drug lords and cronies that's why the us president doesn't have the luxury to wait till december for the us afghan policy review. commemorations to mark six years since the best school seeds have begun i

. >> lehrer: through afghanistan. >> and then to the economy. we had to show the same kint of mettle and dedication and courage that they had shown here at home. we owed it to them to do it. but in answer to your question, jim, what did lincoln say at gettysburg? a little note the world won't long remember. he was excessively modest in his own words. i can't imagine that this speech will be learned by elementary school kids. >> lehrer: just to not pick up on that. david, the idea that the the president, you know, this is a war without surrender , ceremonies, and that we've had a lot of those. is he essentially saying we have to get used to that? this is the way modern wars will be ... have been and will be. is that something.... >> not necessarily true. i mean yugoslavia there was a winner and a loser. i'm not sure he's always right that. i guess he's right in this case because it will be decades before conflict and violence ends. i thought if was a sentence that's going to be remembered and that will be pulled out it will be the one where he ha

afghanistan is just not one of two wars. it is central to the global struggle against extremism and intoll rens. -- intolerance. the border of afghanistan that they share with pakistan is a virt wall command and control center where al-qaeda command and plan attacks against americans and allies. they must be resistent to the forces of extremism, and it must be resistent to becoming a potential safe-haven for terrorist organizations. i support our counterinsurgencey strategy in afghanistan. but the president must do more to emphasize his commitment to ensure success rather than focusing on an arbitrary deadline for withdrawl. and he also must place a greater emphasis on ensuring successful implementation of both the military and civilian components of his strategy. using campaign progress as yard sticks to measure projects and success in afghanistan runs the risk of triggering artificial spricktri laps and preem withdrawal dates unconnected to conditions on the ground. after years of hard fighting, are which has come at a hig

meanwhile, another threat to hamid karzai in afghanistan. mounting claims of fraud in this past weekend's parliamentary election almost on the scale of last year's tainted presidential election. so growing challenges here, both on the security front and on the political front, brian. >> thank you for all of it, john yang in kabul, afghanistan, for us tonight. >>> it has happened again, just south of the u.s. border in the fierce fight between the drug cartels and the mexican government. another journalist has been killed sending a chilling message about how journalist cover the dangerous and violent war on drugs. nbc's mark potter has been reporting exclusively on the war next door to the u.s. he has more tonight on this latest round and a deadly campaign of intimidation. >> reporter: at a dusty funeral over the weekend in juarez, mexico, local journalist mourn the loss of one of their own, an intern at the city's newspaper. 21 year old louise santiago, a photographer, was shot and killed in his car outside a busy shopping center in broad da

pledging to pull out troops out of afghanistan by next summer many fear the elections show the country is far from stable and still plagued by corruption archies paul the slayer is in kabul. by and large this was certainly not a successful day for afghan democracy it was an extremely ill voter turnout with some polling stations reporting that less than a quarter of the number of people turned out today compared to the number of people casting their ballot last year during the presidential elections the first results will come in next week wednesday with the final tape tally been tabled at the end of october but these certainly will be elections associated with violence more than a thousand polling stations where i'm able to open the doors are particularly in far flung rule communities where the taliban has strong control we've also heard the electoral complaints commission and it says it was the course of the day it received numerous reports on irregularities some of the complaints were by people saying that they saw election officials accepting bribes some of the reports were about th

troops pledging to pull out of afghanistan by next summer many fear of the election show the country is far from stable and still plagued by corruption argues paul the slayer is in the afghan capital. by and large this was certainly not a successful day for afghan democracy there was an extremely ill voter turnout with some polling stations reporting that less than a quarter the number of people turned out today compared to the number of people casting their ballot last year during the presidential elections the first results will come in next week wednesday with the final tape tally been tabled at the end of october but these certainly will be elections associated with violence more than eleven people were killed throughout the course of the day more than a thousand polling stations where i'm able to open the doors particularly in far flung rural communities where the taliban has strong control we've also heard some of the electoral complaints commission and it says that what the course of the day it was seemed to numerous reports on irregularities some of the complaints were by peo

but in afghanistan you can buy a pencil. it's not that's so important but education gives a child hope. you know, if you fight tear riz her rorism it's based in fear but the real enemy is ignorance that bleeds hatred. here in america, afghanistan, africa or pakistan. the way to overcome that i think is through education and also with having courage and compassion. instead of building walls we need to build peace and have the courage to do that. so i went back to pakistan in 94 and brought the school supplies and finally got to the village and the man was again there to greet me. he shook his head and said, chizle what the heck. not only had i come back, he said you've made two big mistakes. we don't start building before wintertime and if you really want to build school we're going to have to build a bridge first and i hadn't really thought about that. so i came back to america and raised 10,000 more dollars. and then i got back from tack stan and bridge got built and no school yet. i was 38 years old, die hard bachelor and

are americans about to fight the fight that will decide the war in afghanistan? >>> modern family. what do you think makes a family? surprising news today about what your neighbors believe. >>> and, losing weight. news today about another weight loss drug. dr. richard besser with the latest on what works and what doesn't. >>> and, climb every mountain. someone who shows us all how to win at life -- every single day. it's the american heart. >>> good evening. and it is right there behind me, the u.s. capitol. and 48 days now until the november congressional elections, which is shaping up to be a lively and crack ming political showdown. last night, tea party candidates scored huge wins in several states, up ending the predictions, and this morning, the democrats are marshaling forces. and on the republican side, karl rove is expressing surprise. jon karl is here tonight. good evening, jon. >> reporter: diane, the republican leadership is just stunned by what happened last night in delaware, and now they are scrambling to get control of a movement that seems to be taking over their p

nato in afghanistan. major supply apparently universe to the killing of its soldiers by . smaller nation. to empty seats at the close of the un general assembly raising questions over its ability to tackle global issues. hot of moscow this is welcome to the program the u.n. says a global opium production has dropped by nearly hoff this year however it's nothing to do with the war on drugs rather a puppy eating virus in afghanistan the world's largest exporter but the survey warns against celebrating any kind of victory over the killer crop opium prices have nearly triple the fields a still the same size the heroin producing harvest is the main source of income for taliban militants and they retain a stronghold in the drug rich southern provinces of afghanistan despite a massive nato effort on the drug issue is expected. because as. reports many afghan police.

has to abandon any efforts to eradicate him poppy fields in afghanistan what is really striking just recently the same approach has been replicated regarding the fight against corruption the main logic among the u.s. decision makers who are trying to sabotage the general petraeus efforts in afghanistan is based on a false assumption that if you push too hard against the drug farmers or against the evident politicians they will be driven into the hands of the taliban nowadays the us foreign policy in afghanistan is completely torn apart by the turf battles between the different american agencies on the one side the cia provides the political cover for its corrupted and drug infested assets on the other side they d. a and b. i doing the best trying to overcome the resistance from the afghan president also provides political cover and protection for he's warlords for his corrupted drug lords and cronies that's why the us president doesn't have the luxury to wait till december for the us afghan policy review. commemorations to succeed since the best school siege will get underway to on w

and i remember i told him i learned already it's not going to afghanistan the u.s. will try to dominate the whole region let's go back into history for a moment because you fought with proud of having fought with them what you had seen in afghanistan against the safe union how much do you know about links between the mujahideen and the cia at the time from the muslim perspective the war it's not against russia which is the exist country now it was against communism even the soviet union muslims they've been provoked because of communism you know it's problematic issue even in the. muslim countries in the west because you know communism used to be labeled like religion until you muslim christian or jew so it's very important like the ideological motivation how muslims they've been. like to go on fire there but i know it was within the context of the cold war between the soviets. union and the u.s. so the mujahideen and when they fought there if you take it from the ever going in perspective you know it's just a country being invaded and as i told you from a muslim pe

over there in afghanistan. does the u.s. have a reliable partner in hamid karzai? >> i think we do. >> really? why would you think that? >> president karzai has a first responsibility to the people of afghanistan. and he's operating not in a vacuum but in the context of the political realities there, and frankly in the context of the history, not so distant history when the united states after the russians pulled out of afghanistan also left. so there's a fear about how long we're going to stay. i think we try very hard to convince them, which we should, that we're committed to the fight, we're committed to afghanistan's security. remember, this is not a choice between the current government of afghanistan and a perfect afghan government. it's a choice between the current government in afghanistan and the taliban, the fanatical islamic extremists, depriver of right to women and children and all the rest. and so if that choice is simple, we ought to go with karzai, general petraeus i think is improving our relat

the united states continues to rely on warlords in afghanistan when when i heard about the mercenary force of three thousand well trained up guns i still there's one part of the story that is still missing and that is where these three thousand of gun volunteers for this mercenary army came from and i have no doubt about the answer to this question and that is they came and they were recommended by some of the warlords of course as you know there is a there's a problem of loyalty and enough to understand you cannot recruit people without knowing exactly where they coming from so most of this three thousand force must have come recommended from some of the warlords and these warlords are really milking the u.s. government and the u.s. military they're making a lot of money and of course we all know the story of what happened in toto back in november and in december two thousand and one when it was some of bin laden actually from tora bora thanks actually to the very allies of the u.s. military the of gone warlords who some of them according to reports took money and let many almost on

a nato helicopter dids down in afghanistan. 10 are dead. now the taliban is claiming responsibility. hello. here's what people are talking about in afghanistan. that deadliest helicopter crash in four years. ten nato troops are dead. we have the latest for wjz. >> reporter: ten troops were killed when a nato helicopter killed in this southern region of afghanistan. cbs news reports it was an american black hawk and that nine of the dead are americans, one an afghan soldier. it's the worst helicopter crash for coalition forces in four years. officials don't know yet what brought down the chopper. the taliban claims insurgents shot this down but nato says there were no reports of enemy fire in the area. sources tell cbs news the helicopter was flying a secret special operations mission in a taliban dominated region. these covert operations often take place under the cover of night, targeting insurgent leaders and find drugs and weapons. choppers are crucial for getting around this rugged country. already this year 525 u.s. and nato service me

forces in afghanistan. and the deadliest year for coalition forces since "operation enduring freedom" was launched. first, a random moment for new 90 seconds. my name is vonetta, and i suffer from allergies. [ male announcer ] we asked zyrtec® users what they love about their allergy relief, and what it lets them do. the thing i love most about zyrtec® is that it allows me to be outside. [ male announcer ] we bet you'll love zyrtec®, too -- or it's free. [ vonetta ] it is countdown to marshmallow time. [ woman laughs ] >>> going to hand it -- hand it -- you'll see what i mean. "random moment of the day," veterans of the irish dance group river dance. look at this. showing their as good with their hands as their feet. pull it up full. ♪ >> are you serious? suzann cleary and peter harding managed the choreography without so much as a smile. a short film and your "random moment for this tuesday." when our clients' needs changed we changed to meet them. through the years, when some lost their way, we led t

she's in afghanistan. >> reporter: it seemed impossible, flying over afghanistan today, to think that it has been nine years since 9/11. but, for some of the soldiers here, 9/11 is nearly half a lifetime ago. private parker wattson still has a baby face at 20, but he is a battle-hardened combat medic. when this war began, he was just a little boy. where you frightened? >> i was a little frightened at first but i was reassured by my parents that we'd be all right. >> reporter: as wattson watched the towers collapse, an even younger boy was there, running for his life. what do you remember about it? >> the booms. me and mom running down west side highway, to go across the brooklyn bridge. >> reporter: did you join the army then? >> then? not really. >> reporter: at 18, lee williams joined the army. today, he is proud to serve, like so many his age. i can't imagine you ever thought, "gee, i'll probably be over there fighting some day." >> i don't know, ever since then i kind of wanted to. >> reporter: captain alex haig was a college student in washington on 9/11. >> all my friends are se

forces sent into afghanistan by president obama were deployed last week. they're going to serve in eastern afghanistan, a remote region where the insurgency is very strong. this is a crucial test of mr. obama's surge strategy. our martha raddatz went to the front lines with the commanding general of american forces in that part of the country. >> reporter: for two days, we traveled with major general john campbell across vast stretches of countryside to some of the most remote and dangerous combat outposts in afghanistan. >> on top of the hill top is pakistan. they're hit with ten rounds of indirect fire yesterday. >> reporter: which is why, when we hit the landing zone, we are told to run. general campbell commands more than 30,000 soldiers, who see regular and sustained combat. some, just rushing back to reload when we arrive. it has been a bloody summer. when we visited general campbell in july, he had lost 27 soldiers. >> we've at least doubled what we had before. about 76 right now. >> reporter: so many soldiers that campbell can no longer carry the c

>> let's remember what we're doing in afghanistan. we're in afghanistan to deny al qaeda a renewed safe haven to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al qaeda and ensure the taliban is reversed. that is vital as al qaeda retains an ability to attack and attack the homeland. we can't allow that to hatch. it's a cold war, a difficult fight. but the president announced last year a new strategy that is designed to enable us to build up the afghan national security forces so that they can secure their country to build with the partnership of afghanistan to govern and deliver services to its people in a responsible fashion. that's our objective. and the president's strategy anticipates and plans on beginning a responsible conditions-based drawdown of u.s. forces next july. so this is not something that's going to be going on in my children's lifetime. this is, indeed, an effort to put first of all additional resources in, to security broader s.w.a.t.s of the country. we're making progress in that regard. and the aim is to transition authority and

is that why we're in afghanistan to sustain our global supremacy nowhere in afghanistan before because of nine eleven and nine eleven involved a horrendous crime against the american public and its cold for measures designed to make certain that that doesn't occur again. american role on the huge continent of your radio it's much more benign it involves alliances with some key countries it involves improvement in relations with some previous antagonists so it should not be confused with the operation in afghanistan which has a very specific historical motive and a very specific objective now i want to ask in an interview with a french magazine in one thousand nine hundred eight you called the covert funding of the mujahedeen prior to the former soviet union invasion an excellent idea according to their analysis of what you said the dismantling of the soviet union was to a degree more important than quote some stared at muslims and that you don't regret it do you stand by that statement now yes although that version of so-called interview was not really an interview the interview was an

afghanistan is a complex place. e we'rnot going to, quote, win even if we stay 10 years and spend a trillion dollars. but complexities are not easily explained on the campaign trail for the president in office. so it is a problem for a politician. if you believe in complexities, they're hard to explain. chris: the problem with the complexity here is it's somewhere in the middle and asking young men and women to die for a cause that's not worth staying the next year and a half for. we're going to leave so soon. >> that's why the book, i think, is damaging. it reveals a very divided process, not just by policy disagreement but by personal contempt among members and she's highly politicized process, political people involved in this process, which i think is a bad thing. and an ambivalent commander in chief and in afghanistan we have a patient, determined enemy and doesn't look like we a patient, determined president. >> it doesn't show the president was ambivalent but the opposite, the president welcomed a vigorous de

commander of the war in afghanistan warns the lives of u.s. troops could be endangered if the dove world outreach center goes through with its planned protest against what it calls, quote, the evil of islam. hundreds of afghans turned out yesterday to protest the plans. petraeus further cautioned that torching islam's holy writings would be a propaganda coup for the taliban in afghanistan and stoke anti-u.s. sentiment across the muslim world. >>> well, this morning's "usa today" reports that the u.s. military's new armored trucks are significantly reducing troop deaths in afghanistan. last year nearly 80% of insurgent bombings on humvees resulted in occupants being killed, but according to the new data, that figure dropped to 15% for attacks on the all-terrain vehicles known as mrap. the trucks, which are tailor-made for afghanistan's rugged terrain, are designed to shield people from roadside bomb blasts. humvees, the one-time workhorse vehicle of the military, have now been confined to bases in afghanistan in recent months. >>> and now here'

afghanistan. and dependence against an occupying power and in those circumstances they will do all they can and the occupying powers will do all they can to win the war. we are not doing very well in afghanistan and i think the afghans are entitled to their independence and i take it from afghanistan i think the vocal this week is a very important one because it's the first opportunity that the house of commons has had to have a. whether we should be in afghanistan or not if there was a substantial vote against the war then it would alter the whole argument about problems so i naturally. there is a big vote against the war in the house of commons. a u.s. soldier serving in iraq has been at the center of a scandal after posting a controversial clip on you tube sergeant dunson planted grenades in the columns of iraq as a check points and filmed the reaction of drivers as a prank but as artie's reports most who are can see nothing funny in his actions. manning a checkpoint all day must get boring whi

now, especially, in iraq and afghanistan. clearly, your air force provides global vigilance, reach, and how were like no other in the world create we all have much to be proud of, but the job of remain prepared for what the future holds will never end. from the doolittle raid through vietnam, the cold war, the gulf war, and today's fights, the u.s. air force has continued to evolves, incorporating new technologies and operational concepts, to meet emerging challenges. the air force we are building today and for the future is shaped by the broad stroke of potential threats and uncertainties in the global environment. from terrorist movements to a newly developing nuclear powers, from failed states and uncovered areas of the world to rising regional powers whose ambitions are unclear. it is also being shaped by the globalization of information and other technologies, and the rapid pace of technological change. for example, global commerce and security are increasingly dependent on the assured access to interconnected sovereign

the founder is a danish man who came to afghanistan in 2002. there are reports that he once lived with the mahajadine. he won't talk about that. he's rather focus on the kids. >> work on the circus, for circus, how is great thing than anything else. >> reporter: in the winter children come and start to practice, but it's in the summer that they start to perform. >> come the very first days. they're very conservative and it takes them like couple of days, three weeks and then you see how much self-confidence. singing classes, all this has made. >> reporter: he says the key to afghanistan's future is putting opportunities like this in the children's hands. >> those have been, adults think ignorance, know everything and want to teach the kids, but if you're open to the music it is all there. just ask them. they have all the resources. they can do it all. >> reporter: it's here where kids don't worry about war, poverty and politics. instead, they are jumping, juggling and swinging their way to what they hope is a brighter future. for cnn, kabul. >>

we will disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al qaeda while preventing afghanistan from again serving as a base for terrorists. and because of our drawdown in iraq, we are now able to apply the resources necessary to go on offense. in fact, over the last 19 months nearly a dozen al qaeda leaders and hundreds of al qaeda's extremist allies have been killed or captured around the world. within afghanistan, i've ordered the deployment of additional troops who, under the command of general david petraeus are fighting to break the taliban's momentum. as with the surge in iraq, these forces will be in place for a limited time to provide space for the afghans to build their capacity and secure their own future. but, as was the case in iraq, we can't do for afghans what they must ultimately do for themselves. that's why we're training afghan security forces and supporting a political resolution to to afghanistan's problems. next august, we will begin a transition to afghan responsibility. the pace of our troop reductions will be determined by conditions on the ground, and our support for afghanist

what can we win afghanistan could mark >> we definitely can win in afghanistan. there is a long way to go in iraq, but with the right tactics, leadership, and tragic, we see a good future for iraq. that se hope can be in afghanistan if we follow the direction complete the mission. general petraeus said he thinks he can stall the insurgency's progress or stop it relatively quickly, and then began to turn it back our way. will take a little time. our country and our people will require patients to get this done successfully. >> but long-term, if the goal is to -- if you push them to -- that will go to another country or another part of the world. >> i have been to iraq five times and three times to afghanistan. i think we have a long-term war against terror that is going to show up in different places and different times around the globe. we will have to get after it in different ways to stay vigilant and protect the security and protect the united states of america. what you see in afghanistan is a very troubling and challenging situation. we need to see that thro

this area here in afghanistan. and now the taliban, this is the home and an important base of operations for the taliban across southern afghanistan and they use this city to supply weapons to insurgeons in places like eastern afghanistan. it is a very violent and nasty place to fight but defeating the taliban there will be no easy task. when president obama sent additional troops to afghanistan the bulk of the 30,000 want straight to this area, that is how important it is and how violent and nasty a fight it is. talking to the u.s. commanders and politicians, they will tell you that is the one place that keeps them awake at night, a big concern. over the next few weeks and months we will get a sense of how the strategy is progressing based on the results in the imrowpdz right here. >> thank you from afghanistan, like. a disturbing confession on video, the centerpiece, really, of a military hearing. a u.s. soldier describes the random murder of innocent afghans killed for fun. so his one of five charged with premed