in both al basra and iraq. i think there are -- what you don't see anymore is large movement of shi'a militias. what you have now is militant groups that don't control areas but conduct attacks for self different reasons, and i think we have seen the militia empty -- militia units to move, and they do conduct attacks against both u.s. forces and iraqi security force and others, but their influence has been significantly reduced to what it was in 2007 and the beginning of 2008. >> to what extent is iran -- i think you mentioned briefly iran providing them training. so what extend -- i think you also mentioned iran providing weapons. what is the trend line on that now? >> i think it's less. what they have done, they appear to have targeted smaller organizations that continue to train inside of iraq, and train inside of iran, and come across with increased capabilities to conduct operations and attacks inside of iraq, and they're still provided munitions suchs a rockets. >> many of the sunnies would say, are they

how would you describe the insurgency inside iraq@@@@@@@@@ á coming back from iraq or overtime have been killed or captured. many criminals are now being used in order to attempt to try to conduct some of these activities and so it is a different understanding of those elements. over all i would just continue to emphasize the security around most of the country is fairly normal. and only a few places to we have serious incidents and many places life has returned to normal inside iraq. >> how do you see the combat support elements of the iraqi and today? read a largely dependent on the united states were increasingly independent? >> they are better but they are still not where the need to be to be completely independent. they still need our support. part of the area that is hurting the iraqis if tech to become a security force is to put a freeze on hiring based on their budget constraints and and nine, ten, and 11 is when they were supposed to build the csis and if they continue to have the freeze the want of the individuals to fill the position so that as part of the problem. we are work

iraq, mr. hermanson and he was recently electrocuted and so i have a couple questions for you, general. first, of all, was his facility inspected or were you only inspecting the facilities that the soldiers occupied? >> it was not inspected. what happens is that as a contractor it's the responsibility of the contractor to ensure they have adequate facilities, so we were not inspecting those facilities, however, since that incident we have sent task force safe over to first outline to all the contractors what's expected of them in terms of proper safety requirements and we've also offered them any assistance that they might need with task force safe to go look at all of their facilities to ensure they're in line with what we believe to be safe structures and look at all their facilities so make sure they're in line with safe structures. >> since we we knew we were havg trouble with contractors, why was the decision made to not inspect. >> i don't think we made conscious decision not to inspect.

and this is the big difrence between iraq and afghanistan. the rge happened in iraq. and when i sayiraq" i really mean ira the surge happened t years ago in iq and it was... was a gamble but the idea of we're going protect e people in iq and we're going changehe counrinsurgency strategy. we'll protect e people, we'll let the pple taste what stability feel like and tastes like and then th'll like it and try and preserv it for themselves. that was theç theory an it worked because the was a civil war going onin afghastan... inraq. there were peoe getting killed onhe streets of baghdad. we were stepping over bodies every single day. in afghanistanç there is no that situation. the taliban don botr most people. most of the tacks that are rried out on a daily basis are aimed at no forces a u.s. forces and afghan goverent forces. if y're an average pson living in the...in afghanistan, thealiban doesn't bother you. soor american fces to come in and sa "we are here to protect you," well what from what who? the taliban? wellthe taliban don't bother me. acally, sir, you,the a

remember, general david petraeus, the hero of the surge in iraq who is now the commander of iraq and afghanistan was diagnosed with prostate cancer and he had all of that rigorous therapy. i think he was out of the loop and that is why i think the mcchrystal memo got leaked. >> i have a different theory why it took so long. because ann and her friends had us in iraq looking for weapons of mass destruction when we should have been in afghanistan maybe about seven years ago, that might be why is took so long. >> as long as you mention it, i would like to take this opportunity to mention what a disaster it is to move the focus of the war on terrorism from iraq to afghanistan. we win in afghanistan when you didn't have all the muslim focusing on afghanistan. it is not a good country for our military power where we can dominate from the air. we can't do that in afghanistan with the mountains and the caves. >> geraldo: that is where the bad guys are. >> i think the problem is. >> that is why you want to keep them focused on iraq just as george bush was doing. >> i think you have a strategi

and iraq into the future but also the nature of the new iraq. our presence there 2011 provide psychological and physical support to the iraqi people, the government of iraq in the iraqi security forces. it provides the opportunity for different groups to build up their constituencies, to participate in politics, to form alliances and reach consensus. the level and nature of u.s. slinkys met with the iraqis will continue to change as the u.s. military draws down. iraq is making steady progress but as ale lung way to go. we must have strategic patients. through the framework agreement united states has a mechanism for supporting iraq to develop its institutionalist human capacity. success will be defined by our ability to support iraq developing capacity from governance to economics that will sustain the iraq's long-term stability. the iraqi security forces have made steady progress and our efforts over the next two and a half years will help solidify the foundation of a professional and competent iraqis security force. we must leave iraq with sec

and when i say "iraq" i really mean iraq. the surge happened two years ago in iraq a it was... it was a gamble but the idea of we're going protect the people in iraq and we're goinghange the unterinsurgency strategy. we'll protect th people, we'll let the pple taste what stability feel like a tastes like and then they'll like it and try and preserve it themsees. that was theç theory and it worked because there was a civil war going on in afghanistan... in iraq. there wereeople tting killed on the seets of bagad. weere steppin over bies every sile day. in afghanistanç, there is not that situation. the taliban don'tother most people. mostf the attacks that are carried out on a daily basis are aimed at nato forces and u.s forces and afghan government forces. if you're anverage person living in the.. in afghanistan, the taliban doesn't bother you. so for american forces to come in and say "we are here to you," we, what from what who? the taliban? well, the talan don'other me. actually, sir, you, the american, are the one who's targeted so if you could please leave your hse righ

and when i say "iraq" i really mean iraq. the surge happened two years ago in iraq and it was... it was a gamble but the idea of we're going protect the people in iraq and we're going change the counterinsurgency strategy. we'll protect the people, we'll let the people taste what stability feels like and tastes like and then they'll like it and try and preserve it for themsees. that was theç theory and it worked because there was a civil war going on in afghanistan... in iraq. there were people getting killed on the streets of baghdad. we were stepping over bodies every single day. in afghanistanç, there is not that situation. the taliban don't bother most people. most of the attacks that are carried out on a daily basis are aimed at nato forces and u.s. forces and afghan government forces. if you're an average person living in the... in afghanistan, the taliban doesn't bother you. so for american forces to come in and say "we are here to protect you," well, what from what who? the taliban? well, the taliban don't bother me. actually, sir, you, the american, are the one who's

they're trying to avoid another iraq. and you go back and look at the history of the decisionmaking on that and it gets about a d or a d-minus. vietnam, probably an f. and they're looking at this and they're saying now, wait a minute, let's really study it, let's look at what we want to do. now, they may come up with the wrong answer. the process of debate may be totally inadequate, but they're pausing. chris: let's look at a categorical bottom line question and we asked the matthew meter of 12 of our regulars, will the president send the additional 40,000 troops to afghanistan? you get a bottom line question out there and get a true divide, i hate these, 6-6, split on whether the president will or will not give general mcchrystal those 40,000 more troops. howard and katty, you're both in the meter and both of you say yes he'll give them the 40,000. >> it's important to say what are the 40,000 doing? it's important we have not just the biden plan and mcchrystal plan. there are ranges of options. some of these troops are m

troops scheduled to go to iraq are staying home. a unit based in ft. drum, new york, was supposed to relieve another combat brigade unit in january. military officials say iraqi security forces will be able to handle that patrol. getting political factions to compromise. >> reconciliation is a difficult business. they don't like each other, you have to get them to work together, get them to understand their futures are together. and then you have a bombing, which make it is even tougher. again, iraqi people have really signaled that they are really sick and tired of this stuff. >> yesterday's iraq security forces were the targets of militant attacks. at least nine people were killed. four soldiers died in an assault against an iraqi army convoy outside fallujah. in ramadi, a suicide bomber blew up a key highway bridge. the u.s. military used the bridge to transport equipment out of iraq. >>> a third person has died after taking part in a sweat lodge ceremony in arizona. liz newman died yesterday. ten days ago, she was among more than 50 people inside a

the first idea would be in afghanistan and iraq. progress was made in iraq through negotiations. we have not really tried negotiations with the taliban. they are tribal and all we talk about is using more force. that is recruiting more angry people for them. i would recommend to the administration that they try negotiation. that will not be easy but it is worth a try. if we could get a better resolution over there, that would save us billions. my biggest way to save money would be on the health-care debate. we spend more money on health care than any other nation. 75% of our money is spent on cancer, heart attack, stroke, and diabetes. all those are preventable through better diet and lifestyle changes and exercise. that is where the health care debate should be going is to prevention. $1 for prevention saves $5 in health-care costs. host: thank you very much. you are echoing some of the sentiments from dr. cosgrove. yesterday, the supreme court class photo was taken. this includes the new justice sonia sotomayor. the new session opens next monday. they have decided to hear a cas

that is what he did in iraq. he saw it wasn't enough no iraq. general mcchrystal as many other terrorists in 2005, 2006. it's not enough. general mcchrystal and general petraeus best field commanders think it's necessary. this should not be a difficult call. >> brett: juan, do you think it's possible could side with vice president biden and disregard or decide against general mcchrystal? >> yes, think he could. it would come at some tremendous political costs. the other political side of the equation that has been ignored in this conversation so far, is that most americans, while we want to win the war in afghanistan don't want to send more troops to afghanistan. this is true amongst republicans. the left in this countries obviously is very war weary but the right is war weary. some think it's republicans are critics of the president and wants to send more troops. that is not the case. without seeing any substantial progress in afghanistan come to the forefront instead of the question about fraud and even sort of a narco terrorist connection to

that is how al qaeda was defeated in iraq. their idea is in the absence of that weill definitely lose. however, mcchrystal is not guaranteeing success if you go to counter insurgency. >> taliban or al qaeda or both? the taliban had of that act cleaned up. they are not the no. 1 villain that they once were. to afghan women, they very well be. but one of the real political problems is this is eight years into this war and now we have a new strategy. when you have a new strategy eight years and a war, natural cynicism sets in, especially in the highest casualty mum's the of the entire eight years has been the preceding three months -- september, august, july. and i don't think -- there are two reactions. the troop morale is really at risk when there is nothing but indifference at home, which i think there is the case, when there is open resistance to the war and without the participation of the citizenry at large you really run the risk of debasing the military. >> the one problem with the iraq analogy is the election and afghani

they crossed iran's border in northern iraq three months ago. their families say they did it by mistake. >>> it's safe, spooky and for some the perfect way to spend halloween. horror movies have some people so hooked they just can't seem to get enough. so what exactly keeps these fear fanatics coming back for more?

troops scheduled to go to iraq are staying home. a unit faced in new york was supposed to relief another unit in january. military officials say iraqi forces will be able to handle the patrol. >> reconciliation is a tough business. i mean, i've been in some of these meetings with people. they don't like each other. you have to get them to work together, get them to understand their futures are together. then you've got a bombing which makes it even tougher. again, i think the iraqi people have really signaled that they are really sick and tired of this stuff. >> yesterday's iraq security forcesor were the targets of militant attacks. at least nine people were killed, four soldiers died in an assault against an iraqi army convoy. in ra mahdi, a suicide bomber blew up a key highway bridge. the u.s. military used the bridge to transport equipment out of iraq. >>> after spending nearly four months imprisoned in iran, a ""newsweek" reporter is free. he was arrested in the aftermath of opposition demonstration's protesting the reelection

they made a lot of iraq comments against the iraq war and we know that that liberated thousands of iraqs, women purpled, they had the purrle fingers. maybe code pink is moving a little code road. >> what happens when a left wing group and their left wing leader suddenly go away in terms of beliefs? what happens? is there an identity crisis? >> it is a positive thing that code pink is real idahoing that talibans are bad mothers. code pink has come around because the taliban subrogates women. they did during their reign but they also banned kites. you couldn't fly kites. they banned kites. who will speak for the kites, greg? general motorgreg. >> greg: that is an excellent question. nobody speaks for the kites. >> they are so underrepresented. >> jill, these people were northerlyally the queen of the crazy pants but suddenly they have common sense injuries should we cut them some slack or cut them something? >> i do give them credit for researching the topic for going there and finding out what the situation is and talking to people and then being able to admit you know what some of our pr

we have wars in iraq and afghanistan. hundreds of billion of dollars, that all going on our credit cards. our kids and our grandkids are paying for this. we need to be smarter where we deploy our resources. we need to have come up with a strategy that includes an exit strategy. because it will also put pressure on the government of afghanistan to step up to the plate, which it has not done so far. >> i think, he has the opportunity to be decisive in terms of our national interests in afghanistan and also in pakistan. the reality is, since 2003, when we shifted our priority to iraq, afghanistan has been a distant second priority. now, those resources are available to make it the main effort. and that we should do. he has now the opportunity to be decisive, to control the outcome in afghanistan and we can get the outcome that we deserve. >> he said that we're going to stay, if we stay, we cannot lose. what strategy, what tactics give us the best chance to carry out the mission and the mission has to be to stop the violence

we had this very dilemma in iraq. we didn't have enough troops. everybody thought malachi was a sectarian prime minister. the country wasn't governing itself. the security environment became terrible. the one thing i can tell you, if we don't add more troops, you're going to see more of what happened yesterday. the security situation's going to get worse. and any hope of better governance is lost and the taliban will re-emerge. if you send troops in, we'll have a second chance at governance. you need to put karzai's feet to the fire or the next government's feet to the fire to do a better job. but it's impossible to bring about better than governance without security. what we have in place now is not going to work. general mcchrystal tells us that. he needs reinforcements. i hope t president will send them and let us all work together for better governance, because the taliban are going to win if we don't change course soon. >> senator casey, wednesday the president met in the -- with his national security team in the situation room with all the m

forces out of iraq. on acquisition reform the conference report supports the plan to increase the size and acquisition work force and reduce reliance on contractors for acquisition functions. it eliminates waste, fraud, and abuse through better contract oversight. the bill also repeals the national security personnel system, returning employees to the general schedule over two years while providing additional flexibilities for hiring and personnel management. the conference agreement prohibits the release of guantanamo bay detainees into the united states, its territories, and possessions, and restricts detainee transfers until after the president has submitted a plan to congress. the conference report revises the military commission act to make them fair and effective and ensure that convictions stick. let me briefly address two difficult aspects of the conference report. first, i'm disappointed, so very disappointed we were not able to retain the houses' provision implementing the president's proposal

it is much more than general petraeus in iraq. it will be an interesting couple of weeks, because this decision must be made it pretty soon. this weekend, a group of senators were well versed in foreign-policy. it will be an interesting discussion about afghanistan, iran, and of things coming out of the geneva convention. shepard: thank you. in the morning, you get bret baier, next "fox news sunday." if you are pregnant, you will one -- want to stick around for our next story. the centers for disease control are released in new numbers about pregnant women who have contracted a 21 flu, including how many of them have not survived the virus. pregnant women are said to be very vulnerable to this. . [captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- shepard: we're tracking h1n1. the new statistic for the centers for disease control. the cdc says that 28 pregnant women across the united states have died after catching the virus. the agency says that 700 pregnant women caugh

restoring peace in the whole community of iraq. once we restored peace all around that country then we were able to move forward with having success. we saw stability in the government all of a sudden. we saw the people of iraq getting on board with us. right now in afghanistan, we have the same scenario. the theater is different, the contrasts are different. still, we've got to have sufficient troops under general mcchrystal's control to establish peace in that country. if we don't do that, then we'll never achieve success. >> do you believe, same question i asked before. do you believe the pakistan government, zardari's government, is really on our side against the taliban in afghanistan? they're against to their own taliban to some extent. are they really on our side? because historically that government has supported the taliban in afghanistan. >> well, i mean, obviously you've hit kind of the heart of this thing, chris, because you can't de-couple pakistan from afghanistan. we have got to have a commitment from the packs to pr

, it reminds us when president bush ordered the surge of troops in iraq. then senator obama voted against that. he wasn't very forthright in admitting the surge worked which it did. here he is dealing with a similar situation we are now in afghanistan dealing with the same problem in iraq. he didn't vote for the surge back then. what do you think he has learned that may vote differently, he has to make this decision. do you think he has learned from the past? >> well i hope he has. it's his war, it's his to lose or win. the fact is i believe in the final analysis his presidency will be based on that. if he doesn't win it, he is going to get credit for failure. he's got a good model. i did say afghanistan is a little harder because the educational level, it's more diverse and it's always been tribal and they weren't used from control from kabul, saddam hussein from iraq. it has opportunities for us and if we can drive them out of there and we've got to work pakistan because it's really the theater. that is why when he made his troop increase in march i thou

al qaeda didn't have a presence in iraq until we went into iraq and now we're there and look at the mess we're in. we need to get out of iraq and afghanistan and take care of things at home and work with the world community to stabilize that broader region. we cannot go it alone because we don't have the troops, we don't have the resources. we can't keep spending trillions on war and forget health care and job creation and retirement security and education here at home. >> are you convinced that we can protect this country without having a presence in afghanistan? >> absolutely. as a matter of fact, i'm convinced we'll be safer once we get out of areas where we'll starting to inspire insurgencies. the more we're there, the more civilians get killed. do you think if someone loses a member of their family that they are going to be a friend to the united states? we're creating enemies. the way you create friends is work with the wider region on matters of security. we can't police the world but we can be part of an effort to secure the world. >> what kind of reaction do you think president

troops from iraq. he even said he might, quote, accelerate the drawdown by early next year, if the iraqis have successful elections in january and if tensions, roughly speaking, are reduced. the general cautioned lawmakers to have strategic patience and to not expect a complete withdrawal before the december 2011 deadline. but progress is progress and now our military families are wondering if the troops really do get to come home or if they just get moved to america's other war in afghanistan, a war that's about to start it's ninth year. progressive. call or click today. today's stay six of the finance committee's mountain moving toil to consider the 500 amendments to the health insurance bill. warren hatch put in an amendment that was meant to doubly restrict abortion coverage in the bill. olympia snowe joined the opposition to defeat senator hatch's amendment. it would have required women to buy extra insurance for abortion services. you know that women plan ahead of time to have lots of abortions,

troops for iraq. when he expects that will happen. >>> and the justice department is backing off of medical pot users who comply with state laws. here's the question is the obama administration too mellow on medical marijuana? i'm brooke baldwin. we're hearg from a family member of a missing 7-year-old florida girl who says it is like a bad dream. a massive search is under way in o orange park for 7-year-old somer thompson. officials are asking everyone to be on the lookout. look at this picture with me. the 2nd grader vanished walking home from school yesterday. she was with other kids but ran ahead because they were teasing her. her grandmother broke into tears talking to reporters. >> she's such a sweet child. she has never met a stranger. that's the hardest thing you know. to tell them there's dangers out there. she's just very sweet. just a very very sweet child. very innocent. everything. everything. it's been a roller coaster. we cope hoping to hear something. they're not telling us much. >> is

troops scheduled to go to iraq are staying home. a unit based in ft. drum, new york, was forced to relieve another unit this coming january. but military officials say iraqi security forces say they will handle that patropatrol. >> the reconciliation is a tough business and i've been in some of these meetings with people, you know, they don't like each other and you have to work, get them to work together and get them to understand their futures together and then you have a bond that makes it even tougher. again, i think the iraqi people have really signaled that they are really sick and tired of this stuff. >> yesterday iraq security forces were the targets of militant attacked. at least nine people were killed and four iraqi soldiers died in an assault against a convoy just outside of fallujah. in ramadi a suicide bomber blew up a key highway bridge. they used that bridge to transport equipment out of iraq. >>> the balloon boy hoax. what it could cause falcon henne's family and what it did cost emergency service agencies. >>> plus

all i know is we ended up going to war with iraq after all the sanctions. sanctions didn't stop two wars with iran -- with iraq rather. we went to war with afghanistan. we go to war. it seems like in the end that's what everybody's talking. >> chris -- >> would you go to war with iran? i'm asking both of you, would you ever support an american strike on iran? congressman rogers first, would you ever support one? >> don't ever say ever. you should never take it off the table. i think there are a lot of great things we can do before that's an option, but you can't take it off the table or you stop them from coming to the negotiations. >> so you're using war as a threat? >> i'm using sanctions as a threat. you're using war as a threat. >> i'm asking you. >> i'm saying leave it on the table. i'm just saying, there's a whole panoply of things you have put on the table. a military strike has to be one you would consider. doesn't mean what you're advocating for. i don't think ms. sanchez or myself would say that. >> i think this two weeks is a stupid thing to argu

so he made a decision which turned out to be the right decision in iraq. it took him four months to do so. it ended up helping, not being the only reason. there were other reasons but helping a more successful outcome in iraq. so i think... and by the way, general mcchrystal himself, people ignore what general mcchrystal is now saying. give deliberative process a chance. he supports look at the strategy which was in place in march but things have changed since march including that election in afghanistan which has had significant fraud. >> schieffer: let me just ask you this, senator. i think everybody would wish that we had more afghan troops that you can surge there. but where are they? i mean, they would have to be trained. i mean they're not there. if they were, i'm sure they would surge them. where do you get these afghan troops? >> you get them by sending in a lot more trainers, 2,000-3,000 more trainers including from nato countrys that have that responsibility. by the way just take a look at the equipment of the afghan army. we do not have in place

forces out of iraq. on acquisition reform the conference report supports the plan to increase the size and acquisition work force and reduce reliance on contractors for acquisition functions. it eliminates waste, fraud, and abuse through better contract oversight. the bill also repeals the national security personnel system, returning employees to the general schedule over two years while providing additional flexibilities for hiring and personnel management. the conference agreement prohibits the release of guantanamo bay detainees into the united states, its territories, and possessions, and restricts detainee transfers until after the president has submitted a plan to congress. the conference report revises the military commission act to make them fair and effective and ensure that convictions stick. let me briefly address two difficult aspects of the conference report. first, i'm disappointed, so very disappointed we were not able to retain the houses' provision implementing the president's proposal

yeah. >> and we are getting out of iraq. and, you know, i wrote and i've said that i did think the olympics thing was a -- was a bad gamble, and i didn't think they were ever going to get it. >> you knew more than daly knew. let me ask -- let me go back to chuck, because i think it's a great question. when you covered the white house these days, do you get a sense that they feel the pressure from -- well, "saturday night live." because it is, in fact, not only the indicator, but a good example of sort of the zeitgeist, sense of the times that this will work as a cult open. >> well, let me say this. they know -- they believe that if they sign a health care reform bill, in the next couple of months, that that will be -- that will be one of these big accomplishments that will serve as a morale booster to the base. this is as much about democrats feeling like, geez, we're trying to do all these things, let's get something done. let's put something in the done box. the to do list is very long. but you've got to get something big

troops scheduled to go to iraq are staying home. a unit based in ft. drum, new york, was supposed to relieve another brigade in january, but officials say iraqi security sforss will be able to handle that patrol. one lingering challenge is to get iraq's political factions to compromise. >> reconciliation is a tough business. i mean, i've been in some of these meetings with people. they don't like each other. you have to get them to work together, get them to understand their futures are together. and then you've got a bombing which makes it even tougher. again, i think the iraqi people have really signaled that they are really sick and tired of this stuff. >> yesterday's iraq security forces were the targets of militant attacks. at least nine people were killed, four soldiers died in an assault against an iraqi army convoy. a suicide bomber blew up a key highway bridge the u.s. military uses to transport equipment out of iraq. >>> after spending nearly four month imprisons in iran, a "newsweek" reporter is free on bail. he holds both iranian and canadi

is it making a difference in iraq's economy? jane: all lot of retailers are gearing up for an old-fashioned christmas. why? jon: the man accused of plotting a terror attack in dallas is in federal court now. here's an update for you from the breaking news desk. >> we are about 90 minutes away from hearing what exactly will happen with him. some chilling details are coming out. accused of trying to blow up a downtown dallas skyscraper. he is telling people that he wanted to hit the current the weak economy in the state and the american nation. he wanted to cause psychological impact. the face of a young terrorist suspect. normally when these things are foiled, they happen before a suspected criminal would get their hands on the bomb and the trigger mechanism to do it. not this time this guy did not know that he had been identified through extremist web sites. he was dealing with a fake bomb situation. there he sat in a truck outside of this dallas skyscraper, called on a cell phone to trigger it, wondering why it did not blow up.

it's bigger than iraq, ill-gore verned and even 40,000 nor troops won't be enough troops to practice a proper counter insurgency in that large of an environment and ungovernable place. how do you respond to that? afghanistan, first of all, is governable and throughout history, throughout recent history has been governed with the exception of the past 30 years. when afghanistan has been torn by civil war. in order to succeed with the counter insurgency strategy, what we need to do is to protect the population of afghanistan, from the campaigns of intimidation, and campaigns of assassination, that the taliban is engaged in and in critical areas, by critical areas, i mean those that are important to the taliban, those that are important to the government and those that are important to us. so, in order to secure afghanistan, we have to generate population security, but we don't have to generate it across the whole country. we need to generate it in the areas where the insurgency is real and where basically tribes have historically supported the government or historically been anti-talib

they hiked across the border in northern iraq three months ago. their families say they did it by mistake. >>> fishing no longer means the same thing as fishing with a rod and reel. these days fishing is really just another way to try and steal your money. but our money expert general ter westhoven is looking out for you. >> there's a new scam out there that i want you to be careful of. you have heard the headlines about banks failing and that can be pretty scary. the fdic is warning you might get an e-mail that looks innocent, the subject line session check your bank deposit insurance coverage, if you see that, don't even open it, delete it, it is not from the fdic, it's from the bad guys. the e-mail basically says type in your information here and you can check and see if your money is safe, if it's insured. that sounds good, they don't really mean safe, they mean safe from them. phishing attacks tripled from may to secht according to ibm. just getting a hold of your e-mail account and password they can find ways and maybe even worm into our ban

should we be sending the troops from iraq to afghanistan? >> i sent a letter to the president several days ago, giving him the benefit of my thought and analysis on afghanistan, and i'm of the opinion that at the end of the day he should heed the request of the commander who's there on the ground. i've never heard of a war where you withhold your troops from doing the best they can if you have the ability to do it, and we have the ability to do it. >> that's one take. congressman, pat buchanan. >> if the president does not heed the advice of general mcchrystal and does not send troops and follows more of the biden plan, what do you think happens in afghanistan? >> according to general mcchrystal, there's the possibility of failure. failure means the taliban eventually creates another safe haven for al qaeda, which, of course, that whole area is the epicenter of terrorism in the world. it could spell some pretty unpleasant things for our country and our allies. >> congressman skelton, thank you very much for being on the show this morning. th

that's what we learned in iraq. let me give you one data point. the history of successful reconstruction efforts throughout the last 50 or 60 years, the average ratio of forces to u.s. local occupation, there are 50 local civilians. in baghdad in 2003, the ratio was 700 to 1. we were invisible. ultimately with the surge strategy in iraq, the reason it was successful, we decided we would protect the civilians and we would have the forces to do it. we don't have the forces to protect the civilians and get them onboard and working with us, we don't have the forces. >> but to the western border of ira iran, this is iraq over there. can you still look at the map and see as we have all the iran conversations, and we are not having one right now, they find themselves between afghanistan and iraq and a lot of u.s. forces. how is it that you institute that surge, and you have the situation in iraq and don't have that entire region. again, israel just west of iraq for that matter desolve in total responsibility being borne by u.s. military forces -- >> well

all i know is we ended up going to war with iraq over all of the sanctions. sanctions didn't stop two wars with iran -- with iraq rather. we went to war with afghanistan. we go to war. it seems like in the end that's what everybody's talking. >> chris -- >> would you go to war with iran? i'm asking both of you, would you ever support an american strike on iran? congressman rogers first, would you ever support one? >> don't ever say ever. you should never take it off the table. i think there are a lot of great things we can do before that's an option, but you can't take it off the table or you stop them from coming to the negotiations. >> so you're using war as a threat? >> i'm using sanctions as a threat. you're using war as a threat. >> i'm asking you. >> i'm saying leave it on the table. i'm just saying, there's a whole panoply of things you have put on the table. a military strike has to be one you would consider. i don't think ms. sanchez or myself would say that. >> i think this two weeks is a stupid thing to argue about. let me ask you, if the president

i said we'd be out of iraq. are we? not the last time i checked. i said i'd make improvements in the war in afghanistan. is it better? no, i think it's actually worse. how about health care reform? hell no. >> margaret coughlin is a columnist for bloomberg news and joins us now from washington. margaret, thanks so much. robert gibbs has just said at the white house that one of the options for afghanistan that they are not considering is leaving. so, clearly, maybe they are treading toward a middle option but not withdrawing from afghanistan. what else do you see as the sort of aftereffect of this very public and somewhat disturbing debate with the military over what to do? >> well, i -- i take what robert gibbs said and say there were different ways to leave. you can characterize it as doing less. you can characterize it as moving off the counterinsurgency into counterterrorism. i suspect that using various reasons, one being the -- president karzai's election and the narco trade continuing and all of that as a way of saying we are not going to do

they feel that the country got very angry at george bush for seeming to rush to war in iraq, and they don't want to do that again, even though they were the ones who said they were going to get serious about afghanistan. they want to make sure they've got it right. i think there's probably more public support for that than we think. people know that lives are at stake here. but getting the strategy right, i think, chris, something really important happened this week, which is that the president himself took the extreme option of walking away from afghanistan off the table. he essentially said the approach that my own vice president has been privately advancing, this idea of focusing on counterterrorism, using the predators to zap al qaeda, we're not going to do that. in other words -- >> well, i'm not so sure that's fair. i think bide epi's position, -- bide-'s position, in the pull out and hold, not to go back the other way. >> there was an argument that we should have a much more restrictive counterterrorism approach here, whether it's biden or somebody else. but essentially the pre

this is like iraq this whole process. saddam hussein was brilliant in winning over some allies, he was showing that he would give in on certain elements and extending the whole process. that's where so far maybe iran is doing. say, look, if we have a hard core chance russia has no chance to go along with the u.s. if we gives they have a viable out. gretchen: remember when they were dolling out the first billions with the tarp money to the banks, the banks that absolutely could not fail? two of the key players in that ben bernanke, the head of the federal reserve and henri paulson, you see them on your seen there. now, the government agency that overlooks exactly how this all went down is saying that possibly they had more information, surprise, surprise, about the health of these banks when they issued this bailout money. in other words, they gave the u.s. the impression all of us as americans, that these banks were pretty healthy for the most part and they just needed a little injection of $787 billion. now it turns out

her son, casey, was killed in iraq in 2004. those arrested were given tickets and released. >>> the top u.s. commander for wars in the middle east was treated for cancer. the pentagon says general david petraeus was diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer in february. the radiation treatment covered several months is considered a success. his office says it did not affect his work schedule much. petraeus kept all of this private although key administration officials knew about it. >>> keytyler perry is sharing a painful past with his friends. on a letter in his website, he shares a troubled childhood in new orleans. he wants to share the story after watching a screening of the film "precious." it's about a 16-year-old girl that's physically and emotionally abused. >>> here's something that surprised us. in eight states in washington, d.c., insurance companies can use domestic violence as a pre-existing condition to deny health coverage. that's according to a study by the national women's law center. some lawmakers say this i

soldier was killed yesterday in a car accident in northern iraq. military officials say that two other troops were injured. the crash is under investigation. 4,350 military personnel have died in iraq since the war started six years ago. >>> justice sotomayor is sharing behind the scenes dirt about experiences the day she became a member of the supreme court. as a reunion this weekend she told fail oh yale law school alumni her nomination process was so tightly scripted what she wore to her acceptance ceremony was chosen for her. she was told to bring five students and one would are recommended. >>> a connecticut football player and soon to be dad was stabbed to death on campus. here's rafer with more on that story. what a shame. >> a very sad story. police still looking for the suspect or suspects who stabbed and killed 20-year-old jasper howard on campus. this incident occurred as a school-sanctioned dance outside of the student union with campus police there. police say someone pulled a fire alarm in the building, there was an altercation outsid

troops from iraq. he said he might, quote, accelerate the drawdown by early next year if the iraqis have successful elections in january and if tensions broadly speaking are reduced. general odernero cautioned lawmakers to have a patience and not to expect a complete withdraw before the deadline. progress is progress. the military families are left to wonder if the troops do come home or if they get moved to america's other war in afghanistan, the war that's about to start the ninth year. >>> today is day six of the senate finance committee's mountain moving toil. to consider 500 minutes of health reform bill, the finance committee considered an orrin hatch amendment that was meant to doubly triply restrict abortion coverage in the bill. olympia snowe joined the opposition to defeat senator hatch's amendment. it will require women to buy extra insurances for abortion services. you know how everyone plans really long time in advance to have lots of abortions? senator stabenow put it distinctly. >> with

iraq. and i've been -- i've had a lot of doctor's appointments with the va for the past two years trying to get my disability. and, you know, trying to make a better life for my children after this. but i felt helpless because i wanted to run and grab -- and find her myself. you know, i wanted to get on my hands and knees and crawl to florida. but i didn't have the means or the transportation. and, you know, right after that, as soon as everybody in my community found out, they came straight to me. trinity baptist church -- >> did you make it there? >> yes, i made it here to florida. >> you're there. in fact, you're joining me now from jacksonville. >> that's right. >> what are cops telling you? i mean, it all happened so fast. and you and your wife were doing everything right. she was not alone. it was broad daylight. she was with a group of little friends and she just ran ahead. that was it. boom, she's gone. >> you know, whoever did this had to be watching and waiting for his moment, bec

iraq and afghanistan. >>> we'll be right back. >>> wooebl be right back. (announcer) every business day, bank of america lends nearly 3 billion dollars to individuals, institutions, schools, organizations and businesses in every corner of the economy. america. growing stronger. every day. crime in new york city has dropped 27% since 2001. response times in madrid... ...have been cut by 25%. cities all over the world are getting smarter... ...and safer. every time an emergency happens... ...data is generated. smarter cities fight crime... fires... flu outbreaks... ...by capturing the data. detecting the patterns. sharing it across departments. ...responding to emergencies... ...even preventing them. making cities safer. that's what i'm working on. i'm an ibmer. let's build a smarter planet. >>> th >>> the sunday funnies took a look at that olympic bid. >>> there is no better way for the international olympic committee to shed its reputation for corruption. because next to chicago, nobody looks corrupt. >>> sarah palin's 400-page memoir, it starts out okay,

joining them was a soldier who was blinded while serving on the front lines in iraq. >> i think about how fortunate i am to still be here. feeling pain let me know that i am still alive. >> he completed his third army 10-miler in 30 minutes. there were also shadow races in iraq and afghanistan. >>> great day for football and running, but will the kids need a jacket at the bus stop? steve rudin joins us with the answer. i think it is yes? >> we have cooler air on the way, but tomorrow, not so bad. the temperatures will fall into the 40's. 57 degrees leesburg, 57 gaithersburg -- 50 gaithersburg. the clouds are rolling in. the forecast tonight from the belfort furniture weather center, partly cloudy skies, temperatures in the 40's. 50's and closer wntown. coming up, the showers and the cool down on the way. >>> coming up -- a state of emergency in california as wildfires burned out of control. we have the very latest. and energy plant or a cover for developing nuclear weapons? new details about efforts to get inspectors inside the iranian facility. and rescuers searched for survivors aft

i said we would be out of iraq. are we? not the last time i checked. i said i would make improvements in the war in afghanistan. is it better? no, i think it's actually worse. how about health care reform? hell, no. >> well, some are asking, does "saturday night live" open the door for other comedians to poke fun of the president, or for republicans to take advantage? keith boinkin is editor for the daily chief. thank you for joining us. we can go through a list of things the president has accomplished, so let's talk about what's out there. did "saturday night live" hit a nerve, because they say it's funny because it's true? >> well, yes and no. i think it's funny. i agree with you on that. but at the same time, i think that it's a little bit unfair, because there's only been nine months of this administration. i worked in the clinton administration, and in the first nine months, he was not able to accomplish half of what i think president obama has been able to accomplish. he tried to put together a stimulus package for $19 billion. he wasn't able to