we set up kabul dreams. soon will be releasing our first album. -- we will be releasing our first album. >> with afghanistan plunged into political turmoil, all three band members come from neighboring countries, and they were influenced by the western music they heard there. >> we are from different ethnicities in tibet. i am uzbek, he is pashtun. we sing in english to show that afghanistan is not just a war- torn country. >> the lyrics say so. they are written deliberately in english. the band say it is important to counter the claims of nationalism in their country. kabul dreams have been together for just one year, but they are making an impact in the region with a concert in india. >> identity is important for us. identity has always been misused, and this is a good message for afghan years. we want to be known as afghan. -- this is a good message for afghan youth. >> the message of the band could come from the 1960's. peace and love. >> in our songs, we use words of love and peace which does not necess

we set up kabul dreams. soon will be releasing our first album. -- we will be releasing our first album. >> with afghanistan plunged into political turmoil, all three band members come from neighboring countries, and they were influenced by the western music they heard there. >> we are from different ethnicities in tibet. i am uzbek, he is pashtun. we sing in english to show that afghanistan is not just a war- torn country. >> the lyrics say so. they are written deliberately in english. the band say it is important to counter the claims of nationalism in their country. kabul dreams have been together for just one year, but they are making an impact in the region with a concert in india. >> identity is important for us. identity has always beenmisusedd message for afghan years. we want to be known as afghan. -- this is a good message for afghan youth. >> the message of the band could come from the 1960's. peace and love. >> in our songs, we use words of love and peace which does not necessarily refer to girls

of creating instability there, while gates said tehran is appealing to both kabul and the taliban. >> lehrer: then, the terrorist charges against the american woman who calls herself jihad jane. >> ifill: the administration escalates its criticism of the health insurance industry. >> over the last year, we've seen tens of millions of dollars by the insurance industry spent on ads and lobbyists to help kill health reform. >> lehrer: we'll have a debate between the insurance industry and one of its leading critics. >> ifill: ray suarez looks at the challenges facing haiti's government, as its president visits washington. >> lehrer: jeffrey brown reports on climate science under fire. >> ifill: and kwame holman reports on the hundreds of world war two pots-- all of them women-- honored at the capitol today. >> we were never in there for the glory. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: y >> every business day, bank of america lends nearly $3 billion to individuals, institutions, schools, organizations and businesses i

the afghan students in kabul challenge me about my outreach program. i love it. this is the new afghanistan. there is the proficiency of english language. that is a very good question. it will be hard to know what to do with it. i think we are dealing with three types of taliban. first is the taliban with the capital "t." those are the members that have been affiliated with al qaeda and terrorist networks in the region for a long time. smucker, 5%, probably. 10% maximum. with this group, what we should do is try to split them from al qaeda and from the intelligence agencies in the region that are supporting it. or we can eliminate it. there is no middle ground. the engagement should be two natured. you split them and bring them into the fold or fight them. if they do not split, it goes against everything they afghanistan for. you have another 30% of the taliban that are basically a paycheck taliban, melissa. they do. -- militia. they do a lot of fighting because they get paid or because they have been antagonized by our own government. they have complained about

beaver, i want to ask you about the kabul power plant. my time will expire but will have a later round will pick it up there. the public has kind of nickname did the white elephant of kabul. i want to see if it lives up to that characterization. i know you're proud of the plant, i can do is proud of the plant. just now being completed i'm sure it will make a contribution, but i want to look at its sustainability. this is the first thing that's been in public since sigar published two very important reports, one on the 20th of january, just about this play, and one of the 15th about energy in afghanistan generally. let's start with a sustainability. a id take to make this plant something costly, and i would say wildly overambitious, by making it a dual fuel plant that runs it on diesel fuel, which is that you of afghanistan, that's natural. or heavy fuel oil for which there is no distribution network in afghanistan. heavy fuel oil is much harder to use. it is lower quality, leftover fuel. it needs far more technical skills than the afghans

el aviÓn presidencial habÍa aterrizado y obama fue llevar a kabul. >> no intenciÓn es que los afganos tengan la capacidad de probar su propia seguridad. estamos orgullosos de lo que han logrado hasta ahora. >> esperaba que la sociedad continÚe estable y podrÁ avanzar hacia el futuro. >> a pesar de la cordialidad, funcionarios americanos dijeron que obama presionarÍa. >> el principal o retiro del presidente era tener una actualizaciÓn sobre la guerra. la visita fue muy corta. >> herido y caminando con dificultad se la vio por primera vez al soldado clavo. >> el soldado bajÓ del helicÓptero apoyado en un improvisado bastÓn de madera recibiÓ la herida que recibió cuando fue secuestrado. . su hermana y su padre. >> llegÓ desde el cautiverio. >> la senadora piedad cÓrdoba, informÓ que le avisaron achacar de vuelos no autorizados en la zona de vuelo. >> abriÓ los de las seis hasta las nueve de la maÑana. >> podemos decir que aquÍ hubo todo el compromiso de las fuerzas militares y una operaciÓn impecable. >> personalmente les dije que colombia no quiere mÁs guerras. no estam

kucinich: and previous to that, "the post" did a story about money in a kabul bank to individuals, friends, family, business connections of hamid karzai. and when you consider the amount of corruption that's going on in afghanistan can only be called charitable crony capitalism. "the washington post" in an article said signs of crony capitalism. i ask unanimous consent to put this in the record. the speaker pro tempore: so ordered. mr. kucinich: and as a result, u.s. taxpayers and aid organizations are investing billions of dollars in afghanistan, but the leaders of the country are investing in real estate in dubai. we care about democracy. try building democracy in a place which is rife with narcotraffic, crony capitalism, villas in dubai. what is this about? why are we there? i'm from cleveland, ohio. the people i represent are very basic people. when you tell them that the head of afghanistan has his hands in all these crooked deals you start to wonder, we're going to build a democracy on this person's shoulders? i don't think so. we're supporting a government where corruption is epidem

and so the conversations in kabul were a continuation of that. i met with under members of the government as well. did not have a chance to get out of town, but i spent a lot of time at general mcchrystal and ambassador eikenberry. finally, in pakistan, extensive discussions with the president, prime minister gilani, leader of the opposition but was sharif and general kai ani and his senior colleagues. that's all i will continue. my next trip to the region will be with admiral mullen. together we did this just under a year ago. i think some of you in this room were on that trip and admiral mullen and i try to do about one civ-mil trip a year. and that trip will include indiana. the last point, p.j. and i had hoped today bring the fbi director with me, bob mueller who just came back from an important trip to afghanistan and pakistan. he had a conflict and i apologize if there's interest, maybe we can bring him over at another time. i would recommend p.j., that you consider that. i think mohler strip. p.j. and i heard a detailed discussion by him t

beaver, i want to ask you about the kabul power plant. my time will expire but will have a later round will pick it up there. the public has kind of nickname did the white elephant of kabul. i want to see if it lives up to that characterization. i know you're proud of the plant, i can do is proud of the plant. just now being completed i'm sure it will make a contribution, but i want to look at its sustainability. this is the first thing that's been in public since sigar published two very important reports, one on the 20th of january, just about this play, and one of the 15th about energy in afghanistan generally. let's start with a sustainability. a id take to make this plant something costly, and i would say wildly overambitious, by making it a dual fuel plant that runs it on diesel fuel, which is that you of afghanistan, that's natural. or heavy fuel oil for which there is no distribution network in afghanistan. heavy fuel oil is much harder to use. it is lower quality, leftover fuel. it needs far more technical skills than the afghans

they are being escorted by afghan narcotics police and will be taken to kabul for prosecution. one of them has direct connections to the taliban. shutting down the taliban narco insurgency is a primary mission for the dea. the two detainees were captured with the help of the assist yan regional director for the dea in this part of the world. you are out there with the niu, the afghan counterparts and u.s. marines. what is going happen to the two detainees? >> once the detainees are back in kabul, they will be transported to the counter narcotics justice center. an afghan led facility and they will stand trial there before afghan judges with afghan attorneys. >> one had evidence linking him directly back to the taliban? >> yes, one individual had a taliban video in his cell phone. >> i'm oliver north for fox news. >> geraldo: thank you, sir. coming up, what do i'm at the doctor getting my shoulder looked at. as we're finishing up, i mention i'm going to the bathroom more often. he checks it out. good thing. turns out... my urinary symptoms -- such as going frequently, trouble go

reporter: while gates was in the countryside, the president of iran, mahmoud ahmadinejad, arrived in kabul. there was no explanation given, but gates acknowledged the timing was odd. >> it's certainly fodder for all conspiratorialists. but i told president karzai, we think afghanistan should have good relations with all of its neighbors, but we also want all of afghanistan's neighbors to play an upfront game in dealing with the government of afghanistan. >> reporter: earlier this week, gates accused iran of "playing a double game"-- apparently seeking good relations with the afghan government, while also backing taliban fighters. today, ahmadinejad met with president hamid karzai in kabul, and he turned gates' charge around. >> ( translated ): they are playing a double game. they themselves created terrorists and now they're saying that they are fighting terrorists. this is not possible. they cannot do it. >> reporter: amid the war of words, there was more violence on the ground. a suicide truck bomber killed five afghan troops at a base in paktika province. and the taliban claimed respons

they are being escorted by afghan narcotics police and will be taken to kabul for prosecution. one of them has direct connections to the taliban. shutting down the taliban narco insurgency is a primary mission for the dea. the two detainees were captured with the help of the assist yan regional director for the dea in this part of the world. you are out there with the niu, the afghan counterparts and u.s. marines. what is going happen to the two detainees? >> once the detainees are back in kabul, they will be transported to the counter narcotics justice center. an afghan led facility and they will stand trial there before afghan judges with afghan attorneys. >> one had evidence linking him directly back to the taliban? >> yes, one individual had a taliban video in his cell phone. >> i'm oliver north for fox news. >> geraldo: thank you, sir. coming up, what do >> geraldo: you are looking live at the house rules committee working to clear the healthcare bill for that big vote, that historic vote by the entire house tomorrow. fox news senior producer is on the house from the phone

presidencial habÍa aterrizado en el campo al norte de la capital afgana y fue llevado en hericÓptero a kabul. >> estados unidos es un socio en este conflicto, pero nuestra intenciÓn es que tengan la capacidad de proveer su propia seguridad. >> por su parte, dijo que esperaba que la sociedad continÚe en el futuro hacia un afganistÁn estable, fuerte, pacÍfico que pueda sostenerse a sÍ mismo, avanzar hacia el futuro. >> pero a pesar de la cordialidad del encuentro, funcionarios estadounidenses dijeron que barack obama presionarÍa para que lance medidas contra la corrupciÓn y combata el trÁfico de drogas. >> el gobierno estadounidense ha tenido una relaciÓn irregular durante los Últimos 14 meses. la que alcanzÓ su punto mÁs bajo durante una disputa de tres meses por la elecciÓn el aÑo pasado. esta visita del presidente barack obama fue muy corta. de hecho ya abandonÓ el paÍs. [♪mÚsica♪] >> en instantes: lo que ocurriÓ cuando las farc dejaron en libertad a uno de sus rehenes. >> el objetivo de las redadas que el fbi realizÓ en dos condados. >> la nueva ley de reforma de sal

they are being escorted by afghan narcotics police and will be taken to kabul for prosecution. one of them has direct connections to the taliban. shutting down the taliban narco insurgency is a primary mission for the dea. the two detainees were captured with the help of the assist yan regional director for the dea in this part of the world. you are out there with the niu, the afghan counterparts and u.s. marines. what is going happen to the two detainees? >> once the detainees are back in kabul, they will be transported to the counter narcotics justice center. an afghan led facility and they will stand trial there before afghan judges with afghan attorneys. >> one had evidence linking him directly back to the taliban? >> yes, one individual had a taliban video in his cell phone. >> i'm oliver north for fox news. >> geraldo: thank you, sir. coming up, what do doctors say about the brave new world of [a health reform? after this. acclaimed cts sports sedan. a car & driver 10best for the third year in a row. ♪ with a direct injection v6 engine. see your cadillac dealer soon, be

now in kabul obviously getting the lay of the land. that's quite a move on obama's part. >> it is. they think they have had some successes there, although they do understand as well that the more americans you put in afghanistan for what they believe to be a just war, the more targets you have out there, so always a tricky situation to so always a tricky situation to be a war-time commander in chief, but indeed barack obama is. >> thanks, we'll be right back. s lots of discounts on car insurance. can i get in on that? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. discount! are you going to buy online? yes! discount! isn't getting discounts great? yes! there's no discount for agreeing with me. yeah, i got carried away. happens to me all the time. helping you save money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. i'm going to own my own restaurant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel. i want to go on a road trip. when i grow up, i'm going to go there. i'm going to work with kids. i want to fix up old houses. [ female anno

for its own people, we face the prospect that the taliban once again will take the reigns of power in kabul. that will be a national security disaster. i'm keenly aware that even if we remain in afghanistan, and here i want to emphasize this, there's no guarantee we'll prevail in our fight -- in this fight. but if we don't try we are guaranteed to fail. president obama has taken a very deliberate are a tif approach. he's examined -- delib tif approach. he's -- deliberative approach. he's examined and talked to relevant officers and allies. he has no issue unvetted as part of this review. he deserves an opportunity now to implement his strategy. he's given us the timeline for when he expects to see results and there will be a reassessment of our strategy in 18 months. general mcchrystal, the commander of the u.s. forces and international forces, indicated that we have made progress since the new strategy was announced on december 1. witnessing the first major joint nato afghanistan military operation in the city of marja, considered a strategic folcrum for ridding the taliban. they are riddi

if they captured months are they could go to kabul and kandahar and the whole country would follow in this domino effect. i forgot to mention that he was talking to only 12 guys. [laughter] cal spencer, one of them who is six weeks earlier had been this routine training mission and was thinking i'm getting too old for this stuff and i've got to go. so in the end, the accomplished what planners might not take a year and a half and they did it in a little more than six weeks, involving about 300 personnel. it's not exactly accurate because the reality is thousands of conventional people followed on shortly thereafter it. but the reality is that it costs roughly 100 million bucks here at the beginning and they didn't push the taliban out of afghanistan. they did go after these training camps and they did it in a way that probably none of us in this room, could we don't fully know about what these guys do, can really describe her talk about, which is really the point of the book to make that real. >> let's talk about how they did it because they really were poor soldiers. in the technolog

afghanistan, a police chief giving an interview in a province south and east of kabul. when a bomb explodes not far behind it. it went off near a crowd that gathered in spring and traditional new year and the explosion killed two civilians and injured four others. thailand, the so-called red shirt protesters using human blood to paint signs for their cause at a rally in bangkok. they're calling for the country's prime minister to step down. he says he'll send representatives to talk with them, but the demonstrators say they want to speak with him directly. and that's a wrap on this fox trep around the world in 80 seconds. u.s. drone strikes today reportedly killed at least four suspected militants in pakistan. they happened in the northwestern part of the country near the afghan border. officials in pakistan say the drones fired at least three missiles at a house and a car. one of the officials says the missile did hit their intended targets, but we don't yet know details. we're closer to the crucial health care insurance reform vote. the culmination of a very long and

you are looking at "usa today" and one of their main items is "a black eye for embassy in kabul. train police in afghanistan, building up the infrastructure, $2 billion in contracts are needed." the next call comes from ellen in north dakota. hello. caller: i would like to talk about global warming. a huge part of global warming is caused by the manufacturing and usage of plastics and plastic goods, which is everywhere around us. but around, there is tons of it. it is not biodegradable. it gives off noxious fumes when burned. the fumes go into the air. i urge everyone to please just use only the most very necessary plastics and give up the usage of unnecessary plastics. host: jacksonville, florida. independent line. caller: thank you for having me on the program. you have a lot of guests that, on the program to discuss these various issues, but in every single one of them if we examine the reality and fact of the matter, every area where we have a problem today is a direct result of government and the biggest problem that people do not realize is that we are united, we started ba

just helped the analysts to be the site was originally billed as an internal site for the partners in kabul and also back in d.c.. the data filter that i mentioned on the front page of the map that actually follows you through the sites say you can still see the query that i am running from 600 votes. what is squall about that is it is actually highlighting the centers listed on this page that meet that criteria. so i can click on a polling center and go all the way down to see the results for the particular station in this case these are actual ballot boxes and the map stays with me. you are seeing the voter turnout in this case. everybody voted at the center and they had strong feelings about who they voted for. this was an open data feed and getting the data and we also wanted to make sure that we were able to get the data out so journalists and folks on the grnd were able to export this and work with it and exile. clearly we were working with the firemen and want to print the reports and spread these things over the table and talk about some of the data sets usi the tools in this case u

been to build, literally, a civilian chain, if you will, that parallels the military chain back to kabul and allows them to coordinate much more closely, in their thresholds for various levels and so forth, as you go up. i think that is working well. i think we have to continue it. we also, though, want to make sure that, again, it can be the responsive tool that it is. and, so, we're sensitive to a sense if there is too much bureaucracy building up, then that would defeat the pups of it in the first place and we are trying to find the balance, between the sufficient amount of coordination, and oversight, and still allowing the free use of it, if you will, in the way that it was intended. >> if you see the effectiveness is impaired at all, let us know, and that would be helpful, and would you agree with the comments, admiral olson, first of all, in all of these programs, and, secondly, his comments about what changes might be coming and what to look for. >> absolutely, sir. i agree 100%. i think the 1206, 1207, 120 8 and as you mentioned which is often neglected in the ofrgs, the imelt f

afghanistan will be won or lost in the local communities of rural afghanistan, not unusualan centers such as kabul, says the brookings institution. now, someone i'm not used to quoting. george will wrote in "the washington post" that, quote, counterinsurgency theory concerning the time and ratio required to protect the population indicates that nationwide afghanistan would need hundreds of thousands of coalition troops, perhaps for a decade or more. that is inconceivable. unquote. for how long are we willing to dedicate billions of dollars and thousands of lives before we realize we can't win afghanistan militarily? our biggest mistake in the afghanistan strategy is to think we can separate the taliban from the rest of the population. we cannot. the taliban is a local resistance movement that part in par sell of an inthe distinguished gentleman from nant population. we lost vietnam because we did not provide them with a competent government that provided them with basic security and a decent living. the strategy for winning afghanistan is simple. stop killing the people and they'll stop killing yo

the president flew to kabul to meet with president karzai to see real reforms. millitary experts say that the summer will be bloody as the u.s. troops fight the taliban. >> the idea is to take out the middle managers, the tecno crats in the taliban. by doing that you rip apart the whole structure of the organization. >> reporter: the number of troops killed in afganistan has doubled compared to last year at this time. as the president obama continue to prom additional support as the war continues. >>> coming up on the early edition, a controversial budget plan. >>> he has to play the part. >>> what the former mayor is saying about the current proposal. >>> rain falling heaviest to the east right now but a flash-floo >>> welcome back. 5:15 on this monday morning. a rainy monday it is. take a look, most of the rain, it looks like right now to the south and east of the eastern shore. and look toward the eastern, toward salisbury where the heaviest rain is falling. we had scattered showers mostly for the central and eastern part of the state and back to the west a l

in a moment, our correspondent, but first, let's go to kabul. >> this is a country where opportunities are hard to come by. it's little wonder that every year, thousands of afghans choose to leave in search of a better life elsewhere. this is one of them. he spent four years in the u.k. before being deported as an illegal immigrant. now, he is struggling to find his way. >> if i want to go somewhere to be safe and work, but they don't have the jobs and that is why people leave afghanistan. >> the trade in human cargo is a multi-million pound in the street, kept hidden in the shadows. but in a rare interview, we met a trafficker that makes journey's possible. >> he did not want to be identified, and he told me as a business full of hardship and danger, and death. he told me that people are first taken into iran and then smuggled into turkey. from there, their traffic to europe. but some don't make it that far. he accompanied a group of about 50 afghans, but only 15 survived the journey. until afghanistan develops, afghans will continue to look elsewhere for opportunities. but it can be

i came from a trip to kabul and kandahar. i met with general mcchrystal. he is the commander of the forces. met with our soldiers. went out to afghanistan. and i have strongly supported president obama's decision to send reinforcements into afghanistan. the sense i receive from our military leaders in afghanistan, from afghani military and political leaders and most importantly from our soldiers on the ground is that we are leaning into the fight. we are providing our soldiers with the resources and reinforcements they need to succeed and come home safe. now is not the time for the congress of the united states to be second-guessing our commanders in the field and second-guessing our commander in chief. base odd what i have seen and heard in the last month-and-a-half in afghanistan that we have the right strategy, the right tactics and we ought to continue to proceed on the course that we are proceeding on. we are talking about real lives. i can't help but reflect on the experience of having been just north of kandahar where we visited with the governor of

tension in the -- the state department or other people within the military about how -- how trained in kabul or in -- i'm talking in theory here -- how much tfaining by the central government before they can be allowed to defend their home territories. and with a little salary and support of a good tribal leader or mayor or community leader, much good can be done. where are we? are we demanding too much centralized training before we join with friendly local leaders? >> in fact, we're trying to take advantage of that in cases where that's appropriate, senator. and to empower in some cases with good oversight and partnering some local elements. it's called the community defense initiative now. i think there's 8 or 9 or so that are ongoing. these great special forces elements that are typically the ones partnering with them, tied into the afghan ministry of moor interior because it's important not to empower the warlords that it took to disperse and disarm a number of those elements. really, it is the same dynamic that we had in iraq, different terrain, different culture, different social make

we built embassies in baghdad, we built embassy in kabul, billion-dollar embassies, fortresses and the all necessary. nobody is really concerned. if people were concerned about the disastrous affect of debt on this country, we would change our foreign policy and we would be safer for it. we are not safer because of this foreign policy. it's a policy of intervention that has been going on for a long time and it will eventually end. this war is an illegal war. this war is an immoral war. this war is an unconstitutional war. and the least you can say is, illegitimate. there's no real purpose in this. the taliban did not attack us on 9/11. do you know, after we went in to afghanistan, immediately the concerns were shifted to remaking the middle east. we went in to iraq, used this as a justification. it was nothing more than an excuse. most americans, the majority of americans, still believe that saddam hussein had nothing to do with 9/11. and i imagine most americans believe that the taliban had something to do with 9/11 and it's not true. we need to change our foreign policy and come back

our state department colleagues, inl and others, to ensure that the afghan facilities stay outside kabul and kandahar and other places are also conducting their business appropriately. and they're also partnerships of the future in some of the other rule of law areas as well. >> thiewp. -- thank you. do we have people in bagram confinement facility that are non-afghan foreign fighters? >> we do. yes, sir. >> is it fair to say -- we need a closed session about this eventually, mr. chairman, but kind of put out for public consumption the best i can, that we have a dilemma in this war. we're running out of jail space for certain people and we have need to find exon finement facilities at work. would you support sending guantanamo bay detainees to afghanistan to bagram, is that a good idea? some had suggested that? >> i think that at the very least, over time, that's an idea that we need to go sift under a tree until it passes, i think. >> i'll take that to be that's not a good idea. >> again, if we transition to afghan control -- >> but i'm talking about taking gitmo people here and sending

democratically-elected government -- evevidence the democratically elected government has little control outside of kabul. many parts of the country are lawless. opium production is increasing and the al qaeda terrorists who we seek to kill or capture are no longer present in afghanistan. i am deeply concerned that our brave men and women in harm's way in afghanistan are now expected to perform functions not authorized in the september, 2001, authorization of military force and president obama's strategy for moving forward in afghanistan places insufficient emphasis on political, diplomatic and development initiatives and ignores -- contains no real exit strategy and ignores the clear fact of mission creep. nobody can question the bravery of our men and women in harm's way in afghanistan. their service is courageous and admirable, bringing peace, stability, health and well-being to a country that has suffered throughout years of conflict and war. but we can question whether these efforts extend beyond the very limited and specific mission articulated in the authorization of the use of military force. mr.

we look forward to the kabul conference. we will gather in washington and in new york next month to discuss the forth challenge, that of nuclear security and proliferation. now, direct military threats to the u.k., both conventional and nuclear, have sharply declined since the end of the cold war. we cannot yet be confident that such threats will not reemerge, so it is right that our objective remains multilateral disarmament and that the u.k. retains a credible and continuous nuclear deterrent as well as strong, balanced conventional forces. but we must act now with our global partners to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons or nuclear material falling into the hands of rogue states or terrorist groups. and that is why we are join with president obama to secure all fissile material across the globe over the next four years. it is why i can state today that in light of this we will invite the international atomic energy authority to carry out a security inspection at sellafield and we will make funds available for similar in

there are problems in the collection of tariffs in kabul and kandahar and sharif and others. it's not a problem by the way he can afghanistan. you see the same difficulties in the neighboring countries in that region because of the weak institutions and the inability to actually enforce the tariff collections. >> you don't want to give an answer, would you say it's a lot or a little, the corruption level? >> on a.i.d. programs, i am going to say that its minimum. >> my time is up. >> thank you, commissioner. commissioner zakheim, please. >> who do you report to? >> i report to the new administrator of a.i.d.. >> that's fine. ambassador herbst reports to the secretary of state and mr. bever to the equivalent of deputy secretary. who do you report to? >> i report to the undersecretary of defense for policy, michelle flournoy trusten secretary michael ticker. >> secure basically reporting to michael. do you think that is sufficient for the department that is often described as the 800-pound gorilla that spends big bucks even on serp which was authority or 50,000-dollar deal but

what has to happen is the government in kabul and provincial bottoms, all over in this country need to exercise control over the licenses that they have let, and make sure that those operating those towers know if they go dark, they lose their license. megyn: colonel oliver north, appreciate it, live in hel land province. >>> no shortage of cameras when president obama signed that health care bill but a whole different story today when the president signs the document that actually enabled the democrats to get that bill passed. a wild clash on catch us, students facing off against fellow students. just ahead, the author forced to scrap a speech because of threats and intimidation. you know her. mig 1:30 here in the east. here's a quick look at the stories we're watching for you, the sex abuse scandal rocking the catholic church in ire rawnd, making its way to the halls of the vatican, pope benedict xvi accepted the resignation of an irish bishop, accused of sexual abuse. >>> and a recall of a baby product, more than 1 million baby slings made by infantino, being pulled off of shelves a

so the conversations in kabul were a continuation of that. i met with other members of the government as well. did not have a chance to get out of town but i spent a lot of time with general mcchrystal. finally in pakistan, extensive discussions with the president, prime minister golani, the leader of the opposition, and the leadership of the pakistani army, and the senior colleagues. that's how i will continue my next trip to the region will be with admiral mullen. together we did this just under a year ago. i think some of you in this room were on that trip. and admiral mullen and i try to do about one trip a year. and that trip would include india. last point. p.j. and i had hoped today to bring the f.b.i. director with me, bob mueller, who has just come back from an important trip to afghanistan and pakistan. he had a conflict and i apologize if there's interest maybe we can bring him over at another time. i would recommend p.j., that you consider that because i think mueller's trip -- p.j. and i heard a detailed discussion by him yesterd

it's not the kabul plant. it's on the energy supply. the heading, which is, i think, where it would have been helpful to you is simply afghan government lacks the capability to collect revenues to fund fuel costs and operations and maintenance expenses. so this is a section on that the afghan government can't get the money from the energy system. and it includes what they've had to do instead like coming to us and saying well, you fund our operation and maintenance. will you fund our field costs? that's not to say that the u.s. government's projects themselves are suffering from corruption. and if i gave that impression that's what i was asking, and i think i did, then i withdraw my question. but with that being the mechanism, they then do describe corruption in the energy sector affects afghanistan's ability to collect revenue. and they give the example that it takes as many as 25 signatures to get an electricity connection in kabul. though you don't need any significant issues if you get it through bribes. and as a result, this is a q

we built embassies in baghdad, we built embassy in kabul, billion-dollar embassies, fortresses and the all necessary. nobody is really concerned. if people were concerned about the disastrous affect of debt on this country, we would change our foreign policy and we would be safer for it. we are not safer because of this foreign policy. it's a policy of intervention that has been going on for a long time and it will eventually end. this war is an illegal war. this war is an immoral war. this war is an immoral war. this war is an and the least that you can say is that, legitimately, there is no real purpose. the taliban did not attack us on 9/11. after we had gone into afghanistan, immediately, the concern was shifting to remaking the middle east. we were using this as a justification. this was nothing more than an excuse. many americans believe that saddam hussein had something to do with 9/11, and that the taliban had something to do with 9/11, and this is not true. we have to make this country not be the policeman of the world. >> who is looking for time? >> can i ask the speaker, tim

ambassador khalilzad is there in kabul and we had that was published at the time called the campaign plan for afghanistan. it had at least five pillars prominent among them was a huge statement that said the center of gravity is the afghan people. it talked about both counterterrorism and counterinsurgency tasks. it specifically mentions in a fairly lengthy portion the importance of legitimacy. you shortly thereafter had what became known as karzai's 15 points so the rules about how to protect the population. the hard knock policies versus the soft knock policies. and it very prominently mentioned the important role of reconciliation as an ultimate political accommodation. this is in 2003. by 2006 we had action plan 2. now up to 8 or 9 lines of playstation it's implicit population centric. it resulted in a joint campaign plan signed by ambassador neumann and eikenberry as population-centric as our documents had become, our execution was enemy-centric. and one of the reasons i'll get to in just a moment. by november of 2008, we went through what was called at the time among the interc

35 afghans died when a bus smashed into other vehicles and caught fire in a mountain pass north of kabul. shi-ite rebels in yemen released at least 170 government soldiers today under a truce. the hostages were handed over in the northern province of saada, where most of the fighting has taken place. the release came a day after the government charged the rebels were not living up to the terms of the truce. state prison populations in the u.s. have dropped for the first time since 1972. a report by the pew center on the states found more than two dozen states cut their number of inmates last year. california and michigan led the way, together they reduced their populations by 7,500 fewer inmates. according to the report, the decreases are due in part to budget cuts. those are some of the day's main stories. i'll be back at the end of the program with a preview of what you'll find tonight on the "newshour's" web site. but for now, back to gwen. >> ifill: now, apologies and explanations in ireland, germany and the vatican, as catholics revisit unfinished business. allegations of child sexu

perhaps the most difficult challenge is to kabul together out of these differences as sense of common purpose -- cobble together out of these differences a common purpose in a country as large and diverse as us. we are blessed by leaders in both chambers who never lost sight of that mission. they did not play for the short term. they did not play to the polls or to politics. one of the best speakers the house of representatives has ever had, nancy pelosi. [applause] >> nancy! nancy! nancy! nancy! nancy! nancy! nancy! >> one of the best majority leader is the senate has ever had, mr. harry reid. >> harry! harry! >> to all of the terrific committee chairs, all of the members of congress and did what was difficult but did what was right and pass health care reform, this generation of americans will thank you. the next generation will thank you. this victory was made possible by the painstaking work of members of this administration, including our outstanding secretary of health and human services kathleen sebelius garra. and one of the unsung heroes of this effort, an extraordinary woman

part is to convince people if they need protection or services, they can turn to the government in kabul and get those services as officially as if they turn to a taliban commander. that's not always been the case and the u.s. can only do it temporarily. it's an afghan government problem that needs to happen. >> shepard: we just got an urgent from the associated press saying the united states warned the afghan president's half brother he could be targeted if found to be provided arms to insurgents. that's the brother there on the screen. the quote here, i'd like him out of there, u.s. fails say, this man, ahmed karzai, we'd rather not have a guy like that there because he's divisive but there's nothing we can do until we link him to the insurgencecy and put him on the target list and capture or kill him. sounds like they're sure he's a bad guy. >> there's concern he's been involved in the drug trade. if you're involved in the drug trade in afghanistan, you're automatically involved in helping finance the taliban efforts. u.s. intelligence had its eyes on this guy for a while. i would be

. >>> all right, coming up, take a listen to this -- >> right, kandahar, we traveled here from kabul because this is now the part of afghanistan that everyone is talking about. >>> and we'll be talking about it, too, michael holmes and "backstory" up next. 4 times the number...uld g of pills compared to aleve. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills. just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthritis pain all day. hey, ask our doctor about garlique, okay? garlique's clinically tested ingredient maintains healthy cholesterol naturally. eat right. exercise. garlique. >>> i love "back story." there's a brand new cnn/opinion research poll on afghanistan. it feels americans are feeling more optimistic about the military campaign there and now we need to hear from afghans on the ground. cnn's michael holmes is heading there in two weeks you were telling me to swap out with one of our other correspondents and michael's here with a "back story" on afghanistan. >> the correspondent in there right now, chris lawrence is there at the moment and phil black just came out. when phi

delegates from one of the country's main insurgent groups the first meeting since the militants arrived in kabul for peace talks. prince charles is in southern afghanistan meeting with civilian and british troops he tacked about how worried he was when harry was deployed. the u.s. is said to be backing off its push for harsh new penalties against iran because of its year program. wendell goler reports on give-and-take over sanctions. >> reporter: as the president traveled to iowa his aides downplayed reports the u.s. has weakened sanctions on iran to win russian and chinese support. gibbs told reporters the world is supporting tougher sanctions and defense secretary gates suggested what the sanctions allow is more important than what they require. >> the rebuke of iran by the security council as being the foundation on which further steps could be taken by individual countries. >> reporter: earlier this week state clinton promised israeli lobbying group: >> our aim is not incremental sanctions, but sanctions that will bite. >> reporter: at a meeting in germany, proposal to ban planes and ships f

in afghanistan, a rocket attack killed one person at bagram air field, north of kabul. it was unclear if the victim was a soldier or civilian. over the weekend, taliban bombings killed 35 afghans in kandahar. the group said it was a warning of what's to come if nato begins an offensive there. the u.s. pressed israel today to drop plans for expanding jewish housing in east jerusalem. the israelis announced the plans last week while vice president biden was visiting. on friday, secretary of state hillary clinton condemned the move. today spokesman p.j. crowley said clinton is waiting for a formal israeli response. >> they involve not only specifics about the project in question that was announced last week, but really more so about the willingness of the parties to engage seriously in this process and jointly create conditions for success and be willing to address the core issues at heart of the peace process. >> sreenivasan: israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu gave no indication he'll cancel construction of the 1,600 homes. instead, he told the israeli parliament,

we have a plano for baghdad, a plan for kabul. we say it's urgent. it's a priority. we have a budget and goals and targets and time tables for economic recovery. as committed to recovery in our country as we are in afghanistan and as we are in iraq. >> are you pushing leadership within the democratic party to make some of these changes or address these issues more strongly now? >> really both parties. the president first promised to bail out the banks. that was a good thing but not linked to lending and reinvest me ment. must fortify them. many people with health problems also because of health problems lose their job. all that have health care problems face home foreclosure problems. that bill minimizes the anti-poverty bill. that's one part of it. targeted job and job training. they plan to deal with poverty, racial disparity and massive plan for reconstruction bottom up and not top down. >> reverend jesse jackson, thank you for joining us, responding to the big report today a lot of people talking about. thank you, sir. >> thank you. >>> a big decision could come

defense secretary robert gates arrived in kabul today, to review plans for the kandahar operation. he also met with president hamid karzai who announced a three-day peace conference in late april. at least 13 people have died in a suicide car bombing in eastern pakistan. the attack came in lahore. it targeted a building where police interrogate high-value terror suspects. the offices were shattered and more than 60 people were wounded. the taliban claimed responsibility. meanwhile, in northwest pakistan, intelligence officials said a suspected u.s. missile strike killed three people near the afghan border. a new tanker plane for the u.s. air force. the contract would be worth $35 billion but northup said the new set of guidelines clearly favors boeing. the long running fight will now effectively become a no-bid contract. it's expected to be awarded in september. security was tight across central nigeria today after a new wave of muslim-christian violence. as many as 500 people were killed near the city of jos. we have a report narrated by lindsey hilsum of independent television ne

embassy in kabul faces serious security issues. after that, we will talk about the two-year anniversary of the financial collapse of bear stearns. this is "washington journal." . . host: are you active in the healthcare debate? there are ads going up, groups asking you to call your congressperson or senator, to drive past offices -- we want to know where you are doing. start dailing in now. here are a couple of ads recently put on air. >> next week, congress can make history by voting to make health care right. president obama's plan would rain and exploding insurance rates. it would prevent insurance giants from the dying coverage when you're sick. >> special interests are marshaling their forces for one last fight to save the status quo. we cannot let that happen. that is why i am asking you to fuel this movement. >> i was diagnosed with breast cancer when i was 43. my mother died of cancer. early detection save my life. now government panel that did not include cancer specialists says women should not receive mammograms until ag

they are in kabul working with the government of afghanistan and they are out in the country. they are imbedded with our military, so they move with our military. they are working closely to leverage their presence. you know, we don't have battalions of civilians. it is a much smaller number in comparison to our military forces, but each one beverages on average about 10 other civilians. ngo's partnering with civilians from other countries who are there as part of a government commitment, partnering with united nations, hiring afghans, partnering with afghans. one of the examples i was going to give, if senator bond had asked, on agriculture. as soon as the marines secured marja, civilians began to go out. they have a program called the afghanistan vouchers for increased production in agriculture. they have distributed 7000 vouchers for fertilizers, new seeds, trellises for grapes. it's that kind of intensive work on the ground if that does not take a lot of civilians, it takes the right kind of civilians. we have usda agriculture experts. we have people from national guard un