," what is its role in afghanistan? what was its rule? >> guest: the east india company had a number of different strategic interests in the area beyond the river which would include much of modern-day pakistan and what we think of as modern-day afghanistan. the east india company's main concern was that of security, not external security so much. there is a large swath of historical literature which talked about the so-called great came in afghanistan which is this issue of anglo-russian of rivalry between competing and expanding british empire and south asia and the russian empire and central asia. yet, rather than being concerned about an external enemy, the russians necessarily, at the early part of the 19th century, the east india company was much more concerned with its own internal security. what it sought to do was to stabilise its rule within south asia by stabilizing its frontier, and so the east india company initially gets drawn into afghanistan, as a matter of fact, in order to stabilize its home rule. >> h

we do remain a nation at war, committed to the mission in afghanistan. we also remain an army that is globally engaged. we have 96,000 soldiers stationed overseas. our nation's army has soldiers located in nearly 150 countries around the world. moving forward, our army remains mindful of our primary purpose, to fight and win our nation's wars. this role is nonnegotiable. we're fighting alone, however, is not all that our nation requires of its army. in today's complex and uncertain strategic environment, it is imperative that our army remains responsive to the geographic combat and commanders and is a decisive arm of the joint force. the army provides depth and versatility to the joint force through the capabilities imbedded in our active guard and reserve components. meeting the challenges of an uncertain complex and interconnected strategic environment requires an army that is adaptive and innovative, flexible and agile, integrated and synchronized, lethal and discriminant. with that in mind, our army must retain the right capacity and diversity to per

they are based in afghanistan, but their work is focused on pakistan. up at the border, we were stopped from filming them... but a former commander agreed to talk if his identity was protected. >> who were those guys? >> smith: the wikileaks war logs, released in 2010, contain references to the cia's private army in khost. they fire mortars at taliban and al qaeda targets in pakistan. with the help of drones, "shadow coverage," they ambush and kill insurgent fighters crossing the border. >> smith: pakistan is supposed to be an ally in the war against the taliban and al qaeda, but u.s. soldiers fighting along the border complain that pakistan's army supports the militants. >> from my time on the border, we experienced on a regular basis pakistani military complicity with the insurgency. it could be turning a blind eye as the insurgents launch rockets at our bases. it could be allowing passage, you know, kind of right under their noses. it could be even aiding and working with the insurgents to know what times to cross the border, telling them when our pa

troops in afghanistan. it might be designed in a different way not as combat troops but as traders, advisers, logistics experts, but they would still be armed, uniformed u.s. troops. this agreement, this strategic partnership agreement is a disaster waiting to happen. if it is between karzai and the americans it will completely seven kaj any chance of talks. since they insist on the complete departure of all u.s. and foreign troops. they've been fighting on the nationalist terms to the occupation for the last ten years and they are not going to stop fighting as long as the u.s. troops remain in the country. maintaining the u.s. troop presence will also undermine the objective of the neutral afghanistan which is the object of everyone in afghanistan's neighbors. they don't want foreign troops in their either. so the bilateral deal between the u.s. and kabul to base the troops after 2014 would make nonsense. now let me come onto the seven-point fact which is really two main points and five from it. the first

one he saw that in both vietnam and afghanistan, we were reliant upon a corrupt partner government. two, he was very preoccupied with the existence of an indefensible border, that was a sanctuary for enemy forces, there was no way to control the border between afghanistan and pakistan and there was no way to control the ho chi minh trail. >> rose: go ahead. >> and third, he was quite uneasy with the embraced of counterinsurgency strategy and the requirements for population protection pacification and nation building, he saw based on his own hard fought experience in vtnam how extrrdinarily difficult it is to execute that strategy, he saw the requirement for a political consensus to exist for a very protracted period of time, for decades, really, to execute the strategy and he didn't see that happening here. so he was not a loud or influential voice in that debate, but he was an extraordinarily keen observer of the debate that went thon the white house, and you saw all of the parallels to vietnam. he said that, for example, joe biden, who was aring for a doctrine of cotererrorism as

once again to afghanistan what was possible of the top. don't don't you know the talks fall horribly wrong i mean the taliban they want some time a bill on time on a prisoner release as well they want some of their members to be off the you know the kill list i think the u.n. has and the thing is i don't see how this can be pulled off without afghanistan pakistan the taliban any the united states sitting down together in the same room because i can see some back backroom deals between afghanistan and pakistan. possibly the taliban in afghanistan and taliban in pakistan separately you know i think that all members have to be involved in the talks for the any chance of peace and for it to work properly george we'll leave it there thanks very much indeed george joining us live from the usa thank you. when it's been a turbulent week for poland which saw from.

journalist and writer neal say just returned from afghanistan as present time watching as u.s. troops told some of the villagers there that they should get ready for this impending departure hey there neal i guess i want to ask you first what was their reaction and i was hoping you might be able to kind of describe for us the role of the taliban in afghanistan today i christine sure well i was there most recently don't remember i would ask. citizens how they felt about the impending departure of nato forces and most of them told me that they were very concerned about it. they felt almost without hesitation as soon as nato forces left the taliban would be able to sleep because they didn't have much confidence that the afghan government would be able to handle things on their own so i think there's a lot of worry among afghan citizens about what will happen when those troops begin to leave when we talk about nato and the u.s. leaders negotiating with the taliban and to me at least on one hand it makes sense trying to be diplomatic and speak with your enemy as opposed to just tryi

goals for afghanistan. and the first of these would be the creation of a government of national unity that includes representatives of all the insurgent groups and, therefore, in the risk of a new round of civil war when foreigners leave. government of national unity, government of national salvation, different countries after cease-fire has been made come up with different races, but basic point is the same. secondly, the goal would be the establishment of a sovereign independent and nonaligned afghan state. thirdly, that u.s. would see pledges by the new government that it would not accept any al qaeda activity in afghanistan. so those are the two main things, change of course and the highlighting of the need for creation of a government of national unity. from the flow of the things. firstly, obama should suspend immediately the current talks on a strategic partnership agreement between the u.s. and afghanistan, which would authorize just as i've been describing the indefinite basing of troops. talks mus

we grew the army to meet the iraq and afghanistan. i'm comfortable that we are done with iraq and our commitments are coming down in afghanistan that we can do this. i don't see it as we are bearing the burden of it. i'm saying we are making a correction based on what we see out there as tench threat. in terms of strategy, what i look at is what does 490,000 get me. what we are doing is we are increasing special operation forces. we are going to go to 35,000 total special operation forces in the army. this is significant growth. i want to reemphasize the roles they play. we want to continue that. we think that's the way of the future. and it is now the relationship that has been built between special operations and conventional forces. the integration that we gained we will now carry forward as we continue to conduct our other missions around the world. then i look at the number of brigade combat teams. i feel comfortable although as i mentioned right now we are planning on reducing and a reorganization. the capability that we would h

on the "newshour" tonight, we assess the impact of the images on anti-american sentiment in afghanistan and the prospects for peace talks with the taliban. >> brown: then, we look at the assassination of an iranian nuclear scientist. >> woodruff: betty ann bowser reports some good news in the fight against cancer. >> one of the great success stories in medicine over the last 40 years is pediatric cancer. we'll introduce to you two survivors and how they're coping. >> brown: margaret warner gets the latest on the decision of a mississippi judge to halt the release of 21 inmates, pardoned by outgoing governor haley barbour. >> woodruff: and ray suarez examines sweeping changes to internet names that could allow for a new world of dot anything. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy productive life. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made poss

on the "newshour" tonight, we assess the impact of the images on anti-american sentiment in afghanistan and the prospects for peace talks with the taliban. >> brown: then, we look at the assassination of an iranian nuclear scientist. >> woodruff: betty ann bowser reports some good news in the fight against cancer. >> one of the great success stories in medicine over the last 40 years is pediatric cancer. we'll introduce to you two survivors and how they're coping. >> brown: margaret warner gets the latest on the decision of a mississippi judge to halt the release of 21 inmates, pardoned by outgoing governor haley barbour. >> woodruff: and ray suarez examines sweeping changes to internet names that could allow for a new world of dot anything. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." nejor funding for the pbs wshour has been provided by: >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy productive life. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possib

once again to afghanistan what was possible of the top. don't you know the talks fall horribly wrong i mean the taliban may want some bill want a prisoner release as well they want some of their members to be off the you know the kill list i think the u.n. has the thing is i don't see how this can be pulled off without afghanistan pakistan the taliban any the united states sitting down together in the same room because i can just see some back backroom deals between afghanistan and pakistan. possibly the taliban in afghanistan and taliban in pakistan certainly you know i think that all members have to be involved in the talks for the any chance of peace and for it to work properly george we'll leave it there thanks very much indeed george joining us live from the usa thank you. well it's been a turbulent week for poland which saw thousands of people protesting against the anti web piracy pact countries signed up to along with twenty one other european states and i to say the multinational deal which still needs to be ratified by the europe

they are based in afghanistan, but their work is focused on pakistan. up at the border, we were stopped from filming them... but a former commander agreed to talk if his identity was protected. >> who were those guys? >> smith: the wikileaks war logs, released in 2010, contain references to the cia's private army in khost. they fire mortars at taliban and al qaeda targets in pakistan. with the help of drones, "shadow coverage," they ambush and kill insurgent fighters crossing the rder. >> smith: pakistan is supposed to be an ally in the war against the taliban and al qaeda, but u.s. soldiers fighting along the border complain that pakistan's army supports the militants. >> from my time on the border, we experienced on a regular basis pakistani military complicity with the insurgency. it could be turning a blind eye as the insurgents launch rockets at our bases. it could be allowing passage, you know, kind of right under their noses. it could be even aiding and working with the insurgents to know what times to cross the border, telling them when our patr

why are we in afghanistan? ten years later, why are we in afghanistan? >> look. we are there because we are there, you know? it's amazing. i went back and looked at what some people were saying in october 2001 and famously johnny w. apple at "the new york times" said be careful we don't get stuck in a quagmire. he was laughed and mocked for that. the policy was let's not get stuck in a quagmire. but as iraq happened, the military response to this sort of disaster in iraq coming up with this counterinsurgency plan to stabilize iraq and turn their attention to afghanistan and say, okay, well, it worked in iraq, let's roll the dice here. so there is no -- it doesn't make us safer. it's extremely expensive. and a lot of people are dying. and so -- but it's sort of momentum. it's the momentum of the war. >> congresswoman, you voted for the authorization to use military force. you're a member of congress. and only one person voted against it, barbara lee in california. i think it's fair to say there was that wrong writers in election and american public at large. >> an

the latest on what is happening with france and afghanistan. the french president says they will suspend their training program after the shooting deaths of four french soldiers by an afghan. this is "bbc world news." >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.

we've heard this foolish delusion before the turks who helped rule afghanistan are found in dozens and dozens of countries around the world. and that is the reason this great nation with their friends and allies will not rest until we bring them all to justice. so now they're meeting to go she ations so is that some hail it a breakthrough or is it a final capitulation by the u.s. by the obama administration to finally wrap up this war and get out of this crisis that means matthew hoh former u.s. marine and state department employee he's also senior fellow at the center for international policy and the director of the afghanistan study thanks so much for joining us tonight thanks how do you look at this i mean if you could say that this is been in the works for about a year or supposedly we've heard a lot of whispers a lot of reports out there but is this one side caving to the others anyone losing our i mean we're saying that we're going to give up some detainees from guantanamo bay and these are former military commanders and this is a good step this is a good step it's a step that sh

what are the top and enduring lessons of afghanistan and libya? >> afghanistan isn't finished yet. it's difficult to draw up the lessons right now. we were in the transition phase. specifically libya. strategic surprises. we need to be ready to face any possible threat or risk across the whole spectrum, two, the advantage of playing on both ground coalition and the alliance. three, the we need to make sure we have the right expertise in our own command structure and four, the weight of what we call our enablers. things that do not -- which come out possible. >> do you think that there is a will knowing because the united states -- the united states took a back seat role but played an integral role in terms of being the back bone of the operation. is there a will to start to address some of those backbone short comings whether it's in isr or aerial refueling precision munitions, et cetera that libya evidenced on the european side? >> i wouldn't say u.s. has take an back seat role. all nations have contributed in the operation of libya albeit directly or through common funding of ass

they are based in afghanistan, but their work is focused on pakistan. up at the border, we were stopped from filming them... but a former commander agreed to talk if his identity was protected. >> who were those guys? >> smith: the wikileaks war logs, released in 2010, contain references to the cia's private army in khost. they fire mortars at taliban and al qaeda targets in pakistan. with the help of drones, "shadow coverage," they ambush and kill insurgent fighters crossing the rder >> smith: pakistan is supposed to be an ally in the war against the taliban and al qaeda, but u.s. soldiers fighting along the border complain that pakistan's army supports the militants. >> from my time on the border, we experienced on a regular basis pakistani military complicity with the insurgency. it could be turning a blind eye as the insurgents launch rockets at our bases. it could be allowing passage, you know, kind of right under their noses. it could be even aiding and working with the insurgents to know what times to cross the border, telling them when our patro

marines desecrating enemy corpses in afghanistan? >> it is absolutely inconsistent with american values. >> pelley: david martin on the investigation and who the marines are. a mississippi mystery. why did governor haley barbour pardon murderers on his last day in office. newt gingrich finished out of the money in iowa and new hampshire but chip reid tells us a wealthy friend is keeping his campaign in the money. and two years after the earthquake dr. jon lapook returns to see what's become of haiti. >> reporter: how many people here go to bed hungry? captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, the u.s. is scrambling tonight to condemn a video that appears to show marines desecrating bodies in afghanistan, possibly the bodies of taliban fighters. the video was shot months ago, but it was posted on the internet yesterday and now word of it is spreading in afghanistan. secretary of defense leon panetta said the behavior depicted in the video is "utterly deplorable." here is dav

must have come up with an idea that look i really think the only way that we can get americans out of afghanistan it would be to talk with them and once you assure we assure the american. this is. everything will be fine and this is the way out. i believe that americans believe and then we can all be back to back to normal that whatever they want to extend imposed on afghanistan. now is take a look at some other stories from around the world while thousands of people have gathered in central pakistan to demand supply routes used by nato forces in afghanistan are kept closed as long as speakers at the rally called for in the panels from u.s. foreign policy invalid to stage further protests if any attempt to open the channels has made border checkpoints stop supplies for nato troops in afghanistan last year a fall we have strike which killed twenty four pakistani troops. tam

two foreign aid workers have been kidnapped in afghanistan. there are been no claims of a responsibility for those objections. there is a brush fire near the city of reno, nevada. thousands have been evacuated. it in recent months, there have been several spectacular attacks in nigeria by boko arm. among the deadly activities claimed by the group are the bombing of the u.n. building in abuja, also of an attack on a collision -- a christian church on christmas day. what is causing this religious tension? >> the most powerful religious leader in northern nigeria. in southern nigeria, traditional christian kings play a similar role. here in the north, for hundreds of years, traditional islamic rulers have maintained a huge influence. christians living in the north. a moslem cleric has come to their church. he explained that jesus and mary are in the koran, too. >> the koran mentions jesus, the son of mary. >> thanks to initiatives like this, the capital of the north is largely peaceful. >> there is a big issue between christians and muslims here

>> a lot more time in iraq and afghanistan. at this time i did for trips to afghanistan. i think i spent four of the last six christmases there. it has been my life. >> you're how old? >> i am now 31. it has been a long decades. >> your college is what? >> nyu. i studied english. it's certified me to join the workforce. while i started at "newsweek" as an unpaid intern working for being is international. >> you say in your book that there are 27,000 working pr people in the pentagon spending $4.7 billion a year. 27,000? where did you get that number? >> it includes a broader number, not just propaganda folks. it goes from software programs. the pentagon is making auditors are social media. there has been a recent example where the army is using a program that monitors how may times bradley manning is mentioned. it goes through the massive public relations apparatus that all branches of the military have. i have often thought about this. there are more public relations people on a general staff in kabul then there are reporters. they need all the help they can get apparent

fighting in afghanistan and it is not there it's not keeping us safe for terrorists but the u.s. can serve a role rather than a combatant or a belligerent in a conflict as a mediator. the problem is going to be is just as he said we're in the middle of g.o.p. campaign and so even though ron paul got twenty twenty one percent of the vote in iowa yesterday which you can say hey look a republican got a strong anti-war vote. you still have all the other front runners who are going to pound the table and say that obama is appeasing that he's giving in to terrorists etc so i think this may be real difficulties on the u.s. side in terms of keeping up their part of any boarding or any type of negotiation. strategy that we get into well in that sense do you think that obama's putting himself in a risky position let's say that something implodes i mean at the moment this is we said we're going to set up a political office who knows how long it might be until that actually happens but let's say that something really bad does happen and it looks like these negotiations a failed is that enoug

one he saw that in both vietnam and afghanistan, we were reliant upon a corrupt partner government. two, he was very preoccupied with the existence of an indefensible border, that was a sanctuary for enemy forces, there was no way to control the border between afghanistan and pakistan and there was no way to control the ho chi minh trail. >> rose: go ahead. >> and third, he was quite uneasy with the embraced of counterinsurgency strategy and the requirements for population protection pacification and nation building, he saw based on his own hard fought experience in vtnam how extrrdinarily difficult it is to execute that strategy, he saw the requirement for a political consensus to exist for a very protracted period of time, for decades, really, to execute the strategy and he didn't see that happening here. so he was not a loud or influential voice in that debate, but he was an extraordinarily keen observer of the debate that went thon the white house, and you saw all of the parallels to vietnam. he said that, for example, joe biden, who was aring for a doctrine of cotererrorism as

now more than ten years ago american warplanes began to pummel taliban positions across afghanistan and what became the first stage of now america's longest war billions of dollars and countless afghan and u.s. lives later the war drags on and despite a target and date for the drawdown of the american troops victory whatever that means in that country is nowhere in sight now for a look at what went wrong i want to bring in someone who's seen it on the ground firsthand the rolling stone reporter whose profile of general stanley mcchrystal ended his career and has now expanded his ex has now expanded his experiences with american troops his thoughts on the counterinsurgency strategy known as coined the rise and fall of general mcchrystal and of course the media establishment into a new book i want to bring into the conversation michael hastings with rolling stone and the author of the new book the operators the wild and terrifying inside story of america's war in afghanistan michael thank you so much for being here thanks for having me thanks before we get into the media reaction to the n

the huge profits from afghanistan's opium trade. india marks a year without a single recorded new case of polio. >> broadcasting to our viewers on pbs and around the world, this is "newsday." >> the american military has identified at least two of the four marines saying urinating on the corpses of taliban fighters. american and afghan officials have called the video deplorable. the defense and secretaries of state have called this deplorable. >> this is an appalling violation. in this video, a small group of marines gather around the bodies of dead afghans and urinate on them. this harms america's attempt to rebuild its image in the islamic world. the military officials have told the bbc at least two of the marines have been identified. they are believed to be based in north carolina. the condemnation has been universal. >> this is absolutely inconsistent with american values, with the standards of behavior that we expect from our military personnel and that is the vast majority of our military personnel, particularly our marines,

the troops in afghanistan are there only as trainers. the incident prompted president nicolas sarkozy to consider it an early withdrawal of all french units. this comes after a day -- this comes a day after u.s. troops were killed in a helicopter crash. >> in some of the most dangerous areas of northern afghanistan, french troops take on the taliban. alongside them, the afghan army, they fight together and live together in quarters. shoulder to shoulder is the slogan. after friday's killings, how much longer route will the french stand behind the afghan army? the sources have revealed what happened. the french soldiers had just finished a training session. they were unarmed. an argument broke out with a noncommissioned officer. the french government's position is that this is murder. >> this is the second such attack in the last few weeks. these killings are becoming more common. dozens of foreign soldiers have died when the afghans they serve with turn on them. >> these units have been working and fighting together side by side for a lo

war in afghanistan with nothing more than his words now he's got a few more this time to journalist and the media establishment here in d.c. we'll speak to rolling stone a contributor michael hastings about how the mainstream press and like a megaphone for the establishment. and sold to the highest a bitter american politics seem to have a price tag these days ever since the supreme court ruling making corporations people but as politicians rake in the dough something well it's just not adding up we'll explain. thanks for watching it's wednesday january eleventh eight pm here in washington d.c. i'm lucy catherine of any watching our t.v. well it looks like the pentagon has potentially a nasty scandal on its hands another one that is that the u.s. marine corps says that it is investigative a shocking forty second video that surfaced today on lively going elsewhere on the internet in what appears to be u.s. soldiers urine eating on dead bodies in afghanistan how's that for winning hearts and minds for the video that you're about to see here there it is shows four men in full combat gear s

most of the troops from france in afghanistan are there only as trainers. nicolas sarkozy said he would consider an early withdrawal of all french units. this comes a day after six marines were killed in a helicopter crash. from kabul, we have this report. >> in some of the most dangerous areas in northern afghanistan, a french troops fight the taliban. alongside them, the afghan army. they fight together and live together in close quarters. shoulder to shoulder is the slogan. after friday's killing, how much longer will the french stand alongside the afghan army? this evening in kabul, authorities revealed what happened. the french were conducting a training session. they were unarmed. an afghan officer opened fire, killing four and injuring 16. the french government says these were not combat deaths, but murders. this is the second such attack on french forces in the last few weeks. these killings are becoming more common. dozens of foreign soldiers have died when a afghans they served with turn on them. the administration denies there is a pattern to the

after ten years of war in afghanistan the u.s. reached another dubious milestone as the world's most notorious prison talked up to ten years in existence went on a unverse who marked world wide protests and fresh calls for president obama to keep his election promise to shut it down but with washington recently passing a law to definitely detain anyone it deems a terror threat who is to close guantanamo affording them death is as though smith reports. one zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero one zero zero zero abdullah and we are now freely today is probably just another day for the inmates of guantanamo bay they may not even know that people around the world are campaigning for them but as far afield as london demonstrations are held to demand the release of the hundred seventy one men still held without trial in the cuban camp after ten years one of those men is shaka omer who's earned the dubious distinction of being the last british resident held in guantanamo he was in afghanistan or nine eleven he says doing charity work

war in afghanistan. while the general and his top aides aides went through europe, supposedly encouraging them to do more for the afghan fight. they were quoted talking smack at president obama. talking smack about vice president biden. talking smack about the plitig envoy. talking smack about the american ambassador to afghanistan. they got really drunk. they swore. they derided what it was they were working on on behalf of the u.s. military and the the country. and it all ended up, all of it, words and all, in "rolling stone." the response was swift and certain. >> today i accepted general stanley mcchrystal's resignation at the commander of the international security force. the conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general. it undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system. that point the president just made about undermining civilian control of the military, that pointed up gett

we do have continued progress in afghanistan. it's tough and it remains challenging but we are beginning to enable transition to afghan security responsibility. the nato effort in libya has concluded with the fall of gadhafi and targeted counterterrorism efforts have significantly weakened al qaeda and decimated its leadership. and now, as these events are occurring, congress has mandated by law that we achieve significant defense savings. so, clearly, we are at a turning point. but even as our large-scale military campaigns recede, the united states still faces complex and growing array of security challenges across the globe. and unlike past drawdowns when often times the threats that the country was facing went away, the fact is there remain a number of challenges that we have to confront, challenges that call for reshaping of america's defense priorities, focusing on the continuing threat of violent extremism, which is still there and still to be dealt with, proliferation of lethal weapons and materials, the destabilizing beh

has focused instead on other countries whether be afghanistan or iraq and now iran we're that threat is less but that has been behind the scenes that's been a big worry of the u.s. government but what happens in pakistan surely is crucial what happens for the future of afghanistan isn't it yes pakistan has always played a big role in afghanistan at least in modern times and that goes back to the one nine hundred eighty s. when the reagan administration enlisted essentially the pakistani government to help out in the war against the soviet forces in afghanistan that was a case where the reagan administration made a number of concessions to islamic extremists not only within sight within the pakistani government which was then working toward a nuclear bomb but also. hard to some of the arabic stream is like some of bin laden who flocked to that conflict as well so you had you've had a number of situations where pakistan has tried through various means to assert its power in afghanistan in part also because its concern that india might otherwise get a leg up so to speak in afghanistan a

before we go, can i just say let's get the hell out of afghanistan. now all of a sudden they will be more angry because of this urination business, and then we have to fight them again. you get the sense that i'm pissed about the afghan war? let's bring them home! all right. now that i made that clear, when we come back, strap it on, cnn, "new york times," i'm coming for you. ♪ ♪ okay, so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours? for the energy to keep you going. who wouldn't want to be a part of that? payday. the sweet taste of energy. >>we're gonna be election central for those who care about what's really going on. i'm a political junkie, and this year is going to be a fan

war in afghanistan. while the general and his top aid aides went through europe, supposedly encouraging them to do more for the afghan fight. they were quoted talking smack at president obama. talking smack about vice president biden. talking smack about the plit ig envoy. talking smack about the american ambassador to afghanistan. they got really drunk. they swore. they derided what it was they were working on on behalf of the u.s. military and the the country. and it all ended up, all of it, words and all, in "rolling stone." the response was swift and certain. >> today i accepted general stanley mcchrystal's resignation at the kmapder of the international security force. the conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general. it undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system. that point the president just made about undermining civilian control of the military, that point ened up gett

>> a lot more time in iraq and afghanistan. at this time i did for trips to afghanistan. i think i spent four of the last six christmases there. it has been my life. >> you're how old? >> i am now 31. it has been a long decades. >> your college is what? >> nyu. i studied english. the certified me to join workforce. while i started at "newsweek" as an unpaid intern working for being is international. >> you say in your book that there are 27,000 working pr people in the pentagon spending $4.7 billion a year. 27,000? where did you get that number? >> it includes a broader number, not just propaganda folks. it goes from software programs. the pentagon is making auditors are social media. there has been a recent example where the army is using a program that monitors how may times bradley manning is mentioned. it goes through the massive public relations apparatus that all branches of the military have. i have often thought about this. there are more public relations people on a general staff in kabul then there are reporters. they need all the help they can get apparently. e