30 minutes from now the president of the united states will address the american people. >> welcome to cnn's breaking news coverage of president obama's surprise visit to afghanistan. the president will be telling us about the new strategic partnership agreement he has just signed with afghanistan's president outlining the relationship between the united states and afghanistan after the withdrawal of u.s. forces at the end of 2014. white house officials tell us the timing was driven by the

negotiations over that agreement at an upcoming nato summit. critics will say it is about politics. everyone knows today is the anniversary of the raid in pakistan that killed osama bin laden. on the ground, do people there -- are they aware that president obama is on the ground? >> reporter: late in the afternoon the sun went down there was a report on afghan media suggesting that he was already in kabul. since then we have seen absolute silence across the city occasionally by helicopters and that is presumably some part of the president in and out of the capital. the speech we are about to hear in the next half hour i think will be cap suilated.

there are two bits of the speech which stand out to me suggesting new white house thinking which is further suggesting that afghanistan will take leads next year. and another issue of contention, too, in which he suggests the pace of withdrawing troops will continue steadily after the first chunk of withdrawals this year. that is a little different than what the general wanted which is to keep u.s. troop levels at 68,000 throughout next year. we are beginning to see the suggestions for how the white house would like to see troop levels reduced. >> there are about 88 to 90,000 u.s. forces on the ground. 20,000 to 22,000 are supposed to leave by the end of the summer, september. those are the so-called surge forces which would leave about 68,000. according to the time table the president has set out they are all supposed to leechb except

for special forces and quick reaction forces by the end of 2014. will there be according to this agreement permanent u.s. bases in afghanistan after that? >> i don't think anybody doubts there will be a permanent u.s. presence here sometime after 2014. the question is what conditions, how many. there is still this large question mark hanging over what legal status reporters would have. u.s. forces couldn't stand around iraq. that is not something which kabul and washington have really addressed. there is another agreement which has to address the american military presence after 2014. >> appreciate the reporting from kabul. we are anticipating the president speaking 30 to 40 minutes from now. we will come back to you live. obviously disagreement while having some details is largely

symbolic. there is a lot of details particularly the financing moving forward after 2014 that are not spelled out. there is going to be another meeting of nato countries coming up in chicago where they hope to get financial commitments from nato countries. as you know over the last couple of years it has been difficult to get other nato countries to live up some of their verbal commitments to troop levels and financing in afghanistan. >> it's going to be really hard as you know anderson to get the european allies, many of whom are going through such tough economic times to come up with the billions of dollars that the afghans will want. they have gotten used to hundreds of billions of dollars in u.s. assistance over the past ten years or so. they are going to want that to continue. they will certainly take the cash. let's go to the white house. chris lawrence is at the pentagon. we have some excerpts from what the president is going to say. he is putting an optimistic note

on what he says is the beginning of the end of the u.s. mission in afghanistan. >> putting an optimistic note. we expect him to say this time a war began in afghanistan and this is where it will all end. so part of it trying to come full circle and stressing that he has made good on one of his pledges here in this election year. also it's really interesting to understand just how all of this is pulled off because this day and age it's pretty hard for most people to hide for 13 plus hours. you can imagine how difficult that is when you are talking about the president of the united states. i just want to pull back the screen. first off the president left under the cover of night. he left late last night and the white house achieved this in part by putting out a bit of a fake schedule. i didn't know until today that he was in afghanistan. so they put on a fake schedule not just to buy the president

some time. this said he was in meetings all day but also to buy white house press secretary some time because we are used to having him briefed most days. they were still traveling at 12:30 or 1:00. today's briefing was at 3:00. maybe not too unusual so it wasn't really questioned. and then it takes planning to pull off something like this. the white house looped up several people who were involved in the pool of journalists that travel with president obama. they stressed secrecy they. >> reporter: that and don't disclose it. cnn and other outlets even though more people it bablizzard came a wide net of people who knew they respect that and don't say until president obama was on the ground today that he was in afghanistan. >> it was obviously a very, very

sensitive security related mission for the president of the united states. the press secretary for president bush, you were once involved ichb a dangerous sensitive mission like this by president bush. >> i left the white house in july of '03. president bush's was in november but i sure know a lot about it. >> what do you think about the way the president is handling this right now? >> i think the president is doing the appropriate thing here. this is what presidents do. this is the power. it's what the commander in chief should do to go to the war zone and thank the troops. i have no objection to it being on the one year anniversary of the killing of bin laden. i think the president could have been on a three-day role if he hadn't attacked mitt romney in that ad. he has every right to talk about what he is doing as our commander in chief. this is the president's prerogative. >> excellent point.

i want to go to capitol hill right now. what is the reaction you are getting to this surprise presidential mission? >> by and large republicans including republican leaders are keeping their pattern dry. they are not going to say anything at least until the president speaks maybe even after that. been quoting senator james of oklahoma saying this is a campaign speech but he is the exception so far. i did speak exclusively to senator john mccain before he left to go on a foreign trip of his own. he was not only the president's rival in the last campaign but one of mitt romney's chief surrogates and he was very outspoken about how ang ree he was. on this particular trip he had a very different take. >> what do you think about the president's surprise trip to afghanistan? >> i think it's a good thing. i think it's always good when the president goes to where

young men and women are in harm's way. and i think that many of us who have been involved in afghanistan are very supportive of the strategic partnership agreement which i'm sure he will be talking about. we think the agreement is good. we obviously would like to know the details. >> senator, you have been very outspoken, very critical of what the president did recently politicly with an ad boasting about getting osama bin laden and hitting mitt romney for it. do you think this trip is also part of his political campaign? >> no. i can't accuse the president of that. a lot of people both here in congress including senator graham and senator lieberman worked on this agreement. it is important that we spend the message to friends and enemies alike that the united states has a long-term commitment to afghanistan. >> so this is not spiking the football in the end zone as you

said? >> i don't view it as that and i wish the president would explain more often to the american people why afghanistan and it's important that afghanistan not return to a base for attacks on the united states of america. >> that is one of the key reasons i think we are not hearing more criticism from republicans about this trip because we have heard so often that the president is not talking enough about afghanistan. he has not made a major speech about this war since june of 2011 almost a year ago. spoke with republican chair of the house armed services committee and says he wishes the president talked more about this war and about the good things that are happening that the troops are doing. one last thing and another reason i believe that the republicans are keeping their pattern dry is because of the strategic partnership agreement is something that republicans have been urging him to do because it makes clear that the

u.s. presence will stay after combat troops come out after 2014. >> that is music to the ears for republicans. there is a thunder of silence from liberal democrats who hate the fact that there is this long-term commitment to afghanistan. i want to bring it to dona. it is interesting to me and i wonder if it is to you that senator graham and mccain are praising the president's ten year plus commitment to afghanistan but you are not hearing that praise from a lot of your fellow liberal democrats. >> i think because many of the liberal democrats and others are right now celebrating the fact that we are reaching a very important milestone. president obama said two years ago when he met with president karzai that they would come up with this historic agreement. we see the outlines of it. we know there will be more details at it in terms of details of it. but they also made an agreement

that this historic decision would be made in afghanistan at least the signing would be in afghanistan prior to the summit in chicago on may 21st. we spent so much time talking about the raid and a year ago. i think we should once again applaud our national security officials for the outstanding work they did a year ago. i continue to praise the president's leadership in making that tough decision. right now we should hear from the president to see where do we go from here and what will it require of the american people. when you look at the numbers and we always talk about polls the american people are weary. they are ready to bring troops home. i think the president will have to make the case in why we have to continue to stay in afghanistan beyond 2014. >> there will be a small number after 2014 but for the next 2

1/2 years tens of thousands of troops and tens of thousands of taxpayer money to continue to flow to maintain the presence. president is going to have his work cut out for him in making this address in about 15 or 20 minutes or so. our special coverage continues right after this. a party?

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president obama surprise trip to afghanistan. you are looking at pictures of president obama's helicopter arriving before taking him to kabul. afghanistan's president karzai, we are going to bring you the president's live address. we anticipate that in about 20 minutes or so from air base where he will be talking in front of troops, an address to the american people. our coverage will be continuing on through the 8:00 hour, as well. what it means for the united states for troops and families

who have sacrificed so much of loved ones in harm's way. what is the time table, what is the u.s. commitment to afghanistan in moving forward? we learned more about that tonight. a lot to talk about. erin burnett joins us now. >> as we talk about this there is no coincidence in terms of the timing. the president's trip comes a year after u.s. navy seals gunned down osama bin laden. joining me now is peter bergen. his latest book is "man hunt." also is fran townsend. peter i know you interviewed osama bin laden. you spent time with him and met him. we know that the president is going to talk in his speech in a few moments. he is going to talk about having successfully decimated al qaeda. true? >> yes. according to counter terrorism officials two leaders of the organization left because of the

efforts like fran townsend under the bush administration or the last six months a lot of senior members of al qaeda were killed in drone strikes. i looked at some of the documents of the compound. bin laden was aware of how damaging these drone strikes were to al qaeda. he was advocating that his group move to afghanistan which he thought was safer for the tribal regions. >> and we just heard john mccain saying i don't think this is political because some people are saying that a visit on the one year anniversary of the president would be political. said we worked on this security agreement together. i worked on it. lindsey graham worked on it. safe to say that it's bipartisan. are you concerned by the fact that it doesn't detail the money that will be spent, the troops

that will come home, when and the numbers. >> absolutely. we ought to be concerned but we shouldn't be surprised. this took some 20 months to negotiate. it did take a bipartisan effort. these agreements typically don't have those sorts of details in them. money has to be allocated by congress. troop levels will have to be decided not only on recommendations of the united states military but along working with our afghan partners. these things will have to be worked on depending on conditions on the ground. >> we have been talking a lot about what al qaeda is now ten years later. i know you had a chance to look at some of the documents in the compound and how there were plans on attacks on cruise ships. what stood out to you? what did you see in terms of what they could be thinking now? >> if osama bin laden was here what he would say if he was being honest, he would say i'm recommending my 20-year-old son

move to gutter, one of the richest countries in the world and the safest. so bin laden may have been trying to recruit 20 year olds to his cause. he was suggesting that they move to the safe country. bin laden and his leadership is running out of money. they haven't had a successful attack in the west since seven years ago. 17 americans died in the united states. more americans die in their bath tubs accidently drowning every year. we don't have an irrational fear of bath tub drownings. >> so victory is safe to say. the president may be declaring tonight? >> i don't think he is going to declare victory because what if you are 1% wrong. >> i want to interrupt because this is a live picture of where the president will be approaching the podium in a couple of moments. he is going to be coming here.

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from the safe cocoon of the white house a travel for this in seceracy. >> bonds between our countries. >> president obama's startling move on the anniversary of the bin laden rein, a surprise visit to afghanistan to announce a turning point in the longest war in u.s. history. >> look forward to a future of peace and security and greater prosperity for our nations. >> tonight details that couldn't be revealed until now. the secrets. >> it's pretty hard to hide the president of the united states. >> the safety risks. once he was on the ground and everybody knew he was there to get him back out again. >> a presidential address, a milestone for u.s. troops and perhaps a make or break moment in the race for the white house. this is a cnn special report,

surprise visit, obama in afghanistan. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. >> i'm anderson cooper in new york. we are covering the president's address to the nation. we anticipate him speaking in about ten or 15 minutes. joining us live for our coverage, peter bergen whose new book "man hunt" has been released. the strategic partnership agreement and you are looking at a live shot of where the president will be addressing any moment now, if the strategic partnership agreement is largely symbolic, a lot of details

haven't yet been hammered out what is the significance of the president going to kabul to sign it today? >> there is important significance to it. the agreement is more than symbolic. it is a statement by the united states that we are there for the long haul. this nation has a reputation for cutting and running. when people get tired here, public opinion turns against a conflict we pull out. afghan people have felt that in particular here by going there and putting his personal presence on the line. the president is sending an important signal. we are in there for at least a dozen years. we have been in a lot of nations for a long time. been in korea not long ago. we have been there a long time. we are in afghanistan i bet for a while. >> the strength of the taliban the president talks a lot about al qaeda in afghanistan and being able to defeat them but al qaeda really has a tiny presence

in afghanistan as elsewhere the taliban has been the primary enemy of the united states in afghanistan for the last several years. and we just saw two weeks ago large scale attacks in kabul, significant attacks by taliban forces throughout kabul that struck fear and surprise into the hearts of a lot of observers watching the situation in afghanistan. i'll talk to peter bergen about that. candy is joining us now. the politics of this, candy, are hard to escape. a lot of republicans have not been criticizing the president at all for this trip. we are hearing john mccain for this. tomorrow do you expect to hear once the president is back republicans taking critical rhetorical shots at the president? >> i don't think so. i think it is significantly different to take this trip where the troops are.

there's the young men and women over there still dying, still bleeding. and for the president of the united states at some risk to go over there is a big deal. and i think that is so different from running a political ad wondering whether mitt romney would have okayed the mission to go get osama bin laden. i think it is completely different this time. >> wolf blitzer is also joining us as we wait for the president to stand behind the podium. >> john king is here. momentarily the president will be speaking. the isis a speech that i'm sure white house officials have been working on for a long time. >> because negotiating this agreement took some time. it's a difficult policy for the president. this has been a relationship. can't always trust president karzai. at home the president has pressure from his liberal base to end the war last year or the year before. now he is saying we are going to bring most troops home. republicans want to see the

details. he has to look to his left and right. a and we are in an election year. may 1st in an election year everything is political. >> you won't hear the president say how much money the u.s. will have to spend in afghanistan after 2014. those issues have to be worked out. >> those issues have to be resolved but at least this is a symbolic strategic embrace. they are putting their names to something. what it says is that the united states is committing to keeping al qaeda from emerging out of the shadows again to fight another day in afghanistan. and this is something that's very, very important to the people over there. everything the president does now as john was saying is seen within a political framework because the election is coming up. this does give the president the opportunity to say he has wound

down two unpopular wars, iraq and afghanistan. >> he arrived in afghanistan about five hours or so ago and will be leaving right after this speech, all of it in darkness. >> because of security concerns. as we await the president to the point this is a very important policy moment. the american people are tired of this decade of war but this is proof of the power of incumbency. he is now dominating the cycle. that sends the message, too. he is the commander in chief and the president of the united states. when he goes around the world at risk he can dominate the news cycle. mitt romney was in new york with rudy giuliani might have gotten more attention except for this. >> he left around 11:00 p.m. eastern time last night from andrews air force base outside of washington and got there about 2:00 p.m. eastern time, about a 13 hour flight overseas,

a very long flight. the president is walking into this location right now. here he comes. he is going to be speaking we assume for about ten minutes. here is the president. >> good evening. this outpost is more than 7,000 miles from home but for over a decade it's been close to our hearts because here in afghanistan more than half a million of our sons and daughters have sacrificed to protect our country. today i signed a historic agreement between the united states and afghanistan that defines a new relationship between our countries, a future in which afghans are responsible for the security of their nation and we built an equal partnership between two sovereign states, a future in which war ends and a new chapter begins. tonight i'd like to speak to you about this transition.

first let us remember why we came here. it was here in afghanistan where osama bin laden established a safe haven for his terrorist organization. it was here in afghanistan where al qaeda brought new recruits, trained them and plotted acts of terror. it was here from within these borders that al qaeda launched the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 innocent men, women and children. and so ten years ago the united states and our allies went to war to make sure that al qaeda could never again use this country to launch attacks against us. despite initial success for a number of reasons this war has taken longer than most anticipated. in 2002 bin laden and his lieutenants escaped across the border and established safe haven in pakistan. america spent nearly eight years fighting a different war in iraq.

and al qaeda's extremist allies within the taliban have waged a brutal insurgency. the tide as turned. we broke the taliban's momentum. we built strong afghan security forces. we devastated al qaeda's leadership. one year ago from a base here in afghanistan our troops launched the operation that killed osama bin laden. the goal that i set to defeat al qaeda and deny it a chance to rebuild is now within our reach. still there will be difficult days ahead. enormous sacrifices of our men and women are not over. tonight i'd like to tell you how we will complete our mission and end the war in afghanistan. first,e have begun a transition to afghan responsibility for security. already nearly half of the afghan people live in places where afghan security forces are

moving in to the lead. this month our coalition will set a goal for afghan forces to be in the lead for combat forces across the country next year. international troops will continue to train, advice and fight along side them when needed. we will shift into a support role as afghans step forward. as we do our troops will be coming home. last year we removed 10,000 u.s. troops from afghanistan. another 23,000 will leave by the end of the summer. after that reductions will continue at a steady pace with more and more of our troops coming home. as our coalition agreed by the end of 2014 the afghans will be fully responsible for the security of their country. second, we are training afghan security forces to get the job done. those forces have surged and

will peak at 352,000 this year. the afghans will sustain that level for three years and then reduce the size of their military. and in chicago we will endorse a proposal to support a strong and sustainable long-term afghan force. third, we're building an enduring partnership. the agreement we signed today sends a clear message to the afghan people. as you stand up you will not stand alone. it establishes the basis for our cooperation over the next decade including shared commitments to combat terrorism and strengthen institutions. and it includes afghan commitments to transparency and accountability and to protect the human rights of all afghans, men and women, boys and girls. within this framework we'll work with the afghans to determine what support they need to

accomplish to narrow security missions beyond 2014. counter terrorism and continued training. but we will not build permanent bases in this country nor will we be patrolling in cities and mountains. that will be the job of the afghan people. fourth, we're pursuing a negotiated peace. in coordination with the afghan government my administration has been in direct discussions with the taliban. we made it clear they can be a part of the future if they break with al qaeda and abide by afghan laws. many members have indicated an interest in reconciliation. the path to peace is now set before them. those who refuse to walk it will face strong afghan security forces backed by the united states and our allies. fifth, we are building a global

consensus to support peace and stability in south asia. in chicago the international community will express support for this plan and for afghanistan's future. i have made it clear to its neighbor, pakistan that it can and should be an equal partner in this process in a way that respects pakistan's sovereignty, interests. in pursuit of a durable peace america has no designs behind an end to safe havens and respect for afghan sovereignty. as we move forward some people will ask why we need a firm timeline. the answer is clear. our goal is not to build a country in america's image or to erad kate every vestige of the taliban. these objectives would require many more years, many more dollars and most importantly many more american lives. our goal is to destroy al qaeda and we are on a path to do

exactly that. afghans want to assert their sovereignty and build a lasting peace. that requires a clear timeline to wind down the war. others will ask why don't we leave immediately. that answer is also clear. we must give afghanistan the opportunity to stabilize otherwise our gains could be lost and al qaeda could establish itself once more. as commander in chief i refuse to let that happen. i recognize that many americans are tired of war. as president nothing is more wrenching that signing a letter to a family of the fallen or looking into the eyes of a child who will grow up without a mother or father. i will not keep americans in harm's way a single day longer than is absolutely required for our national security. but we must finish the job we started in afghanistan and end

this war responsibly. my fellow americans, we have travelled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war yet here in the predawn darkness of afghanistan we can see the light of a new day on the horizon. the iraq war is over. the number of our troops in harm's way has been cut in half and more will soon be coming home. we have a clear path to fulfill our mission in afghanistan while delivering justice to al qaeda. this future is only within reach because of our men and women in uniform. time and again they have answered the call to serve in distant and dangerous places. at an age when so many institutions have come up short these americans stood tall. they met their responsibilities to one another and to the flag they serve under. i just met with some of them and told them that as commander in

chief i could not be prouder. and in their faces we see what is best in ourselves and our country. our soldiers, our sailors, our air men, marines, coast guards men and civilians in afghanistan have done their duty. now we must summon that same sense of common purpose. we must give our veterans and military families the support they deserve and the opportunities they have earned. and we must redouble our efforts to build a nation worthy of their sacrifice. as we emerge from a deck ald of conflict abroad and economic crisis at home it's time to renew america. a united america of resilience where unlight glistens off of soring towers in downtown

manhattan and we build as one nation. here in afghanistan americans answered the call to defend their fellow citizens and uphold human dignity. today we were called to follow and those who suffered wounds seen and unseen. through dark days we have drawn strength from their example and the ideals that guided our nation and lit the world. a belief that all people are created equal and deserve the freedom to determine their destiny. that is the light that guides us still. this time of war began in afghanistan and this is where it will end with faith in each other and our eyes fixed on the future. let us finish the work at hand and forage a just and lasting peace. may god bless our troops and may god bless the united states of america.

president obama speaking to the nation and to the entire world in afghanistan outlining an exit strategy for the united states military in afghanistan, an exit strategy that will take place over the next 2 1/2 years between now and the end of 2014. he says there will be a new u.s. military and strategic relationship with afghanistan but details have to be worked out. >> a sober assessment from the president, a hopeful tone about bringing our troops home made note of the osama bin laden of a year ago and the iraq war is over. the president said he is committed to ending most of these. what struck me most about being at the white house when all of this began, 2024 is the next agreement. the u.s. commitment, some military presence, more financial commitment that will be six presidential terms from 9/11 when george w. bush was

president until the end of 2024 well beyond the presidency. pretty striking the legacy of that attack on 9/11 will be the united states in afghanistan at least through 2024. >> and a significant presence between now and the end of 2014. even though there are 90,000 now it will go down to about 65,000 troops this year. >> what really struck me about this was the president actually mentioned his critics saying some people will ask why we need a firm timeline here which is of course the criticism of mitt romney, the criticism of john mccain and he said very simply the goal is we don't want to rebuild afghanistan to be like us. we want to destroy al qaeda and we believe, of course, that we can make this transition to the afghan security forces and allow them to take responsibility for this. but also it's very clear they

have not made a firm commitment on anything. they are allowed to do something if they want to but they are not required to do something. so this is from their point of view a pretty open ended agreement that allows them to do what they feel they need to do in a couple of years. >> now we are expecting a statement from mitt romney, the republican presidential presumptive nominee. it will be a statement i assume praising the president for this but i could be wrong. >> it is what he has done throughout most of the day privately. there has been no critical statement about this particular trip. i imagine it will be in keeping with that and perhaps a nod to the troops and what they have done. i would imagine even agreeing with the president about needing to come home. i thought the subtlest part of the speech but the one that picks up on what we have been talking about which is the

number of people including a majority of republicans in the last poll i saw that want this war to end. the president said as we emerge from a decade of conflict abroad it is time to renumeric. that is generally the feeling you get when you talk to people who have turned against this war. however righteous they felt the beginning of it was and saying we have so many problems we need to come back here. i think the president captured that unrest and tried to say a little more time here and we are getting it done. >> a little more time. 2 1/2 more years. tens of thousands of u.s. troops in harms way and tens of billions of taxpayer money will be spent. he did say the goal i set to defeat al qaeda is within reach. much more coming up. the president still on the ground in afghanistan right now. we are watching what is going on. our special coverage will continue. aspirin is just old school.

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welcome back. president obama visiting with some of the troops in afghanistan earlier today. we saw him addressing the nation just a short time ago talking about what the united states commitment would be to afghanistan in the next two years and in the ten years after the end of 2014 when u.s. troops are supposed to have left afghanistan. he said that the u.s. military will still have a role in afghanistan but it will be a counterterrorism role and security forces. david gergen is joining us now. what did you make of the president's speech? and it's dependent on the afghan police and army being able to shoulder the responsibility. and for years now they have not done a great job of doing that. >> good point, anderson. overall that was a first class big league speech. just what americans look for in a president.

you can quibble about what he left out. namely as you know so well, afghanistan remains a very corrupt country with a corrupt government with karsai. it's a very poor country, third poorest in the world. 70% illiteracy rate. there's an awful lot of work to do to bring that country stability. overall i think president obama tonight showed he had a firm hand on the tiller. he has a -- he spoke in calm, reasonable ways. the united states was executing on that plan. when it comes to foreign policy, he has a grip. i think that's what people are looking for. they want to know the commander in chief is in charge. i think he accomplished that tonight. >> this has been a long negotiation to get this partnership -- this strategic partnership agreement. there has been a lot of concern about hamid karsai, concern about other afghan leaders and corruption in that country. but clearly the united states very strongly tonight said they

are committed to afghanistan for 12 more years. >> we've embraced them one way or another whether it's karsai or not. you've been there so many times. you know how complicated the reality is there. we've made a lot of military progress. our troops deserve a great deal of credit. the surge has worked better than the skeptics believe. but even so on the political side. trying to govern that country, as you know, is a miss. and we're going to have ourselves wrapped into that hopefully without too many casualties. we're not going to have bases there. i think some of us thought -- >> permanent bases. >> permanent bases. we wouldn't do that. we'll have a presence, but won't be on the front lines. i think overall what he is moving to a support role, what he's saying is we've done what we've wanted to do. we'll pull out but don't want it to fall apart. >> they will be doing

counterterrorism training but no patrols. we've lost a lot of men and women and they've been wounded on patrols. >> that's absolutely right. as you know, there are reports that are out there now that the military would like to send in more s.e.a.l.s and more army delta forces. they'd like to put more special forces on the ground is there. we'll have to see how that works out. i think he accomplished the mission he sent out to do when he made this tr ip. that he gave assurance and frankly this will have a political fallout in more ways than one. americans were looking for that kind of firm leadership on the domestic side. they don't see it. and maybe they'll think better overall now. we'll have to wait and see. >> there's more to talk about. we have to take a quick break. we assume the president leaving now that the speech is done. we'll bring you all the details as we can. we'll take a quick break. we'll be right back.

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within this framework, we'll work with the afghans to determine what support they need to accomplish to narrow security missions beyond 2014. counterterrorism and continued training. but we will not build permanent bases in this country. nor will we be patrolling in cities and mountains. that will be the job of the afghan people. >> president outlining an exit

strategy for u.s. troops in afghanistan. john, he also laid out hope that members of the taliban will cooperate. >> and that's part of the risk of this strategy. they have no choice but to bring the taliban into negotiations. that's a risk there. you're talking about people who invited al qaeda in to build those training camps, who have persecuted women, who have wreaked terror on afghan people for years and years. it's interesting. we talked during the break. we're at highly charged political times right now. what a quiet night it is. the republicans are holding their powder. they'll have questions about the timeline. ll have questions about where the devils in the details. and liberals almost silent. combat troops for two and a half more years. then some troops for another dozen years in afghanistan. it's interesting in a loud political environment it's quiet tonight