on our broadcast this monday night, secrets are out about the war in afghanistan. tonight, the damage. and who released the massive pile of documents, and why? he's out. the top man at bp will get his life back after all, after being handsomely rewarded. follow that dream. a huge box office hit has a lot of people wondering about the science of making dreams come true. and making a difference by repaying families who give a lot for all of us. also tonight, how life in this country changed forever exactly 20 years ago today. this country changed forever exactly 20 years ago today. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. there has been a massive leak. there are so many pages of military secrets now public, the pentagon hasn't even read all of them. 91,000 documents have been released on the internet by the whistleblower website wikileaks.org. and they have more. some of the documents ripped the cover off the u.s.-led war effort in afghanistan. they tell a story that some veterans of the region know full well. more civilian deaths than are ever reported, unexplained american deaths, questionable battlefield tactics and a mission just not going that well. this comes just as the u.s., of course, is gearing up this new push in the conflict. we have two reports to start off with tonight. first, our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski. jim, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. this massive leak provides incredible detail and insight into the u.s. war in afghanistan. day by day, battle by battle

it's a tough look at the worst of the war. the staggering mountain of documents, nearly 92,000, covers a six-year stretch of the war ending last december when the u.s. war effort was failing and the taliban was on the rise. the secret documents were released by the whistleblower website wikileaks and its founder, julian assange. >> the real story of this material is that it's war. it's one damn thing after another. it is the continuous small events, the continuous deaths of children, insurgents. >> reporter: many of the documents tear the cover off pakistan's alleged secret support for the taliban. the u.s. has long complained to pakistan that its intelligence service, the isi, was working with the taliban, but today's release provides shocking and specific new details. even as pakistan accepted billions in u.s. aid, the documents suggest isi officials

conspired with taliban leaders to plan attacks against american forces in afghanistan. former isi chief hamid gul was reportedly deeply involved in the taliban operation. in an nbc interview today, he fired back. >> i deny it vehemently, outrightly. it is fictitious and fabricated. >> reporter: at the white house today, press secretary robert gibbs called the allegations old news, and insisted pakistan has stepped up its efforts to eliminate safe havens and drive out the taliban. >> i'm not going to stand here on july the 26th and tell you that all is well. i will tell you that we have made progress in moving this relationship forward. >> reporter: the documents do show serious concerns among u.s. military commanders. they repeatedly complain about lack of resources, unreliable afghan soldiers and a corrupt afghan government.

some cases suggest possible military cover-ups. in may 2007 documents show the taliban shot down a u.s. helicopter with a shoulder-fired heat-seeking missile, killing seven soldiers. but american commanders concealed that fact. today, u.s. military officials tell nbc news that it was an iranian-made heat-seeker that brought down the chopper. there are concerns, however, that the massive breakdown in security, revealing sources of battlefield intelligence puts u.s. forces and their allies at greater risk. >> will we see friendly human intelligence sources murdered by the taliban in pakistan or afghanistan? will we lose access to intelligence that we use to protect our soldiers? >> reporter: the white house and pentagon argue that since most of the documents were written, the president signed off on a new strategy and more american forces are headed to afghanistan, providing a better chance for success. given the history in

afghanistan, nobody's making any promises. brian? >> jim miklaszewski starting us off at the pentagon. jim, thanks. part of the damage here is to diplomacy and the behavior of other nations, especially pakistan. that part of this story from our chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell, in our washington newsroom tonight. andrea, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. u.s. diplomats are scrambling to reassure pakistan's government that the leaks were not authorized. that does not mean that they don't reflect what washington really thinks about pakistan's shadowy spy agency. hillary clinton today with israel's defense minister ignoring questions about the leaks. >> how damaging are the afghanistan document leaks to our regional policy? >> i'm looking forward to my meeting with the defense minister. >> reporter: only a week ago clinton was putting the best face on meetings with pakistan's president, prime minister, and foreign minister, but the real substance was her tough talk behind the scenes with the

country's real power brokers. the military chief, general kayani and the head of the spy agency, general pasha. clinton's message could lead to stronger action against the taliban. some pakistani officials, she says, even know where osama bin laden is hiding and could get him if they wanted to. >> frankly, it would be helpful if we could get access to bin laden and mullah omar. i said in october that i believe they are here in pakistan. it would be really helpful if we could get them. that's an important part of what we are trying to achieve. >> reporter: clinton calls it the trust deficit. pakistan's secret support for the taliban, the double dealing that is central to many of the leaked documents. despite $7.5 billion in new aid for pakistan, at recent senate hearings, support for the strategy was already shaky. >> i have heard a lot about process. i have heard a lot about meetings. i have no earthly idea, no

earthly idea what our objectives are in the civilian front. >> reporter: matthew ho, a former marine quit his post last year, arguing that the u.s. presence was only fuelling the insurgency. >> this should be a great wake-up call to the american public of the level of complexity of this. we don't know who's on our side. we don't know who we're fighting. >> reporter: tonight senate foreign relations chairman john kerry said that however illegally these documents came to light, they raise serious questions about the reality of america's policy toward pakistan and afghanistan. hearings on the war tomorrow say the documents make it more urgent to get the policy right. brian? >> andrea mitchell in washington. andrea, thanks. we turn our coverage now to the oil disaster in the gulf of mexico and word that the man who was the public face of bp is on his way out. tony hayward will reportedly exit the job of bp ceo in october with a hefty pension and

another job offer. maria bartiromo covering the story in london for us tonight. maria, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. thanks very much. sources at bp are telling us not to expect an official announcement tonight on hayward's successor. it is widely expected that robert dudley will get the job. he is his american colleague. he's been running the gulf response in the gulf since june. this would make him the first american to lead this british iconic firm. cameras surrounded the silver lexus as embattled ceo tony hayward left bp's headquarters. he will reportedly step down as ceo in october and take a job with bp's joint venture in russia. >> tony hayward at this point has become the wayward ceo and not a ceo that has the legitimacy to lead. >> reporter: he's been criticized for public gaffes. >> there is no one who wants this thing over more than i do.

i'd like my life back. >> reporter: at a hearing in washington he was accused of evading questions. >> i think you are insulting our intelligence. >> reporter: and as the oil continued to soil gulf waters, hayward spent a weekend far from it at a yacht race in england, stirring up yet more controversy. bp's managing director, bob dudley, a 54-year-old mississippi native, became bp's public face in the gulf. >> i'm frustrated and saddened. >> is there anything else you need to warn us about? >> reporter: in an interview with brian williams last month bp's new point man tried to change the tone. >> this is terrible and the company's going to put its full might behind providing every resource it can to stop it, clean it up and restore the gulf. >> reporter: restoring the gulf and building political support to continue drilling there is critical to bp's future. some analysts say dudley who spent 20 years at amoco is right for the job.

>> he's a very affable person and he's a very level-headed person and he's tough when it is needed. i think he will need all the toughness in the world to get bp back in shape. >> reporter: tomorrow we will get a lot more information when bp reports first half earnings including we will find out the exit package for mr. hayward which is fbeing talked about tonight at some $18 million including benefits. brian? >> thanks. now back to the coverage of the oil disaster itself. late last week tropical storm bonnie, you may recall, forced a delay in the cleanup efforts over the weekend even though it thankfully fell apart. it delayed the effort which is back on again to kill off that well. nbc's michelle kosinski is in venice, louisiana, for us tonight. michelle, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the news continues to be positive. there are no problems with the well cap and the static kill attempt will begin as early as next monday.

out here, a world away from the corporate boardroom, bp's own sea change may not have a direct effect on the day to day, but it is absolutely felt. >> make sure you have that stuff on the deck when i come around. >> reporter: after taking a few days to ride out tropical storm bonnie, for many workers their first days off in months, they were back on the water this morning cleaning up for bp and marveling that ceo tony hayward, for the time being their boss, too, is losing his job. >> now he gets his life back. every time he opened his mouth, he shoved both feet in it. >> reporter: the reaction sped throughout the gulf from plaquemines parish. >> i wish him well. i hope he'll donate some of that money to the gulf coast. >> reporter: to pensacola. also encouraging, the latest news from national incident command of rapid progress. between now and wednesday they will prepare the well with fluids. then through the weekend run a casing down, cement it in place

and a static kill pumping mud and cement into the top of the damaged well should start monday, august 2. five to seven days later the final bottom kill through the by then completed relief well. an end hopefully in sight. >> if it stands right now and the cap stays in place and we kill the well, we have seen the amount of oil that's going to be discharged. again, we are not going to declare victory on this until the well is killed. >> reporter: flying above blue water yesterday, it was difficult to find any oil patches. compare that to weeks ago. still, these fishermen like brian sherman, now tasked with rescuing oiled pelicans, don't see the same view down here. >> when we're out chasing the birds, we're kicking up oil and dispersant underwater. we see dead mullets on the beach, dead birds. i think it's going to get worse. >> reporter: officials acknowledged that just because you can't see oil doesn't mean it's not there. there seems to be a substantial amount unaccounted for, under

the surface and in hundreds of thousands of smaller patches and sheen that isn't easily skimmed. brian? >> thanks, michelle. a quick note on the aftermath of severe weather that plowed across the middle of the country over the weekend. in eastern iowa, they are cleaning up after major flooding. a burst dam sent an entire lake, about 9 miles long, surging into a river. dozens of vacation homes, cabins, tens of thousands of acres of corn and soybeans were destroyed in this and the wild summer weather then moved east. yesterday, a tornado touched down in part of new york city. when "nightly news" continues in just a moment, the box office blockbuster that has a lot of people thinking about the reality and the science of dreams. and later, making a difference, helping families reconnect with each other and with nature in one of this nation's most beautiful spots.

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you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ tires screech ] [ dennis ] dollar for dollar nobody protects you from mayhem like allstate. this is your first lesson in shared dreaming. it's the number one movie for the second week in a row. "inception" is a complex thriller audiences have flocked to, selling $144 million worth of tickets in just ten days since it opened. as nbc's chris jansing tells us, the movie is sparking lots of conversations about the subject matter -- our dreams. >> reporter: in "inception" leonardo dicaprio plays a thief with a highly specialized skill -- invading other people's dreams. >> you bring the subject into that dream and they fill it with their secrets. >> reporter: it's a surprise blockbuster hit in spite of a plot so complicated it's keeping people awake at night.

>> i absolutely feel like i have to see it a few more times to l lly understand it, yes. i ain. >> reporter: "inception" is one of twitter's hottest topics. blogs are drowning in theories. what does it all mean? with 25 years' experience studying sleep dr. rosenberg isn't surprised. >> at every cocktail party or family gathering i get questioned about dreams. really being able to understand them is still not a perfect science. >> reporter: still, "inception" isn't all science fiction. >> well, the movie itself does demonstrate that people can have more control over their dreams. >> reporter: scientists call it lucid dreaming. it takes training and practice, but sleep experts can teach you to be aware in the middle of a dream that you are in a dream. training that includes looking for clues, things that nevehappr en never happen in real life, for example, telling you that however real things might look and feel in your dream, they're not.

but that's as far as it goes. scientists don't foresee a o-like ability to invade our dreams. >> it's the great mystery. what is it? what happens when i close my eyes and go to sleep? >> it's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange. >> reporter: for now, the answer left in large part to movie makers' imaginations. in the meantime, thousands of people are taking matters into their own hands. over the last five years, there's been a huge growth in dream clubs. they're like book clubs except people meet to interpret their own dreams. they're usually free, brian, unless they are led by a psychotherapist or a dream coach. >> i think i prefer to stay awake. however, thank you for your report on this big box office winner. when we come back here tonight, how long can a stone keep rolling? ♪ time is on my side bi

we don't often see one bridge pass under another, but it happened in new york today. that's the new willis avenue bridge passing beneath the brooklyn bridge. it nears the end of a journey of 110 miles. it sailed all the way down the hudson from the factory. that bridge is urgently needed to replace a centuries-old dangerously crumbling bridge between harlem and manhattan and the bronx. it will be lined up in place and hoisted up, ready for traffic in november. today, for the first time

seated in a wheelchair and using a custom-fitted gavel a member of congress with a disability presided over the u.s. house of representatives. five-term rhode island democrat jim langevin in a wheelchair since an accidental shooting as a teenager and the first and only quadriplegic to serve in congress was able to do this for the first time. the speaker's rostrum itself was made wheelchair-accessible. it marks the anniversary of the landmark americans with disabilities act. it transformed our country, making so much more of our country accessible while banning workplace discrimination against millions of americans with disabilities. 20 years ago, the first president bush signed the act into law, calling it a kind of independence day as thousands on the white house lawn looked on, many of them in wheelchairs.

there was a similar scene on the south lawn late today as president obama marked the 20th anniversary. by the way, first lady michelle obama is planning a mother-daughter trip to spain next week with 9-year-old sasha. older daughter malia will be at summer camp. her husband, the president, will be at home where he will turn 49 next wednesday. in another birthday in the news, mick jagger turned 67 today, and the rolling stones are denying a british newspaper report that their next tour is their farewell tour. their combined age, by the way, 265. when the current tour concludes, drummer charlie watts will turn 70, but really what else are they going to do with their time at this point? back in a moment after a break with our making a difference report. what better way is there to thank them for all they have given? via's great new taste? today is your tasty lucky day! sure, why not? isn't this the yogurt that, you know... helps regulate your digestive system.

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discover customers are getting 5% cashback bonus at the pump... and at many of the places their summer plans take them. it pays to get more. it pays to discover. [ malhis day starts thwith his arthritis pain.. that's breakfast with two pills. the morning is over, it's time for two more pills. the day marches on, back to more pills.

and when he's finally home... but hang on -- just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. finally tonight in our "making a difference" segment, we have devoted a lot of coverage over these past 8 or so years to our troops. what they call the battle tempo of these dual wars, the multiple deployments, the sacrifice that takes. coming home and then trying to reconnect with family and friends can be a tricky business after a long deployment. one group is making a difference along those lines in the

mountains of wyoming. their story tonight from nbc's lee cowan. >> reporter: like the crystal clear rivers running through the wilds of the grand teton, life doesn't slow, even for war. as a major in the army national guard, joy alexander deals with it every time she's deployed. and forced to leave her two children behind. >> they are still developing, still growing. things are still changing and yet mom's not there to guide them. >> reporter: nicholas is her youngest. >> the more she goes, the sadder i get. >> reporter: for military families, saying good-bye is hard enough. but coming home can be a challenge, too. duty doesn't call just once. it calls over and over again, casting a long shadow over time at home. it can sometimes be difficult to bear. >> how do you join back in midstream? it's a moving target. it really is. >> reporter: midstream is quite

literally the setting for a  program called operation purple, helping military families reconnect in the great outdoors. >> you can't replace the birthdays that you have missed or the holidays or the milestones, but you have a chance to make new memories here. >> reporter: the hernandez family needs them. juan hernandez was deployed to iraq for over a year. >> sometimes i feel like juan can feel like an outsider. he's gone a lot. he misses a lot. >> reporter: here he missed nothing -- not the canoeing, not the river rafting, and not the long hikes in the woods. >> it's a good space to clear your head and see what really is important in life. >> reporter: there is even community service work, clearing trails and fixing up old cabins. >> you get that opportunity to kind of sit back and say, okay, you know, we're still a family. >> reporter: military families who came here not for a getaway but for a coming together and

letting nature's power to heal quietly do its job. lee cowan, nbc news. spectacular. that's our broadcast for this monday night. thank you for being here with us as we start off a new week. i'm brian williams, and we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com right now at 6:00, an abrupt announcement from the top cop in the bay area's largest city. good evening, everyone. >> he spent three decades on the force. tonight san jose's police chief says that's enough. chief rob davis tenured marked with both controversy and achievement. a conversation with the chief. a lot