he asked about helmand and the work that ware doing in helmand including the development work. some of the ney that we are prior and my right honorable friend and the area will give 2.5,000 soldiers to operate effectively and it will fund e building of two new schools, to educate 1900 children and fund the paving and repairing of new roads to try to open up trade and commerce which as he knows is fundamental to improving not only security but providing the livelihoods for people in helmand and throughout afghanistan. the money that we have announced an effort is not purely dedicated to helmand, however, but he can see from what i'm saying is going to benefit people in helmand. he's right to draw attention to the operations in kandahar which remain operations in progress and which are not a traditional military operation as he knows. but operations greatly concerned with the quality of governance and not just of military -- of holding military. and we uerline to our afghan colleagues theeed for clear afghan leadership and support for the operations in kandahar. on the number of

. >> as the hunt goes on for a renegade afghan soldier who killed three british troops in helmand province, and then he says he is the soldier has contacted the bbc in kabul. he says he was acting alone, but has since joined the taliban. our correspondent has the details. >> our conversation was raised by the taliban. the man claims he is a 21-year- old afghan army soldier who murdered three british gurkhas in helen's province -- helmand province this past week. he says that the british are here to divide muslims. he claimed the british forces have committed atrocities in afghanistan, including killing civilians and launching suicide attacks. he said before these killings, he was not a member of the taliban. it was entirely his own idea. subsequently, he has joined the taliban, and they are sheltering him. we have had a response from the ministry of defence in london. they refused to talk about whether or not this is the man who killed those british soldiers, but he did say in a statement it was ridiculous to suggest british soldiers had engaged in suicide attacks or are deliberately targe

troops in helmand province, he joins us tonight. terry, this story, highly unusual.t do we know right now? >> reporter: jeff, this is a very bizarre story. apparently the two u.s. service members were c.v.s returning from a training mission about five miles south of kabul and appeared to be kidnap bide the taliban somewhere on their trip back. the taliban themselves have told cbs news they kidnapped these two men with 10 taliban on the road and removed them to a secure location. the bizarre thing about the story, however, is these two men appear to be traveling on their own. this is not normal practice for u.s. forces in afghanistan. normally, they would be in a convoy of at least two if not more vehicles. jeff. >> glor: second question, the u.s. is reporting the death of five more than troops in afghanistan raising this month's death toll to 56. "newsweek" magazine with a provocative cover article this week saying we're not winning the war in afghanistan, it's not worth it, arguing for a drawdown. what's your sense from the ground? >> reporter: well, jeff, i don't t

we have been there for four or five years in helmand and since 2001 it's time to maximize the pressure and to bring our forces home as we train up the afghan army and police force to do the job that needs to be done, which is to keep that country secure. that is our goal. that's in our national security interest. and that's what we'll do. >> annette brook. >> thank you, mr. speaker. some of suffer greatly from the actions of a small minority of site owners, threat, neglect, intimidation. will the prime minister meet with myself so that we could discuss how park homeowners may be better protected? >> well, i have every sympathy with the point the honorable lady motions. -- mentions. i suspect many myself included had occasion where you had problems with park homeowners who have been really badly treated by frankly pretty disreputable park homeowners. we all know those people who people want to sell are pressurized and the rules are used to prethem from getting fair value. it's not right and fair. the housing minister is looking into this issue and i think probably best if she would meet

we have already been in helmand for four or five years, and, obviously, we have been in afghanistan since1. it is time to maximize the pressure now, and then to bring our forces home as we train the afghan army and police force to do the job that needs to be done, which is to keep the country secure. that is our goal, that is in our national security interest, and that is what we will do. >> hear, hear. >> park home owners are often elderly and vulnerable, and some suffer greatly as a result of the actions of a small minority of site owners. they suffer threats, intimidation and neglect. will the prime minister meet a small delegation, and me, so that we can discuss how park home owners may be better protected? >> hear, hear. >> i have every sympathy with what the honorable lady has said. i suspect that many members -- including me -- have encountered problems with park home owners who have been really badly treated by, frankly, pretty disreputable site owners. we all know of cases in which people who want to sell are put under pressure, and the rules are used to prevent them from obtaini

the incident took place in southern helmand province last friday. the nato-led international security assistance force fired a rocket that hit a house. vihouse to flee the fighting between taliban insurgents and the isaf. many women and children were among the victims. president karzai denounced the incident and demandeded that the isaf take every possible measure to avoid civilian casualties. an isaf spokesman said they are still investigating. this is a major source of hostility to isaf and u.s. forces. >>> u.s. and south korean war sxhpz helicopters are carrying out maneuvers off the korean peninsula. the media was shown some of the exercises on monday. on the second day of the four-day drill, earl morning aircraft staged takeoffs and landings on the "uss george washington." refueling activities were also shown. the large scale war game involves 200 aircraft and submarines. it focuses on detecting submarines and destroying torpedos in the event of an enemy attack. the exercise is apparently a warning to north korea in the wake of the sinking of a

for an attack on coalition troops in afghan soldier that left three men dead and others wounded in helmand province. this is the first time be coalition forces have been expanded to 134,000 by next year there have been reports of concerns they are not going about this expansion the right way. >> british and afghan soldiers operate together all the time. actual violence between them is extremely rare. there is the inevitable prickliness about many of these patrols. each side thinks it knows best, and afghan soldiers need careful handling. >> they have of pride and history. a warrior history. you have to be careful of the way you talk to them. and, this is all about understanding their culture and how to approach their work. it is like a said, they are actually no different from any other soldier. they have got a job. they have got missions. the have the skills that they bring to bear. and they are good at what they did. >> the attack on the gurkha soldiers attack and at 3:00 a.m. in an area cleared in earlier operations this year. an afghan soldier killed a rocket-propelled grenade, killing

begun one of the biggest assault against the taliban this year, trying to drive insurgents out of helmand province. our correspondent and cameramen with onion with the first wave and found out that people would like to see the -- went in with the first wave in front of the taliban -- people would like to see the taliban in control. >> phase one -- an audacious assault behind enemy lines. it is a high risk mission by land and air. and these are the elite troops at the spearhead. they know the ground will be into theillied's, -- ground will be built with -- riddled with ied's. yet another dangerous battle in a war they are struggling to win. this is one of the towns nearby that is already clear. the army says is proof of progress. >> this is a success. there is economic regeneration taking place daily. you have been around the district yourself. u.s. seen a normal pattern of life. the people feel safe. -- you have seen in a normal pattern of life -- you have seen a normal pattern of life. >> this is the sixth time i get into this area. this village is alive and working very well. the proble

we have detailed maps from the bbc urdu server is, and the story of one pilot in helmand province. workers may evacuate because of an incoming tropical storm. it will mean a temporary halt to the repair work. >> the intention right now is to put the vessel in a safe place to they can return as quickly as possible to resume operations. this is not a hurricane. it is a tropical storm gear that means the winds are between 39 miles per hour and 75 miles per hour. the forecasts are in the low 40's. it will be a determination of where to put them said they minimize the risk to the vessels. we would like to restart the activities as soon as we can. >> admiral thad allen join in as from -- there. joining us from miami, our correspondent. is this a storm system? >> this is what the authorities and bp hoped would not happen. we are in hurricane season. that tropical storm just making its way over southwest florida at the moment. when it's on the other side of florida, it could pick up speed over the warm waters of the bill. engineers are pulling out and stop and operations. that means operat

>> i think that it will be in the range of 7500-8000. >> what about in helmand? >> let me answer that for the record. >> that is fine. the figures that your office provided to my staff last evening were somewhat ppsurprising in that regard. i want you to just double check those figures. there is a total of 40,000 afghan and security forces in helmand while there is only a total of 11,000 in kandahar. if you could double check those figures and explain why there is such a significant -- so many feel word combine forces in kandahar than in helmand, a sense helped -- since kandahar will be the central effort. if you could take a look at those numbers and explain that for the record, i would appreciate that. >> i will do that. >> the press report last week that pakistani officials had proposed the car guys -- the karzai government with a proposal for delivering the haqqani network which runs a major part of the insurgency in afghanistan and an alliey of al qaeda into a power-sharing arrangement. the president noted that tends to draw afghanistan and pakistan closer t

on one occasion i actually met them in helmand province and heard them speak about some of the incredibly difficult decisions they had to take and some of the very brave things that they have done. we should recognize that we've now been in afghanistan in one form or another since 2001. many soldiers are going back again and again. that puts pressure on them and on their families. and it just means we need to redouble everything we do to support their families and our brave service men and women. >> russell brown. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the director of parkinson's u.k. has been on the bbc this morning discussing the start of a clinical study in oxford using skin cells. i think all of us in this house want to see ongoing research into finding answers to degenerative conditions like parkinson's and alzheimer's. will the prime minister give appear assurance to the house that despite the global economic conditions this government will not cut back on its funding for medical research? >> well, no one wants to see reductions in those programs. they're very important but like everything else

in helmand live s tht we would have to clear and stabilize. the taliban recognizes that. they're putting up a significant fight, but i think we are making progress there. >> thank you. very good response. thank you, ambassador. thank you, frank. thank you, madam chairman. >> thank you. we're very fortunate that coressman moran serves on the defense committee as well as our committee so we get the benefit of his expertise that is often interesting, as we discuss these issues. oh, absolutely. we're also -- thank you. [ inauble ] mr. israel. thankyou, madamchair. >> isn't on the defense. >> no. thank you, madam chair, ambassador and dr. shah, thanks for joining us. i apologize for having had to leave the room. my district, like the chairwoman's district, is in the new york area. my district is 30 miles from ground zero. and so i think it's important for us to refocus on basics. there's a fog ofar on the battlefield, but sometimes there's a fog of war in this center of gravity. and sometimes we lose sight of the basic, and i believe the basics is

we have been there already for for five years in helmand.it is time to maximize the pressure and bring our forces, as we train the afghan army and police force to do the job that needs to be done which is to keep the country secure. that is our goal and in our national security interests. >> thank you. some suffered greatly from the actions of some. threats, intimidation, neglect. would the prime minister meet a delegation and myself so we could discuss how they may be better protected? >> i have every sympathy with them. i suspect many have had occasion when you have problems with homeowners who have been badly treated by disreputable park owners. we all those those cases. people [unintelligible] it is not right and not fair. the housing minister -- it is best if she would meet with him in order to make sure we have robust rules and the right approach to make sure that homeowners have their rights respected. >> on friday, my constituent was murdered. he was just 15. the thoughts are with his family at this time. he is the 13th teenager to l

today afghan officials claim 52 civilians were killed last friday by a nato rocket in helmand province in the south. nato promises a thorough investigation. in logar province hundreds of u.s. troops continued to search for a member of the u.s. navy who is believed to be held by the taliban. the body of a second sailor was recovered today. the two men disappeared friday after being ambushed by insurgents. they were in afghanistan on a training mission. pakistan is not the only one of afghanistan's neighbors mentioned in these documents. iran is also accused of helping the afghan insurgents. but is it? richard roth put that question to president mahmoud ahmadinejad in tehran today during this exclusive interview. >> reporter: an aide sitting out of camera range gestured his irritation at our questions about afghanistan. the president himself just flatly rejected the explosive charges in the leaked documents. you don't deny, mr. president, that iran supports the taliban. >> ( translated ): we do not support any group. we just and only support the afghan people. we support and we want to s

international military force ramps up the war against the taliban especially in the southern stronghold of helmand and kandahar provinces so that means we can expect more lives lost in the months to come so what i really want to know is when will enough be enough when will the american people the congress and the president finally finally realize that we can't continue to fight in afghanistan with no clear mission or no clear victory in sight and when the people of that country themselves don't want us to be there. a world without nuclear weapons what a thought that's what many politicians at world leaders and even filmmakers are calling for here's a look at a new documentary called count down to zero. they are prepared to start treating you key when you stake knowledge. about it ok you used to kill americans you know to get to kill people but educate your point of the question. you know it's. now the same time the u.s. senate is holding endless hearings on whether or not to ratify the new start treaty there is opposition or earlier i spoke to lawrence bender the producer of count down to zero and

. >>> meanwhile, in afghanistan, a massive drug bust in helmand province. u.s.arines seized nearly two tons of processed heroin and opium. the drugs are worth an estimated $38 million, though the street values would be much, much higher. >>> and at least 43 people were killed this morning in a suicide bombing in iraq. the bomber targeted security personnel in a mostly sunni district. southwest of baghdad. most of the victims were members of an anti-al qaeda security force. they were lining up to get their paychecks. >>> and actress zsa zsa gabor is in the hospital. she accidentally fell out of bed last night and broke several bones. she's partially paralyzed from a 2002 car accident. >>> and serena williams will be sidelined after cutting her foot on broken glass at a restaurant last week. she'll need surgery on her right foot. but she's expected to be back in action for the u.s. open. at the end of august. >>> and finally, how about this for vintage champagne? divers in the baltic sea found 30 bottles of champagne dating back to the late 18th century. the bubbl

golf company set up in koshtay, a village in helmand province near pakistan.a strange twist of history that golf company's area used to be called "little america." in the 1950s, a massive u.s. foreign aid project dug the canals that now feed half the world's heroin poppies and shoulder-high marijuana, both prime sources of taliban cash. >> lieutenant dan o'hara: ask them if they heard the rocket shot from out here earlier. >> pelley: golf company covers just a few square miles. the job is to push the taliban out and stay in place. second lieutenant dan o'hara from chicago is a platoon leader. >> o'hara: do they know we've been shot at from this compound before? >> pelley: it's his first combat tour. two of his marines have been killed. i wonder how you know the enemy from the citizens. >> o'hara: for the most part, you don't until they start shooting at you. and even then, their tactic is hit and run. they will shoot, and before you get the chance to close on them, they will run away and kind of just run back into the population. >> pelley: lieutenant colonel

died tuesday, when an afghan soldier attacked them with gunfire and a rocket propelled grenade in helmand province. british brigadier nick parker is the deputy nato commander in afghanistan. >> our afghan partners have got to look very carefully at what's happened, and they've got to reassure us that they're doing everything they can to minimize it happening again. >> lehrer: in all, 45 nato troops have been killed so far this month-- 33 of them americans-- as fighting intensifies in the south, and the east. that's on track to top the record of 60 u.s. deaths in june. overall, roadside bombs now cause up to 60% of combat deaths, and car bombings are also taking a toll. in fact, the kandahar attack resembled recent assaults on much larger, american-run air fields at jalalabad, near the pakistani border, and bagram, just north of kabul. with violence peaking, the rules of engagement for nato forces have become a particular flashpoint. recently relieved u.s. commander stanley mcchrystal had instituted tight new standards, to lessen civilian casualties. the vast majority of civilians are kill

from a volatile part of southern afghanistan. 1,000 british troops will leave the sangin valley in helmand province. 99 britons have died there since 2001. u.s. marines will take their place, starting in october. a federal indictment in brooklyn alleges that al-qaeda was directly involved in last year's failed plot to bomb the subways in new york city. it named several al-qaeda figures, including adnan shukrijumah. he's on the f.b.i.'s list of most-wanted terror suspects. and the man who was osama bin laden's cook pleaded guilty today at a war crimes tribunal at guantanamo. in the plea deal, ibrahim al qosi admitted helping bin laden escape u.s. forces in afghanistan. al-qosi has been at guantanamo for eight years. the former dictator of panama -- manuel noriega -- now faces seven years in a french prison. he was convicted and sentenced today in paris, for drug money laundering in the 1980s. the court also seized nearly $3 million from his frozen assets. noriega was deposed by a u.s. invasion of panama in 1989. after that, he spent two decades in a u.s. prison. an experimental plane took t

the taliban claimed it shot down the helicopter in helmand province. nato said the cause was still under investigation. at least 50 americans have died in afghanistan this month. in iraq, four prisoners linked to al-qaeda have escaped from a prison outside baghdad. the u.s. handed over the site-- "camp cropper"-- to the iraqis last week. the country's justice minister announced the escape, but gave no details. other iraqi officials said the prisoners had help from a guard. secretary of state hillary clinton urged vietnam today to improve its human rights record. she was in hanoi to mark the 15th anniversary of normalized relations between the u.s. and vietnam. clinton welcomed the improved ties, but said the communist government must allow free speech. >> vietnam, with its extraordinary, dynamic population, is on the path to becoming a great nation with an unlimited potential. and that is among the reasons we expressed concern about arrest and conviction of people for peaceful dissent, attacks on religious groups and curbs on internet freedom. >> sreen

we have british troops working to an american commander in helmand, and we have american troops working to a british commander in kandahar. today, president obama and i took stock of progress in this vital year. we reaffirmed our commitment to the overall strategy. a key part of that is training the afghan national army and police so they can provide security for their country and our troops can come home. we also agreed on the need to reinvigorate the political strategy for afghanistan. insurgencies tend not to be defeated by military means alone. there must also be political settlement. and to those people currently fighting, if they give up violence, if they cut themselves off from al >>aeda, if they accept the basic tenets of the afghan constitution, they can have a future in a peaceful afghanistan. there is real progress. last weekend, the first afghan- led military operation took place successfully in helmand, afghans defending themselves. and today, as barack has just said, for the first time in decades, the government of afghanistan has hosted an international conference on its

i think the agreement we reached with the americans is good in terms with how we deal with helmand, and i think it is good to the united kingdom's contribution. i think it gives a chance to fully take the advantage of our own standing with a population and the political environment, so i see it as conservative, and i see it pushing forward in terms of the counterinsurgency strategy. i hope we will continue to see more districts so that we are in the process we want to be in in transitioning. i have made the point that we are not a force of occupation, and we're right to insure we get the government of afghanistan, by the people of afghanistan, for the people of afghanistan as soon as we can do so, and that requires they are able to maintain security. it is a long term requirement. >> the american surge will continue to around 18,000, and that will allow the laydown. i will stress that i hope operations will continue. if we are to build on the momentum delivered earlier in the year, and the progress is now being made -- then we need to keep the pressure on the insurgency, on the taliban

and yet those same warlords were perfectly happy to sell helmand- derived heroin on north into central asia. you can imagine going to those groups and saying we are paying attention to your rival sources and which ever exporter is selling the most heroin will get our undivided attention. that would require knowing more the stuff came from, which would require more detailed chemical signatures than what we are doing. and the capacity to actually target the enforcement, which, under afghan conditions, may be complicated. the problem with targeting enforcement is that it opens up the door to influence and corruption. how you distinguish targeted enforcement from corrupt enforcement is not so easy a problem. number two as we could fight corruption. corruption is unambiguously bed. -- bad. if we could displace the corrupt government officials and replace them with on a cent -- honest officials that would be wonderful. it is not clear how much the past to the u.s. government has for that or how much tolerance the afghan government would have for that. it is also possible to reduce the level

as the hunt goes on at 4 renegade afghan soldier who killed three british troops in helmand province,nse and he is the soldier has contacted the bbc service in kabul. he said he was acting alone but has since joined the taliban. we go to our correspondent in kabul. tell us what this man said to the bbc. >> he was in conversation with the bbc service here in kabul. he was connected with them through the taliban. he says -- he is a 21 year-old man, and he says he's the one who murdered the three british soldiers at the army base in helmand earlier this week. he said he did this because he was angry the way british forces were behaving in afghanistan. he said they were not here to help bring peace, but there were here to divide muslims. he also accused the british government of committing atrocities here in afghanistan and killing civilians he said he wastctíz not a member of the tn prior to >> , and he only joined the taliban subsequently, after the attack. and they have given him shelter. >> thank you very much. on around the you globe. at least 20 people killed. more than 100 wounded