to ask you the fact is the afghan army and police. consist on the basis of the northern alliance there are only ten percent of pushtuns so rank in your national army i know it for sure and the groups or so called want to he didn't taliban together yet they consist most of. about eighty ninety percent they consist of bushnell national national. why don't push don't want to serve in a gun national army. this is what i don't know who gave you this figure that's not true. just just the day before yesterday. i was talking with the minister of defense and he'll be coming by the way the few minutes here because we have a meeting with the bijan. prime minister and defense minister. you can ask him that question just a few minutes the vishu of it think it is intuition of afghanistan's army is largely balanced i cannot say entirely balanced but largely balanced and improving. so ten percent for the producers not the right figure it's way above that's probably close to forty to forty three percent representation in the international or we. get a

to do so on afghan soil. i'm here to affirm the bonds between our countries, to thank american and afghans who have sacrificed so much over these last ten years and to look forward to a future of peace and security and greater prosperity for our nations. >> we can expect to hear more about in his president's address coming up shortly. he addressed u.s. forces at the air babes and waded in the crowd for hand shakes, thanked them for all the sacrifices they have made. he said he could not be more proud to be their chief. ed, we're getting dribbles from the white house what the president will say tonight. >> we got a preview from the president himself as soon as me landed in afghanistan, basically he made some quick remarks we're saying that we did not choose this war. it came to us on 9/11. he also said the battle is not over but this is the beginning of the end basically of america's longest war. we got a preview there and also excerpts that white house aides are releasing what the president will say including

already nearly half of the afghan people live in places where afghan security forces are moving in to the lead. this month at a nato summit in chicago, our coalition will set a goal for afghan forces to be in the lead for combat operations across the country next year. international troops will continue to train, advise and assist the afghans and fight alongside them when needed. but 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. in chicago, we will endorse a proposal to support a strong

and to do so on afghan soil. i'm here to affirm the bonds between our countries, to thank american and afghans who have sacrificed so much over these last ten years and to look forward to a future of peace and security and greater prosperity for our nations. >> that's president obama speaking just a short time ago during his surprise trip to afghanistan. joining us again, ari fleischer, paul begala, peter bergen, and major general james "spider" marks. ari, in terms of politics and i hate to talk about politics on a day like this, but do you anticipate tomorrow hearing a lot more about this trip from both the left and the right? because the left has been pretty silent as well. >> that's right. it's a sign of how split both parties are about these long military entanglements. no. i think it's going to quickly fade. we're in such a domestic news cycle. election, economy. just with the anniversary of killing bin laden riveting the nation. i think the bigger substantive issue, though, in afghanistan is the place is s

already nearly half of the afghan people live in places where afghan security forces are moving in to the lead. this month, at a nato summit in chicago, our coalition is let a goal for afghan forces to be in the lead for combat operations across the country next year. international troops will continue to train, advise and assist the afghans. as we do step forward, 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. and as our coalition agreed, by the end of 2014 the afghans will be fully responsible for the security of their country. as we move forward, some people will ask why we need a firm time line. the answer is clear. our goal is not to build a country in america's image or to eradicate every vestige of the tal taliban. these measures would require many more american lives. our goal is to destroy al qaeda and we are on a path to do that. afghans want to assert their sovereignty and build a

/afghan relations. right now you've had some successful, i think, meetings with the president of the united states. >> mm-hmm. >> but a lot of americans, as you know, and you look at american public opinion polls, they're concerned. they want the u.s. out of afghanistan. about 70% say it's time for the u.s. to come home. the u.s. is spending to keep 90,000 troops $2 billion a week in afghanistan. $100 billion a year. why is this money well spent? >> we have already agreed on -- on a process of transition to afghan authority. whereby afghanistan will be looking after itself, after its security and the defense of the country almost entirely by 2014. and that's also the time that the american forces and other forces will withdraw from afghanistan. that transition and the eventual withdrawal in 2014 of the u.s. forces and other nato forces from afghanistan is good for afghanistan. and good for our allied countries. today we discussed that. we have finalized plans. so 2014 will be a year in which the united

wants to prove that it's a better picture of that afghan. so there is no danger of that yes we are a much to think society rather diverse society like many other societies and that's the beauty of afghanistan so colorful country of all those tribes and ethnic groups but that's our strength of us not our weakness that's exactly how of you have got us on a strong but you have problems between so. no no no no. no what's our work think different the factional conflicts sort of different issues that were the result of our. you know days of the soviet union and the our. resistance against the soviet union and then the interference from our neighbors and our lack of ability as. organizations to organize better and and bring this country to peace but there was never a conflict between the afghan people look. at all those people who are fighting one another in one way or the other the help in parchin want to resolution connected to the soviet union the mujahideen organizations backed by the west and pakistan and the arab world the. secular elements o

and because of the growth of the afghan economy. there were drawn of international force from afghanistan in twenty fourteen and will have an impact no doubt economically but the overall effect of that would all of these force from of ghana's to the would be good on the afghan people and the afghan economy we have to live by our means. we can't depend for the whole of our life on on on on others therefore. regardless of the impact we must go forward but the impact will not be great the bone conference made a commitment to afghanistan to continue to support of galveston shortfall in giving you in budgetary arrangements and will continue to assist of gallus and city constructions present doesn't like a create a slippery slope doesn't oh yes it does because it will be coming it's called moral hazard and if you always say oh man we have a safety net our nato and our friends will hurt as well as saved well no it's called moral hazard yes and that's one of the criticisms nervous that's one of the aspects that's one of the aspects. second

all afghans. and women, boys and girls. within this framework, we will work with the afghans to determine what support they need to accomplish two neyor security commissions beyond 2014. counterterrorism and continued training. but we will not build permanent bases in this country. nor will we be patrolling at 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 have played it clear that they can be a part of this future if they break with al qaeda, renounce violence and abide by afghan laws. many members of the taliban from foot soldiers to leaders 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.

and allied troops work with afghan forces and ñgo the afghans' ability to take a bigger leadership rollding for their security. w the marines, dan got a look with how the marines are working now with newly trained afghan forces. dan, welcome back to the show. >> thanks for having me. >> there's a debate in washington whether afghan and making progress in fighting the taliban, especially as american forces are beginning their drawdown. you were there, is there lasting process that's being made against the taliban? >> the easy thing to say is there's definitely progress w8zo being made. whether it's lasting, i think it's kind of hard to say ctorig now. and to a large extent, that also is on the afghan forces that at some point are going tom be in the lead everywhere. >> so it's not even that clear that as we're drawing down, we're maintaining that level -- and as afghans build up, we're maintaining that level of control that everyone says is a safe level to transition. >> i think that is hard to say. there's security bubbles now that y sangra was the wild west two years ago, even last su

afghan people.itted to replacing war with peace and pursuing a more hopeful future as earni as equal partners. we are committed to seeking a future of justice, peace, security and opportunity, and i am confident that although our challenges are not yet behind us, the future before us. thank you so much. [ applause ] >> all right. so there it is. the president speaking, the president of the united states and the president of afghanistan. now they are signing this document and this strategic partnership agreement as it's called. they signed it a little while ago. this is videotape that is just feeding in from afghanistan. i should alert our viewers, the president now is out of kabul. he's out of the presidential palace. he's back at the bagram air base. he's going to be meeting with with u.s. troops. he's going to be speaking with u.s. troops. we'll have live coverage of that, we hope, coming in within the next half hour or so, and then at 7:30 p.m. eastern, about two and a half hours or so from now h

current aat abouts 330,000 afghan forces surging up to 352,000 afghan forces. we will at some point ar 2014 go down a sustain level of afghan forces the level required as assessed by our military in conjunction with the afghans going forward. sustainment. the cost of this will be around, in our judgment, around $4 billion a year. and what the united states has been doing, again, working with isaf partner, and we've worked with about 30 countries now to work through commitments, and this is 2.5 years from now. work through multiyear commitments to pay for that force and we've made enormous progress on this. this is not a pledging conference. the not the end of that project, bumt i can tell you at this point that, again, we've had over 30 countries make commitments. some announced. you've seen leadership announcements coming from the united states kingdom with $110 million a year. australia, $100 million. germany, $109 million a year. leading countries. there are many others. some of them will make announcement during the course of the summit, but this won't be t

already nearly half of the afghan people live in places where afghan security forces are moving intoad. this month at a nato summit in chicago, our coalition will set a goal for afghan forces to be in the lead for combat operations across the country next year. international troops will continue to train, advise, and assist the afghans, but 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 troops fromming afghanistan. after that reductions will continue at a steady pace with more and more of our troops coming home. and 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 searched and will peak at 352,000 this year. they will sustain that level for three years, and then reduce the size of their military. and in chicago we'll endorse a proposal to support a strong and sustainable long-term afghan force. third, we're building an enduring partnership. the agreemen

already nearly half of the afghan people live in places where afghan security forces are moving in to 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

they are now only conducted by afghan forces. nonetheless, american troops in joint bases with afghans sleep with what they call a guardian angel-- one man awake and armed. even at training centers no one relaxes their guard according to army first lieutenant cory scanlon. >> you can't be too critical or else they'll get upset because there's a lot of honor at stake. so sometimes you have to be careful with how you address people. >> reporter: the seriousness of that is summed up by an afghan proverb. "life over wealth, honor over life." it goes some way to underlining why what might be considered offensive behavior in western behavior can be mortal in afghanistan. allen pizzey, cbs news, kabul. >> pelley: at the end of the summit in chicago today, the president was asked about his reelection campaign and its attack on mitt romney's record as head of the private equity firm bain capital. >> so if your main argument for how to grow the economy is "i knew how to make a lot of money for investors," then you're missing what this job

about half of the afghan population lives in places the afghans have lead responsibility. this process will be completed by the end of 2014. we will continue that transition process according to the plans we have laid out already. >> thank you very much. that is all the time we have for now. there will be a press conference. >> good morning, everybody. it is a pleasure to welcome president karzai to my hometown of chicago. he extended this to me during my visit to kabul. we were able to finalize a partnership agreement that effects a future where two soverign nations are operating as partners, to the benefit of withountry's citizens, stability in the region and around the world. i want to thank president karzai for his help in making this agreement. the nato summit is going to be largey devoted to -- largely devoted to ratifying and reflecting what so many of our partners. what we have agreed to. we are working to achieve a complete transition where we provide support for the afghan security forces. they have made excellent progress over the last several years. and creatin

killed by afghan soldiers this year. the afghan government apologized for the killings but it's little reassurance that it won't happen again. >> i can't promise that such incidents will not be happening again. british troops might even do the same thing against afghan soldiers. there's little more i can say, because it's beyond my control. >> soldiers take a break from their patrol, and in their less guarded moments, british troops are taking more precautions. it's a concern for all sole jerds here. >> once you build up a relationship with them. they are just as trustworthyy as the soldiers i work with day-to-day in the u.k. >> as soon as you get that trust and get to know them and build a relationship with them, they are a quite decent bunch of lads. >> on this patrol the taliban remained unseen but the insurgents say they are waiting in the afghan military, waiting to strike. >> nato troops insist the taliban have not infiltrated the security forces. but that's open to question. what we know is those who killed were a

we came to destroy al-qaeda, and we have enormous respect for afghan sovereignty and the afghan peoplemitted to replacing war with peace and pursuing a more hopeful war with peaceful partners. we are dedicated to a future of justice, peace, security and opportunity. and i'm confident that although our challenges are not yet behind us, the future before us is bright. thank you very much. [ applause ] >>> we're watching the president of the united states, along with the leader of afghanistan, president karzai, sign an ongoing pact for 10 years, effectively the transitional agreement and the agreement of support from the united states to maintain levels of support for the state in afghanistan. that commitment, of course, will be contingent upon congressional funding which will become, i'm sure, an interesting political football back here in the states. ian bremer is with us who just so happens is a foreign policy expert, to say the least. your thoughts when you look from -- hear the words, look at the realities and make sense for us through your eyes what is likely to actually occur in af

security to the afghans. we're not going to do it overnight. we will not do it irresponsibly. we're going to make sure a hard- fought gains that have been made are preserved. the reason we are able to do that is because of you. the reason the afghans have an opportunity for a new tomorrow is because of you and the reason america is safe is because of you. we did not choose this war. this war came to us on 9/11 and there are a whole bunch of folks here i bet you signed up after 9/11. fight't go looking for a but when we see our homeland violated, when we see our fellow citizens killed, then we understand what we have to do. because of the sacrifices now of a decade of a new greatest generation, not only were we able to block the taliban momentum, not only were we able to drive al-qaeda out of afghanistan, but slowly and systematically, we have been able to decimate the ranks of al-qaeda and a year ago, we were able to finally bring osama bin laden to justice. [applause] that could have only happened because ea

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. >> suarez: as for the afghan view, there were definite doubt on the streets of kabul today. >> ( translated ): i think this partnership is not good because look at what we have achieved in the last 10 years when the americans are already here. so this partnership will also fail. >> suarez: but one member of the afghan parliament said she's hoping lawmakers will approve the agreement. >> it's very early to say that the parliament may pass or not, but from my point of view,s long as it is good for the country and good for the afghan people, we would like to vote for it. >> suarez: meanwhile, as president obama arrived back at the white house this morning, the taliban announced its spring offensive will begin tomorrow. now, two views on the agreement signed last night, from

already nearly half of the afghan people live in places where afghan security forces are moving into lead. this month, at a nato summit in chicago, our coalition will set a goal for afghan forces to be in the lead for combat operations across the country next year. international troops will continue to train, advise and assist the afghans and fight alongside them when needed. but 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. and 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 searched and will peak at 250,000 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 st

next year we will transition to afghan lead and by 2014 the afghans will be responsible for their country throughout the country and american forces will be coming out of afghanistan. this is really a very important moment marking the end of the war but ending it responsibly in a way that allows afghanistan to move forward on its own two feet. >> there were a lot of caveats in the president's speech. you talked about as afghan security forces stand up the role of both american forces and nato forces in general stand down. what if some of these things don't happen. he talked about negotiating with the foot soldiers of the taliban for reconciliation. if these things don't happen does this agreement mean the united states could end up sending more troops back into afghanistan? >> no. this agreement is very clear. it is very similar to iraq before. as we bring our troops home we want to build a comprehensive partnership with afghanistan to help build its own capacity to deal with its own problems going forward. we will have a relationship beyond 2014. and that's very important because remembe