the first is why today our armed forces are in afghanistan, and the second is how and when afghanistan can take responsibility for its own security so that our troops can come home. mr. speaker, the origins of our intervention in afghanistan and the scale of the terrorist threat are known to us all. a around the world, thousands of men and women of all religions, including thousands of the muslim faith, are being murdered in al qaeda outrageous. the bombings cost 52 lives and injured over 750 people. most recently in britain we have seen the 2006 heathrow liquid bombs plot, the 2007 london and glasgow bombings, and this year, and al qaeda conspiracy to target shopping centers. there are now over whether to 20 convicted terrorists serving sentences in british prisons, -- there are now over 120 convicted terrorists serving sentences in british prisons. to counter this terrorist threat, we have since 2001 traveled their resources available today nearly twice as many regular police officers are engaged in full-time work to counter the terrorist threat. suspect travelers are now checked at

we are in afghanistan because of 9/11.the other thing was to renounce violence and to lay down their arms and participate in life peacefully. many taliban have done this since 2002. people who were senior oil officials -- some people who were senior officials have done this. there is regular contact between them and internationals, including americans. what you're talking but, no sir. yes, sir? >> i am from the bbc. hell encouraged were you about the fight against corruption. -- how encouraged or you about the fight against corruption? >> corruption is an enormously complicated issue. it is easy to put the word in the headline but when you get down to it, what does it mean and what is the difference between traditional corruption? these are complicated issues let me be very, very clear on this. we are deeply concerned about corruption. secretary clinton did not hesitate to discuss this. the international community has such a large footprint in afghanistan and a lot of the targets of opportunity for corruption come from the

. >> there are two american ground units in afghanistan. one handles the north and one handles the south. the exact numbers are classified. i would guess 100 predator and reaper drones. predators' look like giant model airplanes about the size of a small, compact car. the reapers are twice as big, and look more like fighter jets. you can hang missiles and bombs. they carry a bunch of different centers. cameras and radar, things like that. they can stay in the air long time. the exact number depends, but it is like today. it soaks up vast amounts of imagery and the data, peeering down and taking snapshots. >> what altitude? >> that is probably classified, but probably thousands of feet. you can hear them. they sound like lawn mowers. but you can't see them. >> did you see them attacking a specific point? >> most of the operations are bifurcated. they sit in the trailers and see what the drones see. they work in nevada at air force bases. the guys in afghanistan just launched and recovered the drones. they're responsible for operations in cer

stay in afghanistan in large numbers? >> well, they are capable of taking over now to the extent they have the forces now in afghanistan. they have more troops than we do and the majority of their units are able to take the lead with us and act independently without us, so they are able to the extent that they have the numbers in the afghan army to take control in certain number of areas right now. and as they grow in numbers, they will be able to take control both independently and with our support in more areas. it's hard for me to say what number of square miles or how many cities they would be able right now to take control over effectively, but there is a significant number they can do now. they are partnering with us in many areas, but not enough. when i was there a few months ago, the ratio of american ma evens to afghan soldiers was five. that is not acceptable. it ought to be requestionersed. -- reversed. we want a partnering, but it has to be a much larger number of afghan soldiers for each of our marines or sol

how do you define winning in afghanistan? e-mail us right now. cnn.com/hln. we'll keep it that simple. what constitutes winning in afghanistan? there's the toll free number. 877-835-5456. you can text views plus comment and name to hlntv. standard text rates apply. comment on my facebook page. chuck roberts hln is the address. christopher gray at ft. hood explaining the charges against major hasan. let's bring that up live. >> my name is chris gray. i'm a spokesperson for the u.s. army criminal investigation division and joint task force working here at ft. hood. i'll be providing you an update on our case today and to the mass shooting that occurred november 5th at the soldier medical readiness center at ft. hood. joining me today from your left, special agent u.s. army steven downs who is heading up the joint task force. fbi's on scene commander special agent in charge and texas rangers on scene commander. we're very grateful for their support. before i start, i would like to send my sincere appreciation to the media for th

of afghanistan. if we look at the conditions on the ground, i talk the way in different areas of iraq have to adapt. the first thing that we know is that it's vital to protect the population. that doesn't change if we are operating in a rural area, compared to an urban area. >> have you done that? >> no, we haven't done that very large in afghanistan. there are small units and places where that's been done. but sadly, i think the taliban in the south have been able to intimidate through the threat of the use of force. we have not been able to protect the locals against the threat of the worse. the difference that the taliban in afghanistan is not conducting violence attacks against civilians casualties than presumably having learned some lessons from iraq. it's probably going to take forces that are going to take an important change. the second thing that we haven't done that we did successfully in iraq is partner our units, american forces, coalition forces in this case with the afghanistan national

al qaeda is not present in afghanistan.fight and die to support a regime like the karzai regime which is very corrupt and illegitimate. >> larry: general, other countries that have gone into afghanistan have left, russia most recently. is this a no-win? >> i think it depends on how you define win, larry. i do think that we are a foreign element in a country that doesn't tolerate diversity. i think we have to find a way to leave behind some kind of structure that we can work with that won't be a terrorist state and we have to get our troops out of there. and i believe that's what the obama administration is trying to do. but you can't do this if you're being forced back on the battlefield and you can't maintain some control over most of the population centers. so i see the increase in troops as essential weigh station on get out of the country successfully. >> larry: and we'll be back with more. >> larry: by the way, tomorrow night, jack hanna is back with his animals. the chevy malibu and toyota camry received 5 star crash

the recent ones were iraq and afghanistan. regardless of what they do, the american people want that kind of support. the military and the pentagon know that we will pro side everything. and we constantly do to prod us. what can we do with the lack of, the deal with time, the time periods between de ployments. how can we reduce the stress in our family. that is a constant question. and we do everything we can to support our military and our veterans. >> i don't see how that's possible. i think that's one of the many mrks questions which the president is struggling with. >> the don't ask don't tell policy, president obama has said that he would like to repeople the ban. and i was wondering that 2 the 2011 defensive association will be enough. >> i was opposed to the don't ask don't tell. if it's a repeople, it can only happen after a very careful, had a very clear review of the policy by the people affected by the policy, obviously, but in the midtary we've got -- i believe show the military that we are going to take their view

host: in afghanistan. guest: they are helping in afghanistan.fifth or sixth largest contributor to the reconstruction. they have invested somewhere in the region of about $1.3 billion in helping the afghans did rebuild itself. there is very close coordination between the u.s. and india. host: i want to give our audience some geo-political perspective because obviously india borders china and afghanistan. -- china and pakistan. it is very close to afghanistan. guest: yes, it predates the afghan nation as an independent country. they're very close. that will not change. host: we appreciate your time. guest: thank you. host: the president has reportedly reached a decision on afghanistan. we will get to your phone calls and your reaction. we could hear a speech by the president next tuesday evening that would be followed by the president's national security team testifying on capitol hill next wednesday and thursday. "washington journal" continues in just a moment. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national

ambassador to afghanistan, and he says more troops would only make afghanistan more reliant on the unitedtes. this disagreement is surprising some folks. >> having two generals on the ground, general iken barry as ambassador and general mcchrystal as commander on the ground openly just feuding with each other in public like this is nearly unprecedented. we used to talk about a team of rivals. we never mentioned it would be general mcchrystal versus general ikenbarry. >>> now to the number of americans who have died from swine flu. it may be four times higher than we originally thought. "the new york times" says the cdc estimates h1n1 may have killed 4,000 people in the u.s. since this april. the virus is not getting more dangerous. but the cdc is now counting lab confirmed cases and deaths from complications related to h1n1. but a big number there. >>> police working on a child abuse case are looking for clues that may have been buried years ago. at least six people have come forward, saying they were victims or witnessed abuse on this property you see here in missouri in the early '90s.

guest: certainly afghanistan. my day job also involves blogging for the atlantic council, a foreign-policy think tank. my site is reactive, almost like running a newspaper. i do not tend to have an editorial plan because i do not know what will be out there. host: coming up, we will talk about some of the senate debate on health care. first we want to give you a look at today's political stories through the eyes of political cartoonists. >> on this but the yeas are -- the motion is agreed to. >> with that but, the senate moves its health-care bill to the floor starting on monday. all the entire debate. live on our companion network, c-span2. >> regulating the internet, one of the topics monday with meredith baker, the newest republican commissioner at the fcc. "washington journal" continues. host: for the next half hour we will take open phones. part of our goal this morning is to also take a look at the senate health debate, this time looking at the politics of some of the major players. to see how the debate her

i felt it was going to be a troop increase in afghanistan.ore importantly that we were going to have some kind of open-ended commitment to afghanistan that would never resolve the issue of the civil war there. that's one of the reasons i resigned. i'm very pleased to see that. there is a debate going on that we are not going to continue this march of folly into more and more years of conflict in afghanistan. host: what was your thought process and what was the reaction inside the state department? guest: sure. i went there with some doubts and reservations, but this is what i've been doing as my career. it's what i expected my career to be. i had not been to afghanistan, so i needed to experience and see it myself. it was a continual process for the five months i was there in both the east and the south of seeing different examples of why it didn't pake sense for us to be there, why our presence in afghanistan was not doing anything to make the united states safer, and that our troops are fighting people who were not fighting us for any ideol

aberrations in afghanistan in 2001. let me say that afghanistan is an area not fairly -- and lived in pakistan for years in the 1980's, and they speak the language. i was very surprised though after the inferred mentioned took place the degree to which the united states was willing to step and the pakistan military came to the rescue and some of the remnants of the taliban, transferring them over to pakistan. and then basically doing nothing. and thing that is something that one has to go back in history. it is a form of blowback. it has to do with connections within the united states. not a conspiracy. but within the united states and with leaders during the last war in afghanistan. during the 1980's. and it is very clear to me that this was curious and why effective action was not taking initially against those remnants of al qaeda and taliban? some people would say we could not, and i am sure wolfowitz with being among them. we cannot do it because it would destabilize pakistan. the whole country would be pushed forw

when people are agonizing about the decisions in afghanistan and elsewhere, it is striking to see the central role that they still play in the central like the polish debt -- of parliament. -- the central life of parliament. >> it is not about the pomp but the actuality about how mp's respond to their constituents. i think it is those people that people want to reform. when i was listening to the interview with black rod, the black rod coming in banging on the door and summoning be mp's where we assert our independence. there might be a bill in the queen's speech to reduce executive power. particularly on a day like this when we are enacting the pomp of independence. in that, we're not very independent. >> on the way to the spot where the queen will be greeted. we have the earl marshal their breeding board mendelson -- there greeting lord mendelson. he is not a leader of either chamber, only to the lords. following in the footsteps of his grandfather who between 1945 and 1951 was also a board president. there is a bit of a family connection. just looking at the lord their, again, quit

. >> two afghanistan question.answer to people who stress that this will not be -- you're telling our enemies, just wait us out. >> that does not make any logical sense to me. if you are to believe that a certain insurgency has the momentum and they are increasingly occupied it and gathering more space, are you saying all we have to do is say we're going believe at a certain date, and they will stop the pursuit of their momentum? maybe the president should just say that. it does not make any -- is a great talking point but doesn't make any logical sense. dollars what about to our allies, they will hedge their bets as they are not sure if we're going to stay or not? >> the president put his bible -- put his hand on a bible on a cold day in january when there were half as many troops in afghanistan then there are now. he put his priority on what he believed was an urgent threat to our national security. i don't know anybody who can make that logical argument. >> will follow up on the process. this was an extraordinar

ambassador to afghanistan, eikenberry says more troops would make afghanistan more reliant on the u.saving two generals on the ground, general eikenberry as ambassador and mcchrystal as commander on the ground feuding with each other in public like this is nearly unprecedented. we talk about a team of rivals. >> administration official says eikenberry told president obama his concerns right before yesterday's eighth war council meeting. >> so the president's decision about troop levels has a lot to do also with the afghan government. and they are things to be concerned about the leadership there. >> without their cooperation, no amounts of additional troops can help obviously. president obama has publicly suggested that hamid karzai do more to crack down on corruption and the huge illegal drug trade that funds terrorist activity. officials say he's skeptical that karzai will follow through on promises. if he does not, "the new york times" reports the white house is considering shifting money from the national government to local afghan leaders where they cooperate with u.s. objectives

troop levels in afghanistan. he discussed afghanistan, in fact, with cnn's ed henry. >> we have a vital interest in making sure that afghanistan is sufficiently stable that it can't infect the entire region with violent extremism. we, also, have to make sure that we've got an effective partner in afghanistan. and that's something that we are examining very closely and presenting some very clear benchmarks for the afghan government. we have to make sure that we are training sufficient afghan troops so that they can ultimately secure their own country. >> and before leaving beijing today, the president walked along the same section of the great wall of china richard nixon visited back in 1972. here's the thing in between the state dinners and closed-door meetings, sightseeing president obama had a rare reunion with his half broner in china. mark obama has lived in southern china the last few years and made headlines because in his new book he claims their father physically abused them. he wouldn't say whether that

kabul, afghanistan, bombings and shootings killed 12 people in afghanistan, including four american service members and three children. "president obama on monday met again with compromises on whether to commit more troops in the fight against islamist militants. he met with advisers including general mcchrystal, who obama appointed in may to craft a plan to defeat the taliban, and who recommended 40,000 additional service members to rest taliban militants who control provinces outside of kabul." next call is from charlotte, north carolina, which on the republican line, and the issue of taxes and health care and the war in afghanistan. is washington soaking america's rich? caller: steve, good morning. how are you? yes, and unfortunately, it is going to get worse. i swear, every time i look at the administration conducting their foreign policy and domestic policy, i think we have jimmy carter up there. i think i'm not the only one. that will come out on them on the 2010 and 2012. i and some other folks have been curious. our government has been nationalizing purchasing large portions of our

host: afghanistan has oil? caller: no, in america. host: you think we should have oil here and use the reserves to pay for war efforts? caller: that is right. host: thank you. chris on the republican line, good morning. caller: good morning. yes, i think we need to do it. some people do not understand the concept of necessary work her. -- necessary orwarfare. if you have a little girl and you know somebody will break in and torture that little girl in front of you, would you take that gun and shoot them and kill them. there was a yes. now you understand the concept. just multiplied by 1 million. host: you see the threat as the imminent from al-qaeda, and afghanistan is the base for it? caller: for any war that is necessary, and i believe that it is, it has to be brought home for people. they have to see it personally. other people somewhere in the world that are being killed or tortured better in the set like them and their families -- it does not mean anything to them until they picture id other old home with their own families. host

he's the special representative to iraq and afghanistan. until then, your phone calls from this morning's "washington journal." host: the military saying that four u.s. service members have been killed in the past 24 hours in afghanistan. nato says in a statement released today that three of the americans died in southern afghanistan on sunday. two of them were killed by a bomb attack. and a third in a separate firefight. headlines this morning in a number of newspapers fill the fallout from the weekend debate on health care. debate heats up -- this is al "the wall street journal" plays it. 60-39 votes on saturday night set the stage for as many as three weeks of debate and compromise in december and perhaps more in january. we want to bring to your attention a headline about lobbying in the healthcare debate and rescue more broadly, who has the bigger influence? here's the front page of "usa today" -- a number of organization hiring firms doubles. in doubles companies and groups hiring lobbying firms on health issues nearly doubled this ye

envoy to afghanistan is contradicting the commanding general there. so two of the highest positions and they don't agree. >> exactly. eye to eye, here they are not agreeing, as you say. we know general stanley mcchrystal has asked for 40,000 troops. the u.s. ambassador to afghanistan, retired general ike iken eikenberry will only make it more relying on the united states. let president obama know that right before yesterday's war council meeting. >> having two generals on the ground, the ambassador and general mcchrystal is commander on the ground openly just feuding with each other in public like this is unprecedented. we used to talk about a team of rivals. we never imagined this. >> general eikenberry was the top for 18 months going back to 2006 and 2007. >> okay. so what are the key sticking points for president obama? is the ability of the afghan government -- how much cooperation is he getting from president hamid karzai? >> not as much as he would like. president obama has suggested karzai do more to crack down on corruption and the illegal dru

>> my first trip was to south afghanistan near two years ago. on this trip, i wanted to go back to the south and see if i could detect progress or see if things had gotten worse. and also to explore new areas that i hadn't visited before. in 2007, i spent most of my time in couple -- kabul. i headed to one of the agricultural districts to the south to see a different facet. it is not as efficient as the u.s. transportation system, but it is still a typical commercial flight. >> how concerned are you -- october was the deadliest month for service members? how concerned are you for your personal safety, and what measures duty to protect yourself? >> you are required to wear much of the same protective gear that the u.s. troops do. a helmet and a vest with armor plates in it. you write in the same army vehicles. >> do they provide you with that year? >> no, you don't. you get it online. basically, law enforcement here. you have the same protective measures that u.s. troops do. it is sophisticated stuff. i don't worry much about my own safety. the l

i am not sure that means anything in afghanistan.for other armies, but this is a professional army. probably the world's most professional army ever. they're highly trained, highly educated, extremely well equipped and pretty well compensated. these guys do a job because it is their job. most of them are not it theologically motivated. they are there to do a job they believe in, but they believed in the job, not necessarily some grand cause. they are able to separate their emotions and personal feelings and even their personal politics from the job. if you really boil it down -- if there is an emotional motive for these guys, usually they are fighting for the guy next to them. the small unit camaraderie that really motivates them where professionalism does not explain everything. i am not sure that morale is issued issue. you can sit down with one soldier and say how do you feel? are you tie your? is your family suffering from you been deployed over and over again? he might have a gripes. the army is pretty good about dealing with th

troops to fight in afghanistan. top administration officials are pledging to work with president karzai. the president is expected to unveil his war strategy with iran with a few weeks. 59 trips dotroops died in afghanistan. >>> and a new movie assault ship built with steel from the world trade center stopped. family members held a ceremony including a 21 gun salute. the bow of the $1 billion ship contains 7.5 tons of steel from the fallen towers. the ship will officially be commissioned saturday. >>> investigators in florida's panhandle need your help. the washington counties sheriff's department says shan lea ded rigid ick is missing. the sheriff said she didn't crawl or walk away. the girl is two feet tall, weighs 11 pounds and has brown air and blue eyes. again, an amber alert for shannon lea dedrick, and leaving a veteran officer dead inside his squad car. timothy brenton coaching a rookie officer when a car pulled up and someone inside that car opened fire. police say briton died instantly. the training office

i think afghanistan is a war of choice. what general mcchrystal has suggested, we have a range of options. in order to make a large investment in afghanistan, is somehow central to the effort. there is nothing special or unique about afghan real-estate. there are lots of other places where al qaeda and groups like it are holing up. it may become a sanctuary where the taliban can undermine pakistan. if they are already don't have pakistan as a sanctuary. i am not arguing that afghanistan is irrelevant. i just don't see it as critical to the effort against terrorism or the future of pakistan. i don't think the general has made the case -- this is really at the heart of the president's dilemma. would it, in the long run, accomplish anything? would the results be commensurate with the investment? if we put in 40,000 more troops, things will improve. i have no doubt about that given the talent of the u.s. military. the real question is, will it and door once we dial it back? -- endure once we dial it back. there is also the real

india wants more influence in afghanistan. you talked about the apples, 12 tons coming back the other way. pakistan on the other hand remains suspicious of indian hegemony. they talk about putting afghan out of indian reach. how can the u.s. balance the interests of these two key partner, one of which is the key partner in the war on terror? >> first of all, all americans, and everyone here is just delighted that the first state visit of this administration is india. no one in pakistan or any other country should read this in any way as a comminution -- diminution of their importance. someone has to have the first trip, but -- it used to be european allies. they come for informal trips. a state dinner is a big event. president obama thought this was the way to go. it should not be read as a diminution. we seek to improve our relations with pakistan. we seek to improve our relations with china. we seek to improve our relations with india. this is not a zero-sum game. every country benefits from improvement in the area. i'm not

i think afghanistan is a war of choice. what general mcchrystal has suggested, we have a range of options. in order to make a large investment in afghanistan, is somehow central to the effort. there is nothing special or unique about afghan real-estate. there are lots of other places where al qaeda and groups like it are holing up. it may become a sanctuary where the taliban can undermine pakistan. if they are already don't have pakistan as a sanctuary. i am not arguing that afghanistan is irrelevant. i just don't see it as critical to the effort against terrorism or the future of pakistan. i don't think the general has made the case -- this is really at the heart of the president's dilemma. would it, in the long run, accomplish anything? would the results be commensurate with the investment? if we put in 40,000 more troops, things will improve. i have no doubt about that given the talent of the u.s. military. the real question is, will it and door once we dial it back? -- endure once we dial it back. there is also the real

this week gordon brown answered questions on the british involvement in afghanistan. mr. brown announced this week that 10 nato nations are ready to send about 5,000 troops to afghanistan. they questioned about the iraq secrecy and asked about how the government was responding to recent floods in the u.k. >> doctor, refer to blackmon woods. >> before listing my engagements this week, i am sure the house will wish to join me to paying tribute to sergeant robert dixon from the fourth regiment, who has died in afghanistan. the debt of gratitude we owe him is permanent, and we send our condolences to his family and friends. he and the sacrifice he has made will not be forgotten. all of us i believe will want to pay tribute to police constable big barker who tragically died in the course of duty, serving the community he was so committed to. and we remember the individuals who lost their lives during the recent floods, and our thoughts are with all families and friends, and with all those affected by the serious flooding, who will have our support now and into the future. let

india has in during links with afghanistan. we do not see afghanistan as a trader of influence. we want a legion of peace and stability. india will assist afghanistan in building the institution. democracy is an ancient land like afghanistan and will take time to come to terms with the country's history and it tribal leadership. it is why the important that all major, regional and international players put their weight behind the government of afghanistan. this is the only way they can meet the challenges it faces. . we have invested heavily over the past few years in normalizing relations with our neighbor, pakistan. we made considerable progress on the road to a durable and permanent settlement of all outstanding issues. i have said that we are ready to pick up the dialogue, including on issues relating to kashmir. i see a south asia of peace, friendship and prosperity. where its borders will see the flow of people, goods and ideas. for this to happen, pakistan must make a break with the past. they must forgive terrorism and it is my salemme hope that india and pakistan come t

, afghanistan. it this salute goes out to my son. son, your family and friends miss you ton. i know they miss your money. we're proud of your sacrifice for the country. the pride we have for you timbers the sadness of your absence. everything squared away at home. i want to tell you, i think the georgia bulldogs are going to win it for you this year. love you, buddy. >> she got a lot of thoughts in there, didn't she? everything squared away at home. his faith football team. if you have somebody in the service you want to salute, cnn.com/robin. >>> some commutes may be hours longer. san francisco's bay bridge is still closed. there's a live look this morning. "the san francisco chronicle" reports that some drivers face round-trip commutes of eight hours or more. crews are still working on repairs and safety tests. the bay bridge closed tuesday after 5,000 pounds of metal crashed into rush hour traffic. we don't know when it's going to reopen. >>> jury selection begins today for a man accused of killi

and we went to afghanistan together in 2003 and 2004. and i think the one thing that you recognize as you serve with people for any period of time, just like any family, what gets you through incredibly difficult events is coming together as a family. >> the funeral for private first-class michael pearson will be held later today in midway, illinois. and there's also a funeral planned for specialist jason hunt, of frederick, oklahoma. 13 people were killed and dozens more wounded after the attacks last week. the only suspect, major nidal malik hasan, remains hospitalized, he's been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder. >>> president obama is asking congress to slow down on fort hood. he says lawmakers shouldn't be focusing on possible intelligence failures until the police and military officials get a chance to do their job and finish up the work on the shooting. the president already ordered his own intelligence review of the accused gun man, major nidal malik hasan. >> the purpose of this investigation is clear, we must compil

it is obviously on afghanistan and pakistan. he is the u.s. representative for afghanistan and pakistan. this is of november 16th. and we hope that you can join. and we hope that we will all be able to join the wfpg as well. so just a little bit more, and i just going to give you the highlights because dr. stanger has a very impressive background , and i will just mention a few of her many partner ships. she is the russell lange professor of economics and politics, chair of the political science department, and the director as i mentioned of the rohatyn center for international affairs at middlebury. she is a prolific writer in addition to her current book, she was co-editor and co translator of irreconcilable differences explaining czechoslovakia's dissolution. she has authored many articles, essays, op-ed that have appeared in "the new york times," financial times, "washington post," and she has had numerous fellowships' i will mention a few. overseas she had fellowships' in prague and moscow and she has been a fellow at harvard center for e

they talk about a last-minute meaning of afghanistan. "president obama conveyed a last-minute -- convened a last- minute meeting for strategy in afghanistan. it included cabinet officials, including the defense secretary and robert gates. no one has been given a background briefing, suggesting that the meeting was akin to a pregame rally meeting, attempting to get everyone on the same page before his tuesday speech." we will look to see what happens next with that. back to the phones, pete is calling from michigan on the republican line. caller: i would like to make three points. i worked in health insurance industry for 17 years. my wife was in the health-care industry. for some reason the politicians in the press stopped differentiating between health insurance and health care. the bullet on c-span is that they are talking about health care, but they are talking about health insurance. the high cost of health insurance is directly related to the high cost of health care. it is confusing enough for laypeople. i listen to these confused

to afghanistan.oops to afghanistan. earlier | troops to afghanistan. earlier i spoke troops to afghanistan. earlier i spoke it our north america spoke it our north america editor and asked if and asked if there‘s any indication which and asked if there‘s any indication which way his decision which way his decision is likely to go. which way his decision is likely to go. there‘s which way his decision is likely to go. there‘s a little bit which way his decision is likely to go. there‘s a little bit more of go. there's a little bit more of an indication. we know go. there's a little bit more of an indication. we know this meeting, indication. we know this meeting, the eighth indication. we know this meeting, the eighth in a long, the eighth in a long, drawn-out process, the eighth in a long, drawn-out process, some the eighth in a long, drawn-out process, some have accused process, some have accused him of dithering process, some have accused him of dithering over there, process, some have accused him

the guys in afghanistan just launched and recovered them.hey're also responsible for some small areas around the air base. what happens is that this is a 24 operation. the people are constantly tracking them out to the air strip, launching them, and then they pass them off to the guys and las vegas. the guys in las vegas, they will fly around for a day or so and then they will return control to the people in afghanistan. then they will get to keep the drum for like an hour -- drone like that for an hour. >> is the image that good? >> they are very good. the radar will take pictures of the terrain. in the morning, you take one snapshot. you come back in the evening, you take another. you compare them. if you see differences. , he might have spotted a bomb. the taliban will come in, they will. when you're not looking. if you have those two snapshots, you can spot brit has been very apparent that is a lot of what they do. -- you can spot and it has been very apparent that something has changed. >> what is the experience about the multiple deplo

the road to peace in afghanistan will be long and hard. but given the high stakes involved, the commitment of the international community must be sustained by firm resolve and unity of purpose. india has been during civilization all links with afghanistan. we do not see afghanistan -- we need peace and stability. india will assist afghanistan in building its institution and its human resources. democracy in an ancient land like afghanistan will take time to take root and to come to terms with the country's history and its tribal traditions. it is vitally important that all major regional and international players put their weight behind the government of afghanistan. this is the only way afghanistan can meet the daunting challenges it faces. ladies and gentleman, we have invested heavily over the past few years in normalizing relations with our neighbor, pakistan. we made considerable progress on the road to a durable and permanent settlement of all outstanding issues. i have said that we are ready to pick up the dialogue, including on iss

brown announced that canada nations agreed to send about 30,000 more troops to afghanistan. the prime minister also discussed how the government was responding to recent floods in the uk. >> questions to the prime minister. >> mr. speaker, before i begin, i am sure the whole house would like to join me to pay tribute to sgt dixon from the second regiment royal military police who has died in afghanistan. we send our sincere condolences to his family and friends. he and the sacrifice he has made will not be forgotten. all of us will also want to pay tribute to police constable bill barker who died in the course of duty, serving the community he was so committed to. also those a lost their lives in the recent floods. and with all those affected by the serious flooding, you will have our support now and into the future. let us as a house also paid tribute to the emergency services of the armed forces and all those organizations that have been doing an outstanding job working around-the-clock to help those areas of our country affected by the floods. >> can i began by associatin

. >> allegations of voter fraud in afghanistan have not helped. former afghan minister abdullah abdullah quit before the election was supposed to happen, saying he cannot trust the election process. >>> a haircut you won't want to get if it's halloween. arizona barber dressed up as edward scissorhands. his hands are still steady, despite the out fit, and the customers don't seem to mind. people are so creative. >> level one, yeah. it's easy to do, right? >> yeah, what's your number? >> level one on the razor. >> good morning, bob. records of what? >> rainfall, this one, yeah. starting out. the last couple of days we've been showing you downpour action after downpour action, lower gulf coast coming out of texas, going toward the coast of florida. october alone, 20.35 inches of rain in shrevport, half a year's total in one month. little rock, 16 1/2 inches of rain. pretty much on the heavy side, no matter how you look at t not only the rain we're watching in october, it was the cold temperatures. cheyenne, wyoming, 37 degrees, the average temperatur

if there are additional forces heading to afghanistan. why don't we keep the horse before the cart, and let's figure out what the president is going to decide, and if there are additional forces that he's going to allocate for this mission, then lets venues that number and work with the commander to figure out he's going to use them, where in the country, for what duration, for what purpose, what kind equipment needs that will require. and then lets make an informed judgment about how much it will cost. it does us no good in the abstract to try to come up with figures without knowing what the mission is, how many troops, how to equip them and so forth. right now it is a math problem with too many variables to come up with a conclusive number, and accurate number about what the costs are. obviously, costs have been a part of the conversation that have been taking place between the president and his advisers. although secretary made clear to me it has not been a principal element to this conversation. the driving force behind this is obviou

were similar mistakes made or successes realized in afghanistan or iraq? should the mast and south asia played a larger role in u.s. national strategy after the collapse of the soviet union than was actually the case? and a final question, what factors shape strategy in this period? >> yeah, thank you. >> the question about intentions is important, of course. britain has the capability, the soviet union, the russia has a capability of 40 million, 50 million americans. united states has the came of eliminating costa rica from the map. so the point is that we don't worry about any of those things because there is no intention to do so. it's not that there isn't capability of doing that. huge countries, militarily powerful countries, have lived next door to very small military, uninterested countries for very long tames and could take them out any time we wanted to. we could attack canada, and they're not even looking in the right direction. but the can dance don't seem to be terribly worried about that. so i think intentions are really what matters, not capa

we want to begin with news about afghanistan. sir, let me begin with the front page in their headlined -- the u.s. is seeking 10,000 troops from its allies. let me ask you what it is like on the ground there as the discussion here domestically continues as to whether president obama send more troops and whether our allies will contribute more. is that something discussed on the ground there? guest: probably among soldiers, but among afghans it is probably a much smaller group who pay attention to the smaller, finer points of american policy. soldiers have a sense depending on the area they are patrolling, whether or not they have enough people working with them. that is something that is talked about. really, in their day-to-day life in afghanistan a lot of people are not so involved in the particulars of this decision. host: there is also news about the karzai government and its efforts moving forward. have you seen any change on the ground there groundkarzai last week put forth his principles for this administration going forwa

whatever are the individual speakers on afghanistan there's clarity on the mission. the prime minister has said we're in afghanistan to protect british people against terrorism. and yet almost in the same breath threatens to pull out of the country if president karzai can't clean up his corrupt government. these are contradictory messages they are sending out mixed signals. can the prime minister now square that circle?vu >> we are in the country because of the threat to britain. a threat that has been seen over eight years as a result of projected and actual terrorist defenses in our country. three-quarters of which come from afghanistan and pakistan and mainly the borders of pakistan. that is why we are there to protect the streets of britain. i was right to ask president karzai to give us assurances about how in his second term he would tackle corruption. he has now announced an anticorruption task force. i gather 12 people have been arrested yesterday from within the core administration. at the same time, i've asked him to appoint district and regional governors

we went to afghanistan in 2003 and 2004. i think the one thing that you recognize as you serve with people for any period of time just like any family, what gets you through incredibly difficult events is coming together as a family. >> the funeral for private first class michael pearson will be held in illinois and also are funeral planned for jason hunt. 13 people were killed and dozens others wounded. the only suspect, major thjor n hasan is still hospitalized. >>> president says that the police and military officials need to get a chance to do their job and finish up the work on the shooting. the workup has already been done on ma major nidal hasan. >> we must compile every bit of information we have on the gunman and learn what was done with the information. if there was a failure to take appropriate action before the shootings, there must be accountabili accountability. beyond that we must quickly and thoroughly address any flaws in the system so we can prevent a similar breach from happening again. our government must

commander in afghanistan afghanistan wants up to 40,000 more. the white house says a decision could come within weeks. >>> a huge statue of former bill clinton was unveiled in the serbian province of kosovo. many consider them a hero for drawing out yugoslavia's troops in 1999. for conan o'brien, the story was too good an opportunity to pass up. >> yesterday, the country of koes sovo unveiled a 20-foot-ta statue of president clinton. the former statue was so lifelike, it's been slapped plenty of times. >> clinton went to the unveiling, but he was not slapped. >> got the stands to himself. >>> let me show you what's happening now. we don't have any delays, which is really good, but we might see a couple pop up. that gusty north wind as you get to new england, you have a high pressure building in. when boston and new york, probably a half hour delay. if you don't get the delays, you'll definitely get the bumpy ride coming through. l.a.x., last hour had visibility of one-16th of a mile due to fog. delays due to that. >>> the san francisco oakland b

. >>> a marine who recently returned from afghanistan says he was a bit overwhelmed by the reception he got from a third grade class in arizona. sergeant andrew valora was stationed in afghanistan when he was adopted by the class and started getting packages and letters from the students. he was invited to the school thursday to meet the students and expected a small gathering. but the class had other ideas, putting on an extravagant party. >> i thought i was going to come home and see the kids in the class. i didn't think it was going to be a huge production, but it's very nice to see how much that they think i meant to them, but i hope i can convey how much they really mean to me. >> the children sang a song valora is very familiar with, "god bless the usa." while he was in afghanistan, the class recorded a video of them singing that, he played it for his entire unit. very cool. >>> brett favre returns to green bay, but he is not wearing the home colors? what's going on here? larry smith has more. >> most of favre's history with the packers is great, two super bowls, one champion i

troops have been killed in a roadside bomb attack in afghanistan. nato officials say it happened in the southern province of zabul. we'll bring you more details as we get them. >>> now, this hour, we get another important measure of how the economy is doing. jen westhoven is here with more on that. what are you looking for here? thanks, richard. in about 25 minutes we'll get the most up-to-the-minute report on the job market. if you're job hunting, you'll want to listen. these numbers are coming just as we find out that about a million americans are in danger of losing their unemployment benefits in january unless congress makes a fast move. you remember the new law passed two weeks ago. it was supposed to mean 14 to 20 more weeks of benefits for everyone in trouble. but, big mistake here, it seems to be part of a bigger law that expires on december 31st, meaning it doesn't count because the original bill ends on new career's eve. the timing would be awful. a nonprofit group says about a million people basically on their own, no job, no assistance i

eastern time from the military academy at west point on afghanistan and pakistan. on wednesday, the president will attend meetings at the white house. on thursday, the president will hold a forum on the jobs and economic growth here at the white house. it will be an opportunity for the president and his economic team to hear from ceo's, small business owners, and financial experts about ideas for continuing to grow the economy to put americans back to work. >> [unintelligible] >> i don't know when that starts yet, but we can figure that out on thursday evening, mrs. obama will try the president of the national park service for the annual -- joined president at the national park service to the annual business tree lighting -- for the annual christmas tree lighting. the president on friday will be at it allentown, pennsylvania, this thing communities across the country over the next -- visiting committees across the country over the next two months sharing ideas for economic recovery. i mentioned that the congressional readout and consultations will be 4: 45 tomorrow

of german soldiers in afghanistan and our common work there to bring peace and stability to afghanistan and to create the environment in which the afghan people themselves can provide for their own security. >> merkel's visit comes one week after she was sworn in for a speced term. >>> a government report says the u.s. ranks 30th in the world for infant mortality, mainly because of premature births. one in eight babies in the u.s. is born premature. some of the reasons is lack of prenatal care and fertility treatments. they also found the survival rates of premature babies is better than most. >>> this girl disappeared just before her fourth birthday. digital imaging shows us what madeleine mccann might look like today. >>> a chase in the los angeles area, it ended after officers shot and wounded the driver as the car is sunrrounded by armed police vehicles. the suspect was in a gray hatchback which police believe was a stolen vehicle. after the chase, police say the suspect shot at them and they returned fire. the man had to be taken to the hospital. he had several gunshot wounds. we d

whatever individual positions or afghanistan, it is very important there is clarity regarding the mission. the prime minister has said that we are in afghanistan to protect british people against terrorism, and yet almost in the same breath threatens to pull out of the country if president karzai can't clean up his corrupt government. these are contradictory messages that are sending out mixed signals. can the prime minister now square that circle? >> we are in the country because of the threat to britain, a threat that has been seen over eight years as a result of projected and actual terrorist offenses in our country, three quarters of which come from afghanistan and pakistan, and mainly the borders of pakistan. that is why we are there, to protect the streets of britain. i was asked to ask of president karzai to give us assurances about how in his second term he would tackle crungs. he has now announced an anti-horsepower corruption task force. i gather 12 people have been arrested. at the same time i have asked him to appoint district and regional governor ors. and he has -- governors