can do to enhance food security in afghanistan and that really is about making it so that afghanistan relies less on annual rainfall for it's really dramatic wheat production swing and is able to rely more heavily on irrigation and water storage so that it can mitigate some of those challenges and we are very focused on that problem because every few years there is a drought in afghanistan and i think that has a broader impact. on the transparency question i thank you for asking that because one of my personal jihads since joining the government 18 months ago has been to increase the transparency of the work that we do. i think too often it is not that anybody tries to hide it but the information really needs to be out there about what we are doing for everybody to see and how much it costs and what is working and what is not working. we are doing that by trying to dramatically increase our own web presence in terms of saying what is done but also supported the afghans in building up a system where is a report what aid flows are and the critical thing is they need the information. we

operations inside afghanistan and also. needs pakistan for a political settlement in afghanistan to bring the taliban on the table but we have to understand that the leverage that pakistan has and also today u.s. dependence on on pakistan will diminish just down the road and one or two years we know that they use needed pakistan to cooperate against al qaeda but osama bin laden is killed many of our senior al qaeda leaders are killed already and their operations are disrupted significantly inside pakistan and also as the military footprint is that menacing in afghanistan so well be dependent on pakistan so in the near future can put more pressure on pakistan and i believe that it will. pursue a tougher line with the pakistani government and the pakistani military and the i.s.i. does not change its probe militant policies ok robert i go back to you i got to go back to that article that you wrote pakistan going rogue you wrote at the very end of it the u.s. has far more at stake in pakistan than it does in afghanistan can you

and russia expresses a concern for us to maintain military bases in afghanistan even after the planned twenty four to withdraw conference and can stay with the international community is set to decide the country's future. next long before nato faces begin withdrawing from afghanistan on the agenda today the legacy they'll leave behind to stay with us for that. well the earth science technology innovation all the lives developments around russia we've got the future covered. story. below and welcome to crossfire computable going for the exit after ten years of an inconclusive war the united states and its allies are desperate to leave afghanistan by the end of two thousand and fourteen it is certain the occupation of this war torn country will come to an end other than this there is only merely hope . and you can. still. prospect the afghan retreat i'm joined by free but now we're in san francisco she's an award winning afghan american journalist and author of the book opium nation child brides drug lords and one woman's journey through afghanistan in washington we have he is founder a

is still spending one hundred ten billion dollars a year in afghanistan to kill people to maim people to anger people it's been a catastrophe and the problem is the politicians will admit that i go to you in san francisco i mean ten years on what's the what's the checklist for you or what's the balance. i think i think we have to look at both sides of the situation. it's not going well that's something we have to be honest about but there has been many good things that have come out of this intervention i don't call it an occupation because in the beginning many many many afghans were pro the intervention they believe that the united states and the coalition forces were going to come inside the country and make things better for them but that did not happen i was at the first bonn conference ten years ago i traveled to afghanistan i am a native afghan so. what the people of afghanistan wanted what has happened are two very different things i think the numbers we can look at them both ways many good things have happened as well as bad there are unprecedented number of girls in schools

will leave eventually afghanistan in one form or another and pakistan will still be bordering on afghanistan and this is what the pakistanis are angling on aren't they i mean they're not going anywhere it's their neighborhood and they will determine the regional dynamics because the capital of the united states has is just a minute over time and maybe very quickly. as events unfold with a departure from afghanistan. well that's the most important point in the because the pakistanis are uncertain about the long term commitment off the united states and the international community and afghanistan i myself have spoken to many senior pakistani off the shelves on the they are also uncertain about this system the ability. of the afghan government they don't know that after two thousand and fourteen if the government of president has they will be in place once the foreign troops leave so that's why that they are still supporting their proxies the taliban for future influence in afghanistan i gained seats archrival enemy and also to have dominance so that this policy for the united states and also f

, the growth of afghanistan, it has the longest border with afghanistan, the strongest relationship, religious, linguistic, ethnic, cultural, and we are very strongly connected. we are a fact it also by events in their country. -- we are affected by events there. also because the taliban is mostly in pakistan, they have their headquarters there, their presence, their sanctuaries, pakistan's role in the peace process is important because they can deliver, if they want to. eclectic you could ask one concreting of pakistan right now, what would it be? >> ps is imperative for all of us. -- peace is imperative. deliver on it. >> has your own government done enough? the german media is reporting today that a u.s. classified report says your government did not do all it could have either to get the taliban on board. >> that is not true. we have done great deeds on this. we have shed blood over this. the head of the peace council was assassinated in the name of peace. we have lost schools in this pursuit. we have done all we have could and we will do a lot, a lot more going forward. >> along

is abandoning afghanistan. that's an important distinction. >> woodruff: andrew wilder, how realistic do you see president karzai's insistence that his country is going to need a high level of development and aid from other countries after the troops are gone? >> i would agree with celeste. i can expect him to expect that but i don't think he's going to get that. i think in some ways i would argue and have argued that we've probably spent too much money in afghanistan too quickly and created this bit of a war and aid economy, bubble economy. but now the last thing we should do is pop that economy because that would be very destabilizing. we need to start letting air out of that bubble in a somewhat controlled manner and then have a longer term sustainable level engagement in afghanistan not at the levels we have now but certainly not down to zero. >> woodruff: let me turn the question around because many of the other countries who were there said to president karzai in effect, okay, we'll consider giving you th

stay with us, what happens when the leaves afghanistan. back in one minute. >> all combat, everyone. it was 10 years ago this month -- will come back, everyone. it was 10 years ago this month when leaders discussed the future of afghanistan. it was a moment of modest tow. the taliban had been ousted in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. there was talk of rebuilding shattered infrastructure and restoring human rights to groups such as women. fast forward to today, and world leaders are about to gather in bonn to discuss hopes for the next few decades. those hopes remain just that, hopes. women still face huge problems in their everyday lives. >> this is kabul today. large areas of the afghan capitol remain undeveloped. many homes do not have electricity. donkeys are used to haul firewood to homes on the hills. but not everyone is pour. wealthier districts are packed with shops selling a variety of goods. kabul is a mirror of afghan society. men dominate the public sphere, from politics to the workplace. women are marginalized. many where the ful

can live with us withdraw from afghanistan and afghanistan collapsing. car bombs go off in baghdad nearly every day. more civilians are being killed in iraq and are being killed in afghanistan by terrorism attacks every year by a good amount. we don't care. we go on. we don't even tie that into the fact that we are pulling out. i think we do this in afghanistan. the biggest promus going to be basis. i think this idea that we have to have the basis. again, we have this mindset that pervades our foreign policy establishment of contained in a foreign presence. use it against the soviet union which was an industrialized nation a more than 200 people with a couple dozen klan states. we will not use that against al qaeda. and the problem is the you need people. you need a gorbachev tight who is able to lead and able to break those contained fonts, those ideas, those born policy standards or based assessments that are not present. the interesting thing, yesterday in rolling stone michael hastings had a very good piece on obama's decision making for libya. very

in afghanistan.s this -- you know, is this a portend for something worse to come? >> the attack on our people by the group a few days ago was a clear act of terrorism against people. it was anti-islam. it was anti-human being. afghanistan has evidence in history -- this was the first time in our country that an attack of that nature took place. the taliban condemned it. but reportedly the group claimed responsible. we're not saying that this is pakistan. we say that this is the terrorist group. if it is, then flag perhaps it's the responsibility of pakistan and all all of us together to stop this. >> there's a woman named golnaz who, as you know, was sentenced to prison for 12 years after it was reported that her cousin's husband raped her. she was then freed because of your personal action. the great concern of human rights activists in the west and in afghanistan i should say is that particularly once the international forces withdraw and perhaps have less of a day-to-day involvement, that this kin

it's not afghanistan. this is a country that has significant wealth, should be all to contribute, that has not been forced to do so in a program is crucial as this. >> i know i've run out of time, that mr. geisel d.o. comments on this? >> well, first of all i am not going to second-guess my friend and colleague on by his people found. and of course the people you need to bring up here are the people from the state department to comment on what he found. i saw that the department published a document, a 21 page document that includes goals and measures of performance for the police development program. but if my friends baby, not nine. thematic thank you very much. i look at five-minute now to mr. welch from vermont. >> thank you very much, mr. labrador. i want to thank each and everyone of you for the terrific work you're doing. a lot of situations here in covering reflect the impossible expectations oftentimes congress has and if it were as easy as writing a check and having police force in iraq and afgha

afghanistan and it is highly vulnerable it's highly vulnerable. pakistanis but it's more vulnerable to russia i mean if russia were to withdraw its permission for us to use its railroads we would be the very difficult position in afghanistan the northern supply now work could now be in danger because of a failure in diplomacy moscow says because washington turned down all of its proposals on the missile defense issue russia might have to resort to other arguments including its cooperation with nato on afghanistan that. their processes which are critically important for russia which are about russia's national security one of them is nato expansion into russian borders and the fact that washington goes ahead with a robust missile shield program in europe without taking into consideration russia's concerns gives moscow the right to use any leverage it has to be heard by its partner but even the mere possibility that russia could cut off the northern supply route threatens the viability of all western operations in afghanistan nato risks leaving almo

plans to maintain military bases in afghanistan even after the twenty fourteen withdrawal as a conference opens today but the international community is set to decide the country's future. and in about twenty minutes they would be worth less than a dollar if it were based on the help of the greek economy find out how the very bank arrived at the conclusion in about twenty minutes. and on line with the international twenty four hours a day this is. the start of the moment of truth for russia's ruling party with almost all the votes counted in the parliamentary election united russia is to lose the majority held in the previous duma but will still stay the biggest party. by far well for more let's cross lines not all to serve first using the central moscow with more on this so official results are slowly starting to take shape are we expecting any major changes. well about ninety six they said of the house being counted so the election commission has actually released some of the biggest the early results now we know the figures at the as they stand at the moment united russia with just und

it's not afghanistan. this is a country that has significant wealth, should be all to contribute, that has not been forced to do so in a program is crucial as this. >> i know i've run out of time, that mr. geisel d.o. comments on this? >> well, first of all i am not going to second-guess my friend and colleague on by his people found. and of course the people you need to bring up here are the people from the state department to comment on what he found. i saw that the department published a document, a 21 page document that includes goals and measures of performance for the police development program. but if my friends baby, not nine. thematic thank you very much. i look at five-minute now to mr. welch from vermont. >> thank you very much, mr. labrador. i want to thank each and everyone of you for the terrific work you're doing. a lot of situations here in covering reflect the impossible expectations oftentimes congress has and if it were as easy as writing a check and having police force in iraq and afgha

>> 10,000 troops will be leaving afghanistan this year. they'll be mostly support troops.xt year the remainder of the so-called surge troops, about 23,000 will be coming out. that's the number to watch because a lot of those will be comat troops. they talk about the marines there having their numbers in the southwestern part of the country. but the key question also is can the afghans step up to the plate and lead. at this point they really haven't been doing that. i was there in june patrolling with the marines, and the afghanistan forces were in some ways like boy scouts, kind of along for the ride. the americans organized the patrols. they were the ones who were dealing with villagers, it wasn't the iraqi -- i'm sorry, the afghanistan soldiers, and so i think there's a great worry will the afghans can lead this thing and there have been some commentators, retired army general david barnert who's commander in afghanistan, he's suggesting that the americans have to push the afghans forward in the lead, so that's something to watch. >> one indication of u.s. doubts is the

as global players meet to decide the future of afghanistan pakistan his role is key to stability in the region boy because the event even eighty's recent deadly air raid on one of its border posts. gyptian is a back at polling stations for the second round of the country's parliament reelection after an opening stage which saw an overwhelming win by the islamists. and online with international news twenty four hours a day this is our city. now russians have had their say in who they want to see in parliament with almost all ballots counted after sunday's election four parties have made it into the country's no house the state duma the ruling united russia party remains by far the largest group but has been dealt a significant setback with a sharp fall in support. of his intent from moscow for us with the latest piece is a with a vote counting almost complete hour what does the makeup of the new parliament like. for just about all the votes counted we can now get a pretty clear picture of what the duma will look like for the next few years though united russia took the majority of the se

it's not afghanistan. this is a country that has significant wealth, should be all to contribute, that has not been forced to do so in a program is crucial as this. >> i know i've run out of time, that mr. geisel d.o. comments on this? >> well, first of all i am not going to second-guess my friend and colleague on by his people found. and of course the people you need to bring up here are the people from the state department to comment on what he found. i saw that the department published a document, a 21 page document that includes goals and measures of performance for the police development program. but if my friends baby, not nine. thematic thank you very much. i look at five-minute now to mr. welch from vermont. >> thank you very much, mr. labrador. i want to thank each and everyone of you for the terrific work you're doing. a lot of situations here in covering reflect the impossible expectations oftentimes congress has and if it were as easy as writing a check and having police force in iraq and afgha

>> he is in afghanistan. >> his father, sgt john, has been in afghanistan for nine months, on his fifth to work with the 10th mountain division. what his young son did not realize was that his father had just arrived back in pittsburgh, pa., hours ago, and was waiting for the right moment. >> ago give your daddy a big hug and kiss. -- don't give your daddy a big hug and kiss. and -- go give your daddy a big hug and kiss. [applause] >> keeping it a secret was hard. we were already to flip out. >> they coordinated the reunion with of the macy's store, knowing how important it was for chris to see his dad, who he calls a hero, to be home for the holidays. >> he is resilient, understanding, and knows that daddy does this to help everyone out. >> it is the absolute best. >> i could what those reunions over and over again. up next, your maryland lottery duckett and -- maryland lotteryk switching to progressive could mean hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. >> here's a look at what we are looking at -- working

for american troops serving in afghanistan, one killer has surpassed all others. the improvised explosive device. they have either taken the lives or shattered the bolds of more than 8,000 u.s. service members of that war. and they are such a relens lent scourge because they are so easy to make, with a couple of ingredients that end up being disturbingly easy to buy. here's nick schifrin with our series, "nightline investigates." >> reporter: down every rutted road in afghanistan, nothing scares u.s. troops more than this. an ied, just blew up beneath this truck. >> is everyone okay? >> reporter: ieds are the u.s.'s enemy number one in afghanistan. >> oh, my ears. >> reporter: they killed or wounded more than 8,000 american troops. and the numbers are getting worse. >> [ bleep ]. this is close as we get to the source of all our problems. ieds. >> reporter: meet this sar jet. he's an explosives technician, better known as a member of the bomb squad. >> it's like playing a game. who gets to it first? who makes it blow up first? us or them? >> looking to be a long ni

afghanistan is an accident why it exists. is this central government relevant? it needs to be and in cases like this, it must be. it's a matter of time to get those forces up to snuff. >> thank you for coming in. it has to be a centralized government that takes care of this. in moscow, police have arrested to under 50 people after a second day of protests following sunday's parliamentary elections. demonstrators who defied the official order to stay off the streets claim the contest was rigged in favor of prime minister vladimir putin. we have this report from moscow and this report contains flash photography. >> driving through the crowd on moscow's made shopping street, the city paused intimidating riot police. they are there to break up an unauthorized demonstration. more than 1000 people were protesting once more against what they say with a fixed election and against the prime minister, vladimir putin. russia without putin has become their slogan. it's the second night in a row the protesters have come out of the street. last night, it was a legal demonstra

to a disturbing report from afghanistan. last week, we told you about mersoldiers cold and hungry at isolated posts. >> reporter: we learned about this from the family of a northernrava soldier killed in afghanistan in august and this is a hard-to-believe story of the apparent conditions of the troops in the front lines in the war in afghanistan. they were collecting items donated to a monasses real estate firm to send to our troops for christmas. the mother, sister, and girlfriend of the army specialist doug green telling us that solars in green's platoon -- soldiers in green's platoon in afghanistan at distant outposts want more than stocking stiffers but blankets and food. >> four weeks before he died, he was skyping me telling me he was having one mre a day and that everything else was the things we packaged in the boxes. he was hungry daley and didn't want me -- daley and didn't want me to tell anyone about it because he was afraid that there could be a backlash, you know. he wanted to suck it up. >> reporter: green's f

it's not afghanistan.this is a country that has significant wealth, should be all to contribute, that has not been forced to do so in a program is crucial as this. >> i know i've run out of time, that mr. geisel d.o. comments on this? >> well, first of all i am not going to second-guess my friend and colleague on by his people found. and of course the people you need to bring up here are the people from the state department to comment on what he found. i saw that the department published a document, a 21 page document that includes goals and measures of performance for the police development program. but if my friends baby, not nine. thematic thank you very much. i look at five-minute now to mr. welch from vermont. >> thank you very much, mr. labrador. i want to thank each and everyone of you for the terrific work you're doing. a lot of situations here in covering reflect the impossible expectations oftentimes congress has and if it were as easy as writing a check and having police force in iraq and afghan