role in afghanistan.rding to "the new york times," he signed a classified order that ensures american troops will have a direct role in fighting. the order reportedly enables american jets, bombers and drones to bolster afghan troops on combat missions. under certain circumstances, it would apparently authorize u.s. airstrikes to support afghan military operations throughout the country. afghanistan's new president, ashraf ghani, who took office in september, has also backed an expanded u.s. military role. this comes as 2014 marked the deadliest in afghanistan since 2001. according to the united nations, nearly 3,200 afghan civilians were killed in the intensifying war with the taliban -- a 20% rise from 2013. the national army and police have also suffered record losses this year, with more than 4,600 killed. for more, we're joined now by two guests. kathy kelly is co-coordinator of voices for creative nonviolence, a campaign to end u.s. military and economic warfare. she returned from kabul last month a

afghanistan now and i am sure we have afghanistan. on build up.his the next to keep it from the responsibility that they are redrawing it. without the responsibility to afghanistan. in bad condition today in afghanistan. i think this is some kind of thing, not ugly with them but afghanistan. only way i am happy about that. and we will see if we have to give afghanistan without the influence in the future. i do think they are there. american in their cooperation. otherwise, they will be needed. otherwise, they will be not independent afghanistan. so you say that your if i understand you correctly and i apologize because the phone call is not very clear. are you saying that afghanistan is more stanley today but there is, as you know concern about the future about the ability of afghan security forces being able to maintain security in the country? document they are able they are up to the job, they can do this? >> no. they cannot complete these. you can hide but the fact is that i think this is not the purpose. i know that they wanted to make afghan

in afghanistan, the fall of the army is clear. of course after one, two years the cities in the different afghanistan cities can be traced really quickly. the situation in afghanistan went from hundreds of men to thousands of men. there is no more road in afghanistan that you can take, no more safe roads that you can take to move from one city, from one point to another. that's making extremely difficult the situation for the new regime. the response with syria--was magistrate for the insurgents in syria. the lack of response from the international community, the failure of international community to find the solutions and put the regime in front of -- make a huge gap between the insurgents, syrian insure jenlts. right now the game in syria is going through dwimpt -- gulf countries, turkey, iraq ander ran. to create some new states, institutions, and achieve to the bashar regime. that's also a huge problem that we -- we are not able to even in syria where we have allies, where we have people fighting, a credible institution inside

there you are but you've arrived in afghanistan. but in 2000 want it was a very, and in 2001 of an earlier it was a very different affair. so the bench was divided into sections controlled by the northern alliance, which is based in the extreme northeast, and that the taliban controls about 90% of the country as of 2000, but not that. it was complicated diplomatic of the northern alliance enjoyed diplomatic recognition from the united nations and u.s. government, but no material support. the taliban and with the actual controls of the country only have diplomatic relations with three countries, saudi arabia, the uae and pakistan. you could either go to one of those countries and get a visa from the taliban or do what i did, which is you get your visa talibanized. it was really interesting experience. you go to the northern alliance, get a visa, then there's no airport at the time and there were no paved roads. you would go over land kind of like dan rather in the '70s, early 80s over the mountains. you are hoping it. it's like basic

this is the graveyard of empires of afghanistan.ccupying force for the rest of the mill en a to get a handle on afghanistan. >> can i ask one question? how do you get a handle on an ideology? my worry is that we think we have a handle on the ideology and the people who adhere to it but then, you know, you have other groups who arise and who are much more horrific than what you imagined in the first place. and how do we keep that from happening again without spending so much blood? >> don't you think it would start with the president ak nothing the ideology exists? he doesn't think the islamic state is islamic. >> exactly and don't forget in the midst of all of this he thought it was a good idea to release five gtmo detainees and send them to afghanistan. a lot of military analysts have said if you're going to get involved at all, you have to keep a residual force that's adequate. at the same time let's release some gtmo detainees send back to afghanistan. we don't know what leadership roles they take and what they do to harm us in t

with the 10,000 military personnel left in afghanistan do you worry that afghanistan will become a staginground for a future war with the taliban right next door in pakistan? >> well i think it's likely given what the taliban wants and given how it's operated over the last decade that they're going to be focusing on their own local agenda, notwithstanding globalization of ideology. the real concern in terms of what affects the u.s. homeland are organizations that are infiltrating yemen and iraq and syria where they have a much freer hand to operate. afghanistan, things are not as dynamic as we see with isis and -- not as pathological with al qaeda and the arabian peninsula and yemen. my prioritization would be on those areas than afghanistan, pakistan at least in the near term. that being said, pakistan has always attracted foreign jihad is and their supporters. parts of afghanistan could become that in the future. this is part of the reason why we have 10,000 troops still garrisoned in afghanistan and it's part of the reason why our special forces will continue to run operations there wit

i am not sure that al-qaeda is still arrive in afghanistan.here is no necessity to be in afghanistan, i think now it's iraq and syria, all of the people they have there. and it's really been no opportunity for al-qaeda to grow again in afghanistan to start something. but this is always the [ inaudible ] against taliban to make them weak. because the nato force including the government they want to find something and to use against the taliban. there is [ inaudible ] there is al-qaeda, and nowadays they say daesh came to afghanistan. >> the 160,000 people have been forced to live in refugee camps in india. after 80 villagers were killed last week by fighters who are fighting for independence from india. faiz jamil went to one such camp. >> reporter: this girl and her brother only have each other right now. most of their family was killed when armed men entered their village. >> translator: i was getting water just outside of the village when i heard the gunshots. at first i thought it was a fire cracker for christmas, then i went home to find m

commander in afghanistan actually did not have commenced with the troops serving in afghanistan. in ultimately it was my eighth responsibility fifth -- my responsibility i fixed it but i took too long to get there. >> so you write is in the book with the ambassador was working with their reelection give paid with kabi karzai. event you did does seem to be very happy about that. how did that happen? give it karzai may have shortcomings but he knows what is going on in his own capital. so the idea we could do this in his not know we could get rid of it was pretty with these. it is for all practical purposes the id to help the relationship. >> so i have some questions with from the audience. here is the paper for the long term commitment to protect my family that will soon godspeed. [laughter] speesix i have trouble reading this but it is later stating the chairman of the joint chiefs is directly responsible to the president but valuable input do we lose with the chairman and three is to the secretary of defense. >> the chain of command is not include the chairman of the joint chief

>> on the future in afghanistan, with the u.s. military presence there, one of the missions is going to be counterterrorism. and as we're all reacting to this terrorist attack, i think we're all wondering with some kind of terrorism capability in afghanistan for the u.s. next year, would terrorist attacks by the afghan taliban count? would american troops be assigned to go after them if they committed these bombing attacks, or raids, or other spectacular attacks? >> let's revisit the counterterrorism authority. we talked about this in the past. we will still retain the ability to conduct counterterrorism operations against terrorist networks, al qaeda and affiliates and other terror groups that directly threaten our people, or our allies there in afghanistan. so we still have -- we have those authorities. nothing's changed about that. we've also said that we're not going to target taliban simply by virtue of the fact that they're taliban. so being a member of the taliban doesn't mean that the united states is going to prosecute op

president obama says that afghanistan has eliminated terrorism. while one mission closes in the region, others await. national security correspondent jennifer griffin has our top story tonight. >> reporter: visiting u.s. troops on christmas day at a marine corps base while vacationing in hawaii, the president

so this is the -- they're not ready for show time in afghanistan. because we have men and women there who are going to need security forces to keep them safe as well. otherwise we're relying on the afghter afghanis to do it as we. >> the caveat, the warning is be aware of everybody around you, not to go along with -- not just the troops that kimberly mentioned, but contractors and people who work in afghanistan. the lesser the numbers, the higher the propensity of attacks, that's the way it plays. >> the number of troops that risk their lives, some lose their lives. what do we do. . >> whether you get to walk away scot-free, he doesn't get to blame that the situation on somebody else. he's goingaround saying the world is better, it's safer, if you ask people and you poll them, people have large national security concerns. they're very worried when you poll people coming out of the national election, they're worried about syria, they're worried about afghanistan, they're worried about the fact that people are beheading american journalists. i don't k

wounded in afghanistan is more than 19,900. last may it seemed that commander in chief obama was determined to end america's longest war. where we are now, not so fast. the charged in chief has decided to extend the u.s. combat operation in afghanistan into 2015. here's the -- an excerpt from "the new york times." quote, mr. obama's order allows american forces to carry out missions against the taliban and other militant groups threatening american troops or the afghan government. this new order also allows american jets, bombers and drones to support afghan troops on their combat mission. unquote. >>> question, why has president obama flip-flopped on afghanistan? what changed since last may when he went to afghanistan and declared that u.s. combat operations would end at the end of the year? go. >> i think what's changed, number one, is iraq with the withdrawal there and the consequences it's had in terms of losing influence with political relationships but also losing capability to smash groups like isis. but really in afghan

>> just an hours drive from kabul, is charkh district, afghanistan. as the us and nato prepares to pull out most of their forces later this year, i travelled here to try to see what life is like in areas of afghanistan under the rule of the taliban. after days of negotiations, through intermediaries - i was told i would be allowed in, with a camera. >> i'm actually quite nervous and the reason is that five years ago when i tried to embed with a group of insurgents in helmand i was kidnapped and i was held for a week. i was lucky and managed to escape from them but still i don't hope that i will end up in the same situation. >> this sort of access is incredibly rare... its also risky - this is taliban country. >> charkh is a cluster of dusty settlements surrounding a small, central town. the taliban of charkh were burying their dead. >> one of the two taliban fighters killed in an attack on a local afghan army base. a lot of inhabitants from this village in charkh have gathered today. >> they're here to pay their respects. they're here also to mourn, a

troops in afghanistan. john is live with more. john? >> patti ann, back in may, president obama announced that the number of troops in afghanistan would be reduced. now we know those plans have changed. the u.s. military had planned to pull 1,000 troops out of afghanistan starting in the beginning of 2015, basically starting the new year, but that's been put on hold. secretary hagel says 10,800 troops will remain in the country. he made the announcement during a press conference today, as mentioned, with afghan president ashraf ghani in kabul. secretary hagel says there's been delays and this is really the reason for keeping the troops there. he says there's been delays with u.s. allies signing security pacts to send troops, more than 2,000, actually, to join nato forces already helping train and assist afghan security forces, so secretary hagel says the contingent of u.s. troops could remain in afghanistan for the first few months next year but added u.s. commanders have really been given flexibility with the dates. hagel also talked a

he thanked them and said afghanistan has a future thanks to their sacrifice. this is set as the u.s. will end its rule there at the end of the year. >> peter doocy has more on this. peter, how was the president first received. >> reporter: the president was received very well. he was beginning to talk about this is the beginning of the end of the war in afghanistan with the first lady at his side the crowd in the marine base in hawaii erupted >> we have been in continuous war now for 13 years, over 13 years and next week, we will be ending our combat mission in afghanistan. afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own country. we are safer. it is not going to be a source

this is chuck hagel's fourth trip to afghanistan but his last as secretary of defense. we travelled with him to a tactical base in eastern afghanistan where he met with troops, sharing his own

president obama says that afghanistan has eliminated terrorism. while one mission closes in the region, others await. national security correspondent jennifer griffin has our top story tonight. >> reporter: visiting u.s. troops on christmas day at a marine corps base while vacationing in hawaii, the president expressed optimism after declaring combat missions in afghanistan are now over. >> because of the extraordinary service of the men and women in the american armed forces, afghanistan has a chance to rebuild it's own country. we are safer, it's not going to be a source of terrorist attacks again. >> a bold prediction about the future as the taliban and al qaeda moves next door. today pakistani officials say they killed the alleged planner of the school massacre that left more than 130 dead in peshawar. in and two u.s. done strikes in north waziristan friday, killed nine people including four us beck fighters. cooperation between the u.s. and pakistani militaries has him proved since june when the prime minister finally sent the pakistani army

a year after i left afghanistan by 2010 we had over 100,000 troops in afghanistan.hings happened, one the taliban went back and re reconstituted its forces and looked at their strategy. the taliban engaged their own--call it what you want--their own counter insurgentcy coin strategy, they went out and actively got the support or the tacit silence of the local population. that's where they beat us. they were seen more honest and credible dispute mediators. they simply outgovernorred us and became more credible. as a result, they read the afghan population better than we did. if you go out and ask the afghan people want to be left alone. they don't care who is in government in kabul, they want to be left alone. and maybe it was our presence driving conflict. my big fear is this if we pull out in afghanistan, i fear it will dissolve in a civil war akin to the early 90's '90s. >> matt, the country the people of the country don't want that. the people-- >> no, no. >> the leaders the every day afghans have to know that's not the way--that's not a first nation response to

that doesn't mean everything is great in afghanistan. afghanistan is still a very dangerous place. martha: byron york on the potential political impact. what are we learning about all this now? >> reporter: we spent a lot of time in peshawar and we have seen a heard about a lot of taliban brutality, but this has got to be the cruellest act these militants have ever committed. the word we are getting is the militants stormed the school and shot away student by student. the school specifically picked because it's for the children of the pakistan army staff. they have been waging war against the taliban. the death toll we are told is now at 130. most of them children and young people. most of them teenagers, injured 250. the hospitals are overflowing. teachers and administrators were targeted, too. the military command ohs resnonld a very short time and they claim to have killed all the attackers. they are checking for bombs as the controls fire must have been deadly. one final note from our contact. he has a youngston in a school s a young son in school in peshawar but his son was in

, had elections, three times in afghanistan. we have women's rights, we have human rights there. we have women who can call for their rights today. we have girls going to school. we have women who are going to clinics openly. there are many achievements, we have roads, all the major roads are built and people can travel. unfortunately, one of the big things wimp is the security has not opinion improved. for that, we are here with all the other delegates together to actually call on the international community to actually do not forget afghan people and improve the way for actually basic living conditions for the afghan people in afghanistan. this is a transition point, turning point, security provided by the international community coming to a conclusion, the sense that this is a country that is going to stand on its own two feet more than it has done for the last decade or so and there's great fear amongst many that the international community is growing weary with the problems of afghanistan at a moment when it needs all the h

this has been a very deadly year for afghanistan, for civilians in afghanistan.i know that it is less permissive now than it was when i was there. >> yeah, absolutely. i certainly, you know, commend the extraordinaire efforts of our armed forces and agree with president obama's appreciative sentiment here but from a national security perspective there is very little evidence to support the claim that we're safer today than we were 13 years ago. the united states is, as you know, certainly understand a great deal more about asymmetric threats now but at the same time, terrorist organizations continue to proliferate across the middle east and africa and radical islam is on the rise. we've seen this from al qaeda and its offshoots to organizations like boko haram in nigeria and al-shabaab in somalia. leah: so as we end the combat operations there, a lot of people compare afghanistan to iraq. i know there is a lot of differences but what are some similarities we're concerned about as we move forward? >> you know counterterrorism analysts are very concerned about, the

went through iraq and one in afghanistan and everything.the most kind-hearted person you could ever want to meet. and he would do anything to help out his fellow service members or anybody down the street. >> you know he said he's a hoosier through and through. what does the jacob sexton bill do? >> well, what it does is we're trying to prevent any more young men and women who are serving in active duty or in the guards or in reserves. and so there's an annual mental health assessment each and every year, not only for those in the deployment cycle, but for those at home as well. and what we're trying to do is make it a sign of strength that you can talk to somebody rather than a stigma. it provides privacy protections for when you're talking to somebody. and additionally on top of that what we're trying to do is put in best practices. i went to israel last year to meet with a general from the israeli defense forces. and patrick, they have a real bottoms up approach that the platoon commanders that your fellow members of your platoon, that t

and this is the other strategy for afghanistan to continue fighting in afghanistan.hink that if the fighting will continue in afghanistan, it will be more wars than today. we are witness of that. because it's -- they will increase fighting increase attacks, increase the battle in afghanistan, it will be increasing the [ inaudible ] for both sides, but that's not the way to resolve the problem. i won't say again, and the politics is the solution not the military combat in afghanistan. >>> the u.s. has transferred five prisoners from guantanamo bay to kazakhstan for resettlement. three yemenis and two tunisians were detained for more than ten years. 127 inmates are still detained there. the pakistani army says it has killed 23 fighters in the northwest of the country. the army says it killed them in air strikes. and that four of the shelters were also destroyed. >>> a cargo ship carrying nearly a thousand migrants has been brought into port by the italian coast guard, the passengers appear to have been abandoned in rough seas by people smugglers. >> reporter: the itali

pakistan's army chief arriving in neighboring afghanistan.s the pakistani government now looking for a united regional front against the taliban in the wake of these attacks? >> >> well be the pakistani's have told the afghans that there should be more cooperation, because most of the pakistani taliban leaders are said to be operating close to the pakistani border, so they would be telling kabul that there should be more cooperation from kabul. pakistan on the other hand has moved into north waziristan, denied some of the space previously held by the has canie hit work. >> thank you and stay safe. >> dean of the johns hopkins school of international studies joins us. mr. nasr, thank you for your time. the pakistani taliban we're talking about in this attack on the school yesterday operates from afghan territory. u.s. troops are starting to pull out of afghanistan. is that a problem? >> yes, it is a problem. in many ways, when the united states forces were there, we always tried to persuade pakistanis that we should have a hammer and anvil pol

-led combat mission in afghanistan.ew mission is beginning aimed at helping the afghan government hold on to power. even as taliban units occupy territory increasingly close to the capital. colonel jack jacobs is a medal of honor recipient and msnbc analyst and tia covered the war in afghanistan. i want to start with you, colonel jack. thanks to both of you for being here. what does it mean colonel that the official war is over but we're still going to have substantial troops in harm's way? >> well in theory our actual combat troops, troops on the ground, actually fighting the taliban have left. in fact, we're going to have 10, 15, maybe even 20,000 people there acting as advisers. some people might think just being an adviser means you aren't going to be in harm's way. i can tell you advisers spend lots of times with troops they're advising and they spend it in the field, often fighting against a hostile force. so the war -- our conventional troops have gone but advisers special operations special forces, and advisers

military bases across iraq and afghanistan, at the height of the wars more than 250 bases burned theirrash. releasing large plumes of black smoke into the air. >> during the day time it was solid black. you could smell it. and depending on where the sun was it would -- it was so thick it would block some of the sun. >> reporter: he worked as a prison guard at camp booka. he says smoke from burn pits lingered above his living quarters, three years after he tumor. >> produced a lot of powerful organic compounds and toxics and furons and for example benzine carcinogen. >> reporter: a former affair official and analyzed the toxins found in burn pit smoke, for three years since he left the agency he has been fighting to get the department of defense and va to recognize the burn pit exposure has sickened veterans. >> some of them are dying. we have claims from widows who cancers. we have claims from young guys who just have diabetes or have lymphoma or leukemia. >> reporter: representing 31 year odd rodney a specialist who lived a quarter mile from the largest burn pit in iraq at joint base

john mccain will be leaving afghanistan headed for iraq today. that is another country that some people believe the u.s. should be more involved in. dara? >> richard, thank you for that report. >>> new yorkers will pay their final respects to one of the two nypd officers killed this saturday. a public viewing for rafael ramos will be held later today. his family will lay him to rest tomorrow morning. a makeshift memorial for officer ramos and his partner wenjian liu continues to grow, the nypd says they made another arrest over threats to kill police. they released this picture showing weapons they confiscated from a home of a 38-year-old man. a witness called police after he overheard the man making the threats while talking on his cell phone inside of a bank. the weapons include two firearms, two bullet resistant vests, brass knuckles and a holster. this is the sixth arrest since the killing of officers ramos and liu on saturday. >>> across the country, and around the world, people celebrated christmas day. some with words of inspiration, other

>> there's a difference between iraq and afghanistan.ause while the handover has gone down differently than in iraq, we obtained a status of forces equipment to maintain a military and diplomatic presence. that gives our us personnel legal protections. the larger question and bigger picture here is are we maintaining the proper timetable. >> are we maintaining the proper timetable and that timetable is to allow what action? and if we don't know what that action is, we say we'll be training afghanistan troops and we're going to be bolstering the government and doing that. well, fine, all right. you've got 13,000 western troops, the majority of which, 10,000 plus, are going to be u.s. if that is their mission and their roe is to stay inside the wire, then they can only do what they can do with the local troops. so it's -- you know, we've got people at risk. is that risk worth the gain that we're going to extract? that's the question. and if it isn't, then we're going to accelerate the timetable. if it is, then give them everything they nee

we'll fill you in. >>> we've been reporting about the situation in afghanistan.e're supposed to leave at some point, but we've been seeing a spike in attacks, even a 13-year-old wore a suicide vest, we're told. how do we stop it? what do we do? an analysis straight ahead what am i thinking about? foreign markets. asian debt that recognizes the shift in the global economy. you know, the kind that capitalizes on diversity across the credit spectrum and gets exposure to frontier and emerging markets. if you convert 4-quarter p/e of the s&p 500, its yield is doing a lot better... if you've had to become your own investment expert, maybe it's time for bny mellon, a different kind of wealth manager ...and black swans are unpredictable. ♪ (holiday mhey! is playing) i guess we're going to need a new santa ♪(the music builds to a climax.) more people are coming to audi than ever before. see why now is the best time. audi will cover your first month's payment on select models at the season of audi sales event. visit audioffers.com today. hard it can be...how ...to breathe

spent money in afghanistan.he department of defense had a legal obligation to invest in incinerators. they burnt trash with less toxic pollution. not only did the military not follow the law, it wasted more than $20 million of the taxpayers dollars. >> i think they understand the sponsor of using incinerators and burn pits. i don't think they understand how to get this done. who is proper oversight management, how do they hold it accountable. it goes back to one thing. poor management oversight and holding people accountable. the u.s. army corp issued contracts for 19 incinerators to be installed on u.s. bases. the inspector general is happen. >> it's no secret that burn pits were used. the question is why when you have an insin rater, perfectly good paid for insinerator, that each cost $5 million a piece, that could have taken care of the problem. >> reporter: susan burke is a lawyer representing hundreds of veterans and military contractors who say their health has been harmed by exposure to toxic smoke. she i

and try to unite the people in afghanistan. we want to share the professional football management knowledge into afghanistan. >> reporter: he lives in a dormitory with his japanese teammates. apart from his family back home, he receives strength as he gets used to an unfamiliar culture. >> translator: hi, dad, how is everybody? >> translator: hi. are you well? >> translator: everybody is rooting for you. we all believe you can make a bright future for yourself and have all your dreams come true. >> reporter: he plays in a practice match. connecting passes is what he does best, but this time he is disappointed by the way he played. he is keen to learn what he could have done better. >> translator: were there problems with how i played? >> translator: you need to listen to what players around you say and think more about your position and defense. >> reporter: immediately he texts his coach back in afghanistan what he learned. >> translator: i think we can improve if we master this coordinated style of play. >> translator: that s

from iraq to afghanistan, korea to kuwait.p with gary and the lieutenant dan band in jacksonville, north carolina at camp lejeune where fans lined up hours before the show. >> we're going to play for the marines today. we've got some units that have just deployed back, just returned home. so many, many families here. it's a great, heartwarming feeling to see these people smiling after a long war and multiple deployments. ♪ your love takes me >> lieutenant dan may have been a role he played, but gary sinise has spent a decade bringing that character to life and inspiring service men and women around the world. >> thank you for serving. >> thanks for serving. >> all right. >> your performance in forrest gump, everything that you did in that movie is what i did when i hurt myself. i went through depression. i got angry. and now i'm living the life to the fullest. so i want to thank you for inspiring me during that movie to be what i am right now. thank you so much. [ applause ] >> to point out, gary maybes no money performing for

we also have a rise of old time w warlords in afghanistan. it's okay for the president to say we're not likely to say an al qaeda-like capacity build with bases and the export capacity that it once had. >> your statement about a rise in the taliban, a rise of warloads that's validated by this statistic, 5,000 afghan forces were killed. can the government sustain itself without military support from the united states in combat missions? >> it's something we don't know. if you look at the horror that continues to unfold in afghanistan, it's a messy place. what joe biden has said is it will be able to preempt any kind of takeover of kabul and destabilization of kabul, but there will be a question of how much the rest of afghanistan is going to trust and work with the kabul government or not. and thus we are giving kabul a chance to make it work, but it's not clear that it can. when people look at the number of deaths on going terrorism within that society, they may lose faith. >> civilian casualties -- 2014 is going to be the deadliest year sinc

and nato forces in afghanistan is over.eremony marked the end of their presence, but more than 13,000 troops will remain to start 2015. chip reid traveling with president obama in hawaii reports. >> reporter: the flag of the u.s.-led international force was lowered in a ceremony in kabul. american general john campbell rolled up the flag symbolically transferring the leader of the war to afghanistan's forces. >> working together we can win. >> reporter: in a previous statement president obama said it mark as milestone in our country. for more than 13 years, ever since innocent lives were taken from us from 9/11 our nation has been at war in afghanistan. now thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, our combat mission in afghanistan is ending. but the end of the combat mission does not mean the end of the war. from a peak of about 100,000 u.s. troops in afghanistan, there are now about 10,600, and it will be two years before they all come home. ♪ >> reporter: until then u.s. forces will advise a

they fled the fighting in southern afghanistan, the at that ban heartland. they say they get virtually no support. >> seven months ago, we got a bag of flour and one can of cooking oil per family. people don't give us jobs because we wear this turban and they think we are at that ban. >>reporter: she's been sick for days complaining of pain in her kidneys. people here say the local clinic rarely opens, and when it does, it doesn't have enough medicine. >> they didn't even have -- where did they get this money from? >>reporter: there are thousands of people living here from southern afghanistan. there's no electricity, no water, no schools. and it's very obvious that pledges and donations from the international community have made very little if any difference to their lives. it would be wrong to say there have been no improvements in afghanistan over the last few years. in 2002, only 9% of afghans had access to healthcare within an hour's walk from their home. that number has now risen to 57%. more than $2 billion has been spent on building roads and u.s. ai

combat mission in afghanistan. happened earlier than expected and just a few hours ago. >>> they turned their backs on the mayor of new york. i will talk with an official who lives in the heart where this scene took place. and what the rift means for america's biggest city. hey there, everyone it's high noon here in the east 9:00 a.m. out west. welcome to weekends with alex witt. the breaking news we've been following all day. an air asia plane with 162 people onboard is missing. lost contact with ground control shortly after taking off from indonesia. was on its way to singapore. both countries have launched a joint search and rescue operation. however, that search has been suspended until daylight now. the state department says the u.s. stands ready to assist with that search for the missing plane upon being asked. air asia has released a statement saying the crew had asked for a change in flight path. this to avoid some rough weather in their path. the flight left at 5:35 a.m. local time. they lost contact with

afghanistan and iraq. setting aside what they think america's role could or should be, there is a great sense among this generation that we cannot do it. president obama thinks, it is not whether we should or not, we cannot. we cannot use military force to achieve objectives. that is what afghanistan taught. that is what people think iraq taught. do you worry they way the military activities being carried out now, that is once again going to teach a lesson it does not work? how do we begin to reverse this perception? or do you agree this perception is out there? >> i think the perception is accurate to a degree. i don't think the u.s. had any choice as far as afghanistan is concerned. these were the people that caused the attacks on 9/11. the taliban refused to give them up. the u.s. had to act. the question is whether we conducted the conflict correctly. whether we got our attention diverted to iraq. i believe when the secretary of state, one of the most highly regarded and respected man in america, goes

>> a recommitment to afghanistan, to the people of afghanistan in terms of security, but also to thes of afghanistan in terms of further funding for the valuable work that they are ordering in afghanistan. >> and what about the position of the afghan government? because we have these elections, pretty successful elections, but they can't seem to form a government properly, a cabinet. how does that make the atmosphere for your members trying to deliver aid on the ground? >> the delay in the cabinet is unfortunate, indeed, but i think the atmosphere after the election results is overall positive. although we have had increased insecurity in kabul and elsewhere in afghanistan. that makes the life of the aid agencies pretty hard. we conducted a survey of the delegates, the aid agency dell gots who came to this conference. 73% of them said that they are facing increased financial problems because low funding, but also a majority of them said that insecurity is stopping them from their valuable work. >> reporter: and what about the message you'll want to hear later on from david cameron an

>>> coming up on the "morning news," a milestone in afghanistan. the u.s. combat mission officially comes to a close in the longest war in american history. this is the "cbs morning news." suffering from the flu is a really big deal. with aches, fever and chills- there's no such thing as a little flu. so why treat it like it's a little cold? there's something that works differently than over-the-counter remedies. attack the flu virus at its source with prescription tamiflu. and call your doctor right away. tamiflu is fda approved to treat the flu in people 2 weeks and older whose flu symptoms started within the last two days. before taking tamiflu tell your doctor if you're pregnant, nursing, have serious health conditions, or take other medicines. if you develop an allergic reaction, a severe rash, or signs of unusual behavior stop taking tamiflu and call your doctor immediately. children and adolescents in particular may be at an increased risk of seizures confusion or abnormal behavior. the most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomitin

but it's those deployed in afghanistan most impacted by the message he delivered. >> afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own country. we are safer. it's not going to be a source of terrorist attacks again. >> the withdrawal in a few days will lead to more reunions like this. a moment many military families have been waiting well over a decade for. the last year has been among the deadliest for the afghan soldiers and police officers. to help keep the country stable, nearly 11,000 troops will stay in afghanistan over the next few months. >> we've got an important mission here. it's an honor to be a part of that but at the same time, it's difficult being away from home. >> senator john mccain spent christmas in kabul. he assured the afgan president that the u.s. will not abandon afghanistan even after the american soldiers are gone. >> i believe that we are now in a time that with the proper support and proper effort and partnership with the united states in every way, including militarily and economically -- >> the u.s. is prepared to leave, but some critics aren't sure afghanista