>> well, again, what we're doing with respect to those that are at bagram, is indeed preparing a plan to transition control of that to an afghan corrections force that we are training, equipping, and will mentor and partner with, we won't just hand it to them and leave. we will provide continued partnering with them for some period of time. that is the plan. for what we want to do in bagram. >> at this point in time are you confident that we're going to be able to take those prisoners who are comparable to the remaining prisoners that we have at guantanamo and that the afghans will be able to deal with them in a way that doesn't put them back on the battlefield, either in afghanistan, or potentially in some other country and around the world including maybe the united states. >> well, that is certainly what we're endeavoring to document that also includes rehabilitation efforts, it includes engaging tribal leaders and mullahs. and families. again, as we did, frankly in iraq and i might note, that in iraq yesterday we transitioned the taji detainee facility and we're in the 2,000 to 25

[laughter] it is great to be here in bagram, and it is great to see all the services.. and we've got a lot of civilians here, too, who are making an outstanding contribution to this effort, and i am honored to be joined by america's outstanding civilian military leadership team here in afghanistan, ambassador karl eikenberry, who is doing outstanding work, and the commander of our 43-nation coalition, general stan mcchrystal. that two of them have paired up to do an extraordinarily difficult task, but they are doing it extraordinarily well and we are proud of them. please give your outstanding team a big round of applause. they have got my full confidence and my full support. [applause] we're also joined by troops from some of our coalition partners, because this is not simply an american mission or even just a nato mission. al qaeda and their extremist allies are a threat to the people afghanistan and a threat to the people of america, but they are also a threat to people all around the world, and that is why we're so proud to have our coalition partners with us. than

to some of the tubes at bagram air force base.s is about 20 minutes. >> ♪ [a march playing] [applause] >> how's it going, bagram? [applause] well, you know, it turns out that the american people let me use this plane called air force one, and so i thought i would come over and say hello. [applause] a couple of people i want to thank in addition to sergeant major eric johnson for the outstanding introduction and for this service. i want to thank major general mike scaparrotti for his outstanding work. i want to thank ms. dawn liberi for her outstanding work. and brigadier general steven kwast, commander of the 455th air expeditionary wing. thank you all for your outstanding service. give them a big round of applause. [applause] thank you for the unbelievable welcome. i know this is all short notice. >> no worries. [laughter] >> its great to be at bagram and it's great to see all the services. we've got air force, we've got army, we've got navy, we've got some marines in the house. [applause] and we have a lot of civilians here too,

do we have people in bagram confinement facility that are non-afghan foreign fighters? >> we do. yes, sir. >> is it fair to say -- we need a closed session about this eventually, mr. chairman, but kind of put out for public consumption the best i can, that we have a dilemma in this war. we're running out of jail space for certain people and we have need to find exon finement facilities at work. would you support sending guantanamo bay detainees to afghanistan to bagram, is that a good idea? some had suggested that? >> i think that at the very least, over time, that's an idea that we need to go sift under a tree until it passes, i think. >> i'll take that to be that's not a good idea. >> again, if we transition to afghan control -- >> but i'm talking about taking gitmo people here and sending them to afghanistan. wouldn't that create great problems for the afghan government -- >> this is why we need to think pretty hard about that. again, we're going to transition this facility to afghan control, and we're going to do this in the relatively near term. >> well, these foreign fighte

and indeed send them to bagram if they hit a certain category after that. and we're in bagram to transition that facility and the tasks of running it to our afghan partners so that over time indeed that transition can take place as well. but we've worked very hard because of the idea that you -- you have to create conditions in which your soldiers can live our values. and one of those values has to be if someone puts his hands in the air you take his -- you detain him instead of shoot him. but if you think he's going to be back on the street within 96 hours or something like that because of a catch and release policy, then it becomes much more difficult obviously. we take that very successfully. we work this very hard and as senator graham highlighted, this policy has gone into place. >> there's more in afghanistan than hassling i know iraq -- you know, that's been settled somewhat by afghanistan. i know there was a transition period and there have been some concerns. i'll speak to senator graham about some additional questions that he and i were discussing

but we are holding hundreds of suspected terrorists indefinitely at bagram.: this is just sort of a window into the problems that exist now when we catch these terrorists and attach all these rights to them. what does -- i'm just thinking about the closure of gitmo, where are these people going to go? this guy gets a get out of jail free pass, there are others like him at gitmo, what is the obama administration to do? >> what is their plan? they don't really have a plan, megyn, and that's another part of the problem. that's why you don't just have republicans, but a lot of democrats saying, whoa, nelly. we're not going to go down the path of closing gitmo until you have a real plan in place. they say, well, we can transfer some of these detainees to this prison in illinois. the problem is once you transfer these detainees to u.s. soil -- megyn: then the rights -- yeah. >> then the rights are manifest. megyn: granted, it was under these enhanced interrogation tech anemic, but he confessed to a lot. >> yes. megyn: a lot. is there a chance he's walking around fr

he showed up at bagram airbase before leading with karzai, pressing them to do more to reign in corruptiona short time later he addressed soldiers, stressing how much the fight really matters. >> fy thought for a minute that america's vital interests were not served, were not at stake here in afghanistan, i would order all of you home right away. >> the president's visit comes as new figures from the pentagon show the number of servicemen and women has roughly doubled the first two months of this year. 57 deaths compared to 28 in the same period last year. military officials warn the number could rise as the pentagon finished deploying additional soldiers. gerald seib is the washington executive editor of the "wall street journal," owned by the parent company of this network. this visit sounds like the beginning of a push, push, push, as he rides a wave. >> a little bit. that's right. you know, one of the things that happened in the wake of healthcare, you saw last week, a shift back to national security policy. good politics for president obama because he's getting good grades on that and

in afghanistan, a rocket attack killed one person at bagram air field, north of kabul. it was unclear if the victim was a soldier or civilian. over the weekend, taliban bombings killed 35 afghans in kandahar. the group said it was a warning of what's to come if nato begins an offensive there. the u.s. pressed israel today to drop plans for expanding jewish housing in east jerusalem. the israelis announced the plans last week while vice president biden was visiting. on friday, secretary of state hillary clinton condemned the move. today spokesman p.j. crowley said clinton is waiting for a formal israeli response. >> they involve not only specifics about the project in question that was announced last week, but really more so about the willingness of the parties to engage seriously in this process and jointly create conditions for success and be willing to address the core issues at heart of the peace process. >> sreenivasan: israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu gave no indication he'll cancel construction of the 1,600 homes. instead, he told the israeli parliament,

. >> how's it going bagram? >> reporter: he delivered a rousing speech on sunday, thanking u.s. troops for all they have done and reminding him of what they are fighting for. >> the taliban -- if the taliban remakes this country, and al-qaeda can operate with impunity than more american lives will be at stake. >> reporter: it was the commander in chief's first trip to afghanistan as president. when he took office there were 34,000 u.s. troops in the country and there are now 80,000 and later this year, when the troop surge he ordered is complete there will be nearly 100,000. the president acknowledged that while difficult days lie ahead in the eight-year war the u.s. will prevail. >> i'm confident all of you will get the job done right here in afghanistan. i'm confident of that. >> reporter: but the president wasn't just trying to boost morale abroad, the trip was also aimed at shoring up support here at home where recent polls show americans remain divide on the war. >> we have seen already progress with respect to military campaigns against extremism. >> reporter: president ob

then he met with military officials at bagram air force base and spoke to a crowd of about 2,000 troops. >> if this region slides backwards, if the taliban retakes this country and al qaeda can operate with impunity, then more american lives will be at stake. the afghan people will lose their chance at progress and prosperity. and the world will be significantly less secure. and as long as i'm your commander in chief, i am not going to let that happen. that's why you are here. i've made a promise to all of you who serve. i will never send you into harm's way unless it's absolutely necessary. i anguish in thinking about the sacrifices that so many of you make. that's why i promise i will never send you out unless it is necessary, but that's only part of the promise, because the other part of the promise is that when it is absolutely necessary, you will be backed up by a clear mission and the right strategy and you will have the support to finish the job, to get the job done. and i am confident all of you are going to get the job done right here in afghanistan. >> the president got in and

it is -- it was started last fall at the bagram facility for the detainees.t is part of the new effort by general mcchrystal to recast a detention efforts in the country and overall insurgency efforts. we see a program that is being developed more in the camp of focusing on disengagement and rehabilitation. they offer classes to the detainee's that number in the hundreds right now. in this crisis, they try to teach skills, -- english class is, they try to teach skills, they also teach art therapy to work with the detainees. they also give mvet to the religious point -- component as well -- they also work on the religious component as well. it is too early to tell how it works. it is too early to mark a recidivism rate. and has only been around for six to eight months or so and is still growing. but thus far, if you are thinking in the broader skype -- spectrum with how it plays into what is going on in afghanistan, it is deemed a success. when i was there in december, i spoke to two taliban and they would say, yes, we still have problems with u.s. engagement

>> yes, your former wing man, mark martin, is a full-time residents of the area of blog room -- bagramar 1 detention facility. he is spearheading the effort to ensure the same kinds of initiatives are pursued there. to help to develop and implement the concepts for afghan forces to be trained, equipped, and take on the task their increasingly, so that we can step back into a number of areas that over time we will need to step back into. dad is the plan. his boss, -- that is the plan. his boss, the vice admiral, general martins is the deputy. overseeing the overall effort. also, working more with state department colleagues and others, ensuring that the afghan facility, conducting their business appropriately. they are also partnered with the future in some of the other rule of law areas as well. >> thank you. do we have people in the confinement facility that are not afghan? foreign fighters? >> yes, sir. >> we need a closed session -- session eventually, but is it best to say -- we have a dilemma in this role, we need to find confinement facilities at work, would you support sending t

custody at the bagram detention facility and is part of the new effort by general mcchris call to re-- mcchrystal to recast counterinsurgency efforts. and here we see a program that's being developed more in the camp of focusing on disengagement and rehabilitation. they offer classes to the detainees that number about 800 right now. it works with all the detainees, and they offer classes, english classes, dari classes, they try to teach skills, they also give art classes which is an interesting way of reinterpreting the saudi program which relies on art therapy to work with the detainees, and they also do give a nod to the religious component as well. so now they might end up in the middle of spectrum because they do have a mullah who comes in and talks with the detainees every day and engages them in a religious debate. it's too early to tell how it works. it's too early to mark a recidivism rate. it's only been around for 6-8 months or so and it's still growing, but thus far if you're thinking in the broader spectrum, it's deemed a success. having met with two ex-detainees and a few

the detainees in bagram who have historically been the most violent against the guards, the ones that have been most committed, those that will never change their minds a, when they have been given this opportunity of rehabilitation, suddenly, there is more report with the guards, less violent activity within their cells -- there is more environment so now you see a side benefit of these programs. first to have the program's goal of do not cause an individual. the bigger strategic goal of how it paints a picture of detention and is a counter radicalizing tool, but you also have the side benefit of making detention efforts a safer, juneau, safer for the guards and the detainees because now their behavior is improved. so it does play into different elements and depending where and how it's implemented but it is an interesting concept to export. >> do you want to comment? >> in saudi arabia they have unlimited resources, so if they want to throw money at it whether it works or not, they are basically -- they can't really waste money. which by the way i should say if that's not mockery i

even then we tried to coordinate with our military colleagues at bagram at the time.but what we see now is an effort as much as possible at the prt level and it's not -- it's not perfect. it's an imperfect situation. but there's a hard effort at these prts to try to coordinate what has with cerp money and what happens with the civilian money. i think there's a growing appreciation by our military colleagues that what you might do with cerp first and foremost you want to do no harm. second, you ideally what you want to do with cerp to fulfill something that's part of a continuum of development that can be picked up by others. ourselves, the british, the afghan government themselves. and that it's somehow coordinated with the center planning, for example, construction of school. that it's actually on the ministry of education's plans that they will have teachers, the books, the maintenance and everything else for that particular location and it's not duplicating the fact that there's another school up the valley and they could all be going to the same facility or the sa

bagram air force base was a soviet-built base. kandahar airfield, a soviet-built base. a lot of the bases we operate and staff are soviet bases. same logistical networks that the soviets used, we face a lot of the very same tactics against our forces and convoys that the soviets faced in the 1980s. ieds and ambushes in some of the very same places. a lot of the leaders of the insurgency that we're facing today, the truly dangerous gray-beard commanders, the guys, the real serious commanders, those are people who cut their teeth fighting the soviet army during the 1980s, so there's a lot of lessons that have not been explored. even tactics against the british in waziristan, something to think about. however, it is a negative comparison. the soviets obviously lost the war in afghanistan, they alienated every single afghan. they dropped mines shaped like children's toys, they alienated the population in a major way, so there are certainly very few positive lessons we can learn from the soviets. most of them negative ones but, nonetheless, something you should think about.

even then we tried to coordinate with our military colleagues at bagram at the time. but what we see now is an effort as much as possible at the prt level and it's not -- it's not perfect. it's an imperfect situation. but there's a hard effort at these prts to try to coordinate what has with cerp money and what happens with the civilian money. i think there's a growing appreciation by our military colleagues that what you might do with cerp first and foremost you want to do no harm. second, you ideally what you want to do with cerp to fulfill something that's part of a continuum of development that can be picked up by others. ourselves, the british, the afghan government themselves. and that it's somehow coordinated with the center planning, for example, construction of school. that it's actually on the ministry of education's plans that they will have teachers, the books, the maintenance and everything else for that particular location and it's not duplicating the fact that there's another school up the valley and they could all be going to the same facility or the s

the detainees in bagram who have historically been the most violent against the guards, the ones that have been most committed, those that will never change their minds a, when they have been given this opportunity of rehabilitation, suddenly, there is more report with the guards, less violent activity within their cells -- there is more rapport with the guards, less violent activity within their cells. it may be strategic in how it paints a picture of detention in a counter radicalizing tool, but you also have the side benefit of making detention effort safer for for both -- safer for both the guard and a detainee. it does play to many different elements, depending on how and where it is implemented. >> the saudi arabian, they have unlimited resources, so if they want to throw money at it, whether it works or not, they cannot really waste money. by the way, that is not mockery of your point. i think we're making some good points. but if you have so much money, you can give them cars, apartments, you might as well give them art as well. >> in the back, and then in the front next. >> a