i'm bob abernethy.it's good to have you with us. a poll released this week by the pew research center shows that, for the first time, a majority of americans want u.s. troops to leave afghanistan as soon as possible. in a speech from the white house on wednesday, president obama promised to begin the withdrawal this summer. he said more than 30,000 troops will return home by next year. >> america, it is time to focus on nation building here at home. >> earlier in the week, the u.s. conference of mayors called for an end to the war, saying the money would be better spent on domestic needs. nearly 40 religious leaders also urged an end to the conflict. in a letter to the president, they said peace in afghanistan caot cme tough military force. >>> international concerns are rising for refugees from libya and the middle east. >>> in syria, thousands have flooded into neighboring turkey to escape the syrian government crackwn on protestors. >>> on monday, the united nations marked world refugee day with an u

i'm bob abernethy. it's good to have you with us. secretary of defense robert gates told the associated press this week that if the top military officer recommends an end to the don't ask, don't tell policy relating to homosexuals he will okay the new rules before he retires the end of june. gates also said he sees no barrier to that happening. since congress repealed don't ask, don't tell last december, more than a million u.s. troops have taken instruction in the new policy. gates says that training has gone well. still, there are concerns, especially among some military chaplains. betty rollin reports. >> lance corporal a, he's gay. lance corporal b and lance corporal c are his roommates. they know he's gay, or they think he's gay, but due to the fact that he dresses in a certain way they request to move out of their room. do they have that right? >> reporter: here at the quantico marine corps base in virginia, as well as at other military bases, they've been holding voluntary training sessions on th

. >>> welcome, i'm kim lawton, sitting in for bob abernethy. thank you for joining us. there were were new questions t week about the american effort in afghanistan. a report from senate democrats urges e administration to re-evaluate assistance programs there. the report says although the u.s. has spent almost $19 billion on aid and nation building, there has only been limited success. and as the military prepares for this summer's troop drawdown, some liberal christians and jews are ramping up their calls for an end to the war altogether. >>> in syria, as the government crackdown intensified this week, humanitarian concerns mounted. hundreds of syrian refugees have fled to turkey. the united nations reports that more than 1,100 people have been killed since anti-government protests began in march. 10,000 are believed to have been detained. the top u.n. human rights official condemned the government's actions, saying syrian leaders are attempting to "bludgeon the population into submission." >>> there were also rising concerns about the situation in libya. nato stepped

. >>> welcome, i'm kim lawton, sitting in for bob abernethy.hank you for joining us. >>> the 2012 presidential campaign is kicking into gear, and potential republican candidates are already courting religious conservatives. former massachusetts governor mitt romney announced his candidacy thursday. romney says his mormon faith should not be a political issue, but it was a concern for some conservative evangelicals in the last election. in 2008, more than 40% of republican primary voters were evangelicals. with that in mind, a parade of presidential hopefuls and other gop leaders spoke to religious conservatives in washington this week at a meeting organized by the faith and freedom coalition. >> i want to thank you for forming this faith and freedom coalition, because nothing long survives without advocates, and that includes values. >> joining me now is cherie harder, president of the nonpartisan trinity forum. beforthat, she worked in policy positions for first lady laura bush and former senate majority leader bill frist, a republican. cherie