now, the debate now, and you can see it in carl levin's statement today, the debate to get to 240,000 afghan national army and 160,000 afghan national police force, to get to those numbers won't be easy, but they believe they can get there. the question is, can they get there in 2012 like carl levin wants them to and thinks they can, or will it be 2013, as they would assert? i agree with carl. i think before any consideration of a troop increase, we should make sure that we accelerate and use every possible resource to get the afghan national army up, to get the police number up, and to help them with training and equipment. i think carl levin made a very important statement today in terms of giving us the kind of policy we need to go forward. >> briefly, senator, just to be clear, if they weren't able to meet those goals, if they weren't able to get those numbers to what you would be comfortable, would that mean that we wouldn't send more troops? >> well, we have to assess that as we go. and i think sometimes the debate in the last couple of weeks has been about troop levels kind of

carl levin speaking out today.said no more troops for afghanistan to nothing more in addition to what will become 68,000 in afghanistan that president obama has already approved. there's a lot of discussion about this report from the general mcchrystal. carl levin says no more troops. senator john mccain said if we await the day when the afghan national army is increased in size and capable of carrying out operations on its own, it may well be too late. that is in response to carl levin, who said he would like to see more from the afghan army. john mccain said if you wait until that happens, it will simply be too late. america's military forces serving in afghanistan, marking with ceremonies of their own and memorial events to remember 9/11. they are running 9.11 kilometers at the base. these men and women are serving our country there. they're running in honor to honor all of the troops that were killed in the nearly eight years of fighting to protect our country from future acts of terrorism. the taliban regains

why the chairman of the senate armed services committee, carl levin, is warning today against sending additional u.s. forces. he will be joining us later this hour. >>> and a possible medical breakthrough. the first test of the h1n1 swine flu vaccine show that's only one shot will be needed, meaning twice as many americans can be covered with the expected supply. good day, i'm andrea mitchell in washington. and we're beginning today with confusion on the potomac. a routine coast guard training exercise created quite a stir here in washington. inaccurate initial media reports had shots being fired. that, of course, scrambled federal agencies and even shut down reagan national airport. nbc's pete williams on top of all of it accurately and in realtime accurately. pete, how did this all go so wrong? >> well, what happened here is this is the sequence of events as we understand it. the exercise began about 9:30 on the potomac river between the 14th street and memorial bridges. now, that's not far from the place where the president crossed the river to go over to the pentagon. he was back

you have carl levin, as you say, say, look, we need the troops.mes as the commanding general in afghanistan has just sent a strategic review to the pentagon and is expected to ask for something like 10 or 20,000 more troops in the next few weeks. the president will be faced with a call from his commander asking for more troops, while others say no way. shepard: there is an argument that the more people you sent in there, -- let's face it. on a ticket tribesman think we're the bad guy. that is one story line. >> that has been a concern with the pentagon. bob gates has talked with the same argument from iraq, that you do not want to increase the american footprint in afghanistan. on the other hand, like general petraeus, he is talking about a different strategy where you get troops not so much fighting the taliban as protecting the population, living amongst them, building up support for the mission. so if it were to work as well as it did in iraq with the troop surge, more troops may not be a bad thing. shepard: even if there is a troop surge, it w

drive a wedge between us and the afghan population. >> reporter: senate armed services chairman carl levin who just returned from afghanistan says general stanley mcchrystal is poised to ask for a troop increase for combat and training that the president approved in march. levin said no more american combat forces should be sent to disrupt the taliban and al qaeda new mexico there's -- >> more trainers, a larger afghan army, more equipment to afghanistan now for about six months at at least. this is -- these are the steps that i believe that we need take before we consider additional combat forces. now only 24% support it, a stunning 74% of democrats oppose the war. >> can we trust the afghan army and police? >> some liberal democrats like senator russ feingold are even calling for a timetable to bring troops home from afghanistan, that's the approach levin and other democratic leaders took on iraq when there was a republican in the white house. now there's a democratic president who is working on stabilizing afghanistan and the main political fight for now is over whether to add more troo

senator armed services committee chairman carl levin says no additional troops should be sent to afghanistan until more afghan security forces are trained. that drew criticism from arizona republican senator john mccain, who says waiting on the afghan army could be a mistake. >> i believe that the best way to succeed in afghanistan is to take major steps to strengthen and support the afghan army and police so that they can take principal responsibility. >> as we wait until the afghan national army increases in size and capable of carrying on these operations fully on its own, it may well be too late. >> the september 11 attacks were both a tragedy and a call to arms for the brave men and women of the u.s. military r while the terrorists responsible have been severely weakened, they have not been defeated yet. national security correspondent jennifer griffin has the story. >> at the pentagon, every day there are reminders of 9/11 and the two wars still being waged as a result. what goes through your mind when you hear a plane above the pentagon? >> a hair still stands up on the back of your n

senator on military matters, michigan's carl levin says no more troops in afghanistan, he is saying no more until we do some other things first, namely try to build up the afghan security forces. we're going to be talking about troops and deployment and the troops in our military involvement. but first that report about survival in that country from our michael ware, take a look. [ explosion. >> this is one night, one police patrol in kandahar. a hidden taliban roadside bomb, an ied is about to hit that afghan police dun truck. a cnn cameraman and i are riding it. by some miracle, it detonating a heart beat too soon, otherwise we would all be dead. instead gravel rains over us. then comes the shooting, the so called death blossom police fire to ward off further attack. but this is the true front line against the taliban. it's where president obama's war will ultimately be won or lost. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: on that front line is my old friend, an afghan police commander. i have been away for six years reporting in iraq, so it's a relief just to see he's still alive. it takes a cer

that is exactly what senator carl levin, chairman of the arm services committee, says he will suggestto president obama after levin's visit to afghanistan this past week. >>> and just one week after 22-year-old guy heinze jr. alerted police of the brutal slaughter in his own mobile home, police in brunswick, georgia, charged him with eight counts of first degree murder. seven of the victims are being buried today. >>> we heard about the h1n1 virus for the first time just months ago. now a new white house report warnes up to 50% of the u.s. population could be infected by the virus by winter. president obama says he wants to be ready with answers before that ever happens. >> we're also making steady progress on developing a safe and effective h1n1 flu vaccine, and we expect a flu shot program will begin soon. this program will be completely voluntary, but it will be strongly recommended. >> well, dr. beth bell, an epidemiologist with the cdc joins me now. ma'am, thank you for being here. we just heard the president say there we are making steady progress on developing a safe and effect

[applause] >> upnext, remarks from the german chancellor angela mfrp erkel. 6:20 senator carl levin and then 7:00 live, washington journal. >> tonight on c-span, a memorial service for walter cronkite. former president bill clinton and other speakers. tonight at 8:35 eastern on c-span. >> 1.7 new immigrants each year. half are followers of islam. from weekly standard senior editor chris toe fear called well on c-span q&a. friday, september 4th, the german commander ordered an air strike on two oil tankers held by the taliban. nato has launched an investigation into the incident. this is about 15 minutes. [applause] >> we won't be able to clear this up this morning. from the outset, i will say that any innocent death in afghanistan is:mñ one too many. we mourn every single one. i mourn along with their family members i also mourn the victims caused by german actions. to me, it matters that today as chancellor in this house, i can tell this to these people. i think i can also say this in your name. [applause] >> afghanistan, this wounded country discerns a more peaceful future. this is ou

and we have our own session now with: senators carl levin, chairman of the senate armed services committee; and saxbe chambliss of georgia, a republican on that committee. senator levin, it's been reported that gen. mcchrystal is telling the president that he needs more forces or the conflict "will likely result in failure." what would you tell the president? >> that it's important that we succeed. i think most of us believe it should focus first on the strategy with general mcchrystal said repeatedly in that report is is don't just focus on forces. first decide on strategy. he's repeatedly made that point although it doesn't seem to come through in the media very well. don't just concentrate on how many more troops you might need. focus on what is the correct strategy for success. i believe that the resources that are most needed there will be major increases in the size of the afghan army earlier and equipment surge for the afghan army. we ought to be having a plan which we yet don't have to transfer significant equipment from iraq to the afghan army to help them succeed. we ought to hel

i think carl levin is saying let's not send more troops until we see if the afghan troops can step up. i think this president has to, quote, win, however he defines it, the war on afghanistan. he said george bush made a mistake. he drew the front line in the wrong country. he has to listen to the generals, do what they say and succeed in afghanistan. i don't think he can afford to leave afghanistan to the taliban. i just don't. >> i think he's going to accept the recommendations of the generals, that we can't win with counter-terrorism. we need counter-insurgency. when he makes that tough decision and a lot of people like nancy pelosi just wants to get out and senator levin wants to gradually get out, maybe who's supporting president obama? john mccain and joe wilson. i said -- i've known joe wilson a long time. he's been saying to his conservative friends, some of whom are going south on afghanistan, we have to fight and win there. i think president obama will do the right thing. his chief of staff, rahm emanuel is nervous about it. >> what's at staple -- stake in afghanistan? juan b

today senate arms services chair carl levin implored him not to order more deployments but to focus insteadaining the afghan army and police. >> we need a surge of afghan security forces. >> reporter: house speaker nancy pelosi sent a similar message. >> i don't think there's a great deal of support for sending more troops to afghanistan. >> reporter: the misgivings in the president's own party reflect a growing national pessimism amid record casualties there. >> we need to have the afghan security forces demonstrate that they have primacy that they can control the situation on the ground. >> reporter: 21,000 additional u.s. troops will deploy there this year, driving total troop levels up to a new high, 68,000. levin argued sending more than that would just provoke the enemy. >> creating a bigger u.s. military footprint provides propaganda fodder for the taliban. >> reporter: republican senator john mccain shot back that arbitrarily capping u.s. troop levels would be catastrophic. worried that a democratic uprising could embarrass the president, the senate majority leader called for patien

we talk this evening with senator carl levin. he is chairman of the senate arms services committee. >> a lot of americans, a growing number, have a growing concern about getting in deeper with our own combat forces. we have overstretched forces. we've been in two wars a long time and i think what americans would like to do is to protect our interest in ways which do not get us in deeper. do not plunge us in deeper into afghanistan in terms of our combat forces. so when it comes to trainers, when it comes to equipment, i think that there's going to be support for that in the american people. there's a kind of an uncertainty in terms of more and more combat forces. >> rose: wall street one year later and decision time about afghanistan next. captioning sponsored by rose communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. >> rose: this week marks the one year anniversary of the collapse of lehman brothers and the escalation of the global financial crisis. president obama marked the day by speaking directly to wal

today, the powerful chairman of the armed services committee, decratic senator carl levin, said he isainst sending more american combat troops to afghanistan, but instead, would send mility trnerso he expand the afghan military. >> we need a surge of afghan security forces, and we have not ne nrly enough to put that in motion. >> reporter: house speaker nancy pelosi is opposed to any ditional u.s. forces. >> i don't think there is a great deal of support for sending moreroops to afghistan in the coury or in thcongress. >> reporter: and for the first time, the erican public has turned against the afghanistan war. in a recent poll, 51% saidhe war is not worth fighting. public support eroded as the situation in afghanistan is rapidly deteriorating. in the past two months, a record number of american forcehave be killed in thear, while the talin has been gaining ground. a new study showthe taliban now has control over 80% of afghanistan, up from 54% only o years ag tourn that around, the top commander in afghanistan, general stan mcchrtal's new sttegy is to undermine the taban by providin

carl levin reports that the u.s. focused more on training afghan forces to defend their own country, rather than building up their own presence there. much -- but john mccain disagrees, saying that we risk repeating mistakes made in iraq if we do not add more troops to afghanistan. major, any word on which with the president is leaning on this? >> no, no word. he wants to hear from the general david petraeus and others, as well as robert gates. he wants to hear from all of them before making a decision. the decision is weeks and weeks away. on intervening event that will be very important is that next week the president wills and to -- will spend time in new york city dealing with nato allies to see if they are willing to add forces to the grounds to help train the afghan police and army. if they are not willing to, the president has a difficult decision to make about adding forces, which number 65,000 right now. shepard: there are much more than troops in the works here. >> that is right. there is a debate going on

the comments by the senator carl levin, chairman of the armed services committee, illustrate the growing skepticism president obama is facing in his own party as the white house decides whether to commit more deeply to a war that has begun losing public support, even as american commanders acknowledge that the situation on the ground has deteriorated and its burden falls, vermont, on our independent line, what do you think? caller: al qaeda is largely a fiction perpetrated by the saudis, invented by the republican party, who always need to fight. afghanistan is to protect the natural gas pipeline, iraq was to put oil companies in a better position. everything in the media is being done now to read legitimize -- to re legitimize the republican party. host: michael, are we safer than we were eight years ago? caller: i believe we are not. the one thing i want to say to the callers it is that we are all americans. my son is about to leave -- excuse me -- on his third deployment in iraq. my son is an american who happens to be a democrat. he is an american first, and i am very proud of him. t

senator carl levin is urging to train afghan groups. >> the most effective way is to take the initiative in afghanistan in a series of steps to ensure that afghans army and police have the manpower, the equipment and support to secure their own nation. >> he warned about more u.s. troops in afghanistan. earlier this week, democratic leaders say they want to see more detailed plans about the war. >> a deadly small plane crash is under investigation. witnesses say that the plane took off about 715 -- 7:15 this morning. a charlotte businessman that owns one of north carolina's leading mercedes-benz dealerships was killed and it is not known that there was anyone else on board. more than a dozen people were hurt when two buses crashed into each other in washington d.c.. 19 people, six of them kids were taken to hospital. none of the injuries is believed to be serious. " still ahead, with americans tightening their belts, travel experts say that people are still travelling for pleasure. >> how businesses are thinking differently and coming up with deals to lure you back. >> the baltimore symp

but now, a key senator, democrat carl levin, is voicing opposition to any such request. he armed services commit. . and says, the u.s. needs to focus on training more afghan troops. and house speaker nancy pelosi says, the support isn't there for more troops. >>> medical research researchers say just one dose of the h1n1 vaccine would be strong enough to battle the virus. they initial said two doses would be needed. they also say protection kicks in within ten days of taking the shot. >>> how about a little levity here. patience has paid off for the owners of a dog named skoobby. skoobby, the puppy, wedged for five days behind a rock wall in australia, as only a puppy can. they were slipping it food. they were giving it water. finally, using high-tech cameras, found him. pulled him out. skoobby's going to be just fine. there you go. there's the news at 8:03. they couldn't call the puppy because the puppy's deaf. itook a little more time. but everybody's okay now. sam, are you okay? not going to say anything mean about the puppy, are you? >> wait. was his name really skoob

. >> senator carl levin visited afghanistan last week. general mcchrystal is expected to formally request an increase in america military presence in the section couple of weeks. >>> the state department strongly condemned a rocket attack on northern israel today. israeli military officials say several rockets were fired from southern lebanon. they fired artillery rounds across the border in retaliation. lebanese official say the village from which the rockets were fired was hit. this is the first time since febrry that rockets were fired from lebanon into israel. there were no reports of injuries on either side. state department officials say the incident highlights the need for the international community to remain fully committed to supporting the u.n. mission in lebanon. >>> the iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at president bush is getting out of jail. the incident happened in baghdad weeks before george w. bush left office. the journalist from iraq said recently he thought he would be shot by the secret servicehen he threw his sh

shepard: senator carl levin. senator john mccain is also on that committee. he pushed for the surge in iraq and now says he completely disagrees with senator 11's assessment of afghanistan. here he is in the senate today. >> a believe it is a false choice to try to grow the afghan national army while holding back on any additional u.s. combat troops. if we await the day when the afghan national army is increased in size and capable of carrying out all of these operations fully on its own, it might well be too late. shepard: the most important input in this debate will come from the general stanley mcchrystal. he's the top commander in afghanistan. the senators say they expect general mcchrystal to ask for more troops in the next several weeks. in the midst of all of the remembrances today, there was a bit of a security scare in washington. reports of the coastguard firing shots on a suspicious vote on the potomac river. it was not true. it was just a routine training exercise. the mixup is raising serious questions. we're live in washington and we will be liv

. >>> the powerful chairman of the senate armed services committee, democrat carl levin, speaking oute u.s. troops to afghanistan. he wants to bolster afghan forces instead. cnn's senior congressional correspondent, dana bash, joining me live from capitol hill. dana, look, this is an important voice weighing in on the u.s. role in afghanistan. >> reporter: very important voice. as you said, he is the democratic chairman of the senate armed services committee, and he made clear that he believes, just like many other people around washington believe, that the commander, u.s. commander, in afghanistan, general stanley mcchrystal, is planning to recommend to the president to send additional combat forces to afghanistan. that's on top of what the president already approved back in february, about 20,000-plus additional troops. well, carl levin is making clear he wants to stop that from happening, and the reason, he says, in a very forceful speech on the senate floor, is because that's not the right way to go. the right way to go, before you send any additional u.s. combat troops, is to foc

waer: his comments immediately touched off a debate with senator armed services committee chairman carl levin saying afghan securityorces need to beefed up bere more u.s. troops are sent. >> providing the resources needs fr the ahan army and afghan police to become self-suffient would demotrate o commitment to th success of a mission that is in o national security interest. ile avoiding the risks associated wi a larger u.s. footprint. ielieve theseteps should be urgently implented before we consider a further increase in u.s. ound combat troop beyond wh is alrdy planned to be deployedy thend of thyear. >> in all due respect, senator levin, i've seen thatmovie befo >> waer: the committee top republican senator john mcca quickly couered saying the ministration should requt more u.s. forces and do it quickl >> every day we delay implementin this strategy and increasing the nmber of troops there, which we a ow is vally needed, puts more and mo young americans who ar already ther lives in danger. i don't think we shou do that. warner: the atmosphere in the hearing ro didn't fully cony the growing

democratic senator carl levin, chairman of the armed services committee, announced that he is opposedsending more troops. and instead, called for faster training of afghan security forces. and house speaker nancy pelosi has said she doesn't believe there's a great deal of support in the country or in congress to send more troops. >>> and the census bureau has cut off ties to the community group, a.c.o.r.n. for the 2010 census. this comes after a video surfaced this week, showing an a.c.o.r.n. worker giving tax advice to a man and woman posing as sex workers. a.c.o.r.n. has been under fire from republicans, after workers submitted false registration voter forms last year. >>> and space shuttle "discovery" was forced to land at california's edwards air force base because of bad weather in florida. the shuttle completed a 14-day mission to the international space station. it will be flown back to florida on the back of a 747. >>> and finally, derek jeter has broken lou gehrig's record for most hits by a new york yankee. >> and the 2-0. there it is. >> the single to break the team record

chefs >> of the next, senator carl levin discusses u.s. involvement in afghanistan.hat'll be followed about german chancellor on july -- angela merkel. this week during a special session, the supreme court heard an oral argument on campaign finance. the first session for a sonia sotomayor. >> would only be doing more harm than good by a broad ruling in a case that does not involve business corporations and does not involve the traditional for non-profit corporations. >> hear the argument in its entirety saturday at 7:00 p.m.. starting october 4, and next pensive look at the role -- an extended look at the role of justices during supreme court week. is there more than one definition of conservative? saturday, an editor on the debts of conservatism. for the complete book schedule online. >> armed services chair carl levin was among a delegation of senators to travel to afghanistan. he talks about his trip and the need for u.s. training and equipping of afghan military and police forces before any additional american troops are exported. good morning. eight years ago ou

warner: his comments immediately touched off a debate with senator armed services committee chairman carl levinsaying afghan security forces need to be beefed up before more u.s. troops are sent. >> providing the resources needs for the afghan army and afghan police to become self-sufficient would demonstrate our commitment to the success of a mission that is in our national security interest. while avoiding the risks associated with a larger u.s. footprint. i believe these steps should be urgently implemented before we consider a further increase in u.s. ground combat troops beyond what is already planned to be deployed by the end of the year. >> in all due respect, senator levin, i've seen that movie before. >> warner: the committee's top republican senator john mccain quickly countered saying the administration should request more u.s. forces and do it quickly. >> every day we delay in implementing this strategy and increasing the number of troops there, which we all know is vitally needed, puts more and more young americans who are already there lives in danger. i don't think we should do t

and the chairman of the senate armed services committee, carl levin, today said that the president should send more troops to afghanistan unless and until it nearly doubles afghan armed forces. he told our own andrea mitchell that congress awaits an assessment by the president. >> we don't know what the congress will do until we get a recommendation from the president and from general mcchrystal. but i believe very strongly that when it comes to more combat troops, which are the people who are the most visible with the greatest footprint, at the greatest risk in afghanistan, that we should not, at this time, be committing to more combat forces until we have done what we need to do and which i think most people believe we should do, which is to strengthen the afghan army. >> this after the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, said yesterday, quote, i don't think there's a great deal of support for sending more troops to afghanistan in the country or in the congress. but from some republicans, unusual praise for the president on this subject. house majority whip, eric cantor, today, saying,

the chairman of the senate armed services committee today carl levin thinks more u.s.ops could hinder progress. >> the larger our own military footprint there, the more our enemies can seek to drive a wedge between us and the afghan population, spreading the falsehood we seek to dominate in muslim nation. >> joining me now is democratic congressman adam smith of washington. the congressman recently returned from a trip to afghanistan. congressman, good to have you on tonight. i appreciate it very much. what were your impressions of what you saw? the american people want to know, are we making progress? are we doing the right thing? what do you think? >> i think we have the right plan now and we're going to start making progress. i think it is very, very tragic we lost six years after the taliban were driven from power back in 2001. we don't have the right plan in place. we didn't commit the resources to getting the governance level up in afghanistan, the dwomt level up. when president obama came into office he had a big problem to fix. put together a good plan, put the

setor carl levin of michigan said the u.s. has "lt the initiative >> we should increase and accelerate our efforts to suppt the afghan security rces in their efforts to become self-suicient in livering security to their nation, before we consider ether to increase u.s. combat fces above the levels already planned for the nextew months. we need a surgof afghan securi forces. our support of the surge will show o commitment to the success of a mission that is clearly in our natiol security terest, without creating a bigger u.s. miliry footprint that provides propanda fodder for e taliban. >> suarez: a dayarlier, house speaker nancy losi warned any call for more troo could get a tough reception in the hou as well. >> i don'think there's a great deal of support, f sending more troops to afghanian, in the countror in the congress. >> suarez:urrently, the u.s. has 62,000 troops in afghanistan. by the end othis year, that force will number r ,000, as rt of a surge the president ordered earlier th year. but the american cmander, genera

senator carl levin, democrat from michigan says, he is against sending more combat forces until afghan security forces are better trained and more equipped. >> the best way to succeed in afghanistan is to take major steps to strengthen and support the afghan army and police so they can take principal responsibili responsibility for their own national security and progress? >> where do things stand now in the hunt for al qaeda and the pentagon? nbc's correspondent, jim miklaszewski, reports. >> reporter: nearly eight years after the president declare the u.s. would get osama bin laden, dead or alive, bush is out of office, and bin laden is still out there somewhere. he is the world's most wanted, yet most elusive fugitive. shortly after 9/11, the u.s. military had osama bin laden cornered at tora bora in afghanistan. but somehow, he managed to slip through a massive bombing campaign and has been on the loose ever since. on the run in a remote tribal regions of western pakistan, bin laden still led al qaeda's reign offer to. in july, 2005, al qaeda suicide bombers struck london's subways

saying this in the new york sometimes, the leading senator on the arms services committee chairman carl levin said until the united states speeded up the training and equipping of more afghan forces. is there a split? do you support sending more troops to afghanistan? >> no, i don't. i agree with senator levin. i think at this point sending additional troops would not be the right thing to do. >> has the president made a determination that is politically untenable to try to get congress approve sending more troops? >> i can't say that, but the president has not asked for more troops, at least not to my knowledge. that the point, we should follow senator levin's suggestion and let the afghans bring stability to their own country. let's work with them to make that happen. >> that will be the last word. from health care to afghanistan, thank you very much. >>> up next, the fight over health care reform rages on while the obama administration also struggles to save the economy. insights from the political roundtable, erin burnett, joshua cooper ramo and chuck todd only here on "meet the press." >

carl levin, the chairman of the house armed services committee has a different view.hoa, let's hold off on putting any additional u.s. combat troops on the ground in afghanistan until we can train additional afghan security forces to do the job first. >> is it clear that the president would approve additional troop levels? as you reported there is a debate within his own team, right, these different forces about who believes more troops are necessary and who believes they are not? >> absolutely. he is going to be under incredible pressure from his commanders to fill fill what they say they need on the ground. >> joe biden somewhat skeptical? >> that is right. already sending messages back and forth in terms of what might be a reasonable request to come in with troop increase and so what we will see, what general mcchrystal comes forward with next. >> you mean this to sound like a dumb question, but honestly, what's the strategy in afghanistan? >> the strategy is, in the short-term, put in enough allied forces, u.s. and some other nato forces on the ground, provide sec

democrats that are beginning to draw that parallel, including some important voices like senator carl levin. that said, most democrats, even those who are skeptical, are willing to give the president time to show that his strad jie can work. and the white house is sort of in a very concerted mode of saying, look, this is not going to happen overnight. don't, as the president just said in that clip, don't expect to see a sudden change in strategy, everybody needs to take a deep breath and allow the strategy to play out. one of the things that was a problem this week for the white house is a growing recognition, because the election was so scarred by corruption, ballot-stuffing and other irregularities we may not know in the spring hot next leader of afghanistan is going to be. and if it is hamid karzai, as looks likely, the u.s. faces an extra burden of having a government in place there that's lacking in some legitimacy and credibility and may not be the kind of parter in the u.s. needs to make the strategy work. >> jeff, let me ask you something, mark mention and i was struck by this in th

so senator carl levin, who is the democrat and chairman of the armed services committee was at a hearing with joint chief chairman administratively mullen last week. and here's what he said about moving forward in terms of strategy. >> providing the resources needed for the afghan army and afghan police to become self-sufficient would demonstrate our commitment to the success of a mission that is in our national security interest. while avoiding the risks associated with a larger u.s. foot print. >> that seemed to work in iraq, going in and trying to train the iraqis to take charge of their own security. would there be the political will from lawmakers to otherwise have some skepticism if this was really about money and training afghanis? >> well, the problem is, it is a bit of a slippery slope. i think as mcchrystal's report suggests, that once you start talking about building up the government and is building up the army, then you are on your -- on the road to a nation-building operation. there was a real question whether we have the financial resources and the political will to do tha

carl levin said he's willing to send more military trainers to afghanistan to speed up the training of joe wilson's outburst of "you lie" may not be over. during a cabinet meeting the president said he accepted wilson's quick apology and noted we all make mistakes. but once wilson made his way front of cameras, he seemed to be distancing himself from his own apology. >> i heard from the leadership they wanted me to contact the white house and state that my statements were inappropriate. i did. i'm very grateful that the white house in talking with them, they indicated that they appreciated the call and that we needed to have a civil discussion about the health care issues and i certainly agree with that. >> reporter: the discussion civil and otherwise goes on as questions about the president's plan continue. jake tapper has a fact check. >> reporter: the president tried to do a fact check of his own. >> the reforms i'm proposing will not apply to those who are here illegally. >> reporter: would they apply to illegal immigrants? the answer is no. bills say any government subsidies would