then for us just to make sure we get the information on the $900,000 and what is expected to be drawndown. ok. thank you. then we'll go down to our final department, the department of elections. >> good afternoon. our budget is increasing this year due to there being one more election this next fiscal year than the current fiscal year. there's a decrease from reimbursement from elections, city college, so we won't be receiving that for the upcoming fiscal year. as far as big ticket items the next five years, the voting system contract with our current vendor will need to be extended. i'll be coming to the board to seek an i approval -- for the current voting contract. i may actually seek to have it extended a bit since the last time it took almost three years from the time we started the r.f.p. process until the contract was approved. i'll be bringing that forward to the board. but also the leas for the department's warehouse will be expiring at 2014 as well. we would like to have that extended. that's also a secure location for the voting system that we have now than if we were to go to

the president dispatched his top lieutenant to capitol hill today to answer questions about the drawndown. joint chiefs chairman admiral mike mullen says he initially had doubts. >> i do not intend to discuss the specifics of the private advice i rendered with these decisions. as i said, i support them. what i can tell you is the president's decisions are more aggressive and incur more risk than i was originally prepared to accept. >> here is a rundown of some of the stories we're covering in the next two hours. after 16 years on the runs, one of the fbi's most wanted fugitives is caught. mob boss james "whitey bulger has been caught. >>> plus, the president formally announces his troop drawndown plan from afghanistan. >>> finally, watching the river rise, about one-third of the people in minot, north dakota, have evacuated. >> the thing is, tlg there's nothing we can do about it. once you get over the shock of the situation, you just pick up your feet and you move on. [ female announcer ] imagine skin so healthy, it never gets dry again. can your moisturizer do that? [ female announcer ]

we were thinking a fast drawdown or a slow drawndown. this is lmenalmost a mission a p accomplished speech for afghanistan. he's said, we have killed osama bin laden. it's time for the afghan government to build its own country, and it will be faster than we thought before. >> where want to show you what the defense secretary, robert gates said, on the fare well tour of the troops in afghanistan, this weekend, talking about how they have weighed so heavily on his mind. >> i think about you every day. i feel your hardship and your sacrifice and your burden. and that of your families', more than you can possibly know. you are, i believe, the best our country has to offer. and you will be in line for hugs and prayers every day for the rest of my life. thank you. >> very emotional. >> what a hard slog this has been. this news from iraq today, as i said, the kind of news we're not used to hearing, and so many americans in so many positions of potential harm. >> there's still 100,000 troops in afghanistan. just under fifty,000 in raeg. and tho

commander in afghanistan is backing the size and pace of president obama's troop drawndown.john allen will face the armed committee today. >>> joining us now to give us more of the take from the ground, what it's like when you're actually there trying to help. major rusty bradley, a u.s. special operations soldier. he is also the author of a new book "lions kandahar." major, thanks so much for being with us this morning. >> nice to see you. >> when we debate policy about afghanistan, what is the one thing in your mind that you think people may be need to understand a little bit better about our fight there and about the country? >> i think, first of all, we are making a significant amount of progress and i think a lot of times that story not being told. these people want and need our help, which is significant. it takes about six people to support every ground combat soldier. you got people that have to bring in water, food, fuel, rations. you've got that, helicopter mechanics, otherwise, helicopters don't fly. so it takes a large network to make what we do possible. >> what

is afghanistan drawndown on agenda? and have you received a recommendation from the pentagon? >> the president, as you know, has weekly meetings with secretary gates. this is what this meeting is -- and the vice president when he's in town. afghanistan routinely comes up in those weekly meetings. i'm not says it's on the agenda -- we don't read out the weekly meetings with secretary gates or the weekly meetings with secretary clinton. so as i would simply leave it at that. on the second question, as i've said before, the president will be looking at recommendations from his commanders, including general petraeus, having discussions with his commanders, secretary gates, his national security team going forward. i'm not going to give you a blow by blow about when those meetings are taking place and the content of those meetings, but he said -- the president did -- that he will make a decision soon about the beginning of the drawdown. it would make the point that it is the continuation of complementation of a process set in motion in december of 2009. this is not a reopening of r