. >> afghan soldiers prepare an offensive in southern elman. it is considered a taliban stronghold. the government is aiming to strike before the spring offensive. this is the first time the afghan army has launched such an operation without international troops. >> our troops, our forces, proved that they are capable of defending the country. as you are aware we've planned many independent operations. right now we have very good operations going down in helmand. >> for years the afghan military and police have trained to fight the tall dan. but a shortage of funds have led to a degree crease of numbers to 228,000. the government has allowed 14,000 international troops to remain. but now the u.s. is rethinking it's withdraw strategy. >> president obama is considering a number of opposites to reinforce our support for president gahani's strategy. including possible change in timeline to the draw down of troops. >> and this may be why. taliban fighters prepare forgive war. al jazeera was given rare access to them. they say that their mission is unchanged. to fight against the foreign

ambassador ed elman. do you think that um if you're suggesting the defense department needs more money do you think that the increase an of would the bca totals should be matched by the same increases of nondefense discretionary spending? the panel did not take a position on that. so just as a representative of the panel. i want to make sure that it is clear what i am about to say is that my personal opinion not representing i would suspect any my colleague or other members of the pan. i this i that the issue and the defense is absolutely crucial. and i this i that overall federal spending will need to be under better control. i think that the biggest problem though is frankly not the discretionary part of the budget but the nondiscretionary part the long range budget forecast has made that collar for a time that is the real driver of the long-term debt debt. >> they have to be taken. is your answer yes or no. my answer is that. you know. the defense budget will need to go up i don't think necessarily tha