s antonio maria costa and gretchen peters. >>> will the united states stay the course in afghanistan? a rare diplomatic convention when we return. >>> afghanistan's narco mafia state is a key concern as the united states mulls its new strategy, and the whole region is wondering whether the u.s. will stay the course. this week we had an unprecedented roundtable on our program with the u.n. ambassadors from afghanistan, pakistan and india. and during the interview, i asked them what they thought of what the u.s. defense secretary robert gates had told me previously on this program about america's involvement there in the late 1980s. >> we turned our backs on afghanistan. we turned our backs on pakistan. they were left to deal with a situation in afghanistan on their own. their worry is what happens in the future. will we be there? will we be a constant presence? will we be supportive of them over the long term? >> that's what u.s. secretary of defense robert gates told me earlier this month, promising to stay the course. do your countries want the united states to stay? we have this str