the white house tells us he was supposed to meet with afghan president hamid karzai.al at times, thanking troops for their service. >>> the freedom, the liberty that we treasure, that's not simply a birth right. it has to be earned by the sacrifices of generations, generations of patriots, men and women who step forward and say, send me. i know somebody has to do it. i'm willing to serve. men and women who are willing to risk all and some who gave all to keep us safe. >> president obama didn't just shake hands and give a speech. he also took some time to visit wounded troops in the hospitals and awarded several purple hearts. >>> next, there is a big-time controversy brewing over, wait for it, barbie. some of this comes equipped. you see her. that's a camera. there are concern that pedophiles may be using these dolls. we are going to figure it out together. i am going to show you the doll. we bought one. let's do a little show and tell. >>> plus, a bank robbery caught on video. you are going to see how it unfolded and hear the desperate calls for helps. that's next. s

. >> among the wikileaks were tension between the white house, the administration and the hamid karzai. how much of a drag is that on our effort? >> it's enormous. and the level of sort of contempt within the military towards karzai, personally was just staggering to me. in part because it's no longer an issue just for him criticizing obama, criticizing the u.s., believing in conspiracy theories why we're there, and he's specifically criticizing the military. he's saying the military presence is too big. he doesn't want any nighttime operation made. which petraeus thinks it's the best we have. we're fighting and dying so this man can stay in power. his response is not only not thank you but constant attack, constant criticism. >> does that mean ha the problem that you refer to aze poisonous a few minutes ago is not an obama-karzai problem, it's a karzai problem. >> i think it's an obama-karzai problem because the white house don't really know what to do with karzai. remember the last time obama went to afghanistan and general jones and the national security advisor said we're going to

apparently not going to meet face to face with hamid karzai.hone with him. they could have had a secure line. didn't have to fly to afghanistan to speak with them on the phone. i'm sure that's a source of frustration as well. let's hope within the next year a president can go to afghanistan without having to worry about the security issue, and that they could let us know in advance that he's going. >> let's talk a little about the key issue, right now here in washington, jobs, jobs, jobs. obviously, the economic numbers, employment numbers, going up. 9.6% to 9.8% p. were very discouraging today. certainly discourt anning to the people looking for jobs and there are 15 million unemployed americans right now. doesn't even speak, tony, to all of those millions of americans who settle for lesser job, they're underemployed. a woman say making $80,000 a year, now loses the job now struggling with the job making 35,000, $40,000 a year. they have a job, they're grateful they have a job. not the job they used to have. but they're working at a lot less m

he talked with afghan president -- talks with afghan president hamid karzai were cancelled due to thead weather. >> the commander-in-chief in afghanistan for his second visit. he was greeted at the airbase by the commander of nato and american troops, general david petraeus. these are images that may just help the embattled president at home. talking to troops on a mission that has entered its ninth year but has little popularity among americans. >> this part of the world is the center of a global effort or we're going to disrupt and dismantle and defeat al qaeda and its extremist allies. and that is why you're here. >> it planned helicopter trip to kabul to meet afghan president hamid karzai had to be cancelled due to the bad weather. he and obama spoke on the telephone instead. it has been a year since the president launched his new afghanistan strategy, raising troop levels by 30,000. but washington is planning on slowly drawing down its forces as early as next july. >> in ivory coast, the top legal body declared the incumbent president e winner of the disputed westafrican country'

that's when ed hamid opened pro do free. where is last store closed two decades ago. >> the last place was here in the 50s. >> safe way has been here in the oohs, there's been no store, no grocery store since? >> that's correct. and the community is much bigger and growing but no store. >> reporter: eric mccreary has spent all 19 years of life just blocked from produce pro and says he has never experienced fresh food in the neighborhood. >> this is a good idea. they should have, i felt that they should have done something like this, there's like liquor stores on almost every corner. >> reporter: it's much more than fresh food, it's affordable food. deals are cut directly with growers in the central valley. >> as a result, cut the middleman, and be able to give the discounts to the community. >> i'm thinking it's way better than anything you see in a corner store, you know, not the rotten bananas and the several- month-old potatoes. >> reporter: the movie line says "if you little it they will come" so produce pro expects to o

and leaders of ten countries including china's foreign minister yen jae ch sxichlt afghan president hamid karzai. clinton is said to be planning more phone calls on the issues. >> some government officials that have talked to us freely in the past may be more reluctant. we understand that for a period of time this is going to make our day-to-day conduct of diplomacy much more difficult. >> crowley criticized wikileaks' founder julian assange. he said assange is not a journalist nor a whistleblower but "a political actor with a political agenda." >>> the u.s. ambassador to japan, john roos, has explained the wikileaks scandal to japan's foreign minister, seiji maehara on thursday. details of the meeting are not known. however, roos is believed to have explained how the u.s. government is coping with the leak of sensitive diplomatic documents. the u.s. ambassador is also believed to have sought japan's understanding about the contents of the documents to offset any possible damage to bilateral relations. no documents from the u.s. embassy in tokyo have been released so far. a special team s

coming from a brashness that sometimes led to testy confrontations with afghanistan's president hamid karzai. >> i don't have any problem with my relations with him. he represents his country, i represent mine. >> reporter: but whatever friction his style may have caused, you need only listen to the heartfelt remembrances of holbrooke to know how enormous the loss. >> richard was a trusted friend, a valued mentor, and indispensable colleague to so many of several generations of american diplomats. >> reporter: hamid karzai today said holbrooke served greatly the people of the united states. joint chiefs chairman mike mullen said few have done as much to achieve success in the war, none have done more. for general david petraeus, holbrooke was his diplomatic wingman. but perhaps it was senator was john kerry who summed it up best, holbrooke will always be remembered as a warrior for peace. indeed, he was that warrior to the end. before being sedated for his marathon surgery, he turned to his doctors, some of south asian decent, and said, see what can you do to help end the war while i'

and an indispensable colleague to so many of several generations of american diplomats. >> reporter: hamid karzai today said holbrooke served greatly the people of the united states. joint chiefs chairman mike mullen said few have done as much to achieve success in the war, none have done more. for general david petraeus, holbrooke was his diplomatic wingman. but perhaps it was senator john kerry who summed it up best -- holbrooke will always be remembered as a warrior for peace. indeed, he was that warrior to the end. before being sedated for his marathon surgery, he turned to his doctors, some of south asian decent, and said, see what you can do to help end the war while i'm in there. martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >> pressing his case right up to the end. let's bring in jake tapper now from the white house. and jake, richard holbrooke was actually in washington to brief the president on this review of his afghan policy, which the president is expected to announce this week, and he met with his national security team today. >> reporter: that's exactly right. the president met with

karzai said -- issued an hamid karzai said -- issued an order to arrest me if i go back. why? because he accused me of organizing the fraud that got him re-elected. in april. which shows you a bit how weird he is. and that's our partner. he steals the election and then he blames the u.n. for conducting the fraud. >> he told general petraeus he considers the u.s. and the taliban to be his enemies and given a choice he would side with the taliban. >> the taliban. >> how do we win? >> this is the nature of the problem and the question comes back to is this worth the kind of effort we're making? do we have other priorities in the world? do we have the better use for $117 billion? and what about those live that is are at risk? >> all right, peter, andrew, thank you both so much for joining us. >> sure thing. >> thank you. >> thank you, guys. thank you. >>> later on "parker spitzer," a tribute to larry king on the last night doing a live program on this network. you won't want to miss it. >> smell the fresh air of london again. if justice is not always an outcome, at least it i

at that point hamid karzai knew he had us. and for the next two years look what he did. dick understood exactly how to go after it but couldn't do it. couldn't be allowed to do it. >> the other thing, charlie, you said before that he said several times thathis was the toughest assignment, toughest challenge he's ever had. but he never slowed down. he never stopped. he was going at it all the time. >> rose: even though people were saying slow down. don't get on another plane and go for another trip because you better take care of yourself. >> and he wasn't doing that. >> you can't win that argument with him. >> rose: (laughs) >> he wouldn't stop. >> i think you're absolutely right but there were a couple of other forces that motivated dick here. i believe that he really believed we had to bring this war to an end and the only way to do it was to get a political definition around the war. it that you had to stabilize your relations with pakistan and so he focused a single minded jewel on building ties with the pakistani leadership that had gone fallow over the years. he cr

afghan president hamid karzai. u.s.ell cnn that karzai's behavior is at times erratic and unpredictable and has become a significant concern for general petraeus and karl ikenberry. -- karzai suddenly storming out of a moting was petraeus and others. soon after the meeting, petraeus, known for choosing his words carefully didn't deny it. >> did he stomp out on you? >> this was not a meeting with me. this was a meeting with the international community. >> petraeus insists he's on good terms with karzai. but when the afghan leader called for downsizing u.s. military operations, petraeus let it be known he thought relations were strained. karzai stunned many when he acknowledged iran gives him bags of cash. then it got stranger all around. >> well, they have -- they have asked for good relations in return. and for lots of other things in return. >> i thought it was a pretty forthright response, actually. he actually told the truth, which is, you know, a refreshing thing. he says karzai may be doing much of this for his own

he didn't speak about the fact that hamid karzai has not been a good partner. he didn't speak about the corruption or the fact that he is telling general petraeus the nighttime raids which have been i think the special operations success over the last year in terms of pushing back al-qaeda that karzai said it's a bad idea and wants them to stop. >> so the good news is in a sense that the president remains committed. secretary clin clip said we won't willy-nilly withdrawal it's based on conditions on the ground but i wonder if it's whistling past graveyard at this point and hoping for best. >> bret: secretary gates said as far as pulling troops out this july 2011 haas gone out the door. they say it's all going to be conditions-based. and the answer is we don't know at this point. >> that is a key element of the announcement. the ereview purpose was to signal retreat on july 111 withdrawal, interpreted when it was announced hast year as something hard and fixed. it's very flexible. they'll pull a couple of troops out of an area that is extremely secure. but what

you really have to start with hamid karzai and work your way down. the only way to do that is essentially to threat and to pull out of afghanistan if he does not take certain measures to combat corruption and the reason that might work is if nato leaves carl zeiss is dead and he knows that. i don't think he would call our bluff. i'm just guessing. it seems like a reasonable one. it is a risky poker hand for sure but it could work. >> host: conn, go ahead with your question for sebastian junger. >> i am interested in

but they will have to contend with one of the hamid's top wide receivers in hundred johnson. -- one of the league's top wide receivers in andre johnson. you will remember this notable fisticuffs. kickoff is tonight at 8:30, and sports director and a voice of the ravens gerry sandusky will have to night's matchup. we are your ravens broadcast team. while the ravens are in texas tonight, female fans are ready for a road trip for their own. our resident lady raven is tagging along on the first-of- its-kind trip to the big apple. >> we have a very exciting trip, leaving for new york, charter bus. >> it is like christmas come early for a lady ravens fans, a trip to york city hosted by the team. charters will leave the stadium for a day of football-themed fund. >> we will meet with someone to see the new consumer line for next year. and we will go to lombardi on broadway. >> it chronicles the life of and vince lombardi the cast features udith light.nd jdi fans will get to tour the nfl league headquarters. ravens are the only team in the nfl with a female fan club. >> it shows how passionate

obama had planned to fly to kabul to meet with president hamid karzai and visit u.s. embassy employees. a storm rolled in with high wind, dust and low cloud cover. his helicopter trip was canceled and the karzai meeting became a 15-minute phone call. the president did visit wounded troops at a base hospital awarded five purple hearts and met with those of the 101st airborne division that lost six members in an attack early this week. >> there will be difficult days ahead. progress comes at a high price. >> reporter: 1300 u.s. troops have been killed in afghanistan since the war began. this year was especially deadly. the obama administration plans to start withdrawing troops. >>> as for whether or not those wikileak documents will cause more problems, a top aid here pushing back on those concerns saying that they have weathered this kind of information being released in the past. there is no real secret there are major challenges being faced in afghanistan, especially when it comes to corruption. >> we will have more on this trip to afghanistan. thanks very much, dan

he talked with afghan president -- talks with afghan president hamid karzai were cancelled due to thead weather. >> the commander-in-chief in afghanistan for his second visit. he was greeted at the airbase by the commander of nato and american troops, general david petraeus. these are images that may just help the embattled president at home. talking to troops on a mission that has entered its ninth year but has little popularity among americans. >> this part of the world is the center of a global effort or we're going to disrupt and dismantle and defeat al qaeda and its extremist allies. and that is why you're here. >> it planned helicopter trip to kabul to meet afghan president hamid karzai had to be cancelled due to the bad weather. he and obama spoke on the telephone instead. it has been a year since the president launched his new afghanistan strategy, raising troop levels by 30,000. but washington is planning on slowly drawing down its forces as early as next july. >> in ivory coast, the top legal body declared the incumbent president the winner of the disputed west african count

has flat out ripped hamid karzai, he's said some crazy things like he wants to join the taliban and it really has backfired on the u.s. and so there are problems with corruption and behind the scenes you better believe u.s. officials are pushing him to fix it. but that is one of the big challenges ahead, shep. >> shepard: push away. mike emanuel at the white house. thank you. a group of american embassy workers under attack in yemen. one of the latest battlefields in this fighted against terror. american officials say somebody threw a bomb near the workers' vehicle. nobody hurt in the end. security workers say they have several suspects in custody and right now, it's simply not clear whether the bomb is linked to al-qaida's branch in that area. yemen is home to al-qaida and the arabian peninsula. and the united states is quietly helping the government target that group. the u.s. has given $150 million in aid to yemen just this year. out on bail and in front of the cameras. the founder of wikileaks sharing a few words with his supporters before starting house arrest in a fancy mansion.

it's tough business he spoke by phone with hamid karzai. bad weather prevented the two from meeting face-to-face. the president awarded five purple hearts and told troops their stories give him inspiration. abc news, washington. >> a top uniformed officers say letting gays serve openly during war time would be difficult. the marine general and army chief general george casey testified before senate armed services committee. both challenged the study saying the risk of doing way with don't ask, don't tell would be low. >> my suspicions are that the law will be repeeled. and that all i'm asking is the opportunity to do that at a time of choosing when my marines are not tightly focused on what they're doing in the very deadly environment. >> he testified changing law would add another level of stress to a stretched force but says policy shifts fwhot prevent the army before fr doing it's job. and the chance of passing this year be considered slim. >> coming up here, the simple way an east bay restaurant stopped would be robber autos and the car

hamid karzai is described as an unstable and erratic president with the inability to grasp the most basic principles of state building. >>> meanwhile, a domain name system provider says it has withdrawn service to the wikileaks.org name saying in a statement that multiple attacks on the site have threatened the stact of its instability of its infrastructure. >>> the army is launching its first investigation into practices at arlington national cemetery after revelations yesterday that eight sets of cream aipted creamated remains were labeled under a single headstone titled unknown. this latest discovery could not have been caused by human error. >>> president obama is pledging american aid to israel as it battles the worst forest fire in the country's history. the disaster has devastated one of israel's few forested areas, killing at least 36 guards who were on their way to rescue prison inmates in the fire zone. >>> and nasa says it has discovered a radically different form of life right here on earth. unlike other organisms, bacteria found in a california lake can thrive on the toxic ch

. >> there's reasons why the white house didn't mention the name of hamid karzai one being that the term in 2014 when we expect to have fully transitioned over to afghan sovereign sovereignty. let me take the objections that the ambassador whom i have much respect he raised and i think there's a lot to be said for it. we have an afghanistan government with a crisis of legitimacy. it's a relative concept and the taliban aren't popular either. i think what we are trying to do in afghanistan is we're trying to transition from a very resource intensive campaign, create time and space for certain key institutions in the afghan state, specifically the security forces and get us down to a much more manageable troop development and i think when we hear the president's goals to defeat al qaeda, we see that we've got a bit of a resource mismatch. >> peter, i hear you say that we're -- the real enemy is the taliban. andrew saying they're merging at some level. can we beat the taliban without getting involved in nation building, the president said today specifically we would not do and how do you me

hamid karzai says it could take a decade before his country is prepared to resume responsibility. nonetheless, they're planning to turn some regions over as early as next year. we sent our correspondent out to evaluate a forces. >> it is bitterly cold. snow fell overnight. a group was soldiers and police officers are getting their orders before heading off for patrol. their job will be to go to territories overseen by the afghan police. we take a ride on the west roundabout. the route has been carefully ?read comment. special troops check to see if it is safe. many of these soldiers have been here for months, troops are anything but routine. the threat of roadside bombs is too great and complacency is of the question. the days when they could patrol on foot are long gone. war is a fact of life. troops have to patrol an arm and physical because the enemy has grown stronger and much more unpredictable. we are at the first station on the patrol route. of the soldiers secure the surrounding just what they learned in turning. locals look on suspiciously. they're not sure whether a mili

his difficult relationship with hamid karzai became an obstacle, and he never forged a close partnership with president obama. married to author and journalist connie martin, holbrooke at the end was on hillary clinton's side on duty at the state department, a larger than life presence who helped reshape foreign policy. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. >> now back to brian williams in new york with the rest of today's news. >> tonight, there is snow, over 39% of the land mass of the continental united states. in some places, the snow dips way down to the south. it snowed briefly in atlanta today where it never got above freezing. 10 degrees in detroit. 7 in chicago. minus 14 in minneapolis, where the temperature is the least of their worries. they don't scare easily in winter in minnesota, in part because they get to watch their vikings indoors. that is until yesterday. this was downright scary. 17 inches of snowfall, just too much for the inflatable roof at the metrodome. the roof gave way. snow on the field. the game was moved to detroit tonight, and that's just part of the story

senator -- hamid karzai to take the british away and put in u.s. forces instead.hey believed that there were not up to the task for securing helmand province for the elections. >> this suggestion the british are not prepared to fight as actively as american. the facts do not bear that out. there was a cohesive pulling together of the american and british at the core of nato, and we should not allow that very fractured position it to be distracted from by the leaking documents which are not helpful, not least the british and american soldier who are slugging their backs guts out. mcneal was said that there had been a lot of action are narcotics but little progress. and he was dismayed by the british effort. they made a mess of things in helmand. anthony phillips and his son was killed in june, 2006, is dismayed by the sentiments revealed in these cables. >> at least we went in there. coulddone the best we with some of the finest infantry in the world. we have taken terrible casualties. and yes, the place is still a hotbed of violence, but i think it always will be.

what was his relationship like with hamid karzai?porter: sometimes rocky, but he was able to accomplish something at least. they were able to communicate. but there were some rocky periods. even some of the people who work with him said that it was tough. he was very demanding. and some of them, only i would say the strong survived in that. he did not suffer fools lightly and he really wanted to push ahead. and dealing with the media, you know, we were on many press planes with him and he would come back and knew everybody by name. he was always interested in talking to the media, getting his message out and he had a force of character. very tall, impressive physically impressive person who had a lot of charisma and influence when he came into a room. >> you know, jill, thank you so much. we may come back to you over the course of this hour. a very, very sad story. we happen to have an interview with richard holbrooke that was conducted by larry king not long ago about his relationship with president karzai of afghanistan. let's take

he was doing to visit with president hamid karzai, but the white house said bad weather prevented the travel. they talked over a secure telephone link. he also spoke with american troops at the american air base and thank them for their service especially during the holiday season and told them they are making important progress against the taliban. >> it is great to be back. i apologize for keeping you guys up late. coming on such short notice. but i want to make sure that i could spend a little time this holiday with the men and women of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. i want to thank general petraeus, not only for the introduction and the t-shirt, but for general petraeus' lifetime of service. this is somebody who has helped change the way that we fight wars and win wars in the 21st century. and i am very grateful that he agreed to take command of our efforts here in afghanistan. he has been an extraordinary warrior on behalf of the american people. thank you, general petraeus. >> president obama at the airbase. we followed the speech from cobble. -- from k

rough weather forced him to cancel a scheduled meeting with afghan president hamid karzai. this was the president's second trip to afghanistan as commander in chief. >> how about a hoowa. >> hoowa. >> how about an air assault? >> air assault. >> anybody out here want to say air power? >> air power. >> and is everybody ready for the main event? >> whew! >> you sure about that? >> yeah! >> here is the deal. a couple of years ago my air assault buddy at the time command major of the 101st airborne division, told me what he looks for in a commander. he listed all the usual qualities you would expect, you know, all the ones. then he added, i also want a commander who is available to our troopers, who is accessible to our troopers and who is approachable. as i thought about it, i realized that in addition to all the qualities we expect in leaders i also look for those specific attributes. and this evening it is my honor to introduce to you a leader who has demonstrated his concern for each of you, who has already been to the hospital to tend purple hearts of some of our wounded w

she has so far called leaders and ministers of ten countries, including chinese foreign minister and hamid karzai. clinton is said to be planning more phone calls on the issue. >> some government officials that have talked to us freely in the past may be more reluctant. we understand that for a period of time this is going to make our day-to-day conduct of diplomacy much more difficult. >> crowley criticized wikiles founder julian assange. he says assange is not a journalist nor a whistleblower, but "a political actor with a political agenda." >>> a new poll suggests the majority of americans view wikileaks as a threat. the private research firm zogby international surveyed more than 2,000 people this week. 77% have responded and said the release of classified u.s. documents by wikileaks compromises their national security. the poll also found that 76% believe the leaks endanger the lives of u.s. soldiers deployed overseas. 52% said the u.s. government should consider wikileaks as a terrorist group. 63% said american media organizations should not publish the documents released by the webs

his difficult relationship with afghan president hamid karzai became an obstacle. married to kati martin, a celebrated human rights advocate he was at the end at hillary clinton's side at duty at the state department. a larger than life presence who helped reshape foreign policy for generations. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. >>> and last night on the "rachel mad dough show" she shed light on why he is being remembered by president obama as a giant of american foreign policy. >> the fact is he took the thankless tasks. no one else would have taken this job but the bottom line was that only by combining afghanistan and pakistan did he think that you could pull all of the strands together and make some sort of a sense out of the policy and do it on a regional basis and there were a lot of bumps in the road. his greatest victory, his triumph which is a lasting one will be the bosnia accords. he single handedly with his brilliant team of chris hill and robert frazier who died -- holbrooke was in that motorcade that went off the road in sarejevo after holbrooke

bad weather prevented a scheduled visit with afghan president hamid karzai. >> the house has resolvedhat representative charles rangel of new york be censured. >> reporter: back in washington new york representative charlie rangel became the 23rd congressman in u.s. history to be censured for misconduct. the ethics investigation lasted more than two years, and rangel supporters argued unsuccessfully for a lesser reprimand. after the vote rangel addressed his colleagues in congress. >> at no time has it ever entered my mind to enrich myself or to do violence to the honesty that's expected of all of us in this house. ♪ baruch ata >> reporter: and the holidays are in full swing at the white house. the president and first lady welcoming 500 guests to the east room for a hanukkah reception. the menorah, on loan from a new orleans synagogue devastated by hurricane katrina. for "teen kids news" julie banderas, fox news channel in the classroom. >>> let's show a little state pride. here's kristen with some interesting facts about our state flags. ♪ >> reporter: in september 1783 american colo

but i would have to add another one, which was hamid karzai bragging about the fact he got bags of cash from the iranians and was an act of patriotism. only in afghanistan. >> the worst gaffes are the ones that show you something about the person that you suspected all along but you -- they had been trying to hide in public. and that's exactly what gordon brown -- gordon brown would lose the election anyway but he tried to show he was a nice guy and clearly he wasn't that nice a guy. the other foot in mouth is not exactly but you have it rice, the ad i am not a witch with the backdrop. if ever you have to declare yourself not a witch -- ch dis:ron't look like one. when we come back, who will get the annual prize, wikileaks guy, sarah palin, glenn beck? and look for incredible voicemail messages. chris: welcome back to our annual awards. the nominee for the hutes pa award, the head of wikileaks said his organization has a duty to get the truth out to the world. our resident sarah palin who's often nervey but set a lot of nerves on edge with this one -- >> how is that healthy change stuff

. >> the president was supposed to meet with afghan president hamid karzai to discuss war strategy. that was scrapped at the last minute because the weather was too rough for mr. obama to make that trip to kabul by helicopter. >>> up next a mysterious pg&e bill. >> all of a sudden it just jumped on its own. >> an energy bill skyrockets and the utility says it has no idea why. >>> not the kind of mind blowing experience he wanted from his new phone. the explosion one man says was caused by his droid. >>> are you trying to catch someone's eye? the simple move that will make you more attractive. >>> okay, well, this is it, hot out off the press, the pinpoint forecast. take a look at the current radar and how it's affecting tahoe. we'll be right back after this. ,,,,,,,,,, [ woman on tv ] if you won't let me in, you can't really love me. i know about gayle. i don't know what you're talking about. if you just tell me what happened... [ ding ] [ man ] 35th and archer. next stop hamilton. [ brakes hiss ] ♪ [ male announcer ] u-verse brings you entertainment across all three screens on your

. >> well, the weather around the country was bad, so the bad phoned afghan president hamid karzai instead of flying to kabul for a personal meeting. obama was likely doing damage control over the liwikileaks dos in which they called karzai indecisive and afghan corruption overwhelming. >>> top military leaders testified today the military's don't ask, don't tell policy should stay in place for now. >> i would not recommend going forward at this time given everything that the army has on its plate. >> reporter: the heads of the marine corps and the army said lifting the policy could be disruptive while the country is at war. they want the obama administration to delay lifting the ban until 2012. but the chiefs of the navy and the coast guard say they're ready for the change now. today's testimony comes one day after defense secretary robert gates urged senators to act quickly to repeal the ban against gays serving openly in the military. >>> still ahead at 5:00, it's a toy not likely to be on the fbi's wish list this holiday season. coming up, the warning about one type of barbie and pedop

he had been there to meet the afghan president hamid karzai but the white house said bad weather prevetchted him from traveling to kabul. the two men did talk over a secure telephone link. mr. obama also spoke to of an troops at bagram air base. he thanked them for their service, particularly during the american holiday season and assured them that they were making important progress against the taliban. >> great to be back. i apologize for keeping you guys up late, coming up such short notice, but i wanted to make sure that i can spend this holiday with the men and women of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known and that's all of you. i want to thank general petraeus not only for the introduction and the t-shirt but for general petraeus' lifetime of service. this is somebody who has helped change the way we fight wars and win wars in the 21st century, and i am very grateful that he agreed to take command of our efforts here in afghanistan. he has been an extraordinary warrior on behalf of the american people. thank you, david petraeus. >> the opposition candidate, an ivory

muted response to criticism against him revealed in the latest wiki leaks cables robert gates met with hamid karzai often visiting several american military bases in the country he also said he's convinced washington strategy in afghanistan is working but our military contributor says america's actions then have little to do with the political reality. despite the polls trini its efforts in mud and treasure the united states has failed to control the situation in afghanistan during the obama surprise visit deliberately he failed to meet with because i will symbolically it says a lot about american all nato control of afghanistan after the nine plus years of american led occupation of that country because of the as commander in chief failed to connect personally we've got as i after this embarrassing week a leak revelations he dispatched robert gates to meet with time you've got his eye so he could conduct damage assessment and to minimize the political collateral damage and damage which resulted from the way to leaks have been files and robert gates has successfully accomplished his mission