in the soh the desert, kandahar, u h americ troops also, me bri and canadians.xtra troops nt in. they pusdown mostl in the south, which is the tiban strongho. so what happenedba tthe ta militants who were dn there? ey moved to other plas. particularly the west and the north. and south, medtheythe rther into the south. they dispersed into the west and the north whe italis and geans had been. and the italian and german troops had been doin very, very litt. there are many, many reports about germans andtalians not leaving their base,oting pro active,ot having the same mission. they were there as pepighting aa cotensurge so the talibwas able to outspread io many other parts of the countryan in some ces in new recruitsç a they got bolder and they got bolder an they got bder. so n you'ren auation where you have t taban moved out traditional are of suprt into some these nato areasç and doinguite well. and they've got a taste for it and they've gotten better. eight years have. >> rose: and ty' got better equipment. >> the equipmente.'s fin >> re: whe it coming from? >

in the south the desert, kandahar, you had american troops also, some brits and canadians.00ç extra troops went in. they pushed down mostly into the south, which is the taliban stronghold. so what happened to the taliban militants who were down there? they moved to other places. particularly the west and the north. the americans were in the east and the south, they moved further into the south. they dispersed into the west and the north where italians and germans had been. and the italian and german troops had been doing very, very little. there are many, many reports about germans and italians not leaving their bases, not being pro active, not having the same mission. they were there as peacekeepers not as fighting a war or a counterinsurgency. so the taliban was able to spread out into many other parts of the country and in some cases gain new recruitsç and they got bolder and they got bolder and they got bolder. so now you're in a situation where you have the taliban moved out of their traditional areas of support into some of these nato areasç and doing quite we. and

air force. >> from kandahar we flew here way out west near the iran border.orrow we'll introduce you to the 615th contingency response wing known as the 911 of the u.s. air force. shep? shepard: casey stegall reporting earlier afghanistan. there are some disturbing studies released today that indicate autism in children is more common than anyone previously thought. according to the u.s. government about 1 in 100 children have some type of autistic disorder. that's the higher than previous that suggested 1 in 150 kids has autism. the studies found the odds of getting autistic diagnosis is four times higher boys than girls it may be due to greater awareness of the disease. broader desks of autism and spotting the disorder in younger children. doctors report some major signs of autism include difficulty interacting and communicating with others as well as repetitive behaviors. his mother says he -- she dropped him off at a movie theater in oregon last week and she hasn't seen him since. police found the teenager half way across the country after he managed to g

so mine cansravel around in big vehicl and the killer are i.e.d.s, we're talking abt kandahar, helmandrn afghanisn. they never see the taliban. i was with a unit recently, three soldiers wer killed in theç th-period, the las 24 hours i was with tm, we didn't hear a shot we dn't see anybodynd you just have soldiers walking in eac other's footsteps to try and avd these i.e.d. the east, vy differentç terrain it's mountains, e hindu kush. so in der to protecthis area you ha these tin little lily pad like tposts mnedy sometimes as few as soldiers. i've seep one tinylittle advanc outpost that had four soldiersn them. i won't say where it is because i n't want to put anyon at risk. but they are manning a few tiny bases. and here you haveambush attacks you ve to taliban or other fighters. there's the hick canny network, that a strg group inthe area. hikani. and what happened this latest attack is 200 some have said even morthan200 fightersç massednd then basically overran e base. >> ros and they had no option for reinforcement oranything el. >> this was not the first ti that a ltle outpost

around kandahar, around hellmont and perhaps some of the areas in the east critical around other places. and reversed the process by which the enemy has taken control of these areas. is it enough to win? i don't know, but it's certainly enough to change the direction of the fight. >> well, what about the argument that in fact, the taliban really isn't the united states enemy. the united states enemy, the people who attacked us at 9/11 were al-qaeda. and we can go after al-qaeda in the border areas in afghanistan and pakistan with a counterterrorism strategy. that is, go back to our bases, use search and destroy mission froms those bases and go after al-qaeda and the taliban really isn't our fight. it's the afghan's fight, but it's not our fight. what is wrong with that argument? >> first, i think we must be clearer of that if fact, al-qaeda recognizes the taliban is the legitimate government of afghanistan and that the taliban and the network, the major group that we're fighting in eastern afghanistan have had longstanding ties to al-qaeda and in particular, to osama bin laden. and in f

even smaller towns in kandahar and other places that we might not consider very large but we probably still consider remote, they're still gonna protect those areas but there have to be places they can protect a decent size afghan population and successful with fights with taliban in these places are virtually impossible because they're so rugged and mountainnous. connor pall reporting live. thank you, connor. >> now to the developing story we're following out of iran where a report today is saying that tehran has exactly what it takes to design and produce a workable nuclear bomb. reaction to that report coming in as the head of the iaea, that's the atop mick energy agency that goes and evaluates the site there in iran, they say that they see tehran shifting gears from confrontation to cooperation. james rosen has the latest developments for us from washington. james, i guess i just find it interesting that whether the question of dialogue can actually work. this is such an optimistic viewpoint from muhammad abbarad a. he's the head in the agency, jamie, and he has been less confront

chris cuomo, who has been in afghanistan all week, visited one of the southern bases near kand kandahar, to see the stroot ji at work. >> good morning, robin. a line in the sand literally. the region it is protecting against is called the heart of darkness. that's how serious the situation is. but the military is frying something different here, working with local communities, involving them in the fight for peace. and the new way they're trying may make all the difference. an oasis in the middle of the afghan desert. this meeting looks like a page out of a history book. but it could be the future of peace keeping in afghanistan. a tribal chief in south afghanistan, sits with members of the coalition command, presenting a written demand from the taliban. written on taliban stationary. threatening women and children, if a military checkpoint isn't removed. normally, bringing up such a request might end the conversation. but not tonight, thanks in part to a new line of communication, fostered in part by a group called the human terrain team. they're civilian volunteers. experts in negotia

they are probably going to try to pull out of nuristan and concentrate on kandahar but easier to protect the civilian population. >> conner powell, thank you very much. >> gregg: waterlogged, getting more and more rain. national weather service, saying a storm could bring areas up to four inches of water putting metro atlanta under a flood watch. more on the details? >> we have more concern for more flash flooding and three weekends in a row that the system has been pounded with heavy rain. i don't expect the atlanta to get four inches. isolated areas will get that but one to two inches by tomorrow. all the soaking rain. on its way toward nashville and birmingham. very slow going tonight along i-20. in to shreveport we picked up two and a half inches. you see pretty widespread and more rain in georgia and atlanta and down the coast of louisiana. you can see flood watches will be in effect across central and northwest parts of georgia. there is going to be cooler air building in but monday we still have more scattered showers with all this tropical moisture. it's what was because what was