i want to ask president hamid karzai, as well.peaking farsi] thank you. >> i know you will translate that for us. [laughter] he is very good. [laughter] president hamid karzai and i have in the past met with the pakistani president. t, as well as their teams and emphasized to pakistan but fact that our security is intertwined. i think there has been, in the past, a view on the part of pakistan that their primary rival, india, was their only concern. i think what you have seen over the last several months is a growing recognition that they have a cancer in their midst, that the extremist organizations that have been allowed to congregate and use as a base the frontier areas to then go into afghanistan, that that now threatens pakistan's sovereignty. our goal is to break down some of the old suspicions and the old bad habits and continue to work with the pakistani government to see their interest in a stable afghanistan which is free from foreign meddling and that afghanistan, pakistan, the united states, and the international commu

and karzai. it's about two governments trying to work together on a problem, and i think significantly, it was strongly emphasized today, they're trying to look past july 2011. they're trying to say this is a long-term partnership that transcends these two individuals that transcends any individual and is a long-term partnership that's important for our security and for their security. >> ifill: there are still fundamental differences on things like includingth taliban in the rebuilding of afghanistan or the relationships with iran. how do you past 2011. how do you get past those kinds of potholes? >> i think the key issue has established trust which did not exist, or at least diminished, given some of the interactions, statements, that karzai's perception that the obama administration worked against them. >> ifill: the vice president was tough on them. the national security council was tough on them. >> i'm proposing that's what he believes happened. and president obama did not spend a lot of ti

i'm not going to get into the president's perspective on that. >> how does walid karzai, president karzai's younger brother fed within any metrics of evaluating movement away from corruption and? >> i would say there's a whole host of things in which we are working with a team is working with president karzai and throughout levels of government of afghanistan to make progress. >> so it fits into that evaluation? >> i'm not going to get into specifics. >> we were briefed a while ago about the likelihood of a kandahar operation sometime in june. is that deadline for that date slipping any because of the lack of afghan willingness to participate? >> not that i have heard. i would say this. the way a lot of this was described and we talked about it in the meeting last week, was you are not-- this was not going to be something-- i'm trying to phrase this the right way. you are not going to see something that you might think of as a traditional military exercise. this is going to take some time. there won't be, as was mentioned in the meeting, there won't be some d-day like moment. >> no frontal

the trip to arlington capped off karzai's four-day visit to washington. mcchrystal has been a key participant, including at meetings aimed at patching up strained relations between the two countries. mcchrystal, who has a background in special operations, took over command of u.s. and nato forces in afghanistan less than a year ago. since then, he and karzai have said they share a good working relationship. mcchrystal has put restrictions on when u.s. forces can fire at suspected militants, in an effort to reduce civilian casualties. and he's presided over a big military expansion in afghanistan, which will reach a peak of 98,000 u.s. forces by the end of the summer. the president's current plan is to begin bringing troops home in july 2011. a test of mcchrystal's counterinsurgency strategy took place in the town of marjah in february. the next offensive is already in its beginning stages. in june, mcchrystal will lead a military and political effort to secure kandahar province. i sat down with general stanley mcchrystal at the pentagon this afternoon. ge

president karzai said he was concerned, as well.ave been encouraged by the way the pakistani government and military, in this past year, been much more willing to go after the terrorists who are all in threatening -- or not only threatening outsiders but threatening them. we think there is more that has to be done. we do fear the consequences of a successful attack that can be traced back to pakistan. we value and more content -- comprehensive relationship. we expect more and the investigation is going well between our two investigative bodies. there is a lot of effort being undertaken on the pakistani side to provide information to our teams over here. we believe strongly that there is more pakistan must do to face what is now common enemy. the attacks by the extremists inside pakistan are no longer able to cross their borders. they are aimed at destroying and killing people in mosques, in markets, in every walk of society. this is a matter of great concern to the american people and to our government but we think that the concern

karzai? >> i think it's... it's very difficult to find one. >> warner: the men had once been allies. abdullah fought with the northern alliance against the taliban until it fell in 2001. he served as karzai's foreign minister until 2006. but by 2009, the men were campaign rivals. after a rocky few months, karzai was welcomed at the white house last week, as the u.s., with nearly 100,000 troops committed, prepares to take on the taliban's hub, kandahar. abdullah is here this week, touting his new opposition alliance, planning to field candidates in parliamentary elections this fall. i spoke with him yesterday at his washington hotel. dr. abdullah, welcome. thank you for joining us. >> and thank you. >> warner: it's been more than a year since president obama started reinvesting u.s. resources in afghanistan, militarily and otherwise. how is the effort going? >> it's a mixed picture. perhaps the right strategy is in place as far as the u.s. administration is concerned, but because of the shortcomings of the partn

karzai has written.e will get your views on the work ahead for both afghanistan and the united states. you can also send us messages via twitter and e-mail. we will show you those addresses in a few minutes. this is the of bed this morning. "the hard work ahead in afghanistan." president karzai writes that in any genuine partnership, this has not been an easy ride. karzai goes on to say that the many sacrifices of both afghans and americans have led to tremendous achievements. we will continue with the discussion if you would like to take a look at that either online or in hard pocopy if you have "the washington post." we first went to chicken with jonathan martin at politico. he is the senior reporter there and here to talk to us today above yesterday's loss of the republican party convention in utah for senate bennett's, an incumbent. the delegates voted 3 to one against his candidacy. the numbers were overwhelming, but did this come as much of a surprise to anyone in the room last night? guest: it doe

president karzai has had some reservations about that. it's important that there be a clear in the standing of what is willimportanen. president karzai talked about reconciliation and having meetings with broad spectrumarzi including perhaps representatives from taliban. t i know the u.s. government has reservations about that important for them to have a candid exchange and have a common understanding of how to approach the issue of reconciliation and reintegratio. of fighters so there are tough decisions. both of the countries have to make and it is important that they be made together with a good understanding of the positions of each and as much at possible with a coordinated beproach. >> host: what would the even speech about the national security as far as not only whad happened here in the united states but also the connection a of pakistan especially waziristan and that country?nitd >> guest: we've been worried about the tribal areas of pakistan. it is a witch's brew of al qaeda pakistan, taliban, afghan tel dan and the other grou

president karzai has had some reservations about that. it's important there be a clear understanding of what's going to happen. president karzai talked about reconciliation and having meetings with a broad spectrum including perhaps representatives from taliban. u.s. government has some reservations about that it is important for them to have candid exchange and have a common understanding how to approach the issue of reconciliation and reintegration of fighters. so there's, there are tough decisions both of these countries have to make and it is important that they be made together with good understanding of positions of each and much as possible with a coordinated approach. >> host: what did the events with faisal shahzad teach us about national security but not only what happened in the united states but what happened in pakistan with the waziristan section of that country? >> guest: we've been worried about the tribal areas of pakistan. it is a witch's brew of al qaeda, of pakistan taliban, and afghan taliban and other groups and it i

president karzai agrees. he agrees that we have to deal with the extremists, that are disrupting life in afghanistan and our strategic approach has been entirely consistent. obviously, there are going to be tensions in such a complicated, difficult environment. in a situation in which on the ground, both afghans and americans are making enormous sacrifices. we have had very frank discussions and president karzai agrees with me that we cannot win three military strategy alone. we have to make sure that we have effective governance, capacity-building, economic development, in order for us to succeed. i think that what we discussed this morning is a recognition on both sides that this transformation is not going to happen overnight. a country that has come out of 30 years of war and dire poverty is not going to suddenly change across the board. our job is to be a good friend and to the franc with president karzai and saying here is where we think we have to put more effort. president karzai's job is to represent

>> first, let me echo what president karzai said. from our side, this was a highly successful visit and the substantive discussions that we had i think took our relationship to an even higher level, which will serve as a very good starting point for the efforts to rewrite and refurbish the strategic partnership declaration that we hope to conclude by the end of this year. and that will be a statement of our commitment, our commitment between our two countries, not just our governments but our people. and it will specifically set forth the areas of cooperation and focus. we had a great visit in large part because we had excellent cooperation and coordination in preparation for the visit. i want to compliment president karzai and his team, some of whom are sitting here in the audience, who have done an excellent job. those who have met any of the ministers and representatives of the government have uniformly come away impressed. i don't want to embarrass them but i heard from many of my colleagues in government and my former colleagues

this week we've had president karzai and much of his cabinet here in washington. i certainly appreciate the effort president karzai made to show his respect for those who have fallen in afghanistan in the war there. and i also would note that general mcchrystal was here briefing many of us. i think the presiding officer had an opportunity as well to hear from general mcchrystal on the state of the situation in afghanistan. this isn't going to be easy, but i'm heartened by what i heard. in particular, i want to express my appreciation for the valor, the commitment and the honor that our forces in afghanistan have displayed. with that, mr. president, let me move to asking for unanimous consent that the pending amendment be set aside. and i would like to call up amendment 4016. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from colorado, mr. udall, for himself and others, proposes an amendment numbered 4016 to amendment number 3739. mr. udall: mr. president, i'd ask unanimous consent that the r

president karzai had reservations about it. and president karzai has talked about reconciliation and having meetings with broad spectrum perhaps with representatives from taliban. i know that the u.s. government has reservations about that. it's important to have a common exchange and how to approach the reconciliation. there are tough decisions that both countrys have to make, and be made with a good understanding and coordinated approach. host: what do do the events of what happened here in the united states and the connection to pakistan? guest: we have been worried about the tribal areas of pakistan. it's a witch's brew of al-qaeda and afghan taliban and other groups. and it's a source of threat to obviously pakistan and across the border to afghanistan. and also as we have seen potentially to the united states as well. and i think in a way the administration has been lucky. because with this time square attempt and the christmas bombing attempt going into the airport in detroit, we had two wake-up calls. two terrorist effo

karzai is a peshtoon. the taliban, also, are peshtoon. so in many ways this is a fight between two tribal groups. the peshtoons livelive under a tribal code and tribal úyñhierarchy. one of the tests has been how to move this tribal hierarchy into a modern state structure. because the old kings of afghanistan are ruled by basically buying off the tribes. doing favors for one tribe, buying another one, whatever. and obviously you can't do this in a modern state structure. you want education, economy, and all the rest of it. this has been one of the challenges. >> let me read some of the decree. "if women are going outside with -- going outside with fashionable, ornamental, tight and charming clothes to show themselves, they will be cursed by the slamic sharia and should never expect to go to heaven." >> well, this is the taliban in the 1990's when they were ruling the country. >> do they still expect this of women? >> there have been suggestions, but let me tell you, during this war, they have burned down hundreds of girls schools and boys'

just a very problematic situation. >> do you think we can depend on karzai, the u.s. can? >> i don't think karzai is capable of delivering what the united states wants from him even if he wanted to because of the problems with corruption. his own procedure is part of the problem. he is one of the regional leaders that the united states would like to get to be more responsible in. karzai is not in a position to push his brother out and he is not in a position to be able to unite this country. and if you look at the history of afghanistan and howards have ended there in the -- and how wars have ended there in the past. >> thanks for coming? >> thanks for having me. >> shannon: new developments with bp and the oil spill. the latest after this break. and down to the fire in several key states. we will take allong a look at r long-term incumbent senators could be out. and explosions along a highways in oregon but don't raise any in oregon but don't raise any red flags. we'll tell you why, coming up next. than tylenol 8 hour. so why am i still thinking about this? how are you? g

karzai talked at an event to institute peace. this is a little more than an hour. >> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. i am executive vice president here at the united states institute of peace. and it is with enormous pleasure that we welcome, president karzai, and secretary clinton for a discussion. in addition, we have a full room down the hall in the academy, and we have a global audience watching line online. we hope to take questions following this event, this discussion and now i am happy to turn the podium over to ambassador richard solomon, president of usip. >> good afternoon, and many thanks for joining us. madam secretary, thanks for coming to our humble abode. we are so jammed in here and i think we need more space, and we are working on that. and president karzai, we are honored to have you join us at the institute of peace. we have our board chamber, and other members, ambassador holebrook and ambassador ikenberry, and senator john warren, and congresswoman jane harmon, and accompanying president karzai, we hav

clinton came to bless the inauguration of afghan president hamid karzai, even though karzai was seenny to have stolen the election through vote fraud. you're going to leave here now and go see president karzai. how frank are you going to be? what are you going to tell him? >> clinton: we will have a very frank conversation, because i think it is in everyone's interest to make sure there are no misunderstanding, no misconceptions, about what we hope to see and what we expect from his second term. >> pelley: the obama administration has calculated that karzai is the best option among bad alternatives. getting american troops out will depend on pragmatism and compromise, exactly the skills of a politician like clinton. she played both good cop and bad cop, demanding reform behind closed doors. >> please get out, please. >> pelley: then saying what she had to in public. >> clinton: president karzai has won re-election. it was a legitimate election outcome. >> pelley: you just made a point of using the word, "legitimate." >> clinton: and i very much mean it. and now, it's up to him to dem

karzai, and for what it is worth my reaction was just the opposite.if i had been present when he threatened to go to the taliban, my response would have been don't let the screen door hit you in the rear end for what it's worth. having said that, ms. flournoy, reading a book by a russian infantry officer called the bear went over the mountain. it's mostly about tactics. but what is disturbing about it seems to be the same and bush in the same places going over about a tenth or 12th year period and the talk about training the afghan army and training of and afghan police and we know for years after they left the government they set up was gone. now i appreciate the general. he got to be a general by being a can-do guy. i'm going to make the best of my search mission and i'm going to make it work and i appreciate you going to work in the department of defense. but what realistically makes you think the outcome is going to be different this time? >> what makes me think the outcome will be different is the fundamental objective of the mission and focus of

host: does that mean not supporting karzai in certain regions? guest: now that we are there, we have to see it through. i think we have to support the political process. i think we are there and i think we have to support this process through. going forward, we have to rethink this out and this whole notion of nation building and i think we need a more sophisticated view of this. going forward, i think we have to say, do we think nation building should be used as a principle to in achieving our foreign policy objectives? my answer is no. i helped iraq with their elections and the establishment of local governments in 2005 and 2006. i walked away with an understanding that i did not feel it was the right way to go. host: do you think mr. karzai is a legitimate head of government? guest: i think that he is. hindsight is always 20/20. the question and i believe in that great historical hindsight of 20/20, what should the united states have done? after the northern alliance chased the taliban out, we should have used our leverage to say, you're in ch

a settlement between karzai and the government and the taliban. how that will shape out depends on the americans. at the moment, obama has said that he will not support talks with the taliban leadership, although karzai is doing that. what i think is vital now is that the americans agreed to talk to the taliban leadership. and we really now work in the next 18 months for a serious political settlement, which includes not just the taliban and karzai, it also includes the whole region. pakistan is involved in this war. pakistan has six neighbors. they are all involved in this war. they have proxies. they all want a piece of the. -- they all want a piece of the pie even more. zwr what do you understand our mission to be there? why are we there? >> i think the mission has changed a great deal. i mean, if you look initially it was there to take revenge on the attacks on new york and washington and to get rid of the taliban and al qaeda. except the leadership of thank taliban and al qaeda all escaped. you didn't commit troops even during the war in 2001

there is as well president karzai's brother. and some of his activities. which bring concern to those watching the situation. and, then, there is also general mcchrystal's comments, this week, that, if anything, it is a toss-up, at this stage, the progress we expect to see at the end of the summer particularly as we look toward kandahar, how do you put that into context then with the optimism that these meetings seem to portray and reality of the situation we are fighting a very tough fight, and, we need president karzai to be the most supportive. >> i think we have to keep in mind what our strategic objective in afghanistan is and that is making sure it doesn't, once again, become a base for international terrorism, as it was before 9/11. and, whatever happens in afghanistan doesn't contribute to instability in pakistan in the fall of that country and its nuclear weapons to taliban or other extremist groups. you know, it would be a lot better in afghanistan, if there weren't corruption, if you could have free and fair elections, and so on. but, we're not

karzai's government has proven itself to be irresponsible and infective in a way that jeopardizes his country's future and the safety of american troops. karzai has lashed out at the united states, even threatening at one point to join the taliban and our own ambassador to afghanistan has publicly questioned his reliability as a strategic partner. while we have no choice but to have a dialogue with president karzai, it is critical that our approach to this relationship involve at least as many sticks as carrots. we owe the american people some assurance that we are not letting the afghan government misuse our tax dollars with impunity. mr. speaker, the center for american progress has a new report that discusses the crisis of governance in afghanistan. the government, it says, operates on a highly centralized patronnage mod until which power -- and resources are challenged and channeled to karzai's personal and political allies. the system lacks the connection, the rules and the checks and balances necessary to make leaders truly accountable to the domestic population. one of our alli

president karzai, every single casualty effects people. it affects leaders but more importantly, it affects families, children, spouses. so each one of them is sacred and we all know that. the force is strong. the force believes in the cause. the force understands that what we're doing is important, but casualties are something that i hope the american people will keep in their minds and their hearts, not just the killed, but we also went to walter reed this week and we up and visited wounded and life-changing wounds also affect individual families as well. before we came over, president karzai and i also went to the medical facility where we visited afghan forces, police, civilians and coalition casualties as well. so it's important we keep all of that, casualties, our casualties, our afghan partners, our coalition partners and americans and then, of course, afghan civilians. they all matter. but i think everybody is committed to the task. let me go toward the back. sir. >> yes. the u.s. government has been investigating possible links be

i went down to see president karzai a few weeks ago for a first a series. in which leaders from not just the city itself but the district around were brought in in a very candid series of meetings over two days. they gave him their feedback. that's one the processes. there are a number of other things that the government of afghanistan is doing to try to shape the power of the governor, the effectiveness of the mayor, capability of the police and we're partnering with them on that, as well as being partnered with security operations which will happen inside the city and in the areas around it. >> the institute for the study of war just came out with a report saying the kandahar strike force and other private militias in and around should be disbanded. do you agree with that? and if not, what is the role of these militias in the upcoming mission or operation if you want to call it? >> i think over time that all armed groups in afghanistan should be under the government. the control of the government of afghanistan. both to protect their sovereignty and refle

karzai, and for what it's worth my reaction was just the opposite. and if i had been president when he decides go to the taliban, my response would've been don't let the screen door hit you in the rear end, for what it is worth. ms. flournoy, i'm reading a book called the bear went over the mountain. it's supposed to be about tactics. but what is disturbing about is, it seems to me the same ambushes in the same places, going over about a 10 or 12 year period, and they talk about training up an afghan army, they talk about training up a national pleased that the window for years after they left the public government they set up was gone. now, i appreciate the general. he got to be a joke by being a can-do guy. i appreciate you going to work in the department of defense. but what realistically makes you think the outcome is going to be any different this time? >> what makes me think the outcome will be different is the fundamental objective of the mission and focus of the mission is different. institutions built under hostile occupation don't have -- t

clinton assured karzai the u.s. will remain committed to afghanistan long after u.s. troops withdraw. and karzai alluded to the tense relationship between the two countries of late, but insisted u.s. support is essential. >> we'll be having disagreements on issues from time to time but that is a sign of a mature relationship and a sign of a steady relationship. the steady and mature relationship is definitely going to give us the objectives in pursuit of which we have joined hands to bring security to afghanistan and by extension to the united states and the rest of the world. >> sreenivasan: in afghanistan today, a bombing in the south killed two u.s. service members. thousands of u.s., nato, and afghan forces have poured into the area in recent months to fight the taliban. across the border in pakistan, at least 24 militants were killed in suspected u.s. drone attacks. pakistani security officials said the raids targeted a major al-qaeda and taliban stronghold in north waziristan. it is the fourth strike in the region since a failed attack on new york city's times s

karzai meets with president obama on wednesday. the u.s.essure on the government of pakistan to crack down on the taliban there. this, after last week's failed bombing in new york's times square. u.s. attorney general eric holder said on sunday the suspected bomber received training from the taliban in pakistan. and secretary of state hillary clinton warned pakistan would face "severe consequences" if a successful attack in the u.s. was ever traced to pakistan. hope dimmed in russia as rescue crews searched for 58 people trapped under the country's largest coal mine. a pair of explosions rocked the mine in western siberia this weekend, killing 32 people. the cause of the first blast was believed to be from a buildup of methane gas. many of the dead were rescue workers who entered the mine after the first explosion. but later a second, more powerful blast destroyed the main air shaft and a five-story building on top of the mine. a mass grave of victims from the war in kosovo has been discovered in serbia. the burial site contains the bodies

president karzai. >> thank you, mr. president. i and very grateful for the kind hospitality that you and your team offered during this visit to the u.s. as always, you have been gracious and kind and very hospitable. we began our visit the day before yesterday with an informal dinner with secretary clinton and secretary gates and yesterday at the state department, we had an extremely fruitful meeting of the groups of afghan ministries and their counterparts outlining the progress we have made the past several years and our aspirations for the future and our objectives toward the future as we travel along. mr. president, i yesterday had the honor of visiting walter reed hospital where i visited with the wounded from afghanistan and from iraq. it was a very difficult moment for me, mr. president, to meet with a young man, very young man, who had lost to arms and legs. it was heart rendering and there were other wounded just like i had seen in afghanistan. this shows the commitment that the u.s. has to bring security to afghanistan a

karzai? guest: in the beginning, aside from all the qualifications, i knew that he believed in democracy. that was the main criteria. when i realized he does not have that commitment, talking about democracy in afghanistan, the realization that after many years of strife, this is the way forward, the only solution for the countr when i realized his commitment to democracy was a very little or none, i did not support him, from 2004 and onward. host: who have you been meeting with in washington? guest: these meetings were scheduled long before. in the with the senate leadership and congressional leadership, members of the congress and senate. at the same time, public meetings, speaking events, think tanks, foundations. these are the main meetings that were scribbled. host: i just wanted to point out something in the "new york times." "polical component" they write about the presidential election. and they compare the reception that the president got, compared to do. guest: i have had many frien

karzai, and for what it is worth my reaction was just the opposite.if i had been present when he threatened to go to the taliban, my response would have been don't let the screen door hit you in the rear end for what it's worth. having said that, ms. flournoy, reading a book by a russian infantry officer called the bear went over the mountain. it's mostly about tactics. but what is disturbing about it seems to be the same and bush in the same places going over about a tenth or 12th year period and the talk about training the afghan army and training of and afghan police and we know for years after they left the government they set up was gone. now i appreciate the general. he got to be a general by being a can-do guy. i'm going to make the best of my search mission and i'm going to make it work and i appreciate you going to work in the department of defense. but what realistically makes you think the outcome is going to be different this time? >> what makes me think the outcome will be different is the fundamental objective of the mission and focus of

. >> on behalf of the united states institute of peace, i would like to thank president karzai and secretary of state clinton for being with us today, and would ask if everyone would remain in their seats while the president and the secretary depart. if members of the afghan delegation who are traveling in the motorcade would also please depart so that we can have an orderly transition. thank you. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> in his weekly address, president obama urges the senate to pass the financial regulations bill, which he says will create consumer financial protections and prevent unnecessary risk taking by banks. he's followed by congressman chris lee of new york with the republican address. he warns about the threat of government debt to the economy and job creation and offers his party's initiatives to reduce federal spending. >> on thursday, i paid a visit to a small business in buffalo, new york, a town that's been hard hit in recent decades. i heard from folks about the struggles th

karzai? guest: in the beginning, aside from all the qualifications, i knew that he believed in democracy. that was the main criteria. when i realized he does not have that commitment, talking about democracy in afghanistan, the realization that after many years of strife, this is the way forward, the only solution for the country. when i realized his commitment to democracy was a very little or none, i did not support him, from 2004 and onward. host: who have you been meeting with in washington? guest: these meetings were scheduled long before. in the with the senate leadership and congressional leadership, members of the congress and senate. at the same time, public meetings, speaking events, think tanks, foundations. these are the main meetings that were scribbled. host: i just wanted to point out something in the "new york times." "political component" they write about the presidential election. and they compare the reception that the president got, compared to do. guest: i have had many f

earlier in week, afghan president hamid karzai visited arlington national cemetery where many of our american warriors killed in his country are laid to rest. mike emanuel looks at the human toll of the afghan war. >> reporter: at articling top national cemetery, afghan president hamid karzai paid respects to fallen american troops. karzai and other v.i.p.s walked section 60, what is frequently called "the saddest acre in america." where troops killed in afghanistan, and other conflicts are laid to rest. the afghan leaders spent extra time at the graves of two of the almost 1,000 american troops who died in his country. 28-year-old lance corporal timothy pull jr. was killed alongside two other marines january 24 in a bomb blast. his father says his son wanted to be a marine since he was four years old, and told his father if he died, it would be serving his country and doing what he wanted to do. but for his family, the pain endures. >> you don't know what it's like to stand on the dover air force base and wait for your son to fly home and watch them offload your son to the plane, kn

i want to focus what you said on karzai. you emphasized that he has a constitutional function. as you know, there have been serious allegations of corruption and that he has too much power in relation to his position in the provincial council. and i just want to focus -- is your strategy to somehow dilute his power and make sure the governor has more power and tribal elders? is that true in essence your strategy here? >> the a complex strategy and it hugely depends on the expression i've used a lot which goes with connecting the population with government. and what is happening at the moment is that governor wiessa is conducting a good deal of shura with local residents and the population and out in the rural areas to connect to them. what he's seeking to do is build representative governance from the bottom up, through his district governors, through the mayor in the city and through the district's -- subdistrict leaders in the city. and by engaging with the population he will draw strength from that relationship and that will give him authority that when it's matched to the a

president karzai had reservations about it. and president karzai has talked about reconciliation and having meetings with broad spectrum perhaps with representatives from taliban. i know that the u.s. government has reservations about that. it's important to have a common exchange and how to approach the reconciliation. there are tough decisions tt both countrys have to make, and be made with a good understanding and coordinated approach. host: what do do the events of what happened here in the united states and the connection to pakistan? guest: we have been worried about the tribal areas of pakistan. it's a witch's brew of al-qaeda and afghan taliban and other groups. and it's a source of threat to obviously pakistan an across the border to afghanistan. and also as we have seen potentially to the united states as well. and i think in a way the administration has been lucky. because with this time square attempt and the christmas bombing attempt going int the airport in detroit, we had two wake-up calls. two terrorist efforts

trust karzai. do not think he is that great of a guy. we have young men and women dying over there for comment karzai -- hamid karzai. it does not sit well for me. if we were to pull out of there, people say it would cause chaos, but i do not think so. if we pulled out, how long would it take for a terrorist attempt? when there be one in the u.s. the next day or the day after? it seems pointless. we have been there longer than in iraq, spending all of this money. i do not think it is worth it, especially when you have karzai running around talking about joining the taliban. he is not mentally stable. we should not have men and women dying for him. host: anyone who does not know why we are in afghanistan -- afghanistan should what "charlie wilson's war" for a little background. are you still with us? caller: this is my first time calling in. i am republican. i do not understand why we're over there in afghanistan. they have been fighting for many, many years. we are over there trying to stop them fr

and then i return in 2002, which was the beginning of the karzai government. there was a process involved where he was assuming the leadership of the country. then in future years i did an embed and then followed up when the country started to kind of devolve into the violence we're seeing now. and then most recently, and this isn't in the book, i cover the election in august. >> where did you stay when you were there? >> initially we stayed in a house that was rented by the newspaper chain. and then after that i began staying in a hotel. >> what was it like? >> well, it used to be a place where you could exchange money. and then the hotel owner recognized that with all the journalists he could make it more money. and in the winter there was glass. there was no central heating and nothing glass between you and a sleeping bed. you had all sorts of people from lost souls who were just drawn to war to whatever their reasons to journalists to people who work in an aid organizations. >> when did you get a book contract? >> that said after -- i'll have to remember t

they knew that president , karzai was a crook in criminal. then they tried to expose him. obama has to do big things. i doubt he can succeed. if he pulls this off, he would be houdini. the problem we have is, who broke america and got all of the money and then we owe china how much money? host: projects ago, florida, republican line. will doing big things cost president obama? what do you say? caller: thanks for taking my call. i think it will really cost the democrats. they are dropping like flies now. obama ran a campaign saying he would come in on the economy like a laser beam and get it turned around. it is getting worse. he has done nothing but talk and blamed bush. i wish we could go back to those days and have 4.8 unemployment. one person lost their job after 26 years with the school system. her job is being cut along with 80 more this week. it is getting worse out here. these acorn keep calling in saying he is doing a good job. what has obama done good? the country is going broke. we are going in debt. people are losing their jobs. and they are saying he is doing a

i talked to president karzai atlanta about this. he has given me his guidance. we are -- talk to president karzai at length about this. he has given me his guidance. we are involved in a more inclusive process. they participate over time and continue to shape it. that is what we are really looking for. >> two questions. is it true that you are contemplating a special honor for soldiers to avoid civilian casualties, and how important your strategy is the redeployment of british troops? >> there is no planned deployment of british forces to kandahar. the issue of courage, we have a number of ways to recognize courage. i think courage in uniform can come under enemy fire in the most traditional ways, or it can come under actions that may not be as expected or as a traditional. it may involve protecting civilians. there is a great photographs from an operation of a u.s. marine shielding and afghan man and an afghan child with his own body. he was not shooting anyone. he did not kill any taliban. but i would argue that he showed as much courage as any that i have see

we have also seen some positive steps taken by the karzai government at the national level. for instance, president karzai recently issued internal guidance for for the executioner for integration programs. he will issue a final guidance after the peace jirga later this month and we expect to support the authority by releasing funds authorized by this committee and the congress in the fy10. president karzai and members of his cabinet as you know will be visiting washington next week and will highlight the continuing support among afghans for our involvement there. and the afghan appreciation for the sacrifices being made by u.s. troops and civilians. during president karzai's visit we also expect to discuss the nature of long-term strategic partnerships between the u.s. and afghanistan including longer-term economic development, security cooperation and cooperation in areas such as law enforcement, judicial reform and educational programs. as you know, our military operations in helmand continue and we are also engaged in planning and shaping efforts for future efforts in ka

concerned as many seem to be in britain that the surge is not delivering fast enough and president karzai in particular is hardly delivering at all? >> the first question, the answer is no. i have absolutely no concern whatsoever. we do not formally have a coalition government in the way that you have formed one in the u.k. now, but we have enough of our own internal differences that we have to sort through. i see nothing at all unusual about this new government, and from our perspective is a strong start and certainly on the foreign-policy front, which i followed very closely, we are extremely pleased. and this meeting and discussion has confirmed our close partnership and commitment to working together. and afghanistan is one of those areas. i would beg to differ with the premise of the question. i think that the actions that are coalition forces, the nato- isaf forces are undertaking are proving to be affected. we conducted our own very thorough review with president obama when he took office. in the course of the review, we made three conclusions. number one, what happened in afghanis

i talked to president karzai. karzai is not a reliable ally. allegations of corruption, dealing in narcotics pretty does not have the competence of the people of afghanistan -- dealing in narcotics. he does not have the confidence of the people of tennesse andof. we ought to be working on rapprochement between india and pakistan. we could use pakistani troops to fight the taliban. at a congressional delegation, i saw the prime minister of india -- prime minister's singh. -- prime minister singh. i urge him to relieve them of those troops. they're conducting a more aggressive approach. that is better than building our troops up in afghanistan. >> that is your time. was that the right decision, congressman? >> i supported president obama in what was a very difficult decision for him. it was a tough one. i supported it because -- not because of afghanistan, but because of the safe haven in the pakistan that several hundred al-qaeda leaders have. as secretary gates said, the troop increase is meant to fuel the border. as a partner with them to exte

karzai's u.s. trip was intended in large part to help ease strains after months of pressure from the obama administration to tackle corruption. back to our discussion regarding president obama's speech in the rose garden about the oil spill in the gulf, else the system failed and failed badly. spring valley, illinois, michael on our line for independents. what do you say? caller: good morning. i'd like to say i'm ballot foot lakotah. i belong to greenpeace, green party. many years we've been watching what we do to this planet, what we do to our society, and i think that's the key word, society. it's what we are. we're 5% of the world's population. we're using 20% of its energy, creating 40% of its physical garbage. this is just a microcosm of what's wrong with us. we're all guilty for this, because we allow b.p., exxon to do what they want with no decent government regulation, and that's our fault. in a democracy, we're the bosses, we the people. and if the government doesn't do its job, that means