president, president karzai. mr. president, does moving up the deadline for the transition to an afghan security role in the spring mean you're winding down u.s. troops faster than you expected this year? and specifically, as possible, how many troops do you expect to leave in afghanistan beyond 2014 for the two missions you outlined and would you consider leaving any troops in afghanistan beyond that kate without an immunity agreement for their actions? and president karzai, you've spoken often about the threat the american presence in afghanistan poses to your nation's sovereignty but i wonder if you're working on an agreement to leave some troops in afghanistan after the 2014 and how many troops you would accept after that time. thank you. >> okay. >> scott, our first task has been to meet the transition plan that we set first in lisbon, then in chicago. and because of the progress that's been made by our troops, because of the progress that's been made in terms of afghan security forces, their capacity to take th

before that, he s prident karzai's ief of staff. and peter tomsen was a career diplomat who served as special envoy on afghanistan during the george h.w. bush administration. he's the author of "the wars of afghanistan." peter tomsen, let's start with you. what jumps out at you. help us decode what was in that meeting, what was most pournt. >> is think what jumped out at me mostly was the acceleration in the transition. which i think is good. that american troops are going to be leaving at a faster clip. and also on the function side, so to speak that the role of american troops in combat as was mentioned in the clip is going to be phased out. also, what president karzai said on elections i thought was excellent because there has been a lot of concern that the election schedule for 2014 might end up like the elections in 200 the when there was a good deal of fraud. as you might recall. then i was very pleased to see the comments on women, the emphasis on gender equality. and also immunity for our troops. president karzai, i thought,

karzai. mr.does moving up the deadline for the transition to an afghan security role lead to the spring that you'll be winding down u.s. troops faster than you expected this year? and specifically as possible, how many troops do you expect to leave in afghanistan beyond 2014 for the two missions you outlined and would you consider leaving any troops in afghanistan beyond that date without an immediate agreement for their actions? and president karzai, you spoke about the threats to your nation's sovereign sy. i wonder if you'll be working on behalf of an agreement to keep some forces in afghanistan after the 2014 date and how many u.s. troops you would accept after that time. thank you. >> okay. scott, our first task has been to meet the transition plan that we set first in lisbon, then in chicago. and because of the progress that has been made by our troops, because of the progress that has been made in terms of afghan security forces, their capacity to take the lead, we are able to meet those g

i think president karzai understands that. i do not want to get ahead of research in terms of the negotiations that are still remaining on the bilateral security agreement, but from my perspective, it will not be possible for us to have any kind of u.s. troop presence post-2014 without assurances that our men and women who are operating there in some way subject to the jurisdiction of another country. >> well, sir, the bilateral security agreement is in mind for the interests of both countries. the issue of the immunity is of very specific importance to the united states we understand, as was for us the issue of sovereignty and the tensions and the continued presence of international forces in afghan villages and the conduct of the war itself. with those issues resolved, as we did today, the rest was done earlier, i can go to the afghan people and argue for immunity for u.s. troops in afghanistan in a way that afghan sovereignty will not be compromised, in a way that afghan law will not be compromised, in a way that the provis

president obama host president karzai at the white house this afternoon on the agenda the war in afghanistan u.s. troops have been in the country since two thousand and one so when will they leave for good a report on that meeting and just ahead. and taking to the streets to hold president obama accountable protesters march here in d.c. trying to push the president into posing guantanamo bay the facility in cuba where the u.s. holds enemy combatants that they claim are on trial we'll take you to the discussion . and farmers versus monsanto a group of farmers are trying to reinstate a class action lawsuit against the biotech giant what they're fighting about and why the issue may affect what's on your dinner table coming up. it's friday january eleventh four pm in washington d.c. . and you're watching r.t. right well it's the moment we've all been waiting for for over a decade just hours ago president obama met with his afghan counterpart to discuss a twenty fourteen drawdown of american troops now in front of the camera both president obama and president karzai have presented a united front

president obama host president karzai at the white house this afternoon on the agenda the war in afghanistan u.s. troops have been in the country says two thousand and one so when will they leave for good report on the meeting just ahead. taking to the streets to protest president obama's and the opening of guantanamo bay protesters march in d.c. are trying to push president obama into closing guantanamo bay the facility in cuba where the u.s. holds enemy combatants they claim are on trial we'll take you to the demonstration and he's been tapped by president obama to be the next person to lead the treasury department besides this terrible handwriting what else do we know about jack lew does some digging into his past will share what info we found coming up. it's friday january eleventh five pm in washington d.c. i'm going lopez and you're watching r.t. all right well at the moment we've all been waiting for for over a decade just hours ago president obama met with his afghan counterpart to discuss a twenty fourteen drawdown of american troops now in front of the camera both president obama a

the real problem in afghanistan is not just karzai, but working for karzai. they are not honest.y're very focused on their personal gain, their pockets. they're just thinking the government will collapse and the next minute and we have to get as much as we can and will be out of the country immediately. host: a lot to chew on there. thank you. guest: first, let me thank him. linguists are worth their weight in gold. in iraq, that was the most presses -- precious asset i have. people like him who believe in their country and have worked to help make their country stronger should be commended for their service. i am struck as we sit here next to the u.s. capitol and the statue of ulysses s. grant just over the horizon, i am reminded of president grant when i think about karzai. grant, a man of the incredible personal integrity, as i would think most would say karzai is. but grant had administration that is very corrupt. -- was very corrupt. i think that is a good example for us to think about. president karzai has not always had the best choice in friends, but he is also conducting

but it depends on president karzai.n of whether american kids born today have some kind of tour of duty in afghanistan in their future is basically in the hands of president hamid karzai right now. and the only person outside the u.s. government who has talked to him at length on this subject any time recently is now our guest. joining us is atia abawi. atia had an exclusive and sitdown interview with president karzai in kabul last month. great to have you i don't here. >> great to be on. thank you, rachel. >> in terms of a potential agreement between the u.s. and afghanistan, for a long-term presence for u.s. troops, what -- from talking to karzai, what matters more to him, the number of americans who are still in the country or the circumstances under which they're there, where they are and under what law they're subject to? >> i think what matters to president karzai most from our interview was the circumstances, really, that he wants the americans there in a training role. and on the outlier, he does want them to fi

the real problem in afghanistan is not just karzai, but working for karzai. they are not honest. they're very focused on their personal gain, their pockets. they're just thinking the next minute and we have to get as much as we can and will be out of the country immediately. host: a lot to chew on there. thank you. guest: first, let me thank him. linguists are worth their weight in gold. in iraq, that was the most precious asset i had. people like him who believe in their country and have worked to help make their country stronger should be commended for their service. i am struck as we sit here next to the u.s. capitol and the statue of ulysses s. grant just of president grant when i think about karzai. grant, a man of the incredible personal integrity, as i would think most would say karzai is. that was very corrupt. i think that is a good example for us to think about. president karzai has not always had the best choice in friends, but he is also conducting a very delicate balancing act among a team of rivals, in many cases, with blood on their hands. host: we should talk abou

and so, i think president karzai understands that. i don't want to get ahead of ourselves in terms of the negotiation that is are still remaining on the bilateral security agreement but i think it's fair to say from my perspective, at least, it will not be possible for us to have any kind of u.s. troop presence post 2014 without assurances that our men and women who are operating there are in some way subject to the jurisdiction of another country. >> well, sir, the bilateral security agreement is in mind for the interests of both countries. we understand that the issue of immunity is of very specific importance for the united states. as was for us the issue of sovereignty and detentions and the continued presence of international forces in afghan villages and the very conduct of the war itself. with those issues resolved, as we did today, part of it, the rest was done earlier, i can go to the afghan people and argue for immunity for u.s. troops in afghanistan in a way that afghan sovereignty will not be compromised, in a way that afg

and so i think president karzai understands that. i don't want to get ahead of ourselves in terms of the negotiations that are still remaining on the bilateral security agreement, but i think it is fair to say from my perspective at least, it will not be possible for us to have any kind of u.s. troop presence post 2014 without assurances that our men and women who are operating there are in some way subject to the jurisdiction of another country. >> well, sir, the bilateral security agreement is in mind for the interests of both countries. we understand that the issue of immunity is of very specific importance for the united states. as was, for us, the issue of sovereignty and detentions and the continued presence of international forces in afghan villages and the very conduct of the war itself. with those issues resolved, as we did today, part of it, the rest was done earlier, i can go to the afghan people and argue for immunity for u.s. troops in afghanistan in a way that afghan sovereignty would not be compromised, in a way that a

can i just start with hamid karzai.we went to the presser, i mean, if there's a more colorful character in international relations, it's not a long list of those who surpass him. s we've imposed corruption on afghanistan in the past, the day after the benghazi attack that took the life of our ambassador and three others, he condemned the abhorrance of the anti-islam film and reportedly a manic depressive admitted to accepting 2 million in cash a year from iran and support pack if there was a conflict between pakistan at united states and now comes out and says, thanks for all the help. thanks to the u.s. military and he supports the president's decision to make us have more of a supporting role now. your take on what we just witnessed? >> well, i think the president was laying the groundwork and said as much to accelerate the departure of american troops and to reduce their role ahead of the schedule than we actually thought. there was an interesting divergence between what the president said and what president hamid ka

it's not invested in a complete collapse of the karzai.ve a deal where pakistan is ahead of the influence and understand that it is divided. or what happens coalition, the government would work in afghanistan. >> bret: next up, friday lightning round. ÷÷ >> bret: there you see the preparation underway. that was a bit ago. as the inauguration is just around the corner. just outside the white house. of course, it will be a big event. with all of the celebrations that surround the second inauguration for president obama. every week, viewers vote for your choice online. and this the friday lightning round. this week, inauguration corporate donations won 4% of the votes. back with the panel. at one point, corporate donations were off-limits for this deal. now they are on. charles? >> off-limits if it's your first inaugural and you have to run again. on limits if it's the second and you don't care. this is with everything that obama is doing domestic and foreign. he no longer has to show the pretense so he can dispense with the niceties. >> br

recognizing that it cannot win and must eventually leave or leave with most of its troops karzai who has functioned as a proxy or as a puppet or a client is very vulnerable to being overrun by the other armed forces not just the taliban but others inside of afghanistan so the american government is sort of caught in a paradox it didn't want to give up afghanistan it wanted to use it as a strategic base but can't win a military victory they have to begin to draw down whether they will leave completely i don't think so talks with the u.s. secretary of state because his talks with the panetta said the war in afghanistan is now in its final chapter. a good news for him because it follows on what you said could it be heaven because its final chapters as well and bearing in mind everything you've just said. well indeed i mean karzai is extremely vulnerable but he is seen within the afghan population as nothing but an extension of the power of the occupiers and the afghan people like all occupied people resent the occupiers and they resent those who are their collaborators so karzai from ti

ahead of those talks karzai on thursday met with leon panetta at the pentagon. the secretary of defense says the military campaign is reaching its final chapter. >> after a long and difficult task, we finally are, i believe, at the last chapter of establishing an afghanistan, a sovereign afghanistan, that can govern and secure itself for the future. >> afghanistan will, with the help that they provide be able to provide security to its people and to protect its borders. >> panetta said he and karzai made good progress but he declined to say whether they had agreed the size of the u.s. force that will remain in afghanistan. >> after a long and difficult path, we are finally, i believe, at the last chapter of establishing in afghanistan, a sovereign afghanistan that can govern and secure itself for the future. >> afghanistan will, with the help that are you providing, be able to provide security to its people and to protect its

i think it's probably going to be hard for president karzai here he came to power he was selected for his position initially in two thousand want to december two thousand and one in part with very serious u.s. backing both political political financial and military he has been assured every step of the way that the united states stood with his government financially politically militarily that we would not allow afghanistan to slide back into a taliban al qaeda launching ground so i think this is going to be difficult to hear but president karzai is not without his resources he has other allies in the region i think the afghan government has tried to build more of a security relationship for example and a political and economic relationship with china with other neighbors with iran with india so karzai is not without without his assets but i think it will be difficult to face the reality that this time around the united states is not going to is not going to stay the course if that is any kind of please both. the. well it's something that karzai has long called for in the united state

karzai saying that's exactly what we need right now, it's the fact that we're in the driver's seat. the devils will be in the details. there will have to be residual force left there if afghan security forces are to have enablers that will let them succeed and it's unclear whether they're in the debate about will they have immunities, et cetera. gwen: it seems one guy was talking about immunity, that is, american troops won't be held responsible for anything they've done in afghanistan and other talking about sovereignty. >> president obama laid down a red line but he wants to use accepting that red line as leverage to get the americans to commit as much money for as long as possible for afghan security forces. >> do you think they stepped up the time line today in the meeting or did the president signal that when he came out and i wonder if you think that the choice of hagel signals something about the president's commitment? think hagel's very interesting. if i had to say what is the obama doctrine? it is end today's wars as quickly as possible, be reticent about getting involved

what how karzai wants to discuss with president obama. and we are approaching the one- year mark of the debt the costa concordia accident we check in on the progress >> this afternoon, president barack obama will lock them afghan president comet karzai to the white house -- will come afghan president hamid karzai to the white house. hallie jackson has more on what is expected out of the meeting from our washington bureau. >> today's face-to-face visit between the two presidents is the first since president obama was reelected and caps a three- day-long visit to the u.s. by the afghan leader. the u.s. is looking to its transition out of afghanistan, figuring out what its role will be over the next two years and how many troops might stay beyond 2014. president karzai hopes to work out the foundation of a security agreement at today's meeting, but it is not expected to be fully fleshed out until november of this year. in washington, i am hallie jackson, wbal-tv 11 news. >> still to come, the nation's latest school shooting victim undergoes

karzai and obama met on friday. troops will move into a support role in the next few months. >> u.s. troops are still in charge of security in many parts of afghanistan. president obama said they are handing over authority to afghan forces in stages. he also said the process would be accelerated and soon u.s. troops would be stepping back from their active roles. >> let me say it as plainly as i can. starting this spring, our troops will have a different mission -- training, advising, assisting afghan forces. it will be an historic moment. >> the u.s. and its nato allies plan to pull all troops out of afghanistan by 2014. the two countries must reach an agreement for immunity for u.s. troops. karzai said that was a delicate question. >> the issue of immunity of -- is of specific importance to the united states. i can go to the afghan people and argue for immunity for u.s. troops in afghanistan. >> obama and karzai said they agreed that talks had to start with the taliban. insurgents must first renounce terrorism. >>

karzai's assertion that the u.s.part of the problem is hardly an incentive for a continuing investment of american blood and treasure. p.j., we still have you with us. let's talk a little bit about the withdrawal. i mean, at this point is there any incentive to stay there any longer than we have to and to not accelerate the timetable for withdrawal given how both sides feel about this? >> it really depends on what you want to accomplish in the future in afghanistan. i essential agree with the premise that the sooner that we can get from the war footing we're currently on to a long-term partnership however that's going to be shaped the better. it's better for afghanistan. it's better for the united states. that's what the leaders will talk about this week. we know that there will be a fundamental change come 2015. it's how do we get from here to there? what's the ramp in terms of the withdrawal of current forces there. now, a lot depends in 2014. john allen wants to keep more there longer, to have one more full fighti

karzai was u.s. soldiers out of this country's villages. afghans have taken over security for nearly 90% of the military. in some areas, they were far from ready. on the agenda this week will be progress in talks with the taliban. insurgents will be sent a warning. if karzai and the kabul regime agree with the presence of a single american soldier, they will also be a responsible for future hostilities, casualties, and destruction. some hoped the meeting will mean troops will pack up and head home sooner. that might help the peace process. >> if international troops withdraw from the country, the jihad against international invaders will be totally or more than 90% over. >> this meeting will influence the number of soldiers president obama is willing to send home and the number president karzai is willing to tolerate. this has changed into a war of counterterrorism. the interest of afghanistan and america will not be easily disentangled. across the country, u.s. bases are disappearing. this week's meeting will help determine the direction t

president obama host president karzai at the white house today on the agenda of the war in afghanistan u.s. troops have been in the country since two thousand and one so when will we leave for good a report on that meeting just ahead. he's been trapped by president obama to be the next person to leave the treasury department sizes terrible handwriting what else do we know about jack lew our t. does some digging into his past we'll show you the info that we dug up. in farmers versus months on so a group of farmers are trying to reinstate a class action lawsuit against the biotech giant what they are fighting about and why the issue may affect what's on your dinner table coming up. it's friday january eleventh five eight pm in washington d.c. hi meghan lopez and you're watching our t.v. well it's the moment we've all been waiting for over a decade for earlier today president obama met with his afghan counterpart to discuss a twenty fourteen drawdown of american troops now in front of the camera both president obama and president karzai have presented a united front and say they agree on

ahead of those talks karzai on thursday met with leon panetta at the pentagon. the secretary of defense says the military campaign is reaching its final chapter. >> after a long and difficult task, we finally are, i believe, at the last chapter of establishing an afghanistan, a sovereign afghanistan, that can govern and secure itself for the future. >> afghanistan will, with the help that they provide be able to provide security to its people and to protect its borders. >> panetta said he and karzai made good progress but he declined to say whether they had agreed the size of the u.s. force that will remain in afghanistan. >> after a long and difficult path, we are finally, i believe, at the last chapter of establishing in afghanistan, a sovereign afghanistan that can govern and secure itself for the future. >> afghanistan will, with the help that are you providing, be able to provide security to its people and to protect its borders. >> panetta said and he karzai good progress but declined to say if they agreed on the size of u.s. forces that will remain in afg

and karzai talk troop levels in to a responsible end. so, we all set?'ve got two tickets to paradise! pack your bags, we'll leave tonight. uhh, it's next month, actually... eddie continues singing: to tickets to... and karzai talk troop levels in to a responsible end. whoooa whooaa whooo! you know ronny, folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to geico sure are happy. and how happy are they jimmy? happier than eddie money running a travel agency. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. >>> just a short time ago at the white house, the president and afghan president hamid karzai appeared at a joint news conference. both leaders announced that u.s. troops will handover total control of security to the afghan forces sometime during the spring which represents a slight acceleration from the time table. but it was at the end of the news conference that perhaps the most important question was asked. after 11 years, almost half a trillion dollars spent and perhaps 20,000 afghan civilians and more than 3,200 u.s. tr

but in the end, it's not about karzai and it's not about politics. it's about the fact that al qaeda wants to kill us. and we have to remain there with some troops because of distance. i agree with celeste, if we could be offshore and do it, fine. but the distance is so huge it makes sense to keep a small number of troops there who are aggressive and offensive. >> finally to you both, it's been raised or speculated this could be just a negotiating employ, tactic on the part of the administration to get president karzai and his government to give that immunity. how do both of you see that question? celeste ward gventer. >> i certainly hope they're taking it veersly. as i said earlier, i think it would be irresponsible not to take it seriously. toes a real option and we should be exploring it. if it helps to put pressure on hamid karzai and other afghan officials as well as regional powers to let them know that we could be gone and they need to fix this problem and fix the problem in their region, then great. >> bing west, do you think it could be what

for his kind about how would karzai there was gratitude looking forward to taking care of the country themselves the two have been meeting in washington this hour to thresh it was perceived to be the final stage before american combat troops leave and only a support contingent remains as cohort said at this news conference that's happening as i speak it phyllis bennis is on the launch director of the new internationalism project institute for policy studies on the line from the u.s. capitol i for listening to you both president said that ensuring the security of the country will fully lie in the hands of the afghan forces starting this spring to really think cobbles ready for. you know i think it's quite clear that afghanistan is going to remain a very unstable and dangerous place for its people for a long time to come the u.s. years of occupation as happened during the soviet occupation have thoroughly destabilize the country there is a great deal of violence it's going to be a very very difficult time but that's going to be true with the u.s. troops pulled out tomorrow or if they pu

. >>> afghan president hamid karzai is in the middle of his visit to the u.s. he met with secretary of state hillary clinton thursday. they talked about handing off security responsibility to afghan forces by the end of 2014 as well as preparations for elections next year. at one point secretary clinton joked to karzai about defense secretary panetta's plans to retire to his walnut farm in california. >> secretary pan net, in addition is at last with walnuts. >> clinton and panetta had a private dinner with karzai. and karzai meets with president obama later today. >>> there's new information about last year's secret service scandal involving prostitutes in colombia. according to an investigation by nbc news two u.s. drug enforcement agents facilitated a sexual encounter between a prostitute and a secret service agent just days before president obama's visit to cartagena in april. the findings reveal the agents tried to destroy incriminating information that led to the incident. the case has been referred to the dea. >>> louisiana governor bobby jindal has decl

president karzai arrived in washington today. mapping out afghanistan's future after foreign combat troops have left. their meeting will determine the primary mission, to fight the taliban or to get rid of al qaeda. president karzai wants soldiers. his forces lead emissions across the country. they are still not ready. for many years to come, these soldiers in afghanistan generally will rely on america's support. >> for more on those meetings taking place, i spoke with peter bergen. what is the main sticking point in these meetings between what the white house wants and what president karzai wants? >> it is the question of immunity for american forces. the u.s. does not want its soldiers being prosecuted by an afghan accords for obvious reasons. this is a big sticking point. >> karzai would like that? >> yes. that is very much what he would like. and then there is the numbers. the obama administration [inaudible] the final number will be 8000 to 10,000. >> the white house did not rule out the possibility that there will be no u.s

but it seemed there was progress between president obama and president karzai. one of the big issues for what the post 2014 forces will look like is giving them immunity in afghan courts. that's an issue that prevented them from staying in iraq. that was the sticking point. because he got the concessions on detentions and u.s. troops leaving afghan villages he could support the idea of u.s. immunity and he would take it to the people. it's not a done deal but that was a positive step forward for the white house. host: jeremy herb talking to us about afghan president visit to washington, d.c. this week. thank you for being on the washington journal. >> tomorrow we'll discuss president obama's nominee for defense secretary chuck hagel. our guest are steve clemens followed by a look at emerging marths in developing countries. we'll discuss his book break out nations. washington journal, live at 7:00 eastern on c-span. >> if you ask how many themselves identify as lib tarnse. depending on which poll you look at you might get 10 to 15%. if you give people a battery o

but in the end, it's not about karzai and it's not about politics. it's about the fact that al qaeda wants to kill us. and we have to remain there with some troops because of distance. i agree with celeste if we could be offshore and do it fine. but the distance is so huge it makes sense to keep a small number of troops there who are aggressive and offensive. >> finally to you both it's been raised or speculated this could be just a negotiating employ, tactic on the part of the administration to get president karzai and his government to give that immunity. how do both of you see that question? celeste ward gventer. >> i certainly hope they're taking it veersly. as i said earlier, i think it would be irresponsible not to take it seriously. toes a real option and we should be exploring it. if it helps to put pressure on hamid karzai and other afghan officials as well as regional powers to let them know that we could be gone and they need to fix this problem and fix the problem in their region, then great. >> bing west, do you think it could be what sh

president karzai has emphasized the strains that u.s. troop presences in afghan villages for example have created. well, that's not going to be a strain that exists if there is a follow-up operation, because that will not be our responsibility, that will be a responsibility of the afghan national security forces, to maintain peace and order and stability in afghan villages. in afghan territory. so i think you know, although obviously we're still two years away, i can say with assurance that this is a very different mission. and a very different task and a very different footsprint for the u.s. if we are able to come to an appropriate agreement. and with respect to pakistan and safe havens there, afghanistan and pakistan and the united states all have an interest in reducing the threat of extremism, some of these border region against afghanistan and pakistan. that's going to require more than simply military actions. that's really going to require political and diplomatic work between afghanistan and pakistan. and the united states obvio

we're waiting for afghan president hamid karzai appearing here in georgetown. earlier we just showed some of the reporting from the press conference, president obama and the afghan president says they want to sleed up the moving afghan forces into the lead and u.s. troops shifting to a support role. there are 66,000 u.s. troops in afghanistan. the leaders also said that president obama agreed to place detainees under the afghan government. again, waiting for afghan president hamid karzai. georgetown university is also where the u.s. women's council is located. again, waiting here at georgetown university, we're live tonight waiting for hamid karzai. he met with president obama and they spoke at a press conference earlier today. we're going to bring you that press conference again tonight you can watch it here at 8:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. the two leaders have agreed to speed up slightly the move afghan forces into the lead in that country. the u.s. troops shifting to a support role, currently 66,000 troop u.s. troops in afghanistan. we're going to bring

big news today, by the way, is going to be afghanistan, karzai. and in celebration of "the daily rundown" 's third birthday, take a look at how far we have come this past year. caucus day. a special edition of "the daily rundown" from the polk county convention center in iowa. coming to you from manchester. live from the campus of winthrop university. from orlando, florida. coming to you live from the university of south florida right here in tampa. outside the supreme court today. traveling with the president here at the g-20. good morning from new york. from tampa, florida. from charlotte on the first official day of the democratic convention. we're here just outside the education nation summit at the new york public library. good morning from littleton, colorado, just outside of denver in the all-important denver suburbs, the swingiest part of this state. from the university of denver, a beautiful campus here. in kentucky, abraham lincoln behind me. here in myanmar. this is "the daily rundown" , i'm chuck todd. woo. ♪ living with moderate to se

obama and afghan president hamid karzai. as talks continue about the us mission in afghanistan after 2014. president karzai also met today with defense secretary leon panetta and secretary of state hillary clinton. as is about 40 minutes -- this is about 40 minutes. >> it is my pleasure to welcome president karzai back to the white house as well as his delegation. we last saw each other during the nato summit in chicago, a city that reflects the friendship between our peoples, including many afghan-americans and the karzai family. mr. president, welcome. we meet at a critical moment. the 33,000 additional forces i ordered to afghanistan have served with honor, they have completed their mission, and returned home this past fall. the transition is well underway, and soon nearly 90% of afghans will live in areas where afghan forces are in the lead for their own security. this year will mark another milestone. afghan forces will take the lead for security across the entire country, and by the end of next year, 2014, the transiti