. >>> leon pennetta tells leader to crush militants attacking the troops. he says iran is arming the militants and that needs to stop. u.s. forces are now increasing. the number of american forces in iraq is going down with the plan to with draw by the end of the year. >>> 46 people are confirmed dead and dozens missing after a russian cruise ship sank. the ship, "the bulgaria" was not licensed and had too many passengers onboard. and many have been pulled from the water. the ship was built in 1955. >>> military aid to pakistan is now on hold. the u.s. says pakistan needs to do more to get rid of al qaeda within its borders. >> the pakistani relationship is difficult, but it must be made to work over time. until we get through these difficulties, we will hold back some of the money that the american taxpayers have committed to give to them. >>> a funeral service for firefighter shannon stone. he fell over a rail at at baseball game last week while trying to catch a ball. he died at a hospital a short time later. texas ranger fans paid tribute to stone on su

leon pennetta meets with obama as the new secretary of defense. the agenda? robert? >> certainly, secretary pennetta has to focus on producing $400 billion of defense cuts while maintaining u.s. military strength and troop morale. and then we're lucky to have him in this position. uniquely qualified. >> how do we keep america safe while facing the budget constraints and not engaging in a strategy by taking a knife to the pentagon to satisfy the constraints. that's the number one issue. >> it's going to be afghanistan, afghanistan, that should be the focus. but to echo bob, he has 4$400 million in cuts to face from the get go, and donald rumsfeld says that will be too deep for the troops. >> and then andrew cuomo could replace biden on the 2012 ticket. does the vp choice matter? >> yeah, a lot. it matters where obama wants to take the country, and it matters who the person is. if the person is unqualified, that would be scary to have that person take a president's place. i would like to see a different president as well. >> robert? >> kyra, this to

. >>> tough words from iran from the new secretary of defense, leon pennetta. he says iran is supplying republicans to extremists in iraq that are killing u.s. troops as they prepare to leave the country. pennetta says they will not walk away from the challenge and is urging iraq to crack down on the insurgents. >>> in texas, funeral services were held today for a man that fell to his death at a texas rangers baseball came. 39-year-old shannon stone will be buried in his hometown. he fell 20 feet while trying to catch a ball for his 6-year-old son that was with him at the game. the outfielder, josh hamilton, tossed a ball into the stands. he reached for the ball but lost his balance and crashed head-first into a scoreboard. the rangers have donated an undisclosed sum of money to help the family. >>> and betty ford will be buried alongside her husband. she died of natural causes on friday. she was 93. tomorrow she will be remembered in the desert region that she and her rehab made famous for treating hollywood stars for alcohol and other addictions. ford reveale

with the years of drone strikes, and we also, by the way, heard the former director of the cia, leon pennettamilar thing at his confirmation hearing. the thing we have to be caution of is it's a little dangerous, the minute you say that you encourage affiliates like al qaeda and the iranian pennsylvania to attempt a big attack to prove you wrong. i do think they are severely weakened. i think it's true they are on the brink of collapse, but it's early to say that, though. >> does it mean there is less of a terrorists threats to americans? >> well, they are no less determined. they do seem less capable of being able to pull off a successful attack, and that has to do with intelligence and drones, and the whole tool kit of things we use to defeat them. >> fran, where are the heavy hitters, the al qaeda leaders? where do we have to be concerned about most? >> no question most people now have heard of al locky, and as long as there is chaos in saudi arabia, and we believe that the somali al qaeda affiliates are working with those in yemen, and that poses a threat. as we drawdown in afghanistan, w

. >> in light of what we have heard from leon pennetta saying c al qaeda has been significantly downgradedey wage an attack in the upcoming anniversary? >> i think al qaeda would have liked to have a huge attack, but not just on the anniversary. if they could have done it they would have done it. the u.s. has hugely degraded al qaeda's capability, and when he talk bz we're at a moment when we have strategic success, you want to take out the leadership. so they don't seem to have the capability of super large-scale 9/11 type of attacks, but it doesn't mean they don't remain a serious threat and attempt to attack us here in the homeland. >>> running a big city, it's next. it fits you so perfectly... it fits you. you wake up and you're revived and rejuvenated. it's just like wow! tempur-pedic the most highly recommended bed in america. tempur-pedic is rated #1 in comfort. sleep satisfaction. and back support. it fits the curvature of your body but you don't sink in and it is firm. proprietary tempur material suppresses motion transfer. this means that when you get in or out of bed, you won't