and what mcchrystal is asking for is not just the numbers. matter, he has said don't focus on the number of troops. focus on strategy. focus on the whole host of things that you've got look at in order to succeed. so i think that the president's decision is one, which he's making with great care and proper care. and it's going to be based on american security. and so it can't be answered in the kind of way in which you've asked. >> well, let's flip the question around and have you suggest what the president needs to do to sell this. >> lay out what the mission is, the purpose is, the relationship to american security is, and to be part of a larger nato announced initiative. so that it's not just america. it's america is part of a larger nato coalition, which is going to be supportive of success in afghanistan but because it's important that we do succeed in afghanistan. we can't succeed, i believe, without appear significant number of additional combat forces through the other initiatives that i've talked about. and that's what the president

the headline is that mr. -- general mcchrystal testified on the afghan war.s that on monday night, the president will be meeting in the situation room to talk about how to deal with the policy of afghanistan. several democrats are dealing with the possibility of a surtax on the wealthiest americans to help pay for our way forward. in this story, michael schear and scott wilson are pointing out the time line of when an announcement could come if it were moved to be on december 7, the anniversary of the attack on pearl harbor. they ride an announcement that they would require another political calculation. also later that week, the president will be traveling to oslo in order to accept the nobel peace prize. with that, let's get to phone calls. good morning, where are you phoning from? caller: from the san francisco area. a a host: go ahead, please. caller: i would like to say that with respect [unintelligible] i would hate to see in addition to people who are already wealthy. i'd be interested in seeing a $1 surcharge on everybody who travels by plane. i think

that had mcchrystal's job for months.disagreement, by the way, surprises some. >> having two generals on the ground. general karl eikenberry and then mcchrystal on the ground feuding with each other in public like this and it's nearly unprecedented. we talk about a team of rivals. we never imagined it would be the two generals. >> the president's decision about troop levels, it has a lot to do, i would imagine with the afghan government. is there not concern about the leadership there? why is that? >> without the cooperation, no amount of additional troops can help that is what is said. and president obama publicly suggested that afghan president, karzai, do more to crack down on corruption and the huge illegal drug trade that helps to fund terrorists activity. but some say he is skeptical that karzai will follow-through on his promises and the white house is considering shifting money from the national government to local afghan leaders that cooperate with u.s. objectives. >>> now over to jen westhoven. >> we are talking

on one side, general stanley mcchrystal wants 40,000 more troops.r side, carl iken barery, the retired general who had mcchrystal's job before, he says that if you keep sending more troops, this is only going to make afghanistan more reliant on the u.s. still waiting on a decision from the president. in the meantime that doesn't mean our viewers don't have their oughts on this. true enough. we're not privy to all the classified information. but this is their country. they have thoughts on this. we want to know, how do you define winning in afghanistan? do you think there is such a thing as winning in afghanistan? actually, i started this discussion last night on my facebook page. we got such an overwhelming response bb, we decided to make this the topic of the day. e-mail us at cnn.com/hln. call us now at 1-877-tell-hln or text us at hln tv or jump into discussion on facebook. search richelle carey hln. think about this. we don't want knee jerk reactions. we don't want you to spout out what your favorite pundit says about this. this is too serious.

i do feel sorry -- it is sorrya mcchrystal strategy. it was asked that he imlement an obama strategy. after a strategic review, he said that this is what we must do. he then turned to general mcchrystal to get@@@@@@@@@ x$@ >> he said afghanistan was a war of necessity. this is not a policy that is easily reversed. this is not a new discovery. mmit is not have the kind of ]ávcredibility that presidents d to have. how do you get the president out of the box and put himself in? >> do you want to answer this? [laughter] >> you mean like an entirely different point of view? [laughter] entirely different point of view? we're not showing enough imagination. it is easy to say that we should maintain the current levels. the question was, he is facing conflicting advice. his problem is that he is gotten too much of the same advice from military. they'll think that current levels are trajectory toward defeat. if you maintain current levels, we talk about the ft. we're not showing enough imagination about that. the consequence is not negligible. a

from "the washington post" this morning, "general mcchrystal and u.s. ambassador to testify on afghanistan war. a top u.s. general an ambassador in afghanistan is prepared to testify before congress as early as next week, according to the white house and other u.s. officials, giving an indication of how and when the president plans to announce his war strategy." of course, we will be covering those hearings as they happen on capitol hill, probably wednesday or thursday of next week how to pay for all of this, also with health care and the collision between the domestic agenda and foreign policy and military operations, that is the question this morning. bill is joining us from arkansas. good morning, bill, an independent line. caller: good morning, i get to be the first color today. host: you sure do. caller: i want to implore all these tea party people that the only way to fix this government is to contact your local representative and work your way up, demanding a constitutional convention. that is the only way to fix this government. host: okay -- ca

mcchrystal needs more troops. the government's not responsive.it. and the other element is, of course, pakistan has to do more because we can't succeed in afghanistan alone. it's not isolated. all that is part of the review. >> larry: tom, every public poll says a majority of americans want us out. how do you respond to that? >> well, the support for the war can ebb and blow based on the case that's our leaders make for it. one draw back of the long and protracted review is we haven't had the president and senior congressional leaders making the case to the american people for why we need to send more troops to afghanistan, what they're going to accomplish and how we can win. i think once that case is made, once the president explains that we have a victory strategy, not an exit strategy, the polls will begin to turn around and the center of gravity in the war which is really not the fight against al qaeda terrorists or fight against the taliban but maintaining american public support for a great fighting man will begin it turn around the majorit

general stanley mcchrystal is asking for 40,000 additional troops. gates says the president is looking for the best way to signal resolve and to make it clear to the afghan leadership that the u.s. commitment is not open ended. the u.s. ambassador to afghanistan retired general karl eikenberry is expressing doubts on troop increase and says the afghans don't have the ability to join the fight against the taliban. richelle carey back with your views dealing with all of these issues about afghanistan, right? >> i think some people were jolted last night when the news broke the president wasn't feeling any of these options and people think what does he want? what option would make him happy? then we thought what do people think winning is? sure that's where his mind is. he's trying to figure out what's the best option to get an exit strategy which you hope exit strategy also means winning or doesn't necessarily mean winning. we put this question to viewers. how do you define winning in afghanistan? we started getting answers last night. a lot of answers

mcchrystal set a pretty high bar for what he considers to be accurate resources. 40,000 troops or more? there is an understanding that that is not necessarily going to happen. if it does, it will not happen fast. officers are making do it and finding ways to make do with their troops. a lot of senior guys embraces the idea of the population centric counterinsurgency where your goal is to protect the entire afghan population, and you sort of excise whatever extremist elements managed to -- you need a lot of troops to do that. what is emerging is the type of hybrid strategy were you protect major population centers. and you bend hearts and minds with indirect means. >> the last time you were in afghanistan was when? >> 2007. >> how have things changed? >> there is no major progress to report. the challenges i saw in 2007 or the challenges i saw in 2009. there are slightly more u.s. and coalition troops in afghanistan, but not so many that it has made a massive difference. it might make a difference in certain localities where there have been -- broadly speaking, it is still a huge countr

he then turned to general mcchrystal to get advice. he said that afghanistan was a war of necessity. this is not something that the president of the united states can easily do in reverse himself and saying that -- and say that karzai is corrupt. he was corrupt months ago. this is not new. how do we get the president out of the box that he put himself in? >> bob, do what to say something about this? >> union and entirely different point of view? -- you mean an entirely different point of view? we're not showing enough imagination. it is easy to say that we should maintain the current levels. the question was, he is facing conflicting advice. his problem is that he is gotten too much of the same advice from military. they'll think that current levels are trajectory toward defeat. if you maintain current levels, we talk about the ft. we're not showing enough imagination about that. the consequence is not negligible. almost everywhere we've never fought -- we've ever gought, -- fought, the consequences are still the same. who knows what h

we know general stanley mcchrystal has asked for 40,000 troops. the u.s. ambassador to afghanistan, retired general ike iken eikenberry will only make it more relying on the united states. let president obama know that right before yesterday's war council meeting. >> having two generals on the ground, the ambassador and general mcchrystal is commander on the ground openly just feuding with each other in public like this is unprecedented. we used to talk about a team of rivals. we never imagined this. >> general eikenberry was the top for 18 months going back to 2006 and 2007. >> okay. so what are the key sticking points for president obama? is the ability of the afghan government -- how much cooperation is he getting from president hamid karzai? >> not as much as he would like. president obama has suggested karzai do more to crack down on corruption and the illegal drug trade that funds terrorist activity there. but senior administration officials say it's skeptical karzai will follow through on his promises. now if he does not, "the new york times" report

on the night we arrived, she and died an ambassador eikenberry and general mcchrystal, had dinner at the palace. it was a very cordial meeting, substantially different in tone during the election. the election was behind us. l>÷he brought with him his senir ministers in key areas and the first part of the evening was devoted to very detailed discussions with the minister of agriculture, the minister of finance, the minister of education, and the chief of intelligence, the minister of the interior was supposed to be here but he was out in the city make sure that there would be no attacks during the ceremonies the next day. we missed him. the conversation was detailed and engaged. those of you who knew hillary clinton as a senator, may or may not know this, but she had been all over the agriculture issue as a senatorial she had worked with the state university of new york, i think it was stoneybrook but i am not positive, to get a tree-planting program. she followed it very closely. she was fascinated to hear details which normally do not interest all of you but interested her greatly

is he going to testify or do we seek testimony from mcchrystal, petraeus perhaps? what is the deal there? >> as i assume all of you knew, who watched the president when he was asked this question and i did not hear him offer any specific date for when he would announce a decision about the way in afghanistan other than it would be after thanksgiving. so i'm not going to offer any more clarity than the commander-in-chief has in terms of timing. as for what would follow an announcement by the president, i think that the congress is obviously been patiently waiting throughout these deliberations, and i think the secretary and others are fully prepared to go up to the hill in the aftermath of an announcement by the president, and explained the decision to our elected representatives. and as you've heard from the secretary or you say, i think was october the fifth, when he appeared with secretary clinton on cnn broadcast from george washington university, he said at the time the minute the president makes his decisions we will get general mcchrystal back here as quickly

general stanley mcchrystal has told the u.s.nt the mission will fail unless he sends and additional 40,000 troops to afghanistan. sources say the president plan toss s to add more troops but probably not what he is directing. >>> ben nelson of nebraska says he will oppose any bill that provides federal money for abortions. house speaker nancy pelosi added restrictions on abortion funding in the house version to get it passed. democratic senators barbara boxer calls that radical and says it's unfair to women and prevents government coverage -- abortion coverage, rather, in a government run plan and in private plans they accept people paying with government subsidies. senate democrats will need nelson's votes and several other anti-abortion democrats to pass health care reform. >> i absolutely agree. >> so, this is your views question. should the government restrict insurance coverage of abortions as part of health care reform? all right. casey gave us a comment. check it out. >> i think a public one is need but agree with state f

general mcchrystal has been asking for two months now or longer. in is not in place. we look like fools sitting in the white house, people are watching the white house, showing how good the security is. we do not even have security in the united states. foreign policy is that a zero. these men need to be protected. we may not want to have war, but this has never been declared a war. my ex-husband was a silver star in the marine corps. my fiancee was a captain in the navy. we are allowing this country to look like fools. it has got to stop. military men are trying their best, they need to be protected, we need more troops, and every time there is a news report saying that we are going to make a decision, he is taking too long to make this decision. host: we will have to leave it there. thank you, diane. front page of "the washington post" talks about what is leading up to the speech. "9000 marines beginning final preparations to deploy in southern afghanistan. the marines will be followed by 1000 u.s. army trainers to train the afghan army and police force. the new for

he then turned to general mcchrystal to get advice. he said that afghanistan was a war of necessity. this is not something that the president of the united states can easily do in reverse himself and saying that -- and say that karzai is corrupt. he was corrupt months ago. this is not new. how do we get the president out of the box that he put himself in? >> bob, do what to say something about this? >> union and entirely different point of view? -- you mean an entirely different point of view? we're not showing enough imagination. it is easy to say that we should maintain the current levels. the question was, he is facing conflicting advice. his problem is that he is gotten too much of the same advice from military. they'll think that current levels are trajectory toward defeat. if you maintain current levels, we talk about the ft. we're not showing enough imagination about that. the consequence is not negligible. almost everywhere we've never fought -- we've ever gought, -- fought, the consequences are still the same. who knows what h

and presumably general mcchrystal to make that recommendation. >> we have two more minutes. not an easy one to answer. i'm not presuming that we won in iraq. but we are on a path to successful conclusion there. can we win in afghanistan the same way that we can win in iraq. >> i do think that we can win in afghanistan. because what we are facing is an insurgency. and it is the challenge no doubt. because we have to make sure that the population feels safe and secure. and ensure as we did in iraq that the government can function well. that it provides to its people the key services of governance, security, for one justice for another. and i think that that's something that we've known that we can do. it takes time, it takes patience, it take the the enormous skillset of the american officers and soldiers who are serving. and ultimately, of course, it takes just enough luck to make everything work out in the timely fashion. >> host: well, kim,

captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> eight weeks ago, army general stanley mcchrystal requested an additional 40,000 troops be sent to afghanistan. the white house says the president has now made a decision on afghanistan strategy and will announce it on tuesday night. you'll be able to watch it live on the c-span networks and our website, c-span.org, with a simulcast on c-span radio. president obama's speech from west point begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern time. >> "american i cons," three original documentaries from c-span, now available on d.v.d. a unique journey through the iconic homes of the three branches of american government. see the exquisite detail of the supreme court through the eyes of the justices. go beyond the velvet ropes of public tours into those rarely seen spaces of the white house, america's most famous home. and explore the history, art, and architecture of the capitol, one of america's most symbolic structures. "american icons," a three-disc d.v.d. september it's $24.95 plus shipping and handling. order online at c-span.org/store. .

general mcchrystal said that airpower might contain the seeds of our destruction. it is -- it is worse to risk killing civilians in an inherent bombing. >> is there any correlation between forces on the ground and the operators of the drones? >> the drones, you can think of them as manned aircraft. the man is actually sitting on the ground. he is still talking to the ground troops and air controllers. they use a chat program that looks like instant messenger to do a lot of communication with their customer -- the guys receiving the support from the drones. they are fairly precise as far as these things go. they don't carry large weapons or fire a lot of them. it is a far cry from being -- dropping a 2,000 pound bomb on a suspected taliban position. >> what operations go on there? >> it is the most sophisticated medical facility in afghanistan. it is an air force hospital that does everything from plastic everythingto trauma, emergency room care. >> they can carry -- and take care of a lot of issues right there? >> they could handle most things, but the idea is when

she and i and ambassador and general mcchrystal had dinner with president karzai at the palace. it was very warm, very cordial meeting. the election was behind us. and he brought with him his senior ministers in the key areas, and the first part of the evening was devoted to very detailed discussions to the minister of agriculture, the minister of finance, and the minister of education, and the chief of intelligence. it was the interior that was supposed to be there. he was out in the city. but he was making sure that there would be no attacks during the ceremonies the next day. so we missed him. the conversation was detailed and engaged. those of you who know hillary clinton may or may not know this, but she has been agricultural section in the senate. she had worked with new york, i think, but i'm not positive, to get a bring tree planting program. she followed it very closely. she was fascinating to hear details that formally don't interest all of you. about 12 tons of apples that were air lifted. that was a very big story in the afghan press that opened up a new opportunity

dollars would general mcchrystal be in town?that general mcchrystal will be in afghanistan tomorrow. i believe that in the coming days, i do not know exactly when, he and ambassador i can very will travel to the hill -- ambassador i eikenberry will travel to the hill. i do not know when. >> one of the missions is to train the afghan security forces and police to fight. you did not mention al qaeda in that statement. i assume that there is a connection. can i ask what the connection is, and does the president still believe -- let me ask you this way, how does the president these days to assess the threat posed to the united states by whatever remains of al qaeda? >> i don't think you have to dig deep into news clips to see, and you certainly don't have to into the president's daily intelligence briefing, that the threat of from al qaeda exists in very real ways, not just emanating the border region of pakistan and afghanistan, but throughout the world. the reason that al qaeda was in afghanistan was because al qaeda had the safe-

he then turned to general mcchrystal to get advice. he said that afghanistan was a war of necessity. this is not something that the president of the united states can easily do in reverse himself and saying that -- and say that karzai is corrupt. he was corrupt months ago. this is not new. how do we get the president out of the box that he put himself in? >> bob, do what to say something about this? >> union and entirely different point of view? -- you mean an entirely different point of view? we're not showing enough imagination. it is easy to say that we should maintain the current levels. the question was, he is facing conflicting advice. his problem is that he is gotten too much of the same advice from military. they'll think that current levels are trajectory toward defeat. if you maintain current levels, we talk about the ft. we're not showing enough imagination about that. the consequence is not negligible. almost everywhere we've never fought -- we've ever gought, -- fought, the consequences are still the same. who knows what h

general mcchrystal said that air power might contain the seeds of our own destruction.sive overkill and civilian casualties are big problem. it is better to accept risk in an engagement with the taliban and not on them than it is to risk killing civilians. >> the use of the drones has increased dramatically in afghanistan. is there any correlation between forces on the ground and the operators of the drumones/ >> you can think of them as manned aircraft. the man is actually sitting on the ground. he is still talking to the ground troops. they use a chat program. it is like instant messenger to do a lot of the communications with the guys receiving the support from the drones. they are fairly precise as far as these things go. they did not fire a lot. it is a far cry from a b1 bomber. >> it is also a military hospital. and what operations go on their? >> that is the biggest, and by some standards the most sophisticated medical facility in all of afghanistan. it is a u.s. air force run hospital that does everything from plastic surgery to trauma, the emergency room care.

general mcchrystal said that air power could detail our destruction.wkd it's massive overkill. it's better to accept some risk in an engagement with the taliban and not bomb them, than to risk killing civilians in a bombing. >> but the use of those drones have increased in afghanistan. is there any coordination of forces on the ground and operators of the drones? >> absolutely, the drones you can think of them as manned aircraft but the man is sitting on the ground, he's talking to the ground troops. they use a chat program, that looks like instant messenger to do the communication with the customers. and the drones are fairly precise, they don't carry a lot of weapons or fire a lot of them. it's a far cry from a b-1 bomber dropping a bomb. >> back to bagum, it's a military hospital, what operations go on there? >> that's the biggest and by some standards the most sophisticated medical facility, civilian or military. it's a u.s. run hospital that does everything from plastic surgery to trauma. >> so they can take care of a lot of issues there? they don't have to fly soldiers or

this has to be supported by stronger international civilian leadership to work alongside general mcchrystal to deliver the civilian aspects of this strategy. it is an outline program for the transfer of security responsibilities to the afghans, district by district, province by province, with the first district and province potentially being handed over during next year. let us be clear that this process will depend on the afghans being ready to take responsibility and control, first through more trained afghan troops, second, through better policing, third, through effective local and national government, and fourth, by giving afghans a stronger stake in their economic future. i can also say that over time, our objective is to work for and to encourage a new set of relationships between afghanistan and its neighbors, based on their guarantee of non- interference in afghanistan pus future affairs, and on a commitment to fostering not only its cultural links with other powers in the region, but a major confidence-building security measure that all can benefit. so, mr. speaker, i want the lon

on thursday of last week after the inauguration ceremonies secretary clinton and i, general mcchrystal and ambassador ikenberry -- eikenberry met with an extraordinary, impressive group of american civilians and military who have come in from the field. all of the seniors except the secretary of state sat off the table. the table was only the people from the provinces. and for a very long time, i would say an hour and a half or more. and this actually delayed our departure from kabul. and this is the reason for those of who you remember why we didn't land until after 4:00 in the morning. it was this meeting. she was enjoying it so much. she really drilled down on rule of law, on agriculture, on civilian military integration. and i know that she has already described this to her colleagues in the principle's committee. i'm sure she will do so again in the meetings that are coming up. it was a terrific meeting. she was enormously proud of this integrated civilian military process. we all talk about integration. and the bottom line is the closer you get to the battlefield, the closer the

on thursday of last week, after the inauguration ceremonies, secretary clinton and i, general mcchrystal and ambassador ikenberry met with an extraordinary and impressive group of american civilians and military who have come in from the field. all of the seniors except the secretary of state sat off the table. the table was only for people from the provinces, run by ambassador tony wayne. for a very long time, i would say an hour and a half or more, and this actually delayed our departure kabul,s the reason, for those of you who remember, why we didn't land until after 4:00 in the morning, it was this meeting, she was enjoying it so much. she really drilled down on rule of law, on agriculture, on civilian-military integration, and i know that she has already described this to our colleagues on the principles committee and i'm sure she'll do so again in the meetings coming up. it was a -- it was a terrific meeting and she was enormously proud of the integrated civilian military process. we all talk about civilian integration and the bottom line on this, the closer you get to the battlefi

eight weeks ago, army general stanley mcchrystal requested an additional 40,000 troops be sent to afghanistan. a white house says the president has now made the decision on the afghanistan strategy, and will announce it on tuesday night. you can watch it live on the c- span networks and our web site, c-span.org, with the simulcast on c-span radio. president obama speech from west point begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern time. dollars this thanksgiving holiday, we have four days of booktv on2 on, beginning thursday morning with featured book on history, public policy, and politics. you can see taylor branch on his newest book, and here from little rock novelist. why should these authors discuss their new book. and learn about government contract and your you also hear mom-and-pop or its for from the recent miami book festival. watch booktv on c-span23 to get the full schedule, go to the web site. you can also follow it on twitter. happy thanksgiving. dollars now hearing examining head injuries in the national football league. medical professionals and former players testified about long- term effects

guest: if you gave general mcchrystal everything that he asked for, we would be swallowed up in afghanistany breakfast. it is a huge country with a tribal government if you want to call a government. it is run by someone that we all like knowledge is corrupt. can you picture sending anyone's child to support the karzai regime? in his brother, out in the open as a drug kingpin. without knowing that you are going to kill al qaeda, how much as the taliban negotiated? is it pakistan that we need to worry about? are we going to interfere with that? is the counterinsurgency what we want to do? or could it be the joe biden plan? sending in more special forces and drones, pinpointing what we need to do. we are never going to bring anything even approaching what we have in iraq to afghanistan. host: eric holder defended his decision to have the trial for khalid sheikh mohammed in new york. margaret, you wrote "americans believe that our legal system is the crowd and jewel of democracy, until we need a monster like cali shake muhammed. then we see wild west justice. i get it. if weapons were allowed

we have not yet had the benefit of general mcchrystals testimony. we have not heard before congress. i think that we need to have the kind of debate in congress that they had in the white house. >> we'll go to your questions in just a little bit. start thinking about what you'd like to ask the congressman. you are more hawkish than some members of the caucus. some seem very educated, not just in congress, but liberals and internet bloggers about the prospects of putting more troops into afghanistan. you talked to the people in the field that way, including your members. what has been so agitating about the notion of putting more troops? is it their military judgment? they don't like spending money? what is driving that strong sentiment on the left that the president should withdraw and not put in more. >> well, i can't speak for everybody that takes that position. there's lots of different reasons given for that. i think the reason that makes sense is people want to make sure that this is going to work. that there's going to be an end to this, a suc

institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] quite eight weeks ago, general mcchrystal requested marchers be sent to afghanistan. they have now made a decision on afghanistan and will announce it tuesday night. you can watch a life at our web site c-span.org with a sigh mall cast on c-span radio. >> this thanksgiving holiday we have a four days of book tv2 on tv. beginning thursday morning, we will focus on policy and public talks. watch the authors discuss their new books. learn about government contractors. you also see the recent miami book festival. from thanksgiving morning through monday morning, what book tv on c-span32. we can also follow it on twitter at twitter.com/booktv. happy thanksgiving. >> three original documentaries on c-span now available on dvd. it is a unique journey to the iconic comes of the three branches of american government. see the exquisite detail through the eyes of the justices. go beyond the velvet ropes. america's most famous homes. explore the history, art, and architecture of the capital. american icons, a three desk dvd says. it is 2

. >> eight weeks ago, army general stanley mcchrystal ol requested an additional 40,000 troops be sent to afghanistan. the white house says the president has made a decision on afghanistan strategy and will announce it tuesday night. you will be able to watch it on our c-span network and cspan.org, with a simulcast on c-span radio. president obama's speech from west point begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern time. >> this thanksgiving holiday we've got four days of book tv on c-span 2. beginning thursday morning we will feature books on history, public policy and politics. you can see taylor branch on his newest book, "the clinton tapes" and hear from two of the little rock noun. and learn about government contractors. you will see norman from the recent miami book festival. watch book tv on c-span 2. to get the full schedule, go to book tv.org. happy thanksgiving. >> now, comptroller of the currency, john dugan. he recently spoke at a meeting of the american bar association. it is 45 minutes. >> it is important to note that in addition to superadvising the national banks and agencies of foreig

but we have not yet, we in congress, we have not yet benefited general mcchrystal's testimony. we have not heard from eikenberry before congress. so i think we need to have the kind of debate in congress that they've had in the white house before making what is clearly a very consequential decision. >> let's go to your questions in just a bit. start think about what you would like to ask the congressman. you are more hawkish than at least some members of the caucus. some seem very agitated, not just in congress but liberals and internet bloggers about the prospect of president would put more troops into afghanistan. you talk to people who feel that way a lot, including your members. what has them so agitated about the notion of putting more troops? is that their military judgment that the war isn't winnable? they don't like spending money, what is the drive that strong sentiment on the left of the president should withdraw troops and not putting more troops be? well, it is hard to speak for everybody who takes that position because there are lots of different reasons, given for

general mcchrystal himself said that air power might contain scenes of our own destruction. it is better to actually accept some risk in engagement with the taliban and not bomb them than risk killing civilians in an errant bombing. >> is there any correlation between forces of the ground and the operations of the drones? >> you could think of them as many aircraft. -- manned aircraft. he is still talking to controllers. they use a chat program that looks like instant messenger to do a lot of communication. the guys receiving the support from the drones. they are fairly precise as far as these things go. they don't carry large weapons or fire a lot. it is a far cry from the bomber dropping to 2,000 pound bomb on a suspected taliban edition. >> back to bagram, it is also a military hospital. >> it is the most sophisticated medical facility in all of afghanistan. . @@@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ >> the flights leave for italy. it is hard to catch these guys for interviews, because they move out so quickly. indeed transports like going home to the united states, it could be the

. >> will general mcchrystal be in town? >> believe he will be in afghanistan tomorrow, and i believe in the coming days -- i do not know exactly when -- he and ambassador will travel to the hill to testify. david. >> earlier, you said that the primary mission in afghanistan is to train and setup afghan security and police forces to fight the on popular insurgency there. you did not mention al qaeda in a statement. i assume there is a connection. can you lay out what the connection is? and does the president still believe -- let me ask you this -- how does the president these days assess the threat posed to the united states by whatever remains of al qaeda? >> i do not think you have to dig deep into news clips to see, and you certainly do not into the president's daily intelligence briefing that the threat from al qaeda exists in very real ways. not just emanating from the border region of afghanistan and pakistan, but throughout the world. the reason that al qaeda was in afghanistan was because al qaeda had the safe-haven