we're going it talk about that with peter bergen and michael ware. michael, in washington, you hear this war being presented as a war against al qaeda, as a hunt for al qaeda. here on the ground, you don't hear bch al qaeda. >> well, that's because this is not a hunt against al qaeda. you don't hear the afghans in the combat zones in southern afghanistan or eastern afghanistan talking about al qaeda. that's why america originally invaded afghanistan way back in 2001. because al qaeda was given sanctuary by the taliban. america recognized that as a national security threat. well, that national security threat is no longer here. it is based in park st ed in pa. there is very little al qaeda activity. the day to day fighting, the bulk of the bombings, the bulk of the shootings, almost all of them are being committed by afghan taliban. so this war now is not so much about osama bin laden and his al qaeda network, anderson. >> and the taliban, peter, is totally different than al qaeda. i mean there are linkages in pakistan. but what's the linkage? >> incre

you saw some of them earlier in michael ware's piece.ised explosive devices and they're more sophisticated and more destructive here in afghanistan. the question for marines is how do you find them? how do you disarm them? it's a constant struggle. a constant search. we went out on patrol and met one marine whose job is to sweep for ieds. take a look. >> reporter: it is the most dangerous position on patrol, out in front, on point. lance corporal phil howard quickly waves a metal detector in front of him searching for signs of an ied. >> it's kind of scary. you know, i'm on point and knowing that somebody is going to pull something on you or you step on something, it's going to be the front guy. >> every second he has to remain alert. one mistake could kill him or a fellow marine behind him. got to be tough, too. you never really know who's a friend and who's an enemy. >> exactly. you can look around right now and, you know, like down there in the middle. that could be a good guy or a bad guy. you never know. >> reporter: ieds have becom

michael ware, peter bergen and sanjay gupta.the top of the hour, the enormous challenges here to build trust in the wake of incidence like the air strikes that commander now admits took civilian lives. we'll be right back. lf and you get half. ( chirp ) team three, boathouse? ( chirp ) oh yeah-- his and hers. - ( crowd gasping ) - ( chirp ) van gogh? ( chirp ) even steven. - ( chirp ) mansion. - ( chirp ) good to go. ( grunts ) timber! ( chirp ) boss? what do we do with the shih-tzu? - ( crowd gasps ) - ( chirp ) joint custody. - phew! - announcer: get work done now. communicate in less than a second with nextel direct connect. only on the now network. deaf, hard of hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com. tonight, a difficult day for u.s. forces in afghanistan. four marines killed in the east of the country while on patrol with afghan forces and in kabul, the capital of afghanistan, a suicide attack on the airport there. at least three people known dead. others are wounded. it was a dramatic devel

you saw michael ware with an ied blowing up right next to him. some of you are reporting to us about what you just saw. someone saying michael ware is amazing, thank god he keeps going into harm's way to show us the truth about what's going on in the world. i always look forward to his reports. stay safe, michael. we echo those sentiments. we certainly thank him for going introha into harm's way to get those reports. >>> >>> senator carl levin, democrat from michigan. he says the u.s., quote, has lost the initiative, end quote, in the war against taliban insurgents. he wants afghan forces increased by a whole lot before one more american service member is deployed. joining me now congressman adam smith a democrat, and the congressman just got back just days ago from afghanistan and pakistan. sir, we appreciate you being here. i know you read the comments today from senator levin who was on the floor of the senate making a speech today. he says pointblank that we should increase and accelerate our efforts to support afghan security forces in their

michael ware spent some time there recently. at his report. >> reporter: how does that make people feel here in kandahar? i wanted to see what had happened to this place since i left. kandahar, the birthplace of the taliban and the capital of the south, the fiercest combat zone. i once lived here, before iraq and after the fall of the taliban. so much has changed here in kandahar. there's new buildings, there's new roads, there's new tree lines. but there's also a new taliban. there's a taliban here that wasn't here just a few years ago. and this city now lives in the shadow of the taliban. the taliban control neighborhoods here. in fact, this is a taliban neighborhood. these police are from a police station right in the midst of the taliban stronghold. they're much on the front line, guarding the gates to kandahar. in fact, here in this marketplace, the mood among shopkeepers is anxious. everyone in kandahar is saying the city is surrounded, this businessman says. there's something like 200 men standing here. go, ask them. is t

michael ware traveled on the road from kabul to kandahar. it is now a taliban death trap. el's report. >> reporter: the cost of the afghan war are staggering. the loss of lives, the billions upon billions of dollars and yet what has it delivered? looking around, talking to the u.s. military, it's clear. it war is not being won. for most ordinary afghans, this perhaps is the simplest, clearest measure of that. this is highway number 1. it's here kabul ends and 300 miles down that road is kandahar and the taliban heartland. i remember when taking the journey from kandahar to kabul was more than 12 exhausting hours, but in 2004 american aid money repaved this road and cut that down to a mere five or six. now, that journey is back to nine or ten hours. there's at least three known taliban checkpoints on this american-paved highway. people are being pulled over, buses and executed by the taliban. truck driver mohammed runs this taliban once a week. he hauls fuel in this tanker. the road, he says, is in terrible shape, wrecked by explosio explosions. drivers are left completely e

cnn's anderson cooper, michael ware joining us are the front lines. plus dr. sanjay gupta takes us inside a military operating room with a hometown doc. >> this place has been attacked, risking your life to save others. the deal was wthat's it. ever worn your clothes in the shower? if you're using other moisturizing body washes, you might as well be. you see, their moisturizer sits on top of skin, almost as if you're wearing it. only new dove deep moisture has nutriummoisture, a breakthrough formula with natural moisturizers... that can nourish deep down. it's the most effective natural nourishment ever. new dove deep moisture with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin. if you get sick, or change jobs. eight ways reform matters to you. a cap on deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. no annual or lifetime limits on coverage. preventive care. covered. pre-existing conditions. covered. no higher rates due to genlér. extended coverage for young adults. no more coverage denied if you get sick. and guaranteed renewal, even if you do. learn more t

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joining us now senior political analyst david gergen and michael ware. ichael, general stanley mccrystal submitted a report assessing the situation. it's not public but sources say he's calling for a change in strategy. do you think it's going to be more troop increases, would that help? >> well, certainly more troops are needed. it's very difficult for these american generals to try and fight this war with their hands tied behind their back politically. we all know how sensitive troop numbers are. no one wants 68,000 troops to be here, let alone 80,000 troops or more. so no one is rushing to be troops here. but the way america is set up to fight this battle as it stands in afghanistan, it can't win. so some kind of change is needed, anderson. >> david gergen, are you concerned are you about the situation on the ground there? >> well, i'm not as concerned as those are as the democratic party. that poll showing 57% americans opposed to that. among democrats, that number is 73%. so you've got a lot of democrats to president obama's left who would like to pu

we'll be speaking with michael ware. he's on the scene for us.y for that. >>> 16 years ago he tried but failed to enact health care reform. now former president bill clinton says there's one thing worrying him deeply about the current effort. plus, the story behind this picture. how fire fighters wound up needing to be rescued themselves. some people like to pretend... a flood could never happen to them... and that their homeowners insurance... protects them. it doesn't. stop pretending. it can happen to you. protect your home with flood insurance. call the number on your screen... for your free brochure. >>> t.j. holmes is monitoring other important stories coming into "the situation room." what's going on? >> rescuers needing to be rescued. take a look at this video out of los angeles. fire fighters there responding to a broken water main ran into some unexpected trouble, and you can see what that trouble was. the floodwaters opened a sinkhole that swallowed their 22-ton engine. four fire fighters were in that rig when this happened. they did m

. >>> cnn's michael ware live in kabul, afghanistan. you know, michael, that's just a p reminder there from our troops that this place is still home to the taliban, and it's eight years later, and the military is -- is putting up the same fight. you wonder where is there progress. >> reporter: well, that certainly is something i and ordinary afghans are constantly wondering here on the ground in afghanistan. as you say, eight years on, and the what is there to show for it? intensified combat. that's one thing to show. a more resilient, a stronger taliban than ever. another thing to show for it. i've just returned from the southern capital of kandahar, which is the birthplace of the taliban. now, that just neighbors the area of helmand, the next-door province, or state, where this massive u.s. military offensive is under way. and i can tell you, what everyone in the region there is telling me, police commanders, local warlords, tribal leaders, even the afghan president's brother, is that the fighting by the americans might be killing tali

more from michael ware throughout the week.we're letting you hear from american troops here in afghanistan. we posted other messages from them on our website. logon to ac360.com to see those right now. >>> ahead on "360," we showed you what it's like for the marines here. now it's dr. sanjay gupta's turn. we'll snow you where he and his team try to get some rest. >>> images from a galaxy far, far away. incredible photos from the hubble space telescope you have to see to believe. >>> i'm from maryland. i want to say hello to my wife, melissa, and the rest of my family in northern minnesota. my doctor told me i should've been... doing more for my high cholesterol. what was i thinking? but now i trust my heart to lipitor. when diet and exercise are not enough, adding lipitor may help. unlike some other cholesterol lowering medications, lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk... of heart attack, stroke, and certain kinds of heart surgeries... if you have several common risk factors... or heart disease. lipitor has been extensive

michael ware was reporting from highway 1.an. >>> we want to tell you about a man who weighs 350 pounds. he says he was getting on his flight when an employee pulled him aside. the man says it is because of his weight. the other side of the story, hear the airline side. interesting grooming. thanks. i did it to let the judges know that my dog is the right choice. i got the idea from general mills big g cereals. they put a white check on the top of every box to let people know that their cereals have healthy whole grain, and they're the right choice... just like buttercup. (announcer) general mills is the only leading cereal company to put healt whole grain in every box. the choice has never been easier. for whole grain guaranteed, just look for the white check., [screeching] [dejectedly] oh. [screeching] [barks] (man) if you think about it, this is what makes the ladders different from other job-search sites. [screeching] we only work with the big talent. [all coughing] welcome to the ladders-- a premium job site for only $100

that's something that michael ware knows all too well.that's an ied exploding right next to where our michael ware and a cameraman were reporting. >>> also one other thing i can tell you about, we're going to have representative adam smith from washington, a democrat might be a split among the democrats now on what should happen in afghanistan. the president may be wanting to send more troops and the democrats don't. >>> more from the cnn newsroom straight ahead. at walmart. save money. live better. walmart. a day on the days that you have arthritis pain, you could end up taking 4 times the number... of pills compared to aleve. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills. just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthritis pain all day. >>> attractive young women were duped or did they simply call in the police to help them break their contract with an internet contest, similar to the reality tv show "big brother" the latest scandal rocking the turkish capital of istanbul. >> units here in turkey rated a house in eastern istanb

sanjay gupta, and michael ware reporting from afghanistan, from the front lines. that's tonight, 10:00 eastern, only on cnn. >>> did a former high school football coach put winning ahead of safety? that's what prosecutors allege in his reckless homicide trial. it's under way right now in kentucky, and it's being watched by the nation. >>> cnn takes your health care questions straight to the white house. you ask, though, we'll have the answers live. >>> "mail to the chief" your questions, your concern, your voice, straight ahead. >>> america's anchor man remembered today at lincoln center in new york. president obama and former president bill clinton were among those who gathered this morning for a memorial service for the former longtime cbs "evening news" anchor. >> our american story continues. it needs to be told. and if we choose to live up to walter's example, if we realize that the kind of journalism he embodied will not simply rekindle itself as part of a natural cycle, but will come alive only if we stand up and demand it and resolve to value it once again

and anderson will be in afghan substantial all next week along with peter, michael ware, and sanjay gupta see firsthand just what's happening in the country. don't miss a "360" special live from the battle zone all begins on monday. >>> we do want to get you caught up tonight. joining us again with a "360" bulletin. >>> california investigators have seized a van from phillip and nancy garrido's backyard as potential evidence in the kidnapping of jaycee dugard. and tonight, the mayor of nearby antioch, california, has said a trust fund was set up for jaycee. she was reunited with her family last week after 18 years in captivity. >>> to afghanistan where 14 private security guards at the u.s. embassy have been fired. they're accused of sexual misconduct and intimidation. they're employees of the private security contractor armor group north america. >>> back home, the university of oregon has suspended running back blunt for the rest of the season for this, that sucker punch against a boise state player last night. since he is a senior, his college career is essentially over anyway. sensiti

michael ware, be careful over there. >>> tonight an "ac 360" special report. afghanistan elections, taliban resurgence and mounting american casualties. it's a critical moment for the region and for the u.s. anderson cooper takes you inside afghanistan live from the battle zone all this week at 10:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn, the worldwide leader in news. bring in jack cafferty right now with "the cafferty file." i've been watching the special reports on "ac 360.." >> great stuff. >> all of this week. these guys, as i said, they are risking their lives to get the news to all of us. >> and doing a job that is head and shoulders above anything else that's been done over there and that includes all the lads down the street at the old gray lady and elsewhere. we've got the best journalism coming out of that war zone i think right now of anybody. >> without a doubt. >> right. we'll stop patting ourselves on the back now at the risk of bruising ourselves. president obama's speech to congress tonight is seen as a turning point. have you ever heard this before? o

also are we really making any head way in afghanistan in anderson cooper and michael ware are joiningfrom the front lines tonight. >>> also our newsmaker, mrs. d-list herself, kathy griffin, her personal life, her plastic surgery and her relationship with levi johnston, all ahead, lou. >> sounds like a lot of laughs, appreciate it campbell. we'll be right back. stay with us. who keep our economy going. all we ask for, is a level playing field. the employee free choice act will let workers choose to form a union to get better pay, bi health benefits and job security. the employee free choice act. it's time the economy worked for everyone again. he's a hall of fame quarterback who scored a 22-pound weight loss thanks to nutrisystem. he's a legendary linebacker who's tackled his own weight problem by dropping 35 pounds with nutrisystem. so, who's the winner... at losing weight? listen here, twinkle toes, you're going to need some new dance moves, buddy, if you're going to take on dan marino. dan marino? what did he play, kickball? i'm feeling lean, i'm mean, and i still look good. order

and michael ware takes us on night patrol in comes close to life. he takes us to the front line. amazing story. and dr. sanjay gupta is here. he is lending a much needed hand at a battlefield hospital. we'll show you all that live from afghanistan tonight. those stories and more on "306"" larry. >> larry: we're back with nathan lee, the widower of denise amberlee. in the 911 call, she fools her kidnapper into thinking she is talking to him when she is communicating with a 911 operator. she says want to see my family again and pleas with him to let her go. she tries to get him to provide her information about where they are. her final words are help me. why couldn't they trace this? what -- how did they explain this to you? >> well, you know, i'm not an expert in the 911 field. but obviously throughout this whole ordeal starting denise amber lee foundation, people have explained this to me. i guess the way the system works now, the 911 system, they use a form of tracking called triangulation. you get pings off a cell phone towers. and they use these calculations to try to find the

that's michael ware who was reporting on the taliban in kandahar afghanistan, he almost lost his life to an ied. >>> here's a question for you, how much did your voice matter to your congressman or your senator on health care during all those town hall meetings that were going on across the country? or was it really much more having to do with money? the money that he or she may be getting to argue for or against this reform? regardless of what may be in your interests. i'm asking that question for a very serious reason and i know it's a very serious question. wait until you hear the numbers that i have got for you on this. the money that's being spent to make sure health care reform is influenced one way or the other. scary. we'll be back. because of one word, imagination and reality have merged. because of one word, a new generation-- a fifth generation-- of fighter aircraft has been born. because of one word, america's air dominance for the next forty years is assured. that one word... is how. >>> all right, we have got some breaking news that i have to share with you right now whi

also michael ware takes us on patrol in canned dehaur, comes very close to losing his own life in an front line. it's an amazing story. and dr. sanjay gupta is here. profiling a surgeon in the war zone. he becomes part of the operating team, lengthing a much-needed hand at a battle hospital. we'll show you all that live from afghanistan tonight. those stories and more on "360," larry. >> larry: 10:00 eastern, 7:00 pacific, anderson cooper always on the scene. we're back with nathan lee, the widower of denise amber lee. in the 911 call, your wife while she's captured fools her kidnapper into thinking she is talking to him when she is communicating with a 911 operator. she says, i want to see my family again and pleads with him to let her go. she tries to get him to provide her information about where they are. her final words are "help me." why couldn't they trace this? what -- how did they explain this to you? >> well, you know, i'm not an expert in the 911 field. but obviously throughout this whole ordeal starting the denise amber lee foundation, trying to reform 911, people have ex

we'll talk straelk with michael ware and peter bergen.eronimo. we went on patrol with the afghan national army and their u.s. counterparts and saw firsthand the struggle to earn the trust of the townspeople who live in the shadow of the taliban. all that and more at the top of the hour, larry. >> larry: thanks. don't forget, anderson cooper, "ac 360." dr. andrew weil, author of why why our health matters." is the whole problem as you see it doctor in the concept of the system, and even though there may be various types of answers to reform democrats and republicans are both locked into the idea of the insurance company and the benefits they're in in? >> yeah, i think the arguments are at a level that doesn't even begin to touch the deep problems. and they're things we can do now, larry. one of the big problems in this country -- >> larry: like? >> we have far too many specials, far too few generalists. we need many more generalists, general practitioners, family medicine doctors, general internists. countries that have more generalists, s

anderson and sanjay, michael ware, peter bergen, they're doing amazing reporting.ey're risking their lives. we'll want to see their reports later tonight, 10:00 p.m. eastern, "a.c. 360." let's go to our senior white house correspondent, ed henry right now. ed, as important as this speech is going to be, it's not the end of the deal by any means. the president will have to follow up tomorrow and the next day and days to come if he wants this passed? >> reporter: it is, wolf. many people might think this is the end, but it's really the beginning. cnn has just learned that the president is planning to invite more than a dozen centrist democratic senators here to the white house tomorrow, right after this speech. try to get some momentum, but also as candy was referring to, get them behind closed doors. these are the decision makers, the folks who are sitting on the fence. many of east centrist senate democrats, people like evan bayh, ben nelson of nebraska, they don't want a public option. so the president needs to get them in a room after delivering this speech here

our cnn's michael ware has been taking the pulse in rafg and joins us from kabul. ng reports, lots of reports of suspicious vote totals and the suspicion polling stations and numbers neatly rounded in favor of karzai. what are people telling you? >> reporter: well, no one is certainly surprised. hello, suzanne. it is an afghan election. the smoke and mirrors of the corruption allegations. any vote-rigging that did or did not go on to a degree is kind of meaningless. what wrested on this election wasn't even the outcome because as far as afghans are concerned it's essentially one bunch of crooks for another bunch of crooks or one bunch of politicians with their warlord backers versus another bunch of politicians with their warlord backers. no one actually expects to be getting electricity or roads or hospitals in their village any time soon, so what's important here is the fact that it's dragging out, that it's become messy. if you could have stolen the election quickly and clinically, that arguably would have been better than what's happening now. this is rock the e

all this week san 58, anderson cooper and michael ware are reporting from afghanistan from the battle zone. check out their reports on "ac360," that's tonight at 10:00 eastern, only on cnn. >>> hurricane fred still chugging along in the atlantic, in a state that really needs the rain is finally getting some, right, chad? >> texas could really use it, and they're getting it today. they had a lot yesterday in san anton antonio. they even had flash flooding. watch out what you ask for, because you go from a category 4 drought all the way to flash flooding in one day. fred a category 2 hurricane, it was a category 3 yesterday. traveling up to the north atlantic. the water gets cold up here, it's close to 80, but still, so cold for a hurricane that it just doesn't matter anymore. this thing will eventually completely die off. there we go, category 2 now. watching it wiggle and wobble around, nowhere to go. by the time it gets up to the colder water, 30 miles per hour. you have to realize that that is still 3,000 miles from miami, so we are not in the least worried about that at all. talkin

. >> the frightening moments for our colleague michael ware and our other colleagues with him.war has been raging eight years. this summer has become a crucial time. our josh leaves is here to show us some of the latest. >> we see pieces of drama like that, right. what i want to do is help everyone get that. right now with the help of this great site, cnn.com/afghanistan. let's zoom in. i want to show you key points. this is interesting from tom forman referring to it as a ticking bomb. i want everyonesummer. i want understand to see the price the u.s. has been paying in lives right here. look at this column here. going back to 2001 you see the number of u.s. death here year down to 2009. we're still in the middle of 2009. we already had more than we ever had before. then let's look at the price we're paying in terms of money. this is from congressional research service looking at this year's budget. they proximate $180 billion has been spent on the war in afghanistan. we don't actually have any of that money. that money is what cnnmoney calls money on national credit cards. bo

four experts with four very different views and michael ware from kabul. >> it's going to be an importantwe'll be watching as we always do. >>> a vish beating on the streets of buffalo, new york. now some are calling it a hate crime. >> people would call him cracker or honky when we walked down the street once in a while. >> but the victim's father says police aren't treating it like a hate crime because his son is white. we're going to give you the details. >>> a california lawmaker caught on tape bragging about his sexual exploits. now he says he has an explanation. stay with us. i have copd which makes it hard to breathe. but now that i'm breathing better with advair... i can enjoy the zoo with my grandkids. (announcer) for people with copd including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both, great news. advair helps significantly improve lung function. while nothing can reverse copd, advair is different from most other medications because it contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help you breathe better. advair won't replace fast-acting in

sanjay gupta, and michael ware are live from the battle region.cnn is live with exclusive reports. it's "a.c. 360" tonight at 10:00 eastern. we're hearing from a lot of people on this health care stuff this morning, aren't we? >> a lot of you have a lot to say, to keep them coming. >>> coming up, we'll be talking to two doctors. president obama talked a little bit about how he wants to pay for health care reform, so what kind of burden will that place on hospitals? we'll ask those two doctors when we come back. just about 8:00 eastern. good friends -- we compare our progressive direct rates, apples to apples, against other top companies, to help you get the best price. how do you do that? with a touch of this button. can i try that? [ chuckles ] wow! good luck getting your remote back. it's all right -- i love this channel. shopping less and saving more. now, that's progressive. call or click today. >>> good thursday morning to you. it is september the 10th. thanks for joining us on the most news in the morning. i'm john roberts. >> and i'm carol

a road side bomb almost blew up a truck carrying our correspondent michael ware. 75% of coalition casualtiesaw its effect all too well in iraq and now afghanistan. these insurgents employing it with deadly affect across the country, barbara starr. >> absolutely. the taliban have made ieds the number one threat to u.s. troops. taliban are getting so good at it that u.s. commanders are seeing new tactics by them almost every week. an ied was blocking this road in central afghanistan a few days ago. this time, u.s. troops blew it up before it could cause harm. but stopping roadside bombs is an uphill battle. >> we're losing people as everybody knows. >> reporter: the statistics are staggering, since 2007, the number of ied" afghanistan has jumped more than 300%. many are found before they detonate. but the number of troops killed is up more than 400%. the number of wounded, up more than 700%. one u.s. military source tells cnn that in just the last year, the taliban's capacity to manufacture bombs, train attackers, and target u.s. troops has grown. on september 8th, near kandahar, troops seized