total, nato and non-nato, but all under nato command. this is no ad hoc coalition of the willing, this is an alliance that is proving its staying power every day. which brings the second benefit, boots on the ground. there are 35,000 non-u.s. troops in the mission. that's 40% of the total. and that number is going up. over the last 18 months about 9,000 extra troops have been provided to the mission from the non-u.s. members. 16 countries have increased their contributions over that period. none has cut back. i'm not sure all of this gets as much visibility in the u.s. as it deserves. and the allies are not running from the fight, despite the conventional wisdom. 14 countries have forces in the south and east alongside u.s. forces. and while body counts is no measure of solidarity, it is, unfortunately, a symbol of commitment. over 20 countries have had their soldiers killed, some in large numbers. every wednesday in brussels i begin the meeting of nato ambassadors by offering my condolences to the countries that have lost soldiers in af

>> nato. nato failed. it's really very, very simple. esident obama nt in 20,000 troops. map. st in those troop so iç the st i the mountai you have u.s. troops in these little outposts. in the soh the desert, kandahar, u h americ troops also, me bri and canadians. they were having a toughim 20,0ç extra troops nt in. they pusdown mostl in the south, which is the tiban strongho. so what happenedba tthe ta militants who were dn there? ey moved to other plas. particularly the west and the north. and south, medtheythe rther into the south. they dispersed into the west and the north whe italis and geans had been. and the italian and german troops had been doin very, very litt. there are many, many reports about germans andtalians not leaving their base,oting pro active,ot having the same mission. they were there as pepighting aa cotensurge so the talibwas able to outspread io many other parts of the countryan in some ces in new recruitsç a they got bolder and they got bolder an they got bder. so n you'ren auation where you have t taban moved out traditional are of suprt into

>> nato. nato failed. it's really very, very simple. president obama sent in 20,000 troops.ad a map. i'm map crazed. he sent in those troops. so inç the east in the mountais you have u.s. troops in these little outposts. in the south the desert, kandahar, you had american troops also, some brits and canadians. they were having a tough time. 20,000ç extra troops went in. they pushed down mostly into the south, which is the taliban stronghold. so what happened to the taliban militants who were down there? they moved to other places. particularly the west and the north. the americans were in the east and the south, they moved further into the south. they dispersed into the west and the north where italians and germans had been. and the italian and german troops had been doing very, very little. there are many, many reports about germans and italians not leaving their bases, not being pro active, not having the same mission. they were there as peacekeepers not as fighting a war or a counterinsurgency. so the taliban was able to spread out into many other parts of the country a

tonight on "worldfocus" -- >>> as president obama ponders his next move in afghanistan, what some nato troops are saying after the most deadly attack on americans in more than a year. >>> after ish voters clear the way, europe emerges as a more powerful competitor with the united states. could a new presidency of europe be tony blair's second act? >>> from africa, there is real progress to report in a battle against a painful and disfiguring disease. >>> and we'll take you for a ride on the streets of china where tens of millions of people have made thet of hot wheels indeed. >>> from the world's leading reporters and analysts, here's what's happening from around the world. this is "worldfocus." major support has been provided by rosalind p. walter and the peter g. peterson foundation, dedicated to promoting fiscal responsibility and addressing key economic challenges facing america's future. and additional funding is provided by the following supporters -- >>> hello and good evening. i'm daljit dhaliwal. the intense debate over this country's strategy in afghanistan will undoubtedly b

mcchrystal is a nato commander. that speech he gave in london helps the president build support overseas. bill: here is the poll. send more troops to afghanistan 43% say yes. bring troops home 43% of americans say yes. tied. support u.s. military action in afghanistan? 64% say support it opposed 27%. is president obama doing what it takes to win in afghanistan? 37% say yes. no 50%. so, if obama doesn't hustle it, he is going to lose in the public opinion poll even more than he has, i think. >> you know, there is a lot of similarities to vietnam here. what you find in vietnam is that if you go back and read the record, president johnson got pushed into sending those troops in before he did a proper strategic assessment. and he had public support for a while but when the military kept asking for more and more troops and then we had the offensive that made it look like wedn' we had done, we really lost public support. so, i think it's not too late to get the public fully behind the policy. got to make sure you have got

the nato meeting may be pivotal. gates is expected to ask the alliance to maintain its commitment to the mission while the u.s. decides whether to increase troop strength in afghanistan. >>> president obama won't decide whether to change the number of troops in afghanistan until he knows there's a stable government in that country. at least that's word from white house chief of staff raum emanuele. it is wreckless to decide about levels right now since no one knows the outcome of afghanistan's disputed presidential election. >> there are basically two roads there, two protheses and one is a run-off election between the two top candidates or a negotiation between those candidates but the end result must be a legitimate government to the afghan people. >> senator john kerry is making the same point. the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee is in kabul and it would be irresponsible putting more troops in the country without know whoog is running the government. >>> he died in an ambush in afghanistan earli

nato says it does not believe that enemy fire was involved. >>> a friend of convicted swindler bernie madoff was found dead in his swimming pool. jeffrey picower's wife found him dead in the pool yesterday. he was accused of getting $78 million in bonuses from madoff's scheme. they are investigating his death as a drowning, but apparently are not ruling anything out. >>> an 18-year-old woman who turned up in new york city two weeks ago with amnesia now has been identified. her name is casey elise peterson. his father is on the way to pick her up. he says it's not the first time that she has been lost and lost her memory. >>> airplane that overshot the minneapolis airport by 150 miles last week. >> nobody was asleep in the cockpit and no arguments took place. other than that, i cannot tell you anything that went on, because we're having hearings this weekend. we're having hearings on tuesday. all that information will come out then. >> for more than an hour, air traffic controllers could not reach them. during wednesday's flight, the ntsb interviewed the pilot and co-pilot yesterday an

we are working side by side with nato, for example, as we evaluate general mcchrystal's recommendation. so, this is something that the president had said we would always do back in march he said after the elections we will make an assessment. this is exactly what's happening. no one has suggested that we're about to leave afghanistan. we are committed to the battle against the radicals, radical terrorism. >> schieffer: when do you think we'll have a decision? when will the decision have a decision, a matter of weeks? >> no, no. i think in a matter of weeks. we're going to... we have time on the president's schedule. he's going to devote an enormous amount of his time to lead us through this. everyone will be involved. and at the end of the day, the right way to do this is to present the president with a set of options on what he can do. afghanistan will be the topic but it won't be the only topic. it will be pakistan. it will be the region. that's the way we should do it. >> schieffer: i have to ask you before you go about iran. the "new york times" reports this morning that this atomi

nato partners are moving closer to sending troops and civilian aid to the country.or offered specifics. gates was also at the meeting of defense ministers in slovakia today, the same day the top u.s. commander in afghanistan is supposed to be addressing this group. mcchrystal asked for thousands of additional u.s. troops. we're still waiting for president obama's decision on troop levels in afghanistan. >>> speaking of the president, mr. obama arrived. there he is in washington. he'll be touting clean energy, touring a research lab working on cutting edge clean air technology. he'll also talk about recovery act investments which the white house says are creating jobs in wind energy. the president plans to attend a fund-raiser for massachusetts governor duval patrick. >>> incredible pictures. have you seen these out of puerto rico? this is a huge fire at a fuel plant. eleven fuel tanks on fire. crews trying to keep more from exploding. was anyone hurt? stay here. >>> take a look at this. this is aftermath of a tornado that hit southwest louisiana. a total of three tw

in nato really not doing very much in afghanistan. there's billions of doars wortof cilian progms, lice programs, thingsthey can do short of sending troops. i tnk it's time for the european allie ihink the adminiration is going to have to eage in serious diplomatic push to get it,ime for th to contribute this nato missi. ifato fails it' bad for everybody. >> charlie: martha an peter, put the context of nation building ito all of this mix because general mccrystal in the report that was leaked by bo woodward got his hand on was printed,ade the point that he said is is urgent, that we'vgot a year, if we don't do mething within a year the taliban are on the acene dee, al said it was gng to require a snificantamount of nation building,of getng the ghans involved and having gornment that could help deal with the problems the. my see -- go ahead, per. >> that's what's the rea issueh. what has changed sce march is we've hadhese afghanistan electis in august that were widely marred by fraud and underscorehe lack of legitimacy of the curren go

general stanley mcchrystal won't push nato officials to accept his recommendation for more troops. but earlier this morning, the head of nato talked about how its role will shift in afghanistan. >> we have not agreed to start handing over the enemy. the conclusions are not right. conditions are not strong enough. >> meanwhile, defense secretary robert gates says several nato allies are increasing troop and civilian aids to afghanistan. that was a little hard to understand, wasn't it? >>> today first lady michelle obama will hold a breast cancer awareness event at the white house and then later she will show her funny side on the jay leno show. she will answer his rapid-fire questions via satellite. in the past, senator john mccain and lebron james. >>> 33 minutes past the hour. >>> okay. well, gosh, it looks like fewer of us are going to be rained on today. that's a good thing for a friday. hey, bob. >> good morning, rob. it's still going to be tough to travel in or out, say, into atlanta and the great lakes. this weather brought to you by green giant. wha what's happening in the d

and nato troops in afghanistan calls it as he sees it. we can't say we're winning, the insurgency is growing. what is the strategy for victory, what is the victory that we seek? are we nation building? are we protecting ourselves from terrorism? are we making ourselves a base adjacent to iran? i don't really know. we'll try to find out after this. gecko: uh, you wanted to see me sir? boss: come on in, i had some other things you can tell people about geico - great claims service and a 97% customer satisfaction rate. show people really trust us. gecko: yeah right, that makes sense. boss: trust is key when talking about geico. you gotta feel it. why don't you and i practice that with a little exercise where i fall backwards and you catch me. gecko: uh no sir, honestly... uh...i don't think...uh... boss: no, no. we can do this. gecko: oh dear. vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. it looked so different to me. but when i got back from my first trip... ...the look was unmistakable. more room for adventure. th

earlier efforts to speed up afghan training stalled partly because there was a lack of nato trainers. >>> two top federal officials will be in chicago this week to learn about the violence plaguing the city's public school students. president obama is sending attorney general eric holder and also education secretary arne duncan, who was the city's school superintendent. the beating death of 16-year-old derrion albert was captured on cell phone video. here is part of it right here. chicago police say they are up against a code of silence that keeps people from talking to investigators. speakers at albert's funeral warn that the world is watching how they respond to his death. mayor richard daley called on the community to cooperate with police. >> i'll be meeting with representatives of the community, the high schools, and as well as the police department and the family and others to really get down to the bottom of the code of silence. the code of silence is an unacceptable in this day and age where we have young children being killed. it is something that every family, every communit

nato, please send troops to afghanistan, they won't. saying no to the president. >> i think that's antidemocratic. what they're trying to do. i believe with the primary system in our country. going and saying to israel, halt settlements, that's the right of the u.s. president. that's called international relations, diplomacy, speaking out the world. >> all i'm saying is that the world adores him and ignores him. >> but the world is marching on its terms. america is no longer a superpower. i think this administration understands the limit of u.s. power. what president obama is trying to do and yesterday, when he spoke about the national emergency in our country, which is the jobs crisis, that's where you begin to see a president who needs to limit his perspective. i think he needs to be forced to by the nature of our times. he needs to step up on the jobs crisis. because that's not just political, it's moral. you had on fed federal reserve chairman greenspan. he adverted his eyes from financial chaos and destruction. to say we don't need

and he came out and said if nato and the united states -- nato as a whole including the united states, do not increase forces, we are risking a disaster in afghanistan. this is somebody who is not part of the american political system, he's not reporting to the american president, but i thought it was very sobering that he felt even more strongly than general mcchrystal has stated that we are in a really serious situation. and if you'll notice, the casualties we're starting to take are from very small outposts that are overextended that have inadequate capabilities to defend themselves appropriately. sean: with this lack of decisiveness it seems like we're putting our troops in jeopardy and emboldening an enemy that now knows the president is not acting seems precarious to me. this is a huge week for health care. >> enormous. sean: we've got three bills in the house, two bills in the senate that are trying to sort of make their way through the process. >> we're exploring something here and i want to go out on a limb for a minute because we're exploring this from several senators but w

and nato forces don't regain the initiative in the next 12 months, the insurgency that shall may note able to defeat the insurgeon aat you will t. white house seems to be resisting that kind of pressure to some degree and wants to take at least several weeks to make a decision on a strategy and then to weigh what we're still waiting for, a specific request for additional come bas forces. >> is the tide turning in any way to get an indication which direction obama's going to ultimately take? >> he appears to be -- i think it is safe to say he appears to be skeptical and approaching this not as an automatic rubber stamp for what general mcchrystal wants. i think that is taking the military aback a little bit. general petraeus who is a big advocate of general mcchrystal's plan, when he took over the command in iraq, wanted every one of the troop requests made public so there's a debate over it made public. and what we're seeing now is general mcchrystal's assessment made its way to the public domain. a very public debate about this putting pressure on president obama and but -- and also

do not have nato fight our wars. it is a token effort. they are not as involved as we are.rd: your fifth point is one about how we have conducted ourselves so far, with great big concepts, but not enough people on the ground. >> right. there are probably more ph.d.'s in kabul and bagrhram than there are in colleges. let's get off the concept like and and start looking at results. shepard: your final point is support. laid that out for us. >> the bottom line is this -- we are there to create a working, functioning government in afghanistan. karzai has deliberately use that against us. talking to afghan politicians, they will say, give us a constitution that allows elected officials to dictate budgets, and we will have results. right now, it is all appointees, all controlled by karzai. it should be about the constitution, the method. shepard: two quick questions -- do you have any idea why it is that for six years, we neglected this war and left our young men and women over there, frankly, neglected? >> we won this war in three weeks. we use air power and with the hell out of

earlier efforts stalled partly because there was a lack of nato trainers. >>> u.n. inspectors will start looking at iran's newly revealed nuclear site on october 25th. the head of the agency head talkses in tehran today and he says inspectors want to make sure that the site is used for peaceful purposes. it's been a big concern since iran revealed the enrichment plant. u.s. and other countries have been accusing iran of secreting developing a new clear bomb. president obama they were hiding this plant for year, but iran's leader says that's not true. >> translator: based on what is stated in the regulations, we have made announcement one year before the time we had to out of respect if law and the director general of the iaea and natural lit united states must have nope about it. do i not know why mr. obama was not aware of it. >> meanwhile, unexperts say it has all the information it needs to design and build a nuclear bomb. a confidential animalysis was published yesterday. the same experts say they need more evidence to be sure about the extent of iran's nuclear

that is what the commander o u.s.nd nato fces in afghanistan said in london today. it is easy to see why genal stanley mcchrystal s concerned. they face almost dailgun battles wi the taliban. the bbc went to one of the marines' mos rete combat outpos. >> marching to war, taliban positions, just a coupl hundred meters over in that direcon. things have been acquired over the last few weeks, but the fe was th thealiban were regroung. so fr, that seems to be bei borne out. they need cover anda volley of mortgages as fire in. -- a volley of mortars isired in >> we got one marinehot. >> oneof the marines is st through the chest. he is able to talk but needs urgent medical care. the talibanad the troops in eir sights. watch as the rounds land close by. >> we are going to try to shoot thbirds down. >> as the emergency medical team rives, the taliban agai opened fire. o days later, another member the platoon wahot and this time killed. they have lost 13 men in the la three months, and although ty had driven the taliban backthey are stretched. >> the reaty is w should be able

. >> the death toll to the jump this weekend after a bomb killed two nato troops. one was american. the other was afghanistani. have a we armed insurgents attacked outposts killing more soldiers. this added to the frustration of the protestors who took to the streets of d.c. this morning. >> there's nothing about negotiations, bringing the troops home, or anytng. i am very frustrated. that is why i am here today. >> the recent string of violence puts more pressure on president obama and his advisers. new u.s. policy calls for troops to leave remote terrain for more populated areas. the base attacked this weekend was supposed to close in just a few days. >> we must focus our resources andprioritized in the areas where the population is most threatened. we do not have enough forces to do everything everywhere at once >> military officials say they are becoming more vulnerable as insurgents target isolated outposts. >> we're trying to win over the population. when we are away from the population, we are just targets. >> and increasing number of rural villages are now siding with the ta

today two nato service members killed in southern afghanistan. one of them was american. last week the top u.s. commander in afghanistan made a public plea for more troops. he's asked the president for as many as 40,000. >> ideally it's better to come up through the chain of commands. and i think that the general and others in the chain of command will present the president with not just one option, which tends to have a forcing function, but a range of options that the president can consider. >> the obama administration is reviewing u.s. strategy in afghanistan. >>> an oklahoma highway patrol trooper suspended for fighting with a paramedic in may is being accused of excessive force again. daniel martin was sus penned earlier this year after video surfaced of him choking a paramedic. the latest scuffle involving a man saying he was in a friend's house doing renovations. martin told him to come to the street, when he refused, the officer began beating him. douglas says he's considering lawsuit. >>> central florida authorities are sorting out a gruesome murder scene where a

and nato forces afghanistan said in london today. it is easy to see what -- see why general stanley mcchrystal is concerned. 10,000 u.s. marines are and the province, facing daily gun battles with the taliban. our correspondent and a camera and went to one of the most remote outposts. >> marching to war, marines from petco company. -- marines from echo company. the corn provides good coverage, one of the few places a from homemade bombs. few foreign troops have been this far south before. it is the very edge of america's spirit of influence, or the taliban are at their strongest. >> we want to make sure -- >> the marines know that the insurges are watching. >> they have ready a check. we hear them praying. then they start shooting. >> in the last few minutes, the marines have come under fire by taliban positions, a couple hundred meters in that direction. things have been fairly quiet and indeed of the last few weeks, but the fear was that the taliban was regrouping and replenishing. so far that seems to be borne out. they need cover

the atlantic council as part of our nato forum.i recognize a number of faces in the crowd who also were able to join us earlier today to hear senator richard lugar deliver a speech on the future of the alliance and provide a congressional perspective on the debate concerning nato's new strategic concept. for any of you that weren't here we'll have that transcript on the web and it was also taped by c-span which is here with us again tonight i also want to have a special thanks to our board member lucy fitch,

just to bring you up to speed, we are learning about some more deaths in afghanistan two nato troops including one american who were killed in more violence in addition to the violence that you mentioned over the weekend. now, today the president is scheduled to meet with defense secretary robert gates followed by two more high-level meet thgs week on afghanistan. the insurgent attack over the weekend was the deadliest on u.s. forces in more than a year, say military officials. in all, at least eight service members were killed. the violence is a stark reminder of what's at stake as pressure builds on the white house to reassess its war strategy. >> time is of the essence. i don't think we have a great deal of time to sit around and have a big debate about this. >> this week president obama huddled again with his senior advisors as he considers recommendations from u.s. commander stanley mcchrystal who wants thousands of more troops. mr. obama met with him aboard air force one friday in copenhagen after making his olympic page. the says is weighing his options and will make a decisio

and nato commander in afghanistan, army general stanley mcchrystal bluntly warned that afghan insurgents are gathering strength. senator lindsey graham on fox news sunday agreed that something must be done. >> the security situation is going to get worse and any hope of better governance is lost and the taliban will reemerge. >> reporter: president obama's national security adviser, former general jim jones insisted that afghanistan is not in imminent danger of falling to the taliban and fired back at mcchrystal. >> what general mcchrystal has done is presented his opinion, is presenting his opinion of what he thinks his role within that strategy is. our strategy is a regional strategy. >> reporter: secretary gates has said he remains undecided on strategy and gave no hints today as far as towards which camp he is leaning. tomorrow president obama plans to meet with a bipartisan group of congressional leaders to talk about the war. he said the administration would brief leaders from both parties and key committee chairmen and also seek their opinions. >> claudia tonight. >>> according to

and should president obama send more troops to beef up the nato forces there? u.s. commander general stanley mcchrystal has said the situation is serious, and thousands of new forces are necessary. it was a big topic on fox news sunday. >> i would support the request if that is what the president decides but i think there is also a decent case to be made that perhaps the afghans just can't do their part. >> one thing i can tell you, if we don't add more troops you'll see more of what happened yesterday, the security situation, is going to get worse, and any hope of better governance is lost and the taliban will reemerge. >> jamie: joining me, bret baier, filling in for chris wallace, good morning to you. >> bret: good morning, jamie. >> jamie: i'm sure the interview is informative and we'll get answers but we know the surge strategy worked in iraq. will we learn when more troops may be deployed. >> bret: we don't and we don't know if the president will make that decision and it's possible according to the people in the administration, he could side with the faction

speaking at the nato conference here ahead of general stanley mcchrystal. sorry, different people talking in my ear. viewers at home are probably like, yeah what is she saying? yeah, go ahead. are we listening in or going on? we're moving on. >>> a legally blind ohio teenager scored a touchdown for his high school football team. what a great story, rafer. >>> and, i mean and he legitimately scored the touchdown. the other team had no eyeidea of his disability. it's just such a great story. 16-year-old tyler brown of mccomb, ohio, usually manages the team. the coach convinced his mom to let her son suit up. well, on october 15th with his team near the goal line, tyler was put in at quarterback. made the play of his life. a one-yard sneak for the score. his teammates were cheering. his mom shed happy tears. a moment he will remember just what it couldn't get any worse for the cleveland browns, the team has been sacked by the flu on monday. 12 players missed practice for flu-like symptoms. the players have not been tested for the swine flu but the ap reports t

assessment of his commander on the ground but also his diplomats, the commander, the security and the nato partners involved and pakistan next door which is politically important to this situation and the entire global effort. the president, as commander in chief, has to look at more than what is happening in a single theater. he has to look at what is necessary to defeat afghan globally. we are going to do what is necessary to accomplish our goal in afghanistan but we are not going to do it without having taken stock, without going through a comprehensive assessment where all voices are heard and the president make as judgment. there is no decision more serious, david, than putting americans into harm's way. the president will do what is necessary to keep america safe. but he's going to do it after a thoughtful and careful analysis. >> general mcchrystal said this after speaking to military officials in london, about the views of the national security, whether you go in with a lighter footprint without committing more resources, just focus on counterterrorism. this is what he said this we

and nato commander in afghanistan plans to move u.s. troops into heavily populated areas instead of keeping them at remost out posts which are difficult to attend. it is part of the focus in protecting afghan civilians. >>> and iran is shifting to cooperative according to a watchdog group and u.n. they will get a closer look at the uranium site in iran. and now it is said they have enough information to make an atom ball. iran says it is for medical research only. >>> would-be carjackers targeting the wrong guy. he had a gun. the officer works in d.c. was off duty and says the man fired at him and he fired back with his police-issued gun. police believe he shot one of the carjackers. >>> the latest on the wildfire that has burned 8,000 acres and three homes. now governor schwarzenegger is reacting. >>> and up next, we're talking to clinton portis about his work for becky's fund and we're going to ask him about yesterday's win too. we're back in a moment. don't go anywhere. more and more, the quality of our lives depends on our connectio

american forces and the nato people have not stood up enough.we need those additional forces tanned that would be helpful. >> julie: american forces shouldn't have to do it alone. mcchrystal warns of a mission failure. he requests as many as 40,000 more troops. some are arguing that because members of al-qaeda figures ran out afghanistan after the attacks they are across the border in pakistan. there is no point to a military presence in afghanistan. what do you say to that? >> i say they don't know what they are talking about. they come back and forth when they want to. the reason they are in pakistan is because we've kicked them out of afghanistan. now look -- the taliban and al-qaeda they are all the same. they are radical islamists they have a different brand or different objective but the fact is as soon as the taliban take over as you remember before 9/11 pre-9/11, they were protecting the al-qaeda there and they were using afghanistan as a sanctuary in which they hit the united states. why do we want to go back to pre-9/11 and let them hi

. >>> the latest round of fighting in afghanistan has claimed the lives of two nato troopers, including an american. this follows the death of eight u.s. soldiers this past weekend. they were killed during a fierce assault on two remote outposts in the northern part of the country. a total. 16 u.s. service members have died in afghanistan during the first five days of october. president obama is weighing whether to send thousands of additional u.s. forces to afghanistan. but today, the white house reiterated that leaving afghanistan is not an option. >>> well, tonight, the cbs evening news with katie couric begins a series of reports on afghanistan, the road ahead. katie joins us now with a preview. hello, katie. thanks for being with us. >> hi, denise. nice to talk to you. >> so my understanding is that for the next three nights, your broadcast is focusing on the increasingly controversial war in afghanistan. and in fact, more than half of the news will be devoted to this. why do you think it's important? >> reporter: actually, the vast majority of our broadcast will focus solely on af

. >> two nato troops were injured when this convoy came under attack from some kind of explosive, probably an ied. this is clearly still a weapon of choice among insurgents and terrorists in afghanistan. but the there was another similar instance southwest of kabul, where there was a small arms incident and rbd fire. no one was injured there. shepard: we're learning about one of the deadliest recent days and the war. >> it was a bad saturday, this past saturday, in a province far northwest near the pakistan border. when a u.s. military force was overrun, outnumbered by taliban fighters firing from the hillsides. they killed eight american soldiers and two afghan soldiers who were there. we're now learning that some insurgents, the enemy, were also killed in that attack carried since then, forces have been chasing those responsible for the attack in the hills around that area, and they killed 40 more of the insurgents. shepard: david petraeus commented on the war in afghanistan today. what did he say? >> he said security is deteriorating, very similar from what general mcchrystal is saying.

we have nato partners involved, we also have pakistan next door, which is critically important to this equation. and the entire global effort to fight and defeat al qaeda. the president as commander-in-chief has to look at more than what is happening in a single theatre. he has to look at what is necessary to advance our goal of defeating al qaeda globally. and that's clearly a very important theatre. we're going to do what's necessary to accomplish our goal in afghanistan. but we're not going to do it without having taken stock, without going through a comprehensive and responsible assessment where all voices are heard. and the president makes a judgment. there's no decision more serious, david, then a putting more americans into harm's way. the president will do what is necessary to keep america safe. but he's going to do it after a thoughtful and thorough analysis. >> general mccrystal said this speaking to military specialists in london about the difference in views from the national security team about whether you go in with kind of a lighter footprint, without committing more for

and nato forces in afghanistan met with president obama. james rosen reports on the continuing indecision on how to fight the war. >> the meeting aboard air force i as it idled on a copenhagen tarmac, president obama spent a half hour with stanley mcchrystal, the top u.s. commander in afghanistan. the huddle marked their first face to face since mcchrystal urged the commander in chief in a memo that was widely leaked to commit 30,000 to 40,000 more troops in the war effort, a request that the president is still mulling. >> they agreed that this was a helpful process. general mcchrystal expects that the president and others are going to ask him questions about the assessment that he's made. >> on wednesday, the president convened his war council with mcchrystal taking part via link. there were pointed challenges to mcchrystal's assessment, including sharp questioning by vice president biden who is set to favor reduced reliance on ground troops and greater use of airpower and counterterrorism strikes. thursday, the general struck back during

and nato commander in afghanistan plans to move u.s.roops into heavily populated areas instead keeping them at remote outposts which are ofn difficult to defend. part of a new plan to help protect afghan civilians. >>> while the recession might be turned around being tough ties are still ahead on the job front. that is the word from former fed chair alan greenspan in a sunday morning tv interview. the unemployment rate reached 9.8% last month and it may continue to rise. greenspan predict it will pass 10% and stay there for a while. he says that is bad for people who have been out of work for six months or longer because they start to lose their job skills. >> the economy loses skills. people who are out of work for very protracted pertdz of time lose their skills eventually and remember that what makes an economy great is a combination of the capital assets of the economy and the people who run it. >> the who you has reportedly started preliminary talks with congressional democratic leaders on ways to ease the financial burden of the u

nato forces report a roadside bomb killed two of our troops in the northern part of the country today. that comes after a couple of deadly attacks over the weekend. in which hundreds of militants are said to have attacked a pair of isolated military outposts near the pakistan border and killed eight u.s. soldiers and two interpreters. our national correspondent steve centanni at the pentagon tonight. what do we know regarding specifics of this attack now, steve? >> yeah, shep, this was saturday in far northwestern afghanistan. a upof -- of 140. when they came under fire from taliban and foreign fighters and they were greatly outnumbered at the end of a day long fire fight. eight americans were killed and two afghan soldiers were killed. worst incident of its kind in over a year. so, those are the details. they were scheduled to be out -- this group was scheduled to have been withdrawn but they weren't because according to one report there weren't enough transport helicopters to get them out in time. shepard: you mentioned this is the deadliest one in a year in year. take a look how in

also the inputs of his diplomats, he has to look at the military, the security situation we have in nato, we also have pakistan next door which is important to the equation and the entire global effort to fight and defeat al qaeda. >> for more, let's go to jik pi jim miklaszewski. was this a surprise attack? >> reporter: absolutely. the forces at that camp, that forward combat post there in the far eastern regions, the rugged moupts continue regions of afghanistan were attacked just after dawn by about 75 to 80 enemy forces. the battle raged on for more than six hours. and the enemy was firing from one concealed protections on on the mountain side that surround that camp. so they had the advantage of holding the high ground. and it took some time for u.s. combat helicopters and artillery to route out the enemy. at one point, the enemy was at ground level, had breached the wire, had entered the camp at a couple locations. part of the camp that was occupied by afghan national security forces wept up in flames, burned to the ground, and as you reported eight americans were killed and two af

according to the statements it makes could be aimed at democratic ally in the middle east and some of our nato allies and missile capability and i'm not prepared just to trust y want to do what ronald reagan told us to do, i want to verify. if they don't allow us to do that, then i want to move in the ways that i think is effective and that is through worldwide economic sanctions that really choke up iran's ability to behave in a normal fashion unless and until it cooperates with the world community and the u.n. resolutions. >> congresswoman jane harmin, thank you. see you soon. joining us now, ambassador wendy sherm sherman. thank you for joining us. you have been across the table from some of these players and you know what the stakes are, how did the u.s. handle it today as far as you're concerned and agreeing to these one-on-one talks. i. >> i think you heard consistent statements today that we're looking for transparency and accountability and, andrea, this is not the end of the beginning. this is the beginning of the beginning of a very long and difficult negotiating process. it sounds l

top cabinet secretaries, including general stanley mcchrystal, the commander of nato forces in afghanistan, reported to have asked for anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000 more troops to implement a counterinsurgency strategy he believes is what president obama set forth in march. ever since then the president has said after the afghan elections we are going to take another look at this. that's just what they are doing. a series of high-level meetings at the white house. no word on whether or not they have decided on that final count for troop levels, but this is the first time, yesterday, where they took up general mcchrystal's request specifically. prior to that wanted to have a strategy in place before talking about resources. >> another meeting next week? >> reporter: right. >> busy day port president yesterday, culminated with that meeting, with his war council. it started off with him receiving the nobel peace prize. i'm curious if anyone thinks that will have an affect in the decision on the war in afghanistan? >> reporter: even president obama said in his very humble remarks about 11:00

nato could go do everything right.n't but will still feel unless afghanis trust their government. steve: make sure it is done right. because the u.n. descriewd up the first time. robert gates suicide attack. that sounds like a lot ofy goal. try to -- brian: there were nine suicide attacks four years ago. 150 the next year. 250 now. stop the people who support and train those who become suicide bombers. steve: meanwhile, if you can't beat them, let them join. linda robinson thorpe of tell me how this ends writes in a year we must persuade large number of insurgents to lay down their arms or switch to the government side. gretchen: human rights commission says kick out corruption. i guess that would be the taliban and al qaeda. >> car caesary as well because he has been an oi al salute. meanwhile, learn to tax from the taliban. >> this is interesting, gretchen, peter has wrot this she mitt taliban forces extort money from trucks carrying illegal cargo through their territories and demand protection fees from local busine