the aircraft will remain in northern afghanistan until the end of the year at least. meetings with tribal elders take place on a regular basis. the mission is about encouraging a political solution to the afghan conflict as well as a military one. analysts say the two approaches need to go hand in hand. >> a lot of afghans see this as the beginning of the end of the interests of the international community in their country. that sends a shiver down the spines of a lot of people. there will be little notice -- little noticeable effect on the military situation in the short term. even if nato starts the hanover now, as they keep saying, it is not clear when the process will end. sometime in 2014. >> only recently, taliban fighters launched an attack on the prestigious inter- continental hotel in kabul. responsibility for security in the capital had already been transferred to afghans, but neither police nor the army was able to defeat the attackers. helicopters called in to help end the siege after five hours. since the incident, the hotel has become a symbol of evidenc

training provided by the germans in northern afghanistan last four months. but i set demands that the basic standards should be similar. >> the security situation is the most important requirement for every step we take in the beginning phase of transformation. the most important task is to guarantee security in afghanistan and secondly, to develop the afghan security forces to appoint -- to a point where they will be capable of taking over security responsibilities. >> the germans are saying for the moment. their withdrawal starts at the end of the year. what form that will take is still unclear. the debate is ongoing. german forces will make their first hand over to afghan troops on july 20. but they will remain in charge in the turbulent areas. the germans still need support from u.s. attack in medivac helicopters. the aircraft will remain in northern afghanistan until the end of the year at least. meetings with tribal elders take place on a regular basis. the mission is about encouraging a political solution to the afghan conflict as well as a military o

in northern afghanistan the most powerful person in northern afghanistan yesterday somebody killed the most powerful person in southern afghanistan there is no clear afghan leader in the north and now in the far more important the all important south there is no leader the canadians are pulling out the americans feel that they now have pacified this area and want to focus on the east they have relied upon. as their person their their man on the ground there is no one there right now someone in time is going to have to come forward there is no person right now with the stature of wali karzai generally speaking to oxy very recently the former chief of the pakistani intelligence service said the only way to ensure peace in the region is for the u.s. to hold direct talks with the taliban really interested to get your views on they smell the death of one cause and now force washington. that's a very interesting point for pakistan to say that because in the one nine hundred eighty s. when i worked as a newspaper reporter in afghanistan there were negotiations between the dean of the united s

we make contact with the taliban and head to the province of baghlan in northern afghanistan. jsoc has unleashed a series of night raids and air strikes against insurgent leaders here. we've arranged a meeting with a group of taliban who have just survived one of these attacks. they are on the run, and the meeting has taken months to arrange. we find the taliban gathered at the grave of their former commander, killed in a us air strike on this spot. >> narrator: until recently, khalid amin was a foot soldier. he now controls around 50 taliban fighters, after two senior commanders were killed by special forces. >> narrator: frontline was unable to verify the number of taliban in baghlan. but what's clear is that attacks by the taliban have continued across this province since the kill/capture raids began. >> we're killing a lot of mid- level commanders, but they get replaced by other mid-level commanders. so it hurts them in the sense that they have to promote new people, but they just promote new people. and the more raids we do like this, the more we upset and aggrieve the af

that might be a low estimate given it doesn't include killings in northern afghanistan in the last few months because the u.n. closed their office in that region after it was attacked by a mob that killed several staffers. it's clear, mr. speaker, that after nearly a decade of war we haven't been able to vanquish the enemy and bring stability and security to afghanistan. if after 10 years we can't do more to subdue the insurgency then clearly, clearly we must be doing something wrong. clearly there must be a better approach. i have been pushing for that new approach for many years now. it's called smart security and it's based on the belief that sending 100,000 troops to occupy a sovereign country is not the best way to win trust and to promote peace. and which has proven to fan the flames of resentment, to give increased momentum to extremists and to put lives of american troops and afghan civilians in danger. what we need, mr. speaker, is an afghanistan civilian surge as bold as the military surge that has gotten us further entangled in this failed war. that's what smart security is

covert actions or special operations missions were used of course of afghanistan with forces of the northern iraq alliance in two thousand and one to overthrow the taliban who are already running around with a select committee châlons in northern iraq where you were a so i'm sure it's those reports on the ground working with them and the girl you have to be a patient of iraq in two thousand and three so this would be a scenario quite frequently and i think you know the fact that there are consequences on the scare. as you're along and others have openly acknowledged in airdropping grafton's and so again as your commentary is that earlier a very markedly better a few years down the road. in many ways dangerous what i said why why is it wrong to draw weapons to civilians the french say they want to boost the rebellion that process by bringing the company to an end date have been humanitarian reasons why they've been dropping weapons to civilians so what is the problem about that. that's a curious statement you know providing weapons to civilians are you assumed americans are used by military f

covert actions or special operations missions were used of course of afghanistan with forces with the northern life alliance in two thousand and one there overthrow the taliban at the r.v. run again with a select committee of salaries in northern iraq the u.s. i'm sure of special forces on the ground working with them in the for all you to the nation of iraq in two thousand and three so this would be a scenario played through the play and i think that you know the fact that the french defense minister. are a long day and others have openly acknowledged that they didn't air dropping the weapons and so again as your commentary said earlier a very motley had a genius you know that in many ways dangerous what i said of why why is it wrong to drop weapons to civilians the french say they they want to boost the rebellion that process is bringing the conflict to to an end date have been humanitarian reasons why they've been dropping weapons to civilians so so what is the problem about that. that's a curious statement you know providing weapons to civilians i assume that weapons are used by military f

afghanistan after. it doesn't have to be this way. it doesn't have to be this way at all. we can learn from the past. rearm the northern alliance, we've perceived the arrogance, the condescension, not only from prime minister maliki in iraq but certainly from the leader in afghanistan, karzai, certainly from his brother, there's just too much arrogance there, all kinds of stories about corruption, whether or not you believe that it's clear that the taliban is being allowed to do things now in afghanistan that we were supposed to have eliminated by our coming in. it may well be as one afghan told me that once we begin, if we would to rearm the northern alliance, karzai might be a lot more cooperative than he has been. but nonetheless a year ago we were being told, your administration in washington, the obama administration is indirectly talking, negotiationing with the taliban to just let the united states out without any big incidence and then they can have whatever they take. and that's when they pointed out , you can't let this happen, you can't do this to your allies. well, we've already seen with israel, we voted w

afghanistan earlier this month. nato airstrikes of cost of food storage complex in. northern libyan city torn between colonel gadhafi forces and nato supported rebels meanwhile forty kilometers to the east in opposition held misrata government forces burnt one of the region's major fuel depots the u.n. envoy to libya helped talks with the rebel council in benghazi on monday but the sides were unable to come up with a peaceful solution to the conflict the country's ongoing civil war started in february with nato joining in back in march. kosovo has sent forces to its northern border with serbia to enforce an import ban imposed last week the move has led to a rise in ethnic tensions with local serbs resisting the police presence the authorities say they control one of the border crossings and another is being blocked by locals the ban was to counter serbia's boycott of cars of our goods in place since its unilateral declaration of independence in two thousand and eight. the un is to make an emergency delivery of food and humanitarian aid to somalia where extreme drought has put

resources on pakistan yemen somalia parts of northern africa and other locations i've always believed pakistan is more central to what happens in afghanistan a change in the guard at the department of defense with robert gates retiring and former cia chief leon panetta getting sworn in signals this change of course to critics i see no difference between between him and robert gates and for afghanistan we now hear a presidential pledge to pull thirty three thousand troops out by september two thousand and twelve fully we're covering the surge i announced at west point well it certainly sounds like what the american people would like to hear for the first time ever a majority want u.s. troops out about ghana stand as soon as possible fifty six percent while thirty nine percent want troops there until the situation is stabilized you can see the trend is really flip flopped but what is the reality of obama's plans for troop withdrawal well that thirty three thousand he's calling for is a minority of the one hundred thousand american troops that are there that's not including another forty two thousand some nato troops and ninety thousand depar

afghanistan. so far there has been no contact or demand from the kidnappers. >>> in northern iowa, riots broke outual day of protestant marchs that often trigger demonstrations by catholics. thousands of people including police officers were injured inspite of a 1998 peace agreement there is still animosity between catholics and protestants. >>> members of a group that tracks crimes against gays, lesbians and transgender people say they are seeing an increase in attacks. there was a 13% increase in violent crimes committed against lgbt people last year compared to 2009. last year's homicide count reached 27. that's up from 22 in 2009. 44% were transgender women. >>> a new website created by some stanford students helps californians track how the state spends taxpayer money. it's called california common sense. and it has information about state employee wages, pension costs and spending by department. students say they want to highlight inefficiency to promote better policies. there's also information about how 40 other states spend their money. >>> up next here, only on 2, putting a tail fin on a

afghanistan. so far there has been no contact or demand from the kidnappers. >>> in northern iowa, riots broke out protestant marchs that often trigger demonstrations by catholics. thousands of people including police officers were injured inspite of a 1998 peace agreement there is still animosity between catholics and protestants. >>> members of a group that tracks crimes against gays, lesbians and transgender people say they are seeing an increase in attacks. there was a 13% increase in violent crimes committed against lgbt people last year compared to 2009. last year's homicide count reached 27. that's up from 22 in 2009. 44% were transgender women. >>> a new website created by some stanford students helps californians track how the state spends taxpayer money. it's called california common sense. and it has information about state employee wages, pension costs and spending by department. students say they want to highlight inefficiency to promote better policies. there's also information about how 40 other states spend their money. >>> up next here, only on 2, putting a tail fin on a truck and

anytime soon do you mean the situation in afghanistan during the one thousand nine hundred sixty two thousand and one civil conflict between the taliban in the northern alliance the northern alliance were the former regime. had power in kabul and into diplomatic relations with the west even though the taliban controlled ninety five percent of the country it sounds just wishful thinking even physically if i were a diplomat i would find it disturbing and it's a bizarre situation i mean if the u.s. knows who these people are they're not seeing and certainly there's no doubt that traditionally there's always been a very component to these in the round because it's so realistic to assume that that is not still the case the u.s. is going missing it should be skids full of hundred dollar bills to third world countries and expecting them to end up in the right hands a mistake really going to happen. the recognition of the rebels by more nations may bolster their spirit but it's a different story in combat fierce fighting for a key eastern oil town has ended with heavy opposition casualties as during a bushel reports of thought france is now trying to tactic

stability in afghanistan required engagement of all these, not as the pakistani and the dangers people and not just the presence of the taliban and the political system but the northern and other groups and a council of reasonable -- regional stability is essential to give support for a stable afghanistan that we all want to see. >> i listened carefully to what the right hon. gentleman says and he has experience in this and i agree with what he says that the neighbors of afghanistan are fully involved. one point i would make is what i have seen is there is no shortage of ideas, new processes to wrap around it. the problem is lack of commitment. we need to see real commitment from the afghans to work with the pakistanis and roh commitment from the pakistanis to work with the afghans. hamid karzai has made reasonable points when he visited which is to say there must be the ability to allow a taliban to go to talk but those taliban who don't want to talk must be arrested and confronted by the pakistanis. we can wrap all the processes in the world around it. in the end what we should be about is encouraging real commitment to make the peace process work. >> may i endorse

but you can look at the situation in afghanistan during the one nine hundred ninety six to two thousand and one civil conflict there between the taleban in the northern alliance the northern alliance were the former regime that had power in kabul and enjoyed diplomatic relations with the west even though the taleban controlled ninety five percent of the country it's almost just wishful thinking and frankly if i were a diplomat i would find it disturbing it's a bizarre situation i mean if the u.s. knows who these people are they're not seeing and certainly there's no doubt that traditionally there's always been a very high component of jihad these days even around benghazi so it's unrealistic to assume that that is not still the case the u.s. has an amazing how it should be skids full of hundred dollar bills to third world countries and expecting them to end up in the right hands and really going to happen of course you are with our team and still to come this hour when passing by becomes a crime. the captains of the two boats which were at the side of the volga river cruiser disaster but didn't stop to help are facing arrest. italy has approved a tou

but you can look at the situation in afghanistan during the one thousand nine hundred sixty two thousand and one civil conflict there between the taleban in the northern alliance the northern alliance where the former regime. had a coward in kabul and the diplomatic relations with the best in the taleban controlled ninety five percent of the country it's almost just wishful thinking and frankly if i originally met i would find it disturbing good to preserve our situation if the u.s. knows who these people are they're not seeing and certainly there's no doubt that traditionally there's always been a very high component of jihad. around ghazi. realistic to assume that that is not still because the u.s. has an amazing how it should be a skits full of hundred dollar bills to third world countries and expecting them to end up in the right hands. really going to have. a high level recognition of the rebels may bolster their spirits but it's a different story in combat fierce fighting for a keystroke oil town s. and with heavy casualties among the opposition as they are going reports it's thought france is now trying the talking tactic was the libyan regime

you can look at the situation in afghanistan during the one thousand nine hundred six to two thousand and one civil conflict there between the taliban and the northern alliance the northern alliance they were the former regime that had power in kabul and they enjoyed diplomatic relations with the west even though the taleban controlled ninety five percent of the country but the they were kind of grandfathered in in this situation there's no grandfathering there's no. student it's almost just wishful thinking and frankly if i were a diplomat i would find it disturbing so these are just words that it's going to make any difference to this culture that you don't think that this official recognition which you say has been so hard to get in the pulse of the us is going to make any difference to this conflict. well of course the facts on the ground as the american policymakers like to say is what matters the question is who controls tripoli and who controls the the economy of the nation at this point does still work a donkey whether it's popular or not is sort of beside the point the point is who controls out who controls the country out of this just to i

but you can look at the situation in afghanistan during the one thousand nine hundred six to two thousand and one civil conflict there between the taleban in the northern alliance the northern alliance were the former regime that had power in kabul and they enjoyed diplomatic relations with the west even though the taleban controlled ninety five percent of the country it's almost just wishful thinking and frankly if i were a diplomat i would find it disturbing that it's a bizarre situation if the u.s. knows who these people are they're not seeing and certainly there's no doubt that traditionally there's always been a very high component of jihadi feedin around benghazi so it's unrealistic to assume that that is not still the case the u.s. has an amazing habit of shipping skids full of hundred dollar bills to third world countries and expecting them to end up in the right hands and that's not really going to happen. time is running out for american politicians to agree on the next move in sorting out its soaring debt deadline to lift the nation's fourteen point three trillion dollar debt ceiling is looming ever closer as normally can struggle to find a