the pakistanis are cooperating with the afghan taliban but not their own taliban. is that correct? >> the pakistani-- after 9/11, after the we're ended, most of the taliban who survived the american invasion escaped into pakistan and set up shop there and then relaunched their attacks into afghanistan in 2003, 2004. and helping them were pakistani tribessed men who had been paid by them, who were providing them with body guard guards and conts who bring in ammunition and all the rest of it. and these pakistani taliban then became a-- demanded they had an agenda which was to destroy the pakistan government. and also help the afghan brothers fight the americans. so they were fighting on two fronts, as it were. >> jon: so pakistan is fighting the taliban, and supporting and replenishing the taliban. >> this is the very complicated situation. >> jon: it sounds very complicated. >> pakistan is essentially fighting its pakistani taliban, its own taliban, because these taliban want to overthrow the whole system. but they're giving a sense to the afghan taliban, allowing them to cross the b

the pakistani taliban is the biggest islamist extremist group in the country. a spokesperson for the group told nhk that it was responsible. local police could not verify that, but they suspect islamist extremists are to blame. the pakistani taliban spokesperson also told nhk that the group would continue to target chinese under the oppression of muslims in a region of china comes to an end. the region in western china has frequently been rocked by riots and demonstrations. chinese authorities blame muslim extremists seeking independence. china's crackdown there appears to be intensifying. a chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on friday condemned the attack. he demanded that pakistan use all its strength to arrest the murders and guarantee the safety of chinese citizens in pakistan. china suspects that separatists are operating from a base across the border in pakistan. the latest incident may increase pressure on islamabad to tackle their presence on pakistani soil. >> and finally, thailand's growing mitd class is getting a taste for premium coffee. it's a m

the pakistani taliban is the biggest islamist extremist group in the country. a spokesperson for the group told nhk that it was responsible. local police could not verify that, but they suspect islamist extremists are to blame. the pakistani taliban spokesperson also told nhk that the group would continue to target chinese under the oppression of muslims in a region of china comes to an end. the region in western china has frequently been rocked by riots and demonstrations. chinese authorities blame muslim extremists seeking independence. china's crackdown there appears to be intensifying. a chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on friday condemned the attack. he demanded that pakistan use all its strength to arrest the murders and guarantee the safety of chinese citizens in pakistan. china suspects that separatists are operating from a base across the border in pakistan. the latest incident may increase pressure on islamabad to tackle their presence on pakistani soil. >> and finally, thailand's growing mitd class is getting a taste for premium coffee. it's a m

behind the killings has come out that he was in afghanistan. >> unfortunately, you have the pakistani taliban who are fighting the pakistan army right now. they are becoming kind of a proxy for al qaeda. al qaeda has been decimated, but a lot of their ideas have been taken up by some elements of the pakistani taliban, who are still training a lot of europeans. there was a recent case of several germans who were trained, went back to germany, and the british muslims have been trying to go in there. the pakistan army is dealing with this issue, but it is extremely difficult. the terrain, the breakdown of relations with america, the lack of cooperation with america on the border of palestine. i hope these things can be resumed and the army will take on these things. there is a major threat to pakistan if there is a terrorist threat in europe that can be traced back to pakistan. >> in libya, the southern town is a major corridor for economic refugees who hope to leave sub- saharan africa for europe. it is long and dangerous journey across the sahara desert. libyas detention centers are now full o

behind the killings has come out that he was in afghanistan. >> unfortunately, you have the pakistani taliban who are fighting the pakistan army right now. they are becoming kind of a proxy for al qaeda. al qaeda has been decimated, but a lot of their ideas have been taken up by some elements of the pakistani taliban, who are still training a lot of europeans. there was a recent case of several germans who were trained, went back to germany, and the british muslims have been trying to go in there. the pakistan army is dealing with this issue, but it is extremely difficult. the terrain, the breakdown of relations with america, the lack of cooperation with america on the border of palestine. i hope these things can be resumed and the army will take on these things. there is a major threat to pakistan if there is a terrorist threat in europe that can be traced back to pakistan. >> in libya, the southern town is a major corridor for economic refugees who hope to leave sub- saharan africa for europe. it is long and dangerous journey across the sahara desert. libyas detention centers are now full o

but the real point is that most of the taliban leadership is in pakistan. and the pakistanis were very upset that this dialogue that started secretly between the americans and the taliban bypassed pakistan, bypassed the intelligence agency, the isi. and now the america, i think, has to find a way in which it can bring pakistan, if not to the table, at least bring pakistan into the negotiations, so they don't feel totally left out. that is the best way at the moment to try to re-cement ties. i don't think the relationship will ever go back to what it was under president bush, and the kind of cooperation and the kind of, you know, things that were happening then. the u.s. will continue doing certain things like firing off drone missiles. the pakistanis will object to that. so we're not going to have a very clear, and we're not going to have a very committed relationship to each other. >> in terms of pakistan being on the brink, you describe pakistan as not being on the brink of becoming a failed state like yemen or somalia, but essentially being on the brink of anarchy. do you

because there is also the pakistani taliban which is separate in many ways from the afghan taliban you in you have the government of pakistan which is trying to stand between the taliban and stand for the people in general and in the middle of it you have the i aside which controls the military which is another entity basically all its own so there are really like six players in this game and to look at just one one side you'll never know what's really going on i think it's a really good point game and big battlefield and a lot of complicated situations going on as you say it's a really good point that a lot of americans especially are just unaware of appreciate the film appreciate you coming on today jim for us director of saddo of afghanistan and author of blood on the land the filmmakers quest for truth in afghanistan. well i thought politics now there are republican caucuses in washington state this weekend and of course super tuesday just a few days away and let's be honest these last few months have been a roller coaster over iraq fluctuating polls sharp jabs traded over cable ne

moving on to two swiss nationals are free after being held by the pakistani taliban for eight months.hat -- >> after turning up at an army post, the couple has been flown to pashawar. there are conflicting reports. the taliban says ransom was paid, but this was government says the couple managed to escape and no money exchanged hands. belgium is to hold a national day of mourning on friday for the victims of tuesday's bus tragedy. the pope has offered his prayers for the families of the victims. >> 22 of the people killed were school children. investigators are still searching for the cause of the crash. >> relatives retrace their loved ones final moments. visiting the tunnel where the accident occurred. many carried flowers and letters to leave at the scene of the crash. the less seriously injured survivors are being treated at the hospital. the doctor says the children are doing well and can probably be moved home to belgium in the coming days. >> we do not know if it is going to be tomorrow or the day after. we will probably need to use two hospital planes. because they are injured

military officials in pakistan say a swiss couple held hostage for eight months by the pakistani taliban have been released. the couple was abducted at gun point as they traveled through the province in southwestern pakistan. they're reported to have handed over to authorities in waziristan. the afghan man whose stolen vehicle burst into flames in helmand province has died from his burns. a u.s. military spokesman says there was no indication the man knew that the u.s. defense secretary, leon panetta, was arriving at the base. the afghan worked as a translator. he had attempted to ram the vehicle into a group of u.s. marines. the american soldier accused of killing 16 afghan civilians earlier this week has been flown out of afghanistan. he's been flown to kuwait. u.s. officials say legal proceedings against him will now go ahead outside afghanistan. the victims, nine of them children, were shot in their homes in the early hours of sunday. i'm joined from our studio in kabul by a former member of afghanistan's parliament and now a political active -- activist. thank you very much for join

the pakistanis of the pakistani public reaction when one of the leaders of the pakistani taliban was it was actually positive but by and large it's been negative and by and large the public in pakistan has viewed this as evidence of weakness of the country the fact that its own sovereignty is weak when the american government can run this program they can be can target and strike on these citizens without their government being able to control it and right now we're seeing the lead into a new parliamentary election in pakistan and anti-u.s. and anti grown rhetoric is out up heat and i'd say the new emerging potential political stars on the pakistani stage are united in their anti-american rhetoric anti drone rhetoric and this is definitely having an impact on the way the government and the military interact with the united states it's much more cool much more distance that we have the you know the gross mistakes that the united states made in the last year the raymond davis incident the raid on the pakistani border post that killed twenty four for which the u.s. apologized but there

the pakistanis said the dead included two senior commanders of the pakistani taliban. both strikes occurred in the waziristan tribal area along the rugged border with afghanistan. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to ray. >> suarez: the u.s. economy gave off new signs of momentum today, from retail sales to the federal reserve's latest outlook. they provided reasons for optimism, even as rising gas prices gave cause for concern. american shoppers are picking up the pace. retail sales rose more than 1% in february, the most in five months. that news followed friday's report that employers added another 227,000 jobs in february. consequently, the federal reserve said today the economy is expanding moderately. but the fed also warned that the spike in gas prices will feed inflation-- at least temporarily. in fact, with gasoline up 30 cents a gallon in the past month president obama is feeling the political heat. he acknowledged as much yesterday in washington. >> as long as gas prices are going up, people are going to feel like i'm not doing enough and

successful coalition targeting, taliban remains resilient and able to replace leadership losses while also competing to provide governance at the local level. from the pakistani safe havens that the taliban leadership remains confident of eventual victory. to the west, iran remains committed to threatening u.s. interests in the region through its support to terrorist and militant groups including in iraq and afghanistan while it remains committed to strengthening its naval, nuclear and missile capabilities. iran can close the straits of hormuz at least temporarily. and they may launch missiles against united states forces and their allies in the region if it is attacked. iran could also attempt to employ terrorist circuits worldwide however the agency assesses iran is unlikely to initiate or intentionally provoke a conflict. iranian ballistic missiles and development could range across the region in central europe. iran's new lacks -- space

talibans. this is what the americans have been doing for the last eight years and it has worked. but showing the pakistanis that there is progress in peace talks and if you want to come on board that you need to because afghanistan is your neighborhood then you also have to give deadlines to the taliban to stop using your country as a safe sanctuary. so what i'm suggesting here is that the pakistanis will be brought on board and can be brought on board once the americans show a real determination that they're serious on ending the civil war in afghanistan. >> suarez: ahmed rashid, you call your book "pakistan at the brink." can it be pulled back from the brink? >> yes, it can, i think certainly. i think there's an enormous awareness now amongst people, ordinary people that change is needed. where we are stuck is with the ruling elite. the military and the political elite. more very reluctant to change but i think enormous public pressure is building and that's partly in due to the crisis, the economic crisis, the social crisis, people are fed up and they realize the country is going down the tubes and lead

the key to this is the strategic partnership agreement telling the taliban and pakistanis we will have a followon military force and the taliban will never come backing. what we do after 2014 and the way we do i determines our long-term security interests. >> chris: same basic question to you. when afghan police are turning their weapons knot on the taliban p but on u.s. soldiers when you see leading conservatives saying it is time to go to the exits is it time to get out of afghanistan? >> we will be getting out of afghanistan hopefully when that strategic partnership. >> chris: in two and a half years. >> on the time table and with the strategy that general allen and the commanders and the troops there are following. >> chris: so you wouldn't speed up? >> i think if we can speed up and accelerate that withdrawal with the kind of strategic partnership that we are building and with special operators continuing to make the progress in taking out targets and turning over that function to the afghans that certainly is a goal to be pursued. but let's remember, chris, very importantly three

the american team when it comes to for instance afghanistan where the saudis and the pakistanis have supported the taliban for many many years and now they're finding themselves arrayed against american power in afghanistan certainly the united states wasn't too happy about with the saudis didn't bahrain where the united lotteries happened yes we didn't because we have a base in bahrain another problem but. and the saudis were very angry at the united states for more strongly supporting mubarak in egypt so. the saudis do have their own policy but on the other hand i think they really depend on us and i think that saudi arabia really wouldn't get too far off the reservation so i think there are things that ignite states could do if it if it seemed like saudi arabia was crossing some red line perhaps if there was some overt supply of weapons into syria which so far i haven't seen any sign of talk but not necessarily have it and i guess final question we're almost out of time but do you think that a diplomatic solution of some sort is still feasible or have we sort of passed that line and. i think we're prob

taliban by pakistan? >> sir, may i hear that again. >> the two remaining major obstacles to success in afghanistan. the corruption issue in the karzai government and the pakistani sanctuary and isi assistance to the taliban. >> i do. >> have you seen any change in those two major obstacles? >> sir, i think we've done good work with the afghan government of late. there have been a number of initiatives in partnership with president karzai and his government. he has appointed a presidential executive commission headed by minister of finance to partner with isaf and with the international community on the issues of reclaimingborders, inland customs depots. that's an important move. >> have you seen any change in the isi relationship with the taliban -- in the haqqani network? >> i have not sir. >> general, as you know, the american people are war weary. public opinion polls show that most americans want out of afghanistan and an end to this decade-long conflict, more than a decade. and more than 1,000 lives. if you had a chance to speak to the american people about what's at stake here and your view of this conflict, what would you say to them? >> first thing i wo

do we acknowledge our shared humanity with pakistanis afghan afghanistans, with the taliban for thatter. people all over the world need to believe genuinely that americans know them to be human beings. and i really don't think a lot of people in the world are confident of that at this point. >> try to get that past the pentagon even right now. ethan casey, author and contributor to the "huffington post"." thank you for your insight. you've contributed much to this discussion thank you. >> the number of republican voters who are convinced the president of the united states is not a muslim i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i planned parenthood. anna talked to a conservative and it got a little contentious. drama, when we return. you hear what keith olbermann said oh about me last night. look, i'm not the one who canceled on letterman. i'm the guy who they got

this would be an insurance policy against the taliban ever taking over afghanistan. it would be a signal to the pakistanis the taliban. it would be telling the iranians america doesn't abandon its allies. i would like to in a bipartisan way support general allen and support a strategic partnership agreement being negotiated by the obama administration which i think is the trump card to be played, the way to end the war with security and honor. >> to get that agreement. >> yeah, i hope so. >> senator lindsay gram, as always, we appreciate your coming. >>> rick santorum had a convincing win in yesterday's louisiana primary but mitt romney still has a two to one lead in delegates. can santorum get enough broad appeal to win the nomination? ch. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. [ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller po

taliban are not what they were a few years ago. they are weaker, the more divided and the more difficulty with their own sponsor, the pakistani government at this time. so i would think it's a much more complicated picture 2014, an inevitable civil war, the taliban take over again. >> rose: okay, the president had a big review. are we better off or worse off today than we were then? >> i would say there are a couple indicators to look at. one is one of the things the u.s. government, nato, and the afghan government try to track is control of territory. who's controlling territory and how does that change over time? i've been back a lot over the past several years and several months. my discussions with both the afghan and the nato side strongly indicates that the taliban has lost some ground, control of territory in the south. they have made up for it to some degree up in the north. the east and west have been a bit of a wash but the fact that they've lost some ground in parts of kandahar, helmand, southern parts of die kuehne di indicates that they are as zalmay mentioned earlier, they are in some of their key areas weaker than they we