. >> ifill: ray suarez talks with author rajiv chandrasekaran about the u.s. role in afghanistan, and his new book, "little america." >> it's the version of a sugar high.

its author is "washington post" reporter rajiv chandrasekaran. began asking him about the obama administration's new approach. >> this was a surge to the exits. what the white house wanted to do was to inthe troop footprint so they could find their way to the door. the problem was that that increase was really squandered by the military, by the civilian agencies of our government. we wound up sending the first waves of troops to the wrong parts of the country. our strategy was supposed to be counterinsurgency, protecting the people, getting the troops to where the people are and protecting civilian population from insurgents. instead we sent the majority of the first wave of troops that president obama authorized to helmand province, a province with only 4% of afghanistan's population. they wind up charging into abandoned villages, very small towns, doing just the opposite of what we should have been doing in an effort to try to beat back the taliban and stabilize the country. >> suarez: right now door is kandahar province which is hot during tho