matthew ho is a former marine captain who took a state department job as a political officer in southern afghanistanhe says he resigned because he could not promise the families of u.s. troops kill this had action that the war was worthy of their sackry pies. hoh says the afghanistan war strategy is too unorganized and is making the region less stable. >> the people we are fighting there are fighting because we're occupying them, in the for any idle logical reason, pot because of any links to al qaeda, no fundamental hatred toward the west. >> we take his point of view very seriously, but we continue to believe that we're on track to achieving the goal that the president has set before us. >> the state department also saying no career foreign service officers have resigned over afghanistan policy yet. >>. >> reporter: >> we want to know what you think. should president obama send more troops? rick says why can't we let our troops do what they trained for to fight. let us chief a victory and accepted a message to the cowardly terrorists that we will will fight, we will win. and you can join the conve

service member was killed in a bombing in southern afghanistan yesterday. the military has not yet identified that service member. at least 34 members of the u.s. military have been killed there this month. this year has been the deadliest for u.s. forces in afghanistan since the war began eight years ago. >>> happening today, a massive landslide has shut down i-40 near the tennessee, north carolina border. some of the rocks that fell were the size of a house. since early this rng montmornin traffic had to be detoured. it is expected to remain closed for at least several weeks. the rocks are piled up 50-feet high. one woman did suffer minor injuries when her jeep was hit by a falling rock. >>> the senate's top republican says the gop is ready to do it's part to fight the swine flu. >> if they need anything additionally from congress, we will be happy to provide it. >> on friday, president obama declared a national swine flu emergency. he was quick to point out that this is not a response to any new developments. he says it gives the federal government more p

soldier was killed this morning in southern afghanistan. the death cast a shadow over a series of meetings happening at the white house this weekend. the top advisors are scheduled to get together twice to review their options in afghanistan. right now, they have three choices. keeping the current strategy, scaling back, or granting top commander's requests for more troops. >> we will tear apart and look at the input. the president should be presented with options, not just one. >> reporter: if president obama decides to send more troops into afghanistan, he will face political opposition here at home. they are marching to the white house with a clear message, bring u.s. forces home now. he will also have to find consensus on capitol hill. >> i can't guarantee what will happen with more troops. but if we don't reinforce, i can guarantee we will lose. >> i will not commit to more combat troops at this time. >> reporter: the one thing both agree on is that the current strategy is not working. increasing the pressure on the president to make hi

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

troops in southern afghanistan today. the military says other service members were also wounded in these bombings. it says the troops were icd armored vehicles at the time of the attacks. 58 u.s. service members have been killed this month. and that makes october the deadliest month for the u.s. military since the afghanistan war began in 2001. >>> an actor at a haunted house tried to spook some of his customers. that's right. that's cool. he's the one who got the real scare when one of them pulled a gun. >>> well, nasa was supposed to take its first step back to the moon today. going to have to wait. the space agency has scrubbed today's launch of the ares i rocket. today's test launch got within 2 1/2 minutes of liftoff before nasa shut it down. the space agency will try again tomorrow morning. >>> for months we've heard about the obama administration's goal for clean energy. today we're seeing major action on that front. poppy harlow joins us from new york with this. so what are the detail, poppy? >> reporter: big anno

afghanistan to pakistan. they're moving into a sudan, into indonesia, maybe the southern part of philippines. nistan, they will just go somewhere else. >> rose: this question: the president is now engaged in intense debate and discussion. >> rightfully so. >> rose: at the white house. with members of congress, with members of the military and a range of academic experts. and military experts. do you think before the president makes his decision there ought to be some way to have some kind of national debate about this decision which many people say will be the most important decision of his presidency? >> it is the most important decision of his presidency. >> rose: should there will be a national debate? >> there is a national debate. >> rose: well, is there a national debate taking place or is it taking place inside the white house? >> it's taking place inside the administration and within the halls of congress. it has nnd hit the floor yet of the house and senate. but the moment the president decides and says "this is our strategy," then the congress will debate it. exce you have a commande

today that two more soldiers, including one american, were killed in separate bomb attacks in southern afghanistan. and on saturday, in nuristan province on the border with pakistan, hundreds of insurgents attacked two remote american bases. eight u.s. soldiers were killed in what was the deadliest battle for americans in more than a year. and that is making not just the americans wonder about the ssion but its allies in afghanistan as well. in tonight's lead focus, we bring you the british perspective. rags martell of itn focused on what the soldiers on the ground are saying as the fighting intensifies. >> reporter: it's not unusual to get a fright from an explosion in afghanistan, but defense secretary bob ainsworth got into far mo politically sensitive territory on his visit to camp bastion. he was being given a bomb disposal demonstration with the home secretary alan johnson. on the left, staff sergeant kim hughes, near the end of his six-month tour. but the defense secretary was soon put on the spot about troop numbers. in a reported conversation not caught by the camera, he asked, so what's

. >> reporter: the taliban is generally a movement that is strong in southern afghanistan. in the east, you have fighters who have crossed over from pakistan, but you also have many villagers who are simply angry that there are american troops in afghanistan, and they are -- they're fighting to defend their own territory. they're hostile to outsiders, and they don't want the bases there. so it's not that it's such an organized movement, a taliban militia. in many cases you just have fighters who are angry that there is a u.s. base, in this case, at the bottom of the hill. >> richard engel, nice to have you back. thank you. let's turn now to nbc's mike vaquera at the white house, where today's violence underscores the hard choices facing president obama as he reassesses the course of war in afghanistan. mike, when might a white house decision come on whether to deploy more troops to afghanistan? >> well, lester, administration officials say today that that decision on a new strategy will be set to announce within a matter of weeks. to that end, the white house has two more hi

one chopper went down in western afghanistan and two others collided in mid air in the southern part of the country. about two dozen other americans and afghans were hurt. nato says that enemy fire was not involved. >>> a young woman who turned up in new york city with amnesia, not knowing who she was, has now been identified. 18-year-old casey elise peterson's father says it's not the first time that she's disappeared and lost her memory. he says she has been living with a friend since her mom died. >>> it could be months before interstate 40 reopens near the tennessee/north carolina border. it was hit by a massive rock slide over the weekend. troopers say that some of the rocks are the size of a house. traffic is being detoured. the cleanup is already started, but it's expected to take several months to complete. >>> paranormal activity raked in $22 million over the weekend, making it the number one box office activity this weekend, beating out "saw vi," which earned $15 mill. "where the wild things are" was third. "paranormal activity," they made it on the cheap and it still keeps

the 29-year-old was in a helicopter that crashed in southern afghanistan on monday. his best friend says jones' parents are devastated by the loss of their only child. >> i can't even imagine what it's like for them. they loved him so much and he loved them. he died doing something so much more honorable than most of us will ever get to do. >> captain jones was on his third tour of duty and was scheduled to come home in just a few weeks. we're also learning more about another marine killed in the same chopper crash, captain kyle van de giesen played quarterback in new hampshire but one of his professors remembered him best as a man committed to service. >> every once in a while someone really does truly stand out in terms of their ability to really lead other people and inspire other people. i think that's what i'll remember most. >> he was supposed to come home in the next few days to see the birth of his second child. we'll have more on the story throughout the morning. >>> we've got video now of three u.s. jailed in iran and having fun. why did their families thin

casey is in southern afghanistan, and added with a wing of the u.s. air force that provides what is described as a crucial lifeline to troops and one of the most desolate basis. >> if it were not for the men and women of the 615 contingency response wing, or crw, moving supplies and personnel at of the area would not be easy. how do you land the plane and one of the most remote corners of the world in the middle of an act of war? >> you have to be safe. >> no radar or towers for air traffic controllers are needed. just the radio to communicate with these massive birds. but unloading is just one short altogether. meet the aerial porters, were part-dogs, as they are called. >> everyone is there shooting, on the front lines. you have people in the back taking care of them, bringing in supplies. >> multiple planes used is from when every single day. clearly, if the security of those -- clearly, security is paramount, and that is where the job of the security forces of the contingency response when comes in. these humvees play a huge roll right here on the

afghanistan to pakistan. they're moving into sud, into indesia, maybe the southern parof philippines. tan, thewill just go somewhere else >> rose: this question: the presidt is now engaged in intense debate and discussion. >> rhtfully so. >> rose:t the white house. wi membe of congrs, with mbers of the military and range academic exper. and milary experts. doou think before the president mas his decision there oughto be some way to have se kind of national debate about this decision which many peopl say will be the most important decision of his presidency >> it is the most important decision of his esidency. >> rose: should there wi be a nationalebate? >> there is national debe. rose: well, is tre a national debe taking pce or is it taking place inside the white house? >> it's taking place inside the admistration and within the halls of congress. has nnd hit the floor yet of the use and senate. but the ment the president decides and says "th is our strategy," then the congress will deba it. except you have a commandern chiethat has already mad the judgment. i thio[ youhave to switch y

>> if you look at afghanistan, i see you pulling up a map now, southern afghanistan is mostly flat, mostly desert, so a lot of the missions in there are in vehicles and the main threat that they are facing is ied attacks. so oftentimes, the soldiers that are there don't even see the taliban, they just step on an ied and sometimes get killed. eastern afghanistan, where these small outposts are very different. it's covered in mountains. there are many different militant networks that operate in the area, the hakani network probably being the most powerful one there. and there are many outposts in these mountainous valleys and what they are designed to do is to block the traffic that the militants use when they go back and forth into pakistan, sometimes smuggling weapons, sometimes smuggling drugs, sometimes smuggling personnel, so, they are spread out to try to interdict the transit of militants and their goods it means, in many cases, they are on their own, days away from any kind of resupply and in very treacherous terrain. this particular outpost was on the bottom of a valley. so, therefo

we have an exclusive from southern afghanistan. >> it is officially called the 615 contingency.e reason is referred to as the 911 mobility response force is because of its ability to deploy into a region very, very quickly. for the air man out here, and dozens of responsibilities out in the front lines. multiple planes are coming in and out of the airfield every single day. clearly, the security of these aircraft is paramount, and that is why the job of the security forces of the contingency response ring is to come in. they play a huge role on the ground. 24 hours a day, these vehicles are constantly patrolling the airfield, looking for anything unusual. joining us is staff sgt grant perry. tell us, what are the biggest challenges you are facing? >> the largest challenge we have so far is the coalition forces and the host communications. we have had instances where communications have played a large role concerning force protection across the air base, which is our priority. >> you're working with multiple people. they're looking for things like improvised explosive devices, an

the 29-year-old was in the helicopter that crashed in southern afghanistan on monday. best friend says jones' parents are devastated by the loss of their only child. >> i can't even imagine what it's like for them. they loved him so much and he loved them. he died doing something so much more honorable than most of us will ever get to do. >> captain jones was on his third tour of duty and was scheduled to come home in just a few weeks. >>> we're also learning more about another marine killed in that same chopper crash, captain kyle van de giesen played quarterback in new hampshire. bun one of his friends remembered him as just a man remembered to service. >> every once in a while someone really truly does stand out in terms of their ability to really lead other people and to really inspire other people and i think that's what i will remember most about him. >> he was supposed to come home in the next few days to see the birth of his second child. >>> we've heard about people using video games like the nintendo wii to lose weight. but you have got to hear some of the ot

troops were killed in roadside bomb attacks in southern afghanistan. we don't know how many are wounded. >>> check this out. an overturned meat truck made a mess at a massachusetts toll booth leaving sides of beef all along the highway there. it happened outside of boston and police say it was a chain reaction crash. the meat truck was last in line and hit a truck carrying plastic cups. >>> a man convicted of making threats against president obama will not go to prison. he was sentenced yesterday and will spend two months in a halfway house. he was convicted of posting online threats during the presidential campaign. now, in court he apologized and said he was drunk and his threats shouldn't be taken seriously. >>> a little girl had a kidney transplant and had to fight off infections and now cancer, but emily is getting unexpected help. she attended kindergarten for a day and a half where she made quite an impression on one classmate named peter. now he's selling produce and baked goods out of his little red wagon to help emily. >> because i love her.

chris cuomo, who has been in afghanistan all week, visited one of the southern bases near kand kandahar, to see the stroot ji at work. >> good morning, robin. a line in the sand literally. the region it is protecting against is called the heart of darkness. that's how serious the situation is. but the military is frying something different here, working with local communities, involving them in the fight for peace. and the new way they're trying may make all the difference. an oasis in the middle of the afghan desert. this meeting looks like a page out of a history book. but it could be the future of peace keeping in afghanistan. a tribal chief in south afghanistan, sits with members of the coalition command, presenting a written demand from the taliban. written on taliban stationary. threatening women and children, if a military checkpoint isn't removed. normally, bringing up such a request might end the conversation. but not tonight, thanks in part to a new line of communication, fostered in part by a group called the human terrain team. they're civilian volunteers. experts in negotia

southern somalia fighting broke out in the port city. eyewitnesses say the shooting involving members of the shabeb -- began at dawn. the u.n. rejected claims that the special envoy to afghanistan played down allegations of electoral fraud and sided with president john a. karzai. he has now been dismissed from his job. now if -- we will have a full business report in 25 minutes. let us chat about some of the issues. the big one is the possibility bae, the british defense firm, could face a corruption trial. >> it is all and hands of the british attorney general. off the back but serious fraud office -- an ongoing investigation ongoing for years. but they handed it over to the attorney general. it is the largest british manufacturing country, defense contractor. allegations of all possible corruption or bribery. in the sense of trying to win contracts in countries like tanzania, south africa, czech republic, by paying millions of dollars to win those contracts. that surrounds this particular story. it could have a cute -- a huge impact on the country. it has conscious -- contracts and 100 different countries. we are now just waiting to hear the latest steps from the attorney gen

threaten more strikes in retaliation for the government's assault on the southern tribal region last week. >>> from pakistan to afghanistan, there will be a presidential runoff there next month. afghan president hamid karzai endorsed it in a news conference just this morning. he also said he accepts the findings of a u.n. backed panel that found clear evidence of fraud in that august presidential election. officials tossed out almost a third of karzai's votes. the afghan president will face his mine rival former foreign minister on november 7th. president obama praised karzai for agreeing to take part in the revote saying it's an important precedent for afghanistan's new democracy. >>> iraq's prime minister making the rounds in washington here in hopes of drumming up business for his country. he met with president obama there in the oval office this morning and also met with secretary of state hillary clinton yesterday and she says the u.s. is committed to iraq's redevelopment. >> the state department is launching a u.s. iraqi internship program starting this january. through this program interns from iraq will be placed

southern california. no carrier ring up to 6,000 no carrier san bernardino residents were forceded to ri evacuate. >>> and the no carri obama ring no carrier administration is reevaluateing ring its strategy in afghanistan the top u.s. commander says he wants more troops. eight americans were killed over ring no car the no carrier weekend. >>> president obama banned text ring messaging by federal wokkers no carrier driving on official business and ring wants states to pass their own laws. but the government may be ri sending some mixed no carrier messages. terrell ring brown no carrier reports. >> it was probably the worst moment of my entire life. >> reporter: jennifer smith ring calls her no carrier mother's loss death no car by cell phone. last september 61-year-old linda doyle was no killed by a ring driver who no ran a red light. ri police say the 20-year-old in no the other vehicle was ring talking no c on his cell ring phone. >> sinceless. no phone call ring no carrier could be worth someone's life. >> reporter: distracted no carrier > motorists like the ring no carrier san antonio van driver are involved in 25% of all police ring reported no carrier crashes. >> distracted ring driving is a growi

afghanistan over the weekend, eight u.s. soldiers were killed in a four- hour long firefight with taliban militants. and in the southern region monday, another american soldier died. for the white house, the attacks are a clear sign the taliban has grown much stronger. and it's up to the president to decide a new way to take them on. >> reporter: the president's war council is reportedly divided over afghanistan. vice president biden is said to lead a group that wants to narrow the mission and just focus on al qaeda. >> reporter: but the top commander in afghanistan disagrees. general stanley mccrystal is publicly asking president obama to send up to 40,000 additional troops or risk defeat by islamic insurgents. a new report says the it would controls up to 80% of the country, up from just over half to aa few year -- a few years ago. but it warns that a wrong decision would be no worse than this at all. >> all sides agree that not getting it right could mean afghanistan once again becomes a staging ground for attacks on the u.s. >>> the president has invited a group of leaders from the white house to confer about the w

southern baja, california. forecasters predict it will keep losing strength as it gets closer to western mexico but still warn it could still be a dangerous storm. >>> afghanistan is facing a crisis that really could impact whether more u.s. troops get sent there. two officials told the associated fleas enough ballots were thrown out to trigger a runoff in afghanistan's august presidential election. they say they have seen the results of this ballot fraud investigation. the white house is also coming forward and they say they not decide on troops until that investigation actually gets worked out. >> the question does not come how many troops you send but do you haved credible afghan partner for this process that can providee will not commit to accepting the fraud report until it's made public, but his main challenger says karzai is influencing the process. karzai denies that claim. >>> so what do you -- what do americans really think about the recent events in afghanistan? some are calling it president obama's personal vietnam war. according to a new cnn opinion research corporation poll, 52% of americans say afghanistan has turned into another vietnam. 46% sti

southern part of the country four u.s. troops were killed when two choppers collided in mid air. >>> and the war in afghanistan is one of the biggest challenges facing the obama administration. and it's the main topic at today's meeting between the president and his national security team. the president is trying to decide whether to send thousands more u.s. troops to afghanistan. the "washington post" reports the u.s. is considering two primary options. deploying 44,000 more troops to conduct a full-scale counter insurgency effort or sending between 10 and 15,000 additional soldiers and marines as part of an approach to counterterrorism plus. the paper says the pentagon has not formally endorsed either plan. >>> let's talk about iraq now. more than 160 people have been killed in the bloodiest attack baghdad has seen in had more than two years. >>> at least 540 people were hurt when two suicide car bombs detonated outside government buildings. president obama calls the attacks outrageous. iraq's prime minister says the bombings will not derail the elections that are supposed to happen in january. he promises to punish those

southern home cooking. how about that? >>> president obama has not announced how many additional u.s. troops, if any will be sent to afghanistan21,000 troops. the "washington post" an additional 13,000 soldiers will be sent at support. that never formally announcing pd traditionally those figures are not included in pentagon and white house announcements. >>> a lung transplant patient is dead after he got the lungs of a 50 cigarette a day smoker. he got that in 2007 and less than a year later doctors found tumors. a tumor on his new lungs and he died soon after. the hospital says it is not unusual to transplant a smoker's lungs in the united kingdom because there just aren't enough healthy lungs available for transplant. can you believe that? >>> a florida teenager is in the hospital after someone set him on fire. police are holding three juveniles in connection with this attack. 15-year-old michael brewer doused with gasoline and set on fire. police say he ran through the apartment complex and jumped into the pool. ended up trapped. you can see it burst into chief says he should actually be okay. just amazing pictures there.

afghanistan. it is the area that you see on the map. two others collided in midair in the southernart of the country. nato says that enemy fire was not involved. >>> a young woman who turned up in new york city with amnesia not knowing who she is has been identified. 18-year-old casey alise peterson's father says that it is not the first time that she's disappeared and lost her memory. he says she's been living with a friend since her mother died. >>> it could be months before i-40 reopens near the tennessee/north carolina border. it was hit with a massive rockslide over the weekend. troopers say some of the rocks are the side of a house. traffic is being detoured. the cleanup has already started, but it's expected to take several months to complete. and those are some of the headlines that we're following this morning. >>> right now, just checking on you. time for you to rise and shine. i'm robin meade. our top story, back to this -- a federal emergency declaration to deal with the h1n1 outbreak. correspondent richard lui joins us now. so, now they're saying it's a national emerge