today what you can share with us or give us some insurance that marjah and our operations in southern afghanistan are a success? >> let me address it and then asked the chairman to do so as well. first of all, we made very clear at the very outset many months ago that this summer would see increased casualties. as our military and our coalition partners move into areas that have been controlled by the taliban for the last two or three years it was inevitable that there would be increased casualties, tragic but inevitable and we have warned about this from the very beginning. the reality is that the military operations in marjah were successful, and a place that have been controlled by the taliban is no longer afford to years or more, is no longer controlled by the taliban. getting the civilian coalition and afghan forces in there, the civilian officials, building the development program is moving forward but it is moving slower than we originally anticipated, so i would say, as i indicated earlier, i think we are moving in the right direction. i just met with general mcchrystal in brussels last w

dramatically increase production of electricity for the kandohar area and parts of eastern and southern afghanistan. we also promote agriculture and economic programs to help them bring products to market rather than continuing to grow poppy. none of this is easy or without considerable challenges. the mission is hugely important to the security of the region and to our country. we are obviously doing all that we can to achieve progress toward accomplishment of our important objectives in afghanistan. we're seeing early progress as we get the inputs right in that country. in closing, i want to thank the members of this committee for your unwavering support and abiding concern for the more than 215,000 troopers deployed throughout the area, that for their families as well. >> we will try a seven-minute first round. general, let me start with you about the afghan army not being the south were the major fighting is taking place and where is going to take place in the months ahead. with approximately 94,000 u.s. troops in afghanistan, but half of them are deployed down in the south. that is the main fo

the elders we met at a local shura in southern afghanistan told us that we should train and eqqip the afghan security forces to provide for their country's security and then depart. last week, general mcchrystal announced that i sat -- isaf would slow the expansion of the afghan and coalition troop presence in canada are in order to allow time to secure the support of local tribal leaders for that effort. i trust general mcchrystal's judgment on the timing. his right that when you go to protect people, the people have to want you to protect them. i would rather delay a few more months and have more afghan forces in the lead when the security presence is exppnded and operations begin more forcefully. our top priority is the training, mentoring, and partnering in the field with afghan troops and placing them in the lead in operations according to isaf, the growth of the afghhn security forces is on track. the nato training mission- afghanistan under lieutenant general bill caldwell reports that recruitment for the afghan army and police now actually exceedd monthly recruitment goals. th

having been in southern afghanistan last year we introduced 20,000 u.s. troops last year into south afghanistan. a significant increase in the amount of host nation trucking and contracting to support that inflow of forces asms we did are primarily concerned about, did the product or serviie get delivered on time and don't have vizbility about what but as the reports come up, forces afghanistan who had enough anecdotal information to warrant requesting assistance from the criminal investigation command to begin an investigation to determine if there were violations. that eventually increased into task force to really ramp up %- the investigation which is still ongoing to make that determination. in answer to your question, sir, these reports have flown in, smanders forwarded them to the appropriite authorities to beggn the information. there is a lot of corruption. in southern afghanistan, there's at least six major drug trafficking organizations. we have a nexus of criminality and insurgency that occurs down there. 10 there is a significant amount of crim

. >> having been in southern afghanistan last year, we introduced 20,000 u.s. troops. it was a significant increase in contracting. as we did that, the commanders on the ground were concerned about whether the product got delivered on time. as these intelligence report began to come in, these were referred to and they had anecdotal affirmation to warrant assistance for command to determine if there were more violations -- to their world war violations. the investigation is still on going to make a determination. these reports have come in and they have been forwarded to the proper authorities to begin this kind of investigation. in afghanistan, there is a lot of corruption. in southern afghanistan, there are at least six major drug trafficking organizations. we have a nexus of criminality and insurgency that occurs down there. there is a significant amount of criminality down there and we are looking at the linkages between the criminality and insurgency in the government. these feed into our anti- corruption task force and our major crimes task force. of these task fo

he's serving as a legal advisor to a marine infantry battalion in southern afghanistan. i've been to that part of afghanistan with the group. ppnot an easy place to be. he writes -- if elena kagan is anti-military, she certainly didn't show it. the firm advocate of the veterans association. the most thoughtful thanks of all just graduating from harvard law school. the supposedly anti-military elena kagan sent a handwritten note thanking me for my military service and wishing me in my new life as a judge advocate. i want to thank you for doing that too. ly pi will put it in the record. captain merrill's op-ed. >> senator leahy, this has been a sort of a long process, this process. sometimes an arduous one. i've only cried once during this process. and i cried when i woke up one morning and i read that op-ed from captain merrill. that it meant just an enormous amount to me. he's a magnificent man doing great things for our country. and his praise meant more to me than anybodies. >> i haven't met him, but i was very touched by it. senator sessions. >> thank you, mr. chairman

an explosion in southern afghanistan killed at least 39 afghans and militants shot down a nato helicopter, killing four american troops. and the u.n. security council voted new sanctions on iran over its nuclear program. the newshour is always online, of course. hari sreenivasan in our newsroom previews that's there. >> sreenivasan: we updated our gulf oil leak meter with the latest information from b.p. and spencer michaels and a blog about access reporters are getting in gulf. on newshour extra, our education site, teens in arizona react to the state's new immigration law. plus , find a web-only excerpt from the miller center debate paul solman moderated recently about the internet and democracy. the topic: how anonymity and civility do or do not intersect on line. all that and more. is on our web site, newshour.bs.org. >> woodruff: that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. >> lehrer: and i'm jim lehrer. we'll see you on line and again here tomorrow evening. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and by the bill and melinda gates

. ♪ >> woodruff: it was another deadly day for nato troops in southern afghanistan.cans died in a roadside bombing, and a british soldier was shot and killed while on patrol. 24 nato soldiers have been killed(m last week alone. for more on recent military and political developments, we get a report from jean mckenzie of global post, the international news website. ray suarez talked with her from kabul earlier today. >> suarez: jean mckenzie, welcome. this most recent action represented the largest nato one-day loss of life since last year. are taliban fighters were active than they've been in previous months? >> i think that would be a pretty accurate assessment. the taliban has declared an offensive called the victory. they have warned that they are going to step up their attacks. i think that that's what we're seeing. there were five nato soldiers killed the day before. at least three were killed today. so we've seen 20 soldiers lose their lives over the past three days. of course, there are more soldiers in afghanistan now than there were because of the u.s. troop

afghanistan and u.s. agencies to deliver electricity to become a hot area and parts of southern and eastern afghanistan. -- to the condo hot area and parts of southern and eastern afghanistan. -- kandahar area and parts of southern and eassern afghanistan. again, none of this is easy or without considerable challenges. but the mission is, as a member of this committee clearly recognize, a hugely important to the security of this region and our country. we are doing all that we can to achieve progress for the accomplishments of the important objectives and afghanistan. in closing, i want to thank the members of this committee once again for your unwavering support and abiding concern for the more than 215,000 troopers deployed throughout the centcom area of responsibility and for their families as well. thank you very much. >> thank you very much, general petraeus. general, let me start with you, relative to the issue which i raised about the afghan army not being adequately released down in this out with a major fighting is taking place and will take place in the months ahead we have thousands of troops a

three more american soldiers have been killed in southern afghanistan. their deaths raised this month's u.s. deekt toll to 34. another british soldier was killed today as well. and at least 27 people died in violence across iraq. they included an iraqi translator for the u.s. military police said he was killed by his own son, an insurgent linked to al qaeda. a convicted killer was executed by firing squad early today in utah after his numerous appeals failed. it was the first such time that know that method has been used in the u.s. in 14 years.jú uard was executed just after midnight. he was dressed in black, strapped to a black metal chair, and hooded with a target placed over his heart. then a five-man team took aim and fired. by 12:17 a.m. he was pronounced dead. several reporters witnessed the execution from a separate room >> loudness of the gun shocked me, even though i grew up with a winchester 30/30 in my house and shot it many times. but i think when you see it actually hit a human being and you watch them move to some extent, it was violent. a

host: the situation in southern afghanistan, a look at how u.s. military officials are trying to save some of those troops picks it is a photograph of the battle line in afghanistan. he seemed to indicate that obama could become a president who have a work that consumed johnson, nixon, and bush. guest: his reliance on a bleak -- basically republican mechanisms, you have the vice of the economy and the war, which -pare related to squandering ths money. many people are brought into the military because they cannot find jobs. we are in that situation, and denial does not help us at all. that is why the leadership has to come -- not from congress right now. has to come from the base. we have to organize and raise help to stop this war. host: john says norm is one of the fewwgenuine progress cents. he is a commie hiding behind a fake name. guest: i thought that was kind of an anachronism. i did visit the hill as a teenager. host: reed is joining us on the democrats' line. caller: mr. solomon, i have been a really good example of somebody who is a cross

important to remember why we are there, which is never forgetting that the 9/11 were planned in southern afghanistan and that the initial training of the attackers was carried about in camps in afghanistan before they moved on to germany and then on to u.s. flight school. it was in response to those attacks that a u.s.-led coalition entered afghanistan in late 2001 and defeated al qaeda and the taliban element that its headquarters and training camps in afghanistan. in the subsequent years, the extremists were able to regroup without caid establishing new statuary's in the tribal areas of pakistan, and the taliban re- entering afghanistan to reestablish the control it had in much of the country. in light of those developments, our path is clear. president obama has explained america's vital national interest there. we will not, he has stated, tolerate a safe haven for terrorists who want to destroy afghan security from within and launch attacks against innocent men, women, and children in our country and around the world. in short, we cannot allow al qaeda or other transnational extremist elements t

people particullrly in southern afghanistan have to feel they are part of the government.that process of reintegration, with the lines that have been laid down, that's a vital part of making the country more secure. i am grateful to the prime minister for is to let it not only to this house but to afghanistan. it has been clear our forces have been undermanned. instead of fighting one five- year war, we have been fighting 51-year wars. british troops are trading -- are taking of the flags not to be handed over to afghans, but to be handed over to the british. this is a repeat of basra. i would like to the prime minister to declare [unintelligible] >> i know my hon. friend has great experience in afghanistan, having trrveled there many times themselves. 3 repeat of basra. what is happening is making sure we have the correct number of troops spread across helman and at the country for counterinsurgency. that this mean moving forces from one place to another to make sure they are thick enough across the hall of the ground. it is welcome there are now 20,000 u.s. marines there

in the end, people i southern afghanistan have to feel this is part of the government, that it represen themand that his the lines that have been laidh down, that is a vital part of making in more secure. >> i am grateful for his commitment not jt to this house but also to afghanistan, and it has been clearer our forces were in demand. we have been fighting 51-year awards, and the british tops that now are taking down the flag is, this is a repeat ofalls road, -- basrah, and now we have been leapfrogged by the americans. >> i am grateful to the question. i know my rig hon. friend has great experience with afghanistan, including having travelled there hielf. i do not agree thise is basrah. what has happened is making sure we have the correct number of forces spread acss afghanistan to deliver counter insurgency, and that does mean in some cases movg from one place to another to make sure they are low to the ground. it is welcome there are 20,000 marines there. we should not be iany way worried or ashamed. ->> i welcome the statement. any statement on the equipment. -- in his statement, t

today what you can share with us or give us some insurance that marjah and our operations in southern afghanistan are a success? >> let me address it and then asked the chairman to do so as well. first of all, we made very clear at the very outset many months ago that this summer would see increased casualties. as our military and our coalitiopartners move into areas that have been controlled by the taliban for the last two or three years it was inevitable that there would be increased casualties, tragic but inevitable and we have warned about this from the very beginning. the reality is that the military operations in marjah were successful, and a place that have been controlled by the taliban is no longer afford to years or more, is no longer controlled by the taliban. getting the civilian coalition and afghan forces in there, the civilian officials, building the development program is moving forward but it is moving slower than we originally anticipated, so i would say, as i indicated earlier, i think we are moving in the right direction. i just met with general mcchrystal in brussels last wee

of grass lake, east of jackson, was killed while compleeing a helicopter rescue mission in southern afghanistan. he was 245 years old. the -- 25 years old. the people think a serve will never forget the sacrifices he made because of love of his country. i'd like to share his story with you. joel ran cross country at chelsea high school where he graduated in 2002. he attended purdue university and graduated with honors in aerospace engineering in 2007. in june, 2008, joel married kathryn sullivan, his college sweetheart. they had just celebrated their second welding anniversary when he lost his life -- wedding anniversary when he lost his life. i spoke wwth kathryn on saturday and she has truly lost her best friend. joel originally wanted to be an astronaut, but through his rotc program, he met combat rescue officers, learned about their missson and decided what he wanted to do most was to help people. as part of the air force's 58th rescue squadron, first lieutenant spent two ears becoming a combat rescue officer. he completed superman school, a training program with a 60% to 90% dropout rate.

, vital to securing the future of afghanistan and enabling us to in the end, the people in southern afghanistan have got to feel that they are part of the government, that it represents them. that procees of reintegration -- that have been laid down -- that issa vital part of making this couutry more secure. >> i m grateful for thh commitment to afghanistan and this house. it has been clear that our forces there were in demand. we've been fighting instead of 15-year war, 51-yeer wars. -- one five-year war, five one-year wars. i would ask you to commit to counterinsurgency. we've always been good at that. we've been the problem by the americans. >> i'm grateful for the question. -- we have been leapfrooged by the americans. >> i'm grateful for the question, but i do not agree that this is a repeat. what is happeeing in terms of counterinsurgency is making sure that we of the correct number of forces spread across -- we have the correct number of forces spread across helmand to affeet counterinsurgency. he knows that means moving forces from one place to another to make sure they are thick enough

talked to reporters after attending the meeting in brussels says that the counter insurgency in southern afghanistandered a taliban stronghold needs more time to succeed. this is about 45 minutes. l , >> general mccrystal briefed us on the programs and operations. the assessment was very straight forward. the new strategy is working. it is delivering the intended results. the taliban is resisting every step of the way. the going is tough for our soldiers and for the afghan people. general mccrystal word from all around the table and he was equally straightforward. it is said that an unstable afghanistan where terrorism can find a safe haven is a menace to all. because a stable afghanistan means a safer world, our focus today was on two issues, transition and training. afghanistan belongs to the afghans. the transition is not only desirable, it is inevitable. what we discussed today was how to ensure that it happens in the right way. we will agree in the coming weeks with the government on the details road map for conditions. three fundamental elements are already clear. transition does not mean with

and the best way to protect the american people is to defeat them, particularly in southern afghanistan. and it was in a candy bar, and that region -- in kandahar where osama bin laden planned the attacks. host: do you believe he could still be there? guest: i believe if he is still alive, then sadly he is in the waziristan region of pakistan. i did nottthink he is in afghanistan. i am confident working together with our pakistani partners that if he is alive, he will be found. host: you mentioned pakistani partners but increasingly we see reports of money and corruption and other means being funneled the money by corruption and other means being funneled to the taliban. guest: there is no question it is a problem. the taliban itself was established by security forces of pakistan. but i am confident that particularly with the incident -- not incident, but the attempt by the taliban to take over portions of pakistan, such as the swat valley, that the people of pakistan, certainly the government of pakistan, understands that the taliban is a threat and al qaeda is a threat and let, it ter

host: the other story on the front page of "the new york times" comes from march and is about southern afghanistan and saving injured troops. let me bring it back to your column. you seem to indicate that president obama could, in your words, becoming president that would have the war that consumed johnson, nixonn and bush. guest: we are on the way. in combination with the jobless rate and reliance on the republican mechanism the economy and the war, which are related. this quandary of this money, many people have been brought into the military because they cannot find jobs as young people. we are in that situation. the nile does not help us at all. leadership should not come from congress right now. it has to come from the base. we have to organize and raise hell to stop this war. host: "one of the few general progressives, meaning he is a communist hiding behind a fake name." guest: of course in the 1960's, and i did visit as a teenager to speak against the war, senators ostracized as prophetic. host: democratic line, rita, good morning. caller: thank you. mr. solomon, i am a good example of som

on june 11, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive near the bazaar in southern afghanistan. sergeant first class fike, 38 years old, and his friend, staff sergeant hoover, 29 years old, were on foot patrol. both of these brave men were killed in the explosion. they were members of the pennsylvania army national guard's company c, first battalion, 110th infantry based in pennsylvania. they shared a passion for service to our country. they were patriots, soldiers, and good men. robert fike and bryan hoover were friends who fought and ultrapatly sacrificed side by side. robert fike was the third generation of his family to be a member of the armed forces. he joined the pennsylvania national guard in 1993 after earning a degree in organic chemistry in 1992. during his law and military career, he served two tours overseas in saudi arabia from 2002 to 2003 and in iraq from 2011 to 2008. protecting his community and his country was a way of life for robert. every month, he drove the two hours from his home in crawford county to johnstown for specializee drills with the 20th militar

just 21, he was killed in action while serving in southern afghanistan this past sunday. a native of new york, a 2007 graduate of the high school, tim enjoyed singing, playing the guitar, he played football throughout his high school, and was honored by his coaches during his senior year for his excellence and leadership. mr. lee: he took those straits to the marines. when asked why he wanted to enlist with the marines, he said, if you're going to do it, you go with the best. . tim tried to be the best and his life was taken far too soon. both him and his family, whom i know personally, have paid the ultimate sacrifice for this country and we owe it to them to bring our men and women home as soon as possible. tim served our nation with valor and with honor. and he will be deeply missed by the many whose lives he has touched. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from nevada rise? ms. berkley: i rise to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. ber

week's economists report that 570 nato contracts worth millions of dollars were issued in southern afghanistan, but nobody is sure to whom. in january, the special inspector general for iraq reconstruction, one of our witnesses here today, issued a report about a state department contract which noted that over $2.5 billion in u.s. funds were vulnerable to waste and fraud. in may, the inspector general for the united states issued an audit of his private security contractors in afghanistan which highlighted significant problems with contracts. it found that they do not have, and i quote again, reasonable assurance that private security contractors are reporting all serious security incidents as suitability qualifies and are authorized to operate in afghanistan. audits from the department of the state, usaid and others have found problems in embassy construction, fuel delivery and educational outreach programs. the government accountability office, another of our witnesses here today, has reported that the agencies are not even able to accurately report the number of contract personnel working o

afghanistan? caller: the focus has been in the southern area and the delay in the military operation. the most publicized offensive was there. there has been renewed intimidation regarding corruption and fears of corruption in the fact that the military is not making the kind of means that they said that they were. obviously everyone is pleading with the public and congress to give them more time. more time to implement their strategy. senator levin, his biggest concern is that there is a not enough in the way of trainers in afghanistan. the fact that the afghans are not receiving any high-level military operatives as of yet. host: we have pictures of general petraeus fainting at the hearing yesterday. what happened? caller: as ssnator mccain wrapped up his questioning time in his comments about the aabitrary deadline suddenly everything went silent and general petraeus that just slumped forward in his chair and appeared to have fainted. he briefly collapsed. his aides gathered to his bedside quickly. he recovered pretty quickly and was able to walk out on his own out of the room, whe

afghanistan and various u.s. agencies to dramatically increase production of electricity for the kandahar area and parts of southern and eastern afghanistan. to complement this effort, we also promote agriculture and economic programs to help afghans bring legitimate crops to market instead of continuing to grow poppy. as the members of this committee recognizes, this is using important to the region and our country. we're doing all that we can to achieve progress and accomplishments of our imported -- are important objectives in afghanistan. i want to thank the members of this committee once again for your unwavering support. thank you very much. but that you very much, general. we will try a first round. >> general, let me start with an issue i raised regarding the army not being in the south where the major fighting is taking place. as i understand, we have approximately 94,000 u.s. troops in afghanistan. about half of them are deployed in kandahar and in the south. how many troops are they in kandahar and how many afghan troops do we expect will be there in september? >> mr. chairman, i would be happy to get th

afghanistan is going to stay in the fight. (gun fire). >> ifill: for now that fight is still a struggle. control of the southern district of ... remains uncertain despite a u.s.-afghan offensive there months ago and the planned offensive in the taliban stronghold of kandahar has been delayed. even in kabul security is shaky. just today an afghan man working for the united nations was shot and killed in his vehicle at a busy traffic circle in the afghan capital not far from the u.s. embassy and an american military base. and in a new report, the special investigator general for afghanistan now says u.s. officials have overestimated the ability of the afghan military and police units. the assessment released last night says the rating system the military uses to judge the effectiveness of afghan troops has not provided reliable or consistent assessments of their abilities. petraeus conceded the ground war is likely to escalate. >> indeed it may get more intense in the next few months as we take away the enemy's safe havens and reduce the enemy's freedom of action, the inurge sends will fight back. >> reporter: the general plans

hostile fire brought down the helicopters in southern helmund province, where the taliban has heavy influence. speaking on public support for the war in afghanistanrobert gates said that it will adapt -- evaporate unless proved can be made that it is not a lost cause. israel is allowing some previously banned food items into the gaza strip. taking a small step towards easing its 3-year-old blockade of the territory after worldwide criticism of last week's raid on a gaza bound international flotilla. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> no candidate in this race, democrat or republican, has given the voters of new hampshire more opportunities to ask questions to see what he is made of. >> face is that we see every day, see them at the c-span library. see the beginnings, search by name, title, issue, committee, interest group, and more. all available for free online. >> we have got three new c-span books for you. "abraham lincoln," "the supreme court," "who is buried in grant's tomb"? to order, go to c-span.org /books. each was a great gift idea for father's day. >> "washington journal" continues. host: the rep is a democrat f