midway through the year there is a new man in charge of the war in afghanistan general stanley mcchrystal was sent packing after some unflattering comments were made by he and his staff about the obama white house in a rolling stone article so president obama called on general david petraeus to take over and at that point we asked if that would change the war strategy here's my interview with matthew hoh a former u.s. state department official. all right it's official general david petraeus will now be taking over the war in afghanistan with a ninety nine to zero vote the senate confirmed it but will what obama said hold true but a change in command does not mean a change in strategy if we look back to yesterday's confirmation hearings i'm not so sure but he said the hill take a good hard look at the directives that general stanley mcchrystal put into place to cut down on civilian casualties things like the rules of engagement so if these rules do get changed do we move away from counterinsurgency and back towards counterterrorism and by that i mean is petraeus choosing between the lives

. >> and this was not helped by rolling stone interview with the stanley mcchrystal that peeling the obama administration. >> when i first read it-- belittling the ovu >> and as difficult as it was to live leave him. and it is the best interest of our national security. >> to withdraw troops on schedule. the goal of all or combat troops out of a rock by the end of august. >> and deprecate left i rack--and with the 2000 how fokamp to promote regional th >> with inconclusive another is n and a workabl that would invol shiites. >> there will be difficult days ahead. and i am absolutely confident it will prevail. >> the u.s. troops are leaving 2011. samantha hayes. >> looking at the james lick and the traffic on the the were deck of the bay bridge is beginning to back up. otherwise, it is looking pretty well. the bay bridge toll plaza, into the city is also slowing down. stay with us. we will be back. after this break. >> skype would like to take free video chat. >> this could be yours with an update with itunes. let us take a look itunes. you can see this application and with users are

. >> reporter: general stanley mcchrystal. >> you're fired. >> reporter: how about nearly the entiree of representatives? >> you're fired. >> reporter: but when it comes to reality, there is no reality like palin reality. bristol on "dancing with the stars," sarah on "sarah palin's alaska." let's hear from the judges. bruno? >> five. >> reporter: jon stewart and stephen colbert. carrie ann? >> six. >> reporter: apple introduces the ipad. len? >> ten! >> reporter: can we finally move onto next year? >> yes we can, but -- >> reporter: but not before one more joke. what comes after 2010? >> these go to 11. >> reporter: let's go to 11. happy new year. >> a very brief history from john berman. thanks, john. we'll be right back with tonight's closing argument but first, here's jimmy kimmel with what's coming up next on "jimmy kimmel live". >> jimmy: tonight, darius rucker and next year's armless lessless oscar wsllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

>> the firing of general stanley mcchrystal, a soldier- soldier over some silly interview with comments in rolling stone. >> right on. >> eleanor? >> the islamic cultural center in new york is a terrorist threat. bum rap. >> monica? >> bummest rap, the g.o.p. is the party of no. actually they were the party of stop, stop spending, stop government intervention, stom obama care, stop tax increases which is exactly what the american people wanted. >> thank you for clarifying that. >> clarence? >> the ground zero mosque which is not at ground zero. it is not a mosque. and that whole brand just got stuck on it. and it became the political issue. >> bummest rap. the rap against tarp. troubled asset relief program. tarp has saved the world from global economic collapse. yet president obama, gates, get no credit, it is a bum rap not to give them credit. okay. fairest rap. >> charley rangle was censured. our old friends. a good guy. he should have known better. think it is a fair rap. >> my olive branch to the other side, their rap, president obama has not lived up to expectations. >> put that d

. >> today, i accepted general stanley mcchrystal's resignation. >> those disparaging remarks mcchrystalmade about the president and key members of his national security team in "rolling stone" magaz e magazine. >> president obama is declaring the official end of operation iraqi freedom. >> do you feel like the war is over? >> we're still here. we've still got a job to do. >> a group online called wikileaks, along with three major newspapers, has published 92,000 classified intelligence documents. >> i'm a combative person, so, i like crushing bastards. >> 500 million users on facebook this week. >> there's this incredible movement on the internet towards people being empowered to share what they want. >> a chorus of voices grew so loud on facebook, they got betty white to host "saturday night live." >> i didn't know what facebook was. and now that i do know what it is, it sounds like a huge waste of time. >> we think we got the goods. >> it's part laptop, part movie theater, game room, bookstore and photo album. >> a mine disaster in west virginia. we are live tonight because just down

troops and the entire coalition civilian casualties soar general stanley mcchrystal was fired halfway through the year and replaced by general david petraeus wiki leaks dumped seventy seven thousand reports covering six years of the war and just last week the obama administration released a much anticipated strategy review and yet a new study by the pew research center has found that the mainstream media devoted only four percent of their coverage over the last year to this war four percent is that all but hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of lives gets these days we are discussing with me is christopher chambers georgetown university professor and author of the blog not hers or venture chris thanks so much for being here if you have thank you to her and i really don't like to my own horn but i'm feeling pretty good right now about what we know we really do extensive coverage of the war in afghanistan this is something life feels so important but four percent that number really shocked me when it came to the world it doesn't shock me because i look at this image in the pew

discuss the administration's afghanistan strategy with andrew exum, former advisor to the general stanley mcchrystal. and at a 30 a.m. eastern, senator john isaacson of georgia and senator tom udall of new mexico. "washington journal" is next. host: good morning. a very interesting day yesterday. the house and senate voting to extend the tax cuts -- the bush tax cuts until 2012. we will talk about the tax cut passes, the spending bill fails. here are the phone lines on the screen. the stick a look at the headlines this morning. all across the country -- let's take a look at the headlines this morning. and all across the country you can see how the theme. "the denver post" house passes a tax package. " orange county register" "obama wins on tax deal." as we get ready for your phone calls we have russell berman online, congressional reporter from the hill. 1/2 mr. berman, thanks for being with us. guest: thanks for having me. host: you write that in the end only one democratic leadership, steny hoyer, supported the bill. talk about how the members of the house approached this and what it was like for

when you see president obama's strategy originally implemented by then nato commander general stanley mcchrystalerinsurgency strategy, the strategy to go with the people of afghanistan to try to win their support, there have been bits of improvement, and this year in particular, 2010, the focus has been on kandahar province. this time last year i went inside the city of kandahar. it was a pretty scary experience. had you to be on guard everywhere you went have security with you. from what i'm hearing on the ground in kandahar city, at least, the security situation has improved. the surrounding areas, bit by bit, day by day, there are still attacks going on in the province. there are still ieds laid out by the insurgency killing american soldiers, but at the same time it's better than it was earlier this summer. but that being said, and i think we're going to hear from president obama in his assessment that that is still reversible. that this might not be able to be sustained if the americans, if the nato forces, don't continue the mission. kmuk and savannah? >> seems, the question of progress mi

. >> reporter: general stanley mcchrystal, whose staff ridiculed the white house in "rolling stone"?>> reporter: how about nearly the entire democratic house of representatives? >> you're fired. >> reporter: but when it comes to reality, there is no reality like palin reality. bristol on "dancing with the stars." sarah on "sarah palin's alaska." but will she be an america's idol? >> that was terrible. >> reporter: let's hear from the judges. glenn beck and palin rally to restore honor. bruno tonioli? >> 5. >> reporter: jon stewart and stephen colbert, rally to restore sanity. carrie ann? >> 6. >> reporter: apple introduces the ipad. len goodman? >> 10. >> reporter: can we finally move on to next year? >> yes, we can. but -- >> reporter: but not before one more joke. what comes after 2010? >> this goes to 11. >> reporter: let's go to 11. happy new year. for "good morning america," john berman, abc news. >> throwing in a "spinal tap" joke is a hit with me. >> leave it to john berman. that was fantastic. we're always worried if he can do it or not. and every year -- >> he never fails us

our next nominee for best presidential moment, the president's sacking of general stanley mcchrystal appointment of david petraeus, in all one fell swoop. it stopped an unraveling of the afghanistan strategy. the president's top general had derided the commander in chief and his leadership team to a rock magazine, "rolling stone." a bad situation for the president, but he turned into it a positive. after a ten 40 hours at the white house, the president moved decisively, silenced his critics, got petraeus in there, preserved the chain of command, and kept that counterinsurgency strategy in tact. it may have been a lemon -- >> truly a lemonade case. and finally, his hard sell on tax cuts, proving he's not afraid to take on liberals in his own party. a defiant president obama fired back at critics on the left and right, defending his tax cut compromise and daring democrats to argue he'd been outmaneuvered in the debate. this just happened. >> take a tally. look at what i promised during the campaign. there's not a single thing that i've said that i would do that i have not either done o

holbrooke was one of several people attacked by general stanley mcchrystal in a "rolling stone" article mcchrystal his job as commander of nato forces in afghanistan. richard holbrooke was 69. chuck sigh vert sen, abc news. >> holbrooke is survived by his wife, his two sons and his two stepchildren. >>> moving now to political news this morning, embattled republican party chairman michael steele says he wants to keep his job. steele announced that he's seeking a second term as gop chief. that's despite allegations of not only financial mismanagement, but also some very high-profile verbal gaffes in recent years. steele though is the first african-american ever elected as republican chairman. he though will face at least six others in next month's leadership vote. >> we'd heard maybe he wouldn't be but now apparently he will be. >>> on capitol hill the tax cut deal hammered out by president obama and republicans is one step closer to becoming law. >> senators could give it their final stamp of approval later today. but its future in the house is a lot more uncertain. >> john hendren is i

. >> an angry obama meets one-on-one in the office with stanley mcchrystal. >> i welcome debate among from president obama? >> i think i do. >> ash clouds from iceland forced airports to shut down. >> it shows no sign of abating at this point. >> a suspect arrested overnight in the attempted attack on time square. >> terrorism in europe is not history. >> they were trying to blow up planes. the bombs were fully operational and nearly impossible to detect in cargo screening. >>> the controversial new guidelines could make the wait at airports even longer. >> has this us m put us at risk? >> do you plan to accelerate your plans to release further documents? >> elizabeth edwards passed away peacefully in her home. >> i don't know what the ultimate plan is but i do think when bad things happen you have the strength to face them. >> i want to be the last to say, mom, i really really love you more. >>> let the games begin. >> this is for the gold. can he do it? he's got another gold medal! >> lindsey vonn reveals to us she has an injury. >> are you 50% right now? are you less? what would yo

he is a former army ranger himself and served as a civilian adviser to retired general stanley mcchrystal. he served on the assessment team and was on active duty in the u.s. army from 2000-2004, leading a platoon of army rangers in 2002 in iraq -- and was in iraq in 2004. what did you hear, what do you think this recent report was intended to signal? a guest: i think it was intended to signal that we need more time before we can determine whether or not we are having success, especially regarding afghanistan and pakistan. against al qaeda, it seems that the administration is pretty confident that they are having an affect on al qaeda, leadership. with afghanistan and pakistan, it is difficult to brave the administration's hallmark because so many of the important metrics -- to grade the administration's homework because so many of the import metrics are subjective. certainly, it is too soon to tell whether or not the administration has been able to make some headway. while we have seen some quite dramatic tactical successes on the ground in different provinces, will not know the full eff

took what he called a shellacking in the polls and on the international front he fired general stanley mcchrystalthe president's year? >> well, legislatively, he got a lot done this year, and put that together with 2009, but politically, he took an awful lot of lumps this year. of course, you can point to the state of the economy, unemployment near 10%, what's interesting, though, is that the president has closed this year on a very strong note, despite that shellacking in the election. you get the tax cut deal with republicans. each side gave something. but each side also showed to the country that they were prepared to govern and not just fight and bicker, which is one of the things that americans said in the results of the 2000 election they wanted. >> all right, let's turn to republicans and democrats in congress who, of course, will play musical chairs at the first of the year. how would you sum up their highs and lows of 2010? >> well, republicans kept say very disciplined opposition to this president, and it paid off for them politically. it started from the very beginning of barack obama'

and coalition troops in afghanistan, joined by the former adviser to general stanley mcchrystal. that will be at 1:30 p.m. eastern. >> this sunday on c-span, in her first televised interview the newest supreme court justice elena kagan on the confirmation process, her adjustment to the court, and her relationship with chief justice john roberts. unprecedented on the record conversation sunday at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on c-span. the united states v. richard nixon, on c-span radio's landmark supreme court cases. >> it is somewhat simple but very important issue, in the administration of criminal justice, whether the president can withhold evidence from the court merely on his assertion that the evidence involves conference site -- confidential communications. >> listen in washington on 90.1 fm, nationwide on xm channel 132 and online at c-span radio.org. >> the obama administration continues to ask the international community to join the u.s. and sanctions against iran did to the nuclear program. gary samore, white house -- he discussed this issue at a conference here in washingt

. >> reporter: general stanley mcchrystal, whose staff ridiculed the white house in "rolling stone." palin reality. bristol on "dancing with the stars." sarah on "sarah palin's alaska." will she be america's idol? >> it's a prayerful consideration. >> reporter: let's hear from the judges. glenn beck and palin restore honor. >> 5. >> reporter: apple introduces the ipad. len goodman? >> 10. >> reporter: can we finally move on to next year? >> yes, we can. but -- >> reporter: but not before one more joke. what comes after 2010? >> these go to 11. >> reporter: let's go to 11. happy new year. >>> our ski house. our cup runneth over. look at that. our bin is so full of coats. again, our audience helped us out. >>> tomorrow on "good morning america," grammy winner steven curtis chapman and his beautiful family tell us about the healing power of faith. >>> how about this? how to have a great new year's eve bash on a budget. very nice. ngng >> man: getting across town to a job interview is stressful enough without being late. i want guidance that takes me where i need to be without any proble

coanon troops in lieutenant general david barno, and andrew exum, a former adviser to general stanley mcchrystal. this is a little more than an hour. >> it is my great pleasure to welcome you here to discuss the report, "responsible transition, securing u.s. interests in afghanistan beyond 2011." before we begin, i would like to ask for a moment of silence to remember ambassador richard away lastwho passed night. he lived a life of service to the united states, including duty in vietnam, yugoslavia, and most recently in afghanistan and pakistan. our thoughts are with his family and with those who love and serve him in his important work around the globe. thank you. a year and two weeks ago, the president made an important speech at west point. in that speech, he committed an additional 30,000 troops to the fight against al qaeda and its allies any promise in the year he would review the progress that had been made and the work there remains to be done. the national security council is now completing a presidential review, and the president is scheduled to address the nation this thursday in orde

. >> an angry president obama meeting one-on-one in the oval office with general stanley mcchrystal.o resign. >> do you think you deserve a phone call from president obama? >> i think i do. >> a volcano in iceland forced airports in northern europe to shut down. >> it shows no signs of abating at this point. >> a man has been arrested overnight in an attempted attack on times square. >> the bombs were fully operational and nearly impossible to detect in cargo screening. >> good morning, feeling their way. >> and the pat downs could make the wait at airports even longer. >> and classified government documents by wikileaks. >> do you plan to accelerate your plans to release further documents? >> destruction and despair, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake has struck haiti. >> haiti needs help and it can't come soon enough. >> the people of haiti, you will not be foresaken, you will not be forgotten. >> there's not enough doctors to take care of all the injured. so there are importaparents tha taking care of their own children. with an estimated 1.2 million people living in tent camps across the