first of all, those of you who are linguists, the term taliban, you cannot have one taliban. it's a plural term, not singular. but we use it -- it's become an english word. it's a persian form of the arabic word talib which simply means a seeker or student. the arab equivalent simply means students. however, since 1994, the -- the islamic movement of afghan taliban or simply the taliban have become internationalally known as part of this group that emerged seemingly from nowhere in southern afghanistan in october 2000, 1994. they mainly came from the group that was called the mujahadeen. as a political organizations are the taliban came to the scene of politics in kandahar with direct military and support of neighboring pakistan and was initially supported by financial by the the king of asssaudi ara. the original leaders claimed to be members of former student, ie, the taliban and one of the members of the mujahadeen groups mainly called hez-muslimi. most of them were students -- most of them again, i say they came from different variations and one of pakistan's main support

taliban. as you know, the taliban officially refused to speak to karzai. they call him a puppet and say why should we speak to them. so if they do that, a lot of things on the table. i think the agreement, you're right. allows us a foundation over which to re-engage them on a scenario that says, look, you can come and beat us. what other aspects are there? those are very important. what do the other afghan elements do? if they feel the taliban are gaining more power, whether through the ballot or through a deal, they may not just sit still. so i think the case is open. i think a great step has been done last night. the fact that we are more clearer, hopefully in chicago and then in tokyo. you have more clarity on specifics. i think one thing that would break the taliban's resolve is a longer term, specific, clear, achievable goals. thank you. >> doctor, you mentioned that mulanmar has been designated the commander of the faithful. can you elaborate what that means in terms of the taliban will accept in the future role. is it possible for him to abdicate th

the taliban are hugely important in afghanistan.the best way of preventing them from taking over the country is, really, what decides us on the talk about afghanistan. >> we have talked over the years the way 9 taliban ran the basic necessities such as local government. the taliban sort of governing court and jury that would go from area to area, town to town and issue declarations based on things that happened and the taliban would rule. >> i was living in pakistan at time when the fall ban were formed and they were formed by neighboring pakistan, by the interior minister when bhutto was in power. there had been a long civil war when the soviets pulled out and the mujaheddin were fighting in a brutal civil war and the afghan people were sick of war and the taliban came along and pakistans wanted to stabilize afghanistan and try and build a gas pipeline to central asia and they thought by recruiting the religious schools and sending the taliban through kandahar, choosing one of the afghan tribes who are basically allied with pakista

the other from the taliban.he president claims al-qaida was near defeat and announced a partnership with the afghan government and president karzai. the troops will stay in afghanistan until 2024. he told the troops. >> there is going to be heartbreak and pain and difficulty ahead. but there's a light on the horizon because of the sacrifices you've made. the sacrifices now of a decade and a new greatest generation. >> but less than two hours after the president left for washington the taliban sent what it described as a message to the president. suicide-bombers killed at least eight people and wounded 17 more in an attack on a residential compound in kabul used by foreigners. u.s. ambassador ryan crocker insisted that the president had never been at risk and i quote. while we regret the loss of life this was not militarily significant. if this is the best they can do, they are not winning this war. others see it differently. for more who see another decade of afghanistan. i'm joined by peter galbraith, a former

the taliban. at that time, he -- it has become part of the english language, the least in america. those of you have studied islamic governments, it has a significance. it means commander of the faithful. he changed the name of afghanistan to the islamic emirates of afghanistan. most of afghanistan was more a previous enterprise and a democratic regime with power consolidated under one figure. he adapted secrecy as a means of control, and a traded that still continues today. in the united states of america, it deals with the adjective with which we speak but whose leader who have not seen or heard of in the last 10 years. no one has seen him alive. the taliban method of governance is a centralized and democratic system that established itself in 1996. he came not through the taliban, he was there before the taliban came in. it was eastern shora, to make people part of the government. again, the reason i am emphasizing that is that it was not something that they were seeking in initially. in august

the taliban, well, they killed more, actually quite careful.a lot of the taliban killings, even civilians, were targeted assassination, generally small numbers of individuals they believe were collaborators or family of government officials or family of collaborators. what the taliban did not do is kill large numbers of of civilians. in fact, the numbers of civilians in a sense compared to iraq was much lower in afghanistan than they were in iraq. >> host: what i'm looking at is from your arguments about how we can avoid a fourth wave, how we avoid or handle a wave in afghanistan and how to move forward in yemen and somalia, that could make the difference as to whether al-qaeda stays around and remains a threat to u.s. national security or becomes a footnote, something that's always in the background, but doesn't require major u.s. investment. what would your recommendation be? first of all, talk about afghanistan. you, in your previous job, were a major proponent and the local police program that goes with that. that is -- the way you describe

the taliban, not much taliban presence in afghanistan any more. the taliban is still a presence and is able to launch from the capital itself. >> yeah, but i think these are spectacular attacks that don't necessarily mean -- i can't think of a single major city that the taliban have ever held. they can't do a tet offensive on kabul. the relative weakness -- you have the afghan national security forces who are weak and you have the taliban who are stronger than they have been in the past. you know, if we sort of left tomorrow, the taliban might take over a large chunk of the country. not because they're strong, but because the afghan forces are weak. having the plan with the advisers going forward after 2014 is critical. >> just yesterday, a lot of people didn't know this. and you asked whether the white house was overselling the impact of bin laden's death, hyping it for political gain. what do you think of this trip now? >> well, anderson, whether or not you like president obama, any veteran of the white house would have to -- i think ari would a

the taliban are not our enemy. when documents now arrived at the taliban and al-qaida have never been close enough, a true partnership. i don't know how you slice up that enemy and the taliban, by the way, are the ones who killed those seven people and perpetrated that homicide bomb. >> yeah, and also talked a little bit last night about how, you know, we're in talks with the -- you know, we're trying to bring the taliban in and then we heard news a couple of days ago that apparently ayman al-zawahiri, omar who effectively ran the taliban for many years. >> with one eye. >> with one eye. plus usama bin laden, they were all in communications so it sounds like al-qaida effectively would still be at the table. however, the president made it very clear last night that we're going to talk to them but they've got to cut their ties, the taliban does to al-qaida. >> yeah, this whole plan was short on details in terms of funding and troop levels and what it means to be working somehow in tandem with the taliban. karl rove w

the taliban, you're saying, is in balochistan.the presence in afghanistan, including the kind of hunting presence that you also talk about, that the careful targeting of special operations together with intelligence forces, but if enemy's hiding in a country that you're denied operating in as we are currently in pakistan, i mean, it's difficult for cia officers to operate in pakistan, what do you do? >> guest: well, this is the $64,000 question. so i would say even if you can succeed to some degree in undermining taliban and other control in afghanistan, you do have this big challenge with pakistan. what do you do? well, you know, the most successful period in working with the pakistanis was after the september 11th attack. that was musharraf, and that was a very good relationship for several years. unfortunately, it almost took a september 11th-type attack for the pakistanis to see we're serious and for us to really mean we're serious in destroying, in that case, a regime they'd helped build. so ab sent that kind of an an attack,

there is a moderate taliban. as soon as you start being a moderate you are no longer the taliban. >> can we negotiate with them? >> absolutely not. the right would be to get any one having ill will toward the tal began to turn on them. you are not going to reach ago settlement with a group who's goal is violent jihad. >> some are concerned we are pulling out our troops too quickly, what's your take on that? >> tae a risk. i was talking to one of the top extremists in the u.k. your leaders in al qaeda are getting decimated. he named three things that give him hope the fact that we are negotiating with the taliban and the fact that they are pulling out. >>> speaking of a time line. we are going to have some troops in the country until the year 2024. that's 23 years after the war started. the white house is clear on being a combat role. if we aren't training it are we going to be able to train them in 23 years? >> i think so. because with the help of insurgents three weeks ago the taliban launched attacks across afg

. >> they believe the taliban will not come back. not so sure. the taliban has a shadow system of governors in many provinces. they've gone up north, they've gone to the east, attacks are up. i think we can say what we found is the taliban is stronger. >> sean: joining me now is reaction is pam geller and also michael gauss. you and i have been at odds about a lot of things. i was right about the muslim brotherhood and i was right about them and even the presidential candidates they want to describe not only israel but be at war with united states. obama said it wasn't going to happen. you said it wasn't going to happen. but when negotiating with the muslim brotherhood we are giving them taxpayer dollars. we're releasing the enemies that we caught on the battlefield, thinking they are going to be nice to us? do you think the taliban is going to be nice to america because we're releasing your enemy combatants? >> sean, confrontation will never result. there aul the fighting with each other we'll never find peace. we have an advantage.

the taliban were actually quite careful. a lot of the taliban killings, even of civilians were targeted assassination. generally small numbers. they were collaborators or family government officials. what the taliban did not do, is carry large numbers of civilians. the number of civilians were much lower compared to iraq compared to what they were in afghanistan. looking at your argument from how we can avoid a fourth wave, how we handle afghanistan and how we move forward with places like amalia, that can make a difference as to whether al qaeda stays around and remains a threat to europe's national security, or becomes a footnote, something like -- an irritant that is always in the background but doesn't require major u.s. investment in time. what would your recommendation be among first of all, talking about afghanistan. in your previous job were a major proponent of the afghan village stability operations program, and the police program that goes along with it, i will let you describe it, but i have to tell you, every of

>>greg: taliban. afghanistan. pakistan. can we just say "stan." i don't understand where we bow to heavens who make the flinstones look like the jetsons, why negotiate peace? let's leave. this is a group announcing sprier spring offensive, like they are fashion designer. why announce the spring offensive? if they are announcing they are killing you, why not kill them? and leave. >>bob: we tried to do that. >> we cannot leave until we do it. >> when you have to kill them you kill them and then you leave. roaches never die they come back, go this, kill them, and leave. but the idea of trying to save afghanistan, people have been trying to save afghanistan for years. why not save something fun. like hawaii. >>bob: go ahead. okay the status of force agreement that obama signed, with karzai was a very important mile stop for us. it leaves behind a number of u.s. troops after 2013 when we will withdraw and the troops will be there to both teach the afghan police and their military how to be good fighters and to protect the border with pakistan. if you g

this man met bin laden in kabul in 1996, i spokesman for the taliban. he is one of few people with close contacts to militants in the region. what was your impression of him? >> everyone who met osama bin laden had been impressed by him. even as he was his enemy. >> reporter: one year after bin laden's death, they say forces in pakistan have been reduced to just a few hundred. how much of an impact does osama bin laden's death have on al qaeda? >> you know, first thing is that the drone attacks have been a business hostile in the leadership circle. when their leadership circle stall, now they have just a few young guys to with the vision. >> reporter: the circle of new leaders has struggled to maintain al qaeda's profile. spectacular coordinated attacks in the west, such as those on the world trade center, have been replaced by smaller operations in the region. >> they are using the label of al qaeda to carry out their own -- achieve their own goals. and al qaeda is the happy just to keep a pressure upon pakistani authorities. you know, that means that

think about the rule of the taliban. afghans overwhelmingly continue to feel their lives are getter better. this is a country without phone service. now one in three afghans have a cell phone. this is one that didn't have a girl in school. now there are 2 million girls in school. this is a country where they had no economic indicators because there were none. now they had 22% gdp growth rate. admittedly from a low point. i could give you a list of -- there's an optimistic view of afghanistan. we know what's wrong with the place. and it's shared by a lot of afghans themselves. the one thing they were concerned about was we were going to head for the exits. today's decision, i think, will help them -- will reassure them that we have a long-term presence there. most of them want that. they don't want permanent bases. they don't want to be occupied, no one does. but they do want to feel the united states and its allies isn't heading for the exits. >> general marks, in terms of what our military has been doing on the ground,

against the taliban. there is an attempt to negotiate a peace agreement between the afghan government and the taliban. if the taliban believes that the allies are heading to the exits, they will have very little incentive to negotiate. it is a problem to resolve this weekend. >> a lot of people are concerned that even if the troops stay up until 2014, the taliban will get a foothold and al qaeda will come back. is this likely? >> this is a problem that has to be watched and that is why president obama went to afghanistan two weeks ago and signed a long-term agreement with the government. they're pledged to keep forces in the country after the withdrawal of the nato forces in 2014. you know about the terrorist problem on the border. that will not go away. the afghan government will need to have, as well as the rest of us, the capacity to strike on those terror groups in the counter-terrorism capacity. >> president obama has tried very hard to build partnerships and lead from behind. as libya shows, there's

that was taliban rule. they were using soccer stadiums to cut off people's heads. >> that's going to change? you think we are beyond that -- or is that a huge risk for women? >> i think there is a risk -- the taliban didn't disappear. that strain of thinking, that view of the world still exists. it's largely been shoved into pakistan, along with the federally administered tribal areas there. but they want to come back and it will take the afghan people and the security forces and the political leadership to reign this back and the afghan people and it's their country. theyville to manage their country, eventually. >> do you miss the job? >> moshings oh, no, i really don't. i have been in and out of government so many times. it's a privilege to serve our country, but i am enjoying life. >> always nice to see you, sir, thank you. >> thank you, greta. >> straight ahead, john bolton and he says that america must not be a well-bread doormat. he goes "on the record," next. a new scandal rocking the federal govern

a lot of anti-taliban, pro-democracy. there was an arab spring where they got rid of a military dictator. there's an independent judiciary doing cases against both the military and civilian government. these are institutions that are important to pakistan's future. what pakistan hasn't had yet is particularly good leadership. hopefully in the next few years a leader will come up. >> peter, we appreciate you being with us. his new book is called "man hunt." i recommend it. ari fleischer, thank you. paul begala and general marks. we'll be right back. i'm an expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there. i have a great fit with my dentures. i love kiwis. i've always had tha

do you believe the taliban will accept that? >> well, well, well -- we have to divide the taliban into categories. those cataliban who are afghans who have been forced out of their homes by circumstances or events out of their control, they are ready to come back to the country and participate in the life -- >> and let girls into school? >> yes. >> and they don't have a condition of girls not going to school. no, that has not been said. but those part of al qaeda, part of terrorist networks with those elements or such elements we are not talking. >> where does the leader, the former leader, who is now in exile someplace, are you willing to work with him? >> if he wants to have peace in afghanistan, if he renounces violence, if he accepts the afghan constitution and embraces the afghan people as his brothers and sisters and will be in respect of their lives, most welcome to have peace with us. >> so even mullah mohamed omar, who was in total alliance with al qaeda and bin laden before 9/11, if he were to pop up and your troops we

it is important to engage the taliban.nd certainly i also met recently in pakistan with members of the taliban, and there is a sense that possibly certain factions of the older generation are growing more politically savvy. they understand that they can't go in and make a complete grab for power, that this will have to be some kind of a unity government. there has to be some kind of a sharing agreement. otherwise, the aid stops, and they don't want to be international pariahs in the way that they were in the 1990s. of course the question then is to what extent is the taliban a homogenous group, and how can we trust them? >> schieffer: so are we set up for this to end the right way, senator graham? >> yes, possibly. the strategic partnership agreement where we commit to have a counter-terrorism force past 2014 closes the deal, in my view, on the taliban's aspirations to come back militarily. the afghan security forces are getting better. they're better trained. they're better equipped. two years ago, for every afghan soldie

but it is still a taliban target. the director fears a return to the past when nato was gone. >> i am 100% concerned. even now, the taliban are sending letters, warning us not to make films. we head out of the city, to the mountains along the border with pakistan with an escort of armed police. this is taliban, not nato country. the fields are again blooming with opium poppies, the source for most of the heroin on britain's streets. the government would like to destroy some of the poppy fields. we have no choice but to grow, claims this farmer. we are very poor and we don't get any help. but a deal has been done and the eradication team will not go too far. this looks like a serious effort to clear opium poppies but this is just one small area. all around here, there are hundreds of other fields full of opium poppy. they will be left untouched. all of the signs are that the farmers are planning to grow even more opium poppies in next year because they are worried about the future after nato pulls out. soon, nato and o

taliban directly. and, cops, file agents and the coast guard pulled a neuro surgeon off the cruiseship because someone pretenning to him tweeted about an impending biological attack on the cruiseship, the case of stolen identity and real panic. all ahead unless breaking news changes everything. first from fox at 3:00 in new york city, a love child, a mistress and a dying wife could not stop the former presidential candidate and senator john edwards from seeking political power as his own campaign crumbled. that's the testimony today from a former john edwards advisor. that advisor and businessman told the court that john edwards asked him to reach out to the obama campaign to let them know that john edwards was available for the ticket. and when senator obama did not embrace john edwards, he started talking to then senator hillary clinton's campaign, the former advisor said there was talk of john edwards wanting to become a supreme court justice. of court, the prosecution says john edwards knew that he

now the time for you to turn to afghanistan and roll back the taliban." that wasn't just president obama, that was all of the uniform leadership of central command, general petraeus and many policymakers... >> so you're saying nobody stood up to say the military is wrong on this. >> rose: well, joe biden did apparently. i want to dig into that history. he was skeptical... >> rose: this is the argument he made that what we need to do is go after al qaeda and use counterterrorism rather than counterinsurgency. >> rose: >> i think richard holbrooke with his vietnam experience raed t quesion, challenged the confident advice that the new president was getting. >> what did they want him top do? just simply to withdraw any kind of massive counterinsurgency? and begin a process of withdrawal and use whatever we knew about the possibility of drone missiles and whatever kind of limited risk force that we had. >> well the alternative wasn't fleshed out because the idea that you could sustain a counterterrorism in an environment where the taliban wereind of washg upn

the taliban claimed responsibility. they said this was because of the signing of the strategic partnership. they say they want the world to know those afghans who sat there with the americans signing the strategic partnership aren't the real afghans representing afghanist afghanistan. they say it's the taliban themselves who represent afghanistan. of course we're waiting to hear more reaction from the afghan people, proof now that the u.s. really is committed to afghanistan at least through 2024, something many afghans didn't believe at first. willie? >> atia abawi, thanks so much. joining us here in new york, retired u.s. army colonel jack jacobs, a recipient of the medal of honor. colonel jacobs out with a new book next week called "basic tales from basic training." we'll talk about that next week. i want your reaction right away to what the president said. at first blush, you say, okay, 2014 is the withdrawal date and another ten years after that. what's your response? what's your reaction as you listen to that speec