if you find the afghan taliban and the pakistani taliban, the problem is it gets out of control becauseno foreign army is going to control--. >> thank you gilles. >> the barbara slavin. i want to ask a little bit more about the regional context. you have been so negative every time i hear you say it is getting worse and it will never get any better. i have heard recently samore optimistic discussions coming out of afghanistan for take it where he about trade routes. trade coming from central asia, going through iran, going through the indian courts, way to avoid pakistan province connected with pakistan. a very positive prognostication about mineral wealth and pipeline deals and so on. is the classy than a quarter full in your view? is there nothing good that is going on? >> thank you for the question because it it is good to make two points. first leg -- is to be right or wrong and basically i used to be called pessimistic or whatever. was i right two or three years ago? it seems i was right. was i right in 2003 when i was writing about the taliban coming back to afghanistan? i was rig

they joined the taliban. and they are going to keep in their own camps and allow the united states army and the millions to keep fighting. so, if you look pakistan has given up a very grave sacrificed in the last 18 months. as far as counter-terrorism is concerned, what we have done in the military basis, certainly the terrorist, but as far as counter-terrorism within the heartland of pakistan we are at zero. we have done nothing. people have been caught here and there, but really we have done nothing because there is no counter-terrorism force and pakistan. our situation politically, shuja nawaz talked about it. the coalition government. the existence is ingenuous because they are being blackmailed by minority partners , two minority partners, if not one. the julif and mgm. as far as the government is concerned certainly i agree that richard holbrooke lost because he was more pakistan centric. he certainly did a lot for pakistan and the present government. the president pakistan government will find it very d

and beat alabama . -- the taliban. there are social and ethical positions and approaches to come back as well as the dynamics to the ship and personalities. these are all sides to the current debate on pakistan and afghanistan and global terrorism and extremism. there will be a trove of references to extend specific arguments. i would not delve into the details. we will address them if you have questions. it can be the basis of subsequent discussions. despite distinct differences of ethnic and cultural backgrounds and a political and ideological agenda, al qaeda found a base in afghanistan and were not given up by the taliban in the wake of 9/11. there are now more and more voices i like seeing the tension -- voices highlighting the 1010 between al qaeda and the taliban. a political solution may have been possible. secondly, the comment and additional text -- the common existential text and the effect al qaeda continue to recognize the commander of the faithful. what did this sort of integration for this relationship wi

so what are the elements of the taliban? mine were completely than the ethnic idea. ey were somewhat logical and purely practical, which were hoping taliban and expand. for example come the lack of security was on those elements. because it was the lack of security, which led to the stoning of what happened in konduz. it was the lack of security which made traveling to konduz but dangerous. and it was lack of efficient security when they conduce into taliban hands because on the taliban began chewing their muscle in the district, there were not enough security forces. so when the taliban gathered five people in any region, the next thing they do is they send them to put the police station on file and that is the signal which also shows who is the lord of the town. in the next thing that happens is they shut down the score there. as i mentioned earlier that prisons of militants has always been the case in konduz province, based on stories i had on this trip, the situation hasn't changed very much in the north. because they are still the driving force behind the taliban

they joined the taliban. o keep in their own camps and allow the united states army and the millions to keep fighting. so, if you look pakistan has given up a very grave sacrificed in the last 18 months. as far as counter-terrorism is concerned, what we have done in the military basis, certainly the terrorist, but as far as counter-terrorism within the heartland of pakistan we are at zero. we have done nothing. people have been caught here and there, but really we have done nothing because there is no counter-terrorism force and pakistan. our situation politically, shuja nawaz talked about it. the coalition government. the existence is ingenuous because they are being blackmailed by mty pers , two minority partners, if not one. the julif and mgm. as far as the government is concerned certainly i agree that richard holbrooke lost because he was more pakistan centric. he certainly did a lot for pakistan and the present government. the president pakistan government will find it very difficult to survive, at least

so what are the elements of the taliban? mine were completely than the ethnic idea. ey were somewhat logical and purely practical, which were hoping taliban and expand. for example come the lack of security was on those elements. because it was the lack of security, which led to the stoning of what happened in konduz. it was the lack of security which made traveling to konduz but dangerous. and it was lack of efficient security when they conduce into taliban hands because on the taliban began chewing their muscle in the district, there were not enough security forces. so when the taliban gathered five people in any region, the next thing they do is they send them to put the police station on file and that is the signal which also shows who is the lord of the town. in the next thing that happens is they shut down the score there. as i mentioned earlier that prisons of militants has always been the case in konduz province, based on stories i had on this trip, the situation hasn't changed very much in the north. because they are still the driving force behind the taliban

the taliban is not defeated. what bothers everyone in afghanistan and what has blurred the narrative for the war is the talk of reconciliation. we could reconcile with al qaeda and taliban on september 14, 2001? what was the need for the billions and billions of dollars to be spent? it is the same enemy. of course, if we hear the speeches of major western politicians saying, failure is not an option -- now it seems as if failure is an option. and my key message, coming to washington, is this -- it is a valuable war. the nature of our enemy has not changed. the fundamentals are the same. people tell me that after the surge, things have improved. i say yes, things have improved. there are no bombs in kabul. i hope there will be no bomb s in kabul. but as the surge brought basic change in the fundamentals? has something changed in pakistan? no. have recaptured, killed, or brought into the negotiation table the taliban leadership? no. have we defeated al qaeda? no. so the search is brought a temporary effect. -- the s

they're not the taliban of the 1990's. they have learned from blowing up the buddhas, a worldwide wakeup call to what they were. they have become more sophisticated but they have not changed their brew roots, their ideology, and there goes. >> has this media savvy complicate efforts or stop the those who are trying to defeat them? just to take that rome first, the media space. >> i do not think it has affected perceptions of taliban in the europe and the united states. >> in their region? >> in their region, they are trying to exploit opportunities, the traditional target of anti- americanism that we're fighting on moslems low, christian crusaders. david's point about the taliban think that 60% of american art prostitutes, this is not a small point. it shows that they're playing to a field of enormous ignorance in which communications are primarily still by radio, but highly literate and susceptible people. >> the question is, who is winning that battle a perception right now? >> in afghanistan, public opinion poll has sho

the taliban is fueled more by narcotics dollars. take aoing to have to run on them, but i think eradication is the wrong answer. i thought that in 2005 and i think that today. we think about how we build the afghan economy in ways where you can get a guaranteed price and your product, transport to market, seed, and that is how you're not growing poppies. >> delayed ambassador holbrooke was working on that very hard. agriculture does not matter. but it does, and it is a lifeline for the people there. >>, that is one of the things that the late ambassadors said when he came in a few years ago. >> the you have the microphone? >> i am with the young professionals and foreign policy. you mentioned before about pakistan and how we need to put more pressure on them to go after the safe havens from their side of the border. your reference some things that we did do. could you go more in depth into those, what specifically to put pressure on pakistan in an effective way? >> one is that we have both development aid and military aid going into

and the taliban to be his enemies and given a choice he would side with the taliban. >> the taliban. win? >> this is the nature of the problem and the question comes back to is this worth the kind of effort we're making? do we have other priorities in the world? do we have the better use for $117 billion? and what about those live that is are at risk? >> all right, peter, andrew, thank you both so much for joining us. >> sure thing. >> thank you. >> thank you, guys. thank you. >>> later on "parker spitzer," a tribute to larry king on the last night doing a live program on this network. you won't want to miss it. >> smell the fresh air of london again. if justice is not always an outcome, at least it is not dead yet. during my time in solitary confinement, in the bottom of a victorian prison, i had time to reflect. pass pass td ameritrade doesn't limit you to one brand of etfs... they offer more than 100... each selected by investment experts at morningstar associates. only at the etf market center at td ameritrade. before investing, carefully consider the fund's investment objectives

is hitting al qaeda and the taliban where it counts in both afghanistan and pakistan. that was the overarching assessment of the administration's review. >> i can report that, thanks to the extraordinary service of our troops and civilians on the ground, we are on track to achieve our goals. >> reporter: the review came just one year after the president announced a surge of 30,000 more u.s. troops to afghanistan. among the positives, the report cited progress in dismantling and disrupting the leadership of al qaeda in pakistan; reversing the momentum of the taliban in afghanistan and recruiting and training afghan security forces. the president particularly emphasized the impact of u.s. air strikes against militant leaders hiding out in pakistan. >> today, al-qaida's senior leadership in the border region of afghanistan and pakistan is under more pressure than at any point since they fled afghanistan nine years ago. senior leaders have been killed. it's harder for them to recruit; it's harder for them to travel; it's harder for them to train; it's harder for them to plo

taking it to the taliban: hard- fought success in afghanistan has come at a steep price for the marines of the thundering 3rd. and when she started flying, they really were the friendly skies. 26 million miles later, she's still smiling. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric. >> smith: good evening, katie is off tonight. we begin once again with a blizzard that has paralyzed the east coast. in the aftermath today, strained backs for those still digging out and frayed nerves among stranded travelers, especially at the airports. in boston, they dumped 25,000 tons of salt on the roads. and across the northeast, commuter trains slowly got up and running again, but many with very limited service. the real pain is being felt by those still waiting to fly. michelle miller is at laguardia airport with the latest. michelle, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, harry. well, activity has picked up at all three new york city airports. but with more than 500 flight cancellations today, for every plane that took

of the taliban, but not the inner circle of the taliban. the outer circle are the opportunists. the middle circle are those commanders who go to pakistan, receive training and resources, come back, and lead small groups. the inner circle is so well- protected, a grocer can claim to be one of them and start negotiations. that is where we need to put pressure. put pressure on the inner circle, on the leadership, so they see the heat, and come to talks and to terms. demographically, in the next 20, 30 years, afghanistan will be around 70, 80 million people. pakistan will be over 300 million people. there segmenting in energy production, in education -- they are stagnating in energy production, in education, in the economy. for them to be creating these proxy groups and create a literature of religious war, and keep sending them to afghanistan either to promote your agenda or get killed there, in either case, it is a win-win situation for pakistan. so, i am not anti-negotiations or anti-peace. i say, we have not done the basics to call for a des

but in its that gains against the taliban are fragile and precarious. clinton somerville is in the afghan capital for us. >> president obama all the recalled president hamid karzai to give him a heads up on the review. has been agreement that military progress has been made fighting insurgents and taliban but this review will give more than just the military campaign here in afghanistan. now more american troops fighting in afghanistan and ever before. but our day and all the firepower making a difference? the president's review will say, yes, progress is being made fighting the taliban in the south of the country. 30,000 extra american troops -- giving president karzai's government because for hope. >> a year ago time was an enemy and the overwhelming consensus among the talking heads was that afghanistan was doomed. that conclusion has proven false. time has not yet become a friend. but momentum of the opposition has been clearly arrested, and in some cases, reversed. >> president obama once combat troops out by the end of 2014 with a draw down startin

if you find the afghan taliban and the pakistani taliban, the problem is it gets out of control becauseno foreign army is going to control--. >> thank you gilles. >> the barbara slavin. i want to ask a little bit more about the regional context. you have been so negative every time i hear you say it is getting worse and it will never get any better. i have heard recently samore optimistic discussions coming t of afghanistan for te it where he about trade routes. trade coming from central asia, going through iran, going through the indian courts, way to avoid pakistan province connected with pakistan. a very positive prognostication about mineral wealth and pipeline deals and so on. is the classy than a quarter full in your view? is there nothing good that is going on? >> thank you for the question because it it is good to make two points. first leg -- is to be right or wrong and basically i used to be called pessimistic or whatever. was right two or three years ago? it seems i was right. was i right in 2003 when i was writing about the taliban coming back to afghanistan? i was right so

the taliban say they carried out the attacks. dozens of injured were rushed to the next sitting with its main hospital, they have witnessed scenes like this time and again. >> my brother was injured in the blast. many others are also hurt and dead. these poor people. >> the army has been carrying out an offensive against the taliban across northwest pakistan, but it is trying to get locals to fight the taliban themselves. the problem is the army operations and its militants flee elsewhere to regroup. the problem is trying to -- with trying to mobilize locals as the taliban has no hesitation in striking back against them in brutal ways. >> the u.s. secretary of state has met japanese and south korean ministers to coordinate responses to north korea. hillary clinton said china had a special role to play and repeated for north korea to enter negotiations it must cease its provocative behavior. two weeks ago shells from the north killed two people on the south korean island. the south is vowing to retaliate if it happens again. >> wh

>> well, of course, the taliban has spread and established control in different parts of the country, and it's posing a problem, a difficult problem rooting them out, especially in the south. they're making head way in the north as well. the intelligence community is finding they're in a more difficult position than the military is, they have said the road appears longer to the intelligence officials, to some in the intelligence community, according to a recent estimate, than it does to the military. so the taliban, routed into certain areas and along the border in pakistan where they're hanging out in those tribal areas and pakistan has not made a firm enough commitment to root them out of there. also hamid karzai, the president of afghanistan, is he a relyiable partner, an effective partner, is he going to root out corruption in his government, these are big questions that remain big trouble areas ahead down the road in afghanistan, rick. rick: steve centanni live at the pentagon this morning, ahead of the review, the release of that review, and as we mentioned, just about half an h

s the money doesn't go to the taliban. i think basically what i suggested we followed was alternative crops which are brought up. which are brought over. so that the farmers knows whatever he's going to produce is going to be brought over. that would be a better way of going about it. at the same time, i think at least it's a start. at least you are not growing poppy and the poppy is not going to laboratories. one of the things that occurs to me, you know, all of these players which are there in kabul today, they all have houses and links in dubai. and they all want money in dubai. they don't want to stick around and wait for the taliban to take over the country. they are going to take off. not the same north lands that we knew in the massuod. >> i don't know the deal. so i comment marginally. we put the taliban in a difficult place from our states -- i mean the individuals from businessmen in pakistan and the international works and international aid which is the main source of money. so opium is not that ridiculous. and i

there are already cases of reintegration of reconcilable elements of the taliban. in other words, midlevel leaders and below. >> reporter: i'm talking about the top level. >> 2 dozen. well, you know, in iraq, we never reconciled with the top level al qaeda in iraq leaders. what we did is we were able to reconcile with the midlevel leaders and the population that, in some cases, was opposing the new iraq. this is not a case where you see the hill that you have to take, you take it, you plant the flag and you go home to a victory parade. this is a much more complex endeavor than that. and it requires a very comprehensive approach. >> reporter: what does it look like, that victory? >> well, it looks like an afghanistan that can secure and govern itself. >> reporter: and you're confident that the afghan government will be able to take over, afghan army will be able to take over by 2014? >> i don't know that you say "confident." i think no commander ever is going to come out and say "i'm confident that we can do this." i don't think there are any sure things in this kind

public support of the taliban always is in the same range, i single-digits, 7, 8, 9%. clearly in any free choice, they don't want to taliban back. >> a very important point because many americans who are against the war and would like to see the troops coming back sooner rather than later always say, look, the people of afghanistan don't want us there. certainly in my report i it -- reporting i have seen the opposite. >> millions of afghans put their trust in us. if you go there, you see things that are not well reported -- very touching things. our intent is to train civil servants, women empowerment programs, intends to rebuild afghan agriculture. it was an agriculture exporting country until the soviet invasion. but the country was so broken after 32 years of been tenuous war and a series of mistakes, starting with the soviet invasion, consequences of what it is euphemistically called charlie will some's war but they miss a punchline is it led directly to where we are today, and then finally a consequence of what is now a going on. it so it is a broken society. this

the one national army deserted and block the taliban. and the iran national army is not fighting the taliban. and look at the desertion rate. in the iran national security forces police almost 75% annually and then the iran national army 25%. look at the -- i would say it is a test of whether an army is engaged in battle are not. what is the characteristics of the army? at least i have tried to research them and have not been able to find it. more than 100 in the last 18 months in the iran national army. >> quickly, three points on the afghan mission. first it takes time to train officers and we don't have officers. i mean we have officers usually but we don't have a new generation of officers so it is not going to be ready in 2014, that is for sure. the second problem we have is that the nctc questioned in the afghan army is becoming really bad in the sense that most of the people fighting in armand or whatever are non-pashtun. pashn are not joining. there are a few exceptions. the -- try because they are doing that all of the time, 50,

the taliban say they carried out the attack. dozens of injured were rushed to the nearby hospital. this place has witnessed scenes like this time and again. >> my brother was injured in the blast. others are also hurt and dead. they are poor people. >> the army has been carrying out offensives against the taliban across northwest pakistan. it is also trying to get locals to find ways to fight the taliban themselves. the problem with the army operations is militants flee elsewhere to regroup. the problem with trying to mobilize locals is that the taliban have no hesitation with striking back against them in brutal ways. >> the parliamentary research group accused of spying for russia said she will fight heard deportation. she was working for a member of parliament at the time of her arrest. mr. hancock says he has seen no evidence to support the allegation against her. she is a russian national. some headlines on "bbc world news," as wikileaks releases new revelations , its new julian assange agreed to talk to -- its founder julian assange agree to talk to british police. more than

we've kicked the taliban out of their homeland in kandahar province. everything is going to -- you aren't going to see very many troop reductions in this coming july. everything's going to depend on the next fighting season which takes place during the summer. and whether the taliban are able to come back to their that is rightland successfully or not. if they're not able to come back successfully, then we're going to be able to bring -- begin bringing troops home a lot at the end of 2011. and early 2012. if they are successful, then we're going to start bringing troops home anyway because it will be such a mess and the president will -- chris: joe said they're on the same page. my question is political. is this president now committing to winning in afghanistan? or staying there long enough to achieve petraeus' ambitions? >> oh, no. i don't think so. i think the president is committed to making the best effort he can and -- over the next couple of years. but the political realities are such that he can't commit to forever. because the american people a

i came to interview the taliban. ople are angry at me and they were just delusional and we just decided the only way we could end this would be to try to escape and they moved us to this house, it was very close to that pakistani base and we didn't think it would work and it did. we're so lucky. >> and you snuck out while they were asleep. >> we had a ceiling fan in the room where we slept with the guards. and there was an old air conditioner called a cooler, and it made a tremendous amount of noise, and that was what made us -- with the power back on, we decided that kind of covered up the sound we made and i had found a rope, it was a car tow rope and made it to the roof. lowered ourselves down the wall and, you know, it's just a miracle. >> how did you hear he was released? >> david called home and my mother picked up and she took notes on a post-it pad so when i ran home there were all these little stickies strewn across the living room and very quickly we got on the phone. we called "the new york times" and they

the people to replace him would be the taliban and the taliban would open up afghanistan once again to al qaeda. the only reason they're not in large numbers in afghanistan now is because the troops we have and the afghan army is getting better so we've literally driven them out. i want to keep them out and secure the gains we've had. >> it sounds to me like what you're doing is creating a permanent presence in afghanistan akin to what we have in korea propping up a corrupt regime when al qaeda has already left and we're going to support a puppet regime to take money from other corrupt nations to what end? the enemy is al qaeda. >> the end is securing u.s. national security interests. i'm glad we have troops in korea. >> senator, but senator, the objective here, i always thought, was defeat al qaeda which is the terrorist group. >> no, no, no. >> you're saying that's not the objective? >> the objective for our country is to never be attacked again by islamic extremists. >> you're now suggesting a dedication of resources that i don't think i've heard from anybody about air bases in afgh

we then traveled 400 miles to the south, where we found a man taking the taliban head-on. bismullah khan is the police chief of a district where the until recently, the taliban was in control. just this spring we filmed them operating checkpoints. but this summer, thousands of u.s. soldiers arrived. so, unlike jan mohammad, bismullah doesn't have to hide, even though he is constantly reminded of the risks. he sleeps in his office, inside a u.s. military base, surrounded by the dead. each of these men in these photos died for him, fighting the taliban. in eight years, 400 of his officers and friends have been killed. then the taliban killed his father. then his brother. and then they killed his 11-year-old son with a suicide bomber. and yet, despite unspeakable sacrifice, 43-year-old bismullah khan still supports the u.s. "you have given us our last chance," he says. "if i quit now, how will we survive?" for bismullah, survival is about fighting. for jan, it's about hiding, as i learned when i left him. someone followed me, i'll never know if he was taliban. jan has to deal

we said we were going to break the taliban's momentum. that's what you're doing. >> reporter: president obama had hoped to meet with afghanistan's president, hamid karzai. but because of weather, he could not make the trip to kabul, talking, instead, by phone. charges of corruption in the afghan government, laid out in the wikileaks documents, continue to hamper progress. and violent attacks in afghanistan are at an all-time high. up 300% since 2007. up 70% from just last year. the u.s. is still hoping to have afghan forces trained to take over the fight by 2014. but even some of the afghan soldiers themselves say they will not be ready. while the gains here may be just modest, it's clearly enough to continue with the strategy. perhaps with some small adjustments. ron? >> okay. thanks, martha raddatz, reporting from afghanistan. >>> "good morning america" anchor, george stephanopoulos, is also on the ground in afghanistan. just arrived for our special series, "afghanistan, can we win?" he there to see how the war is going and what challeng

he was outnumbered three to one by the taliban, taliban backed by pakistan, al-qaeda was in there, and massoud fought them off. and he was even organizing, he convened a conference of afghan leaders from all over the world in a field in northern afghanistan while i was there. fifty plastic chairs in a circle, and he said we need to form a government for this country for when the taliban falls because they will fall. this was in the fall of 2000, and he was already convening a government in embryonic form to take care of afghanistan when the taliban eventually fell. he never lived to see it, tragically. but to answer your question, one of the great things about massoud was that he really believed in afghan dignity and independence from the meddling of foreign countries. and every neighboring country has meddled with afghanistan, that's why it's such a troubled country. soviet union, iran, pakistan, united states, and he was, you know, he was one of the reasons pakistan would not support him is that he refused to allow pakistani intelligence undue influence in afghan affairs, so they jus

because ultimately the taliban will call the shots when we leave, won't they? and al qaeda will call the shots when we leave. what influence can we have once we pull out in strength? >> well, i think this might be seen as transitioning to a mission of, really counterterrorism. directed at those taliban elements that are still supportive and connected to al qaeda and the al qaeda elements. we can't forget the fact that even though the pakistanis are not taking as much action that we'd like against these elements in the pakistan, we are continuing to use predator attacks, drone attacks to disrupt and to destroy al qaeda elements. we're still looking and putting a lot of pressure on them. so we're not abandoning the field to al qaeda. but we can do it and i think we ultimately have to do it with a much smaller footprint and the president i think believes that also. >> well, speak now as if you're speaking to a progressive audience to a group of antiwar democrats. what would you tell them it would look like a year or two ago over there in terms of our component? wh

forces are gaining on the tall batch and drops -- on the taliban and troops are gaining on the troops in afghanistan on the war strategy. the report suggests president obama's troop build up has enabled progress and heightened the sense of purpose in the region. al qaeda senior leadership is "weaker and under more sustained pressure than any point since 2001." on the u.s. relationship with pakistan "substantial but also uneven." the report states that "gains made are fragile and reversible." president obama said the u.s. is on the right track. >> senior leaders have been killed. it is harder for them to recruit and travel and train and plot and launch attack. in short, al qaeda is hunkered down. it will time to defeat al qaeda and it remains a ruthless and resilient enemy bent on attack. we are going to remain relentless in disrupting and dismantling that terrorist organization. >>shepard: in the review there is an acknowledgment the war will likely last at least another three years. our national correspondent at the pentagon, based on this review, what are the main problems facing ou

guest: that is the taliban traditional stronghold. they tend to come mostly from a more populist ethnicity from the south and east. you also have a long border with pakistan, which has provided a safe haven for taliban and other insurgent groups. there is a former fighter against the soviets who are fighting in the east of the country. then there is another network between the two. each of these get support and protection from over the border in pakistan. it is much easier to get fighters and supplies there. the population there is more sympathetic to the taliban. i think there for you have a stronger presence and that is where a lot of the concentration of fighting is. having said that, i think it is important to recognize that the fight is not just in the south and east. in the north, in the west, these are also areas or the taliban has made and roads. i think there is a tendency for them to move fighters and try to attack elsewhere to keep the threat up against the afghan government. that is something that needs to be watched very c

in much of the country, the taliban's momentum has been stopped or reversed, and u.s. troops will begin leaving in july as scheduled. more now from david martin at the pentagon. >> reporter: a year ago, the u.s. was, by many accounts, losing in afghanistan. now the commander in chief says the tide of battle has turned. >> we've gone on the offensive, targeting the taliban and its leaders and pushing them out of their strongholds. >> reporter: defense secretary gates is just back from visiting u.s. troops in afghanistan. >> the sense of progress among those closest to the fight is palpable. the taliban control far less territory today than they did a year ago. >> reporter: but progress is only temporary unless afghan forces can take over the fighting from the americans. and that will require 18 to 24 months, depending on the area. for instance, the former taliban stronghold of marjah in southern afghanistan where the marines launched an offensive 11 months ago. >> if you look at marjah in terms of next summer, so six months from now, we think we're going to be in a prett

. >> reporter: but the taliban is fighting back hard. the soldiers see it every day. >> a lot of ambushes, things along those lines of indirect fire. >> reporter: 21-year-old megan devoy, just over five feet tall and barely 100 pounds has come under withering fire. >> we started taking fire from all angles. all you can do at that point is locate the enemy, do what you can and eliminate them. >> reporter: i think a lot of people are saying, wait, women are on the front lines? >> we are, ma'am. i love being able to say i can go out and fight for my country along with every man in the army. >> reporter: devoy's 22-year-old friend barbara, mother of an 11-month-old, is one who was killed in just the last few months. >> great, great soldier. she will be dearly missed. >> reporter: there will no doubt be many more who lose their lives in this fight. with the u.s. already committing to almost four more years. but there was not a soldier we talked to who did not think that the war was winnable. >> compared with iraq, we say, man, this is not one

they're not the taliban of the 1990's. they have learned from blowing up the buddhas, a worldwide wakeup call to what they were. they have become more sophisticated but they have not changed their brew roots, their ideology, and there goes. >> has this media savvy complicate efforts or stop the those who are trying to defeat them? just to take that rome first, the mea space. >> i do not think it has affected perceptions of taliban in the europe and the united states. >> in their region? >> in their region, they are trying t exploit opportunities, the traditional target of anti- americanism that we're fighting on moslems low, christian crusaders. david's point about the taliban think that 60% of american art prostitutes, this is not a small point. it shows that they're playing to a field of enormous ignorance i which communications are primarily still by radio, but highly literate and susceptible people. >> the question is, who is winning that battle a perception right now? >> in afghanistan, public opinion poll has shown t

. >>> president obama's war review shows military gains against the taliban in southern afghanistan, but pakistan's refusal to attack extremist havens threatens to unvalve progress. how much longer should our troops fight? jack reed of rhode island is a member of the armed services committee. he's made ten wartime trips to afghanistan and eight to pakistan. thank you so much for joining us, senator. great respect for you. my trick question, because trick reality, i don't know how many years we're going to stay there, but how can we win if we stay 20 years? >> i'm not a combat veteran. i have great respect for combat veterans. i spent 12 years in the army. we have to make sure that the pakistanis cooperate with us and frankly, one of the issues there is that they consider some of these extremists groups as assets. we have to convince them they're liableties to their own government, but we have made some progress to get them to go into the tribal areas. i think the important point to emphasize is that the president is committed to a july 2011 transition point where our troops start to c

we have worked together to arrest the momentum of the taliban. vilians have been particularly instrumental in the progress we have seen in helmand and kandahar, and they will be critical in helping us consolidate the gains we have made in the last year, as we move toward a transition to afghan responsibility. our strategy also recognizes that rebuilding afghanistan is a global commit xhnt. the coalition continues to grow. today it stance at 49 countries. nato and our partners, including the many oic, the organization of islamic countries, that have recently joined the international contact group know that helping the afghan people and standing up against violent extremism is essential for the region and the world. this alirnment of our international effort was on full display in lisbon last month where the coalition committed to a long-term partnership with afghanistan while laying out a plan for the afghan government to take responsibility for its own security. the transition will begin in 2011 and conclude in 2014. now, of course, we are clear-e

but he says there is one important thing that will stop men like him joining the taliban the "since i'ven released, i've been doing nothing. jobs are even harder to find. if the government helps us get work, we'll all be busy and, good willing, there -- there will be peace here." so many place a -- places across swat remain destroyed. so far the money and development assistance in rebuilding has not come. officials here fear if that doesn't change soon, it could simply lead more young people to mill i tansy. >>> stay with us. still ahead, the medieval belgian abbey famous for its beer and books is reduced to ashes. >>> police in bristol are investigating the murder of jill yates and say they're looking into reports that she may have been seen leaving her flat with two people on the night she disappeared. she was last seen nearly two weeks ago and her body was discovered christmas morning. sophie hutchinson has the latest on the police inquiry. >> seen more the -- for the last time on camera, these cctv images show yates as she enters an off-license to buy some ciser. there are no sounds