. >>> in western afghanistan today, a deadly bombing aimed at a district police chief left at least ten people dead and some 30 injured. it happened in harrah, that's the main city in that region that's here in the border with iran. the remote controlled bomb went off on a crowded street near a fruit market and apparently targeted the police chief as he drove into town. that official was in critical condition. >>> this month has also gotten off to a deadly start for american and nato forces in afghanistan. with the total of nine killed over the weekend, they include six americans, two canadians and one french soldier. >>> with afghanistan's elections less than three weeks away and the number of foreign troops in that country increasing steadily we turn again to karin von hippel. for some analysis. she joins us from washington. nice to have you back. >> thank you. >> we had a record number of casualties last month and august is already a bad sfarpt why are so many more troops dying, and has there been a exchange in the mission that causes this? >> unengineer i think this was anticipated,

marines died in a roadside bombing in western afghanistan. that made at least 15 western troops killed so far in august. during july, there were 44 americans killed in afghanistan, plus 31 soldiers from other countries. on the u.s. economy, the labor department reported first time claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week. but it wasn't enough to lift wall street today. the dow jones industrial average lost more than 24 points to close at 9256. the nasdaq fell nearly 20 points to close at 1973. federal immigration officials have announced a major overhaul of how the us handles detention and deportation. under the new plan, immigration detention would shift away from a criminal system, to a civil system. it would also provide more direct monitoring of conditions at facilities that range from local jails to federal centers. as a first step, families will no longer be sent to a former texas state prison. it was criticized for placing children behind razor wire. movie director john hughes died today in a heart attack in ne

yesterday a roadside bomb killed at least 11 people in western afghanistan. >>> police in australia say they've broken up an alleged al qaeda linked terrorist plot. this morning authorities launch predawn raids in melbourne after a seven month surveillance operation. four men with ties to an extremist group were arrested. they planned attacks on military braces. >> there is an enduring threat of terrorism at home here in australia as well as overseas. only too recently we've been reminded of the consequences of this threat in the tragic jakarta bombings in which three australians lost their lives. >> police said the plot had the potential to inflict significant casualties. >>> on the cbs money watch, stocks in asia gain ground this morning while toyota battles plunging sales. claire leka is here in new york with more. >> asian markets were mostly higher overnight. japan's benchmark nikkei gained a quarter of a percent. south korea stocks tacked on a fraction. now to wall street, the bulls are hoping to stretch their legs again today. a better than expected report on manufacturing signal

military said four marines wereilled when a adside bomb struck their vehicle western afghanistan. in the six da of this month, at ast 15 western tros have been kild in afghanistan. >>> in the middle east today, a ominent human rights group said thousands of rockets fired from the gaza strip into israe re unlawful and unjustifi, and aunt to war crimes by the hamas leadership in gaa. those attack culnated in the three-week war agait hamas that began late last decber. in his port,uman rights watch said hamas should plicly anunce the rocket attac and punish thoseresponsible. three israeli civilians wer kill by rket fire. and human rits watch said hamas also put palestines at grt list. >> they fired from near civilian areas becae they wanted t prevent israelrom strikin back through t fear of csing vilian casualties. both of those things, fing from a civilian area wh ere is any opportunity no to and deliberately firing fro a civilian area in order to prent counterattacks are serious violations of the ws of war. >> a spokesman for hamas sid today's report is biased in favor of israel he

in the six days of this month, at least 15 western troops have been killed in afghanistan. >>> in the middle east today, a prominent human rights group said thousands of rockets fired from the gaza strip into israel were unlawful and unjustified, and amount to war crimes by the hamas leadership in gaza. those attacks culminated in the three-week war against hamas that began late last december. in his report, human rights watch said hamas should publicly announce the rocket attacks and punish those responsible. three israeli civilians were killed by rocket fire. and human rights watch said hamas also put palestines at great list. >> they fired from near civilian areas because they wanted to prevent israel from striking back through the fear of causing civilian casualties. both of those things, firing from a civilian area when there is any opportunity not to and deliberately firing from a civilian area in order to prevent counterattacks are serious violations of the laws of war. >> a spokesman for hamas said today's report is biased in favor of israel. he said hamas did not use the popu

making headlines around the world -- at least 10 people are dead including two policemen in western afghanistan after a bombing happened there. a remote control bomb hidden in a trash can exploded in the crowded street near a fruit market. the attack comes as of a ganz gear up for -- afghans gear up for the presidential election there and the country battles a raging taliban insurgency. >>> thousands of people have been turning out in manila to pay tribute. supporters wore yellow, aquino's favorite color. she died in the hospital after colon cancer. she was 76 years old. >>> kevin costner and a band over the weekend were getting ready to perform when the stage caved in. one person was killed, 75 others were injured in the accident saturday. costner was caught under the stage but was able to wiggle his way out. >>> a dangerous waste being dumped by a plant in south africa which manufacturers blue jeans for american consumers. gap and levi are both investigating the alleged dumping at this plant. a months long investigation found illegally dumped razors and needles have been found. >>> on this mo

a roadside bomb in western afghanistan has killed 12 people and wounded around 20, this after a week that saw nine foreign soldiers killed across the country. today's target looks to have been a local police chief. the bbc's reporter reports from the afghan capital of kabul. >> the attack on a convoy of police vehicles brought chaos to a town which has been remote from the violence elsewhere in afghanistan for many months. the bomb had been placed in a roadside rubbish bin and was remotely detonated as the vehicles passed. but it was not only police who were caught up in it. motor bikes, other vehicles and pedestrians were weaving through the morning traffic as the bomb went off. the police chief says this was the third time there had been an attempt on the life of the district police chief, who was targeted and is now injured and in hospital. harat is strategiccally important to afghanistan as it sits at the gateway to iran. customs dues collected here make up a large proportion of government revenue. more than 20 injured people were taken to hospital, many of them very seriously hu

. >> thank you for having me >>> in western afghanistan today, a deadly bombing aimed at district police chiefeft at least ten people dead and sme 30 inred. it happenein harrah, that's the in city in that region that's here in the border th iran. the remote controlled bb went off on a crowded street near a fruit mark and appareny tgeted the police chief ase drove into town. th official was in citical condition. >>> this month has also gotten off to a deadly start for american and nato forcesn ghanistan. with t total of nine killed over t weekend, they include six americans, o canadians and one french soldi. >>> wi afghanistan's elections less than three weeks ay and the number of reign troops that country increasing steadily we trn again to karin von hiel. for some analysis. she jos us fom washington. nice to have yo bac >> thank you. >> we had a cord number of sualties last monthnd august is already a bad sfarpt why are so many more roops dying, and h there been exchan in the mission that causes this >> unengineer i think this was anticipad, not on is the summer of the fiting season in

attack, and this morning a remit-controlled bomb targeting a police convoy killed 12 people in western afghanistan. >>> the embassy in teheran is trying to learn more about three detained hikers in iran. they reportedly contacted a friend in turkey to say they wandered over the border and had been surrounded by troops. switzerland represented them since 30 years ago. >>> 56-year-old man was fishing off the louisiana coast when a shark bit him on the foot. he faces expensive surgery but will probably not lose his foot. they say marine boat helped to alert rescuers. >>> what's on the web this morning an odd collection of news from space. that's coming up. >>> plus, wicked weather hit neighbors this weekend. hope things are better today. >> a weak front is pushing through this morning. i will let you know what that means for today and the rest of the week when 9 news now returns. with the roll, pain's under control. >>> cleanup will be the first thing on the agenda for many folks in haverford, pennsylvania. severe storms knocked out power to thousands in pennsylvania and central new jersey. the heavy

. >>> a bomb killed at least ten people today in western afghanistan. the taliban has claimed responsibility and has said it was targeting the local police chief who was wounded. afghanistan has seen a surge in violence ahead of this month's presidential election. >>> in sudan, bloody clashes have left at least 160 people dead, most of them women and children. they were killed on sunday when heavily armed south sudan tribal fighters launched a raid on a rival ethnic group. >>> a five-hour pro ses woupd through the streets of manila today as the body of the former president corazon aquino was brought to the main cathedral. she died saturday at the age ever 76 from colon cancer. her funeral is wednesday. >>> a study of american school children finds gym class emergen injuries needing emergency room treatment rose 150% over a ten-year period ending in 2007. researchers say the increase may have less to do with rigorous exercise and more to do with larger class size, less adult supervision, and fewer school nurses. >>> funny people took over the top spot at

street journal" that they're facing a more aggressive enemy now that the taliban is moving into western afghanistan. >> they hold greater sway in some places. looking at all of that in concert, one may say the taliban is doing quite well. >> reporter: general mcchrystal also warned that casualty figures will remain higher for months as forces push into taliban strongholds in the south. his comments come as a top military adviser called for 4,000 extra u.s. troops to combat the insurgency. that would bring the american military presence in afghanistan to about 100,000. insurgent attacks have increased 60% over the last eight months alone. with the presidential elections just nine days away, the threat is only expected to increase. now back to you. >> mandy clark in kabul this morning. joining us now is richard haass, president of the council of foreign relations and the author of 12 books on foreign policy. his latest is "war of necessity, war of choice." welcome back to the broadcast. >> thanks, harry. >> july was by far the deadliest month for u.s. and coalition troops in afghanistan. u.s. is basi

voting lines formed in areas of northern and western afghanistan, but residents in the south and easttant to head to the polls. after threats from the taliban. but it wasn't just fear that kept afghans at home. some were skeptical the vote wouldn't be fair. one international observer stopped this child who had voted. he had a fake voting card, but admitted he was 13. >> aty ttia abawi joining us f kabul. do you know we know what the overall turnout was for this election? >> reporter: tony, we don't know the exact number, but what we do know is that it was a very low turnout. even lower than the 2004 presidential elections and the 2005 parliamentary elections. again, most of that was from taliban intimidation. it was a very bloody week leading up to the elections, but many afghans did not feel it was worth risking their lives to go to the poll, primarily because they don't believe in their government -- governmental system at the moment. they don't believe in the political process at the moment, and they've been disenchanted by democracy. tony? >> and atia, one more quick question here

afghanistan in october 2001. all the u.s. military officials in the western media hailed his killing, cut the circumstance of his death got less attention. the man in charge of the taliban's finances got taken out. one of the things i hope comes from this book is it helps people redefine how they think of the taliban and al qaeda. most of us have preconceived notion of what the taliban are like. we think of them as guys who are in desperate need of a pedicure or at least a bath, living in caves in afghanistan. we think of them as illiterate, fanatical, gun-toting, basically backwards and illiterate people. what i would look -- like to put forward to you tonight who have come out to hear me speak, i would like to look forward to another model that i think is useful. i am not suggesting that malo mark has developed a taste for the issue no or that osama bin laden has started drinking qian the or that they are about to open a new wing of the bottom being, but what i have done over the last five years is to investigate the taliban's operations on ground level. wh

hope of intervention could be to delegitimize any leader in afghanistan who comes out of the electoral process. that cannot help the western alliance. that can that help the government of afghanistan. that can only help the taliban. >> assuring that these elections are a viable is vital. now, doubts about fraud and turnout could undermine the mission. there have been more than 1700 complaints about irregularities. 270 have been classified as serious cases. if they are approved, they could have a material effect on the outcome. as we reported, it is not just corruption but turned out that threatens the election. less than 40% voted across the country. in the south, the numbers are much lower. >> this election demonstrates that the whole strategy of 8 years of democratic state building, creating a centralized state, has failed. we need to recognize that failure and come up with something different. >> these revelations come as two more british soldiers are flown home, killed in action in afghanistan. ththe deaths are a grim reminder of the risks taken. afghanistan is a battle that shows no sign of ending. >> one of the young

troops were killed in western afghanistan today when their vehicles hit an improvised explosive devicean american service member was killed yesterday after nato troop troops were fighting insurgents planting roadside bombs. >>> a traveling companion of the three american hikers taken into custody when they apparently strayed across the iraqi border into iran is speaking out. sean meckfessel, who did not accompany his friends on the hike, said he's, quote, absolutely certain they had no knowledge of their proximity to the iranian border. he goes on to say he was in contact with his friends via text message during their hike and they had plans to meet up yesterday. he said the last text message from their friends said they were being taken into custody and asked him to contact the american embassy. >>> a soccer match took place in a brazilian city where the highest number of swine flu cases has been reported. fans wore masks. >>> john hughes has died. hughes' publicist says he died suddenly of a heart attack while taking a morning walk in new york city. hughes directed such films as "the

marines were killed in a roadside explosion today in western afghanistan. nato says their vehicle blew up when it struck an improvised explosive device. today's casualties raise the u.s. death toll to 11 for the month of august. the military says 44 u.s. troops were killed in july. violence appears to be escalating as western forces push deeper into taliban territory ahead of the august 20th presidential elections. >>> aero smith's lead singer steven tyler takes a nasty fall during a concert in south dakota. ♪ how is he doing? is he back in the saddle again? what was he singing when he took a tumble? >>> the vote continues in the u.s. senate. historic vote to confirm sonia sotomayor as the newest associate supreme court justice. she would be the first latina to sit on the high bench. several republicans opposed her nomination. john mccain of arizona included. he said she was an activist judge whose decisions reflected her personal views, but we can tell you richard luger, olympia snowe, martinez, collins, graham, alexander, kit bond of missouri, chet greg a

three days before elections in afghanistan, more casualties of the western security forces. it is the story of a treasure lost at sea more than 200 years ago. the dispute over who owns it is raging out. it started a few years ago when a treasure hunting company lifted billions in gold and silver from a shipwreck in the atlantic. it was expected to be -- suspected to be a spanish vessel, an american judge ordered all of the currency to be handed over to spain. there is even more to, in this legal battle. >> the battle like this one in the painting, this spanish treasure ship was sunk in 18 04. -- 1804. it was rediscovered off the coast of portugal by the odyssey exploration company. a descendant of the second in command of the ship, not more than 100 of whom support the spanish government's bid to have the treasure returned to spain. >> this man was my great grandfather, who suffered the tragedy from the other boat. he was the commander. the mercedes and sank, with seven of his eight children dying in the tragedy. and we treasure the memory. >> while they will not report it o

afghanistan, in the province of kandahar, three american servicemen were killed saturday when their patrol hit two roadside bombs. improvised explosive devices, i.e.d.s are the number one threat to western troops here in afghanistan. meanwhile, to the north of the afghan capital, a french soldier was killed when he engaged in a battle with taliban insurgents. this after july was the deadliest month yet for u.s. and nato forces of this entire eight-year war. of course, it is civilians who are bearing the brunt of this conflict. the united nations released a report this week announcing that civilian casualties due to the conflict had spiked some 24% in the first six months of this year over last year's death toll. that is more than 1,000 afghan civilians killed. the number two causes of these afghan civilian casualties are, number one, roadside bombs, and suicide bombs carried out by the insurgents, number two, air strikes carried out by u.s. and nato forces. now in the middle of all this bloodshed, there is an election campaign under way for presidential elections set to take place on august 20th. perhaps surprising is that the candidates that are out campaigning, stumping, trying to win

the enemies we face in afghanistan are really quite startling in their shared objectives, first of defeating westernowers in afghanistan and secondly of distributing power within affidavit such tha they get a major share regardless of what comes in the future. and so we have a competition bor political power among enemy grps. th're also trying to contr the population and see to it that the population supports their ornization rather than the government organization. and, therefore, when we look at what t enemy is doing on the ground, it's more than just these spectacular attacks that we see. or the ieds that go off and kill american soldier. what we see is an enemy trying to intimidate the population of afghanistan. in the southern area of afghanistan where the afghan taliban is quite active, we see the taliban is providing services to the population normally the government would provide. essentially, they are protecting the polllation. they are engaged in extracting taxes or providing justice through courts. and they are enjoyed in a campaign of intimidation against the population to ensure that th

the target was a taliban commander accused of attacking western troops in afghanistan. a u.s. drone fired a missile into a suspected hideout in pakistan's border region, killing 11. some of the dead are afghans. but it isn't known if saraz hakari was one of them. he runs a powerful militant network. it's believed the u.s. has launched about 40 missile attacks from unmanned drones flown over the bored near pakistan. they're apparently succeeding in killing several top taliban and al qaeda commanders. were photos of undercover c.i.a. officers illegally shown to gitmo detainees? sources say three defense attorneys showed their clienlts pictures of c.i.a. officers and contractors. the lawyers were apparently trying to identify operatives who questioned the detainees overseas. the justice department is looking into whether any confidentiality laws were broken. the first hurricane of the atlantic season is packing winds of nearly 120 miles per hour. hurricane bill, a category three storm right now, expected to gain more strength as it churns over the atlantic. puerto rico already se

afghanistan. a roadside bomb hit a vehicle killing four american marines today. nato released the information about the death but has not given any other details. 15 western troops have been killed in afghanistan already this month. >>> president clinton isn't saying much about his mission to north korea to secure the release of two american journalists. he returned to the u.s. yesterday with laura ling and euna lee. they were held captive for nearly five months after illegally crossing the border from china. president clinton says he was honored to help. >> my job was to do one thing, which i was fro foundly honored to do as an american and as a father. i wanted those young women to be able to come home. and i wanted our two countries to have the ability to decide where to go from here. >> president clinton went on to say he is no longer a policymaker and talks about anything other than journalists release was not in his place. >>> a family in the southeast is searching for a mother of two. she disappeared more than three weeks ago. today they searched for the dupont park. claudia coffey is here with the story. >> reporter: police say they do no suspect foul pla

his bicycle campaign may look comical, but it comes loaded with very serious criticism of afghanistan's westernvernment, which he accuses of stealing billions of dollars in international aid. "the international community does not understand that the current afghan government is a government of force, of nepotism and waste," he says. that's a view echoed by many other afghans, frustrated by lack of development and rampant corruption eight years after the overthrow of the taliban. "we don't want the tyrant who opposes the people," this watermelon vendor says. "we want a president who cares about poor people." with his cell phone and mobile office on two wheels, this aspiring politician says he's just the man for the job. ivan watson, cnn, kabul. >>> all right. well, that's one way to do it. we will check in with them with the election coming up in just a couple weeks. >>> that's it for me, t.j. holmes sitting in for tony harris. now time to hand

. >>> in afghanistan, the deadly violence of july has carried into august with no letup. in a western afghan city this morning, a remote-controlled roadside bomb killed a dozen people and critically injured the apparent target, a provincial police chief. elsewhere in afghanistan, six american troops died in combat this weekend after 43 were killed in july, the worst monthly toll of the war so far. >>> the remains of u.s. navy pilot michael "scott" speicher are being examined by military dna experts in maryland this morning, but the pentagon says it's sure of their identity. speicher was the first american casualty of the 1991 persian gulf war, but his family had to keep pressing the military for years to track down exactly where he died. the family says it finds solace in having transformed the search process so that no serviceman or woman is ever left behind again. kimberly dozier has the story. >> reporter: navy captain michael "scott" speicher has been found at last, ending an almost two decade long wait for his family. the first american casualty of the gulf war was found buried i

. >>> in afghanistan, this is shapinup sentially to be the most deadly month for american and other western force at war. milita officials said today that three more britishsoldiers and an american rvice member were killed inttacks in uthern and eastern afghanistan. that brings to 19 the number of international troopsho have died in just the first seven days of this month. >>> it was also a deadly day in iraq, where at least37 people we killed in series of bombingattacks. inhe most serus, a suicide r bomb struca shii mosque in norern iraq. that's outside ofmosul, killing at least 30 people in ghdad, a roadside bomb targeted mini bus covering iite pilgrims, killing four people and woundin eight others. the attacks on shiites are raisg concerns of a possible ne wave of sectarian violence in iraq. >>from europe, we want totake note tonht of the first anniversary of the sart of the war beee georgia and russia. that conflictbroke out last summerwhen georgia launched an attack on t attack. ruia responded with a counterattack. e five-day war killed at least 390eople displaced te of thousas and lef

he also facilitated tactics against american soldiers across-the-board never afghanistan and he targeted westernfacilities in pakistan and by seeking to destabilize pakistan he was judged by the united states government to be working against american interests for all those reasons he was seen as an enemy of the united states. but his collaborations with al qaeda i think the ambassador said it well, were peculiar to his region and to the relationship between his tribe and uzbeq and some other arab elements of al qaeda. we're not clear, i'm not clear anyway, on how close he was to the senior leadership of al qaeda to osama bin laden and others. he clearly could lab waited with some parts of the organization but there are other islamist leaders along that border who also have ties to al qaeda and who are only his allies, not his subordinates. >> i have to ask you about persistent reports that though your government has publicly complained about the cia drone attacks on pakistani territory, that, in fact, your government actually urged the u.s. government to add pasoud essentially to its target lis

. >> reporter: good morning, heidi, it was a deadly attack this morning in afghanistan's largest western city. there forces tell us that around 7:00 in the morning a roadside bomb hit a passing convoy that a police chief, an afghan police chief was riding in. and that explosion killed 12 people, it wounded the police chief, killed two of his body guards, and killed 10 afghan civilians and then injured dozens of other afghan civilians as well as security forces. and this, of course, coming after a bloody weekend for u.s. and nato forces in afghanistan. nine killed, six american troops in southern and eastern afghanistan as well as two canadian soldiers and one french soldier, and this coming after the deadliest month yet of this eight-year war when some 775 nato american and other nato troops were killed last month here in afghanistan, heidi. >> so, ivan, this country's gearing up for an election. it's going to be a very big deal for the people there, but i wonder, are they going to feel secure enough to go out and actually vote? >> reporter: well, this is a big problem. we've talked to t

. >> the hope ontervention uld be t delegitimize a leader i afghanistan who com out of the electoral pross. that cannot help the western alliance that can that help the government of afghistan. that cannly help the taliban. >> assurin that these ections are a viable is vital. now, ubts about fraud and turnout could undeine the mission. there have been more than 1700 colaints about irregulaties. 270 havbeen classified a serious cases. if they are approved, th could have a matial effect on the outcome. ase reported, it is not just corruption but turned out that threatens the elecon. ss than 40% voted across the country. in the sout the numbers are much lower >> this ection demonstrates thatthe whole strategy of 8 years of democratic state building, creatina centralized state, has failed. we need to regnize that failure and comep with something difrent. >> these relations comes two more british soldiersre flown home, kled in action afghanistan. hthe deat are a gm reminder of thriskstaken. afghanistan is a battle that shs no signf ending. >> onef t youngest detainees out of the detentionenter i uantanamo bay will sue the u

he also cilitated tactics against american soldiers across-the-board never afghanistan and he targeted westernfacilities in pakistan and byeeking to destabilize pakist he was judged by t united states government to be working against american intests for all thse reasons he was seen as an enemy of t united states. but his claborations with al qaeda i thin the ambassador said it well, were pecuar to his reon and to the relationship betwe his tribe and uzbeq and some oth arab elents of al qaeda. we're not clear, i' not clear anyway on how close he was to th senior leadership of alqaeda to osama bin lden and others. helearly could lab waited with some parts of the organizion but there are other iamist ldersalong tht border who also have ties to al qaeda and who are only his allies, n his suboinates. >> i have to ask youabout psistent reports that thugh your government has publicly cplained about the cia dne attacks on pakistani territory,hat, infact, your government actuay urged the u.s. government t add pasoud essentlly to its target list, notust to go after al qae figures or figes directlynvolv

. >>> in afghanistan, this is shaping up potentially to be the most deadly month for american and other western forces at war. military officials said today that three more british soldiers and an american service member were killed in attacks in southern and eastern afghanistan. that brings to 19, the number of international troops who have died in just the first seven days of this month. >>> it was also a deadly day in iraq, where at least 37 people were kild in a series of bombing attacks. in the most serious, a suicide car bomb struck a shiite mosque in northern iraq. that's outside of mosul, killing at least 30 people. in baghdad, a roadside bomb targeted a minibus carrying shiite pilgrims, killing four people and wounding eight others. the attacks on shiites are raising concerns of a possible new wave of sectarian violence in iraq. >>> from europe, we want to take note tonight of the first anniversary of the start of the war between georgia and russia. th conflict broke out last summer, when georgia launched an the republic of south ossetia. russia responded with a counterattack. pushing

that is according to the chinese med yampt it left kabul in afghanistan and flying to an airport in westernin a. air trafficer controllers were told not to let the airplane land. there was no bomb threat. >> floding in asia and iraq tears town unwanted symbols of the war. this is as we go around the world in 80 seconds. taiwan, a tipoon slamming in the island causing the worst flooding. dozens are missing and feared dead . the storm even causing a hotel to collapse in the raging flood waters, many areas reporting more than 80 inches of rain. >> india aa land slide triggered by heavy rains and leaving 43 people dead. police officials say three remote villages are buried. locals are dig through mud and rock look for those missing. extensive deportations left the region prone to land slide. new zealand. a church packed remembering those lost and wednesday in the ferry disaster. princess ferry sank with 149 people on board and 54 of them survived. police are investigating whether anyone could be criminally liable. >> iraq, sign of improvement as removal of protective blast walls on baghdad foun

initial reports are that turnout over all in afghanistan was down from that 70% figure in 2004 to roughly 40% or 50% this time. a westernmat also told the press news service that the turnout in southern afghanistan was very, very low. we won't know who won this election for a long time yet. the counting is not expected to be done for a couple of weeks. undaunted by the fact that counting is not done though, both incumbent president karzai and his top challenger are claiming victory. the u.s. government insist that's doesn't really care who wins. it just wants the afghan people to feel like they have a stake in their own government. that said, if karzai's top challenger does win, afghanistan would have the best named president in the whole world. his name would be president abdullah abdullah although i bet his enemies would call him abdullah hussein abdullah. right? thanks, you know we don't deliver anything like this. this crispy flatbread. mmmm. mmmmm! so delicious! are you like havin' a party or somethin'? ( slam ) hello? introducing the taste that's never been delivered. digiorno crispy flatbread pizza. for delicious

and the enemies we face in afghanistan, although diverse, are really quite startling in their shared objectives. first of defeating western powers and the gamut -- in afghanistan and secondly, of distributing power within afghanistan such that they get a major share regardless of what comes in the future. so we have a competition for political power among enemy groups, and we have an anti- westernism among enemy groups that you have been manifesting that the violence against our forces. but they're also trying to control the population and see to it that the population supports their organization rather than the government organizations. therefore, when we look at with the enemy is doing on the ground, it is more than just these spectacular attacks we see or the ied's that go off and tragically kill american and allied soldiers. rather, what you see on the ground is an enemy that is trying to intimidate the population of afghanistan. for example, in the southern areas of afghanistan, where the afghan taliban is quite active, we see that the taliban is providing services to the population that, normally, the government wou

american elections, and we're so proud of our -- but if you go to aft afghanistan and you've reported this on cnn what you see is westernemocracy in traditional garb. >> thank you for taking the time to talk to us. >> my pleasure. >>> why the events in afghanistan and gaza impact all of us. watch "generation islam" saturday and sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >>> tonight, you'll meet the filmmaker who brought three guitar greats together, each from a different time in music history. ♪ so we're so proud to manufacture... the accu-chek® aviva meters and test strips... here in the u.s.a. plus, we've proven you'll waste 50% fewer strips... when you use our meter, which means greater savings... for people with diabetes, like me. now that's a true american value. accu-chek® aviva. born in the u.s.a. ...or if you're already sick... ...or if you lose your job. your health insurance shouldn't either. so let's fix health care. if everyone's covered, we can make health care as affordable as possible. and the words "pre-existing condition" become a thing of the past... we're america's health insurance companies. supporting bipartisan

governance, the fact that they're not in control in large chunks of their western territories, the realities of the war in afghanistan are all with us, but you don'tave the decisive days. >> but also appeared to set up a fight among his subordinates, the two deputies getting in a gun fight, one or both of them may have been killed. >> no honor among thieves or terrorists. again, the fact that they had these fights is good. but this is the sort of thing that's still going to play out over time. these are not organizations where you're getting rid of one or two people are transformational. it's simply a long-term struggle. >> it's really a long-term struggle. i mean, afghanistan is looking like this is going to be an incredible long slog. and seeing how the american people deal with that, and how much they continue to support it, as more and more people get killed is going to be something that's going to be for the administration. >> i know there are people who are close to the president who worry about the slippery slope here, general mcchrystal we think may ask for another 4,000 or 5,000 troops. and then after, lyndo

in afghanistan nato says three of its troops were killed in a taliban attack. bringing to 18 the number of westernroops killed in afghanistan in the month of august. finally, an update on congress's purchase of leer jets. the "wall street journal" finds congress plans to spend $550 million to buy them when lawmakers have criticized the use corporate jets by companies receiving taxpayer funds. those are the latest headlines on c-span radio. . guest: we know it is here, we know it is in a pandemic level. the interesting thing is if you follow its severity, it is acting more like a mild to moderate flu, if you compare it to the seasonal flus. so the expectation is since we are seeing outbreaks in camps and we are getting hit in the summer hit that -- in the southern hemisphere, it is highly likely that when we get back to the early fall and the kids go back to school, we will start to see a resurgence of it. how much, how intense, how severe, it is tough to say. we are going to be prepared for that in a variety of ways. we are expecting that and we are prepared for the worst. host: what is the prepar

in afghanistan, a taliban bomb killed at least 11 people in the western part of the country. the target was a district police chief, who was critically wounded. 30 other people were hurt as well. and over the weekend, six american troops were killed in afghanistan, along with two canadians and a french soldier. the long search for u.s. navy captain michael "scott" speicher has come to an end. he was shot down at the outset of the first gulf war, but questions lingered today about exactly when, and how, he died. newshour correspondent kwame holman has our report. >> holman: the u.s. navy announcement finally answered a question that had been asked since 1991: was scott speicher alive or dead? and today, cindy laquidara says it ended at least part of the mystery. she spoke in a telephone interview with the newshour. >> i'm scott speicher of the f.a. 81 out here on the saratoga. >> holman: speicher's f-18 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile on the opening night of operation desert storm, on january 17, 1991. then-defense secretary dick cheney announced the first american fa

afghanistan. >>> there was a deadly car bombing in a mainly sunni area of western iraq. six people were killed and 34 wounded near an outdoor market. the attack is raising fears that sectarian violence might increase now that u.s. troops have pulled out of major cities. >>> tonight, there's word the obama administration is looking at for the leavenworth kansas and a prison northeast michigan as possible sites to move suspected taliban fitders now being held at guantanamo bay. the white house says these are options but no decisions have been made. the president has ordered guantanamo closed by january. president obama's efforts to revive the economy takes center stage this week when he returns to elk hart, indiana, a community pounded by the recession. the president will no doubt highlight new economic indicators that show the recession might be easing. there are new questions tonight about whether new taxes could be in store. here's john cochran. >> reporter: with encouraging economic news this week, everyone wondered if the worst is behind us. >> is it over? >> not quit

afghanistan. aot of intimidation down there. one western observer described kandahar as "like the wild west." in afghan ter, it hasn't been a pticularly violen day, today of all days, that has to be said. >> suarez: president hamid karzai both running the country and ruing the-to-hold on tois job. what did he hav to saybout the balloting? >> we, hamid kari, of course has claimed it as a eat success along withhe united nations ctainly. nat of course, keeping a very low profile. this is in their view very much an ghan affair, certnly not a nato affa. their troops, of coue, ordered to keep well away from all the pling stations. mr. karzai yes, he's trumpetg as a great scess but he knows very well that h has to get tat 51% in order be automatically reelected. won't ow that for sure until eptember 3 an the word ishe smart money if yo like says hs not going to make that. so we are quit probably in for the long haul rght through to october 15. >> suaz: in the reporting coming out o afghanistan we saw indelible ink that wasn quite so indelib. election observeers who were afraido go to certain parts o

. >>> afghanistan's people are often caught in the crossfire of the war between the taliban and western troops. and a new report out today from the humanitarian organization oxfam says that one-third of the population is now at risk from another enemy, hunger. oxfam's aid workers says that the u.s. alone spends $100 million a day for military operations in afghanistan, while all international aid combined adds up to just $7 million a day for humanitarian projects. joining us now for more on that report is a representative of oxfam. shannon scribner is the senior policy adviser on humanitarian issues from oxfam america which is based in washington. thanks for being with us. >> thanks for having me. >> how bad is the hunger situation in afghanistan? >> for a country that used to be considered the breadbasket of the region, it's pretty bad. a third of afghans are food insecure or at risk of hunger. and it just means they don't have enough calories on a given day. and 80% of afghans rely on agriculture to survive. yet investments in agriculture have been very slim with less than 5% going to

western reality programs. what do you think this means for afghanistan in the big picture?in four years you can do a lot. >> reporter: musani, an afghan who grew up in australia created afghan star. >> what gives me hope is if you look at our staff. they've never done production, never done lighting, and within a short space of time, they've been able to pick that up. we have a population of 60% under 21. they can do things, they have a future, we need to give them the opportunity. >> reporter: an opportunity that fundamentalists that this young taliban fighter disapprove of. >> calling themselves stars is a title they've invented for themselves. that's how they turn something that is sinful into something they think is good. >> reporter: for the afghan star finals, police were out in force, along with kabul's trendiest crowd. their fashion sense may seem locked in a time warp, but they don't sound any different from young people anywhere. it is important to afghan young people to be cool? >> yeah, sure. with a cool mind, we are trying to be like america. >> reporter: yeah?