easy to do here because there are so many dirt roads in afghanistan. cabrera and his partner, specialist joshua gross, told us the first bomb hit its target, but the second one, 30 yards away, missed. >> cabrera: this right here was the first explosion that went off. this right here was the second one. >> pitts: in this instance, did the trigger man make a mistake or were you guys just lucky? >> cabrera: trigger man made a mistake. >> specialist joshua gross: and we were lucky. we were lucky he made a mistake. >> pitts: lucky, because it's usually the second bomb that causes the most casualties. after the first explosion, men like sergeant cabrera go to investigate. and that's when insurgents often set off the second bomb. something with your name on it? >> cabrera: yes, sir. >> pitts: meant to maim or kill you? >> cabrera: yes, sir. >> pitts: roadside bombs are also meant to prove to afghans the united states, with its superior military, still can't protect its own troops or them. how much do you think it costs to make an i.e.d. in afghanistan? >> cab

they had fled persecution in their home country and were living in the mountains of afghanistan, picked up after u.s. forces went in there after 9/11, and were turned over to the military and transferred to guantanamo. initially, there were declared enemy combatants. once their plight was known, that status was removed, then the question was, what do you do with these men? what happened was there not like others who can just go back to their home country because they fear persecution in china. for many years, the bush administration was trying to relocate these people, and now the obama administration is trying to relocate them, and a legal question is, if they're being held without charges, if they're not a threat, they are not in danger, but a trial judge has said they should be released into the united states, the court of appeals for the district of columbia said, no, he cannot order the administration to free them in the u.s.. the obama administration is taking a page from bush administration and saying, no, we do not want them here, and have encouraged the supreme court not to int

iraq and afghanistan have cost us $1 trillion. with t.a.r.p. another trillion. that's 2 trillion. want to know the deficit came from? it didn't come from president obama's stimulus program of 700 or 800 billion. maybe that contributed somewhat. so we as people also have to have the facts on the table and understand how things have gotten to where we are. and what we need to address disparities. and i think that's the challenge of state and local officials, to be a voice on priorities, of where the priorities are. the last thing i would say about elected office, half of the members of the congressional black caucus today represent districts that are less than 50% african-american. i think that's about 50%? and when you're an elected official, -- you are in a different position if you represent a majority of black districts, community or town, versus one that us multiethnic and multiracial. you know, your challenges in the opportunities, that's real politics. and so one size doesn't fit all. one approach that someone in texas in a district that has african americans and latinos and

i mean, afghanistan. iraq. these are the things that -- >> health care, the economy. >> these are the things that he needs to put on the, you know, on the forefront. i believe eventually he'll get to gay rights. you know, do we want to be standing in the back of the line waiting for it? no, but as long as we're in the line, as long as we're -- you know? he's getting to it. >> the patience that the left is exhibiting is phenomenal for him because the right is really on his case and pushing him and he's not doing it and he's a do-nothing president and they just carry on like that. but the left like us, people like us are giving him time, more time. because we know. >> we know how awful, you know, the place we were in when he took office, and to criticize him, that's like somebody giving you life-saving cpr and then you go, your breath stinks. you know? >> exactly. i mean, dick cheney had the nerve to say he was dithering on afghanistan. when they rushed into iraq and there were no wmd there and they started a war

time when politicians and the country are agonizing about the sacrifices these people are making in afghanistan, iraq and elsewhere. it is striking to see the central role they still play certainly in the national life of parliament. >> this is where all the talk of modernizing comes to a grinding halt. they enjoy this. >> it is not about the pomp that people want modernized. it is about the actuality of how the m.p.'s respond to the people, whether they are genuinely accountable to people. those are the things that the people want reforming. that great symbolism of the black rod become -- banging on the door and summoning the m.p.'s. i would like to see the independence of m.p.'s made more important. in particular on a day like this when we are enacting supposedly the pomp of the independence of m.p.'s when in fact the m.p.'s are not very independent because of the power of the whip. we have the earl marshall there greeting lord mannedleson. he is here for the first time in his role as lord president of the council. this is the first time in 40 years or so that the lord president of the counci

when people are agonizing about the decisions in afghanistan and elsewhere, it is striking to see the central role that they still play in the central like the polish debt -- of parliament. -- the central life of parliament. >> it is not about the pomp but the actuality about how mp's respond to their constituents. i think it is those people that people want to reform. when i was listening to the interview with black rod, the black rod coming in banging on the door and summoning be mp's where we assert our independence. there might be a bill in the queen's speech to reduce executive power. particularly on a day like this when we are enacting the pomp of independence. in that, we're not very independent. >> on the way to the spot where the queen will be greeted. we have the earl marshal their breeding board mendelson -- there greeting lord mendelson. he is not a leader of either chamber, only to the lords. following in the footsteps of his grandfather who between 1945 and 1951 was also a board president. there is a bit of a family connection. just looking at the lord their, again, quit

whatever individual positions or afghanistan, it is very important there is clarity regarding the mission. the prime minister has said that we are in afghanistan to protect british people against terrorism, and yet almost in the same breath threatens to pull out of the country if president karzai can't clean up his corrupt government. these are contradictory messages that are sending out mixed signals. can the prime minister now square that circle? >> we are in the country because of the threat to britain, a threat that has been seen over eight years as a result of projected and actual terrorist offenses in our country, three quarters of which come from afghanistan and pakistan, and mainly the borders of pakistan. that is why we are there, to protect the streets of britain. i was asked to ask of president karzai to give us assurances about how in his second term he would tackle crungs. he has now announced an anti-horsepower corruption task force. i gather 12 people have been arrested. at the same time i have asked him to appoint district and regional governor ors. and he has -- governors

i think afghanistan is a war of choice. what general mcchrystal has suggested, we have a range of options. in order to make a large investment in afghanistan, is somehow central to the effort. there is nothing special or unique about afghan real-estate. there are lots of other places where al qaeda and groups like it are holing up. it may become a sanctuary where the taliban can undermine pakistan. if they are already don't have pakistan as a sanctuary. i am not arguing that afghanistan is irrelevant. i just don't see it as critical to the effort against terrorism or the future of pakistan. i don't think the general has made the case -- this is really at the heart of the president's dilemma. would it, in the long run, accomplish anything? would the results be commensurate with the investment? if we put in 40,000 more troops, things will improve. i have no doubt about that given the talent of the u.s. military. the real question is, will it and door once we dial it back? -- endure once we dial it back. there is also the real

to afghanistan. considering whether to send more troops to afghanistan. earlier | troops to afghanistan. earlier i spoke troops to afghanistan. earlier i spoke it our north america spoke it our north america editor and asked if and asked if there‘s any indication which and asked if there‘s any indication which way his decision which way his decision is likely to go. which way his decision is likely to go. there‘s which way his decision is likely to go. there‘s a little bit which way his decision is likely to go. there‘s a little bit more of go. there's a little bit more of an indication. we know go. there's a little bit more of an indication. we know this meeting, indication. we know this meeting, the eighth indication. we know this meeting, the eighth in a long, the eighth in a long, drawn-out process, the eighth in a long, drawn-out process, some the eighth in a long, drawn-out process, some have accused process, some have accused him of dithering process, some have accused him of ditheri

by the way, that's what we've said about tax cuts, that's what we have said about the wars in afghanistan and iraq, and we have got to put an end to this. this bill at least starts to head us in the right direction. it doesn't fix our fiscal crisis, but it is an important step forward. as i mentioned a few minutes ago, for working families, the current system has been a complete disaster as their income has remained flat or gone down, their health care premiums have gone up by 7%, and even though there is a lot of conflict out there about what the way forward should be, about what specific policy choice here versus a specific policy choice there, i can tell you one thing everybody can agree on in my state is that their health care has not improved by 97% over the last ten years. they're paying more and they are getting less. small businesses are getting crippled by the system that we have today. they pay 18% more than large businesses to cover their employees just because they're small. and sometimes people say to me, well, michael, don't you know that's because the pool of employees is s

after all, didn't george washington say, you know, he who controls afghanistan will carry new jersey? [laughter] [applause] >> and here we are in the brave new world, and -- i'm sorry, joe. if i had a speech i would be giving it. [laughter] >> that is a promise. absolute promise. bottom line. i have never been in this chamber before, and i'm happy to be here with the young man who pushes me around in this thing. he is a lieutenant in the united states navy, and a veteran of the first gulf war. and he's also the head of the veterans against america's wars. of which they are getting too many. [applause] >> he will pass among you recruiting right and left. what is happening now that is kind of interesting from within the military, and i began life in a room in the cadet hospital at west point where i was delivered by a future surgeon general of the army, who had not been told about the navels. i did not have the repairs made. surprised should always be offered, or offered anyway. but we are at each area's position in the world. we are not really needed, and it used to be just as an idea

i believe afghanistan had up to 28 candidates on the ballot including some women. so i think it's a very good point. thank you. >> any comments on that? >> you addressed this. >> would put it this way, if you honestly believe there isn't that much difference between the democrats and republicans, i mean, why eight vote? that's the point. and i think a lot of issues that should have been debated -- ralph is good at this. you may not agree with his positions but the idea is he wants to put this on the table and get out there and people want to talk about this. he wants to talk about labor issues and trade issues and things and you don't really get this very much. everything is clustered in the center and the idea is to spread the ideas about and hans has been talking about the fact that if you have multiple parties, government may not be as easy government may not be as easy and it may be different. that may be a very good thing, frankly. you look at the government, how effective are these people any way? talk about the sec and the bird may obstetrician. you talk abo

issues and politics matter a great deal and so the economy health care, afghanistan, iraq -- all of that matters a great deal for sure. there are two things so that political parties have to be very careful about to hear it in one is success as edmonton and the other is failure. [laughter] in between you are okay. failure is -- it her supported tremendously and one thing we know about the beginnings of a new era system that there preceded by a failed presidency. so i don't think demography is the be all in all but it's going to sustain obama and the democrats, it gives them a buoyancy in our politics that the republicans don't seem to get yet as a party. >> to use the demography having an impact on controversial issues like health care reform? >> guess there's no question, but i think that if you look it just health care and think about 2010 and the ships in demography that i described in 2008 may not show up as readily in 2010. where the electorate is more likely to be older where we may have referred a little bit more toward have that real majority. where is showing up is not so much i

was approached by somebody who is interested in my analyzing how the warlords could take control of afghanistan. and i said, well if you can produce a letter from me from the secretary of state or the president or the head of the foreign affairs committee and the house or the senate that says this is in the interest of the united states, a letter like that. and if you can't, i won't. they couldn't. i was also asked busier whether i would analyze what would be the right venue and timing for announcing that the earth was regularly being visited by aliens. this game from a person who is a very distinguished scientist running a distinguished research institute in the hard sciences. and so i wrote back and basically said, you know, if you could provide a letter from the president etc. and i'll analyze it, otherwise it'll think so. those would be the unsavory or bizarre. i don't do those. >> if your equation use inputs from analysts, how can they ultimately predict better than analyst in general? how about garbage in garbage out? >> wonderful question. and several answers. first, i teach an undergrad

i happen to support the war in afghanistan. osama bin laden killed us, as far as i'm concerned, happy to go kill him, but when it comes to iraq, let me finish, when it comes to iraq, when it comes to iraq, i can't seeing sending an 18-year-old boy over to kill people conceivably for oil, or be killed, it's an unfair choice, an i think, don't join, even though i respect our armed forces, we need a national defense, but my god, i'm going to send my girlfriend's 18-year-old boy to fight a corrupt war or be killed himself, no. so here's my question. why is that nancy pelosi, an i'm not saying the answer, but you know it better than i do, why do you think speaker pelosi would not hold up the finding for the iraq war. why do you think president obama let's this terrible president be set where any of your children join the armed forces they may be sent to a bad war, to either kill or be killed? why do you think they do nothing, or they don't do enough? >> well, i'm not going to talk about a bad war, because i'm not going to suggest th

today all the bad news is coming out of afghanistan. i would like to remind young people who didn't have that blessing that i had of growing up with parents from the greatest generation, that in world war ii, and i went back in shepp because i knew i was going to be here tonight. i went back and checked on this date in 1942. the operation, the first american offensive of world war ii, remember, pearl harbor had been bombed seven months before. america lost every single battle it was then up until june, the battle of midway. every single battle was a disaster. by june when the midway is one as a naval battle in the naval air battle, by june tens of thousands of americans were dead. not just at pearl harbor but all across the pacific ocean. you have americans who were dying on the beaches of tni hugh lended with the canadians in the brits in the famous rate. you had a disaster going on and it was a total reversal of everything everybody thought was going to happen. it was terrible news. the battle for guadalcanal was 20 days old today in

it is obviously on afghanistan and pakistan. he is the u.s. representative for afghanistan and pakistan. this is of november 16th. and we hope that you can join. and we hope that we will all be able to join the wfpg as well. so just a little bit more, and i just going to give you the highlights because dr. stanger has a very impressive background , and i will just mention a few of her many partner ships. she is the russell lange professor of economics and politics, chair of the political science department, and the director as i mentioned of the rohatyn center for international affairs at middlebury. she is a prolific writer in addition to her current book, she was co-editor and co translator of irreconcilable differences explaining czechoslovakia's dissolution. she has authored many articles, essays, op-ed that have appeared in "the new york times," financial times, "washington post," and she has had numerous fellowships' i will mention a few. overseas she had fellowships' in prague and moscow and she has been a fellow at harvard center for e

it's obviously on afghanistan and pakistan. he is the u.s. representative for afghanistan and pakistan. this is on november 16th. and we hope that you can all join us. and we hope that you'll all be able to join the wfpg as well. so just a little bit more. and i'm just going to give you the highlights because dr. stanger has a very impressive background. and i'll just mention a few of her many accomplishments. she is officially the russell l. lange international politics chair of the political science department and director as i mentioned of the center for international affairs at middlebury. she is a prolific writer in addition to her current book, she was the coeditor and cotranslator of "irreconcilable differences" talking about czechoslovakia's dissolution. she's written many articles, essays, op-eds which have appeared in the "washington post," the financial times and she has had numerous fellowships. i'll just mention a few. overseas she had fellowships in prague and moscow and she's been a fellow at the center for european center and

could you comment on your experience and how that may relate to our current conflict in afghanistan? >> i was chairman of the intelligence committee at this time and beginning in the late part of 2001 with our counterparts in the house we launched a congressional inquiry into 9/11 that is the all consuming through the summer of 2002. at that point* it became obvious the administration was starting to sound the drumbeat for a war in iraq. the president had made a highly publicized speech and a vice president was speaking before every group that would invite him to say bad things about sadam hussain and so we put things to the side for three weeks and held a series of closed-door sessions on the situation in iraq. the head of the cia was george tenet and he presented us with a very thick book. it was of the places in iraq for weapons of mass destruction were either being stored or produce. there were 550 sites in this book and the book had satellite photos common ground level photos of what the front door look like and the address of the most of the 550 places. i was stunned with the a

i would like to comment on your experience and how that may relate to our current conflict in afghanistan. >> as i indicated, i was chairman of the intelligence committee at this time and beginning in the late part of 2001 with our counterparts in the house we lost a congressional inquiry into 9/11. that had been all-consuming through the summer of 2002. at that point it became obvious that the administration was starting to sound the drumbeats for of war in iraq. the president had made a very highly publicized speech in cincinnati. the vice president had been speaking before every group that would invite him to say bad things about saddam hussein. so we put aside for three weeks 9/11 and held a series of closed-door sessions on the situation in iraq. the head of the cia at that time was george tenant. george presented us with a very thick book. the book was of the places in iraq where weapons of mass destruction were either being stored or produced. there were 550 sites. the book had a satellite photos of the roof of the building, ground level photos of what the front door looked like, t

going to replace the kind of reporting and expenses that "the new york times" invests in a place like afghanistan today. or that some newspapers, most newspapers -- not very good newspapers, i would argue -- but there are some that are wonderful newspapers and sometimes spend two, three, four months investing in investigative reports or covering state and city capitals. and in the digital world you have a way of proving who is reading or watching what. and what editors in the digital world, and larry page and i talked a lot about this, he said to me, once, he says, i worry that people are going to, editors or publishers are going to see that people are interested in britney spears, but they're not interested in government news. and those papers will start covering what is most popular with people. and that worries him, and it should worry him. it worries him in terms of search. you need good search information. so he said to me, as did eric, that we really want to see if there's some way to help "the new york times." and, in fact, at one point they acknowledged that they discussed internally the

recall for example the share of the economy with greater than it is even now when we're in a a war in afghanistan. we had this bitter korean war. we had you to. one of these books came out, they change the world because the average man would be jan valtin or he would read arthur koestler and begin to understand maybe the korean war. what do you think? >> guest: well, one of the points i try to make here, and this grows out of my experience of my whole career. i am a medievalists. i deal with very remote periods, where the documentation is hard to get at. is an obscure language and apache and so forth. and you constantly have to be reminding herself that you are looking back into history. and it is not going to be helpful to you to bring with you a whole set of your assumptions, which you then impose upon the materials. now looking back at the cold war and in the 1950s and so on, it seems much more inevitable than it actually was. that is to say, in intellectual circles, and academics circle, there was great enthusiasm for many decades for the socialist ideal and so on. there was indeed a kind of

of afghanistan. if we look at the conditions on the ground, i talk the way in different areas of iraq have to adapt. the first thing that we know is that it's vital to protect the population. that doesn't change if we are operating in a rural area, compared to an urban area. >> have you done that? >> no, we haven't done that very large in afghanistan. there are small units and places where that's been done. but sadly, i think the taliban in the south have been able to intimidate through the threat of the use of force. we have not been able to protect the locals against the threat of the worse. the difference that the taliban in afghanistan is not conducting violence attacks against civilians casualties than presumably having learned some lessons from iraq. it's probably going to take forces that are going to take an important change. the second thing that we haven't done that we did successfully in iraq is partner our units, american forces, coalition forces in this case with the afghanistan national

i for one hope they will take a read at this as they look at afghanistan. they have temptations to say they need more soft power or trainers or we need more advisers. you know, intelligence. that's all very important ingredients. but i think what this book underscores that ultimately at the end of the day you need boots and rifles pointed out to protect the population. : >> coming up next, book tv presents "after words," an hour-long discussion between a guest host and the author of a new book. this week nicholas schmidle, fell at the new america foundation, talks about his book, "to live or to perish forever." it is an account of the two years he lived in pakistan beginning in 2006. he discusses his book with new york post columnist and fox news strategic analyst ralph peters. mr. peters is the author of many books, the latest of which is looking for trouble, adventures in a broken world. >> host: welcome. i am ralph peters, and it is my distinct privilege and a whole lot of fun to be able to speak today with one of the most talented young writers i've eve

defense spending there as a share of the economy was greater than it is even now when we are in a war in afghanistan. we had this bitter cory in war. we had -- when these books came out of a changed the world because the average man would read jan valtin or arthur koestler and begin to understand maybe the corrine and war. what do you think? >> guest: well, one of the points i try to make here, and this goes out of my experience in my whole career, i am a medieval list. i deal with a very remote periods where the documentation is hard to get and it's an obscure languages and its patchy and so forth, and you constantly have to be reminding yourself that you're looking back into history and it's not going to be helpful to you to bring with you a whole set of your assumptions which you then imposed upon the materials. looking back at the cold war and at the 1950's and so on, it seems much more inevitable than it actually was. that is to say and intellectual circles and academic circles there was great enthusiasm for many decades for the socialist ideal and so on. there was indeed a kind of my eve attit

. >>> a marine who recently returned from afghanistan says he was a bit overwhelmed by the reception he got from a third grade class in arizona. sergeant andrew valora was stationed in afghanistan when he was adopted by the class and started getting packages and letters from the students. he was invited to the school thursday to meet the students and expected a small gathering. but the class had other ideas, putting on an extravagant party. >> i thought i was going to come home and see the kids and the class. i didn't think it was going to be a huge production, but it's very nice to see how much they think i meant to them, but i hope i can convey how much they really mean to me. >> and the children sang a song valora is very familiar with, "god bless the usa." while he was in afghanistan, the class recorded a video of them singing that song and vaora played td for his entire unit. very cool. >>> it's extremely rare, a world series game on halloween. larry smith here with more. >> the only will time it happened was in 2001 when the world series was delayed a week after the 9/11 attack

abdullah's withdrawal from the runoff election comes as president obama weighs his options for the war in afghanistan. so far the white house says the decision will not complicate the president's review of war strategy. appearing on abc's "this week," presidential adviser valerie jarrett didn't say whether abdullah's withdrawal would speed, up or delay the president's decision on troop levels. >>> job creation and economic growth. that's what treasury secretary timothy geithner says the obama administration is folking on. in an appearance on nbc's "meet the press" today, geithner refused to say if achieving either of those goals will mean higher taxes. >> what hard charges have been made so far? are you going to raise taxes? >> we're going to have to bring our resources and our expenditures more into balance. >> so, it's possible. >> well, again, the president's committed to make sure we get this coming back on track. we're bringing -- >> you talked about hard choices, so why can't you give a straight answer to whether taxes have to come up when you have a deficit this big? >> because, david, right n

and we went to afghanistan together in 2003 and 2004. and i think the one thing that you recognize as you serve with people for any period of time, just like any family, what gets you through incredibly difficult events is coming together as a family. >> the funeral for private first-class michael pearson will be held later today in midway, illinois. and there's also a funeral planned for specialist jason hunt, of frederick, oklahoma. 13 people were killed and dozens more wounded after the attacks last week. the only suspect, major nidal malik hasan, remains hospitalized, he's been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder. >>> president obama is asking congress to slow down on fort hood. he says lawmakers shouldn't be focusing on possible intelligence failures until the police and military officials get a chance to do their job and finish up the work on the shooting. the president already ordered his own intelligence review of the accused gun man, major nidal malik hasan. >> the purpose of this investigation is clear, we must compil

we went to afghanistan in 2003 and 2004. i think the one thing that you recognize as you serve with people for any period of time just like any family, what gets you through incredibly difficult events is coming together as a family. >> the funeral for private first class michael pearson will be held in illinois and also are funeral planned for jason hunt. 13 people were killed and dozens others wounded. the only suspect, major thjor n hasan is still hospitalized. >>> president says that the police and military officials need to get a chance to do their job and finish up the work on the shooting. the workup has already been done on ma major nidal hasan. >> we must compile every bit of information we have on the gunman and learn what was done with the information. if there was a failure to take appropriate action before the shootings, there must be accountabili accountability. beyond that we must quickly and thoroughly address any flaws in the system so we can prevent a similar breach from happening again. our government must

. >> i just got back from afghanistan and i'm on my way home. and this is a little rest stop here. but i have about five more working years that i'm going to invest. i don't get my reserve retirement until i'm 59 1/2. and but we'll still have extra money to invest during that time. what would be the best thing to look into for end of career type investments. >> okay. let me ask you a tough question. if you quit working at 59 1/2, you know the odds are, you'll live maybe another 30 years or so. are you confident that you're going to have enough money five years from now, that you will be able to carry yourself the rest of your life? >> pending the market crash or, unless there's a market crash, i expect to have enough by the time i hit 60. >> so you feel comfortable that you are going to be able to bag work at 60, boom, you're done? >> well, i might not want to quit work. i still like to work. >> do you understand why i'm asking you the question? because i want to make sure that you are in a position and although i was talking with the young soldier about doing a roth account, for y

there are 21 pictures showing americans abusing detainees in iraq and afghanistan. the aclu sued to have them released and a lower court supported that, but gates says the release would put u.s. citizens and service members in danger. >>> construction of the aircraft carrier "gerald r. ford" got its official kickoff yesterday with a keel-laying ceremony. that carrier is named for the former president, of course, and is the first in the new ford class of carriers. ford's daughter, susan fords bale was at the ceremony and declared the keel truly and fairly laid. the carrier is scheduled to delivery to the navy in 2015. >>> senators may start debating a new health care bill this week, but just down the street from capitol hill, you can see how the issue is really affecting people. elaine quijano talked to one worker who is taking a chance with her health and a boss who is trying to help her. >> you're thinking about 8 x 10, that kind of thing. >> reporter: 58-year-old cary caldwell never imagined struggling like this. >> i'm working all the time, not making a whole lot

we do not have that in afghanistan. we do not have the infrastructure in afghanistan. i want to give a plug to a bunch of on some here as though we often times focus on the front and, the war fighters and combat troops but everybody on the ground i believe it is in combat. those who don't get credit for the logistic support. they have been magnificent. we face the potential afghanistan challenge for weeks and we think we have a way ahead. it will not be five brigades. lobby one brigade per month for the infrastructure -- the ability to receive it and other moving parts that are moving in and out. >> we will have the decision when we have it. >> deep you have a proven record of demanding accountability. is one of the roles of this review to determine if, in fact, there was any kind of negligence and in turn would you demand accountability? >> part of what the army, as i indicated, the army is going into this particular at fort hood in great depth. i would assume that if there are questions of accountability that the army would address those internally. i think we will h

million, over that, to afghanistan's development, helping to build roads, schools, hospitals, and so on, and undertaking development projects so that we can contribute toward this process. as i said, we wish pakistan well and we hope that the national narrative can become one more focused on economic progress and growth. and ultimately, this is something that the people in pakistan will have to achieve for themselves. with the support of the international community. >> all right. ">> manufacturers alliance. i want to thank you for your excellent presentation of the whole economic reform story out of india. i wanted to raise a question about that in terms of trade policy. that has been another amazing transformation. 15 years ago, india was the most protectionist country according to wto. you have undertaken some very important free-trade agreements the last few years, which is what i wanted to ask the question about. you have a comprehensive free- trade investment with singapore in 2005, a big success, earlier with south korea this year, you and you -- you are advanced with negotiati

>> i guess the most -- most republicans have stressed the need to have an iraq-type surge in afghanistan, which means a significant amount of troops, about 40,000. they probably would support more. and senator levin was referencing the fact that if president obama doesn't do that, anything below that would prompt criticism from the republican party. if he wants to sends 40,000 troops, that means that some of his biggest supporters in congress would be the republican party because you aren't going to see that level of strong support from the democrats. >> he wasn't saying that was the message coming from the president, but he said he wished that was the message coming from the president. we expect there will be a increase. >> combat troops? >> in addition to the trainers. i don't think they can do anything less, just because of the pressure from within the military but that we need these troops. and it's hard for them to say, no, you don't need them. >> one part i hope you can help me understand, i thought i heard him suggest that the afghani army is already capable of handling their own

i've got a bunch of people that's gone to iraq and afghanistan several times. i'm not sure i agree with it, but that's neither here nor there. i didn't agree with vietnam, but i went. is this indicative of what they're going to do to our health care? guest: no, it isn't. let me first of all, thank you for your service. you indicated that you had served in the armed forces and we really need people like you and the people that are in afghanistan now and iraq are heroic and every time we see them returning in airports, i just feel so good about the effort that they're putting out for our country. veterans health care is something we have to move aggressively on, and we have. if you look at the veterans health care budgets over the last couple years, they dramatically increased. the biggest problem we're running into is the mental health problems, the post traumatic stress syndrome as the soldiers return. we're not doing the screening when they get out. we're not working closely with their families. we're not working with them. we've had dramatic increases in the

and the ussr, they share a common border with afghanistan. fought them for 10 years to their demise. from my perspective, it's an endless waste of human being and money and we could use that money much better in many other ways. host: again, while that comment was coming in, this twitter comment regarding vietnam was, do you see the request for more troops similar to the generals' demand for more troops in vietnam? guest: i do in a lot of ways. i see more parallels between the soviets' involvement in afghanistan than our involvement vietnam. there certainly are parallels. it is a very good reference. but first, edward, thank you for your comments. getting back to the money point. that's a very big issue. just the fact that we're even debating the cost of the war shows a bit how much, do we really need this war? if we're actually debating the cost of it, do we truly need to be fighting the cost of this war if money is coming into it as a key factor? the cost is overwhelming. i believe we'll be spending well over $100 million a year. i believe

aberrations in afghanistan in 2001. let me say that afghanistan is an area not fairly -- and lived in pakistan for years in the 1980's, and they speak the language. i was very surprised though after the inferred mentioned took place the degree to which the united states was willing to step and the pakistan military came to the rescue and some of the remnants of the taliban, transferring them over to pakistan. and then basically doing nothing. and thing that is something that one has to go back in history. it is a form of blowback. it has to do with connections within the united states. not a conspiracy. but within the united states and with leaders during the last war in afghanistan. during the 1980's. and it is very clear to me that this was curious and why effective action was not taking initially against those remnants of al qaeda and taliban? some people would say we could not, and i am sure wolfowitz with being among them. we cannot do it because it would destabilize pakistan. the whole country would be pushed forw

i fought in afghanistan and iraq. in iraq, i received a traumatic brain injury when my humvee was struck by an ied that exploded next to my vehicle. i was awarded the purple heart and i have a service-connected disability. earlier this year, i paid to use a service from an on-line company to look up information on the internet. i used this company in the past and was familiar with their website and their services. on this occasion, like before, i got the information i was looking for, entered my billing information, and complete the transaction. the next day, the fee posted to my account as usual. two or three months later, i was notified by my bank that my account had been overdrawn. i was unsure how this could happen because i live on a fixed income and i support myself within those means. i went to the bank to figure it out. at first, there were only able to tell me it was due to an automatic with a drawl that was active at the time. eventually, they gave me the name of the company that made the withdrawals, value

and does forward defense mean we have to defend against the enemy in afghanistan? because that is where o.p.l. is, in canada hardware. so reflecting on how the instinct and reflex of forward defense has been transmuted in the environment of new defense pays dividends. the other word is preemption. it has an interesting history in defense. in the drafting of the national security strategy of 2002 the first draft prepared in march of 2002 didn't use the word preelse. i discussed it with several people and we agreed it would be right and helpful to use the word preempt and preemption in the context of preempt iing terrorist attacks. actually the drafts go on to explain there is a difference between prevention -- preelse is where you have a enemy and you want to spoil the next attack. the draft exclusively used preemption in the kocon techniqs of the counterterrorism sections of the document. all the d.w.m. used the word prevent. prevent hostile sites from using or acquiring or using d. -- w.m.d. against us. and they state the case that that was the dichotomy in all su

i think afghanistan is a war of choice. what general mcchrystal has suggested, we have a range of options. in order to make a large investment in afghanistan, is somehow central to the effort. there is nothing special or unique about afghan real-estate. there are lots of other places where al qaeda and groups like it are holing up. it may become a sanctuary where the taliban can undermine pakistan. if they are already don't have pakistan as a sanctuary. i am not arguing that afghanistan is irrelevant. i just don't see it as critical to the effort against terrorism or the future of pakistan. i don't think the general has made the case -- this is really at the heart of the president's dilemma. would it, in the long run, accomplish anything? would the results be commensurate with the investment? if we put in 40,000 more troops, things will improve. i have no doubt about that given the talent of the u.s. military. the real question is, will it and door once we dial it back? -- endure once we dial it back. there is also the real

operation in afghanistan in 2001. let me just say that afghanistan is not fairly well. i was working with refugees in the 1980's. i speak the language. i was very surprised, though, after the intervention took place the degree to which united states was willing to accept that the pakistan military came to the rescue of the remnants of iraq, some of the remnants of the taliban, transport them over to pakistani territories and then basically off. i think that's something that one has to go back in history to understand. it has to do with connections that have been developed in the united states. not in the conspiracy kind of sense, but between the united states and the pakistan military leaders during the war, the last war in afghanistan, during the 1980's. and it is very clear that this is a key reason why this action was not taken initially against those remnants of al qaeda and the taliban. now, some week would say we couldn't -- we couldn't do it because it would destabilize pakistan, the whole country would be pushed, toward islamism. i don't believe it. i think what

were similar mistakes made or successes realized in afghanistan or iraq? should the mast and south asia played a larger role in u.s. national strategy after the collapse of the soviet union than was actually the case? and a final question, what factors shape strategy in this period? >> yeah, thank you. >> the question about intentions is important, of course. britain has the capability, the soviet union, the russia has a capability of 40 million, 50 million americans. united states has the came of eliminating costa rica from the map. so the point is that we don't worry about any of those things because there is no intention to do so. it's not that there isn't capability of doing that. huge countries, militarily powerful countries, have lived next door to very small military, uninterested countries for very long tames and could take them out any time we wanted to. we could attack canada, and they're not even looking in the right direction. but the can dance don't seem to be terribly worried about that. so i think intentions are really what matters, not capa

. >> one of the things that we've seen through the wars in afghanistan and iraq is that deployed soldiers and airmen and sailors are using tools like facebook to stay connected so there's a natural already use of facebook in the military to stay connected with loved ones when they're overseas and now, unfortunately, being used in the same way here at home. >> if you want to add in your voice, say a prayer, add your own comment, go to facebook.com/u.s.army or twitter.com/forthood. >>> the number of u.s. banks that failed this year just climbed to 120. five more banks went under yesterday. they have all been taken over by or banks so that means if you're a customer, you can keep using your checks and debit cards. it should be very smooth. the five banks were based in california, michigan, minnesota, georgia and missouri. this is the highest number of u.s. bank failures in a year since 1992. the fdic says its fund that protects deposits in banks, it's running low and it will likely be in the red until 2012, but that your money will be kept safe. >>> a price war is on. that's good. this time

his family says he was excited to be deploying to afghanistan in january. and specialist jason hunt was recently married and about to head to iraq for the second time. hiss sister says hunt, 22 wanted to serve other people and live for something greater than himself. she told larry king on cnn that she was proud of his brother's bravery. >> larry: okay you're hardened for the worst. but you certainly never expect him to die at his base. >> i just want to say that because it didn't happen overseas or it didn't happen in a combat situation didn't make him any less than a hero. because my brother was the kind of person to jump in a front of a bullet for somebody, i don't know the details, but i know my brother and he was very brave in this situation. >> president obama says people should be patient and not jump to conclusions about what prompted the attack at ft. hood. with the veterans day holiday next week, the country should remember exactly who makes up the armed forces. >> they are minnesotas of ever race, faith and station. they are descend wants of immi