. >> nato is meeting in brussels later. the security will be handed over to afghan forces with senior officials stressing that afghan officials are able to cope. the need to keep funding afghan forces after its withdrawal. you are watching bbc world news. still to come, 100 days until the olympic games. withdraw its forces from the region after today's heavy fighting. >> in a disputed desert region, an army advances. the spla, acting on orders, tried to push back. the orders come from the fourth division of the spla. if they say we go, we go. if they say we stop, we stop. this area may look like a wasteland. on the map, as the oil field allies in northern sudan. the tension along the border is a rigid since last alive. the spla says it has been acting in self-defense as it comes under attack. the authorities said the forces must withdraw before there can be any talk of peace. >> i hope we will succeed in diffusing the crisis and open the way to a comprehensive and a just peace agreement. this cannot be achieved unless the s

joining me from brussels is the defense coordinator. this will get harder and harder to convince countries to pay up, because many seem to be heading for the exit door at the moment. >> it is key to counteract that impression. australia said on tuesday they would bring back troops by the end of 2013. earlier than most people thought. the overall strategy does not change, but the timing and process of transitioning from those nato combat troops, that will go ahead as scheduled. they did talk about the funding issue, because it is about $4 billion or so that it will cost to train every year. it will be something like $12 billion a year on the training. that is something that not only nato views as a special duty as a whole. to do security of a fetus and is important for everyone, not just nato. i think they're very keen indeed to not making a hasty withdrawal and to look forward to the heads of state meeting in chicago. -- to do security forces is important for everyone, not just nato. i suspect a lot of people within afghanistan will fee

the defense secretary in brussels saying the actions depicted violated american rules and core values. >> this is war. i know that war is ugly, and it is violent. i know that young people sometimes caught up in the moment make some very foolish decisions. i am not excusing that, i am not excusing that behavior, but neither do i want these images to bring further injuries to our people or to our relationship with the afghan people. >> the american military's reputation in afghanistan is on the line. in january, a video showed a range urinating on the dead bodies of afghan insurgents. in february, violence erupted when its was thrilled that koran had been burnt by accident. in march, a u.s. army sergeant was killing -- and charged with killing 17 afghan civilians. the administration says the strategy in afghanistan is clear, the latest episode is ugly and embarrassing, but it is unlikely to change much. >> as the military deals with this latest setback on the ground in afghanistan, nato ministers maintained the war is still on track. hopes that the afghans will be able to take responsib

i am alert to that and i'm going to brussels next week to meet with nato and one of the agenda items is operation unified protection. we have got to be candid with each other. i assure you i will be about what we can reasonably provide and what they need to provide in terms of isr, the fusion of intelligence and operations, and investments and to make to close the gaps here to fore they have relied almost exclusively on us to provide. i actually see this as a positive thing. >> what do you think are the greatest risks if the united states intervenes? >> on occasion, i have been portrayed as saying this is too hard, but not do it. that is not the case. if asked to do something, we absolutely have the capability. but as far as my concerns and how they would translate, i have to be clear about the military objectives i was being asked to achieve an i would have to be clear about how those contributed to some outcome that we would all understand and probably agree upon. if the outcome is just stopping the violence, that's one the outcome. just stopping the regime is another. i can build

you were in brussels correspondent from 2002 through 2005. the early years as the euro project developed. i would -- i would love your sense of the internal german dynamics on this but appreciate the anti-german sentiment we are saying in the south. how does the german foreign policy and economic policy react to that? we look forward to your comments. thank you. >> thank you and thanks for your patience. i know this thing -- it is 10 days old. angela merkel said -- they ask, what is your name and would international become a german. she said i am just coming for vacation. icthey know they have a problem. i also would like to talk about that. and i guess i would like to comment on that as well. i think i would address two or three basic misperceptions i have observed here in d.c. german crisis management. i think no one in germany commensurately not the delran has any plan for this crisis trade what they're doing now is they're trying to define what they did as a plan. it is a little bit unfair because no one has anticipated this. there was no