Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is in the Afghan capital Kabul to meet with Afghan officials, and try to smooth relations with Pakistan. His trip follows a deadly attack on Pakistani troops by a U.S. drone based in Afghanistan. In response, Pakistan has blocked two routes used to supply U.S. troops.


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And Quil, we've been hearing a lot these days about the troop withdrawal from Iraq. What about Afghanistan? I mean, a high of over 100,000 American troops has already been brought down there will be fewer than 70,000 by next September but that's still a lot of troops. What's going on with that? Well, President Obama has said in the past, that there will be a steady withdrawal until combat operations ended in 2014. We've heard rumors from the White House that they might try to accelerate that withdrawal. We've heard reports from here in Kabul, that American commanders want to slow it down. So it's a bit confusing. In Kabul, they seem intent on reassuring the Afghans that America isn't abandoning Afghanistan. But back in the States, it seems the focus, more, is on assuring Americans that this war is winding down. Either way we have no clear answer how many of those 68,000 or so troops will stay on past 2014 maybe change hats and become trainers here in Afghanistan after 2014, for as long as the country invites them to stay. That's also going to be a subject that President Karzai will be discussing with Secretary Panetta a strategic partnership agreement which will determine how many troops, foreign troops, are invited to stay in Afghanistan.