I spoke to Senator Kerry earlier tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Senator Kerry, do you believe we're winning the war on terror here in Afghanistan?
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: No. I think that the Taliban -- well, winning -- I think it is a losing proposition right now, in the sense that it's going downhill and backwards. The Taliban is resurgent in the south. And there are enormous difficulties on the border.
COOPER: Who do you blame for that? I mean, why -- why have the Taliban, in your opinion, been able to come back?
KERRY: Why do we have seven times the number of troops in Iraq that we have in Afghanistan? I think that tells the story.
The administration took their eye off of Afghanistan, shifted the focus to Iraq, which was not the center of the war of terror. It is Afghanistan. And we are facing enormous problems. COOPER: Some people, though, blame -- blame NATO. I mean, NATO's commander has asked for some 5,000 more troops. Even the troops that have already been promised, a lot of NATO countries haven't delivered.
KERRY: Well, the truth is, as I think General Pace said over the weekend, every member of the coalition, ourselves included, have been dragging their feet. So, the answer is, yes.
But here's the -- look, yesterday, Secretary of State Rice said we cannot allow Afghanistan to go downhill. If -- if Afghanistan goes backwards, we are in serious trouble.
The very next day, people are refusing to put the troops in necessary to be able to do it.
COOPER: The Bush administration says that they're able to fight two wars at once, that -- that the troops in Iraq, the fighting in Iraq, has not taken away from what's happening here in Afghanistan.
KERRY: Well, I think that is ridiculous, on its face.
There isn't anybody who can't see, very simply, that the entire focus of the war on terror shifted to Iraq. The fact is that Afghanistan always was the place where it was of greatest intensity. And this shifting has cost us enormously.
COOPER: How -- how many more troops do you think are needed here in Afghanistan? Do you have a number?
KERRY: Well, I suggested that, for the moment, if you were to increase the special forces units and the -- and the other sectors that I talked about by about 5,000, I believe you could send an important message and give us very, very significant added ability.
COOPER: Unless, though, the U.S. is able to either operate in Pakistan and chase insurgents, chase Taliban fighters, and -- and al Qaeda fighters, into Pakistan, or unless the Pakistan government ups the ante, and -- and, you know, goes after forces in their territory more vigorously, is this really winnable?
KERRY: No. If you can't -- if you can't do one of those two things, you have hit the nail on the head. We have a serious containment issue.
And I think, in the long term, it's going to become much more difficult. Clearly, this is a moment for Pakistan and it's a moment for Afghanistan. But we are completely diverted by an Iran that has become stronger because of our presence in Iraq, by an Iraq that is crumbling on a daily basis, by a Lebanon and a Syria that are deeply troubling, and a Mideast that is more volatile.
So, the administration has really unleashed unbelievably dangerous forces, rather than have contained those forces and brought the world to our side.
COOPER: Senator Kerry, appreciate your time. Thank you.
KERRY: Glad to be with you. Thank you. Be safe.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0609/13/acd.01.html Sorry you missed it. Sheesh.