when general alston made that recommendation in iraq at 26,000, we wound up with no forces. now we have political turmoil in iraq. so clearly the on-scene commanders and others close to the situation in afghanistan are concerned about what will that stay-behind force be? most of us believe there will be a stay-behind force but it should be of sufficient scale and purpose to accomplish the missions that the generals believe need to be accomplished to sustain the gains we made and not to squander those gains because we are not willing to keep another 10 or 15,000 force there and meet the requirements that are obvious to people in the know. megyn: sustain the gains we already made. there are risks to the president politically if that does not happen. always a pleasure speaking to you.