who will determine whether reconciliation goes forward or not those who lead the afghan government. and that is why it s appropriate that they lead these efforts. perhaps facilitated in some cases, supported in some cases by the united states. but those are going to remain behind the scenes and that s where they should remain. president karzai has established the afghan government s red lines, if you will. they must respect the constitution, lay down weapons, cut off ties with al qaeda and essentially will b willing to be productive members of society. couric: so you have no moral qualms about bringing the taliban, even high-ranking members of the taliban, into the process? it s not about my moral qualms, it s about the afghanistan leadership which has established the red lines. and i think that you have to have at least an open mind about this because this is historically the way counterinsurgency efforts ultimately have been concluded. couric: what were the afghan and
this is the cbs evening news with katie couric. couric: good evening, everyone, from kabul. we begin tonight with a number: 3,240, the number of days the war here has gone on. and with each day, the casualties mount. today nato reported the death of three coalition soldiers, including an american. and in helmand province, at least seven afghan road construction workers were shot to death by taliban insurgents. president obama has beefed up troop strength here to nearly 100,000 to try to defeat the taliban, but many foreign policy experts believe the only way to end this war is by negotiating with the very insurgency afghan and coalition forces are trying to crush. it s called reconciliation. today i asked the top commander here, general david petraeus, if the u.s. would be willing to play a role in that process. we re not the ones calling the shots. and at the end of the day, those who will determine whether reconciliation goes forward or not those who lead the afghan