could as the united states and afghanistan get ready for a major new offensive against the taliban. the surge mr. obama ordered has brought u.s. troop strength to 87,000. it s expected to reach nearly 100,000 by the end of the summer. president obama warned today of hard fighting in the months ahead in the battle for kandahar in southern afghanistan. that means more casualties. in more than eight years of war, more than a thousand americans have been killed, including two just today. chip reid is at the white house tonight. chip, while bracing the country for difficult times, the president is still bullish about the prospects in afghanistan. reporter: that s right, katie, the president said u.s. forces are making steady progress, but he also said the toughest days of this war are still ahead. there are going to be ups and downs. and one thing that i ve tried to emphasize is the fact that there s going to be some hard fighting over the next several months. reporter: alon