aggressively recently, launching a series of devastating coordinated attacks this past week. al qaeda has attempted to reassert itself as we saw on the 25th of august. i think the iraqi security forces have taken a blow. but they re not on the ropes. they continue to move forward to meet the challenges out there. reporter: our interview ended with this assertion. this is not a war, dan. this is not a war, this is a sovereign country that is experiencing terrorists and extremists that want to stop this government moving forward. at what point does it stop being a war? reporter: one thing the general said the american forces are very worried about right now is that five months after this country held national elections, the politicians still cannot agree on forming a new government. that, of course, leaves a major power vacuum which the insurgents and the terrorists are scrambling to exploit. dan harris, abc news, baghdad. in other news now, president obama has now
it is a gorgeous late august morning here in northeast. everyone in new york has left. they re trying to have one last couple of minute last day of summer. that s right. i m harry smith. i m rebecca jarvis. we ll get you the latest from chile. new video again from those guys down there and how they re doing. and how they re getting by down there as they wait to be rescued. the rescue tunnel/shaft, they re supposed to start digging it today. all the latest in a bit. an inspiring there and an inspiring story here. a subway motor man is being called a hero. a woman fell on the subway tracks this weekend. as his train was pulling n he slams on the brakes, stops just in the knick of time. we ll talk to him if a bit. first, hurricane earl is on the move and slowly gaining strength. it is now a category 2 storm and could threaten the east coast of the u.s. later on this week. cbs news correspondent don teague is in kitty hawk, north carolina, and he has the latest. d
have we have escalating violence in the area that turned mexico, basically into a war zone. bill: over the weekend we found out a mayor was murdered in the a city across the texas border and james rosen in washington, good morning, james. reporter: bill, good morning, the army national guard units deploying to arizona this week are a fraction of the ultimate number committed by the obama administration to the mexican border, a small fraction still of the number arizona governor jan brewer says her state needs and initial contingent of 30 guard members will deploy this week and will be armed for self-defense, but, spokesmen for the national guard say they will not serve in a law enforcement capacity. rather they have been trained in surveillance techniques. to serve as an extra pair of eyes and ears along the volatile border with mexico and if they spot illegals or drug trafficking they will call in customs and border protection and the president and his homeland security se