and defending u.s. actions in the 12 year-old war a tightrope act. we have of course throughout the war indicated regret when instances of civilian casualties but they understand the great sacrifices americans have made on behalf of their security. elise is with us to talk more about this, as all things afghan, it s complicated even if the meeting of elders signs off on the deal. president karzai might not sign it until after the election in april, when he won t be president anymore. talk about trust, i don t trust them, they don t trust me, the fact is he needs the u.s., u.s. dollars. he s got a military that can t pay for itself without billions of dollars going down the line and other things, too. that s the reality, isn t it? reporter: that s right, michael. this is president karzai over the years with the united states that frustrated united states officials that he knows that he needs them but always goes out