now we're learning the reason why they chose that specific target. it might not necessarily be what you think. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com he's certainly one of the most visible people on the planet that with global media watching his every single move. how did president obama take most of the world by surprise when he showed up in afghanistan. we're learning new details of this rather complex and massive operation. our white house correspondent brianna keilar is joining us. brianna, tell our viewers what you are learning. >> reporter: there was nothing normal about how this trip was executed and even from the way president obama entered air force one early, early in the morning on tuesday at andrews air force base. instead of taking the normal multi-story set of stairs he takes usually, he went on a smallerest is stairs into almost the belly of the plane, near the front of the plane and in addition, this is a trip that took a few weeks to plan. it was a few weeks in the works. an advance team of white house and security staff went in the few days before the trip and president obama managed to sneak out of the white house late monday night to head to andrews air force base in a smaller motorcade so as not to raise suspicion. late monday night president obama snuck out of the white house. under the cover of dark business the president and white house staffers and reporters sworn to secrecy took off from andrews air force base. it was just after midnight. >> there was a cloak and dagger element to it. >> reporter: josh was one of the journalists on the plane. >> when we arrived at andrews it wasn't the usual way the press corps arrives. we rendezvoused in a certain location. we were told we had to give up our cell phones and our computers. the plane wasn't lit up. it was sitting there in darkness. >> reporter: back at the white house an unremarkable day dawned, or so it seemed with only meetings on the president's schedule. late morning, reports of the president's visit surfaced in the afghan media. white house officials denied the reports and most u.s. news outlets held off reporting on the trip. at 2:39 p.m. eastern time, 11:00 at night local, air force one made a steep descent and landed in bagram air base north of kabul. the president and has entourage choppered 30-some miles to the presidential palace in kabul. on the helicopters you had gunners in windows that had live machine guns and i saw them calk the weapons, if you will, as we were getting ready to pull out and they were concerned that if we turned lights on not only might people see us, but the crew on the plane had night vision goggles. >> reporter: back home, news of the visit immediately hit the airwaves. >> it's a dramatic sxhoement moo hard to believe that ten years after the war in afghanistan started after 9/11 the president of the united states still can't arrive under normal circumstances. >> reporter: it was pretty hard to hide the president of the united states. >> reporter: the president signed a strategic partnership agreement with afghan president hamid karzai. he spent only an hour on the ground in kabul and then quickly departed again in the dark. >> reporter: i would just point out we are hearing helicopters again over kabul, suggesting perhaps some transportation and i don't know if that's the president leaving the presidential palace at this point. >> reporter: after rallying the troops -- >> this outpost is more than 7,000 miles from home. >> reporter: the president addressed the nation from bagram air base and board the air force one just before 4:30 a.m. local time. >> there was a real stampede to the airplane at that point because the sun was just, you know, beginning to come up and they really wanted the president out of there while it was still mostly dark. so from the time he finished his address to the time air force one lifted off out of bagram was only 17 minutes. >> reporter: 17 minutes is pretty quick there, wolf, when you're thinking of the people and equipment that needed to be loaded on to air force one. in total, about 27 hours and 15 minutes of travel time for just about six hours on the ground, but, wolf, you know the white house believes that it is certainly worth it. this was an iconic moment, the first time that a president has addressed a nation televised from a war zone. >> it speaks volumes that the circumstances have to be as dramatic as they are ten years plus into this war. >> brianna, thank you. one thing that jumped out at me during his address from the afghanistan to the american people. listen to this. >> in coordination with the afghan government, my administration has been in direct discussions with the taliban. we've made it clear that they can be a part of this future if they break with al qaeda, renounce violence and abide by afghan laws. >> so how does the taliban respond to that? with the suicide bombing only two hours after he left in the heart of kabul. it happened while the president was just in the skies, killing at least seven people and wounding 17 others. let's go to the afghan capital. nick paton walsh is standing by. how realistic is that these conditions that the president spelled out for bringing the taliban to a peace agreement can actually take place? >> reporter: it sounded new when barack obama said it. it is not new and it's something that's been on the table for months and the taliban have flatly rejected further talks with the americans saying they want further clarification of the u.s. position. since that taliban statement there have been no talks at all and there are deep concerns there may be none to come in the future so barack obama was talking about what they hoped would happen earlier on this year and outlining conditions which we have heard from various different sides and it will be tough for the taliban to make particular concerns, too, that u.s. officials have at length asked them to renounce al qaeda and they haven't had that small concession first. >> they won't even renounce violence which is one of the conditions and they certainly won't accept afghan laws which include equal rights for women, allowing little girls to go to schools. the taliban won't accept that. is there any indication they've had a change of heart as far as women and girls are concerned, for example? >> reporter: there have been moderated suggestions about the taliban's comment of them looking into middle ground, with the taliban who says there was a start. they want civilians to be caught up in the violence and they wanted to avoid them and there have been suggestions in parts of afghanistan that there will be more part of their future agenda and what we heard from barack obama was more a tone and an attempt to try to tell americans that it was safe to leave and there was strategy ahead despite the huge hurdles ahead of them and we sought president arriving under the cover of darkness while afghans are listening addressing his nation in the united states and then leaving and two hours after that, as you said, a suicide bomber targeted foreigners here at a maximum security compound, killing seven afghans and injuring ten afghan schoolchildren and attacking some near a school. so a very different reality on the ground off the president's departure, work. >> nick paton walsh. check out my blog about what president obama did not say last night in afghanistan. go to cnn.com/situationroom. let's go to jack cafferty right now. he's got "the cafferty file." >> the dysfunctional disaster which is washington, d.c., which only get worse after november's election. moderates are becoming distinct in that town. republicans and democrats are headed to the exits. the study by political scientists that shows congress is more polarized now than at any time since reconstruction after the civil war. the sad part is our current political environment encourages these extremes. 24/7 cable news, super pac money, special interest groups, activist blogs. they all cater to the idea logs. the big losers here, of course, are the american people and the two parties much too busy fighting to offer any real solutions or look at what's coming on the horizon and don't kid yourself. we're in trouble here. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke is warning congress that the fed will not be able to undo the damage if the economy, if congress mismanages what he calls the fiscal clip, this fiscal cliff represents $7 trillion worth of tax increases and spending cuts that will be triggered at year's end. none of this will have to be addressed until after the election. oh, no. there will be a few weeks left to try to figure something before the triggers kick in. there's president obama who seems more than content to whistle past the graveyard while getting himself reelect the. the big issues, medicare, social security and government spending out of control. instead, our president's majoring in the minors, focusing on smart, more politically popular things like the buffett rule. student loan rates and oil speculators. it might help him win votes, but the country is on a collision course with disaster. here's the question, where is the leadership? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile and post a comment on my blog or go to the post on the situation room's facebook page. >> jack, thank you. newt gingrich made it official today and he's out of the presidential race, but is he still causing problems for mitt romney? stand by. a boat load of tourists swallowed up by a barge. we have new video. an international spy found dead in a locked duffel bag. the key inside. we're trying to unravel the mystery. 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[ male announcer ] for our families... r neighbs... our comnies.. america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... ding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. >> when it comes to take the spotlight it's hard to compete with the president of the united states, but today mitt romney is trying to turn the campaign page. his former rival newt gingrich complicating things a bit by dropping out of the race for the white house. jim acosta is standing by, but let me bring in candy crowley, our chief political correspondent right now. what does it is a? sort of a lukewarm endorsement, shall we say that mitt romney received from newt gingrich today in his announcement that he's suspending his campaign. >> sort of a lukewarm, he's going to be the nominee kind of thing. there are things that you have to work out. there are raw nerve endings still and even though it is a rather long good-bye for newt gingrich. they've said a lot of ugly things about each other and that takes a while. what takes longer is negotiations are under way. i want us to get together here. i want you to say this. here's what i'd really like to see in a romney campaign. stuff has to go on and they're not ready to talk about it until they make the first big decision which is i've got to get out. $4 million, his campaign in debt right now. how does that play into the immediate period? t'>> i oneof reasons why he's suspended rather than just quit because he can still gather money and people can still try heay well say to the romney . campaign i need this guy to show up for a couple of fund raisers for me prior to november to help me or i need him to somehow help this campaign to get rid of some of his debt. i think with newt gingrich, it's pretty clear. by the way, he took the platform of leaving and turned it into, here's what i stand for and here's what i want and what i want to see for the future of the party. to have some kind of push into the party platform or into what mitt romney decides to emphasize during the campaign and that kind of thing. >> what he said about mitt romney which wasn't a whole lot today said, compared to barack obama, yes, he's conservative, but it didn't sound like a ringing endorsement. we haven't heard that endorsement from rick santorum. there are issues that are important to rick santorum and also, you want, there's so much psychological that goes on when you walk away from something that you've invested so much time, energy and passion in, and so they want to have something to show for it. well, i moved the party here and you have to do this. so there are certain things they want and they may not even know specifically what it is. they're getting together a little later. it has less to do with debt and rick santorum would know very little of it, but they will work it out because in the end, they said all along all of them, i'll support whoever the republican nominee is. that's what unites them. >> i see them all on the stage shaking hands and smiling. >> maybe even at the convention. thanks, candy. >> jim acosta has been covering the campaign for us. it's a delicate dance between mitt rom no and newt gingrich and we saw that dance unfold today. >> i was out with mitt romney today. it was amazing to watch buzz it was as if the news surrounding the anniversary of the killing of osama bin laden had not even happened. now that the president had played his trump card and that is the bin laden death, newt gingrich is just folding his cards. >> governor romney. >> reporter: it was like a page ripped out of the mitt romney playbook on full display, a stop in the battleground state of virginia geared toward women voters and it was almost all about the economy. >> the people ask me what would you do to get the economy going? i say look at what the president's done and do the opposite. and i -- >> reporter: romney is making up for lost time after the week dominated by the anniversary of the killing of osama bin laden. >> this is where it will end. >> reporter: it all culminated with a speech that included its own reference to domestic concerns back home. >> as we emerge from a decade of conflict abroad and economic crisis at home, it's time to renew america. >> but romney ignored bin laden and tried to take the wartime president down a notch. who would have thought we would look back at the carter years as the good old days. this accuses mr. obama of falling short of his own promise of change. >> we democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country. we measure progress by how many people can find a job to pay the mortgage. >> democrats have their own playbook to get romney back on his heels, the with the chance of no swiss meant right in step with the new obama re-election web video. >> i don't know of any american president who has had a swiss bank account. i would be glad to explain that sort of thing. the star of the video? who else. >> are you calling mitt romney a liar? >> yes. >> the sameewt gingrich getting out of the race on the same day. today i'm sus pension the campaign, but suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship. >> the former speaker stopped short of endorsing romney, but said he would do all he could to defeat the president. >> i'm asked sometimes is mitt romney conservative enough? and my answer is simple. compared to barack obama? >> reporter: gingrich loved to visit zoos during his campaign and while he be the the democrats latest exhibit in the case against romney, gingr says he still has his dreams of seeing his grandchildren walk on the moon. >> i am not totally certain i will get to the moon colony. i am certain megan and not robert will have that opportunity if they want to take it. >> reporter: who knows, he may make it to the moon colony one day. as for romney he is back to the business of trying out a running mate. he is scheduled to appear with bob mcdonnell at a fund-raiser tomorrow night. it's big in the upcoming general election campaign. >> the president won it last time four years ago. it's in play this time around, at least if you listen to the president's advisors. >> newt gingrich will be joining me here in the situation room tomorrow. jim acosta, thank you. >> a must-read foranyone who travels. a list of the best and worst airports in the united states out. we'll have it for you and i'm going one-on-one with onef the president's top national security advisers on what president obama did not say in afghanistan. it could have serious implications for tens of thousands of u.s. troops on the ground. great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? 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>> at least 11 demonstrators are dead from clashes out outside the mist ministry of defense, the presidential candidate was rejectioned because the commission found out his mother was a u.s. citizen, a claim he denies. the military says it will hand over power when the president is elected and the attackers were not in uniform. >> here in the u.s., check out this terrifying newly released video of a barge crashing into a boat full of tourists. it happened in philadelphia two year