troops here at fort meyer. they are anticipating the president speaking. president has said that war in afghanistan is going nowhere, in need of a new strategy. but the plan he is expected to outline tonight differs from what he advocated in the past. at president's only public appearance today, watching the eclipse, he said nothing about tonight's address, he is expected to announce more u.s. troops will be headed to afghanistan. >> i think we'll see him honor general nicolson's request for more troops. >> about 4,000. >> to train the afghan army, police the governance of afghanistan. reporter: donald trump was a fierce advocate of complete withdrawal. this, quote, i agree with president obama on afghanistan. we should have a speedy withdrawal. why should we keep waste our money. rebuild the u.s. >> as a candidate, president trump conceded he has little choice but to continue the fight. >> i would stay in afghanistan is probably one place we should have gone in middle east it right next to pakistan, which has nuclear weapons, you have to stay and do the best you can, not that it is ever going to be great. but i don't think we have much of a choice. reporter: president made decision after a meeting of his full national security council. private contractors, an idea advocated would not fly with military leaders, and pulling out, according to newt gingrich is not an option. >> the last time we allowed afghanistan to be an empty space it was filled with taliban, and al qaeda, and planning for 9/11 was done in afghanistan. you know you will have a combination of isis, al qaeda and the taliban running it again. reporter: president may be on less friendly territory tomorrow when he travels to phoenix. phoenix's democratic mayor said he prefer that president trump stay home, pointing to president's meandering response to charlottesville and his frowmen announcement to fox news he is considering a pardon for joe arpaio. president trump avoiding a potential confrontation in washington, announcing he and first lady will skip december's kennedy center's honors, he did not want to be a political distraction. 3 of 5 artists honored said they were either thinking about boycotting the reception, secret service today denied a report that increase demand to protect president trump and his family lester i left the service so strap for cash they cannot pay overtime their officers. said, this issue is not one that is be adre attributed to current administration's requirement but has been ongoing issue for decade. plan that president is to outline for afghanistan, tonight is a comprehensive strategy for dealing with south asia, also expected to address pakistan's lack of action against bad actors who find safe harbor in its travel region, and corruption in kabul government. >> john, thank you. >> for more on the speech on afghanistan, ed rollins is joining us. the dean. >> thank you. >> i think it fair to say that president had a rough week last week, his critics and media was unrelenting in their criticism. much unfair. does this speak tonight give the president an opportunity to recast himself as a statesman? >> i think it is important speech, more important than any element how they made the decision, this was a thought-through decision, they went to camp david over the week, options were very well thought through. this is not a decision where they will win the war in afghanistan bu basically how you maintain where you are, the critical part of his speech will be about pakistan. he has to be tough on them. somehow you have to convince american public, is we've been there 16 years, if you were in first grade, you are now a senior in college today. this war has been going on your whole lifetime, this is a maintained strategy. that may be best. >> these will likely be noncombat troops. >> you know, mission so far, unless he changes it mission today is basically-get afghans soldiers up to speed. let them fight the battle. other thing i hope they realize a little bit for good of the military, they can engagement the fact that you have four-star general running pentagon and the white house, three-star general national security advisor they understand what troops need. >> not saying as president obama did, they will be there a couple years, so that the opposition taliban and terrorists can wait them out. >> we'll be there like we are now. in korea and other places fo for a long time. >> been in korea 60 years. >> right. >> steve bannon hates the globalist, and interventionism and entanglements in foreign country, nation building in particular. one wonders if this speech tonight would have been different had bannon still been there. >> i believe it would have been the same. i am a big bannon fan, he was critical in helping to get the administration moving, i think way this president functions and set it up originally no one could survive. bottom line, he will support the president. he will not support president in probably attack some people that push the agenda. connell: >> bannon is back on the breitbart, 3 of headlines mcmaster fails to brief trump before that is too bad error. with respect to collision with the destroyer. america first with bannon out, globalist push for more war abroad. bannon urged trump to move u.s. embassy jee jerusalem blocked by kushner. is bannon gd or foe. >> i don't think he will be foe. always important in white house to have someone that thinks about promises. i think, there is nobody there now. and so president himself is the guy that got all of votes, he has to make decisions. >> if you criticize the president's son-in-law. >> i think -- >> not to mention his own dearth. >> daughter. >> i think he will, a lot of people don't feel jared or ivanka are best people to have as his advisers. i think at end of the day they may be a big problem for general kelly. >> quickly looking forward to tomorrow, president at a rally in phoenix, he may or may not pardon former sheriff joe arpaio. good or bad. >> as important as tonight is and problem with rally tomorrow, when president gets in front of a wild crowd, it will be wild, is he going to attack john mccain and is he giving sheriff joe a pardon, if he does, everything we talk about tonight is not going to be. >> week ago president said he was the seriously considering pardoning joe arpaio, a criminal misdemeanor, not a huge crime. >> joe has a great many fans, many of those with base of president trump. i just think this is minor to start give your first part fa r pardon. >> it an easy one, a not like pardoning chelsea manning doing 35 years. >> i am not opposed to the pardon, i am simply saying, when it is your first pardon at a even like that, it will be the story of week. >> ed rollins thank you. >> coming right back, with much more. stick around. >> president trump outlining his new strategy for afghanistan this evening. >> he has taken this time to figure out with his commanders what is the right strategy not only in afghanistan but in iraq and other places. >> we discuss his new plans mean for our military with former cia director, ambassador james woolsey. >> and u.s. and south korea starting annual war games amid heightened tensions with north korea. rogue regime has long condemned the drills as rehearsals for invasion, how will they creation this year -- will l l l l ♪ when heartburn hits fight back fast with tums chewy bites. fast relief in every bite. crunchy outside. chewy inside. tum tum tum tum tums chewy bites. ♪ [brother] any last words? 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[ music stops ] [ music plays again ] a smarter way to wifi is awesome. introducing xfinity xfi. amazing speed, coverage and control. change the way you wifi. xfinity. the future of awesome. it's time for the biggest sale of the year with the new sleep number 360 smart bed. it senses your every move and automatically adjusts on both sides to keep you effortlessly comfortable. and snoring.... does your bed do that? the new 360 smart bed is part of our biggest sale of the year where all beds are on sale. and right now save 50% on the labor day limited edition bed. greg: 11 day exercise involves 17500 american troops about 50 thousand south korea soldiers, they are conducting computer simulated war games, north korea state run newspaper warning, that united states was in its cross hairs for a quote merciless strike. and heightened diplomatic tension with russia, embassy in russia will suspend issuing nonimmigrant visas for 8 days. here now to talk about the diplomatic dispute with russia, north korea's nuclear threat and president trump's primetime address on afghanistan. ambassador james woolsey, former director of central intelligenc intelligence. great to see you sir. this is being described a mod -- escalation, what will 4,mor4,,000 more troops do. >> improve the training, that is important leverage in deployment in circumstances like this i don't know what their deployment of drones is now with numbers are like. but, in this very hilly country, with ravines and caves and so forth, it is situation where usually drones are rather effective weapon they can hover for long periods of time. still 4,000 in middle of a big war. greg: how good is our intelligence gathering in afghanistan. >> hard to say, it various. going back to drones, you can watch something for a long time, pick up from close, he is -- clothes he is wearing who might be senior official on taliban side, and stay and watch. and read outback behind you. and the technology is making 'possible to do things we could not do before, it is not a panacea it will be tough to make substantial improvement with just 4,000. greg: you don't want to allow isis to become more metastasized in afghanistan, and taliban gaining more control. not to mention reconstituting al qaeda. >> absolutely. and we have to still worry about al qaeda, it's not a creature only of the past. and we could well see moral guida strike -- al qaeda strike not only afghanistan but elsewhere as well coming up before long. greg: they could be working with isis. >> yes. greg: a couple of weeks ago was coordinated between the two. >> they have ability to hunger down and hide themselves, which is, of course, made a lot easier by pakistan's protection of some of these terrorist groups. you have a real problem on your happened when that is taking place. greg: i mention join military exercise. between u.s. and south korea, north korea continues to act belligerently. they may still be considering firing ballistic missiles toward guam, where is this heading? >> i think it is purpose to realize that -- important to realize there is more than one way to come against the united states with missiles. and press concentrates on the kind of missiles that used to covering going back for decade, which is let's say intermediate range ballistic missile launched maybe, if it happens a nuclear warhead or not. let's say, focused on hit a target or coming close to a targ nit guam o target in guam or someplace else. you don't need to go that far, it is not necessary to hit a target. you can detonate the nuclear weapon 50 to 100 miles to space. knock out the electric grid of who is underneath it. you don't need accuracy, you don't need recentry or come -- reentry, or complicated things you need for most nuclear operations, this is a real problem. a national commission reported on this. headed by dr. bill graham, they are all very worried about this possibility of knocking out a electric grid. greg: wish we had more time, maybe time u.s. started utilizing thaad and antimissile defense systems. >> i am going to say we'll have to pull some stops out compared to the past. greg: fire a missile over guam, we'll try that thaad, james woolsey. >> thank you. greg: vote in tonight's poll, should republicans remove senator mitch mcconnell as majority leader if he cannot get tax reform done? cast your vote on twitter, at lou dobbs. and just remind irfollow lou on twitter, like show on facebook and instagram. on wall street, stock closing mixed today, dow up 29, s&p up 3, nasdaq down 3. volume on big board, 2.7 billion shares, oil prices falling over 2%. end of summer driving seen nears. >> fiat chrysler soaring 7% after signaled interest in acquiring their jeep brand, and listen to lou's report three time a day coast-to-coast on salem radio network. >> up next, university of texas the latest institution to remove confederate era statues. we'll take up the monument debate with historian doug you owned your car for four years. you named it brad. you loved brad. and then you totaled him. you two had been through everything together. two boyfriends, three jobs... you're like nothing can replace brad. then liberty mutual calls... and you break into your happy dance. if you sign up for better car replacement™, we'll pay for a car that's a model year newer with 15,000 fewer miles than your old one. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. ...better than a manual, and my hygienist says it does. but... ...they're not all the same. turns out, they're really... ...different. who knew? 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that is just -- >> she walked by that statue for every day. and it was lyndon johnson that voted to build a new dorm at westpoint, they called it robert e. lee dormitory. the hypocrisy is rich, this issue will probably backfire for the democrats. nancy pelosi and her hypocrisy left that one alone, doug wead thank you. >> thank you. >> wire coming right back. much more. >> president trump holding a major rally tomorrow night in phoenix, arizona. congressman trent frank believes that president will make a big announcement possibly part pardoning sheriff joe arpaio. ? and these wingsuiters flying in formation. ♪ it's a highly contagious disease that can be really serious... especially for my precious new grandchild. it's whooping cough. every family member, including those around new babies, should talk to their doctor or pharmacist about getting vaccinated. my "business" was going nowhere... so i built this kickin' new website with godaddy. with gocentral from godaddy, you can create a professional... ...website in just a few clicks. in fact, 68% of people who have built their website using... ...gocentral, did it in under an hour, and you can too. it's so easy. type in your business or idea. pick your favourite design. personalize it with beautiful images from our huge photo... ...library - or upload your own. and...you're done! zero technical skills required. but don't worry, if you do need help, we're here for you 24/7. now business is booming. harriet, dear, it's a double stitch not a cross stitch! we'll even help you improve your rank on search engines like... ...google, so more people can find you! you can even build and manage your site from your mobile. plus, link your site to social media, including facebook... ...and twitter, with just a few clicks. build a better website - in under an hour - with... ...gocentral from godaddy. free to try. no credit card required. gocentral from godaddy. searching one topic. that will generate over 600 million results. and if you've been diagnosed with cancer, searching for answers like where to treat, can feel even more overwhelming. so start your search with a specialist at cancer treatment centers of america. start with teams of cancer treatment experts under one roof. start where specialists use advanced genomic testing to guide precision cancer treatment... ...that may lead to targeted therapies and more treatment options. start where there's a commitment to analyzing the latest research and conducting clinical trials-to help each patient get the personalized cancer care they deserve. start at one of the cancer treatment centers of america hospitals near you. the evolution of cancer care is here. learn more at cancercenter.com/experts appointments available now. gregg: i'm gregg jarrett in for lou dobbs. the u.s. navy continues its search for even if sailors. the navy commander has ordered a worldwide operational pause as it investigation that crash. it's the second such collision in asia in just the past few months. we are joined now by a congressman who will be at the president's rally in phoenix tomorrow. let me talk first about the maritime collision. these ships are a marvel of engineering technology. they have sonar and other collision desection systems. but this is the fourth this year, such collision. what's going on? >> i'm a fan of yours and i don't remember the last time i said that to a journalist. but when you have four like that, i think one of the remarks of the intelligence community is two is a pattern. to have four when it's such a rare thing. it's a very dig ocean and the materials is very exact and for good reason. i think secretary mattis took the right approach when he said we'll look into this. we are going to look at it and let each of these events stand on their own and see if there is a connection or pattern or anything we need to correct on a systemic basis. it is curious but that's about as far as i can go. >> the shipping density gets crowd out there. fox news is reporting that he will endorse an idea proposed by the pentagon for an increase of 4,000 u.s. troops. he will be calling on india and pakistan to do more in the region. you sit on the armed services committee. what's your reaction to that? >> i was in part of the discussion that precipitated the surge in afghanistan under george bush. but the last 8 years we have been in a holding pattern. when you mention pakistan, they are a key in this whole discussion. we need to make it three to them -- make it clear to them that they are not going to be able to give the taliban a safe haven or significant support or face consequences from the united states. those who said president trump would not be able to understand these military issues, what he has done is an example of leadership with general kelly and general mattis and some of the best leaders you can manage and general mcmasters. so the reality is i think we have something of consequence to hear tonight. i look for some significant progress. >> i want to switch to tomorrow night. the president will be in a rally where you are, phoenix, arizona. he may pardon sheriff joe arpaio, at least that's when he told me a week ago when i saw the president. and i quote, i am seriously considering a pardon for sheriff arpaio. he has done a lot in the fight against illegal immigration. he's a great american patriot and i hate to see what happened to him. >> i hope the president does just that. i agree with the sentiments he expressed. whether you agree with all of his approaches or methods does not change the fact that this man has given his entire life to protecting his fellow human beings. he has a very sick wife and he has given his entire going to this. and a lot of the prosecution, persecution, the words with interchangeable in this circumstance. the clinton judge who essentially ignored the testimony of the witnesses to a person and came to a different conclusion and issued this conviction, i hope the president sits that right. he deserves to have an honorable retirement in his twilight years because he has done america and all of us a great service. congressman frank keep up the right to get rid of the filibuster. >> i'm going to do just that. the president is talking about it thanks to the intellectual basis you put out some of these articles on. thank you, gregg. gregg: should the senate renovember mitch mcconnell if he can't get tax reform done? roll the video. these wing suiters see you diving in the netherlands in perfect formation. every year they head to the dutch island to practice their skills over incredibly scenic views. pretty to watch, don't want to do it. we'll have a preview of what to expect with fox business' neil cavuto. thousands of americans pausing don't let dust and allergens get between you and life's beautiful moments. flonase outperforms the #1 non-drowsy allergy pill. it helps block 6 key inflammatory substances that cause symptoms. pills block one and 6 is greater than 1. flonase changes everything. excuse me, are you aware of what's happening right now? we're facing 20 billion security events every day. ddos campaigns, ransomware, malware attacks... actually, we just handled all the priority threats. you did that? we did that. really. we analyzed millions of articles and reports. we can identify threats 50% faster. you can do that? we can do that. then do that. can we do that? we can do that. the dinosaurs' extinction... got you outnumbered. don't listen to them. not appropriate. now i'm mashing these potatoes with my stick of butter... why don't you sit over here. find your awesome with the xfinity stream app. included with xfinity tv. more to stream to every screen. gregg: tonight president trump set to deliver a pipe type address to the nation on afghanistan just an hour from now. neil cavuto's covering begins shortly at 8:00 p.m. with a special cavuto, coast to coast. is this an opportunity for the president to talk about something -- he will be talking about afghanistan, but to move beyond just that subject, sort of a reset? neil: the reset, a chance to reclaim the offensive and the talk on the subject has great gravitas and support to the american people. a lot of people feel it lost its compass for bearing. i can remember the reagan presidency and early or and the jfk presidency that makes you rethink what is supposedly etched in stone. but the markets are looking forward to him reasserting and reis establishing himself. this isn't just about afghanistan. it's also trying to reclaim the agenda and trying to make progress on taxes. but if you marshal your thought on these areas these things come up. gregg: mnuchin said tack reform is going to happen. are you optimistic or sceptical? neil: you always want to remain optimistic. but the fact of the matter is that they have been saying this consistently and the clock keeps ticking. a lot of these have to fall into place exactly right to get this done. the debt ceiling being -- there is wide agreement among officials that top republicans and mitch mcconnell who runs the senate. but there are conservatives who weren't to attach all sort of thing to a debt ceiling increase and spending cuts and the like. the press are you secretary like mitch mcconnell seem to be saying don't attach these things that have drama. we keep doing this. but now is not the time to fight that fight. we'll see how that goes. but so much depend on that and getting a budget and moving forward on the broad principles of the tax cut. product-based thanks cuts don't unlikely. but in ken you ski mitch mcconnell said he want them paid for. whatever offsets are there, removing precious writeoffs, that you adjust that to reflect the size of the tax cut. he does not seem to be in that big sploi side crowd that says make them big, you will pay for them later, the revenue will come in. that struck me as a signal that maybe mitch mcconnell has a different idea on taxes than let's say the president. gregg: thanks very much. stay tuned for neil's special coverage of the president's speech beginning at 8:00 on fox business. americans watch the first total eclipse to sweep from coast to coast in 91 years. dan springer had a prime viewing spot in madras, oregon. reporter: the solar he clip started at the oregon coast at 10-19 in the morning. with the moon completely covering the sun. even the sun's outer atmosphere called the corona was visible. >> oh, my gosh, it's dark. >> this is probably the coolest thing i have ever seen. reporter: the reaction was the same as the shadow raced across the country. there were big eclipse parties along the path of totality. the celestial show was over in the blink of an eye. the eclipse slipped off the coast of south carolina just an hour and a half after it began in oregon. >> watching everybody scroll and have a great time was a blast. reporter: many prongs included legions of scientists. matt henry had equipment good enough to up load photos to google for an eclipse movie. even president trump and his family took in a partial eclipse at the white house. reporter: for one day at least it brought this country together. the natural phenomenon won't be seen again coast to coast in this country for another 28 years. gregg: fans of the show are loving "putin's gambit." marie tweeted just finished reading putin's gambit. must read. loved it. bought it tuesday. read tonight two days. it was that good. every viewer whose comment are read on the show receives an autographed copy from lou. ned ryun and mark simone will be joining me after the break. joining me after the break. stick k k k k liberty mutual stood with me when i was too busy with the kids to get a repair estimate. i just snapped a photo and got an estimate in 24 hours. my insurance company definitely doesn't have that... you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™ liberty mutual insurance. my "business" was going nowhere... so i built this kickin' new website with godaddy. building a website in under an hour is easy! 68% of people... ...who have built their website using gocentral, did it in... ...under an hour, and you can too. type in your business or idea. pick your favourite design. personalize it with beautiful images. and...you're done! and now business is booming. harriet, it's a double stitch not a cross stitch! build a better website - in under an hour. free to try. no credit card required. gocentral from godaddy. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember. gregg: in our online poll last week we asked you do you believe the left-style embrace of open borders is a greater threat to the united states than ever before. 1% of you said yes. joining me is the host of american majority ned ryun, and mark simone. what do you think of tonight' speech? do you think it will improve the president's current standing? he had a rough week last week. mark: no, he's going to announce that we are putting more troops in afghanistan. after i think 1 years now, 828 billion and 2,400 american lives lost, this effort has not been going well. gregg: that's not his fault. what he doesn't want to have happen is the taliban get even more strength to allow terrorists free rein. >> when we had 100cia agents, special forces and air support we did amazing damage to the taliban. so my concern with this is a, why are we putting good money after bad. gregg: because the terrorists will reconstitute in afghanistan and plan their terrorist attacks against americans. mark, what do you think? mark: donald trump has some great generals in there. he would agree with what you just said then grill them like crazy. i'm sure he thought of that. we haven't fought a 16-year war. we fought 16, 1-year wars. i think general mcmasters said that. gregg: speaking of statues, there is a mayo is is a marist t is out. 62% said the statues should remain. 27% say they should be removed. it's happening just about everywhere. mark: it's ridiculous. it's an npr-commissioned poll. it's the worst week the democrats have ever had. if they start this