afghan security forces. they have a ways to go, and, again, it's a question of whether th the pace will contin. they've put a lot of emphasis on this in the last year, particularly president obama set that july 2011 deadline for u.s. troops to begin pulling out. patti ann: jennifer griffin live at the pentagon, thank you. jon: a major battle over tax cuts looming on capitol hill as lawmakers greer up for a lame-duck session, unless congress acts tax cuts for every american will expire on january 1st and the tax rates will go up, meaning you will take home a smaller paycheck a coupling -- assuming you're earning one. bret baier anchor special report. republicans seem to be ready to challenge the president on this one given the result of tuesday'see electrics. >> reporter: republican -rs speaking out pretty boldly about extending all of the tax cuts, essentially keeping the tax cuts