who he says need to grow a spine, and the story that took him down. the united states has conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden, the leader of al qaeda. >> why they charge the president with putting politics ahead of their safety. and only in america. the real bin laden battle. why it's not about politics. this is "piers morgan tonight." good evening. our big story tonight breaking news. president obama's surprise trip to afghanistan and his speech to americans on the one year anniversary of the mission to take out osama bin laden. >> my fellow americans, we've traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war. yet here in the pre-dawn darkness of afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the hordes. the iraq war is over. the number of our troops in harm's way has been cut in half and more will soon be coming home. we have a clear path to fulfill our mission in afghanistan while delivering justice to al qaeda. >> plenty reaction to this momentous day coming up soon. plus my interview with a man who reportered first in the '80s. and why some navy s.e.a.l.s charged that the white house is playing politics in the bin laden battle. we begin tonight with our big story. president obama secret trip to afghanistan. coming here to break down tonight's speech is nick paton walsh and wolf blitzer. also president george w. bush's assistant secretary of state. and douglas brinkley. i want to start with nick who's in kabul. what is the mood in kabul tonight? what is the reaction of the afghani people to this announcement by the president? >> to be honest, it's hard to tell. dawn has just broken. it coming under the secrecy of darkness. something the administration was to exploit. it was a wonderfully defying speech, beautifully choreographed. all in a number of hours. but it doesn't change the harsh reality on the ground here. it's been an awful four months sign of a taliban on the rise in many ways. terrible attacks by afghan men in army uniform against nato personnel. so badly needed at the transition of securities to happen successfully here. so while it's possible to hear barack obama and feel that everything's on track that there is is plan and we can relax and let everything pan out, it doesn't really tally with the kind of harsh reality we've been going through in the past few months. >> not an awful lot is hinging on the taliban cooperating in the way the president seems to suggest they may. is there any likelihood of that happening? aren't the taliban just waiting in the mountains for the american troops to pull out just to get back to what they did before? >> you make a good point there. that brings me to the part of the speech i found strangest, to be honest. in which barack obama appealed to the taliban for negotiations. they've been in talk with u.s. officials. that's something that happened a number of months ago in qatar, one of the states where u.s. officials met with taliban representatives. the talks, those beginning talks about talks collapsed after the last few disastrous months. the taliban pulling out and u.s. and afghan officials saying those contacts have ceased. there is no word to talk about this. and i was curious to listen to barack obama talk about this path of reconciliation ahead. i think there are many concerns that the taliban is just biding its time. there is a popular saying here. while the americans have an expensive watch, it's the taliban who have the time, piers. >> indeed. thank you very much. turn to general kimed. when you hear what the president was saying today, i was struck by the use of the counterterrorism that people are putting out today. hasn't that been what this has always been? has it been a war in any conventional sense? and did america ever hope to win a war in afghanistan? or hasn't it really been a counterterrorist operation that will now continue with more emphasis on afghan troops than american troops? >> not really. it was not a conventional war, but there were two distinct operations going on. one was a counterterrorism operation led by the higher opposition forces. but there was also a counterinsurgency who continue to fight against the established government inside of kabul. but those are two different fights and in many ways fought by two different sets of forces. >> right, but america hasn't won a war in afghanistan any more than the russians did. have they? >> no, they really haven't. that's what surprised me so much in this very triumphless speech that was given. there's still a lot of hard work. i'm glad he told that to the troops. if he didn't tell it to the nation, that there's still hard work to be done. the situation on the ground still a problematic. and i was just saddened to see how this entire strategic partnership agreement and the anniversary of the killing of bin laden have been tied so much into the politics in the political season we're seeing. >> i mean, isn't it a problem for the president it is the one year anniversary of the death of bin laden but also a few months from the election. anything he does or says right now is deemed electioneering. if you look at it dispassionately, it took a big decision that day a year ago. and if it had gone wrong, a lot of people would be paying for his blood. wasn't it good it was a successful mission and got rid of a pretty awful man? >> but he didn't do it. the troops on the ground did it. he made the decision. and you're right. he would have bourn the responsibility if it had gone wrong. but i think there was a worl article today that talked about presidents before who were quick to use the pronoun of i when things went wrong but not i when things went right. the only time a good leader takes responsibilities is when things go wrong. when things go right as this did, you give the credit to the troops. you give credit to the s.e.a.l.s. you give credit to who ran the operation. they were at the sticky end of the spear. if this had gone wrong, it wasn't a political problem. it would have been a life and death problem that they had. so yes, bin laden is dead. the world is a better place because of it. but as senator mccain said, heroes don't brag. and there's just a little bit too much bragging going on for my personal tastes here. >> let me turn to doug brinkley. presidential historian, professor of history. what is the historical significance of the president's visit to afghanistan tonight and the speech he's made outlining the future there? >> i think it's very important. it's his third visit to afghanistan. and it's his first since bin laden's been killed. remember, this was our national objective. get bin laden. we got him. but we have to -- everybody was talking about the politics of all this. remember, nato is meeting in chicago in late may. you have to have some kind of framework, a strategic partnership between afghanistan and the united states. so if it wasn't this day, it would have had to have been in the next few days. i think president obama gave a very strong speech. imagine if you've been serving in afghanistan for years, i don't think it was triumphless, we've decimated a lot of al qaeda. but there's still rocky times ahead. the strategic partnership signed to only time will tell. but it was a good move to make as we head into the summer where we're going to be bringing home about 25,000 more u.s. troops. >> let's take another listen to a clip from the president's speech tonight. i agree. i don't think it was overtly. let's listen to this. >> as we emerge from a decade of conflict abroad and economic crisis at home, it's time to renew america. an america where our children live free from fear and have the skills to claim their dreams. a united america of grit and resilience. where sunlight glistens off soaring new towers in downtown manhattan and we build our future as one people, as one nation. >> let's turn to wolf blitzer now. he's taken flack from this rivals who's saying he's making capital out of bin laden's death. isn't it the reality if you're a few months from election, anything he does or says can be deemed electioneering. isn't it perfectly justified for him on the anniversary of bin laden's death after the order that he gave and the s.e.a.l.s' successful mission that he should remind people of what happened. what did you think? >> he didn't get into a lot of politics -- political talk if you will in this talk from the bagram base. he said the u.s. is well on the way to defeating, crushing al qaeda. i'm paraphrasing what he had to say. that wasn't the major thrust of the speech. the major thrust of the speech was outlining a framework for getting out of afghanistan. and he sort of down played the reality, the harsh reality that it's not happening next month. it's not happening next year. two and a half more years, the united states is going to have to maintain tens of thousands of troops in afghanistan at a cost of tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars. only at the end of 2014 two and a half years from now will all u.s. troops be out of afghanistan. but then he outlined a ten-year framework, details to be negotiated during which the u.s. will have some sort of military and economic role in afghanistan. so it's a lot a work even though 20,000 or 25,000 more troops will be out this year. the u.s. will still have well over 60,000 troops on the ground in afghanistan in a very hostile, warlike environment. and there will be a lot of casualties, unfortunately, in the process. >> senior member of the senate armed services committee has said today clearly this trip is campaign related. we've seen recently president obama has visited college campuses to win back the support of that age group. similarly this trip to afghanistan is an attempt to shore up his national security credentials because he spent the past three years gutting our military. doug brinkley, do you think that is fair? this is just cheap politics? >> it's cheap politics. we have to pull together more as a country than looking at everything our commander in chief does and seeing it through a political lens. our whole country's been trying to make some kind of progress in afghanistan. we're all kind of anxious to go home. and i think the president did a very strong job today. it's dangerous. i mean, remember mission accomplished with george w. bush. it backfired on him. you don't see a banner behind president obama. he didn't come in wearing a fighter pilot uniform. he simply is trying to get some kind of exit strategy going. and also, remember, just weeks ago we were dealing with korans being burned. we were dealing with massacres of civils in afghanistan. we can see progress has been made in kabul, i think it's a good thing. >> wolf, what was your reaction to that quote there from the senate armed services committee member? >> well, that was over the top. the united states is still spending about $700 billion a year on u.s. defense expenditures. the pentagon's budget has gone up every year since he took office. i don't know how you can say he's gutted the u.s. military. this president has been very, very strong to the point that the lot of liberal democrats, they've been very concerned about the president's strategy in afghanistan. they've been concerned about the president's continued robust military expenditures. the budget that goes to the pentagon. so this notion of gutting the military is way too far. >> general kimmitt, let me leave you with statistics and give you the final word. 5,860 days, 1,480 americans killed. over 15,000 americans wounded. 11,864 civilians killed. $443 billion spent. was it worth it? >> well, was it worth it? we don't know yet. the fact is if we leave afghanistan in a better situation going forward, if it is no longer a safe haven for terrorism and it is no longer an emerging threat to the people of the united states of america -- and let's also recognize that if we have got to maintain a war against terrorism, fight against terrorism, global war on terrorism for years to come. because it is important that we killed one man. but we didn't kill an idea. and i believe that we shouldn't rest thinking that it's over. we've got work to do in afghanistan. we've got to work to make sure that this disease of terrorism and these threats to america, we maintain individual levigilance come. >> thank you all very much indeed. you're looking at live pictures of the white house. the president's on his way back. next a man who first reported from afghanistan in the 1980s, the great cbs newsman dan rather. >> one year ago from a base here in afghanistan, our troops launched to kill osama bin laden. the goal i set to defeat al qaeda and deny it a chance to rebuild is now within our reach. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. yoyou u wawalklk i intna coconvnvenentitiononalal ms ststorore,e, i it't's s rert ababouout t yoyou.u. ththeyey s sayay, , "w"weleu wawantnteded a a f firirm m bebn lilie e onon o onene o of " wewe p prorovividede t thet inindidivividudualalizizatat yoyourur b bodody y neneede. ohoh, , wowow!w! ththatat f feeeelsls r reae. itit's's a aboboutut s supuppope yoyou u fifindnd i it t momost. toto c celelebebraratete 2 25 5f bebetttterer s sleleepep-f-forof yoyou u - - slsleeeep p nr inintrtrododucuceses t ther ededititioion n bebed d st inincrcrededibiblele s savf $1$1,0,00000 f foror a a l li. ononlyly a at t ththe e slsleeer ststorore,e, w wheherere n between pakistan and afghanistan. a border that is now closed to most everyone except refugees fleeing the soviet invasion. these afghan clothes i'm wearing were part of an operation to sneak me and the cbs film crew into afghanistan. the operation succeeded. so far as we can tell, we are the only full television crew to get inside afghanistan in recent months. >> that was dan rather in afghanistan back in 1980. he's now the host of rather reports. and joins me now on our big story. welcome, mr. outspoken. fantastic costume you were wearing there. what do you see timely to have you here on the day president obama flies to afghanistan and make the speech. has america got more out of this conflict in afghanistan than the soviets did? >> that's to be determined. i don't think it yet holds up. the soviets left in defeat. as of right now, the war on afghanistan is a stalemate. one might want to say a stalemate at best as far as the u.s. is concerned. what president obama laid out tonight, that will determine whether it stays a stalemate, whether we succeed in the basic mission, or whether it's a failure. >> when you look at president obama's foreign policies since he became president, are you impressed by the way he has conducted it? >> i am personally impressed. and furthermore, i think most of the american people are impressed. he hasn't done it perfectly, but let's face it. he's ended one war. the iraq war. he got -- he didn't get, u.s. military people got but on his watch he got osama bin laden. we've also made rather great strides in trying to stabilize the situation of china. it hangs in the balance right now. i think he gets an "a" on foreign policy. one must note, elections are rarely decided on foreign policy. it's about the economy and jobs. that would be the determining factor. i think president obama may be helped by what he's done in foreign policy especially the getting of osama been on his watch. >> i would be the first to salute the troops. half my family are in the armed forces. however, i do feel it sightly churlish for people to criticize president obama simply reminding people that actually he did take that ordered. because had it gone wrong, as i said earlier, all hell would have broken loose. >> absolutely. >> republicans would have made his life unatentable. >> many saying don't moon walk in the end zone are the same people who applauded president bush when he declared victory in iraq. it's going to be part and parcel to the president's campaign. but i do think the president, whether you agree with him or not, you have to give him credit. on his watch he made the risky call. and jimmy carter can tell you if it had gone badly -- >> it came down to failed helicopters and awful luck and the rest of it. and on such moments, presidential reputations and nation's reputations can hinge. these are huge decisions these guys have to take. it's not really about politics. i remember when bin laden was killed. very well. because i had flown in from england. i had been covering the royal wedding for cnn. it was the next day. everyone was texting me saying turn on cnn. i turned it on. bin laden is dead. not just america, the world was celebrating. and if it had gone wrong, the world would have seen a humiliated american president. >> absolutely. and probably one who would not be re-elected. >> see, i think presidents when they get it wrong, we all kicked president obama. but isn't it just weird in the modern political world with the rhetoric as it is that he can't even get credit for something so straightforward? >> it's also a reminder in the great sweep of history that it's hard to judge presidential decisions and administrations at the time. it takes a period past the presidency to put it in context. an example would be president eisenhower. because he ended the war in korea was criticized by some for doing so. he became a two-term elected president. wasn't the only thing that got him elected. it was an important thing that got him elected. but i quite agree. whether republican or democrat, we need to remind ourselves what a difficult job it is. and making a call when your advisers, when the majority of your advisers said i don't think this is the time to go. to say we're going to go, make the call. again, give the troops all the credit they deserve. he does deserve some credit. i think he will get some from the american people. >> it's not just an american thing. winston churchill was kicked out of office after the second world war. in the end it was about the economic conditions in britain. you know, there was so much disaffection when people came home and found there was no money and no prosperity. they thought, wow. let's get rid of this guy. he's obviously taken his eye off the ball. and you can see with president obama, the economy's still in a rough state. come november he's up against a guy almost certainly mitt romney who is very smart with business, very smart with the economy and financial matters. >> he certainly has a fight on his hands. i have said to some criticism as of this moment that president obama is even money re-elected. however, how things go in afghanistan might effect his chances. remind ourselves. tonight i thought the president delivered eloquent rhetoric. that is going to come hard against the reality on the ground. the afghan government is corrupt to the core. and it's ineffective. the opium traffic which supports finances, runs unchecked. and many of the muslim leaders in afghanistan preach the gospel these americans are infidel invaders. that's part of the reality. plus the fact that the taliban, not al qaeda per se, but the taliban controls at this moment a great deal of the countryside of afghanistan. that's the reality. so the president's rhetoric tonight comes up hard against that reality. >> i agree with that. let's take a short break. come back and talk about your extraordinary career. the book is riveting. i want to get into it when we come back. it's the