(7 Jan 2010) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of United States Senator John McCain and his team (US Senator Joseph Lieberman, US Senator John Thune, US Senator John Barrasso) arriving for media briefing
2. Cutaway of journalist
3. SOUNDBITE (English) John McCain, United States Senator:
"We believe we have the right team, the right resources and the right strategy and we are confident that if we stay the course that we can succeed here in Afghanistan as we have in Iraq."
4. Mid of McCain at podium
5. SOUNDBITE (English) John McCain, United States Senator:
"2011 departure date, that date in my view is artificial and should only be based by conditions on the ground. I was pleased by the comments made here by Secretary Gates, Secretary Clinton that this is an aspirational date and not a date that would necessarily mean withdrawal of US troops. We cannot send a message to al-Qaida and the Taliban that they can lie low for a period of time while, and wait for us to depart. The other concern that we have is the issue of sufficient number of trained Afghan troops. Our view and that of most experts that we need four hundred thousand trained Afghan troops to take over the security responsibilities of this nation so we will be seeking both the funding and the policy that would mean that the Afghan military can be built up to a total of four hundred thousand troops in order to fulfil the responsibilities and meet the challenges that they face."
6. Cutaway of writing
7. SOUNDBITE (English) John McCain, United States Senator:
"The loss of the brave American employees of the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) grieves all of us. They''re out there on the front lines every single day. Clearly the involvement of al-Qaida or other elements seems to be apparent here but we are, continue to be grateful for the work that the CIA continues to do here and their employees, these brave young people who put their lives on the line every single day. Apparently there''s been some al-Qaida involvement in it but I''m sure that more information will be coming out in the future, I can''t say that definitively but initial information indicates that but I cannot reach that conclusion yet."
8. Various of McCain during the media briefing
STORYLINE
United States Senator John McCain told media in Kabul on Thursday that the deaths of seven CIA employees in the country "grieves all of us."
The former Republican presidential candidate said that it seemed apparent there was some al-Qaida involvement.
The US deaths were a reminder that while the use of drones may lessen the risk to American pilots, the CIA-run operation has its own human
achilles'' heel: the intelligence agents who practice old-fashioned spycraft to pinpoint the targets.
The attack came as a severe blow to the expertise and talent pool of the CIA in Afghanistan where its spies are now most at risk.
Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, is suspected of detonating the suicide bomb on the 30th of December 2009, allegedly duped agents into granting him entry to the CIA base by leading them to think he would help track down al-Qaida''s No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, officials have said.
The 32-year-old Jordanian doctor was apparently a double agent - perhaps even a triple-agent - who had been considered a key asset.
Al-Balawi was invited inside the Forward Operating Base Chapman in eastern Afghanistan, bearing a promise of information about al-Qaida''s second in command, presumed to be hiding in Pakistan.
A US law enforcement official said on Wednesday that the explosion that killed seven Americans and a Jordanian at a secret CIA base in eastern
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