American Morning
Obama's struggles abroad
The economy, health care, resurgent Republicans – they've managed to stall the president's domestic agenda at every turn it seems.
But will problems here at home spell trouble for President Obama reaching out to allies and adversaries abroad? Our Jill Dougherty is following that story for us.
Big Afghan offensive in 'clearing phase'
Marjah, Afghanistan (CNN) - Resistance is waning in a major NATO offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, the nation's officials said Monday, a day after 12 civilians died in a rocket attack by coalition troops.
"Coalition forces are clearing mines and roadside bombings, and facing only scattered resistance" from the Taliban, said Zahir Azimi, the Afghan defense spokesman.
The troops met almost no resistance on Monday, unlike Sunday, said Hanif Atmar, the Afghan minister of interior affairs.
"Progress is being made on all fronts," he said.
However, CNN's Atia Abawi, who is embedded with Marines in Marjah, said the coalition forces were still battling militants, facing sporadic gunfire.
About 15,000 Afghan and NATO forces are taking part in Operation Moshtarak, the biggest offensive since the Afghan war started in 2001. The assault aims to wrest control of the town of Marjah and surrounding areas from the Taliban.
We Listen – Your comments 2/12/10
Editor's Note: Friday’s American Morning audience was intrigued by John Avlon’s segment about his new book "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America." Viewers argued their opinions about appropriate "wingnuts" that didn’t make Avlon’s list, while disputing his choices.
- Dan: Your equating Rep. Grayson with Rep. Bachman is the single most irresponsible thing I've ever heard on television. Grayson deals in facts and reality, whereas Bachman simply makes things up. I challenge you to fact check these folks before you label them as wing-nuts. Being passionate while being right is far different than being passionate and wrong. This is CNN's major problem – this insistence on equating one side with the other, while never identifying reality. Also, Olbermann may go over the top now and then, but again, he's dealing with reality while Beck is dangerously deluded. Or acts that way on TV. Please fact check what these people say before equating them. CNN's behavior in this matter makes you more dangerous to our nation's discourse than any of the partisan players. Try to identify reality and not just play he said/she said. It's your job.
- Ellen: Redistricting is an excellent idea. But this segment was pathetic - a list of clichés, a false equation (Beck is not Olbermann), and that sad media idiocy in which he said, she said stands in for reporting. The only example he gave of unacceptable discourse on television was calling your opponents "racist." You two smile and nod - so there is no racism in our politics? Just terrible work, guys.
- James: I appreciated the segment this morning (Friday) on Political Extremes. However, I was disappointed that your guest missed two of the most important items on this topic which makes me suspicious of his motives. (1) Right wing media extremism has a long history while left wing extremist media is quite recent. It came about as a reaction to the right wing "wing-nuts." (2) Right wing media extremists are numerous, even including an entire "news" network, FOX. I hope that these significant oversights will be corrected in the future in the quest for accuracy.
Are “fringe” groups “hijacking” American politics? Who do you think should be on the “wingnut” list? Send in your suggestions to John here.
Is the lunatic fringe hijacking America?
It happens almost every day of every week, people on the far-right and the far-left doing or saying something off of the wall. We've profiled many of them here on American Morning with a segment we call "Wingnuts of the Week."
Now, one of our favorite guests, John Avlon, has a new book all about the subject. It's called "Wingnuts: How the lunatic fringe is hijacking America." He joined us Friday on American Morning.
Don't miss: Wingnuts of the Week
What's really happening in Iran?
It's been 31 years since Iran's Islamic Revolution when the country's Western-backed monarchy fell and Iran became an Islamic state.
Yesterday, we saw a huge pro-government rally in Tehran, but we're also seeing disturbing videos online of violent clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters.
What do these protests and this violence really mean for Iran's future?
We were joined Friday on American Morning by Jason Shams, a contributor for the Daily Beast who has lived in Iran for several years.
We also spoke with Maziar Bahari, a Newsweek correspondent who was jailed in Iran last year.
Complete coverage: Protests in Iran
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