appeared to be another in a string of insider attacks by afghan soldiers and police on nato troops. at least 53 coalition soldiers have died in the attacks this year. nato is preparing to withdraw most of its combat forces by the end of 2014. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to gwen. >> ifill: we turn to the presidential campaign, which has taken a bit of a pause in sandy's aftermath. with the election only a week away, the devastating east coast storm forced both candidates off the stump today. they focused, instead, on disaster relief, with mitt romney in ohio collecting canned foods and bottled water, and the president making a quick afternoon visit to red cross headquarters in washington. >> the most important message i have for them is that america is is with you. we are standing behind you, and we are going to do everything we can to help you get back on your feet. >> ifill: romney also spoke of the need to help storm victims. >> i appreciate your generosity. it's part of the american spirit. the american way to give to people who are in need. and your generos

than scheduled, if the coalition leaves early. karzai spoke in kabul, after meeting with nato secretary- general anders fogh rasmussen. >> afghans are ready to expedite the process of transition if necessary and are willing as well, so this is in all aspects good news for us and good news for nato. >> sreenivasan: 104,000 nato troops are currently stationed in afghanistan, including 68,000 americans. the current plan calls for foreign combat troops to leave by the end of 2014. rasmussen said the alliance remains committed to that timetable. some 14 million americans practiced today for what to do when an earthquake hits. they took part in an annual drill dubbed the "great shakeout." students like these in charlotte, north carolina got under their desks, covered their heads and held onto something sturdy to help minimize injuries during shaking. most of the participants were in california, but maryland, virginia and the district of columbia also joined in for the first time. a 5.8 magnitude quake hit the mid-atlantic region last year. "newsweek" is undergoing a shake-up in its

pushed britain and france ut toeadersh of that nato operation to take down colonel kadafy. so very different world views. i think all the agreement last night shouldn't mask the fact that we have a real choice on november 6. >> woodruff: richard haas, how do you size up the two after last night? and how do you see those differences? >> well, actually i thought the sim layers were greater than the differences. that to me was in some ways the most striking part of the debate. both also, as ambassador burns pointed out, emphasized the integral, the cose linkage between what we want to do abroad and what it is we're doing here at home, that essentially foreign policy can only be successful abroad if we have the resource space and if we can set an example to the world. both of them emphasized that point. they both also emphasized a lot the middle east. there i thought what was interesting wasn't so much what they do but what they wouldn't do. both candidates talked about the limits to the american involvement, say, in syria. they talked about the problems of a pakistan and the challenge

people get killed on the turkish side then the turkish government will put pressure on nato and the united states to act. and that's where the administration and nato will find themselves in a difficult position it's also true the turks are aiding and abetting an army that is fighting the syrian government. so it's getting murky in some ways. >> warner: so what happens if there were, hirsch hammel hem, several more accidents like what has happened in the last few days? what could it lead to? >> i think erdogan, the turkish primeinister, will be forced to intervene militarily. we don't know to what extent or on what level. already the turks launched a jet plane in june. two pilots were killed. this is the first time we had five civilians being killed. if this occurs, erdogan will be facing a tremendous challenge from within and he would lose whatever credibility he has already many people are criticizing the turks because in the last seven months they've been huffing and puffing saying we won't allow this to happen in syria, we will impose a no-fly zone or have our own security zone