COSTELLO: Believe it or not there is bigger news out of the White House this morning. A shake-up in the works for President Obama's national security team. A senior defense official says the president will nominate CIA director Leon Panetta to succeed Robert Gates as defense secretary. Gates is retiring. And the president is expected to pick General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, to replace Panetta as CIA director. Also on the subject of Afghanistan, at least six American servicemen are dead after a gunfight broke out on an Afghan military base. The accused killer is an Afghan military pilot as opposed to ally who may have been on a terrorist mission for the Taliban. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is live in Kabul. Tell us more.</s>NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. The Taliban are claiming that this man was one of their fighters who had been a pilot in the Afghan Air Force for quite some time. Of course, there aren't many airplanes really in the Afghan air force there so apparently he'd been going to work and collecting a salrary, according to a Taliban speaksman ahead of carrying out the attack. Now, that was denied by NATO, who say this was an argument which happened between the ISAF personnel and the Afghan pilot. The total of dead now from ISAF servicemen has risen to eight, and there is one ISAF contractor civilian or so killed. But one Afghan official saying six of the dead are Americans. Although ISAF are not cornfirming that at the point. Just to point out where this happened. That's hugely significant. This was inside the wire at NATO's main base here in Kabul. About under a mile's walk really from the real operational command where they run the war here in Afghanistan. So, far too close for comfort. Carol?</s>COSTELLO: Disturbing news. Nick Paton Walsh live in Kabul. Again, six American service members killed in Afghanistan. Much more on President Obama releasing his birth certificate, and also more of what Donald Trump had to say when he land it in his personal helicopter in New Hampshire right after a break.
Six U.S. Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan; Shuffling Posts in Washington as Gates Prepares to Retire