Ambassador Crocker: No "grand bargain" with Taliban in Afghanistan

(CBS News) Dismantling the Taliban in Afghanistan will be a gradual process and a "grand bargain" that quickly ends hostilities is unlikely, the outgoing U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker told CBS News Friday.

Speaking to CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley, the longtime diplomat said that the most important talks won't be between the Taliban and the U.S. but rather the Taliban and the Afghan government, which continues to grow in its ability to provide services and lead security operations as the U.S. prepares to withdraw its remaining troops.

Crocker admitted that U.S. troops may remain in the country beyond 2014, but said "I couldn't begin to tell you" exactly what that scenario would look like, as the U.S. and Afghanistan still have to reach a security agreement that would lay it out.

Below, watch the interview and profile of Crocker as it aired, plus a web-only excerpt: