60 Minutes Sunday May 17 2009

At the top of our broadcast, correspondent Katie Couric presents the most complete picture of our nation’s secretary of defense he’s ever allowed. Robert Gates took Couric along on a trip to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and most importantly, Afghanistan, where he is refocusing U.S. military efforts and adding troops. He says U.S. troops will be there until the Afghans themselves can secure their country against the Taliban, but it will take two to four years just for their Army to begin taking the lead in military operations. At the rate of about 20,000 new soldiers a year, it will take years before the Afghan Army gets the 160,000 additional soldiers most analysts say the country will need. Pressed for the shortest timetable for a U.S. troop pullout, Gates tells Couric, "You want certitude where there is no certainty. This is a war."

Watch an excerpt.

Then correspondent Steve Kroft talks to the man in charge of …

Then correspondent Steve Kroft talks to the man in charge of fixing the failing financial insurance and banking giant at the heart of the economic meltdown – America International Group – to which the government has made available $180 billion in bailout money. AIG was on the hook for billions when the mortgages it backed turned sour. Ed Liddy came in as a liquidator, and, as he tells Kroft, a fire sale is the only way to repay the government. "They’ll be pieces of – I don’t think it will be called AIG – but there will be pieces of this institution left. But that’s the only choice we have. That’s the only way we can pay back the government," he says.

Our third story takes you into the life of the person who has occupied the highest perch on the fashion pantheon for over 20 years and made her the subject of the successful novel and hit film, "The Devil Wears Prada." Vogue Editor Anna Wintour never gives interviews, but she talks to correspondent Morley Safer and without those ubiquitous sunglasses that she’s hardly ever seen without. The glasses may add to her aura of glamour and mystery, but they serve a more practical purpose, says the high queen of haut couture. "They’re seriously useful?I can sit in a show and if I’m bored out of my mind, nobody will notice," says Wintour. "And if I ‘m enjoying it, nobody will notice?.At this point they’ve become?really, armor."

Watch an excerpt.

These stories, and Andy Rooney’s grounded this summer, on this Sunday’s 60 Minutes, May 17 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

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