By analyzing accurate theoretical results from solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation of atoms in few-cycle laser pulses, we established the general conclusion that laser-generated high-energy electron momentum spectra and high-order harmonic spectra can be used to extract accurate differential elastic scattering and photo-recombination cross sections of the target ion with free electrons, respectively. Since both electron scattering and photoionization (the inverse of photo-recombination) are the conventional means for interrogating the structure of atoms and molecules, this result implies that existing few-cycle infrared lasers can be implemented for ultrafast imaging of transient molecules with temporal resolution of a few femtoseconds.