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American Morning

The Fight for Iraq; Mars Rovers Mission Extended to September; Master Mickelson

Aired April 12, 2004 - 9:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: American troops still under attack across Iraq. Even with a cease-fire in Fallujah, Americans are still dying today.
Could the judge in the Jayson Williams trial be about to pull the plug on the whole thing? A key ruling could come any time now.

And Phil Mickelson...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MICKELSON, GOLFER: I just had a feeling that I was going to knock the putt in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Wow. What a way to win your first major Lefty's magical day at Augusta on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to Monday. I could watch that Mickelson putt all day. Really a nice thing to watch, you're right.

O'BRIEN: It was fun to see.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It goes in every time.

HEMMER: As a matter of fact, it does, Jack.

O'BRIEN: You're funny today.

HEMMER: Yes, you are.

In a moment here, going to get to the issue of Iraq. And the serious news we're getting today, 24 Americans have died there since Friday. As many as 600 Iraqis also dead in Fallujah alone, based on the reporting we're getting. In a few moments, Kelly McCann is back here, a former Marine counterterrorism specialist, on how long the resistance can hold out in Fallujah and the rest of the country.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, NASA's lead scientist from Mars exploration will join us. We're going to talk about those rovers. Both of them are exceeding expectations, going out on New jobs which were not part of their original mission. We're going to find out just how long they can last.

HEMMER: All right.

Good morning, Jack. How are you?

CAFFERTY: Good morning.

Senator John Kerry is due out later today with a misery index to tell us all how poorly off we are these days, things that are wrong with the economy. Could it be a political miscalculation on his part? AM@CNN.com is the email address.

HEMMER: Good query. Jack, thanks.

Top stories again top of the hour here at 9:00 in New York. President Bush today meeting with Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak. They will hold talks at the ranch in Crawford, Texas. Mubarak wants clarification on how the U.S. roadmap for Middle East peace ties into Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to get out of Gaza. They'll also talk about certainly the latest bloodshed that's happening in Iraq.

The vice president, meanwhile, Dick Cheney, is in Tokyo for talks with the Japanese prime minister, Koizumi. The U.S. offering support for the release of three Japanese civilians held hostage in Iraq. Vice President Cheney has praised Japan's handling of the situation. Japan reiterating that it will not pull troops out of Iraq despite the hostage or deal.

This country now. In New Jersey, former NBA star Jayson Williams may learn today if the judge will dismiss manslaughter charges against him. His defense lawyers asking for a dismissal based on what they say was a prosecutor's failure to turn over key evidence. Prosecutors say it was an inadvertent mistake, and legal experts say it is unlikely the judge will dismiss the charges. More later this morning on that.

Gas prices still climbing. They climbed about 2.5 cents in the past two weeks, in fact. The Lundberg Survey says national average for a gallon of gas $1.82. That's up 31 cents a gallon since last December.

Almost 9:02 now in New York. You're up to date.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Word now that another U.S. soldier has been killed in Iraq. The U.S. military this morning saying that a patrol was attacked north of Baghdad on Sunday, killing the soldier, wounding four others. The death toll is now to at least 24, the number of U.S. troops killed since Friday.

Meanwhile, a fragile cease-fire between U.S. forces and insurgents seems to be stabilizing in Fallujah. But a rash of hostage abductions and releases is still unfolding. Here is Karl Penhaul in Baghdad. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More hostages peering into a video camera wielded by Iraqi insurgents. Turks, Pakistanis, a Filipino and an Indian hold up their passports and give their names.

In this video passed to Arabic language broadcaster Al-Jazeera, the kidnappers say they'll release them unharmed. Diplomats, though, say seven Chinese are the latest victims in the rising tide of hostage taking. A fax to Al-Jazeera said three Japanese hostages would be released. But so far, the Japanese government says there's no sign of them.

The wait goes on, too, for Thomas Hammil, a U.S. contractor kidnapped when his fuel convoy was attacked late last week. His captors say they'll kill him unless U.S. Marines pull out of Fallujah, the heartland of the anticoalition revolt.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: Well, with regards to why the Marines are there, because they fought for those, they bled for those and, in some cases, they died for those positions. And they don't give up ground that easy.

PENHAUL: Hospital officials say more than 600 Iraqis died in the fighting between insurgent units and U.S. forces in Fallujah. Three Marines were killed in the area Sunday. Two U.S. Army pilots died Sunday when insurgents shot down their Apache helicopter west of Baghdad. An uneasy cease-fire held in Fallujah for part of Sunday, but witnesses report hearing renewed gunfire.

KIMMITT: The forces in some cases are attacking, in some cases just taking potshots. We don't know if they have not got a centralized command structure which is causing them not to understand that there is an offer on the table for a cease-fire.

PENHAUL: Iraqi Governing Council members are working to broker a lasting peace in Fallujah, but many civilians are streaming out, fearing new battles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: Now, at a morning press briefing -- an afternoon press briefing, sorry -- General Mark Kimmitt, the coalition military spokesman, said over the last week the coalition are facing now between 50 and 70 attacks by anticoalition forces a day. He says that in the course of this month, 70 coalition personnel have died. Though estimates that around 700 anticoalition forces have also been killed.

He does say in his words it's not a rosy picture. He says it's not a happy picture. But he does say that to call the situation that is now being seen in Iraq chaos would be an overstatement -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Karl Penhaul for us out of Baghdad this morning. Karl, thank you. That kidnapped American contractor, Thomas Hammil, was driving a truck in Iraq for a Halliburton subsidiary when he was captured. His friends and neighbors in Macon, Mississippi gathered yesterday to pray for his safe return.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are all just praying for him. And that's about all we can do right now. But we're going to show him our support by anything -- we're going to have flags up, yellow ribbons, the prayer vigil. And we will continue to keep him in prayer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Hammil was having financial problems with his dairy farm, took the job in Iraq to support his young family. And, in fact, needed the money in part to pay his wife's medical bills after she had heart surgery.

HEMMER: Over the weekend, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said success or failure in Fallujah depends on getting Iraqi force to take control of that city. Perhaps easier said than done based on some of the reporting we're getting there.

Kelly McCann, a former Marine specializing in counterterrorism, back with us today from Atlanta at the CNN Center.

Kelly, good morning to you.

KELLY MCCANN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Bill.

HEMMER: I want to pick up on a few things here. Muqtada al- Sadr, the leader of the Shiite uprising here, do you believe he is a short-term problem or a long-term issue for the coalition?

MCCANN: He'll be an aggravant (ph). I mean, doesn't even have imam or mullah status. Now, contrast him -- he's basically trading on his father's legacy. Contrast him with -- who is seen as a very logical figure, who is Ayatollah Sistani. I mean, I think that the Ayatollah Sistani is the one that people -- he's the popular Shia leader. Sadr basically is an aggravant (ph). Even the Iranians will not support him.

HEMMER: I want to pick up something you said over the weekend on CNN. Do you believe the message in Iraq today to the insurgents, to the resistance, is, if you keep up the resistance, the Americans will never leave? They'll be here well past the summer? If that is the message, what is the incentive to hold fire on behalf of the insurgents?

MCCANN: It was rumored last Friday, Bill, when we expected there to be some violence in Baghdad that that word was actually passed through the religious system to the popular Shia. In other words, you know, if we make this place appear to be out of control, then the U.S. simply can't turn it over to the IGC. And they're going to push the date back maybe indefinitely. So I think that the normal Iraqi wants, obviously, the IGC to take control, they want sovereignty, and I think you'll see that trickle down. But there are still a lot of people who want to see the Sunnis regain and hold political power despite that they're numerically inferior.

HEMMER: Also in Fallujah, Kelly, word is reporting out of that city is that 600 Iraqi fighters are dead. Do you see the two-pronged approach developing here, where the U.S. is trying to be very strong? In essence, the strong arm, imitating almost Saddam Hussein of 30 years, and at the same time, holding out that olive branch to Iraqis saying, you can't go forward unless we go with you?

MCCANN: War by itself is not a policy. It won't survive in an international community. There has to be diplomacy.

I think that the Marines went in, they demonstrated their prowess. By all reports, every time they were engaged it was decisive. They have now repositioned and reconfigured on a dynamic battlefield.

They're prepared to take the city, Bill. The bottom line is, this was a great point to stop, hold, reconfigure, and enter diplomatic discussions to reduce the bloodshed.

HEMMER: If I could get to this hostage issue, Thomas Hammil out of Macon, Mississippi, there were others, too, from other countries. How is the military handling this?

MCCANN: It's a delicate situation. Obviously, the precedence can't be set that you can bend the American will or the coalition will by taking hostages. That simply can't be the case.

And rescue is not as easy as people would think. It takes very up-to-date intelligence, and there is always the risk of the rate environment ending up killing the person you're trying to save. Now, normally in these incidences there are a lot of back channels communications with tribal leaders, and I'd suggest to you that that's probably what is going on right now.

HEMMER: All right. Kelly, thanks. Kelly McCann, at the CNN Center, appreciate it yet again.

Now Soledad.

MCCANN: Thanks, Bill.

O'BRIEN: The 9/11 Commission this week will get a chance to ask top law enforcement officials about information in that now declassified presidential briefing paper. The panel will likely have questions about the failure of intelligence agencies to connect the clues they were already investigating before the attacks. President Bush said yesterday that the information in the briefing was not specific enough for him to take any action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Had I known there was going to be an attack on America, I would have moved mountains to stop the attack. I did everything I can.

My job is to protect the American people. And I asked the intelligence agency to analyze the data to tell me whether or not we faced a threat internally like they thought we faced a threat in other parts of the world. That's what the PDB request was. And had there been actionable intelligence, we would have moved on it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Well, CNN will carry coverage of the commission hearings tomorrow morning. That begins at 900 a.m. Eastern Time.

HEMMER: In a moment here, tragedy striking a family with three daughters serving in Iraq. We'll tell you about the effort now to get them home in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Also, those Mars rovers continue to snap those photos. But for how long? We'll talk with the mission's lead scientist just ahead.

HEMMER: Also, a close finish at the Masters. As close as they get. What a day, though, for Phil Mickelson and the green jacket. Back in a moment

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Those curious Mars rovers are getting a new lease on their little robotic lives. NASA is extending their mission until September, and says it could even reach beyond that. Joining us this morning from Washington to talk about the space agency's hopes for that mission, NASA's lead scientist for Mars exploration, Jim Garvin.

Hey, Jim. Nice to see you again. Thanks for being with us.

JIM GARVIN, NASA LEAD SCIENTIST FOR MARS EXPLORATION: My pleasure, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Has it been much of a surprise to you that the rovers continues to go on and on and on and on?

GARVIN: Well, Soledad, it's far beyond our expectation. These machines and the team -- our team, have done so much more than we had ever dared hope that I guess I could say it's a surprise. But we knew we were building the best devices for exploration of Mars we've ever had.

O'BRIEN: Outside of building the best devices, though, and outside of a heck of a lot of luck, which I imagine both of those things play a big role, what is it specifically that allows the rovers to keep working?

GARVIN: Well, Soledad, it's the cooperation of the Mars environment and the really good design that our team put together for these devices. They've not accumulated the dust that we expected to stop them getting all of the power they need from the sun. Their battery charging is working well, and they're actually performing beyond our expectations, even in testing here on Earth.

O'BRIEN: So everything is just working nicely. And because of that, they're going to just keep working.

Question for you. What do they do with their sort of new lease on life, that they get to continue through September? Start with the Opportunity for me. What is the strategy going to be there?

GARVIN: Well, the strategy there, Soledad, is to drive to this crater, this big hole the size of a football stadium that we've nicknamed Endurance, where we think there are tens of feet of this magical rock that we were exploring in the little tiny crater known as Eagle. And if that is the case, we may be able to tell more about how widespread the shallow salty sea was.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. And how about for Spirit?

GARVIN: Well, Spirit is going to head to the hills, literally. In fact, today and tomorrow, Spirit is going to be uploading its new software and rebooting with greater capabilities to drive some mile and a half to what we've named the Columbia Hills, where we hope to see a big section of the rocks that will tell us about the history of what are there.

O'BRIEN: The projects for both of them have been extended now through September, as we said. I think at a cost of about $18 million, which is really a fairly small percentage of what the overall project costs. Do you have any expectations that actually they could continue well beyond that September date?

GARVIN: Well, Soledad, it's a possibility. These rovers are like the energizer bunny. They keep going and exceeding our expectations.

But, again, they were designed for 90 days on Mars. And one never knows what Mars is going to throw at us. So I'm an optimistic type person, and our team at JPL (ph) has done so well. I wouldn't be surprised if they went a little bit further.

O'BRIEN: We'll see if we're talking about this again come October and November, and December, maybe. Obviously, you've had some huge success, and we've actually been very lucky to sit down and chat with you and many of the people on your team about exactly what has been accomplished on Mars. But of all those successes, what do you think is the most important thing that the rovers have discovered?

GARVIN: Well, first, Soledad, finding a place, a particular (AUDIO GAP) we're learning how to explore another world with these magical robots. I mean, that's what we need to learn to do now so that in 10, 20, 30 years we can actually send people there to follow up on these incredible findings of machines like these.

O'BRIEN: Sure thing. It's too bad you have to leave the rovers there, isn't it? You know, they don't get to come back home.

GARIVN: Well, maybe someday.

O'BRIEN: Yes, maybe someday. All right. Jim Garvin, the NASA lead scientist for Mars exploration. Nice to see you, Jim, as always. Thanks so much.

GARVIN: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Bill?

HEMMER: Almost 18 minutes past the hour. Much more on that still uneasy cease-fire in Fallujah.

Also, giving new meaning to try, try again. Never give up. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Question of the Day. Here is Jack yet again -- Jack.

CAFFERTY: Sitting here and computing how much it's going to cost Soledad to send her kids to college.

O'BRIEN: What was I thinking about with another two kids?

CAFFERTY: You talk about a misery in there.

The latest weapon in John Kerry's presidential campaign is something called a misery index, due out later today. It focuses on the negative economic trends in the last four years. Kerry includes things like median family income, college tuition, health insurance costs. But the Massachusetts senator may want to be a little careful.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan used former President Jimmy Carter's famous malaise speech to help him win the election. So the question is, is John Kerry making a mistake focusing on the misery index.

Jared in Augusta, Georgia, where that putt went in on the 18th green yesterday: "As the candidate trying to dethrone the incumbent, it's John Kerry's job to point out the misery the country is going through as a result of this administration's faulty policies. It's a matter of pointing out the facts and letting the people decide."

Dan writes: "Let's see. Since President Bush took office, my salary has been reduced by a third, my wife has lost her job, our savings that were to go toward a home down payment have been all but wiped out, and our son will only go to a private college now if he gets a scholarship. We have no health insurance."

"In general, I'd say my misery index has gone through the roof. Why shouldn't John Kerry campaign on that?"

Selma writes: "Senator Kerry definitely making a grave mistake by focusing on all things negative about our rebounding economy. He's a pessimist. And there are a lot of well educated voters who understand the cyclical nature of our economy and have developed a hatred for short-sighted politicians with a pessimistic outlook on economic trends."

And, finally, Terry writes this from Willard, Missouri: "I think Kerry has great potential. However, when you focus on the negative, you get negative results. I have not been living under a rock for the last four years. I'm aware of what's been transpiring. I do not need to be reminded of it. I do want to hear what Kerry has to say to correct this situation."

Fair enough.

HEMMER: A bit of a chance if you consider the jobs that were added in March, 300,000. If that trend continues, it's not going to follow suit with the rest of the economic picture.

CAFFERTY: The other thing we got some mail on, I said there was no inflation. Somebody wrote and talked about inflation.

Yes, there is inflation in energy prices in certain little pockets of the economy. I was just suggesting that overall we haven't had a lot of inflation in this economy, which is one of the reasons they've been able on hold interest rates so low for so long because of an absence of inflation. But, yes, gasoline prices, things like that...

O'BRIEN: I just think the big question is, do you really want to hear a politician who is forward-looking or someone who is sort of, you know, mired in negativity? And I think a lot -- you can see in some of those e-mails, most people are like, I don't want to hear it, I know. They know, you're living it. What is your solution as opposed to listing a litany of problems that we face.

CAFFERTY: Sure.

HEMMER: To Jared in Augusta, by the way, right? Jared was in Augusta?

CAFFERTY: Yes, Jared.

HEMMER: From the Masters yesterday?

CAFFERTY: Yes.

HEMMER: Never felt so good to slip on a jacket as yesterday. Phil Mickelson long regarded as the best golfer in the world to have never won a major tournament.

CAFFERTY: I'm sorry. Excuse me.

HEMMER: Finally got his tie. It's OK, Jack.

O'BRIEN: You're feisty today, Jack.

HEMMER: And it's only Monday. Josie Burke is in Augusta. Here's Josie. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSIE BURKE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Phil Mickelson finally slipped the green jacket on his back and threw the monkey off, the purpose of all those near misses in majors became clear.

PHIL MICKELSON, 2004 MASTERS CHAMPION: To have it to be such a difficult journey to win my first major, it makes it that much more special, sweeter. And it feels awesome.

BURKE: Mickelson had eight top three finishes in majors without a victory before finally adding the missing piece to an otherwise glittering resume on Sunday. He did it in dramatic fashion. Needing a birdie putt on 18 to win by a stroke.

MICKELSON: My first thought was, "I did it." You know, I finally did it. I knew I could. But I finally did it.

BURKE: Even though he claimed he was still in disbelief hours after it was over, the grin Mickelson wore all week showed he believed his time had come.

MICKELSON: I had a different feeling playing this week. I had a different feeling entering this tournament. I just had a real belief that I was going to come through this week.

BURKE (on camera): Mickelson was asked where would of thought of his career had he never won a major. He replied, he "actually had never thought about that," and now he doesn't have to.

Josie Burke, CNN, Augusta, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: One final thing on 18, when he hit that putt, his playing partner, Chris DiMarco (ph), went in the sand. And he chipped out just a few inches in front of Mickelson, which forced DiMarco (ph) to go first, which gave Mickelson a perfect read on that putt to knock it in for that birdie.

CAFFERTY: I'd rather be lucky than good.

HEMMER: I'm telling you. I can't help but feel lucky.

O'BRIEN: That's nice. Congratulations to him. Nice to have some good news to talk about every once in a while, huh?

CAFFERTY: You bet.

O'BRIEN: Well, Janet Jackson hosted "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend. She took a turn portraying National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. Also poked a little bit of fun at herself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) THOMAS KEAN, CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: When you first came through office, you'd just been through a very difficult campaign. You walk in and Dick Clarke is talking about al Qaeda should be our number one priority. What did you think and what did you tell the president as you hit that kind of, I suppose, new information for you?

JANET JACKSON, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Live from New York, it's Saturday night!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Did it go downhill from there or uphill from there?

O'BRIEN: I thought she was good.

CAFFERTY: That's funny, that clip.

O'BRIEN: She was very good. She was funny.

CAFFERTY: I didn't see the show.

O'BRIEN: Go Janet. You know?

HEMMER: In a moment here, last night, Nick and Jessica pick up where Sonny and Cher left off, about 30 years later. "90-Second Pop" is checking out Nick and Jessica from last night, primetime on ABC. Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. We're going to get to the opening bell in just a few moments. But, first, it's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. A huge fallout in Washington this weekend, after a top-secret memo declassified. But is there any fallout across the country?

Carlos Watson back with us, taking a look at that presidential daily brief, and also the election and whether one is going to affect the other.

HEMMER: A lot of heavy news yet again today on a Monday. In a second, we'll lighten up a bit. Nick and Jessica trying out a variety hour last night. The gang at "90-Second Pop" gives us its verdict. Toure says there is a real simple reason why this one worked last night. We'll get to that in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Because she's hot!

HEMMER: Yes. All right. We'll let Toure answer that in a moment.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Let's get right to our top stories this morning. And we begin, in fact, in Iraq, where an uneasy cease-fire is still in place in the hotbed city of Fallujah. Talks between city officials and Iraqi politicians who back the United States resume today. Additional U.S. forces have been moving into place there.

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld expected to get a briefing on future plans for troops in Iraq. Secretary Rumsfeld will hear from the head of the U.S. Central Command. Military sources tell CNN that General John Abizaid will ask for just over 10,000 troops for an undetermined period of time to deal with the latest outbreak of violence. Pentagon sources say the initial plan would delay the departure of several thousand troops.

Top intelligence chiefs testify about what they knew in the days and months leading up to September 11 when they appear before the 9/11 committee tomorrow. First in the hot seat is former FBI Director Louie Freeh. He is going to be followed by former Attorney General Janet Reno. And on Wednesday, CIA director George Tenet appears, followed by the current FBI boss, Robert Mueller.

And a man bets it all in Vegas and wins! Ashley Revel (ph) sold all of his possessions last month, everything, including his clothes, for just over $135,000. Then he donned a rented tux, placed all of his money on a roulette table and, believe it or not, the spin came up in his favor. He won $270,000 on that spin, and he now says he's going to use that money to replace all the stuff that he sold originally put the money on the bet in the first place.

HEMMER: What are the cameras doing there?

O'BRIEN: It makes no sense.

HEMMER: Was it a setup? Can I be skeptical.

O'BRIEN: No, well he announced he was going to try. They would have...

HEMMER: I think he should double down. If he doesn't, he's a chicken.

O'BRIEN: He sold everything he owns for $135,000, and he's going to go out and buy clothes and a watch and a mountain bike. All of the stuff he sold two weeks ago.

HEMMER: Well, apparently they're making a reality show out of this, from what I hear in my ear from...

O'BRIEN: Another one?

HEMMER: We'll see.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: President Bush says there was not enough specific information on the August 2001 briefing for him to take any action in this country. How are Americans now reacting two days after that release? CNN political analyst Carlos Watson here in New York to talk about it.

Nice to see you in person, man. CARLOS WATSON, CNN ANALYST: Good to be here.

HEMMER: You all right?

WATSON: Good. Really good.

HEMMER: With the briefing, how could it affect the president politically?

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think the effect here is going to be relatively small. I think the issues on the ground in Iraq are certainly going to be more important, Bill. If you look at the polls, you can see that that is where Americans are focused, obviously with the killings and the hostage taking, et cetera.

You see the approval for the Iraq policy has gone from 59 percent down to 48 percent. You can see the number of people who feel good about the direction we are heading in also continuing to slip there. But all that said, what's interesting is that seven out of 10 Americans still say they fundamentally think we're going to do well in Iraq. So I think the bigger issue for the president won't be this daily briefing, but I think ultimately it will be what happens in Iraq.

HEMMER: You just mentioned -- we'll put it on the screen for our viewers to see from this new CNN-TIME poll, U.S military campaign in Iraq now successful, 26 percent.

WATSON: Yes.

HEMMER: Back in January, that was up around 43 percent. Why do you think we have not heard much from Senator Kerry on this issue?

WATSON: It's a real sticky issue. I mean, he's got to be careful about being accused of playing politics with the issue.

Now, he has started to speak out a little bit. And significantly, Bill, he's sending out his surrogates. So over the weekend he had one of his advisers, Rand Beers, talking about the issue. But it's a very difficult place to go.

The other issue here is that Americans themselves are divided on what the right solution is. You see, for example, over the last several months, that there's been a significant spike on the two extremes.

Those who say that we should take all of the troops out has gone from 16 percent to 28 percent, an all-time high. Those who say that we should actually increase the number of troops have gone from 11 percent to 20 percent. And so people are really divided as to what to do and where to go here.

HEMMER: When you talk about Senator Kerry, it strikes me that he's going to need clear alternatives in order to essentially get his message out, you know, as a candidate for the White House, about the direction he thinks should be taken in that country. Without that, do voters give him credence?

WATSON: They don't. What's so interesting is that, even as the president's numbers on these individual foreign policy questions have gone down, they have not translated into a new lead, for example, for John Kerry.

John Kerry in our latest poll is still down 48 to 45. That's within the margin of error. But remember, just six weeks ago, he was up by eight to 12 points.

So people are looking for a comprehensive plan. They are not willing immediately to say we've got worries about George Bush, therefore we're going bet on John Kerry. And so you are going to hear more, I suspect, from John Kerry over the next several weeks in this arena, talking about what his plan is. Because if he doesn't, clearly the swing may not happen immediately.

HEMMER: And it's also difficult for him politically, because he voted for the war but voted against the aid package, the $87 billion. How does he navigate around that?

WATSON: Very difficult, especially given that the president has taken advantage of that in ads. I just came back from Florida, where you turn on the TV for a minute and you probably see six ads calling John Kerry a flip-flopper. And the president, frankly, the ads do it with humor, and they've been very effective there. So it's difficult for him.

I think you're going to need to see a series of very compelling speeches. But remember what will be in the background over the next couple of months. On the domestic front, you will probably begin to see some peace marches, marches that call for withdrawal in places like San Francisco, Seattle New York.

You'll also begin to see some members of Congress, not just Democrats, but also Republicans, probably some of the northeastern Republican senators begin to call for a more brokered solution involving the U.N. And you saw some of that over the weekend.

And then last but not least, we got additional commission hearings. And while that does not involve purely Iraq, it focuses on 9/11. All of that is going to kind of set a background for John Kerry to step forward a little bit more.

WATSON: A whole lot to chew on. Thanks for helping us out, Carlos. Come on back anytime here in the Big Apple.

CARLOS: Good to see you. As long as the weather is good.

HEMMER: OK. Well, it's a little sketchy today, but Friday and Saturday were awesome.

CARLOS: They were good.

HEMMER: Come on back. Nice to see you.

CARLOS: Good to see you.

HEMMER: All right. Here's Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, losing a child, obviously, is hard enough. And a now a Wisconsin family is fighting to make sure they won't lose another one.

The three Whitmer sisters have been serving in Iraq through the National Guard. Now, on Friday, one of them, Private Michelle Whitmer, was killed in an attack. Michelle's sisters are going to be coming home for the funeral. Today, their parents are asking the military to keep them from going back.

A family statement reads this: "We trust that those in charge of making such a decision will realize that we have already sacrificed enough and that our family must not be asked to bear such an impossible burden." The family says state National Guard leaders have agreed to take their appeal to the Pentagon today.

HEMMER: Tough, tough time.

Still to come here on AMERICAN MORNING, is McDonald's going without the bread? Some say it's bunless. We'll get to that in a moment with Andy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Hey, everybody. McDonald's dropping the bun, and Wall Street getting ready for a flood of earnings reports. A check of the markets first up with Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."

Good morning, Drew. How are we looking, what, 18 minutes in so far on a Monday?

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAINZE: Well, we're looking pretty good. First off, did you see my buddies ringing the opening bell this morning?

HEMMER: Yes.

SERWER: Ann Moore, the CEO of Time Inc. and -- she's a boss of mine. Martha Nelson, managing editor of People Magazine, happy 30th birthday People Magazine.

Dow Jones industrials up 38 points. A nice way to start the week. What's moving this morning?

Well, first of all, we've got Dupont is moving up because it's laying off people. How often do we see that story -- 3,500 workers losing their jobs, 6 percent of the workforce.

Coke is moving to the downside. Their chief lawyer resigned. They still need a CEO at that company. Come on. What's going on there, Atlanta? Hello?

Disney, a shake-up over there, maybe? Well, management shake-up at ABC. They've got to get that house in order as well. And "The Alamo," well, we talked about that all morning. Disappointing movie. Not exactly overrun with moviegoers. Get it, Bill, overrun?

HEMMER: What Davy Crockett would say about that.

SERWER: It's cost them $100 million to make, and they only got in $9 million worth at the box office. That's a disappointment. And they delayed the opening of that movie, too.

HEMMER: That they did.

SERWER: Anyway, let's talk about McDonald's. You thought the Atkins craze was over, it had run its course? No.

It has come to this: McDonald's will be introducing the bunless burg starting next month. Look at -- well, that has a bun. So the bunless burger will be rolled out next month.

O'BRIEN: How do you eat it?

SERWER: It comes on a bed of lettuce with a knife and fork like this. And what's interesting, of course, it's not going to be on the menu. So it's off the menu.

So it will be very L.A. "Can I get a couple of egg whites?" You have to special order it.

Doesn't that remind you of Burger King?

HEMMER: I would say that it does.

SERWER: Doesn't it? Have it your way?

HEMMER: Slightly. But they're seeing demand for that.

SERWER: Oh, yes.

HEMMER: Clearly, otherwise they wouldn't go in this direction.

SERWER: Yes. Well, that remains to be seen.

HEMMER: What do you do with the fries, though? I mean, doesn't it cancel one out after the other.

O'BRIEN: Ketchup has a lot of carbohydrates in it, too. You can't have ketchup.

SERWER: The whole thing sort of doesn't work. If you're going there, you're not on a diet.

HEMMER: Just have a salad. Thank you, Andy.

SERWER: OK. You're welcome.

HEMMER: Aaron Brown, a preview of what is happening later tonight on "NEWSNIGHT." Here is Aaron now. AARON BROWN, HOST, "NEWSNIGHT": Tonight on "NEWSNIGHT," praying for an end to the violence. A wave of murders in the city of Detroit has city officials and residents worried. They are turning to local ministers for help.

That story, plus all the day's top news, morning papers and the rest. That's "NEWSNIGHT," CNN tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

HEMMER: Aaron, thanks much.

Coming up next hour here on CNN, if the president is to get the roadmap peace plan to work, he'll need the help from Egypt and Hosni Mubarak. An update today on that critical meeting in Crawford, Texas. Daryn Kagan has it next.

We are back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)


Aired April 12, 2004 - 9:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: American troops still under attack across Iraq. Even with a cease-fire in Fallujah, Americans are still dying today.
Could the judge in the Jayson Williams trial be about to pull the plug on the whole thing? A key ruling could come any time now.

And Phil Mickelson...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MICKELSON, GOLFER: I just had a feeling that I was going to knock the putt in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Wow. What a way to win your first major Lefty's magical day at Augusta on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to Monday. I could watch that Mickelson putt all day. Really a nice thing to watch, you're right.

O'BRIEN: It was fun to see.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It goes in every time.

HEMMER: As a matter of fact, it does, Jack.

O'BRIEN: You're funny today.

HEMMER: Yes, you are.

In a moment here, going to get to the issue of Iraq. And the serious news we're getting today, 24 Americans have died there since Friday. As many as 600 Iraqis also dead in Fallujah alone, based on the reporting we're getting. In a few moments, Kelly McCann is back here, a former Marine counterterrorism specialist, on how long the resistance can hold out in Fallujah and the rest of the country.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, NASA's lead scientist from Mars exploration will join us. We're going to talk about those rovers. Both of them are exceeding expectations, going out on New jobs which were not part of their original mission. We're going to find out just how long they can last.

HEMMER: All right.

Good morning, Jack. How are you?

CAFFERTY: Good morning.

Senator John Kerry is due out later today with a misery index to tell us all how poorly off we are these days, things that are wrong with the economy. Could it be a political miscalculation on his part? AM@CNN.com is the email address.

HEMMER: Good query. Jack, thanks.

Top stories again top of the hour here at 9:00 in New York. President Bush today meeting with Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak. They will hold talks at the ranch in Crawford, Texas. Mubarak wants clarification on how the U.S. roadmap for Middle East peace ties into Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to get out of Gaza. They'll also talk about certainly the latest bloodshed that's happening in Iraq.

The vice president, meanwhile, Dick Cheney, is in Tokyo for talks with the Japanese prime minister, Koizumi. The U.S. offering support for the release of three Japanese civilians held hostage in Iraq. Vice President Cheney has praised Japan's handling of the situation. Japan reiterating that it will not pull troops out of Iraq despite the hostage or deal.

This country now. In New Jersey, former NBA star Jayson Williams may learn today if the judge will dismiss manslaughter charges against him. His defense lawyers asking for a dismissal based on what they say was a prosecutor's failure to turn over key evidence. Prosecutors say it was an inadvertent mistake, and legal experts say it is unlikely the judge will dismiss the charges. More later this morning on that.

Gas prices still climbing. They climbed about 2.5 cents in the past two weeks, in fact. The Lundberg Survey says national average for a gallon of gas $1.82. That's up 31 cents a gallon since last December.

Almost 9:02 now in New York. You're up to date.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Word now that another U.S. soldier has been killed in Iraq. The U.S. military this morning saying that a patrol was attacked north of Baghdad on Sunday, killing the soldier, wounding four others. The death toll is now to at least 24, the number of U.S. troops killed since Friday.

Meanwhile, a fragile cease-fire between U.S. forces and insurgents seems to be stabilizing in Fallujah. But a rash of hostage abductions and releases is still unfolding. Here is Karl Penhaul in Baghdad. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More hostages peering into a video camera wielded by Iraqi insurgents. Turks, Pakistanis, a Filipino and an Indian hold up their passports and give their names.

In this video passed to Arabic language broadcaster Al-Jazeera, the kidnappers say they'll release them unharmed. Diplomats, though, say seven Chinese are the latest victims in the rising tide of hostage taking. A fax to Al-Jazeera said three Japanese hostages would be released. But so far, the Japanese government says there's no sign of them.

The wait goes on, too, for Thomas Hammil, a U.S. contractor kidnapped when his fuel convoy was attacked late last week. His captors say they'll kill him unless U.S. Marines pull out of Fallujah, the heartland of the anticoalition revolt.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: Well, with regards to why the Marines are there, because they fought for those, they bled for those and, in some cases, they died for those positions. And they don't give up ground that easy.

PENHAUL: Hospital officials say more than 600 Iraqis died in the fighting between insurgent units and U.S. forces in Fallujah. Three Marines were killed in the area Sunday. Two U.S. Army pilots died Sunday when insurgents shot down their Apache helicopter west of Baghdad. An uneasy cease-fire held in Fallujah for part of Sunday, but witnesses report hearing renewed gunfire.

KIMMITT: The forces in some cases are attacking, in some cases just taking potshots. We don't know if they have not got a centralized command structure which is causing them not to understand that there is an offer on the table for a cease-fire.

PENHAUL: Iraqi Governing Council members are working to broker a lasting peace in Fallujah, but many civilians are streaming out, fearing new battles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: Now, at a morning press briefing -- an afternoon press briefing, sorry -- General Mark Kimmitt, the coalition military spokesman, said over the last week the coalition are facing now between 50 and 70 attacks by anticoalition forces a day. He says that in the course of this month, 70 coalition personnel have died. Though estimates that around 700 anticoalition forces have also been killed.

He does say in his words it's not a rosy picture. He says it's not a happy picture. But he does say that to call the situation that is now being seen in Iraq chaos would be an overstatement -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Karl Penhaul for us out of Baghdad this morning. Karl, thank you. That kidnapped American contractor, Thomas Hammil, was driving a truck in Iraq for a Halliburton subsidiary when he was captured. His friends and neighbors in Macon, Mississippi gathered yesterday to pray for his safe return.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are all just praying for him. And that's about all we can do right now. But we're going to show him our support by anything -- we're going to have flags up, yellow ribbons, the prayer vigil. And we will continue to keep him in prayer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Hammil was having financial problems with his dairy farm, took the job in Iraq to support his young family. And, in fact, needed the money in part to pay his wife's medical bills after she had heart surgery.

HEMMER: Over the weekend, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said success or failure in Fallujah depends on getting Iraqi force to take control of that city. Perhaps easier said than done based on some of the reporting we're getting there.

Kelly McCann, a former Marine specializing in counterterrorism, back with us today from Atlanta at the CNN Center.

Kelly, good morning to you.

KELLY MCCANN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Bill.

HEMMER: I want to pick up on a few things here. Muqtada al- Sadr, the leader of the Shiite uprising here, do you believe he is a short-term problem or a long-term issue for the coalition?

MCCANN: He'll be an aggravant (ph). I mean, doesn't even have imam or mullah status. Now, contrast him -- he's basically trading on his father's legacy. Contrast him with -- who is seen as a very logical figure, who is Ayatollah Sistani. I mean, I think that the Ayatollah Sistani is the one that people -- he's the popular Shia leader. Sadr basically is an aggravant (ph). Even the Iranians will not support him.

HEMMER: I want to pick up something you said over the weekend on CNN. Do you believe the message in Iraq today to the insurgents, to the resistance, is, if you keep up the resistance, the Americans will never leave? They'll be here well past the summer? If that is the message, what is the incentive to hold fire on behalf of the insurgents?

MCCANN: It was rumored last Friday, Bill, when we expected there to be some violence in Baghdad that that word was actually passed through the religious system to the popular Shia. In other words, you know, if we make this place appear to be out of control, then the U.S. simply can't turn it over to the IGC. And they're going to push the date back maybe indefinitely. So I think that the normal Iraqi wants, obviously, the IGC to take control, they want sovereignty, and I think you'll see that trickle down. But there are still a lot of people who want to see the Sunnis regain and hold political power despite that they're numerically inferior.

HEMMER: Also in Fallujah, Kelly, word is reporting out of that city is that 600 Iraqi fighters are dead. Do you see the two-pronged approach developing here, where the U.S. is trying to be very strong? In essence, the strong arm, imitating almost Saddam Hussein of 30 years, and at the same time, holding out that olive branch to Iraqis saying, you can't go forward unless we go with you?

MCCANN: War by itself is not a policy. It won't survive in an international community. There has to be diplomacy.

I think that the Marines went in, they demonstrated their prowess. By all reports, every time they were engaged it was decisive. They have now repositioned and reconfigured on a dynamic battlefield.

They're prepared to take the city, Bill. The bottom line is, this was a great point to stop, hold, reconfigure, and enter diplomatic discussions to reduce the bloodshed.

HEMMER: If I could get to this hostage issue, Thomas Hammil out of Macon, Mississippi, there were others, too, from other countries. How is the military handling this?

MCCANN: It's a delicate situation. Obviously, the precedence can't be set that you can bend the American will or the coalition will by taking hostages. That simply can't be the case.

And rescue is not as easy as people would think. It takes very up-to-date intelligence, and there is always the risk of the rate environment ending up killing the person you're trying to save. Now, normally in these incidences there are a lot of back channels communications with tribal leaders, and I'd suggest to you that that's probably what is going on right now.

HEMMER: All right. Kelly, thanks. Kelly McCann, at the CNN Center, appreciate it yet again.

Now Soledad.

MCCANN: Thanks, Bill.

O'BRIEN: The 9/11 Commission this week will get a chance to ask top law enforcement officials about information in that now declassified presidential briefing paper. The panel will likely have questions about the failure of intelligence agencies to connect the clues they were already investigating before the attacks. President Bush said yesterday that the information in the briefing was not specific enough for him to take any action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Had I known there was going to be an attack on America, I would have moved mountains to stop the attack. I did everything I can.

My job is to protect the American people. And I asked the intelligence agency to analyze the data to tell me whether or not we faced a threat internally like they thought we faced a threat in other parts of the world. That's what the PDB request was. And had there been actionable intelligence, we would have moved on it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Well, CNN will carry coverage of the commission hearings tomorrow morning. That begins at 900 a.m. Eastern Time.

HEMMER: In a moment here, tragedy striking a family with three daughters serving in Iraq. We'll tell you about the effort now to get them home in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Also, those Mars rovers continue to snap those photos. But for how long? We'll talk with the mission's lead scientist just ahead.

HEMMER: Also, a close finish at the Masters. As close as they get. What a day, though, for Phil Mickelson and the green jacket. Back in a moment

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Those curious Mars rovers are getting a new lease on their little robotic lives. NASA is extending their mission until September, and says it could even reach beyond that. Joining us this morning from Washington to talk about the space agency's hopes for that mission, NASA's lead scientist for Mars exploration, Jim Garvin.

Hey, Jim. Nice to see you again. Thanks for being with us.

JIM GARVIN, NASA LEAD SCIENTIST FOR MARS EXPLORATION: My pleasure, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Has it been much of a surprise to you that the rovers continues to go on and on and on and on?

GARVIN: Well, Soledad, it's far beyond our expectation. These machines and the team -- our team, have done so much more than we had ever dared hope that I guess I could say it's a surprise. But we knew we were building the best devices for exploration of Mars we've ever had.

O'BRIEN: Outside of building the best devices, though, and outside of a heck of a lot of luck, which I imagine both of those things play a big role, what is it specifically that allows the rovers to keep working?

GARVIN: Well, Soledad, it's the cooperation of the Mars environment and the really good design that our team put together for these devices. They've not accumulated the dust that we expected to stop them getting all of the power they need from the sun. Their battery charging is working well, and they're actually performing beyond our expectations, even in testing here on Earth.

O'BRIEN: So everything is just working nicely. And because of that, they're going to just keep working.

Question for you. What do they do with their sort of new lease on life, that they get to continue through September? Start with the Opportunity for me. What is the strategy going to be there?

GARVIN: Well, the strategy there, Soledad, is to drive to this crater, this big hole the size of a football stadium that we've nicknamed Endurance, where we think there are tens of feet of this magical rock that we were exploring in the little tiny crater known as Eagle. And if that is the case, we may be able to tell more about how widespread the shallow salty sea was.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. And how about for Spirit?

GARVIN: Well, Spirit is going to head to the hills, literally. In fact, today and tomorrow, Spirit is going to be uploading its new software and rebooting with greater capabilities to drive some mile and a half to what we've named the Columbia Hills, where we hope to see a big section of the rocks that will tell us about the history of what are there.

O'BRIEN: The projects for both of them have been extended now through September, as we said. I think at a cost of about $18 million, which is really a fairly small percentage of what the overall project costs. Do you have any expectations that actually they could continue well beyond that September date?

GARVIN: Well, Soledad, it's a possibility. These rovers are like the energizer bunny. They keep going and exceeding our expectations.

But, again, they were designed for 90 days on Mars. And one never knows what Mars is going to throw at us. So I'm an optimistic type person, and our team at JPL (ph) has done so well. I wouldn't be surprised if they went a little bit further.

O'BRIEN: We'll see if we're talking about this again come October and November, and December, maybe. Obviously, you've had some huge success, and we've actually been very lucky to sit down and chat with you and many of the people on your team about exactly what has been accomplished on Mars. But of all those successes, what do you think is the most important thing that the rovers have discovered?

GARVIN: Well, first, Soledad, finding a place, a particular (AUDIO GAP) we're learning how to explore another world with these magical robots. I mean, that's what we need to learn to do now so that in 10, 20, 30 years we can actually send people there to follow up on these incredible findings of machines like these.

O'BRIEN: Sure thing. It's too bad you have to leave the rovers there, isn't it? You know, they don't get to come back home.

GARIVN: Well, maybe someday.

O'BRIEN: Yes, maybe someday. All right. Jim Garvin, the NASA lead scientist for Mars exploration. Nice to see you, Jim, as always. Thanks so much.

GARVIN: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Bill?

HEMMER: Almost 18 minutes past the hour. Much more on that still uneasy cease-fire in Fallujah.

Also, giving new meaning to try, try again. Never give up. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Question of the Day. Here is Jack yet again -- Jack.

CAFFERTY: Sitting here and computing how much it's going to cost Soledad to send her kids to college.

O'BRIEN: What was I thinking about with another two kids?

CAFFERTY: You talk about a misery in there.

The latest weapon in John Kerry's presidential campaign is something called a misery index, due out later today. It focuses on the negative economic trends in the last four years. Kerry includes things like median family income, college tuition, health insurance costs. But the Massachusetts senator may want to be a little careful.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan used former President Jimmy Carter's famous malaise speech to help him win the election. So the question is, is John Kerry making a mistake focusing on the misery index.

Jared in Augusta, Georgia, where that putt went in on the 18th green yesterday: "As the candidate trying to dethrone the incumbent, it's John Kerry's job to point out the misery the country is going through as a result of this administration's faulty policies. It's a matter of pointing out the facts and letting the people decide."

Dan writes: "Let's see. Since President Bush took office, my salary has been reduced by a third, my wife has lost her job, our savings that were to go toward a home down payment have been all but wiped out, and our son will only go to a private college now if he gets a scholarship. We have no health insurance."

"In general, I'd say my misery index has gone through the roof. Why shouldn't John Kerry campaign on that?"

Selma writes: "Senator Kerry definitely making a grave mistake by focusing on all things negative about our rebounding economy. He's a pessimist. And there are a lot of well educated voters who understand the cyclical nature of our economy and have developed a hatred for short-sighted politicians with a pessimistic outlook on economic trends."

And, finally, Terry writes this from Willard, Missouri: "I think Kerry has great potential. However, when you focus on the negative, you get negative results. I have not been living under a rock for the last four years. I'm aware of what's been transpiring. I do not need to be reminded of it. I do want to hear what Kerry has to say to correct this situation."

Fair enough.

HEMMER: A bit of a chance if you consider the jobs that were added in March, 300,000. If that trend continues, it's not going to follow suit with the rest of the economic picture.

CAFFERTY: The other thing we got some mail on, I said there was no inflation. Somebody wrote and talked about inflation.

Yes, there is inflation in energy prices in certain little pockets of the economy. I was just suggesting that overall we haven't had a lot of inflation in this economy, which is one of the reasons they've been able on hold interest rates so low for so long because of an absence of inflation. But, yes, gasoline prices, things like that...

O'BRIEN: I just think the big question is, do you really want to hear a politician who is forward-looking or someone who is sort of, you know, mired in negativity? And I think a lot -- you can see in some of those e-mails, most people are like, I don't want to hear it, I know. They know, you're living it. What is your solution as opposed to listing a litany of problems that we face.

CAFFERTY: Sure.

HEMMER: To Jared in Augusta, by the way, right? Jared was in Augusta?

CAFFERTY: Yes, Jared.

HEMMER: From the Masters yesterday?

CAFFERTY: Yes.

HEMMER: Never felt so good to slip on a jacket as yesterday. Phil Mickelson long regarded as the best golfer in the world to have never won a major tournament.

CAFFERTY: I'm sorry. Excuse me.

HEMMER: Finally got his tie. It's OK, Jack.

O'BRIEN: You're feisty today, Jack.

HEMMER: And it's only Monday. Josie Burke is in Augusta. Here's Josie. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSIE BURKE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Phil Mickelson finally slipped the green jacket on his back and threw the monkey off, the purpose of all those near misses in majors became clear.

PHIL MICKELSON, 2004 MASTERS CHAMPION: To have it to be such a difficult journey to win my first major, it makes it that much more special, sweeter. And it feels awesome.

BURKE: Mickelson had eight top three finishes in majors without a victory before finally adding the missing piece to an otherwise glittering resume on Sunday. He did it in dramatic fashion. Needing a birdie putt on 18 to win by a stroke.

MICKELSON: My first thought was, "I did it." You know, I finally did it. I knew I could. But I finally did it.

BURKE: Even though he claimed he was still in disbelief hours after it was over, the grin Mickelson wore all week showed he believed his time had come.

MICKELSON: I had a different feeling playing this week. I had a different feeling entering this tournament. I just had a real belief that I was going to come through this week.

BURKE (on camera): Mickelson was asked where would of thought of his career had he never won a major. He replied, he "actually had never thought about that," and now he doesn't have to.

Josie Burke, CNN, Augusta, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: One final thing on 18, when he hit that putt, his playing partner, Chris DiMarco (ph), went in the sand. And he chipped out just a few inches in front of Mickelson, which forced DiMarco (ph) to go first, which gave Mickelson a perfect read on that putt to knock it in for that birdie.

CAFFERTY: I'd rather be lucky than good.

HEMMER: I'm telling you. I can't help but feel lucky.

O'BRIEN: That's nice. Congratulations to him. Nice to have some good news to talk about every once in a while, huh?

CAFFERTY: You bet.

O'BRIEN: Well, Janet Jackson hosted "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend. She took a turn portraying National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. Also poked a little bit of fun at herself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) THOMAS KEAN, CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: When you first came through office, you'd just been through a very difficult campaign. You walk in and Dick Clarke is talking about al Qaeda should be our number one priority. What did you think and what did you tell the president as you hit that kind of, I suppose, new information for you?

JANET JACKSON, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Live from New York, it's Saturday night!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Did it go downhill from there or uphill from there?

O'BRIEN: I thought she was good.

CAFFERTY: That's funny, that clip.

O'BRIEN: She was very good. She was funny.

CAFFERTY: I didn't see the show.

O'BRIEN: Go Janet. You know?

HEMMER: In a moment here, last night, Nick and Jessica pick up where Sonny and Cher left off, about 30 years later. "90-Second Pop" is checking out Nick and Jessica from last night, primetime on ABC. Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. We're going to get to the opening bell in just a few moments. But, first, it's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. A huge fallout in Washington this weekend, after a top-secret memo declassified. But is there any fallout across the country?

Carlos Watson back with us, taking a look at that presidential daily brief, and also the election and whether one is going to affect the other.

HEMMER: A lot of heavy news yet again today on a Monday. In a second, we'll lighten up a bit. Nick and Jessica trying out a variety hour last night. The gang at "90-Second Pop" gives us its verdict. Toure says there is a real simple reason why this one worked last night. We'll get to that in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Because she's hot!

HEMMER: Yes. All right. We'll let Toure answer that in a moment.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Let's get right to our top stories this morning. And we begin, in fact, in Iraq, where an uneasy cease-fire is still in place in the hotbed city of Fallujah. Talks between city officials and Iraqi politicians who back the United States resume today. Additional U.S. forces have been moving into place there.

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld expected to get a briefing on future plans for troops in Iraq. Secretary Rumsfeld will hear from the head of the U.S. Central Command. Military sources tell CNN that General John Abizaid will ask for just over 10,000 troops for an undetermined period of time to deal with the latest outbreak of violence. Pentagon sources say the initial plan would delay the departure of several thousand troops.

Top intelligence chiefs testify about what they knew in the days and months leading up to September 11 when they appear before the 9/11 committee tomorrow. First in the hot seat is former FBI Director Louie Freeh. He is going to be followed by former Attorney General Janet Reno. And on Wednesday, CIA director George Tenet appears, followed by the current FBI boss, Robert Mueller.

And a man bets it all in Vegas and wins! Ashley Revel (ph) sold all of his possessions last month, everything, including his clothes, for just over $135,000. Then he donned a rented tux, placed all of his money on a roulette table and, believe it or not, the spin came up in his favor. He won $270,000 on that spin, and he now says he's going to use that money to replace all the stuff that he sold originally put the money on the bet in the first place.

HEMMER: What are the cameras doing there?

O'BRIEN: It makes no sense.

HEMMER: Was it a setup? Can I be skeptical.

O'BRIEN: No, well he announced he was going to try. They would have...

HEMMER: I think he should double down. If he doesn't, he's a chicken.

O'BRIEN: He sold everything he owns for $135,000, and he's going to go out and buy clothes and a watch and a mountain bike. All of the stuff he sold two weeks ago.

HEMMER: Well, apparently they're making a reality show out of this, from what I hear in my ear from...

O'BRIEN: Another one?

HEMMER: We'll see.

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HEMMER: President Bush says there was not enough specific information on the August 2001 briefing for him to take any action in this country. How are Americans now reacting two days after that release? CNN political analyst Carlos Watson here in New York to talk about it.

Nice to see you in person, man. CARLOS WATSON, CNN ANALYST: Good to be here.

HEMMER: You all right?

WATSON: Good. Really good.

HEMMER: With the briefing, how could it affect the president politically?

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think the effect here is going to be relatively small. I think the issues on the ground in Iraq are certainly going to be more important, Bill. If you look at the polls, you can see that that is where Americans are focused, obviously with the killings and the hostage taking, et cetera.

You see the approval for the Iraq policy has gone from 59 percent down to 48 percent. You can see the number of people who feel good about the direction we are heading in also continuing to slip there. But all that said, what's interesting is that seven out of 10 Americans still say they fundamentally think we're going to do well in Iraq. So I think the bigger issue for the president won't be this daily briefing, but I think ultimately it will be what happens in Iraq.

HEMMER: You just mentioned -- we'll put it on the screen for our viewers to see from this new CNN-TIME poll, U.S military campaign in Iraq now successful, 26 percent.

WATSON: Yes.

HEMMER: Back in January, that was up around 43 percent. Why do you think we have not heard much from Senator Kerry on this issue?

WATSON: It's a real sticky issue. I mean, he's got to be careful about being accused of playing politics with the issue.

Now, he has started to speak out a little bit. And significantly, Bill, he's sending out his surrogates. So over the weekend he had one of his advisers, Rand Beers, talking about the issue. But it's a very difficult place to go.

The other issue here is that Americans themselves are divided on what the right solution is. You see, for example, over the last several months, that there's been a significant spike on the two extremes.

Those who say that we should take all of the troops out has gone from 16 percent to 28 percent, an all-time high. Those who say that we should actually increase the number of troops have gone from 11 percent to 20 percent. And so people are really divided as to what to do and where to go here.

HEMMER: When you talk about Senator Kerry, it strikes me that he's going to need clear alternatives in order to essentially get his message out, you know, as a candidate for the White House, about the direction he thinks should be taken in that country. Without that, do voters give him credence?

WATSON: They don't. What's so interesting is that, even as the president's numbers on these individual foreign policy questions have gone down, they have not translated into a new lead, for example, for John Kerry.

John Kerry in our latest poll is still down 48 to 45. That's within the margin of error. But remember, just six weeks ago, he was up by eight to 12 points.

So people are looking for a comprehensive plan. They are not willing immediately to say we've got worries about George Bush, therefore we're going bet on John Kerry. And so you are going to hear more, I suspect, from John Kerry over the next several weeks in this arena, talking about what his plan is. Because if he doesn't, clearly the swing may not happen immediately.

HEMMER: And it's also difficult for him politically, because he voted for the war but voted against the aid package, the $87 billion. How does he navigate around that?

WATSON: Very difficult, especially given that the president has taken advantage of that in ads. I just came back from Florida, where you turn on the TV for a minute and you probably see six ads calling John Kerry a flip-flopper. And the president, frankly, the ads do it with humor, and they've been very effective there. So it's difficult for him.

I think you're going to need to see a series of very compelling speeches. But remember what will be in the background over the next couple of months. On the domestic front, you will probably begin to see some peace marches, marches that call for withdrawal in places like San Francisco, Seattle New York.

You'll also begin to see some members of Congress, not just Democrats, but also Republicans, probably some of the northeastern Republican senators begin to call for a more brokered solution involving the U.N. And you saw some of that over the weekend.

And then last but not least, we got additional commission hearings. And while that does not involve purely Iraq, it focuses on 9/11. All of that is going to kind of set a background for John Kerry to step forward a little bit more.

WATSON: A whole lot to chew on. Thanks for helping us out, Carlos. Come on back anytime here in the Big Apple.

CARLOS: Good to see you. As long as the weather is good.

HEMMER: OK. Well, it's a little sketchy today, but Friday and Saturday were awesome.

CARLOS: They were good.

HEMMER: Come on back. Nice to see you.

CARLOS: Good to see you.

HEMMER: All right. Here's Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, losing a child, obviously, is hard enough. And a now a Wisconsin family is fighting to make sure they won't lose another one.

The three Whitmer sisters have been serving in Iraq through the National Guard. Now, on Friday, one of them, Private Michelle Whitmer, was killed in an attack. Michelle's sisters are going to be coming home for the funeral. Today, their parents are asking the military to keep them from going back.

A family statement reads this: "We trust that those in charge of making such a decision will realize that we have already sacrificed enough and that our family must not be asked to bear such an impossible burden." The family says state National Guard leaders have agreed to take their appeal to the Pentagon today.

HEMMER: Tough, tough time.

Still to come here on AMERICAN MORNING, is McDonald's going without the bread? Some say it's bunless. We'll get to that in a moment with Andy.

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HEMMER: Hey, everybody. McDonald's dropping the bun, and Wall Street getting ready for a flood of earnings reports. A check of the markets first up with Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."

Good morning, Drew. How are we looking, what, 18 minutes in so far on a Monday?

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAINZE: Well, we're looking pretty good. First off, did you see my buddies ringing the opening bell this morning?

HEMMER: Yes.

SERWER: Ann Moore, the CEO of Time Inc. and -- she's a boss of mine. Martha Nelson, managing editor of People Magazine, happy 30th birthday People Magazine.

Dow Jones industrials up 38 points. A nice way to start the week. What's moving this morning?

Well, first of all, we've got Dupont is moving up because it's laying off people. How often do we see that story -- 3,500 workers losing their jobs, 6 percent of the workforce.

Coke is moving to the downside. Their chief lawyer resigned. They still need a CEO at that company. Come on. What's going on there, Atlanta? Hello?

Disney, a shake-up over there, maybe? Well, management shake-up at ABC. They've got to get that house in order as well. And "The Alamo," well, we talked about that all morning. Disappointing movie. Not exactly overrun with moviegoers. Get it, Bill, overrun?

HEMMER: What Davy Crockett would say about that.

SERWER: It's cost them $100 million to make, and they only got in $9 million worth at the box office. That's a disappointment. And they delayed the opening of that movie, too.

HEMMER: That they did.

SERWER: Anyway, let's talk about McDonald's. You thought the Atkins craze was over, it had run its course? No.

It has come to this: McDonald's will be introducing the bunless burg starting next month. Look at -- well, that has a bun. So the bunless burger will be rolled out next month.

O'BRIEN: How do you eat it?

SERWER: It comes on a bed of lettuce with a knife and fork like this. And what's interesting, of course, it's not going to be on the menu. So it's off the menu.

So it will be very L.A. "Can I get a couple of egg whites?" You have to special order it.

Doesn't that remind you of Burger King?

HEMMER: I would say that it does.

SERWER: Doesn't it? Have it your way?

HEMMER: Slightly. But they're seeing demand for that.

SERWER: Oh, yes.

HEMMER: Clearly, otherwise they wouldn't go in this direction.

SERWER: Yes. Well, that remains to be seen.

HEMMER: What do you do with the fries, though? I mean, doesn't it cancel one out after the other.

O'BRIEN: Ketchup has a lot of carbohydrates in it, too. You can't have ketchup.

SERWER: The whole thing sort of doesn't work. If you're going there, you're not on a diet.

HEMMER: Just have a salad. Thank you, Andy.

SERWER: OK. You're welcome.

HEMMER: Aaron Brown, a preview of what is happening later tonight on "NEWSNIGHT." Here is Aaron now. AARON BROWN, HOST, "NEWSNIGHT": Tonight on "NEWSNIGHT," praying for an end to the violence. A wave of murders in the city of Detroit has city officials and residents worried. They are turning to local ministers for help.

That story, plus all the day's top news, morning papers and the rest. That's "NEWSNIGHT," CNN tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

HEMMER: Aaron, thanks much.

Coming up next hour here on CNN, if the president is to get the roadmap peace plan to work, he'll need the help from Egypt and Hosni Mubarak. An update today on that critical meeting in Crawford, Texas. Daryn Kagan has it next.

We are back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

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