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Bush Offers to Destroy Abu Ghraib in Speech About Iraq's Future; Biden: Bush's Speech Left Questions Unanswered about Security in Iraq; Illinois Residents Sandbagging to Prevent Floods; Gas Prices Historically High but Could Be Worse; Stock Exchange Leader Sued for Over Salary
Aired May 25, 2004 - 07:00 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I sent American troops to Iraq to defend our security, not to stay as an occupying power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BILL HEMMER, CO-HOST: Good morning. The president laying out the plan. His vision for the transfer of power in Iraq and the path ahead for U.S. troops fighting there.
In Iraq today, some of the worst fighting is in Najaf. Another U.S. convoy hitting a roadside bomb.
And spring unloads again. Tornadoes ripping through four states, creating another big mess.
All ahead this morning on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Some of the news making headlines this morning.
President Bush saying there will be difficult, even chaotic days ahead in Iraq. Last night she explained what comes next for the transfer of sovereignty.
John King joining us in just a moment to go through the five- point plan. We're also going to get Democratic reaction from Senator Joseph Biden this morning.
HEMMER: Also today, we showed you that dramatic videotape in a moment from Najaf. Just now there was a U.S. convoy hitting a roadside bomb. Do not know about casualties yet.
There's also another car bomb in Baghdad to talk about. We'll get a live report from the Iraqi capital, updating both of those stories in a moment here.
O'BRIEN: That's hard to watch. Also here in the U.S., spring weather still keeping people very busy in the Midwest. More tornadoes, now more flooding. We're going to take you to Gurnee, Illinois, in a few minutes. That's a town that's really having some severe problems this morning.
HEMMER: It just doesn't stop in the Midwest this time of year.
Jack Cafferty, good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CO-HOST: How are you doing, William? Nice to be with you.
One of the things the president talked about last night is if the Iraqis so wish, the United States will tear down the prison at Abu Ghraib where the abuse took place and build another prison with yours and my tax money paying for that.
It's not like there wasn't enough stuff going wrong in Iraq. We didn't need this prisoner abuse thing, you know what I'm saying?
We'll take another look at some of the other things they're trying to do to -- to cover up one of the blackest marks against this country in a very long time.
HEMMER: Talked about it last night, too.
Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: All right. Top story this morning, of course, President Bush and his speech.
He's meeting at the White House with Iraqis receiving medical care here in the U.S. That meeting comes as Americans and the Arab world evaluate the plan for Iraq that Mr. Bush discussed in his speech last night in Pennsylvania.
Senior White House correspondent John King now has details on that.
John, good morning.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
The president tried to break through the pictures of the prison abuse scandal, the pictures of violence in Iraq, tried to convince both the American people and the Iraqi people that he has a plan to transfer sovereignty in just a few weeks.
One thing the president did not answer last night, when will U.S. troops be coming home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): At the Army War College, a commander in chief confronting mounting doubts about his war plan, and his leadership.
BUSH: We must keep our focus. We must do our duty.
KING: The one new promise was aimed at easing the pain of the prisoner abuse scandal.
BUSH: With the approval of the Iraqi government, we will demolish the Abu Ghraib prison as a fitting symbol of Iraq's new beginning.
KING: That new beginning is detailed in a new United Nations resolution the United States and Britain circulated Monday.
The draft resolution calls for a "sovereign interim government" by June 30 and elections to pick a transitional government no later than January 2005; promises to train new Iraqi military and police forces; and in the meantime gives U.S. and other coalition troops "authority to take all necessary measures" to maintain security.
BUSH: I sent American troops to Iraq to defend our security, not to stay as an occupying power. I sent American troops to Iraq to make its people free, not to make them American.
KING: The nearly 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq now will stay after the transfer of sovereignty, and...
BUSH: If they need more troops, I will send them.
KING: The War College atmosphere was much more sober than the president's dramatic carrier visit a year ago to declare major combat in Iraq over. One hundred thirty-nine Americans had been killed in Iraq at that point.
The death toll is nearly six times that now, and Mr. Bush's political standing has declined as doubts about his Iraq policy have mushroomed. Forty-seven percent of Americans now approve of how Mr. Bush is handling his job, down 13 points since January and down 22 points from a year ago.
This was the first of a series of speeches planned in the five weeks until the transfer of sovereignty.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: And missing from this first speech, any date certain for U.S. troops to come home. Critics say Mr. Bush was not specific enough about the road ahead, and by refusing to say just when U.S. troops will come home; the White House says it's too soon to say. It made clear that the debate over whether this president has a clear exit strategy will continue, Soledad, not only in the five weeks until the transfer of policy -- transfer of sovereignty, excuse me, but likely in the five months until the election, as well.
O'BRIEN: More speeches to come, John, right? Thanks, appreciate it. John King at the White House for us this morning. As for Democratic reaction to the president's speech, John Kerry released a statement saying this: "The president laid out general principles, most of which we've heard before. What's most important now is to turn these words into action by offering presidential leadership to the nation and to the world."
Delaware Senator Joe Biden is the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. He joins us this morning from Wilmington to tell us if he heard what he wanted to hear last night from the president.
Nice to see you, sir. Thanks for being with us.
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: Happy to be here.
O'BRIEN: Do you think the president was able to forge some new ground, or would you agree with what Senator Kerry said, saying essentially a lot of this was what we've heard before?
BIDEN: Well, I think it's all what we heard before with the exception of Abu Ghraib prison, which many of us suggested he do two months ago. And I'm glad he's done that, and hopefully there will be more detail coming.
Look, Soledad, he didn't answer the question which we've been trying to get at, is when this new government takes power, do they control the actions of American troops? Do they say we can go to Fallujah, not go to Fallujah?
And the bottom line is, everyone knows there's not enough security in Iraq. And there's not enough help.
And one other thing is emerging: it's not just insurgents; it's not just outside terrorists. It is competition between Sunni, Shia and Kurd within Iraq that is going to be a gigantic problem.
Who is going to be the referee for that, like we have in Kosovo -- I mean, like we have in Kosovo, like we have in Afghanistan?
A lot of questions unanswered.
O'BRIEN: All right. Well, let's walk through some of those unanswered questions, because the president did tackle some topics, maybe not as thoroughly as you say you'd like to hear.
For example, you have long called for more international involvement.
BIDEN: That's right.
O'BRIEN: Let's listen to a little of what the president had to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Despite past disagreements, most nations have indicated strong support for the success of a free Iraq. And I am confident they will share in the responsibility of assuring that success.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Why does that not go far in answering your questions about international involvement?
BIDEN: Well, I think that's great. But he didn't say who is going to send more troops. He didn't say who's going to pay more money.
Maybe we're going to hear in the next speech that he has done what many of us have called for, that he's actually used presidential leadership, actually talked to the heads of state, actually talked to Mr. Putin, actually talked to our allies, actually talked to NATO, actually got those heads of state on the phone and gotten actual commitments.
If he's gotten more money, more troops, then I think that's very, very good. If he hasn't done that, if he hasn't personally invested himself with a sense of urgency in that, then I think it's a serious mistake.
O'BRIEN: You said you wanted a clearer plan when it came to security. Here's a little bit of what the president had to say about security last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: My direction and with the support of Iraqi authorities, we are accelerating our program to help train Iraqis to defend their country.
A new team of senior military officers is now assessing every unit in Iraq's security forces. I have asked this team to oversee the training of a force of 260,000 Iraqi soldiers, police, and other security personnel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: In addition to that, he said that the troop number is going to stay at 138,000, about, for right now.
How much more specific do you want him to get about things like that? Do you realistically think he's going to say, "OK, here is the date -- excuse me -- here is the date for the troops to be out?" I mean...
BIDEN: Oh, no, I'm not saying that.
O'BRIEN: ... no one's going to name a date.
BIDEN: No, I've never said that. We shouldn't name a date.
What I'm expecting him to say, look, he said later in his speech we're going to train 35,000 Iraqi army, 35,000-man Iraqi army. The fact of the matter is all his experts have said to him, as well as to me, that will take three years to do that.
He didn't say that he was going to take up France and Germany on their offer to train them in Europe. He didn't say that he was going to speed up the training in the Arab nations where American soldiers have trained Arab forces.
He did not do -- the 260,000 people he talks about, none of them are worth a tinker's darn. We know that. They've not been of any value to us.
We need real, live troops. It's going to take three years just to get 35,000. It's a little misleading to say we're going to help train up the 260,000 Iraqis.
Later, as I said, he went on to say we're going to get a 35,000- man Army. What he didn't say is that's going to take three years. How is he going to speed it up?
Guys like Senator Lugar and me and people who have been supporting the president all along are getting impatient with saying, "How are you going to do this, Mr. President? You've been presented a plan by your people as to how to train them. You've been presented a plan offered by other nations to help that. You've yet to take advantage of that. Is that what you mean now, Mr. President, you're going to do that?"
O'BRIEN: Senator Joe Biden. Obviously you've got lots of questions that you didn't have answered in last night's speech. Thanks for talking to us this morning.
BIDEN: Maybe in the next speeches.
O'BRIEN: We'll see. He's got a lot more planned, doesn't he? Thank you -- Bill.
HEMMER: About 10 minutes past the hour. The Midwest today can expect more of the severe weather that's been going on since Friday of last week.
A funnel cloud touched down in Topeka, Kansas, several times yesterday. It brought golf-ball sized hail that did even more damage than the twister itself.
Two powerful so-called super cell storms launched five to 10 tornadoes in northwest Missouri, causing massive destruction there.
And after four days of heavy rain, the ground in eastern Iowa is now saturated. Some homes in Independence are surrounded by four feet of water.
And the flooding is the major concern north of Chicago.
A lot to talk about weather-wise. Rob Marciano is working for Chad Myers yet again today.
Rob, what are you seeing? Good morning. (WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Want to get back to this major concern north of Chicago. Flooding there. A lot of sandbagging happening in Gurnee, Illinois.
Keith Oppenheim is there this morning.
Keith, good morning to you.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
I have plenty of worms in my company, and I actually can't hear you right now. I apologize. That's the danger of going into water this deep.
This is the Des Plaines River as it has moved into the city of Gurnee. And as you can see, it is pretty deep out here.
We've had five inches of rain or so in the last few days. And that's why it pretty much looks like this.
If you move into the background, you can see that there are a number of businesses, a Dairy Queen, that are under water. And it has been like this for the last couple of days.
We are now reaching the record point for the Des Plaines River in this area. The last time it got this bad was back in 1986. There was $100 million worth of damage.
This time around, there are fewer homes that have been built in the flood plains. So it's not expected that the dollar damage will be as bad. But there is still probably going to be a couple of dozen families who will have to evacuate as a result of the floods.
Now, the problem is not only going to be here, likely. In a couple of days, the flood will start to move downstream. We are probably going to be nearly six feet above flood stage here.
Down in Des Plaines, probably a good five feet above flood stage, and so in Des Plaines, a little bit closer to Chicago, the problems will likely arrive in a couple of days.
HEMMER: We'll be watching. Keith, thanks for that. Keith Oppenheim in Gurnee, Illinois, north of Chicago there. They've got a mess already, and it could get worse.
O'BRIEN: No question about that.
HEMMER: In the meantime, want to say again good morning to Heidi Collins, back with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Nice to see you. We were talking about Iraq earlier. And boy, it's the headlines again today, obviously.
HEIDI COLLINS, ANCHOR: It's going to be unsure for quite some time. Want to get straight to that this morning. A car bomb did go off in front of a Baghdad hotel today. Conflicting reports now about casualties, though.
Iraqi police say at least four people were killed in the blast. The coalition officials say five were injured. Iraqi officials say the Australian embassy may have been the intended target.
Meanwhile in Najaf, one of the most sacred Shiite Muslim shrines was slightly damaged, but a military spokesman says coalition forces were not involved in any fighting near the shrine. American soldiers have been battling forces loyal to radical Muslim cleric Moqtada al- Sadr in the region.
The Army general who once oversaw U.S. prison guards at Abu Ghraib, the site of the prisoner abuse scandal, is now suspended from duty.
Officials say Brigadier General Janis Karpinski is suspended from command of the 800th Military Police Brigade. Sources say it is unlikely she will be reinstated.
Karpinski insists military intelligence had been given control of the infamous prison. She has not been charged with an offense, and suspicion from her command -- excuse me, suspension from her command does not mean that she'll be relieved of her duties.
The FBI now apologizing to a falsely accused terror suspect.
In a statement released yesterday, the FBI apologized to Brandon Mayfield and his family. The exonerated Mayfield, a Muslim convert, was held for two weeks in connection with the Madrid bomb attacks.
FBI agents thought they found his fingerprints on detonators near one of the bombsites. But the agency now says the fingerprint evidence was flawed.
They do plan to review current guidelines for print identification.
Authorities in Georgia are advising people to leave their homes because of this. A chemical plant fire is burning in Conyers.
Some sort of explosion triggered the blaze. Not clear, though, what type of chemicals are stored in the warehouse. And so far there are no reports of injuries. Lots and lots of smoke, though.
In basketball now, game two of the Eastern Conference finals belongs to the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons edged out the Indiana Pacers 72-67 last night, nearly setting a playoff record with 19 blocked shots.
The Pistons evened out the seven-game series at one game apiece.
Indiana heads to Detroit now to face the Pistons at home for games three and four Wednesday and Friday night. And from that footage we all will be watching those games. Pretty good stuff. HEMMER: That series is going seven games. That thing is nip and tuck the entire way.
COLLINS: That's right.
HEMMER: Thanks, Heidi. Good to see you.
Reds took four from the Astros, by the way. Can we say that, series sweep? Don't mind me.
Jack Cafferty, good morning.
CAFFERTY: Just a small place in Nebraska, I think it is.
HEMMER: Out there in Ohio. What's happening?
CAFFERTY: We'll go back to the speech last night that the president made in an attempt to bandage the big wounds that have been inflicted by the prisoner abuse scandal.
President Bush said the United States will tear down the prison at Abu Ghraib if the Iraqis approve. He also said we'll build a new one there, and of course, the American taxpayers will pay for that, if it happens.
The military, as Heidi mentioned, suspending Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, who was in charge of the U.S. troops accused of the abuse. A lot of those soldiers now facing charges and courts-martial.
On "60 Minutes" Sunday night, Andy Rooney called the prisoner abuse scandal one of the worst things that has ever happened to this country. Here's a quote from a guy that I can relate to sometimes.
"The image of one bad young woman with a naked man on a leash did more to damage America's reputation than all the good things we've done over the years ever helped our reputation."
So the question is this: "What's the proper way to deal with the prisoner abuse scandal?" Is the symbolism of ripping down Abu Ghraib enough, court-martialing some of the soldiers involved enough, suspending a general who was in a supervisory position -- capacity enough? And if that's not enough, what ought to be done? AM@CNN.com.
HEMMER: Maybe the passage of time will remove some of that stain?
CAFFERTY: I don't know if -- I don't know if there's enough time.
HEMMER: We'll see.
CAFFERTY: This will be in the history books forever. Terrible stuff.
HEMMER: A lot to think about. Thanks, Jack.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
Well, gas prices have hit another record high. Across the country the average price per gallon is $2.06, the Energy Department says.
It is a major pinch for motorists, but could it be worse? Tom Foreman has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the tourist season starts in Washington, George Muhawi's cab fills with extra passengers. His pockets with extra money. But high gas prices this year are costing him an extra $70 a week.
(on camera) What have these prices done to your business?
GEORGE MUHAWI, CAB DRIVER: It really hits home. I mean, because your investment is your time and money. And seriously, when you work all day and you need a little extra gas, really, it hurts to go back to the gas station, so you might as well go home.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Or to an economist, because economists will tell you if, say, since the 1960s, if the cost of gas had risen as much as anything else we would probably be paying $3 or $4 a gallon by now. Even AAA agrees.
MANTILL WILLIAMS, AAA: We are seeing a record level high gas prices right now. But if you factor in for reflection, the record would be in 1981 when we were paying $2.79 in today's dollars.
Unfortunately, the motorist sees that $2 a gallon gasoline, and he has to budget for that.
FOREMAN: It could be worse. Europeans already pay $4 to $5 a gallon, although AAA points out that includes a lot of taxes.
Drag racers here pay $18 a gallon for fuel. And burn a gallon every half second.
And that latte Americans love with their commute? That's about $30 a gallon.
Maybe George has the right idea.
MUHAWI: I am mad, but what is the use of hitting your head against the wall?
FOREMAN: Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Despite the high prices, AAA expects the upcoming Memorial Day weekend to bring record travel with more than 30 million travelers driving 50 miles or further. HEMMER: In a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING, the president seeks international support for a new Iraqi government. How is his speech playing today in the Arab world? We'll check in on that today.
O'BRIEN: Also, the top U.S. officer in Iraq will soon be replaced. Is it a vote of no confidence for General Sanchez? We'll explain.
HEMMER: Also, the government has its eye on Richard Grasso's hefty pay package. Will the former stock exchange head now have to give back some cash, and a lot of it? Back in a moment with that after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Here's a question for you: will Dick Grasso have to give back $100 million from his lucrative pay package?
Plus, WorldCom's former chief is now facing even more charges.
With that and a preview of the market this morning, Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."
Hello.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Hello.
O'BRIEN: Should we start with this Dick Grasso thing?
SERWER: Yes, and the answer to your question, not if he can help it.
O'BRIEN: But if Spitzer can.
SERWER: Yes, that's right. And this is a real death battle here between two Wall Street titans: New York State attorney general filing charges against, or suing, that is, Dick Grasso, trying to recoup $100 million...
O'BRIEN: Oh, my gosh.
SERWER: ... from the $200 million of compensation.
That's what's so interesting, Soledad. He's not accused of doing anything wrong. He simply is being accused of being paid too much.
And the board of the New York Stock Exchange approved the pay package. Elliot Spitzer is suggesting that he was paid too much for running a nonprofit organization, and that he essentially strong-armed and intimidated board members.
Dick Grasso has got an op-ed piece in the "Wall Street Journal" this morning, firing back at Elliot Spitzer, saying that his campaign smacks of politics.
Of course, Elliot Spitzer is known to be eyeing the governor's race in New York State in 2006. And he's pointing out that he's not suing Carl McCall, who is potentially a political ally of Spitzer's, who was involved in his compensation, as well.
Grasso's argument is very strong. I think Elliot Spitzer is going to have his hands full trying to get this money back.
And of course, these two used to be friends, and Dick Grasso on top of the world right after 9/11, getting the exchange back up. And it's a fascinating battle.
O'BRIEN: It's going to be a hard case to argue, though...
SERWER: I think so.
O'BRIEN: ... being paid too much is somehow he's guilty. I would think that...
SERWER: I think that's absolutely right. And the board approved...
O'BRIEN: Neither of us are attorneys, right?
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And the board approved it.
SERWER: Right.
O'BRIEN: And there's no evidence so far that he strong-armed anyone into anything we can see.
SERWER: That's correct.
O'BRIEN: Bernie Ebbers in the news again.
SERWER: Yes, yes.
O'BRIEN: Not for a good reason.
SERWER: Yes, Bernie Ebbers in the news. Not for good stuff. He is being charged with six more counts.
Of course, he is the former CEO of WorldCom. There is Bernie right there. And former high school basketball coach, he was. And now in a whole lot of trouble.
Accused of lying to the SEC. Six more counts. And he will be going on trial, Soledad, in November in New York City, if this goes forward. We'll see if there's a settlement before that, though.
O'BRIEN: Do we have time to preview the market?
SERWER: I think we do. Let's talk a little bit about the market.
How many days have we seen this in a row, a mixed bag? And again, that means that stocks have very little direction. Treading water, looking around for stuff.
And the big thing hanging over all stuff is the price of oil. And there are rumors of Saudi Arabia and OPEC and this and that. But the bottom line is the price of oil is high. The price of gasoline, as we just saw a few minutes ago, still very, very high. This morning, futures look lower because of higher oil prices.
Also, sort of a muted reaction, I think, to the president's speech, at least on Wall Street, from what we're hearing this morning.
O'BRIEN: All right. Andy, thank you very much.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: We'll check in with you later.
Yesterday, as you'll recall, we hold you about the Michael Jackson case and prosecutors' concerns that a reduced bail could allow Jackson to flee.
Well, last night on the CBS "Late Late Show," Craig Kilborn asked what many would have thought when they heard that report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG KILBORN, HOST, "LATE LATE SHOW": Prosecutors now are worried that Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, might try and flee the country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right!
KILBORN: And blend into where?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: He's happy with that. It went over well.
HEMMER: That's true.
Let's get a break here. In a moment, did the president's speech last night score points with the Arab world? I have a check of that last night.
Also in Baghdad today, yet again more violence. A live update on what's happening there.
Stay with us. Back in a moment. Bottom of the hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, what time is the right time for John Kerry to accept the Democratic Party's presidential nomination? That's part of our new AM feature just ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired May 25, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I sent American troops to Iraq to defend our security, not to stay as an occupying power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BILL HEMMER, CO-HOST: Good morning. The president laying out the plan. His vision for the transfer of power in Iraq and the path ahead for U.S. troops fighting there.
In Iraq today, some of the worst fighting is in Najaf. Another U.S. convoy hitting a roadside bomb.
And spring unloads again. Tornadoes ripping through four states, creating another big mess.
All ahead this morning on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Some of the news making headlines this morning.
President Bush saying there will be difficult, even chaotic days ahead in Iraq. Last night she explained what comes next for the transfer of sovereignty.
John King joining us in just a moment to go through the five- point plan. We're also going to get Democratic reaction from Senator Joseph Biden this morning.
HEMMER: Also today, we showed you that dramatic videotape in a moment from Najaf. Just now there was a U.S. convoy hitting a roadside bomb. Do not know about casualties yet.
There's also another car bomb in Baghdad to talk about. We'll get a live report from the Iraqi capital, updating both of those stories in a moment here.
O'BRIEN: That's hard to watch. Also here in the U.S., spring weather still keeping people very busy in the Midwest. More tornadoes, now more flooding. We're going to take you to Gurnee, Illinois, in a few minutes. That's a town that's really having some severe problems this morning.
HEMMER: It just doesn't stop in the Midwest this time of year.
Jack Cafferty, good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CO-HOST: How are you doing, William? Nice to be with you.
One of the things the president talked about last night is if the Iraqis so wish, the United States will tear down the prison at Abu Ghraib where the abuse took place and build another prison with yours and my tax money paying for that.
It's not like there wasn't enough stuff going wrong in Iraq. We didn't need this prisoner abuse thing, you know what I'm saying?
We'll take another look at some of the other things they're trying to do to -- to cover up one of the blackest marks against this country in a very long time.
HEMMER: Talked about it last night, too.
Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: All right. Top story this morning, of course, President Bush and his speech.
He's meeting at the White House with Iraqis receiving medical care here in the U.S. That meeting comes as Americans and the Arab world evaluate the plan for Iraq that Mr. Bush discussed in his speech last night in Pennsylvania.
Senior White House correspondent John King now has details on that.
John, good morning.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
The president tried to break through the pictures of the prison abuse scandal, the pictures of violence in Iraq, tried to convince both the American people and the Iraqi people that he has a plan to transfer sovereignty in just a few weeks.
One thing the president did not answer last night, when will U.S. troops be coming home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): At the Army War College, a commander in chief confronting mounting doubts about his war plan, and his leadership.
BUSH: We must keep our focus. We must do our duty.
KING: The one new promise was aimed at easing the pain of the prisoner abuse scandal.
BUSH: With the approval of the Iraqi government, we will demolish the Abu Ghraib prison as a fitting symbol of Iraq's new beginning.
KING: That new beginning is detailed in a new United Nations resolution the United States and Britain circulated Monday.
The draft resolution calls for a "sovereign interim government" by June 30 and elections to pick a transitional government no later than January 2005; promises to train new Iraqi military and police forces; and in the meantime gives U.S. and other coalition troops "authority to take all necessary measures" to maintain security.
BUSH: I sent American troops to Iraq to defend our security, not to stay as an occupying power. I sent American troops to Iraq to make its people free, not to make them American.
KING: The nearly 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq now will stay after the transfer of sovereignty, and...
BUSH: If they need more troops, I will send them.
KING: The War College atmosphere was much more sober than the president's dramatic carrier visit a year ago to declare major combat in Iraq over. One hundred thirty-nine Americans had been killed in Iraq at that point.
The death toll is nearly six times that now, and Mr. Bush's political standing has declined as doubts about his Iraq policy have mushroomed. Forty-seven percent of Americans now approve of how Mr. Bush is handling his job, down 13 points since January and down 22 points from a year ago.
This was the first of a series of speeches planned in the five weeks until the transfer of sovereignty.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: And missing from this first speech, any date certain for U.S. troops to come home. Critics say Mr. Bush was not specific enough about the road ahead, and by refusing to say just when U.S. troops will come home; the White House says it's too soon to say. It made clear that the debate over whether this president has a clear exit strategy will continue, Soledad, not only in the five weeks until the transfer of policy -- transfer of sovereignty, excuse me, but likely in the five months until the election, as well.
O'BRIEN: More speeches to come, John, right? Thanks, appreciate it. John King at the White House for us this morning. As for Democratic reaction to the president's speech, John Kerry released a statement saying this: "The president laid out general principles, most of which we've heard before. What's most important now is to turn these words into action by offering presidential leadership to the nation and to the world."
Delaware Senator Joe Biden is the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. He joins us this morning from Wilmington to tell us if he heard what he wanted to hear last night from the president.
Nice to see you, sir. Thanks for being with us.
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: Happy to be here.
O'BRIEN: Do you think the president was able to forge some new ground, or would you agree with what Senator Kerry said, saying essentially a lot of this was what we've heard before?
BIDEN: Well, I think it's all what we heard before with the exception of Abu Ghraib prison, which many of us suggested he do two months ago. And I'm glad he's done that, and hopefully there will be more detail coming.
Look, Soledad, he didn't answer the question which we've been trying to get at, is when this new government takes power, do they control the actions of American troops? Do they say we can go to Fallujah, not go to Fallujah?
And the bottom line is, everyone knows there's not enough security in Iraq. And there's not enough help.
And one other thing is emerging: it's not just insurgents; it's not just outside terrorists. It is competition between Sunni, Shia and Kurd within Iraq that is going to be a gigantic problem.
Who is going to be the referee for that, like we have in Kosovo -- I mean, like we have in Kosovo, like we have in Afghanistan?
A lot of questions unanswered.
O'BRIEN: All right. Well, let's walk through some of those unanswered questions, because the president did tackle some topics, maybe not as thoroughly as you say you'd like to hear.
For example, you have long called for more international involvement.
BIDEN: That's right.
O'BRIEN: Let's listen to a little of what the president had to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Despite past disagreements, most nations have indicated strong support for the success of a free Iraq. And I am confident they will share in the responsibility of assuring that success.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Why does that not go far in answering your questions about international involvement?
BIDEN: Well, I think that's great. But he didn't say who is going to send more troops. He didn't say who's going to pay more money.
Maybe we're going to hear in the next speech that he has done what many of us have called for, that he's actually used presidential leadership, actually talked to the heads of state, actually talked to Mr. Putin, actually talked to our allies, actually talked to NATO, actually got those heads of state on the phone and gotten actual commitments.
If he's gotten more money, more troops, then I think that's very, very good. If he hasn't done that, if he hasn't personally invested himself with a sense of urgency in that, then I think it's a serious mistake.
O'BRIEN: You said you wanted a clearer plan when it came to security. Here's a little bit of what the president had to say about security last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: My direction and with the support of Iraqi authorities, we are accelerating our program to help train Iraqis to defend their country.
A new team of senior military officers is now assessing every unit in Iraq's security forces. I have asked this team to oversee the training of a force of 260,000 Iraqi soldiers, police, and other security personnel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: In addition to that, he said that the troop number is going to stay at 138,000, about, for right now.
How much more specific do you want him to get about things like that? Do you realistically think he's going to say, "OK, here is the date -- excuse me -- here is the date for the troops to be out?" I mean...
BIDEN: Oh, no, I'm not saying that.
O'BRIEN: ... no one's going to name a date.
BIDEN: No, I've never said that. We shouldn't name a date.
What I'm expecting him to say, look, he said later in his speech we're going to train 35,000 Iraqi army, 35,000-man Iraqi army. The fact of the matter is all his experts have said to him, as well as to me, that will take three years to do that.
He didn't say that he was going to take up France and Germany on their offer to train them in Europe. He didn't say that he was going to speed up the training in the Arab nations where American soldiers have trained Arab forces.
He did not do -- the 260,000 people he talks about, none of them are worth a tinker's darn. We know that. They've not been of any value to us.
We need real, live troops. It's going to take three years just to get 35,000. It's a little misleading to say we're going to help train up the 260,000 Iraqis.
Later, as I said, he went on to say we're going to get a 35,000- man Army. What he didn't say is that's going to take three years. How is he going to speed it up?
Guys like Senator Lugar and me and people who have been supporting the president all along are getting impatient with saying, "How are you going to do this, Mr. President? You've been presented a plan by your people as to how to train them. You've been presented a plan offered by other nations to help that. You've yet to take advantage of that. Is that what you mean now, Mr. President, you're going to do that?"
O'BRIEN: Senator Joe Biden. Obviously you've got lots of questions that you didn't have answered in last night's speech. Thanks for talking to us this morning.
BIDEN: Maybe in the next speeches.
O'BRIEN: We'll see. He's got a lot more planned, doesn't he? Thank you -- Bill.
HEMMER: About 10 minutes past the hour. The Midwest today can expect more of the severe weather that's been going on since Friday of last week.
A funnel cloud touched down in Topeka, Kansas, several times yesterday. It brought golf-ball sized hail that did even more damage than the twister itself.
Two powerful so-called super cell storms launched five to 10 tornadoes in northwest Missouri, causing massive destruction there.
And after four days of heavy rain, the ground in eastern Iowa is now saturated. Some homes in Independence are surrounded by four feet of water.
And the flooding is the major concern north of Chicago.
A lot to talk about weather-wise. Rob Marciano is working for Chad Myers yet again today.
Rob, what are you seeing? Good morning. (WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Want to get back to this major concern north of Chicago. Flooding there. A lot of sandbagging happening in Gurnee, Illinois.
Keith Oppenheim is there this morning.
Keith, good morning to you.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
I have plenty of worms in my company, and I actually can't hear you right now. I apologize. That's the danger of going into water this deep.
This is the Des Plaines River as it has moved into the city of Gurnee. And as you can see, it is pretty deep out here.
We've had five inches of rain or so in the last few days. And that's why it pretty much looks like this.
If you move into the background, you can see that there are a number of businesses, a Dairy Queen, that are under water. And it has been like this for the last couple of days.
We are now reaching the record point for the Des Plaines River in this area. The last time it got this bad was back in 1986. There was $100 million worth of damage.
This time around, there are fewer homes that have been built in the flood plains. So it's not expected that the dollar damage will be as bad. But there is still probably going to be a couple of dozen families who will have to evacuate as a result of the floods.
Now, the problem is not only going to be here, likely. In a couple of days, the flood will start to move downstream. We are probably going to be nearly six feet above flood stage here.
Down in Des Plaines, probably a good five feet above flood stage, and so in Des Plaines, a little bit closer to Chicago, the problems will likely arrive in a couple of days.
HEMMER: We'll be watching. Keith, thanks for that. Keith Oppenheim in Gurnee, Illinois, north of Chicago there. They've got a mess already, and it could get worse.
O'BRIEN: No question about that.
HEMMER: In the meantime, want to say again good morning to Heidi Collins, back with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Nice to see you. We were talking about Iraq earlier. And boy, it's the headlines again today, obviously.
HEIDI COLLINS, ANCHOR: It's going to be unsure for quite some time. Want to get straight to that this morning. A car bomb did go off in front of a Baghdad hotel today. Conflicting reports now about casualties, though.
Iraqi police say at least four people were killed in the blast. The coalition officials say five were injured. Iraqi officials say the Australian embassy may have been the intended target.
Meanwhile in Najaf, one of the most sacred Shiite Muslim shrines was slightly damaged, but a military spokesman says coalition forces were not involved in any fighting near the shrine. American soldiers have been battling forces loyal to radical Muslim cleric Moqtada al- Sadr in the region.
The Army general who once oversaw U.S. prison guards at Abu Ghraib, the site of the prisoner abuse scandal, is now suspended from duty.
Officials say Brigadier General Janis Karpinski is suspended from command of the 800th Military Police Brigade. Sources say it is unlikely she will be reinstated.
Karpinski insists military intelligence had been given control of the infamous prison. She has not been charged with an offense, and suspicion from her command -- excuse me, suspension from her command does not mean that she'll be relieved of her duties.
The FBI now apologizing to a falsely accused terror suspect.
In a statement released yesterday, the FBI apologized to Brandon Mayfield and his family. The exonerated Mayfield, a Muslim convert, was held for two weeks in connection with the Madrid bomb attacks.
FBI agents thought they found his fingerprints on detonators near one of the bombsites. But the agency now says the fingerprint evidence was flawed.
They do plan to review current guidelines for print identification.
Authorities in Georgia are advising people to leave their homes because of this. A chemical plant fire is burning in Conyers.
Some sort of explosion triggered the blaze. Not clear, though, what type of chemicals are stored in the warehouse. And so far there are no reports of injuries. Lots and lots of smoke, though.
In basketball now, game two of the Eastern Conference finals belongs to the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons edged out the Indiana Pacers 72-67 last night, nearly setting a playoff record with 19 blocked shots.
The Pistons evened out the seven-game series at one game apiece.
Indiana heads to Detroit now to face the Pistons at home for games three and four Wednesday and Friday night. And from that footage we all will be watching those games. Pretty good stuff. HEMMER: That series is going seven games. That thing is nip and tuck the entire way.
COLLINS: That's right.
HEMMER: Thanks, Heidi. Good to see you.
Reds took four from the Astros, by the way. Can we say that, series sweep? Don't mind me.
Jack Cafferty, good morning.
CAFFERTY: Just a small place in Nebraska, I think it is.
HEMMER: Out there in Ohio. What's happening?
CAFFERTY: We'll go back to the speech last night that the president made in an attempt to bandage the big wounds that have been inflicted by the prisoner abuse scandal.
President Bush said the United States will tear down the prison at Abu Ghraib if the Iraqis approve. He also said we'll build a new one there, and of course, the American taxpayers will pay for that, if it happens.
The military, as Heidi mentioned, suspending Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, who was in charge of the U.S. troops accused of the abuse. A lot of those soldiers now facing charges and courts-martial.
On "60 Minutes" Sunday night, Andy Rooney called the prisoner abuse scandal one of the worst things that has ever happened to this country. Here's a quote from a guy that I can relate to sometimes.
"The image of one bad young woman with a naked man on a leash did more to damage America's reputation than all the good things we've done over the years ever helped our reputation."
So the question is this: "What's the proper way to deal with the prisoner abuse scandal?" Is the symbolism of ripping down Abu Ghraib enough, court-martialing some of the soldiers involved enough, suspending a general who was in a supervisory position -- capacity enough? And if that's not enough, what ought to be done? AM@CNN.com.
HEMMER: Maybe the passage of time will remove some of that stain?
CAFFERTY: I don't know if -- I don't know if there's enough time.
HEMMER: We'll see.
CAFFERTY: This will be in the history books forever. Terrible stuff.
HEMMER: A lot to think about. Thanks, Jack.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
Well, gas prices have hit another record high. Across the country the average price per gallon is $2.06, the Energy Department says.
It is a major pinch for motorists, but could it be worse? Tom Foreman has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the tourist season starts in Washington, George Muhawi's cab fills with extra passengers. His pockets with extra money. But high gas prices this year are costing him an extra $70 a week.
(on camera) What have these prices done to your business?
GEORGE MUHAWI, CAB DRIVER: It really hits home. I mean, because your investment is your time and money. And seriously, when you work all day and you need a little extra gas, really, it hurts to go back to the gas station, so you might as well go home.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Or to an economist, because economists will tell you if, say, since the 1960s, if the cost of gas had risen as much as anything else we would probably be paying $3 or $4 a gallon by now. Even AAA agrees.
MANTILL WILLIAMS, AAA: We are seeing a record level high gas prices right now. But if you factor in for reflection, the record would be in 1981 when we were paying $2.79 in today's dollars.
Unfortunately, the motorist sees that $2 a gallon gasoline, and he has to budget for that.
FOREMAN: It could be worse. Europeans already pay $4 to $5 a gallon, although AAA points out that includes a lot of taxes.
Drag racers here pay $18 a gallon for fuel. And burn a gallon every half second.
And that latte Americans love with their commute? That's about $30 a gallon.
Maybe George has the right idea.
MUHAWI: I am mad, but what is the use of hitting your head against the wall?
FOREMAN: Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Despite the high prices, AAA expects the upcoming Memorial Day weekend to bring record travel with more than 30 million travelers driving 50 miles or further. HEMMER: In a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING, the president seeks international support for a new Iraqi government. How is his speech playing today in the Arab world? We'll check in on that today.
O'BRIEN: Also, the top U.S. officer in Iraq will soon be replaced. Is it a vote of no confidence for General Sanchez? We'll explain.
HEMMER: Also, the government has its eye on Richard Grasso's hefty pay package. Will the former stock exchange head now have to give back some cash, and a lot of it? Back in a moment with that after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Here's a question for you: will Dick Grasso have to give back $100 million from his lucrative pay package?
Plus, WorldCom's former chief is now facing even more charges.
With that and a preview of the market this morning, Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."
Hello.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Hello.
O'BRIEN: Should we start with this Dick Grasso thing?
SERWER: Yes, and the answer to your question, not if he can help it.
O'BRIEN: But if Spitzer can.
SERWER: Yes, that's right. And this is a real death battle here between two Wall Street titans: New York State attorney general filing charges against, or suing, that is, Dick Grasso, trying to recoup $100 million...
O'BRIEN: Oh, my gosh.
SERWER: ... from the $200 million of compensation.
That's what's so interesting, Soledad. He's not accused of doing anything wrong. He simply is being accused of being paid too much.
And the board of the New York Stock Exchange approved the pay package. Elliot Spitzer is suggesting that he was paid too much for running a nonprofit organization, and that he essentially strong-armed and intimidated board members.
Dick Grasso has got an op-ed piece in the "Wall Street Journal" this morning, firing back at Elliot Spitzer, saying that his campaign smacks of politics.
Of course, Elliot Spitzer is known to be eyeing the governor's race in New York State in 2006. And he's pointing out that he's not suing Carl McCall, who is potentially a political ally of Spitzer's, who was involved in his compensation, as well.
Grasso's argument is very strong. I think Elliot Spitzer is going to have his hands full trying to get this money back.
And of course, these two used to be friends, and Dick Grasso on top of the world right after 9/11, getting the exchange back up. And it's a fascinating battle.
O'BRIEN: It's going to be a hard case to argue, though...
SERWER: I think so.
O'BRIEN: ... being paid too much is somehow he's guilty. I would think that...
SERWER: I think that's absolutely right. And the board approved...
O'BRIEN: Neither of us are attorneys, right?
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And the board approved it.
SERWER: Right.
O'BRIEN: And there's no evidence so far that he strong-armed anyone into anything we can see.
SERWER: That's correct.
O'BRIEN: Bernie Ebbers in the news again.
SERWER: Yes, yes.
O'BRIEN: Not for a good reason.
SERWER: Yes, Bernie Ebbers in the news. Not for good stuff. He is being charged with six more counts.
Of course, he is the former CEO of WorldCom. There is Bernie right there. And former high school basketball coach, he was. And now in a whole lot of trouble.
Accused of lying to the SEC. Six more counts. And he will be going on trial, Soledad, in November in New York City, if this goes forward. We'll see if there's a settlement before that, though.
O'BRIEN: Do we have time to preview the market?
SERWER: I think we do. Let's talk a little bit about the market.
How many days have we seen this in a row, a mixed bag? And again, that means that stocks have very little direction. Treading water, looking around for stuff.
And the big thing hanging over all stuff is the price of oil. And there are rumors of Saudi Arabia and OPEC and this and that. But the bottom line is the price of oil is high. The price of gasoline, as we just saw a few minutes ago, still very, very high. This morning, futures look lower because of higher oil prices.
Also, sort of a muted reaction, I think, to the president's speech, at least on Wall Street, from what we're hearing this morning.
O'BRIEN: All right. Andy, thank you very much.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: We'll check in with you later.
Yesterday, as you'll recall, we hold you about the Michael Jackson case and prosecutors' concerns that a reduced bail could allow Jackson to flee.
Well, last night on the CBS "Late Late Show," Craig Kilborn asked what many would have thought when they heard that report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG KILBORN, HOST, "LATE LATE SHOW": Prosecutors now are worried that Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, might try and flee the country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right!
KILBORN: And blend into where?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: He's happy with that. It went over well.
HEMMER: That's true.
Let's get a break here. In a moment, did the president's speech last night score points with the Arab world? I have a check of that last night.
Also in Baghdad today, yet again more violence. A live update on what's happening there.
Stay with us. Back in a moment. Bottom of the hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, what time is the right time for John Kerry to accept the Democratic Party's presidential nomination? That's part of our new AM feature just ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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