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American Morning
What Will it Take to Keep the Enemy Out of Military Bases in Iraq?; Winter's One-Two Punch
Aired December 23, 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: A devastating breach of security this morning. What will it take to keep the enemy out of military bases in Iraq?
New procedures go into effect immediately that will change how women are treated at U.S. airports.
And winter's one-two punch. The big snow in the Midwest. Now a hard rain in the east. Rough roads out there on this 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, CNN ANCHOR: Beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
HEMMER: Sure is.
O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome everybody.
We're learning more about how the Americans were wounded in Mosul are doing. In just a few moments, we're going to talk with the commander of the Landstuhl military hospital in Germany. Obviously Many serious injuries there. We'll talk about how they are handling this, and also what happens next for these troops.
HEMMER: Also this morning, Bernard Kerik out of favor at the White House. Is he also out of favor with his former boss, the New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani? He's out of a New York security firm. We know that now. We'll talk about why with a New York reporter who has closely followed his career. So we'll get to that this morning as well.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Cafferty, good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Very nice little decoration on your lapel there. Yes, it's very festive.
O'BRIEN: Checking out my decoration.
CAFFERTY: Yes, well, you know, I'm waiting for that airport search story to come up.
If you're kitty cat dies, there's an outfit in California that will make you a new one out of the DNA from the old one. Cost you 50 grand, but they'll make you a new kitty cat just like the old kitty cat. They're working on a dog. They'll say they'll have the first one ready for delivery in May. Is this a good idea, or not? We will explore that issue in a few moments.
HEMMER: From the well-known animal lover, too. Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: That would be me.
HEMMER: That would be you.
Here's Carol Costello. Top of the news. Top of the hour. Good morning to you.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. And good morning to all of you.
There is word of U.S. U.S. soldier killed in Iraq. Military sources say a roadside bomb exploded in western Baghdad earlier this morning. Two other troops were wounded in that attack. And Iraqi police say they've have wounded up six suspects in connection with three attacks in Karbala, including a bus station bombing which killed more than 15 people. Much more on the security situation in Iraq coming up.
The woman accused of killing a pregnant woman and snatching her baby is expected to be back in court today. Lisa Montgomery made a preliminary appearance in a Kansas city court Monday. She faces a federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death. Authorities are working to extradite her to Missouri where the murder took place. The infant has since been reunited with her father.
Washington State could have a new governor by the end of the day. Maybe. Unofficial recount results favor the female Democratic candidate by 10 votes. But the state supreme court yesterday gave the green light to hand count more than 700 absentee ballots in the state's largest county. Those votes are expected to be tallied today. State Republicans say they are prepared for a legal battle.
And some changes taking effect today at airport security gates. Starting this morning, screeners can no longer pat down a passenger's breast area. They can only go around the perimeter. The change comes after hundreds of travelers, mostly women, complained the procedure was too intrusive. We will hear more about the change in pat-down procedures and the exception to the rule in the next half hour -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Carol. Thanks.
Doctors at a U.S. military hospital in Germany now have been working through the night attending to wounded soldiers from Tuesday's blast at a U.S. military base in Mosul.
The Pentagon now says a suicide bomber may be to blame for that attack. One unidentified non-American among the dead, but Joint Chiefs Chairman General Richard Myers says it is still too early to tell if that is the body of the bomber. The Pentagon also looking at background check procedures for Iraqis working on U.S. military bases.
Colonel Rhonda Cornum is commander of the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. She is my guest now.
And, Colonel, thank you for your time.
We were listening to your press conference just about an hour ago. Update our viewers now on the injuries that you're seeing now with the injured arriving there at your medical center.
COL. RHONDA CORNUM, COMMANDER, LANDSTUHL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: Well, the first group of people came, and they were really the most critically injured and they were not the usual extremity injuries that we see. But they were neck, chest, abdomen, back kind of injuries, which you would expect from people who weren't wearing body armor.
HEMMER: In addition to that, Colonel...
CORNUM: And the second wave came, and there were a few of those...
HEMMER: Yes, and could you give us numbers on those that have arrived to this point?
CORNUM: Sure. Total, we have had 35 injured people from Mosul. And we are currently not expecting any more.
HEMMER: And how many are in critical condition again?
CORNUM: Right now, I would say there are probably about 20-some of those people are in the ICU. Some of them have already been sent out of our facility.
And so, unfortunately, I can't tell you of the people that we have sent out necessarily which ones were from Mosul, which were from somewhere else. We've had battle injuries from other places arrive at the same time that the Mosul people arrived.
HEMMER: With those who are arriving from what happened in Mosul, with the Pentagon yesterday saying they're looking at the strong possibility of a suicide bomber, are you finding among the injured shrapnel in their body, which would indicate possibly a bomb being detonated nearby?
CORNUM: Well, first of all, shrapnel comes regardless of whether the bomb that caused the explosion was attached to a person or not.
But, in general, everybody that comes to Landstuhl has had at least one surgery down range. And most of the intra-abdominal shrapnel has been removed.
Often if it's an extremity injury from an IED we may be still getting out gravel and pieces of clothing and pieces of car tires and all sorts of things that get blown into a wound by a bad blast. But in general, the people who have come that have intra-abdominal injuries, most of that stuff has already been taken out.
HEMMER: Can you give us a sense of how long the recovery process will be for those who are the most critically wounded at this point?
CORNUM: Oh, months. I mean, there are many people who will be out of the hospital in probably a couple of weeks, but the total recovery of major surgery, whether it was caused by trauma or not, is going be months.
HEMMER: I'm also under the understanding here that a lot of the staff and personnel that worked with you there were away for the holidays, had to come back. Do you feel that you are fully staffed right now at this point to handle the influx of injuries coming your way?
CORNUM: We are no doubt fully staffed and prepared.
We haven't recalled anybody that was on a trip. We have people that were supposed to be off and in the local area. We do have them on a two-hour recall in case we had more than we could handle with the staff that was scheduled.
But when we saw the Mosul thing unfolding on the news, we knew what was happening next. And so we were prepared for them when they got here.
HEMMER: Thank you, Colonel. Best of luck to you.
Rhonda Cornum, there, in Germany with the latest on what's happening from her base.
CORNUM: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is on the offense once again over claims of insensitivity toward American troops in Iraq and from families of troops who were killed in action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECY. OF DEFENSE: I am truly saddened by the thought that anyone could have the impression that I or others here are doing anything other than working urgently to see that the lives of the fighting men and women are protected and are cared for in every way humanly possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: President Bush maintains his confidence in Secretary Rumsfeld despite some dissension within the Republican Party. Maine Senator Olympia Snowe has written a letter to the secretary, questioning the use of Iraqi contractors instead of American military personnel to build a bunker on the base where this week's deadly attack occurred. HEMMER: Back in this country now, Soledad, eight minutes past the hour. Much of the country getting slammed by winter's first major storms. That has got some folks making changes in their plans for the holidays.
More on that from meteorologist Jacqui Jeras who is still outside in the very cold stuff, Evansville, Indiana, windchill there, 6 below.
Jacqui, I wish could say good morning. How goes it?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's not a bad morning. At least it's pretty out there. You have to look at it on the bright side, Bill.
The snow has finally ended. About an hour ago it came to an end. But still blowing around with some pretty strong wind gusts. The storm hit the Ohio Valley in waves. It all started on Tuesday night. And another round of snow showers last night brought more snow accumulation to the already 12 inches on the ground, bringing the storm to record levels.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JERAS (voice-over): The first powerful winter storm of the season turned a trip to grandmother's house into a holiday headache. Travelers from Texas to Terre Haute braving the snow and ice. Areas near the Ohio River were hardest hit, with one to two feet of snow on the ground near Evansville, Indiana, stranding motorists, causing dozens of accidents, even jeopardizing Christmas deliveries.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have another horse to pick up to deliver with the other pony, and they're going to be Christmas presents for some twins in Michigan. Hopefully we get them there before Christmas.
JERAS: Snowy conditions in Amarillo put cars into ditch and temperatures dropped into the teens. St. Louis missed the brunt of the storm, but just south on I-55, some were actually happy to get hit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you know, day off from work, and get to play in the snow with my four-wheel drive.
JERAS: In Ohio, the problem was ice, then snow, then ice again, and still more snow. And it's not over yet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JERAS: And more snow can be expected, especially across western parts of Ohio today, but storm is starting to pick up some speed, and that's good news. But to add the insult to injury, very cold air pushing in back behind it, arctic air, and that's bringing the windchill below zero for today and causing problems with blowing and drifting. In fact, check this out, Bill, this is a big drift. This thing is almost two feet deep here, and right here is a hole that's equally as deep, but it filled up about halfway just in the last half an hour, because the snow is blowing. This is still a very dry, very light snow that's blowing all over the place. So the roads nowhere near clear, parts of I-64 just to the north of here have been closed at times and some of the roadways are impassable. U.S. 41 looks like a parking lot on our way here.
We're at a truck stop, and back behind me over here, there are about 75 truckers who decided to wait this out, wait until the snow is done, wait until the roads are cleared before they decide to head out there. A lot of them have empty trailers, too. That's one big thing that truckers have to worry about. If they don have a load, that trailer goes all over the place -- Bill.
HEMMER: Pretty smart move, too, to stay on the side for now. And the weather's not going anywhere, at least for a few days.
Jacqui, thanks, stay warm as best you can.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: A remarkable gift in the wake of a tragedy for a North Carolina couple. Jerry and Jennifer Sneed were headed to the hospital to deliver their baby, but got caught in a snowstorm. They ended up having a newborn girl in the middle of the highway. It was the same road where their 5-year-old son was killed in a car crash on New Year's Eve. They're calling their baby a blessing from God and a blessing from their little boy.
HEMMER: Very nice, some new beginnings there.
In a moment, Bernard Kerik's downward spiral. The Big Apple's former top cop losing another job. What does it mean for his old boss as well? We'll check into that.
O'BRIEN: And Janet Jackson, she caused a commotion in 2004, but she's not at the top of the America's year-end naughty list. Which celebrity is? We'll tell you, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: There is more fallout this morning from Bernard Kerik's failed nomination as homeland security secretary. Now the man who President Bush envisioned in a pivotal cabinet position has lost his day job as well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BERNARD KERIK, FMR. N.Y. POLICE COMMISSIONER: After careful consideration, I've decided that it's in the best interest of my family, my colleagues and our clients at Giuliani Partners, Giuliani- Kerik, that I resign from my position.
HEMMER (voice-over): Bernard Kerik's departure from a New York security firm is the latest chapter in his stunning fall from grace. It comes less than two weeks after he suddenly withdrew his nomination for homeland security secretary, this amid questions about his professional and personal conduct. KERIK: The events surrounding my withdrawal have become an unfair and unnecessary distraction to the firm, and most importantly, to the work that they do at the firm. I'm confident that I will be vindicated from any allegations of wrongdoing.
HEMMER: Not long ago, Kerik's political star was on rise. President Bush put the former New York police commissioner in charge of rebuilding Iraq's police and security force, and Kerik campaigned hard for the president's re-election. His failed nomination has been an embarrassment to the White House. And Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor lobbied for Kerik to lead the department of homeland security.
KERIK: I want to apologize to my family and my friends, the president, President Bush, Mayor Giuliani for the difficulty that the recent events have caused all of them.
HEMMER: Through it all though, Giuliani's support for his former top cop has not wavered.
RUDY GIULIANI, FMR. NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: He continues to be a friend. He continues to -- he's someone that I care about. I am very hopeful that he will be able to address all of these issues.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Andrew Kirtzman covered Bernard Kerik during his days as New York police commissioner. He's also the political reporter for WCBS television here in New York, and he wrote a book, too, "Rudy Giuliani: Emperor of the City."
Welcome back, Andrew. Good morning to you.
ANDREW KIRTZMAN, WCBS-TV POLITICAL REPORTER: Thanks very much.
HEMMER: Was Bernard Kerik pushed out?
KIRTZMAN: Well, I think handwriting was on the wall. I was a little surprised that it happened now while the media spotlight was still on him. I thought they'd wait until it was kind of petered out. I think they may have decided at this point that they wanted the world to know definitively that he was gone, because he was a major headache for Giuliani.
HEMMER: One of the things we're trying to figure out in all this, if there was this much backlog in his life, why would he continue with the process? Do you think he thought this through? And do we have an answer on that?
KIRTZMAN: You know, I actually asked Bernie Kerik that question, why did you go forward with this if you knew all of this could come out? And his answer to me was, well, I just figured that I would take things as they came, and I think that was probably as true a comment in this whole debacle as we've heard, which is basically he never thought it through.
HEMMER: Just take it through one day at time, one issue at a time.
KIRTZMAN: One day at a time, yes. I mean, it was a colossal error in judgment both on Kerik's part, and really by Rudy Giuliani. And I think it's got a lot of people in the political world right now wondering whether Giuliani is ready for primetime. This is a guy that's thinking about running for president.
HEMMER: You asked a similar question to Rudy Giuliani. Listen to his answer here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIULIANI: It's one thing that people evaluate along with a lot of other things, and people have a right to evaluate it any way they want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Does it hurt him?
KIRTZMAN: It doesn't help. I think that lot of people are proclaiming the death knell for Giuliani's presidential hopes, and I think that's kind of classically short-sighted political journalism. The presidential race is four years away, and I think by then Bernie Kerik will just be another issue that Giuliani has to explain away.
On the other hand, as I said, the political class is now wondering whether Giuliani is really ready for this. He's surrounded by his old gang of ex-prosecutors, few city hall aides, and, you know, the fact that they allow this thing to go forward and blow up in their face raises questions about whether or not he had the infrastructure to run for president of the United States.
HEMMER: And certainly time can cure a lot of things as you mentioned here. And the way Rudy Giuliani seems to resonate in the rest of America as opposed to New York City oftentimes is very very different from locally.
KIRTZMAN: Well, that's absolutely true, and I think that's a really good point. I mean, I think Giuliani, first in the New York, when he kind of battled crime, and then nationally, when he addressed the 9/11 crisis, he took on this aura of someone who really could kind of protect your personal security, and that's why I think that Giuliani is more than just a politician; I think he's a phenomenon, and I think it allows him to kind of overcome a lot of problems that would sink mere mortal politicians.
HEMMER: We'll continue to watch it. Thank you, Andrew Kirtzman, WCBS Television here in New York.
Nice to see you again -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Security concerns prompt a major withdrawal in Iraq. That's ahead, as we continue right here on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The first major U.S. contractor cuts operations in Iraq. And will lightning strike three times for the Dow today? Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."
Hello. Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Soledad.
A Virginia engineering and construction firm called Contrack, which had been awarded a $325 million contract to rebuild roads and bridges in Iraq is withdrawing from that country. Why? Too dangerous and too expensive.
Did you know, Soledad, for instance, that these companies have to pay for their own security, and obviously, those costs have been escalating. Just several months ago, an Egyptian driver for this company was kidnapped and then killed.
Overall, a grim toll for contractors in Iraq; 192 foreign contractors have been killed since the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Listen to this, 59 alone have been lost in -- Halliburton employees, I should say, including four who were killed just Tuesday in that attack in Mosul. So it's obviously extremely dangerous work.
Shifting gears a little bit, talking about the markets yesterday. Stocks rose again. The Dow was up 56 points. You can see here really regaining some ground especially with the drug stocks. Overall, the Dow still trails the other indexes year to date, and we're getting very close to the end of the year, and so looks like we're going to have about a historical norm for the markets, because historically markets go up 7 percent, 8 percent, 9 percent on average. So we're getting very close to that. Markets all over the place this year, and the final analysis looks like it's just going to be an average year.
O'BRIEN: We'll take an average year, better than a down year.
SERWER: Yes, yes, we certainly will. Yes, indeed.
O'BRIEN: Aim for average.
All right, Andy, thanks.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: To the animals and to Jack today -- Question of the Day.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, here's a picture of little Nicky, Bill. Little Nicky cost $50,000. Now Little Nicky is a clone created from the DNA of his owner's previous cat, presumably Big Nicky. According to the owner, the clone is identical, with the same personality as the previous cat. The California company that manufactured Little Nicky, while I disagree wholeheartedly with what they do, has maybe the greatest name ever, Genetic Savings and Clone. Right? That's a great name. They're hard at work cloning a dog. More money in dogs, it seems. More money than 50 grand for a cat. The first dog ought to be ready to ship out in May of next year.
Scientists have cloned mikes, rabbits, pigs, ghosts and cattle, no newscasters yet.
Pet advocacy groups are upset about Genetic Savings and Clone and this practice of cloning dogs and cats, and they're right. They point out between three and four million dogs and cats are put to sleep in shelters every year.
The question is, where do you draw the line when it comes to cloning animals? The other question is, why would you not go to a shelter and get a dog or cat? I have had dogs and cats in my houses for 30 years all across this country. They're every bit as smart, and loving, and affectionate and intelligent as things you get from these breeding mills, or in this case, from some genetic thing. You're saving a life, which ought to make you feel good, and, you know, when we stop killing three, or four or five million of these animals a year, and there are homes for them, then we worry about making more.
But in the mean time, those animals need some help, and they're not getting enough, and that's the end of my soap box thing. But you know, I mean, I am absolutely serious about that.
O'BRIEN: And $50,000 would like be a huge donation.
CAFFERTY: That's such another ego trip for some self-indulgent millionaire who's run out of buying snow mobiles, and jets skis and private planes. It's just another -- there's a word for it.
O'BRIEN: That's the Question of the Day today.
CAFFERTY: You can use it right when we go to commercial, hang on.
O'BRIEN: A huge explosion in this giant ball of fire reported now embedded with troops in Mosul, describing what he saw in this devastating mess hall attack.
Also flying home for the holidays? If so, get ready for a big change in security. Back in a moment with that and more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired December 23, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: A devastating breach of security this morning. What will it take to keep the enemy out of military bases in Iraq?
New procedures go into effect immediately that will change how women are treated at U.S. airports.
And winter's one-two punch. The big snow in the Midwest. Now a hard rain in the east. Rough roads out there on this 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, CNN ANCHOR: Beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
HEMMER: Sure is.
O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome everybody.
We're learning more about how the Americans were wounded in Mosul are doing. In just a few moments, we're going to talk with the commander of the Landstuhl military hospital in Germany. Obviously Many serious injuries there. We'll talk about how they are handling this, and also what happens next for these troops.
HEMMER: Also this morning, Bernard Kerik out of favor at the White House. Is he also out of favor with his former boss, the New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani? He's out of a New York security firm. We know that now. We'll talk about why with a New York reporter who has closely followed his career. So we'll get to that this morning as well.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Cafferty, good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Very nice little decoration on your lapel there. Yes, it's very festive.
O'BRIEN: Checking out my decoration.
CAFFERTY: Yes, well, you know, I'm waiting for that airport search story to come up.
If you're kitty cat dies, there's an outfit in California that will make you a new one out of the DNA from the old one. Cost you 50 grand, but they'll make you a new kitty cat just like the old kitty cat. They're working on a dog. They'll say they'll have the first one ready for delivery in May. Is this a good idea, or not? We will explore that issue in a few moments.
HEMMER: From the well-known animal lover, too. Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: That would be me.
HEMMER: That would be you.
Here's Carol Costello. Top of the news. Top of the hour. Good morning to you.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. And good morning to all of you.
There is word of U.S. U.S. soldier killed in Iraq. Military sources say a roadside bomb exploded in western Baghdad earlier this morning. Two other troops were wounded in that attack. And Iraqi police say they've have wounded up six suspects in connection with three attacks in Karbala, including a bus station bombing which killed more than 15 people. Much more on the security situation in Iraq coming up.
The woman accused of killing a pregnant woman and snatching her baby is expected to be back in court today. Lisa Montgomery made a preliminary appearance in a Kansas city court Monday. She faces a federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death. Authorities are working to extradite her to Missouri where the murder took place. The infant has since been reunited with her father.
Washington State could have a new governor by the end of the day. Maybe. Unofficial recount results favor the female Democratic candidate by 10 votes. But the state supreme court yesterday gave the green light to hand count more than 700 absentee ballots in the state's largest county. Those votes are expected to be tallied today. State Republicans say they are prepared for a legal battle.
And some changes taking effect today at airport security gates. Starting this morning, screeners can no longer pat down a passenger's breast area. They can only go around the perimeter. The change comes after hundreds of travelers, mostly women, complained the procedure was too intrusive. We will hear more about the change in pat-down procedures and the exception to the rule in the next half hour -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Carol. Thanks.
Doctors at a U.S. military hospital in Germany now have been working through the night attending to wounded soldiers from Tuesday's blast at a U.S. military base in Mosul.
The Pentagon now says a suicide bomber may be to blame for that attack. One unidentified non-American among the dead, but Joint Chiefs Chairman General Richard Myers says it is still too early to tell if that is the body of the bomber. The Pentagon also looking at background check procedures for Iraqis working on U.S. military bases.
Colonel Rhonda Cornum is commander of the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. She is my guest now.
And, Colonel, thank you for your time.
We were listening to your press conference just about an hour ago. Update our viewers now on the injuries that you're seeing now with the injured arriving there at your medical center.
COL. RHONDA CORNUM, COMMANDER, LANDSTUHL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: Well, the first group of people came, and they were really the most critically injured and they were not the usual extremity injuries that we see. But they were neck, chest, abdomen, back kind of injuries, which you would expect from people who weren't wearing body armor.
HEMMER: In addition to that, Colonel...
CORNUM: And the second wave came, and there were a few of those...
HEMMER: Yes, and could you give us numbers on those that have arrived to this point?
CORNUM: Sure. Total, we have had 35 injured people from Mosul. And we are currently not expecting any more.
HEMMER: And how many are in critical condition again?
CORNUM: Right now, I would say there are probably about 20-some of those people are in the ICU. Some of them have already been sent out of our facility.
And so, unfortunately, I can't tell you of the people that we have sent out necessarily which ones were from Mosul, which were from somewhere else. We've had battle injuries from other places arrive at the same time that the Mosul people arrived.
HEMMER: With those who are arriving from what happened in Mosul, with the Pentagon yesterday saying they're looking at the strong possibility of a suicide bomber, are you finding among the injured shrapnel in their body, which would indicate possibly a bomb being detonated nearby?
CORNUM: Well, first of all, shrapnel comes regardless of whether the bomb that caused the explosion was attached to a person or not.
But, in general, everybody that comes to Landstuhl has had at least one surgery down range. And most of the intra-abdominal shrapnel has been removed.
Often if it's an extremity injury from an IED we may be still getting out gravel and pieces of clothing and pieces of car tires and all sorts of things that get blown into a wound by a bad blast. But in general, the people who have come that have intra-abdominal injuries, most of that stuff has already been taken out.
HEMMER: Can you give us a sense of how long the recovery process will be for those who are the most critically wounded at this point?
CORNUM: Oh, months. I mean, there are many people who will be out of the hospital in probably a couple of weeks, but the total recovery of major surgery, whether it was caused by trauma or not, is going be months.
HEMMER: I'm also under the understanding here that a lot of the staff and personnel that worked with you there were away for the holidays, had to come back. Do you feel that you are fully staffed right now at this point to handle the influx of injuries coming your way?
CORNUM: We are no doubt fully staffed and prepared.
We haven't recalled anybody that was on a trip. We have people that were supposed to be off and in the local area. We do have them on a two-hour recall in case we had more than we could handle with the staff that was scheduled.
But when we saw the Mosul thing unfolding on the news, we knew what was happening next. And so we were prepared for them when they got here.
HEMMER: Thank you, Colonel. Best of luck to you.
Rhonda Cornum, there, in Germany with the latest on what's happening from her base.
CORNUM: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is on the offense once again over claims of insensitivity toward American troops in Iraq and from families of troops who were killed in action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECY. OF DEFENSE: I am truly saddened by the thought that anyone could have the impression that I or others here are doing anything other than working urgently to see that the lives of the fighting men and women are protected and are cared for in every way humanly possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: President Bush maintains his confidence in Secretary Rumsfeld despite some dissension within the Republican Party. Maine Senator Olympia Snowe has written a letter to the secretary, questioning the use of Iraqi contractors instead of American military personnel to build a bunker on the base where this week's deadly attack occurred. HEMMER: Back in this country now, Soledad, eight minutes past the hour. Much of the country getting slammed by winter's first major storms. That has got some folks making changes in their plans for the holidays.
More on that from meteorologist Jacqui Jeras who is still outside in the very cold stuff, Evansville, Indiana, windchill there, 6 below.
Jacqui, I wish could say good morning. How goes it?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's not a bad morning. At least it's pretty out there. You have to look at it on the bright side, Bill.
The snow has finally ended. About an hour ago it came to an end. But still blowing around with some pretty strong wind gusts. The storm hit the Ohio Valley in waves. It all started on Tuesday night. And another round of snow showers last night brought more snow accumulation to the already 12 inches on the ground, bringing the storm to record levels.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JERAS (voice-over): The first powerful winter storm of the season turned a trip to grandmother's house into a holiday headache. Travelers from Texas to Terre Haute braving the snow and ice. Areas near the Ohio River were hardest hit, with one to two feet of snow on the ground near Evansville, Indiana, stranding motorists, causing dozens of accidents, even jeopardizing Christmas deliveries.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have another horse to pick up to deliver with the other pony, and they're going to be Christmas presents for some twins in Michigan. Hopefully we get them there before Christmas.
JERAS: Snowy conditions in Amarillo put cars into ditch and temperatures dropped into the teens. St. Louis missed the brunt of the storm, but just south on I-55, some were actually happy to get hit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you know, day off from work, and get to play in the snow with my four-wheel drive.
JERAS: In Ohio, the problem was ice, then snow, then ice again, and still more snow. And it's not over yet.
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JERAS: And more snow can be expected, especially across western parts of Ohio today, but storm is starting to pick up some speed, and that's good news. But to add the insult to injury, very cold air pushing in back behind it, arctic air, and that's bringing the windchill below zero for today and causing problems with blowing and drifting. In fact, check this out, Bill, this is a big drift. This thing is almost two feet deep here, and right here is a hole that's equally as deep, but it filled up about halfway just in the last half an hour, because the snow is blowing. This is still a very dry, very light snow that's blowing all over the place. So the roads nowhere near clear, parts of I-64 just to the north of here have been closed at times and some of the roadways are impassable. U.S. 41 looks like a parking lot on our way here.
We're at a truck stop, and back behind me over here, there are about 75 truckers who decided to wait this out, wait until the snow is done, wait until the roads are cleared before they decide to head out there. A lot of them have empty trailers, too. That's one big thing that truckers have to worry about. If they don have a load, that trailer goes all over the place -- Bill.
HEMMER: Pretty smart move, too, to stay on the side for now. And the weather's not going anywhere, at least for a few days.
Jacqui, thanks, stay warm as best you can.
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O'BRIEN: A remarkable gift in the wake of a tragedy for a North Carolina couple. Jerry and Jennifer Sneed were headed to the hospital to deliver their baby, but got caught in a snowstorm. They ended up having a newborn girl in the middle of the highway. It was the same road where their 5-year-old son was killed in a car crash on New Year's Eve. They're calling their baby a blessing from God and a blessing from their little boy.
HEMMER: Very nice, some new beginnings there.
In a moment, Bernard Kerik's downward spiral. The Big Apple's former top cop losing another job. What does it mean for his old boss as well? We'll check into that.
O'BRIEN: And Janet Jackson, she caused a commotion in 2004, but she's not at the top of the America's year-end naughty list. Which celebrity is? We'll tell you, ahead.
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HEMMER: There is more fallout this morning from Bernard Kerik's failed nomination as homeland security secretary. Now the man who President Bush envisioned in a pivotal cabinet position has lost his day job as well.
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BERNARD KERIK, FMR. N.Y. POLICE COMMISSIONER: After careful consideration, I've decided that it's in the best interest of my family, my colleagues and our clients at Giuliani Partners, Giuliani- Kerik, that I resign from my position.
HEMMER (voice-over): Bernard Kerik's departure from a New York security firm is the latest chapter in his stunning fall from grace. It comes less than two weeks after he suddenly withdrew his nomination for homeland security secretary, this amid questions about his professional and personal conduct. KERIK: The events surrounding my withdrawal have become an unfair and unnecessary distraction to the firm, and most importantly, to the work that they do at the firm. I'm confident that I will be vindicated from any allegations of wrongdoing.
HEMMER: Not long ago, Kerik's political star was on rise. President Bush put the former New York police commissioner in charge of rebuilding Iraq's police and security force, and Kerik campaigned hard for the president's re-election. His failed nomination has been an embarrassment to the White House. And Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor lobbied for Kerik to lead the department of homeland security.
KERIK: I want to apologize to my family and my friends, the president, President Bush, Mayor Giuliani for the difficulty that the recent events have caused all of them.
HEMMER: Through it all though, Giuliani's support for his former top cop has not wavered.
RUDY GIULIANI, FMR. NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: He continues to be a friend. He continues to -- he's someone that I care about. I am very hopeful that he will be able to address all of these issues.
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HEMMER: Andrew Kirtzman covered Bernard Kerik during his days as New York police commissioner. He's also the political reporter for WCBS television here in New York, and he wrote a book, too, "Rudy Giuliani: Emperor of the City."
Welcome back, Andrew. Good morning to you.
ANDREW KIRTZMAN, WCBS-TV POLITICAL REPORTER: Thanks very much.
HEMMER: Was Bernard Kerik pushed out?
KIRTZMAN: Well, I think handwriting was on the wall. I was a little surprised that it happened now while the media spotlight was still on him. I thought they'd wait until it was kind of petered out. I think they may have decided at this point that they wanted the world to know definitively that he was gone, because he was a major headache for Giuliani.
HEMMER: One of the things we're trying to figure out in all this, if there was this much backlog in his life, why would he continue with the process? Do you think he thought this through? And do we have an answer on that?
KIRTZMAN: You know, I actually asked Bernie Kerik that question, why did you go forward with this if you knew all of this could come out? And his answer to me was, well, I just figured that I would take things as they came, and I think that was probably as true a comment in this whole debacle as we've heard, which is basically he never thought it through.
HEMMER: Just take it through one day at time, one issue at a time.
KIRTZMAN: One day at a time, yes. I mean, it was a colossal error in judgment both on Kerik's part, and really by Rudy Giuliani. And I think it's got a lot of people in the political world right now wondering whether Giuliani is ready for primetime. This is a guy that's thinking about running for president.
HEMMER: You asked a similar question to Rudy Giuliani. Listen to his answer here.
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GIULIANI: It's one thing that people evaluate along with a lot of other things, and people have a right to evaluate it any way they want.
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HEMMER: Does it hurt him?
KIRTZMAN: It doesn't help. I think that lot of people are proclaiming the death knell for Giuliani's presidential hopes, and I think that's kind of classically short-sighted political journalism. The presidential race is four years away, and I think by then Bernie Kerik will just be another issue that Giuliani has to explain away.
On the other hand, as I said, the political class is now wondering whether Giuliani is really ready for this. He's surrounded by his old gang of ex-prosecutors, few city hall aides, and, you know, the fact that they allow this thing to go forward and blow up in their face raises questions about whether or not he had the infrastructure to run for president of the United States.
HEMMER: And certainly time can cure a lot of things as you mentioned here. And the way Rudy Giuliani seems to resonate in the rest of America as opposed to New York City oftentimes is very very different from locally.
KIRTZMAN: Well, that's absolutely true, and I think that's a really good point. I mean, I think Giuliani, first in the New York, when he kind of battled crime, and then nationally, when he addressed the 9/11 crisis, he took on this aura of someone who really could kind of protect your personal security, and that's why I think that Giuliani is more than just a politician; I think he's a phenomenon, and I think it allows him to kind of overcome a lot of problems that would sink mere mortal politicians.
HEMMER: We'll continue to watch it. Thank you, Andrew Kirtzman, WCBS Television here in New York.
Nice to see you again -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Security concerns prompt a major withdrawal in Iraq. That's ahead, as we continue right here on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
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O'BRIEN: The first major U.S. contractor cuts operations in Iraq. And will lightning strike three times for the Dow today? Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."
Hello. Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Soledad.
A Virginia engineering and construction firm called Contrack, which had been awarded a $325 million contract to rebuild roads and bridges in Iraq is withdrawing from that country. Why? Too dangerous and too expensive.
Did you know, Soledad, for instance, that these companies have to pay for their own security, and obviously, those costs have been escalating. Just several months ago, an Egyptian driver for this company was kidnapped and then killed.
Overall, a grim toll for contractors in Iraq; 192 foreign contractors have been killed since the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Listen to this, 59 alone have been lost in -- Halliburton employees, I should say, including four who were killed just Tuesday in that attack in Mosul. So it's obviously extremely dangerous work.
Shifting gears a little bit, talking about the markets yesterday. Stocks rose again. The Dow was up 56 points. You can see here really regaining some ground especially with the drug stocks. Overall, the Dow still trails the other indexes year to date, and we're getting very close to the end of the year, and so looks like we're going to have about a historical norm for the markets, because historically markets go up 7 percent, 8 percent, 9 percent on average. So we're getting very close to that. Markets all over the place this year, and the final analysis looks like it's just going to be an average year.
O'BRIEN: We'll take an average year, better than a down year.
SERWER: Yes, yes, we certainly will. Yes, indeed.
O'BRIEN: Aim for average.
All right, Andy, thanks.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: To the animals and to Jack today -- Question of the Day.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, here's a picture of little Nicky, Bill. Little Nicky cost $50,000. Now Little Nicky is a clone created from the DNA of his owner's previous cat, presumably Big Nicky. According to the owner, the clone is identical, with the same personality as the previous cat. The California company that manufactured Little Nicky, while I disagree wholeheartedly with what they do, has maybe the greatest name ever, Genetic Savings and Clone. Right? That's a great name. They're hard at work cloning a dog. More money in dogs, it seems. More money than 50 grand for a cat. The first dog ought to be ready to ship out in May of next year.
Scientists have cloned mikes, rabbits, pigs, ghosts and cattle, no newscasters yet.
Pet advocacy groups are upset about Genetic Savings and Clone and this practice of cloning dogs and cats, and they're right. They point out between three and four million dogs and cats are put to sleep in shelters every year.
The question is, where do you draw the line when it comes to cloning animals? The other question is, why would you not go to a shelter and get a dog or cat? I have had dogs and cats in my houses for 30 years all across this country. They're every bit as smart, and loving, and affectionate and intelligent as things you get from these breeding mills, or in this case, from some genetic thing. You're saving a life, which ought to make you feel good, and, you know, when we stop killing three, or four or five million of these animals a year, and there are homes for them, then we worry about making more.
But in the mean time, those animals need some help, and they're not getting enough, and that's the end of my soap box thing. But you know, I mean, I am absolutely serious about that.
O'BRIEN: And $50,000 would like be a huge donation.
CAFFERTY: That's such another ego trip for some self-indulgent millionaire who's run out of buying snow mobiles, and jets skis and private planes. It's just another -- there's a word for it.
O'BRIEN: That's the Question of the Day today.
CAFFERTY: You can use it right when we go to commercial, hang on.
O'BRIEN: A huge explosion in this giant ball of fire reported now embedded with troops in Mosul, describing what he saw in this devastating mess hall attack.
Also flying home for the holidays? If so, get ready for a big change in security. Back in a moment with that and more.
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