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American Morning
Iraqi Elections; State of the Game
Aired January 28, 2005 - 09:00 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: Good morning. Iraqis around the world celebrating their chance to vote, lining up today to cast a ballot back in their home country.
A massive recall of Ford trucks and SUVs, 800,000 that could be carrying a hidden danger.
And from the heart. Two teenagers living with danger all around. Now suddenly a hot ticket at the Sundance Film Festival, and here too, on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: Good morning, everybody. Soledad is out today. She left a short time ago. The voice just could not last.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, she's got laryngitis.
HEMMER: How's your voice, by the way?
COSTELLO: My voice is holding up fine.
HEMMER: You going to make it? You've got one more hour. Good morning, Carol. Good to have you here.
At least for today, the future of Iraq in the hands of Iraqis who do not live there. The voting under way in major countries around the world. We'll look today at the -- the security inside of Iraq, where new threats have been issued already again today.
COSTELLO: Also, NBA commissioner David Stern is with us this morning. We'll find out why he's rubbing elbows this week with international leaders at the World Economic Summit. We'll also talk about how the NBA will restore its image after that infamous basket brawl.
HEMMER: Some people think they've got a long way to go on that, too.
Jack Cafferty, good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
"Question of the Day," should people who teach in America's colleges and universities be required to speak understandable English? AM@CNN.com. A legislator in North Dakota wants to introduce a bill that would require teachers to be interviewed on that very subject before they're allowed to go into the classroom. A lot of kids complain they can't understand their instructors.
HEMMER: So if you're a student, you can say, "I don't like this," and take care of it.
CAFFERTY: Well, this legislator thinks they ought to get their money back. If they're in a class that they've paid to attend and can't understand the instructor, they should get a refund.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
COSTELLO: We'll get to those e-mails in a little bit. Now the headlines.
An Iraqi official says two leading members of the insurgent group headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi have been arrested. One of them was said to be al-Zarqawi's head of Baghdad operations. You're seeing al Zarqawi here. He has pledged to disrupt elections in Iraq and has been blamed for many deadly attacks.
President Bush will be on hand at the State Department this hour for the ceremonial swearing in of his new secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice. She's the first African-American woman to hold that post. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will administer the oath of office to Rice in about 45 minutes.
A warning for U.S. citizens traveling along the border with Mexico. The State Department says at least 27 Americans have been abducted along the boarder in the past six months. The surge blamed on increasing violence among drug traffickers. U.S. officials say they're working with Mexican counterparts to ensure safety in the region.
And in sports, at the Australian Open, Aussie Lleyton Hewitt beating American Andy Roddick, making it to the men's final round down under. Hewitt is hoping to become the first home winner at the Australian Open since 1976. He'll play fourth seat (ph) Marat Safin on Sunday.
HEMMER: I wonder who won that, Rod Laver?
COSTELLO: I have no idea.
HEMMER: Google?
COSTELLO: Yes, I'll do that right now.
HEMMER: Stay tuned. All right. While you do that, I'll get to Iraq right now.
Two days now before the elections there on Sunday. Bombs have hit two voting centers and a police station in Iraq so far today. And insurgents now directly threatening the lives of people who go to the polls on Sunday, passing out leaflets on the streets of Baghdad.
Here's Jeff Koinange, live in the Iraqi capital with more there.
Jeff, hello.
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Bill.
And it seems like the campaign of attacks is continuing not only in Baghdad, but across the country. But Bill, a bit of good news at this what you'd call 11th hour.
The top security official to Prime Minister Ayad Allawi announcing the arrests of two top lieutenants of the terror suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The official going on to say that one of the men is actually the head of organizations with Zarqawi's outfit right here in Baghdad.
This coming as much anticipated good news, a big boost to the Allawi government. But the initial reaction on the ground is this news could be coming too little too late.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KOINANGE (voice-over): Two days to go before a country goes to the polls, trying to shake off decades of dictatorship and months of insurgency, even as two car bombs within minutes of each other rocked this battered capital. This one exploded outside a police station in a Baghdad suburb, killing four and wounding several others.
A short while later, and a few hundred meters away, another suicide car bomber slammed his vehicle into a blast wall outside a school that's been designated as a polling center, detonating himself. No one was killed in this incident.
The Independent Electoral Commission says just under 13 million Iraqis have registered to vote. And it expects a high turnout. But just how many local voters will eventually turn out is still questionable, especially as polling centers like these two schools targeted late Thursday in Baghdad continue to be attacked.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOINANGE: And Bill, we can tell you the campaign of intimidation just continues. These are leaflets or flyers, anonymous ones at that, which we found were being distributed all over Baghdad, and we understand in several cities across the country. In it basically in Arabic reads that the streets of Baghdad will be swept with the blood of all those going out to cast their vote on Sunday.
At the same time, we understand that residents who are living close by schools which will be used as polling centers, well, they've had enough. They're packing up, going out to live with relatives and friends for the foreseeable future.
All this as a virtual lockdown will be in effect across this country, borders sealed, airports closed, curfew in effect. There will be very little traffic in the streets of this country. And -- except, of course, all those people going out to vote on Sunday -- Bill.
HEMMER: On the clock less than 48 hours from now, too. Jeff, thanks, in Baghdad -- Carol.
COSTELLO: In Iraq and here in the United States, there's hope that Sunday's landmark election will usher in a new democratic era. There are thousands of candidates from more than 100 political parties. And the Bush administration has a lot riding on the outcome.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): The seeds of democracy taking root in Iraq as the country holds its first free election in more than half a century. Some 14 million resident Iraqis are eligible to vote. They'll choose a 275-member national assembly which will write the country's new constitution. And they'll elect members of 18 local provincial councils.
Across the country, 30,000 polling stations, 90,000 ballot boxes and poll workers getting a crash course in this new concept called voting. The biggest concern security.
Iraqi insurgents are stepping up attacks, especially on polling stations. Few of the candidates have been campaigning in public. It's just much too dangerous. Many have been targeted and killed, so getting out the vote will be a giant step in defeating the insurgency.
KEN POLLACK, CNN ANALYST: Their theory is that if the Iraqis come to the polls in large numbers, they're going to elect a legitimate government that will basically undermine the underpinnings of the insurgency.
COSTELLO: It is also an historic day for women's rights in Iraq. For the first time, women will be allowed to vote. Hundreds are running for office. It's expected they'll have a significant voice in the national assembly.
The Shiite majority is expected to win the most seats. The Sunni minority, which enjoyed tremendous power under Saddam Hussein, is mostly expected to boycott the election and lose political power. And that could threaten Iraq's post-election stability.
LAITH KUBBAH, NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY: If we do not include that community in the process, we're simply handing millions of people to the insurgency.
COSTELLO: Outside Iraq, more than a quarter million expatriates living in the United States and 13 other countries are exercising their new rights beginning today. The first votes were cast in Australia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And earlier today, Soledad spoke with Richard Haas from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He's the former director of policy planning at the State Department and director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. She asked him if he thinks this weekend's election will improve Iraq's future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMB. RICHARD HAASS, FMR. STATE DEPT. OFFICIAL: They are important. The mere fact that you're having an election is a significant development. But I don't think anyone should kid himself or herself, Soledad.
I think a day, a week, a month after the election, Iraq is almost certainly going to look pretty much like it looks today: fairly messy, continued violence, very little economic recovery going on simply because you don't have the preconditions of stability in place.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: At what point, if there is a successful election, though, do you see an implication outside of Iraq and to the region?
HAASS: I'm not sure, because if there's going to be ripple effects throughout the region, it's going to take a lot more than an election. It's going to take really the gradual flowering or institutionalization of democracy, and that's something you don't measure in weeks or months.
That's something you measure in years or even decades. And even then the fact that political change will be seen to have come to Iraq not so much from within but because of the -- the invasion or the liberation, depending upon how you want to see it, led by the United States, I'm not sure it's necessarily going to be quite the model that people are hoping for.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about U.S. troops then, since you've sort of brought us to that point, and how long they should stay. President Bush has said the troops will be withdrawn if, in fact, that's what the leaders want after the election.
Here's what Senator Ted Kennedy had to say. He said this: "A prolonged American military presence in Iraq is no longer productive for either Iraq or the United States. The U.S. military presence has become part of the problem, not part of the solution."
He seems to be calling for troops to be withdrawn almost immediately. That, of course, brings its own set of problem, doesn't it?
HAASS: I think what we're looking for is the proverbial Goldilocks solution. You don't want American troops to stay too long. It drains the American military. It stimulates the Iraqi nationalist reaction that in many cases is leading to violence. It works against the credibility of the Iraqi government.
On the other hand, to pull the plug too soon would simply cause radicals and terrorists in Iraq and throughout the region to take heart. And it would drain the confidence of the regimes and governments we're trying to help.
So what I think we're trying to find is a way in which w e could gradually wind down the American presence, transition it away from combat operations towards only advising and training, but get it down. And I think what the United States needs to do is work out an arrangement with the new Iraqi government to essentially start that process of de-Americanization or, if you prefer, Iraqification of the security situation.
O'BRIEN: But doesn't even advising and training bring its own problems? I mean, essentially, by helping the new government, you undermine the new government in many ways, certainly in the eyes of the insurgents, right?
HAASS: I don't think so that much. Do we advise and train, that's something in some cases that's done out of Iraq. Even when it's done in Iraq, you can do it with relatively few forces.
What's important is you no longer see Americans patrolling the streets of Iraqi cities. And if we can do that, we not only reduce the number of American casualties, but we also reduce the way in which this American presence to some extent fans the flames of nationalist resentment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Some insight this morning from the president of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Much more ahead tonight on CNN. A special report, "Iraq Votes." Christiane, Anderson, Paula and Aaron all starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
HEMMER: Weather's going to be a big story today and at the weekend. Here's Rob Marciano watching the radar outside.
Rob, good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Bill.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: We can feel it. Thank you, Rob. Mark Edmonson (ph), by the way, 1976.
COSTELLO: I couldn't believe Mr. Trivial Pursuit did not get the answer himself.
HEMMER: The computer did.
COSTELLO: Yes. Yes, Mr. Google, we love him.
Two days before the Iraqi security seem like an eternity to some military families.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just can't believe that this is happening to me. Sometimes I just can't believe this is all real.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Why one soldier's deployment came as a surprise to his wife and to his family. It hits (ph) Iraq on the home front.
HEMMER: Also, nearly a million trucks and SUVs recalled because of a hidden danger. That danger and which ones are involved in a moment.
COSTELLO: And a league in need of a makeover. NBA commissioner David Stern our guest. That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Frigidly cold New York City this morning. Good morning.
Ford is voluntarily recalling 800,000 pickups and SUVs because of a defective cruise control switch. The automaker says the switch could short circuit and catch fire under the hood.
The recall includes model year 2000 Ford Expeditions, model year 2000 Navigators, model year 2001 Ford F150s -- very popular model -- and the 2001 Ford F-Series Supercrew trung. Ford says it will notify owners in February.
Dealers will then deactivate the cruise control until replacement switches become available. Because they don't have enough switches to switch everybody's cruise control switch out.
HEMMER: Got it.
COSTELLO: Did you get that?
CAFFERTY: I mean, not -- but that is scary, right? Cruise control and you put it on and you have this thought, what if it doesn't go off?
COSTELLO: The scariest thing is that your engine doesn't even have to be running for the thing to catch fire.
CAFFERTY: That, too. It's a problem.
"Cafferty File" yesterday, we talked about a North Dakota legislator who thinks that college teachers, professors at the universities and stuff in this country ought to have to speak understandable English in order to go in a classroom. And she's going to introduce legislation to that effect. And actually, she's proposing that they actually all be interviewed on their English skills before they're granted this license to teach.
And we want to know if you think that's a good idea. Should college teachers have the right -- or have to speak understandable English?
Larry in Asheville, North Carolina, "The whole idea of higher education is to stretch the students' mind and abilities to be exposed to other cultures and ideas and to earn an appreciation that life is just not as it is in downtown North Dakota. This is just another example of the dumbing down of our culture."
Jerry writes: "Why punish the teachers? Make the students take courses in the teachers' language."
This one from David in Erie, Pennsylvania. "Your question hit me like a ton of bricks. My goal in life was to be a leading economist. Then I had a Chinese graduate student teach intermediate microeconomics, which served as the gate-keeping class."
"I couldn't understand more than three words in 10. And despite repeated complaints to senior professors, she finished the entire quarter, and my goals and money went right out the window. The effects of this loss so were bad, it led me to become a lawyer."
Doug in Bloomfield writes that "The price of tuition these days, not only should the professors be speaking perfect English, they should be insisting their audience does as well. Otherwise, 15 years from now the answers to Professor Jack's 'Question of the Day' will require an interpreter."
Earlier in the file, we showed you a picture of what is believed to be pound for pound the strongest kid in the world. This is a 12- year-old boy who can bench press three times his body weight.
We were mistaken. This is not the only strongest pound-for-pound person in the world. There's another one.
This is William Hemmernegger.
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: A young bodybuilder from Frankfurt whose desire in life is to grow up to be a television anchorman of a tedious morning telethon in search of a disease. And there he is.
HEMMER: Austria.
CAFFERTY: Yes, Austria.
HEMMER: Cute stuff. Thank you, Jack.
COSTELLO: You look pretty good with long hair.
HEMMER: Well thank you very much.
CAFFERTY: How old were you in that picture?
HEMMER: I was 11, actually. So I was actually younger than him.
CAFFERTY: Younger when you were that strong. HEMMER: So I was even better.
CAFFERTY: You've kind of gone all to hell since then.
HEMMER: Well, thank you.
CAFFERTY: One time you had a great physique, and it's -- it's not there anymore, is it?
HEMMER: Look at my washboard. Will you help me?
In a moment, back to Davos. The NBA commissioner, David Stern, is our guest live. We'll get to that in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: The NBA commissioner is David Stern. He's been credited with saving basketball and bringing it back from the brink of bankruptcy, and helping it turn star players into media icons. But his tenure has also seen scandal, like last November's basket brawl that brought a stain on the sport.
So, then, the question again today, is basketball any closer to solving its image problem? David Stern my guest now in Davos, Switzerland, where he's attending the World Economic Forum.
Welcome here to AMERICAN MORNING. It's beautiful behind you. What are you doing in Davos? Normally we associate that with political leaders.
DAVID STERN, NBA COMMISSIONER: No, Davos is also business. And developments in our business are happening on a global basis: technology, advancements, media. And this is a place where you can meet a lot of people and learn a lot about the future shape of media in America and the world.
So it's a very important meeting for me each year. And I must argue with your -- with your use of the word "scandal." We had a fight that we would have prefer not to have had, but I wouldn't call it a scandal.
HEMMER: Well, let's talk about that. We'll use whatever word you like. You've called it the NBA's weakest moment.
STERN: OK. You always get defined by your weakest moment for a while until people realize your underlying strength. That's what happens. And that's what I tell our players.
I assume right now you're rerunning the footage of the fight. Because this is the opportunity usually to do that, correct, Bill?
HEMMER: We only use -- since you can't see a monitor, we only used three seconds of it, by the way. In all seriousness...
STERN: But it gives you the opportunity. You're entitled to that. It's good copy. And we're the NBA. And we invite you in.
HEMMER: In all seriousness, how do you feel about the foundation for your sport? After so much bad publicity back in November...
STERN: Our foundation...
HEMMER: ... and also when you consider these players were in court about three days ago on Tuesday this past week?
STERN: Our players are appropriately contrite. They know that their activities had consequences. And what I'm not learning about new media, I'm giving interviews to Turkish media, Russian media, all of whom -- and other Europeanized media, all of whom want to talk about the extraordinary number of international players in the NBA and want to learn the fact that we're having our best year ever from an attendance point of view, our ratings, and economically.
So, the answer is, people tend to judge by our responses ultimately, not by what you fairly call a weak moment.
HEMMER: If you -- if you look at professional sports in this country, you examine what's happening with the NBA. If you look at the steroid controversy in baseball, the lockout in hockey, the one sport that seems to be pretty clean at this point in terms of its own image and PR is the NFL. Is football doing something right that the others are not?
STERN: I think they're doing a very good job. And I won't use this platform to talk about any real or perceived weakness that they would have. I think they're doing a great job. And they are the best.
But the fact of the matter is that sports is reality programming. And what you see is a group of young athletes who represent the population, and some get into trouble. Some don't. But that's life in America. And that's why people tune into sports, to watch the goings on sometimes as much off the court as on the court.
HEMMER: Do you believe the steroids policy needs to be initiated in the NBA that we've seen in baseball? Is that the next shoe to drop?
STERN: No, we -- we've had a very good agreement with our players for years on drugs. We improve it even in between agreements regularly. And we're now in collective bargaining.
And I expect that we will come out of that with a policy where we and the players will be together. Because this is an issue that should not -- should not separate management and union. It's too important for that.
HEMMER: Well, thank you for your time. That's snow on your shoulder, by the way, not dandruff. We want to point that out for our viewers.
STERN: No, thank you very much. HEMMER: It was quite...
STERN: That's why they asked me to wear an overcoat.
HEMMER: You got it. Thank you, David Stern, in Davos -- Carol.
COSTELLO: That was so kind of you to clarify that. It was.
Get ready for a blast from the past. A new "Miami Vice" DVD ready to hit the stores. And a movie is on the way. Guess who is ready to fill Crockett and Tubbs' shoes on the big screen? "90-Second Pop" just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired January 28, 2005 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Iraqis around the world celebrating their chance to vote, lining up today to cast a ballot back in their home country.
A massive recall of Ford trucks and SUVs, 800,000 that could be carrying a hidden danger.
And from the heart. Two teenagers living with danger all around. Now suddenly a hot ticket at the Sundance Film Festival, and here too, on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: Good morning, everybody. Soledad is out today. She left a short time ago. The voice just could not last.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, she's got laryngitis.
HEMMER: How's your voice, by the way?
COSTELLO: My voice is holding up fine.
HEMMER: You going to make it? You've got one more hour. Good morning, Carol. Good to have you here.
At least for today, the future of Iraq in the hands of Iraqis who do not live there. The voting under way in major countries around the world. We'll look today at the -- the security inside of Iraq, where new threats have been issued already again today.
COSTELLO: Also, NBA commissioner David Stern is with us this morning. We'll find out why he's rubbing elbows this week with international leaders at the World Economic Summit. We'll also talk about how the NBA will restore its image after that infamous basket brawl.
HEMMER: Some people think they've got a long way to go on that, too.
Jack Cafferty, good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
"Question of the Day," should people who teach in America's colleges and universities be required to speak understandable English? AM@CNN.com. A legislator in North Dakota wants to introduce a bill that would require teachers to be interviewed on that very subject before they're allowed to go into the classroom. A lot of kids complain they can't understand their instructors.
HEMMER: So if you're a student, you can say, "I don't like this," and take care of it.
CAFFERTY: Well, this legislator thinks they ought to get their money back. If they're in a class that they've paid to attend and can't understand the instructor, they should get a refund.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
COSTELLO: We'll get to those e-mails in a little bit. Now the headlines.
An Iraqi official says two leading members of the insurgent group headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi have been arrested. One of them was said to be al-Zarqawi's head of Baghdad operations. You're seeing al Zarqawi here. He has pledged to disrupt elections in Iraq and has been blamed for many deadly attacks.
President Bush will be on hand at the State Department this hour for the ceremonial swearing in of his new secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice. She's the first African-American woman to hold that post. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will administer the oath of office to Rice in about 45 minutes.
A warning for U.S. citizens traveling along the border with Mexico. The State Department says at least 27 Americans have been abducted along the boarder in the past six months. The surge blamed on increasing violence among drug traffickers. U.S. officials say they're working with Mexican counterparts to ensure safety in the region.
And in sports, at the Australian Open, Aussie Lleyton Hewitt beating American Andy Roddick, making it to the men's final round down under. Hewitt is hoping to become the first home winner at the Australian Open since 1976. He'll play fourth seat (ph) Marat Safin on Sunday.
HEMMER: I wonder who won that, Rod Laver?
COSTELLO: I have no idea.
HEMMER: Google?
COSTELLO: Yes, I'll do that right now.
HEMMER: Stay tuned. All right. While you do that, I'll get to Iraq right now.
Two days now before the elections there on Sunday. Bombs have hit two voting centers and a police station in Iraq so far today. And insurgents now directly threatening the lives of people who go to the polls on Sunday, passing out leaflets on the streets of Baghdad.
Here's Jeff Koinange, live in the Iraqi capital with more there.
Jeff, hello.
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Bill.
And it seems like the campaign of attacks is continuing not only in Baghdad, but across the country. But Bill, a bit of good news at this what you'd call 11th hour.
The top security official to Prime Minister Ayad Allawi announcing the arrests of two top lieutenants of the terror suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The official going on to say that one of the men is actually the head of organizations with Zarqawi's outfit right here in Baghdad.
This coming as much anticipated good news, a big boost to the Allawi government. But the initial reaction on the ground is this news could be coming too little too late.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KOINANGE (voice-over): Two days to go before a country goes to the polls, trying to shake off decades of dictatorship and months of insurgency, even as two car bombs within minutes of each other rocked this battered capital. This one exploded outside a police station in a Baghdad suburb, killing four and wounding several others.
A short while later, and a few hundred meters away, another suicide car bomber slammed his vehicle into a blast wall outside a school that's been designated as a polling center, detonating himself. No one was killed in this incident.
The Independent Electoral Commission says just under 13 million Iraqis have registered to vote. And it expects a high turnout. But just how many local voters will eventually turn out is still questionable, especially as polling centers like these two schools targeted late Thursday in Baghdad continue to be attacked.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOINANGE: And Bill, we can tell you the campaign of intimidation just continues. These are leaflets or flyers, anonymous ones at that, which we found were being distributed all over Baghdad, and we understand in several cities across the country. In it basically in Arabic reads that the streets of Baghdad will be swept with the blood of all those going out to cast their vote on Sunday.
At the same time, we understand that residents who are living close by schools which will be used as polling centers, well, they've had enough. They're packing up, going out to live with relatives and friends for the foreseeable future.
All this as a virtual lockdown will be in effect across this country, borders sealed, airports closed, curfew in effect. There will be very little traffic in the streets of this country. And -- except, of course, all those people going out to vote on Sunday -- Bill.
HEMMER: On the clock less than 48 hours from now, too. Jeff, thanks, in Baghdad -- Carol.
COSTELLO: In Iraq and here in the United States, there's hope that Sunday's landmark election will usher in a new democratic era. There are thousands of candidates from more than 100 political parties. And the Bush administration has a lot riding on the outcome.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): The seeds of democracy taking root in Iraq as the country holds its first free election in more than half a century. Some 14 million resident Iraqis are eligible to vote. They'll choose a 275-member national assembly which will write the country's new constitution. And they'll elect members of 18 local provincial councils.
Across the country, 30,000 polling stations, 90,000 ballot boxes and poll workers getting a crash course in this new concept called voting. The biggest concern security.
Iraqi insurgents are stepping up attacks, especially on polling stations. Few of the candidates have been campaigning in public. It's just much too dangerous. Many have been targeted and killed, so getting out the vote will be a giant step in defeating the insurgency.
KEN POLLACK, CNN ANALYST: Their theory is that if the Iraqis come to the polls in large numbers, they're going to elect a legitimate government that will basically undermine the underpinnings of the insurgency.
COSTELLO: It is also an historic day for women's rights in Iraq. For the first time, women will be allowed to vote. Hundreds are running for office. It's expected they'll have a significant voice in the national assembly.
The Shiite majority is expected to win the most seats. The Sunni minority, which enjoyed tremendous power under Saddam Hussein, is mostly expected to boycott the election and lose political power. And that could threaten Iraq's post-election stability.
LAITH KUBBAH, NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY: If we do not include that community in the process, we're simply handing millions of people to the insurgency.
COSTELLO: Outside Iraq, more than a quarter million expatriates living in the United States and 13 other countries are exercising their new rights beginning today. The first votes were cast in Australia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And earlier today, Soledad spoke with Richard Haas from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He's the former director of policy planning at the State Department and director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. She asked him if he thinks this weekend's election will improve Iraq's future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMB. RICHARD HAASS, FMR. STATE DEPT. OFFICIAL: They are important. The mere fact that you're having an election is a significant development. But I don't think anyone should kid himself or herself, Soledad.
I think a day, a week, a month after the election, Iraq is almost certainly going to look pretty much like it looks today: fairly messy, continued violence, very little economic recovery going on simply because you don't have the preconditions of stability in place.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: At what point, if there is a successful election, though, do you see an implication outside of Iraq and to the region?
HAASS: I'm not sure, because if there's going to be ripple effects throughout the region, it's going to take a lot more than an election. It's going to take really the gradual flowering or institutionalization of democracy, and that's something you don't measure in weeks or months.
That's something you measure in years or even decades. And even then the fact that political change will be seen to have come to Iraq not so much from within but because of the -- the invasion or the liberation, depending upon how you want to see it, led by the United States, I'm not sure it's necessarily going to be quite the model that people are hoping for.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about U.S. troops then, since you've sort of brought us to that point, and how long they should stay. President Bush has said the troops will be withdrawn if, in fact, that's what the leaders want after the election.
Here's what Senator Ted Kennedy had to say. He said this: "A prolonged American military presence in Iraq is no longer productive for either Iraq or the United States. The U.S. military presence has become part of the problem, not part of the solution."
He seems to be calling for troops to be withdrawn almost immediately. That, of course, brings its own set of problem, doesn't it?
HAASS: I think what we're looking for is the proverbial Goldilocks solution. You don't want American troops to stay too long. It drains the American military. It stimulates the Iraqi nationalist reaction that in many cases is leading to violence. It works against the credibility of the Iraqi government.
On the other hand, to pull the plug too soon would simply cause radicals and terrorists in Iraq and throughout the region to take heart. And it would drain the confidence of the regimes and governments we're trying to help.
So what I think we're trying to find is a way in which w e could gradually wind down the American presence, transition it away from combat operations towards only advising and training, but get it down. And I think what the United States needs to do is work out an arrangement with the new Iraqi government to essentially start that process of de-Americanization or, if you prefer, Iraqification of the security situation.
O'BRIEN: But doesn't even advising and training bring its own problems? I mean, essentially, by helping the new government, you undermine the new government in many ways, certainly in the eyes of the insurgents, right?
HAASS: I don't think so that much. Do we advise and train, that's something in some cases that's done out of Iraq. Even when it's done in Iraq, you can do it with relatively few forces.
What's important is you no longer see Americans patrolling the streets of Iraqi cities. And if we can do that, we not only reduce the number of American casualties, but we also reduce the way in which this American presence to some extent fans the flames of nationalist resentment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Some insight this morning from the president of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Much more ahead tonight on CNN. A special report, "Iraq Votes." Christiane, Anderson, Paula and Aaron all starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
HEMMER: Weather's going to be a big story today and at the weekend. Here's Rob Marciano watching the radar outside.
Rob, good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Bill.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: We can feel it. Thank you, Rob. Mark Edmonson (ph), by the way, 1976.
COSTELLO: I couldn't believe Mr. Trivial Pursuit did not get the answer himself.
HEMMER: The computer did.
COSTELLO: Yes. Yes, Mr. Google, we love him.
Two days before the Iraqi security seem like an eternity to some military families.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just can't believe that this is happening to me. Sometimes I just can't believe this is all real.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Why one soldier's deployment came as a surprise to his wife and to his family. It hits (ph) Iraq on the home front.
HEMMER: Also, nearly a million trucks and SUVs recalled because of a hidden danger. That danger and which ones are involved in a moment.
COSTELLO: And a league in need of a makeover. NBA commissioner David Stern our guest. That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Frigidly cold New York City this morning. Good morning.
Ford is voluntarily recalling 800,000 pickups and SUVs because of a defective cruise control switch. The automaker says the switch could short circuit and catch fire under the hood.
The recall includes model year 2000 Ford Expeditions, model year 2000 Navigators, model year 2001 Ford F150s -- very popular model -- and the 2001 Ford F-Series Supercrew trung. Ford says it will notify owners in February.
Dealers will then deactivate the cruise control until replacement switches become available. Because they don't have enough switches to switch everybody's cruise control switch out.
HEMMER: Got it.
COSTELLO: Did you get that?
CAFFERTY: I mean, not -- but that is scary, right? Cruise control and you put it on and you have this thought, what if it doesn't go off?
COSTELLO: The scariest thing is that your engine doesn't even have to be running for the thing to catch fire.
CAFFERTY: That, too. It's a problem.
"Cafferty File" yesterday, we talked about a North Dakota legislator who thinks that college teachers, professors at the universities and stuff in this country ought to have to speak understandable English in order to go in a classroom. And she's going to introduce legislation to that effect. And actually, she's proposing that they actually all be interviewed on their English skills before they're granted this license to teach.
And we want to know if you think that's a good idea. Should college teachers have the right -- or have to speak understandable English?
Larry in Asheville, North Carolina, "The whole idea of higher education is to stretch the students' mind and abilities to be exposed to other cultures and ideas and to earn an appreciation that life is just not as it is in downtown North Dakota. This is just another example of the dumbing down of our culture."
Jerry writes: "Why punish the teachers? Make the students take courses in the teachers' language."
This one from David in Erie, Pennsylvania. "Your question hit me like a ton of bricks. My goal in life was to be a leading economist. Then I had a Chinese graduate student teach intermediate microeconomics, which served as the gate-keeping class."
"I couldn't understand more than three words in 10. And despite repeated complaints to senior professors, she finished the entire quarter, and my goals and money went right out the window. The effects of this loss so were bad, it led me to become a lawyer."
Doug in Bloomfield writes that "The price of tuition these days, not only should the professors be speaking perfect English, they should be insisting their audience does as well. Otherwise, 15 years from now the answers to Professor Jack's 'Question of the Day' will require an interpreter."
Earlier in the file, we showed you a picture of what is believed to be pound for pound the strongest kid in the world. This is a 12- year-old boy who can bench press three times his body weight.
We were mistaken. This is not the only strongest pound-for-pound person in the world. There's another one.
This is William Hemmernegger.
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: A young bodybuilder from Frankfurt whose desire in life is to grow up to be a television anchorman of a tedious morning telethon in search of a disease. And there he is.
HEMMER: Austria.
CAFFERTY: Yes, Austria.
HEMMER: Cute stuff. Thank you, Jack.
COSTELLO: You look pretty good with long hair.
HEMMER: Well thank you very much.
CAFFERTY: How old were you in that picture?
HEMMER: I was 11, actually. So I was actually younger than him.
CAFFERTY: Younger when you were that strong. HEMMER: So I was even better.
CAFFERTY: You've kind of gone all to hell since then.
HEMMER: Well, thank you.
CAFFERTY: One time you had a great physique, and it's -- it's not there anymore, is it?
HEMMER: Look at my washboard. Will you help me?
In a moment, back to Davos. The NBA commissioner, David Stern, is our guest live. We'll get to that in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: The NBA commissioner is David Stern. He's been credited with saving basketball and bringing it back from the brink of bankruptcy, and helping it turn star players into media icons. But his tenure has also seen scandal, like last November's basket brawl that brought a stain on the sport.
So, then, the question again today, is basketball any closer to solving its image problem? David Stern my guest now in Davos, Switzerland, where he's attending the World Economic Forum.
Welcome here to AMERICAN MORNING. It's beautiful behind you. What are you doing in Davos? Normally we associate that with political leaders.
DAVID STERN, NBA COMMISSIONER: No, Davos is also business. And developments in our business are happening on a global basis: technology, advancements, media. And this is a place where you can meet a lot of people and learn a lot about the future shape of media in America and the world.
So it's a very important meeting for me each year. And I must argue with your -- with your use of the word "scandal." We had a fight that we would have prefer not to have had, but I wouldn't call it a scandal.
HEMMER: Well, let's talk about that. We'll use whatever word you like. You've called it the NBA's weakest moment.
STERN: OK. You always get defined by your weakest moment for a while until people realize your underlying strength. That's what happens. And that's what I tell our players.
I assume right now you're rerunning the footage of the fight. Because this is the opportunity usually to do that, correct, Bill?
HEMMER: We only use -- since you can't see a monitor, we only used three seconds of it, by the way. In all seriousness...
STERN: But it gives you the opportunity. You're entitled to that. It's good copy. And we're the NBA. And we invite you in.
HEMMER: In all seriousness, how do you feel about the foundation for your sport? After so much bad publicity back in November...
STERN: Our foundation...
HEMMER: ... and also when you consider these players were in court about three days ago on Tuesday this past week?
STERN: Our players are appropriately contrite. They know that their activities had consequences. And what I'm not learning about new media, I'm giving interviews to Turkish media, Russian media, all of whom -- and other Europeanized media, all of whom want to talk about the extraordinary number of international players in the NBA and want to learn the fact that we're having our best year ever from an attendance point of view, our ratings, and economically.
So, the answer is, people tend to judge by our responses ultimately, not by what you fairly call a weak moment.
HEMMER: If you -- if you look at professional sports in this country, you examine what's happening with the NBA. If you look at the steroid controversy in baseball, the lockout in hockey, the one sport that seems to be pretty clean at this point in terms of its own image and PR is the NFL. Is football doing something right that the others are not?
STERN: I think they're doing a very good job. And I won't use this platform to talk about any real or perceived weakness that they would have. I think they're doing a great job. And they are the best.
But the fact of the matter is that sports is reality programming. And what you see is a group of young athletes who represent the population, and some get into trouble. Some don't. But that's life in America. And that's why people tune into sports, to watch the goings on sometimes as much off the court as on the court.
HEMMER: Do you believe the steroids policy needs to be initiated in the NBA that we've seen in baseball? Is that the next shoe to drop?
STERN: No, we -- we've had a very good agreement with our players for years on drugs. We improve it even in between agreements regularly. And we're now in collective bargaining.
And I expect that we will come out of that with a policy where we and the players will be together. Because this is an issue that should not -- should not separate management and union. It's too important for that.
HEMMER: Well, thank you for your time. That's snow on your shoulder, by the way, not dandruff. We want to point that out for our viewers.
STERN: No, thank you very much. HEMMER: It was quite...
STERN: That's why they asked me to wear an overcoat.
HEMMER: You got it. Thank you, David Stern, in Davos -- Carol.
COSTELLO: That was so kind of you to clarify that. It was.
Get ready for a blast from the past. A new "Miami Vice" DVD ready to hit the stores. And a movie is on the way. Guess who is ready to fill Crockett and Tubbs' shoes on the big screen? "90-Second Pop" just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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