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American Morning
U.S. Troops in Iraq; Marine's Liver Transplant; 'New You Revolution'
Aired February 01, 2005 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We're looking at a beautiful shot of Central Park this morning. It is just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Welcome back, everybody.
In just a moment, the future of U.S. troops in Iraq. We're going to talk with a reporter from "U.S. News & World Report." She's just back from Iraq after talking to U.S. Special Forces. She says there may soon be a strategy shift that could affect the timeline for return. We'll talk about that.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also on a much different topic, week three of the "New You Revolution" today. Sanjay is back with our man, Harald, out of Colorado, the former marathon runner. We're going to check in and see how he's doing. He's made some progress, but we are told there have been a few bumps along the road. How big are the bumps? In a moment, we'll check in with Sanjay.
O'BRIEN: That's what it's all about, right? How big are the bumps along the road?
HEMMER: That's right. Yes, and you get over them.
O'BRIEN: Another check of the headlines. Carol Costello is right here in person now.
Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. He was such a nice guy. I met him on the stairs the last time he was here, and he was really depressed about being heavy, because he was such a great runner before. So, I hope the bumps weren't too big.
HEMMER: He's a character.
COSTELLO: He is. I liked him a lot. Good morning, everyone.
"Now in the News."
Another 300 people in Santa Maria, California, will be questioned today as prospective jurors in the Michael Jackson trial. The pop star arrived at the courthouse yesterday wearing an all-white suit and, yes, he was waving to the crowd. Proceedings are set to get under way again today at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Pope John Paul II does indeed have the flu, and he is recovering this morning. The Vatican announced earlier today the pope is canceling his public and private meetings for the next few days, including the general audience on Wednesday. But Vatican sources are telling CNN there is no reason for concern.
And here in the United States, revised numbers on Social Security. The Congressional Budget Office is now saying the system will stay on the plus side until 2020. That's two years longer than earlier estimates. President Bush has pledged to overhaul Social Security, and the president is expected to give details of his plan in tomorrow's State of the Union address. So, tune into CNN. Special coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. That's it.
O'BRIEN: OK.
HEMMER: I think you'll be down in Washington, are you not?
O'BRIEN: Yes, we'll be there to watch the State of the Union address, and then, of course, to talk about it the next morning.
HEMMER: Terrific. Thank you, Carol.
Back to Iraq. The outcome of Iraq's first election in nearly 50 years is still unknown. All of the ballots from this weekend's historic election are now back in Baghdad, where counting is under way at this hour. Election officials say it will probably take about 10 days to complete those tallies.
In a new videotape believed to have been recorded by terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Zarqawi is calling on Sunnis to resist a Shiite takeover in Iraq's new National Assembly. And Iraq's interim president said today that some of the 170,000 U.S. and foreign troops could be out of Iraq by the end of the year, but only after Iraqi forces are trained and insurgents are brought under control.
Linda Robinson returned from Iraq Friday. She's a writer, reporter for "U.S. News & World Report," also the author of "Masters of Chaos: The Secret History of the Special Forces." Linda spent 10 days in Iraq, talking with U.S. and Iraqi Special Forces. She's live in D.C.
Good morning, Linda. Good to have you along with us today.
LINDA ROBINSON, AUTHOR, "MASTERS OF CHAOS": Hi, Bill.
HEMMER: When we read your article, what's the headline?
ROBINSON: Well, the headline is, really, the exit strategy is a fundamental shift by the U.S. troops that are over there now to advising the Iraqi forces to try to bring them up to speed quickly as possible.
HEMMER: Now, how is that done, Linda?
ROBINSON: What they're doing is they're cutting away U.S. troops from a variety of units. And they're going to implant, as early as next week, about 3,000 to 4,000 advisers at all levels of the Iraqi forces right down to the company level. And what they're trying to do is replicate the success that the U.S. Special Forces have had in training two elite units that I got to see while I was over there. But this is very intensive work. These Special Forces soldiers are actually living with and fighting with these forces side by side. So...
HEMMER: What have the Special Forces learned, though, that they will now impart on what you describe to us as regular Marines and regular U.S. Army personnel?
ROBINSON: Right. Well, what they have learned -- and a lot of it is just the understanding the culture, because there are huge, enormous cultural differences between these two countries and the way the militaries operate. I saw, for instance, a 27-year-old captain who is the head of this elite counterterrorist unit doing his own mission planning and giving the brief back and then leading the troops. And that would never have been done in the old Iraqi army by a captain.
HEMMER: What is realistic here when we talk about U.S. troops and a military draw-down? Because these have been the persistent questions for past 24 hours. And how will this program help answer that question?
ROBINSON: Yes, absolutely. And none of the top commanders I talked to would put an official timetable on it. But, clearly, all of them hope that within a year this new Iraqi force will be seasoned enough that they can have dramatic draw-downs. And basically, then you'll shift to a mix of advisers with some brigade-size U.S. forces backing them up.
HEMMER: So, what you're describing to us is to further put this Iraqi face on the mission throughout the entire country. And if that's the case, take it to point B. What is the message that is being sent now to Zarqawi's people? Because this is essentially public knowledge.
ROBINSON: Right. Well, this is what General Luck (ph), a retired general who has been over there advising, calls the change in the perception, because everyone sees, really, perceptions in this war matter as much as what happens on the ground. He's saying, we're changing our stance from occupier to supporter of the Iraqis.
HEMMER: Iraq's interior minister -- one more point here -- said he's going to take about a year and a half, maybe 18 months, before the Iraqi forces are fully equipped. Is that realistic?
ROBINSON: Well, if they do what they say they're going to do, which is a massive push to really train and work side by side with these people. Also, even one of these elite units that I saw was still waiting for all of their guys to get night-vision goggles, since they do a lot of night operations. They have got to really make sure they're equipped and have the kind of armor, both body and vehicle armor, that the U.S. troops have.
HEMMER: Well, we'll see if it works, and we'll read your article. I'm looking forward to that. Thanks, Linda Robinson.
ROBINSON: Sure.
HEMMER: Linda Robinson down in D.C. -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: A 22-year-old Marine is expected to recover fully after receiving a liver transplant. But doctors say they are still concerned about what may have caused the Iraq veteran's liver failure.
Jason Bellini has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A few months after coming home from Iraq, Marine Lance Corporal Chris LeBlue complained he felt ill. He didn't want to go to the doctor, but it kept getting worse.
Three weeks ago, his wife took him to the emergency room, where he was diagnosed with liver failure and put on the liver transplant waiting list with 17,000 other people.
As you can see from this video shot by the U.S. Marines last week, his condition got so bad he could no longer talk with his wife.
MELANY LEBLUE, WIFE: Are you dizzy?
BELLINI: Doctors told his wife he needed a new liver immediately or he would die. He slipped into a coma, and his name went to the top of the transplant list.
LEBLUE: I was terrified, but I knew he need it. I've watched him over the past month and how much pain he was going through.
BELLINI (on camera): LeBlue was in a coma when the call came in Saturday night that a liver had been found. It was flown in immediately from New Mexico. Doctors began operating on him at 4:00 a.m. The operation lasted 11 hours.
(voice over): Monday, doctors declared the surgery a success. LeBleu's liver specialist says it appears LeBlue contracted a form of hepatitis. Where and when is still unknown. Tests may be ordered for the family, and doctors have more questions for the military.
DR. RONALD HILLENBRAND, LOMA LINDA MEDICAL CENTER: We're going to query the military to see if there are any similar cases of acute liver failure among other military personnel that either served in Iraq or had common exposures to Christopher.
BELLINI: LeBlue spent seven months in Iraq as a rifleman guarding the Syrian boarder.
CAPT. BRAD TIPPETT, U.S. MARINES CORPS: There are no indications of his illness being contracted in Iraq or in any way linked to our deployment. And no one else in the battalion Chris was a member of has come down with any similar symptoms. BELLINI: For his wife's part, she's just focused on her husband's recovery.
Jason Bellini, CNN, Loma Linda, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: A doctor at the hospital says it is more common, though, to acquire hepatitis in other countries because of different levels of sanitation -- Bill.
HEMMER: We wish him the best. It's 22 minutes now before the hour. A check of the weather again.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Well, you might have another way to search the Internet. Andy has got a look at that coming up in just a moment.
HEMMER: Also in a moment, is one of our "New You Revolution" participants working out too much? Is that a problem? An update on Harald here this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: There was a special tribute last night on David Letterman in honor of Johnny Carson. Letterman was on vacation last week. His first show since Carson's passing. His entire monologue last night: jokes sent to Letterman recently by Johnny Carson, something he did not reveal until that monologue was over. And he talked about Carson's nightly impact on him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": At the end of the day, that's who you wanted to be there, you know. It didn't make any difference what kind of a day you had, if you had a great day or a bad day. You know, the Watergate and Vietnam and the Gulf War and it didn't make any difference who was president. It didn't make any difference what the economy was or the unemployment or what was going on. At the end of the day, the guy you wanted there was Johnny Carson. What a tremendous luxury, if you think about it, to be tucked in at night by Johnny Carson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Part of Letterman's tribute last night, all of his jokes written by Johnny Carson. Kind of cool. Carson wanted Letterman to get that job that Jay Leno had to succeed...
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: You'd think Letterman could have interrupted his vacation and come back and done a tribute when it was more a little more timely, like Jay Leno did. Just a thought.
O'BRIEN: Ouch! Cold, cold. But that's all right.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, well, a different network.
CAFFERTY: Hey, you know, if they're all so beholden to the memory of this man, you know. I'm just beyond cranky this morning.
O'BRIEN: Are you?
SERWER: Really?
O'BRIEN: Why should do today be any different?
HEMMER: How do you feel about (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CAFFERTY: You were going to say why is today any different than any other? I know.
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: But then I decided not to.
CAFFERTY: There actually are some reasons that I'm not at liberty to share with you.
HEMMER: Ooh! That's tasty!
SERWER: Do tell. Just between us.
O'BRIEN: All right!
HEMMER: You got him to smile, anyway. Well done.
CAFFERTY: The ballots in Iraq aren't even counted yet. The Democrats want to know when we're going to get out of the country. Democratic leaders are urging President Bush to present a detailed exit strategy in tomorrow's State of the Union address.
Senator Kennedy wants an immediate withdrawal timetable for U.S. troops. The White House says this would play right into the hands of the terrorists. And Iraqi officials say that they need to us stay in the country for probably a couple of years until Iraq's security force is up to speed.
So, the question is this: Should the United States set a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq?
Johnny in Vicksburg, Mississippi, writes: "The Bush administration was dead set on elections on a given date. Let them show the same initiative, bravery and steadfastness to get our troops out. An open-ended policy such as the one that currently exists contributes not to democracy, but to occupation."
James in Glenview, Illinois: "Absolutely, but not a minute before the job is done."
Weldon in New Market, Ontario: "I don't think that a timetable could work. Along with maintaining a democratic outlook, the insurgents would love to sit back and pounce once enough of our troops have departed. Then it's back to square one."
Courtney in Denver writes: "Having a planned withdrawal of our troops would mean that we can predict the future. Anyone with that ability would probably be in Vegas laying down a bet on the Super Bowl."
And Reg in Thunder Bay: "Why is everyone concerned about this? The U.S. has always left immediately after a democratic government has been elected. Examples: Japan, Germany, South Korea, et cetera."
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Not to worry.
O'BRIEN: Reg...
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Pretty good today.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
Well, look out, Google and Yahoo. There's a new player in the search engine game. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" this morning.
It's kind of late in the game when you're talking about search engines, isn't it?
SERWER: Yes. Yes, Microsoft is going to play catch-up. They've done it before.
Before we get to that, though, I want to tell you about Bill Hemmer has got a very inquisitive mind. And the January -- in fact, we've got to get to the bottom of this -- 1982, January, not so bad, Bill. This 2.7 percent decline this January matches the decline we had in '03 and 2000. 2000 was worse. OK? 5.1 percent.
HEMMER: Yes.
SERWER: We're done with that forever.
CAFFERTY: Leave it alone.
SERWER: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Exactly. No more convoluted...
SERWER: No, it's OK. I'm interested, too.
Anyway, the search engine news that Soledad was talking about, yesterday (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Microsoft rolling out a search engine to compete against Google and Yahoo and others. They are late in the game. They were able to do this, however, remember with browsers. Netscape rolled out years before they rolled out IE, Internet Explorer, and they were able to catch up and surpass Netscape.
So, beware when they put their sizable bulk -- how big is this company? This is amazing. Yesterday, a personal income statistic from the Commerce Department was out. It was a record, up 3.7 percent for the month of December. Why? Because of Microsoft's special dividend. The government said so: $32 billion special dividend. That sort of matches the tax refund from 2001 that President Bush sent back. It actually moved the economy. I mean, it's truly amazing, isn't it?
CAFFERTY: Unbelievable.
O'BRIEN: That is.
SERWER: Speaking of Microsoft's competitor, Google, they're going to announce earnings after the bell. And it's expected they will be up six-fold.
HEMMER: Yo!
SERWER: That's not 6 percent. That's six times. So, and then you can see here, here's the chart of Google. And, you know, people can start great new businesses in this country. It's amazing.
HEMMER: Weren't we going to buy, like, a share of Google back when it was 60 bucks?
SERWER: I thought Jack was going to fund it, but...
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: Yes, over 200.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: I don't make enough money here to buy a share of Google.
SERWER: Yes, that's true, yes. Very good.
O'BRIEN: Moving on, our "New You Revolution" enters its third week. We're going to talk with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, follow one of our participants as he learns that less might actually be more. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Week three of our "New You Revolution." We're helping five folks break their bad, unhealthy habits.
HEMMER: Yes, Sanjay is back with us, checking up on the progress of one man today by the name of Harald.
Sanjay -- good morning. How is he doing? And how are the rest of them?
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Well, all of our participants do seem to be headed in the right direction, and all of them are seeing some early results.
But today, we do want to take a closer look at how well our runner, Harald Fricker, has been doing so far.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice over): Harald has been doing a lot of running, and he's lost at least 10 pounds already.
(on camera): We're doing all these sprints here. What's next for you? Are you going back to Colorado?
HARALD FRICKER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT" Oh, yes.
GUPTA: What are you going to do out there?
FRICKER: Well, we're going to do a little snowshoeing.
GUPTA (voice over): He's addicted to running under any conditions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not going out for your normal 100-mile snowshoe, Harald. We're going out for maybe 100 seconds.
GUPTA: Can his trainer stop him from doing too much?
FRICKER: He got mad at me the other day when I spent five extra minutes on one of the machines.
GUPTA: Harald has to learn more is not always better.
FRICKER: I used to be able to do knuckle push-ups by the hundreds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was, I was, all right?
FRICKER: All, I'm just giving you the...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here, right now, Harald.
FRICKER: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we want to work smarter, not harder.
GUPTA: And that it's a variety of exercises that will fuel his metabolism and help bring down his weight. Harald still thinks he's that young, fit runner from the '90s, who ran with other super athletes like Mike Closer (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's good to see you. Out for a snowshoe?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying to get him moving.
GUPTA: If Harald wants to be like Mike, he needs to do one more thing: Get more sleep, something he's still not doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love my sleep. I sleep eight hours a night.
FRICKER: You do?
GUPTA: Studies have shown that lack of sleep can lead to weight gain. Harald has been working on curbing his food cravings.
FRICKER: Can I have any of these? Not a Kit Kat, Three Musketeers, Milky Way, all of that's out? What about Pop Tarts?
GUPTA: When he's about to slip, his trainer is just a call away.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Minor setbacks and some real results are what our other participants have experienced as well. Here's their weekly check-up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELKA FISCHER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: It is 8:30, and I am in the office. And I'm going to go sit and do a little more work.
GUPTA (voice over): So, Thekla is still working late and skipping meals and discovered another cause of her late-night eating habit: being separated from her husband.
FISCHER: I end up eating late with him or maybe having more to eat because it's a time where we bond.
GUPTA: But she's made it to yoga three times in the past week.
FISCHER: That's definitely more than I was doing before.
LEIGH ANN RAYNOR, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: It seems like everyone's enjoying this but me.
GUPTA: Actually, Leigh Ann is enjoying breaking her bad habits and is exercising regularly.
RAYNOR: I've lost, like, four and a half pounds.
GUPTA: She's thrilled because she's now able to walk two miles on the treadmill. And Leigh Ann is listening to her body just as the doctor ordered. She tried an aerobics class at her church, but it proved too much for a sore knee.
RAYNOR: Oh, no, we're not.
GUPTA: So, she'll continue to do what works best: cardio rehab and walking.
This week, Jonathan has something to celebrate in addition to his birthday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Superstar!
JONATHAN KARP, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: I went to scratch my back, and I was like, ooh. It's like something I'm totally not used to.
GUPTA: Keeping track of his nail-biting is paying off.
KARP: I'm starting to see some white spots on my nails in certain spots. This nail looks really good.
GUPTA: He's armed with a nail file to smooth out his gnawing urges. And although fighting stress from work is no piece of cake, he's on his way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
So, all of our participants are making some progress there, as you can see. Next week, we're going to take a closer look at how our grandmother, Sandra Garth, is doing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA GARTH, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: What's inside the "New You" refrigerator?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: She's stocked her fridge with healthy food and she's working out every day, even sometimes with her grandson. We'll tell you how she's staying motivated.
And if you've been following our "New You" participants, you can learn from what they've learned. Here are some take-home tips for you. More is not always better. Doing a lot of one type of exercise may not always lead to the results you're looking for. Also, listen to your body. If something hurts while you're exercising, stop doing it. Sometimes it's OK to take it easier or try something different. And finally, keep a journal. It will help you be more aware of your behavior and can help your track your success.
All of our "New You" participants are keeping journals, and you can track their ups and downs or send them an e-mail by logging on to CNN.com/am.
We'll keep you up to speed on it, next week, Tuesday again -- Bill.
HEMMER: Hey, good stuff there. Back to Harald for a second here. He's in his 40s, you say? How old is he today?
GUPTA: Yes, I think 45.
HEMMER: OK. So, back when he was a stud runner, he was in his 20s. Over that two-decade period, typically how much weight do men gain? GUPTA: You know, that's a really interesting question, because we actually studied this. And around two pounds a year a man will gain if they just eat right and don't exercise. So, if you're doing the eating part OK but not exercising, two pounds a year.
So, if you weighed about 180 when you were in your 20s, by the time you're 40 you're going to put on another 40 pounds, 220 by the time you're 60, 240. That's just eating right and not doing anything else.
HEMMER: That would make a very interesting journal entry, I think, if we were to follow your advice. Hey, thanks, Sanjay. We'll talk to you later this morning. All right.
GUPTA: Thanks, guys. All right, see you.
HEMMER: A break here. In a moment, the top stories here on AMERICAN MORNING. Also, this videotape that is said to be showing the missile that may have brought down a British cargo plane in Iraq. Back to that story as well at the top of the hour here after this.
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Aired February 1, 2005 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We're looking at a beautiful shot of Central Park this morning. It is just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Welcome back, everybody.
In just a moment, the future of U.S. troops in Iraq. We're going to talk with a reporter from "U.S. News & World Report." She's just back from Iraq after talking to U.S. Special Forces. She says there may soon be a strategy shift that could affect the timeline for return. We'll talk about that.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also on a much different topic, week three of the "New You Revolution" today. Sanjay is back with our man, Harald, out of Colorado, the former marathon runner. We're going to check in and see how he's doing. He's made some progress, but we are told there have been a few bumps along the road. How big are the bumps? In a moment, we'll check in with Sanjay.
O'BRIEN: That's what it's all about, right? How big are the bumps along the road?
HEMMER: That's right. Yes, and you get over them.
O'BRIEN: Another check of the headlines. Carol Costello is right here in person now.
Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. He was such a nice guy. I met him on the stairs the last time he was here, and he was really depressed about being heavy, because he was such a great runner before. So, I hope the bumps weren't too big.
HEMMER: He's a character.
COSTELLO: He is. I liked him a lot. Good morning, everyone.
"Now in the News."
Another 300 people in Santa Maria, California, will be questioned today as prospective jurors in the Michael Jackson trial. The pop star arrived at the courthouse yesterday wearing an all-white suit and, yes, he was waving to the crowd. Proceedings are set to get under way again today at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Pope John Paul II does indeed have the flu, and he is recovering this morning. The Vatican announced earlier today the pope is canceling his public and private meetings for the next few days, including the general audience on Wednesday. But Vatican sources are telling CNN there is no reason for concern.
And here in the United States, revised numbers on Social Security. The Congressional Budget Office is now saying the system will stay on the plus side until 2020. That's two years longer than earlier estimates. President Bush has pledged to overhaul Social Security, and the president is expected to give details of his plan in tomorrow's State of the Union address. So, tune into CNN. Special coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. That's it.
O'BRIEN: OK.
HEMMER: I think you'll be down in Washington, are you not?
O'BRIEN: Yes, we'll be there to watch the State of the Union address, and then, of course, to talk about it the next morning.
HEMMER: Terrific. Thank you, Carol.
Back to Iraq. The outcome of Iraq's first election in nearly 50 years is still unknown. All of the ballots from this weekend's historic election are now back in Baghdad, where counting is under way at this hour. Election officials say it will probably take about 10 days to complete those tallies.
In a new videotape believed to have been recorded by terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Zarqawi is calling on Sunnis to resist a Shiite takeover in Iraq's new National Assembly. And Iraq's interim president said today that some of the 170,000 U.S. and foreign troops could be out of Iraq by the end of the year, but only after Iraqi forces are trained and insurgents are brought under control.
Linda Robinson returned from Iraq Friday. She's a writer, reporter for "U.S. News & World Report," also the author of "Masters of Chaos: The Secret History of the Special Forces." Linda spent 10 days in Iraq, talking with U.S. and Iraqi Special Forces. She's live in D.C.
Good morning, Linda. Good to have you along with us today.
LINDA ROBINSON, AUTHOR, "MASTERS OF CHAOS": Hi, Bill.
HEMMER: When we read your article, what's the headline?
ROBINSON: Well, the headline is, really, the exit strategy is a fundamental shift by the U.S. troops that are over there now to advising the Iraqi forces to try to bring them up to speed quickly as possible.
HEMMER: Now, how is that done, Linda?
ROBINSON: What they're doing is they're cutting away U.S. troops from a variety of units. And they're going to implant, as early as next week, about 3,000 to 4,000 advisers at all levels of the Iraqi forces right down to the company level. And what they're trying to do is replicate the success that the U.S. Special Forces have had in training two elite units that I got to see while I was over there. But this is very intensive work. These Special Forces soldiers are actually living with and fighting with these forces side by side. So...
HEMMER: What have the Special Forces learned, though, that they will now impart on what you describe to us as regular Marines and regular U.S. Army personnel?
ROBINSON: Right. Well, what they have learned -- and a lot of it is just the understanding the culture, because there are huge, enormous cultural differences between these two countries and the way the militaries operate. I saw, for instance, a 27-year-old captain who is the head of this elite counterterrorist unit doing his own mission planning and giving the brief back and then leading the troops. And that would never have been done in the old Iraqi army by a captain.
HEMMER: What is realistic here when we talk about U.S. troops and a military draw-down? Because these have been the persistent questions for past 24 hours. And how will this program help answer that question?
ROBINSON: Yes, absolutely. And none of the top commanders I talked to would put an official timetable on it. But, clearly, all of them hope that within a year this new Iraqi force will be seasoned enough that they can have dramatic draw-downs. And basically, then you'll shift to a mix of advisers with some brigade-size U.S. forces backing them up.
HEMMER: So, what you're describing to us is to further put this Iraqi face on the mission throughout the entire country. And if that's the case, take it to point B. What is the message that is being sent now to Zarqawi's people? Because this is essentially public knowledge.
ROBINSON: Right. Well, this is what General Luck (ph), a retired general who has been over there advising, calls the change in the perception, because everyone sees, really, perceptions in this war matter as much as what happens on the ground. He's saying, we're changing our stance from occupier to supporter of the Iraqis.
HEMMER: Iraq's interior minister -- one more point here -- said he's going to take about a year and a half, maybe 18 months, before the Iraqi forces are fully equipped. Is that realistic?
ROBINSON: Well, if they do what they say they're going to do, which is a massive push to really train and work side by side with these people. Also, even one of these elite units that I saw was still waiting for all of their guys to get night-vision goggles, since they do a lot of night operations. They have got to really make sure they're equipped and have the kind of armor, both body and vehicle armor, that the U.S. troops have.
HEMMER: Well, we'll see if it works, and we'll read your article. I'm looking forward to that. Thanks, Linda Robinson.
ROBINSON: Sure.
HEMMER: Linda Robinson down in D.C. -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: A 22-year-old Marine is expected to recover fully after receiving a liver transplant. But doctors say they are still concerned about what may have caused the Iraq veteran's liver failure.
Jason Bellini has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A few months after coming home from Iraq, Marine Lance Corporal Chris LeBlue complained he felt ill. He didn't want to go to the doctor, but it kept getting worse.
Three weeks ago, his wife took him to the emergency room, where he was diagnosed with liver failure and put on the liver transplant waiting list with 17,000 other people.
As you can see from this video shot by the U.S. Marines last week, his condition got so bad he could no longer talk with his wife.
MELANY LEBLUE, WIFE: Are you dizzy?
BELLINI: Doctors told his wife he needed a new liver immediately or he would die. He slipped into a coma, and his name went to the top of the transplant list.
LEBLUE: I was terrified, but I knew he need it. I've watched him over the past month and how much pain he was going through.
BELLINI (on camera): LeBlue was in a coma when the call came in Saturday night that a liver had been found. It was flown in immediately from New Mexico. Doctors began operating on him at 4:00 a.m. The operation lasted 11 hours.
(voice over): Monday, doctors declared the surgery a success. LeBleu's liver specialist says it appears LeBlue contracted a form of hepatitis. Where and when is still unknown. Tests may be ordered for the family, and doctors have more questions for the military.
DR. RONALD HILLENBRAND, LOMA LINDA MEDICAL CENTER: We're going to query the military to see if there are any similar cases of acute liver failure among other military personnel that either served in Iraq or had common exposures to Christopher.
BELLINI: LeBlue spent seven months in Iraq as a rifleman guarding the Syrian boarder.
CAPT. BRAD TIPPETT, U.S. MARINES CORPS: There are no indications of his illness being contracted in Iraq or in any way linked to our deployment. And no one else in the battalion Chris was a member of has come down with any similar symptoms. BELLINI: For his wife's part, she's just focused on her husband's recovery.
Jason Bellini, CNN, Loma Linda, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: A doctor at the hospital says it is more common, though, to acquire hepatitis in other countries because of different levels of sanitation -- Bill.
HEMMER: We wish him the best. It's 22 minutes now before the hour. A check of the weather again.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Well, you might have another way to search the Internet. Andy has got a look at that coming up in just a moment.
HEMMER: Also in a moment, is one of our "New You Revolution" participants working out too much? Is that a problem? An update on Harald here this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: There was a special tribute last night on David Letterman in honor of Johnny Carson. Letterman was on vacation last week. His first show since Carson's passing. His entire monologue last night: jokes sent to Letterman recently by Johnny Carson, something he did not reveal until that monologue was over. And he talked about Carson's nightly impact on him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": At the end of the day, that's who you wanted to be there, you know. It didn't make any difference what kind of a day you had, if you had a great day or a bad day. You know, the Watergate and Vietnam and the Gulf War and it didn't make any difference who was president. It didn't make any difference what the economy was or the unemployment or what was going on. At the end of the day, the guy you wanted there was Johnny Carson. What a tremendous luxury, if you think about it, to be tucked in at night by Johnny Carson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Part of Letterman's tribute last night, all of his jokes written by Johnny Carson. Kind of cool. Carson wanted Letterman to get that job that Jay Leno had to succeed...
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: You'd think Letterman could have interrupted his vacation and come back and done a tribute when it was more a little more timely, like Jay Leno did. Just a thought.
O'BRIEN: Ouch! Cold, cold. But that's all right.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, well, a different network.
CAFFERTY: Hey, you know, if they're all so beholden to the memory of this man, you know. I'm just beyond cranky this morning.
O'BRIEN: Are you?
SERWER: Really?
O'BRIEN: Why should do today be any different?
HEMMER: How do you feel about (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CAFFERTY: You were going to say why is today any different than any other? I know.
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: But then I decided not to.
CAFFERTY: There actually are some reasons that I'm not at liberty to share with you.
HEMMER: Ooh! That's tasty!
SERWER: Do tell. Just between us.
O'BRIEN: All right!
HEMMER: You got him to smile, anyway. Well done.
CAFFERTY: The ballots in Iraq aren't even counted yet. The Democrats want to know when we're going to get out of the country. Democratic leaders are urging President Bush to present a detailed exit strategy in tomorrow's State of the Union address.
Senator Kennedy wants an immediate withdrawal timetable for U.S. troops. The White House says this would play right into the hands of the terrorists. And Iraqi officials say that they need to us stay in the country for probably a couple of years until Iraq's security force is up to speed.
So, the question is this: Should the United States set a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq?
Johnny in Vicksburg, Mississippi, writes: "The Bush administration was dead set on elections on a given date. Let them show the same initiative, bravery and steadfastness to get our troops out. An open-ended policy such as the one that currently exists contributes not to democracy, but to occupation."
James in Glenview, Illinois: "Absolutely, but not a minute before the job is done."
Weldon in New Market, Ontario: "I don't think that a timetable could work. Along with maintaining a democratic outlook, the insurgents would love to sit back and pounce once enough of our troops have departed. Then it's back to square one."
Courtney in Denver writes: "Having a planned withdrawal of our troops would mean that we can predict the future. Anyone with that ability would probably be in Vegas laying down a bet on the Super Bowl."
And Reg in Thunder Bay: "Why is everyone concerned about this? The U.S. has always left immediately after a democratic government has been elected. Examples: Japan, Germany, South Korea, et cetera."
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Not to worry.
O'BRIEN: Reg...
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Pretty good today.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
Well, look out, Google and Yahoo. There's a new player in the search engine game. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" this morning.
It's kind of late in the game when you're talking about search engines, isn't it?
SERWER: Yes. Yes, Microsoft is going to play catch-up. They've done it before.
Before we get to that, though, I want to tell you about Bill Hemmer has got a very inquisitive mind. And the January -- in fact, we've got to get to the bottom of this -- 1982, January, not so bad, Bill. This 2.7 percent decline this January matches the decline we had in '03 and 2000. 2000 was worse. OK? 5.1 percent.
HEMMER: Yes.
SERWER: We're done with that forever.
CAFFERTY: Leave it alone.
SERWER: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Exactly. No more convoluted...
SERWER: No, it's OK. I'm interested, too.
Anyway, the search engine news that Soledad was talking about, yesterday (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Microsoft rolling out a search engine to compete against Google and Yahoo and others. They are late in the game. They were able to do this, however, remember with browsers. Netscape rolled out years before they rolled out IE, Internet Explorer, and they were able to catch up and surpass Netscape.
So, beware when they put their sizable bulk -- how big is this company? This is amazing. Yesterday, a personal income statistic from the Commerce Department was out. It was a record, up 3.7 percent for the month of December. Why? Because of Microsoft's special dividend. The government said so: $32 billion special dividend. That sort of matches the tax refund from 2001 that President Bush sent back. It actually moved the economy. I mean, it's truly amazing, isn't it?
CAFFERTY: Unbelievable.
O'BRIEN: That is.
SERWER: Speaking of Microsoft's competitor, Google, they're going to announce earnings after the bell. And it's expected they will be up six-fold.
HEMMER: Yo!
SERWER: That's not 6 percent. That's six times. So, and then you can see here, here's the chart of Google. And, you know, people can start great new businesses in this country. It's amazing.
HEMMER: Weren't we going to buy, like, a share of Google back when it was 60 bucks?
SERWER: I thought Jack was going to fund it, but...
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: Yes, over 200.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: I don't make enough money here to buy a share of Google.
SERWER: Yes, that's true, yes. Very good.
O'BRIEN: Moving on, our "New You Revolution" enters its third week. We're going to talk with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, follow one of our participants as he learns that less might actually be more. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Week three of our "New You Revolution." We're helping five folks break their bad, unhealthy habits.
HEMMER: Yes, Sanjay is back with us, checking up on the progress of one man today by the name of Harald.
Sanjay -- good morning. How is he doing? And how are the rest of them?
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Well, all of our participants do seem to be headed in the right direction, and all of them are seeing some early results.
But today, we do want to take a closer look at how well our runner, Harald Fricker, has been doing so far.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice over): Harald has been doing a lot of running, and he's lost at least 10 pounds already.
(on camera): We're doing all these sprints here. What's next for you? Are you going back to Colorado?
HARALD FRICKER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT" Oh, yes.
GUPTA: What are you going to do out there?
FRICKER: Well, we're going to do a little snowshoeing.
GUPTA (voice over): He's addicted to running under any conditions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not going out for your normal 100-mile snowshoe, Harald. We're going out for maybe 100 seconds.
GUPTA: Can his trainer stop him from doing too much?
FRICKER: He got mad at me the other day when I spent five extra minutes on one of the machines.
GUPTA: Harald has to learn more is not always better.
FRICKER: I used to be able to do knuckle push-ups by the hundreds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was, I was, all right?
FRICKER: All, I'm just giving you the...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here, right now, Harald.
FRICKER: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we want to work smarter, not harder.
GUPTA: And that it's a variety of exercises that will fuel his metabolism and help bring down his weight. Harald still thinks he's that young, fit runner from the '90s, who ran with other super athletes like Mike Closer (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's good to see you. Out for a snowshoe?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying to get him moving.
GUPTA: If Harald wants to be like Mike, he needs to do one more thing: Get more sleep, something he's still not doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love my sleep. I sleep eight hours a night.
FRICKER: You do?
GUPTA: Studies have shown that lack of sleep can lead to weight gain. Harald has been working on curbing his food cravings.
FRICKER: Can I have any of these? Not a Kit Kat, Three Musketeers, Milky Way, all of that's out? What about Pop Tarts?
GUPTA: When he's about to slip, his trainer is just a call away.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Minor setbacks and some real results are what our other participants have experienced as well. Here's their weekly check-up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELKA FISCHER, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: It is 8:30, and I am in the office. And I'm going to go sit and do a little more work.
GUPTA (voice over): So, Thekla is still working late and skipping meals and discovered another cause of her late-night eating habit: being separated from her husband.
FISCHER: I end up eating late with him or maybe having more to eat because it's a time where we bond.
GUPTA: But she's made it to yoga three times in the past week.
FISCHER: That's definitely more than I was doing before.
LEIGH ANN RAYNOR, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: It seems like everyone's enjoying this but me.
GUPTA: Actually, Leigh Ann is enjoying breaking her bad habits and is exercising regularly.
RAYNOR: I've lost, like, four and a half pounds.
GUPTA: She's thrilled because she's now able to walk two miles on the treadmill. And Leigh Ann is listening to her body just as the doctor ordered. She tried an aerobics class at her church, but it proved too much for a sore knee.
RAYNOR: Oh, no, we're not.
GUPTA: So, she'll continue to do what works best: cardio rehab and walking.
This week, Jonathan has something to celebrate in addition to his birthday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Superstar!
JONATHAN KARP, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: I went to scratch my back, and I was like, ooh. It's like something I'm totally not used to.
GUPTA: Keeping track of his nail-biting is paying off.
KARP: I'm starting to see some white spots on my nails in certain spots. This nail looks really good.
GUPTA: He's armed with a nail file to smooth out his gnawing urges. And although fighting stress from work is no piece of cake, he's on his way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
So, all of our participants are making some progress there, as you can see. Next week, we're going to take a closer look at how our grandmother, Sandra Garth, is doing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA GARTH, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: What's inside the "New You" refrigerator?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: She's stocked her fridge with healthy food and she's working out every day, even sometimes with her grandson. We'll tell you how she's staying motivated.
And if you've been following our "New You" participants, you can learn from what they've learned. Here are some take-home tips for you. More is not always better. Doing a lot of one type of exercise may not always lead to the results you're looking for. Also, listen to your body. If something hurts while you're exercising, stop doing it. Sometimes it's OK to take it easier or try something different. And finally, keep a journal. It will help you be more aware of your behavior and can help your track your success.
All of our "New You" participants are keeping journals, and you can track their ups and downs or send them an e-mail by logging on to CNN.com/am.
We'll keep you up to speed on it, next week, Tuesday again -- Bill.
HEMMER: Hey, good stuff there. Back to Harald for a second here. He's in his 40s, you say? How old is he today?
GUPTA: Yes, I think 45.
HEMMER: OK. So, back when he was a stud runner, he was in his 20s. Over that two-decade period, typically how much weight do men gain? GUPTA: You know, that's a really interesting question, because we actually studied this. And around two pounds a year a man will gain if they just eat right and don't exercise. So, if you're doing the eating part OK but not exercising, two pounds a year.
So, if you weighed about 180 when you were in your 20s, by the time you're 40 you're going to put on another 40 pounds, 220 by the time you're 60, 240. That's just eating right and not doing anything else.
HEMMER: That would make a very interesting journal entry, I think, if we were to follow your advice. Hey, thanks, Sanjay. We'll talk to you later this morning. All right.
GUPTA: Thanks, guys. All right, see you.
HEMMER: A break here. In a moment, the top stories here on AMERICAN MORNING. Also, this videotape that is said to be showing the missile that may have brought down a British cargo plane in Iraq. Back to that story as well at the top of the hour here after this.
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