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American Morning
Investigation Under Way Into How High-Ranking Army Officer Died in Iraq; 'The Opportunity'
Aired June 08, 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: So welcome back. Good morning. Open for business here in New York. In a moment here, a first for doctors, trying to find treatment for fertility problems.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In fact this time, ovarian tissue from one woman was transplanted into another woman. Doctors tried it, and it worked. Sanjay's going to explain why this is such a remarkable case.
HEMMER: First, the headlines, though. Back to Carol Costello for those now.
Good morning, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, a developing story out of California. FBI agents have arrested two people and detained two others in an ongoing terrorism investigation near Sacramento. They include Muslim leaders and a father and son. We'll continue updating you on this story.
Stay tuned to CNN day and night for most reliable news about your security.
Two former security guards in Aruba are expected to appear in court today in connection with the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway. A lawyer for the men tells CNN his clients are accused of murder and kidnapping, but says the men denied any involvement. Authorities, including an FBI dive team and dozens of volunteers, are stepping up the search for the girl again this morning.
Broadway is set to dim its lights this today in honor of Anne Bancroft. The Oscar and Tony Award winner was immortalized as Mrs. Robinson in the 1967 film "The Graduate," and earned a Grammy for her portrayal of Helen Keller's teacher in "The Miracle Worker." Bancroft died at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York on Monday night. She had uterine cancer. She was 73 years old.
President Bush is hosting the prime minister of Turkey next hour at the Oval Office. The meeting comes one day after the president hosted British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The president also working on his domestic agenda today. He'll speak at a Social Security event this afternoon. And could today be the day in the Michael Jackson trial? The entertainer's fans have been gathering outside of the courthouse. They're singing. Their waving signs. They're dancing. They're praying. All as they await a verdict in the case. Jurors are getting ready to start a third full day of deliberations in just about two hours. Jackson is waiting things out at his Neverland Ranch.
The jury's not asking too many questions, are they?
HEMMER: I think one today, right?
COSTELLO: In three days.
O'BRIEN: You never know. I mean, you know, sometimes they say it benefits the defense; it benefits the prosecution. I don't know. Everyone's just watching and waiting it. And then the pundits come out and talk about why it happened as it happens. We'll just wait and see.
Carol, thanks a lot.
An investigation is now under way into how a high-ranking Army officer died last weekend in Iraq. The military says ace the 44-year- old West Point professor who volunteered to go to war died of noncombat injuries.
Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon this morning.
Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again to you, Soledad.
Well, it is a very difficult story. Another U.S. military family struggling with the grief of a loved one dying in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice over): Colonel Ted Westhusing had one of the most high-pressure jobs in Iraq: training Iraqi security forces in counterterrorism and special operations. Ted Westhusing died Sunday in Iraq. No one can say for certain what happened.
His mother got the call on her birthday.
TIM WESTHUSING, COLONEL'S BROTHER: She was expecting a call from him, and that was not the call she got.
STARR: His family, like so many others, in agony.
WESTHUSING: It tears at your insides like you would never know.
STARR: Ted Westhusing is the highest ranking Army officer to die in Iraq. He was a professor at the military academy at West Point before volunteering for Iraq.
WESTHUSING: He just wanted to go over there and help out, because he felt that he could make a difference.
STARR: Westhusing's death is listed as non-hostile. That category includes accident, illness, foul play, an act of nature, such as being struck by lightning, or suicide.
Military sources confirm to CNN that family members have been told Westhusing was found with a single gunshot wound. But the Army emphasizes it is conducting a full investigation to determine what happened.
WESTHUSING: It just breaks your heart, it really does, that there's such, you know, a great person that had so much capability, so much to offer. It's gone. I'd just like for people to know that he gave everything to make a difference.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: Soledad, again, the Army is not talking. They cannot say what really happened here. But his friends, his family, his colleagues are remembering an Army officer who served with distinction in times of both peace and war.
O'BRIEN; What a heartbreak for all of them.
Will the military have a final assessment on what exactly did happen?
STARR: They will, indeed, Soledad. A full investigation is under way. If -- the Army is not going to speak about the specifics out of respect for the Colonel Westhusing's family until the investigation is complete, and then of course they will notify the family of their findings. If it comes to it, they will conduct what they call a psychological autopsy. That will be conducted by Army medical personnel. That is the standard procedure in all of these cases. They will try and determine what factors were at play and what did happen here -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: That's a really sad story. All right, Barbara, thanks -- Bill.
HEMMER: Twenty-five minutes before the hour now, Soledad.
A former top policy maker at the State Department says the United States has an extraordinary opportunity to set a new course for the world. But is the U.S. blowing the chance? That's the focus of a new book called "The Opportunity: America's Moment to Alter History's Course." Richard Haass wrote it. He's also president of the Council on Foreign Relations, my guest here in New York.
Good morning.
RICHARD HAASS, FMR. STATE DEPT. OFFICIAL: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Nice to see you here in New York City.
Intriguing title, "American's Moment to Alter History's Course." Define that moment, as you see it.
HAASS: Well, it's a moment, which means it won't last. And the moment is because of extraordinary American power, the fact that the chance of a war between the United States and the other major powers in the world right now is remote. The fact that a lot of what the United States wants to do in the world, stop the spread of nuclear weapons, stop disease, deal with terrorism, that these goals with not simply American goals, but these are potentially universal goals. There's an opportunity to organization the world, to integrate the world so we can actually make a lot of the world safe and well off.
HEMMER: So in your judgment then, are the folks in Washington acting on this opportunity or not, do you believe?
HAASS: The reason I wrote this book, is I'm concerned that we're not. I used the word that we're potentially squandering the opportunity by trying to do too much at times, by trying to do too much ourselves, and also by undermining the economic foundations of American strength.
HEMMER: When did you start writing this book, Richard?
HAASS: Just over a year ago.
HEMMER: Just about a year ago. And the bulk of the writing happened, what, this past summer, is that what you mentioned?
HAASS: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: How did the issue of Iraq in the daily drumbeat of headlines play into your theory?
HAASS: Well, Iraq, to me, is a case study of perhaps of what we ought not to do in the world. That we've alienated a good deal of the world, and essentially the cost of Iraq, direct costs; human life, the casualties, the military costs, the economic costs simply aren't worth it given the benefits. The tradeoff doesn't make sense.
HEMMER: Could one argue that, when you make a decision to go to Afghanistan in 2001 and then Iraq two years later that those two moments, we're trying to set on the course along the path that you're now considering?
HAASS: I think Afghanistan's a good example. There the United States a perfect reason to act. We had a lot of the world prepared to support us. And right now, the world has become a very successful place against terrorism. It's difficult if you're a terrorist to succeed. Iraq, though, is just the opposite in my view. Simply the costs outweigh the benefits, and it threatens the opportunity that I believe is there for the United States around the world.
HEMMER: If I subscribe to your theory then, and I'm looking at the headlines from Iraq every day, and I'm looking at the challenges ahead, how much is Iraq now a distraction to what you are...
HAASS: Iraq is something of a destruction. Right now, for example, because of all the military forces we have tied down in Iraq, we can't perhaps threaten. We're not in the position to threaten the Irans or the North Koreas the way we want, all the money we have tied up there, the fact that diplomatically, a lot of the world has distanced itself from us. Essentially Iraq has driven us in ways that have also distracting the time and attention of American policymakers.
HEMMER: Could one also argue if you're sitting there in the Tehran today, you've got American forces, 12,000-plus in Afghanistan to west and you've got 140,000 American troops on your other border there, that Iran itself is looking at both of these borders, and thinking, wow, we've got some issues here.
HAASS: I thank that was the view initially. But Over time, as the U.S. forces looked somewhat bogged down, as clearly the president doesn't have the discretion he had two years to start something else big and new. I think the Iranians have relaxed. And one of the reasons the Iranians are pushing the envelope with their nuclear program, in Iraq, is they're feeling that the heat is off.
HEMMER: One more topic here. The issue of North Korea is back in the news today.
HAASS: Sure.
HEMMER: You are a proponent actually of having face-to-face talks with Pyongyang. Why is that, as opposed to six-party talks with China, Japan and South Korea?
HAASS: The shape of the table is irrelevant. What matter is that is the United States coordinates with the other parties, and we tell the North Koreans, here's what we want from you. Here's what you will get. Here's what we will do for you if you do it in the area of nuclear nonproliferation, if you meet out requirements. But here's what we will do to you if you do not, and that's something that we've got to do. And I don't, care whether it's one-on-one talks or group talks, we've got to find a way to get China in particular to work with us to put pressure on the North Koreans.
HEMMER: I could talk to you for hours. Wish we had more time.
Richard Haass, thanks.
HAASS: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: The book is out. It's called "The Opportunity: America's Moment to Alter History's Course."
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: In this morning's "House Call," a medical first. Just two days ago, a healthy baby girl was born to a mother who had undergone the first successful ovarian tissue transplant here in the U.S. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with more on this.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. A really interesting story here. Really a story of two women, two identical twins. One named Stephanie and one named Melanie, age 24. Melanie has three girls. They're identical twins. She was able to have three girls. Stephanie stopped having periods, became infertile, essentially, at the age of 14.
The question was, would she ever be able to have children herself, this identical twin? And because of an ovarian tissue transplant, as you mentioned, a medical first, she did have a baby girl a couple of days ago. This is the first time this ever happened.
Let me give you a little bit of background on how this all took place. April of last year, an ovarian transplant from one identical twin to the other. Just a couple of months later, three and a half months later in July, some sense that it was actually taking, starting to work. About a couple months after that, the first menstrual cycle. It was the first time in ten years that she had a normal menstrual cycle. Shortly after that, she became pregnant again. She never thought that this would happen. And then just a couple days ago, a confirmed pregnancy.
Now this woman, Stephanie, had tried everything. A lot of people go through this, infertility. She had tried IVF, had eggs donated from her identical twin sister, even. None of those things worked. An ovarian tissue transplant, one identical twin to the other, made it happen.
O'BRIEN: Is there any indication that you could then do an ovarian tissue transplant from another person who is not your identical twin to another?
GUPTA: Really good question. This is where we're headed. But we're not there yet. An important point. The biggest concern is that you have to give anti-rejection drugs.
O'BRIEN: I was going to say, all those immuno-suppressant drugs, right, would be a big problem for a baby.
GUPTA: Steroids, rejection drugs. They're going to maybe make the ovarian transplant take, but make it almost certainly impossible to become pregnant.
O'BRIEN: So then the idea would be before you have any kind of chemo or radiation or become infertile by some other thing, you could just take out your own ovary?
GUPTA: So if you knew that you were going to become infertile because of chemo, you could potentially bank your own ovarian tissue and then transplant it into yourself later down the road so that you can become fertile again. And I should point out, as they get better at this transplant stuff, as well, get better at honing down these anti-rejection drugs, it is possible one day that you could actually get a transplant from a stranger and still have it work and have a baby.
O'BRIEN: And a banked ovarian tissue, the cells, that's as good as, potentially? I mean, obviously, you can't keep a heart that you're going to use for transplant or a kidney or lung, you can't keep it alive -- might not be the right words -- for a long time.
GUPTA: That's right. And they haven't proven for sure that this works yet, where they actually bank it, store it, freeze it and then transplant it. But I will point and this is maybe more science-y than you need, but it's only a little part of the ovarian tissue that's actually being transplanted. It's not the entire ovary itself.
O'BRIEN: Oh, really?
GUPTA: It's the egg-producing part of the ovary that actually gets transplanted. And the theory is, that can be banked, frozen and stored a little bit longer.
O'BRIEN: All right. Really good news for all the women who struggle with infertility.
GUPTA: Really good news. And a medical first. It's good to talk about that.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it is. All right, Sanjay, thanks -- Bill.
HEMMER: In a moment here, Soledad, one airline's pricey baggage system sent packing. Andy has that in "Minding Your Business." And Russell Crowe gets a chance to tell his side of the story. A conversation for late-night TV And what will he say then? "90 Second Pop" takes a crack at that, right after the break on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. It's time for the Wednesday edition of "90-Second Pop." Our pop pundits today, Toure, CNN's pop culture correspondent.
Good morning.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Karyn Bryant from "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT."
Good morning.
O'BRIEN: And Andy Borowitz from Borowitzreport.com.
Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.
Russell Crowe, we all know it now, had a little legal trouble.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: He did.
O'BRIEN: The poor guy.
BOROWITZ: He did. He was... O'BRIEN: What did he do, first of all?
BOROWITZ: He was in a hotel in New York City. He was trying to dial home.
O'BRIEN: Which hotel, do you know?
TOURE: The Mercer.
BOROWITZ: The Mercer Hotel.
O'BRIEN: Oh.
TOURE: Where there's always a big celebrity.
O'BRIEN: Right.
BOROWITZ: That's right. He was having trouble dialing home to Australia. So, he went down to the desk, the front desk.
O'BRIEN: To get some help.
BOROWITZ: To get some help to use the phone. He found that phone didn't work either. And then he did what most of us do when our phones don't work, he threw the phone at the desk clerk, cutting him below the eye. Now, I think...
O'BRIEN: The desk clerk needed stitches actually.
BOROWITZ: He did.
KARYN BRYANT, CNN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Right.
O'BRIEN: I mean, he was injured.
BOROWITZ: I think it sheds light on an important issue to me, which is celebrity phone violence. We've seen this with Naomi Campbell when she threw a phone at several assistants. In the hands of a celebrity, a phone is a deadly weapon. They need some form of phone control in this country.
O'BRIEN: He was charged with assault.
BOROWITZ: Right, with a deadly phone.
BRYANT: This is the sexiest perp walk I've seen in awhile. The guy is hot. I don't even care.
BOROWITZ: I love this.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
BRYANT: He wanted to call his baby and his mama at 4:30. O'BRIEN: Well, I didn't realize you were the defense attorney in the case. I'm sorry, Karyn. Well, he has an opportunity now go on David Letterman and make it all right, because that's really often what you do.
BOROWITZ: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: You go on the show, mea culpa.
TOURE: And he's pushing his movie, which is good. It's strong. It's not incredible, "Cinderella Man," which is not...
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: There's no real in for women here that I see. It's just a guy movie about a boxer from, what, 70, 80 years ago that nobody ever heard of.
O'BRIEN: Does the publicity helps or hurts the movie?
BOROWITZ: From what I've heard around the set today, the ladies love a guy who throws a phone.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: See what I'm talking about?
O'BRIEN: Moving on, let's talk about some new releases. Coldplay, White Stripes, Black Eyed Peas.
TOURE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: What do you like and what do you not like?
TOURE: I am over the moon about the White Stripes. They are awesome.
BOROWITZ: Yes, I guess.
TOURE: It's good bluesy, like, rock with, like, southern flavors.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
TOURE: And Jack White is just a genius. I mean, this is not a product, right? We're so used to product in the music business. This is not a product. This is an outlet for a genius. Jack White is a genius.
O'BRIEN: Well, I'm (INAUDIBLE) that you like this one.
TOURE: Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: How about the other ones?
BOROWITZ: I'm with Toure on this one. TOURE: Coldplay, you know, it's hard to grow as an artist when the whole world is watching. And I think this album is very repetitive of what they've done before. It's very like, you know, dramatic and ethereal and, you know, like, the high school dance final song, like every song is trying to be that.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: And actually I'm trying to distinguish the difference between the songs, because they kind of sound very similar.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: And even the one that we played, I'm, like, OK, which one was that?
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: That's...
BRYANT: The thing with Coldplay, I saw them in concert a couple of weeks ago. They're fantastic live. Their records do grow on you. I think the last one, "A Rush of Blood to the Head," had more diversity on it. But I think upon re-listening to "X and Y," it will grow on you even more, and the songs will discern themselves. And I think they're good.
BOROWITZ: The only thing I'll say about the Black Eyed Peas, which I listen to, is that people should know this: Justin Timberlake is on it. And I think there should be a warning label to that effect. I really do.
BRYANT: But so is -- well, the thing with the Black Eyed Peas, Soledad, there is no parental warning on it. It's safe for kids.
O'BRIEN: You guys, we're out of time. But I thank you.
Also, we should mention that you can join Karyn Bryant this evening on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." She's going to take a sneak peek at the movie that everybody is talking about. It's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." It's Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in a revealing interview with "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." That's at 7:00 p.m. on "Headline News" -- Bill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: All right, Soledad. Nine minutes before the hour. If you have ever flown in and out of Denver's airport, the luggage system there, you know -- it was supposed to be the way of the future. Now it will be history. Andy explains, "Minding Your Business," right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Back to Andy Serwer right now. This automatic luggage system in Denver is getting bagged. And A check of the markets, too. Here's Andy, "Minding Your Business" now. ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: It's a very good line, Bill, I like that.
All right. Let's talk about the markets first of all. As promised, an update on Wall Street, so far, at least. 42 points for the Dow. Texas Instruments leading the charge, up 1.6 percent. Google down a little bit so far. Sorry about that, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: No cupcakes.
SERWER: No cupcakes for you. All right, let's talk about a couple airline stories very quickly this morning. The CEOs of Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines on Capitol Hill yesterday, looking for relief in pension plan accounting, saying if they don't get any, if they're not allowed to freeze their pension plan benefits, they may go bankrupt. Lawmakers not terribly sympathetic there.
And let's talk about this automated baggage handling system in Denver.
HEMMER: It's the future, right, Andy?
SERWER: What a lemon. Look at this.
O'BRIEN: It never worked.
SERWER: It never -- well, that's not quite true, Soledad. It lost bags and destroyed them. It caused the airports to be delayed opening by 16 months. And it cost United Airlines $60 million.
O'BRIEN: Never worked as hoped.
SERWER: No, it never did. So they're bagging it, to steal a line from you.
HEMMER: Thank you, sir. Good writing.
O'BRIEN: Final look at the "Question of the Day."
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you.
The question is this. What can be done to save America's automotive industry?
Mike in Texas writes: "Jack, we need to get rid of free trade and have fair trade agreements if we're ever going to compete with foreign automakers or any other industry that we outsource. Automakers are just the beginning of what's to come."
Randy in Texas writes: "When fuel is $2-plus per gallon, consumers could care less about horsepower. What they want is 40 to 50 mile to the gallon automobiles. Perhaps this explains why diesel Jettas and the Hybrid Prius are not sitting around on the new car lots."
And this from an employee at G.M. It's a little long but it's interesting. Jackie in McKeesport, Pennsylvania: "I've been an employee at General Motors for 26 years. During that time, all I ever heard from management was the Japanese are taking our market share and we have to give up more benefits so the company can be more competitive. What did management do to be more competitive? Nothing. They just had us build bigger and more expensive cars and SUVs and now I bet after I get my 30 years in, my pension won't there be, either."
SERWER: Sad, but true.
O'BRIEN: And I was going to say, it sounds like she's exactly right.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
Tomorrow, a recipe for intrigue. Meet the chef for the C.I.A. His name is Fred D'Lippo (ph). His job is so secretive, often he doesn't even know who he's cooking for. Need a king taster on this. That's tomorrow at 7:00 a.m.
We're back in a moment, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Hey, we'll see you again tomorrow, on Thursday. Time's flying here. Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center now.
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Aired June 8, 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: So welcome back. Good morning. Open for business here in New York. In a moment here, a first for doctors, trying to find treatment for fertility problems.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In fact this time, ovarian tissue from one woman was transplanted into another woman. Doctors tried it, and it worked. Sanjay's going to explain why this is such a remarkable case.
HEMMER: First, the headlines, though. Back to Carol Costello for those now.
Good morning, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, a developing story out of California. FBI agents have arrested two people and detained two others in an ongoing terrorism investigation near Sacramento. They include Muslim leaders and a father and son. We'll continue updating you on this story.
Stay tuned to CNN day and night for most reliable news about your security.
Two former security guards in Aruba are expected to appear in court today in connection with the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway. A lawyer for the men tells CNN his clients are accused of murder and kidnapping, but says the men denied any involvement. Authorities, including an FBI dive team and dozens of volunteers, are stepping up the search for the girl again this morning.
Broadway is set to dim its lights this today in honor of Anne Bancroft. The Oscar and Tony Award winner was immortalized as Mrs. Robinson in the 1967 film "The Graduate," and earned a Grammy for her portrayal of Helen Keller's teacher in "The Miracle Worker." Bancroft died at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York on Monday night. She had uterine cancer. She was 73 years old.
President Bush is hosting the prime minister of Turkey next hour at the Oval Office. The meeting comes one day after the president hosted British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The president also working on his domestic agenda today. He'll speak at a Social Security event this afternoon. And could today be the day in the Michael Jackson trial? The entertainer's fans have been gathering outside of the courthouse. They're singing. Their waving signs. They're dancing. They're praying. All as they await a verdict in the case. Jurors are getting ready to start a third full day of deliberations in just about two hours. Jackson is waiting things out at his Neverland Ranch.
The jury's not asking too many questions, are they?
HEMMER: I think one today, right?
COSTELLO: In three days.
O'BRIEN: You never know. I mean, you know, sometimes they say it benefits the defense; it benefits the prosecution. I don't know. Everyone's just watching and waiting it. And then the pundits come out and talk about why it happened as it happens. We'll just wait and see.
Carol, thanks a lot.
An investigation is now under way into how a high-ranking Army officer died last weekend in Iraq. The military says ace the 44-year- old West Point professor who volunteered to go to war died of noncombat injuries.
Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon this morning.
Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again to you, Soledad.
Well, it is a very difficult story. Another U.S. military family struggling with the grief of a loved one dying in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice over): Colonel Ted Westhusing had one of the most high-pressure jobs in Iraq: training Iraqi security forces in counterterrorism and special operations. Ted Westhusing died Sunday in Iraq. No one can say for certain what happened.
His mother got the call on her birthday.
TIM WESTHUSING, COLONEL'S BROTHER: She was expecting a call from him, and that was not the call she got.
STARR: His family, like so many others, in agony.
WESTHUSING: It tears at your insides like you would never know.
STARR: Ted Westhusing is the highest ranking Army officer to die in Iraq. He was a professor at the military academy at West Point before volunteering for Iraq.
WESTHUSING: He just wanted to go over there and help out, because he felt that he could make a difference.
STARR: Westhusing's death is listed as non-hostile. That category includes accident, illness, foul play, an act of nature, such as being struck by lightning, or suicide.
Military sources confirm to CNN that family members have been told Westhusing was found with a single gunshot wound. But the Army emphasizes it is conducting a full investigation to determine what happened.
WESTHUSING: It just breaks your heart, it really does, that there's such, you know, a great person that had so much capability, so much to offer. It's gone. I'd just like for people to know that he gave everything to make a difference.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: Soledad, again, the Army is not talking. They cannot say what really happened here. But his friends, his family, his colleagues are remembering an Army officer who served with distinction in times of both peace and war.
O'BRIEN; What a heartbreak for all of them.
Will the military have a final assessment on what exactly did happen?
STARR: They will, indeed, Soledad. A full investigation is under way. If -- the Army is not going to speak about the specifics out of respect for the Colonel Westhusing's family until the investigation is complete, and then of course they will notify the family of their findings. If it comes to it, they will conduct what they call a psychological autopsy. That will be conducted by Army medical personnel. That is the standard procedure in all of these cases. They will try and determine what factors were at play and what did happen here -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: That's a really sad story. All right, Barbara, thanks -- Bill.
HEMMER: Twenty-five minutes before the hour now, Soledad.
A former top policy maker at the State Department says the United States has an extraordinary opportunity to set a new course for the world. But is the U.S. blowing the chance? That's the focus of a new book called "The Opportunity: America's Moment to Alter History's Course." Richard Haass wrote it. He's also president of the Council on Foreign Relations, my guest here in New York.
Good morning.
RICHARD HAASS, FMR. STATE DEPT. OFFICIAL: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Nice to see you here in New York City.
Intriguing title, "American's Moment to Alter History's Course." Define that moment, as you see it.
HAASS: Well, it's a moment, which means it won't last. And the moment is because of extraordinary American power, the fact that the chance of a war between the United States and the other major powers in the world right now is remote. The fact that a lot of what the United States wants to do in the world, stop the spread of nuclear weapons, stop disease, deal with terrorism, that these goals with not simply American goals, but these are potentially universal goals. There's an opportunity to organization the world, to integrate the world so we can actually make a lot of the world safe and well off.
HEMMER: So in your judgment then, are the folks in Washington acting on this opportunity or not, do you believe?
HAASS: The reason I wrote this book, is I'm concerned that we're not. I used the word that we're potentially squandering the opportunity by trying to do too much at times, by trying to do too much ourselves, and also by undermining the economic foundations of American strength.
HEMMER: When did you start writing this book, Richard?
HAASS: Just over a year ago.
HEMMER: Just about a year ago. And the bulk of the writing happened, what, this past summer, is that what you mentioned?
HAASS: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: How did the issue of Iraq in the daily drumbeat of headlines play into your theory?
HAASS: Well, Iraq, to me, is a case study of perhaps of what we ought not to do in the world. That we've alienated a good deal of the world, and essentially the cost of Iraq, direct costs; human life, the casualties, the military costs, the economic costs simply aren't worth it given the benefits. The tradeoff doesn't make sense.
HEMMER: Could one argue that, when you make a decision to go to Afghanistan in 2001 and then Iraq two years later that those two moments, we're trying to set on the course along the path that you're now considering?
HAASS: I think Afghanistan's a good example. There the United States a perfect reason to act. We had a lot of the world prepared to support us. And right now, the world has become a very successful place against terrorism. It's difficult if you're a terrorist to succeed. Iraq, though, is just the opposite in my view. Simply the costs outweigh the benefits, and it threatens the opportunity that I believe is there for the United States around the world.
HEMMER: If I subscribe to your theory then, and I'm looking at the headlines from Iraq every day, and I'm looking at the challenges ahead, how much is Iraq now a distraction to what you are...
HAASS: Iraq is something of a destruction. Right now, for example, because of all the military forces we have tied down in Iraq, we can't perhaps threaten. We're not in the position to threaten the Irans or the North Koreas the way we want, all the money we have tied up there, the fact that diplomatically, a lot of the world has distanced itself from us. Essentially Iraq has driven us in ways that have also distracting the time and attention of American policymakers.
HEMMER: Could one also argue if you're sitting there in the Tehran today, you've got American forces, 12,000-plus in Afghanistan to west and you've got 140,000 American troops on your other border there, that Iran itself is looking at both of these borders, and thinking, wow, we've got some issues here.
HAASS: I thank that was the view initially. But Over time, as the U.S. forces looked somewhat bogged down, as clearly the president doesn't have the discretion he had two years to start something else big and new. I think the Iranians have relaxed. And one of the reasons the Iranians are pushing the envelope with their nuclear program, in Iraq, is they're feeling that the heat is off.
HEMMER: One more topic here. The issue of North Korea is back in the news today.
HAASS: Sure.
HEMMER: You are a proponent actually of having face-to-face talks with Pyongyang. Why is that, as opposed to six-party talks with China, Japan and South Korea?
HAASS: The shape of the table is irrelevant. What matter is that is the United States coordinates with the other parties, and we tell the North Koreans, here's what we want from you. Here's what you will get. Here's what we will do for you if you do it in the area of nuclear nonproliferation, if you meet out requirements. But here's what we will do to you if you do not, and that's something that we've got to do. And I don't, care whether it's one-on-one talks or group talks, we've got to find a way to get China in particular to work with us to put pressure on the North Koreans.
HEMMER: I could talk to you for hours. Wish we had more time.
Richard Haass, thanks.
HAASS: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: The book is out. It's called "The Opportunity: America's Moment to Alter History's Course."
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: In this morning's "House Call," a medical first. Just two days ago, a healthy baby girl was born to a mother who had undergone the first successful ovarian tissue transplant here in the U.S. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with more on this.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. A really interesting story here. Really a story of two women, two identical twins. One named Stephanie and one named Melanie, age 24. Melanie has three girls. They're identical twins. She was able to have three girls. Stephanie stopped having periods, became infertile, essentially, at the age of 14.
The question was, would she ever be able to have children herself, this identical twin? And because of an ovarian tissue transplant, as you mentioned, a medical first, she did have a baby girl a couple of days ago. This is the first time this ever happened.
Let me give you a little bit of background on how this all took place. April of last year, an ovarian transplant from one identical twin to the other. Just a couple of months later, three and a half months later in July, some sense that it was actually taking, starting to work. About a couple months after that, the first menstrual cycle. It was the first time in ten years that she had a normal menstrual cycle. Shortly after that, she became pregnant again. She never thought that this would happen. And then just a couple days ago, a confirmed pregnancy.
Now this woman, Stephanie, had tried everything. A lot of people go through this, infertility. She had tried IVF, had eggs donated from her identical twin sister, even. None of those things worked. An ovarian tissue transplant, one identical twin to the other, made it happen.
O'BRIEN: Is there any indication that you could then do an ovarian tissue transplant from another person who is not your identical twin to another?
GUPTA: Really good question. This is where we're headed. But we're not there yet. An important point. The biggest concern is that you have to give anti-rejection drugs.
O'BRIEN: I was going to say, all those immuno-suppressant drugs, right, would be a big problem for a baby.
GUPTA: Steroids, rejection drugs. They're going to maybe make the ovarian transplant take, but make it almost certainly impossible to become pregnant.
O'BRIEN: So then the idea would be before you have any kind of chemo or radiation or become infertile by some other thing, you could just take out your own ovary?
GUPTA: So if you knew that you were going to become infertile because of chemo, you could potentially bank your own ovarian tissue and then transplant it into yourself later down the road so that you can become fertile again. And I should point out, as they get better at this transplant stuff, as well, get better at honing down these anti-rejection drugs, it is possible one day that you could actually get a transplant from a stranger and still have it work and have a baby.
O'BRIEN: And a banked ovarian tissue, the cells, that's as good as, potentially? I mean, obviously, you can't keep a heart that you're going to use for transplant or a kidney or lung, you can't keep it alive -- might not be the right words -- for a long time.
GUPTA: That's right. And they haven't proven for sure that this works yet, where they actually bank it, store it, freeze it and then transplant it. But I will point and this is maybe more science-y than you need, but it's only a little part of the ovarian tissue that's actually being transplanted. It's not the entire ovary itself.
O'BRIEN: Oh, really?
GUPTA: It's the egg-producing part of the ovary that actually gets transplanted. And the theory is, that can be banked, frozen and stored a little bit longer.
O'BRIEN: All right. Really good news for all the women who struggle with infertility.
GUPTA: Really good news. And a medical first. It's good to talk about that.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it is. All right, Sanjay, thanks -- Bill.
HEMMER: In a moment here, Soledad, one airline's pricey baggage system sent packing. Andy has that in "Minding Your Business." And Russell Crowe gets a chance to tell his side of the story. A conversation for late-night TV And what will he say then? "90 Second Pop" takes a crack at that, right after the break on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. It's time for the Wednesday edition of "90-Second Pop." Our pop pundits today, Toure, CNN's pop culture correspondent.
Good morning.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Karyn Bryant from "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT."
Good morning.
O'BRIEN: And Andy Borowitz from Borowitzreport.com.
Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.
Russell Crowe, we all know it now, had a little legal trouble.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: He did.
O'BRIEN: The poor guy.
BOROWITZ: He did. He was... O'BRIEN: What did he do, first of all?
BOROWITZ: He was in a hotel in New York City. He was trying to dial home.
O'BRIEN: Which hotel, do you know?
TOURE: The Mercer.
BOROWITZ: The Mercer Hotel.
O'BRIEN: Oh.
TOURE: Where there's always a big celebrity.
O'BRIEN: Right.
BOROWITZ: That's right. He was having trouble dialing home to Australia. So, he went down to the desk, the front desk.
O'BRIEN: To get some help.
BOROWITZ: To get some help to use the phone. He found that phone didn't work either. And then he did what most of us do when our phones don't work, he threw the phone at the desk clerk, cutting him below the eye. Now, I think...
O'BRIEN: The desk clerk needed stitches actually.
BOROWITZ: He did.
KARYN BRYANT, CNN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Right.
O'BRIEN: I mean, he was injured.
BOROWITZ: I think it sheds light on an important issue to me, which is celebrity phone violence. We've seen this with Naomi Campbell when she threw a phone at several assistants. In the hands of a celebrity, a phone is a deadly weapon. They need some form of phone control in this country.
O'BRIEN: He was charged with assault.
BOROWITZ: Right, with a deadly phone.
BRYANT: This is the sexiest perp walk I've seen in awhile. The guy is hot. I don't even care.
BOROWITZ: I love this.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
BRYANT: He wanted to call his baby and his mama at 4:30. O'BRIEN: Well, I didn't realize you were the defense attorney in the case. I'm sorry, Karyn. Well, he has an opportunity now go on David Letterman and make it all right, because that's really often what you do.
BOROWITZ: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: You go on the show, mea culpa.
TOURE: And he's pushing his movie, which is good. It's strong. It's not incredible, "Cinderella Man," which is not...
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: There's no real in for women here that I see. It's just a guy movie about a boxer from, what, 70, 80 years ago that nobody ever heard of.
O'BRIEN: Does the publicity helps or hurts the movie?
BOROWITZ: From what I've heard around the set today, the ladies love a guy who throws a phone.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: See what I'm talking about?
O'BRIEN: Moving on, let's talk about some new releases. Coldplay, White Stripes, Black Eyed Peas.
TOURE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: What do you like and what do you not like?
TOURE: I am over the moon about the White Stripes. They are awesome.
BOROWITZ: Yes, I guess.
TOURE: It's good bluesy, like, rock with, like, southern flavors.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
TOURE: And Jack White is just a genius. I mean, this is not a product, right? We're so used to product in the music business. This is not a product. This is an outlet for a genius. Jack White is a genius.
O'BRIEN: Well, I'm (INAUDIBLE) that you like this one.
TOURE: Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: How about the other ones?
BOROWITZ: I'm with Toure on this one. TOURE: Coldplay, you know, it's hard to grow as an artist when the whole world is watching. And I think this album is very repetitive of what they've done before. It's very like, you know, dramatic and ethereal and, you know, like, the high school dance final song, like every song is trying to be that.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: And actually I'm trying to distinguish the difference between the songs, because they kind of sound very similar.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: And even the one that we played, I'm, like, OK, which one was that?
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: That's...
BRYANT: The thing with Coldplay, I saw them in concert a couple of weeks ago. They're fantastic live. Their records do grow on you. I think the last one, "A Rush of Blood to the Head," had more diversity on it. But I think upon re-listening to "X and Y," it will grow on you even more, and the songs will discern themselves. And I think they're good.
BOROWITZ: The only thing I'll say about the Black Eyed Peas, which I listen to, is that people should know this: Justin Timberlake is on it. And I think there should be a warning label to that effect. I really do.
BRYANT: But so is -- well, the thing with the Black Eyed Peas, Soledad, there is no parental warning on it. It's safe for kids.
O'BRIEN: You guys, we're out of time. But I thank you.
Also, we should mention that you can join Karyn Bryant this evening on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." She's going to take a sneak peek at the movie that everybody is talking about. It's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." It's Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in a revealing interview with "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." That's at 7:00 p.m. on "Headline News" -- Bill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: All right, Soledad. Nine minutes before the hour. If you have ever flown in and out of Denver's airport, the luggage system there, you know -- it was supposed to be the way of the future. Now it will be history. Andy explains, "Minding Your Business," right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Back to Andy Serwer right now. This automatic luggage system in Denver is getting bagged. And A check of the markets, too. Here's Andy, "Minding Your Business" now. ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: It's a very good line, Bill, I like that.
All right. Let's talk about the markets first of all. As promised, an update on Wall Street, so far, at least. 42 points for the Dow. Texas Instruments leading the charge, up 1.6 percent. Google down a little bit so far. Sorry about that, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: No cupcakes.
SERWER: No cupcakes for you. All right, let's talk about a couple airline stories very quickly this morning. The CEOs of Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines on Capitol Hill yesterday, looking for relief in pension plan accounting, saying if they don't get any, if they're not allowed to freeze their pension plan benefits, they may go bankrupt. Lawmakers not terribly sympathetic there.
And let's talk about this automated baggage handling system in Denver.
HEMMER: It's the future, right, Andy?
SERWER: What a lemon. Look at this.
O'BRIEN: It never worked.
SERWER: It never -- well, that's not quite true, Soledad. It lost bags and destroyed them. It caused the airports to be delayed opening by 16 months. And it cost United Airlines $60 million.
O'BRIEN: Never worked as hoped.
SERWER: No, it never did. So they're bagging it, to steal a line from you.
HEMMER: Thank you, sir. Good writing.
O'BRIEN: Final look at the "Question of the Day."
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you.
The question is this. What can be done to save America's automotive industry?
Mike in Texas writes: "Jack, we need to get rid of free trade and have fair trade agreements if we're ever going to compete with foreign automakers or any other industry that we outsource. Automakers are just the beginning of what's to come."
Randy in Texas writes: "When fuel is $2-plus per gallon, consumers could care less about horsepower. What they want is 40 to 50 mile to the gallon automobiles. Perhaps this explains why diesel Jettas and the Hybrid Prius are not sitting around on the new car lots."
And this from an employee at G.M. It's a little long but it's interesting. Jackie in McKeesport, Pennsylvania: "I've been an employee at General Motors for 26 years. During that time, all I ever heard from management was the Japanese are taking our market share and we have to give up more benefits so the company can be more competitive. What did management do to be more competitive? Nothing. They just had us build bigger and more expensive cars and SUVs and now I bet after I get my 30 years in, my pension won't there be, either."
SERWER: Sad, but true.
O'BRIEN: And I was going to say, it sounds like she's exactly right.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
Tomorrow, a recipe for intrigue. Meet the chef for the C.I.A. His name is Fred D'Lippo (ph). His job is so secretive, often he doesn't even know who he's cooking for. Need a king taster on this. That's tomorrow at 7:00 a.m.
We're back in a moment, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Hey, we'll see you again tomorrow, on Thursday. Time's flying here. Here's Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center now.
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