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American Morning
Command Performance; Getting Out Of Iraq
Aired November 28, 2005 - 06:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: You know, I know why they call it Black Monday. It's still dark...
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: No.
M. O'BRIEN: ... when you get up this early.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Miles, you're going to have to get used to these hours, because they're actually quite fun.
S. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE) I've 17 cups of coffee already.
M. O'BRIEN: It's great!
COSTELLO: No, it is. It is, because you have the best audience. They're up. They're motivated.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, they are.
COSTELLO: They're working to get the kids off to school and whatever they -- I mean, they are busy in the morning. And we give them their daily dose of news.
S. O'BRIEN: Absolutely. And they probably want us to get right to it. Please. Let's read you...
M. O'BRIEN: So let's get on with it, shall we?
COSTELLO: I shall.
The trial of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has resumed in Baghdad. Saddam Hussein and seven other members of his regime are accused in the killing of more than 140 men after an assassination attempt north of Baghdad. Security is tight. Attorneys for the former Iraqi leader have asked for a delay, saying they are still concerned about their safety. We're getting tape on a 20-minute delay. And when we get that tape in, we'll bring you the very latest.
President Bush is calling for immigration reform. The president starts a two-day swing today through parts of Arizona and Texas. His focus? Illegal immigration and border security. The trip comes a month after the president signed a $32 billion homeland security bill boosting border protection. Up against the clock in northeast China. Dozens have been killed in an explosion at a coal mine. Others are still trapped underground. According to the country's state-run news agency, rescuers pulled dozens of miners out alive after the initial blast Sunday night.
And forget Michael Irvin if he seems a little off for tonight's ESPN "Monday Night Countdown" Program. The former Dallas Cowboys receiver is reportedly facing misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia charges. I know, I buried the lead. Police in Plano, Texas, searched his car during a traffic stop. Irvin says the drug pipe found in his car actually belonged to a friend, and he meant to throw it away.
Oh, imagine being Jay Feely this morning, you know, the kicker for the New York Giants, because, man, what a tough loss. Actually, Josh Brown of the Seattle Seahawks kicked the winning field goal in overtime for a 24-21 game. Jay Feely missed a field goal in regulation play. Then the game went to overtime. He missed two field goals in overtime -- one 54 yards, the other 45. So, they were long.
But still, imagine Jay Feely this morning. His teammates were OK, though. They tapped -- you know, patted him on the back and said it's OK, Jay. Not everybody can have their day at the office.
(CROSSTALK)
S. O'BRIEN: ... in the...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, OK, Jay.
COSTELLO: Well, it's just going to be a sprint for those last five games.
Shall we go to the weather center and check in with Jacqui Jeras?
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Our big interview this morning is a man we love. Lieutenant General Russel...
M. O'BRIEN: Put the remote down. Put the remote down. You're going to want to watch this, right?
S. O'BRIEN: Russel Honore is a three-star general, a native son of Louisiana. He is, in fact -- if you don't recall, if you were living under a rock -- he's the Army general who took charge in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, commanding -- prompting memories, really, of John Wayne, I think is what the mayor, Ray Nagin, said. A John Wayne kind of dude or General Patton maybe. And a man for whom failure was absolutely not an option.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, U.S. ARMY: We're not stuck on stupid.
S. O'BRIEN (voice over): As the leader of Joint Task Force Katrina, Lieutenant General Russel Honore commanded attention and admiration.
HONORE: When you get here, you've got to make stuff happen.
S. O'BRIEN: The 57-year-old Honore led an active-duty force, which at its peak was 25,000 strong, with personnel from each of the armed services dispersed along the Gulf Coast.
General Honore burst on to the public stage in the days after Hurricane Katrina. Dispatched by President Bush to New Orleans, he took the deluged city by storm.
HONORE: Put it down! Put that weapon down on the back (INAUDIBLE).
S. O'BRIEN: To his troops, he was the "raging Cajun," a demanding yet compassionate field general. Honore's ability to make things happen won praise from one of the harshest critics of a federal response to Katrina, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.
MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: Now, I will tell you this, and I give the president some credit on this. He sent one John Wayne dude down here that can get some stuff done. And his name is General Honore. And he came off the dog-gone chopper, and he started cussing, and people started moving. And he's getting some stuff done.
HONORE: I've got (INAUDIBLE) right now. I need it to come here.
S. O'BRIEN: While shooting from the lip, the Louisiana native brought color to the often grim task of hurricane cleanup.
HONORE: We might be in the halftime in this game. We might be losing 50 to nothing. But I'm going to focus on this next half. We're going to win this half, and we're going to get it done. And we're going to get it done as quickly as we can.
S. O'BRIEN: The Katrina commander took part in another special mission, a homecoming for Louisiana National Guard members who had spent the past year serving in Iraq.
HONORE: How are you doing, man? Good to see you.
S. O'BRIEN: They included the general's first-born son, Sergeant Mike Honore.
The general has also become something of an international celebrity, attending a White House dinner to welcome Prince Charles and wife, Camilla, on their recent visit to the U.S.
Now, three months after Hurricane Katrina, Honore has returned to his previous post. But in Louisiana and other storm-ravaged states, the rebuilding goes on. And the focus remains on reconstruction and revival with echoes of a general who made his mark with straight talk and fast action.
HONORE: We need the big-bang people in America finding a damn solution. Take care of the evacuees. Let's get it on. (END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get it on. You want to stay tuned for our exclusive interview with Lieutenant General Russel Honore. That happens in the 7:00 a.m. Eastern hour of AMERICAN MORNING.
M. O'BRIEN: "Over," as he likes to say sometimes, you know. What if he gives us the overs? We'll see.
S. O'BRIEN: I hope so.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, I hope so, too. It's part of the whole charisma package you get there.
Coming up, the fight for Iraq. We'll talk to a retired general and former Reagan official who calls the war in Iraq a strategic disaster. We'll find out when he thinks U.S. troops should come home. And it will be soon. That's what he thinks.
S. O'BRIEN: And then later this morning, the fallout from all of those Vioxx lawsuits. There could be bad news on the way for thousands of Merck employees.
And it is "Minding Your Business" just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: The trial of Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants is back in session this morning. They're in the midst of a break right now. As soon as that gets back going, we'll let you know about it. And, of course, we'll share those pictures for you as they come in via tape delay.
And as we watch that trial, remarkable as it is, lots of talk in and around Washington, and all across our country for that matter, about the issue of when the U.S. might start taking troops out of Iraq.
Joining us now to talk a little bit about this is retired Lieutenant General William Odom. He's in our Washington bureau this morning. He recently wrote something posted on the Harbor (ph) Web site provocatively titled, "What's Wrong With Cutting and Running?"
General Odom, good to have you with us. Cutting and running, that's a phrase that implies defeat.
LT. GEN. WILLIAM ODOM, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, I would not call it defeat. It would call it a strategic withdrawal at a propitious time. It's unwise to continue on a course which doesn't promise much success.
And what I have in mind is moving out of Iraq but not out of the region. Leaving Iraq because it has alienated our allies. We cannot stabilize that region alone. And until we pull out, I don't think we can gather a coalition of really capable countries, particularly our European allies and perhaps China and Japan, to help us deal with the region not just in Iraq, but also from the eastern Mediterranean through Afghanistan.
M. O'BRIEN: General, I don't think there is any question. I think most of us would agree that the region is unstable now with U.S. troops there. You can make an argument, though, that should the U.S. leave, you'd have outright civil war there in Iraq in the absence of U.S. troops. What do you say to that?
ODOM: We have civil war now. The idea that we will cause a lot of things to become worse when we leave misperceives that we're causing those very things today. We are causing the civil war. We're slowly turning the country over to the Shiites, which will become -- they will turn the country into an Islamic republic, very much as Iran. It will become a haven for Iran-backed terrorists, who will probably attack Israel in larger numbers. In other words, the longer we stay, the worse this situation becomes.
M. O'BRIEN: So, your point is, we're essentially making matters worse at this point. But what about the issue of U.S. credibility? And I call it sort of the Beirut factor here. After the Marine barracks were bombed in Beirut the decision was made by President Reagan at the time to remove those troops from Lebanon. And many would say that emboldened terrorists.
ODOM: It may have. But staying in and making your defeat even worse emboldens them all the more. We don't have a choice to not give them some pride in what they've done, because it was a mistake for us to go in in the first place.
One of the things that I think throttles a clear-minded debate today is an unwillingness to go back and realize that it was not in our interest to invade Iraq. It was very much in the interest of Iran, which hated al Qaeda and also hates Saddam, and al Qaeda's interest because al Qaeda had no free run in Iraq until we opened it up.
So, we are helping our enemies enormously by being in there. Once that's realized, then a sensible decision on what to do next is possible. As long as we insist on not going back and recognizing that basic error, we won't see our way clear to the smartest course of action now.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Lieutenant General William Odom, thank you very much for your time.
ODOM: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: In just a little bit we're going to ask retired General -- Brigadier General David Grange how and if U.S. forces should be withdrawn from Iraq, his viewpoint. That will be coming up in the 8:00 hour Eastern Time.
S. O'BRIEN: Andy is "Minding Your Business" just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning to you.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Happy holidays.
SERWER: Happy holidays to you. Nice to see you.
S. O'BRIEN: And what's coming up this morning?
SERWER: There could be some bad news from an ailing pharmaceutical giant, Soledad. Plus, will the stock market keep on rising? Stay tuned on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: You know, we shouldn't use all of those songs.
SERWER: That's true.
M. O'BRIEN: So it will be another Monday, and it will be...
(CROSSTALK)
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.
We're going to get to business news with Andy in just a few moments.
First, though, more on the Saddam Hussein trial. We are monitoring the trial. It's in a recess. Plus, we've got the tape delay.
Carol has got more on that as she monitors the top stories.
Hello.
COSTELLO: Hello, Soledad. And good morning to all of you.
Saddam Hussein is back in court. The former Iraqi leader sat before a judge about three hours ago, and he began with an angry complaint about having to walk up four flights of stairs. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark is among those seated on Hussein's defense. This trial is for a 1982 massacre in a town north of Baghdad.
There are so many images that make us immediately remember the devastation left behind by Hurricane Katrina. None was more poignant than this makeshift grave. Remember this? Sixty-six-year-old Vera Smith was buried here by her family. And her neighbors came together to mark the grave with the words, "Here lies Vera, God help us."
Well, now Vera has a proper resting place. Nearly three months later her ashes are now in the family plot in South Texas. About 75 family members were on hand for the memorial. So finally Vera isn't alone.
Families in Kansas and Arkansas are looking for missing relatives after a series of last-season tornadoes. These amazing pictures -- actually, they're frightening. They were shot from a car showing one of the twisters touching down in Kansas. Strong winds destroyed tons of businesses, cutting power to thousands of customers. At least one traffic death is being blamed on the storms. Crews throughout the region are set to assess the damage later today.
And boosting our nation's borders is topping President Bush's agenda as he starts a two-day push through parts of Arizona and Texas. The president is set to speak later today in Tucson. He'll focus on immigration reform, calling for a temporary work program for illegal immigrants.
And moms and dads out there, if you are concerned about the video games your children play, you are getting a little more help. Sony plans parental controls as part of its Playstation 3 coming out next year. Microsoft's new Xbox 360 has parental controls and so does Nintendo's Revolution. Revolution is also being released in 2006.
So, Jacqui, I don't think your children are old enough yet to play video games. But when they are...
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right.
COSTELLO: ... they'll have it all worked out.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Where are you, Jacqui?
JERAS: I'm in Atlanta.
M. O'BRIEN: I don't see you.
JERAS: I'm here.
M. O'BRIEN: Where?
SERWER: You're behind Mississippi.
JERAS: The (INAUDIBLE) is over.
M. O'BRIEN: Huh?
JERAS: You never know what I'm doing back here right now.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, I miss seeing you, girl. I miss seeing you.
JERAS: I'm having breakfast.
M. O'BRIEN: What are you...
SERWER: Oh, she's eating a Danish.
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: ... on a bagel over there in the weather center there. She didn't want to -- there she is. JERAS: I'm here.
SERWER: Oh, hello.
M. O'BRIEN: I was afraid that lavender keyed out...
JERAS: No.
M. O'BRIEN: ... which is a TV term for...
SERWER: No.
JERAS: I don't think so.
M. O'BRIEN: ... the wall there.
All right. We don't want to get into the intricacies of chroma- key (ph) this morning.
SERWER: No.
S. O'BRIEN: Not today.
M. O'BRIEN: It's way too early. It's way too early for that.
Andy Serwer is here. Trying to get the alarm clock to work a little...
SERWER: I showed up.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, good to see you. You showed up.
SERWER: Just for you.
M. O'BRIEN: What is it? Ninety percent of success is showing up, right?
SERWER: Yes, I'm here.
M. O'BRIEN: Woody Allen said that, I believe.
We're talking about Vioxx?
SERWER: We are. Let's talk a little bit about Merck.
The trouble pharmaceutical giant may be laying off thousands of employees and shutting plants -- this from "The Wall Street Journal" this morning. A Christmas present of the very worst kind for people who work at that company.
And, you know, this reminds me a lot of General Motors. We're hearing this, and it's probably going to be coming out over the next couple of days. And it's, you know, big, bug stuff. This is a very important company.
Obviously we know about the Vioxx litigation troubling this company. But also a couple of their big drugs like Zocor will be going off patent, which means a loss of sales for the company. And even worse, no new big blockbuster drugs in the pipeline, and that is what's really hitting this company at this point.
I want to talk a little bit about the stock market, because we've been up five weeks in a row. Great stuff there; 165 points last week.
M. O'BRIEN: I guess that it's back.
SERWER: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: You just haxed (ph) it.
SERWER: No, well, no, I don't think so, because I've been talking about this for weeks. I've been saying this has been going on because of lower oil prices, lower gas prices. And today, Miles, could be the day, 11k day that we hit 11000 on the Dow. It's kind of like the Energizer bunny. It just keeps going and going, right?
M. O'BRIEN: It's still going.
S. O'BRIEN: That's the news we like to hear.
SERWER: That's right. A Christmas present for everybody.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you so much, Andy.
SERWER: You've very welcome. I am responsible for all of it.
S. O'BRIEN: Except when it goes down.
SERWER: No, then I'm not responsible, right.
M. O'BRIEN: That will be us in hour four today, the Energizer bunny. Still going. Still going.
S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, we've got a CNN exclusive for you. We're going to talk to Lieutenant General Russel Honore. Almost three months after Hurricane Katrina, what does he think is the key to the recovery of New Orleans? A look at that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: This Sunday night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, "THEN & NOW" special with Larry King will look at some of the newsmakers of CNN's first 25 years and see what they're up to now.
Here's a sample.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did you make your money, Kato?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kato, are you released?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kato!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Kato.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: America's most famous house guest, Brian Kato Kaelin. He was living in O.J. Simpson's guest house when the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were committed. When he was called to the witness stand during the O.J. trial the bleach- blonde aspiring actor made an impression.
BRIAN KAELIN, WITNESS: I think what I learned from the trial is you've got to realize one thing about people: Everybody has their own agenda, and they all want something.
This is Radio 97.1.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After the trial, Kaelin had a short-lived radio show and continued his acting career, appearing on TV shows such as "Talk Soup" and in b-movies such as "BASEketball."
KAELIN: (INAUDIBLE) invisible Hollywood people look at me like, hey, Kato did it, and, heck, I can relate to that guy. He's everyman America.
Today's eye for an eye...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How now works for National Lampoon, and is the host of a new syndicated show called "Eye For An Eye."
KAELIN: It's sort of like "Judge Judy" meets "Fear Factor."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kaelin is not married but has a daughter from a previous relationship. Recently he lost a 22-year-old nephew, a Marine, in the war in Iraq.
KAELIN: It's just a terrible thing to be taken away, and that goes for everybody in the service that's lost someone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kaelin doesn't see or talk to O.J. Simpson anymore. And the guest house where Kato lived has been torn down.
KAELIN: That (INAUDIBLE). Unfortunately I lived behind it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: You know, one of the more -- it's a remarkable scene in Baghdad regardless, because, I mean, first of all, the fact that this trial resumed of Saddam Hussein this morning, in a recess as we speak, the fact that it resumed at all is good, because many of the defense attorneys had promised a boycott. After all, two of them were, in fact, assassinated after the first session.
But among the more fascinating items this morning is a former U.S. attorney general as an advisor/attorney for Saddam Hussein. Ramsey Clark, who served under LBJ, is there in the courtroom. And, you know, I...
S. O'BRIEN: It's very curious.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it is.
S. O'BRIEN: I mean, he is essentially acting as a member, an advising member of Saddam Hussein's defense team, in addition to his addition is the former Katari (ph) justice minister, too...
COSTELLO: Well, but isn't that what democracy is all about? I mean, if he...
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: Well, I think that's the point, isn't it? That would be his point. This is what...
S. O'BRIEN: I'd be curious to know why he would want to be part of that, while I don't think anybody would debate the rights for someone to have an advisor sit in.
COSTELLO: I'm curious. I know.
S. O'BRIEN: From his perspective why he would want to be part of the defense in this case. It's really fascinating. We've got that this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's interesting to watch.
S. O'BRIEN: Also, we've been talking about it all morning. We will be chatting with Lieutenant General Russel Honore.
COSTELLO: He's going to yell at me, I guess.
S. O'BRIEN: He kind of chided you last time the two of you chatted.
COSTELLO: I'm scared of him.
M. O'BRIEN: Did he tell you, you were stuck at stupid?
COSTELLO: No, no, never said bad.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, OK, good. That's good.
COSTELLO: It was almost that bad, but not quite.
S. O'BRIEN: You know, he's no longer working in New Orleans and working on the recovery in New Orleans. He's back at his old job, which was training National Guard troops to prepare to mobilize to Afghanistan and to Iraq. So, we're going to talk to him this morning on a couple of fronts. First of all, what does he think about the situation in Iraq? And also really from his perspective the troops as he prepares to send them. And also talk about New Orleans and how he thinks recovery efforts are going there.
COSTELLO: Oh, and his incredible celebrity after all of this. The man is famous now.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: He is.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, he was dining with Camilla and Prince Charles recently at the White House.
M. O'BRIEN: I bet that was exciting. It's time to go now.
COSTELLO: Come on! Come on!
M. O'BRIEN: We've got to get back to the levees.
COSTELLO: Oh, come on! Let's go to Jacqui Jeras now.
(WEATHER REPORT)
JERAS: We'll have more weather coming up and, of course, all the day's news. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
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