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CNN Live Today

President Bush's War Plan; Democrats Respond to President Bush's Speech on Iraq; Abortion Battle

Aired November 30, 2005 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY. I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta.
In the last hour you heard the president's speech on Iraq. And now we are waiting a briefing from Democratic leaders. We will go live to the response when that happens.

First, though, let's take a look at what's happening "Now in the News."

It is just a couple weeks before election day in Iraq. American and Iraqi forces launch another new anti-insurgency campaign. This one is called Operation Iron Hammer. It is aimed at clearing out insurgents from the region around the town of Hit. That's in western Iraq. Two thousand American troops and 500 Iraqi soldiers are taking part in that operation.

In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Supreme Court taking up the issue of abortion for the first time in five years. At issue, a New Hampshire law that requires parental notification 48 hours before a minor has an abortion. Right now two dozen states mandate a parent's approval, and 19 states, including New Hampshire, require parental notice.

Police in Oakland, California, say they've arrested two suspects in this videotaped attack on a pair of liquor stores. Police say the men ages 19 and 73 turned themselves in. They faces charges, including robbery, vandalism and making terrorist threats. Warrants have been issued for four other suspects.

In Hollywood, a missing star is back in place. Earlier this month, somebody stole actor Gregory Peck's star from the Walk of Fame. A replacement was ordered. It's the fourth star to be stolen since the Walk of Fame was started in 1960.

First up this hour, President Bush's war plan, persuade the public and impatient politicians. And to some degree, the pundits, who drive opinion.

Iraq is winnable and U.S. troops will come home. Don't count or either by a fixed date. That's the message from the president. The first in a series of Iraq strategy speeches slated for the next two weeks.

You saw the address live right here on CNN in the last hour. The backdrop was the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. CNN's Kathleen Koch is at the White House this morning. And Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson is standing by in Baghdad.

Kathleen, first to you.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, since the U.S. went into Iraq, the president has insisted over and over again that the U.S. would stay the course, stay until the job is done. What he's trying to do in this 45-minute speech this morning is persuade Americans and also, more importantly, persuade Congress that he does, indeed, have a clear strategy, he has a plan.

The White House released a declassified version of that plan this morning that lays out basically three tracks that the U.S. is pursuing in Iraq. And those tracks are political, security, and economic.

Now, President Bush focused specifically on one important very important aspect this morning, and that was the training of Iraqi troops. And the president tried to dispel the notion that those troops were not ready.

The president outlined how they are training, specifically, and how their readiness has improved over the years. He also outlined various areas of Iraq where those troops are now in complete control.

And the president lashed out at the critics that we've been hearing from in growing -- in recent -- growing critics in recent weeks who really want him to lay out a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Setting an artificial deadline to withdraw would send a signal to our enemies that if they wait long enough, America will cut and run and abandon its friends. And setting an artificial deadline to withdraw would vindicate the terrorist tactics of beheadings and suicide bombing and mass murder and invite new attacks on America.

To all who wear the uniform, I make your this pledge: America will not run in the face of car bombers and assassins so long as I am your commander in chief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: President Bush said that the United States would stay, U.S. troops would stay in Iraq as long as necessary to complete the mission. But at the same time, he tried to prepare Americans for further losses, warning that before the mission is accomplished, "there will be tough days ahead ad the fight will take time and patience."

Still, one -- one phrase reemerged over and over again during the president's speech this morning, and that was that he will settle for nothing less than complete victory -- Daryn. KAGAN: Kathleen Koch live at the White House. Thank you.

Interesting on the timing that the president chose for this speech. It was about 10:00 a.m. Eastern, even earlier on the West Coast. But that means it's primetime in Baghdad.

Let's go there live now. Our Nic Robertson standing by with comments on that.

Is this something the Iraqi people would watch, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They probably watched it. It was certainly on Iraqi television for a little while, and it was on one of the other satellite stations that a lot of people also watch in Iraq. So there certainly was the opportunity to see it.

People we talked to before the speech, they all agreed on one thing, that they really don't trust President Bush. What they disagreed on was when U.S. troops should go, should they go now, should they stay and leave when the situation, when Iraqi security forces are more ready and able to take control. So there was division there.

And I think when you listen to what President Bush had to say, the talk about the numbers, 120 Iraqi battalions of police and army, 40 Iraqi battalions now leading the fight, 80 Iraqi battalions fighting side by side with U.S. troops, difficult to sort of analyze what he means and compare leading the fight and fighting side by side with what we actually see in the field. And we do see some Iraqi troops are better trained and better able to fight, some who have poorer leadership and are less able to fight.

The president make a point about Talafar, the big offensive in Talafar in September this year. He compared it to Falluja, the big offensive in November last year. He said, "In Falluja, U.S. troops led the way. In Talafar, Iraqi troops led the way."

But when one analyzes what happened in Talafar, it was a U.S. plan, there was U.S. heavy armor that was used and had to be used in the fight and couldn't proceed without it. U.S. aircraft used and helicopters used in this fight.

So definitely, when you look at the what the president says, you cannot dispute what he's saying. But when you analyze it, perhaps you do see a strong U.S. involvement, perhaps more than he was sort of indicating in Talafar.

The offensive you just mentioned in Hit, just in the west of the country, has 2,000 U.S. troops and 500 Iraqi troops. That's more the sort of style and makeup of the battles we see here at the moment -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Nic Robertson live in Baghdad. Nic, thank you.

More on that in just a little bit. Also, we were getting this news in while we were talking about President Bush. Samuel Alito, who is a Supreme Court nominee to fill the space that will be vacated by Sandra Day O'Connor, has turned in his homework. It is the 64-page questionnaire, it is the response to the Senate Judiciary questionnaire. And in it he gives a little bit more of his judicial philosophy.

He says that using what he calls judicial activism to get the results that they want is something that federal judges must constantly guard against. And it is this conservative theory of how the court should operate. That is something that many conservatives were hoping for to have in a nominee and the next person to sit on the Supreme Court.

We're going to more on that with our Jeffrey Toobin in just a bit. Also on what the Supreme Court is looking at today, and that has to do with the abortion rights of teenagers.

One more note about Iraq, though. A Chicago-based group is confirming that four kidnapped Westerners are members of its organization.

Al-Jazeera aired a blurry video of the hostages. The men are citizens of the U.S., Britain, and Canada. They work with a group called Christian Peacemaker Teams.

The organization appears to blame the American and British governments for the kidnappings. The statement cites what it calls the illegal attack on Iraq and continuing oppression of its people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM LAMBERTY, CHRISTIAN PEACEMAKER TEAMS: We know it comes with the territory, but that doesn't make it any easier when something happens. No, we're -- I'm devastated, personally. I think we all are, and we're scared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: An unknown group called the Swords of Justice claims to be behind the abductions. It calls the men "spies."

We should note that the German government says one of its citizens and her driver have also been kidnapped in Iraq. Apparently that, though, is a separate incident.

This is a time when the U.S. is actively promoting a free press in Iraq. This from today's "LA Times." It reports the military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to print stories written by U.S. troops. "The Times" says the articles are basically accurate, but it suggests they're propaganda masquerading as news stories.

"The LA Times" indicates the Pentagon is trying to keep its fingerprints off the operation. A small PR firm in Washington handles the assignment and placement of the sorries. The secretary of defense would like the news media to refer to the Iraqi insurgency by another name. Donald Rumsfeld made this pitch at the daily Pentagon briefing....

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We certainly call them "insurgents." I am a little reluctant to, for some reason.

I have thought about it. And over the weekend I thought to myself, you know, that gives them a greater legitimacy than they seem to merit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: So what are you supposed to call them? Well, Secretary Rumsfeld suggests the insurgents instead be referred to as "enemies of the legitimate Iraqi government."

We are at nine minutes past the hour. Still to come, all eyes are on the Supreme Court today. The justices hearing their first major abortion case in five years. As I was mentioning, we'll be talking with Jeffrey Toobin.

Right now, though, the Democratic response to what President Bush had to say earlier. Here are Senator Jack Reed and Senator John Kerry.

U.S. SENATOR JACK REED (D-RI): It's going to take more than one speech to restore the credibility gap that the president is suffering over Iraq.

Let me first say that all Americans support unquestioningly our American troops overseas. We recognize the great sacrifices they're making. All of us in the United States Congress, both Republican and Democrat, support these extraordinary young men and women.

I had the privilege of serving as a paratrooper commander in the 82nd Airborne Division. John Kerry is a combat veteran of Vietnam. We appreciate what these soldiers are doing. They, more than anyone else, deserve a coherent plan that will chart the course of our policies in Iraq. We can't fail there, but we have to have a plan to succeed.

The president has not been candid in the last two and a half years with the American people about the situation in Iraq, and his inability to articulate such a plan has allowed the nation's doubts to grow about the course of our efforts in Iraq.

The American people are hungry for leadership and a frank appraisal of how we're doing. And just recently, on a bipartisan basis, the United States, 79 senators in agreement, asked for such a plan -- a coherent, detailed plan.

Today's speech I don't believe was such a plan. I was disappointed. The president relied too much upon rhetoric, upon a laundry list of tasks accomplished, but not a coherent view of where we are realistically and where we must go to succeed. It was more generalities than specifics.

Again, the president failed to answer the questions that all Americans are asking: "How do we know if progress is being made there? How do we measure success? How much longer should America expect to be in Iraq?"

We understand that any type of redeployment is based upon the conditions on the ground, but we have to have a sense of how long it will take, not only in terms of our national policy, but the stress and strain it's putting on our military forces throughout the globe.

What's the president's plan to ensure that our troop commitment in Iraq does not compromise our safety elsewhere across the world? And what will be the cost in terms of dollars but, more importantly, the cost in terms of deployment of our troops and their safety?

Indeed, I think the president also failed to provide real insight into the possibility of Iraq's transformation to a democratic oasis in the Middle East. That is a very long-term process at best, and I think the president has to be much more specific.

Let me again be clear: All Americans are committed to our troops and to defeating terrorists. That is not the question.

REED: The question is, "What is the president's plan to stabilize Iraq, to do so in a way which we could be confident that that plan will succeed in a reasonable time and with the resources that are required to accomplish that plan?"

John?

U.S. SENATOR JOHN KERRY (D-MA): Thank you very much.

Good morning. I'm delighted to join my colleague Jack Reed here in discussing the president's comments this morning and in discussing an alternative view of how we succeed in Iraq.

This morning we saw the full power of the presidency to have the entire United States Naval Academy serve as a platform, as a front drop and a backdrop, for a presidential speech, reinforced with a very large sign, front and back, that says "Plan for Victory." It reminds you of an aircraft carrier and "Mission Accomplished."

It's interesting that whenever the president or the vice president or other officials speak about Iraq or the war on terror, they do so mostly in front of troops.

So let's begin today by making it clear, by understanding what this real debate is about and what it is not about.

Jack and I can't summon the Naval Academy here or West Point to be our backdrop to talk about the truth about Iraq. But we can summon the truth.

And the truth is that the president draws a false line in trying to make his case to America.

The troops don't belong to his point of view. They belong to America and to Americans. They are Americans.

And the best way to protect the troops, the best way to stand up for the troops, is to provide the best policy for success in Iraq.

All of us believe our troops are doing an extraordinary job.

KERRY: Jack and I and others who've visited Bethesda Naval Hospital or Walter Reed or other parts of our country, we've talked to troops who've been wounded, we've talked to the troops who've come home. We understand that we know their views that they're bringing back with us, and we share their view.

They are committed to this mission. They believe in this mission. And we, all of us, believe in our troops. Let's make that clear; that's the starting point.

Secondly, this debate is note about an artificial date for withdrawal. Several times in his speech today, the president set up this straw man and then knocks it down. That's not what this debate is about.

The United States Senate had a vote -- a Republican resolution and a Democrat resolution -- and neither sought to seek an artificial date for withdrawal.

What it did on the Democratic side seek to do was set an estimated timetable for success which will permit the withdrawal of our troops. Everything that we have presented has been presented on the basis of how you succeed.

The president today in his speech said, I quote, "America will not run in the face of car bombers and assassins so long as I am commander in chief." Well, so long as Jack Reed is a United States senator and John Kerry is a senator and the rest of us are senators, none of us, no one, has ever suggested or believes that we should run in the face of car bombers or assassins.

That, again, is not what this debate is about. All of us agree.

KERRY: No one is talking about running in the face of a challenge; we're talking about how to win, how to succeed, how do you best achieve our goals.

That's the choice here.

And what the president did not do today, again, is acknowledge the fundamental reality of the insurgency.

Now, I'll give him credit: He broke the insurgency down as he never has before in ways that many of us have been describing it for the last several years and he talked about the three different parts of the insurgency.

But go back and read what he said, because what he said was that the smallest part of the insurgency, the most lethal, is the terrorist jihadists. The most significant part of the insurgency, by his own acknowledgment today, is the person who resists, and then the active Saddam believer who wants a restoration of power.

And neither of those will be beaten at the face of a gun. They will be beaten through the political resolution, through a solution that has to be achieved politically.

Now, let's also make this clear: Every one of us supports the elections that are going to take place in a few weeks. I have said again and again, Senator Biden has said, others have said, Jack Reed, those elections are important, we believe in them. They're important for Iraq, and they will give Iraq the opportunity to be able to move forward with a government that is going to be there for a longer period of time.

We all believe in those elections. The success of those elections, ladies and gentlemen, provides a benchmark of success which allows you then to be able to withdraw some of the troops, which you will notice the president, vice president and the secretary of defense have now acknowledged that they will withdraw if the elections are successful.

That's precisely what we've been saying.

Now, why have we been saying this? This comes to the fundamental issue that the president avoided today.

KERRY: It's all well and good to talk about being there with your troops training on the ground -- training -- until we are ready to leave.

But that ignores what his own generals have told him. It ignores what the Iraqis themselves are telling us today.

General Casey has said very clearly that it is the large presence of American forces on the ground that feeds the insurgency and makes it more difficult for the Iraqis to assume responsibility, because they don't have to.

Our own generals are telling the president that our presence in large numbers is part of the problem and that you have to begin to reduce that.

The president did not acknowledge that today, but gave us the same talk about simply staying as long as it takes to get them to stand up; though he slipped into one sentence, quietly, that we may reduce their presence in the cities and begin to redeploy them in some ways, which is what many of us have been arguing we should do.

Forty-five percent of the Iraqi people believe it is all right to injure and kill Americans. Eighty percent of the Iraqi people want us to withdraw. The largest portion of the Iraqi elected officials have now voiced themselves publicly saying they believe the United States needs to reduce its presence and withdraw.

So what the president did not acknowledge today at all is that the presence of our troops itself is a part of the current reality on the ground that presents food for the insurgency. And you need to reduce that presence over a period of time in order to be able to succeed, not fail.

And none of us have suggested a policy that allows the United States to leave a failed state or to withdraw precipitously.

Let's understand that.

KERRY: Let's have a real debate, not a false debate.

And, in the end, the strategy for exit is, in fact, part of the strategy for success. They go hand in hand. And that's a reality that the president and this administration need to understand.

QUESTION: Senator Kerry, I have two questions.

First of all, what influence did Congressman Murtha's comments have on possibly motivating the president to make a speech at this point and release the document that he did?

(OFF-MIKE) and so I'm looking for a comment about how the president's speech and your comments might be playing out for Native American families and soldiers fighting in Iraq?

KERRY: Well, let me just say, first of all, I can't tell you what motivated the president or the administration. You'll have to ask them and you be the judge of whether or not you get an answer that addresses the reality of what happened with Congressman Murtha.

Obviously, Congressman Murtha's comments -- though neither Jack nor I agree with the particular choice he made -- are enormously important when someone with his background, his influence, his unbelievably diligent, studious study -- I mean, he follows this issue as closely as anybody in the Congress.

And he's a military man. He's 37 years a Marine. He understands what it means to be over there. And he's committed to victory for America. But I think he came to a conclusion about how you achieve that.

Now, Jack and I and others believe that you need to approach it in the way that we've set out, where you have certain measurements for that success over a period of time.

But it's all moving in the same direction, which is the fundamental reality that the president has not leveled with the American people about what the reality is on the ground in Iraq.

When 80 percent of the people say, "We want America to withdraw," and when 45 percent of the people in the country we're fighting for believe it's OK to kill Americans to help us get there, the president's not dealing with a certain kind of reality that's important to the lives of our troops.

And that brings me to the last part of your question.

KERRY: I've often heard this issue...

KAGAN: We've been listening in to Senator John Kerry and Senator Jack Reed, at their response to what President Bush had to say earlier. You saw his comments live here on CNN.

Not surprising that the Democratic senators disappointed in what they heard President Bush say. They said that they just heard more generalities than specifics from the president's speech. They would like to have heard more about how you measure success in Iraq and how much longer will U.S. troops be there.

A lot of news coming out of Washington, D.C., today, including the U.S. Supreme Court looking at abortion rights for U.S. teenagers. We'll talk with Jeffrey Toobin about that.

Also, Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito has turned in his 64- page questionnaire. What is in it? We'll take a look just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: As we were mentioning, a lot of news coming out of Washington, D.C., today. Now we are talking about an evacuation.

This is the Jefferson Building at the Library of Congress. This is coming from The Associated Press. We can look at a satellite image here of where this building is.

We are told that the evacuation taking place because of an irritating odor in the building. HazMat is on the scene checking it out. Rescuers starting evacuating that building just before 10:30 a.m. Eastern.

Also out of Washington, D.C., a bunch of news about the Supreme Court. Samuel Alito, the nominee to take Sandra Day O'Connor's seat, he has turned in a 64-page questionnaire. Also an issue of abortion rights for teenagers.

To talk about both of those, our Jeffrey Toobin joins us now.

Jeff, good to have you here with us.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, Daryn.

KAGAN: Now, I know you, yourself, my sources tell me, have not seen the 64-page questionnaire that Sam Alito turned in, but I can help you here.

TOOBIN: OK. KAGAN: OK, because what I am seeing is that in it, what he answers, it seems to me not too surprising of what we would expect to hear from him in that he says that "Federal judges especially should not use what they call judicial activism to get the kind of results that they want, and they must stick closely to the Constitution."

Why is this especially important, especially for conservatives and what they want to see, and who they want to see sit on the Supreme Court?

TOOBIN: The heart of what President Bush has said, what he wants -- what he wants in a Supreme Court justice is someone who he says will interpret the law, not legislate from the bench. That's the phrase the president uses over and over again, and that's very much reflected in Judge Alito's -- the comment that you read.

And what that means is these are judges who don't want to find new rights in the Constitution, things that were necessarily identified by the framers of the Constitution, a right to choose abortion, a right to engage in private homosexual conduct, you know, greater regulation of the death penalty. This is what conservatives call judicial activism, and this is what President Bush and his nominees for the court are against.

KAGAN: Let's talk about abortion, because the Supreme Court hearing arguments on that today. First of all, this is not a Roe v. Wade test. This comes out of New Hampshire and it talks about a teenager having to notify a parent -- not get approval, but notify a parent before she has an abortion.

TOOBIN: Correct. And it's actually a very narrow question, but it's a very important case. And, of course, any time the Supreme Court deals with abortion, it's a big deal. And this is the first time in five years that the court has taken up the abortion question.

The specific, main issue that the court is talking about is the New Hampshire law says young women, teenagers, minors who want to get an abortion can get one without their parents' permission only if it's life or death. What Planned Parenthood, who's the plaintiff in the case, says, that's not enough of an exception. It has to be if their health might be affected they can bypass the parental notification requirements.

So if -- the issue is, is the exception for life or death too narrow, or does it have to be broadened to the health of the young woman at issue?

KAGAN: And why -- this is not just the first time in five years that the Supreme Court taking this up, this is the first time under John Roberts as a chief justice taking up an abortion case.

TOOBIN: And that's really going to be the most interesting part of today's argument, which is going to be released on the Internet at about 12:15. What will John Roberts say in his questions? Because in his confirmation hearings just a few months ago, he was asked a lot about abortion, and he didn't really answer much. He respects Roe V. Wade as a precedent, but he didn't commit himself to supporting it.

And his questions on this case will be the most newsworthy part of the day, and the other interesting part of the case is what role will Sandra Day O'Connor play, because she's been a swing vote on this issue and so many more, but she may wind up not voting on the case, because Supreme Court justices votes only become official when the opinion is handed down, and Judge Alito is likely to have replaced her by then.

KAGAN: And as you said, very interesting, we're going to hear the audio, no pictures, but the audio from those arguments later on today. I have a feeling you will be logging on to hear that.

TOOBIN: I certainly will.

KAGAN: I bet you will.

TOOBIN: All the Supreme Court nerds will be out there.

KAGAN: And we put you at the top of that list.

TOOBIN: All right.

KAGAN: Jeffrey Toobin, thank you. Always good to see you.

Right now it is just about 20 minutes -- actually we're going to check the time, because I don't have a clock, 30 past the hour.

(NEWSBREAK)

Well, maybe you've been there. You're at airport in line for security, and then you realize you've left something in your luggage that won't pass the test. Some of those stiff rules on sharp objects are about to change. We're going to have that story still ahead.

And you're going to meet a pilot who shared his view of Katrina's path with all of us. That is all ahead after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: More now on the hour's big story, President Bush outlining his strategy to win the war in Iraq and bring U.S. troops home. It was a speech that you saw live last hour. He gave it at the Naval Academy. The president says one key to any U.S. drawdown is a build-up of Iraqi security forces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To defeat the terrorists and marginalize the Saddamists and rejectionists, Iraqis need strong military and police forces. Iraqi troops bring knowledge and capabilities to the fight that coalition forces cannot. Iraqis know their people, they know their language and they know their culture, and they know who the terrorists are.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KAGAN: Let's talk with Ken Rudin in Washington this morning, political editor at National Public Radio.

Ken, it has been too long.

KEN RUDIN, NPR POL. EDITOR: I know, it's been years.

KAGAN: Years. Well good to see you.

Let's talk about this speech, the timing of it. Now only why is the president doing it now, but what about the time of day, why 10:00 a.m. Eastern?

RUDIN: Well, I mean, there are several reasons why the timing. First of all, obviously he wants to have -- the president wants four speeches coming in before the December 15th elections of Iraq. Obviously the president wants to rally support, and if you look at the polling numbers, those numbers don't look so promising.

Another reason he's having, and apparently because the debate has begun on Capitol Hill ever since Jack Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat, said that we've got to pull out perhaps immediately from Iraq now, not that everybody agrees with that, and most Democrats don't agree with it. But at least it brought out a full-fledged debate, and now Democrats are even coming up with plans. Heretofore, they've had none.

KAGAN: Right, now let's talk about the forces that are pushing on the president here that you're mentioned. First, outside the party, you are mentioning the Democrats. The Democrats definitely taking advantage of mounting questions and doubt that Americans might have about this war, but as you mentioned, they can only go so far in criticism, they do have to come up eventually with some kind of alternatives. So Americans are going to want to hear that as well.

RUDIN: That's exactly true, and polls indicate that as well. They show that Republicans faring poorly regarding control of Congress next year, but Democrats aren't faring much better, because a lot of people say, well, they have to have a plan, they have to have a plan to withdraw. What are they going to do differently than George Bush? And, as I say, Jack Murtha, we saw Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John Kerry, others have come out with additional plans that show Democrats should be taken seriously at the table as well.

You do lay the storylines for a lot of chapters coming up, not only the December 15th elections, but also midterm elections right here in this country. Hopefully you'll stop by and we can talk about those.

KAGAN: I hope so.

RUDIN: Ken, thank you.

KAGAN: Ken Rudin.

RUDIN: Thanks, Daryn. Topping our CNN Security Watch, news affecting what you'll be able to carry next time you step aboard an airplane. A Homeland Security official tells CNN that beginning December 20th, small scissors and some tools will be allowed on carry-on bags. The official says the TSA wants to give screeners more time to look for explosives.

A report says the government has abandoned plans to train immigration and customs agents to help protect planes. The Government Accountability Office says the plan was shelved more than a year ago because of money concerns. The cross-training was aimed at providing thousands of extra bodies as air marshals. They would be used during heightened threat periods or in case of an attack.

And some private pilots want to know why they aren't allowed to fly over Vice President Dick Cheney's new Maryland home when he's not there. They say they're only banned from the air space around Cheney's Wyoming residence when he is there. The FAA says the restriction over Cheney's Maryland home is temporary, though there is no date for that to be lifted.

Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the latest news about your security.

Checking the calendar, it is three months after Hurricane Katrina. An expression of outrage breaks out in New Orleans. Orleans Parish coroner Frank Minyard is angry that DNA testing to identify about 200 bodies left in the storm has not gotten under way. Minyard says the state of Louisiana has not signed a contract with the firm that would do the testing, even though FEMA has already secured funding for that project.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. FRANK MINYARD, ORLEANS PARISH CORONER: So, you know, we have to rely on DNA and it should have been done, at least started a month ago. But it hasn't been, so now we just have to wait. And the families, of course, are the ones who suffer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: In Louisiana, the death toll from Katrina now stands at 1,067. The unidentified bodies remain at a makeshift morgue.

Forty-two minutes past the hour. For many of us, the first time we truly realized Katrina's devastation when we saw it from the air. Coming up, I'll speak with a pilot who was behind the lens of many of those images. We're going to get his impressions of the Gulf Coast as we mark the end of hurricane season.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: A lot of events we're watching around the D.C. Area. You can see White House Spokesman Scott McClellan on the left part of your screen,. The White House briefing, the daily briefing, has just started. McClellan talking a little bit about the speech the president gave earlier today. Any interesting questions, we'll go live that. So we're watching the White House.

Also, President Bush gave that speech in Annapolis, Maryland. He will very soon be landing aboard Marine One in Baltimore, Maryland.

Also in Washington D.C., we are watching an evacuation that took place. The Jefferson building of the Library of Congress. Apparently some kind of strange odor prompted that evacuation. That started about an hour and 15 minutes ago. We'll get the latest on that in just a minute.

Meanwhile, we are just breathing a huge sigh of relief today, marking the end of hurricane season. It means party time in Key West, the so-called America's official end of the year hurricane party. It could be a blowout this afternoon, judging by the severity of this season. That season, by the way, had the strongest impact on the Conch Republic in 50 years. Besides drinking beer, party-goers plan to burn hurricane flags in celebration. Good to see something happy happening in that area.

This year's record-breaking hurricane season finally draws to a close, today being the final day. And what a season it has been. Thirteen or more than two-dozen named storms became hurricanes. The most memorable, a monster named Katrina, which ravaged parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Lieutenant Phil Eastman is a pilot with NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That's why they call it NOAA, a lot easier to say that. He flew more than 100 hours surveying the damage left behind from Katrina. And he's with us now from Tampa, Florida, to talk about the destruction of what he saw.

Lieutenant, good morning.

LT. PHIL EASTMAN, NOAA CORPS AVIATOR: Good morning.

KAGAN: And I bet you're glad do see this day and see this season end.

EASTMAN: Yes, it's nice to see the season end. Everybody breathes a big sigh of relief at the hanger. Our operations are intensely busy during the hurricane season and things finally slow down for the holidays for everyone.

KAGAN: You weren't just flying, you were taking a lot photographs. Of the hundreds, perhaps thousands of images that you took, what's going to be the one that really sears in your mind, that you will remember Katrina by?

EASTMAN: Well, one of the reasons I took so many photographs was I just couldn't believe the devastation that I saw. I -- it was so amazing, I literally couldn't stop taking pictures. I don't know if I could pick one particular photograph. There -- the several you see on the screen are, perhaps, my favorites. A lot of the shoreline of Gulfport, Biloxi, were good pictures in that they just showed the immense power of this storm. There were 18- wheelers,, the back ends of those trucks, just scattered like kids' toys. It was unbelievable.

You're also seeing some pictures of Bayou La Batre, which is part of the fishing fleet that was just picked up and literally put in the woods. Many places we flew, we would be flying along and find a boat just in the middle of the woods. It was...

KAGAN: Amazing.

EASTMAN: It was really something to see. And I -- so amazing that I really couldn't stop taking pictures, so I ended up with quite a few.

KAGAN: I bet. No one can appreciate the images and the pictures you took than our severe weather expert Chad Myers. And I'm going to welcome Chad in to talk with the lieutenant. Chad, what would you like to ask him?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Lieutenant, I saw so many images from the NOAA jet, from way above. You were down closer to the ground. We saw these piles of debris and it looked just like two-by- fours all piled up. When you get down and look at that pile, I mean, can you describe it for me?

Some of the people that were in Bay St. Louis said that you could see the roof on the G5 or on the NOAA jet picture, but there was nothing under the roof. The whole house was gone. Only the roof was still standing. Explain to me what you saw -- because you were obviously closer than we were.

EASTMAN: Well, we saw exactly that, but very close up. The fields of debris actually looked like -- you can see seaweed on the beach that washes up in clumps, and all of those two-by-fours and pieces of houses looked just like that, but on a giant scale, and it was just amazing to see roofs with no houses under them. And in many places, entire neighborhoods swept completely clean, and you'd have to go about a mile or two before you could find any debris at all.

MYERS: So that's how far the water pushed what was left of that house inland, right?

EASTMAN: That's correct. In some cases it just pushed it entirely across a whole mile or two of salt marshes. In the case of Bay St. Louis, whole neighborhoods were wiped off the map, and you had to go completely across the bay to find the pieces of the houses. And these pieces were so small, you really couldn't tell what they were from -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Lieutenant, there's a lot of looking back over the last three months of how people can do their jobs better or lessons learned. Any lessons as a NOAA pilot of how you going into next hurricane season would change things? EASTMAN: Well, as far as piloting goes, NOAA has a very set system that we go by for flying the hurricanes. And for next season, it will probably be much like this. We keep our aircraft ready. We're ready to go for the hurricane reconnaissance on a certain notification schedule, and we'll make it happen next year like we did this year.

KAGAN: Yes, well, hopefully not. We wish you slow business.

EASTMAN: Thank you.

KAGAN: And we don't say that to a lot of people, but we definitely do, and safe flying as well.

Lieutenant Phil Eastman, NOAA pilot. Thank you for sharing your pictures and your experiences.

EASTMAN: Thank you for having me on.

KAGAN: Chad, thank you for hat as well.

EASTMAN: We are also watching Washington D.C., actually Baltimore, Maryland. President Bush has arrived there after making the speech today in Annapolis, Maryland. He's doing some campaigning. He's campaigning for Michael Steele, who's running for the Senate seat. He is the current lieutenant-governor. We'll have more on what the president has to say coming up.

Right now, let's take a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: Speaking of the economy, President Bush is making comments about the U.S. economy. Right now he is at a fund-raiser and a campaign event for Michael Steele, the lieutenant governor of Maryland, who is running for a Senate seat. Just minutes ago during that speech, President Bush made some comments about the economy. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUSH: The latest economic growth is at 4.3 percent. America's workers and businesses have overcome the challenges of two hurricanes, and our energy prices. So the third quarter growth is up to 4.3 percent. It's the fastest rate in nearly two years.

(APPLAUSE)

It just goes to show that when government unleashes the power and potential of the American worker, the small business owner, the entrepreneur, when America promotes free markets, lower taxes and less regulations, the country will continue to prosper and maintain our economic leadership in the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

So that's from Baltimore, Maryland. Meanwhile back at the White House, the holiday decorations are already up, and as we wrap up the hour, I'm going to leave you with First Lady Laura Bush offering a firsthand look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the White House during the holiday season. The theme this year is all things bright and beautiful. We wanted to use real and fresh flowers and garlands, and fruits, and that's what we've done. These are obviously real tangerines. The arrangements are boxed. The garlands are boxed with garlands. The wreaths in the windows are boxed with wreaths. They're all fresh. You can see how magnificent the gingerbread house is this year, this gingerbread house. And it's so perfect for this year's decorations. It's so elegant.

Well, the Christmas tree is always the centerpiece, the big, huge Christmas tree that's in the Blue Room traditionally. We have to remove the chandelier from the Blue Room to put the tree up, because it's so large.

And I think every year I think it's the prettiest year, but this year I really do think it's the prettiest year. And I think it shows how elegant the White House is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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