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American Morning

U.S. Embassy Attack in Syria; Presidential Address; The Fight for Iraq

Aired September 12, 2006 - 08:59   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Terrorists take aim at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, Syria. Four gunmen open fire but are stopped.
An update on the very latest from there.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elaine Quijano, live at the White House.

After a day of collective mourning, the partisanship is back on full display here in Washington. The topic: national security and Iraq.

I'll have a report coming up.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, in New York.

Bariatric surgery, or gastric bypass surgery, has become increasingly popular. But as the numbers have gone up, has something troubling starting to emerge? Are people swapping addictions?

That's coming up.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, L.A. commuters. You better get moving, or you can just roll over. A fast-moving wildfire slows Interstate 5 just north of L.A.

S. O'BRIEN: And a weekend furniture giveaway to tell you about. When the Bears win, so do some lucky shoppers.

Those stories and much more on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.

Thanks for being with us.

In Syria, al Qaeda-inspired terrorists take aim at the U.S. embassy in a brazen midday attack. The Syrians say members of the so- called Soldiers of Lebanon drove up to the U.S. Embassy in Damascus and started firing outside the walls.

Syrian guards returned fire, and then the attackers' car exploded. Four attackers, one Syrian guard dead. No American casualties. Authorities confiscated a second vehicle, also brimming with bombs.

Our chief national correspondent John King live now from the State Department -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And Miles, we know the U.S. Embassy in Damascus has been closed for business today and tomorrow as well. The American school in Damascus dismissed its students early. U.S. officials saying they are waiting to get more details on this investigation, but one White House official telling me they believe as many as three car bombs were involved in this attack.

In the past, the United States has accused the Syrian government over time of bringing demonstrations to the embassy, of ginning up, if you will, things outside the embassy, but the administration in this case complimenting the Syrian authorities. The secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, traveling in Canada short time ago, said they are still trying to get more information, but she thanked the Syrian government for thwarting this morning's attack.

I'm sorry, Miles. I thought we had some sound bite from Secretary Rice. We don't have that.

Here at the State Department, they say the bottom line is no Americans were hurt in this attack. Again, they are looking for more information.

The United States and Syria simply don't trust each other. We've known that for some time. So there's a bit of skepticism back and forth of the information coming in.

The Syrians, though, as you noted, saying it is an al Qaeda- affiliated group involved here. Again, the State Department says the Syrian government runs a police state, it should be able to control these groups.

At the same time, though, Miles, very rare public praise from the Bush administration, saying the Syrians were thwarting an attack that officials say could have caused quite significant damage given what they are being told about the weapons involved

M. O'BRIEN: Well, I suppose if you were being a little bit Machiavellian, you could say that the Syrians sort of, in some sense, staged the way this is being presented to come across as the good guys in order to curry a little bit of favor.

KING: In the past there is no question the administration has accused the Syrian government of doing that when there have been demonstrations, some moderate violence outside the U.S. Embassy. The United States has said simply that the Syrians were staging the demonstrations outside, were encouraging those demonstrations. But in this case the administration says all indications it has at this early hour -- again, this happened only about five and a half hours ago -- but the administration says every indication it has is that this was potentially a very serious attack.

They do not believe the Syrians staged it. And they are crediting the Syrians for stopping it.

M. O'BRIEN: John King at the State Department.

Thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: "The war on terror is the calling of our generation." That's how President Bush described it in his speech last night in the Oval Office address on the fifth anniversary of 9/11. The president also defended the war in Iraq.

CNN's Elaine Quijano live for us at the White House.

Good morning, Elaine.

QUIJANO: Good morning to you, Soledad.

And in the leadup to the five-year anniversary, the White House had said the president's address to the nation was not going to be a political speech, that it was going to be reflective. And it was. But it also included some vehement defenses of the president's national security policy.

Now, the president, after spending a highly emotional day yesterday visiting all three of the September 11th sites, he spoke of the unity that existed among Americans after the attacks. But in a move that angered his Democratic critics, the president again tried to link Iraq and success there to security for Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Until this work is done, whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out the terrorists would leave us alone. They will not leave us alone. They will follow us. The safety of America depends on the outcome of the battle in the streets of Baghdad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, almost immediately, some Democrats pounced on the speech. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York called it disappointing and accused the administration of politicizing 9/11. Senator Ted Kennedy said that the five-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks was not the time to talk about the president's Iraq policies.

And on that point, a senior administration official this morning, Soledad, says that if the president had not mentioned Iraq, "... those same partisan Democrats would have come out and said he was ignoring the main issue of the day."

Clearly, Soledad, with those congressional midterms just two months away, we can expect the back and forth on this to continue -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: I'm not exactly surprised.

Elaine Quijano at the White House for us.

Thanks, Elaine.

Polls are now open in nine states that are holding primaries today. Voters are also heading to the polls in the District of Columbia as well.

Here's a look at some of the races that we're watching for you.

In Rhode Island, Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee facing a tough battle in his own party's primary. Chafee angered some Republicans with his opposition to John Bolton's nomination as U.N. ambassador.

In New York, Senator Hillary Clinton has already voted. She is running in the Democratic primary against antiwar candidate Jonathan Tasini -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Former enemies Iran and Iraq taking steps toward friendship today. But will it mean Iran gains more influence in Iraq?

Nouri al-Maliki began a two-day diplomatic trip to Iran today. He's the Iraqi prime minister. He is talking about security and political relations with Iranian leaders, including the president, Ahmadinejad. An Iraqi government official says the prime minister is seeking a relationship -- and we quote him now -- "with no interference from Tehran."

At least seven people are dead after gunmen attacked a Shiite mosque northeast of Baghdad. Police say the attackers fired six mortar rounds and then detonated explosives around that mosque.

CNN's Michael Ware just got back from being embedded with U.S. forces in the western Iraqi town of Ramadi. Ramadi is within the so- called Sunni Triangle. Insurgent activity there remains strong. Gun battles are a daily occurrence.

He joins us now from Baghdad.

Michael, good morning to you.

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, good morning.

In Ramadi, in western Al Anbar province, we see what can only be described as a black hole in President Bush's global war on terror. As the president is going through his series of speeches to reassure the American people and to inform them about the success and the progress of his war on terror, there in Al Anbar we saw that al Qaeda at its very heart has been found, identified, yet is not being struck at.

In one of his speeches last week, the president referred to Osama bin Laden and his number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri. They make it very clear that Iraq is the centerpiece of their war against America, and that within that centerpiece of Iraq it is Al Anbar, it is Ramadi which is the toe hole from which they will build their base. What we know is that Al Qaeda in Iraq uses this area as its headquarters. This is where its leaders hide, move, plan. Yet, what is happening? America does not have enough troops to send out there.

Al Qaeda is almost untouched in its area of operations, and in the city of Ramadi itself, al Qaeda fighters are constantly attacking U.S. troops. Brigades sent to Ramadi are losing, on average, 100 American soldiers and Marines every year. And we don't see that abating.

So, here's the heart of Al Qaeda in Iraq, and there's simply not enough troops and no strategy to combat it -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, Michael, you have talked to the people on the ground there. I'm sure they probably don't say it for the record, but how many troops do they think need in order to get a hold of this problem?

WARE: Well, officially, from Baghdad to Ramadi, the response you will get from American commanders is that we have an appropriate level of force to do what we have to do within the confines of our mission. However, the key term that all of them use is "economy of force."

They say that we are applying an economy of force mission. That in itself is an admission that they don't have the full number of troops that they need to do what actually has to be done.

Privately, off line, what commanders, again, from Baghdad to Ramadi, will tell you is that they need at least three times as many troops as they currently have there now, be that Iraqi and American or, even better, just three times as many as American troops. I mean, there's an area there north of the Euphrates River that is used by al Qaeda's top leadership that Osama bin Laden himself points to. It's the size of New Hampshire.

You have only a few hundred American troops there. They can do nothing to hamper al Qaeda's leadership in that area -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: And a final thought here. To what extent are these al Qaeda leaders in cahoots with the homegrown insurgency? And if there is a relationship, who is taking orders from whom?

WARE: Well, this is one of the most fascinating things about it. I mean, since the inception of this war, we have seen al Qaeda global jihad introduced to a country where it never exists. And like a cancer, once one cell appears, it begins to metastasize.

So what we have seen throughout the country, but particularly in Ramadi, is al Qaeda, through its money, its motivation, its tactic, its ideology, hijack the local fight. So in Ramadi, it's actually the al Qaeda front line.

Al Qaeda dominates all the other groups so effectively that it is in charge. So, this is where American Marines and soldiers go face to face every day with the very organization that attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and yet it seems that they're being forced to do so under-resourced and with one arm tied behind -- behind their back -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: We'll leave it at that.

Michael Ware in Baghdad.

Thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Here in this country, in California, a 16,500-acre wildfire is shutting down parts of Interstate 5 which links L.A. and San Francisco. Crews are trying to make sure the fire doesn't jump I- 5 and spread into the Angeles National Forest.

In Bermuda, cleanup is under way after Hurricane Florence passed the island chain on Monday. Florence downed trees, knocked out power. Authorities say, though, there are just a few injuries. No deaths to report.

All that brings us right to severe weather expert Chad Myers at the CNN Center with an update.

What are you looking at, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Looking at Florence here.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: Back to you guys.

S. O'BRIEN: Down 11 degrees from a few weeks ago.

MYERS: It is. That's right.

S. O'BRIEN: So that's a little silver lining there.

All right, Chad. Thanks.

Ahead this morning, we know about the risks of gastric bypass surgery, but we're going to take a look this morning at an unexpected risk. Are some people just swapping an addiction to food for other addictions?

That's ahead this morning.

And the outcome of one NFL game meant hundreds of thousands of dollars in free furniture for some folks. You will meet a store owner who made a risky wager and lost.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Now five years and one day since the U.S. entered into a new kind of war, and on this morning, in the place where the U.S. first responded to the threat from al Qaeda, things are not back to square one, but there are growing signs things are backsliding.

Joining us live from Kabul to update us on the situation is Major General Robert Durbin.

General Durbin, good to have you with us.

I know your specialty is training...

MAJ. GEN. ROBERT DURBIN, COMMANDER, AFGHANISTAN SECURITY TRANSITION: Good to be with you.

M. O'BRIEN: ... of the Afghan security forces, and that's the army and the police. How is that effort going?

DURBIN: I will tell you that the -- the effort that the great men and women from the United States military that are here that have the training and equipment mission for both the army and police of Afghanistan are making great progress as we bring in the resources required to properly equip and then train these forces. But I'll combine that with the success that the Afghans themselves are showing in providing the -- their sons and daughters to stand up and take over the security requirements in the country.

We're building a -- an army towards a 70,000-manned organization and a police that's right now scheduled for 62,000. And we're making great progress with the little bit more than 30,000 that are trained and equipped for the army, and about 45,000 working towards the 62,000 goal for the police force.

M. O'BRIEN: Is it like Iraq? The president describes it as, the Iraqis stand up, the Americans can stand down. Is it like that there, or do you foresee a U.S. presence there for quite some time, even as these Iraqi forces are trained?

DURBIN: No, I think it's a -- it's a similar strategy and it's the right strategy. It's a strategy where indigenous forces are trained and equipped to have the capability and sufficient capacity to provide for their own security in their nation. And I will tell you the Afghans are doing a superb job.

Those 30,000-some army soldiers and those 45,000 policemen are fighting side by side with the international forces, 37 countries. The largest contributor, of course, the U.S., fighting side by side to establish the security conditions to set conditions for economic and governance progression within the country.

M. O'BRIEN: General, there's a perception here in the U.S. that the U.S. military has taken its eye off the ball a little bit in Afghanistan, with all the focus in Iraq. I want to share with you an editorial recently in "The New York Times".

It says this -- this is just a brief excerpt -- "There is no victory in the war for Afghanistan due to, in significant measure, to the Bush administration's reckless haste to move on to Iraq and shortsighted stinting on economic reconstruction."

And much less money being spent in Afghanistan for reconstruction than Iraq. And granted, two entirely different countries in many respects as far as infrastructure needs. Nevertheless, how do you answer that?

DURBIN: I'd answer it by focusing on that which I know about, which is Afghanistan. And I will tell you that there is still a need for investment, both to enhance the capability and capacity of the security forces and also in investment to enhance the development in the country.

I'm getting very good support from the United States Congress and the people of America to provide the right resources to properly equip and train the Afghan security forces. And the conditions are set now where we can have more rapid development in the pace in which a capable fighting force for the army and a capable force to establish rule of law from the police force is established. And so further investment would also be able to increase that pace.

M. O'BRIEN: To the south, the Taliban is dug in and fighting. The poppy crop is a bumper poppy crop, up 56 percent over previous records.

How did that happen right under the noses of U.S. and NATO forces?

DURBIN: I would tell you that what you see here and you allude to, the poppy cultivation and the Taliban, you have a complex threat here. The strategy that is under way in Afghanistan is to build sufficient capability and capacity of the combined efforts of the indigenous forces, Afghan army and police, with the international community support, so that we can, in fact, take away the sanctuary that was -- 90 percent of Afghanistan was the sanctuary for the terrorists that attacked our nation five years ago.

M. O'BRIEN: But, General -- I'm sorry.

DURBIN: We have thrown that around...

M. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry.

DURBIN: ... but there are still areas that we haven't got to yet.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry to interrupt you, I apologize, but our time is short. I'm just curious how this happened. How did this situation quite literally bloom with U.S. troops, NATO troops there?

DURBIN: Well, five years ago, the Afghan national army was zero. And we have been building it up since then. We now have sufficient forces. That's why there is some tough fighting down in Kandahar, in the south, because the Afghan national army, combined with the international forces that are here, are moving into those areas that previously had been sanctuaries to ensure that the rule of law and sufficient security conditions are set.

And you're going to see that expansion each week, each month, and the years ahead to take away those sanctuaries for the complex threat. Not just Taliban, but the narco traffickers and the poppy cultivation. M. O'BRIEN: Major General Robert Durbin, thank you for your time, sir.

And we'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: In this morning's "House Call," the side-effects of weight loss surgery. A hundred and seventy thousand people had bariatric surgery in 2005. Even more are expected to have it this year. Those surgeries, though, could come with an unexpected side- effect.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us this morning.

Nice to see you in person.

GUPTA: Good morning.

Yes, it's remarkable. The numbers are remarkable in terms of the increase in popularity. You know, Roseanne Barr has done it, Randy Jackson, Al Roker. He lost a lot of weight.

Gastric bypass or gastric banding actually forces you to eat loss, and it has become quite popular. But as the numbers have increased, something troubling has started to emerge as well. Some people are swapping addictions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eleven, 12.

GUPTA (voice over): Paul Lentz (ph) is intimidating: a lean, six foot hospital security guard who leaves no doubt he can subdue a bad guy. This is him before bariatric surgery. Lentz (ph) was eating five, six big meals a day. And at nearly 500 pounds, hid his pain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kids would look and laugh. Made me feel really bad that I, you know, have to be that -- you know, heavy.

GUPTA: Lentz (ph) realized he didn't have to be that heavy and underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2001. Within six months, he was half his old size but says he was drinking like he used to eat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just to get that feeling, that, you know, I feel -- I feel OK.

GUPTA: Paul Lentz (ph) wasn't OK. And he wasn't alone, judging by letter after letter to a Web site for weight loss surgery patients.

Why? It's a fact. After bariatric surgery, alcohol affects you differently. It passes into the intestine more rapidly than normal, and blood alcohol levels can become high. Quickly.

DR. PHILIP SCHAUER, AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR BARIATRIC SURGERY: If they're used to drinking a beer, one beer will feel like two beers. GUPTA: But is that all? Or is there something else? Are people swapping addictions?

DR. NORA VOLKOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE: If a person eats -- used to compulsively eat and you remove the fork, they are going to try to generate a new compulsive behavior.

GUPTA: Dr. Volkow says clues to alcohol abuse and overeating lie in the brain.

Neuro imaging shows a startling contrast between dopamine receptors lit up in a normal brain, and the addicted is dulled by comparison. Since dopamines are brain's pleasure chemical, researchers say this may explain why some people crave food or drugs to achieve normal levels of pleasure.

VOLKOW: All of these compulsive behaviors are a result of changes or defenses in the way that the brain of these individuals function.

GUPTA: Still, bariatric surgeons insist there's no evidence weight loss surgery actually causes other addictive behaviors.

SCHAUER: I would say certainly less than 5 percent of our patients have a new addiction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have to worry about my drinking.

GUPTA: As for Paul Lentz (ph), after AA he's been sober 23 months and is no longer turning to food or booze in his life, but spirituality. For him and others, experts say, you can't blame the brain, but recognizing the role of biology may help better manage addictions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: And the idea of switching addictions isn't entirely new to the medical community. We called the Betty Ford Center as well, well-known for actually treating these sorts of addictions. About 25 percent of people who relapse from alcoholism actually switch to another drug. In this case, opiates, you know, they told us as well.

So swapping addictions not a relatively new thing.

S. O'BRIEN: And sometimes they say even going to spirituality is almost like -- can be another addiction as well.

GUPTA: That's right.

S. O'BRIEN: ... with much fervor.

A question for you. Does this apply then to only addictive personalities, or do they think that people who are obese are, by nature, addictive personalities because they are already overeating?

GUPTA: It's a great question. I think it sort of strikes at the heart of this as well.

There is probably a component of addiction here, which is why, now, if you actually go in, someone is considering bariatric surgery, counseling is mandatory before and after the operation to find out if this is an addiction that they are dealing with, and are there other addictions as well. You know, we talked about alcoholism in this piece, but we have found actually after doing some research talking to some of these support groups that addictions to gambling, to sex, to shopping, all sorts of different things also come up.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting. Interesting study.

Sanjay, thanks.

GUPTA: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Top stories straight ahead, including the latest on a developing story out of Syria, an attempted terrorist attack at the U.S. Embassy.

And the president again trying to make the case that Iraq is part of the war on terror. But is this strategy paying off?

We'll take a look ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: President Bush addressing the sadness and skepticism among voters on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and a war against terrorism that doesn't seem to end. The speech was billed as non-political, but Democrats today are criticizing the president for once again making his case for the war in Iraq and the context in the anniversary of 9/11.

Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider is here with more on whether the president succeeded in helping his numbers and his party's prospects with the midterm elections looming.

Hello, Bill.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POL. ANALYST: Good morning, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: What is your general take on the speech, first of all?

SCHNEIDER: Well, the speech was a bold and forthright attempt to make the president's argument that a unified America is facing a unified enemy. It's an attempt to recreate the mood of the country after 9/11. There was fear, there was anger, there was a sense that we were facing a dire threat. That mood has changed substantially in the last five years, particularly because of the war in Iraq, which has bitterly divided the country. So the president was hearkening back to the days when the country was unified, and making the argument that the enemy is really a unified enemy, al Qaeda, Iran, Hezbollah, the Shiite radicals in Iraq, the insurgents in Iraq, that this is all a single enemy. I'm not sure that a lot of analysts would argue over that.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, an awful lot of water over the dam, an awful lot of division has cropped up in this nation in the time since. I guess the question is, even though he said it wasn't a political speech, did he score some political points for Republicans as they faced those midterm election?

SCHNEIDER: Well, the president was trying to package Iraq as part of the war on terror. Now what we know is that going into this speech, actually these series of speeches that culminated with the president's address last night, precisely the opposite has been happening. By linking Iraq with the war on terror, President Bush was not building support for his policy in Iraq; he was creating doubts about how he is handling the war on terror.

And right now, as you can see here, the top issues for Americans coming up in their votes for Congress are the economy and Iraq. Terrorism, moral issues, and immigration rank a little bit lower. What's interesting about this is the economy and Iraq are both Democratic issues. People who say that's their priority, that's what they're concerned about are voting very heavily Democratic. Terrorism, moral issues, immigration help Republicans, and the president needs to boost the numbers who say their top concern is terrorism.

M. O'BRIEN: The key is to morph Iraq into a terrorism story from the Republican perspective?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, that's exactly right. But Republicans are very worried about this. And a lot of them are saying, you know, that's not the answer to this election. The way to do it is to do it on a personal and local level and ignore national issues as much as possible because national issues are not going their way. I like what a Republican Congressman, Tom Cole, told "The Washington Post." He said, when you run in an adverse political environment, you try to localize and personalize the race as much as you can. That's what a lot of Republican candidates are doing.

M. O'BRIEN: Praying to the altar of the late, great Tip O'Neil at that point -- all politics is local.

SCHNEIDER: Exactly.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Bill Schneider, thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, journalist Marian Pearl joins us to talk about her latest story that took her to Cuba, a nation where speaking out against the government can land you in jail.

One group of women is speaking volumes without saying a single word. We'll explain, up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: We've been telling you all morning about that furniture store owner in Illinois who is a big Chicago Bears fan. On Labor Day, Randy Gonigam offered a refund in the Bears kept the Green Bay Packers scoreless in Sunday's season opener. And they did, 26-0. So now, the 206 people who bought furniture from Gonigam's World Furniture Mall are going to get their money back, 206 people.

Store owner Randy Gonigam joins us from Plano, Illinois, along with one lucky customer, Kathleen Spayer. Nice to see you both. Thanks for talking with us.

Randy, we've got to start with you this morning. You must have known the risk going in, right? So, when it came to the days before the game, were you hoping, in fact, there would be a shutout because you love the team? Were you hoping there wouldn't be a shutout because you stood to lose a lot of money?

RANDY GONIGAM, OWNER, WORLD FURNITURE MALL: We really were hoping for the shutout. Never dreamed, really, that it would actually take place. You know, in the fourth quarter, all of a sudden, when we realized it was going to happen, it was just an amazing feeling. But we really were rooting for the shutout and rooting for our customers to get that free furniture.

S. O'BRIEN: Good for you. Now, Kathleen, you bought $5,000 worth of furniture. Is this furniture that you needed anyway, or was this -- you liked the marketing, you're kind of drawn into the store and you thought maybe you would get it for free?

KATHLEEN SPAYER, RECEIVING $5,000 REFUND: It was furniture we needed anyway. And we've bought furniture from Randy before. But the football thing was just a bonus, the idea that we might get it for free.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Randy. So 206 customers. What was their take for the entire weekend?

GONIGAM: I'm sorry, I didn't hear that.

S. O'BRIEN: Two hundred and six customers. What did that -- what did they end up spending for the weekend that you made the offer?

GONIGAM: I'm sorry, I can't hear.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, I'm sorry. Are you having problems with my -- can you hear me, Kathleen? I'm going to make sure everyone can hear.

SPAYER: Yes, Soledad, I can.

S. O'BRIEN: OK, so here -- will you -- Randy, I'm going to repeat it. And if you can't hear me, I'm going to have Kathleen repeat to you what I just said. Two hundred and six customers came in and shopped that weekend. In dollars, what did they spend? GONIGAM: Nearly $300,000 in purchases is the amount that was purchased that weekend that we'll be giving the refunds on.

S. O'BRIEN: And was that number kind of terrifying for you? I mean, I know you have insurance, but that's a -- that's a big old number to have to pay people back.

GONIGAM: Well, it's still going to -- even though we had insurance on the promotion, it's still going to be slightly painful as far as the dollar amount goes. But that will -- in my mind, that's all offset by the excitement that we have here in the store, by the goodwill that we'll generate with our customers and by -- it's going to be a big thrill to get everybody together and hand them those checks.

S. O'BRIEN: And you're forgetting about the promotion and all the TV coverage you've had. That will also offset some of that cost there. You have insurance. Explain to me how that works? They insure you for what exactly?

GONIGAM: Well, there's companies that do what's called event insurance. People might be familiar, probably for the most part with like a golf outings when there's hole in one insurance. A lot of golf outings for charity, they'll have a big prize, maybe a car or something like that if you make a hole in one. Well, there's companies that actually provide the insurance for that. So, I looked for a company like that. We found one called Odds On Promotions, and we explained to them what we wanted to do and they got back to us with a price on how to do it.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting. Now, Kathleen, did you watch the game very closely?

SPAYER: I didn't want to watch too closely. I was actually at a surprise party. And once the Bears started winning, I didn't want to jinx it and get more involved than I had been. But everyone was keeping me posted. There were about 50 people rooting for me.

S. O'BRIEN: That's how I watch games, too. The minute I start paying attention to my team, whatever side I'm rooting for suddenly starts losing. So then they win, and it's a shutout. What was your reaction? Was it whoo hoo for my team or whoo hoo my furniture?

SPAYER: For my furniture. But it was a great thing to see the Bears finally slaughter the Packers like that.

S. O'BRIEN: Randy, final question goes to you. I guess, again, the good news is that you'll make some of that money back in the promotions, and certainly, you know, your well-known story now. Would you do it again, or no?

GONIGAM: Oh, I think not right away, but I think at some point -- like I say, it's been a lot of fun. And, truly, the publicity on this has just been amazing. And I think we'll be looking -- looking all the time to find something that's appropriate and as much fun as this was. And, yes, I'd say we'd probably do it again. S. O'BRIEN: You start off by saying, well, not any time soon, but yes, maybe. All right. I'll take that. World Furniture Mall owner and Bears fan Randy Gonigam, and Kathleen Spayer, $5,000 worth of free furniture recipient. Thanks for talking with us.

SPAYER: Thanks, Soledad.

GONIGAM: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles?

M. O'BRIEN: Not bad. And the Packers took it on the chin at Lambeau. Not bad at all.

"CNN NEWSROOM" is just moments away. Tony Harris is there at the CNN Center with a preview. Hello, Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Miles, special coverage this morning in the "CNN NEWSROOM" on the front lines. A broad overview of the war on terror, the troops in the field, the enemy around the corner, the spouse back home. No forwarding address. We drop by Osama bin Laden's last known residence in Afghanistan.

And a fascinating look at genius with our Dr. Sanjay Gupta. A smart brain, it turns out, is an efficient brain.

You're in the "NEWSROOM" at the top of the hour. Miles, back to you.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much.

Up next, Andy will mind our business one more time. Stay with us.

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M. O'BRIEN: Coming up at the top of the hour, primary day in nine states. Rhode Island's Republican senator struggling to keep his job.

And a South Jersey teen has an incredible operation. A toe becomes a thumb. Ooh. But he's happy to have a thumb.

More AMERICAN MORNING after this.

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M. O'BRIEN: High above us, circling the planet at 17,500 miles an hour or so, 212 miles in altitude, the Space Shuttle Atlantis linked up with the International Space Station. A little bit of remodeling going on as we speak. Take a look at some live pictures. If we could, first, if we can just you live pictures of the helmet cam. We want to show that real quickly. Here it comes real quick. Doesn't show you much. It's kind of dark. They're over Australia right now, and it just happens to be the nighttime past.

Now we'll go back and replay as we get this four-and-a-half hour mark in this mission. In the course of this mission, space walkers Joe tanner and Heide Piper.

And you see one of them there. They're not moving very much at that point. That's Joe Tanner. And, by the way, I can tell, because, look, they're stripes. See those little stripes on this suit? He has red stripes. She doesn't have stripes. That's how you tell, a little secret.

And in any case, they are so far ahead of this space walk that they're starting tomorrow's space walk tasks today. A little get- ahead tasks.

Here's what they were doing today. It was really actually kind of intricate, hard work. They're doing a lot of connectors. There were 13 connectors in all that they were connecting on this new solar array combination with a truss, which will double the output of electrical production at the International Space Station by the time those solar rays are unfurled, and hopefully they'll unfurl without a problem, and of course we're watching it for you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: We're also watching the floor of the Senate. Let's take a look there right now, where Senator Harry Reid is making some comments. Let's listen in for just a bit. He's rebutting the president's speech from last night. Let's listen in.

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SEN. HARRY REID (D), NEVADA: ... a Bush administration tactic, conflate and blur the war in Iraq with response to 9/11. Despite definitive and repeated findings that there are no ties between Iraq and al Qaeda, a finding most recently echoed by the Republican- controlled Senate Intelligence Committee, the president continued to deliberately lump and blur al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, Iraq and 9/11 together. This was a political move, Designed to tap the overwhelming public sentiment to destroy al Qaeda as a way to bolster sagging public opinion support for the war in Iraq.

Despite the president's best efforts, the American people can see through this ploy, as we have seen with the pundits comments following his speech and in editorials all across the country today. The American people understand that Iraq is largely a sectarian struggle, and that the longer we are bogged down in the streets of Baghdad, the easier it is for al Qaeda and its affiliates to reconstitute in places like Afghanistan and Somalia.

Americans understand that this administration's "stay the course" strategy is hurting our security and moving Iraq in the wrong direction. Unemployment in Iraq is high, Mr. President, 40 to 50 percent unemployment, at least. Some places, Mr. President, it's 70 and 80 percent. News accounts today say that inflation is now 75 percent in Iraq.

An average of 1,000 Iraqis are dying each month in Iraq. Is that a civil war? I think so.

News accounts the last couple of days, one in fact today, Iraq conflict worsens. General Accounting Office, a watchdog of Congress, a non-partisan organization, says that Iraq conflict worsens. We heard two days ago an army general officer saying the Anbar province is lost.

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