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Iran Inviting Iraq and Syria To Summit On War; Lebanese Industry Minister Shot And Killed In Beirut; Former Russian Spy And Kremlin Critic Poisoned In London; O.J. Simpson Cancellation Backlash

Aired November 21, 2006 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Don Lemon.

As a fourth student dies, investigators say they're still not sure what caused that school bus crash in Huntsville, Alabama.

PHILLIPS: The president makes a pit stop on the way home from the APEC summit.

We're live in Honolulu with the details.

LEMON: Well, first the slurs, then the apology. But few seem ready to let the healing begin.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Gunned down in the street. A developing story out of Lebanon today.

This is the bullet-riddled car of Lebanese industry minister and prominent foe of Syria, Pierre Gemayel, killed in Beirut. His murder comes amid a power struggle between his government and pro-Syrian factions.

Back in the U.S., top diplomats make a clear, clear -- make it clear where they stand on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMB. TO U.N.: We strongly support the Siniora government and all the democratic forces in Lebanon. We call on all states in the region to support the democratic government and to urge everyone's cooperation in finding the assassins of Pierre Gemayel as soon as possible.

NICHOLAS BURNS, UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE: This is a very sad day for Lebanon. We were shocked by this assassination. We view it as an act of terrorism. We also view it as an act of intimidation against the March 14th coalition. And we believe it's the responsibility of all countries to support the Siniora government and to oppose those who would try to divide Lebanon or return violence to political life in Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, President Bush calls the Beirut assassination vicious. He's set to leave Hawaii just a few minutes from now.

Ed Henry is in Honolulu -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon.

PHILLIPS: And we apologize. Obviously sometimes with our live shots it gets locked. So we'll try and bring him back and get that report out of Honolulu -- Don.

LEMON: All right. We're going to move on to old powerbrokers in Lebanon. They become new players in the fight for Iraq. Syria and Iran now sharing more than just borders with their neighbor.

CNN's Arwa Damon is in Baghdad -- Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, that's right. The two countries signed a historic agreement this morning, pledging to restore diplomatic ties. Ties between the two countries have been severed for over two decades now, but this visit from Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Moallem to Iraq signifying, according to the Iraqi government, a new step, a new step forward in the relationship between the two countries.

Now, Syria, for quite some time, has come under criticism and accusations by both the United States and the Iraqis for allowing foreign fighters, weapons and funds to the insurgents to come through its border. In fact, the U.S. military estimates that still to date about 50 to 70 foreign fighters come through the border into Iraq.

Now both countries restoring diplomatic ties and pledging to work together. The Iraqi government is now saying that it is waiting to see concrete action from Syria based on the pledges that came out of meetings with senior Iraqi government officials here in the capital, Baghdad.

And turning to Iran, the Iraqi prime -- the Iraqi president, sorry, Jalal Talabani, is due to travel to Iran this weekend. Iraq has a very complex relationship with its neighbor, Iran.

On one hand, both senior U.S. and military officials have openly accused Iran of funding, training and arming militias and death squads that operate in Iraq. U.S. and British military intelligence believes that Iran, though it's not trying to fully destabilize Iraq, wants it to be stable but have a weak government that it can exert a certain amount of influence over.

So, Don, a lot happening with Iraq's relationships both with Iran and Syria -- Don.

LEMON: Arwa Damon, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: All right. We've connected again with Ed Henry live out of Honolulu, talking about the president getting ready to leave in just a few minutes. The breaking news today, of course, was the assassination in Beirut.

What's the president have to say, Ed?

All right. We lost him again. Apologize about that.

Believe it or not, it's hard to get a connection there in Hawaii.

All right. He's back again. He's there, he's not there.

Ed, are you with us?

LEMON: The third time's a charm.

HENRY: Yes, I'm with you.

The president was addressing the troops at Hickam Air Force Base today. He strongly condemned the assassination of Pierre Gemayel, this leader, the anti-Syrian Christian leader in Lebanon. The president saying that he wants a full investigation of this.

He also urged the international community to rally behind the shaky Sinioran government, that fledgling democracy. One way to do that, he said, would be for the U.N. Security Council to create a tribunal to probe the previous assassination of the Lebanese prime minister Hariri.

He urged the U.N. to do that today. He said they could not wait, they had to act immediately.

The president saying this. He was addressing troops at Hickam Air Force Base as he wraps up a weeklong jaunt to Asia for the APEC economic summit. The president just in a short while will be heading back to the White House, where he'll spend Thanksgiving at Camp David -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. Ed Henry, live out of Honolulu.

Appreciate it, as the president gets ready to leave there.

Let's get back to our Brent Sadler, our bureau chief there in Beirut, with more on what has happened there, that prominent anti- Syrian politician gunned down in the streets there.

What's the reaction, Brent?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: The potential fallout from this latest high-profile political assassination is still being evaluated here in the Lebanese capital. The father of the slain minister has said he does not want to see confrontation or violence in the streets as the result of the death of his son, Pierre Gemayel, who was the industry minister, a key minister in the embattled government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

Gemayel was one of 16 ministers who agreed to send back to the United Nations Security Council a draft text setting up a U.N. international tribunal to try suspected killers of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, a very controversial decision flying very much in the face of six ministers from Hezbollah and other allied Muslim Shiite parties, as well as one Christian close to the pro- Syrian president here, who walked out of cabinet several days ago hoping to topple the government. That did not happen.

Since then, Hezbollah, the armed militant group close to Syria and Iran, urged its followers to prepare for imminent street protests to topple the U.S.-backed Siniora government.

At the time that Saad Hariri, the leader of the parliamentary majority and son of slain prime minister Rafik Hariri, was holding a news conference at his well-fortified Beirut home, news was passed to him in the form of a note that one of his cabinet colleagues had been assassinated, 34-year-old Pierre Gemayel, killed at very close range in a very well-orchestrated ambush.

Two vehicles, say security sources, involved in ramming the vehicle of the MP. And a large number of shots fired, through, it seems, bulletproof glass and killing the minister very soon after the attack.

Now, what will happen in terms of that assassination as it plays out against the political meltdown inside Lebanese political circles remains to be seen. But certainly these are grave hours and days ahead for the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and the country at large that had already been fearing violence even before this political assassination.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Iran and Syria closer to each other, closer to Iraq, but are they peacemakers or power grabbers?

Here's CNN's Aneesh Raman, the only U.S. television reporter in Iran's capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an alliance many in the West would like to break. But Iran and Syria seem closer than ever. Both support Lebanon's Hezbollah and both claimed proxy victories after the Israel-Hezbollah War. And now both are quite publicly turning their focus to Iraq.

First came the historic trip to Baghdad by Syria's foreign minister, there to restore full diplomatic ties with Iraq. And now word Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, will be heading to Tehran this weekend to meet with Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Bush administration is skeptical the talks will lead to change on the ground. But if nothing else, it shows Iran and Syria pushing ahead with Iraq policies of their own without the U.S.

But what about the people? How big an issue is Iraq? They're all following events next door closely, of course. But for many of them, concern is trumped by domestic issues like high inflation and unemployment.

When it comes to Iraq, the answers, like those from Ali (ph) seemed all the same and all seemed to go back to the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The Iraqis that come here, that come to my store, they say the U.S. is the problem, is the reason there is unrest, otherwise there would be no Shia-Sunni divide.

RAMAN: But there is, and Iraq is consumed with sectarian violence, fueled, in part, the White House says, by Iranian influence. Iranians says it's because of the U.S., but don't see the U.S. leaving Iraq as the exclusive solution.

"The Americans should leave," Aheed (ph) told me, "as soon as possible. But when it comes to solving this, the U.S. and Iran should talk directly because that way there will be no misunderstanding."

Iran is a country President Bush has called unambiguously evil. And while the leadership here don't yet seem eager to sit down with the U.S. just because they're asked, the people are hoping it might just happen. Not just to bring stability to Iraq, but perhaps to bring American investment to a faltering Iranian economy.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: More sadness out of Huntsville, Alabama. A fourth teenage girl has died after yesterday's horrific school bus accident.

What caused that bus to plunge off an overpass is the focus of a huge investigation now. Local, state and federal Inspectors are trying to piece it all together.

They say that they have a lot of things to consider and a lot of people to talk to before they can offer any answers. Besides the driver, about a dozen students are hospitalized. And investigators say they also want to talk with the driver of a car, an orange Celica, that may have struck the bus on that overpass.

LEMON: Atlantic City on edge a day after a gruesome discovery. Police found the bodies of four women in a ditch on the gambling Mecca's outskirts. No word on the causes of death, but autopsies are being done.

The women are all face down -- were all face down in shallow water just a few hundred feet from the Atlantic City visitor's welcome center. Locals say the areas is known for drugs and prostitution.

PHILLIPS: Poisoned? Did the Kremlin go nuclear in a bid to silence a former Russian spy? The NEWSROOM has the details up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This should be a very proactive type of industry. It was right after my dad's 55th birthday, and they find that he has a tumor. We go probably five months of chemo, 22 rounds of radiation, and then we have the CAT scan and the cancer's back.

One of the frustrating things for me is we're not looked at as individuals. You're basically told statistically here's what works for your type of cancer. People literally die more or less from the treatment than the actually cancer itself.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Our country's medical labs have developed some amazing drugs, but when it comes to administering those drugs, many questions remain. Can we find a way to treat disease without causing unnecessary pain and suffering?

(voice-over): Meet Mansoor Amiji, a professor at Northeastern University. He believes breaking drugs down into tiny nanoparticles could be the answer.

PROF. MANSOOR AMIJI, NORTHEASTERN UNIV.: You're talking about lining up 10,000 of nanoparticles that we make in this lab on a pinhead.

M. O'BRIEN: By using nanomedicine, Amiji says drugs are delivered directly to the deceased areas of the body, making them more efficient and less harmful to the patient.

AMIJI: Lower doses can be administered and overcome some of the problems of cancer, such as side-effects.

M. O'BRIEN: In addition to drug delivery, these tiny particles can also monitor a patient's response to the drugs, giving doctors a quicker way to make adjustments to the treatment. And in the future, Amiji says nanoparticles could multitask...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: President Bush live in Hawaii. He was meeting with troops, now talking about the assassination in Lebanon.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today we saw again the vicious face of those who oppose freedom. We strongly condemn the assassination today in Lebanon of Pierre Gemayel, who was a minister in the government of Prime Minister Siniora.

We support the Siniora government and its democracy, and we support the Lebanese people's desire to live in peace. And we support their efforts to defend their democracy against attempts by Syria, Iran and allies to foment instability and violence in that important country.

I call for a full investigation of the murder to identify those people and those forces behind the killing. We call on the international community to support Prime Minister Siniora's government. And one clear way to do so is for the United Nations Security Council to take all remaining steps needed to establish a special tribunal concerning the assassination of former prime minister Hariri and to assure that those behind that killing and others that followed are brought to justice.

I strongly believe the United Nations Security Council ought to act today. For the sake of peace, the free world must reject those who undermine young democracies and murder in the name of their hateful ideology.

PHILLIPS: The president there in Honolulu, getting ready to leave in about 10 minutes. He was speaking to troops and encouraging them while stationed in Hawaii, talking about the war on terror and supporting what the men and women are doing there out of a number of bases there in Hawaii.

But just at that point, he was talking about Lebanese industry minister Pierre Gemayel, a key member of the anti-Syrian majority in the Lebanese parliament. He was shot and killed by assassins in Beirut. He's concerned, of course, about the stability in Lebanon.

We'll follow more information on the assassination and also be following the president's trip back from Honolulu, back here to the states.

Now, today's assassination, it's part of a pattern that has shaped the histories of Lebanon and Syria. The president touched a little bit on it there. It's a pattern that could cripple U.S. efforts to spur democracy in the Mideast, and CNN's Joshua Levs has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSHUA LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): February 14, 2005 23 people killed in a Beirut bombing, including former prime minister Rafik Hariri, a top critic of Syria's military presence in Lebanon. It's the final straw for hundreds of thousands of Lebanese who call for the ouster of the Syrian army. Within weeks, Syria pulls out.

A preliminary U.N. investigation into Hariri's investigation finds evidence pointing at Syria involvement. Syria denies it.

Fast forward to summer 2006. Israel's war with the Shiite militant group Hezbollah in south Lebanon leaves a new era of Lebanese factions jockeying for power.

This month, the four Hezbollah members of Lebanon's cabinet and two others quit hours before a vote on approving an international investigation into Hariri's death. Their departures leave no Shiites in the cabinet, possibly violating the constitution's call for equal representation. Hariri's son calls it an effort by Hezbollah supporters Iran and Syria to stop an investigation.

SAAD HARIRI, LEADER, PARLIAMENTARY MAJORITY: They tried to create a little bit of uncertainty in Lebanon.

LEVS: An accusation that brought annoyed denials.

IBRAHIM MOUSSAWI, HEZBOLLAH'S TV EDITOR: I can accuse you of anything, but you have to bring evidence about the authenticity, the validity of your accusations.

IMAD MOUSTAPHA, SYRIAN AMB. TO U.S.: We do not interfere in purely Lebanese domestic issues.

LEVS: Plans for a tribunal move forward because the remaining 18 cabinet members approve it. Now Hezbollah is threatening to use its popularity to bring down the government unless Shiites get a third of the cabinet plus one, enough for veto power. Shiites make up a third of the country.

The prime minister denies his government could collapse, and he's calling for unity.

FOUAD SINIORA, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER: This country is a country of minority, and no one single group can take the country, whatever it needs. This country has to be really governed by consensus.

LEVS: A consensus that seems hard to reach.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: We're going to keep you posted on this developing story.

Also, the president getting ready to head from Honolulu back to the United States aboard Air Force One. We're following his trip after speaking to troops there in Honolulu.

LEMON: And coming up in the NEWSROOM, careless driving or an untimely blowout? Investigators still don't know what caused yesterday's deadly school bus accident in Huntsville, Alabama. The latest developments are right ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Under guard and clinging to life, a former Russian spy and Kremlin critic poisoned in London. Doctors say a bone marrow transplant may be the only way to save him.

CNN's Matthew chance on our real-life whodunit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Latest dramatic images of Alexander Litvinenko, fighting for his life. And when this image is shown alongside a picture of the former Russian agent in good health, the startling effects of his ordeal become clear.

Doctors say he must have been poisoned with the toxic metal thallium. The question is, who did it?

It was this wave of apartment bombings across Russia blamed on Chechen rebels that first soured Litvinenko's relationship with his Kremlin bosses. He published a book alleging the bombings which killed hundreds in 1999 were orchestrated by the Russian government as a pretense to resume war in Chechnya.

Before defecting to Britain, he also accused the Russian security services in which he was a colonel of plotting to kill Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky and other Kremlin opponents. The FSB, successes (ph) to the KGB, denied it.

But it was his investigation into the killing last month of leading Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya he says he believes he was targeted for. A few weeks before his poisoning, he blamed the Kremlin and the Russian president for her murder in this Webcast.

COL. ALEXANDER LITVINENKO, FMR. KGB & FSB AGENT (through translator): Somebody has asked me directly who is guilty of Anna's death, who has killed her? Anna can directory answer you. It is Mr. Putin, the president of the Russian federation, who has killed her.

CHANCE: But former KGB officers now living outside Russia say the poisoning bears all the hallmarks of a Russian covert operation and would have been ordered from the very top.

OLEG GIERDIEVSKY, FMR. KGB AGENT: This poison, thallium, it is only in the possession of the KGB. No private person or organization has got thallium. And it was not a simple thallium. It was a thallium with a specialized addition of something else. So it was thoroughly prepared.

CHANCE: And Litvinenko has long believed his former employers are capable. In an interview after his defection, he spoke about the threat to his life that he felt.

LITVINENKO (through translator): I think if I go back to Russia, I won't last long there. I won't live long. I think, perhaps, it would be better for me to die here in England, in the fresh air.

CHANCE: As his family attends his London hospital bed, they may well prove prophetic words.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: No official response from Mr. Putin. A Kremlin spokesman calls suggestions that Russian intelligence had anything to do with Litvinenko's illness sheer nonsense.

Russian agents also deny having anything to do with the Dioxin poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko, seen here before and after the Ukrainian leader fell ill two years ago during his hotly-contested battle for president. It left his face badly disfigured. His doctor says Yushchenko is now in good health but still undergoing treatment to rid his body of the poison.

PHILLIPS: Well, Delta is telling a group of workers to come on back, but some are questioning the timing of the move.

Susan Lisovicz live at the New York Stock Exchange with all the details.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right, Susan. Thanks so much.

Real quickly want to tell you, we're following the president's trip out of Hickam Air Force Base, getting ready -- actually, that's not Hickam Air Force Base. There we go. There it is. This coming to us from our affiliate there out of Hawaii, KHON, the president getting ready to leave after a meeting with troops stationed in Hawaii. He also commented on the assassination in Lebanon. We're following the president's trip back.

More LIVE FROM (sic) straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: President Bush getting ready to go wheels up from Hickam Air Force Base there. A Live picture coming to us from our affiliate out of Honolulu, KITV. The president was there meeting with U.S. troops stationed in Hawaii.

He also took time to comment on the Lebanese industry minister and the assassination of him, Pierre Gemayel, key member of the anti- Syrian majority in the Lebanese Parliament. You can see the local reporter there getting ready to do a live shot as the president heads out. We're following his trip.

LEMON: Packed with insurgents, pummeled by U.S. troops, the city of Falluja used to be a big focus of the war in Iraq. Now that focused has changed but the reminders and the rubble remain.

Here's CNN's Arwa Damon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAMON (voice-over): It's recess, Falluja style, on top of the kids' bombed-out school. Classes take place among the ruins, and it's hard to focus on learning.

"I only remember the killing and destruction and how they forced us to leave our city," Mohammed (ph) says. "They killed my two uncles."

In spring of 2004, Falluja was an al Qaeda in Iraq stronghold, home to foreign and local fighters with one goal: to kill Americans. In November of that year, 10,000 U.S. troops fought a battle so harsh, some called it the fiercest fighting involving American troops since Vietnam. Today, Falluja is coming back to life. The downtown market is thriving. Few complain about a lack of basic services, but life here is far from perfect.

"It is very difficult to leave and enter the city because of the checkpoints," grocer Abu Ali complains. But the checkpoints have succeeded in stemming the flow of insurgents and weapons, though the wait for residents can take hours.

Falluja's Sunni population accuses the predominantly Shia army of abuse and trusts the homegrown police force vying for power against the insurgency.

(on camera): The U.S. military says that attacks against the Falluja police force really intensified towards the end of July, not just bombs and ambushes, but targeted assassination.

(voice-over): For the average Fallujan, the biggest danger today is being caught in the crossfire. Just about everybody in this Sunni city believes that the biggest obstacle to a better life is Iraq's own Shia-led government.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Falluja.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: So how do you stay strong on the home front if your loved ones are on the frontlines? Troops fighting overseas get little, if any, holiday break. And for their families in the U.S., well, the holidays could break the bank. But you can help those families thanks to a number of charities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEREDITH LEYVA, FOUNDER, CINCHOUSE.COM: There's a surprising number of families that literally can't afford to have a full Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Operation Home Front gets a lot of requests, believe it or not, for just Christmas trees because they're so expensive.

So there's a lot you can do. And, again, using that online service like ecarepackage.org or Operation Dear Abby where you can send e-mail cards to troops and families, those are very powerful things you can do right from the convenience of your desk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And here are some of the organizations you can donate to online: americasupportsyou.mil, cinchouse.com, ecarepackage.org and fisherhouse.org. Proceeds from the overhauling of CNN's war Hummer is going to go to this group for wounded vets.

LEMON: Well, his hits were huge and many, and so were his flops. Hollywood loved him and trashed him, ignored him, even embraced him. And it was mutual. Robert Altman would go down in film history if he had stopped making movies after M.A.S.H., but he also gave the world "Nashville" and "The Player" and "Gosford Park," all of them crowded with actors and bursting with dialogue and attitude.

We remember the filmmaker's life because today we learn of his death last night in Los Angeles. You may remember it was just this year Altman won a Lifetime Achievement Oscar after being passed over as best director five times in his long career. In his acceptance speech, he revealed for the first time that he received a heart transplant a decade before.

Altman's final film was "A Prairie Home Companion" based on Garrison Keeler's radio show. Keeler says when Altman was making a movie, quote, "he was in heaven." Robert Altman, the artist and iconoclast was 81 years old.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Uncle Sam wants you in war and peace by choice or by force. The U.S. military needs to sign up several thousand new troops every month. Lately it's been meeting its goals, but in the thick of a difficult war, with conscription not an option, recruiters are fighting an uphill battle.

CNN's Dan Lothian reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sergeant Mark Wood is searching for the Army's next soldier.

MARK WOOD, SERGEANT, U.S. ARMY: Hey, Matt. My name is Sergeant Wood, I'm with the Army.

LOTHIAN: He tracks down college student Matt Oswort in a suburb south of Boston.

WOOD: See if you'd like to sit down and maybe learn about it.

MATT OSWORT, STUDENT: I can't right now, I'm packing for a trip.

LOTHIAN: The 18-year-old says he respects the Army, but he doesn't appear ready to make a move. Sergeant Wood promises to stay in touch.

WOOD: Matt, I'm going to give you a call soon.

LOTHIAN: He spreads his message on the street and on the phone.

WOOD: United States Army, Sergeant Wood. How you doing?

LOTHIAN: But his pitch isn't always welcomed.

WOOD: It's challenging because you talk to so many people, and you do get told no a lot.

LOTHIAN (on camera): Going to war is one reason. Potential recruits know it's no longer just a possibility, it's a virtual certainty. But recruiters also face another challenge, convincing parents who are reminded on almost a daily basis what the decision to sign up could mean to their family.

WOOD: Obviously, parents are protective of their child, their children. And there is a sense of hesitation.

LOTHIAN (voice-over): The U.S. military has been struggling to meet its goals. Now a GAO report finds an increase of wrongdoing among recruiters from 2004 to 2005. "Determined to find ways to succeed in a challenging recruiting environment," the report says, "some recruiters reportedly have resorted to overly aggressive tactics such as coercion and harassment."

In response, the Defense Department agreed that "even one incident of recruiter wrongdoing can erode public confidence in DOD's recruiting process."

Sergeant Wood, who promotes the benefits of the Army on telephone poles and inside local schools, says being open and honest, even about war, is the only approach.

WOOD: We tell them the truth. There's no way to hide it. There's no way to -- there's no way that we want to hide it.

LOTHIAN: 23-year-old Argenis Mendez just signed up for the Army, undeterred by the prospect of going to war.

ARGENIS MENDEZ, NEW ARMY RECRUIT: We don't hope for it, but that's the way it goes. So backing down, if I would have been afraid of the war, I wouldn't have been signing up for it.

LOTHIAN: Just what recruiters are looking for as they search for the next person to sign up.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Quincy, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And you can catch more of Dan Lothian's reports on "AMERICAN MORNING." Join Soledad and Miles weekdays, 6:00 eastern.

LEMON: He says he's deeply, deeply sorry, but after Michael Richards unleashed the 'N' word, the 'S' word may not be enough. We're watching our language and everybody's else's around here too next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: So now they don't care if he did it? Up next in the NEWSROOM, what made the Fox network pull the plug on O.J. Simpson?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The president of the United States getting ready to leave Hickam Air Force Base as he spent some time in Honolulu talking to U.S. troops stationed there in Hawaii. Talking about the war on terror, trying to pump up the men and women that are serving in that area. He also took time to comment on the assassination in Lebanon, the Lebanese industry minister who was shot and killed by assassins in Beirut. Talking about the stability of Lebanon, monitoring that situation overseas as well.

The president of the United States along with the first lady getting ready to leave Hickam Air Force base. We're going to follow his trip back to the states.

LEMON: And let's talk about one that's definitely providing fodder for the water cooler. The shame and disgrace are still fresh, but the question is as old as human nature. What was he thinking?

Michael Richards has attempted to explain his incomprehensibly hateful tirade at an L.A. comedy club. If you were shocked and revolted before, you probably still are. CNN's entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson joins us from Los Angeles.

And that really is the question that everybody's asking Brooke. What was he thinking?

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. What was he thinking? And as you say, he is attempting to make amends now, Don. Three days after he launched this angry, racist tirade in a comedy club. Richards chose the "Late Show with David Letterman" to say he's sorry. Was it the right venue, and will it be enough?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL RICHARDS, COMEDIAN: For me to be in a comedy club and flip out and say this crap, you know, I'm deeply, deeply sorry.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Actor and standup comic Michael Richards making a public apology on the "Late Show with David Letterman."

RICHARDS: I got heckled, and I took it badly, and went into a rage. And said some pretty nasty things to some Afro-Americans, a lot of trash talk.

ANDERSON: Richards is attempting to make amends for the angry, racist vitriol he spewed from the stage at the Laugh Factory, Friday night, in reaction to some unruly audience members.

RICHARDS: Throw that guy out, he's a nigger! He's (EXPLETIVE DELETED) a, he's (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was uncalled for you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) cracker-ass mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

RICHARDS: Cracker-ass? You calling me cracker-ass you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) nigger?

ANDERSON: Paul Mooney, stand-up comic and actor who appeared in the 2004 documentary "The 'N' Word, which explored the history of the racial slur felt Richards' apology fell short. PAUL MOONEY, COMEDIAN: The apology has to be as dramatic and emotional as the performance. The performance was a 10, the apology was about a two. I want a 10 apology.

ANDERSON: Comedian Sinbad who was in the audience and witnessed Richards' rage wants Richards to personally face the black community.

SINBAD, COMEDIAN: You can't go on Letterman. that's the punk way out. You can't go Letterman, you've got to go to the heart of the people. You've got to go to the club, you've got to go up there on black night, Sunday night is chocolate city night at the comedy club. You've got to walk up there, and you've got to face that audience.

ANDERSON: Richards himself second-guessed his decision to appear on the late-night talk show.

MICHAEL RICHARDS, COMEDIAN: Your audience laughed, and it's -- I'm not even sure that this is where I should be addressing the situation. I'm really busted up over this, and I'm very, very sorry to those people in the audience.

ANDERSON: A number of black leaders have condemned Richards, and after watching his mea culpa...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't see that as an apology.

ANDERSON: They, too, want more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He needs to come apologize to the community and come back to the scene of the crime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want him to get help. He needs help.

ANDERSON: Fellow comedians Sinbad and Paul Rodriguez believe there is hope for Richards.

SINBAD: There's always the chance to come back. He has to make amends the right way.

PAUL RODRIGUEZ, COMEDIAN: The only good thing about it is we're heading into Christmas, the spirit of forgiveness and renewal. I hope that all those people who feel hurt will find peace and forgiveness.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: And you can see more of my interview with Sinbad on CNN.com. Again, he was there at the comedy club when Richards lost control. I want to mention Richards also said on Letterman that he is still reeling from all this and that he has to do personal work now get to, quote, "the force field of this hostility and find out why it's there."

Meantime, Don, representatives of the Laugh Factory have told us that he is banned from performing there again until the African- American community tells them that they have embraced him and that they have accepted his remorse, his apology. LEMON: At this point, Brooke, it just doesn't make any sense.

ANDERSON: Right.

LEMON: Thank you so much for your report.

PHILLIPS: United Nations sent her to Darfur two years ago. Now Mia Farrow's just back from another trip to a region in crisis. She joins us live in the NEWSROOM next.

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PHILLIPS: The president of the United States and the first lady boarding Air Force One, leaving Hickam Air Force Base after the president was there in Hawaii talking to troops serving in the war against terror. He's getting ready to head back to the mainland. We're going to follow his trip as he moves back.

LEMON: All right, Kyra.

Bad idea. The resounding verdict on O.J. Simpson's book and TV special "If I Did It." Now, both projects are defunct. CNN's Soledad O'Brien has what made, but probably won't be the final word on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: On Monday November 27th, the interview that will shock the nation.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): If you were waiting to be shocked by that O.J. Simpson interview, you're going to have to wait a while longer, maybe indefinitely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You wrote, "I've never seen so much blood in my life."

O.J. SIMPSON: I don't think any two people could be murdered without everybody being covered in blood.

S. O'BRIEN: The clip is no longer on the Fox Web site. That's because Fox took the extraordinary step of canceling plans to air the O.J. Simpson interview just days before it was supposed to be broadcast.

Also canceled, "The Simpson Book," called if I did it. It had already cracked the top 20 on amazon.com. In both the book and the interview, Simpson spoke hypothetically about how he would have done it, killed his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, back in June of 1994, if he did it.

The book and the interview created a storm of criticism over the past few days for many people, including Fox's Bill O'Reilly and Geraldo Rivera.

STEVE ZEITCHIK, "VARIETY": I think there was really a whole chorus of criticism and backlash here, and I think that's everyone from, you know, Fox's own affiliates, Fox's own personalities and the market in general.

S. O'BRIEN: So on Monday, Rupert Murdoch, the CEO of News Corp, the owner of both Fox and the book's publisher, Reagan Books, issued a statement saying this, "I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project." He also apologized to the Brown and Goldman families.

KIM GOLDMAN, RON GOLDMAN'S SISTER: They did the right thing, and to take responsibility for the havoc that has come about in the last week.

S. O'BRIEN: She may be grateful, but Ron's sister, Kim Goldman, told Larry King, she doesn't think it's over. She expects to see the book start popping up.

GOLDMAN: I definitely think it's going to end up in somebody's hands and we're going to read excerpts about it, and it's going to be on the black market somewhere.

S. O'BRIEN: She could be right.

ZEITCHIK: I think it's downright unprecedented for it to be pulled after it was already shipped. In this case, the book was actually, and in fact is at this moment on its way to stores, and stores are being instructed to turn around and send it back, and that's just something I've never heard of before.

S. O'BRIEN: Soledad O'Brien, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: His accusers say he made them get married in motel rooms. Today polygamist leader Warren Jeffs in a Utah courtroom to find out whether he'll stand trial. A live report just ahead from the NEWSROOM.

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