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American Morning
Iraq in Chaos; Millions of Americans Hit Stores Today
Aired November 24, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: A threat from the powerful anti-American cleric Muqtada al Sadr. He says that he will withdraw from the Iraqi government if Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki meets with President Bush as is planned for next week.
A curfew is now imposed throughout Baghdad in an effort to get as many people off the streets as possible, the Baghdad airport continues to be shut down to all air traffic. The body count is more than 200 dead, more than 250 wounded after that series of coordinated bombings in Shiite-dominated Sadr City.
Now this morning, there's that threat from the Shiite leader. Muqtada al Sadr is warning the prime minister, Nuri al Maliki, to not meet with President Bush. CNN's Arwa Damon is following the story for us. She is in Baghdad.
Good morning, Arwa.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Soledad.
That announcement came on Al Iraqia, the state-owned TV station here. This really puts the Iraqi prime minister in a very difficult position. On one hand, he now is risking losing the support of Muqtada al Sadr's bloc, to whom he largely owes his prime ministership. And remember, Muqtada al Sadr's bloc also has it's armed wing, the very deadly and very well-armed Mehdi militia.
On the other hand, he is not in a position, the prime minister is not in a position right now where he can afford to alienate the United States. How this all plays out over the next few days will be very interesting to follow. It will shed light on exactly how powerful Muqtada al Sadr is, and how much influence does the United States have over this current government. And it is also highlighting, really, the weakness and how fragile this government is right now, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Arwa Damon for us this morning. Thank you, Arwa. She's in Baghdad -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Of course, the White House is monitoring that situation in Iraq, just as the president prepares to meet with the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, with more -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Well, Miles, this certainly underscores the sense of urgency of these meetings. The vice president is headed to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia today. That's where he's meeting with King Abdullah. And then on Wednesday, you'll see President Bush, after the NATO Summit, he is heading to Jordan. That is where he will be meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki.
Publicly the White House says it has confidence in Maliki and its administration. But privately, Miles, as you know, there's a great deal of frustration here, some doubt whether or not he has the political heft, or even the will to bring his government together.
So, what the administration is trying to do now is essentially bolster his credibility. How are they going to do that? By working with those allies in the Middle East; while the United States says, hey, we may not talk directly to Syria and Iran at this time, we can certainly get Iraq's neighbors to do that. We can certainly get those kinds of discussions happening.
They're trying to bolster the credibility of the Iraqi government. At the same time -- and this is what you'll see in the next couple weeks with these reports from the Iraq study group, from the internal reports from the White House, from the Pentagon, is how do we actually train those Iraqi forces in a much faster, a much more effective way? Because that is also the problem here, they are just not able to handle the kind of security -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Suzanne, we just got word by the threat by al Sadr to withdraw from the government if Maliki meets with President Bush in Jordan. Any word from the White House yet on this?
MALVEAUX: Well, no. And I seriously doubt they're going to respond to something like that. Because I think this is not going to effect in anyway the president's trip. He's going to meet with Maliki, they're going to sit down face-to-face. I think what this is, is really an attempt to undermine Maliki's own strength, his own credibility, within the government. As you heard Arwa say, you know, really crumbling from within. But the president, what the Bush administration is trying to do is bolster that government. Even if it doesn't happen within the government, perhaps by working with the neighbors outside the government they can do it that way.
M. O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux, at the White House. Thank you.
An urgent search for two young brothers in northern Minnesota this morning. Four-year-old Tristan White and two-year-old Avery Stately disappeared from their yard in Red Lake, Minnesota, two days ago. The FBI, local police, volunteers, all combing the area. It's heavily wooded. Jeff Goldberg from our affiliate KMSP with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF GOLDBERG, REPORTER, KMSP TV (voice over): With two young boys missing in cold weather for nearly two days, there is only one word to describe the feeling of those affected most.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The family is devastated. There's two children that are not at home for Thanksgiving. GOLDBERG: Searchers began their work shortly after the children went missing Wednesday morning. Four-year-old Tristan White and his two-year-old brother, Avery Lee Stately were playing in their front yard. Authorities say their mother was checking on them, but at around 9:50 checked again, and they were gone.
PAUL MCCABE, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: At this time, we do not know any more information than we knew yesterday. We don't know if there is foul play or whether the children just wandered off into the woods.
GOLDBERG: FBI Special Agent Paul McCabe says investigators are talking with neighbors and potential witnesses about the possibility of a crime, like an abduction.
MCCABE: There is no evidence at this time that leads us there is foul play. We just want to make sure we are not being narrow minded. And that we're pursuing that angle as well.
GOLDBERG: The home is located in the Walking Shield area, of the Red Lake Indian reservation. Terrain not easy to navigate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wetlands here; it's really woody.
GOLDBERG: More than 100 law enforcement and volunteers from the reservation and surrounding communities are committed to finding the boys. More people, search dogs and mounted patrols are on the way, bringing with them energy and hope.
MCCABE: People want to help. This brings people together. And it is for a good cause. We need to find two young boys that aren't at home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: That was from Jeff Goldberg of our affiliate KMSP. Anyone with information on the boys, can call either the numbers on your screen, the FBI at 612-376-3200 or Red Lake Tribal police at 218- 679-3313.
Also happening this morning, a 23-hour standoff in Chicago ended in the very early hours. The gunman fatally shot the woman he was holding hostage and then turned the gun on himself. Investigators are still trying to piece together why it all happened.
North of Boston, in Danvers, the embers have finally cooled off enough, for investigators to begin their work to try to find out why a chemical plant exploded on Wednesday. The blast and fired that followed damaged 90 homes, some of them blown right off their foundations. A dozen people were treated for injuries, they were released. Amazingly, no one killed.
And eBay is still offering O.J. Simpson book, this morning, the "If I Did It" book, which was canceled by News Corporation. The family of Nicole Brown Simpson not happy with this. Take that bid there, with a grain of salt, there. They're not really going for $15 million. They're accusing eBay of not acting quickly enough to pull auctions of the book off the site. But eBay says it is taking the auction books from it's site, but we just found a bunch of them this morning -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: A fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin is found dead. And the reason is a mystery. The former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko died of an apparent poisoning. He blamed the Kremlin in a statement that he wrote before his death. Doctors in London, though, are not able, yet, to identify what actually killed him. Jim Boulden is live for us at University College Hospital in London this morning.
Good morning to you, Jim.
JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Soledad.
Yes, Alexander Litvinenko definitely blamed the Kremlin for his death. A few days before he died, he wrote a statement, which was read out a few moments ago, it also appears in "The London Times" this morning. I think you can see the headline here.
He says, "The bastards got me, but they won't get all of us". The bastards he's talking about, he said, is the Kremlin. He firmly blames President Putin for his death. He said in this statement that was read to us a few moments ago, he said, "You have shown yourself to have no respect for life, liberty or any civilized value." He was talking about Mr. Putin.
Of course, we should say the Kremlin has denied any involvement in this poisoning. The doctors have told us, the last few days, they don't know what kind of poison was in his system. He claimed to have been poisoned two weeks ago, at a hotel here in London. He steadily got worse, and as you say, he died yesterday.
A spokesman for the hospital came out last night, Jim Down, and he told us about the kind of care Mr. Litvinenko was getting up to the time of his death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM DOWN, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE HOSPITAL SPOKESMAN: We are sorry to announce that Alexander Litvinenko died at University College Hospital at 9:21 on the 23rd of November, 2006. He was seriously ill when he was admitted to UCH, on Friday, November 17th. And the medical team at the hospital did everything possible to save his life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOULDEN: If we ever do know what kind of poison took his life, it may come from the post mortem. The police have told us little. However, we do know the anti-terror police here in London are investigating -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Jim Boulden for us this morning. Thank you, Jim.
Miles. M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, a high-tech way for stores to get you to buy more stuff. AMERICAN MORNING's Ali Velshi live from the shopping mall on Long Island. We will check in with him after the break.
And arrests caught on tape have caused a lot of headaches for Los Angeles police. Now the cops there are using cameras to their own advantage. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Stories we're following for you today: Vice President Cheney traveling to the Middle East this weekend. He'll be in Saudi Arabia meeting with King Abdullah with hopes the kingdom can help end the violence in Iraq, among other things.
Three weeks after apparently being poisoned, a former Russian spy is dead. Doctors in Great Britain still don't know exactly what killed him, though -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, first, the turkey, the stuffing and now just the stuff. Retailers call it Black Friday for the color of the ink the accountants use to signifies profits and of course for all the stress the everybody is going to endure just to get through this day.
Take a look at this live picture from Toys "R" Us in New York City, right there and Macy's Department store. We have that picture as well. Shoppers are already swarming the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York today. That's that picture right there.
While it is not, believe it or not, the busiest shopping day of the year, the Saturday before Christmas is usually that day, it is the official start of the annual buying frenzy. There are only 30 shopping days left till Christmas. Let's get right to CNN's Jonathan Freed; he's at a Best Buy in Skokie, Illinois this morning.
Hey, Jonathan. How is it were you are?
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Soledad.
You talk about buying frenzy. People here are mistaking the CNN flag on the mic for a sales. I've had to fend off about five people already trying to buy our microphone.
Come with me for a second, because it's nuts. People have been here since yesterday afternoon, 3:00, waiting outside in one line. Take a look at this line just to pay for stuff. Come around here because they're wearing bright yellow, and I picked them on purpose so that we'd be able to find them quickly. There are some relative newlyweds here.
Hi, excuse me. Hi, guys. That's great. What did you get? A lot of stuff.
Here they are. I see them down here. Come with me, America. Here we go. Hi, guys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, how are you? Good morning?
FREED: What time did you get here yesterday?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly 7:15 in the evening.
FREED: OK, 7:15 in the evening, and all for what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For a $250 Toshiba laptop.
FREED: That would have regularly been how much?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Roughly about $600.
FREED: OK, so that's a pretty good deal. I understand you're newlyweds.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
FREED: And this is your family's thing, but this is new for you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it's initiation for me, into the family.
FREED: Had he known before he proposed --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I probably would have had second thoughts.
FREED: Do you see? Are you going to take that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, she's the boss now. I can't do nothing about that.
FREED: All right. How long have you been waiting in this line to pay?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About 30 minutes, so far?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About a half hour now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
FREED: Decidedly warmer than waiting outside?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, much warmer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, we're not freezing no more.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
FREED: Worth it for you guys?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was fun. It was a lot of fun actually. It really was.
FREED: Is there any family tradition that you have that you are going to be inflicting on him? You know, pay back for this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unfortunately, my family is a little more normal than his, so we don't have any of those traditions.
FREED: My family is anything but normal. We'll use that, Soledad, to toss it back to you.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much. Wow, that's a pretty good deal. Have you seen any pushing and shoving? You know, a $250 laptop that usually costs 600 bucks, I could see people pushing, grabbing and kicking people out of their way out to get that?
FREED: You know what, there hasn't really been that much pushing and shoving. It's been pretty orderly, hasn't it, guys?
Very calm, see, very calm and orderly. We did see some DVDs kind of flying around earlier, but it was more over your shoulder rifling through for the one you want, kind of deal. Basically, it's been relatively calm here this morning.
S. O'BRIEN: I think it's because everybody's asleep. It's 6:15 in the morning.
FREED: I know. It's unbelievable, unbelievable.
S. O'BRIEN: Are you going to do some shopping while you're there, in between your live shots?
FREED: Uh, I kind of --
S. O'BRIEN: Be honest.
FREED: I kind of already did, but I waited until everybody was inside because I saw what happened when somebody tried to cut the line before. It got kind of ugly.
S. O'BRIEN: Really?
FREED: So, I waited until everybody was in and I kind of did a little shopping, yeah.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. Good for you, Jonathan.
FREED: Thanks, guys.
S. O'BRIEN: We'll check in with you throughout the morning.
And if you're at a loss for what to get, we've got a little bit of a solution for you. You can log on to cnn.com/holidayshopping. There's a gift finder feature that will help you pick out a gift for almost anybody.
Miles, I'm going to log in and see what to get you this year. M. O'BRIEN: Gadgets. You know me, I like gadgets.
S. O'BRIEN: I know, which is why I should get you something else. To break it up, right?
M. O'BRIEN: Like a G.I. Joe, or a Star Wars -- oh, Rubric's Cube. No, I don't want a Cabbage Patch Kid. All right.
It is about 15 minutes past the hour, if you heading out the door, if you're heading to the shopping, do you have to bundle up? What are you going to do? Rob Marciano has the word for you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: In Los Angeles, police are fighting fire with fire, installing cameras on their patrol cars to ensure they have their own video record of pursuits and arrests. And the move comes after bystanders taped a pair of very controversial arrests. In one case police used pepper spray to subdue a suspect. They make no apologies for that tactic. AMERICAN MORNING's Chris Lawrence has our story this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING (voice over): This videotape made the LAPD review its own policy on pepper spray. But the department has concluded that no changes are necessary.
CHIEF WILLIAM BRATTON, LOS ANGELES POLICE: Pepper spray is here to stay. Let's make no mistake about that.
LAWRENCE: Chief William Bratton says footage doesn't change fact, that pepper spray is an appropriate non-lethal tool. The ACLU called the decision troubling. And is urging Bratton to ban or limit officers from spraying suspects already handcuffed or in police cars, as Ben Barker was here.
JOHN RAPHLING, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: It just seemed like it summary punishment. We're sick and tired of this guy and we're not going to wait for the judicial process to deal with him.
LAWRENCE: Barker was being arrested for assaulting a store worker in Venice Beach. Officers say Barker argued and spit at them. His arrest was caught on tape by a watch dog group that regularly patrols the area. The LAPD is trying to get nearly every arrest documented. Beginning next week, it will start install digital cameras in certain patrol cars.
(On camera): Each officer would also be equipped with an audio mic, that works up to 500 feet from his squad car.
BRATTON: So, even though the officers might be out of range of the camera, I would be able to hear what's going on between the officers and suspects they're engaging in.
LAWRENCE: These police car cameras were used as evidence in a New Mexico case two years ago. Prosecutors convicted this sergeant of manslaughter after videotape conflicted with his statement, it showed him fatally shooting a handcuffed suspect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back up, honey. Go inside, honey. Go inside.
(SHOT FIRED)
LAWRENCE: The officers in Venice Beach were not disciplined. But for any officer accused of using too much force, the cameras have the potential to both exonerate and convict. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, a high-tech way for stores to get you to buy more stuff, as if they needed another way. AMERICAN MORNING's Ali Velshi is live from a "maul" on Long Island. That's how they say it there, right, "maul", right?
S. O'BRIEN: That's how we say it there, yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Can you guys see me here?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, there you are.
VELSHI: All right, so you're probably used to seeing yourself on -- or you know that you're going to be on a video camera during this holiday season. But it's not just for security. A lot of retailers are actually tracking the way you walk around stores so they can decide where they best keep these floor sets and these displays, and where the best place is, for instance, to keep this wickedly hot chocolate three-in-one body wash bubble bath and shampoo. I'll have more on this when AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Millions of Americans hit the stores today and retailers are trying to find out more about them. Ali Velshi is Minding Your Business. He's live this morning from Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York.
Hey, Ali. Good morning. Can you hear me? Ali, can you hear me?
Maybe he's shopping.
All right, well, Ali just filed a report first. Let's go to his report, and then we'll try to fix his mic in the meanwhile.
Here's Ali Velshi's report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (voice-over): Smile, you're on consumer-behavior camera. No surprise that you'll likely be videotaped while holiday shopping, but it's not all for security. Some of it is for market research. Retailers are tracking you to learn how you shop.
RAJEEV SHARMA, FOUNDER & CEO, VIDEOMINING CORP.: Where people show, where they're spending time, what is grabbing their attention, are they having to wait too long at different points.
VELSHI: Consumer-behavior analysis. It's part observation, part science, part technology and a bit of psychology. Rajeev Sharma's software turns images of customers working their way through stores into hard data, allowing retailers to take fast action if things aren't working out.
SHARMA: You can move the merchandise to position the products so that it creates the right sequence and right products in front of the right people at the right time.
VELSHI: With the holiday shopping crunch, retailers know their customers have short fuses, and crowd hassles don't help.
SHARMA: You can create these kind of maps, the hotspots and the cold spots. This is extremely important, because there's no number; by just looking at this color coordinator of map, you can see which portion of the store is receiving more attention.
VELSHI: And that helps retailers to decide where to place display units.
SHARMA: After browsing, decided to interact with it, as in read labels and experience it more. And finally, of course, what every productive retailer, product manufacturer and retailer want you to drop it into your basket.
VELSHI: But it's not all creative marketing. Traffic jams at checkout are often the biggest problem.
SHARMA: What this shows is a line forming, and something that we are very familiar with this season.
VELSHI: Best Buy is using its own research to try to shorten those lines.
BRIAN DUNN, PRES. & COO, BEST BUY: We now deploy a queuing system in our stores, where all customers, they wait in a queue, and we have somebody there directing traffic so you don't get caught in the wrong line, which drives people crazy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Now it will be up to Jonathan Freed to see whether those things are actually working. He's at a best buy in Skokie, Illinois. But as you can see here, an hour and a bit into the shopping season, we're already seeing queues, lineups, crowds, those kinds of things. That's the kind of thing that retailers want to avoid to make sure that the shopping experience is as pleasant as it is for people, because the more pleasant it is, the more green you're going to lay down for your holiday shopping list.
S. O'BRIEN: Ali Velshi for us this morning at the local mall. Thank you, Ali -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Top stories straight ahead. Stunning violence, even by Iraqi standards. Another coordinated suicide attack. More than 200 people killed in just two days. Will Iraq ever be able to stand up on its own?
Plus, an update on the intense search for two little boys missing in northern Minnesota. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Iraq spirals downward. The violence hits new levels and the prime minister gets painted into a corner. Which side will Nouri Al-Maliki choose?
S. O'BRIEN: Two young boys disappear from in front of their family's home in Minneapolis. A search in the freezing cold is now under way.
M. O'BRIEN: Leftovers and long lines, the day after Turkey Day, and Americans do the flocking at the malls. So what is the deal?
Those stories and more ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(NEWSBREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: In Iraq this morning, the streets of Baghdad are quiet and the talk is ominous after two days of unprecedented violence. A serious new wrinkle this morning: the Shiite power broker and American nemesis, Muqtada Al Sadr asking Iraq's Prime Minister Maliki to stand up President Bush at a planned summit in Jordan next week. Al Sadr says if the meeting happens, he will pull his faction out of the Iraqi government.
The streets of Baghdad quiet because of a tough curfew in place. The airport shutdown to all traffic. The grim toll is high, more than 200 dead, more than 250 others wounded after a series of coordinated bombings in the Shiite section of Baghdad City, known as Sadr City. It is the single-worst sectarian attack since the U.S. invaded more than three-and-a-half years ago.
So what could possibly happen next in Iraq? The violence gaining momentum. The fledgling government, seemingly powerless, may soon be in shambles. Is there any way to stop the burgeoning civil war.
We're joined now by Theodore Kattouf. He's a former U.S. ambassador to Syria, expert on the Middle East.
And good to have you with us this morning.
THEODORE KATTOUF, FMR. U.S. AMB. TO SYRIA: My pleasure, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: First of all, let's talk about this very latest news -- Muqtada Al Sadr essentially asking the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki to choose sides, either visit with the president, we pull out or stay home. That's a difficult position for the prime minister to be in, to say the least.
KATTOUF: Well, that's certainly true. As you indicated, Al Sadr is a power broker. Al Maliki, the prime minister, owes his position to Muqtada Al Sadr, and Al Sadr's militia have clashed on a number of occasions with U.S. and coalition forces. He's been a thorn in our side all along, and this is an unexpected new wrinkle, and I'm stumped as to how Al Maliki is going to deal with it, except, perhaps, to try to get Al Sadr to relent.
It sounds like a black and white scenario the way it is painted right now. There really seems to be no middle ground for Maliki.
There doesn't, but on the other hand, the summit is several days away, and I presume that a number of Iraqi leaders are going to be huddling and trying to figure out, you know, how they deal with this conundrum.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about these amazing images we saw yesterday. Tremendous violence, coordinated series of bombings in Sadr City. Ultimately some reprisals, Shiites launching some rockets toward a Sunni mosque. This tit-for-tat violence continues. And then look at this image that we also saw kind of at the same time. This is inside the green zone, behind the barbed wire in the walls. U.S. troops, you know, playing their musical instruments and eating turkey. In a sense, is the U.S. on the sidelines of all of this?
KATTOUF: Well, we're not on the sidelines. The U.S. military has set as a goal for itself trying to reduce violence in Baghdad, trying to get more control of the situation, working with the Iraqi government and their forces.
But clearly, we're not succeeding. I don't think it's because of any lack of effort on the part of our troops. I think they've performed with great courage and determination. But the fact of the matter is we're caught in a civil war that's only probably going to get worse.
M. O'BRIEN: And that is no place for the U.S. military to be. The troops are not trained to mediate a civil war.
KATTOUF: That's correct. And my guess is that this bipartisan Baker Commission, which is going to have its report out very, very shortly, is probably going to call upon the administration to bring in the neighbors and try to get the neighbors to recognize that the United States is not going to be staying in Iraq indefinitely; it's their neighborhood, and if Iraq continues down its current path, there will consequences, negative ones, for everybody, including, perhaps, Syria and Iran.
M. O'BRIEN: And you mentioned Syria and Iran. A lot of people would suggest, and some would suggest that the Baker Commission might say this directly to the Bush administration, that Syria and Iran must be engaged by the U.S. Are you among the people who thinks that's a good idea?
KATTOUF: I do think it's a good idea, not because I think Syria and Iran wish us well, they don't. They want us out. They want us to seem to have failed. But at the same time, they have a lot of influence within Iraq. Indeed, some of the most powerful Shia factions came out of Iran and sat out the war there. So given Iran's great influence with some of the Shia, given Syria's influence with some of the former Baathists who comprise the Sunni insurgency, I don't see how we're going to get out of Iraq with any kind of acceptable situation without engaging them.
M. O'BRIEN: Theodore Kattouf, thank you very much for your time -- Soledad.
KATTOUF: Thank you, Miles.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, let's take you to Afghanistan now. So far more than 3,700 people have died in the surging violence there. It's going to be the focus of the NATO summit next week.
CNN's Barbara Starr has more this morning from Bagram, Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Winter has already come to these mountains of Afghanistan, and the bitter cold means that in some areas, attacks by the Taliban are dropping off, at least for now. But the top commander is expressing his concerns about al Qaeda activity across the border in Pakistan.
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CMDR. U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: The Pakistanis have done a great deal, especially in the areas away from the mountains, to get after al Qaeda, capture their operatives and make it difficult for them to conduct operations. That having been said, there's no doubt that in this region there is a safe haven that needs continued work on the Pakistani side of the border that need continued work in cooperation with NATO forces.
STARR: Here in Afghanistan, commanders expect that 2006 will wind up with more than 100 suicide bomb attacks in this country, a tactic that had not been seen until recent years. Indeed commanders here tell us that in the last three months, they have broken up six suicide bomb cells here in Afghanistan. The bombs that they are seeing here are still fairly rudimentary, though some of them have grown to be larger in size than they have seen in the past.
Still, it's commanders say the attacks are dropping off with the winter weather. They are already preparing to see a spring offensive by the Taliban.
Barbara Starr, CNN, Bagram, Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, a whites-only scholarship causes controversy on the B.U. campus. But maybe that was the whole point in the first place. We'll take a look at that story.
And we'll take you live to Toys 'R' Us in Times Square. The must-have toys of the holiday season. Got a look, straight ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, if you need a gift idea for all the kiddies on your holiday shopping list, we'll take you on a trip to Toyland, with a look at the hottest toys on every kids wish list. Head to Toys 'R' Us in Times Square on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Well, first the stuffing, then the stuff. Retailers call it Black Friday for the color of the ink accountants use to signify profits, and of course for the stress that all the rest of us will endure as we try to get through this big shopping day.
Let's first give you a live look at Macy's department store in New York City. Bargain hunters who are looking for the latest technology camped out all night at this Best Buy in Skokie, Illinois. And shoppers are swarming the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York this morning. And this, a look at the Toys 'R' Us in New York's Times Square. That Toys 'R' Us has been open for 90 minutes already.
Jerry Storch is the CEO of Toys 'R' Us. He's live from his store this morning.
Nice to see you, Mr. Storch. Thanks for talking with us.
JERRY STORCH, CEO, TOYS 'R' US: Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: So is this really mostly a gimmick, this whole early-morning shopping thing, or do you think there are actually a lot of people who need to start getting their shopping done this early?
STORCH: Well, I can tell you, there were lines outside our stores all over the country at 5:00 a.m. this morning, so I don't believe it's a gimmick.
S. O'BRIEN: OK. So how busy is it for you right there in Times Square? That's your flagship store.
STORCH: It's very busy. We call this the center of the toy universe at this store, and it's just crawling with people, and there was a long line all the way around the block this morning, well before it opened.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, that's always fun to go through. I've been through that long line many a-times trying to get gifts in that store. Is there -- do you have the big Elmo? Elmo TMX, of course, has been the big item? Do you have some in your store? I mean, what's hopping for that particular thing like today?
STORCH: Well, here's Elmo, and we love Elmo. Elmo is the hottest toy of the year. If you're going to find him anywhere, you'll find him at Toys 'R' Us. We've had thousands of them sold today already, and we expect to get shipments throughout the holiday season.
S. O'BRIEN: So you have Elmos in stock at the Toys 'R' Us in Times Square, is that what you're saying?
STORCH: We did earlier this morning. I think they've been selling like hotcakes, and I know we'll get more in.
S. O'BRIEN: Interesting.
What do you think is the item, outside of this Elmo TMX, what would you put down as the item that absolutely everybody wants this year?
STORCH: Well, this is one of my favorites. This is a toy that I picked as the hottest toy of the year.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, I love that.
STORCH: It's Mumbles the Dancing Penguin from the movie "Happy Feet." And he dances in tune to your MP3 player. So it's a great toy that integrates electronics, with a beautiful plush toy, with a very hot movie.
S. O'BRIEN: Of course, this is not the necessarily the busiest shopping day of he year. That's the Saturday before Christmas traditionally. How important is doing well, making a lot of money today for your company?
STORCH: Well, every day is important. This would be one of the top five days of the year. It varies from year to year, which one is the largest. But it's a very important day and it's good to get off to a good start.
S. O'BRIEN: High-tech toys, digital cameras -- do you have them for little kids? What are you -- what is the cost? What do you got?
STORCH: This is a Fisher Price digital camera, and the great thing about this, it has a full screen and everything, but the kid can drop it, and it still works.
S. O'BRIEN: What does that cost, and can you really take pictures? I mean, can they actually get a photo out of that, Fisher Price?
STORCH: Absolutely. And every toy I'm showing you today is under $50.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, that's pretty good. How about Dora the Explorer, which my daughters were absolutely freaking out when she came through the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. That's got to be a huge, huge generally, as just a general overall item, huge for your store, right?
STORCH: Everything Dora is hot this year, but also Diego is coming up. And we have seen a trend toward more gender-specific toys, so Dora for the girls and Diego for the boys. Additionally we have a pink laptop by VTech that's selling like crazy.
S. O'BRIEN: How late are you open until today?
STORCH: We're open all night.
S. O'BRIEN: It's going to be long day for Jerry.
STORCH: Until the people leave.
S. O'BRIEN: That might be more than all night. That might be all into tomorrow and straight through. Jerry Storch is the CEO of Toys 'R' Us. Thanks for talking with us. We appreciate it -- Miles.
STORCH: Sure.
Coming up on the program, more on that ominous warning out of Iraq, as President Bush and Vice President Cheney gear up for talks in the Middle East. We'll get reaction from the White House.
Plus, the deadly chaos in and around Baghdad. Hundreds of people killed in just two days of insurgent attacks and sectarian violence. A live report from Baghdad is ahead.
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