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American, Iraqi Leaders Pledging to Get Iraq on Track; Attack at SeaWorld

Aired November 30, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.

For the next three hours, watch events happen live on this Thursday morning, the 30th day of November.

Here is what's on the run-down.

Harmony and hassle -- the American and Iraqi leaders pledging to get Iraq on track. Their summit hitting a bump with an abrupt cancellation.

HARRIS: Looking for traction -- a big storm heading east today and a winter preview. Ice and snow and cold. The talk from Seattle to St. Louis.

COLLINS: And attack at SeaWorld -- a whale grabbing a trainer, forcing him underwater. His frightening tale in THE NEWSROOM.

No graceful exit -- President Bush vowing U.S. troops will stay in Iraq to help control escalating violence.

White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux wraps up his summit with Iraq's leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite the serious doubts the White House has about Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki's abilities to control the violence in his country, President Bush today gave him a vote of confidence.

GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's the right guy for Iraq and we're going to help him.

MALVEAUX: Mr. Bush is facing an increasingly unpopular war, with the new Congress actively seeking exit strategies. So the president is trying to push more responsibility on the Iraqi leader to govern and protect his people.

Mr. Bush acknowledged the U.S. could do more to help. BUSH: Part of the prime minister's frustration is, is that he doesn't have the tools necessary to take care of those who break the law.

MALVEAUX: The president promised more resources to speed up the training of Iraqi security forces. But he flatly refused to commit pulling out U.S. troops, even gradually, as recommended by a bipartisan commission, the Iraq Study Group.

BUSH: I know there's a lot of speculation that these reports in Washington mean there's going to be some kind of graceful exit out of Iraq. We're going to stay in including to get the job done, so long as the government wants us there.

MALVEAUX: Even if that means U.S. troops would have to fight in what some consider a civil war.

BUSH: Killers taking sec -- taking innocent life is, in some cases, sectarian. I happen to view it as criminal.

MALVEAUX: Maliki also issued a thinly veiled warning to his neighbors, Iran and Syria, for any role they may have in supporting the insurgents.

NOURI AL-MALIKI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): So everybody who is trying to make Iraq their own influence sphere on the account of the Iraqi people needs to recalculate.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COLLINS: Suzanne Malveaux joining us now live from Amman, Jordan -- Suzanne, I wonder, you know, from what we know of Iraq Study Group's potential suggestions, is there any early reaction from the administration at this point?

MALVEAUX: Well, officially, all the White House can say is that, look, we haven't seen this report. We're going to wait for it to come out next week. But unofficially, when you talk to White House officials, they really say look, you know, they're not so worried about what they're hearing about the Iraq Study Group report.

If this is, in fact, the case that gradually they want to go ahead and withdraw troops but there is no timetable, they say what difference is that than what President Bush has been talking about for the last couple of months?

So there's a lot of compromise, a lot of wiggle room here. So they're not really threatened by what they're seeing so far.

COLLINS: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, we are all waiting for these recommendations to come out, that is for sure.

Live from Amman, Jordan, thank you.

HARRIS: He is home now and Iraq's prime minister finds his country more divided than when he left. Lawmakers loyal to anti- American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr walking out of the government.

CNN's Arwa Damon is live for us now in bounty hunter -- Arwa, what is the sense there? Concern that Al-Maliki's position back home is, perhaps, even weaker than it was before this meeting?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, a lot happened in the less than 48 hours whilst Prime Minister Nouri Al- Maliki was not in Iraq.

First off, as you just mentioned, Muqtada al-Sadr's political bloc made good on its threat to suspend its activities within the Iraqi government. And, according to the head of the bloc, they are not entirely on their own. Falah Shanshel told CNN that they have the support of some Sunni politicians, as well as Christian politicians within the parliament.

The group is saying that they will not return to the Iraqi government until Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki comes to them with a set timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

They are also forming this front within the parliament. Its main aim, we are hearing from Shanshel, is to appeal a decision taken by the United Nations to extend the mandate of multinational forces here in Iraq.

The Iraqi prime minister, immediately upon landing, held a press conference from his residence in the capital, calling this move by Sadr's bloc counter-productive to the democratic and political process and asked them to review their decision to suspend their activities.

Now, at the same time, Tony, we spoke with Salah Muchlagh (ph), who is a leading Sunni politician here, who has been greatly outspoken against the Iraqi prime minister ever since he took power. He is saying that this new alliance we're seeing right now between the Sadrist bloc and the Sunnis, as well as a number of it depends, Christians, according to Muchlagh (ph), Turkmens, Kurds, people that are currently within the government, as well as groups that are outside -- former Baathists, anyone is a part of this group who is not an extremist.

Their main aim is to create change within the Iraqi government. He said, Falah Shansel telling CNN that: "We are the people whom the Americans should be talking to. We are going to put forward a solution to Iraq's violence. Nouri Al-Maliki's government is very weak right now."

So, Tony, the prime minister definitely faces a great number of challenges upon his return to his own country -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK, Arwa, just one more quick question.

Is it the sense of this new alliance, this new group, that to this point, the Al-Maliki government, the parliament has been hamstrung in doing what it wants to do by the Americans?

DAMON: Well, that specific opinion varies depending on who you speak to. If you speak with the Sadrists, they will purely say to you, Iraq is not a sovereign nation, America has its hand in everything that Nouri Al-Maliki and his government are doing. Other members of the group have a less blunt assessment of the U.S. role in Iraq.

But the bottom line, what they want is a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal and to reshuffle the government. Their hope, of course, is to stem the violence that has been raging here.

HARRIS: CNN's Arwa Damon for us in Baghdad.

It seems to get more complicated, not less complicated.

Arwa, thank you.

In Washington, word that a bipartisan group of power brokers has reached agreement on Iraq strategy. Iraq Study Group represents or presents its report to President Bush next week, but here's a preview.

CNN has learned the panel will recommend a reduction of U.S. troops that is "gradual, but meaningful" and they want that pull down to begin relatively early in the new year.

President Bush has repeatedly vowed that U.S. forces will remain in Iraq until the job is done.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.

COLLINS: A wintry double whammy for the nation's mid-section.

Part one was ice. Now, people are preparing for a snowy sequel.

CNN's Jonathan Freed is in Kansas City -- Jonathan, what's the situation there?

It looks cold.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

Yes, I'm glad it looks like it's cold, because it definitely is. And it's -- we're in the mid-20s, at least, and we're waiting to hear exactly what the wind chill factor is. If Chad or somebody is around, if he could offer up that information, perhaps by the time our story is done, I would appreciate it.

We're going to get you a look over here now. We're kind of perched high up in downtown Kansas City and we've been looking at this road that slopes down a bit. We've been watching it since before the sun-came up, Heidi.

And the -- they've been salting it pretty well. And, as you can see, traffic has not been having a problem on it today. Yesterday, though, yesterday afternoon was a very different story. And as we look down at the railing here, the ice that you see covering this railing, just encrusting this railing, was -- is indicative of what the roads were like yesterday afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

FREED (voice-over): From the Southwest to the Midwest, fierce winter weather is roaring through at least a dozen states today.

In New Mexico, heavy snow may have looked beautiful, but it made for treacherous conditions on Interstate 40.

ROBERTA PETERSON, DRIVER: I went from back there where the gas station is to here and I slid everywhere. So it's just -- it's too dangerous for me to move anywhere.

FREED: Most drivers decided to pull over and wait for the plows. But there are always the adventurous ones.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm headed -- I'm going out here. I'm headed to Albuquerque. I'm headed straight for the Gulf of Mexico-south until this turns away from snow to rain to something else, because we're not staying the night. I don't want to stay here and get buried in this stuff.

FREED: In the heartland, they're getting ready for the second storm in a winter double whammy. The first storm left nearly half an inch of ice in eastern Kansas, causing accidents and power outages. A second storm, expected this afternoon, could dump a foot-and-a-half of snow from Oklahoma to Missouri.

Folks in St. Louis are bracing for the first big storm of the season, stocking up on the essentials.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

FREED: Now, Heidi, I got a little bit of intelligence here while the story was running. I am told that, in fact, without -- and I don't know if Chad is there, but this is the information that I've been given, America. I am told that it is 20 degrees without the wind chill. With the wind chill, please brace yourselves at the anchor desk...

HARRIS: Yes.

FREED: Seven degrees.

HARRIS: Yes.

COLLINS: Oh, that's nothing.

FREED: Seven degrees.

COLLINS: You're talking to a Minnesota girl about that.

FREED: Yes. No, it's nothing. It's nothing. It's nothing. It's just -- it's a morning brisk. That's all it is.

COLLINS: Ah, that's right. It wakes you right up, doesn't it?

All right.

FREED: Take a look down here. Take a look down here. We have -- we have a significant amount of ice.

COLLINS: Yes.

FREED: And this is what the roads were like yesterday afternoon. Yes. And we did put some salt down earlier. And I think the temperature must have dropped, because when it gets below a certain point, ice isn't very effective.

But out here on the deck that we're on, at least the salt has been working here, and, as we showed you before, it has clearly been working on the road. So people here looking ahead to the snow and what might be coming later on today.

But right now, at least, it seems that Kansas City had got a handle on it.

COLLINS: Yes, it seems like they do. I'm not sure about you, Jonathan...

FREED: Well...

COLLINS: ... but be careful up there, all right?

FREED: Don't make me -- don't make me come down there...

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Don't make me come down there.

COLLINS: Jonathan Freed...

FREED: It is warmer there, though.

COLLINS: It is, indeed.

Thank you so much, Jonathan.

FREED: Thank you.

Thank you.

COLLINS: We'll check back later on.

HARRIS: Let's check in with Reynolds Wolf right now in the Weather Center -- and, Reynolds, this is one of those days when you get to say you know what, we did our best to warn you, because we were talking about this yesterday, to brace Kansas City and Texas that this storm was going to pack a bit of a wallop.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're absolutely right. I mean it's kind of hard to miss out on this one. Here it is, just one giant, big mixing bowl from Mother Nature. We've got cold air coming in from the north, a lot moist air coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. Again, where we were live moments ago, the wind chill was right at seven, single digits. And many people across the Central and Southern Plains are going to be dealing with that same kind of conditions, the chilly conditions, all compliments of this big system.

And this is what we're seeing a little bit closer in. From Oklahoma City back over to Springfield, even in St. Louis, it is a switch, if you will, going from snow to freezing rain and to just some regular scattered showers and a few thunderstorms. But much of this is going to just become frozen precipitation extending into St. Louis and possibly into Chicago.

Now, you've heard the sword. You've heard the snow word. You're wondering how much you're going to see.

Well, the latest computer models indicate that some places, from Oklahoma City back up to Kansas City, perhaps even to St. Louis and near Chicago, some places between these spots could get up to a foot of snowfall. I would say, at a minimum, places like Kansas City and St. Louis could see one to two, maybe even as much as four inches of snowfall at this point.

At a minimum, though, they're going to be getting some icy conditions, which is going to be just treacherous on many of the roadways. It's going to cause all kinds of problems, especially along places like I-70 going from Kansas City to St. Louis. That is one stretch of roadway I would not want to be on today, no question about it.

HARRIS: Oh, boy.

WOLF: That's the latest we have. We're going to keep an eye on this story for you. And as we get more information, of course, we're going to give it to you.

HARRIS: OK, Reynolds, appreciate it.

WOLF: You bet.

HARRIS: Thank you.

How about this story?

A killer whale takes her trainer for an unexpected ride and stuns the audience at SeaWorld in San Diego. Moments after this video was taped, the whale grabbed the trainer's foot and dragged him underwater.

Lee Ann Kim with affiliate KGTV has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

LEE ANN KIM, KGTV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a show that's performed hundreds of times each year. But Kasatka, a 30-year-old killer whale, strayed from her routine and trapped her trainer underwater. Audience members were horrified.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, you could tell this was -- this was not part of the show.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I don't get why he would do that, bite the trainer. It looked like he was biting him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was just a tragedy, because you just weren't sure what was going on until the rest of the trainers started tapping the water and you could see the panic coming over them, and then the nets coming out. And then you were, you know, instant reality. This is really happening.

KIM: Security evacuated the stadium as performers calmed down the whale and got the trapped trainer free. He was conscious and breathing an appeared to have foot injuries. Witnesses say at least twice he was forced underwater for at least a minute or two.

SeaWorld officials say Kasatka had strayed from routines before, but never to this extent.

MIKE SCARPUZZI, SEAWORLD HEAD TRAINER: There are times like this when -- they are killer whales and she did choose to -- to demonstrate her feelings in a way that obviously was unfortunate. And we are unfortunate that our guests did have to see this and, you know, we obviously do not want this.

KIM: And this Dallas woman certainly didn't want her kids to see this, especially as they were celebrating her 6-year-old daughter's birthday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I just didn't want to watch a guy die. And I mean I know I wouldn't want Shamu to die, but I think they should have had something in place where, you know, if it's between him or Shamu, Shamu's got to go.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COLLINS: A push for peace with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice leading the way. Ahead in THE NEWSROOM, U.S. shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East.

HARRIS: Also, an ex-spy's death in London. Now traces of radiation found on British Airways' jets. Investigators trying to connect all the dots.

COLLINS: And the pope in Turkey visiting one of Istanbul's most magnificent landmarks, The Blue Mosque. The history and the symbolism later in THE NEWSROOM.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the Middle East today conducting some diplomacy of her own. She met with the Palestinian president in Jericho then headed to Jerusalem for a meeting with Israel's prime minister.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Jerusalem now -- Paula, good morning.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Well, she has met now both the Palestinian president and the Israeli prime minister. And the purpose of this very quick meeting with both of them was really to try and urge both of them not to let this opportunity pass them by.

The fact is there's been a cease-fire in Gaza between Israelis and Palestinians since Sunday morning. It was a surprise on Sunday morning. It had been violated a couple of times by Palestinian militants launching rockets into Israel, but it is a positive step. It is the fact that there has been very little bloodshed in Gaza at this point.

And we also had Ehud Olmert saying that he wanted to get back to peace talks, he wanted to try and find a way for a viable Palestinian state.

So this is what Condoleezza Rice was here for, to make sure that both realized what an opportunity this was.

Now, talking to President Abbas earlier on, she did acknowledge that he said the national unity government talks between himself and the Hamas-led government have not been going well at all. They've actually stopped these talks at this point. So it's uncertain whether or not there will be a new unity government, which will mean that the Bush administration and the international community will be able to deal with a new government. They're not willing to deal with the Hamas-led government, as it won't recognize Israel.

And with Olmert, as well, Rice is likely to be telling him that she's very pleased with what he was saying on Monday. He also said he is willing to dismantle some settlements, he's willing to dismantle roadblocks and willing to really work for that Palestinian state if the two can sit down and talk together.

But, of course, at this point it is all still talk. Anything could go wrong in this particular neck of the woods and certainly it is very important to just wait and see if this cease hold -- cease- fire holds, which has held so far since Sunday morning.

COLLINS: Paula, give us some insight, if you could, on why Condoleezza Rice's trip is take place right now.

HANCOCKS: Well, it was unexpected. Up until yesterday, we didn't know if she was coming at all. And then last night she announced she would be meeting the Palestinians and then later she would be meeting the Israelis. It could be a case of they know that this is an opportunity that can't be missed, the fact that the cease-fire is in play; the fact that both sides, President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, have both said that they would like to sit down at a table and talk peace with each other and try and hammer something out.

And, also, it is the fact that they know that there has to be Israeli-Palestinian peace, which can then spread to the rest of the region, or if not spread to the rest of the region, then certainly it is crucial to sort out this particular problem before any other problems, particularly for the U.S. -- Iraq, for example -- can be organized, because it is the Middle East. Things are intrinsically linked. And certainly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one that has been going on for decades and one that really needs to be sorted out if democracy, as Bush wants it to be, can spread to the rest of the Middle East.

COLLINS: Paula Hancocks live from Jerusalem this morning.

Paula, thank you.

HARRIS: Pope Benedict in Istanbul. He's set to visit one of Turkey's most famous sites, The Blue Mosque. It will be only the second papal visit to a Muslim place of worship. The pope trying to mend fences with the Muslim community after controversial comments about Islam. Security, as you can imagine, is tight. Thousands of police are on the streets.

COLLINS: We are Minding Your Business.

And Ali Velshi is here now with a preview -- you're talking about shoppers today?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Heidi.

Give a big thank you to America. After two lackluster months in August and September, the numbers for consumer spending for October are in, and Americans pulled through.

But can you keep it going through the holiday shopping season?

We'll talk about that a bit more when we come back in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: November shaping up to be a pretty good month for most retailers, except Wal-Mart.

Ali Velshi Minding Your Business now -- hey, there, Ali, what's going on with Wal-Mart?

VELSHI: Well, the problem with except Wal-Mart is Wal-Mart is the biggest part of the equation.

COLLINS: Yes. VELSHI: In the last 10 years, only one other time -- and that was last April -- did Wal-Mart report sales, year-over-year sales for a given month, that were a decline from last year. That's pretty serious, because Wal-Mart is a big company. It's got 6,000 stores, 1.3 million employees and it makes about $300 billion a year and employs a lot of people.

But Wal-Mart had already warned us about this on Saturday. They came out a little early and said they are expecting a weak November.

Now, you know, not only is that an issue for Wal-Mart, but this -- this November, this kickoff to the holiday shopping season is particularly important.

So, you know, Wal-Mart's tried a lot of things, Heidi, that haven't worked spectacularly in the last year or so. They've done some remodeling of stores. They introduced, you know, some fashionable things over price, you know, the skinny line of jeans with fur on them.

The...

COLLINS: Now, how do you know about those?

VELSHI: Well, because it stands out so much in what Wal-Mart actually is. Wal-Mart, the average shopper at Wal-Mart, if you were to build them, is 5'2" and a size 12. I don't want to wear skinny little jeans with fur on them.

HARRIS: Yes.

VELSHI: And that...

HARRIS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

VELSHI: I don't even fit that profile.

So the fact of the matter is maybe, you know, it worked for Target so Wal-Mart tried to upscale a little bit.

COLLINS: Sure.

VELSHI: Not fantastic.

Now, all in all, Wal-Mart still sells a lot of stuff and the decline in sales is very, very small. But, you know, it's an interesting component.

COLLINS: Well, sure. And, as you say, the concern is always because they do employ so many people...

VELSHI: Yes.

COLLINS: We don't want them to be...

VELSHI: It's a big part of the economy. COLLINS: ... to take a hit in the, you know, throes of all of that.

But excluding Wal-Mart, how did everybody else do?

VELSHI: Well, this is the day...

COLLINS: People were shopping.

VELSHI: Exactly.

COLLINS: I mean that's for sure.

VELSHI: This is the day where we get the retail sales for November. So, it'll include the first part of the holiday shopping season. A lot of companies did very, very well. The average is up about 4 percent or so.

American Eagle Outfitters' teen stuff was up 14 percent. This is, by the way, Heidi, a comparison of stores that were open a year ago. So you take all the stores that are open today that were open a year ago, how much more are the sales.

So American Eagle up 14 percent. Costco-up 14 percent. Tiffany has done very well on its luxury stuff, in fact, saying that the market for things that are $20,000 or more has improved dramatically.

COLLINS: Now we're talking.

VELSHI: One of the big losers was Pier 1, down 15 percent year- over-year. That's a big drop. I'm not sure what's behind that.

COLLINS: Hmmm, interesting. And...

VELSHI: But the sales must be good there.

COLLINS: Yes.

What items are selling, though, and not selling? I mean I really like those diamond rings there, but...

VELSHI: Well, you know...

COLLINS: ... actually, that's too common.

VELSHI: I think this is all nonsense, this business about how close you are to a holiday or how far you are or what the weather was like, because I kind of feel like you think you should probably have sweaters and gloves every year and I don't actually throw mine out every year or something but...

HARRIS: There you go.

VELSHI: Thank you, Tony.

But the fact is that apparel has not sold so well. Electronics are doing well. That's typical. Electronics have dropped in price quite dramatically right now and they're where the big deals are at the moment.

We'll see for later in the season about the deals on apparel and whether that starts flying off the shelves.

But we'll have to see. They're going to have to do a better job on getting the clothes off the shelves. And it wasn't very cold. Now the cold snap has hit.

I don't understand, though, that if you live in a certain place and you generally know what the average temperatures are, why you don't buy gloves.

Because you don't think you're going to need them?

HARRIS: Right.

VELSHI: And what did you do with last year's gloves, anyway?

COLLINS: I'm -- I still have them.

VELSHI: I'm on a bit of a rant at this point.

Does it sound like that?

HARRIS: It sounds good here. We love a good rant.

COLLINS: It just sounds -- what's his problem?

No...

HARRIS: We love a good rant.

VELSHI: If anybody in America didn't get a chance to get their gloves or scarves, I've got extras because I keep mine.

HARRIS: There you go.

COLLINS: This is so good to know.

All right, Ali Velshi, appreciate it, Minding Your Business today.

VELSHI: See you.

HARRIS: Among our top stories this morning, a promise of support from President Bush to Iraq's prime minister. The two leaders held a summit in Amman, Jordan today.

Mr. Bush vowed to help Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki get control of his war torn country. They have discussed the importance of speeding up training for Iraqi security forces.

But President Bush says a so-called graceful exit of U.S. troops won't bring stability to the region. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: My advice is support reasonable people and reject extremists. Understand that most people want to live in peace and harmony and security. It's very important for the American people to understand that most Muslim mothers want their children to grow up in peace, and they're interested in peace. And it's in our interests to help liberty prevail in the Middle East, starting with Iraq.

And that's why this business about graceful exit just simply has no realism to it at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Hmmm.

Wow!

The president says the withdrawal of U.S. forces will happen as soon as possible, but right now he says Iraqi security forces need more training to combat the violence.

COLLINS: Is Iraq already in a civil war?

One answer from a career politician well known for his mastery of semantics. We heard from former President Bill Clinton on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING." He appears to reject White House denials that a civil war is underway. He cites the escalating violence and sectarian divisions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are more and more people who think that they can get what they want by shooting or throwing up these roadside bombs rather than engaging in politics. And when that happens, others take up arms in defense and it just gets worse and worse and worse. And that's the normal definition of a civil war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FMR. PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: There are more and more people who think that they can get what they want by shooting or throwing up these roadside bombs rather than engaging in politics, and when that happens, others take up arms in defense and it just gets worse and worse and worse, and that's the normal definition of a civil war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: You can see the entire interview tomorrow morning. CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," talking with the former president as part of tomorrow's coverage of World AIDS Day.

The war in Iraq and the course being chartered in Washington. There's word that the Bipartisan Iraq Study Group hammered a consensus yesterday on future U.S. policies there.

CNN has learned the group wants a gradual reduction of U.S. troops beginning after the first of the year. President Bush has repeatedly vowed that U.S. forces will remain in Iraq, qoute, "until the job is complete." The group will present its findings to the president next week.

Air Force Major Troy Gilbert, the Pentagon says he was the pilot, his F-16 crashed Monday in Iraq's Anbar province. DNA samples taken from the crash site being tested. Gilbert, a father of five, was stationed at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. No word yet on what caused his plane to go down.

COLLINS: The weather getting wicked in Wichita now, and a lot of other cities across the Midwest, too. Cold blasts, coming up in the newsroom.

HARRIS: An ex-spy's death in London. Now traces of radiation found on British Airways jets. Investigators trying to connect all of the dots. We are live to London.

COLLINS: And ask for kindness. A king intervenes to save the lives of Iraqi twins.

Look at them.

Now a surgeon prepares to do his part. That story coming up right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: The poisoning death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, another strange twist today, very low levels of radioactivity found on British Airways jets. Litvinenko believed poisoned by radiation.

CNN's Paula Newton live from London's Heathrow Airport.

And quite a change here now. We're talking about, Paula, contaminated planes.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, you can't make this stuff up, Tony. Let me try and plan -- it is quite an incredible story. So what happened is when investigators, police investigators here, found out that certain people who may be involved in the case traveled back and forth from London to Moscow, they started tracing the flights, or the suspected flights. They found out that it involves at least three British Airways planes that not only had covered this routes between London and Moscow at the end of October, but went on to make more than 200 flights in Europe. When they searched the planes over the last 24 hours or so, they did find low traces of radiation on those two planes.

They're behind me. They're (INAUDIBLE) here at Heathrow awaiting further tests, to see if in fact they are contaminated with Polonium 210. That would be the same radiation that killed Alexander Litvinenko. Now a third plane is awaiting tests in Moscow. A fourth was cleared. It was an actual charter plane, in fact, from Russia, and it was cleared just moments ago.

Tony, this now involves 33,000 passengers who were on these three planes. They need to call British Airways and see if they need any follow-up health examination.

To be clear here, Tony, everyone is saying that the risk to the public is absolutely minimal. In fact, no one that they've tested at all has shown up with any kind of detection of radiation.

But having said that, you can imagine how unsettling this is for passengers. And I should indicate for Americans out there that they should check to see which BA flights they were on, because of 33,000 passengers, you can bet there were some American passengers who were making those transit routes in Europe earlier this month -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Paula, This mystery, the tentacles now have tentacles, but I have to ask you, really, how far could this radiation have spread?

NEWTON: It's not really that much of a concern. As I said, it's unsettling, but you are talking about a few centimeters, really, not that much at all. You are talking about more of it being left on the surface, you have picked it up. It only becomes dangerous at certain amounts and only if it's inhaled or ingested. Again, Tony, this is just a precaution

HARRIS: OK. CNN's Paula Newton for us. Paula, appreciate it. Thank you.

COLLINS: Acts of kindness. A king intervenes to save the lives of these Iraqi twins. Now a surgeon prepares to do his part. That story coming up, right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Separating conjoined twins, surgery is set for Saturday. A challenge in itself. But there are special concerns in the case of these Iraqi sisters. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom reports.

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zara and Fatima (ph) have been in this Saudi military hospital for more than nine months, not because of an act of war, but rather an act of kindness.

Doctors say the sisters, conjoined twins, connected at the lower chest, abdomen and pelvis, would have died without the proper medical attention back in Iraq. Saudi Arabia King Abdullah heard about the girls on the news and had Zara and Fatima (ph) and their family medevaced to Riyadh's National Guard hospital. Here, the sisters were assessed by a surgical team. It didn't take long to figure out there were complications.

DR. ABDULLAH RABIRA, SURGEON: They came actually with a bad infection, which is a fungus infection. The fungus infection is very difficult to treat.

JAMJOOM: Doctor Abdullah Rabira heads the surgical team that will work to separate the twins. He says their case is one of the most challenging he has encountered.

RABIRA: Then they got better, then they came back again, and they got another infection. Took them about ten weeks in the ICU.

JAMJOON: Once the twins were transferred to the intensive care unit, their parents found even more to worry about. Upon arrival, the Sara and Fatima weighed just 3.2 kilograms, about 7 pounds. To have the surgery they had to reach at least nine kilos or about 20 pounds.

JAMJOOM (on camera): Initially it was expected that it would take them about two to three months to gain the necessary amount of weight in order for the separation operation to take place. Now it's scheduled for December 2nd, an operation that should take anywhere between 20 to 27 hours.

TWINS PARENTS (through translator): When we first came here, they said one month, and when we came here, it's been (INAUDIBLE). But thank God we're comfortable, as if we never left our country, as if we're still back in our country.

JAMJOOM (voice-over): So far, doctor Rabira and is surgical team have successfully separated 11 pairs of conjoined twins, yet even he doesn't see this as easy

RABIRA: I always say that people who look at the heartbeat of the twins during surgery, but nobody looks at the heartbeat of the surgeon.

JAMJOON: Doctors give the Zara and Fatima (ph) odds of surviving the separation procedure at 60 percent. Now, with the date of the surgery rapidly approaching, all the parents can do is to wait.

Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN, Riyadh.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: To stay the course or a new direction. Democrats ready to push their plans for Iraq. We will explore them next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Debate over Iraq. Some arguing for fewer troops there. What would a draw-down really mean for the military mission and the future of Iraq?

CNN's Gary Tuchman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carl Levin will soon be the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he has some thoughts for George W. Bush.

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: I'd like the president to tell the Iraqi leaders that we are going to begin a phased redeployment of our troops from Iraq in four to six months.

TUCHMAN: The Michigan Democrat says as early as April, it's time to start bringing American troops home.

LEVIN: I have urged the president to quit counseling patients, to quit saying to the Iraqi people and the American people that we are patient. We are bloody impatient. And the problem is Iraqis' political leadership.

TUCHMAN: Illinois Senator Barack Obama is also advocating a four to six month timetable.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: For only through this phased redeployment can we send a clear message to the Iraqi factions that the United States is not going to hold together this country indefinitely.

TUCHMAN: So how would this plan work? How many troops would leave? What parts of the country, if any, would they abandon? Many democrats say they can't and shouldn't answer those questions now.

LEVIN: I think it's a mistake to focus on the specific numbers. The debate should be, should we tell the Iraqis that we cannot save them from themselves. I believe we must.

TUCHMAN: Obama has proposed deploying some of the troops to Afghanistan.

OBAMA: Where our lack of focus and commitment of resources has led to an increasing deterioration of the security situation there.

TUCHMAN: But if tens of thousands of American troops start marching out of Iraq, wouldn't that increase the turmoil there?

LEVIN: It's not as though chaos will result if we leave, it's that chaos is there right now.

TUCHMAN: Levin says an international conference inviting all the regional players could help lead to a political solution. And as for criticism that he has heard and undoubtedly will continue to hear, that this is a cut and run strategy, Levin says...

LEVIN: This is not a precipitous proposal. It's something which would allow for planning. And so it is not an accurate description.

TUCHMAN: Levin does say troops will have to remain in Iraq to train Iraqi security forces and protect Americans against attacks. But he says troop reduction should be significant.

LEVIN: The president cannot any longer get away with the status quo and stay the course, stay the course, stay the course.

TUCHMAN: So Levin now leads the fight for a new course out of Iraq.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Varicose veins, they can be painful and they don't go away. Here's elizabeth cohen with a look at what you can do in your 30s, 40s and 50s.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Laurie Hawks is a busy 40-year-old working mother of two, who recently decided to take the time to fix her varicose veins.

LAURIE HAWKS: I had both my children in my early 30s, and really it started then, you know, every year got a little worse, a little worse. And then finally I decided I'm just tired of it and I'm going to do something about it.

COHEN: Varicose veins are those ugly, bulging veins caused by a defect in the pumping system. Blood that's supposed to go back to the heart instead pools up in the veins in your leg. They're common in your 30s, but they can occur any time. Like Laurie, many people don't do anything about them until their 40s, when varicose veins often become painful.

HAWKS: It just has gotten more uncomfortable over time, and then it has become to the point where a certain part of my leg is really painful, and that's where I've decided this is silly; I need to go see somebody and find out what my options are.

COHEN: There are various ways of getting rid of varicose veins. Laurie decided on a laser procedure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We put the catheter, it's a small catheter, into the vein to use the laser to get rid of that vein and scar down the vein so it doesn't have that reflux that we talked about where the blood is going the wrong direction and causing the varicose veins and discomfort in your leg. Once the laser part is done we then remove the other veins that are obvious and bothersome, and are the bulging veins that we treat, and we remove those with very small incisions.

COHEN: Doctors say if your varicose veins aren't painful and you don't mind the look of them, it's often OK not to treat them. But if your varicose veins are swollen, red, warm or tender to the touch, you should definitely talk to your doctor. In your 50s, if varicose veins are left untreated, they can become increasingly painful and develop ulcers. Laurie Hawks is hoping she won't have that problem.

HAWKS: I'm real hopeful that it'll you know, give me relief of my pain and give me some strength back in my leg.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it. The laser is all done. And not too bad.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Face to face for 150 minutes, two leaders working to get a war-wasted Iraq on a peaceful track. The Jordan summit in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Street battles, political battles, he knows them both. This man a force to be reckoned with in Iraq. The power and politics of Muqtada Al Sadr in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And you may not know his name or face, but this man wants to be your president. The Vilsack campaign kicks off, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A $2 million dollar apology from the U.S. Justice Department to an Oregon lawyer wrongly accused in the 2004 Madrid train bombings; 191 people died in the attacks on Madrid's commuter rail system. Brandon Mayfield was arrested in Portland less than two months after the blast. The FBI claimed his fingerprint was found on a bag containing detonators used by the bombers. Spanish authorities discovered, and they just flatout got it wrong. Mayfield claims he was a victim of religious profiling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON MAYFIELD, WINS $2M GOVT. SETTLEMENT: I've been surveiled, followed, targeted primarily, because I've been an outspoken critic of this administration, of our government, and for simply doing my job to defend others who can't defend themselves, to try to give them their day in court, and mostly for being a Muslim.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The FBI says Mayfield was wrongly arrested because of a problem with its fingerprint identification system.

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