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American Morning
Iraq Study Group Report; A Conversation with Senator John Kerry
Aired December 06, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: At 9:30 Eastern the Iraq Study Group will go to the Senate side and brief key committee chairs there. And then 11:00 Eastern the Iraq Study Group officially releases its full report to the public.
Later, in the afternoon, 2:15 Eastern Time, President Bush will meet with key members of Congress in the White House Cabinet Room, and they will all discuss the group's findings. CNN's Political and Security Watch teams giving you extensive coverage of the events as they happen -- Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: First thing this morning, President Bush expected to spend about an hour with those members of the Iraq Study Group. And then he's going to make a statement. Let's get to CNN White House correspondent Ed Henry who first broke details from the report late last night. He's live in Washington, D.C., this morning with the latest.
Good morning, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Soledad.
A lot of anticipation about this report now finally arriving in the next couple of hours. We have had some sources who have gotten an early sneak peek at it. They have given us details. I think the key one would be that this is urging a dramatic shift in U.S. policy, specifically urging that most U.S. troops get out of a combat role in Iraq by early 2008, as a goal, but does not set a formal timetable.
That may give a sigh of relief to the White House a bit. The president obviously doesn't want a timetable. But the report does put pressure on the president by saying these combat troops should now -- their role should evolve into a supporting role of the Iraqi army and also that the U.S. must not make open-ended commitments.
Also prodding the administration to launch a new diplomatic initiative to solve the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying the U.S. cannot achieve its goals in the Middle East without pushing for a comprehensive peace plan. That, including direct talks between the U.S. and Iran and Syria. Something the administration has repeatedly rejected.
And also this report concludes a somewhat ominous note, a theme that I understand that has struck throughout the report is that there's concerns by this Iraq Study Group that maybe the political will may not be there right now, by both parties, to really find a solution, a way forward in Iraq. And it concludes, quote, "Foreign policy is doomed to failure, as is any action in Iraq , if not supported by a broad, sustained consensus."
That will obviously be the key. Can a consensus be found? You know the president has already launched separate reviews by the Pentagon, the State Department, the National Security Council, that will almost be rival reports to this. So the big question is will the president really listen to these recommendations? Will he chart a new course, or fall back on the reports being put together by his own administration, Soledad?
S. O'BRIEN: Ed Henry in Washington, D.C. this morning. Thank you, Ed.
Of course, the possibility of consensus is going to be one topic we're talking about with Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. He's going to join us to talk about that at the top of the hour, just a few minutes away in fact. And at the bottom of the hour we're going to hear from Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: He said it would be a cakewalk and that's what it will likely be today for the president's nominee to run the Pentagon. Robert Gates could get the seal of approval from the full Senate today. Yesterday he spent five hours before the Senate Armed Services Committee. And he made it clear change is necessary in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D-MI), ARMED SVCS. CMTE.: Do you believe that we're currently winning in Iraq?
ROBERT GATES: NOMINEE, DEFENSE SECRETARY: No, sir.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R-AZ) SENATE ARMED SVCS. CMTE.: We are not winning the war in Iraq, is that correct?
GATES: That is my view, yes, sir.
MCCAIN: And, therefore, the status quo is not acceptable.
GATES: That is correct, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: CNN's Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr, across the Potomac from me right now with more on that.
Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Miles.
That statement by Mr. Gates proved to be just a little bit of a trip in the foxhole, if you will, because after lunch -- when they took a lunch break -- Gates came back and clarified his remarks he made in the morning, that the U.S. was not winning the war because there was concern about how the troops might receive that news out in the field.
It would be maybe realistic, but a very tough message for young troops to hear, that they were losing. Mr. Gates came back and said the troops were winning. It was the policy that needed a bit of changing, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Barbara, let's talk about the Iraq Study Group report. Of course, Bob Gates was part of the Iraq Study Group until his nomination came to the fore. Curious, much of it is about diplomacy, and engaging Syria and Iran, more regional approach to all of that. What are they saying at the Pentagon about that?
STARR: Well, what military commanders, even General Abizaid, who we traveled with last week, say, any decision to engage with Iran would first and foremost be a political decision. But from the military point of view, on the ground, here's what they say: Engaging Iran won't solve the problem in Iraq. Even if you took Iran out of picture you would still have a very significant security problem inside Iraq.
But that it's vital to engage Iran at this time because of the concerns of a broader emerging sectarian war in the Middle East between Shia and Sunni. General Abizaid saying he was very concerned not just about the Iraq situation but Lebanon, the Palestinian situation. And that he thinks that the possibility of a wider war is significant. Mr. Gates is saying it could all lead to regional conflagration.
But listen, miles, the fact of this ISG report. Military people had expected this. They knew there were new ideas out there. They are now looking at this call for a shift of troops, in 2008, to an advisory role, as something they had already been looking at.
But, again, from the military point of view on the ground, how do you make it happen? How do you improve security to the point that you can actually do that and make U.S. troops more advisors than combat troops, Miles?
M. O'BRIEN: Clearly no silver bullet solutions out there. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning a development in the search for James Kim, he's been missing for 11 days near Grants Pass, Oregon. Searchers have found a pair of pants that they think might belong to Kim. Apparently, he had two pair of pants. They think he left one behind to mark his path for rescuers. His wife and two daughters were found alive and well on Monday.
And e. Coli cases are now cropping up in Pennsylvania. Three people who got sick ate at Taco Bells in Montgomery County near Philadelphia. All nine Taco Bells, in fact, in the county are being inspected and sanitized as precaution. In New York and New Jersey there are now 42 e. Coli cases reported.
Those Southern California wildfires are now completely contained. The fire which began on Sunday destroyed five homes, scorched 21 square miles in Ventura County, which is near Los Angeles. Fire fighters are watching for flare-ups and remain concerned, they say, about the extremely dry conditions.
In Illinois and Missouri this morning, tens of thousands of people still don't have any power after last week's deadly winter storm. Bitterly cold air is about to move back in as well. CNN's Meteorologist Rob Marciano is in Oreana, Illinois.
Rob, how are they doing there?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST, AMERICAN MORNING: I'll tell you, Soledad, this is the worst snow and ice storm in Illinois since the Good Friday storm in 1978. An inch of ice, in spots, a foot of snow in other spots and power has been out in many spots, for almost a week now; 3,500 crews, from 14 states, have been ferried in to try to combat this problem. But with trees and tree limbs down all over the place it's been a slow go.
Still, the power company thinks that much of the power should be back tonight, maybe by Friday, but for many folks, as the temperatures drop again tonight, that power and heat can't come soon enough.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO (voice over): The Illinois National Guard rolled out across the icy streets of Decatur checking on residents door to door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can help you out as far as like, blankets, or warmth or food.
MARCIANO: Some, like Lena Jones, have been without electricity nearly six days, since a winter storm blew through the area, knocking down trees and knocking out power.
LENA JONES, RESIDENT, DECATUR, ILLINOIS: When we called the power, they said it could be seven to 10 days, so we're just doing the best we can.
MARCIANO: She says her priority is keeping her grandson Eric warm in this frigid weather. That means relying on a last -- and sometimes dangerous resort -- a gas oven.
JONES: I know it's a risk, but also, you know, you have to -- you've got a three-year-old running around. You have to keep him warm, you know. You can't go with nothing.
STAFF SGT. ROBERT CHARLES SMITH, U.S. ARMY: It's disheartening that a family has to put themselves where they have to choose the lesser of two evils, whether they want to have heat, or they want to risk of gas fumes.
MARCIANO: As residents do what they can to stay warm. Others, like George Diggs, are trying to help utility crews. He's clearing his alley hoping to pave the way to get power back.
GEORGE DIGGS, RESIDENT, DECATUR, ILLINOIS: If they can get their trucks down here, they can get our stuff back, hooked back up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have lights.
MARCIANO: Tina Pressley got her power back.
TINA PRESSLEY, RESIDENT, OREANA, ILLINOIS: It's wonderful. You don't realize how much you miss it until you don't have it.
STEVE LASHMETT, DELIVERY SUPERVISOR, AMEREN ENERGY: Hopefully we'll be wrapped up tomorrow or early the next day.
MARCIANO: House to house, and well into the night utility crews work to restore electricity.
LASHMETT: Just the overall magnitude of this, and how widespread it was just makes it very difficult.
MARCIANO: And with many more residents to go, and temperatures expected to drop, it's not just a race against time but against Mother Nature as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Boy, when experts say when people use their stove and their gas ovens to heat their homes, that's just not a good idea. They want people to go to the warming shelters.
Actually this morning, one of the milder more, we are right at about the freezing mark as another cold front comes through tonight. Temperatures tomorrow morning will likely be in the teens -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, those poor folks there. Rob Marciano for us. Thanks for the update. Appreciate it -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Soledad.
Let's get back to the Iraq Study Group now. The group's report will be making plenty of recommendations. Some the president may not mind, some he surely won't like but just how much of the advice he's willing to take, will no doubt reflect on his legacy. CNN's Candy Crowley joining me live here this morning, right beside me.
Good to be here, good to have you with us.
Give us a sense of how much this could impact the way we all view the Bush White House.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Well, the key word here is this is "advice". We've gone so long and there's been so much hype around this commission and its blue ribbon panel and all these heavyweights and marquee names, that what we forget is this is a panel with absolutely no force of law, which means in the end it's all still up to the commander in chief.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE SPEAKER-ELECT: The Iraq Study Group whose report is anxiously awaited.
CROWLEY (voice over): Talk about your great expectations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This report has the capacity to build a consensus which becomes critically important to persuade the members of Congress and, therefore, the American people that we have to come together for a period of time, limited though it might be, we have to get this one last chance to see if we want make this successful.
CROWLEY: Rarely do people in power look for answers from people out of power, but so it is with the Iraq Study Group.
WILLIAM BENNETT, HOST, "MORNING IN AMERICA": No one else has a real answer other than quit or win, so it has -- it's pregnant with the expectations because there's no other game in town.
CROWLEY: This was not the president's idea. It came from Capitol Hill, but he gave it creds.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And the fact that you're willing to lend your expertise to help chart way forward means a lot.
CROWLEY: It could all come back to bite him, which may be why the president has been pretty definitive of late about what he will and won't do. Suppose, as expected, the group suggests talks with Iran. The president says not until they drop plans for a nuclear weapon.
BUSH: They know how to get us to the table. The choice is theirs to make.
CROWLEY: Suppose the group says there should be benchmarks set for the gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops.
BUSH: I'm not going to pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete.
CROWLEY: Suppose the commander in chief says no?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think if he were to just sort of give the back of the hand to that report, you would see the presidential campaigns, that are only in their incipient stages, accelerate a great degree. And you would see a battle that would take place over the next two years.
CROWLEY: Conservatives are fearful the Iraq Study Group is more concerned about a graceful exit than a way to win. They hope Bush is willing to pay the price of saying no.
BENNETT: What's the price? Approval ratings will go down, more bashing, more, "he's out of touch. He won't listen to anybody."
CROWLEY: On Capitol Hill hope springs eternal.
SEN. JOHN WARNER (R-VA): I feel confident that the president and his team will take into consideration that report.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: One tip that I got from a very smart Republican, yesterday when we were talking about this, when I said how much is this -- how much of this report is he going to be forced to take? How much of it can he afford to dismiss? And this person said watch the Republicans, who dearly want this issue to be off the table in 2008. If some of those who have been with the president begin to embrace this report, he stands a sort of a Lone Ranger in the White House.
M. O'BRIEN: Interesting. This is the marquee report, we're are after all putting a lot of attention into it. But you have the National Security Council, Joint Chiefs of Staff and the State Department, with their own reviews of what's going on in Iraq. That gives the president a little bit of wiggle room, doesn't it?
CROWLEY: It absolutely does. And gives him time to buy time and even Democrats have said well, this isn't the only game in town. Senator Reid, the incoming Democratic leader on the Senate side, says, well he wants to do something. We have a new secretary of Defense. He says he wants to go over there. So there's a way to punt this down the field a little bit. And we certainly expect that the president, when he comes out today is going to say, well, I'll read it, but there's lots of time to ready.
M. O'BRIEN: Candy Crowley, thank you very much.
More on the Iraq Study Group in just a moment. Senator John Kerry will join us live. He'll tell us what he and his fellow Democrats want to see in it.
Plus another post-Katrina black eye for FEMA. New numbers out this morning revealing how taxpayers got soaked. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: It's 16 minutes past the hour. Let's get a quick check of the "Traveler's Forecast". Chad has got that from the CNN Weather Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Former Secretary of State James Baker, former Congressman Lee Hamilton, and the eight members of their blue ribbon panel, briefing the president as we speak. It is a bipartisan group, but will reaction to their findings be bipartisan? With a view from the Democratic side of the aisle we turn now to Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.
Senator Kerry, good to have you with us.
SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D-MA): Good morning.
M. O'BRIEN: Timetables, supposedly not in this particular report, no specific deadlines for withdrawal. You would suggest that's a good idea?
KERRY: I do. I believe it is. But I think they are about as close as you can come without getting into direct confrontation with the president. The fact is they are saying that most of the combat troops ought to be out by next year. General Caldwell --
M. O'BRIEN: So, is this a timetable?
KERRY: I believe that is a timetable. I also believe there is a timetable for the shift of responsibility to the Iraqis, which is what we wanted. General Caldwell -- that's on the front page of today's newspapers -- so I think it's moving in a very important direction. And the key is for the president to embrace that and to recognize the importance of it.
M. O'BRIEN: Is it realistic to think about the Iraqis really taking substantive control over the security situation in Iraq soon?
KERRY: Sure.
M. O'BRIEN: How?
KERRY: By taking control. I mean, this is a country that fought a 10-year war with Iran, lost a million people in the process of that. These are not people who are incapable of taking over their security. But as long as we have been the security blanket, they have had no incentive to do it. And the real issue, ultimately, is diffusing the reason that it is insecure. That requires the political settlement.
And the political settlement is at the center of this. Mr. Maliki has now called for a regional conference, something we've been pushing for a long time. I hope the president will embrace that, support that and help facilitate it.
M. O'BRIEN: This report has a lot in it about diplomacy, what we've heard leak out. Is there a military solution left at all in Iraq?
KERRY: No. There never was a military solution and there isn't a military solution today. This is the key. The key is to resolve the differences between the Sunni and the Shia, and the stakes that they have in whatever shape Iraq will take. That will require diplomacy.
And I hope the administration will move now to a very robust, very engaged diplomacy. Not just on the subject of Iraq itself, but of the Middle East, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, all of those have to be part of the puzzle.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's get back to the notion of stability and whether the Iraqis can do this on their own. Silvestre Reyes, who is the incoming Democrat, who will be on the Intelligence Committee, on the House side. He said this to "Newsweek" yesterday. He said this, "We have to consider the need for additional troops to be in Iraq, to take out the militias and to stabilize Iraq. We certainly can't leave Iraq , and run the risk that it becomes like Afghanistan." Is Iraq headed down that road toward an Afghanistan?
KERRY: It's in a very dangerous situation. Now Iraq is worse than Afghanistan today.
M. O'BRIEN: Right. So should more troops be sent then, to try to stabilize this?
KERRY: No. I believe that there's an adequate number of troops. They have already put an additional 15,000 troops into Baghdad. The key is the Iraqi troops, the Iraqi military taking over that responsibility for themselves. Today there are only three brigades of some 10 that are taking a lead. Have you to shift the responsibility more to the Iraqis.
But more importantly, I come back to this. You know, you can keep adding troops and adding troops and playing the game of the military. That's not where the solution is. The solution is by shifting the responsibility politically. And you have to do that through a political solution. The only way I know of to get there is by getting around the table and resolving the real stakes for the different warring factions.
M. O'BRIEN: That won't be easy to do. Let's shift gears here, briefly.
KERRY: Not easy to do. But it's the most essential ingredient, and it's been the most missing ingredient. That's why I've always thought have to set a date, because it compels people to be engaged and to deal with the reality down the road. I think the Baker commission is coming as close as you can come to doing that.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's talk politics for just a movement. You were sidelined by your party after the joke, the stuck in Iraq.
KERRY: I was sidelined by myself, as I thought it was the best thing to do.
M. O'BRIEN: October 30th, in advance of the election. Was that a fatal blow to your hopes for another presidential campaign?
KERRY: I think it would be ridiculous to think that. I think what's important is leadership and moving ahead on the issues that are important to the country. Look, I misplaced one word in a sentence. The president misplaced an entire policy on a war, and that's what I've been talking about, and that's what I intend to continue to fight on.
M. O'BRIEN: Are you running?
KERRY: I've made no decision at all. And I think it's much too premature. I think the American people made a change in November, to ask us to get to the business of this country right now. And I think the politics can wait.
M. O'BRIEN: Senator John Kerry, thanks for your time.
KERRY: Thanks. Good to be with you.
M. O'BRIEN: Republican Senator from Maine Susan Collins will join us in 20 minutes. We'll hear from the other side of the aisle -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Miles, thanks.
Also straight ahead, this morning, a stunning new report on FEMA fraud. We'll show you how double-dipping is costing taxpayers millions of dollars. That story straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: FEMA is dealing with some shocking findings of a government audit. The audit paints a very ugly pictures of just how taxpayer money was misspent in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Jeanne Meserve joins us this morning with a break down of the numbers.
It's not a pretty thing. Good morning.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: It isn't, Soledad.
More indications that it's the American taxpayer who got soaked in the Katrina recovery. The Government Accounting Office says that there was double dipping. Nearly $20 millions worth of improper or fraudulent payments went to 7,000 people who filed for assistance twice on the same property. Once for damage incurred by Hurricane Katrina, and again, for damage in Hurricane Rita. A FEMA computer program that should have flagged the problem, had been turned off.
Another finding, nearly $17 million dollars in rental assistance when to people already living rent free in trailers. Trailers, also paid for, by FEMA.
GAO says $46,000 in rental assistance when to 10 people living rent free in FEMA apartments, but they can't get a handle how often things like that happen because of limited data.
Another shocker, $3 million went to 500 foreign students who were on eligible for assistance even though, in many cases, the students had informed FEMA of their immigration status.
Big picture, the GAO estimates that FEMA paid out about $1 billion on fraudulent claims but has recovered only about $7 million -- million, as opposed to billion -- that is less than 1 percent of the total, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: So what does FEMA say in it's own defense about why this happened? MESERVE: Well, FEMA -- a FEMA spokesman says the agency hasn't seen this new GAO testimony. And it won't comment in detail on that. But the agency has acknowledged big problems in distributing aid. But says new safeguards are being put in place so hopefully it won't happen again.
Senator Susan Collins, who is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is holding hearings on this today, says current FEMA practices invite an enable fraud. And she says, just think of the additional relief and rebuilding that could have been done with those misspent funds.
S. O'BRIEN: I know. You hate to think about it, because my guess is that a lot of that money is not going to be coming back.
MESERVE: No, no. Well, if the current recovery efforts are any indication, you're right.
S. O'BRIEN: Jeanne Meserve. Thanks, Jeanne. Appreciate that.
MESERVE: You bet.
S. O'BRIEN: Susan Collins, of course, will be talking with Miles straight ahead.
Also ahead this morning, the Iraq Study Group, and the important role of a Bush family friend. We'll take a look at how James Baker's advice could affect the president's war strategy.
And more on the e. Coli scare? Taco Bell restaurants in yet another state are forced to close as the outbreak spreads. Those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody, as you look at a live picture of the Capitol this morning. It's a big day in Washington D.C., big day for the country, too.
Good morning. Welcome back to American morning. It is Wednesday, December 6th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Good morning, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Good morning, Soledad.
I'm Miles O'Brien live from Capitol Hill this morning. Thanks for being with us.
At this hour we're closely watching the House members, the White House, I should say. Members of the Iraq Study Group are briefing the president as they prepare to officially release their report to the public.
Now there's a paperback version of it. It's being released today, ala 9/11 Commission Report. Among the group's recommendations that most of the U.S. military should be out of Iraqi combat roles know later than early 2008, and the primary mission of troops should evolve into training Iraqi forces.
The report also pushes for direct talks between the U.S. and Syria. That's something President Bush has thus far resisted.
(NEWSBREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: As we reported, President Bush is meeting with the Iraq study group as we speak. He'll have to decide whether or not to take their advice.
Let's get to the latest from the White House. Our correspondent there this morning., Suzanne Malveaux. She joins us live.
Suzanne, good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
Well, President Bush has been in the cabinet room with the Iraq Study Group for about half hour or so being briefed with the formal report. In about 30 minutes, he will go before the cameras and make very brief remarks. We expect that he is going to be thanking the commission for their work, but really not making comments beyond that, not making any kinds of endorsements either way. The president wants to give himself, essentially buy himself some time to look at the internal review, the Pentagon review. We don't expect he's really going to weigh in on these options, at least for a couple of weeks or so.
Now in an effort to show that he is taking this panel and this report seriously, the president is reaching out to members of Congress this afternoon at the White House, a bipartisan group from the House and Senate, the committees, Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence, will all gather here at White House to talk about two things. He's going to brief them on his NATO trip, on his discussions with the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki from last week. He's also, of course, going to talk about some of these recommendations, generalizations about the report he's been handed this morning.
We also know that the Iraq Study Group, there are arrangements being made through the White House, that they are going to speak directly with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki about the recommendations, and, Miles, tomorrow, that's we're going to see, President Bush's closest ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, where the two of them will sit face to face and try to figure out what to do next -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Suzanne, this is a report that has a lot of public attention, but there are some other reports out there, National Security Council, Joint Chiefs of Staff, State Department, all looking at this. How likely is it that the president is just going to accept this report and embrace it 100 percent?
MALVEAUX: Well, we've already heard the president talk about the Pentagon report weighing more than this particular one. We've already heard outright rejections of things he's not going to do, rejecting a timetable for withdrawing troops, talking unconditionally to Iran and Syria.
But, Miles, I have to say this president under pressure has changed course before. He did not approve of this commission. He changed his mind, of course, when he was under a bit of pressure. We saw the exit of Rumsfeld under a great deal of pressure. They gave up on that fight with the U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, so this is a president, this is a man who under pressure will go ahead and change course, if necessary -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at White House, thank you.
As you know, the study chair is co-chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker, a close friend of the Bush family. How much weight does that relationship carry?
CNN's John King has been looking into that. He joins me right here.
Hello, John.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
And just consider that fact, Secretary Baker helped the former President Bush through the first Persian Gulf War, helped him navigate the collapse of the Soviet Union. Now he's the head of this commission, and while report is politely worded, it delivers a broad rebuke of this President Bush's foreign policy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If tough advice is easier to accept when it comes from a friend, then, this is the perfect role for Jim Baker.
JAMES BAKER, CO-CHAIRMAN, IRAQ STUDY GROUP: Once a particular approach loses the support of the American people, it is very, very hard and difficult to sustain it.
KING: But the new course in Iraq being suggested by Baker and his Iraq Study Group colleagues is far from a quick fix. And some recommendation could already be dated, because sectarian violence has intensified so much of late.
NOAH FELDMAN, FORMER COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY ADVISER: The only way out of Iraq now is for the different factions to realize they have more to gain by living together in peace than they do by ripping each other apart in a war. And, right now, there's no obvious way to get them to that realization.
KING: Among the recommendations: a gradual reduction in U.S. troop levels in Iraq, a shift from combat forces to military advisers and trainers, clear benchmarks for Iraqis to make both political and security progress, and high-level talks with Iran and Syria, designed to reduce outside support for the Iraqi insurgency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no silver bullet. There is no panacea, no quick solution. All the choices we face are bad and worse. And we have to recognize that fact.
KING: Leading roles in five presidential campaigns taught Baker the value of timing in politics. And, in some ways, the timing here is perfect. Change is already in the air. A new defense secretary is about to take over. And Robert Gates was part of the Iraq Study Group, before being tapped by the president to replace Donald Rumsfeld.
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE: I believe that he wants me to take a fresh look and that all options are on the table.
KING: Baker is a Bush family confidant dating back more than three decades. And his government service includes undersecretary of commerce in the Ford administration, treasury secretary in the Reagan administration, and secretary of state and White House chief of staff in the first Bush administration.
FELDMAN: Secretary Baker is a very experienced diplomat and one of the most successful secretaries of state we have had. But even he is not Superman.
KING: This President Bush, though, has not always heeded Baker's advice. Baker, for example, viewed Donald Rumsfeld as the wrong choice for defense secretary.
And, before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, he warned: "It cannot be done on the cheap. It will require substantial forces and substantial time. We will face the problem of how long to occupy and administer a big, fractious country, and what type of government or administration should follow."
Four years later, that warning is very much Iraq's reality. And Washington is waiting to see if Mr. Bush heeds his friend's advice this time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: And the White House says it will take some time to overlook these recommendations, but it also, Miles, says that while things can look good on paper, they can also be very hard to implement in reality, things like pressuring the Iraqi government to do more. Pressure that government too much, it might collapse. Deal with the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Hamas, what the White House calls a terrorist group, is a big partner now in the Palestinian government. How do you deal with them? So the White House will welcome this report, but also be quite skeptical that much of it can be one.
M. O'BRIEN: Or engage Iran and Syria. That's not an easy path to go down either.
Baker is a pragmatist, and really if the president does in fact embrace this report, it is a repudiation of the neo-conservatives who viewed this sort of wonderful democracy in Iraq that would spread throughout the Middle East region. Is that whole notion long dead now?
KING: That is the great challenge for the president. It was on the steps of that building in the second inaugural when he laid out whole premise of the second term would be promoting democracy, beginning with Iraq, the government in Lebanon as well. The president said that past administrations had cut deals, undermined democracy, cut deals for strategic stability what. What he's being asked to do now is cut deals for strategic stability.
M. O'BRIEN: Precisely that. All right, an interesting turn of events.
John King, thank you very much.
The co-chairs of the Iraq Study Group, Lee Hamilton, James Baker, will be guests on "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Straight ahead this morning, much more on the Iraq Study Group's report. That's coming in just a moment. We're also waiting to hear from the president. He's expected to make a statement after his meeting with those members of the Iraq Study Group who are at the White House this morning, and some new developments to tell you about in the E. coli outbreak. New cases to report, this time outside of New York and New Jersey.
Plus a major cold snap is in the forecast for the Midwest and beyond. We'll check in with our severe weather expert, Chad, Myers who will tell us just who's got to bundle up.
Those stories and much more straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Some new developments to share with you in the E. coli outbreak that we've been covering for days. It's now spread beyond the New York metropolitan area to Pennsylvania with four cases reported in suburban Philadelphia and more Taco Bells involved.
CNN's Allan Chernoff has been covering the story for us. Good morning.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. This is a very tough one.
The focus of the investigation right now is on Taco Bell's supply center in New Jersey. Health officials suspect, but don't yet have hard evidence, that's the source of the problem, which has affected dozens of people, the majority of whom are children. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Blood transfusions have made all the difference for an 11-year-old boy at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. On Tuesday he pulled out of critical condition
DR. JEREMIAS MURILLO, NEWARK BETH ISRAEL MED. CTR.: His kidney was not functioning properly, and he was severely, severely anemic, and that all has cleared up at this time.
CHERNOFF (on camera): But he'll be okay?
MURILLO: Yes.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): The boy ate at a New Jersey Taco Bell on November 17th. Five days later he began suffering from diarrhea. A week later when doctors in Newark began treatment, he was in critical condition.
MURILLO: Most common source in this is poorly cooked hamburgers actually, to tell you the truth. We get intermittent cases like this because people like to eat their hamburger kind of on the red side, you know, so that's really a no-no.
CHERNOFF: The latest E. coli outbreak appears to be spreading with four new cases reported Tuesday in New Jersey and another four in Pennsylvania. That brings the total number of victims in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to about 50. Many of them are children who ate at Taco Bell restaurants?
JONATHAN BLUM, TACO BELL SPOKESPERSON: We're obviously very concerned for the health and welfare of all of our customers and employees, and our thoughts are with the people who became ill as a result of this. As soon as we learned of this incident, we immediately began throwing out food, cleaning the restaurants. We voluntarily closed some restaurants.
CHERNOFF (on camera): Health officials are investigating. They concede they may never find out precisely what caused the E. coli epidemic. Was it tainted beef or lettuce that was poorly washed? The food that was eaten in these cases is all gone, so it can never be tested.
(voice-over): That was not the case during the last E. coli outbreak in September, when bags of spinach were found to be contaminated with E. coli, an epidemic that killed three people. Still, many of taco bell's loyal customers don't seem concerned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's so many things in the world today that can kill you, and Taco Bell is not one that I'm really worried about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's cheap food and it's good, filling, so I -- you know, I'll take my chances.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHERNOFF: Reporter: Investors don't seem too concerned either. The some of Taco Bell's parent company, Yum Brands, was actually up three percent yesterday, but, Soledad, I think I'm going to avoid the tacos today.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, you know, it would be interesting to know what exactly is causing the problem. There's some people who got sick from E. coli, but didn't eat at Taco Bell, so how do they think they are linked to this?
CHERNOFF: And that is the big mystery here, one of the big mysteries, but the majority, the vast majority of people had eaten at Taco Bell, so the focus really is on the supply center, but they don't know which food. Was it the beef? Was it lettuce, cheese?
One of the Taco Bells yesterday in New Jersey, investigators looked at 17 different foods, none of them came up positive.
S. O'BRIEN: Maybe they will never know.
Allan Chernoff for us this morning. Thanks, Allan -- Miles.
CHERNOFF: Coming up, Soledad, members of the Iraq Study Group are meeting with President Bush right now, but will the president heed their advice? We'll ask a Republican senator who's highly critical of how the war has been handled.
Plus, YouTube runs into trouble in the Middle East. Ali Velshi has that, "Minding Your Business."
Stay with us.
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M. O'BRIEN: The Baker-Hamilton panel is briefing the president right now, but will the president heed their suggestions? How much pressure will he get from lawmakers here on Capitol Hill to embrace that report and order a drastic strategy change in Iraq.
For some answers, we turn to Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine. She's a member of the Armed Services Committee. She joins us now right here.
Good to have you with us.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: Good morning.
M. O'BRIEN: The president hasn't said one way or another whether he's going to follow these recommendations. He has said we're going to continue doing what we're doing until the job is complete.
What is the job? What is the definition of a completed job at this point in Iraq?
COLLINS: Well, I think the mission is a stable, peaceful democracy in Iraq that is not a threat to its neighbors or the region, but it's clear that the current strategy in Iraq has failed, and we need a new approach. I hope the combination of a new secretary of defense, as well as the recommendations of the Baker-Hamilton Commission, will set the stage for a new strategy.
M. O'BRIEN: You think -- is there much talk here -- I apologize for the sirens. Is there much talk here on Capitol Hill about in some way putting pressure on the administration to embrace this report in its entirety?
COLLINS: I don't think that anyone expects that the president is going to be a rubber stamp for the commission's recommendations, but all of us expect and hope that the president and his advisers will look very carefully at what the commission recommends. This is a very prestigious bipartisan group of experts. They've spent a lot of time on this and their recommendations deserve careful consideration.
M. O'BRIEN: Difficult to ignore their recommendations...
COLLINS: Absolutely.
M. O'BRIEN: ... because of the weight of this group.
Let's talk about yesterday. You were there as Bob Gates appeared before the committee. You among the people, obviously, voting unanimously to send him on to a full Senate vote.
Let's listen. It was a remarkable moment, that exchange between Senator Levin and him. Let's listen for just a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: Do you believe that we are currently winning in Iraq?
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECY. NOMINEE: No, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Candid response. He came out amplified, explained it a little bit later.
But the question I have for you is, do you believe that we're winning in Iraq?
COLLINS: I agree with what Bob Gates said yesterday -- I don't think that we're winning; I don't think that we're losing. But Iraq's in crisis, and the strategies that we've pursued have not been successful.
I thought that Bob Gates yesterday was a breath of fresh air. He was so candid in his approach. He gave very forthright answers, and I think he's exactly the leader we need at this time.
M. O'BRIEN: At this point in the game, do you regret voting for the war? COLLINS: I made the best decision at the time with the information that I had. I think had we known that there were not weapons of mass destruction, that the issue never would have even been before us, and certainly the region is better off and the Iraqi people at the end of the day will be better off without Saddam.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Republican Senator Susan Collins from Maine. We ran out of time, but important hearing today on that -- those allegations of fraud by FEMA, and we'll track that story for you, and we'll talk about that some more later on CNN.
Thank you for being with us.
COLLINS: Thanks.
M. O'BRIEN: Appreciate that -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Straight ahead this morning, the latest on the deep freeze in the Midwest. Crews are now racing to get the power back on before the weather gets even colder there. We'll update you on what's happening there.
And MySpace takes on the sex offenders. We'll tell you about the latest weapon to help protect your kids online. That's straight ahead.
Stay with us.
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M. O'BRIEN: Big day on Capitol Hill today. It's been an hour now since the members of the Iraq Study Group, 10 in all, arrived at the White House in order to meet with the president in the cabinet room.
Let's listen to the president.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just received the Iraq Study Group report prepared by a distinguished panel of our fellow citizens.
I want to thank James Baker and Lee Hamilton and the panel members for spending a lot of time on this really difficult issue.
And I thank you for coming into the White House today to give me a copy of this report.
I told the members that this report, called "The Way Forward," will be taken very seriously by this administration. This reports gives a very tough assessment of the situation in Iraq. It is a report that brings some really very interesting proposals.
And we will take every proposal seriously and we will act in a timely fashion.
The commission is headed up to Congress, and I urge the members of Congress to take this report seriously.
While they won't agree with every proposal, and we probably won't agree with every proposal, it nevertheless is an opportunity to come together and to work together on this important issue.
The country, in my judgment, is tired of pure political bickering that happens in Washington. And they understand that on this important issue of war and peace it is best for our country to work together.
And I understand how difficult that is, but this report will give us all an opportunity to find common ground for the good of the country -- not for the good of the Republican Party or the Democrat Party but for the good of the country.
We can achieve long-lasting peace for this country. And it requires tough work. It also requires a strategy that will be effective. And we've got men and women of both political parties around this table who spent a lot of time thinking about the way forward in Iraq and the way forward in the Middle East.
And I can't thank them enough for your time. You could be doing a lot of other things; could have had a lot more simple life than to allow your government to call you back into service. But you did allow us to call you back into service and you made a vital contribution to the country.
Our fellow citizens have got to know that it is possible for people of goodwill to come together to help make recommendations on how to deal with a very serious situation.
And we applaud your work. I will take it very seriously. And we will act on it in a timely fashion.
Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. President.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. President.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir.
BUSH: Good job.
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