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American Morning

Robert Gates Heads To Iraq, Meeting With Generals To Plan Future Strategy

Aired December 20, 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: Breaking news: Welcome to the war. America's new Defense secretary arrives in Iraq overnight. And President Bush asks him to draw up plans to expand the military. We're live in Baghdad for you this morning.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Tense truce: A fragile ceasefire holds, while a new videotape, reportedly from Osama bin Laden's number two man, weighs in on the conflict in Gaza.

S. O'BRIEN: And some clues from Mt. hood, the last photos snapped by the missing climbers gives rescuers reason to fear the very worst, and the weather is slowing the search.

Those stories and much more ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Welcome back. It's Wednesday, December 20th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

ROBERTS: And I'm John Roberts in for Miles O'Brien. Good Wednesday morning to you. Thanks for joining us.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's begin in Iraq where the brand new Defense Secretary Robert Gates has just landed hours ago. He arrived there along, with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs getting an in-person briefing from the top U.S. commander there, General John Abizaid. CNN Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre is the only network correspondent who is traveling with Secretary Gates. Jamie is on the phone for us.

Good morning, Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Soledad.

Robert Gates said the first thing he would do when he was sworn in was go to Iraq, meet with U.S. commanders, look them in the eye, and ask them what they think ought to be done in Iraq. He didn't waste any time doing that. He was sworn in on Monday, got on a plane on Tuesday, arrived early Wednesday morning, here in Iraq. And he's already been in meetings now with General Abizaid, the top commander for the Central Command, and General Casey, the top commander on the ground here in Iraq, to talk about possible changes in strategy.

Of course, a lot of speculation about this proposal that is getting serious consideration from the White House to surge tens of thousands of additional troops to Iraq. The idea would be to essentially get the violence under control and give the government of Nouri al-Maliki a chance to try to make some progress on national reconciliation, which commanders believe is the key to solving the problem here.

Gates will meet with Nouri al-Maliki tomorrow. He's going to continue to meet with commanders today. And, of course, part of that speculation is fueled by the fact that President Bush has said, yes, he agrees, the size of the U.S. military does need to be increased.

While that's a separate issue from providing troops to Iraq, clearly looking at this in the long view, why does the U.S. need a bigger military? Well, because it's going to have a continued demand for troops, either in Iraq, or somewhere else. Gates is not giving us an idea of the way he thinks the strategy should go. But clearly a lot of consideration being given to this option to send more troops to Iraq, not fewer -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre, the only network correspondent who is traveling with Secretary Gates.

Thanks, Jamie.

The new Defense secretary, in fact, arrives in Iraq, which is like a day like so many other days with explosions rocking Baghdad. Five blasts so far today; at least 15 people killed, 41 hurt. The deadliest attack involved a suicide bomber who slammed his car into a Baghdad police checkpoint and then set off his bomb.

ROBERTS: Gates already has a big item on his to-do list, from President Bush, expand the U.S. military. Here's what the president told reporters from "The Washington Post" yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm inclined to believe that they do need to increase our troops, the Army and the Marines. And I talked to this, about Secretary Gates, and he's going to spend some time talking to the folks in the building. And come back with the recommendation to me about how to proceed forward on this idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: CNN's Barbara Starr is live now at the Pentagon for us.

Just to be clear here, Barbara, this is different from this temporary surge in troops for Iraq that's being talked about, correct?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: That's right, John.

For Iraq what they're talking about is near-term, sending additional troops, perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 for, perhaps, six to eight months. What the president is talking about is a long-term structural change in the U.S. military -- pardon me -- simply making the Army and the Marine Corps larger, adding thousands of troops. And that is something that is going to take years to accomplish. Very expensive, it takes a long time to recruit, train and equip these people. It is an acknowledgment that the generals have told them the current military simply isn't big enough to do the job.

ROBERTS: All right, so in order to boost the size of the American military, it's going to take some new recruiting skills, going to take some money. What are the long-term implications?

STARR: The long-term implications are that there is an acknowledgement now that the U.S. military will be involved in conflict in the war on terror around the world for many, many years to come. What the generals have said is if you want us to do all of this -- you know, Iraq, Afghanistan, plus if there are any new conflicts, we simply don't have the troops to sustain it.

We have to make our forces larger, add people to them. Because even this surge, this temporary surge of 20,000 to 30,000 that they are talking about for Iraq, they are very stretched to try and make something that simple, essentially, happen.

ROBERTS: Barbara, we're also hearing this morning that General John Abizaid has tendered his resignation, and plans to retire this spring. What impact could that have on the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, if any?

STARR: You know, that is a long-scheduled retirement. General Abizaid was already extended once for several months, in the position, at the request of the president. So, he is scheduled now for a retirement some time in early '07. What is really interesting here is it's going to give Bob Gates the opportunity, essentially, to name his own team across the board.

General Abizaid is retiring. General Casey, also, is scheduled to leave his post in Iraq in early '07. And the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is scheduled for rotation later in the year. So Bob Gates has a lot of key personnel decisions to make fairly quickly.

ROBERTS: Yes, got a lot of new blood coming in. Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon, thanks. If your throat is giving you a problem, blame me, because everybody else is. Thanks, Barbara.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: The search for those two missing climbers is scaling back this morning. The weather is expected to make ground searches and aerial searches very difficult. The photo from a camera that was found with the body of Kelly James is now giving the sheriff reasons to worry that the men were traveling very light and may not be prepared to survive the extremes. CNN's Chris Lawrence has a report this morning, from Hood River, in Oregon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Even with the bad weather moving in, rescue crews say they're not giving up on the search for the two missing climbers. But in the sheriff's own words, hope and optimism have to be balanced by fact. That's why he's calling off the big search. He has sent the helicopter pilots home and put some of the ground crews on standby.

With that said, an avalanche investigative team is still being put together to look at some parts of the mountain. Fixed wing aircraft will still fly by the search as well.

Through pictures that Kelly James took along the way, evidence of the ice and letters that climbers wrote, the search teams have been able to answer some questions, such as why the climbers split up. It turns out that Kelly James dislocated his shoulder, at some point, near the summit. They dug out a snow cave, huddled together and then Brian Hall and Nikko Cooke left that snow cave to go look for help.

The question they can't answer is what happened to those two climbers after that. The footprints simply disappear, and it's not something they can figure out at this point.

The rescue teams took family members up in a plane to look at the mountain, themselves before the bad weather sets in. They're still hoping at some point those two climbers, no matter what the odds, may still come off the mountain alive. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Hood River, Oregon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: A new warning from al Qaeda to Palestinians out today. Al Jazeera is playing a tape of Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda's second in commend. His message to the Palestinians, holy war is the only path to freedom, not free elections. It is a rebuke of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and his call for new elections. The tape, though, has not been authenticated, though it is video tape and certainly looks like Zawahiri.

Right now, in Gaza, a new ceasefire agreement between rival Palestinians factions appears to be holding for the moment. Hamas, which controls the Palestinian legislature and Fattah, affiliated with President Abbas, withdrawing gunmen from the streets. CNN's Ben Wedeman joins us now live from Gaza City.

Ben, it looks like it's a lot calmer there today than it was this time yesterday.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Yeah, thankfully so, John.

It is relatively calm. People are back on the streets, stores are open, cars are driving around. The schools are still closed, which is a good thing, since yesterday we saw some children got caught in a cross fire. So it is better today, but the ceasefire is not 100 percent firm.

Just a few hours after it went into effect, there was an ambush of Palestinian Preventative Security, that's a Fattah branch of the Palestinian security services. They were ambushed; two of their members were killed, five were wounded.

Now, this morning there was a funeral for the two dead, and that also resulted in a clash with Hamas gunmen. So the situation is much, much better than it was yesterday, but it's still early days. It's only about 14, 15 hours into the ceasefire.

We saw the last ceasefire, which took effect at midnight on Sunday, barely lasted 24 hours, so we are watching the clock and hoping that it continues to hold steady, but nobody here is placing bets on that happening, John.

ROBERTS: Ben, is there any sense there today that there's a greater commitment to work this out politically, as opposed to at the point of a gun?

WEDEDMAN: Well, certainly the fact that we did see both President Mahmoud Abbas and the prime minister, Ishmael Haneia (ph) coming out and making public statements. Calling on their supporters to calm down, to go back in their homes, to get off the street and stop fighting, it was a high-profile appeal from both these men to their backers, their gunmen, their militia to calm down. That seems to have had a good effect overall.

There's one element you have to keep in mind. There are thousands of young men, not very disciplined, armed to the teeth here in Gaza, who -- really, at just very little provocation can open fire. There's also element of the desire to revenge, to take revenge on those who have been killed by attacking and killing someone in a rival clan, a rival militia, a rival family. So, it is a tinderbox, but at the moment things are relatively calm, John.

ROBERTS: We can only hope that it holds, because those pictures, yesterday, of those children being caught in the crossfire was terribly disturbing. Ben Wedeman, in Gaza City, for us this morning. Thanks very much.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Reaction around the world this morning to those death sentences, in Libya, given to five Belgian (sic) nurses and a Palestinian doctor. The six are charged with deliberately infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV. CNN's Femi Oke has a closer look at this case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEMI OKE, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING (voice over): Death for the children killers, reads one placard outside a court in Tripoli, Libya, parents celebrate the death verdicts of the people they believe murdered their children.

"This is a happy day. Long live Libyan judiciary. Long live justice. This is a blessing by God," shouts the parent of one infected child.

Inside the judge took just seven minutes to condemn five Bulgarian (sic) nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death on charges that they deliberately infected hundreds of Libyan children with HIV, in the late 1990s. More than 50 of the youngsters have since died.

The medics denied the allegations and say confessions were tortured out of them. Defense lawyers say poor hospital conditions are to blame. Scientific research suggests the virus was circulating at the hospital before the nurses and doctors arrive.

This is actually their second guilty verdict. In 2004 they were found guilty and sentenced to death. Last year a supreme court ruling quashed the ruling and ordered a retrial. The latest verdict sparked outrage in Europe and in Washington.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We understand very much that there are children who have suffered, but we also are concerned that these medics will be allowed to go home at the earliest possible date.

OKE: The ruling is automatically appealed, but Libya has suggested the death sentences will be commuted if each is paid $12 U.S. million.

IVAYLO KALTIN, BULGARIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER: What they're saying is that Bulgaria should pay blood money for the nurses.

OKE: If the next appeal fails, the five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor will be shot for a crime they say they didn't commit. Femi Oke, CNN, Johannesburg, South Africa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Coming up, winter arrives it the front range of the Rockies and is moving into the heartland, just as Chad predicted it would. He'll tell us who can get 20 inches of snow by tomorrow and just how bad travel could be.

Also the government proposes tougher warning labels for over-the- counter painkillers. We're going to take a look at the risks and why those warning labels are necessary.

And it looks like Vice President Cheney is going to be witness for the defense, a closer look at the impact that could have on the CIA leak case, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: We're back on AMERICAN MORNING. Top stories we're following today, Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Iraq right now meeting with Centcom Commander General John Abizaid.

And the Space Shuttle Discovery, now unhooked from the International Space Station and preparing to head home. It is supposed to come back to land on Friday in Florida, but weather could change that plan.

And looks like weather is going to change a lot of other plans across the country as well; 18 minutes past the hour. Let's get a quick check of the "Traveler's Forecast" with Chad now, at the CNN Weather Center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: It's going to be Vice President Dick Cheney for the defense, his former chief of staff on trial. A closer look this morning as lawyers for Lewis Scooter Libby say they plan to call the vice president as a witness in Libby's perjury trail. The trial is all related to the leak that exposed the identify of the CIA operative Valerie Plame. Joining us from Washington, D.C., is Chief National Correspondent John King.

Good morning, John. Nice to see you, as always.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NAT'L. CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Many people expected that, in fact, Cheney would be called for the prosecution, and he was not. Kind of a surprise to see him called for the defense. Isn't this incredibly, potentially, politically damaging for the vice president to be called and be on the stand?

KING: It sure could be. What makes this so interesting is this is the same vice president who went all the way to the Supreme Court to fight court orders that he release documents from his secret energy task force. Someone who has vigorously defended the secrecy of the administration.

Yet, he'll be discussing very high-level meetings of the Bush White House about how they responded to Iraq war criticism. But here is the interesting part, Mr. Cheney is not only going do this, he's willing to do this, according to sources close to the case.

I talked to him a few months back and he wouldn't talk about the case because he knew then he might be called as a witness. But listen to him defend his former chief of staff, Scooter Libby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not going to comment on the case. I may be called as a witness. Scooter Libby, obviously one of the finest men I've ever known. He's entitled to the presumption of innocence. And I have not made any comments on the case up 'til now and I won't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So, Soledad, quite a turn-around for this vice president. He's willing to do this because he wants to help his former top aide. But you're right, high stakes, legal and political drama.

S. O'BRIEN: So what does Scooter Libby need the vice president to say on the stand to help him out? KING: Well, Libby's defense is that if he lied to investigators, if things he said were not true, it's not because he was deliberately lying, it's because he was overwhelmed. That he is -- many people say Scooter Libby was to Dick Cheney as Karl Rove is to George W. Bush. That he was so busy, so involved in all the national security issues going on at the time, the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, that if he said things that were not true, he simply misspoke; he had faulty memory, he was not deliberately lying. That is the point he needs Dick Cheney to make for him on the stand.

S. O'BRIEN: Is the public going to get a chance to see the vice president on the stand? Is it going to be televised? Will there be pictures?

KING: There will be no pictures, because this is a federal courthouse, but it is a fascinating opportunity. You mentioned the prosecution decided not to call the vice president. But once he is on the stand, they will get to ask him questions. One of the key exhibits in this case could be the vice president's own hand-scribbled notes.

Remember, this all started when former Ambassador Joe Wilson wrote a column in "The New York Times" saying the president exaggerated the cause for war. Then the White House launched an aggressive effort to rebut Mr. Wilson, to discredit him. Those are Dick Cheney's scribbles on that, essentially saying did his wife send him on a boondoggle? Valerie Plame was his wife, she was the CIA operative.

So, the facts can be confusing if you haven't followed it closely. Again, the vice president of the United States will be on the stand in federal court. No cameras, because the cameras aren't in there, but it will be part of the public record.

S. O'BRIEN: You know, it can be confusing even if you have kind of followed it closely.

KING: Yes, it can be.

S. O'BRIEN: But you're right, the end of the day, the takeaway is the VP on the stand. Everybody is going to be talking about it even if they don't get a chance to see it.

Chief National Correspondent John King for us this morning. Thanks, john, as always.

KING: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Obviously, the vice president willing to make a big commitment for his former chief of staff there.

Coming up, a war of words as Delta tries to fight off a takeover bid by US Airways. We're "Minding Your Business" this morning.

And a close shave in Michigan: A car crashes into a barber shop. Tell you how it happened, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Happening in America this morning: Taco John's offering to pay the medical expenses of its customers infected with e. Coli. More than 75 people got sick after eating at restaurants in Iowa and Minnesota. Tainted lettuce is believed to be the cause. Taco John's is facing two lawsuits since the outbreak.

Here in New York, Yoko Ono's former chauffeur is in jail this morning. Carl Carson indicted for allegedly attempting to exhort $2 million from the widow of Beatle John Lennon. Police say he threatened to make public embarrassing photos of Ono and recordings of private conversations. Carson says he's not guilty and says Ono is making the charges to avoid a sexual harassment suit from him.

In North Carolina, 32-year old man, found aboard an airplane. Problem was it was hours before the flight was supposed to take off. Delta canceled the flight, the suspect faces trespassing and drug possession charges, as well as federal charge for sneaking on to a plane.

And in Michigan, looks like Jack's Barber Shop is not going to be open for holiday hair cuts. A delivery van rear-ended this car, sending it crashing through the store front. There were no serious injuries but the driver of the van got a moving violation. Seven people were hurt, none of them seriously.

And an NBA shake up. Allen Iverson leaving the Philadelphia 76ers, heading to the Denver Nuggets, and the Nuggets need them, too. Several players are serving suspensions for that fight with the New York Knicks, including top scorer, Carmelo Anthony, out for 15 games.

S. O'BRIEN: Not a moment too soon to get the new guy in, right? Excellent timing on that deal.

Let's talk business now. Delta's CEO getting tough with US Airways. It's 25 minutes past the hour, and that means it's time for Ali Velshi, who is "Minding Your Business".

Good morning.

ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: No such deals here, Soledad.

US Airways, you remember back on November 15th right here, we go the news that US Airways making a pitch for Delta, which is in bankruptcy. Delta had been sort of pushing that off for some time. Now, Delta has formally rejected the offer. Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein saying this to US Airways CEO Doug Parker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERALD GRINSTEIN, CEO, DELTA AIR LINES: I have sent a message this morning to Doug Parker reflecting our view, that that's a nonstarter. Our board has voted unanimously against approving it and sending that message of, absolutely not, to US Airways.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Ironically, the discussion of this merger caused a lot of discussion amongst the other airlines about getting together, and Grinstein does admit that if that starts to happen, you know, we heard rumors that United is talking to Continental, Delta is going to have to look at this again.

But here's what Grinstein said. He said that when US Airways, which is a combination of US Air and America West, when they merged, fares on 6600 routes actually went higher. And Grinstein said that if US Airways and Delta were to combine, on 2,000 routes, this new airline would control 90 percent of the fares. His argument is that means fares would go up. There would be less competition.

The other thing he said is that airline mergers don't get approved easily in this country, anyway. This one wouldn't likely get approved. So this story is not over, but we'll keep you posted on what happens.

When I come back, I'm going to tell you the story of this holiday season is, undoubtedly, flat panel TVs.

ROBERTS: Oh, yes.

VELSHI: Your gain is the retailers pain, I'll tell you about that when I come back.

ROBERTS: Thanks.

S. O'BRIEN: Assuming you want a big ol' flat panel TV in your living room.

VELSHI: It's such a good deal, everybody wants it now.

ROBERTS: Like, uh, we don't have a couple around here?

VELSHI: Ha!

S. O'BRIEN: That's a studio.

ROBERTS: What is there, just 60 something of them in this studio.

VELSHI: Yeah.

ROBERTS: Take one of these home for Christmas.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, President Bush is looking to expand the size of the military. Meeting that goal is going to fall to these foot soldiers, recruiters trying to sign up more young people for what is an unpopular war. We're going to take a closer look at the battle on the home front straight ahead.

You might take one without giving it much thought, but the government says there are some dangers in those over-the-counter painkillers. We'll tell you about some new recommendations ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. Wednesday, December 20th, I'm Soledad O'Brien.

ROBERTS: And I'm John Robert in today for Miles O'Brien. Thanks very much for joining us.

We begin on Mt. Hood, Oregon. It's been 10 days since climber Kelly James called from his snow cave, saying that he and his buddies needed rescue. James did not survive the ordeal. And with another storm moving in, officials say it's not looking good for his friends to survive.

Sumi Das joins us live from Hood River, Oregon. She's got the latest for us.

And, Sumi, did they even expect to be able to get up on the mountain today with that storm moving in?

SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're really playing it by ear, but certainly there is a concern that the weather will not enable them to put aircraft in the air around the mountain. The big search is over, but this is still a rescue operation. Officials say they want to focus their efforts on an area they know that the climbers passed through, but the weather may dictate otherwise.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAS (voice-over): The threat of a winter storm may halt the search for Brian Hall and Jerry Cooke, two climbers missing for well over a week.

SHERIFF JOE WAMPLER, HOOD RIVER COUNTY, OREGON: We're kind of worried about it, because I think there's some moisture coming in off the coast. It's going to put us on hold.

DAS: Tuesday, two fixed wing aircrafts scanned the mountain, but snow and freezing rain on Wednesday is likely to keep them grounded.

WAMPLER: Is the mountain going to be safe enough to let us go do that? I guess that's the sign I'm looking for.

DAS: Photos taken by climber Kelly James show the route the climbers took to the summit, but also raised concerns about whether they were equipped to withstand the harsh conditions for such an extended period of time.

WAMPLER: Pictures of what they -- the packs they were carrying, the type of equipment that they had, and that's what we're getting out of this. And you know, I'm using those for the experts to analyze.

DAS: Sheriff Wampler says the men may have fallen, or taken refuge from the winds in a cave now covered by snow. Friends and family say they have faith the men will try to make it off the mountain alive.

I've known Brian for six years, and I kind of know his personality and how he would think. I know he is doing everything possible to stay alive and to survive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DAS: The possibility of ending the search has been discussed with family members of the climbers. That reason would be due to safety concerns. Now, search conditions have been favorable for the past few days, but up to three inches of snow could fall in this area, and up to a foot of snow could fall higher up on the mountain -- John.

ROBERTS: And not just safety concerns, Sumi, but it's also very expensive to keep the search and rescue operation going. Is there any kind of a sense that when this storm moves in, and it's expected, I believe, to last for a couple days, that they may call those operations off and go into recovery mode?

DAS: You know, they have said that they are basically going to wait one more day. And tomorrow or not they will make a decision on whether or not they will go into recovery mode. The difference of course between rescue operation and the recovery operation is the level of risk. They will take fewer risks, because they'll be working on the assumption that there's a smaller chance that the folks up on the mountain are still alive -- John.

ROBERTS: Sumi Das for us from Hood River, Oregon this morning. Sumi, thanks.

O'BRIEN: While Defense Secretary Robert Gates is on the ground in Iraq this morning getting a firsthand briefing, President Bush is directing him to draw up plans to expand the military. It's going to be a huge challenge for recruiters who are already struggling to fill out their ranks.

CNN's Dan Lothian joins us with more.

Good morning.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT Good morning, Soledad.

Well, it has been a tough sell, in part because of the war in Iraq. One recruiter told me he confronts the issue head on. He tells potential recruits the truth about where they could end up, and often has to answer some difficult questions. Now comes more pressure to find the next soldier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN (voice-over): President Bush is saying out loud what some generals and others have been arguing for months, America needs a bigger military. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm inclined to believe that we do need to increase our troops, the Army and the Marines.

LOTHIAN: Hitting the mark will fall on the shoulders recruiters, like Sergeant Mark Wood.

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

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

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't right now. I'm packing for a trip.

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

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

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

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

LOTHIAN: But his pitch isn't always welcomed.

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

LOTHIAN: Recruiters also face another challenge, convincing parents, who are reminded on almost a daily basis about the grim reality of war.

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

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

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

LOTHIAN: To help convince young men and women to enlist, Wood and other Army recruiters offer incentives, bonuses of up to $40,000 and more cash for college.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN: So who is the ideal candidate? Sergeant Wood told me he targets anyone who looks healthy, physically fit and is over the age of 18. But as we know, the military has not backed away from signing up people who, shall we say, haven't seen 18 in a long time. O'BRIEN: Yes, there are some who are really up there certainly.

The young man who you have at the end of your piece, who says he's just signed up, did he say what the thing was that convinced him? Was there one thing?

LOTHIAN: For him, it was that he had other relatives who had signed up. His father had been in the military. He had a brother who was in the military. So he said, yes, there is that fear, but I have family members who have been there, and so I understand what I'm getting into.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. Dan Lothian for us this morning. An interesting challenge for them. Thanks -- John.

ROBERTS: Soledad, coming up, we're hoping to talk more about this with the deputy commander of the multinational force in the western part of Iraq. Just having a couple technical details right now that we're trying to workout. We hope to get him up soon.

Also, you probably take one every day, so often or one every so often and never give it a second thought. Some people do take them every day. We'll hear why the government thinks you need to be warned about the most common pain relievers.

Sick and tired of bad cell phone service? We'll tell you about a proposed law meant to keep cell phone companies honest.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Forty minutes after the hour. Just in, some breaking news to tell you about. President Bush has called another one of his snap news conferences, this likely to be the last one of 2006, 10:00 this morning at the White House in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower executive office building. Of course, stay with CNN because we'll bring that to you live. No doubt one of the questions he's going to be asked is this idea about bulking up the overall size of the military. And not just that idea is being floated, the White House is also talking about sending more of the current U.S. forces into Iraq, a temporary surge to try to get a hold on security there.

Brigadier General Robert Neller is the deputy commander for coalition forces in western Iraq. He joins us from Camp Fallujah out there in Anbar province.

Brigadier general, let me ask you first of all, this idea of bulking up the military, the Marine commandant said not too long ago that either the size of the Marines had to grow or its mission had to be reduced. I take it this is an idea that you folks would support?

BRIG. GEN. ROBERT NELLER, DEP. COMMANDER, WESTERN IRAN: I think clearly we support it. Both General Hagee, the former commandant, have both stated that we need to grow the size of the Marine Corps. So yes, we support that. ROBERTS: Right, so how big does the military need to get, in your estimation, to be able to handle not just the current missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also potentially future missions that may crop up?

NELLER: Well, I think we stated we think the marine corps could grow by about 5,000. But obviously we've got to be able to recruit to that and we've got to be able to equip to that. So I think that'll depend on how much we think we can recruit to. But I think 5,000 for the Marine Corps is what we're looking at. I can't speak to the other services.

ROBERTS: Yes, I think the number that's being thrown around is something around the neighborhood of 70,000 for all of the services.

Now of course a pertinent question that rises out of this, though, that some lawmakers have addressed, is can you bulk up the forces through recruiting techniques, or is there a possibility that in order to keep the forces at a higher level, you may have to institute a draft?

NELLER: Well, that's a policy decision that's way out of my lane, but I can tell you we have had great success in retaining people in the military. We had a retention team out here, and they achieved 150 percent of their quotas. So the people that are here believe in this mission and they're committed to the mission, and they're staying in the Marine Corps.

ROBERTS: General, we also talked about the idea of a temporary surge in the number of forces on the ground by somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 to 30,000. It's being talked about, perhaps, by crossing over incoming troops with outgoing troops, delaying some rotations out, but there seems to be pushbacks from generals at the Pentagon on this idea. What do you think? Is that something that's necessary there in Iraq? Could it be of any use?

NELLER: Well, again, you know, I'm way out of my lane here. The joint chiefs will give their advice to the president, and he's the commander in chief, and he'll make the decision.

I think anybody here will tell you that in the short term they probably could get some positive effect out of more forces.

But real answer is, the long-term answer is, you've got to have somebody to give it to. So you could put 100,000 more Americans here, but ultimately this has got be an Iraqi solution to this situation. Just as we're doing here, we're continuing to grow and develop the Iraqi security forces. We have to give this mission to them in the long run, and now their government's got to be able to continue to support them.

ROBERTS: All right. You were in Bosnia in the 1990s. You dealt with the sectarian violence there in Balkan states. Are there any lessons from that engagement that you can apply to the current sectarian violence in Iraq? NELLER: Well, out here in Anbar, we don't deal with the sectarian violence that exists in other places like Baghdad and Dialla. Our area out here is predominantly Sunni, but I think what's going to have to happen, ultimately there's going to have to be a political solution to this. The Iraqi government is going to have to reconcile with all those parties that have various views about how they want Iraq to be in the future. The prime minister began that process on Saturday with a reconciliation conference, and we're hopeful that he'll be able to reach out and make all Iraqis believe that this is an Iraq for Iraqis and everybody is going to be treated fairly and evenhandedly.

ROBERTS: All right, Brigadier General Robert Neller, we wish you well out there in Anbar province. We know how dangerous it is.

Happy holidays, if that's possible, and thanks very much for joining us this morning. Appreciate it.

NELLER: We're going to have a great Christmas with our family out here. And let me just say hello to all our families and all the American people that support us every day. Thank you very much and merry Christmas.

ROBERTS: All right, stay safe. Thanks very much.

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S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, Mount St. Helens puts on an incredible show, not a new eruption. Scientists explain the giant cloud that is hovering above the volcano.

And here in New York City, we're gearing up for a big New Year's Eve bash. Get ready to drop the ball on 2006 and ring in 2007. We'll tell you about it straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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O'BRIEN: You have a headache, so you take an over-the-counter medication for your pain. Well, now the government wants you to know about some of the risks that are associated with common painkillers.

Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is at the CNN Center in Atlanta with some details this morning.

Good morning, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Soledad, that's right, we all have these medicines in our medicine cabinet, and now the FDA is proposing new warning labels on these very commonly used household pain relievers.

Let's take acetaminophen first. That's the active ingredient in Tylenol, and it's also in many other medicines, and it's also in cold, and flu and cough medicines. The concern here is about liver toxicity. Doctors have been studying this for a long time. Now the FDA is proposing that there be a label that warns about possible liver problems if you take high doses of acetaminophen, if you drink three or more alcohol beverages a day, if you double up on products. What that means is that maybe you're taking Tylenol and you're taking a cold medicine. You don't realize that you're actually getting a double dose of acetaminophen. So concerns about liver toxicity for that particular drug. Now there are also proposed warnings for drugs like Aspirin, the ingredients in Advil and Alleve. Different concern here. This one is stomach bleeding. They say that there should be a warning that you might possibly experience stomach bleeding if you're 60 or older, that if you have a history of stomach bleeds, if you're taking blood thinners. Also if you're taking multiple drugs the same kind of warning we were talking about just a moment ago, or if you drink three-plus alcoholic drinks a day -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: OK. But you know, I think everybody is taking some version of Tylenol, acetaminophen, Advil, Motrin, Ibuprofen, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. What's the basic advice? Don't take it? Be careful with your behavior when you do take it?

COHEN: The advice is, is that if you fall into one of these groups, for example, if you already have liver problems, if you're 60 or older, if you're taking large doses, you really need to talk to your doctor. The FDA is not saying to stop taking the drugs. They're not saying that at all. What they're saying is that if you fall into one of these categories, you need to be wary, you need to speak to your doctor. Now many people just take these drugs occasionally. They get a headache, maybe they take two Advil once a month or something like that. That's not really where the big concerns are. The concerns are, again, for people taking high doses, and people who might already have problems.

O'BRIEN: Can I ask you a quick question about the Vitamin D news? What's the headline on that story?

COHEN: The headline on that story is a very interesting study out of Harvard that found folks with a large dose of Vitamin D had a lower risk of having MS, and you usually don't think of those two things as going together. But in fact there is now some evidence that that link is really there.

Let's take a look at what the number is. It's a really impressive number. Folks who took the highest intake, got the highest levels of Vitamin D into their blood, had a 62 percent lower risk of MS.

Now the good news here is that you can get Vitamin D from a variety of sources. You can take supplements, you can drink milk., fatty fishes, like tuna and salmon, fortified cereals, and the difference between the folks who had a lot of Vitamin D in their blood and a little bit in their blood, it wasn't all that different; it was maybe the equivalent of about two glasses of milk a day. So those extra glasses of milk a day can really make a difference.

O'BRIEN: All right, Elizabeth Cohen for us this morning. Thanks, Elizabeth -- John. COHEN: OK, thanks.

ROBERTS: What's on the menu in Chicago? The Windy City's mayor says it's none of his business. The battle over government control of what you choose to eat. That's coming up next.

And can you hear it now? Good. How one city is helping consumers reach out and touch cell phone companies, with the back of their hand, and sort of force them to do better.

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

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