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Tributes Pour in for Gerald Ford; Saddam Hussein's Death Sentence

Aired December 28, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Heidi Collins.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rick Sanchez, sitting in today for Tony Harris.

COLLINS: For the next three hours, watch events happen live on this Wednesday, the 27th day of December.

Here now is what is on the rundown.

Tributes pour in for Gerald Ford, the president who closed the era of Watergate and Vietnam dies at 93. This hour, his legacy from Alexander Haig.

SANCHEZ: They've barely dug out -- today, Denver is gearing up for yet another big blizzard this week and this one could be even bigger, Heidi.

COLLINS: His death sentence upheld. Now, Iraq's ousted dictator waits for the hangman. We look at what may be Saddam Hussein's final days in THE NEWSROOM.

He led America out of the long national nightmare of Watergate. He went on to become the country's longest living president. This morning, the life and legacy of Gerald R. Ford. The nation's 38th president died last night at his home in California at the age of 93.

Within the past hour, President Bush spoke about the death of Gerald Ford from his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

White House correspondent Elaine Quijano was there and joins us now live -- good morning to you, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi.

President Bush had high praise for former President Ford. Speaking from his ranch in Crawford, the president noted that Gerald Ford took power at a time of great division and turmoil in this country. Mr. Bush also expressed condolences to the Ford family and called Gerald Ford a great man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For a nation that needed healing and for an office that needed a calm and steady hand, Gerald Ford came along when we needed him most. During his time in office, the American people came to question President Ford as a man of complete integrity who led our country with common sense and kind instincts.

Americans will always admire Gerald Ford's unflinching performance of duty and the honorable conduct of his administration and the great rectitude of the man himself.

We mourn the loss of such a leader.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: President Bush reflecting on the life and service of former President Gerald Ford, speaking from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, specifically, at the Marine One hangar.

President Bush had a National Security Council meeting scheduled for tomorrow. As far as we know, that still is on. But we don't know what this might do for the rest of the president's time here in Crawford. We hope to learn more in off-camera briefing, Heidi, later this morning -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Elaine, tell us a little bit, if you could, about how the president learned of former President Ford's death.

QUIJANO: Sure. It was late last night, shortly before 11:00, that President Bush, at his ranch, received a call from his chief of staff, Josh Bolten. Josh Bolten himself was not here in Crawford, but he had been in contact with the chief of staff of President Ford. And we understand that about an hour or so after President Bush did, in fact, receive word of Gerald Ford's passing is when he reached out to Betty Ford in a phone call, expressing his personal condolences -- Heidi.

COLLINS: And what about Vice President Dick Cheney?

QUIJANO: We don't have specific details on how and when exactly he was informed. But we know that he is in Wyoming. His office this morning saying that he is -- he is in Wyoming, that he is still scheduled to attend this National Security Council meeting on Iraq tomorrow here in Crawford. And he did, in fact, issue a statement last night. Of course, the vice president was a chief of staff for Gerald Ford.

And in that statement, the vice president expressed his sadness, of course, and also said, though, that he was very proud to have served Gerald Ford as his chief of staff. And he said President Ford led an honorable life -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Elaine Quijano coming to us live from Crawford, Texas this morning.

Elaine, thank you.

SANCHEZ: We are remembering Gerald Ford on this morning after his death. History has been kind to his most famous presidential act. It was an important one. Voters at the time were not kind.

It was his pardon of Richard Nixon. Perhaps it was what cost him the 1976 election, as well, the presidential election. Yet, in a 1999 interview with CNN's Larry King, Ford said it was a decision he never regretted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM LARRY KING LIVE)

FORMER PRESIDENT GERALD FORD: If I had not granted the pardon, there would have been an indictment, there would have been a trial, there probably, without a question of a doubt, a conviction, and then you would have had one, two, three or four years of appeal.

It would have been a traumatic incident in the country for three to five years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: President Nixon a master politician. His successor remembered today for being an exceptional person.

Our next guest says that made Gerald Ford the perfect leader for such troubled times.

Alexander Haig served both men as their chief of staff.

He is joining us now this morning from Washington.

Mr. Secretary, thanks for being with us.

I would like you to comment, if you would, on that very position that you held. You were chief of staff to President Nixon, then chief of staff for President Ford.

How difficult was the transition for President Ford coming from the vice presidency?

ALEXANDER HAIG, FORD'S CHIEF OF STAFF: Well, the transition went very smoothly and it was not a difficult procedure at all. I think both men knew beforehand it was going to happen. I know because I conveyed that to President-To-Be-Ford and he was prepared in every sense of the word to take over the very important position he took over.

And I think the two men respected one another, at least as professional Republican leaders, if not as persons. And I think President Ford was exactly right. It was a very lonely decision he made when he pardoned President Nixon, but he did it for the good of the country and I think events since that time have affirmed that it was, indeed, the right thing to do and to spare the company another year or more of agony of the kind we were going through.

And let me tell you, they were not pleasant hours and days in that White House...

COLLINS: I'm sure. HAIG: ... because I spent 18 months in the middle of it.

COLLINS: I'm sure.

Can you talk a little bit about that decision?

There has been quite a bit of discussion in years gone by and now on this day, when we have lost this former president, about what he will be remembered for.

It seemed that when you look back at history, the country got behind him. He was seen as a breath of fresh air. And then shortly after that, the pardon came and some of those opinions changed dramatically.

HAIG: Well, I don't think they did, really. I think there's a lot of sentiment of those who hated Nixon to the degree they did -- and there was a lot of hatred, in addition to justified outrage at some of those things that went on in Watergate.

But there was also hatred. And that made a very different situation for President Ford when he undertook the correct decision that he did. And it was a lonely one, because all of his staff unanimously were opposed to it. And I was in the meeting and absented myself from the meeting when the row started.

But the president held to his gun-and did the right thing and he was right from the day one that he did it.

COLLINS: Talk a little bit, if you would, about the differences between the two men, between Nixon and Ford, because there are some who would say that he was the anti-Nixon. And then we saw the pardon come, so it would be hard to understand that he would be so anti.

Your thoughts on that.

HAIG: Yes, no, I don't think President Ford was a hater in any sense of the word. He was an unusual human being with very strong human characteristics -- loyalty and respect for authority and the man who preceded him and enjoyed that position. He didn't do anything that was petty or mean with respect to President Nixon and he might have.

So those around President Ford were in that camp. Some of them were outrageously so.

COLLINS: Right.

HAIG: But that's understandable because the country was politicized from day one by a combination of Vietnam, anti- communism...

COLLINS: Right.

HAIG: ... which was the Nixon way, and Watergate. COLLINS: His political career is just absolutely fascinating and something we've been talking about here, of course, not being elected as either vice president or president.

Do you think that that affected the way that he held office in a way?

HAIG: Well, I think it probably did. You know, after he lost the election I was in NATO and he called me and asked me to come back and just have a chat. And I did. I came back. And he put his arm around me and he said, "Al," he said, "you know, I never wanted this job. And once I realized that I could do it, it was too late."

And I don't question what he meant by being too late. I don't think he thought the pardon was the culprit in the event. Maybe Vietnam had more to do with it than the pardon.

COLLINS: Mr. Secretary, what will you miss most about President Gerald Ford?

HAIG: I remember most of all this thoughtfulness. He knew that loyalty is a two way street. Some presidents I've worked for only wanted to question what did you do for me today, young fellow?

That was not President Ford's way. He always asked how's your family? I question this is a tough job and you're going through a tough period and I'm grateful. That's the kind of person he was. And he never forgot those who worked for him and sacrificed for him.

COLLINS: Al Haig, it is a pleasure talking with you on this day.

We appreciate your insights as we mourn and talk about the loss of former President Gerald R. Ford.

Thank you, again, sir.

And we also want to remind everyone, there is a special edition of "LARRY KING LIVE" coming on tonight on the life and career of Gerald Ford. Ford's chief of staff, Alexander Haig, will be joining Larry. You can see that at 9:00 Eastern only on CNN, your most trusted name in news.

SANCHEZ: We're treating this as a developing story because there are statements that are coming in from leaders and former presidents that we're going to be sharing with you.

In fact, moments ago, we received this one. This is from former President Bill Clinton.

I'll read to you and we'll put up on the screen what the statement is from the former president.

He says: "Gerald Ford brought Americans together during a difficult chapter in our history with strength, integrity and humility. All Americans should be grateful for his life of service. He served our nation well." That, of course, from President Clinton.

We also have another one that came in moments ago, as well. This is from former President Carter, former President Jimmy Carter, who defeated Gerald Ford, as you may recall, in the 1976 election, many saying it was partly because of the pardon that Gerald Ford had, indeed, enacted.

I think we have that one, as well, that we could possibly put up for you. And it reads: "Roslyn and I join the nation in mourning the loss of President Gerald Ford. President Ford is one of the most admirable public servants and human beings I have ever known."

So there you have it, two comments from two former presidents.

"A man of highest integrity. His lifelong dedication to helping others touched the lives of countless people. An outstanding statesman who wisely chose the path of healing during a deeply divisive time in our nation's history. He frequently rose above politics by emphasizing the need for bipartisanship and seeking common ground on issues critical to our nation. I will always cherish the personal friendship that we shared. Roslyn and I extend our heartfelt sympathy to Betty and the entire Ford family during this time of grief."

COLLINS: Denver, get ready. Another blizzard could be on its way. A week after the city got socked by a major snowstorm, forecasters are predicting yet another round of heavy snow in the Rockies. Parts of the region could get up to two feet, in fact.

But as we see, that's just what Denver doesn't need right now. Man, some city streets still a frozen mess. Lots of people shoveling out, as you can hear.

The big chill also making its way across other parts of the U.S. Snow fell in North Carolina mountains overnight. Good news for the region's ski resorts. Warm weather earlier this month really put a damper on business there.

The same story in Vermont. Ski resort operators there now full of holiday cheer as snow finally falls. Parts of Vermont got up to three inches in the last couple of days.

We'll go ahead and bring in Chad Myers now with more on all of this -- man, I'm looking at your map there. It's just a big whitewash, isn't it?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's one moving away over here that brought the snow yesterday, Heidi, and another one that's just coming on shore.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Remembering President Gerald Ford -- an unprecedented rise to power with an eye toward healing America. A look at his time at the White House ahead in THE NEWSROOM. SANCHEZ: His statue toppled with a rope during the fall of Baghdad. Now, Saddam Hussein awaits a similar fate. His date with the gallows could come at any time. We watch for developments from THE NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And heartburn drugs and your health -- there are some new concerns this morning. We'll find out if there's real reason to worry. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORD: There were some tough times, challenging times. But I enjoyed every minute, good or bad. It's a beautiful, beautiful residence and the people there make it so comfortable and if you enjoy the challenges, I don't think you ever really feel lonesome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Words from the 38th president, Gerald R. Ford.

We will have continuing coverage all day long here on CNN of the passing of the 38th president. Also, we want to let you know that if you are interested in a special section put together about President Ford, you can go to cnn.com for that. And, also, "LARRY KING LIVE" will be having a special hour tonight. You will see former secretary of state and the chief of staff for President Ford, Al Haig, on that program, coming your way at 9:00 Eastern tonight.

SANCHEZ: This is another big story that we're going to be following for you throughout the day -- details of a death. The Iraqi government is literally working it out. A day after Saddam Hussein's death sentence was upheld by an appellate court.

CNN's Arwa Damon is following the story and she's joining us now with more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Soon, this will be the fate of Saddam Hussein and two of his co-defendants. This video, recorded and distributed by the Iraqi government, the final moments of 13 men convicted of murder and kidnapping, and sentenced to death by hanging.

Since the Iraqi government reinstated the death penalty in August of 2004, dozens of Iraqi prisoners have been sentenced to death. Now, it's the turn of Iraq's former dictator, whose very image was enough to instill fear. He will now face a fate like many ordinary criminals in Iraq. The decision is final. The trial court sentence upheld by the appellate chamber.

JUDGE AREF SHAHEEN, IRAQI HIGH TRIBUNAL (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): The appeals court has decided to uphold the guilty verdict and sentence against the accused, Saddam Hussein, Barzan Ibrahim al-Hassan and Awad al-Bandar, by hanging them to death for committing crimes against humanity.

DAMON: It was often a chaotic trial. Regular outbursts from the defendants, who even appeared in their pajamas; accusations of government interference.

Human Rights Watch called the trial "fundamentally flawed."

Predictably, Saddam's lawyers said that upholding the sentence was a crazy ruling. But they were in a small minority.

(on camera): As the judge read out the final decision to execute Saddam Hussein, Iraq's former dictator, we saw members of the Iraqi media here giving each other the thumbs up and smiles on nearly everyone's faces, including representatives of the Iraqi government and members of the Iraqi High Tribunal.

(voice-over): And as one government official put it, "It's now game over for Saddam."

MITHAL ALOOSI, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: This is our Iraq today. And as asked the government to close the file as soon as possible. We are not ready to hear anybody saying to us there's still Saddam alive and he will come back.

He will never come back.

DAMON: According to Iraqi law, Saddam's execution will be witnessed by members of the Iraqi judicial system, members of the government and medical experts.

BASSEM RIDHA, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER ADVISER: Finally, we are seeing an end to this and hopefully the executive branch of the government will take command and in charge of this and will deliver the execution verdict just like it's been certified by the appeals chamber.

DAMON: The Iraqi government is discussing the execution details -- who will be invited to witnesses the execution and whether it will be broadcast on television.

The clock for Saddam and two of his co-defendants is ticking. The sentence must be carried out by January 27th.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SANCHEZ: So, I think, as Darwa Damon -- or Arwa Damon joins us now live, the questions that I think are on most people's minds, Arwa, is the following.

How soon will it happen? Is there a handle on that yet? And is there an expectation, especially among the Iraqi people, some of the ones who feel put upon by this man, the Shiites in particular, that this should be a public execution of some form?

DAMON: Well, Rick, in terms of the specific timing, that is now up to the Iraqi government. There are conflicted reports as to when it is going to take place. Really, all that we can say for certain right now is that it will happen some time before January 27th.

The Iraqi government is trying to iron out details like, as you just mentioned, should this be an execution that is going to be broadcast on television?

On one hand, some members within the Iraqi government and some Iraqis themselves definitely feel that it should be broadcast on national television. They want to see for themselves their former leader brought to justice. They also want to verify that, in fact, Saddam Hussein is dead. That is one of the concerns that the Iraqi government has, that the Iraqi people will not believe that Saddam Hussein is actually dead.

On the other hand, there are concerns, though, that if this execution is broadcast, especially if it's broadcast live or if it's taped afterward and the hanging is actually portrayed, that this current Iraqi regime will also be viewed as brutal -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Well, that's an interesting point, because I can't help but wonder, as I listen to you talk, about the Sunnis and what their reaction might be and what it's been so far.

We expect that the Kurds and the Shias are going to have, you know, an antagonistic response to Saddam Hussein all the way through.

But how about the Sunnis? How have they reacted to this death sentence?

DAMON: Well, Rick, as you can expect, most of the people here, most of Iraq's Sunni population do not view this as being a fair trial, obviously do not want to see Saddam Hussein executed.

However, when you do speak to a large number of them, they did feel that if Saddam Hussein was going to be standing trial, then it should have been done in a fair and just manner. They believe that this courtroom was flawed, that Saddam Hussein was not brought to justice in a way that will actually be legitimate.

That being said, of course, the Sunni insurgency here -- we are hearing some reports -- and there are some concerns, that the execution of Saddam Hussein will further inflame the Sunni insurgency, that it might hamper efforts between the United States and negotiations between some of the resistance elements here, some of the former regime elements that the United States and the Iraqi government are trying to fold into the political process.

For example, we saw a letter posted on a Baathist Web site that was signed by the Baath Party in Iraq. We are unable to verify its authenticity, but it is threatening that if Saddam Hussein is executed, that this is a red line that the United States does not want to cross -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Arwa Damon following that story for us from Baghdad.

We thank you -- Heidi, over to you.

COLLINS: A bit of a scare for Tony Blair. Off the runway in Miami.

But the big question -- was the British prime minister flying coach?

Hmmm. We'll talk about that ahead in THE NEWSROOM.

And heartburn drugs and your health -- there are some new concerns this morning. We'll find out if there's real reason to worry. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta up in just a moment in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Across the nation, flags are being lowered to half staff to honor former President Gerald Ford. He died yesterday at his California home at the age of 93. Today, he is praised for the dignity and integrity he brought to the Oval Office after Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace.

In fact, Ford likely sacrificed his own election hopes by pardoning Nixon and declaring: "Out long national nightmare is over."

Ford always maintained he never regretted that decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "LARRY KING LIVE")

FORD: It was a decision where I had to sign my name and I was the sole person that had to make that decision.

But when you look back at the alternatives that I had, it was the right decision and I have...

LARRY KING, HOST: No doubt about that either?

FORD: I have no question that it was the right thing to do then and I'm more certain today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: There you have it, the opening bell just about a minute and 36 seconds ago or so will be an exact. Closed at a record again yesterday, 12,510, so we'll be watching these numbers as we usually do here to see where they go today. Big business headline, new home sales going up a little bit more than expected. We have been talking about that a lot on this show as well, so an interesting factoid that we will look into in our business report.

SANCHEZ: Time to stock up, Denver. Still digging out from the last snow storm, it's bracing --

COLLINS: Look at that guy.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, that would be me, too. Looks like he needs some of those chains that Chad and I were talking about a little while ago that I saw the folks using up in your neck of the woods around Denver. Speaking of Denver, blizzard number two bearing down on the Rockies, up to two feet of snow predicted, could be a deja vu, as Yogi would say, all over again for holiday travelers. Last week, thousands were stuck for two days at Denver's airport, some without being able to get their bags, stuck in some air -- in some parts of the airport, they couldn't find them, possible delays and cancellations. Guess what, expected again this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JOHN HICKENLOOPER, DENVER: Our first priority is going to be make sure this airport is completely safe and we're not going to keep it open longer than is completely safe and we're not going to open it sooner than we feel is completely safe.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Some news just in to us now at CNN, Carol Lin is standing by in the NEWSROOM for an update on the situation in Iraq, about a helicopter, Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. What we know about a two- man helicopter, a U.S. army Kiowa helicopter, this according to the "Associated Press," hit by ground fire, was forced to make an emergency landing near the northern Iraqi city of Samarra. This is what our Baghdad bureau tells me about Samarra. It is a predominantly tribal area, even a hostile area under Saddam Hussein's regime. So this is not an area that is fully controlled by the government. What we do know, according to the "Associated Press," is that this helicopter landed safely at about 1:35 p.m. local time, at a U.S. base, Camp Brassfield Mora, this according to U.S. Air Force Captain Matt Hanson at U.S. Central Command in Doha, Qatar. No one was injured, and, again, that this Kiowa is a scout helicopter, normally with a two-person crew. That crew landing safely, but by all appearances, according to this wire, forced down by ground fire. Heidi we're working the story for you.

COLLINS: And that's exactly the point, Carol, I want to make sure everybody knows the reason why we're bringing this story to them is because of that ground fire. Always interesting to know when they reach the aircrafts overhead. So Carol Lin, appreciate that, we will check back with you as the story develops, thanks.

SANCHEZ: Back on the war in Iraq and the search for some new direction, President Bush meeting with his advisors this morning at his ranch in Texas, they're going to discuss U.S. strategy in Iraq and changes that need to be made, but what changes. A public statement is expected late this morning, Texas time. CNN's White House correspondent Elaine Quijano is in Crawford, she's following the story, she joins us now with the very latest. What's the agenda out there Elaine?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Rick. First of all, the president's meeting set to get under way in about an hour from now. He will be huddling with his top advisers, as you said, to discuss options on changes to his Iraq policy. Now, for several days, top aides have been really trying to down play expectations coming out of this meeting. They have described it as, quote-unquote, non-decisional and they say that it is more part of the ongoing consultations but we know it is, in fact, a high level meeting. Among those top officials, members of the president's national security team, including his new defense secretary, Robert Gates, and you will recall it was just last week that Secretary Gates spent three days in Iraq, he got some input over there from top generals and the Iraqis themselves. And he met with President Bush last weekend at Camp David to discuss what he learned.

Now, also attending today, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, both Gates and Rice, in fact, arrived here in Texas yesterday. Joining them other top officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney and the president's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley. Now after the meeting today, President Bush is expected to make comments to reporters, as you noted. We do know that one of the options that is being considered is the idea of a possible temporary troop surge of perhaps tens of thousands of U.S. forces, particularly to help stabilize Baghdad. We also know there's been a great deal of debate certainly on whether or not that particular option would actually help or hurt the situation there. But as for the president's decision, Rick, aides continue to say that the president does plan to make some sort of announcement on changes to his Iraq policy in the early part of the New Year. Rick?

SANCHEZ: At the beginning of this discussion, it seemed like we were talking about possibly escalating the end of the war, then we start talking about actually escalating it by putting more troops in. Do we have a better sense, a parameter of where we are on this at this point?

QUIJANO: You know, it's very difficult to gauge right now. Aides are not saying a whole lot about where President Bush is in the decision-making process, because as you will recall, several weeks ago his top aides were saying, look, he'll go ahead and make a decision likely by the time Christmas comes. Well, that did not happen. It turned out President Bush, of course, had more questions, there were more issues that basically needed exploring. So, for now, they are being very careful not to say where exactly the process might be. They say no final decisions have been made. And as I noted, they're really trying to downplay what might come out of today's meeting, describing it as more consultations, but they insist that an announcement will come in January. Rick?

SANCHEZ: No specifics. Clear enough. We thank you. Elaine Quijano, following the story out there in Crawford. Heidi?

COLLINS: Count him in. Former Senator John Edwards kicks off his run for the White House, Edwards made the announcement this morning against the backdrop of a home in New Orleans devastated by hurricane Katrina.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm here in New Orleans to -- in the ninth ward of New Orleans to announce that I'm a candidate for the presidency of the United States in the election in 2008. The reason I'm here -- actually the best explanation of the reason I'm announcing here in the ninth ward in New Orleans are these young people who are behind me right here and who worked with me yesterday at this house just over to my right. New Orleans in so many ways shows the two Americas that I have talked about in the past and something that I feel very personally, and it also exemplifies something that I've learned since the last election, which is that it's great to see a problem and to understand it. It's more important to actually take action and do something about it.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich are the two other Democrats who have announced their candidacies.

SANCHEZ: Stark, blunt, plain spoken, Gerald Ford criticizing the Bush team and the Iraq war. Now in 2004, a year after the invasion, the late president gave "Washington Post" journalist Bob Woodward an interview. It was to be published only after Ford's death. Thereby it's happened, Ford sharply critical we now learn of the decision to go to war. He says President Bush and his advisers, quote, made a big mistake with their justification for invasion. Two of those advisers, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, also players in the Ford White House, worked for Ford. The former president told Woodward he understood the administration wanting to spread democracy but he said there are limits.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GERALD FORD: Well, I can understand the theory of wanting to free people. Whether you can detach that from the obligation number one, of what's in our national interests, there comes a point where they conflict. And I just don't think we should go hellfire damnation around the globe freeing people, unless it is directly related to our own national security."

(END OF AUDIO CLIP) SANCHEZ: Remembering former President Gerald Ford, a tribute that will span coast to coast over the next six days. Funeral events start tomorrow with a prayer service at the church that the Fords attended in Palm Desert, California. Saturday, President Ford's body is going to be flown to Washington for a state funeral in the Capitol rotunda. And he will then lie in state and the public will get to pay its respects through Monday. A funeral service is going to be held at the National Cathedral on Tuesday morning. The family will then accompany Ford's casket back to his home state of Michigan. Then, Wednesday the former president is going to be laid to rest on a hillside plot near his presidential museum in Grand Rapid, Michigan.

COLLINS: And we want to take you to these pictures now, live pictures coming out of Harlem and a farewell for the Godfather of Soul. Once again, live pictures, the body of James Brown being driven by that horse-drawn carriage through the streets of Harlem. This is a procession that will last probably about an hour or so. If you know the area, it's West 145th street on Lenox Avenue or the House of Justice. It will end at the Apollo Theater, so we will be watching this and dip into it as it goes. But I'm sure you know by now, James Brown passed away at the age of 73. This was early yesterday and we will have continuing coverage here on CNN as the procession continues.

SANCHEZ: And something we continue to do as well is "Mind your Business" and for that we head over to our friend Ali Velshi. He's got a preview for us, Ali what do you have?

ALI VELSHI: Rick, good to see you. Markets have been open about 15 minutes and right now the most heavily traded stock in America, Apple Computer, it's down more than a buck on rumors that there has been deceit at the highest levels of that company. Stay with us, we'll have more for you on that story in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Well, Apple under scrutiny for its stock options. Ali Velshi is here, he's "Minding your Business." Can you explain to us what's going on with this one?

VELSHI: In one way, I'm glad it's Apple because I haven't been able to get any traction on this story all year. The stock options back dating issue has sort of engulfed almost 200 companies that are under investigation either by the SEC, the Department of Justice, state's attorney general or companies themselves. Now, this has been going on all year. Back in September or October, Apple said it had of its own accord decided to examine its own stock options granting practices and it found some problems. Now, to put this in simple terms, backdating of stock options is kind of like betting on a horse after you know who won the race. You get to set the price at which your options are granted and you often set them at a very low price so that the stock is higher, and you make the difference. It's found this was happening a lot in years gone by. All of a sudden, a report surfaces in "The Financial Times" that apple granted -- the board granted Steve Jobs, the CEO, 7-1/2 million stock options at a board meeting in 2001.

Now, this we have confirmed in SEC reports, that's what the SEC believes to have taken place. That's not the problem, the problem is according to "The Financial Times" is that that board meeting never happened and that the records of it were falsified. Now, it's unclear -- "The F.T." is citing sources close to the matter. It's unclear who, if anybody, falsified these records and we can't get confirmation from the SEC about this, but the bottom line is this stock is off $1.50 right now. As I see it, about 7 million shares trading hands, it's not even been 20 minutes on the market. People are starting to get worried, Rick, because people like Apple. They have liked Apple for a long time. Investors, Wall Street, I think people were sort of hoping when we first heard about this in September, October, this problem would just go away. Right now it's not going away, it's not a good way to end the year for Apple.

SANCHEZ: I'm curious, wouldn't that be a public document? If you had a meeting and people signed off on that meeting, wouldn't there be something that proves either yes, there was a meeting or no, there wasn't a meeting, right?

VELSHI: Therein lies the rub. There have been a lot of these instances that are being investigated where it's not clear, there's no paper trail. It might have been a wink and a nod in terms of the back dating of options. But in this case, according to "The Financial Times", we're having difficulty tracing this, we can't find these falsified documents. But the fact is that according to "The Financial Times" there were minutes, there was a record kept of this meeting in which the board of directors of the compensation committee agreed to grant Steve Jobs 7-1/2 million in options. And someone is saying that meeting never happened and that didn't happen. So, the implication, the allegation here is that someone falsified that document, forged the document for the public record. That's a big problem. That's possibly a much bigger problem than the actual backdating of the options.

SANCHEZ: Trouble with a capital "T" as they say.

VELSHI: Yeah.

SANCHEZ: Also trouble with iTunes, maybe not capital or not, but what is it?

VELSHI: Well, if you're trying to get iTunes, if you were trying to get them over the Christmas holidays it might be a problem. Apparently, we're still trying to figure out why this happened, because this doesn't happen with Apple a lot. Apparently people trying to access iTunes over the holidays to buy songs had trouble. It was slow because too many people were on it. Haven't quite figured this out yet because I have never been able to give anybody a gift off of iTunes, I haven't figured it out. But apparently, too many people were on it. These must be people who were getting their Apples for Christmas, getting their iPods for Christmas, opening them up, you know, between Christmas and Hanukah being so close to each other, everybody was trying to figure it out and slowed the system down.

SANCHEZ: That's why my 16-year-old son was storming around the house the other day frustrated.

VELSHI: If you're Apple, the iTunes problem is a way bigger problem to have right now than the other problem.

SANCHEZ: I guess so. Thank you, Ali. We appreciate it.

VELSHI: Good to see you.

SANCHEZ: Heidi, to you.

COLLINS: Somalia under the gun, government soldiers move against Islamist fighters, emergency in Mogadishu in the NEWSROOM.

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COLLINS: This hour, chaos in the capital of Somalia. Government troops move into Mogadishu while Islamist fighters head out the back door. Live now to CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Good morning to you Barbara, what's this all about?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, the U.S. is actually watching this war in Africa very closely for a number of reasons. What appears to have happened today is that Somali government troops backed by Ethiopian troops, indeed, have moved into the capital of Mogadishu or just to the outskirts of the capital, according to the latest video coming out of that country. Now, Ethiopia had made its move against the Somali Islamic militia some days ago, by all accounts that militia now moving out of Mogadishu and Somali government troops moving in at the behest of the Ethiopians. This has been something that the U.S. has been privately backing because the Islamic militia, which now appears to be on the run, is said to be backed by al Qaeda and is said to have been a backer of the al Qaeda movement, so that's something the U.S. has been very concerned about and has been supporting the Ethiopians in that effort. But, of course, the question now is what will be the status of Mogadishu and Somalia, will simply more violence break out in that troubled country, will some of the clan militiamen come back into power, will civil war really continue to plague this country? Of course, Heidi, one of the reasons the U.S. is watching this so closely is there are 1800 U.S. troops nearby in the African nation of Jibuti. They are in the horn of Africa, mainly doing humanitarian relief work. Great concern that this war is going to spark a new refugee crisis in Africa. Heidi?

COLLINS: Talk about that for a moment if you would Barbara. You mentioned the long term issues or plan, what it could mean for Ethiopia's apparent success now against Somalia's Islamic militia.

STARR: Well, at the moment, the U.S. wants to see Ethiopia be successful because, specifically, the U.S. wants that Islamic militia out of Somalia, out of power in Somalia. The belief is that the militia shelters members of al Qaeda, specifically members of al Qaeda that were responsible for the 1998 attacks against U.S. embassies in east Africa and other al Qaeda attacks. So, the U.S. goal in the horn of Africa here in this region is to make sure it does not become a safe haven for al Qaeda. They believe the Islamic militia that's been in control of much of Somalia until this week was sheltering al Qaeda. But here's the real question on the table, Heidi, now this transitional government, the troops loyal to that transitional government appear to be in charge in Somalia this week. Will they be strong enough to take power, take charge and really get that militia out of there?

COLLINS: All right. We'll be watching it and I know you will, too. Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Did they act alone or did Oklahoma City bombers Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols have help in planning their attack? What a new report has to say about this. It's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Live pictures now from Harlem, a farewell for the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. We'll have continuing coverage of this processional ahead in the NEWSROOM.

SANCHEZ: Also, a love story spanning more than half a century, it's the story of Gerald Ford and Betty Ford, inseparable is the word chosen at times. It's coming your way as well in the NEWSROOM.

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