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Petraeus Confirmation Hearings; Securing Baghdad; Bush to Deliver State Of The Union Tonight

Aired January 23, 2007 - 10:00   ET

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

LT. GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, U.S. ARMY: Actions critical to what must be a broad, comprehensive, multi-faceted approach to the challenges in Iraq.
Many of the e-mails I've received in recent weeks have had as their subject line, "congratulations, I think." I understand the message they are conveying. I know how heavy a rucksack I will have to shoulder in Iraq if confirmed. I am willing to take on the position for which I have been nominated because I believe in serving one's nation when asked, because I regard it as a distinct honor to be able to soldier again with those who are part of the brotherhood of the closed fight and because I feel an obligation to help the Shabala (ph) Iraqi, the people of Iraq, the vast majority of whom have the same desires of people the world over, security for themselves and their loved ones, satisfaction of their basic needs and an opportunity to better their lot in life.

In closing, the situation in Iraq is dire. The stakes are high. There are no easy choices. The way ahead will be very hard. Progress will require determination and difficult U.S. and Iraqi actions, especially the latter, as ultimately the outcome will be determined by the Iraqis.

But hard is not hopeless. And if confirmed, I pledge to do my utmost to lead our wonderful men and women in uniform and those of our coalition partners in Iraq as we endeavor to help the Iraqis make the most of the opportunity our soldier, sailors, airmen and Marines have given to them.

Thank you very much.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, once again, everyone. Welcome back to the NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

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

We have been watching the Senate confirm hearings of General David Petraeus. He is going to be confirmed, we believe.

HARRIS: Sure.

COLLINS: At least that's what all the reports are saying. Today he'll (ph) also be earning his fourth star as general there, leader of the multi-national forces. Let me go ahead and get straight over to the Pentagon and CNN's Barbara Starr. As we see Carl Levin, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, speaking and doing some questioning now.

And, Barbara, tell me what you heard there. It seems very interesting to me, when we talk so much about this comprehensive approach and what exactly the plan is for General Petraeus.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, what I'm hearing from this hearing so far is one of tone. General Petraeus, very sober in his assessment of Iraq. This will be his third tour of duty in the war zone. And this is a man who knows exactly what he's walking into.

He was making it very clear to the senators, there are huge challenges ahead. And one of the things he talked about is the need to coordinate with the Iraqi security forces. Have a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, U.S. ARMY: Together with Iraqi forces, a persistent presence in these neighborhoods will be essential. Different approaches will be required in different locations. Whatever the approach, though, the objective will be to achieve sufficient security to provide the space and time for the Iraqi government to come to grips with the tough decisions its members must make to enable Iraq to move forward. In short, it is not just that there will be additional forces in Baghdad. It is what they will do and how they will do it that is important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So what General Petraeus is signaling right off the top here is, number one, Iraqi government, they have to stand up and take charge of security. And that for U.S. forces, it will not be business as usual. General Petraeus saying that he wants to get U.S. forces out of their big bases, out of those areas, and into the cities, living in the neighborhoods that they may be fighting in and that they may be trying to protect.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Interesting as well, as you were reporting earlier this morning, Barbara, about his testimony yesterday, that he provided in writing, about many mistakes that were made in Iraq. He talks mostly, I believe, about not enough troops and disbanding the Iraqi army as two of those mistakes.

STARR: Well, he does talk about that. And he made a reference to that again, already, within the first minutes of his testimony this morning. He talked about how the security situation, in his words, had deteriorated significantly in the last year. Basically since the February 2006 bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra.

That was a turning point downwards for the U.S. military in Iraq. The sectarian violence that emerged after that, he's making it very clear he believes that is something that the U.S. didn't have a handle on and did not respond to fast enough. And that's why, he say, in the subsequent following year, the security situation has deteriorated so badly and that is going to clearly be his major challenge.

COLLINS: I wonder, Barbara, as we both sit here and watch the senators look at General Petraeus as he's speaking, I'm not sure about you, but I'm noticing sort of this look of just hope. That they're putting hope forth to him. And he mentioned that as well, saying this will be a very difficult task. No easy road. That the situation is dire, stakes are high, but it is not hopeless. Do you see that, too?

STARR: Well, you know, again, it comes back to a question of undercurrent of tone that we're beginning to see here with the highest levels of the U.S. military. Maybe just two months ago, three months ago, all of the talk was about the success. Now, you see a very sober assessment. I can't say that I've talked to any general in weeks now who's been very, for lack of a better word, cheerful about the outlook in Iraq. All of them are taking a very sober approach, realizing that this is not the way they thought this war was going to turn out.

COLLINS: Certainly. All right. CNN's Barbara Starr live from the Pentagon.

Barbara, thank you for that.

I want to remind everybody of two things as well. We'll be speaking a little bit later with one of our CNN military analysts, former General David Grange. He's going to give us some more insight on some of the tactics that are being discussed with this new plan.

And also want to remind you, if you would like to see more of the Senate Armed Services hearings, you can go directly to CNN Pipeline for that.

HARRIS: Across Iraq, more violence and more American deaths. The Pentagon reports three more U.S. troops have died in combat, one south of Baghdad, one north of the Iraqi capital and the other in Anbar province. In Baghdad, more violence. At least three deaths reported in the latest bombings.

Also deadly attacks in northern Iraq. Five Iraqi police officers reported killed in fighting in Mosul. Amid the carnage, hope but uncertainty over the new security plan for the Iraqi capital. CNN's Michael Holmes is in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The new security plan is the talk of the town. That plan to clear, hold and rebuild. The theory is U.S. and Iraqi troops will clear problem areas and so-called joint security stations will be set up. U.S. soldiers, alongside Iraqi troops and police, a unified chain of command working together inside neighborhoods and not leaving.

And, as yet, undefined rebuilding program for those areas would then begin. In all, Baghdad will fall into nine security zones. Each commander and Iraqi reporting to the prime minister. Some suburbs will be walled off, one way in and out. Even parts of Baghdad's perimeter could be protected by huge earthen burms. As the operations continue, Iraqis would take control of security, Americans playing purely support roles. It's all going to take a lot of boots on the ground -- 22,000 extra troops promised by President Bush, thousands more promised by the Iraqi government. The joint security stations, one being set up here, are the key, not least because of widespread allegations that Iraqi security forces are infiltrated by sectarian militia.

BAYAN JABR SOLAGH, IRAQI FINANCE MINISTER, (through translator): Based on my experience in the interior ministry, if this force is made up, for instance, exclusively of the police, then x segment of the population may be worried. And if it was exclusively made up of the army, then a y sect may has fears. And if it's only made up of the Americans, there are fears. But if there is real presence by all these three forces, then one will watch over the other. This sends a comforting message to citizens.

HOLMES: Many questions remain. Chief among them, will the Iraqi government interfere to help its supporters, as its done before. U.S. officials say interference will not be tolerated.

ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: The military commanders will have freedom of action and ability to do what's need without political interference or micro management.

HOLMES: What will the insurgent response be to this plan? That's a tricky question. Some believe the concentration of especially U.S. forces in suburbs will provide an irresistible target for insurgents.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And Michael Holmes joins us now from Baghdad.

Michael, great to see you.

We heard General Petraeus just a couple of minutes ago ask for time, saying that it will take time to move the troops into place. Let's see if we can narrow this down just a bit. How soon will the new command structure be in place with U.S. troops in support of Iraqi commanders?

HOLMES: Well, it's starting already, Tony. Very slowly, of course. I was with a unit the other day that was actually literally handing over control of a JSS area, a joint security center area in the middle of a problematic town here in Baghdad. And the 82nd Airborne already starting to take over. There are other JSS's, joint security station, in places like Fallujah, in Gazalia (ph), here in Baghdad, which are almost up and running. But it's going to take several weeks before all those troops are actually in place and certainly making a difference.

Tony.

HARRIS: And, Michael, those joint security stations that you mentioned, those are the actual stations that will be set up in various neighborhoods?

HOLMES: Yes, that's right. That's the whole idea. And General Petraeus, by the way, is a real student of this. He's a very intellectual guy. He has studied these things before, these joint security stations, how they worked in other conflicts. And, yes, they're going to be right in the center of these cities. They're going to be little mini-base, if you like, with all elements of the security forces, the Iraqis included, involved and, in fact, in the lead.

Now as I said in that piece there, the worry is that they're going to be targets. Other people say, well, a lot of insurgents may go to ground and not confront security forces, bide their time. One Iraqi told us, Arabs are very patient people. They'll wait 10 years, if they have to, for the Americans to go. And, of course, neither the U.S. nor Iraqi governments have that kind of time, Tony.

HARRIS: Yes, that's for sure. Michael Holmes for us in Baghdad.

Michael, thank you.

COLLINS: The confirmation hearing for General Petraeus comes at a crucial time in the war. You're looking at some live questions there now of some questioning going on in that process. There is strong opposition to President Bush's plan to send more Americans into Baghdad. Petraeus reportedly would require troops to live in the Baghdad neighborhoods they patrol, as we just heard Tony and Michael speaking about.

Want to get more on that and many other things as well. CNN military analyst Brigadier General David Grange joining us now to talk about some of these challenges.

General, thanks for being with us.

Do you agree that there is an assessment, anyway, that going into battle in Baghdad will mean success in the beginning, but then later, as the insurgents get more familiar with the tactics of both the U.S. forces and the Iraqi forces, they will make it more difficult and become more violent later?

GEN. DAVID GRANGE, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I agree, but it doesn't mean that this won't be successful. Already what you have happening in Baghdad is, you have al Qaeda elements, part of that insurgency, already leaving Baghdad to live for another day, taking up residents in other areas in Iraq. With reference to militia, you have some of the hard core militia leaders in Zadar (ph) already on the run.

The reason you have the 82nd Airborne, that brigade, already moving in before all this stuff on Capitol Hill gets sorted out, is because the enemy is already reacted to what we're talking about in this country with the new strategy and they're reacting to it and that's why the American G.I.s must do the same. The enemy will lay low to fight later in Baghdad. But with persistence and control of the areas, there's a chance for this to work. COLLINS: We've been talking this morning a little bit about the exact plan for the forces to live in nine different sectors of Baghdad. What is the reaction going to be from the insurgents to that?

GRANGE: Well, there will be some attacks. I mean, they're going to go after American forces. That's true. But Americans are also going to be going after the adversaries.

What this does, however, it gives time for the Iraqi army units, and some police, to gain confidence in these areas that they are an effective fighting force, to give them time to try to gain some loyalty to the central Iraqi government. And also it fills a void so people begin to trust the American forces, the Iraqi government forces. That they are the ones that now, today, provide security for the people and for them to on go with their way of life. And so that's critical to success of this plan.

COLLINS: I want to ask you a kind of a weird question. I've been looking some things up about General Petraeus. And I wonder, you as a retired general, how important is charisma in a job like this? And I ask because I remember when he led the 101st into Baghdad almost four years ago now, it seemed like he was sort of looked upon, at least by some things I read, as the mayor of Mosul and the sort of governor of these surrounding provinces. He needs to be able to relate not only to his troops but to the Iraqi people as well.

GRANGE: That's a great point. Charisma is an important asset for any commander because there's so much psychological impact from either myths or perceptions, or whatever, how someone operates and carries one's self. Not only to the American G.I.'s that report to the commanding general in this case, but also to the Iraqi people. Who is this guy? What will he do for us? And also the enemy. Having a change of guard from one general to another, regardless of their personalities, always causes the enemy to wonder, what will this new commander do, the new man on the scene do, to solve this situation? So, psychologically, it gives us quite an advantage.

COLLINS: Yes. And we have also read that he is supposed to be a much more active leader than we saw in General Casey. How important is that for U.S. troops? To be out there walking amongst them.

GRANGE: Oh, to be active.

COLLINS: Yes.

GRANGE: Yes, well, walking your talk is very important. But just to go back to General Casey a minute. Keep in mind, conditions have changed as well.

COLLINS: Sure.

GRANGE: I think there was some severe, political restraints placed on General Casey and his staff until just recently on what the Iraqi government would allow American G.I.s to do. So part of it's not only the personalities of these generals, but what they're allowed to do with the political leadership, both American and Iraqi, to perform their mission.

COLLINS: General Petraeus the man for the job?

GRANGE: Absolutely.

COLLINS: All right. We appreciate your time here. Retired Brigadier General David Grange.

Thank you, General.

GRANGE: My pleasure.

HARRIS: President Bush, he will stand atop Capitol Hill tonight, but he is deep in the valley in the latest polls. A closer look at this numbers in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: The power of words. Can President Bush sell his vision to a skeptical Congress? We'll talk to a former presidential speech writer about that challenge coming up.

HARRIS: Clashes and chaos in the streets. A plan for a peaceful protest takes a violent turn. The pictures, the details in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: A diver attacked by a shark off Australia, heading for the belly of the beast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy, he was very lucky. Extremely lucky to survive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: A close brush with death has everyone talking. We'll tell you why in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And get back to you (ph) with Capitol Hill right now. We'll show you the pictures live. Lieutenant General David Petraeus taking questions from a skeptical Senate Armed Services Committee this morning. It is the confirmation hearing for General Petraeus, the president's choice to lead the multi-national forces in Iraq, replacing General George Casey. Just a few moments ago in his opening statement you heard General Petraeus saying, no one can predict what a failed state in Iraq would mean for Iraqis in that region. But the task will be clear cut though difficult. Questioning now from Senator John McCain. We will continue to follow the hearing and bring you snippets of it throughout the morning here in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: The State of the Union, a snapshot of the political divide. For the first time, President Bush will wade into a Democratic controlled Congress to deliver his State of the Union speech. Tonight's address will reflect hi lack of support on The Hill and in the polls. CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano begins our coverage with that this hour.

What do we expect to hear from the president tonight? We've been talking for a while, Elaine, it's going be about 50 minutes or so.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And, you know, amid bipartisan skepticism on the president's Iraq policy, the president, tonight, is going to try to reach out to Democrats, particularly on domestic issues. Now aides say this will not be a laundry list of initiatives. That the address will be more somatic, focusing on issues like immigration, education, energy and health care. But doubts, of course, about the president's Iraq policy, as we are hearing, continue to swirl, coming not just from Democrats, but from Republicans as well. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, the president's chief spokesman defended the new Iraq plan saying, additional U.S. troops are necessary to bolster Iraqi forces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't think anybody at this point thinks that the Iraqis right now have the capability all by themselves. On the other hand, we're spending a lot of time developing that capability, on-the-job training, for Iraqi forces so they are able and so our troops, when they return home, not only can get the appreciation for a job well done, but we will have sent a message to terrorist that they can't succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now the president's aides say a significant portion of his address tonight will, in fact, be devoted to Iraq. Aides also say, as you noted, that the speech is running about 45 to 50 minutes long, which actually is a little bit longer than we had anticipated. That puts it right on par, Heidi, with what we saw last year.

Now what advisors say is that there is a lot of ground to cover, both on the international and the domestic fronts. And, by the way, on the domestic agenda, we expect to see President Bush starting tomorrow traveling across the country to promote his domestic initiatives.

Heidi.

COLLINS: And speaking of some of those domestic initiatives, what are we expected to hear about energy tonight in particular?

QUIJANO: Right. You know, the White House certainly has been trying to get out ahead of the address and promote some of these domestic initiatives. Yesterday, a real focus on health care, and over the weekend even as well. Today, the White House talking about basically the energy policy that the president is going to lay out.

Actually, two Republicans with very close ties to the White House telling CNN that on energy, the president will unveil a so called 20/10 plan. Now that refers to a decrease of gas usage by 20 percent over the next 10 years. And he's going to continue, as we've heard him do many times before, continue to push for alternative and renewable energy sources.

He's also, Heidi, going to tie in the issue to national security, saying that as Americans decrease their gas consumption, that that, in fact, means that they can increase the amount of energy of petroleum heading into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. That, of course, only tapped when there are crisis.

But again, Heidi, what we are hearing, what we continue to here from the White House, that the president is going to put forth some bold proposal, some bold initiatives. The details just coming out now about the energy portion of his address.

Heidi.

COLLINS: The segue. Remember the segue? Elaine Quijano coming to us from outside the White House this morning.

Elaine, thank you.

HARRIS: President Bush facing an unfriendly majority on Capitol Hill and a public that is showing its anger as well. Here's a sampling from the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll. More than half of those polled, 55 percent, say the Bush presidency has been a failure and nearly two-third of American oppose President Bush's plan to send more U.S. troops to Iraq, 35 percent support it.

COLLINS: CNN is the place to watch the State of the Union Address. Primetime coverage begins tonight at 7:00 Eastern. You can watch a special two hour edition of "The Situation Room." Then, President Bush's address live on CNN, followed by the Democratic response. Then, 10:30 Eastern, Anderson Cooper has reaction from around the world, followed by a special midnight edition of "Larry King Live." The best political team on television has you covered.

The power of words. Can President Bush sell his vision to a skeptical Congress? We'll talk with a former presidential speech writer about the challenge coming up.

HARRIS: Santa Ana winds, steep terrain. An uphill battle to be sure against this southern California wildfire. An update in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's check out the big board. The New York Stock Exchange, oh, an hour into the trading day. The Dow up 10, which is a nice reversal from yesterday when the Dow closed at about 88 points down for the day. We will continue to watch the numbers and the business headlines throughout the morning here in the NEWSROOM.

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins and Tony Harris.

COLLINS: A Senate confirmation hearing underway right now for General David Petraeus. He is President Bush's choice to command U.S. forces in Iraq. You see Senator Ted Kennedy questioning General Petraeus at this very moment. Want to go ahead and let you listen in to some sound from the general's opening comments regarding specifically the fact that the deployment of the U.S. troops and Iraqi troops will begin by going into nine different sectors across the city of Baghdad. That has raised some concern, especially because they will be establishing themselves in not forward operating bases, but instead inside those particular posts all across the city. Let's listen to how that will work, according to the general.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, U.S. ARMY: Together, with Iraqi forces, a persistent presence in these neighborhoods will be essential. Different approaches will be required in different locations. Whatever the approach, though, the objective will be to achieve sufficient security to provide the space and time for the Iraqi government to come to grips with the tough decisions its members must make to enable Iraq to move forward. In short, it is not just that there will be additional forces in Baghdad, it is what they will do and how they will do it that is important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: And also a reminder, if you would like to see more of these Senate confirmation hearings, they are going on live right now and you can tune into CNN Pipeline if you'd like to watch.

HARRIS: The State of the Union tonight and a new challenge for President Bush. Congress now controlled by Democrats. Criticism even from members of his own party. The issue, Iraq. The influential former Senate Armed Services chairman joining two other Republicans and the Democrat, introducing a non-binding resolution. It says it's wrong to send more troops to Iraq, it's one of several measures the Senate could take up this week. On the House side, Republican leaders oppose the details planned for overseeing the progress of the war, indicating the president's supporters want to see results from a deployment.

T "State of the Union" speech now, the ultimate bully pulpit for a president pushing his agenda. Each word can carry awesome weight and few know better the art of weaving, together than our next guest Dan McGroarty, served as the senior speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush. He now works in the private sector, Dan great to see you as always.

DAN MCGROARTY, FMR. SR. DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE WRITERS: Tony thanks, happy to be on.

HARRIS: Dan, I read your op-ed in this morning's "Investors Business Daily." Is it fair to say you don't think this audience for tonight's speech will rival the audience for the super bowl in a couple weeks?

MCGROARTY: I think that's a pretty safe bet Tony, I think we'll watch these numbers decline as they have done over time. It's the diehards who will watch tonight, I know we'll be watching. HARRIS: Well what is the basis problem with "state of the union" addresses and maybe then we can sort of dove tail into what is specifically the problem with the "state of the union" address in the seventh year?

MCGROARTY: Well the basic problem, these speeches tend to be a laundry list, kind of a parade of paragraphs, one after the other. The basic problem from a speech point of view is to turn some threat, some common theme through a speech that has to be about domestic policy, foreign policy, sometimes in times of war, that's the challenge, as a rule for states of the union. In the seventh year "states of the union", my argument is that this is the inherent low point, even worse than an eighth year "state of the union" where the president has a kind of valedictory glow to what he's going to be saying. So this is the toughest of the tough when it comes to getting the message across.

HARRIS: So where do you go for inspiration as a speechwriter for that inspiration. And I think one of the points you make is that a lot of times these are cobbled together. You hear things that you have heard before?

MCGROARTY: That's my argument, its deja vu all over again. If you think you've heard it before tonight, you probably have. I've done a little looking back. We've only had two other presidents in the last -- since 1960 give seventh year states of the union, Ronald Reagan and President Clinton. So it's a rare opportunity that we have tonight. And by the way, both those speeches came not only in the seventh year but Reagan's right after Iran contra and President Clinton's, right after the articles of impeachment over the Lewinsky affair. So it's not an auspicious omen tonight. There isn't a lot new that you introduce, you're pretty well-known as a political persona when it comes to these speeches, so it's very much at issue of recycling the best of your material.

HARRIS: And yet, Dan, Press Secretary Tony Snow says the president is going to be bold tonight. Listen to what he had to say yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is going to offer some bold proposals that Congress could in fact enact, and in the process make itself look good and more importantly, do the people's business. So, George W. Bush as a president is not somebody who is going to cease to be bold because right now people are concerned about the progress of the war.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Dan, is there a chance that this president, given all of his difficulties right now, might take the governor off and we might see some boldness tonight?

MCGROARTY: Absolutely. I agree with Tony, the other Tony as well, my old friend, on this score. One of the things that happens in these kind of speeches in the seventh year state of the union is, there isn't any -- there are no restrictions governing the president. The president my old friend on this score. One of the things that happens in the "state of the union", there are no restrictions governing the president. President Bush's ratings have dropped so low, that in some respects he may as well go with something big. I'm wondering whether he won't have something dramatic on climate change or global warming, which would be atypical we think but really just be an opportunity for the president to set the agenda for the next occupant of the office.

HARRIS: How many writers will work on this speech, do you think?

MCGROARYT: Well you know this White House runs a little differently than others. This White House tends to use a team approach to speeches and in some respect for this "state of the union". I've talked to some of my friends and they've reassembled parts of their old team, they have three key writers for tonight, John McConnell who's been there for the entire administration. Matthew Scully who as there for things like the September 11th speech, the congressional speech on September 20, 2001, has come back to help with this. And Mark Teason, who would be the new person on this team this time around who has come over from Secretary Rumsfeld's office, so it's helpful to have somebody who's been writing on national security and defense policy come over. So it's a team approach tonight, very accomplished team, so they will be buttoned-down, they're ready to go, this is not going to be a last minute exercise.

HARRIS: They know the president's voice, don't they?

MCGROARTY: They do know the president's voice. I was asked this and I was thinking about it. The president at this point in his tenure, will have given about 2500 prepared speeches. The three people I've mentioned with the exception of Teason who's relatively new, probably have written 5, 600, 700 speeches for President George W. Bush, this is no mystery in terms of what he likes and the way he likes to express it.

HARRIS: Dan McGroarty, great to see you again, thanks for your time.

MCGROARTY: Thanks Tony, appreciate it.

COLLINS: CNN is the place to watch the state of the union address, prime time coverage begins tonight at 7:00 eastern. Watch our two-hour edition of "SITUATION ROOM". Then President Bush's address live on CNN followed by the Democratic response. At 10:30 eastern Anderson Cooper has reaction from around the world, followed by a special midnight edition of "LARRY KING LIVE." The best political team on television has you covered.

HARRIS: Clashes and chaos in the streets, as plan for a peaceful protest take a violent turn. Details in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Flying to the Caribbean, take your passport or your vacation could have a very unhappy ending. New rules ahead in the NEWSROOM. HARRIS: A diver attacked by a shark off Australia, heading for the belly of the beast!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy, he was very lucky, extremely lucky to survive.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: A close brush with death has everyone talking. In the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Now, to a developing story out of the West Bank, Palestinian security forces say a French diplomat and two bodyguards have been kidnapped from a hotel in Nablus. The source says members of the (INAUDIBLE) martyr brigade apparently mistook the three for undercover Israeli soldiers. They are expected to be released soon.

HARRIS: A new development out of the Middle East, Israel's justice ministry is reporting President (INAUDIBLE) will be indicted on rape charges. The stunning move comes at the recommendation of Israel's attorney general, President (INAUDIBLE), a ceremonial head of state has denied the charge and they stem from complaints made by four women who worked for him. (INAUDIBLE) says he's the victim of a political conspiracy.

COLLINS: Thousands of anti-government protesters poured into the streets of Lebanon today. It was billed as a peaceful general strike but it quickly deteriorated. Cars and tires were set on fire and blocked several roads. Government supporters clashed with the opposition. Dozens of people are reported wounded and business ground to a halt. This is the worst violence since the group, Hezbollah began its campaign to topple Lebanon's U.S. backed prime minister. It comes two days before a donor conference in Paris aimed at raising money to rebuild Lebanon after last summer's war between Hezbollah and Israel.

HARRIS: Firefighters taking on hot spots in Thousand Oaks, California, that's where a brush fire briefly threatened a handful homes. It is now about 15 percent contained. The fire has burned some 30 acres since it started yesterday. The winds calmed down a bit overnight and that certainly helped.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: And the nominees are -- the race for Hollywood gold is set. We'll tell you who's in running. Ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: A California sea lion finds a perfect spot to chill out. A dairy farm?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It had to come at least three-quarters of a mile. It's kind of amazing how it would find its way in here with the cows.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Just hanging out, chilling, playing a little bit. Didn't want to leave. The wanderer, in the NEWSROOM.

SUSAN LISOVICZ: Susan Lisovicz of the New York Stock Exchange. We're going to wander, too. Watching oil prices on the rise, but so is interest in a new source of energy, deep inside the earth. A lot of details when the NEWSROOM continues. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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COLLINS: Oil comes from deep drilling, but a fresh government report suggests we look even further underground to solve our energy woes. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with details on this. Good morning to you Susan.

LISOVICZ: Good morning Heidi. Hot rock. We're not talking about music. The report commissioned by the energy department says tapping heats that's locked miles below the surface of the earth, could unleash a significant energy source and it could be found affordably. The study says it would cost less than $1 billion spread out over 15 years to set up the technology. Here's how it works, holes would be drilled into granite that are two to three miles deep. That granite is insulated at a temperature of about 400 degrees. Water would be pumped down into the reservoir where it would absorb heat from the rock, then the water flows back up to the surface of the power plant. It's here that the water gives up its heat, generating steam and electricity. Now it sounds and it looks kind of complicated. There are already dozens of power plants, not only here, around the world that do this on a small scale. The problem is that they're restricted to just a few areas. Heidi?

COLLINS: Susan Lisovicz with the geology. I love it! What is the potential of this source? Is it pretty good? I mean you think, if it's good, that they would allow more of this type of process to go on.

LISOVICZ: Heidi, there is so much interest in new forms of energy, this is actually developed 30 years ago with the last energy crisis. Now, with this renewed interest, experts say tapping granite for energy could result in 100 billion watts by 2050, it's about 20 percent of the country's current generating capacity, its spread equal to all the nuclear power that it is presently generated. This could be important obviously energy demand is expected to grow. The current supply system threatened because many plants that generate nuclear and coal fired energy will soon be retired. The study claims geo thermal energy provides a robust and long lasting option. More of that to come undoubtedly and Wall Street, well, robust, long lasting? Naw. We are seeing a recovery from the big sell-off we saw yesterday. Helping the blue chips, solid earnings from United Technologies, its shares right now are up nearly 3 percent. The company makes everything from elevators to aircraft engines. It reported a jump in quarterly profits, beating estimates. UTX benefited from strength in aerospace and commercial construction market. Right now, the Dow is up with the help of UTX, up 17 points, the NASDAQ up three. The S&P up one. We have a rally going on in Wall Street. We'll take it, that's the latest from Wall Street. Heidi and Tony, back to you.

COLLINS: All right, we're going to talk to hooties and the gap, coming up next hour. Right?

LISOVICZ: You got it, absolutely. That's easier than geothermal.

COLLINS: Yes, but I love the diagram. You did an excellent job.

LISOVICZ: I will quiz you later.

HARRIS: You know the buzz you're hearing? Can you hear me now? It is the Hollywood publicity machine running full-speed ahead.

COLLINS: That's right, the Oscar nominations announced earlier this morning, and as usual, a few surprises.

HARRIS: The movie musical, "Dreamgirls" grabbed the most nominations, we saw this coming, with eight, but it was overlooked in the best picture category, ah?

COLLINS: The movies that were nominated for best picture, "Babel," "The Departed," "Letters from Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine" and "The Queen." The Oscars will be handed out on February 25th. So you have time to go see them all.

HARRIS: That's it.

COLLINS: And that's the key, isn't it.

HARRIS: That's why we care.

COLLINS: In the American heartland, driving the war on terror to a whole different level.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's great. I mean really, I think it's fantastic. We shouldn't be supporting terrorists in any way.

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COLLINS: In the NEWSROOM, a Nebraska gas station takes aim at countries accused of supporting terrorists.

HARRIS: A California sea lion finds the perfect spot to take a load off, chill out. A dairy farm?

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It had to come at least three-quarters of a mile. It's kind of amazing how it would find its way in here with the cows.

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HARRIS: And didn't want to leave. Wanted to just hang out. The wanderer, in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Trying to put it in a dog crate. That's why it didn't want to leave.

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HARRIS: Once again, we want to update a developing story out of the West Bank. Developments are pretty good on this one. Palestinian security forces or sources there on the ground say a French diplomat and two bodyguards kidnapped from a hotel in Nablus have now been released. Members of the Al Axar Martyrs brigade apparently mistook the three for undercover Israeli soldiers. The news just into CNN is that they have now been released.

COLLINS: Cows, a common site in rural America, but this bull is definitely out of his place on this California farm. The tale of the wayward sea lion from Rich Ibarra of affiliate KCRA. Take a look.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he wants to go home.

RICH IBARRA, KCRA: Talk about lost, this young sea lion, perhaps a year or two old has flopped for the day at a dairy farm in Tracey. Dairy worker Guillermo Martinez recalled seeing it, he made for the barn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little bit fast, a little bit.

IBARRA: Among these cows, the sea lion is like a fish out of water and the water is quite a ways distant, the nearest slew almost a mile away, a long way on foot or flipper.

JOHN KISST, DAIRY FARMER: It had to come at least three-quarters of a mile. It's kind of amazing how it would find its way in here with the cows.

IBARRA (on camera): The cows at this point aren't saying much, just a lot of long stares and a wondering glance.

DR. KYLE MATHIS, VETERINARIAN: The cows are naturally curious and the sea lion didn't seem to mind the cows. I think the feline felt right at home.

IBARRA: The marine mammal center from the dairy was called to the rescue. It's something they have seen before and now are putting the sea lion on the right track. CINDY KRUGER, MARINE MAMMAL CENTER: So they've swam up the (INAUDIBLE) river, that's quite far. If you'll remember from 2004, we rescued a sea lion we named Flippy from over near Los Banos.

IBARRA: But this sea lion was milking the moment and not going out without a fight. But in the end, on his way to ocean sunsets and a fish dinner. The only thing lacking is a name for the sea lion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We decided to call him happy because now he's going to be a happy California seal because he's been with happy California cows.

IBARRA: Sounds like a seal of approval.

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HARRIS: Terrible! Still ahead in the NEWSROOM, primetime president. The state of the union before Congress, and for the first time, a Democrat looking over his shoulder from the speaker's seat. The scene, the strategy, in the NEWSROOM.

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JUDY FORTIN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Taking good care of your teeth could help prevent cancer. Harvard researchers fond that those with periodontal or gum disease have a greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Researchers believe inflammation high levels of oral bacteria are to blame. When it comes to apple juice, the cloudier the better, that's the verdict of polish researchers who say that pulpy non clarified juice has more disease fighting antioxidants than clearer apple juice.

New York doctors might be able to offer some hope to women who want to give birth but can't. The doctors say they have recovered eight uteri from deceased donors and are screening women in preparation for a possible uterine transplant. The surgery has been performed on animals and the first U.S. operation could take place within a year. Judy Fortin, CNN, Atlanta.

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