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Overturned School Bus; Change Of Command; Violence During Ashura; Castro Death Party; Weight Debate
Aired January 30, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: NEWSROOM this morning and stay informed. Here's what's on the rundown.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Bullets and bombs leaving a deadly scar on a religious festival in Iraq. We talked to a congressman just back from Baghdad about a country in crisis.
HARRIS: And check this out. Millions of ways to make retirement better. We meet the country's newest Powerball winners.
NGUYEN: Tabloids mocking a former super model as America's next top waddle? Tyra Banks . . .
HARRIS: Huh?
NGUYEN: Yes, she is fighting fat and she is fighting mad. You have got to hear this.
It's Tuesday, everybody, January 30th. You are in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Off the top this hour, let's get you to T.J. Holmes in the newsroom.
And, T.J., you're following a story of a school bus accident in Jefferson County, Missouri, for us.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And there it is, Tony. You do not want to see a scene like this ever. That's a school bus you do see there. We just it in the picture there. This picture coming to us from our affiliate KMOV. But a school bus accident, obviously, here where that school bus overturned.
Now we are getting conflicting reports from a couple of affiliates there about whether or not students were injured. But according to police, they are telling the local affiliates that, yes, there were students on board this bus when the accident happened. It was loaded with students, actually. Not just a few, but had a fair amount of students on it. But conflicting reports now about the injuries. Some affiliates reporting that there were, in fact, some minor injuries at least to the students on board that bus. We are working to get some independent confirmation of if students, in fact, were injured. It's hard to imagine a school bus like that loaded with students overturned like that and there not being injuries. But right now, at least the word we're getting, again as we look at this live pictures, word that there may have been some minor injuries.
I believe that this school bus was involved in the accident with another vehicle. Don't exactly know the circumstances around the accident that resulted in the school bus ending up in that position you're seeing right there. But this bus was carrying students who were from the House Springs district. A school district there in House Springs. This is about 30 miles southwest of St. Louis, to give you some perspective there, in Jefferson County, Missouri.
But we are keeping an eye on it, certainly trying to get more information about the condition of the students who were on board that bus and the circumstances that led to the bus being in that position. That is certainly -- any parent in this country who puts their kid on a bus, you never want to see a bus in that position at all. So we're certainly trying to get the details here.
Tony.
HARRIS: Well said. OK, T.J., thanks.
HOLMES: All right.
NGUYEN: In other news, a change of command in Iraq. A hearing underway at this hour on Capitol Hill for Navy Admiral William Fallon. You see it live right now. He, the man you see right there, poised to become the top U.S. commander in the Middle East and poised to inherent a growing list of urgent problems no less. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us now with a closer look.
And, Barbara, one of the first things people want to know is, what does Admiral Fallon bring to the table that General Abizaid may have not.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Betty, on a four-star level, all of these guys pretty much are at the cream of their crop. At the top of their profession. Admiral Fallon, as the commander out in the Pacific, has a lot of knowledge about that area in particular. He has testified now just for about 10 minutes and hasn't really gotten into a lot of specifics. But he is making clear, right off the bat, that he knows what he's walking into.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. WILLIAM FALLON, U.S. NAVY: I'm honored by the confidence of the president and the secretary of defense in nominating me for this position. But I'm under no illusion regarding the magnitude of the tasks and the challenges we face in this region of the world. From Beirut to Cashmere, conflict and areas of instability abound. Yet as you well know, this region with 630 some million people, the cradle of western civilization, is of critical importance to our nation and the world.
STARR: As far as Iraq goes, he has so far deflected really answering what he expects the troop surge will actually achieve in Iraq. He was asked about General Abizaid's previous comments that no more U.S. troops were need. Why did he now think differently? Admiral Fallon said he hadn't really looked into that closely. But what he did say is, in his view what had been the U.S. policy simply wasn't working and that they had to try something different and that he felt Iraq could be turned around. But very few specifics so far.
Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, what do we know then about Admiral Fallon, the man? I mean so far we've learned that he's 62 years old. He is very well respected and highly regarded. Also known as Fox. A name he went by when he was a Navy pilot. But what do you know about Admiral Fallon, the man?
STARR: Well, I think, again, on a four-star level, any general officer at that level has clearly spent more than 30 years in the military, has had a number of assignments. Admiral Fallon has experience in Bosnia, in Europe. He has had experience as a Naval aviator in operations in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf.
He does know the countries out there. He knows some of the leaders out there. He will be spending a lot of time probably working issues besides Iraq. Iran, of course, will be one of the front burner issues for the U.S. military in the region. Expect to see him pay a lot of attention to that. NGUYEN: Let's talk a little bit about how you think he will lead, because I know we're looking for specifics today, may not get a whole lot of them. But on the situation in Iraq, one of the big issues is how to stabilize it. Are we going to learn any more from him? Because that was one of his big concerns, getting Iraq stabilized.
STARR: I think that's what the senators are going to continue to press him on throughout the morning. And he is going to, of course, be relying on General Petraeus, who was confirmed, who will be going to Iraq within days as the top military commander on the ground.
That is -- you know, the president's really laid out the strategy now. What it really resolves around is this concept of holding. That's a word you're going to hear a lot about, holding on to the areas of Baghdad that they've tried to make secure. They are going to be moving troops into about 30 mini bases, if you will, around the city of Baghdad.
And Senator Levin has already asked Admiral Fallon this morning how he plans to assure the security of U.S. troops that will be on the front lines of those mini bases around Baghdad. Admiral Fallon not yet ready to answer that question. He says he's going to have to talk to General Petraeus about it.
NGUYEN: And, Barbara, Fallon is talking Iran right now. Something that we talked about a lot yesterday. Let's just take a quick listen.
ADM. WILLIAM FALLON, U.S. NAVY: I'm sorry, reigning government, that would indicate they really are interested in helping the situation. To date, I haven't seen that. And I think that's -- we need to see some of those kinds of steps. And, again, then over to the political and diplomatic arena to see what can be done.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: Thank you, Admiral. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Senator McCain.
NGUYEN: Listening to a little bit of the Senate confirmation hearing for Admiral Fallon there, speaking on Iran there. He says Iran remains a serious threat to the region. And we hope to learn more as to what steps we'll be taking to perhaps even diminish that threat. But, of course, we'll be dipping in and out throughout the morning into the senate confirmation hearing as we learn that the Senate will, indeed, go ahead probably and confirm him.
HARRIS: Oh, yes.
NGUYEN: I mean it's almost a shoe-in at this point.
HARRIS: Shoe-in.
NGUYEN: Admiral Fallon there.
HARRIS: Also in Iraq, a violent reminder that nothing is sacred. Insurgents today launched a series of attacks on Shiite pilgrims as they celebrate a holy day. Dozens are dead, more than 100 wounded. CNN's Arwa Damon has the latest from Baghdad.
Arwa, good morning to you.
Let me start by asking you a quick question. Is today's violence targeting in areas around Baghdad to be targeted by this new influx of U.S. troops?
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, the violence pretty much today was spread out throughout the capital. And, yes, the additional troops will be deployed in Baghdad, mainly with one brigade going to al Anbar province, just to the west of the capital. And most of these troops will be focusing on, as we were just hearing being mentioned, the whole part of this new operation moving forward.
The intent is to move these soldiers into these neighborhoods, set them up in fixed positions, these joint security stations, working there alongside Iraqi security forces to try to prevent these sorts of attacks from happening to the best of their abilities. We do hear oftentimes from the troops when we're out with them that their presence is a deterrent, especially when it comes to the sectarian violence. And, of course, a lot of the attacks that we saw today, the majority of them, were targeting Shia pilgrims and are believed to be of sectarian nature.
Tony.
HARRIS: Arwa, and we're also looking at some pictures of the Ashura celebration. Describe what this is that we're watching today.
DAMON: Well, Tony, Ashura is the commemoration of the death of Imam Hussein. He was killed in battle back in the 7th century. And it was perhaps his death, one of the more defining moments for Shias throughout the world.
But we do see during Ashura again is Shia pilgrims commemorating his death. They try and emulate his pain by flagellating themselves with chains, by hitting themselves with swords or knives until the blood starts to flow. At times, we also see symbolic re-enactments of the battle and of his death.
It is a very intense ritual, as is evident from the pictures that we have seen, and with the millions of Shia pilgrims that we are seeing flocking, especially to Karbala. That is where, back in the 7th century, that infamous battle did take place.
And it's also important to point out that Saddam Hussein actually, for decades, banned Iraq's Shia from carrying out this commemoration. So especially over the last three or four years since the fall of Saddam Hussein, we have seen Iraq's Shias really flocking to these areas and the intensity, again, of their devotion, of their faith is really felt throughout this entire day.
Tony.
HARRIS: So just so I'm clear, Arwa, it's more of a ritual than a celebration, which is what I said a little earlier? More of a commemoration?
DAMON: Absolutely, it's more of a commemoration. It is more of mourning his death.
HARRIS: Great. OK. Arwa Damon for us in Baghdad.
Arwa, appreciate it. Thank you.
Eyewitness accounts from Iraq. But these aren't soldiers, they're lawmakers returning from their visit with the power to shape the future there. A top Democrat joins us in the NEWSROOM later this hour.
NGUYEN: And President Bush on the defensive over his new strategy for Iraq. As the Senate debates Iraq resolutions, much of that debate is expected to center on the buildup of U.S. troops. While the resolutions are non-binding, the president says, a vote against his plan would undercut U.S. troops and their mission.
Also today, praise from the president of Iraq forces after the fight against insurgents in Najaf.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the things that I expect to see is the Iraqis take the lead and show the American people that they're willing to do the hard work necessary to secure their democracy. And our job is to help them. So my first reaction on this report from the battlefield is that the Iraqis are beginning to show me something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And let's get a check of weather now with Chad Myers.
Chad, right now, problems for -- hey, how are you, sir -- for the Dakotas and Minnesota, but a big chill coming for Alabama, Georgia later this week?
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Coming up, we are going to talk about the power of the purse, Tony. You know Congress has it, but are they willing to use it to stop the president's new war plan? Iraq debate ahead in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: A campus divided by hate crime allegations. Was it just a ruckus or a racially motivated attack. That story coming up in the NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: And she walked the walk on the runway. Now supermodel Tyra Banks is talking the talk about her weight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GALINA ESPINOZA, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Modeling in 2005. Her weight has gone up and down like it does for a lot of women. She's fluctuated between about 148 and 162.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: OK, so she's normal. But we're still talking about it. Unflattering pictures, no less, flash across the tabloids. The weight watchers in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: When Fidel Castro dies, man, is Miami planning a party. CNN's Mary Snow reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This was the scene in Miami last summer when Fidel Castro became ill and turned over power to his brother Raul. With this image of the 80-year-old Cuban dictator, city officials are planning an official celebration in Miami's Orange Bowl following Castro's death. OSCAR CORRAL, MIAMI HERALD'S CUBAN CONNECTION BLOG: In most places, it would seem a little unusual to have a party somewhat dancing on someone's grave. Miami is unlike any other place.
SNOW: The city commissioner who came up with the idea to organize events in the Orange Bowl told "The Miami Herald" that Castro represents everything bad that has happened to the people of Cuba for 48 years. There is something to celebration, regardless of what happens next. We get rid of the guy.
But some Cuban-American leaders are concerned about a replay of the dancing in the streets scene this past summer when many thought Castro had died.
RAMON SAUL SANCHEZ, DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT: We don't have anything to party for when we have thousands of people in prison in the island, we have millions of families divided, we have the hope of being free still unfulfilled.
SNOW: The Orange Bowl, a significant for Cuban Americans. It was there in the 1960s President Kennedy addressed tens of thousands of exiles and promised to free Cuba. And in the 1980s, the Orange Bowl became a haven for thousands of Cuban refugees during the marial (ph) boat lift.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: The city commissioner behind the idea says the Orange Bowl plan has been misunderstood. He says there will not be a party, but an effort to direct the inevitable crowds to one safe place.
NGUYEN: Well, Tony, check it out, Tyra Banks. She is fighting back. The skinny on a weighty issue. That's ahead here in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: The Clinton campaign. What role would the former president play in a new Clinton White House? We take a look in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. There she is. A rare double one for one state in this year's Miss America contest. We're going to explain that. Details in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The new Miss America is . . .
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: All right. Who's it going to be, Miss Oklahoma or Miss Texas?
NGUYEN: Uh-oh, it's a showdown. Yes?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Oklahoma, Lauren Nelson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Oh, there she is. Yes, and it's Miss Oklahoma again. Lauren Nelson becomes the second straight Miss Oklahoma to take the national title. You know that hasn't happened since a pair of Mississippis. Say that three times. One in 1959 and 1960.
HARRIS: So as Miss America, Nelson says she will promote the protection of children from online predators. That's great. Ultimately she hopes to parlay her crown into a career on Broadway.
NGUYEN: Oh, that's how it works.
Well, let's talk about Tyra Banks just for a minute.
HARRIS: OK.
NGUYEN: Is she fat? We know the answer to that. But a tabloid photo of the former model is causing quite a buzz and Banks is firing back with some straight talk. CNN's Sibila Vargas reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Tyra Banks, scantily clad, is hardly headline news. This is, after all, the angelic cat walker whose 5'10" inch body sold lingerie and bikinis for more than a decade. Who, for two years in a row, fronted "Sports Illustrated's" hallowed swimsuit issue.
But last month, paparazzi in Australia snapped these less than flattering pictures of Banks in a one-piece swimsuit. And the former cover girl found herself in the middle of a big, fat scandal. Tabloids ranging from "Star" magazine to "National Enquirer" printed the pictures and dubbed her America's next top waddle. But Banks, who currently hosts TV's "America's Next Top Model" and "The Tyra Banks Show," fired back.
With the cover story in this week's "People" magazine in which she says "it was such a strange meanness and rejoicing that people had when thinking that was what my body looked like." Banks also accused tabloids of distorting her weight gain.
GALINA ESPINOZA, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: The tabloids had said that she was near 200 pounds. She told "People" magazine that she's 161 pounds and that since retiring from modeling in 2005, her weight has gone up and down, like it does for a lot of women. She's fluctuated between about 148 and 162.
TYRA BANKS, TALK SHOW HOST: Now hear what I have to say.
VARGAS: And this Thursday on her show, Tyra Banks sets the record straight.
BANKS: And today I weigh 160 pounds. So that is 10 pounds that I have gained, not 40.
VARGAS: In that pre-recorded episode, she attempts to debunk her own weight rumors and also looks at eating disorders among models and body image. It's something Banks has done before for her program. Even devoting a show in 2005 to disguising herself in a fat suit.
BANKS: As I walked through the store, I felt the cold stares.
VARGAS: I talked with her then.
You said it was a heartbreaking experience.
BANKS: Yes. You're going to make me tear up. It just was heartbreaking because it was so in your face.
VARGAS: Though far from 300 pounds she wore in her TV disguise, Tyra herself now feels a similar pain of ridicule. Despite her weight falling well within healthy guidelines for a woman of her height, 132 to 167 pounds according to the American Dietetic Association.
BANKS: You guys, I eat on this show. I eat all the time. I talk about how much I love to eat. And I gain weight and I lose weight constantly, just like everybody else.
VARGAS: And she says everybody else has to get used to seeing pictures of a formerly 126 pound super model happy with her healthy, normal weight. Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And still to come, eyewitness accounts from Iraq. But these aren't soldiers, they're lawmakers returning from their visits with the power to shape the future there. A top Democrat joins us in the NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: Speaking of power. How about the power of the purse. Congress has it, but are they willing to use it to stop the president's new war plan. Iraq's debate ahead in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And from retired to suddenly rich.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM WILSON, POWERBALL WINNER: Absolutely astonished. Couldn't believe it and still don't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And we will meet the latest big Powerball winners in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK, let's get you back to the newsroom now and T.J. Holmes. T.J. is following this school bus accident.
A bus is not supposed to be on its side there.
HOLMES: No. You never want to see a bus like that. Anytime you hear about a bus accident, it will just kind of freak you out a little bit. But certainly seeing one on its side like this, just a scary sight. But what we're hearing now, the word we're getting from local authorities there, is that this bus involved in this accident -- again, it's in Jefferson County just south of St. Louis -- that some 24 were on this school bus. Some 24 students were on the bus. None seriously injured. We're trying to get more information here now from Corporal Julie Scerine, who is with the highway patrol there, is on the line with us, I believe, we just got now and try to get more information.
I hope you're with me there. Can you tell me what you know about this accident?
JULIE SCERINE, MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL: Actually there were 27 total on the school bus. That's the driver and 26 children. And then the one passenger car driver that was injured, also. Total injuries on this -- at this point we're looking at 24 of the children that were transported by an additional bus that came and picked them up and transported them all to a hospital locally. And that was -- you know, they have pretty minor injuries. They're shaken up and a little bit nervous, want to get them checked out just to make sure that they're OK to be on the safe side. And two were actually transported by an ambulance with not serious injuries, but a little more serious than the other. The driver of the school bus, he was also transported to a local hospital in the area.
HOLMES: Do you know the circumstances that led to this bus being on its side like this?
SCERINE: Well, actually, it was involved in a crash with a passenger car, and it's under investigate at this time, but it looks like the passenger car may have been on the wrong side of the road for some unknown reason and caused the crash.
HOLMES: Do you know of any the possible injuries of that person or persons who were in that other car?
SCERINE: It was a single person in the other vehicle and yes, they were injured seriously, and they were transported to a local hospital also.
HOLMES: And you said minor injuries, kids were shaken up. Bumps, bruises, scratches, cuts, anything like that, or, really, are we just talking about the kids certainly a little terrified, but anymore you can tell us about what kinds of little injuries the kids might have had?
SCERINE: Right. It was all of the above, really, bumps and bruises, a lot of them are shaken up, of course. It's a pretty traumatic incident for children. So you know, they're going to be checked out to make sure it's nothing serious, but they were walking around to the scene. So the injuries were not real serious for them.
HOLMES: OK. Well, that is certainly good to hear. Corporal Julie Scerine of the Missouri Highway Patrol, we appreciate you giving us some tie here and clearing up some of this. We were trying to get this information, trying to get the most as we could out of the injuries to those kids. It was certainly good news to hear, and certainly lucky to see a bus on its side like that, packed with kids, again, 26 kids on the bus, and have it on its side and to have only minor injuries. And we're just talking about cuts, bumps, bruises, things like that. Kids are being checked out. But that's certainly good news to hear. I don't know exactly yet about the condition of the other person involved in this accident, the other person who was in the other vehicle, but certainly good news.
And again, Tony, you see a bus on its side like that, you got to think the worst. You can't help but. You know all of those kids are bunched in there, and you have a bus to be going on its side like that, you just assume the worst.
HARRIS: It looks like a good outcome for those kids.
HOLMES: Good news here, Tony. So that's the latest. All right, T.J., thanks.
NGUYEN: Let's take you across Iraq now, the holiest day on the calendar for Shiite Muslims marred by bloodshed. Look at this, dozens of people have been killed in a series of attacks today across the country. The violence, as Shiite pilgrims celebrate the final day of the Ashura holiday. Across Baghdad, scattered attacks are being reported, and in this attack, police say gunmen took aim at a minibus carrying a group of pilgrims. Seven people were killed, and millions have turned out to mark Ashura, and some of the observances have gone off without incident.
Well, Congress is facing off with the president over Iraq, but will a nonbinding resolution make any difference?
CNN national correspondent Bob Franken takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm the decisionmaker. I had to come up with a way forward that precluded disaster.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATL. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over) The president makes it clear he's the commander in chief. The Constitution says he gets to decide how he uses the troops in his command. But the Constitution also gives Congress the power of the perk purse. However, there is no serious plan to cut off funding for the additional troops. So why bother with nonbinding resolutions?
SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R), INDIANA: They are ways in which members of Congress get on record, indicate that they hear that the public doesn't like the war, doesn't like the way it's going, doesn't like the president.
FRANKEN: So what? The Democrats won control in Congress in great part because of opposition to the war.
JONATHAN TURLEY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV.: What they can do is stop the war. They can simply pull the funding.
FRANKEN: So is a nonbinding resolution merely taunting from the safety of the sidelines, instead of really mix it up by debating whether to cut off funding and risk being held accountable.
TURLEY: They're many in Congress that want to be certain that when this war fails, they don't own a single part of it, and they can do that by continually appropriating money and allowing the war to go on.
FRANKEN: New Democratic congressional leaders say cutting off funding would further endanger troops already sent to Iraq, if they were to take that huge step. And they're being sung by claims from the president and his supporters that nonbinding, though it may be, Congressional action still has a powerful effect.
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECY.: It's pretty clear that a resolution certainly emboldens the enemy and our adversaries.
FRANKEN: But Democrats say it's president policies that have emboldened the enemy.
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: It's about time the president understands, virtually no one, no one agrees with the way he's conducting this war.
FRANKEN (on camera): Supporters of the nonbinding resolution say they could be a signal that there could be more important defining legislation later. In other words, later no more Mr. Nice Guy.
Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Older pilots in the cockpit. An FAA plan would increase the mandatory retirement age.
Brianna Keilar is in Washington with the details.
Brianna, good morning.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
For almost the past 50 years, if you were a commercial airline pilot and you turned 60 years old, you'd have to retire. Well, this new proposal is expected to be announced here in a couple of hours by the FAA, would put that mandatory retirement age at 65 instead.
Now what this proposal would do is if in the cockpit there is one pilot that is between 60 and 65 years old, the other pilot would still have to be below 60 years old. This would put the FAA in step with international standards.
Back in November, the International Civil Aviation Organization -- this is an organization like the FAA, but it governs aviation for most countries around the world -- it increased its mandatory retirement age to 65, as well.
Now also back in November, the FAA put out a report looking at the pros and cons of increasing this retirement age. What's interesting is it was really down the middle; it wasn't definitive. It took the input from pilots unions, representatives from the airlines and other aviation officials, but as I said, it wasn't definitive, although historically people who have been in favor of increasing this retirement age has said, it's really about putting more experience in the cockpit, but historically, those who are against increasing this retirement age, Tony, have said, it's also a safety risk there. They say that over time, pilots health can decline, and so that puts passengers at risk.
HARRIS: A couple of historicals there; let's add another one here --historically, this debate, Brianna, has also been about money.
KEILAR: It has. Younger pilots, often, who are trying to work their way up the ladder have found it to be crowded at the top with veteran pilots, so those veteran pilots retiring certainly does give them an opportunity. But in recent years, with many airlines filing bankruptcy, a lot of pilots have seen their pension benefits just evaporate. So certainly the new development is that an extra five years of working for them certainly goes towards improving their financial security.
HOLMES: And, Brianna, one last question -- when might this plan go into effect?
KEILAR: This could take several months. It could take up to two years. According to the FAA, what happens is in a couple of months, they put out a proposal, then they have to seek public comments by law, and then there's just some other steps they have to take to kind of put a timeline in effect.
HOLMES: Brianna Keilar for us in Washington. Brianna, thank you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: The war in Iraq and tensions with Iran. Plus, the man likely to wade into that firestorm -- you see him there -- as the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, he is on Capitol Hill and speaking bluntly. That's the latest, and we'll bring you more here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: It was last call aboard some U.S. Airways flights. New Mexico tells the airlines to stop selling alcohol on flights in and out of the states, and it appears the airline doesn't have a state liquor license. This issue came up after a man who had allegedly been drinking on a U.S. Airways flight was later involved in a deadly drunken driving crash. The airline can, though, apply for a license within a couple of weeks.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
NGUYEN: Still to come, eyewitness accounts from Iraq, but these aren't soldiers, they're lawmakers returning from their visit with the power to shape the future there. A top Democrat joins us in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: From Baghdad to the Beltway, a delegation of Democrats has returned from a fact-finding mission to Iraq. What did they learn? Let's pose that question to Representative Tom Lantos, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. And while he was among the group of Democrats who visited Iraq more than three years ago. He sure did and Representative Lantos joins us now. Thank you for talking to us. REP. TOM LANTOS (D), CALIFORNIA: My pleasure.
HARRIS: We're going to talk about that trip to Iraq three years in just a moment, but first of all, your delegation is holding a news conference this afternoon where you will talk about your findings. What are you likely to say?
LANTOS: Well in the first place, I think we were all enormously impressed by the commitment, the dedication, the heroism and the professionalism of our military. I cannot find enough words to praise our men and women who are in the front lines.
HARRIS: Did you come with an open mind? Did you find your opinion -- you called the troop surge in particular reckless. Did you go over with an open mind and did you find anything over there that might have changed your opinion at all?
LANTOS: I went there with an open mind and with a determination to learn as much as I can. And I am more convinced than ever that the administration's policy of escalating the conflict by sending an additional 21,500 of our finest men and women into battle is wrong.
It is definitely not what is needed. It is obvious that there were so many mistakes made early on that you cannot unscramble this omelet by injecting additional American troops.
There may be a short-term result as a result of putting in new additional troops. But the fundamental solution to Iraq must be on the Iraqi side by the Shia dominant group and the Sunnis recognizing that they must make a compromise.
HARRIS: Representative, let me stop you there for a moment and take a case in point here. Maybe it's a pretty good case study, in fact.
The fighting Sunday in Najaf. Now it looks like it played out just the way the administration envisions the surge of new troops moving into as many as 23 neighborhoods around Baghdad and Anbar Province. That the fighting in Najaf played out just the way the administration envisions this. The Iraqis were in the lead and coalition forces were called in later to apply the knockout. Couldn't the surge actually work?
LANTOS: No. This was not at all an analogous situation. As a matter of fact, it was exactly the opposite. This was not urban guerrilla warfare, which is what is taking place within Baghdad.
Moreover, we have more than enough troops to deal with 200, 300 insurgents. So that clearly is not a rationale for sending in 21,000 more troops. We have 140,000 there now. And the fact that several hundred religious fanatics needed some American help for the Iraqi troops to defeat them is no argument for the surge.
HARRIS: All right. Representative, you -- let's talk about General Petraeus. You visited with him three years ago. He is now the leader, the commander of multinational forces in Iraq. Is he the right man for the job?
LANTOS: General Petraeus is one of the finest officers we have. I have the highest regard for him. But since you brought up his name, let me mention something about General Petraeus.
When I visited with him in Mosul, he took me in his own helicopter and we flew over large years of northern Iraq. And he pointed out to me vast ammunitions gone completely unguarded because we didn't have enough troops to guard them.
So the fact that we are sending one of our finest to take over does not make the policy right. He's being asked to carry on a mistaken policy.
HARRIS: Representative, you met with Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki while you were in -- well tell us why -- well, do you believe he is the right man for the job he now holds?
LANTOS: Well, he's a long way from being the right man, but I have no other candidate. This is not just a question of finding the right man. Maliki obviously represents the Shia view that they have been suppressed for centuries. They now have the upper hand and his inclination is that this is payback time, not a time to be sensitive to the concerns of the Sunni minority.
HARRIS: Representative, one last question. So what do you want to do? What is your thought on the real plan through your eyes moving forward?
LANTOS: Well, it's quite clear that there are no good plans. The question is that the alternative of escalating or de-escalating gives us a choice.
I strongly favor deescalating for a tremendous range of reasons, one of them being the global security position of the United States. We have no strategic reserves. Iraq is not the only danger point we face and to try to salvage an operation where so many fundamental mistakes have been made for so long a period is a wrong-headed policy.
HARRIS: Representative Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Thank you for your time this morning. We appreciate it.
LANTOS: My pleasure.
HARRIS: And later today, we will hear from the woman who headed that congressional delegation to Iraq and Afghanistan. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks out in the NEWSROOM this afternoon. That interview is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
NGUYEN: And you may want to forget Iowa, New Hampshire, because the road to the White House may actually run through New Orleans. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.
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