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Woman, 86, Killed in Louisiana Tornado; Winter Storms Sock Midwest; Questions Raised over Iran-Iraq Connection; Did Methadone Contribute to Anna Nicole Smith's Death?

Aired February 13, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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


DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: And I'm Kyra Phillips.

Can the U.S. win in Iraq? An exclusive interview with the new man in charge of Central Command. How will he define victory? How will he do -- what will he do about Iran? And how will he save lives?

LEMON: Well, the weather outside is frightful. You know the rest. From Tornado reports in the south to heavy Snow blanketing the Midwest, our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras, is tracking it all for us.

PHILLIPS: Methadone. A bottle of it was found in the late Anna Nicole Smith's refrigerator. What is its purpose? And why is it becoming one of the most popular street drugs?

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Wicked weather is blanketing half of the country and battering it. Blinding Snow, freezing rain and tornadoes, all part of the mix. From the Midwest to the Northeast, the mid-Atlantic and the Deep South, we've got it all covered for you.

CNN's Allan Chernoff is in Indianapolis. Keith Oppenheim is in Peoria, Illinois and Susan Roesgen is in New Orleans. And our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras, is in the severe weather center.

But first, the strong storms rumbling across the south. Our Gulf Coast correspondent Susan Roesgen joins us from New Orleans, a suburbs of -- suburb of Westwego, hit hard in the dark of night.

Susan, I hear one person has died in all this?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, from what we understand, just one person, Don. And actually, in New Orleans proper, an 86- year-old woman apparently died of her injuries at the hospital. We don't yet know all the circumstances there.

But in this area, as you mentioned, Westwego, a suburb of New Orleans, a town of about 25,000 people, only minor injuries here. One man taken to the hospital, having shock and a bump on the head. But nothing serious here.

Where I am right now, I'm at sort of a command post. I'm waiting for Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, who is supposed to arrive by Black Hawk helicopter any minute now. She's been getting a look at the damage in other parts of the state.

The strong line of storms moved through early in morning from west to east. There's a lot of damage in the western part of the state. I think where we are here in Westwego is just about the worst of it.

A motel in this area lost its roof. Parts of that roof were discovered in people's backyards about a quarter of a mile away. There were people in the motel, a couple of people in town for Mardi Gras. They actually saw the ceiling collapse on them. Remarkably, again, nobody seriously hurt there.

Several dozen homes and businesses throughout the New Orleans area damaged. But again, Don, just one person killed, an 86-year-old woman who died of her injuries.

We'll let you know what Governor Blanco has to say as soon as she arrives.

LEMON: All right, Susan, we'll check back. Thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: Blinding Snow, bitter cold, sheets of ice, and treacherous storms pounding Peoria, Illinois, and everything around it. Right in the middle of it, our own Keith Oppenheim -- Keith.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the wind is coming in on cue. And as I walk a little bit, Kyra, you'll see that I'm not so sure-footed, because in some places the drifts are very thick. In other places there's no Snow at all, because the wind has blown the Snow out of there. And then you get into a spot like this. It is deep.

This Snow is very light and powdery. And with the wind it's just blowing all around. We're getting gusts in Peoria that are up to 30 miles per hour. So it's very tough in terms of the driving around here.

Some things are closing down. You've heard that a couple of companies, Mitsubishi and State Farm Insurance, have sent employees home. Some school districts have closed. One of the airports in the area, Bloomington, shut down. Others are open.

As you look, Derek, if we can just show traffic a little bit behind me, you can see that the city is kind of functioning. There are people who are driving about in this mess, but it is, to put it mildly, Kyra, slow going.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right, but you're not. You're always fast going. Thanks, Keith, we'll keep checking in.

Blizzard warnings in Indiana, as conditions there worsen by the hour. Senior correspondent Allan Chernoff still braving the stinging sleet in Indianapolis for us -- Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don.

Well, for the past four hours, we've been getting very heavy sleet, these ice pellets that keep coming on down. We got about five inches of Snow early, early this morning, beginning about midnight. And so for the kids, they've got to basically chop through to get to the fun ice.

As you see, you've got these big -- these big flat pieces of almost frozen ice that are now covering all the Snow underneath. So it's going to be fun still for the kids. And the kids are out of school today. But it certainly is not the most pleasant of conditions.

Now, a very interesting situation in terms of the forecast. Right behind me is I-70. The meteorologist here, the National Weather Service, they are saying to the north of I-70 we're going to be getting mostly Snow. To the south we're going to be getting primarily sleet and then turning to Snow, as much as eight more inches on the way. So this storm is not nearly over.

Don, back to you.

LEMON: All right, Allan. We were just talking about your hat. Looks like you have a little something extra right there in the top. All right, thank you for your report.

PHILLIPS: A special warming device.

LEMON: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Tornadoes to blizzards, believe it or not, it's all part of one storm system. Jacqui Jeras on top of it. She's in our weather center.

Hey, Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Jacqui.

We want to get straight to White House correspondent Ed Henry, who just came out of a briefing with Tony Snow.

And Ed, it was pretty interesting. You and Tony Snow got a little contentious between the two of you.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. You know, this past weekend, U.S. military officials in Baghdad laid out what they claim to be evidence of Iranian meddling in Iraq, specifically providing bomb making materials to insurgents in Iraq who were, in turn, using those materials to kill U.S. soldiers and Marines.

These claims being met with a hefty bit of skepticism, in part because so many of the claims that the U.S. government made in advance of the Iraq war turned out to be false.

But even more skepticism today, in fact, in the wake of the fact that the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Peter Pace, is now saying, in fact, that while these explosive projectiles are, in fact, manufactured in Iran, quote, "I would not say but what I know, that the Iranian government clearly knows or is complicit."

It sounded to some, including me, that perhaps the U.S. government is not on the same page here. So I put that question to Tony Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: Is it really a question about whether or not you have strong evidence? When the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff seemed to be saying something different than the White House, does that raise questions about how solid this evidence is?

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: No. Because you've got -- you've got -- you have explosively formed penetrators. He says they exist, correct?

HENRY: I didn't see that in this particular quote but...

SNOW: No, no, no, he said that there are weapons...

HENRY: He says that there are projectiles manufactured in Iran, yes, yes.

SNOW: OK, so there's no doubt about that, correct? There are Iranians in Iraq. There's no question about that, correct?

HENRY: Sure.

SNOW: So what is the credibility problem in terms of...

HENRY: ... the Iranian government being behind it, that's not...

SNOW: That's not --

HENRY: Nobody's disputing whether it's manufactured in Iran. That's what you keep changing what my question is.

SNOW: No, no. I'm trying to clarify your question, because I think this is...

HENRY: I'm trying to tell you -- I know what my question is, and basically, he's saying that he doesn't see evidence that the Iranian government clearly is behind it. That's why I've asked that three or four times. You haven't answered that. You're saying the Iranian government is behind it.

SNOW: Let me put it this way. I'll say it one more time. The Qods force is part of the Iranian government. The Qods force is behind it, is associated with it. All right? Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: Now another curious aspect of this is how the information was delivered this past weekend. It was delivered by U.S. officials on background, meaning they would not have their names used. It was also done off-camera.

That's raising questions about whether or not those U.S. officials wanted to be on camera, whether they were concerned about this evidence being shaky. I put that to Tony Snow, as well. He insisted that is not the case. It's not because they felt the evidence was shaky.

And finally, Tony Snow also said in the briefing that he had just recently in the last hour or so gotten off the phone with General Pace and insisted that General Pace is saying privately that they are on the same page. There's really not a difference here.

The problem, though, is that General Pace is now, apparently, on an airplane coming back from Australia or Indonesia and, bottom line, we're not going to be able to get to him for about another day to get his side of the story, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Just real quickly, and I want to just -- Tony Snow was saying that the Qods are behind this, because there's three parts to the Iranian government. You've got the president. You've got the radicals, the Qods. You've also got the clergy, which is the ayatollah.

So he is saying it's that part of the Iranian government that he believes is behind these weapons?

HENRY: He is saying that directly. And one of the questions that's out there is these briefers over the weekend in Baghdad, these U.S. military officials, were saying that it went to the highest level of the Iranian government. There's some question about exactly what that means. Are they on the same page there, as well? Does this really go to the highest levels of Iranian government or not -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Ed Henry, live from the White House. Appreciate it.

HENRY: Thank you.

LEMON: His dad ran for president and lost. Now Mitt Romney hopes to do him one better. The former Massachusetts governor made it official today at the Henry Ford museum in his native Michigan. He wants the Republican presidential nomination, then the White House. Romney chose the Ford site for its focus on ingenuity, innovation and transformation, themes he repeated in his speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Innovation has been at the heart of America's success from the very beginning. And if there ever was a time when innovation and transformation were needed in government, it is now. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The newest candidate is already in Iowa, first stop in a six-state tour. Our Candy Crowley is traveling with him and joins us a little bit better later on this hour.

Well, ahead, the 911 call that reported an unconscious Anna Nicole Smith and new allegations from a woman who says she was a close friend.

Plus, we'll look at Methadone. What is it? What does it do? And why was it photographed inside Anna Nicole Smith's refrigerator?

PHILLIPS: It's one of the biggest jobs in the U.S. military, and there's no time for on the job training. Coming up, an exclusive live interview with Admiral William Fallon, the new man in charge of the U.S. Central Command.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Two deaths, two countries, one man facing lots of questions and criticism. Anna Nicole Smith's death in Florida has piqued the interest of police in the Bahamas. They say they have a heightened interest in questioning Howard K. Stern about the death of Smith's son, Daniel, back in September. You might remember, Stern was in the room when Daniel died.

Meantime, Stern, Smith's partner and lawyer, says he'll be meeting with the Broward County medical examiner to discuss that case.

Also today, another window into the -- those fateful events on that last Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi this is Seminole police. If you can please respond to the Hard Rock, room 607.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's going to be reference to a white female who is -- what is she, not responsive?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not responsive and not breathing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's not breathing and she's not responsive. She's actually Anna Nicole Smith.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Uh-huh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you guys can please...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, since her death, Howard K. Stern's role in Anna Nicole Smith's life has been under the microscope. And last night on "LARRY KING LIVE" we got a taste of that controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACKIE HATTEN, FRIEND OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH: I've witnessed Howard give her Vicodin, Valium, Vinegrin (ph), morphine, Demerol. Shall I go on? I mean, it's too much for someone to take over a period of time. That's considered aggravated death. You know what I'm saying? Accumulated effect over the years, whether he gave it to her the last second or not. It's just not acceptable.

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Would your guess be that the final results of the autopsy would show that?

HATTEN: I'm sure it will. That's my opinion.

KING: Why was he giving her that? He's supposed to care for her a great deal.

HATTEN: My friend became his cash cow. I witnessed her become a cash cow to him. I've seen too much to let this go by. Someone must pay for this, and that someone in my opinion is Howard K. Stern because of what I have witnessed.

BONNIE STERN, HOWARD K. STERN'S SISTER: I think that there are some people that are getting together that are trying to create a kind of conspiracy that basically is portraying Howard to be the bad guy or the controller of the situation, and that's not the case.

KING: Howard was not a controller of Anna Nicole?

STERN: Anna Nicole controlled what Anna Nicole did. He did not feed her pills. He did not get her medication. Anna Nicole got her own medication, and she did what she wanted to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And tonight Judge Judy joins Larry to discuss the next legal steps in the battle for Anna Nicole Smith's baby, her mansion in the Bahamas and her estate. TV's most outspoken judge takes your calls tonight, 9 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.

LEMON: Another big attention getter in this saga, as if we needed more, those pictures of a refrigerator in Smith's house in the Bahamas. Front and center, the big bottle of Methadone.

Well, we don't know if it played any role. But Methadone has killed thousands of people who overdosed on it. In fact, according to a new study, Methadone's use and abuse as a street drug is soaring. So for some insight into what it is and how it's used, our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joins us here to tell us about all that. I want to hear it.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's amazing...

LEMON: Yes.

COHEN: ... because we were just talking about how usually when you hear Methadone, you think of Methadone, taking it to get over -- to get off of heroin.

LEMON: Yes.

COHEN: But, in fact, Methadone has become a very popular street drug. It's actually a painkiller, and it's in the opiate family. And as a member of the opiate family it gives people a sense of euphoria, a sense of well being, a sense of being trouble-free.

But fatal overdoses due to Methadone are rising higher than fatal overdoses from any other narcotic. Let's take a look at these numbers. They just came out in the past couple days from the Centers for Disease Control.

In 2004 there were 3,849 deaths due to Methadone overdose. And that's a 390 percent increase since 1999.

LEMON: Wow.

COHEN: Those numbers are so stunning.

Well, why that huge increase? Well, one big reason is that Methadone is relatively cheap. You can get it for about $20 a pill on the street. That's a lot cheaper than its cousin, Oxycontin, or other drugs like that.

LEMON: Yes. We've been hearing a lot about that.

COHEN: It's all about the money.

LEMON: You know what? Here's how little I knew about Methadone. I knew that there were Methadone clinics. I didn't know if it was heroin or cocaine.

But I think the criticism was that it sort of made people into zombies. You know, even though you got over the other drug, you sort of, like you said, the euphoric feeling.

All right. So it's used as a drug to get over other drugs. But does that necessarily mean -- the question is, is it safe? Safer?

COHEN: You know, doctors grapple with that all the time. Because Methadone has been very powerful in helping heroin addicts overcome their addiction, but it is very tricky treating people with Methadone. It's very easy to cross the line. So is Methadone safer than something like, let's say, cocaine? Yes, it's safer. The intensity of the high is not as intense. But on the other hand, it can be relatively easy to cross the line with Methadone.

So is it safe if you take it as the doctor tells you to take it, whether you're taking it as a painkiller, as a way to get over heroin? Yes. But again, very easy to cross that line and become addicted.

LEMON: Sort of the lesser of two evils.

COHEN: That's a good way to put it.

LEMON: All right. I was taking little notes here. You mentioned the CDC report on other -- other rugs, besides Methadone. Are there spiraling rates for other addictions besides Methadone for similar-type drugs?

COHEN: There are. Methadone definitely seems to be leading the pack. But unfortunately, the rate of accidental fatal drug overdoses has gone way up over the past five years.

Let's take a look now at those numbers. The number of accidental drug overdoses from 1999 to 2004, up 68 percent.

And leading, driving that number there, is white women taking prescription painkillers. Those numbers are especially high in the southeast, especially high among people ages 15 to 24. But across all sorts of age groups and different racial groups, the numbers are up.

LEMON: I want to ask you, and I hope I'm not asking you something out of your bailiwick. There was a huge bottle. That was a big bottle of Methadone. You usually prescribe that amount of Methadone when you go to the doctor? Or is it usually a smaller...

COHEN: It depends how you're taking it. Are you taking it to get over heroin? Are you taking it as a pain killer? And people get prescriptions in different ways. Sometimes people get a prescription for a short period of time.

LEMON: Got it.

COHEN: Sometimes people get it for a longer period of time. So it really depends.

And again, Methadone, remember, used as a prescription drug. Also, you can buy it on the street.

LEMON: All right. Thank you so much, Elizabeth Cohen.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: And straight ahead, it's one of the biggest jobs in the U.S. military. And there's no time for on the job training. Coming up, our exclusive live interview with Admiral William Fallon, the new man in charge at U.S. Central Command. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's talk a little business, shall we? One of the biggest and oldest American companies is the subject of takeover talk. Hmm. Susan Lisovicz, New York Stock Exchange, details on that.

Who is it, Susan?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's Alcoa. And it makes aluminum. And it's everywhere. It's in the soda cans we drink. It's in the cars we drive, the planes we fly.

Not one, but two companies are reportedly eying Alcoa, the American aluminum giant that's been around for 120 years. After months of speculation, "The Times" of London says BHP Billitin and Rio Tinto are considering separate bids for Alcoa. Both of these companies have dual headquarters in Australia and London. A deal for Alcoa could be worth as much as $40 billion.

The paper also says Alcoa is considering potential chief executive candidates. And the head of BHP is on that list.

With metal prices rising, the mining sector has been the subject of merger activity. Aluminum prices, by the way, are up about 8 percent in the past year. Just days ago, India's top aluminum producer bought Novellus, a Canadian company.

Alcoa is dealing with more than just take-over talks. Some analysts say the company could actually be broken up and sold in pieces. Shares of Alcoa, a Dow 30 stock, are up nearly 6 percent. So it's contributing mightily to the rally we're seeing on Wall Street today -- Don.

LEMON: Did you say -- cheaper CEO candidates, right? Is that because of the rising costs of their salaries and that kind of thing? They're looking -- just wondering.

LISOVICZ: I got you.

LEMON: Yes. Applebee's for sale, as well.

LISOVICZ: Yes, this is the ubiquitous restaurant chain, something that Jon Stewart and "The Daily Show" have had a lot of fun with, because it is just everywhere. The neighborhood bar and grill saying that it is considering selling itself.

Like many casual restaurant chains, Applebee's has been struggling with a pullback in consumer spending. Recent winter storms also cut into sales last month. It's not easy to go out to eat when you can't dig out of your driveway.

New menu items from celebrity chef Tyler Florence haven't been enough to offset disappointing earnings. So now the food chain has formed a committee to explore its options. Shares of Applebee's also a big star on Broadway today. They're up 10 percent.

(STOCK REPORT)

LISOVICZ: And that is the latest from Wall Street. Not too bad. Don and Kyra, back to you.

LEMON: We'll check back. Thank you, Susan.

LISOVICZ: You've got it.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, what's next militarily in Iraq or possibly Iran? The new men in charge of the U.S. Central Command, Admiral William Fallon, in the CNN NEWSROOM for an exclusive interview. He'll talk about his marching orders that he'll be giving in that troubled region.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.

The Pentagon says this video proves an American chopper was brought down by insurgents, not mechanical problems, last week in Iraq. We're talking to the new man in charge in the region. What will Admiral William Fallon do to fight the insurgency? You'll find out live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

As Congress debates the war in Iraq, new leadership is entering the fight. Admiral William Fallon is the new head of the U.S. Central Command. And if the weight of that world isn't literally on his shoulders, it sure might feel like it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): The Pentagon has nine unified combatant commands. But as the name might suggest, Central Command is usually at the center of the action. CENTCOM is based at MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, Florida. Its area of responsibility covers 27 countries, stretching from northeastern Africa through the Middle East to the former Soviet Republican of Kazakhstan in Asia. It's a region larger than the United States that includes 70 percent of the world's oil reserves, and many of its most volatile hot spots.

President Reagan established U.S. Central Command in 1983. Eight years later, CENTCOM's first big test was Operation Desert Storm. General Norman Schwarzkopf was in command as coalition forces liberated Kuwait and stormed into Iraq.

Schwarzkopf was the first CENTCOM commander to land in the media spotlight, but he was far from the last. General Joseph Hoar succeeded Schwarzkopf and was leading CENTCOM when troops went to Somalia in 1992. Originally intended as a humanitarian mission, that operation ended into disaster. Militia fighters shot down two Blackhawk helicopters, and 18 U.S. troops were killed.

The September 11th attacks of 2001 brought renewed attention to CENTCOM. They were traced to al Qaeda leaders being sheltered by Afghanistan's Taliban government. CENTCOM quickly mounted Operation Enduring Freedom, swiftly toppling the Taliban.

General Tommy Franks, the CENTCOM commander at the time, was still in charge, when the Iraq War began in 2003. But in July of that year, General John Abizaid took over, facing increasing skepticism as the war dragged on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, William Fallon is the first admiral to take the helm at CENTCOM since 2005. He's been in charge of the U.S. Pacific Command, based in Hawaii. He joins us now from Honolulu.

Admiral, good to see you.

ADM. WILLIAM FALLON, HEAD, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Top of the day, Kyra, and Aloha from Honolulu.

PHILLIPS: Well, let me ask you a question. I'm going to start with just the fact that you're the former head of Pacific Command. You had to engage in diplomatic relations with China, Indonesia, to a certain extent, North Korea. Not a walk in the park by any means. Now you're faced with Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran. How are you going to deal with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

FALLON: Well, Kyra, lots of challenges, but lots of opportunities. There's certainly many challenges, many conflicts, and lots of things to do, but fundamentally, this is a region of vital importance to the United States and the world. There are many things that we're working on, and lots of things that we have to get cracking on to move this place in a positive direction. But I'm very, very confident, given the caliber of folk we have working for us, both in uniform and in diplomatic circles, and looking forward to taking on this challenge.

Well, sir, just yesterday, as you know, specifically CNN, we have been talking about these weapons coming from Iran into Iraq. I want you to just take a listen to our correspondent Michael Ware. He actually show us some of these mortars and how they -- the military is telling reporters that they are definitely coming from this region.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These, say U.S. military intelligence, come from Iran. The caliber, the assembly, and its geometry, all indicators that it comes from Tehran. Essentially, they're saying that Iran is fighting a surrogate war with America here in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, just listening to that and seeing those mortars and seeing the connection, how are you going to stop that threat, sir, of Iran getting involved in Iraq and supplying the insurgency with weapons?

FALLON: Well, Kyra, I haven't seen that material, but it seems that there's a lot of evidence that there are certainly elements in Iran that have been supporting the unrest and instability in Iraq, and that's not been helpful. As I approach this task, it seems that I not only need to help support our commanders in the field, particularly General Petraeus, who has just taken over in Iraq, and General McNeill in Afghanistan, but to work the region. Because it seems that the instability, insecurity, the chaos, is not in anybody's best interest. And so I want to take this on in a comprehensive approach. I want to look across the region and beyond the region actually to see who can play a role in helping us to get a better condition in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to move this area forward.

PHILLIPS: It sounds like you know exactly what you want to do. But if you listen to Joint Chiefs chair, Peter Pace, he said just recently -- and we're going to take a listen in just a second, that he doesn't believe the military -- or the government of Iran is involved with these weapons, yet Tony Snow at the White House today said that he believes it's the radicals behind the manufacturing and distribution of these weapons.

Let's take a listen to Peter Pace, and I want to get your response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENERAL PETER PACE: We know that the explosively formed projectiles are manufactured in Iran. What I would not say is that the Iranian government, per se, knows about this. It is clear the Iranians are involved, and it's clear that materials from Iran are involved. But I would not say, based on what I know, that the Iranian government clearly knows or is complicit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Sir, what is your belief?

FALLON: Kyra, I have no idea who may be actually with hands-on in this stuff, but I do know that this is not helpful to the situation in Iraq. The folks there are struggling. They're trying to build a new life for themselves, a new country.

There's not a great history of institutions, anything like ours, within this region. They're torn by decades of strife. They've had a tyrant on top of them for many years. But there are lots of signs that they really care, that they really want a different future, and my limited exposure to Iraq in the last year, but based on lots of discussions with folks who are there on the ground, and people in the region, those who have been, I believe that people there are very similar to people in other parts of the world. What they really care about is stability and security. They care about things that are close to them. They care about their families. They care about having a job. They want to see a better future for themselves, and that's what we're going to try to do. And to enable this to happen, it seems to me, that we need to, first and foremost, provide a reasonable amount of security on the ground, to give people confidence so they can actually come out of their houses and go about their daily lives, and then work with the government in Iraq, as new as it is, untried as it is, in many areas, to help to create conditions that will sustain this environment, to give the people courage and hope, so they can take their lives forward in a new direction from one they've endured recently.

PHILLIPS: And as you've said, sir, that means security in the region. And I'm going to ask you this, because you're a Navy admiral. You've got two carriers out in the region right now, the Ike and the Stennis. You've got another carrier not far from North Korea. What are the purpose of those carriers?

FALLON: Well, Kyra, there are many purposes for our deployments of forces worldwide. Whether it's aircraft carriers, or Air Forces or land forces, we have multiple tasks in this world. First and foremost, to demonstrate that the U.S. cares and will be involved in these important regions in the world. Just like out here in the Pacific, we have air and maritime forces. It's mostly an air and maritime domain, and so we have a priority on those forces.

But we want our people to be seen, to be helpful and to provide security. For example in this region, here in the Pacific today, we've got many decades of a track record of providing stability and security throughout this region. This is something that encourages our allies, and partners and other nations in the world to have confidence to move forward.

Look at the results. Since the U.S. has been engaged in Asia, since the end of World War II, we've seen a tremendous growth in democracy. We've seen a phenomenal prospering of economic good. We've seen countries that have come from the ashes of ruins that -- and war, to major dynamos of health and economic vitality today. So this is the kind of idea that we'd like to export to other places in the world.

We have other messages as well. We want to send a message that we are seriously involved in the region, that we are not going to allow instability and insecurity to continue. We want to protect our lifelines of security. You know that the economic vitality of our nation is highly dependent on World Trade, and most of that trade comes by the sea. And so we're very interested in keeping the vital trade points of the world open.

More than that, we want to engage with neighbors and friends throughout the region, so that we can help them build the capacity to deal with things. In a perfect world, what we'd really like to have is people and governments that are very capable, interested, and engaged with their populations, them doing the work. But we have a lot of things that we can help in this business. We can provide them training, assistance, so forth.

PHILLIPS: Sir, let me ask you -- and we're going to take a break and get more into the specifics in a moment. But I have to ask you, I'm listening to the diplomatic talk, and I know you have been very progressive and have established incredible relations, specifically with China and other parts of the region. But we're talking about a very volatile region now, Iraq, Afghanistan, soldiers, men and women dying every day, and Iran being a tremendous factor in contributing to the violence. We're seeing the weapons now. It's on the front burner. And I have to ask you, in any way, shape or form, are you thinking about Iran and attacking Iran?

FALLON: I'm not thinking about attacking Iran at all. What I'm thinking about is working in this region to take care of business. We have some very significant priorities.

Iraq, clearly, the No. 1 priority. We have an ongoing challenge here. We have men and women that are in combat. And fighting these insurgents and other people every day, this is the top priority.

We have another action ongoing in Afghanistan. Been there for several years. It's a different situation. Got a lot of help from NATO and others to work this problem.

Iran is certainly in the middle of this. And we've got to deal with Iran. But what we would really like to do is have Iran be contributing to the outcome in a positive manner in this region. And that's the -- that's the focal point of Iran.

PHILLIPS: Admiral William Fallon, stay with us. We're going to talk some more. We're going to talk about choppers down, civilians blown up every day, and the world's best military seemingly stymied.

After the break, I'm going to ask Admiral Fallon how he hopes to build up Iraqi forces and get U.S. forces home.

(NEWSBREAK)

LEMON: And the NEWSROOM will continue in just a moment. You don't want to miss more on our exclusive interview with the head of U.S. Central Command, the new head, William Fallon, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Iraq by air. Just today, the Pentagon announced after review of this insurgent tape, a missile and not mechanical failure probably brought down a Sea Knight helicopter in Iraq last week.

But even with the new and deadly insurgent attacks on U.S. aircraft, the skies are a lot less risky than the roads.

CNN's Arwa Damon takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Against an increasingly sophisticated insurgency on the ground, the U.S. military's biggest advantage is in the air, from troop transport to dropping bombs. America's aircrafts keep its troops safe. But since January 20th, six choppers crashed. Most of them brought down by enemy gunfire. This insurgent video shows what U.S. military intelligence increasingly believes was most likely a missile, knocking a Marine Chinook out of the sky on February 7th. A group called the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility. Regardless, the possibility of new tactics and techniques is not lost on the troops that fly these birds.

C.W.O. WILLIAM WILLIAMS: The enemy is ever evolving and changing and we are evolving and changing to meet that threat on a daily basis. I assure you, we look at it very seriously and we look at it in great detail.

DAMON: Chief warrant officer Williams and his crew are part of the 25th combat aviation brigade. They operate in central Iraq. Often, their missions take them through the Sunni insurgent heartland. Here, doing some last minute training before they drop Iraqi and U.S. forces just outside of Buhriz, an insurgent stronghold.

STAFF SGT. DANIEL PINA, U.S. ARMY: In terms of choppers going down, I mean I'm not going to lie and say that, you know it does make things a little bit more uncomfortable.

DAMON: The crews not only take care of themselves but they carry the responsibility of the lives in the back of the aircraft.

(on camera): The troops here are gearing up for an air assault mission but the U.S. military uses its Blackhawk helicopters for a number of purposes, to transport passengers that can take up to 11, plus four crew members and equipment and also to transport casualties off the battlefield.

LT. DUSTIN HEALEY, U.S. ARMY: Every day we go out there and we take it very seriously. We just want to keep those guys out of harm's way as much as we can. So anything we can do to help moving them from one place to another and keeping them off the roads.

DAMON: Because on the roads the playing field is more level. There are thousands of flights a day, despite the recent attacks, America still retains air supremacy. But if the insurgents have obtained the technology to more easily shoot down choppers that would drastically alter the battlefield.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baqubah, Iraq.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: We're back in the NEWSROOM with Admiral William Fallon, the new head of U.S. Central Command.

Admiral, what are you going to do about these helicopters that are getting shot down and the loss of life of U.S. soldiers? How are you going to try and prevent that?

FALLON: Well, Kyra, General Petraeus -- Dave Petraeus has just taken over command of the multi-national forces in Iraq this past Saturday. And he's got the primary responsibility for operations inside that country. I look forward to working with Dave. He's very, very smart guy. He's got tremendous experience, two years on the ground already in Iraq. He has spent the last year and a half running the Army Staff College and think tanks out of Leavenworth. And so I expect that he is going to bring lots of -- lots of brain power and lots of experience to this challenge.

It seems to me that -- and I haven't seen the detail of what -- exactly what's gone on with each of these incidents. But I suspect that what's happening here is that this enemy, very agile, very astute, has been watching us and looking to try to exploit any weaknesses or any -- any way in which they can try to gain leverage. And so I'm sure that General Petraeus and General Ordierno and the rest of the forces over there in Iraq are going to be paying very close attention to how they operate -- how we operate day to day to try to minimize our exposure, at the same time, of course, trying to get this new mission under way to try and provide security and stability inside of Iraq.

PHILLIPS: And train those Iraqi forces. Crucial, crucial at this time. It has to get done. How are you going to measure that? How are you going to know if they can be trusted, if they are trained properly, if they're strong enough to secure this country? How do you measure that?

FALLON: Well, that's a great question. And one of the things that I want to ask of these commanders, as soon as I get into this job, which hopefully will be within the next few weeks. But I want to first and foremost assess where we are to make sure we've got a real good sight picture of the situation. And that's critical to our being able to move forward.

There's been an awful lot of effort that's gone into trying to train Iraqi forces. Very difficult to -- from a standing start to build up an army that's capable of dealing with what are clearly very, very serious security challenges within its country while its trying to grow.

So we may have -- I don't know. I'm not going to make any judgments on where we have been, except that we clearly need to make some adjustments to move forward.

I really want to focus on the future. And there's a large number of troops that have received training and equipment from us, Iraqi troops. It's very clear that they are going to have to lead this security effort. And they are not going to be successful, in my opinion, unless they have very, very good and better political leadership, an example from the political side in Iraq.

This thing isn't going to be rolled up and completed just by military means. There are lots of other aspects and power that have to be brought to bear if we're going to be successful. And I really believe we can be successful...

PHILLIPS: So let me ask...

FALLON: I think that given the capabilities that we have and the Iraqis have that we ought to be able to figure out a way ahead to be able to get this country up on its feet to a level of stability that enable us to downsize our forces. PHILLIPS: And, sir, the president has come forward and said he wants to send in more troops. And I remember in your confirmation hearing, you said you weren't quite sure that that was the right thing to do, that you needed to get into in-country and assess. Are you concerned about butting heads with the president?

FALLON: No, that's not what I said. I don't have the transcript in front of me, Kyra. But that's certainly not what I intended, either. What I didn't know is exactly how many troops are needed where, for what -- exactly what we need to do. My most recent trip to Iraq, I saw places within the country that I thought would benefit from an increased footprint of U.S. forces. But I do not have the entire picture.

Nonetheless, what's important here is that we're taking a different and a new approach to this whole situation. It isn't just the number of troops going into Iraq. It's what they're doing, how they're being deployed. A very comprehensive plan is under way in that country right now. I'm anxious to get together with the leaders, both U.S. and Iraqi, to see how we can shape this thing, to be successful on the ground.

The key thing here is to enable a fundamental sense of security, to give people confidence to move on. Key decisions have to be made by the government of Iraq. The people of Iraq have to -- and I feel that the majority of them, without a doubt, really want local stability. I believe the majority of them are tired of this. They really want to move forward.

But to have a sense of confidence and being able to do that, they have to see that areas of this country can be made secure. And the most important thing following right on the heels of that is some sense of hope for the future. And that is in the economic realm. Vast numbers of people are unemployed in this country. They need to have a future. And that's just as important to me as the security aspects. And that's why I'm anxious to get together with our leaders and to get this plan moving.

PHILLIPS: Final question. Your career has been as a naval aviator. You were in Vietnam. You remember the anti-war movement. You've heard the criticism that Iraq is becoming another Vietnam. And Senator John Warner actually reminded you of all this, as well, during the confirmation hearings.

I want to take a quick listen to what he had to say. And then I want to get your response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN WARNER, (R) VIRGINIA: I find the American people are solidly behind our uniformed members and their families. The greatest respect and the heartfelt feelings with the losses and the sacrifices and the respect the families have for what their service persons are doing. So it's a changed situation.

But I think it's essential that we continue to work with the American public so that they better understand what are our goals and are they realistic and how those young people are going to be employed in the new strategy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Final thought, sir: how are you going to win the hearts and minds of Americans and Muslims?

FALLON: Well, Kyra, I really greatly respect and admire Senator Warner. I've known him for many years. It's pretty obvious just from that clip that you showed the sincerity in this man's heart. He wants us to be successful, as I do. We have to be honest with yourselves, assess the situation. I suspect that in the past we may have overestimated our ability to do all of things we would like to do in this country.

But what I would to do when I get in -- into this command is to conduct a thorough assessment, on-going now. I'm trying to build my knowledge base, meet with our commanders, understand exactly what we think we can do, assess the ability of and willingness of the Iraqi government to provide the absolute essential aspects of this thing from their side, and then to provide to my boss, the secretary of defense and up to the president, my best judgment as to what we can do, how best to do it, and then get on with business.

PHILLIPS: Admiral William Fallon, we'll be watching closely.

Appreciate your time, sir.

LEMON: We have two developing stories we are following at this hour. Governor Blanco, Kathleen Blanco, is touring the tornado damage in Louisiana. We'll hear from her when she steps up to the microphone in just a few minutes.

And we're standing for a news conference on that mall shooting Utah.

The news coming. And we'll keep bringing it to you. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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