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Presidential News Conference; New Poll: Iraq is Most Serious Problem for U.S.

Aired February 14, 2007 - 11:59   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush speaking at the East Room there to all of the reporters. Many, many questions today. He began speaking right on time, 11:00. So, for about seven minutes off the top or so, and then addressed those questions for about an hour or so.
Of course many different topics. Most of them centering around Iraq. Not too surprising there, that non-binding resolution which has now made its way to the House. Lots of debate going on there today as we speak.

Also speaking on Iran and this evidence whether to support the idea that these weapons could be coming into Iraq from Iran. He talked a lot about the Quds force, too.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right.

COLLINS: The elite unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

So we want to talk more about all of these things. And the spoke briefly at the end there about -- about North Korea.

We have a whole lot of players standing by to help us out with this one. Let's take a look at who we've got. We've got Ed Henry standing by right there inside the East Room; our congressional correspondent, Andrea Koppel; our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr; our political analyst, Bill Schneider; and, of course, our former presidential adviser, David Gergen.

HARRIS: And let's start with Ed Henry in the East Room.

Ed, you are trying, you really are trying to get the president to clarify his administration's position here on Iran's role in destabilizing Iraq, specifically going back to this briefing over the weekend and what the administration put forward as clear evidence of Iranian involvement at the highest levels of the Iranian government.

Fill us in again on the question and what you were able to get from the president.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, today we did hear something new from the president. You're right, there seems to be a contradiction there.

The president saying that what the U.S. does not know is whether or not senior levels of the Iranian government -- whether those levels are actually behind these explosives going in from Iran, in to Iraq, being used by insurgents to kill and maim U.S. soldiers and Marines. He said today for the first that that we do not know whether senior levels of the government are actually behind it.

He mentioned those Quds forces, as you mentioned, that they're behind it, that we believe they're behind it, but he was certainly pressed on that. And I think we have some sound.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: What assurances can you give the American people that the intelligence this time will be accurate?

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ed, we know they're there. We know they're provided by the Quds force. We know the Quds force is a part of the Iranian government. I don't think we know who picked up the phone and said to the Quds force go do this, but we know it's a vital part of the Iranian government.

What matters is, is that we're responding. The idea that somehow we're manufacturing the idea that the Iranians are providing IEDs is preposterous, Ed.

My job is to protect our troops. And when we find devices that are in that country that are hurting our troops, we're going do something about it, pure and simple.

Now, David said, "Does this mean you're trying to have a pretext for war?" No. It means I'm trying to protect our troops. That's what that means.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: So you can hear the president a bit on the defensive there. He's been facing these questions about whether or not he's planning to go to war with Iran.

Also, again, what he is saying, that senior -- he does not know whether senior officials or the Iranian government are behind it. That does contradict what U.S. officials said in Baghdad on Sunday, like you noted.

Also, though, a lot on Iraq here as well. Heard what I thought was a new line from the president, who termed saying that what he wants is "political breathing space" for the Iraqis to secure Baghdad, and then he believes we could "change our force posture."

Obviously a reference to eventually pulling out U.S. troops. A lot, of course, as well, about that House debate in the Congress. The president trying to push back a bit on that -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Ed, if I could very quickly here -- I know you have to clear out of the room pretty -- pretty soon here. The president says the U.S. military -- back to the whole Iran situation, the U.S. military will deal with the individuals or networks involved in plotting and planning attacks on Americans. As it seemed to be implicit there as for this nexus between the actors and the government in Iran, we'll leave that for another day.

HENRY: Absolutely. And I think what you're hearing from the president as well is that he's trying to stress diplomacy.

He's heard the criticism over and over that he did not give diplomacy enough of a chance in the buildup to the war in Iraq. So, this time, he wants to do everything -- as you heard at the very end of the press conference -- to say it's different this time, and that with Iran, he believes he can solve it diplomatically.

Well, does he have credibility on that question? Given Iraq, his credibility has been strained. But as he noted, he has gained some credibility because there's been some success in the North Korea talks. As he pointed out, he gave diplomacy a chance there. A lot of critics said it would not work, and now in the last few days, as you've seen, there's been a breakthrough there -- Tony.

HARRIS: Our White House correspondent Ed Henry for us.

Ed, thank you.

HENRY: Thank you.

COLLINS: Want to go ahead and get to Barbara Starr now, our CNN Pentagon correspondent.

And Barbara, you know, the president did mention General Peter Pace, seems to be backing him about some of these things. Give us a little bit more detail as far as you heard it today.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Heidi, I think there was absolutely no question that President Bush would back his chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It would have been extraordinary if he had not backed up General Pace.

General Pace functions as the president's chief military adviser. If there had been a split between those two men, to be very clear about it, I'm not sure General Pace would have remained in office.

COLLINS: Right.

STARR: So the president moved very quickly to back General Pace.

Let's be clear her. Secretary Gates, General Pace, they have been very consistent in saying they believe Iran is shipping weapons in but that they cannot make that final connection to the central government of Iran.

That briefing over the weekend in Baghdad, by all accounts -- and we see some of the evidence that was passed out there, we see it here on the screen -- by all accounts, one of the senior briefers did make that connection, taking it to the "highest levels of the government." Most here people believe here that's actually true. They do believe that none of this would be going on unless the highest levels of the government of Iran were well aware of it. They do not believe this is a rogue operation.

But, what is very clear is senior administration officials want to ratchet down the tensions with Tehran. They don't want to put them on the spot. They want to work this behind the scenes.

COLLINS: Interesting, too, Barbara, he did repeat several different themes, I guess you could call them, that we have heard many times before on the situation in Iraq. And one of them saying something to the effect, if you think the violence is bad now, imagine if the United States military did not help this new Iraqi government.

STARR: Well, that's right. I mean, the whole effort in this new Baghdad strategy is really to do what Ed Henry was talking about, buy time, to try and get enough security in Baghdad to let the political process move forward for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to get a handle on the violence on the streets.

But, you know, unless they can bring down the rate of violence, the car bombs, the absolutely heartbreaking rate of casualties that Iraqi citizens are suffering every day in Baghdad, and the growing toll on American forces, it's hard to see how that breathing space is going to happen and how it's going to make any difference. That is going to be the challenge of the new security plan -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, no question about that.

All right. Thanks so much, Barbara.

HARRIS: And now let's get to our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.

And Bill, we heard the president, in talking about Iraq, say just a short time ago the first thing to do is to do something about the sectarian violence in Iraq. If you follow the polls as closely as you do, the American people seem to be pretty clear on this. They don't believe keeping the two sides apart is necessarily the job of U.S. forces.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right. And the president said that the goal of victory in Iraq would -- he defined as giving the Maliki government political breathing space and creating a bulwark for moderation. Most people don't see those as military goals.

Americans are clearly frustrated by the situation in Iraq. And it's not just frustration with President Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (voice over): What's the most important problem facing the country? Nearly a third of Americans say Iraq in the CBS News poll. No other issue is in double digits. That's the main reason why President Bush's job approval rating remains low, 32 percent.

What about Congress? Just as low, 32 percent.

The public is as frustrated with Congress as it is with President Bush. What do they want Congress to do? Vote against a troop increase? Yes, by two to one in last month's CNN poll.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I have legislation to cap the number of American troops.

SCHNEIDER: Fifty-seven percent favor limiting the number of U.S. troops serving in Iraq.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: This plan would not only place a cap on the number of troops in Iraq and stop the escalation, more importantly, it would begin a phased redeployment of U.S. forces with the goal of removing all U.S. combat forces from Iraq by March 31, 2008.

SCHNEIDER: Sixty-three percent want Congress to set a timetable for withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of next year.

John Edwards is calling on Congress to block funding for an escalation of the war. While only eight percent in the CBS News poll want Congress to block all funding for the war, an additional 45 percent want Congress to block funding for more troops.

The House of Representatives is debating a non-binding resolution. The Senate can't even do that. Sixty-three percent of Americans say they are bothered by the Senate's failure to hold a debate. Those who are bothered blame Republicans more than Democrats by better than two to one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: No, interestingly, in his press conference just now, the president said he regarded the unanimous vote of confirmation for General Petraeus as the military commander in Iraq by the United States Senate as, in effect, a vote of confidence by the Senate in his Iraq policy. Otherwise, he said why would they have voted unanimously to confirm General Petraeus? And then he portrayed that as the very opposite of what's happening in the House, which seems likely to vote no confidence in the president's policy.

So the president pointed to the -- what he regards as the inconsistency of action between the Senate and the House -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Bill, did you hear overarching all of that which you just mentioned the president suggesting that his real concern here is that this non-binding resolution might turn into binding policy?

SCHNEIDER: Well, the president did call attention to the non- binding character of the resolution, but said pointedly that what would be binding would be a vote to cut funding.

HARRIS: Yes. SCHNEIDER: And he said that would be a step that he obviously would be extremely uncomfortable and unhappy with, but he said the Congress does not appear to be prepared to go that far at this point, at least.

HARRIS: Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, for us.

Bill, thank you.

COLLINS: The president's message, anything new?

Let's go ahead and turn to former presidential adviser David Gergen, live from Cambridge, Massachusetts, today.

David, I just want to toss it out to you openly here. What stood out to you in the president's news conference?

DAVID GERGEN, FMR. PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: Well, politically, the president had a choice on the House vote about -- about Iraq. The House vote, of course, is to oppose the surge. And there are many conservatives who are saying if you vote for this resolution in the House, you, in effect, are aiding and abetting the enemies and you're going to demoralize our troops.

The president rejected that kind of argument. Instead, he, in effect, conceded defeat on the House vote. He's let Republicans go vote for the resolution knowing he wouldn't be able to hold a number of them, maybe two dozen or more. And in effect, said, look, it's not binding, it's secondary, I don't really care very much. He took the wind out of the sails...

COLLINS: Yes.

GERGEN: ... of those who were saying you can't vote for this because it will help the other side.

COLLINS: He basically said non-binding resolutions are for wimps.

GERGEN: Yes, right.

COLLINS: If you really want to say something, then go ahead and vote to cut off the funding.

GERGEN: Right. I mean, he essentially shrugged his shoulders at this. So he's trying to take -- you know, this is a White House that knows it faces defeat. And so rather than -- you know, you've got to know when to hold and when to fold. And he's folded on this, and instead set up his defense around, but you can't cut off the funds for the troops. And on that one he will probably prevail.

I thought he did -- I thought he didn't break much new ground on Iran except insofar as that he wants to deescalate their sum (ph) as well. You know, he's moved a second carrier group in. "Newsweek" is reporting he may move a third carrier into the Persian Gulf. There's been a growing sense that a secret war is developing between Iran and Washington, and...

COLLINS: And yet, David, he vehemently denies that that is going on.

GERGEN: Yes, he's denying that's going on. And by siding with -- with the head of his Joint Chiefs, General Pace, on this question of whether responsibility rests with the Iranian government, the highest levels of the Iranian government on these weapons that are coming in to Iraq, he's not only -- I think he did the right thing by General Pace, but it also takes the pressure off to say, well, the weapons are coming in, but the highest levels of Iranian government can't be held responsible.

So we're not going mano-a-mano, in effect, with the highest levels of the Iranian government. And that, in effect, takes a little heat out of the Iran thing.

He has not yet disposed of the question, how can you talk with North Korea? You said you wouldn't do that, but yet you've gotten into all these conversations not only with the group, but you had one- on-one. Why can't you talk to Iran without setting all these preconditions?

He did not deal with that. I think he's left himself open on that question. There are going to be a lot of people who say it's hypocritical and wrongheaded to say you can negotiate with one part of the axis of evil but you can't do the other.

Finally, I must say, he's given so many press conferences, so many public appearances now. While there may be some people who are hanging on every word, I imagine there are a lot of folks out there who, like David Gregory, were looking at their watches.

COLLINS: Yes. I want to go ahead and play one chunk of sound, though, for you here, David, and get your comments on the back side taking a little bit more about the violence in Baghdad that we have been seeing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I can understand why people are concerned when they turn on your -- the TV screens and see this violence. It's disturbing to people. And it's disturbing to the Iraqi people. But it reminds me of how important it is for us to help them succeed. If you think the violence is bad now, imagine what it would look like if we don't help them secure the city, the capital city of Baghdad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: He also said on the heels of that day that if we don't help them secure the city and have success in Baghdad, then there won't be success in securing the homeland.

GERGEN: Right. Well, these are the arguments he's been using now since he announced the surge back on January 10th. And they're the best arguments he's got. So far, the country hasn't really bought them. He keeps repeating them.

But I think the most important thing the president said was, "It doesn't matter what I say anymore. What matters is what happens on the ground."

You know, a month has now passed, more than a month since he first announced the surge. We've still got a lot of violence. So the clock is ticking for him. He knows that. He doesn't have a lot more time to turn this around before the politics back home really do overwhelm him.

COLLINS: Former presidential adviser David Gergen.

Always nice to have you. Thank you, David.

GERGEN: OK. Thank you, Heidi.

HARRIS: And let's get you now to our congressional correspondent, Andrea Koppel.

Andrea, a couple of things come to mind here. The president, as you just heard David Gergen suggest, essentially throwing in the towel on his efforts to beat back the House resolution. But the president did seem genuinely concerned when he said the non-binding resolution doesn't turn into binding policy.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Tony. And I think you could hear the frustration in the president's voice when he brought up the whole point that a few of our colleagues have already mentioned that, look, we're giving Prime Minister Maliki political breathing space so that this clear, hold and build policy can work. Why can't you do the same for me?

In fact, he said as much. He said that the House is going to vote on this resolution opposing his plan before they're giving it a chance to work.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: People are prejudging the outcome of this. They have every right to express their opinion. And it is a non-binding resolution.

Soon Congress is going to be able to vote on a piece of legislation that is binding, a bill providing emergency funding for our troops. Our troops are counting on their elected leaders in Washington, D.C., to provide them with the support they need to do their mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Now, that's an allusion to that $100 billion supplemental that the president put forward to Congress within the last couple of weeks asking for more money for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. And we know that John Murtha, who is the Democrat from Pennsylvania, the chairman of Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, has already said, Tony, that he intends to have a hearing on this supplemental next month, and he has also made very clear he's going to go over it with a fine tooth comb and looking to impact the president's surge, the president's request to send tens of thousands more troops.

He's be very happy if they were able to prevent that from happening by finding money or holding back on money there. But the fact of the matter is, Tony, there aren't that many Democrats who are in John Murtha's corner. The Republicans know that, and that's why they tried to attach an amendment to this resolution which would have forced many people to come out of the closet and say that they supported not cutting off funds to the troops.

HARRIS: Andrea Koppel for us, our congressional correspondent.

Andrea, as always, thank you

COLLINS: I want to get directly to Baghdad now, where we have our correspondent Michael Ware listening in and talking with us today about sort of the reaction, if there is any at this early moment.

Michael, to the president's speech, you know, he talked about the new plan beginning to take shape. He said that he just met with the top commander in Iraq, General Petraeus. And also saying that, you know, it is expected that there will be more violence and that it will take time.

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And all of which is true.

General Petraeus has only just landed on the ground. He's spending -- spent the last few days and he'll spend the next few weeks traveling the country making his own assessment. However, we need to be aware that General David Petraeus did not create this Baghdad security plan. He has inherited it. So, we'll -- I'll expect to see him and his brain trust of counterinsurgency experts really putting this administration to the test in the way they may want to nuance or adjust this plan.

There was nothing startling or shocking in the president's comments today, except perhaps by admission. Only one reference to al Qaeda. Al Qaeda, which was meant to be the whole point of the war. Much of the focus now, however, is on securing Baghdad, ending the sectarian violence, and combating Iranian influence.

COLLINS: It seems too, Michael, there's been -- at least in the beginning of all this, shortly after September 11th -- so much talk about the possible relationship between al Qaeda and Iraq. It seems like that -- when you mention al Qaeda, that entire relationship is cast aside, oftentimes.

WARE: Absolutely. I mean, this focus on for a start Baghdad, the capital itself, gives al Qaeda the oxygen it needs to breathe in what's become its Iraqi heartland in the western desert province of Al Anbar and other provinces to the north.

It also gives them room for maneuver as focus, at least publicly, shifts to Iran and the Shia militias. I mean, in many ways, this is playing into al Qaeda hands. And suddenly they've slipped off the president's rhetorical agenda while he's focusing on Iran and Iran special forces sending lethal munitions here to Iraq for Shia militias to use to kill British and American troops.

HARRIS: OK. Michael, Tony Harris with Heidi Collins.

We heard a lot today about the Quds force. Explain to us, what is this Quds force?

WARE: All right. This is one of the most elite of the elite within the Iranian armed forces.

Within the Iranian military you have the Revolutionary Guard Corps. That is like their presidential guard. And within that elite organization is the Quds force.

Imagine, if you will, a rough analogy would be American Green Beret operators on black or covert operations. So these are very well-trained, highly sophisticated individuals whose specialty is working with proxy forces like Hezbollah, Shia militias here fighting Iran and fighting America. These are spies and specialists.

HARRIS: So let me just -- Sarah (ph), do I have time for one more?

OK. All right.

Sorry, Michael. Had a follow-up, but no time.

Michael Ware for us in Baghdad.

Michael, as always, thank you.

COLLINS: We'll take a quick break and be back right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: CNN NEWSROOM continues with Kyra Phillips and Don Lemon at the top of the hour. In the meantime, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break.

I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins.

Have a great day everybody, and happy Valentine's Day, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

CLANCY: Six months after their admittedly botched effort against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel military's has a new chief of staff, Gabi Ashkenazi, is charged with restoring confidence in the shaken armed forces.

Atika Shubert tell us, he's facing a formidable task.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Trumpets announced the arrival of Israel's the new military chief, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, a soldier's soldier. Rising from the ranks of Israel's battle-hardened militia. We have to continue to keep a strong army he said in a speech today, a fighting army, straight, professional and victorious.

Israel's army is in desperate need of a fresh start. Its ground forces, 80 percent of whom are reservists, fared poorly in Lebanon. Analysts say Ashkenazi needs to restock and retrain.

HIRSH GOODMAN, MILITARY ANALYST: One of the reasons that the army performed so badly in Lebanon in a proper war was that for too long the army's been involved in occupation. And I think what we're going to find is extricate the army from the very corrosive job of occupation.

SHUBERT: Then there are the challenges outside the country's borders. Last week, an Israeli patrol searching for explosives planted by Hezbollah along the border with Lebanon was involved in a brief exchange of gunfire, a stark reminder that last summer's war remains unresolved.

But it is Iran that many view as Israel's biggest strategic threat. Israel conspicuously tested its aero-missile defense system for nighttime use this week, successfully shooting down a mockup of an Iranian missile. Maintaining this military deterrent to Iran will be one of Ashkenazi's critical tasks. Perhaps, most of all, Ashkenazi must restore public confidence in Israel's security.

GOODMAN: I think the public feels that we've got a very inexperienced prime minister, and we have an extremely inexperienced defense minister. People want stability. They want a steady hand on the helm of security.

SHUBERT (on camera): Ashkenazi's infantry career makes him literally a more down-to-earth replacement to his air force predecessor. And many here are hoping that he'll be able to fix Israel's military by bringing it back to basics.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: All right. Let's switch gears now, and the 2007 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Yes, the dog show. Well, it's now history.

CLANCY: All right. Talk about dog and pony shows. The climax, as always, was the announcement of which dog was the best in show. That's the big prize.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, seven ribbons, I give them to seven dogs, but I got one ribbon. Tonight, that ribbon goes to the springer spaniel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The springer spaniel, best in show!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: And the crowd went wild. The top dog, the crowd- pleading English springer spaniel named Felicity's Diamond Gem -- Gem for short. Actually that's the stage name. At home they call him James.

GORANI: Well, he beat six other finalists. Including a dandie dinmont terrier, owned by Bill Cosby. Now Cosby has a doghouse full of trophies already, but he's never won the big one at Madison Square Garden.

Cosby and Felsh (ph) stayed home this year, hoping it might break the jinx, but no such luck.

CLANCY: And we are privileged, ladies and gentlemen, privileged to have with us the winner of this year's Westminster best in show award.

GORANI: All right, with us now at New York's famous Sardi's restaurant, where else, is the champ himself and handler Kellie Fitzgerald. They're joined by David Frei, spokesman for the Westminster Kennel Club.

Can we actually see -- do we have the dog there, or is it...

CLANCY: Did they let the dog in the restaurant? There he is.

GORANI: Oh, there he is.

CLANCY: Look at that.

GORANI: Well, he seems to be relaxing after his big win. Tell us what makes this dog so special. Why the win for this dog?

DAVID FREI, WESTMINSTER DOG CLUB SPOKESMAN: Well, he's a beautiful specimen of his breed, to begin with. And then he's also got that showmanship, and charisma and attitude that made the difference at the end, with several wonderful finalists. But he's a great dog. And he's a fitting winner for us. He becomes America's dog for the next year by winning the world's greatest dog show, the only time all year where all the great dogs are in the same place at the same time, and he was fabulous last night. Our judge, Dr. Robert Ingalia (ph), found him from a wonderful field of finalists.

CLANCY: You know, he is a fantastic dog. I understand that he's a therapy dog, though. Does that means that he goes up to Upper East Side for psychiatric sessions or what?

FREI: No, it means he helps provides therapy for people. He's certified by the Delta Society, a national organization, that does all of these things. Well, James visits Alzheimer's patients, helps them maybe forget the challengers that they're facing and brings a smile to their face, let's them talk, think about the times in their past when they had their own dog. It's a wonderful therapy, but we're going to see if we can get him involved with children as well.

GORANI: And Bill Cosby's dogs, no luck for them again this year. What are they lacking? Why aren't they taking home the big prize?

FREI: Well, I think that, you know, terriers win this show and dominate this show a lot, but to call somebody a favorite isn't quite fair in our world. It's a factor of dogs being in different parts of the country all year long.

And however the numbers come out at the end of the year, now that's the way they come out. But that doesn't mean that the dog that was No. 2 in the country is any less of a dog than number one. In fact, the No. 1 dog has only won here half the time. So we're excited to have this wonderful dog as our dog.

CLANCY: Hey, Kellie, is Diamond Jim going to get something special there at Sardi's a little steak maybe?

KELLIE FITZGERALD, CHAMPION DOG HANDLER: I'm sorry.

CLANCY: Is Diamond Jim going to get something special?

FITZGERALD: Well, actually, yes, here at Sardi's he's going to get a nice big plate of chopped sirloin, just a history thing here. But after yesterday, he is retired from active campaigning. So he'll go home and do some obedience work and of course some therapy work, and he'll be kept busy.

CLANCY: All right. Our thanks there to Kellie and to David for joining us, and of course to Diamond Jim. Congratulations all around. You know, the dog's going to be eating better than we are this afternoon.

GORANI: He looks spent. All right, A short break -- he deserves a rest. A short break on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: We'll be back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, everyone, and welcome back. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

GORANI: All right. We're going live across 200 countries in the world, and we're going to revisit one of our top stories. As we mentioned, Lebanon is marking the second anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. His son, Saad Hariri joins us now live from Beirut, and he spoke there at the rally commemorating the second anniversary of his father's assassination.

On this solemn day, Saad Hariri -- first of all, thank you so much for being with us here on YOUR WORLD TODAY. But also you must be at least happy after the violence yesterday, against ordinary civilians in a Christian neighborhood in Beirut, that today in Lebanon, in your country, it was largely peaceful.

SAAD HARIRI, SON OF RAFIK HARIRI: Yes. Thank you, Hala, for having me on.

Yesterday was a very bloody day for Lebanon, where three people were killed in a bus explosion in Analla (ph). And today, I think those terrorist acts were made to deter people from coming today to commemorate the second year of my father's assassination. And people were not deterred. They were dedicated. They broke the wall of fear and they came down to the Martyrs' Square to remember Rafik Hariri, to remember his teachings, to remember what he had always said, of the unity of Lebanon is the most important thing in life for Lebanon. And today was a pure example of bow the 14th of March, the Cedar Revolution, is all about, peace, and quiet and remembering Rafik Hariri.

And let me ask you this, just a few weeks ago -- and from so many people who were looking at this situation in Lebanon from the outside looking in, those university clashes, that reminded so many people of potentially what a true sectarian conflict could look like in Lebanon.

Are you concerned that in your country, in Lebanon, we're going to start seeing that again more sectarian strife and violence that might get out of control?

HARIRI: Hala, of course I am concerned. You know, but in any civil unrest or any sectarian face-off or problems, it's a political decision at the end of the day. There is one party who wants to make problems party with another sect or another political party.

And what had happened a few weeks ago, is when they decided to close the roads in Beirut to go into the Arab University and have civil unrest inside the university. They were students, you know, going to school, and studying and getting their education. And it broke. There was a political decision taken at that moment. Is there a problem? We, and the 14th of March, on the Cedar Revolution today -- we've always asked for a peaceful demonstration. We're not against, you know, the opposition. If they want to demonstrate and they want to say their opinions. They want to express their freedom of speech. We have no problem with that. What we have a problem with, is we don't want violence. We want peace. We want to express democratically one's opinion. And there are institutions in Lebanon. And resolving these problems in Lebanon, resolving the issue of government has to be done in the institution, in parliament.

GORANI: But let me ask you this -- and this is a -- and I hear different answers to this question, to be honest with you, depending who I ask -- but are opposition and government politicians still talking, or are the channel of communication completely closed out right now? I mean, is there still a chance you will resolve this diplomatically and peacefully at the highest political levels?

HARIRI: As you know, I called the speaker of the house just a few days ago, and yesterday he called me, and the memory (ph) of today, and the channels are open, and we're talking to each other, and we're hoping that a dialogue, a true dialogue, to be opened at the end of the day. We can not ignore that they have political rights there, that they do exist, and they can not ignore that we do exist.

So at the end of the day, we're both Lebanese and we have to come to an understanding. We believe that Lebanon should not be an arena for regional interest. Lebanon is too small to suffer in regional interests. We don't want to be, you know, facing Syrian interest in Lebanon or Iranian interest in Lebanon or any other European, or America or African...

GORANI: Saad, I'm afraid -- I must -- our satellite window is going down in 10 seconds. I would have loved to be able to continue speaking with you. Thank you so much for your time, coming us to live from Beirut.

HARIRI: Thank you.

GORANI: Saad Hariri, the son of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, assassinated on this day two years ago. Thank you.

We're going to take a short break. We'll be right back.

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GORANI: Welcome back. The calendar says it's winter in the United States. Well now, the weather is finally proving it. Snow, sleet and ice have moved from the Midwest to the East Coast. In northern Ohio, police closed highways and threatened to arrest any drivers braving the blizzard as near white-out conditions broke traffic to a halt. Air travelers also facing massive delays. So beware if you're planning on flying, Washington's airports reported numerous cancellations as the storm snowed dumped snow on the runways. Delays are also being reported at jet ports in the northeastern U.S.

CLANCY: Yes, but it isn't putting the chill on effect that today's Valentine's Day. It's a holiday meant for lovers. Thai police though taking an unusual step really to prevent underage -- well, dalliances. GORANI: Well lovestruck teenagers under 18 are having abbreviated Valentine's Day celebrations today. That's because a 10 p.m. curfew has been imposed.

CLANCY: Parents really had some kind of input here, but as we learned from Dan Rivers, there are critics too that say there's better ways to teach kids about safe sex and abstinence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Men buying flowers, it must be Valentine's Day. But here in Thailand, the special time for couples to express their love could be a bit of a letdown for teenagers.

Concerned under 18s might do more than gaze into each other eyes, the Bangkok police have imposed a curfew. Under 18s have to be home by 10 or risk spending the night behind bars.

(on camera): Most high school students Valentine's dates are going to have to be cut short. A bunch of flowers is fine, but if you want to go for the late-night movie or a romantic candle lit dinner, you could wind up being arrested.

The policeman imposing the curfew says we're using laws that are in place to protect children. Valentine's Day is for celebrating love for one another. But you don't have to have sex on Valentine's Day to show your love.

Police will round up any youngsters they find out late in public places. Teenagers are divided on whether it's necessary.

She says, "Why do we have to be home by 10?" He says, "I'll party at my friend's house." "We'll party all day and all night," she adds. But this boy says he thinks the curfew's good, as it will ensure teenagers' safety.

In a city renowned for sin, where sex is for sale in hundreds of strip joints and brothels, some think that Valentine's Day curfew is laughable.

MECHAI VIRAVAIDYA, AIDS ACTIVIST: Well, it's ludicrous. What we should be doing is educating kids and even giving them condoms. And what a great day to have a great reputation for Thailand is for the police to go around on daytime, nighttime on Valentine's Day, giving out condoms to kids and called it the cops and rubbers program.

RIVERS: But instead, the police are hoping old-fashioned romance will sweep over the city and that love, but not sex will be on teenagers minds tonight.

Dan Rivers, CNN, Bangkok.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: What is on your mind tonight? We wanted to know your opinion about Valentine's Day and we were asking...

CLANCY: ... Is Valentine's Day more about the romance or hey ladies and gentlemen, is it all about the marketing?

GORANI: It's all about love.

CLANCY: Well listen, Eugene from Nigeria wrote in to tell us: "Valentine's Day is a successful product of capitalism and the worst day to go to restaurants."

GORANI: Well Thomas in Denmark says: "I think that Valentine's Day is all about marketing, but I will use it to make people aware that I love them."

CLANCY: And Michael from romantic Italy says: "My last three relationships all began on Valentine's Day. I think it's all about the romance."

GORANI: And the next 12. Keep those e-mails coming. The address is yourviews@CNN.com. Tell us your name and where you're writing from.

CLANCY: That has to be it for this hour.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy and this is CNN.

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