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Your World Today
Turkey Gets Green Light to Target Kurdish Rebels; U.S. Honors the Dalai Lama, But China is Not So Happy; Can Hillary Clinton Stay at the Top?; Pint-Sized Porkers
Aired October 17, 2007 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A new front, Turkey gets the green light to stage cross border raids into northern Iraq targeting Kurdish rebels.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: He's a global symbol of peace, but China is bristling at U.S. plans to honor the Dalai Lama.
HOLMES: Riding high the democratic front runner but could the Hillary Clinton for president balloon suddenly deflate?
MCEDWARDS: Pint-sized porkers, an English farmer spends years cross breeding pigs shrinking them down to size.
HOLMES: 7:00 p.m. in Ankara, noon in Washington. Welcome to our report broadcast around the globe, I'm Michael Holmes.
MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.
Well, Iraq says it wants more time to take care of the problem, but Turkey says it just can't tolerate any longer Kurdish rebels staging cross border attacks.
HOLMES: And so they've acted the parliament overwhelming approving, sending troops in to take on the rebels in northern Iraq.
MCEDWARDS: Now, this vote doesn't necessarily mean that an incursion is imminent or inevitable. Both Baghdad and Washington are hoping that this is not going to happen at all.
HOLMES: Absolutely, we're going to bring you live reports on this story from northern Iraq to Baghdad to the White House. But first, more on the vote in Ankara and what it could mean for the war in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNNI CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Turkey's military is ready, some 60,000 troops are on the Iraqi border. Now, the political permission has been given for a cross-border attack into northern Iraq to root out Kurdish rebels the PKK. Turkey says recent high casualty PKK attacks on its soldiers and civilians has forced its hand. Iraq and the United States say, wait.
BARHAM SALEH, IRAQI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Unilateral action will mean irreparable damage to bilateral relations and will be a bad consequence to Iraq, bad consequence to Turkey, bad consequence to the region. And it will also be precedence if Turkey were to give itself the right to interfere in Iraq militarily, what is there to stop other neighbors from doing so?
HANCOCKS: Iraq has been playing its diplomatic cards to try and prevent a Turkish incursion. Iraq's vice president Tariq Al Hashimi met with Turkish leaders on Tuesday asking for more time. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki called his Turkish counterparts on Wednesday asking for the same. Prime Minister Edwin has stressed this vote will not automatically trigger military action. Many analysts believe this is just a way of putting more pressure on Iraqi Kurd leaders to expel the PKK.
WOLFANGO PICCOLI, ANALYST, EURASIA GROUP: A large-scale operation, also we have seen that in the past from the military point of view, they don't really have been fighting against the PKK. When you move around with 30, 50,000 troops you can move very fast. The PKK rebels will see the Turkish troops coming in and they will quickly disappear in the mountains, just to come back once the Turkish military are back into Turkey.
HANCOCKS: The United States is worried any military action by Turkey will undermine the relative stability of northern Iraq and also jeopardize vital supply lines that support U.S. troops in Iraq. But a former Turkish general says it's too late for any large-scale incursion.
NECATI OZGEN, FORMER TURKISH GENERAL: The chief of staff asked us on the 12th of April, it's been six months since then and the seasons have changed. One month later, for example, you cannot do an operation in this region. There will be rain, snow, and it will be cold.
HANCOCKS: Which leads some analysts to believe if Turkey is serious about a large-scale incursion into the mountainous border region, it will have to wait until next spring.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, London.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: Some of the issues there, but how do people in northern Iraq feel about the prospect of Turkish troops essentially coming in, raiding their hometowns? Let's bring in senior international correspondent Nic Robertson for more on that, he is in Erbil. Nic, what are people saying?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Colleen, we've reached one government official here, one Kurdish regional government official up close to the Turkish border. He says they don't want to make - the Kurdish regional government doesn't want to make any comment yet about the decision by the Turkish government until they hear back from officially from the Iraqi deputy prime minister, who has been to Ankara. But he did say in their view, in the view of the Kurdish regional government that the only solution right now is for negotiations, is for talks between Iraq and Turkey. And he said from what he can see along the border, he thinks that an incursion isn't imminent that there are no indications of it coming along the border.
However, the public comments that we have heard from Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Hashimi, are going to perhaps cause some concern for the Kurds, because he has implied already that the responsibility for these PKK attacks do have their roots in Iraq, in the Kurdish region and therefore, there's a responsibility there. He's also indicated that, a recent security memo of understanding signed between the Iraqi government and the Turkish government should be implemented.
Now, the Kurds weren't represented at that meeting between the Iraqi and the Turkish government and they feel let down by this memo of understanding. And the Kurdish officials we've talked to have said, look, those attacks, those PKK attacks, didn't necessarily come from PKK activists inside Iraq, inside the Kurdish region in the north. They say there are many PKK activists living in Turkey, that's where the organization came from. And they may have been behind those attacks.
So the Kurds themselves would not necessarily say OK, the responsibility lies here with us. So there is clear the Kurds are going to have some issues with what the deputy prime minister has already said -- Colleen?
MCEDWARDS: Yeah, absolutely. Nic Robertson for us in Erbil. Nic, thanks -- Michael?
HOLMES: OK, Iraq's government tried to prevent the Turkish parliament's vote on two diplomatic fronts, first of all telephoning the Turkish prime minister and sending an envoy to Ankara in person. Let's get some Iraqi reaction now -- the possibility of a cross-border incursion.
Jim Clancy is standing by live in Baghdad. A lot of people will say that the central government in Iraq has no real influence in the north of Iraq. What are Iraqi politicians telling you?
JIM CLANCY, CNNI CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think there's an admission here. Let me get straight to the bottom line. The Iraqi government, Baghdad in particular, has been completely, completely ineffective in stopping the PKK. Now, we've talked to U.S. diplomats who say, there's no doubt that they are using some safe havens, getting some support there. But the Iraqi government today is really trying to persuade Ankara, it's sincere about this, it wants to rein in the PKK.
Listen to what the security adviser Mowaffak Al-Rubaie had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE, IRAQI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: They should not cross the borders because these are recognized international borders and this is a direct encroachment on the Iraqi sovereignty. We will not accept that.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Now, Turkey, obviously, needs good relations with Iraq. That's to its benefit. But when you look at the situation, you see the other realities. A military incursion isn't going to solve this problem with the PKK.
One U.S. official I talked to says that, really what needs to be done is the same thing that needed to be done more than a year ago and that is to have Ankara and Baghdad sit down and talk, develop a strategy for how to deal with the PKK. Until and unless that happens this problem isn't going to be solved no matter how many incursions there are. The problem is, impatience. But as the officials said, that's diplomacy -- Michael?
HOLMES: All right, thanks Jim, Jim Clancy in Baghdad -- Colleen?
MCEDWARDS: Turkey is an important ally with the United States and there was a lot of talk about what Turkey may do in Iraq and the importance of those ties.
When President Bush met with reporters just a short while ago, Elaine Quijano was there asking questions herself and joins us now live to wrap this up for us. Elaine, this certainly did come up, I mean the U.S. position is, don't do anything you'll regret here.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's absolutely right Colleen. The United States obviously, does not want to see large numbers of Turkish troops spilling over the board into Iraq, especially at such a critical time when the United States is really trying to fight its own battles inside of Iraq. Now, Turkey, as you noted, plays a very vital role for the United States as a key ally in the region, a major transport point of course into Iraq.
Well, this morning in his news conference, President Bush said he spoke with his U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and his top commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, about this issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't think it's in their interest to send more troops in. I appreciate very much the fact that the Iraqi government understand that this is a sensitive issue with the Turks and that's why Vice President Hashimi is in Istanbul today talking with the Turkish leaders to assure them that Iraq shares their concerns about terrorist activities but that there's a better way to deal with the issue than having the Turks send massive troops into the country.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now, another development that's adding to the climate of tension, really, between the United States and Turkey, this resolution in the U.S. House that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, says she will bring to a vote. And it's a resolution that has angered Turkey because it would label as genocide the World War I mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.
President Bush today spoke out once more about it urging the House Speaker not to go forward with her plan to do this. And we should note, as well, it is not just the Bush administration that sees that resolution as potentially damaging to relations between two countries now that are already very much in a tense situation -- Colleen?
MCEDWARDS: All right, Elaine Quijano at the White House. Elaine, thanks very much.
We're going to talk more about this issue right here on YOUR WORLD TODAY in about five minutes. We will have democrat Robert Wexler to talk about this resolution. That's in five minutes right here on YOUR WORLD TODAY -- Michael?
HOLMES: All right Iran's supreme leader says, Russia's president has offered a proposal regarding Tehran's nuclear program. That according to the country's state news agency. Ayatollah Ali Hameni (ph) is not providing any specifics about the deal. Officials believe that Vladimir Putin offered a time-out really on U.N. sanctions against Iran in exchange for a suspension of nuclear enrichment activities. Mr. Putin was in Tehran for a summit of Caspian nations.
MCEDWARDS: U.S. health officials are trying to come to grips with the drug-resistant superbug that is said to be potentially more deadly than AIDS. It has already killed thousands of people and no one is sure exactly how many. This week it struck again, Ashton Bonds a 17-year-old high school senior died on Monday essentially from a staph infection. It spread though to his kidneys, his liver, his lungs and the muscles around his heart.
Fellow students at Stauntun River High School in Virginia organized a protest. They were trying to let their school superintendent know how worried they are that they could be next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're just trying to find answers. We want to know what's going to be done about cleaning up the school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't feel safe at all going back in there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not only to remember Ashton, but get it through to the administration and all that we don't want another one of our friends or another one of our classmates gone because of them not doing anything and we want something done about this.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
MCEDWARDS: Despite the surprising numbers in this likening it to AIDS and HIV, a word of caution here. The superbug is certainly dangerous, it is. It is spreading as well but it's still extremely rare. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta says there's a very small chance of encountering it outside of places like hospitals and gyms. And he says some really common sense measures that everyone should use to prevent it are things like washing your hands, disinfecting commonly used equipment. Those kinds of things are the best way to avoid coming into contact with the superbug in the first place. Of course, if you do have a cut or a wound that doesn't heal, Dr. Gupta says, get medical attention.
HOLMES: Yeah, you were speaking to him earlier. That's good stuff there nonetheless.
MCEDWARDS: There sure is. Still ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, another thorn in Turkey's side.
HOLMES: Some U.S. lawmakers doing an about-face now on a House measure that would call the World War I era massacre of Armenians a genocide.
MCEDWARDS: She's riding high in the polls, still a year before the U.S. presidential election. But has Hillary Clinton peaked too soon.
HOLMES: And are they cute or what?
MCEDWARDS: Cute.
HOLMES: Cute or what? Breeding pigs to become miniature versions of themselves. We'll have a report. It's the latest craze.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MCEDWARDS: Well, who knew the presentation of the congressional gold medal could cause such a stir? Well it is. On one side, you've got China, the world's largest communist country, and on the other, the Dalai Lama and caught in the middle, relations between Washington and Beijing. Jennifer Eccleston has more now on an unusual diplomatic triangle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNNI CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 72- year-old exiled Tibetan leader will be honored on Capitol Hill today by dignitaries, celebrities and politicians, including President Bush and the first lady. It's the first time a sitting president will appear with the Dalai Lama at a public event, something the Chinese government is not happy about.
The Dalai Lama fled his Tibetan homeland after a failed uprising against its Chinese occupiers in 1959. Since then, he's traveled the globe, advocating greater autonomy and respect for his culture and religion. A Nobel Peace prize winner in 1989, he cemented his role as a global symbol of peaceful dissent and tolerance even a pop culture icon with a host of Hollywood fans.
RICHARD GERE, ACTOR: His motivation is very pure. And every situation he really sees himself as the smallest in the room and he's really there to serve.
ECCLESTON: Beijing, however, considers the Dalai Lama a threat to its rule over Tibet, routinely chastising governments for even hosting the Buddhist monk. No surprise that today's honor is being sharply rebuked by Beijing, calling it interference in their country's internal affairs.
DANA PERINO, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We, in no way, want to stir the pot and make China feel that we are poking a stick in their eye.
ECCLESTON (on camera): Earlier this week, Chinese diplomats pulled out of crucial talks about Iran's nuclear program. Beijing cited technical reasons, but China watchers said the message was clear, Beijing may reduce its support for international efforts to blunt Tehran's nuclear ambitions if foreign powers interfere with China's internal affairs.
Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Washington.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The Dalai Lama met privately with the U.S. president Tuesday. The fourth time the two men have met. Mr. Bush was reportedly concerned enough about the meetings' impact on U.S. relations with Beijing that he told China's president about his plans last month. Mr. Bush pointed out to reporters, all of that a short time ago, and reemphasized his belief, that the two sides, this is China and the Dalai Lama, should sit down together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: If they were to sit down with the Dalai Lama, they would find him to be a man of peace and reconciliation. I think it's in the country's interest to allow him to come to China and meet with him. So my visit today is not new to the Chinese leadership.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: He then went on to say, they don't like it, of course, but I don't think it will seriously damage U.S.-China relations, the U.S. president there a little bit earlier.
MCEDWARDS: Something to tell you about now that you might already know, but what the heck is this? A report saying that ...
HOLMES: What did you say?
MCEDWARDS: Heck. We're on TV, at the moment, anyway. This report says that swearing at work is a good thing.
HOLMES: Yeah.
MCEDWARDS: Did you know that?
HOLMES: That's not what you said off air. That's what researchers at Britain's University of East Angler (ph) say. Their new study finds that swearing can improve workplace morale by developing social relationships.
MCEDWARDS: Depends on what the relationship's like.
HOLMES: And employees better express themselves. I couldn't agree more.
MCEDWARDS: There you go. But they also say, employees should cut out the cussing, of course, when there are customers around, duh, do you think?
HOLMES: Particularly in the U.S., there's a lot of oversensitivity going on.
MCEDWARDS: Yeah, there's a lot of rudeness, too, though.
HOLMES: There is, there is. But I think if anyone grew up at a newspaper or news room, yeah, that's what happens.
MCEDWARDS: You need to get over it, yeah.
HOLMES: Those gosh darn eggheads, they probably had a lovely time putting that beep study together.
MCEDWARDS: Yeah, right, OK, feeling better?
HOLMES: Oh I think so, yes.
MCEDWARDS: Well there's no relief in sight for the battered U.S. housing market that's for sure. Swearing is not going to cure it, either.
HOLMES: No, wait, what do you say during the break? Just ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, a government report, on new homes isn't giving anyone any reason to smile. Builders, stock prices, looking particularly grim.
MCEDWARDS: And then later -- they are bringing home the bacon at one English farm but these little porkers are supposed to be pets, not food.
HOLMES: Bite sized.
MCEDWARDS: Ooh, yum. We'll take you there. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes, but first a check on the stories making headlines right here in the United States. An entire Virginia school system shut down today. The reason, a dangerous drug resistant infection, it's blamed for one student's death. The mother of 17-year-old Ashton Bond said he died Monday after he was diagnosed with MRSA, or MERSA, that's an antibiotic resistant staph infection.
The Bedford County superintendent says all 21 schools in the district are closed for today for a thorough cleaning. It's an attempt to keep the infection from spreading. The decision followed a protest by concerned students.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're just trying to find answers. We want to know what's going to be done about cleaning up the school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't feel safe at all going back in there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not only to remember Ashton, but get it through to the administration and all that we don't want another one of our friends or another one of our classmates gone because of them not doing anything and we want something done about this.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Officials say they hope to reopen the schools tomorrow if they're able to finish the cleaning by the end of the day. What is being done to prevent the spread of this deadly infection? Later on in the CNN NEWSROOM, what you need to know to protect yourself. We'll show you some steps you should take in gyms and in locker rooms to stop the spread of that deadly virus.
The charges stacked high, his head hung low. Chester Stiles appears in a Las Vegas courtroom. He's accused of raping a toddler and videotaping it. The discovery of the tape eventually led to a police manhunt it ended two days ago when Stiles surrendered during a traffic stop. Police say the little girl in the tape is now seven years old and apparently has no memory of that attack. Her mother says she'd like to be Stiles' executioner.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: We have some breaking news here into the CNN NEWSROOM. There is a shootout between police and four men at a Bank of America. It's in Fairburn, its left one person dead, that's according to police. Police say the four men attempted to rob the Bank of America at 2225 Jonesboro Road. It happened this morning.
Police say they arrived at the scene, a gunfight ensued, leaving one person dead and as many as four people injured. Witnesses said a body could be seen lying in the front of the entrance of that bank. Dozens of police officers could be seen surrounding that bank shortly before noon. All of this, courtesy our affiliate WGCL here in Atlanta.
We'll continue to follow this story and update you in the CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour. YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break.
I'm Don Lemon, I'll see you at the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MCEDWARDS: Welcome back to our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries around the globe, including the United States this hour. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Colleen McEdwards.
HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes.
Let's update you now on the top stories top the minute. A U.S. congressional medal for the Dalai Lama to be handed out, a short while from now. And it is creating some political troubles for the Bush administration. The Chinese government considers the Buddhist spiritual leader a threat, when he calls for autonomy for Tibet. But President Bush says he'll be going to the ceremony, regardless.
MCEDWARDS: Schools in Bedford, Virginia, getting a thorough cleaning, after a 17-year-old senior died earlier this week, essentially from a staph infection. It was sparked by the so-called superbug virus. The U.S. government actually just released its first major report on the virus. It is technically called MRSA, saying this virus may prove more deadly than AIDS.
HOLMES: Turkey's parliament has overwhelmingly approved a military incursion into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebel positions. Iraqi officials are asking for more time to deal with this problem. Kurdish rebels have been crossing into Turkey, staging attacks, and then slipping back into Iraqi territory.
MCEDWARDS: We'll let's get perspective on the developments in Turkey. This vote went through a short time ago. And we are joined now by Scott Peterson, the Istanbul bureau chief of the "Christian Science Monitor" for us.
Scott, thanks a lot for being here. This vote, when it passed, was overwhelming. It was something like 507-19?
SCOTT PETERSON, ISTANBUL BUREAU CHIEF, "CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: That's right. This is a manifestation of where the Turkish population is now, in terms of being very tired, being very fed up by these attacks that have been going on. They really started jacking up last spring. We've had a real surge just in the last two, two and a half weeks.
Turks know that 38 (ph) people, many -- half of them soldiers, half civilians, killed in recent attacks. And that's what really has prompted parliament now to make this decision to allow the military to cross into northern Iraq, if it desires, to take on the PKK militants there.
MCEDWARDS: So, now that the decision has been made, and I know politicians are saying that doesn't mean an incursion is inevitable. But what have people you know, you talk to say? I mean, do Turks feel that something is bound to happen now at this point, or do they view this as more tough talk saber rattling?
PETERSON: Well, I think they feel that something is likely to happen, but it really is going to depend on whether there are any other serious strikes. If there really aren't any other strikes with civilian, or military, casualties in the coming days, that may calm the popular wish for some kind of action to be taken.
At the moment, what we're likely to see more artillery strikes, more air strikes from the Turkish military. But of course, remember that the Turkish military has made 24, by one count, cross-border operations since the mid and 1980s and during the 1990s. Some of them with as many as 50,000 troops. None of the operations were able to dislodge the PKK, so of course the military and the politicians are aware of that.
They are putting that into their calculation as they decide whether or not they should go into northern Iraq, or not.
MCEDWARDS: Now, the United States really does not want Turkey to go ahead and do anything unilaterally. In the U.S. view it wouldn't help the U.S. situation at all. How much concern is there about the relationship with the United States over the issue?
PETERSON: Well, I think, at this point, I mean, the Turkish population, and also the Turkish -- I mean, the Turkish military, have really, in many respects given up on the United States. This is something that really began to -- this relationship began to sour in 2003. You'll remember that Turkey decided at the last movement not to allow American forces to use Turkey as a launch pad into Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein.
Since then the situation has just gotten worse to the point where one poll, the most recent poll about Turkish attitudes, found that about 9 percent of them, only 9 percent, had a favorable attitude about the United States. That's one of the lowest in the entire region.
Ultimately what we're seeing today, though, is the parliamentary vote that is in response to the fact that, from the view of most Turks, the United States and Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq, have been unable to deal with this PKK issue. They've said they would but the Turks are tired of waiting for anything to be done.
MCEDWARDS: Yes, and those poll numbers say it all. Scott Peterson, the Istanbul bureau chief of the "Christian Science Monitor", thanks very much.
HOLMES: U.S. President George W. Bush, meanwhile, pressing lawmakers to oppose a resolution that describes the massacre of Armenians 90 years ago as genocide. He addressed the topic at the White House a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: The resolution on the mass killings of Armenians beginning in 1915 is counterproductive. Both Republicans and Democrats, including every living former secretary of State, have spoken out against this resolution. Congress has more important work to do than antagonizing a democratic ally in the Muslim world, especially one that's providing vital support for our military every day. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, the measure appears to be losing some steam on Capitol Hill. Democratic congressman from Florida, Robert Wexler, joins us now, live. He's calling on the leadership to block the resolution.
Given what's going on in Turkey, sir, it does seem like strange timing at the moment. Why, do you think, this was brought before Congress now?
REP. ROBERT WEXLER, (D) FLORIDA: Well, it shouldn't be brought to Congress now, for the very reasons you point out. The Middle East is a tinderbox. We have chaos in Iraq. Iran is about to develop a nuclear weapon. Hamas controls Gaza. The Syrians pursue a chemical and weapons program that's very dangerous. Lebanon is on the brink. We have a potential peace conference between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
And what we, in Congress, many of us are saying, Democrats and Republicans alike, is that Congress' primary responsibility, at this point in time, is the safety and welfare of our troops and our national and strategic interests. And to address this other resolution would be counterproductive.
HOLMES: Those who support the bill, their point is that, genocide, this is believed by many people, to be genocide and that the U.S. has tiptoed around the world genocide before too many times. Rwanda, the most recent, and other places, too, even in Congo right now. Why not call something what it is?
WEXLER: If we were talking about a genocide that was occurring now that would be a different situation. I've supported most strenuous responses to ongoing genocides in Darfur, Rwanda, wherever it may be. The primary responsibility -- and this is a very difficult issue -- and I respect greatly the catastrophic losses that the Armenian community suffered in 1915, and beyond -- but the issue before us today that has the utmost priority as members of Congress are the national and strategic security interests of our country and the well- being of our troops.
HOLMES: You know, the various arms of the Turkish administration, and others, have been lobbying heavily, spending literally hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby members of Congress to get this thing shot down it would be a non-binding resolution or declaration anyway, why not?
WEXLER: Both sides of this debate have spent an enormous amount time and resources engaged in this debate. Reason why not is just as was stated earlier, every living secretary of State said this would present a national strategic and military problem for America. We have 165,000 of our troops in Iraq. We have 10s of 1,000s of our troops in Afghanistan.
The troop support for many of the Iraqi coalition partners, and the United States military, come through Incirlik and other Turkish air and sea bases, and to present an issue that creates tension between the United States and Turkey at this point in essence, undermines our national interest.
HOLMES: A couple of people who have been pushing for this resolution say it's never a good time for this. It's been raised time and time again. As the previous Gulf War got in the way. There's been a whole bunch of other political considerations that have got in the way. When is it going to be a good time to call it what it is, according to those who put it forward? Do you think this is going to die?
WEXLER: I think they have a valid point. And -- but the point is, I know one thing for certain, now is not the right time to do this.
HOLMES: Do you think it will pass?
WEXLER: I think -- I would hope that the speaker and the Democratic leadership would choose not to bring it up. I think momentum is moving in the direction of it not passing. But I hope that ultimately we will use this as an opportunity to promote reconciliation between the Turks and the Armenians, open up the border between the countries of Turkey and Armenia and maybe something positive can come from all of the attention that is created as a result of this debate.
HOLMES: All right. I appreciate your timing, Congressman.
WEXLER: Thank you.
HOLMES: Democratic Congressman Robert Wexler, there, joining us.
MCEDWARDS: Well, she's on top now, but so was Howard Dean at one point. Remember that name?
HOLMES: Howard Dean, yes. Up next, a political pundit cuts Hillary Clinton's big lead down to size.
MCEDWARDS: Also ahead, a British farmer has cut these pigs down to size.
HOLMES: Not literally.
MCEDWARDS: We will explain why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Scenes of anger from El Alto, Bolivia, where hundreds of residents ransacked local bars and brothels. For a second day they broke doors, through out furniture, and burned vehicles.
MCEDWARDS: Protesters say they took justice into their own hands after lawmakers failed to approve a move to forbid pubs and brothels near schools. One woman says she's glad the businesses were damaged because their children, their husbands and their brothers spend all of their time in the bars. HOLMES: Not the brothels?
MCEDWARDS: Of course not.
HOLMES: The bars? Right.
Well, welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY here on CNN International.
MCEDWARDS: We are seen live in more than 200 countries and territories all around the world.
Well, the Republican presidential hopeful, Rudy Giuliani, just picked up a Texas-sized political endorsement.
HOLMES: Indeed. Governor Rick Perry, now backing the former New York City mayor's bid for the White House. The Texas governor is a social conservative who, unlike Giuliani, opposes abortion rights.
MCEDWARDS: Perry says his belief that Giuliani can win, and his track record as mayor, outweigh any differences that they have on the issues.
HOLMES: This story, I like. The question is, who is going to endorse the Comedy Central comedian who just entered the race?
MCEDWARDS: Steven Colbert, who makes a living lampooning politicians, apparently now, one of them.
HOLMES: That's right. He said he spent well, nearly 15 minutes of soul searching before making this announcement on the "Colbert Report."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDY CENTRAL: I've heard the call. Nation, I shall seek the office of the president of the United States! I am doing it! Whoo!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Got to say, for people who don't see the show around the world, he is a fake, if you like, conservative commentator on television.
MCEDWARDS: And he suggested apparently as his potential running mate, Vladimir Putin.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: He's a funny, funny man, I've got to say.
OK, well the primaries still months away, but if some new polls are accurate, the Democratic nomination is Hillary Clinton's to lose.
MCEDWARDS: That's what they say. The new numbers aren't fazing her opponents now.
CNN's Candy Crowley has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She began with a platinum rolodex, marquee name, pre-existing political machine, and a question -- is Hillary Clinton elect-able? Democrats think so.
The latest poll from CNN and Opinion Research Corporation shows Hillary Clinton, the favorite of 51 percent of registered Democrats and Democrats leaning Independents. She's come a long way, baby. Is she elect-able has morphed into, is she stop-able? From the beginning a disciplined candidate and tightly run campaign wanted to soften what they say was a Republican-created image, Clinton as ultraliberal ice queen.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, let's talk, let's chat. Let's start a dialogue.
CROWLEY: There have been cozy Internet moments, frequent and much discussed bursts of laughter as noted on the girl-centric program, "The View."
CLINTON: The laugh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The laugh.
BARBARA WALTERS, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Do you mind that?
CROWLEY: And there are user-friendly campaign appearances, Tuesday on initiatives to help women meet everyday problems.
CLINTON: Chelsea was sick, my babysitter wasn't there, then she called, and she was sick, too. It was just that gut-wrenching feeling.
CROWLEY: But as she softened up her image, Clinton also toughened up her credentials.
CLINTON: If President Bush does not end the war if Iraq before he leaves office, when I am president, I will.
CROWLEY: There had been multiple policy rollouts and rave reviews at debates. The bottom line, nationally, she is 30 points ahead of Barack Obama.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The national poll story will run, sooner or later, has to run itself out. At some point, there will be the first actual vote.
CROWLEY: Out-raising Clinton for most of the year, Obama has failed to turn his fund-raising prowess into poll numbers. But he's right, of course, the Iowa caucuses, the first votes, are two and a half months away. And poll there's show a very close race. Clinton, Edwards, Obama. OBAMA: If we win Iowa, I'll be the nominee.
CROWLEY: Someone could beat her in Iowa, rewriting the unstop- able Clinton story line. But if they don't stop her in Iowa, they may not be able to stop her anywhere.
On the Republican side, Fred Thompson can't seem to get started at all. Widely panned as lackluster and unprepared, he's taken a tumble dropping 8 points since September.
RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not just running on rhetoric, I'm running on results.
CROWLEY: Rudy Giuliani remains the front-runner among registered Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents, but close numbers indicate a jump ball for the nomination and a party in flux.
Consider that Giuliani's support, 27 percent among Republicans, is about half of Clinton's support among Democrats. Still, skip past the primary season and look at this. A head-to-head match-up, Clinton versus Giuliani, a virtual dead heat. Interesting, but there are miles to go before they sleep.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: Miles to go, indeed. Polls may say Senator Clinton is a shoe-in for the Democratic presidential nomination but they've been wrong before. In fact, the Washington bureau chief for "Salon" magazine says Hillary can still blow it big time.
Walter Shapiro joins us live to talk about his new article, in which he outlines some potential pitfalls for Senator Clinton. We're going to talk about a few of them here.
Walter, thanks a lot for joining us.
WALTER SHAPIRO, D.C. BUREAU CHIEF, "SALON": Thank you.
MCEDWARDS: To those of us who come from other countries, U.S. election campaigns seem so long. Other than 30 days, and you're in, you're out. These go on forever.
SHAPIRO: For those of us who live here, they seem so long.
(LAUGHTER)
MCEDWARDS: Yeah, right. They leave a lot of time for things to go wrong, don't they?
SHAPIRO: They leave an infinite amount of time for things to go wrong. And the thing about national polls is the Pew Research Center had a recent poll that said 71 percent of the American people still haven't been paying much attention to the presidential race. And even in the key early state of New Hampshire, 55 percent of Democrats, in a recent poll, said they -- sponsored by CNN and WMUR -- said they had not yet made up their mind. These are unbelievably shallow numbers, when they say that Hillary is 51 percent. And they can change in an instant, particularly if she loses either Iowa or New Hampshire.
MCEDWARDS: Yeah. What could go wrong? What do you think?
SHAPIRO: First of all, first of all, the rule of politics -- and my first presidential campaign I covered was 1916, Woodrow Wilson's re-election campaign -- is the thing that always can go wrong is the conventional wisdom changes. That the conventional wisdom is fluid. We get bored with the story line.
Also, that Hillary, a lot of her support is based on the fact that she is the strongest Democrat against Republicans. If she starts losing in places like Iowa, her weakest state, it will revive questions about is she indeed the most elect-able Democrat? And then, there's this fellow named Bill Clinton out there. Bill Clinton, as we all know, has developed in the past an ability to, shall we say, cause us all to write about the Clinton marriage.
MCEDWARDS: If you're being polite.
SHAPIRO: Moreover, we're in a situation where we never had a first spouse, potential first spouse like Bill Clinton.
MCEDWARDS: But he's an asset.
SHAPIRO: I'm not sure if the American people have worked that through.
MCEDWARDS: Come on, Walter, though, he's an asset, though, isn't he? The guy's Rolodex, the fund-raising. Do you really think Bill Clinton could be a liability at some point here?
SHAPIRO: I'm not saying that Bill Clinton could be a liability. I'm saying polls, right now, reflect only Bill Clinton, the asset, and none of the liability.
MCEDWARDS: I got ya. I got ya.
Even if things were to sort of go south for her, is there really a Democratic candidate who can touch her? I mean if you look at the national polls, she's 30 points ahead of Barack Obama. Can he step up?
SHAPIRO: That is a question that has a lot of people in the Obama campaign worried. But that is much more between what is in Barack Obama himself, and whether he can draw the distinctions with Hillary Clinton. Certainly, it seemed if he could step up six months ago when the news magazines were filled with Obama mania. And there's two and a half months is an eternity in politics.
Also there's a fellow named John Edwards who is, as Candy Crowley indicated, is very strong in Iowa and it is not inconceivable that someone not named Barack or Hillary could win Iowa.
MCEDWARDS: All right, we've got to leave it there. Walter Shapiro, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Appreciate it.
SHAPIRO: Thank you so much.
MCEDWARDS: Well, one thing is for sure, we have a lot of time to watch it play out.
HOLMES: Oh, yeah, you know, the year ...
MCEDWARDS: Thirteen months.
HOLMES: ...to go? Yeah.
OK, coming up, the rise of the mini pig.
MCEDWARDS: They're cute, they're cuddly, and the English farmer who bred them hope they'll replace Chihuahua's as the beautiful perky pet of choice. Paris Hilton has gotta get one.
HOLMES: Paris Hilton will have to have one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, these piggies went to market, and got -- whoa, 300 bucks each, actually.
MCEDWARDS: But these little piggies weren't eaten, they got a lot of love.
HOLMES: Ah, fawned over. A pig farmer in England has bred a mini pig he says will be all the rage.
MCEDWARDS: And with more on this, here's Alphonso Van Marsh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At this petting farm, the animals that answer to, "Here, piggy, piggy", are getting a lot smaller.
These miniature pigs, are pygmies, who were little bigger than a teacup when they were born. Farmer Christopher Murray says they'll grow to be a fifth the size of an ordinary hog. He says he spent nine years cross-breeding the animals down to size.
CHRISTOPHER MURRAY, MINI PIG BREEDER: We operate a tourist attraction, and the commercial pigs we had the old English breeds, were just a too big for children to hop and in cuddle and play with.
VAN MARSH: But not these pint-sized pokers. They've been a hit with visitors, big and small.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're really cute. Piggies are my favorite animals. VAN MARSH: And apparently even tempered even when dropped.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said to my husband, I've got to see them. And ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's half the size of what you expect a piglet to be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's even a quarter.
VAN MARSH (on camera): The piglets may be cute and small now, but when they get older they'll grow up to be about this big. One thing's for certain, if that's too big for you, you can always eat them.
(PIGLETS SQUEALING)
MURRAY: I suppose if worst comes to worst, and you get fed up with your pet, well, there's always one thing you can do -- have a barbecue?
KATE MASON, MINI PIG OWNER: Rupert, Penny, where are you?
VAN MARSH: Not at Katie Mason's house. She bought Rupert and Penny from Murray for about $300 each. She's taught them tricks and says she's the one in hog heaven.
MASON: We've got the space and they are as good as, or better than, a dog.
VAN MARSH: Back on the farm, Murray says he's shrunk the pigs as small as he think is safe for their health. He says he'll keep selling the mini pigs to the public, but only as pets, not for breakfast.
Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, Totnus, (ph) England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCEDWARDS: Nice sound effects.
HOLMES: I still say bite-sized, yum.
MCEDWARDS: You're bad.
That is it for this hour. I'm Colleen McEdwards.
HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes. This is CNN.
We're going to leave you now with pictures coming from Washington, D.C., in fact, the Capitol Rotunda.
MCEDWARDS: That is where the Dalai Lama, in just a few moments from now, is to receive the highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal.
HOLMES: See you tomorrow.
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