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Obama Shines Light on Afghan War with Visit; U.S. Talking to Iran?; Dispatches from Myanmar
Aired July 19, 2008 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is Saturday, July 19th. I'm T. J. Holmes.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for starting your day with us.
HOLMES: And we're going to start this morning with a story we've been keeping an eye on for the past several hours. Barack Obama is in Afghanistan. The trip is going to bring some new attention to what a lot have called the forgotten war. Also, he is certainly there to get a bolster for the big foreign policy credentials. We'll be live in Kabul.
KEILAR: Also a disruption on a plane that involves a naked man and then some members of a professional soccer team sort of getting involved in this situation. And, yes, this is a true story. We're going to tell you all about it.
HOLMES: Yes, seriously, I know it sounded crazy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it goes! There it goes. The old Humana (ph) Building is no more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And yes, Saturday morning, as you know, many of our viewers will know that we're very prone to have implosions here. We don't like the things to explode. We like for them to implode. And we'll talk a little bit about more of how -- what happened there in Louisville as well.
KEILAR: And also here's a headline for you. Sex every day for a year. That was one woman's birthday gift to her husband. That couple is going to be joining us live this hour in the NEWSROOM.
HOLMES: Yes. If we can get them to stop making out long enough.
KEILAR: I know, we'll have to see about that.
HOLMES: You never know, yes.
KEILAR: Also, in the war zone, presidential candidate Barack Obama is on the ground in Afghanistan right now. He arrived at Bagram Air Base several hours ago after a stop in Kuwait to visit U.S. troops there. And CNN's Reza Sayah joining us now live from Kabul, Afghanistan with the very latest on this -- Reza.
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, Senator Barack Obama on his first visit to Afghanistan. Let's get you the latest. We can tell you that this visit was shrouded in secrecy, but just about 30 minutes ago, overhead we saw two Chinook helicopters escorted by four other choppers approach the presidential palace here in Kabul. And that's the type of formation you see in Kabul when VIPs are either taken to or taken away from the presidential palace.
The U.S. embassy says the senator is not at the palace at this moment, so it's possible that those choppers may have taken President Hamid Karzai to a location to meet the congressional delegation that includes Senator Obama. We can also report that about three hours ago Senator Obama moved to eastern Afghanistan.
That's significant because that's a region where in recent weeks we've seen a significant spike in Taliban insurgent activity, perhaps Senator Obama sending a message to voters back in America, sending a message to his opponent, Senator McCain, that this may be his first time in Afghanistan, but he's not afraid to go to regions where things are a little bit dicier -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Reza, how much will Senator Obama really be able to see on this trip?
SAYAH: Not much. This is going to be in and out trip. He's going to talk to commanders who have asked for more U.S. troops. But make no mistake, this is an effort by Senator Obama to change the perception back in America that he's weak on national security and foreign policy.
Keep in mind, he's going up against Senator McCain, a decorated Navy captain, a prisoner of war who has blasted him for never having visited Afghanistan. He does have his visit now, but don't expect the criticism from McCain to stop -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Reza Sayah in Kabul for us, thanks.
HOLMES: And speaking of that criticism from John McCain, he continues to talk about Obama and really get onto him for not spending more time in Afghanistan and Iraq. He's campaigning in Michigan and he slammed Obama's position of wanting to set a time frame for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Americans really have a choice, because I know how to win wars, and if we had done what Senator Obama has said, we would have a wider war, we would have Iranian increase in influence, you would have -- see greater sectarian violence, and every possibility that the United States of America would have to come back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: McCain, of course, has opposed setting any kind of a time frame for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
We'll turn to Iran now and some high level nuclear talks going on in Switzerland this morning. Iran's negotiator on one side of the table. On the other side, a top U.S. diplomat. CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is there in Geneva, Switzerland, for us this morning.
Well, any update about what has been happening in that room?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we understand the meetings have now ended and we're waiting for the formal announcement and the description of what happened from the main participants, that is, the head of Iran's National Supreme Advisory Council, Saeed Jalili, and also the E.U. foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.
You mentioned the presence of U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns. This, of course, a major reversal in policy, a major change from the United States, but one designed to show the Iranians that the U.S. is behind this diplomatic pathway here and also designed to receive the Iranians response to the latest E.U./U.S., and world power proposal to Iran.
That involved a sort of interim methodology to break the deadlock over the nuclear negotiations. And that was for Iran to accept a six- week freeze on any further uranium enrichment in return for six-week freeze on any further E.U., U.S. or U.N. sanctions imposed on Iran.
We are not sure whether Iran has accepted this. We don't know whether Iran has fudged the issue, as it has done in the past, or whether it said a definite yes or no. What wee do know is that all along we've reported that we need to be cautious about this and we've been advised that we need to be cautious about this.
And just earlier before the talks even began, Iran's officials here told me that they stand by their right to their nuclear program. Iran's foreign minister has said that perhaps this meeting will lead to further meetings.
But as I say, in the next few minutes, we should have a formal declaration by both sides and we'll be able to tell you what happened. Back to you.
HOLMES: OK. Well, Christiane, we will certainly stand by and wait to get that word from you. Again, our Christiane Amanpour keeping an eye on things happening there in Geneva, Switzerland. As soon as she finds something out, we'll get back to her and pass that information along to you.
But a different kind of diplomacy actually going on with Iran as well. This one taking place on the hardwoods. That story coming your way in about 30 minutes.
KEILAR: Now to Iraq, it's not a withdraw deadline, but President Bush and Iraq's prime minister have agreed to discuss what they are calling a "general time horizon" for reducing U.S. combat troop levels. The White House says the leaders agreed the goals would be based on improving conditions, not on an arbitrary date.
And the future for British troops in Iraq is on the agenda today for Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He's actually in the country there right now. Mr. Brown holding talks with Iraqi leaders about long-term relations. Britain has about 4,000 troops in Iraq. Military officials say they expect to begin reducing that number next year.
And an unusual story out of Pennsylvania to tell you about. Police say that Andrea Curry-Demus walked into a hospital this week and that she lied about being the mother of a new baby. And now police have found the body of a woman in her home. There's an autopsy on that body that's being done today. Meantime, police have charged Curry-Demus with child endangerment.
HOLMES: And police say Curry-Demus pretended to have given birth to that baby and then later said that she bought the baby. Family and friends, as you can imagine right now, are just stunned by all of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did she do this? Why did she do this? Why? (INAUDIBLE) was her baby? Why did she do that? Why?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Some friends and family say she actually went as far as having a baby shower. Now police have yet to release the identity of the woman who was found dead in that apartment.
Meanwhile U.S. officials say a drug smuggling submarine type vessel has been seized off the coast of Mexico. It happened earlier this week in the Pacific. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents spotted the vessel and called the Mexican navy. The Mexican navy stopped the ship and found about seven tons of cocaine. U.S. Coast Guard officials say they are seeing more and more of these semi- submersible vessels in the drug smuggling trade. These things can actually travel beneath the water's surface but they do not fully submerge.
KEILAR: One of the nation's largest dog breeders will now be owned by the Humane Society. We're talking about the Wisconsin chapter which agreed to buy the Puppy Haven Kennel. This is north of Milwaukee. This group says that it will try to find homes for more than 1,100 breeding dogs at the kennel. The former owner was suspended by the American Kennel Club because of poor conditions at this facility. And this is a kennel that sells about 3,000 dogs every year.
HOLMES: Well, you can call him -- religious rebels. Three Catholic women plan to be ordained as priests in a ceremony tomorrow in Boston.
KEILAR: Well, the Catholic Church does not allow women to become priests so the church says the women could be excommunicated if they try to receive sacred orders, but the women say they believe the priesthood is their true calling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLORIA CARPENTO, PLANS TO BECOME PRIEST: For many of us, we have been functioning as priests for years and years. We have been ministers. We serve the people of God. So I don't think it's a gender issue. In reality it's not a gender issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: The ordination will take place at a church affiliated with two Protestant denominations.
HOLMES: And our Reynolds Wolf, let's check in with him for the first time to see what is happening out there -- Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Out there referring to the tropics. You know, it's that time of year again, things are starting to heat up, getting very busy, especially with this system off the Carolina coast. We're going to talk about it coming up in a few moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Two men vying for the Oval Office. One has been to Afghanistan several times, dating back to 2002, while the other just making his first visit today.
HOLMES: Yes, certainly most know which is which. Barack Obama there today. Well, Afghanistan certainly burst into the American consciousness in the aftermath of 9/11. Still, many people don't know a whole lot about it.
KEILAR: Yes, they certainly don't. And Josh Levs here to remind us that 36,000 U.S. troops still serving there.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We actually just clarified those numbers yesterday. And I'll tell you a little bit more about them while I almost destroy her computer over here. Whoops. Betty would be so mad if she was here.
Let's talk Afghanistan. Here's the deal, I want to start off with where it is. Let's do this cool zoom effect. I asked them to label countries next to it because I want to show you something. There's Afghanistan. To the west you have got Iran, and to the east is Pakistan. Now 3 million refugees have fled Afghanistan into those two countries. And according to the U.N., that is about a quarter of all the refugees in this world.
Now the whole country has about 33 million people in Afghanistan. About 80 percent Sunni Muslims, nearly all the rest are Shia, and it's also one of the poorest countries in the world.
The opium trade, we hear a lot about that. It has a real grip on the economy. Check out this figure: $4 billion in illicit opium trade each year. Now something else we don't hear about often, though, are the improvements in Afghanistan. And everyone agrees there are improvements in Afghanistan. The U.N. is saying there has been growth in construction and trade. There have been improvements in health and education.
And that is key part of understanding what has been going on in the war. We shouldn't forget those improvements. Still, mess of an economy, 40 percent joblessness and the poverty rate is over half, 53 percent poverty level. The war has been going on, as you know, nearly seven years.
It was after 9/11 attacks, the U.S. toppled the Taliban which has been sheltering al Qaeda. NATO's International Security Assistance Force is responsible now for much of the country. But the U.S.-led coalition continues to operate at the same time. That's how you get this 36,000 figure.
Let me show you this breakdown. We confirmed this yesterday. Just under 18,000 U.S. troops are part of that NATO-led force. And just over 18,000 troops are in the U.S.-led coalition. So when you put everything together, we, the U.S., currently has 36,000 troops serving in Afghanistan.
And let's go to the death toll now., 473 U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan. You might hear a larger number sometime of people preparing for that same operation. But in the country, 473. And last month the U.S. and allied death toll, guys, in Afghanistan was higher even than it was in Iraq.
So obviously now more and more focus going on right there. We don't know how many Afghans have died in the war. Right now the numbers for that vary. But the U.N. is saying that civilian deaths so far this year have been higher than they were last year at the same time...
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: And those increased coalition deaths really propelling Afghanistan now into the spotlight.
LEVS: Absolutely. And you know, also -- there you go, that's civilian deaths there. You have got the civilian deaths increasing, you've got the military deaths increasing. And what we are seeing also because of a lot of what's going on in U.S. politics, more and more focus there, which explains Barack Obama's trip.
And obviously we can expect a lot more about Afghanistan in the coming months, especially leading up to the November election.
KEILAR: All right. Josh, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
HOLMES: All right. We'll turn to our -- back to some weather now. Reynolds Wolf, we were just checking in with him, he has a lot of things dancing around on some of those maps behind you.
What's going on, Reynolds? WOLF: All kinds of crazy stuff including stuff, including things in the tropics. Now what I want to start off with is by showing you some radar that we have right off the coast. Here are the Carolinas. Here is Georgia. Here is Savannah. A live image that we have for you out of Savannah shows one of the components for this tropical system now. That would be the wind.
Let's go to it right now. Cameras not really too shaky, but kind of static-y at times. And way off the coast you can see the Savannah River leading out to the water and off in the distance there, of course, the clouds are billowing. And let's go right back to the weather computer. As we do so, you noticed a little bit of that rotation. That's that area of low pressure that's expected to pull its way to the north and the northeast.
We do anticipate heavier surf for places like Wilmington and for Cape Hatteras as we make our way into Sunday, into Monday, by Tuesday, the forecast brings the storm more to the northeast. It will be a named storm, possible name with a C, we just had Bertha, this would be Cristobal. And the storm also bringing in quite a bit of wind for many places.
Now what's interesting is this particular forecast model, that's basically what this is, shows you the intensity color-coded from 13 to, say, 39 to 74 miles per hour bringing it up to hurricane force. It looks like it will be very close to hurricane force, at least the eastern quadrant of the storm. This is the eye pretty well defined as it hits parts of the Outer Banks and scrubs right along the coast and then moves deeper out to sea.
The thing is, that's not the only show in town. We have got another storm to deal with, that other one happens to be down in the Caribbean. Not a named storm yet. Really it's not even a depression. It's just an area of disturbed weather that's right into the center of the Caribbean. A lot of deep convection at this time. But it really doesn't have that flow of circulation.
You don't see that pattern that we're so used to seeing this time of the year. But there is the potential that as the storm veers its way to the east and -- rather to the west and northwest, doing so around 5 to 10 to 15 miles an hour, this storm may actually get much closer to the Yucatan, skip over into the Gulf and then strengthen significantly.
So a lot can happen over the next couple of hours. We're going to watch this for you very quickly and very carefully as we do so -- as we get more information, we, of course, will pass it on to you. Back to you.
HOLMES: All right. We know you will. Reynolds, we do appreciate you this morning.
All right. Look out below. Army band at Fort Riley, they're prepared for a lot but not prepared for this. That is a wayward parachutist who took out three tuba players. Look at this in the slow motion here, were really like bowling pins, they were, standing there. Well, one band member was knocked unconscious and actually broke his jaw. Another one broke an ankle. The parachutist, however, not hurt, and walked away with pretty much just a bruised ego. Don't exactly know what was going on, but certainly didn't land where he was hoping to land.
KEILAR: So hard to watch. And they estimate I think he was going about 50 miles an hour. It just gives you an idea of how fast he was going.
HOLMES: Amazing somebody wasn't hurt even worse.
Well, a Tiger-less field at the British Open, that's good news for some.
KEILAR: Yes, no Tiger, but there's a Shark, and the other players can forget about the defending champion for now, or can they?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Big day in golf. The third round of the British Open well under way. The leaders actually teed off just a short time ago.
HOLMES: Well, CNN's Justin Armsden is in Southport, England, for the tournament. And he tells us many of the players have Tiger Woods on their mind even though Tiger is not even there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUSTIN ARMSDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, some of the biggest names in gold are here at Royal Birkdale. But the big story heading into the Open Championship wasn't about who was here, but who wasn't, Tiger Woods.
STEVE STRICKER, 10 SHOTS BEHIND LEADER: He's the number one player in the world, and when you have your best athlete not showing up at an event, and especially the major tournament that this is, it's going to draw attention no matter if he's here or not.
ARMSDEN: Woods won two of the last three Open Championships, leading some to speculate that without having to worry about the world's best player, it will be easier to win this tournament.
JIM FURYK, 3 SHOTS BEHIND LEADER: I would have a hard time getting up in the morning looking at myself in the mirror if that's the way I was thinking.
ERNIE ELS, +13 AFTER 3 ROUNDS: It will be a little strange not to see Tiger Woods on the leader board, because he's there just about every week, you know? And especially at a major..
ROCCO MEDIATE, 3 SHOTS BEHIND LEADER: This is no disrespect, this is just the truth, whoever is in there on Saturday and Sunday or whenever they're -- you know, coming down the last nine holes or whatever it is, and leading the golf tournament, right around there, there is one difference, you don't got to look him in the eye. GEOFF OGILVY, MISSED CUT IN 2008 BRITISH OPEN: Puts a little bit of a dent in the field, but it doesn't make it any less of a tournament, and I'm sure it doesn't make it any easier to win.
ARMSDEN: There's no denying Tiger's presence on the PGA tour has increased the popularity of golf by massive proportions both in the U.S. and around the world. So while Woods spends the next eight months recovering from injury, questions remain about the impact that will have for the sport and the fans.
TIM FINCHEM, PGA TOUR COMMISSIONER: When you lose the number one player and the number one athlete on the globe, there's no good news about it. It's going to be a negative in television. I think the good news, if there is any, is that it allows these other players to shine.
JACK NICKLAUS, 18 CAREER MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: That's one of the things that's probably hurting the game right now, that there is only one player that's carrying the game.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's a disappointment, you know, that he's not here, because it certainly raises the level of everybody's expectations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In some ways it's good because it means there are less crowds, there are less photographers blocking your view because some points, if Tiger would come around, the amount of people that come with him, it kind of spoils it for some of the other spectators. So I'm sorry he has got a bad knee and I wish him well, but I'm actually not missing him.
SERGIO GARCIA, WON 2008 THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP: The majors and the tournaments, they are bigger than all of us. So things are going keep going no matter who is missing.
ARMSDEN: Of course, the good news for the tour is that any negative impact Tiger's absence may have will be short-lived. It's expected that he'll return to the course in time for next year's Masters.
Justine Armsden, CNN, Southport, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Well, T.J., here's one to make you think twice about surfing. Photographer Ken McNair was taking some pictures of surfers in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, when this spinner shark you see there just jumped out of the surf. Thankfully no one was hurt. A shark expert says it's really not uncommon for spinners to make these flying leaps.
HOLMES: We weren't sure if that was real. We thought it was fake, we just thought it couldn't be -- like somebody had to have put that shark in there later. But they say it's the real deal, so.
KEILAR: It's pretty amazing. It's beautiful, especially considering no one got hurt.
HOLMES: And the surfer is oblivious to what is going on behind him.
Well, bringing down the house or the building in this particular case.
KEILAR: Yes, this time the dust rises over downtown Louisville.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Let's do a check of our top stories now. It's not a withdraw deadline, but President Bush and Iraq's prime minister have agreed to discuss what they are calling a "general time horizon" for reducing U.S. combat troop levels. The White House says the leaders agreed the goals would be based on improving conditions, not on an arbitrary date.
HOLMES: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is in Afghanistan right now. He arrived there at Bagram Air Base several hours ago after making a stop in Kuwait to visit U.S. troops there. He's making the trip as part of an official congressional delegation. Obama also plans to stop in Iraq.
KEILAR: Barack Obama's trip comes less than a week after a Taliban attack killed nine American troops. This attack near the border with Pakistan was the worst loss for U.S. forces in Afghanistan during the past three years.
And as CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr reports, it came as the troops' families were getting ready to welcome them home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They were just weeks away from coming home after 15 months fighting in Afghanistan. Sergeant Israel Garcia's wife learned of his death just hours before she was due to fly to Italy to meet him.
Garcia's little brother is devastated.
RAMSSES GARCIA, SOLDIER'S BROTHER: He ain't going to see my kids. He isn't going to be in my wedding, my graduation.
STARR: Nine young men of the 173rd Airborne Brigade combat team, some just a few years out of high school, killed in a firefight with 200 insurgents near the Pakistan border. It was to be one of their last missions on this tour of duty.
Corporal Gunnar Zwelling's uncle says Zwelling's father has already suffered greatly.
GARY ZWELLING, SOLDIER'S UNCLE: He has cancer and he has just been so sick, and his wife just passed away last year. It has just been a horrible, you know, year for him.
STARR: Lieutenant Jonathan Brostrom's biology teacher remembers a great youngster.
MIKE NORMAND, SOLDIER'S TEACHER: Every now and then, he'd be a little rascal and, you know, making a joke here or there.
STARR: Suzanne Ayers planned to surprise her son, Corporal Jonathan Ayers, the minute he touched down in the U.S.
SUZANNE AYERS, SOLDIER'S MOTHER: We had already got his plane ticket and I had bought a ticket to surprise him because he had a layover in New York.
STARR: Michael Bogar spoke with a father's pride. His son, Jason, had served in Iraq in 2003 and wanted to help children in war zones.
MICHAEL BOGAR, SOLDIER'S FATHER: In my opinion, Jason did in 25 years what it takes a lot of people a lifetime to do.
STARR: Corporal Jason Hovater was all set to go backpacking in Europe with his wife, Jenna. They had been sweethearts since they met at the age of 14.
JENNA HOVATER, SOLDIER'S WIFE: Driving home last night and I saw the prettiest sunset and I just think, thank you, Jason. You know, I mean, that's him. He's in that.
STARR: Now, the planning begins for funerals and remembering young boys who in war, served as men.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, Republican presidential candidate John McCain is keeping up the pressure on Senator Obama while he's out of the country. McCain was actually on late night with comedian Conan O'Brien last night. He did applaud Obama for visiting Afghanistan, but he did slip in a bit of criticism of his Democratic rival at the same time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: Well, I'm glad he's going. I think it's important that he sit down with General Petraeus and go to Afghanistan, where he has never been before, and see the situation because I think the situation is very tough in Afghanistan as well. Yes, I'm glad that he's going. I'll be interested in hearing his conclusions when he returns. I'm a little disappointed that he gave a policy statement before he left. Usually you do that ever after you learn from your trip.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, you can find out what the candidates are doing and where they stand on the issues by going to our Web site, cnnpolitics.com. KEILAR: Nuclear talks with Iran wrapping up today. Those talks are being held in Geneva, Switzerland. Iran meeting with European Union representatives, and marking major change in U.S. policy. A top American diplomat was also sitting at the table. Now we're waiting to hear if any agreements were reached. We're going to bring you the latest as we get it.
But now for a different type of diplomacy.
KEILAR: Yes. Sports often times can be the great equalizer. And as CNN's Ted Rowlands reports, it's also a great way to break down some barriers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Missile testing in Iran and tough talks from both sides has increased tensions recently between Washington and Tehran. But the two countries seem to be getting along just fine on the basketball court.
The Iranian basketball team is in Utah for a six-day four-game tour against U.S. professional teams sponsored by the NBA. The hope is that a little friendly competition on the court can promote understanding. Iranian player Samid Bahrami says Michael Jordan is his all-time hoops hero, and the Los Angeles Lakers is his favorite team.
SAMID BAHRAMI, IRANIAN NATIONAL TEAM: It's an amazing experience for us to come here and play with good players.
ROWLANDS: Oshin Sahakian shares his teammate's excitement and says he is hoping people will come out and cheer for his team.
OSHIN SAHAKIAN, IRANIAN NATIONAL TEAM: I'm so happy and I'm excited because it's my dream to play basketball in the United States because the U.S. is the first country in basketball in the world.
ROWLANDS: The Iranians were invited in part as a result of 2006 change in policy at the State Department, which, for the first time since 1979, includes Iran in cultural exchanges. They're also here because they're good. They won last year's Asian championship which qualifies them for the Olympics, their first in 60 years.
David Levy, a psychologist at Pepperdine University, says unlike other cultural exchanges, sports competition has the potential to actually increase animosity between countries unless the game is clean and played with respect.
DAVID LEVY, PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY: Whether it's a handshake during, before, or after the game, whether it's eye contact, it's just the way people treat each other that's most important.
ROWLANDS: In 1971 China invited the American table tennis team to visit. A year later President Richard Nixon made an historic trip there with many crediting the ping-pong matches for opening the door. The Iranians lost their first game Thursday night against an NBA Development League team, but regardless of outcomes, both countries should benefit from what happens on the court.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Lots of airline flights can be routine but not so for American airlines Flight 725 from Boston to Los Angeles. It actually had to be diverted to Oklahoma City because one passenger decided to get naked. Well, this naked man, as you can imagine, kind of shocked the other passengers and his appearance prompted some quick action from some professional soccer players.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG TORNBERG, GM, NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION: And I went over to the guy. And I said, you're going to get your clothes back on. I probably said a few choice words on it. But go back into the bathroom and get your clothes on.
EVAN CALLAGHAN, PASSENGER: And then so the flight attendant had people get him, go back and change back into the clothes. And so they thought they had that settled. And then a couple seconds after he jumped up and tried to get out the emergency door.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAMB: And at that point passengers tackled the man, they strapped him to his seat and then he was taken into custody in Oklahoma City for psychiatric evaluation.
HOLMES: All right. Let's move onto the picture of the morning, if you will. Not much news value here, but we just like showing it to you. We have a good time with it, hope you do as well. An implosion, as we like to have on our morning show during the weekend. This was earlier in Louisville, Kentucky. The building being demolished to make way for, what else, a new downtown sports arena. Construction on that arena is supposed to be finished up by 2010.
KEILAR: We've seen many an implosion. That was a fine implosion as implosions go.
HOLMES: One to 10, how did you like it?
KEILAR: I'm going with a 7.5.
HOLMES: OK. That's a pretty good one.
KEILAR: What do you think?
HOLMES: We've seen better. But it all came down to that -- I get points for that. But this is a story everybody has been waiting on coming up next, 365 nights of intimacy. Do you think you could you handle that? KEILAR: Surprising answers from a couple who tried. But first, get your kids out of the room, I think.
Hi, guys.
HOLMES: Don't they look happy.
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. We told you to get the kids out of the room. I'm going to give you one more shot. And you'll understand why I'm not just kidding here. We're about to ask you something very personal here. How is your sex life? If you think it's good, you've got nothing on this couple you're about to meet. Charla Muller set out to have sex with her husband every day for a year. I've been dating the wrong women. The results of this book, "365 Nights: A Memoir of Intimacy," Charlotte and her husband Brad, there they are. The happy and weary couple joining us this morning from Charlotte, North Carolina.
I want to apologize first, because I'm going to have to ask you some things that nobody should be asked on live national television, but you're going to do this, 365 days, every day for a year, first question, did you succeed?
CHARLA MULLER, AUTHOR, "365 DAYS: A MEMOIR OF INTIMACY": Well, certainly our goal was 365 days. That was the intent of the gift. But it wasn't a competition. And we weren't keeping score so we ending up averaging between 26 and 28 days a month.
HOLMES: That's a lot.
MULLER: It's still a lot. You know, Brad traveled and...
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Brad is like, yes, that's a lot.
BRAD MULLER, HUSBAND OF CHARLA MULLER: That is a lot.
HOLMES: Well, tell me -- and when you just say sex every day, I mean, were not -- other things that could be construed as sex, and we're talking...
C. MULLER: No.
HOLMES: ... the deed. You were doing it every day.
C. MULLER: Yes.
B. MULLER: Correct.
HOLMES: OK. I'll ask why then. Charla, I'll ask you first. Why did you make this offer to your husband? C. MULLER: I think that that's the most important question of all. Because we've been married eight years. And we both work. And we have two kids. And we have a house to maintain. And I think that I realized that intimacy had really slipped off our priority list. And this was a way, albeit a kind of wacky and wild way to put that back at the top of the list again in our marriage.
HOLMES: OK. And, Brad, let me ask you, I mean, you -- 26, 28 days out of the month, what was it before?
(LAUGHTER)
B. MULLER: Few and far between is probably the best answer.
HOLMES: Give me -- more specific than that. How much are we talking about here?
C. MULLER: Probably -- I don't -- a couple times a month?
B. MULLER: A couple times a month was probably...
HOLMES: A couple of times a month. And you weren't so receptive at first when she brought the idea to you.
B. MULLER: Yes. I turned her down, actually, if you could believe that. I wasn't sure she was serious and had completely thought through the ramifications of what she was offering. But she convinced me she was serious. And it really transformed our marriage.
HOLMES: OK. Let's put this back up. We're reading here a part of the book here. This was in June, or this was back earlier. Are you saying, honey, I'd like to give you sex every day for your 40th birthday. And that was your answer, why don't think about this some more and we can talk about it later. Brad, did you not think you would hold up -- or you would be able to make it all year or what?
B. MULLER: Well, I wanted to be sure that she was serious and not going to lose interest in this idea. If we were going to do this, I wanted to do it right, you know?
HOLMES: And, yes, the doing it right part. Can you really do it right if you're doing it every day like that? I mean, doing it right takes a lot of time, effort, some candles, some wine, and all kinds of things. But could you really...
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Yes, go ahead.
C. MULLER: I would disagree. I mean, I think that one of the things that we learned over the course of the year, and I think that that is what's reflected in "365 Nights," is that real intimacy, you know, is driven by real life. And real life isn't candles and wine every night. Sometimes real life is a quickie, for a lack of a better word. And there's still value and benefit in that. HOLMES: There has got to be a better word than "quickie" this morning. So were a lot of them really a wham-bam kind of thing, if you will?
C. MULLER: Well, I think that the more important lesson that we learned is making time for each other every night and whether we had a short amount of time or a long amount of time kind of depended upon our schedule and our kids' schedules and our family schedule, but I think that the most important message is we were making time for each other in a way that we never had before. And that was the transforming part of it.
HOLMES: OK. And certainly you have kids and you're busy. We want to put something else up from the book that came almost the following year in June, the following one, if we can try to call this one up. But this was with Brad.
Brad, you actually said to her, could you pretend you're interested in this, could you woo me a bit. And she's laughing, saying, are you telling me that after 11 months and 20 days of offering you no strings attached sex every day that you want something more? Now -- and there were also times here, Brad, that really you've just got to get to business and she also tried to have a conversation I understand at some point during sex, trying to multitask.
C. MULLER: Yes.
B. MULLER: Yes. She was always trying to catch up on the day's news and I was trying to focus on what we were doing.
C. MULLER: Yes. I think women are like that. You know, women are notorious multitaskers. And so unfortunately I brought that somewhere where it wasn't too welcome. But we worked through that. I think that what we learned over the course of the year is that there's a time and place for different levels or different ways of creating intimacy and sometimes that's short and sweet and sometimes it's not, but that there is still value there.
HOLMES: OK. And let me ask now, you made it through that year. Again, that was '06 to '07.
C. MULLER: Correct.
HOLMES: What is your sex life like now after getting all of that? What is it -- are you back to the earlier levels?
C. MULLER: No, no.
HOLMES: What are you at now?
C. MULLER: Well, you know, Brad made a great statement that we included in "365 Nights," which is, you know, sex every day is not a long-term sustainable model, but neither is intimacy hardly ever. So we landed somewhere squarely in between and really learned a lot of amazing lessons about ourselves and our marriage.
HOLMES: And I've got to let you go. But, Brad, I've got to know, what did you get for your birthday this year?
B. MULLER: I think I got a golf club.
HOLMES: Oh, that's terrible. Well, hopefully it was a driver at least. Brad and Charla, we appreciate you all being on with us this morning. Really, you learned a lot about your relationship, certainly some things can be learned from what you all learned and it's in your book. Thank you all so much for having some fun with us this morning. And good luck.
B. MULLER: Thank you.
C. MULLER: Same to you.
HOLMES: All right. We'll see you again.
KEILAR: They seem pretty happy. A good lesson for people.
HOLMES: Why wouldn't they be?
KEILAR: Well, I guess that's the point.
Reynolds, weather?
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: Is it over?
HOLMES: You know what, I don't even smoke, but I feel like I need a cigarette right now.
WOLF: Dude! It's a family show! It's a family show. Am I right?
HOLMES: Yes, it used to be, a few minutes ago. All right, Reynolds.
WOLF: Let's just go right to the forecast, can we?
HOLMES: Please.
WOLF: Yes, to heck with transitions, a driver indeed. Thank you, T.J.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WOLF: Now let's send it back to the news deck. Have you guys recovered?
KEILAR: No.
HOLMES: Have you?
WOLF: Dude, that was surreal.
KEILAR: Can you do another weather segment? WOLF: That was just surreal. One of the most bizarre things, I mean...
KEILAR: But so interesting.
WOLF: It was. It was.
HOLMES: They learned a lot about their relationship.
WOLF: At 10:46 in the morning Eastern time it was great.
HOLMES: Yes, all right. Reynolds, we appreciate it.
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: And 7:46 on the West Coast. All right, Reynolds. Thank you so much.
Well, surveillance cameras, they are not much use, right, if you can't see the crooks. That's why these guys came armed with fire extinguishers when they crawled into a video game store in Florida.
HOLMES: Yes, the bandits first broke into a neighboring business, then cut a hole through the adjoining wall so, my goodness, look at that. Every crook has a plan, don't they?
Well, we're going to turn back to talking about and with Iran. Important nuclear meetings wrapping up this morning. And now we're waiting to hear more about any possible agreements to come out of that.
KEILAR: We'll be taking you there live.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Betty Nguyen. Coming up, find out what we faced reporting from a country where foreign journalists are not allowed. We take you inside Myanmar.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: This is a rare glimpse inside Myanmar, showing you what life is like now two months after the deadly cyclone that just devastated the delta there.
HOLMES: Yes, all morning long, we've been bringing you the dramatic images that were coming to us from our Betty Nguyen, now sharing with us the dangerous journey she took to get those stories.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN (voice-over): Just getting into the country was half the battle. Little did I know the rest would be near impossible. We had to devise a plan to bypass multiple military checkpoints and get down to the cyclone devastation.
(on camera): So the only way out of Yangon is through this checkpoint.
(voice-over): That's a problem. Because if we're caught, our team faced deportation, even prison time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a difficult job to do. It's one of the harder places to shoot and actually tell a story because you live in fear of yourself being kicked out, but you have more fear of the people that work for you being arrested and put away for 20 years.
NGUYEN: That was my photographer. I can't show you his face because he still works in the region. So after days of poring over maps and scouting out routes, we were finally on the move.
(on camera): To get down to the Irrawaddy Delta we have to leave under the cover of darkness. The last thing we need right now is to be stopped.
(voice-over): We hopped from different modes of transportation, all the while feeling like fugitives on the run.
(on camera): It's really the only way to get down there and bypass the checkpoints. It's going to be a long ride.
(voice-over): And a rough one. We slept in stifling conditions and lived off of little more than bottled water and power bars. Once daylight broke through, it was clear this journey was far from over.
(on camera): We're waiting right now for a second boat, a smaller one that we're told will be able to make it through the canals a lot easier.
(voice-over): After 21 hours, we finally made it, though it normally takes only four hours to get here. And judging from the devastation, it doesn't look like much has changed in the two months since the cyclone struck.
Debris still littered villages. We had to work quickly, capturing what we could, never knowing when we would get caught trekking through muddy fields, over makeshift bridges and right into rice patties. We came across an eerie discovery, bodies still rotting in the delta. I knew we would find them. I just didn't know how haunting it would be.
Yet just a few feet away the living pressed on. It's a place where slivers of hope can be found in the eyes of the young, so happy and full of life. And for a brief moment you almost forget they have seen more pain than most people can imagine.
Betty Nguyen, CNN, Myanmar.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now you can get still a whole lot more by reading Betty's blog. You can go to our Web site, cnn.com, you can go to inthefield.blogs.cnn.com, you can find it on there.
KEILAR: Kids out of school on the street and in the crossfire of violence this summer. Some teens are helping create a fear-free zone for young people in their community.
HOLMES: And it's "ISSUE #1," gas prices are causing a perfect storm in the economy. Our Joe Johns looks at the disruption in one blue collar state.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. John McCain is certainly no stranger to late night talk shows. Some would even say it's maybe his best format.
KEILAR: The presidential candidate, he talks a whole lot about weighty subjects, right, but this is a different side of John McCain.
LEVS: That's right. And as we know, he has got no problem with laughs at his own expense, right? Check out his appearance last night on Conan O'Brien.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN": I don't know if you're aware of this. NBC, desperate for programming, has put a made-for-TV movie into the works about Senator McCain's choice of a vice president. I don't know if you have seen the casting yet. But I would like to share it with you right now.
First of all, Senator McCain himself will be played by Tim Conway. Very excited about that.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Yes. Florida Governor Charlie Crist will be played, of course, by Bob Barker. We're happy about that.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal will be played by Kumar from "Harold & Kumar."
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: I'm sure you know that movie well. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will be played by Gomer Pile.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Former head of eBay and national co-chair of your campaign, Meg Whitman will be played by Tom Petty and...
(LAUGHTER)
MCCAIN: Meg will not be pleased.
O'BRIEN: No, no, no. You're free to leave at any time.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney will be played by any local weatherman. We're excited about that.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman will be played by a basset hound and...
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Of course, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be played by snoop dog.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: They ate it up. They went wild.
KEILAR: Cruel to the women, I say, cruel.
LEVS: Cruel to everybody. Look, while Obama is dealing with the dangers of Afghanistan, McCain is dealing with dangers of Conan O'Brien. I love that clip. He's good at laughing at himself.
KEILAR: A basset hound.
LEVS: Basset hound.
HOLMES: Well, they put thought and effort into that, those things were kind of (INAUDIBLE), except for a few maybe with the women. But a lot of them were dead -- look at that.
LEVS: Wait, I hope Reynolds wasn't offended by that local weatherman thing. You weren't offended, were you?
KEILAR: He's not local.
LEVS: He used to be. He was once upon a time.
HOLMES: Can we get Reynolds' picture up right there...
(CROSSTALK)
LEVS: Make sure he doesn't look like Mitt Romney.
HOLMES: Just to be sure. But that's good stuff. They put some effort into that.
LEVS: They had some fun with that, yes. Maybe we should do that some time.
HOLMES: All right. Josh...
KEILAR: Maybe not, because I don't need to see which man is going to be playing me in a made-for-TV movie.
HOLMES: All right. Josh, we appreciate it.
KEILAR: Thank you, very fun.
HOLMES: Well, our next hour begins right now.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. News has been unfolding all morning. And it continues to unfold live on this Saturday, the 19th day of July. We thank you so much for being here. I'm T.J. Holmes.
KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Betty Nguyen. Barack Obama is in Afghanistan. What exactly is he going to see though? That's the question we're asking this morning.
HOLMES: Also, would you send the military to guard your trash? Strange sounding as it is, one city did just that.
KEILAR: And this little semi-sub, well, it was carrying a whole lot of cocaine. We'll tell you what happened here. You're in the NEWSROOM.
And we are watching two big stories breaking overseas today. In Switzerland there are nuclear talks with Iran. For the first time ever, a place at the table for Washington. Is the Bush administration seeking compromise?
Well, our top story though, troops secure the streets of Kabul for Barack Obama. Obama arrived in the Afghan capital after a brief stop in Kuwait.
