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American Morning
Obama in Iraq to Meet With U.S. Commanders; Rudy Giuliani Slams Obama on Iraq; Rice Says Tehran Could Face New Sanctions on Nuclear Program; Home Sellers Resort to Creative Incentives to Sell Homes; Candidate's Comic Book Stirs Controversy
Aired July 21, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Two storms, and we're watching both of them closely this morning. Cristobal is brushing past the Carolina Coast. And Dolly churning in the Caribbean. A full forecast straight ahead.
An Air Force B-52 has crashed off the coast of Guam. Two people have been recovered from the water. No word on their condition. Search crews are still out looking for the remaining four crew members. No indication so far what may have caused the aircraft to go down.
And back to our breaking news now. Barack Obama is in Iraq. This is part of a trip that started in Afghanistan. They went to Kuwait, now to Iraq.
Obama arrived in Baghdad overnight. The likely Democratic nominee says the United States must shift its attention to fighting terrorism in Afghanistan by adding thousands of soldiers to the fight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe U.S. troop levels need to increase for at least a year now. I have called for two additional brigades, perhaps three. I think it's very important that we unify command more effectively, to coordinate our military activities. But military alone is not going to be enough.
The Afghan government needs to do more, but we have to understand that the situation is precarious and urgent here in Afghanistan. And I believe this has to be our central focus, the central front on our battle against terrorism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: We are covering every angle of this critical trip. Our Morgan Neill is live for us in Baghdad. Suzanne Malveaux is in Washington talking about whether Obama's trip could hurt him with voters who say that the economy is issue number one.
Let's go first to Baghdad. And Morgan Neill, what's the latest from the ground there, Morgan?
MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we can report that Senator Obama is now in Baghdad. His first trip -- his first stop on his trip to Iraq was the southern city of Basra where we're told he met with American, British and Iraqi commanders.
Now as part of this trip, he is expected to meet with a top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, as well as the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki. In his meetings with military commanders, you can certainly imagine that he's getting feedback on this plan to stop combat operations within 16 months of taking office. That, of course, if he were to win the presidency.
He'll also hear from military commanders about security improvements, significant improvements over the last year. But he'll also no doubt receive a warning, one we've heard often from General Petraeus, and that is that these security improvements are both fragile and reversible -- John.
ROBERTS: You know, over the weekend we saw this report in the German magazine "Der Spiegel" in which Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki appeared to be agreeing with Senator Obama's timetable, the 16 months to withdraw troops from Iraq. And there was some backing off of that from the prime minister's office. What have you heard there? And what have we found out by listening to it or at least translating that same interview that al-Maliki did with "Der Spiegel"?
NEILL: Well, as you say, this controversy erupted over the weekend. We had these comments printed up in "Der Spiegel" in which Prime Minister Maliki essentially seemed to be endorsing Senator Obama's position. After that, we got a very quick set of e-mails from both the Iraqi government and it should be said from the U.S. military saying that Maliki was misquoted, that his remarks were mistranslated.
Now CNN has done its own translation. We've gotten this transcription from the prime minister's office. And let me just read you one line from that.
In this translation, it says, Obama, this would be Maliki speaking. Obama says that if he is elected he would withdraw the troops within 16 months. We believe that time period give or take a little, would be good to end the troop presence in Iraq.
So while there are some lines that may not be exactly the same as appeared in the "Der Spiegel" article and some of that can be chalked up to translation issues, there does to be -- seem to be a certain affinity for Senator Obama's position.
ROBERTS: Yes. It does sound like very much the same thing. Morgan Neill for us in Baghdad this morning. Morgan, thanks so much.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And Barack Obama is expected to take his plan for withdrawal to Iraqi leaders. But the chairman of the Joint Chiefs says that a timeline could be dangerous.
Suzanne Malveaux joins us live from Washington now to talk about Barack Obama's trip. And is there a risk that he could be hurt politically by some of the conversations with the Iraqi leaders?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, clearly, this is the first trip to Baghdad since becoming the presumptive nominee and it really is a critical opportunity for him to bolster his image on the world stage. He not only has to prove that he has this diplomatic strength to appear presidential but also to establish relationships with PI (ph) allies but he has to build credibility on national security. He has to prove that he is strong enough to take on the terrorists, to keep Americans safe, and that's really why you hear him talking kind of tough on Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.
And here is one of the areas where the polls show that his opponent, John McCain, really has a clear advantage. You have this recent ABC/"Washington Post" poll found that 72 percent think that McCain would be a good commander in chief. That is opposed to just 48 percent for Barack Obama.
CHETRY: Now, Suzanne, another issue is, of course, the economy. It's really dominating the talk here at home. Poll after poll shows that people here in the U.S. are most concerned about the economy, foreclosures, gas prices. How will this trip go over with voters?
MALVEAUX: You know, it's interesting because certainly it was a criticism that was launched against McCain when we saw him in Colombia and Mexico. He tried to tie his foreign trip to issues like trade, immigration, which he had hoped that would resonate with voters.
Fairly or not, the economy is considered McCain's strong suit. He's seen as tied to President Bush's economic problems. Whereas with Obama, he's really made fixing the economy a central theme, tackling the mortgage crisis, the gas prices. So one week overseas meeting with these foreign leaders not really considered a big risk -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, Suzanne Malveaux for us in Washington. Thank you.
Rudy Giuliani also took John McCain out to a ball game. He also used that to criticize Barack Obama's foreign policy. The former rivals for the Republican nomination had box seats at Yankee Stadium yesterday. It wasn't just all about sports though. Giuliani saying that Obama was and still is wrong on Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI (R), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think if you look at Senator McCain's record on Iraq, I don't see how you fail -- you don't fail to elect him president. He's either right on Iraq and almost everybody else was wrong.
It's turned out that if we had caved in the way Barack Obama and the Democrats wanted, we would now have a defeat. America would have a defeat rather than a possible victory. And I think the fact that Barack Obama has kind of making his first tour, in essence, of the world gives me an indication that John McCain is the man with the experience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Giuliani also said he is not thinking about whether he'd accept a role as vice president if John McCain decides to choose him.
ROBERTS: After what looked like a little bit of progress last week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is now warning Iran that it could face new United Nations sanctions. The U.S. and five other world powers said Iran does not take talks on its controversial nuclear program that happened over the weekend seriously and Rice's calling the meeting nothing more than a run around by Iranian officials.
On CNN's "Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer" the secretary of state said the U.S. will negotiate with Iran only after it suspends its nuclear enrichment program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CNN'S "LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER")
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: People listen and if Iran is ready to suspend, then the United States will be there. But it's very important to recognize that this is to re-enforce a position that we have held since 2000 --
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: But you acknowledge this is a change.
RICE: I acknowledge that what we've done is to make a step that we think demonstrates to everyone our seriousness about this process. But what has not changed is that the United States is determined to have negotiations only when Iran has suspended its enrichment and reprocessing. That's when the United States can join.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Secretary Rice says Iran will likely be given two weeks to suspend nuclear activities and start serious talks or it will face new penalties.
CHETRY: Turning the news across the nation now. A soldier missing from Fort Bliss in Texas found alive. The sister of Army Private Jeneesa Lewis says she's talked to her sibling and she was found injured but OK, beaten and stabbed. The soldier's husband, Clinton Lewis, is in jail facing charges of aggravated kidnapping. The mother of three had been missing since Friday.
Twenty members of Congress given a fresh reminder of the work that still needs to done to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The group visited the city expecting to talk about levee projects and improving infrastructure. But local officials used the trip to point out that many basic facilities there still need massive repairs.
ROBERTS: A Northwest Airlines jet made an emergency landing on Dayton, Ohio, on Sunday, interrupting the city's air show. The company says a computer on one of the Boeing 757s' engines failed forcing the crew to shut the engine down and land as a precaution. None of the 188 people on board were hurt.
And more landings at an air show of a slightly different sort. Participants in Red Bull's Flugtag took flight in Tampa. Well, maybe taking flight isn't exactly the right term. In fact, they just kind of, as you see there, took turns falling into Tampa Bay on their colorful floats which often just sank. Icarus still sink.
CHETRY: Those will get you there. Yes, that's all you needed. You just needed that. I'm sure this one will not fall into the -- oh, think again. Congrats, guys.
Well, here's what we're working on for you this morning. We're tracking extreme weather. Two storms on the radar this morning, Cristobal and Dolly. We have the latest forecast straight ahead.
ROBERTS: Then, would a free car make you any more likely to buy a house? Some people across America are trying it. The housing crunch victims taking a new gamble.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Our Ali Velshi on assignment in the oil-rich Arctic National Wildlife Refuge today. But we're still "Minding Your Business" for you this morning.
Tomato farmers still being hit hard as federal investigators try to identify the cause of a salmonella outbreak that made more than 1,200 people sick. The tomato industry is out an estimated $100 million. The government lifted its warning on tomatoes last Thursday.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson trying to reassure an anxious public about the economy saying it will get better, just not yet. He talked to Wolf Blitzer and was frank about America's economic woes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY PAULSON, TREASURY SECRETARY: Right now, we're going through a tough period. There's no doubt about it. But the stimulus plan is making a difference. We're focusing very much on housing because, as I said before, that's going to be a big key here, is the sooner we can get the biggest part of this housing correction over and housing crisis begin to stabilize, buyers come back to the market.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And oil continues its roller coaster ride. During an overnight trading session in Asia, the price of a barrel rose to nearly $130 a barrel. That's on the threat of new U.N. sanctions against Iran that we told you about earlier. Oil still down more than $17 from its all-time high, but the price at the pump only down slightly. That's going to take at least a couple of weeks to shake out.
CHETRY: And we're watching two tropical storm threats for you this morning. Tropical Storm Cristobal rumbling off the Carolina coast, moving out to sea though. Forecasters discontinued tropical storm warnings along the Carolinas. The waves there were still crashing the shore and pushing tides two to three feet above normal. And then there's Dolly, another major threat could be developing right now. Tropical Storm Dolly headed for the Gulf of Mexico closing in on Cancun. Forecasters are saying it could become the first hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. this year.
Reynolds Wolf is live for us tracking the extreme weather this morning. Hey, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, there. You know, there's two true tremendous differences between these two systems. With Cristobal, you get a storm that's actually on its way down, beginning to decline a little bit.
Different story though with Dolly. Dolly is just really beginning to ramp up. Right now, winds at 50, gusting to 65. The storm center about 60 miles from Cozumel, Mexico. But one thing to keep in mind with this storm of this magnitude, you really don't have to just follow the center of the storm. You look at just the wide scope of this. It's going to affect a lot of people across the Yucatan.
And the latest now from the National Hurricane Center shows that it may be affecting a lot of people not just in Mexico but in the United States also. As we make our way from Monday and into Tuesday, we see it beginning to build in strength.
The winds maximum sustained is 60 miles per hour by this afternoon then into early Tuesday morning, winds of 65. Then they have it as a Category One storm by Tuesday afternoon and if it follows that present path could make land fall somewhere, say, near South Padre Island, maybe even Brownsville.
But keep in mind these storms can fluctuate in movement and in strength. There is the chance the storm could move a little bit more to the north and certainly could affect more of the Texas coastline or maybe even drift farther to the south affecting Tampico. That's when we're going to keep a sharp eye on it over the next couple of hours or days. Certainly for the next couple of days. For now, let's send it back to you in the studio.
CHETRY: Reynolds, thanks.
ROBERTS: Reynolds, it's great. Thanks so much.
Gay people in togas. Satan and public officials discussing pedophiles. Just some of the things in a campaign comic book. That's right, a comic book. Is it going too far? We'll talk to the man behind the book.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
CHETRY: Crank it up and drink it up. A new study shows a direct link between tunes and getting tanked. We'll tell you why. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Top videos right now on CNN.com. Most popular, a music video shot with no cameras. We're talking about Radiohead's new video for their song "House of Cards." There's a look. Director James Frost explained on CNN.com how he created the video using nothing but lasers and a computer.
Also, the "Dark Knight" is a hit. "Batman" has sent Spidey packing as king of Hollywood box office super heroes. Heath Ledger as the Joker and Christian Bale as Batman breaking box office records. The "Dark Knight" taking in a record $155 million in its first weekend.
Also filling up with that credit card could cost you. You might want to switch to cash. Our Jim Acosta reporting several gas station owners are willing to give you a break if you pay them in cash as opposed to plastic. It's all tied to the fees that card companies charge the station.
And those are the most popular videos on CNN.com. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning" and we're back in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's now 20 minutes after the hour. Let's fast forward to the stories that will be making headlines later on today.
John Hinckley Jr. is scheduled to be in court today. The judge is expected to determine if he will be allowed longer visits with his mother and unsupervised time while with her. Back in 1982, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shootings of President Reagan and three other men.
Also expected in court today, Scott Peterson. Peterson, as you know, was convicted of killing his pregnant wife, Laci, on Christmas Eve six years ago. Her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him.
Coming up at our 10:00 Eastern hour, President Bush. We're going to see him welcome the U.S. summer Olympic team to the White House. Only 20 days away now from the start of those games. We're going to have live coverage and the photo-op on air and online.
And take a look at this here. Ford celebrating 100 years since the first model "T" rolled off the production line. They've got a full week of events lined up showcasing model "Ts" from all over the world, including Europe and Australia. We need a little bit good news these days. And that's what we're following this morning -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, America's housing sector is still in shambles after the mortgage meltdown. And now, sellers are using all kinds of gimmicks to hang up the sold sign.
Our Kate Bolduan found several new home deals, including one that will put a green ride in your new garage, but is it worth the cost?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, here's a sales pitch for you. Buy the house, get a car. A pretty extreme incentive and not the only one there. But do these big ticket freebies really work? It may depend on who you talk to.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CATHERINE POE, HOMEOWNER: Come on upstairs.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): Maryland resident Catherine Poe bought this three-bedroom colonial with her daughter as an investment property in 2005. They share a love for restoring historic houses.
POE: I've always had two parlors in those days.
BOLDUAN: They've fixed up and resold two historic properties before, no problem. But not this time.
POE: It was the beginning of what people just thought was going to be a blip. And actually it was sort of went blip, blip, blop. It dropped drastically.
BOLDUAN: The house has been on and off the market twice in two years. Poe's hoping the third time is a charm with the help of a Prius thrown in.
POE: I'm hoping that it makes people say, oh, let me go take a look because that is something wonderful.
BOLDUAN: Extreme economic times calling for extreme house selling measures. A free car, a free vacation, raffling off a house for $100 a ticket, and even buy one house, get one free, in the case of one San Diego developer. All examples of creative incentives and the length people are going in today's floundering housing market. Poe's realtor says it's a first for him, but worth a try.
CHUCK MANGOLD, REALTOR: You have to make a specific house more attractive to a buyer so that it can compete with the same (ph) inventory that's out there.
BOLDUAN: But the National Association of Realtors warns that creative incentive may not be the best way to close a deal.
ELIZABETH BLAKESLEE, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS: You're going to offer incentives, offer closing costs help. Or if it's a condominium, offer to pay condo fees for six months. Your incentive ought to deal with what you're doing.
BOLDUAN: Despite the draw of the free Prius, just a handful of people showed for Catherine Poe's open house. She now expects to take a loss of at least $60,000. Further proof the housing slump has not yet passed?
POE: Love affair with historic houses is still there but we're having (ph) to be realists, also.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BOLDUAN: The National Association of Realtors says these kinds of incentives they're often negotiated out during the sales process. Poe says if the buyer doesn't want the car, they would gladly take the 20 grand off the price of the house -- John, Kiran.
CHETRY: Wow. It's interesting because Priuses are hard to come by right now.
ROBERTS: So it's a free car.
CHETRY: Right.
ROBERTS: But if they don't want the car, they'll take 20 grand off the price of that.
CHETRY: That's right.
ROBERTS: So the car is not really free.
CHETRY: Well, then, they can still -- with them they can sell the Prius separately. There's a big market for that too.
ROBERTS: It doesn't sound like a free car though.
CHETRY: We'll take the roof off, too, if you don't want that and knock another 10 grand off the price.
ROBERTS: Front door? No.
CHETRY: Well, we all know what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? Well, now, Sin City's casinos are saying that there's not enough gambling happening. And now, it's the casinos that may be going bust.
ROBERTS: And an anti-gay comic book being used as a campaign tool. The politician behind it is here to defend it. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-six minutes after the hour. Politics can be a dirty game, but some people think that one man has gone too far with a comic book. It depicts gay people in togas alongside Satan holding a "gay marriage now" sig.
Brent Rinehart, an Oklahoma county commissioner, is sending it out to registered Republicans in his district. And Brent Rinehart joins us now from Oklahoma City.
Commissioner Rinehart, critics say that this takes mudslinging to a brand new low. What do you say?
BRENT RINEHART (R), OKLAHOMA COUNTY COMMISSIONER: Well, one person's mudslinging, I guess, is another man's issues. Here in the state of Oklahoma, especially here in Oklahoma County, I believe that homosexual agenda is an issue in this campaign. I thought that the cartoon book was a novel approach to telling a story for the last three, 3 1/2 years.
Keep in mind that I am the incumbent Oklahoma County of District Two. It consists of 220,000 people over 200 square miles. It is quite a large area. And being the incumbent, the issues that are at hand are roads and bridges, more or less the homosexual agenda, the family values here in Oklahoma. And I thought that it was a very good campaign piece and it gets the message out to what's important to the citizens of Oklahoma County.
ROBERTS: We should also point out that you're in a pretty tough race. And let's take a look at couple of panels here from this comic book. Critics say that some of the images in this comic book are blatantly homophobic.
In one panel, you've got Satan holding up a pitchfork, the balloon overseeing his head says, "If I can get the kids to believe homosexuality is normal." And Angel on the other side of the panel says, hey, Satan, not with Brent around you won't."
In the next panel, there's a lineup of caricatures of gay men, one of them wearing a toga. Some of the signs that they're carrying say we're here, we're queer, get used to it, I want be a Boy Scout leader. The question is, Commissioner Rinehart, are you homophobic?
RINEHART: Well, I'm not even sure as to what homophobic means. But let's just keep in mind that we are in a cultural war, not just here in the state of Oklahoma but nationwide. And I have seen pictures and I've seen viewings of gay pride parades around the nation here in the state of Oklahoma, and that's the very same attire and the very same billboards that you see in these parades.
So the thing about it is, when you're putting out a message and it lands on particular people's feet and they don't necessarily like the message, that doesn't mean that the message isn't true.
ROBERTS: Well, you see that we're --
RINEHART: We are in a cultural war.
ROBERTS: Well, does that cultural war include gay bashing?
RINEHART: Well, I don't know about gay bashing. The thing about it is you're not putting it in the full context of the cartoon book. We have an attorney general here in the state of Oklahoma that has used his office for political means, filed campaign charges against me and it's based on my opposition to the homosexual agenda.
Keep in mind if you go back several years, the attorney general, Mr. Drew Edmondson, sued the Boy Scouts of America because they would not allow homosexual Boy Scout leaders as leaders in their organization. So this goes back quite a number of years.
ROBERTS: In fact, let me just highlight in a little bit more detail your attack on Attorney General Drew Edmondson here as depicted in this comic book. You've got him holding a sign that says, "Gay rights now." And you write in the balloon over a character here, "You remember that Drew Edmondson out Oklahoma on record to force the Boy Scouts to accept homosexuals as scout leaders, a pedifiles dream come true." We should also point out that the word pedophile is spelled wrong in the two times that's it's used in this comic book.
He has said of this comic, "A drowning man tends to thrash about." And the question is being raised, is this some desperate and weird attempt at payback against the attorney general because he has filed these charges against you for campaign irregularities for 2004?
BRENT RINEHART (R), OKLAHOMA COUNTY COMMISSIONER: OK. Again, it's getting a message out. It's telling a story of how I got to where I'm at the last 3 to 3 1/2 years. Now, no one has ever - now people can talk about the homosexual aspects of this in regards to how they're depicted but no one has ever said anything about the truthfulness of my cartoon book. How it exposes Drew Edmondson for his true agenda, and how it exposes others here in county government for their true agenda. No one and you know, you can attack the spelling of pedophile.
I have to be honest with you, I don't necessarily care if I misspelled it or not. But no one has really been able to attack the truthfulness of this cartoon book and what it depicts and what's important to voters here in Oklahoma county is they get something in the mail that they know is the truth. There are so many people out there that are running for election that really just is just the same old rhetoric, day after day after day. And then they get into office and there's actually nothing new.
People wonder why nothing ever changes when someone gets elected to the office. Well, when I got elected to the office, when I ran for county commissioner, my agenda was roads and bridges, limited government, less taxation and family values. And that's the same platform that I use when I ran for city council. So it's very important for the voters of Oklahoma county to understand that the platform that I ran on I've stuck to my guns and I've upset quite a number of good old boy politicians here in the state of Oklahoma but I'm not going to back down. I'm not going to slow down because the things that I stand for are the things that are important to the citizens, not only of Oklahoma county but the state as a whole.
ROBERTS: Well, Commissioner, you're certainly causing quite a stir down there now with this latest piece of campaign literature. We thank you for being with us this morning. Brent Rinehart, Oklahoma County commissioner. Good` to see you this morning.
RINEHART: All right. Thank you, John. Thank you.
CHETRY: It's 31 minutes past the hour. Here's the top stories today. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warning Iran that it could face new sanctions in as little as two weeks. The U.S. and five other world powers saying Iran did not take nuclear talks seriously over the weekend. Rice is calling the meeting nothing more than a run around by Iranian officials.
We're also watching two tropical storm threats for you this morning. Tropical storm Dolly heading for the Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters say it could become the first hurricane to hit the U.S. this year. There you see people stocking up just in case. Tropical Cristobal moving out to sea but still pounding the Carolina coast with rough surf.
Our Reynolds Wolf is tracking that for us. And he'll give us an update in just a couple of minutes. In the meantime, breaking this morning, Barack Obama is in Iraq right now after stops in Afghanistan and Kuwait. Obama expected to meet with war commanders and Iraqi leaders. Meanwhile, the Joints Chief chairman is warning that Obama's plan for Iraq could be, "dangerous." Barbara Starr working her sources for us at the Pentagon. She joins us live this morning. Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Kiran. Well, at least a part of Senator Obama's plan that calls for a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, of course, Senator Obama long advocating a 16-month withdrawal period, but the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, finding himself really in the crosshairs of the political season on a Sunday talk show when he was asked not about his 16-month timetable but about a two-year timetable. Still nonetheless, a timetable. Have a listen to what Admiral Mullen had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. MICHAEL MULLEN, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: I think the consequences could be very dangerous in that regard. I'm convinced that at this point in time that coming - making reductions based on conditions on the ground are very important. We've been able to do that. We've reduced five brigades in the last several months. And again, if conditions continue to improve, I would look to be able to make recommendations to President Bush in the fall to continue those reductions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: And not only the U.S. rethinking its military strategy but perhaps Al Qaeda as well. Gen. David Petraeus, Kiran, telling the Associated Press over the weekend that he sees initial indications Al Qaeda may be shifting some of its fighters from Iraq into the war zone in Afghanistan. He says it's not completely verified intelligence yet, but something that the U.S. is now watching very closely. Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon this morning. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Coming up on - actually, it's just a little after 34 minutes after the hour. And Alina Cho here with other stories new this morning. Good morning to you.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, guys. Good morning again. Good morning, everybody. New this morning, a patient in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is being tested right now for the rare human form of mad cow disease. There have only been three cases of the human form of mad cow in the U.S. in the past several years. Health officials say it's highly unlikely the Massachusetts patient has it. It could be a couple more days before we know for sure.
A missing Ft. Bliss soldier and mother of three has been found alive. Her sister says 29-year-old Private First Class Janeesa Lewis was beaten and stabbed. Her husband, Clinton Lewis is in jail now on an aggravated kidnapping charge. Army officials reported Pvt. Lewis missing Friday morning and El Paso police say they have found signs of foul play in the apartment the couple shared.
And two fast driving females got into a big argument at an Indy car race in Ohio during practice on Saturday. Danica Patrick complained that Milka Duno cut her several times. She then went over to chat with Duno about it. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANICA PATRICK: What the hell?
MILKA DUNO: When you're in the [ bleep ] corner and you turn down. All I want know is, you see me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: All righty then. Patrick apparently had confrontations with another least two other male drivers in the past.
CHETRY: ... on the track. She said it's not my fault that you're slow. That's what I heard her say.
CHO: They both didn't place well. And some of the critics believe that may be why Danica Patrick got a little bit upset but anyways, I know you're a big fan John. You've interviewed her a couple of times in the past she's very good.
ROBERTS: She's a tiger.
CHETRY: He loves fast women.
CHO: She placed 12. So...
ROBERTS: I remember that shot of her charging down the pits with the helmet in her head. Oh my goodness.
CHETRY: Alina, thanks.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: You're watching the most news in the morning. On the Las Vegas strip, they say the house always wins but now some casinos say they're losing out on your betting bucks. Sin City's high stakes, still ahead.
Plus ear ringing music and busy bars, they seem to go hand in hand. There may be a scientific reason for that. Elizabeth Cohen joins us to explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Well, a trip to Las Vegas and a cash crunch often go hand in hand. But now, there's a switch. With a tough economic times, fewer people are gambling and the casinos are now the ones strapped for cash. Our Chris Lawrence is checking whether or not the decks are stacked against sin city's casinos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): John and Kiran, they bought up land and planned huge expansions during the boom years. Now casinos like the Tropicana have defaulted on debt and filed for bankruptcy.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Compared to this time last year, slightly more people are visiting Las Vegas. But they're leaving a lot less money on the table. In May, strip casinos won $100 million less than last year. And, no, the gamblers didn't get luckier.
I'm not spending near as much on the gambling as I used to.
LAWRENCE: Pat Strudel was the kind of customer casinos loved. She comes every year, likes to try her luck. But now she's doing more sight-seeing. Walking around, spending less.
STRUDEL: I have spent eight hours playing black jack. You're not seeing me do that now.
LAWRENCE: What happens in the rest of the world doesn't stay there. The downturn has hit Vegas.
ROB STILLWELL, VICE PRES., BOYD GAMING: There's no question this is unlike anyone we've seen in recent times probably the last couple of decades.
LAWRENCE: But Rob Stillwell says Vegas is building for the long haul. Boyd Gaming still plans to open the Echelon in 2010, multi billion dollar project on the site where the Stardust once stood.
STILLWELL: These recessions don't last forever. These down turns don't last forever. We're going to be ready to go when everything starts back up on the upswing.
LAWRENCE: It's getting harder for tourists to get here. Last year, U.S. Airways was flying in and out of Vegas 141 times a day. By September, it will be down to 81 with more cuts coming by the end of the year. At the same time, casinos plan to open 30,000 more hotel rooms over the next few years.
PEGGY HOLLOWAY, MOODY'S INVESTOR SERVICE: You have to maintain hotel occupancy in order to drive the gaming revenue and all the other sources of venue.
LAWRENCE: Casino analyst say the key is getting heads in the beds. But they may have to drop rates to make that happen.
HOLLOWAY: And certainly that will squeeze profits for the operators.
LAWRENCE (on-camera): People who have been betting on Vegas has decline for years. But with more hotel rooms and fewer airline seats, this time the odds are against the casinos. John, Kiran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Our Chris Lawrence for us this morning. Chris, thanks.
We are tracking two tropical storms, Cristobal in the Atlantic and Dolly in the Caribbean. Reynolds Wolf is in for Rob Marciano today. And there's an awful lot of color behind you there this morning, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The color indicates an intense storm, an intense storm that may have a beat on the United States. Coming up, we're going to give you a better idea of where this storm is headed and, of course, when it might get to the U.S.. That's coming up in a few moments. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. I'd like you to meet tropical storm Dolly. At this time it's got winds at 50 miles an hour, some occasional gusts topping 65 miles an hour. The center of the storm, which is very hard to find, very disorganized system at this time, is roughly 60 miles from Cozumel, Mexico. Now, the storm is not going to remain stationary. It is expected to move. It is also expected to move to the northwest. The latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center also suggests the storm will be intensifying. In fact, over the next couple of days we do forecast the storm to become a bit stronger.
I'm going to step out of the way so you can get a better look at the storm. You'll notice that it has crossed the Yucatan Peninsula. As it does so, it is expected to strength. I want you to take a look at what we can anticipate for the next 12 to 24 hours. The storm ramping up in speed at least maximum sustained winds topping up to 65 miles an hour. By 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, winds at 75. Now, once it gets to 74 miles an hour, it will then be classified as a category one storm. These storms tend to wobble quite a bit. There's the possibility the storm could venture a little bit more to the north, perhaps moving up to the Texas coastline, or it may drop a little bit farther south near Tampico. It may pull up stationary, could strengthen, could weaken. There's a lot that's up in the air over the storm system. It bears watching. Of course, we're going to do that here at CNN, your hurricane headquarters.
The next system is thankfully moving away from the eastern seaboard. We're talking about Cristobal. Winds of 50, gusting to 65. It's about 108 miles from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Now, even though the storm is expected to veer away from the coast, it's effects are going to be felt in many places off of, say, the Jersey shore, perhaps even Long Island. Heavy surf rip tides are going to be possible for the next couple of days. All right. That's the story on the tropics. Let's send it back to both of you in New York at the news desk.
ROBERTS: Reynolds, thanks so much. We'll see you again soon.
WOLF: You bet.
ROBERTS: We are the most politics in the morning. In about ten minutes time, we're going to be speaking with Louisiana governor and McCain supporter, Bobby Jindal about McCain's foreign policy as Barack Obama continues his tour of the Middle East.
CHETRY: Also, the cars of the future today. Some Americans are building their own cars to avoid high gas prices. How do they do it? You're watching the most news in the morning. We'll talk about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Also a secret that good tunes and slowing drinks go hand in hand for many. In fact, we just asked the crew and they confirmed that. Now there's an actual study though that says louder music can lead to heavier drinking. We bring in medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. I know you're not speaking from experience here at all, Elizabeth, of course.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, no.
CHETRY: But what are we talking about when we talk about loud music and people drinking a little more?
COHEN: Kiran, we're talking about a study that sounded very fun to do. What researchers did was they went to bars in France and they watched people drink and took notes and then they cranked the music to see how much more people might drink, or less, but it turned out that people drank quite a bit more. Specifically, they found that people when they were exposed to loud music they drank one more drink per evening and they drank it faster when the music was soft, they took them three minutes longer to finish each drink.
Now, this study was tiny. It was only 40 people and there are all sorts of things that you could argue with in this study, but it definitely asks an interesting question. Is there something abut our brains that makes us drink more when the was loud, and if we can figure out what makes people drink more, can we help some people drink less. Kiran.
CHETRY: It is interesting. Because sociologists have done other research and studies on the relationship between music and drinking.
COHEN: That's right. They have also found that when the music is slower, the people will spend more money on drinks. Who knows why? And that if you play French music, people buy French wines. And if you play German music, people buy German wines.
CHETRY: That's funny. And they also said, Elizabeth, that it may not necessarily just be that brain trigger but also because you can't hear anybody when the music's so loud so you just end up drinking. COHEN: Right. You might as well just drink. Right, exactly. That could be true too.
CHETRY: Very interesting stuff. Elizabeth, thanks.
COHEN: Thanks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Breaking news. Barack Obama arrives in Iraq overnight. Commanders hearing his plan to end the war. Plus, the slowdown hits sin city.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have spent eight hours playing blackjack. You're not seeing me do that now.
ROBERTS: Why the house may still win in the end again.
STILWELL: These downturns don't last forever and we're going to be ready to go.
ROBERTS: You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Seven minutes now to the top of the hour. Senator Barack Obama is in Iraq this morning. His first on the ground inspection of the country since becoming the presumptive democratic nominee. He's going to meet with General David Petraeus and Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki. Obama wants to wind down U.S. involvement in Iraq and redeploy troops to Afghanistan if he's elected. Rival John McCain says any talk of a withdrawal time table sends the wrong message. Joining me now is McCain supporter and Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal. Governor Jindal, good to see you this morning. Thanks for being with us.
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: Good morning. Thank you for having me on the air.
ROBERTS: Not only does Senator Obama want to deploy troops from Iraq to Afghanistan after he is elected president, should he become president, but he also said in Afghanistan yesterday that he thinks that there needs to be an immediate shift of troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, because Afghanistan is now the central front in the war on terror. Where does Senator McCain come down on that idea of immediately moving troops?
JINDAL: Well, two things. One, it's good to see Senator Obama endorse the same kind of surge in Afghanistan that he opposed in Iraq. But secondly, what senator McCain has said, what Prime Minister Al Maliki said, what Adm. Mullen said yesterday, what Gen. Petraeus has said is that troop withdrawal should be based on conditions on the ground. I think every Americans want to see our troops come back from Iraq safely, victoriously but it is so important that it be based on facts on the ground. Now, the surge has worked where General Petraeus begins to say that may be possible to bring even more troops back even more quickly than originally anticipated and that's great news. We need to remember that when it wasn't popular, Senator McCain, even when the Bush administration wasn't there, when Senator Obama wasn't there, Senator McCain stood for the surge, stood for sending in more troops.
One of the things I respect Senator McCain for, one of the reasons why I'm supporting him, he has made it clear that he would rather lose an election than lose a war. He has made it very clear. Let's listen to the commanders on the ground. Yes, bring the troops out, but base it on the facts on the ground.
ROBERTS: Well, on the point of listening to commanders on the ground, General David Petraeus said over the weekend that it appears though that Al Qaeda is diverting fighters from Iraq to Afghanistan which may again speak for an urgent need for more troops on the ground there in Afghanistan.
JINDAL: Absolutely. I think you hear General Petraeus, Admiral Mullen, Senator McCain and others saying absolutely, let's give the commander what's they need. Where he is different from Senator Obama, Senator Obama for more months, for years now has been advocating this withdrawal without any regard to conditions on the ground --
ROBERTS: Right. But Senator Obama has also advocated in advance of what Senator McCain said last week, sending at least two more brigades of U.S. forces to Afghanistan. Senator McCain has only recently come to that issue.
JINDAL: Well, again I think the fundamental difference between the two of them is that Senator McCain has said, let's listen to the commanders on the ground. General Petraeus is now saying because of a surge that Senator McCain supported, it may be possible to withdraw more troops. If they need more troops in Afghanistan, increasingly it looks like they do, I think that makes sense. I think Senator McCain is right to follow the advice of the commanders on the ground but to make sure as we redeploy we do it victoriously so that all the sacrifices, the hard work was not for naught.
ROBERTS: Governor Jindal, Senator Obama also appeared to get support from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki over the weekend for this 16-month withdrawal timetable. In an interview that he did with "Spiegel" magazine, the White House expressed some concern about that, contacted Al Maliki. His office came out and tried to walk it back a little bit saying it was mistranslated, misunderstood, but in a separate CNN translation of that exchange with the German reporter, Al Maliki did say, "Obama says if he is elected he will withdraw the troops within 16 months, we believe that time period give or take a little would be good to end a troop presence in Iraq." That would seem to indicate that he is coming down in favor of the Obama plan?
JINDAL: Well, I think the Prime Minster came back and explicitly said, look, he wasn't trying to interfere with American elections, endorsement of a candidate or other, but two things. I think, one, the Prime Minister is making it clear that thanks to the surge that Senator McCain supported, thanks to the decrease in violence, thanks to the victories against Al Qaeda, it may be possible for American troops to leave even more quickly that originally anticipated.
ROBERTS: Would they be able too leave in that 16-month timetable?
JINDAL: Well, but again that has to be driven by facts from the ground. I think the fundamental difference is you can't go in and say it's 16 months no matter what happens. Let's remember, Senator Obama was advocating 16 months even before the recent draw down in violence, the recent victories. And I think that's the fundamental difference. It's an arbitrary timetable based on politics versus a plan based on the actual results on the ground. Senator McCain has long believed the surge would work and that would result in the kinds of victories we're seeing today, and that would allow the room to listen to commanders to begin withdrawal of those troops. We want our troops to come back safely. I think the difference is Senator Obama is advocating an artificial timeline. He has held the same timeline for months despite the facts on the ground.
ROBERTS: But Governor Jindal, do you believe given the progress in Iraq from the so-called surge is now coming to an end that it might be reasonable to think you could pull combat brigades out of Iraq by June of 2010?
JINDAL: Look, it may be 12 months, may be 16 months, maybe longer. It all depends on the conditions on the ground. It depends on what our commanders tell us based on what we see today. And we know that facts on the ground can change quickly. Based on what we see today, it certainly adheres that we'll be able to withdraw more troops, more quickly than we originally anticipated. But let's not give the enemy an artificial deadline, let's not tell them in advance, let's not telegraph our plans that they feel like they can just outweigh us or manipulate these timelines. But certainly, it may be 12 months, may be 16 months, may be longer. The good news is that the surge is working. Senator McCain was right and let's remember, he advocated that long before the Bush administration, Senator Obama or anybody else. Senator Obama has yet to come out for the surge that's creating the conditions allowing our troops to come home victoriously.
ROBERTS: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, good to see you this morning. thanks for being with us.
JINDAL: Thank you. Have a great morning.
ROBERTS: Appreciate it. You too.
CHETRY: Iran could be looking at new sanction. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the country has only two weeks left to accept an incentive package in exchange for ending its nuclear activity. Rice says that the country was not serious during talks with the United States and other nations in Switzerland this weekend.
Myanmar asking for more foreign help to help victims of the cyclone that devastated the area. A new U.N.-led report says survivors need at least $1 billion over the next three years to recover and get back on their feet. The report says the damage from the May cyclone is estimated to be $4 billion with loss of income for the victims accounting for more than half that total.
CHETRY: And breaking this morning, Barack Obama is in Iraq right now. He is expected to meet with U.S. military commanders and Iraqi leaders and push his plan to have troops home within 16 months. We're covering every angle of his trip. Morgan Neil is live for us in Baghdad, Suzanne Malveaux is in Washington and Suzanne talk to us a bit about what this trip means politically for Barack Obama.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, clearly this is being his first trip to Baghdad since becoming the presumptive nominee, really is a critical opportunity...
