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American Morning
Pirates Hijack Americans Off Coast of Somalia; Italy Quake Kills 235; Iraq Reality Check; Texas Using Money for Toll Road; Gay Marriage Momentum
Aired April 08, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN BREAKING NEWS.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome. Thanks for being with us this morning on this Wednesday, April 8. I'm Kiran Chetry along with Carol Costello.
Good to see you.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Nice to be here, but we have breaking news this morning.
CHETRY: Well, that's right. We begin with some breaking news. It's just in to CNN right now.
This is according to a diplomat, and that pirates off the coast of Somalia hijacked a ship with 21 Americans onboard. This is all coming to us from the diplomat talking to "The Associated Press." We're told the cargo ship was captured about 400 miles away from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. This is the sixth ship hijacked by pirates since Saturday in that region.
You recall there was a drop in pirate attacks in recent months as countries beefed up navy patrols off of Somalia. We're working the story using the global resources of CNN, and we're going to be checking in with our bureau in Kenya in just a moment.
Again, pirates hijacking a ship off the coast of Somalia with 21 Americans onboard, and we're going to be following those developments for you throughout the morning.
COSTELLO: Yes, hopefully Nic Robertson will join us soon to tell us more about this incident.
There are several other big stories out there that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes. President Obama back in Washington this morning, after ending his first overseas trip as president with a surprise visit to Iraq. And the president had an important message for our troops. We'll take you live to Washington to get all the details.
Face-to-face with Fidel Castro in Cuba. A delegation from the Congressional Black Caucus preparing to brief President Obama on their meeting with the ailing former Cuban leader in Havana. Fidel and his brother successor, Raul Castro, say Cuba is ready to begin talks with the United States. We are covering the story from Washington to Havana.
And this morning, we're learning more about that man who stole the plane from the flight school in Canada and led U.S. fighter jets on a chase here in the United States. Police say the pilot had a death wish, but what if he wanted to hurt others? And are we still vulnerable to threats from above? We'll be answering those questions.
CHETRY: First, though, after eight days, six countries, President Obama is waking up in Washington, D.C. this morning. Brand new video now of the president arriving overnight after a surprise visit to U.S. troops in Iraq.
His visit to Baghdad was brief. It was less than five hours on the ground but enough time to meet with Iraq leadership and also to rally U.S. troops. The president thanked them for their service and said it was time for Iraqis to take responsibility for their own country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You have performed brilliantly in every mission that has been given to you. Under enormous strain and under enormous sacrifice, through controversy and difficulty and politics, you've kept your eyes focused on just doing your job. It is time for us to transition to the Iraqis. They -- they need to take responsibility for their country and for their sovereignty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: CNN's Kate Bolduan live in Washington this morning. And, Kate, the president was using this surprise trip to reinforce his stance on Iraq. Of course, the punditry is saying, why did he go to Afghanistan? Why didn't he go to Iraq?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he spent much of his trip in Europe talking about his new strategy in Afghanistan, but he also stopped in Iraq to highlight the fact that we still have troops there and it's still a priority.
It was an unannounced trip, but it seems not entirely an unexpected stop. As you just heard, the president used his first trip to a war zone since taking office to thank and rally the troops. But President Obama also struck a serious tone saying that the next 18 months will be critical and difficult as they begin to withdraw troops and hand over the mission to the Iraqis.
The plan is to have all combat troops out by August 2010, but the president also seemed to use the stop to remind that the work in Iraq isn't done. He met with the top U.S. commander there and with the Iraqi prime minister. President Obama pushing Iraqi leaders to settle their political differences.
Clearly, Kiran, that is much easier said than done right now.
CHETRY: Absolutely. And he has his overseas trip behind him now, so what's the next big priority that he's facing here at home?
BOLDUAN: Yes. Other than getting over some serious jet lag, I'm sure, the economy awaits as the president returns. The president will still, of course, be focused on working on and turning around the economy. But he also faces some other issues that are priorities and promises on the campaign trails, like overhauling the nation's health care system for one.
The White House is scheduled to hold the event tomorrow discussing the need to enhance health care for service members and veterans. Also on his list, we can expect energy legislation. This could include what we've heard a lot about recently, especially talking about the budget, a proposed cap and trade system. But both of these priorities are likely to face a much longer and slower fight with Capitol Hill, much more so than this whirlwind European tour, Kiran.
CHETRY: Kate Bolduan for us this morning from Washington, thanks.
The Obama administration is keeping its war effort in the spotlight. Today, Vice President Joe Biden will greet U.S. troops returning to Fort Bragg in North Carolina. More than 200 soldiers have spent the past 15 months in Iraq.
Yesterday, in an exclusive with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, the vice president spoke about the president's plan to have all combat troops out of Iraq by August of 2010.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": The president of the United States wrapped up his trip to Europe with the surprise visit to Baghdad. There's been an uptick in violence lately. Suicide bombings. How worried are you that the timeline that you put forward for a withdrawal of U.S. combat forces is not going to be able to materialize?
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not worried about that at all. We will draw down along the timeline we suggested.
The president went for two reasons. One, to demonstrate to the troops. It shouldn't surprise anybody he was in Turkey that he would take the time to go there.
But secondly, also, to meet with Maliki. And one of the things the president said from the beginning is, envision us drawing down troops, Wolf. It was necessary for there to be further political accommodation between the Sunni, Shia, and the Kurds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Vice President Biden sending a message to former Vice President Dick Cheney as well. We're going to hear what he had to say about that coming up in our next hour. And the president's whirlwind tour of diplomacy generated a lot of conversation this morning especially from our viewers. We've been getting a lot of people calling into our show hotline at 877-MY-AMFIX. A majority of them praising the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY, NORTH CAROLINA (via telephone): I feel like Obama is stirring things up, and that's what he needs to do to try to get some things done. Because everything has always been one way or the other and I feel like to be able to get to the bottom of things, you've got to stir the pot up a little bit.
MARK, BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA (via telephone): My name is Mark from Bloomington, Indiana.
And I just want to say, I think Barack is doing a fine job repairing the image that George Bush tarnished and that it's going to take more than a couple of months to get things in perspective. Barack Obama is one of the few people or was one of the few presidents in the world who realizes that people, despite their different cultures, are still the same people on the inside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And we want to hear what you have to say on all the big stories, so call our hotline 877-MY-AMFIX. You can also find us at CNN.com/amfix or on Twitter.
COSTELLO: On Twitter, my favorite.
Also developing right now, dramatic new signs of a thaw in U.S. relations with Cuba. This is pretty amazing. U.S. lawmakers sitting down with the former Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, and his brother, Raul, the current president. They all sat down in Havana.
The ailing and rarely seen Fidel Castro was said to be talking and energetic. The talks come as President Obama prepares to lift restrictions for Americans with family living in Cuba and Congress considers allowing all Americans to travel to that island nation. Of course, we're following developments from Washington to Havana.
Morgan Neill is CNN's bureau chief in the Cuban capital -- Morgan.
MORGAN NEILL, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: A U.S. official says three members of the U.S. congressional delegation visiting Cuba have met with ailing former Cuban president, Fidel Castro, just one day after they met with current president, Raul Castro.
According to a U.S. diplomatic official in Havana, Congresswoman Barbara Lee from California was one of the three members of Congress to meet with the ailing former president. On Monday, all six members of the delegation met with current president, Raul Castro, for some 4 1/2 hours. Congresswoman Barbara Lee said they were not on a mission for President Obama, but they were convinced he was trying to talk to Cuba.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. BARBARA LEE (D), CALIFORNIA: We discussed issues as it relates to what I just talked about, in terms of trade, cultural, educational exchanges, exchanges between our scientists, and why both countries and the people of both countries would tremendously benefit from these exchanges.
NEILL (voice-over): But the leader of the delegation refused to be pinned down on the details of the talks themselves.
LEE: We did not talk in our conversations with President Castro and other Cuban officials. We did not talk about specifics.
NEILL: Congressman Bobby Rush said talking to President Castro was like talking to an old family member and that he was nothing like he's been portrayed in the media.
REP. BOBBY RUSH (D), ILLINOIS: I think that really what really surprised me but also endeared me to him was his keen sense of humor.
NEILL: Also present at the meeting, Cuban National Assembly president, Ricardo Alarcon, and new foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez. The meeting comes even as the White House adviser says President Obama will soon eliminate restrictions for Cuban-Americans visiting family on the island.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEILL: In a recent essay, ailing former Cuban president, Fidel Castro, writes that unlike what his critics say, he does not need confrontation with the U.S. in order to exist and that he welcomes dialogue with the United States.
Morgan Neill, CNN, Havana.
COSTELLO: Something you don't see every day or the next hour. At 7:15 Eastern, we'll talk with California Congresswoman Barbara Lee you saw in Morgan's story. We'll try to pin her down on some specifics of when Americans might be able to go to Cuba. That will come in the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING.
As for America's relationship with Cuba, well, here's more in an "AM Extra."
In 1960, the United States imposed an economic embargo against Cuba in response to Fidel Castro's shift towards communism. In 2003, President Bush tightened the Cuba travel embargo and cracked down on illegal cash transfers to the island. And last month, President Obama signed that legislation temporarily easing travel restrictions. So Americans with relatives in Cuba can now visit once a year and stay as long as they wish and they can spend up to $179 per day. CHETRY: There's also been a sighting of North Korea's reclusive dictator Kim Jong-Il. North Korea's state media releasing this photo of Kim, who's rumored to be in poor health, shows him posing with scientists and technicians who developed the rocket launch by Pyongyang over the weekend. That North Korean rocket flew over Japan. U.S., Japan and South Korea are demanding a strong response from the U.N. Security Council. China and Russia dragging their feet, though, on the issue.
It's the first state to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples and now Vermont has joined the short list of states that allows same-sex marriages. Vermont's legislature Tuesday voted to overwrite the governor's veto of a bill that allows gays and lesbians to marry beginning September 1st. Vermont is the fourth state now to make same-sex marriage legal, joining Massachusetts, Connecticut and as of last week, Iowa.
And Senator Ted Kennedy christening the baseball season for his beloved Boston Red Sox. Kennedy threw out the ceremonial first pitch Tuesday at Fenway Park, where the BoSox ended up going on to beat Tampa Bay in their season opener. The Massachusetts senator is battling brain cancer.
COSTELLO: It took him two tries but he got over towards the end.
CHETRY: He looked great.
COSTELLO: Good for him.
We're also following breaking news that's developing this hour. We mentioned at the top of our show pirates attack a cargo ship, 21 Americans onboard that ship. We're tapping into the global resources of CNN to bring you the latest developments as we get them in.
And new concerns after a pilot flew a stolen plane from Canada to Missouri. Was it a breach of security that could have put you in danger?
It's 11 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 13 minutes past the hour now. Time to fast forward to the stories that we'll be making news later today.
People living in Fargo, North Dakota are in a race to save their city yet again. This morning, they're going to resume filling sandbags to reinforce the makeshift levees. Next week, the Red River is expected to rise just a few inches shy of last month's record. It was a 40-foot crest.
At 9:30 Eastern, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will be the featured speaker at a health care conference in Chicago. Greenspan is expected to discuss the current state of the economy and its impact on the nation's health care system. Also, a New York bankruptcy court could rule today on a request to auction off one of Bernard Madoff's seized assets -- two New York Mets season tickets. Officials liquidating the convicted investment schemer's assets are hoping to sell the tickets to the highest bidder in an online auction this month. Court documents list the value of the season ticket package at $60,750.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN BREAKING NEWS.
COSTELLO: And we have a bit more information on the breaking news this morning. Pirates seizing that ship off the coast of Somalia. Twenty-one Americans onboard. We also understand the ship was flying an American flag.
Nic Robertson has been looking into this for us. He joins us live from London.
Nic, what more can you tell us?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the ship, according to sources in Africa, say that the ship was taken about 400 miles off the coast of Somalia. It was the 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama. Twenty-one crew members, all Americans onboard the vessel. It's not clear how many hijackers there were at this time.
But at the moment, we understand this is just the sixth such hijacking in the past week off the coast of Somalia. This, of course, in the Gulf of Aden, been a very dangerous place over the past year for sailors. One-fifth of the world's oil supplies passed down there.
And you probably remember just a few months ago, Saudi Arabia had a vessel hijacked there. The ransom put on it at that time was $25 million. Of course, not all of it paid. But, it is generally ransoms after several months that allow these hijacked vessels to be freed -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So it's a Danish-owned ship, but it's flying an American flag and the crew onboard is American. Who would these pirates supposedly negotiate with if there are any negotiations at all?
ROBERTSON: You know, they're getting very, very sophisticated, Carol. What we've seen is that these pirates will negotiate with the ship's owners. They will negotiate in such a way that the vast sums of money that they're demanding dropped by aircraft with parachutes on -- the money sort of in capsules, attached by a parachute and those will be then picked up by hijackers, and boats are able to flee the scene.
What they often do is the boats will move up and down the coast of Somalia, staying close to the shore of Somalia out of the reach of some of the NATO ships and U.S. warships that are patrolling that area. But the operations have become very, very sophisticated.
Telephone conversations between the hijackers and the ship's owners and sometimes again, between the hijackers onboard the vessel and the captain onboard the vessel as well.
COSTELLO: You know, it's just mind boggling. There's been six of these recently. This is the sixth one. And, you know, we always talk about whether there's security onboard these big ships, of big ships? You know, as far as, you know, security people carrying guns, are there? Do we know?
ROBERTSON: We don't know about this vessel in particular, but I've been talking to some of these security companies. And they're limited by the number of people that they can put on these vessels. They're limited by what they can do in terms of defense.
Obviously, a ship will have a certain number of life craft onboard, so that will limit the number of security men. Many get three or four security men onboard. They may only be lightly armed. And the advice that they're generally giving the ships is if you think you're being chased and pursued by hijackers, do not slow down, go as fast as you can and turn your water jets, your fire systems on the boats that are approaching you.
But often what happens we heard captains talk about these pirates coming close, pointing rocket-propelled grenades on the ship. In one case, an oil-carrying tanker pointing rocket-propelled grenades at it, and forcing the ship's captain to slow down and stop. But the security men onboard are relatively powerless just because of their limited numbers over what they can do against perhaps five or six different pirate vessels that are swarming them from different sides.
COSTELLO: Unbelievable. Nic Robertson, we'll get back to you. Hopefully you can dig up more information for us especially about these 21 Americans who are onboard this ship. We don't know who they are, obviously. It's a Danish-owned ship flying an American flag, and sometimes these things drag on for months.
CHETRY: They do. And again, as he said, just the way that this has turned into a business, literally, off the coast of Somalia. I mean, it has -- they have equipment onboard where they can detect counterfeit bills. I mean, that's how the Somalia pirates have turned from this ragtag group to actually quite sophisticated hijackers.
COSTELLO: Well, they're getting like $25 million in ransom sometimes, so they're very well-funded now. So I guess they have enough to train.
CHETRY: Exactly. And speaking of training, our own Jason Carroll is actually at the Massachusetts Merchant Marine Academy where they are actually training mariners to learn how to deal with these types of situations. He was filing a piece for us very timely because of what happened today, but we're going to check in him. He's going to be running that piece tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING.
Also this morning, there are new fears after a pilot stole a small plane and led fighter jets on a pursuit across American skies. So what if this plane had a dirty bomb? Are we prepared for a threat from above?
And the healing power of beer? Well, some college students are creating a buzz with a healthy new beer. Let me guess.
COSTELLO: What do they do?
CHETRY: Now, what do they do? They threw an emergency packet into a Bud Light. I mean, who knows? You never know. It's BioBeer (ph).
Twenty minutes after the hour.
COSTELLO: I can't wait.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: A little Tom Petty this morning to wake you up. It's 36 degrees right now as we take a look at a pretty picture of the west side of Manhattan this morning We're somewhere there.
Carol is waving to you out of that building. Can you see it? You got to look a little closer.
COSTELLO: Here I am.
CHETRY: Yes.
COSTELLO: I'm here.
CHETRY: It's going to be a high of 51 today, and mostly sunny. So a chilly start but should be up to be a decent day here in the Big Apple.
And welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. New details now about the pilot who stole a small plane from a flight school in Canada then flew erratically across three states here in the U.S., who is now facing federal charges. A court hearing is scheduled for Friday.
U.S. fighter jets tracked this plane Monday. They were ready to shoot it down if necessary, and that's apparently what the pilot wanted. Police say that he told them he was trying to commit suicide but didn't have the courage to do it himself.
Now the government's response has a lot of our viewers sounding off on our show hotline. Here's a sampling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via telephone): I'm wondering why didn't the F-16s shoot down the plane? They let him go seven hours without shooting him down? What is wrong with our country?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So was Monday's chase a wakeup call? Are we still vulnerable to these threats from above? Here's CNN's Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A scary scenario -- 1995, an Al Qaeda plot never executed to crash a small plane into the CIA. And Al Qaeda's Jacarias Moussaoui considered using a crop duster to spray people with anthrax.
So imagine several young men flying from Canada into U.S. air space at the same time in small planes carrying dirty bombs. And say F-16s did intercept maneuvers, would they shoot them down?
Former Homeland Security adviser Fran Townsend says there's more than eyeballing the guy in the cockpit to see if he's a threat.
FRANCIS TOWNSEND, FORMER BUSH ADMINISTRATION SECURITY ADVISER: At the same time on the ground, you have individuals in law enforcement and intelligence looking at what do we know about the individual who took the plane? What did he say in terms of the flight plan? What do we know about his maturity and experience as a pilot? What do we know about his mental health?
JOHNS: Also, time and place -- is the area below populated or open? Worst case -- how much damage could occur?
Monday, the Wisconsin State capitol was evacuated while NORAD evaluated the threat. Remember, the U.S. Capitol was evacuated because a plane flew into restricted air space. It was during funeral observances for former president Reagan. The plane was carrying the governor of Kentucky, but at first, who knew. So imagine the risk on the ground if the Air Force shot down one of these planes fearing a dirty bomb.
TOWNSEND: If you think you've got to take the decision to shoot it down, then you want -- you want to take it to a place where there's not a large population, it's not an urban area so that the area of contamination can be contained.
JOHNS: The bottom line is bigger planes carry bigger risks, and that's where the security community focuses the efforts. But are small planes a weak spot at Homeland Security?
(on camera): In fact, Homeland Security and Congress are asking questions about screening of pilots, passengers, and cargo of small planes, the latest incident only expected to add some urgency to the issue.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: The country's electrical grid may be vulnerable to a cyber attack. Foreign cyber spies have reportedly penetrated the grids. We'll take a look at the potential national security threat.
And President Obama back in the United States after his European tour and an unscheduled stop in Iraq. We're taking a closer look at his message to U.S. troops and to Iraqi leaders.
It's 26 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Belushi's character in "Animal House" can leave him with healing powers of beer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My advice to you -- start drinking heavily.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Better listen to him, Flounder, he's in premed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: These students at Rice University are making that a reality. They call it BioBeer. It might sound like a dorm room experiment, but, folks, this is cutting edge science. In order to make the healthy brew, they needed to add one special ingredient, a substance called "resveratrol."
PETER NGUYEN, GRADUATE STUDENT, RICE UNIVERSITY: It's a little bit of a miracle molecule.
CALLEBS: Recent studies at the Mayo Clinic found it can help fight heart disease and cancer. If resveratrol sounds familiar, well, you might have heard of it while sipping a glass of a different alcoholic beverage or watching old episodes of "I Love Lucy".
JOFF SILBERG, ASST. PROF, RICE UNIVERSITY: One of the most common places that people get it from is red wine, and that's because it's found in grapes.
CALLEBS: And since the average American drinks more beer than wine every year, BioBeer could have a big impact. The project is still in the works, but they're hoping to raise a glass to help at the end of the year. But you still need to know when to say when.
NGUYEN: You probably will get less hangover, but you'll be healthier the next morning.
CALLEBS: Sean Callebs, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Look, I need some of that right now. Does it cure terrible colds?
COSTELLO: I think it might. So we'll have hope for the future. It would be great to cure for the common cold, just a big cold mug of beer.
CHETRY: That's right, a humongous beer. We should have known all along. (LAUGHTER)
Well, it's 30 minutes after the hour. We're following breaking news unfolding at this very moment, off of waters of Somalia.
We told you over and over again about the growing problem with piracy on the high seas. Well, now, yet again this morning, pirates have captured a cargo ship. According to "The Associated Press," 21 Americans onboard. And according to the "A.P.," the ship was flying an American flag at the time of the hijacking.
Right now, it's not clear how many pirates were onboard the 17,000-ton vessel. But this is the sixth hijacking in the past week off of the Coast of Somalia.
Right now, our bureaus in London and Kenya are working their sources. We will bring you the latest developments as they come in.
Also this morning, there's word that the nation's electrical grid has been breached by foreign cyber spies who left behind software programs that could disrupt the system during crisis or war. According to current and former national security officials, the spies came from China, Russia and other countries. They say there's been no attempt so far to damage the power grid or some other key infrastructure.
And right now, Pope Benedict XVI is making plans to visit central Italy where there were more aftershocks after Monday's 6.3 earthquake. Rescuers say that 235 people have been killed. Crews racing against the clock for more than two days now digging through debris for survivors. And thousands are homeless.
Late yesterday, though, against the odds, a young woman was rescued from a building that has collapsed on top of her. She was under the rubble for 42 hours. She had an arm injury apparently, but other than that, she's expected to be OK. What a miracle.
And President Obama back at the White House this morning after making a surprise stop in Iraq before ending his eight-day trip overseas. Iraq, of course, still quite a dangerous country. And just this week, there's been a string of bombings that have killed more than 40 people.
CNN's Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence takes a closer look at the situation in the war zone right now.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Carol, Kiran, in one sense, the view of the ground is good. U.S. official say violence in Iraq has fallen 90 percent since its high point two years ago. But there's a reason to fear that extremists may be regrouping.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Cameras flash. Soldiers cheer. That's the Baghdad President Obama saw. But just 24 hours earlier, Baghdad's residents saw this: at least six attacks in one day. Car bombs, roadside bombs, more than 30 people killed.
Tension has been rising between the Shiite-led government in Sunni paramilitary units, groups the U.S. helped organize to secure their own neighborhoods. Iraq's president ordered Iraqi forces to take rapid steps to stop the violence from spinning out of control, but as violence ticks up, some American combat troops are already pulling back from Baghdad as part of the agreement to leave the city by June.
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY (RET.): There are some Iraqi units that this may be the first time that they've ever been independently responsible for terrain, for battle space, for that area of responsibility.
LAWRENCE: Kurds and Arabs are also battling over autonomy in northern Iraq and which groups will control the oil money that comes out of there.
FAWAS GERGES, MID EAST SCHOLAR, SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE: The challenge is not just for the Iraqi security forces to take steps to bring about stability, the greater challenge lies on the Iraqi political leadership to create a more inclusive and representative nationalist government.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: President Obama will be counting on the current plan to work. Combat troops pull back to major bases by June. Then those combat troops leave Iraq by the end of August next year, and the rest of the troops follow by the end of 2011 - Carol, Kiran.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Chris.
We're digging deeper now on the president's surprise visit to the troops in Iraq, and the future of U.S. forces there. Joining us now from Washington, retired Army General George Joulwan, former NATO supreme allied commander.
Thanks for joining us, General.
GEN. GEORGE JOULWAN, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: My pleasure.
COSTELLO: Before we get into the strategy of all of this, and then talking about the troops possibly leaving, at least combat troops by 2010, I want to talk about the reception that President Obama got in Iraq, and I want to play a bit of video for our viewers first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: I love you!
OBAMA: I love you back. I am honored and grateful to be with all of you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You know, there were shouts of "I love you." If you look at the front page of pretty much every paper in America, you can see President Obama hugging the troops, and everybody taking pictures of him.
This reception was really warm. Did it surprise you?
JOULWAN: Not at all. I think any time a president visits troops in the field, in combat, it's a great thing. But in particular, this president, very popular president, and the president that's carrying a real message that their mission is coming to an end on the combat side in Iraq, and the key mission is how to turn it over to the Iraqis for their own security. And he made that very clear.
COSTELLO: You know, some critics complained that Barack Obama really should have gone to Afghanistan and not to Iraq, because Afghanistan is sort of like going to become his war. Iraq was very much George Bush's war. How do you -- how would you respond to that? Why was this visit important by President Obama?
JOULWAN: Well, I think the president had said it very well. It's his responsibility for Iraq now and how he ended. How we leave is important. And it's not over there. I think he reinforced straight messages.
One, to the troops that there is a clear timeline here for their withdrawals.
Two, that it is his responsibility as commander-in-chief for Iraq now. And, three, it's the Iraqis that need to step up and take control of their own security.
And he made those three points very clear.
COSTELLO: OK. Well, let's take the first point to get combat troops out of there by 2010. There's been a state of violence in Iraq, 40 people dead. A string of bombings. What does that say about the United States' efforts to get combat troops out that soon?
JOULWAN: Well, again, it's the Iraqis that are going to be responsible for their own security. And I think the sooner we get out of some of the cities and the sooner we turn over to the Iraqis the responsibility of that security, the better off we're going to be.
And that puts the onus on the Iraqi political and military leadership to get their act together. This sectarian violence if not check will continue. And I think it's the Iraqis that need to take the political decisions to fix it.
COSTELLO: So what are the Iraqis doing to fix the problems so that combat troops -- American combat troops can leave. I know the president met with Mr. Maliki. And I'm sure they talked about that, but what specifically do you think that the Iraqi leaders have to do to get it done that they're not doing now?
JOULWAN: Well, remember, this is again a very sectarian country. And bringing these groups together needs to happen. The Sunnis and the Shiites and the Kurds need to work together, both on the political level and the military level.
When I visited there on this assessment I did for Congress back in 2007, it was clear that there was still a lot of sectarian separation within the different security forces. That has to change. There are elections coming up, by the way, at the provincial level this summer; national elections later in this year. All of that will be steps that can be taken to improve the political climate that I think will have an impact on the security environment in Iraq.
COSTELLO: And of course, we should mention that not all American troops will be leaving. There will still be a force of 50,000 there just for security purposes.
JOULWAN: No. Primarily, Carol, for equipping and training, not just for security. I think you shift the mission from the combat side. Of course, you're going to take care of their own security. But equipping and training the Iraqi police and military and not just by our military, but by other police units from other countries is extremely important. And this phase of normalization is going to extend for several years.
COSTELLO: General Joulwan, I wish we could go on. Thank you so much for joining this morning and waking up early with us.
JOULWAN: Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, right now, states are busy spending their share of the stimulus money. But should your tax dollars be spent on toll roads? Well, they are. And a lot of people are calling this a rip- off. We're breaking down both sides of the argument. 38 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
It's a silver lining to the economic downturn. States that are spending their stimulus money are apparently finding some bargains out there. There are more companies bidding on these projects that are driving prices down. In fact, "The Washington Post" is reporting that a project at BWI Airport near Baltimore, that was supposed to cost $50 million, is now coming in at $8 million less. There are similar stories from around the country.
But, not everybody is happy with the way that the stimulus money is being spent. Our Ed Lavandera found some people in Texas who say they're getting stiffed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Many freeways aren't free anymore. Americans painfully hand over tolls every day. So when word got out that stimulus money would be spent to build new toll roads in Texas, that's triggered angry chants of unfair double taxation.
TERRI HALL, SAN ANTONIO TOLL PARTY: It's a nightmare for the taxpayer. How many times we have to pay to use the same stretch of road? And people have got to be watching this.
LAVANDERA: Terri Hall helped organize the San Antonio Toll Party several years ago, a group now fighting to keep Texas from spending its share on the transportation stimulus dollars on building the new toll roads.
HALL: They want to make commuters pay a pain tax, a congestion tax, so to speak, to pay to get out of congestion rather than fixing our freeway system and keeping it free and open.
LAVANDERA: The Texas Department of Transportation is getting $1.2 billion in stimulus money to build new road projects. About 65 percent of that will be spent on eight new toll roads. State transportation officials say even with the stimulus package, there's still isn't enough money to make freeways.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a tumble down problem -- the more people, the more roads are being used, the more people are filling it up. And we've got to do something to address that capacity.
LAVANDERA: Texas transportation officials say they face a $300 billion short fall for roads over the next 20 years. So if people want roads built sooner rather than later, they say, they have to pay the tolls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can get the transportation projects today by running the toll project. Or you can wait 10 to 15 years, delivered as a tax-free road.
LAVANDERA: But critics say the state is just looking for another way to make money.
HALL: It is all about revenue generation for government. And it's going to hurt, not just the middle-class, but everybody.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Construction on the Texas toll road projects is slated to begin at the end of April. State officials say these are high-priority projects that will put people to work immediately.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: We want to hear your thoughts on how the stimulus dollars are being spent in your town. If you know, you should check it out and call our hotline 877-MY-AMFIX.
COSTELLO: Extreme weather on tap for the East Coast today. Chilly temperatures in some spots. You might even see snow.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: It's 39 degrees here. It's freezing.
COSTELLO: I know. It's wrong. It's April. Hello. Rob Marciano is tracking it all, and how it could impact your travel plans.
And take a look at this -- Michelle Obama in wax. Some people are saying it's just so not attractive. But that's her new wax figure.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: The red dress is nice, though. Anyway, Jeanne Moos will be looking at this wax figure of Michelle Obama, and I'm sure she'll have a very interesting take on the matter.
CHETRY: I mean...
COSTELLO: Come on, say...
CHETRY: There is -- there is wonderful things about being carved into wax and not so wonderful things. I mean, what do you say? They probably worked forever on it, and then you see it and maybe you're not going to be happy with it? What do you -- what do you say?
COSTELLO: I get mad.
It's 45 minutes past the hour. We'll be back.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Forty- eight minutes past the hour. Our Rob Marciano is keeping track of the weather for us.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: A major preliminary ruling about gay marriage comes down. We'll tell you what it means and will your state be next?
And Michelle Obama took Europe by storm? Now, this new wax figure of the first lady is drawing, well, all kinds of attention in the nation's capital. Jeanne Moos is among the curious. It's 49 means past the hour.
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COSTELLO: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Michelle Obama made quite a splash on her recent trip overseas, but this morning, she's getting attention for going up as Washington's newest wax figure.
When you see it, I'd really like to know what you think, actually. Anyway, Jeanne Moos takes a look at how Americans can get up close and personal now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First, the press waxes lyrical over the real Michelle Obama. And now we're waxing lyrical over wax.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, look at that woman.
MOOS: And if looking isn't enough, at Madame Tussauds...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can hug her and kiss her, everything.
MOOS: ...the wax Secret Service won't stop you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks exactly like her. It's scary.
MOOS: She's wearing one of her trademark cardigans, which covers up a sleeveless dress.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Inspired by the purple dress that she wore the night that her husband clinched the nomination.
MOOS: He seemed to be clinching her more than the nomination. If we're so interested in a dress worn by a wax first lady, well, it's just an extension of the fascination with fashion during her just completed overseas trip.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mrs. Obama, are you happy to be here?
MOOS: On the "Huffington Post," her style was praised. It was panned. "Michelle Obama has lost her mind," "three reasons she's suddenly a fashion disaster," "a dud for wearing an outfit too casual for the queen."
We were accessories to the crime of analyzing accessories -- right down to Mrs. Obama's favorite Azzedine Alaia belt.
ANYA STRZEMIEN, STYLE EDITOR, HUFFINGTON POST: It's the only thing that the president does not like in her wardrobe. He calls it her Star Trek belt.
(VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: And we were star struck. The "Huffington Post" ran polls so readers could vote love it or leave it on the first lady's every outfit.
Which was her greatest hit?
An Azzedine Alaia dress she wore to the NATO concert.
Her biggest bomb?
This Moschino shirt with bow: "Clown bow screams dowdy," "a bow wow bow."
STRZEMIEN: There were 1,500 comments.
MOOS (on camera): On a bow?
STRZEMIEN: Yes, on a bow. And it was the number one story on our site on Sunday.
MOOS: On the whole site?
(voice-over): But at least her bow was bigger than French first lady, Carla Bruni's. It's tough being a fashion plate for the whole nation to dine on, when even your wax figure is mobbed by the media.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: I'm just freaked out.
MOOS (on camera): The way the first lady was laid low by her bow makes you want to check your collar.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: I just think Michelle Obama is beautiful.
COSTELLO: I do, too.
CHETRY: And I don't know if that necessarily does her justice.
COSTELLO: That's so diplomatic of you.
CHETRY: Hey, what are you going to do? It's wax.
Well, stick with us. We're following breaking news this morning. A cargo ship hijacked of the Coast of Somalia. Twenty Americans reportedly onboard. We've just gotten a hold of the company's spokesman. We're going to be speaking to him next about what happens now.
It's 55 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: And welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Gay rights advocates celebrating two major victories this morning. Vermont is now the first state to legalize gay marriage through a legislator's vote. Gay couples can now be legally married there starting on September 1st.
The state's House managed to get the 100 necessary votes to override Governor Jim Douglas's veto of the bill. And get this, Washington, D.C.'s city council voted 12 to 0, 12 to 0, Tuesday, in favor of allowing same-sex marriages performed in other states to be recognized in the nation's capital.
Alina Cho is following the story today.
You know, the fascinating thing about this is the D.C. council voted to recognize gay marriages, but gay marriages can't be performed in D.C.
ALINA CHO, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: And what's even more interesting, Carol, is this could go to Congress. So watch out for this showdown. Good morning, everybody.
You know, we want to talk about what happened in Vermont. Now, remember, this is the state that in 2000 invented civil unions. Now Vermont has become the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage through not the courts, but a vote in the legislature. Now, there are currently four states that allow gay marriage -- Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
But remember, the other three states legalized same-sex marriage through the courts, not a vote like Vermont. Now going forward, four other states currently have bills before lawmakers to allow same-sex marriage, so this could happen again. And those states are New Hampshire, Maine, New York, and New Jersey.
Opponents of same-sex marriage like Family Research Council President Tony Perkins are using some pretty fiery language to condemn the vote, both in Vermont and in Washington. Perkins says, quote, "Same-sex marriage is a movement driven by wealthy homosexual activists and the liberal elite determine to destroy not only the institution of marriage, but democracy as well."
Now, how do Americans feel about it? Well, pretty evenly split. A CNN Opinion Research Poll released back in December showed that 55 percent of adults believe that marriages between gay and lesbian couples should not be recognized by law. While 44 percent said, yes, gay marriage should be recognized by law.
Now, the vote in Washington as Carol talked about a bit earlier is very interesting. If approved, the measure will then be sent to Congress for a legislative review and a vote. That's because, of course, Washington is not a state, it's a district, so its bills must pass through Congress.
As I mentioned earlier, this could make for a very interesting showdown among national lawmakers. Now, supporters say Vermont's move to pass gay marriage through a vote suggests there is growing popular acceptance of the idea. Well, opponents, of course, believe that the momentum from what happened in Vermont and in Iowa will embolden the other side. Remember, less than a week ago, Iowa Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages.
Now, where does the president stand on this? Well, President Obama says he supports civil unions, but is against same-sex marriage. So, a lot going on in this front. I mean, a lot to watch in the coming weeks and months, especially as you mentioned, Carol, what's going on in Washington.
COSTELLO: Oh yes. We'll watch for the showdown in Congress.
CHO: We will.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
