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American Morning
Top Commander in Afghanistan Replaced; U.S. Soldier in Iraq Kills Five Comrades at Stress Clinic; How Soldiers Are Dealing With Combat Stress; Limbaugh Defends Cheney; Afghan Civilians Killed in Air Strikes; Pilot's Skills Questioned on Buffalo Plane Crash; Chasing Storms; Change in Command in Pakistan; New Search Engine Answers Your Questions; Farrah Fawcett Fights Back
Aired May 12, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome. Happy Tuesday to you. It's May 12th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. We have got a lot to cover this morning and here are the big stories that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
This morning, we'll take you live to Afghanistan for a look at the new American strategy after a major shake-up in the war there. Defense Secretary Robert Gates replacing the top American commander in Afghanistan less than a year after he took over.
An American soldier in custody in Iraq after he allegedly gunned down five fellow soldiers at a counseling session for U.S. troops in Iraq. The Pentagon promising a thorough investigation. We're taking a closer look at the stress of war this morning.
And former Vice President Dick Cheney, he criticized the Democrats, the White House, and Colin Powell too. Now Rush Limbaugh and you, our viewers, are sounding off on all of it. You'll hear what everyone is saying this morning.
CHETRY: We begin though with developing news and an abrupt change in command in Afghanistan.
The top U.S. commander fired as thousands more American troops roll in. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he wants a new leader to carry out the president's new strategy, and this morning, Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal will replace General David McKiernan. Lieutenant McChrystal is a former Green Beret who Gates says will bring a fresh approach to the conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: This is the right time to make the change, at a time when we are at the beginning of the implementation of a new strategy. And it is in that context that I emphasized that the focus here is simply on getting fresh thinking, fresh eyes on the problem, and how we implement the strategy and the mission going forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHETRY: Sorry about that. Gave him a bit of a demotion. He is a general, not a lieutenant.
This morning, we are tapping into the global resources of CNN. Stan Grant live in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Stan, you're on the ground. Help us understand the importance or what we're going to see in action in Afghanistan with this switch.
STAN GRANT, CNN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES CORRESPONDENT: I think you just heard there, Kiran, when you heard from Robert Gates himself, the U.S. secretary of Defense, they need fresh eyes, they need a fresh approach. And that's what they're hoping they're going to get here.
Now, part of this fresh approach is a recognition that bombs and bullets will not actually bring peace to this country alone. They need to be able to bring the civilian population of Afghanistan with them. And that's being made much, much more difficult in recent days, because of the civilian deaths. Particularly the latest civilian deaths caused by a U.S. air strike in a western province here in Afghanistan, the numbers differing on this. The U.S. says about 50; others on the ground saying well over 100 killed in that air strike.
And we've seen widespread protest against that, people denouncing the U.S. And this comes at a time when the U.S. is trying to reach out and build more confidence in the population here by putting more troops on the ground.
So I think that's what they're talking about. Fresh eyes, a fresh approach, an approach that tries to integrate the population here with the U.S. and build those ties to be able to win their confidence, Kiran.
CHETRY: And how do the Afghan people feel about this? And how do they see their country and its future?
GRANT: This is a very interesting question. There is a great sense of despondency when it comes to the future of this country.
Let me give you an example. I was just at a psychiatric hospital this morning in Kabul. This is the only psychiatric hospital in all of the country. It only has 62 beds. Now this is a country where millions of people suffer mental disorders. I was speaking to one of the doctors. He says that roughly seven out of 10 people here have depression or anxiety.
I met a lady who lost four children of hers in a U.S. air strike, and she has blanked out all memory of it. She simply refuses to believe her children are dead.
I met young women there, ages 17, 18, wanting to kill themselves.
I spoke to another man, lying listless in bed just staring out with absolutely no will to live. There is nothing to actually aim for. And this comes from a lack of a sense of future in this country. Everyone complains about the economy. There are no jobs. Health care is poor. Education is poor. And, of course, there is no security. For that, they blame their own government. They also blame the allied forces and the U.S.
CHETRY: Wow, all right. Hopefully things will be able to be turned around in the future. Just a sad situation there.
Stan, thanks so much.
Also this morning, more on the new man in charge in an "AM Extra."
Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal is a graduate of West Point. He has a background in covert operations and his leadership is credited with the capture of Saddam Hussein in December of 2003. McChrystal is also in charge of a 2006 mission that killed top al Qaeda operative, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
ROBERTS: We're also following developments in a deadly shooting rampage at a combat stress clinic for American troops in Iraq.
A U.S. soldier is in custody this morning accused of killing five of his comrades. Military officials say he was a patient at the counseling center inside Camp Liberty in Baghdad. Defense Secretary Gates says he is horrified and appalled by the tragic incident and says the Pentagon needs to redouble its efforts to relieve combat stress.
CNN's Jason Carroll is looking at how soldiers are coping with stress both here in the war zone and here at home. We should mention too that the fellow who's in custody for this terrible shooting made multiple deployments to Iraq.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, which is one of the problems. You know, the fact that they've opened stress clinics like this is a sign that the military is taking the situation very seriously.
I did speak to one former soldier who has been at one of those stress clinics when he was on active duty. He said it helped him a little, but not enough. He said there is a stigma associated with asking for help, part of a military culture that exists for those on active duty and veterans as well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): As news spreads about the shooting at Camp Liberty in Iraq, thousands of miles away in Colorado, Alan Pitts questioned whether the soldier in custody was fighting the same kind of battle he deals with every day.
ALAN PITTS, FORMER SERGEANT, U.S. ARMY: It's not the first time I've heard about this. I've had friends that had, you know, committed suicide back in the states or, you know, did other horrible things to other people.
CARROLL: Doctors diagnosed Pitts with post-traumatic stress disorder. His convoy hit two IEDs in western Iraq. Insurgents attacked, killing his driver and shooting Pitts. He recovered physically, but not mentally.
PITTS: Sleepless nights, flashbacks, hearing things that aren't there. It's just hard to deal with people that don't understand or have never seen the things I've seen or gone through the things I've seen.
CARROLL: Five years ago, Pitts was discharged. He continues treatment under a doctor's care.
A recent study found one in five veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan reported PTSD symptoms like depression and aggression. A separate Army study, more alarming. It found a record number of suicide, 143 in 2008.
HEIDI KRAFT, FORMER NAVY PSYCHOLOGIST: It still has a long way to go.
CARROLL: Heidi Kraft wrote a book about soldiers in combat and treats combat trauma patients. She says overcoming the stigma associated with needing help is a major obstacle.
KRAFT: The long-standing culture that has had no tolerance for anything that looks like less than emotional perfection.
CARROLL: Military leaders acknowledge more needs to be done.
ADMIRAL MIKE MULLEN, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: It does speak to me though about the need for us to redouble our efforts and concern in terms of dealing with the stress. It also speaks to the issue of multiple deployments.
CARROLL: PTSD experts say military leaders have to better prepare soldiers for the psychological effect of combat.
STEVE ROBINSON, PTSD EXPERT: We have not broken through to our military leaders that understanding how your brain and your body works in war and recognizing the signs and symptoms of distress is as important as knowing how to use your weapon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Well, the military has put out a public service announcement to talk about the stress servicemen face. And they've set up a Web site, communityofveterans.org. Veterans can go there to get information about mental health resources and the transition back to home life.
In terms of treatment, experts say, if on active duty, it may mean getting off. Regardless, they say, talking to a qualified therapist as soon as possible is key. And, you know, treatment can last for months. It can last for years. CHETRY: Right.
CARROLL: It can also involve medication. But obviously, it's a problem that the military is really going to have to deal with because you're seeing more and more servicemen dealing with disorders like the one you just saw there.
ROBERTS: They certainly are. Jason Carroll, thanks so much for that.
CARROLL: You bet.
CHETRY: Also this morning, Rush Limbaugh stepping into the spotlight and standing up for former Vice President Dick Cheney. The radio host following up on the vice president's Sunday talk show appearance where he took aim at Colin Powell, Democrats, and the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When you get rid of enhanced interrogation techniques, for example, or deter a surveillance program, you reduce the intelligence flow to the intelligence community upon which we base those policies that were so successful.
Well, if I had to choose in terms of being a Republican, I'd go with Rush Limbaugh, I think. I think, my take on it was Colin had already left the party. I didn't know he was still a Republican.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, CONSERVATIVE RADIO HOST: Dick Cheney is one lone voice in the Republican Party.
What motivates Dick Cheney? He's not hot for interns. He has all the money he needs. He's not a torture freak. He doesn't want to run for political office. Dick Cheney is motivated by love for his country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, not everybody seems to agree with Rush's assessment on that. In fact, everyone who called into our show hotline was actually critical of the former vice president's remarks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CALLER (via telephone): As a moderate Republican, I'm getting sick and tired of every time I turned on my news shows, I am seeing that loud mouth Dick Cheney spouting off about something. Please stop reporting on Dick Cheney and stop giving him air time.
CALLER (via telephone): I don't know why we have to look at Cheney on the television anymore. I am sick of seeing him, hearing from him, and I wish he would go away.
CALLER (via telephone): Those comments by our former vice president are part of the reason why I will not belong to the Republican Party. They no longer represent my views as an American citizen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So we want to hear more from you on this or any story. Call our show hotline 24 hours a day. It's 877-MY-AMFIX.
Also, a little bit later, we're going to be talking to David Frum just about the state of the GOP party and whether or not hearing from Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney is helping or hurting their mantra that you have to grow the base.
ROBERTS: Yes. He seems to have a suggestion that you need to be a little more inclusive and a couple of people at least in the Republican Party want to make.
Also new this morning, an 89-year-old retired auto worker accused of being a Nazi death camp guard is now in Germany. John Demjanjuk arrived this morning after leaving Cleveland last night. He is accused of 29,000 counts of accessory to murder. Demjanjuk claims that he was a prisoner of war and not a death camp guard.
Just two weeks after the Air Force One photo-op panicked New Yorkers in Lower Manhattan, the U.S. Navy almost did the same thing. A Navy reconnaissance plane was set to fly up and down the Hudson River yesterday. But shortly before the flight, the Federal Aviation Administration got wind of the military mission and put the kibosh on it.
Chaos on the ground in Afghanistan as bombs from U.S. aircraft rained down on Afghan civilians. We have exclusive video of the villagers describing that deadly incident.
It's 11 minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 13 minutes now after the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
We are learning more about coalition air strikes in Afghanistan last week, the targeted Taliban forces. Some accounts say more than 100 Afghan civilians were killed.
We have some exclusive video of local villagers in the southern Farah (ph) province describing what happened. CNN senior international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is here and she's covering that for us.
So the U.S. military has admitted that some civilians were killed, but the civilians are telling a pretty terrible story. CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are, indeed, John. And this actually has been following a rather sad and tragic path because the war that the U.S. is trying to go after, the Al Qaeda and Taliban elements, the more they're having air power called in, and rather too frequently, there are civilian casualties because of that.
And this, of course, came to a height this last week and it happened as President Karzai was in the United States meeting with President Obama. And what we found after sending a crew out to Farah (ph) province was that this controversy there continues with the U.S. claiming one thing happened and the villagers claiming another. The villagers claiming that the actual air strikes caused all these deaths and that there were no Taliban in the area when the air strikes were called in.
The U.S. military is saying that they were called in right during a fight with the Taliban militants and blaming the Taliban for using these villagers as human sacrifices.
Now, when I was there a couple of weeks ago, I spoke to Colonel Greg Julian (ph) who is the spokesman of the U.S. military command there. And he admitted and so did then, at that time the commander general, David McKiernan, that, yes, these civilian casualties need to be investigated. They all need to be accounted for. They all need to be -- reparations need to be made and that this is having a very distinct effect on the ability to fight the war there.
ROBERTS: And it's difficult for any military to win hearts and minds when civilians are caught in the cross fire. Do we expect that anything will be different in terms of how these villages are approached when Taliban are suspected to be there now with Lieutenant General McChrystal in charge?
AMANPOUR: Well, it's difficult. It's interesting that the switch has happened right now and already the Afghan government has put out a statement. The spokesman saying that the switch in command isn't internal bureaucratic U.S. matter.
But as far as the Afghans are concerned, the Afghan government, that they must make progress on being careful about civilians because not only is it a loss of life, but also these civilian casualties are taking away legitimacy, not just from the Afghan government, but also causing protest against the U.S. presence there.
And if you look at the polls there, it is really these civilian casualties and we've seen these protests that's sprung up this weekend, the civilian casualties which were doing the most to take away the popular opinion about the U.S. presence there.
ROBERTS: All right. Christiane Amanpour for us this morning. Christiane, thanks so much for that.
CHETRY: Well, this morning, troubling new details about the commuter plane crash that happened near Buffalo and questions about the training record of the pilot. Also, chasing storms in Tornado Alley. Rob Marciano getting a firsthand look at the effort to understand these powerful and deadly storms.
It's 16 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Good morning, Milwaukee. This is coming to us from our affiliate WISN this morning at 19 minutes past the hour. Forty-three degrees there right now going up to 66 a bit later, and it's supposed to be mostly sunny there today.
It's time now to fast forward through the stories that will be making news later today.
President Obama turning his attention to the war in Iraq. This afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Eastern, he and Vice President Joe Biden will be meeting with the country's top generals in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, and also U.S. ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill. Afterwards, the president and vice president will meet with Defense Chief Robert Gates.
Just a few hours, we're going to be learning whether Florida Governor Charlie Crist plans to forego a bid for another term and instead run for the Senate in 2010. Crist is expected to make an e- mail announcement. His interest in a Senate seat has been rumored since Florida's Mel Martinez announced he would retire next year.
And this morning at 9:45 Eastern Time, a crackdown on credit cards. A group of Democratic senators will discuss a bill restricting sudden jumps in interest rates and late fees. The bill, which was passed by the House last week, is expected to pass the Senate as well this week - John.
ROBERTS: Also this morning, the National Transportation Safety Board begins a three-day hearing on that deadly commuter plane crash near Buffalo back in February. It was the worst crash that this country has seen in seven years. It killed 50 people.
And this morning, there are serious concerns being raised about the pilot and the training he received. CNN's Allan Chernoff is looking into that.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, it appears the pilot was not trained as fully as he could have been even though his training did meet FAA standards.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): When Flight 3407 was about to stall, an emergency system called a stick pusher activated to push the aircraft's control column forward. Yet the pilot, Marvin Renslow had never been trained in a flight stimulator to respond to a stick pusher emergency, only in the classroom. An experience gap that may have been a factor in the pilot's failure to save the aircraft. DOUG MOSS, STALL RECOVERY EXPERT: I think that's a significant problem. You can study it academically all you want to, but you really need to develop the proficiency, the skill, the muscle memory required.
CHERNOFF: Colgan Air said, "We stand by our FAA-certified crew training programs which meet or exceed the regulatory requirements for all major airlines and include training on emergency situations."
The FAA concedes its requirements aren't exact enough to demand stick pusher training in a flight simulator.
MOSS: The FAA generally trains to a standard of routine line operations with only a minimal tolerance for deviation outside the norm. They don't focus at all on the edges of the envelope which if they were to do that would be costly, but I think it would improve the overall competency of airline pilots.
CHERNOFF: Veteran pilots tell CNN today's cost-conscious regional airlines need to provide more training because many of their pilots are far less experienced than those at the major airlines. The Regional Airline Association counters that the Buffalo tragedy notwithstanding its flights are safer than ever.
ROGER COHEN, PRESIDENT, REGIONAL AIRLINE ASSOCIATION: The training standards for regional airlines, mainline airlines, network airlines, low-cost airlines, all identical under the exact same protocols, all approved in the exact same category by the Federal Aviation Administration.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: Pilot training will be among the issues to be discussed at the National Transportation Safety Board hearing.
Also, Captain Renslow's history. Colgan Air says it is true that Captain Renslow failed five pilot exams but ultimately he did pass his test and received full accreditation to fly the Q-400 aircraft -- John, Kiran.
CHETRY: Allan Chernoff for us. Thanks.
Well, for a small army of scientists, it's all about the chase. Rob Marciano is live in Tornado Alley to tell us what they're doing. Do you see that vehicle they were in, well to protect them as they chase powerful storms.
And it's the new kid in town. A search engine its creator says can answer your every question. But is it really the Google killer that some suggest?
It's 23 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "TWISTER") HELEN HUNT, PORTRAYING "DR. JO HARDING": We have to brake.
BILL PAXTON, PORTRAYING "BILL HARDING": Debris.
HUNT: Right. Left. Right. Left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Then, there was the flying cow. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
From big screen storm chasers to what may be the most ambitious weather experiment ever, a team of scientists launching the Vortex2 project to help unravel the mystery of tornadoes from the inside out.
Our Rob Marciano is with the team in Tornado Alley in Oklahoma and joins us this morning from a secret location.
Rob, what's going on there? What's all this work aiming toward?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we want to know why tornadoes form and why some are stronger than others. And we want to be able to predict them more accurately and all in the effort of saving lives.
You mentioned the flying cow. We left Norman, Oklahoma yesterday. Inside the National Weather Center is actually a cafe called the "Flying Cow."
But this is serious business, no doubt about it. This Vortex2 mission set to unravel hopefully the mysteries of tornados.
Yesterday, we left to reposition somewhere in Oklahoma. They don't want us to give out the exact location so a bunch of knucklehead looky-loos try to chase down and get in the way, because there is a small armada of world class weather equipment that is lined up to chase down some of these storms.
During daylight hours yesterday afternoon, I managed to catch up and give a little rundown of just some of the equipment that's here. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: The plan is to attack these storms from every angle starting at the ground up.
This is called a tornado pod. Whether it's at the very lowest level of the atmosphere, they will hand take these out of pickup trucks for the most part, and drop them off ahead of the storm trying to line them up so they can intercept the storm at the lowest levels of the atmosphere.
Slightly higher, a little more mobile. These are called mobile mesonets. Similar instruments, a little bit higher up to gather information a little bit higher up in the atmosphere. Check out this. Looks like an ambulance, right? It was. It was an ambulance. Now it's been modified. That's actually the mobile command center. They're going to use that mostly for communication.
As we get a little bit louder here, you hear the hum of the diesel. This is the DOW. It's not Dow Industrial, it's Doppler on Wheels. The workhorse of storm research for tornadoes, that Doppler radar can work while stationary and stand the storm, or it can work when it's on the run at 80 or 90 miles an hour.
Forty research vehicles, 100 scientists looking to find out why tornadoes do what they do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Better view of the DOW on the backside of it at least is behind me.
Dr. Josh Wurman actually works with the Discovery Channel, and he works with something called the TIB (ph), which is an armored vehicle that he drives through these storms.
We caught up with another version of that. You're looking at some of the video over the weekend. His name is Retimber (ph), also a storm tracker based out of Oklahoma.
So all sorts of people trying to chase these down. But the main goal, John, is to get these weather instruments which are much advanced compared to the first Vortex mission 15 years ago. And these guys are really excited about the potential of unlocking some of the mystery.
I should add that today, once again, might not be the best day to chase but tomorrow looks to be rather promising. We'll give you updates obviously throughout the day and throughout tomorrow as well.
John, back over to you.
ROBERTS: Like we said yesterday, Rob, feel free to stay out there until August until you get something, right?
MARCIANO: I love to.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks. We'll talk to you soon - Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Twenty-nine minutes past the hour. We check our top stories now.
It looks like the recession is expected to lead to a bleaker forecast for Social Security and Medicare. A report out today is expected to show that both funds will run out of money sooner than projected. This doesn't come as a shock to many who've been covering this, but the solutions are going to be tough to figure it out. Fewer people working -- it means less money paid into the trust funds for both Social Security and Medicare. Well, on his second day in Israel, Pope Benedict XVI prayed. He also placed a written message at Jerusalem's Wailing Wall, the holiest site for Jews around the world. The pope also visited the Dome of the Rock becoming the first pope to enter that shrine, which is sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians.
And taking certain vitamins after you work out can apparently reverse the benefits that you get from exercising especially for millions of people at risk for Type-2 diabetes. Researchers in Germany said that exercise reduces diabetes by reducing insulin resistance, but any oxygen supplements like vitamin C or E can actually block the body's natural ability to prevent the disease. Doctors stress that larger studies are needed to fully assess this effect.
We'll ask Sanjay about that as well.
Also this morning, a change of command in a deteriorating war zone. Defense Secretary Robert Gates replacing the top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan. His replacement is Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, specialist in counterinsurgencies. Gates says that President Obama's new strategy in Afghanistan needs a new commander to carry it out.
And joining me now is retired Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt. He's the former assistant secretary of state for political military affairs.
Thanks for being with us this morning.
BRIG. GEN. MARKET KIMMITT (RET.), EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS COMPANY: Good morning, Kiran.
CHETRY: So what does this switch in leadership in your opinion mean for the approach to fighting in Afghanistan?
KIMMITT: Well, as Secretary Gates said yesterday, we have a new strategy. That new strategy needs some new leadership to execute the strategy to see it go to fruition.
CHETRY: You know, and this is the new man who is going to be leading the war. His name is Gen. Stanley McChrystal, a former Green Beret. He also headed up special operations and is credited for the 2003 capture of Saddam Hussein. You've known him for decades. You were West Point classmates.
What approach do you think he's going to be taking to succeed in Afghanistan?
KIMMITT: Well, I think, first and foremost, he will be taking the approach that is outlined in the president's new strategy. But on the ground, I think what we'll see is that the three areas that he is most skilled at, counterinsurgency, special operations, training and equipping foreign forces are precisely the type of skill sets that are needed in the days and weeks ahead. CHETRY: And you talk about special operations. I mean, a lot of times, we associate these with this small, targeted based on intelligence. Now that that is not happening now, but I think that's what they want to see more of especially in the wake of, you know, these inadvertent civilian casualties and trying to win the hearts and minds of Afghanis.
Do you think that this is going to help in that goal?
KIMMITT: Well, it's clearly the case that we need to be extraordinarily precise. We are the most precise military in the history of warfare.
CHETRY: Right.
KIMMITT: Nonetheless, we're not perfect. And sometimes, there are incidents on the ground that despite all the technology that we have, there are incidents on the ground that lead to the types of tragic results that we saw. But we must emphasize that these are far more rare than we've ever seen on any battlefield in history.
CHETRY: Right. Absolutely.
And also, Secretary Gates now, who asks for the resignation of General McKiernan. He was 11 months into his two-year assignment. And Gates is a Republican. He was brought in under President Bush, kept on by President Obama.
I know you're not getting into all the politics of it. But what does it say about Gates' relationship with President Obama. How much standing and trust he has within the new administration that didn't bring him here?
KIMMITT: Well, I think we should all take a look at Secretary Gates' background. He served a number of presidents on both sides of the aisle for years and years. He's a dedicated public servant. That clearly has the trust and confidence of the president that he serves.
CHETRY: And this is also -- this appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. One of the things that could potentially be a problem is that there is this two-year investigation that cleared General McChrystal of any wrongdoing in the role, in the death of Pat Tillman in Afghanistan. But they did say that he failed -- they faulted him for not immediately notifying Tillman's family of the suspicions that it was a friendly fire incident.
Is that going to tie up this appointment?
KIMMITT: Well, I think I'd go back to your original statement. He was cleared in that investigation. He's subsequently been promoted to three-star. I would certainly hope that something, although tragic as we saw what happened in the Tillman incident, would not stop a general of this competence from being selected -- being appointed by the Senate of the United States for this important job.
CHETRY: All right. Well, great to get your take this morning. Retired Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, thanks for being with us.
KIMMITT: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Well, Google is the gold standard when it comes to finding what you want on the Internet. But a new search engine may change the way that you get the answers that you want. We'll tell you all about it, coming up.
It's 34 1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Aren't we hip this morning? Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
With nearly 300 million searches every day, Google is certainly the king of search engines. But a new Web site could give the Internet giant a run for its money. Unlike other search engines, Wolfram Alpha promises to generate answers, not just regurgitate what's already on the Web.
Nicholas Thompson, senior editor at "Wired" magazine. He tested the new site last night.
We're talking about this yesterday. So what did you think?
NICHOLAS THOMPSON, SENIOR EDITOR, "WIRED" MAGAZINE: I think it's pretty good. It's very interesting for certain kinds of queries. It will give you great charts. It will give you great data. If you're interested in physics, science, mathematics, it has lots of very useful stuff.
ROBERTS: We were just talking a second ago about how this differs from Google. And you had a great metaphor for it, great analogy. Tell us what the difference is there between new one - Wolfram Alpha, which isn't out there yet...
THOMPSON: It will be out next week.
ROBERTS: ... but tested by some folks. And Google, which, of course, (INAUDIBLE).
THOMPSON: So imagine you go into a library and you want to learn about Russia. With Google, the parallel would be, OK, my library sort of searches all the books and finds everyone that has a word about Russia, and that stacks up in you. A huge, big pile of books and they're ordered according to which uses the word Russia the most and which books references each of it.
ROBERTS: So, but it just basically gives you a stack of books.
THOMPSON: A huge stack, and then you go into them and you look one by one by one.
What Wolfram Alpha would do, it's like a reference librarian, behind the desk, there's a whole -- you know, whole set of encyclopedias with charts and data, and you say Russia. As you go, and then puts it in a spreadsheet and drops it in front of you.
Now, that's better for some things. And if you have a very specific query that's in those books behind the desk, and if they can find it and if you ask your question the right way, that works wonderfully.
The Google model where you just get everything stacked up works really well on a lot of other stuff.
ROBERTS: OK. So what is this good for then?
THOMPSON: I think it's good for, if you're doing -- if you want computations, if you want mathematical analysis. If you want stock data, for example.
Here's another funny example. I typed in CNN to see what you would get. Google is really good at saying, OK, CNN, that's a TV network, here it is, here's the link to CNN site. You can go click on and you can learn everything that CNN does.
If you type it in to Wolfram Alpha, and it gives you the Caledonian trust. You know, whatever the CNN ticker applies to. And has all sorts of good financial information on the Caledonian trust, right? It doesn't understand that there's also a TV network called CNN.
So ,Wolfram Alpha is very good at searching within the confines of the information that it has.
ROBERTS: Now, it's also very new, though, right? So overtime, couldn't it evolve. Remember, Google was very rudimentary at the very beginning. Now, of course, incredibly sophisticated.
THOMPSON: Oh, absolutely.
And then, the other thing that Wolfram Alpha does is it tries to understand what you're asking. So, Google -- if you ask Google a question, how far is the moon from Pluto. It doesn't understand that you're asking a question. It doesn't know what the word far means. It doesn't really understand how. It just searches all the pages to see which has the word how, which has the word far.
Whereas Wolfram Alpha actually tries to say, OK, that looks like a question. They are trying to ask distance. Let's give the distance, and let's give it on miles, let's give it on kilometers. So it's a very different way of interacting.
And to your question, "will it get better," absolutely. As it learns it will get better as information added.
ROBERTS: All right. How different is it from a Web site like, let's say, Ask.com, which you do ask questions?
THOMPSON: Right. You do ask questions, but it doesn't have the same -- Ask.com doesn't curate your answers the way that Wolfram Alpha does.
So Ask.com, you ask a question. Unlike the Google model, it will return a whole bunch of links that you then click on and you go externally to those sites. Wolfram Alpha will try to give you the exact answer in a little spreadsheet or table.
ROBERTS: So the one thing that everybody at home is wondering is, is this going to supplant Google. Is this going to take over? It is interesting to point out too that Sergey Brin, one of the co- founders of Google, actually interned for this guy, Stephen Wolfram, back in 1993.
THOMPSON: Well, there's no chance it's going to take over for Google. I mean, it will be used by a small subset of people for some subset of their searches.
But Google loves the idea that this has been presented as a Google killer. Because Google's real problem is not that it's going to be supplanted by this, you know, fascinating but quirky search. Google's real problem is that they're going to be accused of antitrust, and they're going to end in, you know, antitrust troubles there. So, if it's perceived that there can be competitors that can arise organically to compete with Google...
ROBERTS: Takes some of the pressure off there.
THOMPSON: Yes. Google is thrilled by the notion if there's a Google killer out there, which they know isn't going to actually kill them.
ROBERTS: Great. Nicholas Thompson, it's great to see you this morning. I look forward to trying this myself, so.
THOMPSON: Thank you, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks a lot - Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Well, President Obama is taking his health care fix to business leaders today. But already, some in Congress say the plan on the table is just too vague. We're talking to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, coming up in our next hour.
Also, comedienne Wanda Sykes really stirred things up at the White House Correspondents' Dinner with her attack on Rush Limbaugh. So why are Republicans slamming the president for it?
It's 42 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Good morning, Houston. This is courtesy of our affiliate, KTRK. Right now, it's 74 degrees. It's going up to 91 and it's going to be mostly sunny there today at 45 minutes past the hour.
Time now to fast forward through the stories that will be making news later today.
At 2:00 p.m. Eastern, a crucial meeting at the State Department. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will sit down with the British foreign minister. They're expected to discuss the war in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan's war on the Taliban.
At 2:45 p.m. Eastern, First Lady Michelle Obama continues her outreach to the D.C. community and as well of her support for public service programs. She'll be delivering remarks to the Corporation for National and Community Service.
At 11:00 a.m. Eastern, Miss USA pageant owner Donald Trump will decide, at least reveal his decision about whether or not Carrie Prejean can keep her Miss California crown. The 21-year-old is under fire for recently revealed photos -- she's posing in her underwear when she was younger -- making unauthorized public appearances as well for groups opposed to same-sex marriage. We'll hear what the Donald has to say.
He finds himself in this position a lot, right? Because a couple of years ago, he had also to make the decision about whether Miss USA could keep her crown.
ROBERTS: Well, you know, when you perform the high wire act, like he does all the time, you got to make these big (ph) decisions. What are you betting he does?
CHETRY: I don't know. He's unpredictable.
ROBERTS: I think - I think the photographs, pass muster. It's her other work, I'm not sure what.
CHETRY: You mean, being unauthorized and speaking up at some of these engagements?
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: But we keep saying topless, but you never saw the front.
ROBERTS: No. No, I think that - I think that the photos would be fine. It's the other stuff that I think he might have a concern with. We'll see. Maybe not.
Forty-six minutes now after the hour.
Jacqui Jeras at the weather center in Atlanta.
Not a whole lot to speak of weather-wise. So, we're talking about fires, Jacqui, this morning.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Well, you know, weather- related always, John. We've been talking about the fires out west for so long.
Well, Florida has been seeing fires as well. Several new brush fires kicked up yesterday in Martin County, burning hundreds of acres and threatening homes. There's also a large fire over thousands of acres burning in Volusia County, where 200 homes and some farm buildings are being threatened.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Let's hope, though, that other people aren't unfortunate because Rob is lucky. All right, Jacqui, thanks so much for that - Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, the president left them laughing at the White House Correspondents Association dinner, but did comedienne Wanda Sykes go too far when she went after Rush Limbaugh.
Also, Farrah Fawcett taking on her doctors and the tabloids all alone in a fight for her battle with cancer. A courageous story still ahead.
It's 48 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
It was anything but politics as usual at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. President Obama gave as good as he got. But his reaction to comedienne Wanda Sykes blasting Rush Limbaugh has some Republicans seeing red.
Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's OK for a president to laugh at a joke about his own anatomy...
WANDA SYKES, ACTRESS/COMEDIENNE: I don't need to see your nipples.
MOOS: ... but should he have nipped his smile in the bud when he heard this?
SYKES: Because I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker, but he was just so strung out on OxyContin, he missed his flight.
(APPLAUSE)
MOOS: Carry that smile in a sip.
SYKES: Too much?
MOOS: When do you wipe the smile off your face? 9/11 jokes, says the president's press secretary...
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Better left for serious reflection rather than comedy. MOOS: But that was after his boss couldn't suppress a grin.
SYKES: Rush Limbaugh, "I hope the country fails." I hope his kidneys fail, how about that?
BILL BENNETT, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: "I hope his kidneys fail," what the hell is that?
MOOS: Rush Limbaugh failed. Failed to take the bait, ignoring comedienne Wanda Sykes' joke, though he did take a jab at the star- studded roast itself.
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Going into the big White House soiree -- showbiz for ugly people.
MOOS: An event where you cross at Demi Moore and a Wolf Blitzer, an Owen Wilson and a Glenn Beck.
While a Sarah Palin abstinence joke got a mixed reaction...
(APPLAUSE AND BOOS)
SYKES: Oh, shut up. You're going to be telling that one tomorrow.
MOOS: ...instead, the Rush Limbaugh jokes were the ones being retold.
SYKES: He needs to go waterboarding, that's what he needs.
JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST: But the audience is laughing hysterically. I don't know if they could hear it at home.
MOOS (on camera): The president did do a lot of laughing -- many times at his own jokes, while telling them.
(VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: The president could barely get through the joke about the permanently tanned House minority leader.
(VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He is a person of color, although not a color that appears in the natural world.
MOOS: A perpetual tan -- permission to laugh. Kidney failure -- laughter discretion advised.
SYKES: But you're laughing inside. I know you're laughing.
MOOS: Wanda Sykes got a kiss from the president and a hug from the first lady. And while Secret Service agents kept their smiles secret...
SYKES: God forbid, if -- if Joe Biden falls in the hands of terrorists. God forbid.
MOOS: Some struggle to stifle their laughter even before the punch line.
Jeanne Moos, CNN...
(VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: ...New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Well, Kiran, had a front-row seat to all the action at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner on Saturday night.
You went out there.
CHETRY: Yes. We missed you. You were, of course, speaking at the University of Colorado.
There's a pic of, of course, Wolf Blitzer, our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux and Janelle Rodriguez, who is our executive producer.
ROBERTS: Right. The Wolfman is there every year. He's a fixture at these things.
CHETRY: He sure is.
ROBERTS: Roland Martin, Barbara Walters, Whoopi and you.
CHETRY: That's right. That was pretty fun. Roland was certainly a hit there.
And this is my favorite picture actually, because I love Eva Longoria from "Desperate Housewives."
ROBERTS: The two of you don't look dissimilar.
CHETRY: Thank you. That's a compliment, because she's gorgeous in person. She was very sweet.
One of the other interesting moments of the night, when they were joking around about Joe Biden, of course, as they said. All they would have to say is hello, and he'd handed a stack of information, and people were rolling.
And the president wasn't afraid to poke fun at Rahm Emmanuel.
He made fun of, you know, his own people as well.
ROBERTS: Yes. We mentioned that yesterday. (INAUDIBLE) the word day after the word mother?
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Well, but you know, as we saw with Don Imus and Steven Colbert, and now with Wanda Sykes, the comediens...
CHETRY: They have it tough. They have it tough.
ROBERTS: Well, they walk a real fine edge there.
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Sometimes they go over the edge and sometimes they don't.
CHETRY: Exactly. And we had a chance to talk to Wanda Sykes right afterward. And she said, what did you think? I mean, how did you think that went. It's hard.
Right. I mean, some of it, you know, if you kind of try to temper yourself and people say you were boring and you were a bust, right? So it's usually the ones that get the most controversy that people remember.
ROBERTS: Yes. Like Don Imus' performance. This will be remembered.
Well, this morning, new leadership for America's war in Afghanistan. The White House replacing the top American commander there. We'll take a look at what's behind the sudden change in command.
And she says her battle with cancer was leaked to the tabloid media. Now Farrah Fawcett speaking out and fighting back. Her story just ahead.
It's 55 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
A legend at the small screen. Farrah Fawcett is going public with her very personal battle with cancer. You'll know her best from her roles in "Charlie's Angels," as the show's original crime fighting blond bombshell. Well, now, she's taking on the hospital and the tabloid media all while she's fighting for her life against cancer.
Our Alina Cho is on the story for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Farrah Fawcett...
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How are you feeling?
CHO: ... under the microscope as she seeks treatment for cancer. Headlines all but announcing her death. Now Fawcett is speaking out, alleging the hospital where she sought treatment pressured her to donate money and, worst, sold her medical records to the "National Enquirer." FARRAH FAWCETT, ACTRESS: When my cancer came back, that when I set it up with the doctor. I said, OK, you know, and I know. I'm not telling Redmond. I'm not telling Ryan. I'm not telling my father. I'm not telling anyone. So I knew that if it came out, it was coming from UCLA.
CHO: The "Charlie's Angels" star said UCLA Medical Center initially did nothing to stop it. UCLA eventually did investigate and found one of its employees had been looking at patients' records, but the hospital would not reveal the name to Fawcett's lawyers.
FAWCETT: She said we have a responsibility to protect our employees. And I said more than your patients?
CHO: The interview with "The Los Angeles Times" was recorded last August, but held until now, timed to the release of her new documentary. In the interview, Fawcett said cancer becomes your life. It's all-consuming, and your quality of life is never the same. She places blame squarely on the tabloids for making public a story she had hoped to keep private.
FAWCETT: It's like buying -- buying stolen goods. You know, you know that you are committing a crime.
CHO: UCLA Medical Center would not comment specifically about the case or whether Fawcett was even a patient. But it did release its policy on privacy stating in part "In the wake of past patient privacy violations, the UCLA health system instituted an internal audit and has taken this opportunity to strengthen our internal systems. Our practice is one of zero tolerance."
Yet the 1970s icon is America's fascination in sickness and in health.
HARVEY LEVIN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, TMZ: The beauty of Farrah Fawcett is in such stark contrast to what we're seeing now that I think it's that punctuation that has really riveted people.
CHO: A spokesman for Fawcett's long-time companion, Ryan O'Neal says the actress remains stable and continues to fight. Just as her documentary, her most challenging role is set to debut.
FAWCETT: I'm holding on to the hope that there is some reason that I got cancer. And there is something that may not be very clear to me right now, but that I will do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: CNN has reached out to the "National Enquirer." We have not heard back. But the question remains, why go after the tabloids now?
Farrah Fawcett has been in the spotlight for decades. Well, a representative for the actress said her cancer is a line she would not allow to be crossed. He told us if the "Enquirer" writes that Fawcett has stop treatment and that she's dying, she hears from cancer patients who say if you're giving up hope, what hope is there for me?
And guys, that is why Fawcett's rep says she is speaking out now.
CHETRY: This is outrageous, that her records would be released like that as well.
CHO: Well, you know, she actually called the person reportedly who leaked these records and said listen, come clean and I'll stand by you. And that person did not do so according to Fawcett's rep.
CHETRY: All right. Alina Cho, thank you.
