Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Demanding an Exit Strategy in Afghanistan; States of Peril

Aired November 12, 2009 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is Thursday, November 12th, and here are the faces of the stories behind the headlines on CNN.

President Obama, commander-in-chief, he wants war counselors to revise proposals for Afghanistan to turn up pressure on Kabul.

Sarah Barks, recession nomad. How the housing crisis has created a new class of homeless in hard-hit Las Vegas.

And John Boudrot, swine flu survivor. The H1N1 virus puts a perfectly healthy man on death's doorstep.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

No decision on troops without an exit strategy for Afghanistan. That is President Obama's position. He took off on a trip to Asia a short time ago, leaving his war council back at the drawing board in search of more options.

Live now to CNN's Jill Dougherty at the White House.

And Jill, a couple of questions for you. Let's start here -- why is President Obama seemingly putting on the brakes here and pushing for more?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I think you would have to say, Tony, that there is an alarm bell going off, and the alarm bell is really looking -- not that they haven't looked at it before -- with this issue of whether or not the Karzai government in Afghanistan is reliable, could step up to the plate, is really crucial at this point. And I think the president, based on some of the things that he was hearing from the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, he decided that he wanted to have them go back, look again at the implications of that.

And look at what Karl Eikenberry has said. Previously, he's raised concerns about Hamid Karzai and about the corruption of the Karzai government.

The U.S. Embassy is confirming to CNN that there has been communication between the ambassador and the president. A senior State Department official tells CNN that the administration has had questions about Karzai's behavior and his reliability.

So you put this all together, Tony, and the message is clear. They really want to, number one, raise that question and also send a message to Karzai.

HARRIS: And Jill, does any of this mean the president is in any way backtracking on sending more troops to Afghanistan, keeping in mind that the president hasn't announced a decision in that area?

DOUGHERTY: No, I don't think you can say that. The numbers and the troops and where they will go, that could still be in effect. But you have to look at the other part of it, which is that reliability of the government.

And the reliability of the Afghan government could determine where could you put troops. That could play into it. But the president is not backing off from his decision to apparently send more troops.

HARRIS: OK. Jill Dougherty for us.

Jill, appreciate it. Thank you.

And we're not quite done with this discussion. CNN's Atia Abawi is recently back from Afghanistan. Let's get a shot of Atia here. She's going join us in just a couple of minutes to talk about troop levels, the various options, and how those options could impact Afghanistan.

Atia, I'll talk to you in just a couple of moments.

First, let's check the wire now and get you caught up on some of the day's other top stories.

A sign the battered job market may be slowly healing. The number of first-time claims for unemployment fell last week to the lowest level since January. The Labor Department says new jobless claims dropped to 502,000 for the week ending November 7th.

President Obama announces a new effort to get more Americans back to work. The nation's unemployment rate climbed to 10.2 percent in October. In remarks this morning, the president said he will bring together a wide range of experts to find solutions to the jobless problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK H. OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In December, we'll be holding a forum at the White House on jobs and economic growth. We'll gather CEOs and small business owners, economists and financial experts, as well as representatives from labor unions and nonprofit groups, to talk about how we can work together to create jobs and get this economy moving again.

It's important that we don't make any ill-considered decisions, even with the best of intentions, particularly at a time when our resources are so limited. But it's just as important that we are open to any demonstrably good idea to supplement the steps we've already taken to put America back to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: OK. One week ago today, as you know, a shooter opened fire at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13. Some of the wounded are now able to recall the horror of that bloody day.

Army Specialist Logan Burnette talks exclusively with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPEC. LOGAN BURNETTE, U.S. ARMY: He stood up, screamed, "Allahu Akbar!" and then just started shooting.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: He screamed "Allahu Akbar"?

LOGAN: He did. Top of his lungs.

GUPTA: "God is Great."

BURNETTE: Yes. It was like he had been in the room for a while in the corner, preparing. Nobody was really paying attention. He just stood up and began firing on all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Specialist Burnette says he felt like a wounded animal trying to escape a hunter.

You can see Dr. Gupta's full report next hour, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And back now to concerns about Afghanistan. President Obama is clearly not willing to commit any more troops to that war unless Afghan President Hamid Karzai cracks down on corruption.

CNN's Atia Abawi, as promised, is just back from Afghanistan. And she joins me here live.

And Atia, first of all, the U.S. ambassador -- first of all, good to see you.

ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, too, Tony.

HARRIS: Terrific work. And terrific reporting from Afghanistan.

ABAWI: Thank you.

HARRIS: The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, General Eikenberry, suggesting that the Karzai government is corrupt and not a reliable partner moving forward with whatever the strategy is the president decides on.

Can you help us get a handle on the corruption problem in Afghanistan based on your time on the ground there?

ABAWI: Tony, what I can tell you is corruption is rampant in Afghanistan.

HARRIS: Rampant.

ABAWI: It's everywhere that you go from province to province. In the capital of Kabul alone, where we live, we see it on a daily basis.

You see narco-mansions that are owned by warlords. Some of those warlords...

HARRIS: What do you mean when you say narco-mansions?

ABAWI: These are mansions that are basically funded -- the money that comes to these men who own these mansions, who rent it out to western organizations, they're the ones that are getting the money from the drug trade, from donor money that isn't being accounted for, that's going into the pocket of corrupt individuals. Many of these individuals are in positions of high power.

HARRIS: Donor money, money from...

ABAWI: From us.

HARRIS: From us.

ABAWI: From the U.S.

HARRIS: From taxpayers and other coalition countries.

ABAWI: From coalition countries, from the U.N., from everyone. The money that's going in, billions of dollars have gone into Afghanistan. Billions. And billions are also missing.

Many Afghans that you talk to, they're not blinded by this fact. They know that this is happening. They see it on a daily basis. They see the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

And when you talk to the Afghan people, they say that the one thing that they want is they want that help. They want that money to affect their lives. But they say in eight years, they still have not seen that effect.

HARRIS: To what extent is this government responsible for this, culpable in this? And to what extent does this government have the ability to do something about it?

ABAWI: It's not fair to point the finger at just one source. The government is responsible for this, but the international community is also responsible for this.

HARRIS: Really?

ABAWI: If you and I give money to someone to help them, we should be accountable to see what happens with that money. This Afghan government, they were ignored for the past eight years. The entire country was ignored. So, therefore, no one is accountable at the moment to say exactly what happened. And everyone right now, they see the disaster that has occurred, where, eight years later, we're still very deep into the mess. But no one wants to take responsibility. Everyone wants to point the finger.

But the Afghan government needs to step up. There needs to be a change, because right now it's spiraling downward.

HARRIS: So, to what extent does this lack of trust in the government and, by extension, a lack of trust and faith in the coalition partners who are there to help the situation, make it difficult for anyone to win the hearts and minds and the support of the Afghan population?

ABAWI: General McChrystal, Ambassador Eikenberry are in a very hard situation right now.

HARRIS: Oh yes.

ABAWI: Because that's what they want to do. I've talked to both of them.

We went out to eastern Afghanistan, one of the most volatile provinces in Afghanistan, an area where we were standing was safe. Ten kilometers away was a village under control by the Taliban.

They were trying to show me, they were trying to show us that a change was coming, a civilian effort mixed in with the military effort. But it has to be done properly.

They need the resources to get that done and, really, time is running out. The Afghan people, they have lost a lot of trust.

HARRIS: Right.

ABAWI: I've been there for a year now.

HARRIS: Oh yes.

ABAWI: And I've seen the difference in one year. The Afghan people are angrier.

The men in the city -- I used to be able to go in the car and take my headscarf off. Now there are places where I can't because people will stare. People will know that I'm a foreigner and people will be angry at me.

HARRIS: What is the line -- I remember you sending it to me in an e- mail about you can -- what is it, you can rent -- no, you can't buy a -- what is it?

ABAWI: The term that's going around right now is that you can rent an Afghan but you can't buy an Afghan. Unfortunately, that's a term that's being used by a lot of people. So there are certain, I guess, people within the government that you can possibly get on your side for a little while, give them a little money, but they won't be on your side forever.

HARRIS: Atia, again, terrific work in Afghanistan. And I know you're here for another week or so. Let's talk about more of these issues in the days to come.

ABAWI: Absolutely.

HARRIS: It's great to have you back.

ABAWI: Thank you.

HARRIS: The question now is, to what extent is all of this discussion taking a real toll on the president? We're going to talk to historian Larry Sabato in about 40 minutes.

And of course we're listening to you, hearing your thoughts about U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My comment is about Afghanistan. My name is Chester Cooper (ph), from Middletown, Ohio.

I think we have enough domestic problems to deal with. Every empire that's gone into Afghanistan has fallen. We don't need to be the next one to do so.

Thank you. Pull them out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning. This is Michelle (ph) from Washington, D.C.

President Obama needs to take his time and think things over before he just sends more troops over, because we're talking about human lives. We have so much going on right now, but we voted him in for four years, not nine months. And I know that we will get the job done regardless of what happens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Matthew Kennedy (ph) from Flagstaff, Arizona. I'm commenting about the Afghanistan situation. President Obama needs to listen to his advisers, to the generals on the ground, and stay in Afghanistan.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARRIS: I've got to tell you -- I can't tell you enough how much we appreciate the number of you who have called and offered your comments. Boy. And passions certainly run high on this topic.

We're going to add an i-Report component to this soon, and we'll tell you about that maybe a little later in this hour. But you can still phone in your comments.

Here's the number: 1-877-742-5760. Let us know what you think the U.S. should do next in Afghanistan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, this recession has been characterized by many painful events, including a wave of foreclosures. Last quarter, nearly one million people received a foreclosure filing. But a new report out today shows things may be starting to look up.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

HARRIS: Tax revenue is falling. Unemployment is rising. And balance sheets are out of whack. New analysis concludes nine states have joined California and are now in fiscal peril.

Let's talk about this with CNNMoney.com's Christine Romans. Also the co-host of "YOUR $$$$$" every weekend.

How many shows do you have, Christine?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Saturday 1:00 p.m. Eastern, Sunday at 3:00. Thank you.

HARRIS: There you go. There you go.

So we're talking about cutbacks and tax increases at the state level right now. And that would be a real drag on the economy.

ROMANS: Yes. It's nothing short of devastating. I mean, for some states it's daunting. For some states it's devastating. That's the range we're talking about here.

Nothing good and positive, even as you're seeing signs of stability in the overall national picture, Tony. The states -- California and nine others -- facing peril, according to the Pew Center. Here are those states: Oregon, Nevada, California, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Florida.

You said the reason. You've got plunging tax revenue, and they even have more things they have to do for their citizens because of a real crushing recession -- foreclosure rates, because of the collapse in tourism in the Sun Belt, for example. A lot of reasons why tax revenues are not coming in, and also because people are losing their jobs. They're not paying as much in state taxes if you're getting unemployment benefits.

Here's the budget shortfall. So you take what a state is bringing in and what they're paying out, and the difference is a 49 percent deficit for California. I mean, that's just crippling.

For Illinois, 47 percent. Arizona, 41 percent. Nevada, 37 percent.

You know, Tony, this is what it means. The bottom line, this is what it means, and this Pew study lays it all out there. It means higher taxes, fewer services, a longer wait for services.

It means more crowded classrooms. It means the education system is really strapped. It means you're going to have to furlough or lay off state workers. It means a lot of different things. It could be closing the pools. It could be right down to you go to a county park, for example, and suddenly it cost three times as much to park. You know, there's a lot of different things people are going to feel every single day because of this crunch.

HARRIS: All right, Christine. Man, that's something to really think about. Appreciate it. Good to see you. Thank you.

ROMANS: Sure.

HARRIS: So, with all of the money problems the states are facing, it's interesting to know the government holds the world's largest gold reserve. Did you know that? But even with gold prices at a record high, the Treasury is unlikely to sell.

Check out the story at CNNMoney.com.

And checking our top stories now, a jury in Little Rock, Arkansas, today will begin to consider the death penalty for a man convicted of killing a television news anchor. Twenty-nine-year-old Curtis Lavelle Vance was convicted of murder and rape in the attack on Anne Pressly. Pressly died five days after being beaten and left unconscious in her Little Rock home last fall.

Investigators have identified another body found in the house of a suspected serial killer in Cleveland, Ohio. Police say the victim is a 25-year-old woman missing since August, 2008. Yesterday, police searched the House next door to the home of Anthony Sowell for more bodies. The remains of 11 women were found at Sowell's home.

They've admitted lying about their 6-year-old son floating off in an experimental balloon. Now the attorney for the Heenes says the couple will plead guilty in a Colorado courtroom tomorrow. The wayward flight, it drew widespread media coverage in October. The Heenes' attorney says the prosecutor will recommend probation.

And back to the economy. You've heard the numbers and the news of dire conditions in money-strapped states. When we come back, meet one of the faces of the economic downturn.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Nevada, one of 10 states branded in fiscal trouble because of the recession. Las Vegas schools coping with a sharp rise in homeless students.

CNN's Dan Simon shows us why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARAH BARKS, JOBLESS: Well, this is the kitchen.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She has moved seven times in just the past few months since leaving her sales clerk job to take care of a sick mother. That would be tough for anyone, but Sarah Barks also has five young children to worry about. BARKS: But for me, just to get something like a backpack, tennis shoes, shoelaces, I can't provide those things. I can't. I cannot. I can't go to the store and buy them what they want.

Ian (ph), come here, buddy.

SIMON: She wants her old job back, but it's filled. And she says the Las Vegas job market is so dry, that she competes with hundreds of others for the same positions.

Her kids, who range in age from 3 to 9 years old, try to adapt to their nomadic lives.

JOCELYN BARKS, SARAH'S DAUGHTER: Sometimes mama struggles to find us a place to live. But as long as I'm with my mama, I'm fine.

SIMON (on camera): Do you get sad sometimes?

J. BARKS: Yes.

SIMON: What's the hardest thing for you?

J. BARKS: Having to say bye to my friends.

SIMON (voice-over): Jocelyn has a lot of company. According to a study conducted by the Pew Center on States, year over year, Las Vegas public schools saw a 42 percent increase in homeless children. More than 5,000 kids today in all.

SUE URAHN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, PEW CENTER ON THE STATES: Nevada has the highest foreclosure rate in the country, so the housing problems that that state is experiencing are severe. And I think that what that statistic points to, that has real human consequences, and that's what we're seeing in Nevada.

SIMON: The consequences are seen every day at Whitney Elementary School, where the principal says a majority of her students come from homeless families.

SHERRIE GAHN, PRINCIPAL, WHITNEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Well, we went from a lot of low-income families to no-income families, which really took a toll on our families. And then, in addition to that, comes the stress of just basically trying to survive from day in and day out.

SIMON (on camera): Most school supply closets are filled with things like pens or paper or crayons, but this one is different. It's one you've probably never seen before at a school. It is filled with food and clothing.

This school has so many homeless people, that it felt it had to take the initiative to make sure that its students are fed and have clothes on their back. You can see all the food here.

S. BARKS: I don't have enough room for their things. There's only one tiny closet. SIMON (voice-over): As for Sarah Barks, a friend is letting her and her kids live in this tiny two-bedroom house until December. Then it's on to another place unless she can scrape up the $400 for rent.

With no job and no prospects in sight, Sarah isn't sensing an economic recovery. Not yet.

Dan Simon, CNN, Las Vegas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Not a high-risk candidate, but the H1N1 flu almost took his life. You'll meet this flu survivor next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And we're getting some breaking news at CNN. We want to get you quickly to our Pentagon Correspondent, Barbara Starr. Barbara, we're getting word of charges now against Major Nidal Hasan.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Tony. US military officials saying that later today there will be an announcement at Fort Hood that is expected about an hour and a half from now announcing 13 preliminary charges of premeditated murder against Major Hasan.

This will be in the military justice system under the uniform code of military justice. In military terms the charge are preferred against Major Hasan. That's very similar to what we know in the civilian world as charges being filed. Thirteen counts of premeditated murder.

What will happen next is the military will seek to begin what they call an article 32 proceeding. That in the civilian world is very akin to a grand jury proceeding. Major Hasan can waive his right to an article 32 and they can proceed on into the next phase whether it is a trial or some other type of arrangement. There is one additional potential additional charge we are told by at least one military official.

There is of course a fetus involved in this case. One of the female soldiers who lost her life in this was pregnant and so this will also be a matter for military legal authorities to look at whether Major Hasan can be charged with a 14th count of premeditated murder.

But this announcement now expected about an hour and a half from now in Fort Hood. Thirteen charges of premeditated murder against Major Hasan. That's what we're being told, Tony.

HARRIS: OK, Barbara Starr, the Pentagon correspondent. Thank you.

A federal official tells CNN an estimated 4,000 people have died due to the H1N1 virus. Not 1,200 as originally thought. Are H1N1 deaths being under reported? Our CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen is here to help us sort through this.

Elizabeth, is this surprising? Is this something we should be concerned about?

ELIZABETH COHEN, SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I want to be clear that this does not mean the virus has changed or is any more deadly because it appears they upping the numbers from around 1,200 to around 4,000. So get that out of the way.

This is an accounting issue. This all depends on how you count something as an H1N1 death or not. So when we hear 1,200, what that means is 1,200 people who passed away were tested positive for H1N1 flu with a DNA test. Now, there are many others who passed away and doctors knew it was H1N1 and they said, the patient had all of the symptoms. They were sure of it, but still it wasn't counted as H1N1 death because that person never had a test.

So, now the CDC is saying, you know maybe we ought to consider those people H1N1 deaths because we all know that it was H1N1. They just didn't get a test of that person before they passed away.

HARRIS: My understanding is that it's not just about the numbers here of the people who are dying, but actually who is dying. Is there a difference between the people dying from seasonal flu and H1N1?

COHEN: There's a huge difference. There's a gigantic difference. So, take a look at these numbers and you'll see what I mean. When you look at seasonal flu, which is the regular flu we have every year, more than 90 percent of the deaths are in people ages 65 and over. However, with H1N1, 90 percent of the deaths are people age 65 and under. That's a little hard to read, but again, the bottom line is seasonal flu tends to kill senior citizens. H1N1 flu tends to kill younger people. We're seeing kids dying and people in their 20s and 30s and 40s dying. Very different situation.

HARRIS: Elizabeth, I get this question all the time. Where can people go if they want to find the vaccine?

COHEN: If you can find an H1N1 shot here in Atlanta, let me know because I'm still looking for one for my children. If you go to flu.gov, you will see a link to your state and it will link you to the state health department. I'll say, I haven't found it tremendously helpful in looking for what I found but you can -- the Georgia Health Department is terrific, but they tell me, it's at this pediatrician's office or that pediatrician's office, et cetera. They can only talk about their own clinics. There's no fabulous way of doing this, but flu.gov is about (inaudible) yet.

HARRIS: Elizabeth, appreciate it. Thank you.

Doctors gave him -- an amazing story here -- a 10 percent chance of survival. We're talking about a Georgia man who is now recovering after a life and death battle with the H1N1 flu. CNN Brooke Baldwin joins us from New York with that story.

Brooke, look 10 percent? Those are long odds. How is this guy doing?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's doing okay for now. You'll see him in physical therapy, which thank goodness for him this was his last week sort of recovering learning how to talk and walk again, Tony. We're talking about a 50-year-old man, pretty good health, John Goodraw. I sat down with him. He told me, you know what Brooke, I can't remember the entire month of September. Why? He was in a coma with the H1N1 virus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN GOODRAW: Let me get some ice.

BALDWIN: In his 51 years, John Goodraw has never gotten a flu shot. In fact, he says he rarely gets sick, but eight weeks ago what started out as a cough nearly killed him.

GOODRAW: 51 is much too young to go anywhere.

BALDWIN: It was late August, both John and his wife fell ill, but unlike Renee who bounced back after three days, John was hospitalized the entire month of September spent in intensive care.

RENEE: A little over four weeks he was in the induced coma and paralyzed.

BALDWIN: For basically all of September?

RENEE: Yes.

BALDWIN: Gone?

GOODRAW: Yes.

BALDWIN: John's organs shut down. His body paralyzed as part of his treatment. According to doctors, John's chance of survival 10%.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would have to be swine flu. There wasn't any question about what it was going to be.

BALDWIN: An infectious disease specialist, Dr. Robin Tretler knows John's situation was dire. The Tamiflu John was taking wasn't enough. So with permission from the Food and Drug Administration granted because this was an emergency, Dr. Tretler tried an experimental antiviral drug called peramivir.

DR. ROBIN TRETLER: I was telling his wife that he had a 10% chance. He had been on two days of the drug. If the drug didn't give him some catch up space in the next day or two, he was going to run out of time.

GOODRAW: It's worse at night than it is during the day.

BALDWIN: After five days of taking peramivir intravenously, John was out of his coma and in physical therapy learning how to talk and walk all over again. John and Dr. Tretler credited the drug was saving his life. John's lesson is simple. Once it is readily available, get the H1N1 vaccine.

GOODRAW: I know how fortunate I am. You know, especially getting back again to that Dr. Tretler. I mean, that's why I'm here because of him. I wasn't going to cry.

BALDWIN: You feel that grateful.

GOODRAW: Absolutely, I think without that drug, we don't know what would have happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Here's the deal with peramivir. You're sitting there, you're wondering what this experimental drug is. According to Dr. Dretler, this infectious disease specialist, he told us that the CDC has now released this drug for patients for emergency cases. So keep in mind if you show severe symptoms like we saw with John Goodraw, you can then have your patient ask -- have your doctor rather ask for this drug from the CDC, but again, it has to be severe, severe, Tony.

Talk to Elizabeth Cohen and she will tell you, look bottom line of that case is if you're feeling sick, if symptoms persist three to four days, go to the doctor. They'll probably give you Tamiflu and should knock it hopefully a couple days afterwards.

HARRIS: Glad he's still around.

BALDWIN: Tough. I'm glad he's still around, too. Happy to tell the story today.

HARRIS: That's a good story. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Checking our top stories now, President Obama is aboard Air Force One this hour. He's going to Asia, but his first stop is Alaska in Elmendorf Air Force base. From there, he will fly to Tokyo then Singapore for the APEC summit. He will also visit Shanghai and Beijing. Seoul is the last stop on his eight-day trip.

Former boxing champion, Mike Tyson got into a scuffle with a celebrity photographer at the airport in Los Angeles. Tyson and the photographer, Tony Achivaria, were both booked and released from an LA jail yesterday. Tyson's spokeswoman says, the photographer was overly aggressive and Tyson was protecting his child.

Taylor Swift wins big taking home four country music awards last night including entertainer of the year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAYLOR SWIFT: I will never forget this moment because in this moment everything that I have ever wanted has just happened to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

No Kanye sightings. At 19, Taylor Swift is the youngest ever to win that CMA biggee. The weights of war. See the transfers and meeting families and the wounded. We will examine the stress for President Obama and US troops.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

The US ambassador to Afghanistan is reportedly cautioning President Obama against sending more troops to the war zone and partnering too closely with the government in Kabul. Ambassador Karl Ikenberry is not just any diplomat, he's a former general who is in charge of US forces in the Afghan war. His advice contradicts requests from the current US commander who wants a troop surge of 40,000.

Those are some of the issues President Obama is weighing. Two of our experts discuss the impact with CNN's Anderson Cooper.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of Americans will be heartened by the fact that the president is taking a lot of time to be very deliberate and trying to figure out how to get in and very importantly how to get out of Afghanistan, but at the same time, Anderson, this process has become long and very messy. To have now, after more than two months of meetings four options presented to him and him not liking any of them and saying, no you got to go back and do some more work.

And have these open now dissent coming from -- having two generals on the ground, General Eikenberry, his ambassador and General McChrystal, his commander on the ground openly feuding with each other in public like this is nearly unprecedented. We used to talk about a team of rivals, but we never imagined it would be General McChrystal versus General Eikenberry.

Peter, what you make of this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: General Eikenberry is a very capable ambassador and very capable general. He was the commanding general in 2006 and 2007. He knows Hamid Karzai very well. The fact that he's raising these issues about Hamid Karzai and these cables, I mean that is pretty seismic.

I think if the idea is that we have to wait for Afghan government to become less corrupt and sort themselves out before we send any troops, that could be a very long time. Even if you send troops tomorrow, you're still not getting all of the troops until the end of the following year. You know, decisions made today actually play out over a very long time. If you delay this decision say by several months while you're waiting for the Afghan government to become less corrupt or whatever it is that you want, you're looking suddenly at troops arriving in 2012.

HARRIS: All right, in just a couple minutes, we will talk to Presidential Historian, Larry Sabato about the toll this decision may be taking on the president.

You know, every Thursday, CNN Challenge comes out with its new questions for the week. Let's look at one of today's questions. Are you ready?

What did an FAA panel endorse as a possible remedy for pilot fatigue? Hypnosis, increase time off between flight, napping, prescription drugs? OK, ready for the answer?

The answer is c. Napping. Okay, run, do not walk to your computer. Go to cnnchallenge.com and take this week's full quiz.

We're back in a moment.

The nation's commander in chief trying to end the two wars he inherited and it appears to be taking a toll. Joining me live to discuss the challenges of a wartime presidency is Larry Sabato, he is a presidential historian who has just written "The Year of Obama."

He joins me from the University of Virginia where he is director of the center for politics.

Larry, good to see you. Larry, thanks for coming back in for us.

LARRY SABATO, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Sure, Tony.

HARRIS: Two weeks ago when you were here, the president visited Dover Air Force base to visit salute fallen soldiers. Add into the mix the recent Fort Hood tragedy, his first trip to see troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, veterans day yesterday. Is it clear to you that the reality of being a wartime president is really sinking in for this president?

SABATO: It sure seems to be that way, Tony. You know, often from the outside we can misread signals about any president, but he does appear to have lost weight. He does appear to be thinner, grimmer perhaps, and who could blame him? Look at what he's facing. It's not just all of these individual tragedies that have occurred in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now Fort Hood. It's also this terrible decision that's weighing on him about what to do in Afghanistan. A decision that could have the same effect on his presidency as Lyndon Johnson's early decisions had on his presidency concerning Vietnam.

HARRIS: Yes, but, you know, I'm curious, you mentioned those things that he appears to have lost weight and so on and so forth, but isn't the other side of this that as the president, as the commander in chief, you can't appear to be overwhelmed by the decision that you have to make. And these observations, you know, the president at the last year has to appear strong and forceful in the decision and in control of the decision that he has to make.

SABATO: Well, that's true. And, of course, we want presidents to be leaders. We want them to be decisive. Of course, we're the first to jump on a president for making a bad decision.

HARRIS: Yes, yes.

SABATO: So, in the end to me, the most important thing is the decision he makes. You don't want the decision making to drag out forever. On the other hand, this is a really important decision that will affect the lives of thousands of troops and will affect the national interests for many, many years to come. So it's okay to take some time to think through it. I think most Americans are pleased that he's doing that. On the other hand, as your own poll has shown, about half of Americans are starting to wonder whether he's a dither.

HARRIS: Yes, how tough is the transition from being a candidate running to be a wartime president to becoming that wartime president, and how have other presidents handled this particular moment in time when a big wartime decision has had to be made?

SABATO: The transition is sharp, and it's unsettling, especially for a president who hasn't served in the military. His preparation was really in domestic affairs not foreign affairs. You know, presidents have been, if you look at American history, they've been either better prepared or not particularly well prepared.

Lyndon Johnson, I don't think was well prepared to make the decisions about Vietnam. Dwight Eisenhower having been supreme allied commander in World War II was very well prepared to make the decisions on Korea and other international crises during his term. But, the question you always have to ask is, is the president learning on the job? Is he absorbing the information he needs? Is he getting good advice and has he surrounded himself with good people. Those are the important questions.

HARRIS: Which president deliberative process does this president's process most remind you of?

SABATO: Well, you know, I think he learned from John F. Kennedy. He's been obviously interested in the Kennedy presidency. And, of course, Kennedy was misled by advisors and the CIA early on with the bay of pigs disaster, and Kennedy as a result became much more deliberative. And I think that may be one of the things in the back of President Obama's mind as he approaches this key decision on Afghanistan. Study it carefully. Make the right decision.

HARRIS: One of the thought here, and let's see, Ambassador Eikenberry as you know and General McChrystal, you know, both generals here with a different take on the way forward. One wanting more troops. The other urging, you know, more caution, particularly with this government in Afghanistan. Any warning signs here in this difference in opinion among two generals who know that terrain?

SABATO: Well, I think there are warning signs about the policy. That's one part of it. The other warning sign is, though, that a president never wants to have these sorts of critical policy matters argued out in public forums. Especially when people are serving the president. They're supposed to be providing the president with this information, not arguing out the -- their respective cases in the public media.

So, there's a -- there's a warning here about dragging out the process too long, and, Tony, the other thing is, if there's one criticism you can make of the Obama White House in this particular area, it's that they have not carefully explained to people why the president is taking so long and what this process is all about. They need to do a better job there or the criticism will only escalate.

HARRIS: Good point. Larry Sabato with us. Larry, great to see you again, great insights. Thank you.

And at CNN tonight at 9:00, he backed President Obama's run for office and now Al Gore talks about what he thinks the president should do in the war in Afghanistan and why he says time is running out to take on global warming. Al Gore on "Larry King Live" on CNN tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern.

Here's what we're working on for our next hour. He was preparing to go off to war, but war came to him. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks to one of the soldiers wounded in that Fort Hood shooting rampage.

Also, and ugly part of the damaged economy, a shocking increase in shoplifting across America, up nearly 10%. We will look at just what people are taking and how much it is costing you and me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: President Obama discussing options of listening to advises about troop levels in Afghanistan and we are listening to you.

CALLER: This is Janet Smith. This is on Afghanistan. If we pull out of Afghanistan, we will not see the end of it. The Taliban will say that they won and we will have bombs all over the United States. I hope we just go in there, get it over with, get our troops out and listen to the generals and everything should be okay.

CALLER: I think we should pull all the troops out of Afghanistan. If we send 40,000 troops to Afghanistan, they should be there to protect our other troops coming out of Afghanistan. We should not be in Afghanistan at all.

CALLER: I think we should follow the leadership of the commander in chief and let him decide our task. He is brainier and so are the people they surround himself with.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARRIS: And, of course, you can still phone in your comments. Call us at 1-877-742-5760. Let us know what you think the U.S. should do next in Afghanistan.