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U.S. War Plan in Afghanistan; Economic Jitter; Cyber Monday; Four Police Officers Killed

Aired November 30, 2009 - 09:00   ET

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

JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. So stay with us here on CNN. CNN's Heidi Collins is in the "NEWSROOM" right now.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. Good morning, Joe. Good morning, Kiran. And good morning to you, everyone. Here's what we have today on this busy day in the NEWSROOM.

The Afghanistan war and the countdown to the president's big announcement. More troops, more doubts, and even new battle lines drawn within his own party. We'll get to that.

Also, in Seattle, a standoff happening right now with an accused cop killer. Police are telling us the suspect is inside the house. He's fatally shot four police officers in an ambush at a coffee shop. We're going to get the very latest on all of those details in just a couple of minutes there.

Also, shoppers, on your mark, get set, and go. Look at that. Google. Black Friday gives way to Cyber Monday. How's the shopping season shaping up so far? I'll let you know.

Good morning, I'm Heidi Collins, and today is Monday, November 30th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The road ahead in Afghanistan. Tomorrow, President Obama unveils his new war strategy. It is expected to call for more troops and face growing skepticism, even from his own fellow Democrats.

White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is here now to set the stage for us. Good morning to you, Suzanne.

Besides the length of time here that this decision has taken, what are some of the big challenges that the president is going to face in presenting this plan?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, one of the things you mentioned, too, is really there are going to be multiple audiences that the president is going to try to reach tomorrow. But, clearly, his own party, powerful Democrats are raising some very serious questions ahead of this announcement.

One of the things the president has to do is show that the Afghan government is also committed to making things work on the ground. That it's not just a commitment of U.S. troops, U.S. forces, but that Afghan security forces are also going to increase. We heard from a very powerful Democrat, it was not unnoticed by this White House, Carl Levin, he's the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who essentially was saying, look, we know you've got trainers, we know you've got equipment that's going to be sent over there, but what's going to happen with those tens of thousands of combat troops that are going to be over there, taking on the Taliban and al Qaeda? Is this going to be an ambiguous, some sort of unending mission?

Here is how he put the question to the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: I do not believe we should send more combat forces at this time. That's been my position. Combat forces are where we are the ones doing the fighting. Without an Afghan partner. If we have Afghan partners that are fully involved in the fight, partnering with us, which is on the job training for them, critically important, I can be more supportive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Heidi, I spoke with a senior administration official this morning who said, look, they understand that it is very clear and very important that what the president has to do tomorrow is outline the mission in detail, specifics about the mission and make sure that the American people know that there is some sort of exit strategy here and that their commitments and expectations of the Afghan government, that we're not just sending troops over and we don't have some sort of clear purpose behind this -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. Because, obviously, everybody would be thrilled to know that the country is able to defend itself ultimately. Anymore on the specifics at this point, Suzanne? I mean what do we expect the president to say, exactly?

MALVEAUX: Well, he's certainly working on this speech. This is something that he's been working on for days now. But essentially, we have some broad outlines about what he is going to say. He's going to call for up to as many as 35,000 additional troops. That would also include NATO allied forces of about 5,000 or so.

The White House working very diligently behind the scenes to try to get that kind of support from NATO allies. It would be a total of about 100,000 U.S. troops that would be on the ground. The estimated cost, some senior administration officials saying, about $75 billion a year.

And there would be an exit strategy. Some idea that the Afghan government has expectations and benchmarks to meet and that there would be a path of getting out of Afghanistan as well as getting in -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Well, we will be watching very, very closely, obviously. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning in front of the White House. Thanks, Suzanne. Still ahead, the war in Afghanistan through the eyes of a retired brigadier general. Where does the U.S. stand and where is the conflict headed? We'll have his thoughts coming your way in just a couple of minutes.

And then remember, tune in tomorrow of live coverage leading up to the president's primetime announcement. Our special coverage begins at 7:00 Eastern.

Also, keeping a close eye on the world's financial markets, as Dubai tries to sue the rattled nerves from last week's bombshell. The announcement that the once-thriving financial hub is now struggling under enormous debt underlines fears the global economic recovery is still shaky at best.

CNN's Stan Grant is in Abu Dhabi now with the very latest.

Stan, good morning to you.

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Heidi.

Now this announcement for a delay on repaying the debt by Dubai World, this $59 billion of debt that it holds, came just before a four-day religious holiday here. And that's what caused so much of the concern.

It saw markets drop in Europe. Market also dropped in the United States. Well, the markets opened here today after that four-day break, and guess what, they were down and down sharply. Seven percent in Dubai and 8 percent in the neighboring Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Now this concerns not just the debt, the $59 billion, but also the doubt. Why was this not flagged? Why did this come as such a shock? And how is this now going to be met? All eyes on Abu Dhabi, oil rich, it has a massive sovereign fund, the biggest in the world, and now locked in talks with Dubai about how to refinance, how to deal with this debt.

No indication yet as to exactly what that will involve. There is a lot of speculation, speculation, perhaps, about asset sales, speculation that Dubai -- that Abu Dhabi may want to take control of some of Dubai's assets like the Emirates Airlines. But all of that still very much up in the air. Markets nervously watching on -- Heidi?

COLLINS: All right, Stan. We'll be watching all of that and the effect that it will have on the United States, of course, very closely today. Appreciate it.

Stan Grant for us this morning.

In fact, how will the U.S. markets respond as we begin a new trading week? At the bottom of the hour, we're going to go live to Wall Street for the opening bell and let you have a look.

Almost 70 million people are expected to shop online this holiday season. Personal finance editor Gerri Willis is joining me now to talk about more on that.

So pretty unimpressive black Friday for retailers, Gerri. I'm assuming that they're really hoping Cyber Monday will sort of turn things around a bit.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Yes. That's right. You know, it was more ho hum than ho ho ho, but the expectation is that online shopping will do very well. It was up 11 percent on black Friday. Hopes are high.

Look, if you're one of the 68.8 million people expected to shop online this holiday season, though, you need to protect yourself. You want to make sure you use a safe computer. Sometimes even using a different computer can compromise your security.

Avoid using a computer that your teens or your kids used to play video games or chat with their friends. Often, these machines have a ton of Spyware on it and an infected computer system will undermine your efforts to make a secure purchase for the holidays online.

You should also avoid public computers like the ones at the library to make purchases. Those are also dangerous as well -- Heidi?

COLLINS: Yes. A lot of people, I think, are still sort of worried about, you know, jumping online and using their credit card. It's just sort of a mindset, I think, for some people at this point.

WILLIS: Right.

COLLINS: What are some of those threats out there regarding that?

WILLIS: Well, there are lots of holiday scams that you need to make sure that you avoid. Here's a sample of some of them that we found. Fake holiday eCards. Watch your e-mail inbox and if you see an eCard from somebody you don't recognize, delete it. Last holiday season, there was a worm masked as a Hallmark e-card, that's according to McAfee labs, so you want to make sure you avoid that.

Luxury holiday jewelry. These holiday campaigns lure shoppers to sites that are offering discounted luxury gifts from Cartier to Gucci. Unfortunately, the scam artists are using these logos fraudulently. They even put better business bureau logos to trick shoppers what they're doing is taking your money and giving you no gifts.

There's also bogus Christmas carol songs. If you're trying to find, you know, maybe a ring tone for your phone or some wall paper for your laptop, don't try to do that this year, because you could get yourself in trouble, infecting your computer with Spyware or Adware that you'll have to get rid of later.

COLLINS: Yes. That's very Scrooge-like. So what about companies who are offering free shipping this year? I know in the past that's been something that people really enjoy on Cyber Monday.

WILLIS: Absolutely. You know, I was looking online just before we talked. Target, Sears, K-Mart, they're all offering free shipping online today. But I have to tell you, even if your favorite retailers isn't offering that, you may be able to get it by going to a Web site called freeshipping.org, which offers coupons that you can use for free shopping. So where there is a will, Heidi, there is a way.

COLLINS: Yes. Understood. Say that one more time? It's freeshipping.org? Is that what you said?

WILLIS: It's freeshipping.org. They let you download these coupons that you can use for free shipping from a number of different retailers, you know, many of them very well known.

COLLINS: Great. Yes. Yes. All right, very good. Our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis -- thanks, Gerri.

So how are you doing your holiday shopping? Do you plan to buy online this Cyber Monday? What's the best deal that you have found? Tell us about it. We want to hear all about it. Just go to my blog, CNN.com/heidi, and post your thoughts this. We'll be sharing some of them a little bit later in the show.

A standoff with a man suspected of killing four police officers. We're getting reports the suspect is wounded and may be dead. We'll go live to the scene in just a moment.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. We have some rain that's marching eastward. A cold front, how cold is it going to get? And today is the last day of the 2009 hurricane season. We wrap it up and tell you how it went when the CNN NEWSROOM comes right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Going on right now in Washington state, a man suspected of ambushing and killing four police officers in a suburban Tacoma coffee shop is holed up in a Seattle house.

The Lakewood police officers were awaiting the start of their shift when a man walked in, pulled a gun, and began shooting. One of the officers struggled with the gunman, but also died of his wounds. Police believe the gunman is wounded. Now, the motive, possibly, he just hated cops.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED TROYER, SPOKESMAN, PIERCE CO., SHERIFF'S OFFICE: I'm going to guess, when we get to the end of this, there's not going to be a big motive other than he was upset about being incarcerated and was going to go gunning after cops in general, not specifically targeting Lakewood cops. They just had the unfortunate action to run into him at the wrong place at the wrong time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now, holed up in that east Seattle home is Maurice Clemmons, a convicted criminal with a long rap sheet. We want to go to go right to the scene of the standoff now and CNN's Patrick Oppmann.

So, Patrick, good morning to you. Police think that Clemmons is wounded and may be even dead. Is that right?

PATRICK OPPMANN, ALL PLATFORM JOURNALIST: That's certainly a possibility, Heidi. They've had this area, just down the street from me. It's described as a series of residences sealed off for over eight hours now. They've tried to make contact with Maurice Clemmons, who they are calling a suspect in those shooting yesterday.

No word from him yet. Either he doesn't want to speak to officers or quite possibly cannot speak with officers. Right now police told us that they are sending in a robot to go through these residences, little by little, try to find out if there's anybody in there, if Maurice Clemmons is in there, where he is.

SWAT team has that whole area completely sealed off. They certainly do not want to take any more unnecessary risks and lose any more officers after a terrible day of violence yesterday.

COLLINS: Yes, no question about that, Patrick. What is their plan? I mean it sounds like they've been trying to negotiate, but as you've said, they haven't been hearing much back. Any idea what they're going to do next here?

OPPMANN: They're going to have that robot go in, room by room, area by area, looking for him. They use these robots in SWAT situations, situations when it's too dangerous to put officers in. They've got a team of SWAT officers surrounding the area. At some point, those officers will go in, we're told, but as of right now, they're relying on that robot and just seeing if there's anybody in there and if that person's still alive, because it has been eight hours.

COLLINS: Yes.

OPPMANN: They do believe that Maurice Clemmons was wounded. One of the witnesses yesterday to that shooting, one of the people -- because there were other people inside that cafe who were not injured -- saw Maurice Clemmons get shot, so he's injured, if not worse.

COLLINS: Yes. Understood. All right. So as we await those robots to go in, we'll stay in contact with you. Let us know what happens, obviously.

Patrick Oppmann, thanks so much.

Tiger Woods breaks his silence about his SUV wreck, but not to investigators. On his Web site, Woods takes full blame for the crash and says he wants to stop the rumors about his family. But he canceled several interviews with police about it.

Woods crashed near his home early Friday morning and his wife says she smashed a window to get him out. Rob Marciano standing by now with the very latest on all things hurricane season.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: OK. Very good. We'll check back later. Thank you, Rob.

MARCIANO: You bet.

COLLINS: The war strategy in Afghanistan. Politicians debate policy. Generals carry out the orders. We'll talk to a retired brigadier general about what he's looking for in tomorrow's speech.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A standoff with man suspected of killing four police officers. Maurice Clemmons is barricaded inside a home in Seattle. Police spokesman says he is wounded. Now a reporter on the scene says it is possible he may be dead.

The manhunt started after four police officers were gunned down at a suburban coffee shop yesterday. Witnesses say Clemmons was wounded during the attack. Clemmons is a convicted criminal with a long rap sheet.

Pirates seized a crude oil ship headed to the U.S. That tops our look at stories around the world today. The Greek flag ship was sailing from Saudi Arabia when it was seized yesterday about 800 miles off Somalia. The ship carries 28 crew members and has a capacity of 300,000 tons. It is not known how much oil is aboard.

"Decision Afghanistan." President Obama expected to commit tens of thousands more U.S. troops to the war. That announcement coming tomorrow night.

So with us right now to talk a little bit more about it, retired Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt. He's the former assistant secretary of state and he was responsible for defense policy near East and South Asia late in the Bush administration.

Thanks for being with us, General. A lot to talk about here. Let's get straight to the troop levels, if you would.

What do you hope to hear from the president tomorrow night?

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, regarding the troop levels, we hope to hear that there are going to be a substantial increase in troops, 30,000 to 35,000, as well as a strong commitment from the NATO countries that they'll provide additional troops as well.

COLLINS: Is that going to be enough?

KIMMITT: It will be enough, at this point in time, if those troops are given the time to do the job. And that's going to be the most important part of this entire strategy, a commitment necessary to the time necessary to get it done.

COLLINS: As someone who was very involved, of course, in the State Department, the Department of Defense, and a lot of policy issues regarding Afghanistan, we talked earlier this morning with our White House correspondent a little bit about the feeling in Afghanistan and the feeling of the people and what they want and what the leadership of Afghanistan wants.

How is all of that going to weigh in here when it comes to sending more troops over?

KIMMITT: Well, again, it goes to the commitment to the United States. I think if the Afghanistan government, if the Afghanistan people, and as important, the Pakistani government, recognize that we're there to get the job done and we're going to take the time to do it, I think they're going to be assured that we are making a full commitment to this new strategy.

COLLINS: Tell me more about Pakistan? What's going to be needed to be done this?

KIMMITT: Well, there's a lot being done in Pakistan now. There's been a significant increase in the budget for foreign assistance to Pakistan. The military is working side by side on a daily basis with the highest levels of the Pakistani military.

We are hoping that the Pakistani military will do as much on their side of the border as we are doing on our side of the border to disrupt the Taliban, to go after al Qaeda.

COLLINS: Right. Right. Well, obviously, troop levels will, of course, depend on the mission and what exactly that's going to be by way of training or by way of beefing up police forces.

Listen with me, if you would, to what the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee said on CNN yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R), INDIANA: The president needs to start by outlining the war we are in. By that, I mean the war not against the Taliban, al Qaeda, but what is, at least, the objective of continuing in Afghanistan or in any place? That is basic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: It is basic, but what is going to be different this time around?

KIMMITT: Well, as many have said, most recently, General Petraeus, the comprehensive strategy that we had been conducting for the past few years is not enough. It needs to be fully invested, fully resourced, and there has to be a direct commitment to the United States and its coalition partners...

COLLINS: Right. KIMMITT: ... to help develop the Afghan economy, to help develop the Afghan national security forces, and to assist the Afghanistan government in rooting out the problems of corruption and also assisting them in governance as well.

COLLINS: Yes. There's still an awful lot to do as we look at this situation.

KIMMITT: Yes.

COLLINS: Even eight years later. And we will all be watching very closely and trying to understand exactly what's going to happen next.

Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, retired, we sure do appreciate your time today. Thanks so much.

KIMMITT: Thank you.

COLLINS: And a reminder, tomorrow night CNN is the place to be. We're going to have live coverage leading up to the president's primetime announcement. Our special coverage begins at 7:00 Eastern.

Now when the president speaks, lives will be hanging in the balance. So what do the troops want to be hearing from their commander in chief? We'll take a closer look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: Financial fears in Dubai sparked a global sell-off on Friday.

For a look at what's in store today, let's go toll Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange with the very latest.

Hi there, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.

Stock here at home are set for a flat or slightly higher open, which is a bit of a relief for investors, because U.S. banks seem to have limited exposure to the $60 billion in debt payments that Dubai World wants to defer.

And, yesterday, the United Arab Emirates said it's going to make extra funds available to all banks in that country. And that sent Asian markets sharply higher today.

But over in Dubai, the main index there plunged more than seven percent on this. The first of the trading days since the debt problems surfaced. Investors here are taking a close look at the results, though, from Black Friday. ShopperTrak says sales rose by a meager 50 percent on Friday. The unofficial kick off to the holiday season. Today, commonly referred to as Cyber Monday. Many Americans are expected to click and shop, so bosses beware.

General Motors is making a last-ditch effort to find a buyer for its Saab brand. Officials from the Swedish government and Saab will be in Detroit today. They're planning to meet with potential new buyers, although no details are being revealed. A previous deal to sell Saab fell apart last week.

All right. Let's check the early numbers right now. The Dow Industrials down a fraction right now, down about six points. The NASDAQ Composite off about a fraction as well. It may be a slow day today, Heidi. You know, everyone may be online shopping for those cyber deals instead of making trades here at the New York Stock Exchange.

COLLINS: Yes, yes, absolutely. All right, Alison, thanks. We'll watch those numbers.

KOSIK: Sure.

COLLINS: Help is on the way for homeowners in danger of foreclosure. The Obama administration is expected to announce a new initiative today to put more pressure on mortgage lenders. The goal, converting troubled loans into new loans with lower payments and to give assistance to people more quickly.

The U.S. strategy for the Afghanistan war. President Obama will tell us about his plans tomorrow. He'll make the prime-time speech from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The president is expected to announce an increase of at least 30,000 more troops. He's also expected to look for further troop commitments from NATO allies. Now, some Democrats are already voicing doubts and reservations.

The war strategy in Afghanistan. We know where the partisan battle lines are drawn. And we know what the generals want. But when the president speaks tomorrow, what do U.S. troops want to hear? What is most important to them?

CNN's Barbara Starr has some insight. She's joining us now from her post at the Pentagon.

Barbara, good morning to you.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

Well, you know, there's been a lot of talk over the last several days about the grand strategy, about the politics of it all, Republicans versus Democrats. But what about that young army soldier or young marine on the front line in Afghanistan, on that convoy, on that night time mission in the middle of that ambush. What do they want to hear from the president during this speech tomorrow night?

Well, military officials tell us there's going to be two key points to the military strategy here. Training more Afghan forces, and putting enough U.S. boots on the ground to, as they say, squeeze the oxygen out of the insurgency, out of the Taliban so that they can really secure the country and make the Afghans able to stand on their own. But all of that is going to take a lot of time.

And so the question for most troops may well be, will they be just a holding action, trying to stem the tide until all these goals can be achieved? That's going to be tough for them, because, you know, a young soldier or marine doesn't really join a combat unit to become a holding action. They join to win. So what is going to be key here is that the troops feel they are being handed a winnable strategy. They don't want to hear that. Well, maybe this will work. They want to hear that they are in it to win.

And, of course, they all want to hear when they can expect to win, when they can expect to really come home for good. That's going to be a tough promise for the president to deliver on, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. Any idea which troops may be the first to go? And when we talk about this, it's always important, obviously, to remind everybody. So many of them have been over, time and time again, four and five deployments, even.

STARR: We are looking at that, once again. And it's not going to go away anytime soon. The troops are lining up to fulfill this, what we expect to be, 34,000; 35,000 additional U.S. troops going to the war zone. First stop is likely to be about 1,000 marines who are already in the pipeline, if you will. They are probably going to go by the end of the year, and as soon as the New Year turns, expect to see that flow of troops starting to move.

A number of army units lined up to go, marine corps units lined up to go, and all the support that goes with them, more helicopters, more troops looking for those IEDs. And, of course, more trainers, more forces to help train the Afghan troops. But it is really going to be important, many troops believe, that they hear that this is going to be a winnable strategy for them. Nobody wants to be part of a holding action. Troops go into war to win -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. Of course not. All right, Barbara. We'll be watching closely. Thank you.

Success in Afghanistan, part of it depends on President Hamid Karzai securing support from the Afghan people, but can he do that? In a few minutes, we're going to take a look at what it will take for President Karzai to win over the Afghan people.

A new Democrat report blaming the Bush administration for missing Osama Bin Laden. The Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee reported Bin Laden had written his will, believing he was trapped in Afghanistan's Tora Bora mountain region. Now, that was in December of 2001, three months after 9/11. The report says former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General Tommy Franks refused to send in enough troops to capture the al Qaeda leader.

Iran opens a new chapter in defying the international community over its nuclear program. The Iranian cabinet has approved the construction of another ten uranium enrichment plants. The decision comes two days after the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency demanded Iran stop enriching uranium, which can be used, of course, to make a nuclear bomb. The agency is also demanding Iran halt construction at a previously undisclosed nuclear facility near Qom.

Let's get over to Rob Marciano now, standing by in the Severe Weather Center, because it is rainy and nasty along the east coast, right?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: In just a few hours, the Senate finally starts debating a health care reform bill, but as the president's deadline gets closer, the hardest work may still be ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Tiger Woods commenting about his SUV wreck, but not to investigators. On his Web site, Woods takes full blame for what happened, and he says he wants to stop the rumors about his family. But he did cancel several interviews with police about it.

A neighbor called 911 after Woods crashed near his home early Friday morning.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

911 OPERATOR: What happened? What's wrong?

CALLER: I have a neighbor, he hit the tree. And we came out here just to see what was going on. I see him and he's laying down.

911 OPERATOR: Hit a tree? You mean he was in an auto accident?

CALLER: Yes, there was an auto accident, yes.

911 OPERATOR: Is he unconscious?

CALLER: Yes.

911 OPERATOR: OK.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COLLINS: The golfer's wife says she smashed a window to free him.

Police in Florida are hoping a $10,000 reward will help lead to a suspected killer. The search for Paul Merhige has been going on since Thanksgiving night when he allegedly shot and killed four relatives at a home in Jupiter. Merhige fled the house in a royal blue 2007 Toyota Camry. He is accused of killing his pregnant sister and her twin, an aunt, and a 6-year-old cousin.

In Virginia, eight workers have been injured in an explosion. The workers had been repairing the roof on a middle school in Newport News. A police spokesman says the workers were using propane to heat tar, but they don't know right now if that is what caused the blast. The explosion, of course, is being investigated. As you know, it took months to finally get to this point. The Senate taking up the health care reform debate today, but Democrats may not have all the votes they need. And as our Jim Acosta explains, the clock is ticking.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You are hereby pardoned.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If only the president could get a pardon for health care reform, his signature initiative that's in danger of being plucked to death in the Senate. Already, calls to delay the bill are coming in, including one from a key Republican, once a close colleague of Mr. Obama's in Congress, who argues there are more pressing issues to tackle.

SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R), INDIANA: The war is terribly important. Jobs and our economy are terribly important. So I -- this may be an audacious suggestion, but I would suggest we put aside the health care debate until next year.

ACOSTA: Democrats are staring at their calendar with dread after hoping to wrap up their work by December 18th, less than three weeks from now. Congressional leaders are warning members they may work weekends right up to Christmas, fearing any delay on health care will kill the bill.

SEN. JACK REED (D), RHODE ISLAND: We have to go ahead and conclude this debate. To stop now would be stopping on the edge of I think significant reform, which is so important for the country.

ACOSTA: And any amendment could drag down the bill in the Senate, from anti-abortion Democrats who want to restrict spending on abortion to party conservatives who want to water down the public option.

SEN. BERNARD SANDERS (I), VERMONT: I would be very reluctant to support legislation that does not have a strong public option.

ACOSTA: Some Democrats aren't even sure the bill lowers health care costs, one of the president's chief objectives.

SEN. EVAN BAYH (R), INDIANA: We want to cover the uninsured yes, but we don't want to do it in a way that's going to drive up the cost for folks who currently have it. That's one of the biggest complaints that I hear from people.

ACOSTA: And with time winding down, health care will have to share the spotlight. There are Congressional spending bills to keep the government running. An upcoming climate change summit in Copenhagen, and unemployment, the one issue many Republicans hope to ride right in the next year's mid-term elections.

MIKE HUCKABEE, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The number one issue in this country is jobs, getting people to work. ACOSTA (on camera): Now that the debate is moving forward, Democrats will need 60 votes to stop it and schedule a vote. The political obituary for health care reform has been written before and Democratic leaders have had plenty of chances to leave it for dead. But there are no signs they are backing down now.

Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The Senate meets at 2:00 this afternoon and the debate gets started very shortly after that.

A government plagued by allegations of corruption. What will it take for President Hamid Karzai to win over the Afghan people?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: While we wait for President Obama to announce his troop strategy in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai is working to win over the Afghan people again, as many accuse his administration of being riddled with corruption.

CNN's Atia Abawi has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A symbol of corruption, what people here call Narco mansions, lining the streets of Kabul. Many of the houses built in the last eight years, with illicit money from the drug trade and corrupt government officials. Officials alleged to have squandered billions of dollars in foreign aid, aid that most Afghans say they have yet to see.

WILLIAM CROSBIE, CANADIAN AMBASSADOR TO AFGHANISTAN: There will be a much closer watch on how money is being spent. There is a responsibility on the part of the international community.

ABAWI: Canadian Ambassador Williams Crosbie knows that the Afghan government needs reform. And after many years wasted, both the new administration led by President Hamid Karzai and the international community are changing the way things are done here. CROSBIE: We, too often turn to power brokers and warlords to fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda and we'll turn a blind eye to perhaps whether or not those individuals were inappropriately using government offices or using their power.

ABAWI: Individuals still within the ranks.

Early November, President Karzai was sworn into a second term after an election marred with allegations of fraud. He is promising change, but he is still criticized for turning a blind eye to corruption and surrounding himself with criminals and warlords.

HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN (through translator): We need to take into account in past eight years what we have learned and what we have gained. What are the bad experiences and what are the good experiences and of course, there are many questions and people would like me to answer some of those questions. And of course, we will do our utmost in the future to help the country.

ABAWI: Daoud Sultanzoy is a member of the Afghan Parliament believes that rampant corruption has killed the administration's creditability. He says, it's the president's job to enforce the law on his staff and cabinet first, punishing any criminals found within, in order to win back the trust of the people.

DAOUD SULTANZOY, AFGHAN MP: It's not the strength of the Taliban, it's the weakness of this government that has driven the people away from the government and it's created a gap in which the Taliban are finding a room to maneuver and breathe in that vacuum.

ABAWI: A vacuum that Sultanzoy says can be killed by the government and welcomed by the Afghan people once they know what good governance is.

SULTANZOY: In the 262 years of modern -- our modern history, we have never been governed basically. We have been ruled or misruled and for the western experts, so-called Afghan experts, to say that Afghans do not like governance, it's a very, very easy way out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Interesting. Our

Atia Abawi, coming to us now live from Kabul, Afghanistan. What he said there, Atia, not the strength of the Taliban but the weakness of the government that is the issue. How are people feeling about their government now, especially after the disputed election and then the withdrawal of the opposition in the run-off?

ABAWI: Well, when you talk to the Afghan people, they're still feeling the same way they did before the election, they don't trust their government. Their election actually -- their election process proved that to them. But at the same time they don't necessarily trust the international community at the moment either. They see them as backing the Afghan government.

They are hoping that President Obama, that the U.S. and this new strategy will bring them a change. But this is why we're seeing more and more Afghans moving towards to the Taliban actually for protection from the government forces and authorities in their areas -- Heidi.

COLLINS: So then, how does the weak Afghan government sort of translate into the war effort? How does it affect it?

ABAWI: It's strongly affected. If you don't have a partner that's --that's willing to actually meet you at their level when you look at the international community, when you look at the mission here in Afghanistan, you can't win the war in Afghanistan, because the Afghan people don't trust the government. It's a corrupt government in their eyes. They see that billions of dollars have been poured into the country, but still many Afghans that we speak to say they have yet to see even one dollar of those billions of dollars that have come in. And when you have the Afghan people not trusting their own government, that's when they turn to the other sources, that's when they turn to the insurgency, to the criminal groups, to the Taliban, all of those groups opposing the international forces -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, of course, all right. Atia Abawi, we'll be watching this situation, obviously.

And make sure you stay with CNN, as we get the stage for the president's prime time announcement. Our special in-depth coverage begins tomorrow, 7:00 Eastern.

Always a lot going on here in the CNN NEWSROOM; our crews are in place to bring it all to you with the details. Want to check in with our correspondents now beginning with Gerri Willis in New York. Big Monday, right, Gerri?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: That's right. You know, the government's plan to solve the foreclosure crisis is floundering. Only two percent of the people who want help are getting it. At the top of the hour I'll tell you what the government is doing to fix that plan.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Well, you know and speaking of the government, as the senate begins debating health care, we will dig deeper on one of most controversial issues involved, the cost of dying. Critics say end of life spending has to be addressed or out of control health care costs could actually bankrupt this country. We'll have more on that coming up in the next hour.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta. When a child gets H1N1 flu, things can get very scary, very quickly. Hundreds of children have even died from swine flu. I'll tell you what signs to look for when your child is sick. I'll have that at the top of the hour.

COLLINS: All right, thanks so much, guys.

Also ahead -- are you in the mood to shop? It is Cyber Monday. How can you find the best deals and avoid Cyber Scams? We've got some answers coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: John Mayer and Jay-Z better watch their backs; they've got some competition at the top of the charts from the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Our Zain Verjee gives Pope Benedict's new album a spin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nirvana, Guns and Roses, and the Pope? This year, the same label that brought you those first two is trying something a little different.

A hot new CD starring, that's right, Pope Benedict XVI.

RICHARD FERNANDEZ, GEFFEN RECORDS: It's one of the main albums that we're putting out, if not the main, out of all the releases going into Christmas. And we have really high expectations for it.

VERJEE: Album producer Vincent Messina says he wanted to do it because he sees parallels to hip hop music.

VINCENT MESSINA, PRODUCER OF ALMA MATER: When you pronounce the magic word "litanies", I thought right away of how repetitive they are, how hypnotic they are. And then, again, I thought that there's nothing closer to hip hop or reggae music, which I really like a lot.

VERJEE: But if you're expecting an hour of His Holiness belting out tunes, you're going to be disappointed. There's plenty of papal chanting, but the Pontiff only sings on one of the tracks.

SIMON BOSWELL, COMPOSER OF ALMA MATER: Everybody in America and here will know who Simon Cowell is. And as people who actually have to write music, we've decided there will be less X factor and this would be the cross factor.

VERJEE: The reviews haven't been exactly glowing. Some critics say the Pontiff shouldn't quit his day job, which is just as well, really. This, after all, is his busy time of year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Zain Verjee with that report. The CD is called "Alma Mater: Music from the Vatican" and it is available right now.