Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Awaiting U.S.-Russia Treaty Signing; Rescue Team Enters the Mine; A Mining Mother's Agony; Awaiting the Nuclear Treaty Signing; U.S.-Russia Nuke Deal
Aired April 08, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They're each going to sign about four documents that -- sign off on all of this. They're going to create the paper back and forth so each side can sign it. Then, each president is going to make a statement to the world and then they're each going to take two questions from the U.S. media and the Russian media. You can bet that there's going to be some pressing there about, first of all how all of this is going to be verified to make sure that each side follows through on it, Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Right. And you know, coming up right to the top of the hour, if you're just joining us this morning, a special early edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
President Obama is getting set to sign a pivotal treaty along with Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev. You're looking at live pictures right now, as Ed Henry just said to us of Prague Castle in Czechoslovakia where the signing ceremony is set to take place any moment.
And here's some of the details. This is about a year after the president in the same city one year ago pledged to reduce the nuclear arsenal, our nuclear arsenal and to rid the world eventually of nuclear weapons. What this START treaty as they're calling it will basically do is to reduce the number of strategic weapons both on Russia and the United States side by about a third. And we're waiting right now to have all of this happen.
The president touched down earlier this morning. He met with Czech President Vaclav Klaus. There was some handshakes, some photo- ops with Russia's president as well. And Russia's president also describing what's about to happen today as a very important step towards slashing U.S. and Russian arsenals. Russia and the U.S. have the most weapons, and they possess about 95 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non- Proliferation.
So this is what's happening right now. We have Ed Henry with us live in Prague and also here with me this morning, Michael Levy. He is the director of the program on energy and security for the center for foreign relations. The Council on Foreign Relations, rather. He also wrote a book on nuclear terrorism.
And, Michael, we're glad you're with us today to give us some perspective. How big of a deal is today's treaty, the signing of this treaty?
MICHAEL LEVY, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: It's a modest step when it comes to nuclear arsenal, but it's been an extremely difficult treaty to achieve. We talked about the timing of this being a year after the president's Prague speech. But that's not what the president initially wanted.
This was something that was going to be relatively straightforward in a lot of people's eyes, and it turns out to be much more complicated and negotiations dragged on a long time. And that means that success is particularly important. It means that there were real barriers. There was real distrust and they had to work through that. And that's important that they've succeeded.
CHETRY: It is interesting, Ed. When you talk about some of the background of this and as Michael said, it wasn't -- the timing wasn't meant to take an entire year. What we heard is there was basically about 14 phone calls and meetings between our president and Russia's president to hammer out some of the framework of what you're going to see today during this signing ceremony.
HENRY: You're right. I mean, the last START treaty ran out at the end of last year. The administration had been hopeful of getting it done by the beginning of this year. It took a little extra time. And I'm told there were some, about 50, U.S. negotiators on the ground in Geneva in recent weeks and months trying to hammer out these final details. It gives you an idea of the scope, the magnitude of all the detail here.
And to pick up on what Michael was saying, you know, he's absolutely right. There was a lot of direct involvement by both the U.S. and Russian presidents. You mentioned there was about 15 all together. I believe it was 10 phone calls, about five one-on-one meetings over the last year and few months between these two leaders, trying to hammer out these details.
Just a few weeks ago, we're told by the U.S. side the Russian side was suggesting maybe we should pull back a little bit. There were some things they still couldn't quite hammer out. And the Obama administration kept pressing and said, let's give it another shot. Then they came up with this deal that both sides see happy with. But again, we're going to have to see all the details.
You'll remember from the Reagan administration, trust but verify. Both sides, they're going to make sure as they lay out these details. A lot of people are going to be looking very closely at exactly what is in this treaty because we have not seen all the language until now, Kiran.
CHETRY: Sure.
LEVY: There's definitely going to be a lot of scrutiny on the agreement, not so much on the pieces we've been talking about on the reductions in arms, but on the missile defense part of things. I think that's where the negotiations got substantially hung up. The Russians wanted some limitations on U.S. missile defense. The U.S. negotiators knew very well first that they didn't want those limitations. And secondly, if they included them, the treaty would be dead on arrival in the Senate.
And the U.S. succeeded in keeping missile defense out of the legal part of the treaty. There's an acknowledgment in what they call the preamble, which is at the beginning. It's not a legal part of it. But it's written there that there's some relationship between offensive and defensive weapons and the Russians have pointed to this in recent days. But when the administration takes the deal to Congress, they are going to say, look, there's no legal obligation on our part to any limitations on missile defense and we're heading ahead in a robust way. But that was really the fundamental hang-up at the very end here.
CHETRY: And, Ed that's interesting what Michael is bringing out. There were a few headlines that were splashed across some of the Web sites and papers saying that, you know, Russia has the right to opt out of this and some of it was touching on the really thorny issue of missile defense. What actually does this treaty say in terms of whether or not Russia can opt out based on whether or not our missile defense is deemed a threat to them?
HENRY: Well, each side can always opt out on their own. That's what U.S. officials have been stressing. As Michael points out, it was important not to have missile defense in the actual legal framework. But the Russian side was able to put in a statement basically saying, you know, re-airing their long opposition to the missile defense.
The reason why it's significant right here is that the Czech Republic would House some of the radar for a U.S. missile defense system. The U.S. side is still insisting that as the language is laid out here, it does not shut the door on having that U.S. missile defense system here.
That is critical back in the U.S. Senate as Michael was suggesting because you have conservatives there. Those Republican votes that this president will need to get the 67 votes to ratify this and get this on a bipartisan basis, or ratified through the U.S. Senate. A lot of conservatives who would have been concerned if missile defense had been pulled out because of this agreement. If the U.S. have scrapped U.S. defense sites here all together, that would have lost some Republican votes in the U.S. Senate.
Instead, the U.S. is reserving the option to move forward and they keep insisting to the Russian side this is not offensive against Russia. That seems to be Russia's key concern. What the U.S. continues to stress is they only want a defensive system here in the Czech Republic, here in the region to try and make sure and protect our European allies against an attack from, say, Iran, not something that we want to use offensively against Russia. That has been a key sticking point because Russia has not completely believed that, Kiran.
CHETRY: Ed, we're also about 17 minutes behind schedule for the signing ceremony. Are you getting any indication of whether or not this is just a couple of last-minute phone calls or if there's any type of delay for any other reason?
HENRY: Welcome to the White House signing ceremonies. I mean, this kind of things all around the world, whether it's back at the White House or if it's somewhere else, that regardless of the magnitude of it, there's always last-minute hiccups that I don't want to suggest a problem, because, you know, just the minor logistics of all of this are pulling all these leaders together.
I have not gotten any indication there's any sort of a problem. It's very typical that these things slide behind the kind of guidance we've gotten, we get early on about the schedule. And so far, we have not gotten any sense at all that there's a problem, just the normal sort of scheduling, getting everybody together. These leaders have a chance to go behind closed doors. They haven't seen each other in some time. It gives them a chance to catch up before they actually face the media, Kiran.
CHETRY: I got you. It was funny earlier. This morning in the middle of the night, they were saying he was ahead of schedule. Everybody was scrambling.
You know what? We're going to keep an eye on this. We're going to check back in with you, Ed Henry. Thanks so much. Also Michael Levy, thanks so much for being with us as well, for your insights this morning.
Right now, we're going to head out to another story that we've been following very closely. John Roberts out in West Virginia where today we could get some more news as the rescue attempts start up again this morning.
Hi, John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Kiran. Yes, it looks like they're a little ways away at least from that signing ceremony based on the posture of people in the room. Here's what we know so far. And we're expecting a press conference in about the next 20 minutes here at the Marsh Fork Elementary School.
If things went according to schedule, rescue workers, four teams of eight rescuers should have been in the mine for a little more than an hour and a half now. They have to get down five miles to that area where those miners are believed to have been trapped.
That's the four missing miners. They spent the last 18, almost 24 hours clearing the mine of those toxic levels of methane. They've got it down to a level where it's non-explosive. Not necessarily not dangerous though, which is why those rescue crews are taking with them supplemental oxygen. But they do hope to have some word if things can progress according to schedule and they don't run into unforeseen circumstances in the mine. Probably somewhere in the next couple of hours or so, we may know the fate of those four miners.
You know, it's such a tragedy that happened on Monday afternoon, 25 lives taken. Three of those lives were from the same family. And last night, after a prayer vigil in a nearby town, I sat down with the mother, the aunt and the brother of three of those victims, all the same person, Pam Napper.
Now what's really, really incredible about all of this is that her son, Joshua, who perished in the mine had come up to Ohio to visit her over Easter weekend. They went to church together, and he wrote a letter to his fiancee suggesting that he had some sense of what was about to happen. Let's listen to how Pam unfolded the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: What were your feelings when he came to you and said, mom I want to be a miner?
VOICE OF PAM NAPPER, SON KILLED IN MINING DISASTER: Honestly, at first, I said, no. I didn't want him to come. My brothers were there. My brothers, they've been hurt several times in the mines. And I begged him not to but he said, please, mom.
And then, I said, OK, you're 25. I have to let you go. I have to let you make your own decisions in life. And so I gave my brother my blessing. My brother had to have blessings from me first before he would hire him. And I gave him my blessings. He come home that weekend and --
ROBERTS: At Easter?
NAPPER: At Easter. He wanted to come home and be with his family. He went to church with us and he kind of fought things in church. He actually got up and left church and come back in. And they called on us just to bow our heads and whoever needed Jesus in their lives, raise their arms, and he did. And for some reason, they called an altar call, which they don't do that all the days.
Josh just jumped up out of there and he went and got saved and really, really got saved. He grabbed my hand and he says, mom, I love you. I said, I love you too, Josh. I always love you. And I told him, I said, don't let loose of God. He said, oh, mom, I'm not. I'm going to hold on to God like I've never held on to him before. And then when he went home, he loaded up and went home. He left Jennifer a letter.
ROBERTS: Jennifer?
NAPPER: His girlfriend and Jenna.
ROBERTS: His daughter.
NAPPER: Yes. I can't tell you everything in it. I can't remember. It was his long writing of his little handwriting. He said, "If anything happens to me, I'll be looking down from heaven at you all. I love you. Take care of my baby. Tell her that daddy loves her. She is beautiful. She is funny and just take care of my baby girl," and said, "Jennifer, I love you."
ROBERTS: Did he have a sense about things? NAPPER: I really feel that he did.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: It's amazing to think that he had some sort of idea of what might happen. And our apologies for having that little box over her face during the entire time she was talking about the death of her son. But as you know, we are covering a live event that's about to take place in Prague.
But you know, I talked with Pam about her son and her memories and the strength that she showed last night was just really quite remarkable. The fact that she lost three members of her family and she was able to actually come here, attend a prayer vigil, speak at that prayer vigil and speak with us as well, just really speaks to the love that she had for her son and the faith that she has, that he's in a good place now and that she can go on.
And she said to us, one day, I'm going to be with him and that's what I'm going to hang on to until such time as I do join him. And those, Kiran, are just some of the emotions that we're finding here in the wake of this mining disaster.
CHETRY: Just amazing what she was explaining about the church and how he walked out, and then he came back in and seemed to have some sort of foreshadowing of what was about to happen. That's just unbelievable.
ROBERTS: Yes. You know, the pastor said that he usually doesn't do what's termed an altar call, where he invites people to come down and give their lives to Jesus and to God. But the pastor just said he felt something in the church that day as well.
And here's another thing that you were going to learn from Pam a little later on is that a couple of times -- her son had only worked in the mine for eight weeks and a couple of times in the last couple of weeks, he was actually sent home early because of ventilation problems in the mine. Not sure exactly what the source of the ventilation problems were or what the buildup of material might have been that caused them to close down that section of the mine.
But a couple of times over the last couple of weeks, he was sent home for ventilation problems. And of course, that is going to be the major focus of this investigation as to how this tragedy occurred, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. John, thanks so much. And we want to remind people that just 15 minutes from now, we're going to get another update on what is going on there in terms of the rescue operation, in terms of what they have been able to assess, in terms of the safety of allowing the rescuers to go back in and look for the four miners still missing. Again, that's a live press conference taking place at 6:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Meantime, there are new details this morning that some of Toyota's own employees are not happy about how the auto giant handled safety concerns about the faulty gas pedals. There are some new documents showing that the call from one executive came back in January five days before a huge recall and that his message was clear. We need to come clean.
Our Deb Feyerick is tracking the developments for us this morning, and she joins us now. So this was an executive there who said, we need to make some changes?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And what's so interesting is those words we have to come clean," that really gets a lot of people's attention.
Now, it is becoming apparently clear that Toyota executives were scrambling to figure out the best way to deal with their huge accelerator problem here in the United States.
In an e-mail obtained by "Associated Press", one of the company's top public relations executives warned Toyota that, quote, "We need to come clean," unquote, about the sticking pedals. The executive is saying that Toyota, quote, "was not protecting our customers by keeping quiet about this."
Now, in the e-mail by Toyota's recently retired U.S. vice president for Public Affairs, Herb Miller writes, "We have a tendency for mechanical failure in accelerator problems." And he says, "The time to hide on this is over."
Now, the e-mail was sent in January, days before Toyota's massive recall, and, what's more, Toyota had failed to alert U.S. regulators even though the automaker was already busy addressing the sticky pedal problem in 31 European countries and Canada. They've been doing that for about three months.
Now, Toyota's new chief quality officer for North America spoke about that disconnect between the U.S. and other countries a week ago at the inauguration of Toyota's Committee for Global Quality.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because we're not perfect, and we - we didn't share the experience that we had in Europe, we didn't know about it in North America.
That's why we're putting these - these processes in place. We are looking for our weak points, We are looking for where we need to improve. And that's why I believe the six points that Akio Toyoda has put upon us, his direction, is going to make us a stronger and better company.
We've never said we were perfect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: So, really, there's a broad effort right now to make sure that both companies in Japan, in the U.S., those in Europe, are really talking together, because if you have a problem in one group of cars, chances are you may have a similar problem in another group.
Now, CNN did try to reach the author of the e-mail. That e-mail now in the possession of U.S. investigators. The January e-mail also hopeful that U.S. government regulators would work with Toyota to find, quote, "A workable solution that does not put Toyota out of business," - Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. And so, it continues.
FEYERICK: So it continues.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks so much, Deb.
FEYERICK: Of course.
CHETRY: Well, other news stories new this morning, a 48-year-old San Francisco man arrested for allegedly making threatening and harassing phone calls to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over health care.
The new law brought in a series of recent threats to lawmakers. A man in Washington State was arrested Tuesday for threatening to kill Democratic Senator Patty Murray, and also, a Pennsylvania man charged for posting threats against a top House Republican on YouTube.
Well, a merger seems to be on the works again for United and U.S. Airways. That would make it the second largest airline in the country. A deal between the companies fell through two years ago, as did a proposed partnership of United and Continental.
While there's no concrete merger plan, "The Associate Press" reports it will be modeled after the Delta/Northwest merger.
And passengers flying the budget airline out of Europe, Ryan Air, may soon have to pay to use the restroom. The airline is working with Boeing to develop a coin-operated door release on its lavatories so that when nature calls, a passenger would have to pay a euro or about a pound, $1.50, to answer.
And the pay toilet plan would be in effect on flights under an hour.
Well, it's now 18 and a half minutes past the hour. Again, we're still monitoring the Prague Castle, where at any moment now our president as well as Russia's president will come out for a signing ceremony to reduce the nuclear arsenal.
Meanwhile, though, we're going to check in right now with Rob Marciano. He's in the Extreme Weather for us this morning. Breaking records all over the place yesterday, 90 - 90 or 92 degrees in Central Park?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, 92 - 92 in Central Park. I mean, that is just - and for a lot of those numbers that - where people broke records, it's the earliest they've seen temperatures like that, like in Boston, to see a temperature of 90 degrees this early, they've never seen that. So, steamy. Cooler weather on the way, but you're going to have to deal with some potentially severe weather before that. Sixty-seven currently in New York, 70 in Washington. But look at Chicago, 35. So stark differences in temperatures. Obviously, there's a cold front there, and that's going to create some rough weather across the Appalachians and pushing into the eastern seaboard later on this afternoon and tonight. So severe weather will be a threat up and down that front and later tonight into the New York area, so be aware of that.
If you are traveling today, Atlanta, thunderstorms and wind, especially around noontime, so that will delay that major hub. Chicago will see some wind with that colder air, wind and rain expected in Seattle. Eighty for the high temperature today, so a bit of a cool down, but look at Chicago, 44, so if you're traveling there, certainly pack - well, not the summer gear for sure. Sixty-two in Kansas City and 60 degrees expected in Denver.
Augusta, national first round of the Masters, Kiran, they may see a little bit of a delay or a suspension of play for a few hours as this front moves through, and the rest of the weekend looks to be good. We'll talk much more (ph) a weather with a potential for snow, believe it or not, after record-breaking temperatures across parts of the Midwest later in the program - Kiran.
CHETRY: That's really unbelievable.
All right, Rob Marciano for us this morning, keeping you guys on your toes, that's for sure.
MARCIANO: Always.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
Well, we want to update you on a couple of breaking stories that we're following this morning.
One is the nuclear treaty signing that's going to be taking place in Prague in the Czech Republic any moment now. It was set to get underway, actually, about 20, 30 minutes ago, with our president and Russia's president. We have Ed Henry there and we're following that.
And also, in about 10 minutes, we're set to get an update on the situation at the West Virginia mine right now, on what is going on there and when they'll be able to again put four different rescue teams in to try to locate four miners still missing in the wake of the tragedy that took place over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Michael Levi with the Council on Foreign Relations joins us again to talk a little bit more about the significance of what is happening today, this pledge on the part of the two nuclear powers left, the two super powers, right? Russia and the United States, to reduce their nuclear arsenal over the next decade.
What are we going to see happen today at this signing ceremony?
MICHAEL LEVI, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Well, we'll see the two presidents appear. They will sign multiple documents. There's the treaty, but there are also annexes to it, technical annexes, several layers of detail, and those will be sent on for everyone to look at and scrutinize.
And then, they will apparently hold a press conference, a very brief one where they will each, I believe, take a couple of -
CHETRY: Yes, they're going to answer a couple of questions on each side right now.
But in terms of what happens after this treaty is signed - and of course, it still needs to be ratified by our Senate, by Russia's legislature as well. But where does it sort of leave the world when it comes to the reduction of nuclear weapons, and also, trying to find a way to minimize and eliminate other nuclear threats around the world?
LEVI: Well, it continues a trend that's been happening since the end of the Cold War toward reducing arsenals, and also toward having transparency in those reductions.
Part of the problem, when the previous START treaty expired at the end of last year was that its verification provisions, its rules for making sure that each side was living up to its obligations, expired. And, along with that, a lot of transparency went away. The rest of the world couldn't see what was happening with the arsenals.
So this, along with the reductions, also maintains this openness toward the rest of the world about what's happening about that continued trend.
This should help build some support for the president's broader nonproliferation goals on Iran and North Korea, on terrorism, but we shouldn't kid ourselves either. That's not the primary thing determining the outcome there.
Iran comes down to the security situation in the Middle East, the domestic situation there. North Korea is a country that's very worried about what's going on in its neighborhood and isn't going to change its mind about its weapons because of this, and no one in the administration is claiming that. Other countries are making calculations based on their own national interest.
So this helps the president, particularly in the context of this push this week and next on nuclear issues. This isn't happening in isolation. You have the nuclear posture revue, laying out U.S. nuclear strategy a couple of days ago and saying for the first time that the main goal is to deal with proliferation and to deal with terrorism.
You'll have a nuclear security summit next week with roughly 40 heads of state the president is hosting in Washington where he'll get them all together to talk about how to secure vulnerable nuclear materials around the world. His goal is in the next four years. That's quite challenging. But even if you did it in, let's say, six years, it would be an extraordinary accomplishment. So he's trying to get momentum, he's trying to get focus. He clearly cares personally about the nuclear issue and has a very different approach in some ways to dealing with it from the previous administration.
CHETRY: And when you say that there's a different approach, there have been many analysts that have - have talked to us about the biggest threat being - being states that are willing to either sell nuclear secrets or help states gather nuclear materials or the components needed to perhaps make a nuclear weapon. How does this address the issue and the threat of rogue states in nuclear terrorism?
LEVI: This doesn't directly address the threat of rogue states and nuclear terrorism, and the primarily tools for doing that will be direct. They will be direct pressure, they will be building a broad, strong nonproliferation regime, securing nuclear materials and weapons around the world.
What this does, the president hopes, is build confidence and trust between the United States and Russia so they can work together to deal with some of those problems. Of course they are the biggest source - potential sources of material, so they need to work together on that. They are big players in the U.N. Security Council, so they need to work together on that. But it's not the primary mechanism for achieving those goals.
The president also hopes, by the way, that this will satisfy some folks, particularly in the developing world, who've been calling for more reductions, for more transparent reductions, and that they may be encouraged to take other steps in exchange.
Beyond these two weeks, we also have a big nonproliferation treaty review conference coming up next month. Every five years, the world gets together to review the nonproliferation treaty, which obligates states that don't have nuclear weapons to continue to refrain from having nuclear weapons, but also says that powers like the United States and Russia should continue to disarm.
And the United States and Russia would like to be able to go to that conference with this in hand and say, we're keeping up our part of the bargain. We want you to keep up your part of the bargain and stop other states from acquiring nuclear arms.
CHETRY: Michael, thank you very much.
And we have our Ed Henry, our Senior White House Correspondent, who is there in the Czech Republic today, awaiting the ceremony that's now almost - well, we're about 20 minutes shy of being an hour behind schedule. What's the latest, Ed?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it looks like there's been some movement in the room, and perhaps, Kiran, it's going to get started pretty soon.
But, you know, we've been looking and reading the tea leaves, as you say, for nearly an hour. These things have a tendency to not exactly start on time. And so - we do expect it, though, to get going finally in the next few minutes, Kiran.
CHETRY: And - and when we talk about the broader goals of this, and we talked a little bit about of course resetting relations with the United States and Russia, how critical will this event that's taking place today and the agreement that comes out of this be for both nations?
HENRY: Well, we don't know for sure, but certainly the Obama administration hopes that this is a dramatic step forward in the U.S. and Russia relations. You talked about that reset button, that it has not gone as smoothly, as Michael noted earlier, as the Obama administration had hoped.
There have been bumps in the road between the U.S./Russia - U.S. and Russia in recent months, largely on missile defense but other issues as well, but they hope that this will be a moment of trust between both sides.
I was talking to one of the president's most senior advisers late last night and he was basically saying, look, it has been many, many years since you've had U.S. and Russian leaders sitting down with a picture like this, getting together, coming to such a large - a large agreement. There still are disagreements. There still are other big issues that they hope to gain traction on, as you mentioned, like sanctions against Iran, but they hope this is an important step forward.
CHETRY: All right.
Ed, stay with us. We just got the five-minute warning a couple of moments ago. We're going to take a quick break and when we come back we're going to have the latest, and hopefully we'll be able to bring you the signing ceremony taking place live in just a moment.
Twenty-seven minutes past the hour right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Good morning and welcome to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
What you're seeing right now on your screen is a live look at Prague Castle in the Czech Republic where any minute now the United States president, our president, Barack Obama, as well as Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, will step out for a signing ceremony.
They're signing a weapons reduction - nuclear weapons reduction treaty. It's called the START Treaty. They're taking place -- they're going to be signing that.
And then a few minutes after, they're going to be taking some questions, holding a brief press conference -- a couple questions from the American media and the Russian media. As you can see, there are a ton of cameras assembled there.
Our Ed Henry is sitting outside of this as well and he's going to be weighing in after we get a look at the signing ceremony.
And we are also awaiting a news conference in West Virginia where we're going to get an update on the situation as the rescue efforts continue for four miners still missing after the explosion that cost the lives of 25 others. We are going to be hearing more about the rescue crews gearing up to go more than 1,000 feet below the earth to find possible survivors. And again, there are -- there are many who say that they don't expect to find the miners alive. But they are not giving up hope that they're going to be able to do it after being able to ventilate some of the carbon monoxide and the hydrogen and methane gas that's been blamed for that explosion.
So, there we see a brief look at that. There's Governor Joe Manchin of West Virginia on the left-hand side, getting ready for an update. So, we'll bring you that as well.
Meantime, let's bring in Ed Henry right now who is in Prague this morning as we await the signing ceremony on this nuclear agreement.
Good morning, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Kiran.
You're absolutely right. I mean, look, it was one year ago this week right here in Prague where the president delivered what was billed as a major foreign policy address, what he was laying out a long-term vision of a nuclear free world. That was one of several factors that led to the president being award the Nobel Peace Prize. And you'll remember, a flurry of critics at the time saying the president did not deserve that prize and he had very few foreign policy accomplishments.
That's why I can tell you from talking to the president's senior advisers over the last 24 hours here in Prague, they're basically saying they see this as a sweet victory for the U.S. president because, not only it's an accomplishment, but that it came through because of his direct intervention -- some 10 phone calls, five one-on-one meetings over the last year or so with the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, and that, basically, it took President Obama's direct, personal intervention to bring this along.
What is the meat of it? What is really the point? Basically, in terms of long term -- long-range missiles, warheads, this would reduce it on both sides, down to about 1,500 each. It would reduce the number of launchers down to about 800 on each side -- the launchers to launch those missiles. That still leaves both sides with very large arsenals.
Let's keep in mind that this does not wipe out nuclear weapons on both the U.S. and Russian sides. But what U.S. officials believe is that this could be an important step forward to show some good faith that they're making reductions as they move towards the vision the president laid out one year ago here in Prague.
CHETRY: And there we see -- we just heard the music start. We see President Barack Obama, as well as Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev. They're walking up right now to those two -- those two -- well, they're actually walking up to the podium right now, the two chairs behind them for the signing ceremony.
And just a couple of moments ago, we saw Czech President Vaclav Klaus also be seated as well.
Let's listen to a little bit of this.
ANNOUNCER (through translator): President of the United States, Barack Obama, and president of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev are signing the treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on measures for the present reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ANNOUNCER: The president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, and the president of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev are signing the treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on measures for the further reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms and the protocol to it.
CHETRY: All right. If you're just joining us right now, you're looking at President Barack Obama, as well as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and they are signing many, many documents. What it is -- it's the new START treaty. And it's an agreement between the two nations to shrink the nuclear arsenal, the strategic arsenal to about 1,500 warheads over the next decade or seven years.
That still, of course, would allow for the mutual destruction several times over. But it also is sending a signal to the world about non-proliferation, something that the president hoped to do. And it's no accident that this is taking place in Prague, where a year ago, he gave a speech about eventually hoping to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
And we're seeing at least a part of that in action right now with this agreement that as Michael Levi from the Council on Foreign Relations has been talking to us about, it hasn't been easy to come by. As Ed Henry told us, 10 phone calls, five face-to-face meetings to get to some agreement.
What were the biggest hang-ups in finally coming to this day?
LEVI: Well, it has been extremely difficult, not just through those meetings but at the level senior officials who've been working at this around the clock. The biggest hang-up has been on missile defense. The Russians wanted limits. The United States didn't. The U.S. prevailed on that.
There have been questions on verifications and transparency. The Russians, in particular, are very hesitant at allowing substantial access from the outside to verify what they're doing. And there were also concerns about U.S. conventional weapons. As you go to substantially lower levels, the Russians get worried that U.S. conventional superiority can put their nuclear arsenal in danger. And again, the United States won the keep that off the table. And it was able to.
But the price for keeping these things off the table is that the reductions are modest. They're real. They're important. It's a start, but they're still modest.
CHETRY: All right. And there we saw the handshake taking place between the two leaders.
And, Ed, is this -- and then you see clapping -- one of the people there that was seated clapping in the front was the Czech president as well. You see these handshakes taking place. And I believe this is when they're going to make some statements and answer some questions, right, Ed?
HENRY: We're going to see each president make a statement about this history in the making here and then they will take two questions each from the U.S. and Russian media.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am honored to be back here in the Czech Republic with President Medvedev and our Czech hosts to mark this historic completion of the new START treaty.
Let me begin by saying how happy I am to be back in the beautiful city of Prague. The Czech Republic, of course, is a close friend and ally of the United States. And I have great admiration and affection for the Czech people. Their bonds with the American people are deep and enduring. And Czechs have made great contributions to the United States over many decades, including in my hometown of Chicago.
And I want to thank the president and all those involved in helping to host this extraordinary event.
I want to thank my friend and partner, Dmitry Medvedev. Without his personal efforts and strong leadership, we would not be here today. We've met and spoken by phone many times throughout the negotiations of this treaty and, as a consequence, we've developed a very effective working relationship built on candor, cooperation and mutual respect.
One year ago this week, I came here to Prague and gave a speech outlining America's comprehensive commitment to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and seeking the ultimate goal of a world without them. I said then and I'll repeat now that this is a long-term goal, one that may not even be achieved in my lifetime. But I believed then, as I do now, that the pursuit of that goal will move us further beyond the Cold War, strengthen the global non-proliferation regime and make the United States and the world safer and more secure.
One of the steps that I called for last year was the realization of this treaty. So, it's very gratifying to be back in Prague today.
I also came to office committed to resetting relations between the United States and Russia. And I know that President Medvedev shared that commitment. As he said at our first meeting in London, our relationship had started to drift, making it difficult to cooperate on issues of common interest to our people. But when the United States and Russia are not able to work together on big issues, it's not good for either of our nations, nor is it good for the world.
Together, we've stopped that drift and proven the benefits of cooperation. Today is an important milestone for nuclear security and non-proliferation and for U.S./Russia relations. It fulfills our common objective to negotiate a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
It includes significant reductions in the nuclear weapons that we will deploy. It cuts our delivery vehicles by roughly half. It includes a comprehensive verification regime, which allows us to further build trust. It enables both sides the flexibility to protect our security, as well as America's unwavering commitment to the security of our European allies.
And I look forward to working with the United States Senate to achieve ratification for this important treaty later this year.
Finally, this day demonstrates the determination of the United States and Russia, the two nations that hold over 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, to pursue responsible global leadership. Together, we are keeping our commitments under the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty which must be the foundation for global non- proliferation.
While the new START treaty is an important first step forward, it is just one step on a longer journey. As I said last year in Prague, this treaty will set the stage for further cuts. And going forward, we hope to pursue discussions with Russia on reducing both our strategic and tactical weapons, including non-deployed weapons.
President Medvedev and I have also agreed to expand our discussions on missile defense. This will include regular exchange of information about our threat assessments as well as the completion of a joint assessment of emerging ballistic missiles. And as these assessments are completed, I look forward to launching a serious dialogue about Russian/American cooperation on missile defense.
But, nuclear weapons are not simply an issue for the United States or Russia. They threaten the common security of all nations. A nuclear weapon in the hands of a terrorist is danger to people everywhere, from Moscow to New York, from the cities of Europe to South Asia.
So, next week, 47 nations will come together in Washington to discuss concrete steps that can be taken to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in four years.
And the spread of nuclear weapons to more states is also an unacceptable risk to global security, raising the specter of arms races from the Middle East to East Asia. Earlier this week, the United States formally changed our policy to make it clear that those nuclear weapons states that are in compliance with the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty and their non-proliferation obligations will not be threatened by America's nuclear arsenal. This demonstrates, once more, America's commitment to the NPT as a cornerstone of our security strategy.
Those nations that follow the rules will find greater security and opportunity. Those nations that refuse to meet their obligations will be isolated and denied the opportunity that comes with international recognition. That includes accountability for those that break the rules. Otherwise, the NPT is just words on a page.
That's why the United States and Russia are part of a coalition of nations insisting that the Islamic Republic of Iran face consequences, because they have continually failed to meet their obligations. We are working together at the United Nations Security Council to pass strong sanctions on Iran. And we will not tolerate actions that flout the NPT, risk an arms race in a vital region, and threaten the credibility of the international community and our collective security.
While these issues are a top priority, they are only one part of the U.S./Russia relationship. Today, I again express my deepest condolences for the terrible loss of Russian life in recent terrorist attacks. And we will remain steadfast partners in combating violent extremism.
We also discussed the potential to expand our cooperation on behalf of economic growth, trade and investment, as well as technological innovation. And I look forward to discussing these issues further when President Medvedev visits the United States later this year. Because there is much we can do on behalf of our security and prosperity if we continue to work together.
When one surveys the many challenges that we face around the world, it's easy to grow complacent or to abandon the notion that progress can be shared. But I want to repeat what I said last year in Prague: When nations and peoples allow themselves to be defined by their differences, the gulf between them widens.
When we fail to pursue peace, then it stays forever beyond our grasp. This majestic city of Prague is in many ways of monument to human progress, and this ceremony is a testament to the truth that old adversaries can forge new partnerships. I could not help but be struck the other day by the words of Arcade Brish (ph) who helped build the Soviet Union's first Adam bomb, at the age of 92, having lived to see the horrors of a world war and the divisions of cold war. He said, and I quote, "we hope humanity will reach the moment when there's no need for nuclear weapons. When there is peace and calm in the world."
It's easy to dismiss those voices but doing so risks repeating the horrors of the past while ignoring the history of human progress. The pursuit of peace and calm and cooperation among nations is the work of both leaders and peoples in the 21st century. For we must be as persistent and passionate in our pursuit of progress as any who would stand in our way. Once again, President Medvedev, thank you for your extraordinary leadership.
(APPLAUSE)
CHETRY: We just finished hearing from U.S. president, Barack Obama, after the signing of this treaty that will bring us closer perhaps to a weapons-free world. This treaty between Russia and the United states many are calling it pivotal. It will reduce the strategic nuclear arsenal by about a third. Right now, the United States and Russia have 95 percent of the world's arsenal. And so, this is serving as a message as well to other countries about the commitment to nonproliferation by both the United States and Russia.
Ed Henry right now is there in Prague in the Czech Republic where all of this went down a year after the president spoke about his dream of a nuclear free world. How big of a win is this, that he was able to get movement despite a lot of roadblocks on getting this treaty signed with Russia?
HENRY: I can tell you what the president, senior advisers have been telling me which is that they believe this is a major victory for the president, because it shows that through a lot of hard work, a lot of effort, and direct one-on-one involvement with the Russian counterpart, this president was able to get it done despite a lot of critics saying over the last year or so that he's had very few foreign policy accomplishments.
I think there were two points that struck me in what the president had to say. Number one, when he was making a point about how he hopes that this basically is the impetus to launch what he called a serious dialogue with Russia on their broader relations. We've been talking about that this morning. Can this serve now as a spark in what the Obama administration has said from the day one that they want a reset in U.S./Russian relations.
We have not really seen that broader dialogue occur. Maybe, now it will. Certainly, what the U.S. hopes would be one big accomplishment out of all of this would be getting Russian cooperation for serious U.N. sanctions against Iran and its nuclear ambitions. That's something we'll be watching very closely. And then number two, I was struck by the president saying, this was one step in a longer journey. What he is referring in part two is that next week in Washington, there's going to be a vast nuclear summit chaired by the U.S. President trying to build on this step here today in Prague to get more nations to step forward and reduce their nuclear arsenals -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Ed Henry for us this morning in Prague. Thanks so much, and I want to bring in Michael Levi one last time as we wrap this up. What's the next step for the United States in terms of this -- in terms of nuclear nonproliferation and where these talks go?
LEVI: The next steps occur on a variety of fronts in the administration is trying to attack this in a wide range of ways. There will be directly coming out of this treaty, a battle for ratification in the U.S. senate. There will be a nuclear security summit next week looking at ways to secure weapons and materials. There will be a debate at the Security Council over sanctions on Iran and what sort of sanctions might be applied.
And there will be the nuclear nonproliferation treaty review conference next month where people look at the future of that, now decades old agreement. So, a wide variety up front still host of challenges, and then again, the U.S. /Russian file which will go forward in the future on miss (ph) all defense, on tackle nuclear weapons, so the president has his handful hear just like everywhere else.
CHETRY: All right. Michael Levi, we thank you for your insight this morning today on this story as well.
LEVI: My pleasure.
CHETRY: We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to get an update. John Roberts is there in Naoma, West Virginia where they still holding a news conference updating on the rescue attempts for the four miners still in the upper big branch mine today. Fifty minutes past the hour. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Back now with our live special coverage of the mine disaster in Raleigh County, West Virginia. And here's an update, Governor Joe Manchin just held a press conference a few minutes ago to tell us where they are at least in terms of the rescue operation. Rescue teams did enter the mine shortly after 4:30.
They are about a mile, mile and a half into the mine. They are riding in on the so-called man trips, but when they get to a junction to the mine that is a little bit closer to where the explosion took place, we won't be able to go any further on vehicles. They'll have to get off and hoof it the rest of the way, probably another couple of miles deep into the mine, carrying with them all of their gear.
But so far, according to the governor, they are making very good progress in getting down to that area where it's believed the four missing miners may be. They are in two separate areas, probably about 2000 feet apart or so. So, it's going to take a little while for them to get some word back. We may know within the next couple of hours or so what the fate of those miners is. You know, all up and down this area here, this valley, that these coal mines are in and really across the state of West Virginia and other coal mining states, people are wondering what the outcome of this is going to be in terms of legislation and new safety measures.
We took a look that yesterday and talked with a lot of folks who come from mining families to see what they have to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): 1951, the Orient, number two mine. 119 deaths prompt the first real legislation on mine safety. Fast forward, 1968, Farmington, West Virginia, 78 dead, including future governor Joe Manchin's uncle. New laws, tightened regulations, implement mandatory fines, and criminal penalties. Jump to 2006, the Sago disaster, 12 killed. Cries have never again prompt another new law, the Miner Act.
REP. NICK RAHALL, (D) WEST VIRGINIA: You know, it's unfortunate that every mine safety law we have on the books today has been written with the blood of our coal miners.
ROBERTS: And what's most unfortunate, none of the laws on the books prevented what happened this week, the worst mining disaster in a quarter century.
GOV. JOE MANCHIN, (D) WEST VIRGINIA: We're going to find answers, and you know what, if it takes legislation, I'll do it tomorrow, and I'll guarantee the legislature in West Virginia will step to the plate, not Democrats or Republicans like you see going on around the country. I'll do it in change.
ROBERTS: But governor, if you pass that legislation, will it guarantee, four years from now, there won't be another accident that's even worse than this?
MANCHIN: I don't think there's any guarantee. What we can do is make sure that we take all of the variables out.
ROBERTS: Up and down the Coal River Valley, there are prayers for the four men still missing in the upper big branch mine, and there's plenty of anger too.
Does it frustrate you that regardless of the number of lives that are lost, the number of rules that are written, the number of laws that are passed, it keeps happening?
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Honestly, it pisses me off. It really does.
ROBERTS: Tammy Alex's (ph) father is a veteran of the mine. His legs were crushed in an accident. He's been disabled for 40 years.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: The only thing different from the time my dad was crushed to now, when my dad was in the mines, he had fence posts that held up the mines. We've got high tech dollar stuff now, but still yet is not safe.
ROBERTS: Not safe, an anxiety shared by so many in this state. Ina Williams and Tammy Gordon have been coal mining wives for years. Now, they're coal mining mothers.
INA WILLIAMS, MOTHER OF MINER: There's always at worry and especially when my son wanted to go in the mines. You know, I begged him not to. I didn't want him to.
ROBERTS: Why not?
WILLIAMS: I was just afraid. I mean, you know, I knew I had to worry over my husband and that's hard enough. Then, having to worry over him also is just a different kind of worry. ROBERTS: They both know with a small twist of fate, they could be the wives and mothers suffering so much grief, and they are willing to accept that.
TAMMY GORDON, MOTHER OF MINER: This doesn't only happen to the coal mining industry. There is a risk on your job. There is risk everywhere, and our families are willing to take the risk.
ROBERTS: They have faith that every law spun out of these disasters will help to make their loved ones safer, but as history that is proven, the best of intentions are never 100 percent.
WILLIAMS: I just think that it's never going to be perfect, so there's always going to be something that you have to expect that may happen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (on-camera): A sense of resignation that regardless of the number of laws that are written about this, that the inevitable probably will happen and that will be an accident.
Coming up at the top of the hour, we are going to introduce you to Pam Napper (ph). She lost her son, her nephew, and her brother in the mining accident. And wait until you hear what happened with her son just a few days before the mine explosion -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. A little bit later, we're also going to be speaking about the whole notions of these mono economies where if it wasn't for coal mining, what would the livelihood of the people living in the towns be? And what that means moving ahead decades from now when there's not going to be as much coal to mine anymore. We are going to be talking about that as well.
We're going to take a quick break. Your top stories coming your way right after the break. It's two minutes until the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
