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American Morning

Release Photos of Bin Laden Dead?; Inside Bin Laden's Compound; Levee Blast Spares Illinois Town; Farmland Filling Up; Santorum Closer to 2012 Run; A War with What End?

Aired May 04, 2011 - 06:00   ET

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


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. A lot happening overnight. We want to get you caught up on the day's headlines.

He didn't go down shooting. There are new details now about the heroic Navy SEAL raid that killed bin Laden as the debate heats up over whether the U.S. should show pictures of him dead.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans. New exclusive video inside bin Laden's compound. We are live at Abbottabad, Pakistan, with an up-close look at where bin Laden lived and where he died.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi. Continuing his quiet post- presidency, President Bush declines an invitation to return to Ground Zero, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ROMANS: Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. It's Wednesday, May 4th. A lot still developing over that weekend raid that killed bin Laden. New details emerging every hour.

CHETRY: I think it's also fascinating that our president extended this invitation to the former president, really a gesture of goodwill and the president -- the former president kind of wanting to stay out of the limelight, so declining it.

ROMANS: George Bush has had a quiet post-presidency and wants to stick with that.

VELSHI: That's right. He wants to continue it apparently.

But first, as you said, Christine, let's bring you the new information on the incredible operation that eliminated Osama bin Laden and the big question that remains this morning, are we going to see the kill shot?

We do know there are photos, graphic ones, taken after a Navy SEAL apparently blew off part of Osama bin Laden's skull with a shot above the left eye. CIA Director Leon Panetta said Tuesday he thinks a picture of Osama bin Laden's body will be released at some point, but that decision will be left to the White House.

CHETRY: It's interesting, though, because it is clear that the majority of the public wants to see a dead bin Laden. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll showing 56 percent of Americans think that the U.S. should release that photo. Thirty-nine percent disagree. Brianna Keilar is live for us at the White House this morning.

I imagine that there are big decisions that they're trying to, you know, trying out, sort of look at the pros and cons of doing this. Are they any closer perhaps to coming to a decision about whether to release that picture?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ali, Kiran and Christine, they are moving in on a decision that seems leaning towards releasing these photos, but the decision isn't final at this point. We heard from the director of the CIA, Leon Panetta. He said he thinks that these photos ultimately will be released but, of course, it's the final call of the White House. We do know that as discussions are ongoing with top administration officials, it appears consensus is building to release them. But like you said, they're really weighing kind of competing interests here. On one hand, there's this sense that it's important to have that visual proof that Osama bin Laden is dead. But on the other hand, there are concerns this could be insightful for Muslim extremists. In fact, some officials have voiced concerns that this could put Americans who are overseas in danger.

Listen to what White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said about this at yesterday's briefing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I'll be candid that there are sensitivities here in terms of the appropriateness of releasing photographs of Osama bin Laden and in the aftermath of this firefight and we're making an evaluation about the need to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now Carney also said that this is just a discussion that's going on at the White House. He said it's not a roiling debate over whether or not. It's really just people talking and trying to measure whether it's appropriate to do this.

And I should tell you guys, that this discussion and some of these disagreements about how appropriate this would be is also stretching up to Capitol Hill. We heard yesterday from Senator Dianne Feinstein. She's the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and she has said that she doesn't think there's a need to release these photos. Of course, there are other members of Congress who disagree with her, guys.

VELSHI: All right. Brianna Keilar, thanks very much for that. We'll check in with you later.

ROMANS: New details coming out about the final moments of bin Laden's life. The White House editing the message a bit on exactly what happened inside his compound and when, saying he didn't have a gun, but he did resist. And this morning, we're getting a new look inside the walls of bin Laden's not so hidden compound in Pakistan. Nick Paton Walsh is live for us in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Good morning.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. This video which we're seeing shows basically what seems to be the aftermath of the kind of last panicked moments I think of bin Laden's life, showing the remnants really on the floor where a fairly ordinary life which one senior Pakistani intelligence official explained to me, the kind of life he led there, not anything particularly extraordinary. We understand eight or nine children also left behind in the compound. A couple of women and four or five males were there as well. So we're getting a picture really, I think, of the fairly ordinary life. Although behind these high secure walls, which you might think would look abnormal in a town like this, but actually are quite a normal part of the architecture in this relatively volatile part of the world, Christine.

ROMANS: Let me ask you, Nick, about what's the reaction there inside Pakistan about the discussion the U.S. that Pakistani intelligence or Pakistani -- the government was either ignorant or involved as Leon Panetta was reported to have told Congress in this whole thing. What is the response from Pakistan on this?

WALSH: Absolutely. I mean, I spoke to a senior Pakistani source early on who said look if Leon Panetta did say this, if he did say we're either involved or incompetent, then frankly that is one of the worst things we could possibly have heard and it suggests, quote, "there's not a deficit of trust but total mistrust," suggesting really that the relations which were already very bad before this whole incident happened -- remember Pakistan fuming it seems visibly on suggestion that it was not informed until the operation had already been completed to capture bin Laden in that compound just behind me or behind those trees, that really this is a whole new level of discontent between Islamabad and Washington. Remember supposedly vital allies to each other in the hunt for militants in the tribal areas here -- Christine.

ROMANS: Nick Paton Walsh in Abbottabad. And it's so interesting because, indeed, this is a complicated and tenuous relationship. No question this event certainly complicates it even more.

All right. Thanks, Nick.

VELSHI: You know, the Pakistanis are saying that those kids are being held in accordance with law. Some of them needing medical treatment they're getting it. They're going to be returned to their countries of origin. That's the information we have so far.

ROMANS: That's right.

VELSHI: CIA Director Leon Panetta says flat out that Pakistan was not told about the raid on bin Laden's compound because the Obama administration didn't trust them. The fact that bin Laden appeared to be hiding in plain sight is raising new questions about Pakistan as an ally in the war on terror. CIA Director Panetta talked to CBS about the dynamic with Pakistan going forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LEON PANETTA, CIA DIRECTOR: Obviously, it remains a very complicated and difficult relationship. But I don't -- I don't think we ought to break the relationship with the Pakistanis.

Look, we are virtually conducting a war in their country going after Al Qaeda and at the same time, we're trying to get their help in trying to be able to confront terrorism in that part of the world and they have given us some help and they have given us some cooperation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Panetta also says there's no intelligence that Pakistan knew of bin Laden's whereabouts, but the government has some explaining to do. That's not the way Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher sees it. He tells CNN there's no question that Pakistan is in league with America's enemies and he says the U.S. needs to cut off financial aid now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DANA ROHRABACHER (R), CALIFORNIA: They think we are fools.

ELIOT SPITZER, HOST, "IN THE ARENA": They're playing us --

ROHRABACHER: And we are fools. We're fools for giving somebody who hates our way of life and has been doing so many things to put us in jeopardy and to give them money. They won't respect anybody like that. And we will be in worse danger by having a lack of respect from these people than if we say OK, you've proven yourself you're our enemy, we're going to make friends with India.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: The U.S. has reportedly given Pakistan nearly $20 billion in military and economic aid in the last 10 years.

CHETRY: Breathtaking and staggering, that is how Vice President Joe Biden described the raid that ended up killing Osama bin Laden. He was speaking to the Atlantic Council meeting, their annual meeting in Washington, D.C. He also called it absolutely amazing that as many as 16 members of Congress were briefed on this months before the mission and word never leaked out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As vice president of the United States, as an American, I was in absolute awe, awe of the capacity and dedication of the entire team, both the intelligence community, the CIA, the SEALs. It just was extraordinary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Biden went on to say that no country but America could have pulled off that mission successfully and that the world is now a safer place not only for Americans, but for all people.

VELSHI: It is interesting, though, that many people knew about this.

CHETRY: Sixteen members of Congress.

ROMANS: Must have known about the raid per se because that was being developed.

VELSHI: Yes.

ROMANS: And the president didn't decide until late last week, but knew about the compound, knew about the intelligence.

CHETRY: Right. I mean, there was talk that they had, you know, photos of bin Laden coming and leaving that compound since March.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: So, it's very interesting.

ROMANS: Wow. Interesting.

All right. President Obama will go to Ground Zero tomorrow to meet with 9/11 families. Former President George W. Bush will not be there with him. Here is that iconic moment at Ground Zero, September 14th, 2001. President Obama had invited President Bush but in a statement, Bush's spokesperson says he appreciated this invitation, but he chooses to remain largely out of the spotlight after his presidency. But George Bush continues to celebrate, the post went on to say, with all Americans this important victory in the war on terror.

VELSHI: All right. When we come back, one of the other major stories that we're following for you is this flooding in the Midwest. It's very serious and we've got some remarkably dramatic video of an elderly woman being pulled out from those raging floodwaters.

ROMANS: Wow.

VELSHI: Doesn't Jacqui always tell us that it's the floods and the cars that are so dangerous.

ROMANS: It happened so quickly.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: We're following also the latest mine explosion in Mexico. Ten workers now trapped as rescue efforts go under way. We're going to have much more on how they're planning to try to get them out.

ROMANS: And the debate about whether the United States should show the pictures of Osama bin Laden dead. What do you think? We want you to weigh in on this subject.

VELSHI: E-mail us, tweet us, or send us a Facebook message. We'll be reading them later in the show. What do you think? That's how you get in touch with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Fourteen minutes past the hour. We've been following the devastating flooding that's been taking place in our country's midsection and now they're resorting to extreme measures to try to stop it.

The Army Corps of Engineers blasting out some 11,000 feet of levee along the Mississippi River. They're trying to ease those floodwaters, threatening many towns in Illinois and others upstream. The explosions shook the ground for miles, witnesses report. It also sent water pouring on to thousands of acres of Missouri farmland. It's an area that Missouri Governor Jay Nixon described as literally the most productive part of our continent.

VELSHI: Wow.

ROMANS: And check out this dramatic video in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, where levees began to crumble last week. The National Guard rescued a 93-year-old woman from a car submerged in roiling muddy raging floodwaters. Wow.

VELSHI: And I want to show you these two images from NASA. Look at the left. This is the area around Cairo, Illinois, on April 28th on the left, and then on April 29th on the right. And you can see how much more blue there is on the right. The differences are glaring. Rob Marciano is live now in Mississippi County, Missouri.

Rob, that's pretty interesting what the governor said about how this is some of the most productive part of our nation, meaning farmland.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is, at least a slice of it. But the problem is, is that it banks right up against the Mississippi River and the folks who live here know the dangers of living that close and a lot of the farmers we talked to say it's just - it's just, you know, you can't beat mother nature and you just have to take it on the chin. Of course, a lot of them are getting together for legal action. They disagree with that when you see your crops and your livelihood surrounded in sunken water. That's a different deal.

We are at the northern edge of what is called the floodway. Now, you look behind me. This may look to most (ph) - to most people like a boat ramp, right? Take your boat out and dump it in the - in the lake. You go cruising. No, this is a county road. And on the other end of the county road is the - is the northern part of that levee that you saw the explosion that blowing up. And this has been flooded now for a day and a half. This is some of that farmland that they're talking about.

Now, at the southern end of this floodway, yesterday, they had a kind of opened the valve there to relieve some of the pressure from this. This is what that looked like. Pretty dramatic stuff also. So, when you get the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers coming in here and blowing stuff up, that certainly gets the notice of people. They do have to open up another valve with explosives either later today or tomorrow to relieve some of this pressure as well.

It's phenomenal to see just how - how they work the river system. And from everyone we've talked to, this is as much strain as the Ohio and Mississippi have ever had on that since about 1937. Yesterday, of course, there's a lot of people affected by this. Number of towns are evacuated, hundreds if not thousands of people that have been displaced.

(AUDIO GAP)

MARCIANO: -- The Illinois DNR -

(AUDIO GAP)

MARCIANO: -- a boat ride, because that's really the only way to get around it and get a good handle as to how much water there is and how many homes have been flooded by this water. And here's how the Illinois DNR put things in perspective.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: When do you think these people will be able to get back into their homes?

DAVE HYATT, ILLINOIS CONSERVATION POLICE: I think they're saying this crest might stay here around for four or five days yet. So it's going to be a while before this water level goes down.

MARCIANO: Four or five days. You've already had - what? Five or ten days of this stuff.

HYATT: At least, yes, 5 to 10 days of this already.

MARCIANO: Pretty much water logged, aren't you?

HYATT: Pretty much water logged.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: That's the thing. I mean, you know, with - with all the tornadoes down across the south, these people have been dealing with this for well over a week. The two nearly historic rain events have swollen these rivers.

And now that we've released some of this pressure, guys, that's only allowing the door to open -

(AUDIO GAP)

MARCIANO: -- that's been held upstream. The -

(AUDIO GAP)

MARCIANO: -- has had lakes that are dammed up, that now are going to be released. Some of that - some of that water is going to be released into the Ohio and Mississippi. So we're not quite done here yet. And on top of that, the crest from this surge of water is now moving downstream in places like the boot hill of Missouri, down across Vicksburg, Mississippi, at some point down across

(AUDIO GAP)

MARCIANO: -- some so this is going to be an ongoing deal here for the next few weeks really and it's not just the folks here who live across Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri, guys.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Rob.

You know, if you're one of the Missouri farmers and you've got your farmland flooded out or you're worried it's going to flood out, you've got record high corn, wheat, soybean cut (ph) prices -

VELSHI: Yes. This is the one time you don't want to lose that stuff.

ROMANS: -- I mean, you want to be out there -

VELSHI: Yes.

ROMANS: -- right now -

VELSHI: Planting.

ROMANS: -- tilling, planting, and getting ready to go.

CHETRY: So it's one of those robbing Peter to pay Paul, so you allow these community homes to completely flood -

ROMANS: I know.

CHETRY: -- or do you sacrifice the rich farmland you need.

ROMANS: It's frustrating for everyone.

The other reason why the farmland is the most productive in the world because for centuries --

VELSHI: That the Mississippi was flooding it.

ROMANS: Right. There's been all this water and (INAUDIBLE), so moving.

VELSHI: Yes.

ROMANS: So it's - it's an interesting long-term, short term problem.

CHETRY: Well, also the Coast Guard have announced searching the Pacific Ocean for a 65-year-old woman reported missing from a cruise ship. The Celebrity Cruise Line or Millennium was docked in San Diego yesterday after sailing from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. A Coast Guard aircraft search yesterday turned up no sign of the missing woman and now the FBI has joined the investigation into her disappearance.

ROMANS: A gas explosion trapping 14 coal miners in Northern Mexico near the U.S. border. Rescuers have recovered the bodies of four workers, but they've been unable to contact any of the others. Crews had to wait several hours for - for the toxic gas to dissipate before they could go in. Officials say one person hurt his arm, but managed to escape.

VELSHI: Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum is taking the next step toward his run for president. He formed a Presidential Exploratory Committee yesterday that clears the way for him to appear at the first debate for 2012 Republican contenders.

ROMANS: All right. Here we go. Baseball - Major League Baseball has its first no-hitter of the 2011 season.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Line drive, no-hitter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No-hitter (INAUDIBLE) -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Minnesota Twins lack of defense (ph) -

CHETRY: You know why that guy sounds so unhappy, by the way?

ROMANS: Why?

CHETRY: Because it was the home team - he's the home team commentator. Unbelievable.

ROMANS: Minnesota Twins (INAUDIBLE) Francisco Liriano, he tossed this gem against the White Sox in Chicago last night. Adam Dunn's liner to short was the final out with Twins one-nothing victory. Last night was also Liriano's first career complete game, wasn't perfect, walked six, but he was unhittable.

VELSHI: That's great.

CHETRY: Congrats. That's a huge accomplishment. It's - it probably - they probably would be far more jubilant if they had done that on their home turf.

VELSHI: Right, right.

CHETRY: All right. Well, coming up on the AMERICAN MORNING, the internet is about to get a little bit more expensive for some people. We'll explain.

VELSHI: And New York is getting a new taxi, a new type of taxi, the taxi of tomorrow. We'll tell you why this is so fascinating.

CHETRY: Will this one go to Brooklyn?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. "Minding Your Business." Don't touch that dial!

VELSHI: What dial?

CHETRY: What exactly is a dial? Come on.

ROMANS: I don't have a dial (ph).

A new research from the Nielsen Company found 96.7 percent of American homes have at least one television, that's a lot, right? Well, it's down from nearly 99 percent, the first decline in TV ownership in 20 years. The Brooklyn -

CHETRY: I think all of them live in New York, by the way. (INAUDIBLE). I don't have a TV.

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: I don't own a TV. I'm thinking how can you not own a television?

ROMANS: The drop is blamed on some families not being able to afford new TVs. Also, young people opting to watch their favorite shows instead over the internet. They're using a laptop now. It's not necessarily a big TV in the middle of your living room.

I remember when you used to have the TV and then when that TV broke, it was so big, you couldn't get it out -

CHETRY: You put another one on top.

ROMANS: -- you put the new TV on top of it and it was like a piece of furniture in a wood cabinet.

CHETRY: Exactly.

ROMANS: Nice trimmed legs that's weighed about 400 pounds.

CHETRY: Back in the day you needed an entire room for your computer.

All right. Well, the internet is about to cost more. Folks who use AT&T's high speed broadband are now limited to how much they can actually do online. And if you go over that cap, you're charged an extra $10. The limits, though, are fairly forgiving, you have to watch at least 109 hours of HD videos on Netflix a month to reach that. Is that you?

VELSHI: I think my kids could manage that. Let me tell you.

CHETRY: Are you serious?

VELSHI: Yes, they do. They - they choose to watch things on a small screen. They're choosing. I can imagine. I would rather watch it on a big screen.

All right. Big contest here in New York City. The city's taxi of tomorrow is a Nissan. Starting in 2013, the city's iconic cabs are going to look like this van. And while it may look like a minivan on the inside, inside it comes with a lot more leg room than a typical cab has, airplane style reading lights. I love this one, power outlets to plug in your cell phone -

ROMANS: Hey. Amazing.

VELSHI: -- and they'll be those universal USB, micro USB ones. A transparent roof which will make it feel roomier.

ROMANS: I love that.

VELSHI: Because I sometimes get a little squeezed in.

CHETRY: But also if you're going through, you know, this Manhattan skyscrapers that's kind of neat.

VELSHI: It is neat. And it's going to have something called a low annoyance horn, which is going to flash the lights -

CHETRY: That's an oxymoron.

VELSHI: -- in a certain way.

CHETRY: A low annoyance horn, come on.

VELSHI: I mean, in New York, noise pollution is an issue. So this single flashlights a certain way to indicate that there's a horn going on. I mean (ph) you just love to hear the horn, though.

ROMANS: Is there anything so the taxi driver can only use one foot at a time? That's what I'm really - that's what I'm really - I'm really looking for that.

CHETRY: And the other interesting thing is, we're acting like this is, oh, this is so amazing, they've been doing this in Europe and London, in fact.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: I mean, this is sort of their prototype. A lot of leg room, very easy on the gas mileage, you know, low emission, (INAUDIBLE) -

VELSHI: That's right. And it's the first time that New York City is getting a taxi that's specifically designed for them. This - this vehicle is being specifically designed as a New York City cab.

ROMANS: All right. Well, up next, Afghanistan, A War With What End? CNN's in-depth coverage. Lisa Curtis, a former CIA analyst and David Rikers, a former Special Forces officer in Afghanistan weigh in.

VELSHI: All right. We're having a continued debate over whether or not authorities should release the photo of - the dead Osama bin Laden. Lot of people are saying that - that it would be proof that he was killed. Others say it would work into al Qaeda's hands.

What do you think about this? We want to know. You can e-mail us, tweet us, send us a Facebook message, we will read them later on during the show.

It is 27 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Crossing the half hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.

Top stories now:

The head of the CIA says we will probably see a photo of Osama bin Laden dead. The decision, though, is ultimately in the hands of the White House. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows that most Americans think that the U.S. should release that photo.

ROMANS: New CNN exclusive video, this time inside the compound where bin Laden lived and died. U.S. officials are now going through thousands of electronic and paper files seized there. They're also trying to get to the bottom of whether Pakistan knew he was there.

VELSHI: And President Bush has declined President Obama's Ground Zero invitation. An aide says he appreciates the offer but wants to remain out of the spotlight. President Obama will go to Lower Manhattan to meet with 9/11 families tomorrow.

CHETRY: Well, the death of Osama bin Laden has a lot of congressional leaders reevaluating America's role in Afghanistan and also questioning the U.S. mission there moving forward.

Listen to Indiana Senator Dick Lugar at a hearing on Capitol Hill. He's a Republican and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R-IN), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE RANKING MEMBER: Afghanistan does not carry a strategic value that justifies 100,000 American troops and $100 billion per year cost, especially given current fiscal restraints in the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: CNN's in-depth coverage of Afghanistan, "A War with What End?" continues this morning.

Lisa Curtis joins us -- a former CIA analyst and State Department adviser for South Asian affairs, who works with the Heritage Foundation. We also have with us, David Rittgers. He's a former Special Forces officer in Afghanistan who served three tours of duty there and is now a legal policy analyst at the Cato Institute.

Both of us -- both of you join me from Washington this morning. Welcome. Thanks so much with being with us. Lisa, let me start with you. Dick Lugar echoes the sentiment of a growing number of lawmakers now, questioning whether or not we need to change course in Afghanistan. What's your take?

LISA CURTIS, FORMER CIA ANALYST: Now is not the time to announce large-scale troop withdraws from Afghanistan. We saw the disastrous results from the announcement of the July 2011 withdrawal date back in 2009 when it was first announced. And I think the Obama administration backed away from that date and instead began to emphasize 2014 as the end of combat operations. This is what was agreed to at the Lisbon summit -- the Lisbon NATO summit last year.

So, I think, now, if the U.S. was to hasten those plans for withdrawal just because we've captured bin Laden. That would send the wrong signal, not to mention jeopardize the progress that has been made there in the last couple of years. Instead, I think that the U.S. should try to capitalize on this major victory of being able to get rid of bin Laden and instead use that to convince the Taliban to finally break ranks with al Qaeda and participate in the political process in Afghanistan.

CHETRY: David, what's your take? Because you were there for three tours. Do you believe there's been significant enough progress that justifies our continued role in Afghanistan?

DAVID RITTGERS, CATO INSTITUTE: Well, I think there's two things we should focus on. And I think the first is, what's the connection of counterterrorism operations against al Qaeda versus a broad counterinsurgency against both the Taliban and local groups. And I think that the impact of al Qaeda's loss of leadership will be minimal at the local level, which I don't think is an incentive for us to capitalize on. And I think that the impact if it is minimal, that means that we should separate the two efforts.

And if we can separate the two efforts and we should be asking what should America be doing in Afghanistan and focusing somewhat on the troop numbers, but what is legitimate for our American interests and not get caught up in a mission creep that keeps us there forever.

CHETRY: And the question, Lisa, also is just balancing our national security, our national interest and the costs. I mean, we're spending $100 billion a year in Afghanistan. We have 100,000 troops there. And, meantime, by all accounts, people are saying there are just 100 al Qaeda fighters remaining in the country, at least according to the CIA. Is it really worth our blood and treasure to stay?

CURTIS: Absolutely. Stabilizing Afghanistan means protecting U.S. national security interests. We all know that 9/11 originated because the Taliban were in control of Afghanistan, they allowed it to be an international terror safe haven. If the U.S. is to precipitously withdraw from the country, we're likely to see maybe, first, a civil war, but eventually, the Taliban re-taking power.

So, I think we need to remain committed. We've seen some gains. General Petraeus' strategy is beginning to pay off. And I think we need to wait until we strengthen the Afghan government and the Afghan security forces so that they can take responsibility for the security of their own country. And now is not the time to be talking about large-scale withdrawals.

CHETRY: David --

CURTIS: Now is the time to remain committed.

CHETRY: David, I want to ask you about this because you wrote an op- ed about this and said basically this bin Laden raid has shown that lethal force is more effective -- lethal force coupled with a strong robust intelligence campaign, than deploying large military units to Muslim nations. You referred with a scalpel versus a sledgehammer.

What is going on in Afghanistan? Is there a way for us to drawdown some of the 100,000 troops and still effectively protect our national security interests?

RITTGERS: Well, I think there is. And I think with regard to the 9/11 attacks, yes, there was planning that occurred in Afghanistan, but planning also occurred in Germany, and American flight schools were involved in training the 9/11 hijackers. So, terrorism is not just limited to places like Afghanistan. The planning and preparation can be conducted elsewhere. And we're not invading those places.

So, applying the scalpel needs to be done in the right places and avoiding the use of sledgehammer, which as you point out is more expensive, as what we should be focusing on.

CHETRY: Lisa, quickly, what about Pakistan's role right now? There are a lot of questions this morning, some lawmakers openly questioning whether or not they truly are an ally given this compound found in what many say is -- was plain sight?

CURTIS: Absolutely. I think Pakistan must answer several questions about the fact that the world's most wanted terrorist was residing right there in a military cantonment area. For now, it looks like, perhaps, you know, as much as five or six years. I think lawmakers are rightly asking this question, and I think we need to withhold any further assistance until we get some of these answers, because this is not the first indication that Pakistan doesn't always play straight with us in the war on terrorism.

CHETRY: Right. What do you think, David, about withholding assistance? I mean, should our foreign policy toward Pakistan change because of the raid?

RITTGERS: Well, I think this is one area where the bin Laden raid was not news. We've known for a while that Pakistan has been a conflicted ally and with friends like these, it's hard to find worse enemies. So, the question of our aid levels to them should be an open debate.

CHETRY: All right. Lisa Curtis and David Rittgers, great to get both of your takes this morning. I appreciate it. Thanks for joining us.

I want to take a quick break. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.

It's 38 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: On the heels of Osama bin Laden's death, five men in Britain have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism. Police are rounding up the suspects outside a nuclear processing plant in northwest England. Officials will not comment on reports the men were filming this facility. Right now, police say they see no link between the suspected terror activity and the death of bin Laden.

CHETRY: The uprising in Libya, a car bomb exploding in Benghazi near rebel headquarters. Some rebels who control the city are saying it was a terrorist act at the hands of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. No deaths had been reported. The blast comes just two days after a NATO airstrike killed one of Gadhafi's sons.

VELSHI: A Louisiana Boy Scout group stranded during a camping trip now back home this morning. We first told you about the rescue right here on AMERICAN MORNING yesterday. An Arkansas National Guard helicopter spotted -- a crew on the helicopter spotted a campfire and the group. Crews dropped duffel bag with food, water, blankets and a radio.

The scout master said the troop got stuck trying to cross a river. Now, last year, you'll remember, 20 people drowned in an area where flashflood tore through a camp ground. So, there's real concern about these guys.

ROMANS: Those picturing give me goose bumps.

CHETRY: I know. This has been just nightmarish time just waiting on news, especially because of the deaths last year.

VELSHI: Sure. Yes, I mean --

ROMANS: Will they get a badge for it? That's what --

VELSHI: Yes, I mean it's always one thing, that at least if you're going to be -- if you're going to be lost, a scout group would be a great bunch of people because they get prepared for this kind of thing. And nobody is prepared for flash floods. That was terrifying. Great to see them back together.

Hey, Jacqui Jeras is in the extreme weather center for us. And, boy, we certainly have a lot of extreme weather going on in terms of floods across the country.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And it's so nice to hear some good news for a change out of all of it, right?

And keep that in mind, too, as you're traveling over the next couple days that there are literally hundreds of roads which are covered in floodwaters. So, you don't want to drive through them.

We do have some wet weather today across parts of the East Coast and this is really one of our top weather stories because it's really going to be impacting your travel on the roadways and the airways as well. You might want to leave a little bit early this morning if you can. The rain still shy of New York City and Philadelphia, but it's already coming down in Washington, D.C., as well as Baltimore. It's going to be a light rain and not really expecting to see any severe weather with it, just more of a nuisance really than anything else.

Philadelphia, we got ground delays already for those of you trying to fly into Philadelphia and we're expecting extensive delays for the New York City metros, as well as Washington, D.C., Boston could get some delays, as well as Atlanta, due to the low clouds this morning and then windy conditions as we head into the afternoon hours.

Here are all those flood watches and warnings and this will continue to be a problem in the upcoming weeks, possibly even carrying into June. So, you can see the widespread flooding continues. The good news is, as the dry weather is expected over the next 24 hours here, there you can see on our map by tomorrow, a little bit of rain moves in.

But we're only talking about maybe another quarter of an inch to a half inch of rainfall. We don't think it will be much to aggravate the situation.

Behind that cold front which has passed now, temperatures are really cool. Look at this, you're almost around the freezing mark in Duluth. It's 31 in Green Bay. And temperatures on average are going to be about 10 to 20 degrees below where they should be for this time of the year -- basically the Mississippi River on eastward.

So, it's cold and go ahead and complain if you want a little bit. It's May and it should be feeling more like spring. Sixty-three in Minneapolis, 76 in Dallas, 86 degrees today in Atlanta.

Trying to get warm. Short sleeves, I'm not sure that was a good call today. Back to you.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Jacqui -- Jacqui Jeras.

VELSHI: Well, quite a week for the Prince of Wales. Four days after witnessing the wedding of his oldest son, Prince Charles arrived in Washington yesterday, got a chance to visit the Supreme Court. He visited an urban farm in D.C.

And today, he'll be meeting with President Obama at the White House and will discuss the sustainability of the world's food system -- it's a big cause of his -- in a speech he's going to be delivering at Georgetown University.

ROMANS: A Maryland high school chemistry teacher getting the star treatment at the White House. Michelle Shearer was honored by President Obama as the National Teacher of the Year. She's been teaching for 14 years, the last nine at Urbana High School in Frederick, Maryland. The president is praising her work with special needs students and minorities, helping them discover the science within.

And the newly minted National Teacher of the Year, Michelle Shearer, will join us live at 8:10 Eastern. She's really into steam, Ali.

VELSHI: I know. We love it.

ROMANS: She's going to talk science, technology, engineering, math, the way of the future -- making sure that all kids have access to it.

CHETRY: A chemistry teacher, she has to be into stem.

(LAUGHTER)

VELSHI: But the thing is we've always had science teachers. The new trick is not just teaching it. It's somehow causing more people to be interested in staying with it because the problem is a lot of kids won't get into that class in the first place because they don't think it's for them.

CHETRY: Yes, I had a lot of trouble with the Bunsen burners, so I just, you know, I got into liberal arts. What are you going to do?

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: All right. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we want you to help us answer our question of the day. Should the U.S. release the pictures of a dead Osama Bin Laden? E-mail, tweet us, or send us a Facebook message. We're reading them later in the show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI (voice-over): The Obama administration struggling over the decision to release a photo showing Osama Bin Laden's corps. The CIA director says he believes it will be made public, but the White House hasn't made a final decision.

CNN exclusive video, inside the walls of Bin Laden's Pakistan compound. The million dollar complex, blood stained, and damaged by shrapnel. U.S. officials now pouring over DVDs and documents that were found inside.

Thousands of acres of farmland under water this morning in Missouri after a levee was blasted to save a small town upstream in Illinois. Flooding is at or near record levels in parts of six U.S. states.

Crews in Mexico scrambling to reach ten workers trapped after a coal mine explosion. Authorities say the bodies of four miners have been recovered. No word on what caused the blast.

Former Pennsylvania senator, Rick Santorum, is closer to announcing a run for president. He filed paperwork yesterday to form a presidential exploratory committee. It was just in time to qualify for tomorrow's Republican presidential debate. And Minnesota Twins pitcher, Francisco Liriano, unhittable last night. He threw the first no-hitter in the majors this season. The 1-nothing win over the Chicago White Sox was also his first career complete game.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI (on-camera): You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Fifty-one minutes past the hour right now. The head of the CIA saying he expects that the Bin Laden's death photos will be made public, but that decision is up to ultimately the White House. At least one photo is said to be pretty gruesome. There's concern that they could stir anti-American feelings ,but the flip side is, do we need proof, do some people need to see proof to, in fact, truly believe that Osama Bin Laden was killed?

VELSHI: Clearly, in the United States, a lot of people need proof of a lot of things.

ROMANS: One thing, though, that Jay Carney said at the White House is he said that, you know, this is not exactly morning television, morning newspaper fare.

VELSHI: Right.

ROMANS: They are pretty gruesome, and you have to weigh the risks and the benefits. And there's no real question, he is dead. It's been reported. There's no real question about it. So, why should you show the pictures?

CHETRY: I don't know how you get more gruesome than the photos during the heat of the battle in the Iraq war when they were trying to get Saddam Hussein. His two sons, Uday and Qusay, who were killed, and they had, I guess, there was some back and forth about it. They had to use coroner's putty to sort of put them back together, and those pictures went out all over the world.

VELSHI: Yes.

ROMANS: That's right. We want to know what you think. E-mail us at cnn.com/AM. You can give us a tweet @CNNAM. You can also tell us on Facebook, facebook.com/americanmorning, but we'll read them later in the show.

VELSHI: Let's read a couple now.

ROMANS: Along that line, Kiran, Kevin said on the blog, "After all the internet videos were released of beheadings, seeing people tied up and shot in the head, and you had terrorists chanting "God is great." Hell yes, I want to see the terror boss dead, and I think the world wants to see it, too." That was his point. So, sort of an eye-for- an-eye was his view. CHETRY: Also, Jada writes, "No, it won't convince anyone who is not convinced already and will just fuel radicals." That coming in from our Twitter feed.

VELSHI: Now we got another one says, "Yes, I think the pictures should be released as proof that he is actually dead, and those grieving loved ones lost by the hand of this man can have closure." We want to see what you think. Lots of interesting responses coming from you, so send them in.

CHETRY: All right. Great stuff. Meanwhile, as we said, we'll be reading more throughout the show.

Still ahead, did Pakistan knowingly harbor Osama Bin Laden? There's a lot of questions this morning after more information about just how visible this compound was comes out.

VELSHI: Now, wasn't visible to the Navy SEAL team. They were unsure of what that compound looked like on the inside. They knew what the outside looked like. We're going to tell you how they managed to get in there and figure out what to do once they were inside. We'll be right back. It's 53 minutes after the hour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's quiet in Professor Anil Jain's lab, but don't be fooled. His team is hard at work, using computer keystrokes in the fight against crime.

ANIL K. JAIN, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY: We are working in the area called biometric recognition. Our goal is to identify a person based on the body characteristics, could be fingerprints, face.

TUCHMAN: Matching traits to databases helps shrink the pool of suspects.

JAIN: That means it's a fairly good match.

TUCHMAN: Program scans people's tattoos and then searches for similar ones. A match there could mean they've been arrested before or they belong to a certain street gang.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some part of fingerprints are missing by bring burning off his fingerprints.

TUCHMAN: Another program looks at fingerprints. Before this crime buster database was built, police had trouble working with only partial prints or fingerprints that have been altered.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a very significant feature that we can detect outer fingerprint.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One is basically a perfect match.

TUCHMAN: And this last cybercrime fighter site matches artist sketches to mug shots, an especially important program for police as well as the public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are murderers, sexual assaults, armed robberies, very serious crimes that are committed, and the technology should match the level of crime.

TUCHMAN: Technology that offers a few more ways to make sure if you do the crime, you're going to do the time (ph).

Gary Tuchman, CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)