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American Morning
Decision Day on Afghanistan; Interview with Sen. Joe Manchin; Greek Prime Minister Wins Confidence Vote; Spirit Air Adds Boarding Pass Fee; Reuters: Al Qaeda Jail Break In Yemen; Interview with Republican Presidential Candidate Jon Huntsman; Human Trafficking in NYC; Search for a Diabetes Cure
Aired June 22, 2011 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: A very close call on a runway here in New York.
I'm Kiran Chetry.
Two jets packed with passengers nearly collide and we're just learning new details about the incident and how disaster was averted.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Setting the course for ending the war.
I'm Carol Costello.
The president preparing to address the nation tonight and announce 10,000 troops are coming from Afghanistan this year -- a move that may come too soon for his top commander -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHETRY: Good morning to you. Thanks so much for being with us. It is Wednesday, June 22nd. Ali and Christine are off.
Carol is with us.
Good to see you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Good to see you, too.
We're just learning this morning about a frightening close call at JFK International Airport here in New York. It happened Monday night.
According to "The New York Post," a Lufthansa jumbo jet carrying 286 passengers was speeding down runway 22R when an Egyptian airplane apparently made a wrong turn and ended up on the same runway.
CHETRY: Air traffic controllers soon realized what was about to happened and ordered the Lufthansa jet to slam on the brakes.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
AIR CONTROLLER: Cancel takeoff. Cancel takeoff plans.
LUFTHANSA PILOT: Lufthansa 411 heavy is rejecting takeoff.
AIR CONTROLLER: All traffic is stopped right now.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CHETRY: All right. There you heard it. Still no word on how close the planes actually came to colliding. The Lufthansa jet's brakes were checked because they became dangerously hot as he was trying to stop. The plane finally departed safely about an hour and 40 minutes later.
COSTELLO: That is scary.
Now, let's move on to Afghanistan and the decision the president has made. The president speaks to the nation tonight about the future of the war.
A congressional source is telling us he will announce plans to pull out 30,000 troops by the end of 2012, 10,000 this year and another 20,000 next year.
CHETRY: Yes. And there you see the numbers. You see the preference also, that time frame may be too tight for his defense chief and his top general.
Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is here with us this morning.
So, they want 3,000 to 5,000. But as you've pointed out, I mean, there's been an enormous number of troops. And there still will be some 70,000 plus troops in the country even after this takes place.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: There will be.
Now, you know, we talked about this. The generals are always a little more cautious than the commander-in-chief, who has political considerations in something like this. But what you're beginning to hear, they are saying, look, we need another fighting season against the Taliban to have as many troops on the ground in combat as we can to really get after it.
Here's the other side of the question, though. We barely have been getting after it for 10 years now. You know, how many more years?
So, one of the things I think we are all will be watching for tonight is to see President Obama make the case that there is a good reason to still be in Afghanistan. Do the Taliban and al Qaeda pose a threat? Could Afghanistan return to being a safe haven for terrorism?
COSTELLO: The strange thing about that, Barbara, the Taliban. So, we -- the U.S. diplomats are apparently now negotiating with more moderate Taliban. So, that makes them -- in the minds of many Americans, they say, hmm, that must mean that the Taliban has been substantially weaken -- so, why is the Taliban even a concern any more?
STARR: What you have in Afghanistan right now is Taliban insurgents, the Haqqani Network, you have multiple organizations. Secretary Gates was very clear actually that they are talking in a very preliminary basis with some elements of the Taliban.
But, actually, in eastern Afghanistan, this other network of war lords and insurgents called the Haqqanis, a major threat to U.S. troops fighting there. You have the Pakistani Taliban coming across the border staging attacks.
But the whole question, I think, really is: does Afghanistan still pose the potential, if the government there is so weak, to become a safe haven that could, again, shelter insurgents, shelter terrorists that could attack the United States? A lot of if's and maybe's, but that is the case the president has to make.
CHETRY: All right. And we'll certainly be listening 12 hours from now.
Barbara Starr, thanks for your take this morning.
STARR: Sure.
CHETRY: The president is already feeling the backlash from some fellow Democrats. So, at the same time, we're talking about some of the generals not being happy with the amount, there are many who think that there should be more leaving Afghanistan now.
Freshman senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia is saying this number is not enough. And it's time to rebuild America and stop worrying about Afghanistan. He sparred with Senator McCain over that yesterday on the floor of the Senate.
Take a look at the exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: It is impossible to defend the mission in Afghanistan in which we are rebuilding schools, training police, teaching people to read -- in other words, building a country even at the expense of our own.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: The statements by the senator from West Virginia, which characterize the isolationists, withdrawal, lack of knowledge of history, attitude that seems to be on the rise of America.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
CHETRY: Joining us now is Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who serves on the armed services committee.
Thanks for being with us this morning, Senator.
MANCHIN: Thanks for having me, Kiran.
CHETRY: So, your colleague, Senator McCain, essentially said you don't know your history. That we withdrew from Afghanistan once and that's how we got the Taliban and al Qaeda. What is your response?
MANCHIN: First of all, John McCain -- I have the most utmost respect for John McCain, the sacrifices he has made for our country, the service that he has given to our country, and his experience. I truly do.
And he is correct. I don't have the experience he has.
But, Kiran, what I do have -- like most West Virginias -- a little bit of common sense and saying enough is enough. After 10 years and we're still where we are today, spending more money than ever. I was there in 2006 as the governor the state of West Virginia, thanking our National Guard, the greatest National Guard in the country, thanking them for what they do and went back as a United States senator in 2011.
So, I saw firsthand -- I spoke to the general, spoke to the troops and spoke to all the different people that I could, and I was able to come to my own conclusions and speaking to West Virginians who truly -- we have a need in West Virginia. We have a need all over this country for the roads and water and sewer and bridges and schools and helping our seniors, and everybody.
And then, all of a sudden, we have spent $443 billion to date in Afghanistan, on track to spend another $485 billion. I just think it's time to refocus and rebuild America.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Right. Let me just ask you about that because I will - I mean, we al are acknowledging this is a war-weary country for sure. We just have a poll, 74 percent of us want all or some troops out, those that were polled.
But as you pointed out, so we spent more than $400 billion on the war. We've had more 1,500 of the U.S. military losing their lives in Afghanistan. Do we risk losing whatever gains we've made on those investments? Meaning, are you OK leaving Afghanistan broken?
MANCHIN: I'm not leaving Afghanistan broken. I don't think that we can build a nation in Afghanistan, pure and simple.
Now, what I've asked and what I would hope to see from the president tonight is basically a mission statement, a dedication of a mission statement back to a war on terror. That's a complete different war than what we are fighting today and that's what I would hope to see. And I believe, and you'll see a direction.
We have already sent a message very loud and clear. You can't hide and you can't outwait us. We'll find you, if you're going to harm our country or any American.
CHETRY: But, technically, you can outwait us -- technically, you can outwait because we are planning a withdrawal. We're planning 10,000 troops from Afghanistan this year and another 20,000 by next year. Eventually, the other 70,000 troops are coming home.
So, how do you guarantee that you're not just -- it's not just a wait -- a waiting game?
MANCHIN: Kiran, we went to Afghanistan on the war on terror. By all accounts right now, there's less than 50 to 100 al Qaeda members still left in this country of Afghanistan. We don't even know the size of our Taliban, the enemy that we are fighting. By all accounts, we've heard 5,000 to 30,000.
And the war on terror, had we won that war there in Afghanistan as it moves somewhere else. You have the greatest strike force in the world and the best as far as counterinsurgencies that we've had.
But, basically, our troops, they can do the job anywhere we sent them to. The mission should be clear. Wherever there's terrorism, wreaking harm in our country, we're going to go find you, no matter what country. You can't hide. We'll go get you.
CHETRY: But -- all that means is we're ramping it up more. I mean, I get what you're saying, but then we should be in Yemen and we should be in Pakistan and we should be perhaps in Somalia and we should be considering action in several other places. It just doesn't seem realistic.
MANCHIN: Well, it seems that wherever there is a strike and wherever there's a force is coming after America, we're going to retaliate back. But you need to occupy, you need to go in there and basically have a nation building -- and here's the thing that took me offer the top, Kiran, is, when I heard that the only country was able to go in there and extract minerals which is copper, they are extracting from China. China doesn't have any investment there, doesn't have any forces there to keep the peace or build stability.
CHETRY: Right.
MANCHIN: They have to be depending on us. Is that our mission to build that nation and that economy?
I think we need to rebuild America and focus our efforts back here.
CHETRY: All right. Well, it's good to get your take this morning.
Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia -- always great to talk with you. Thanks for being with us.
MANCHIN: Thank you. Thank you, Kiran. Appreciate it.
COSTELLO: Interesting stuff.
I got a reminder -- President Obama speaks on Afghanistan tonight from the White House. CNN will have live coverage just for you. That starts at 8:00 Eastern Time tonight.
CHETRY: So, what do you want to hear from e president tonight -- is our question of the day. E-mail us, give us a tweet us or find us on Facebook and we'll read some of your comments later on in the show.
COSTELLO: Jon Huntsman has officially joined the chase for the White House. The former Utah governor and Republican presidential hopeful will be campaigning in South Carolina today, one day after announcing his candidacy in new jersey with the Statue of Liberty serving as his backdrop.
Also, check out the press pass. It was given to the media -- members of the media covering the start of the Huntsman campaign. And it was right at the top, but if you go down, there was an H. He doesn't have an "H" in his name. It's J-O-N.
Also, the location of the event was listed as New York, instead of New Jersey. And there was also some more confusion after Huntsman' announce the when reporters and staffers were mistakenly directed to a charter plane that was headed to Saudi Arabia instead of New Hampshire.
COSTELLO: And even the backdrop. Did you notice at the podium you couldn't see the Statue of Liberty behind Jon Huntsman, and that was the whole point of him announcing there.
CHETRY: Well, there you see it. There you see it.
COSTELLO: Yes, when you pull out. When it's close into the candidate, you cannot see it.
When the children were walking out, it looked beautiful because the whole, you know, scene was just looked patriotic and fabulous. And even better may be than it looked when Ronald Reagan announced there. But it was kind of a bumpy start for Jon Huntsman.
But we will be talking to him soon, won't we? We're going to talk to Jon Huntsman about the spelling issues and the bumpy start, and, of course, more substantial issues. That will come your way at 8:30 Eastern this morning.
CHETRY: Then a surprising turn in the Casey Anthony murder trial. Did the Florida mother get her drowning story, as the prosecutor is alleging, from another inmate whose only child did drown?
COSTELLO: Plus, the skies turned black over the College Baseball World Series. Scary moment for panic fans who ran for it.
Ten minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It looks like it's shaping up to be a much calmer day in Chicago, Illinois. That was not the case yesterday. Right now, 71 degrees. A bit later, they're looking at some potential showers in the afternoon. The temperature, though, is not changing much. It went up to a high of 73.
COSTELLO: And we say that's a good thing because there was a violent storm that slammed Chicago yesterday, bringing all kinds of travel to a stop. A line of powerful thunderstorms triggered tornado warnings and 80-mile-per-hour winds ripped down trees and left close to 3,000 people without power. Commuter train riders were also stranded. Airlines have canceled close to 400 flights.
CHETRY: Also, some scary moments at a College World Series in Omaha. This is in Nebraska, where powerful thunderstorms and tornadoes rolled through the area and you take a look. You see the sky is turning sort of that spooky pitch black over the ballpark. And then, wow, the skies just opened up.
Winds were hitting 70 miles an hour in Omaha. The sirens warning of severe weather went off. Fans started spilling out of the stadium, screaming as they were running for cover.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, coming here for 30 years, the first time that I've seen something other than a warning occur. This is 75- mile-an-hour gusts of wind or more.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were on Tenth Street and the police officer came up and said, hey, out of your car and into the Qwest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The wind started blowing hard. So, that kind of give a little indication that it might be coming. So, it's better to get cover.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People who probably upfront here knew to go up, so we started walking with the sirens going off, and you just heard them going on there and saying that it was a high wind advisory which is why the sirens were going off and that's why we were all walking out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Fans were actually moved to the nearby Qwest Center for shelter. That game resumed then after a 14-hour delay. They played it yesterday, and Florida topped Vanderbilt 3-1.
COSTELLO,: Good for Florida. Let's head to the severe weather center with Rob Marciano. So, all of that weather is out of Chicago completely now?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: For the most part. It's, you know, a slow moving system, guys. And this time of the year now, the jet stream has moved further north and that it slowed down quite a bit. These systems don't move very fast, so it's kind of lumbering around, slowly slugging its way off towards the north and east. So, the circulation is still be across the Midwest and a good chunk of the country and so will continue to be unsettled there.
The more intense thunderstorms, I believe, are going to be across the northeast tonight. Today, we're already starting to see some across the Catskills up through across the Finger Lakes and getting into Warrensburg. These are moving pretty rapidly. Nothing in New York yet, but this afternoon, I think, that will change as we start to heat up the atmosphere.
Already seeing showers and storms and that's a decent amount of rain from San Antonio to Austin, you will take it. Severe drought in this area. So, much needed rain, but if you're traveling from Houston, a ground stop in effect right now, until further notice, really, probably for the next couple of hours, but travel probably will be slowed across parts of the northeast because of those thunderstorms later on today.
Same deal in D.C. and Memphis, as we mentioned, Houston as well. Continue to be hot across parts of the desert southwest. This where the storms are going to be today. Continued warm and humid ahead of that, but things will start to cool down once the system makes its way off to the east. Sixty-nine in Minneapolis, that's cooler, but still 86 degrees in Atlanta. McAllen, Texas, 102, North Charleston, South Carolina, 102 again.
I think this is the third day in a row Charleston seeing 100 plus. That's never happened in June. Gainesville, Florida seeing 100 degrees, and across the desert southwest, we have excessive heat warnings in effect. It is summer here. It is winter across the southern hemisphere including Antarctica where it's completely dark. So, if you're a penguin, I suppose, it'd be easy to get lost, but this, beautiful!
Emperor penguin was found in New Zealand. That is 2,000 miles from where that puppy should be. They think he's a youngster, probably, less than a-year-old and kind of got lost, you know, making his way for some food. And, he looks kind of sad, and the guy looks a little lethargic as well.
CHETRY: Wait a minute. Got lost?
MARCIANO: Yes.
CHETRY: Got lost 2,000 miles? I mean, would he end up on a cruise ship or something and take a little ride?
MARCIANO: Made a wrong turn (ph), I guess.
CHETRY: I bet he was somebody's pet.
COSTELLO: No way!
MARCIANO: No way.
COSTELLO: Who has a pet penguin? MARCIANO: They stink! You don't want to be that close to a penguin. I mean --
CHETRY: I know a few people who have a pet penguin. Is that bad?
COSTELLO: You do not know anyone who has a pet penguin.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: So, what are they going to do with the poor guy?
MARCIANO: Well, it's been like four years since this happened. They're not going to take it and move it back to Antarctica. It's too dark for one thing, and they fear think it maybe caught some diseases in the warmer water. They don't want to bring that back to its homeland, so they're kind of let nature take its course.
CHETRY: OK. We don't like that idea in this instance! He can't go to a zoo, get nursed back to health?
MARCIANO: You know, I'll propose that.
COSTELLO: Where is the Sea World of New Zealand?
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: I don't know. It's a good question. But that's what I'm told. They're going to let nature take its course. It doesn't mean bad things. It might be back in the water and make its way back to Antarctica.
CHETRY: Oh, right. No, he'll just have back in and swim 2,000 miles back in Antarctica. Yes, I'm sure he'll be able to do that.
MARCIANO: You try (ph) a beach, and it's warmer there. I'd be sipping a cocktail and chilling out --
COSTELLO: Yes, but you're not a penguin.
MARCIANO: That's true.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, guys. See you.
CHETRY: A runway tire on the streets of New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY (voice-over): Surveillance video showing this 400-pound tire flying off a city bus. There you see it. As it was turning to the depot in Queens. The bus was empty at the time, but the driver said the tire must have just missed hitting a woman with a baby in a stroller on the street.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Wouldn't you know it?
CHETRY: Maintenance workers say an overheated bearing caused the wheel to break off. The MTA says this is the second time this has happened this year. You see it flying back into the air after it hit something. The incident is being investigated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO (on-camera): The extensive list of airline fees is growing again. Who is about to start charging if you want to print out your boarding pass. Really? We'll have that story next.
CHETRY (on-camera): And we're also very excited to get a chance to talk to Jon Huntsman. He is the man who worked as President Obama's ambassador to China, a former governor of Utah, and he announced his campaign to challenge the president in 2012. Where does he stand on the big issues? He joins us live coming up. It's 20 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 23 minutes past the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
The Greek prime minister wins a critical vote of confidence in parliament. This moves the country further from debt default and closer to receiving a piece of a second bail out from the European Union. The next step, more austerity measures including new taxes and government job cuts which could spur more protests.
Check in on the premarket trading futures pointing to a lower open this morning. The Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 all down ahead of the opening bell as enthusiasm for the Greek confidence vote fades.
Low cost carrier, Spirit Air, tacking on an additional $5 fee for boarding passes printed by the airlines check-in agents instead of printing them out at home. Spirit Air raised eyebrows last year when it became the first U.S. airline to charge passengers for carry-on bag.
Verizon Wireless ditching (ph) its unlimited data plan joining its competitor, AT&T Mobile and AT&T. The company confirming they're moving to a more usage-based model in July. Price details have not yet been released.
Canada doing away with paper money. Starting this fall, new plastic 100 dollar bills will replace the paper notes. The new bills last two and a half times longer. Canada hopes to have all of its paper money replaced by plastic by the end of 2013.
Coming up next, the unexpected twist in the Casey Anthony murder trial. AMERICAN MORNING is back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: News just in to CNN what could be a major setback in the fight against al Qaeda in Yemen. Reuters is reporting this morning that dozens of al Qaeda militants have now escaped from a jail in Southern Yemen this morning.
COSTELLO: Yes. It happened after the compound was attacked. A security official saying many of the inmates were jailed after they returned from Iraq to fight alongside militants there. When we get more information on this, we'll pass it along.
CHETRY: Meantime, we're five weeks now into the Casey Anthony murder trial, and there's been an unexpected development. Prosecutors have informed the judge that they're investigating woman who briefly served jail time, I believe, it was driving on a suspended license. Her name is April Whalen. And they want to know if the two women actually ever spoke while they were behind bars.
COSTELLO: David Mattingly is covering the trial. He joins us now live from Orlando this morning. Fill us in, David.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reason why they want to find out if these two women ever spoke is because April Waylon suffered a real-life tragedy when her young child, her son, drowned in the family's swimming pool. The child's body was found by the grandfather.
That sounds very similar to the story that has been told in court by Casey Anthony who says that her daughter, Caylee, drowned in the family's pool and her body was found by her grandfather. Now, investigators are looking into the possibility that Casey may have fabricated her story based on this real-life tragedy. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA DRANE BURDICK, PROSECUTOR: The name of the witness is April Waylon. Apparently, her child died in a swimming pool and was found by the child's grandfather, who immediately administered CPR and called 911. Miss Waylon was in an adjacent cell to Miss Anthony for a very brief period of time.
Miss Waylon indicates to law enforcement she did not talk to Casey Anthony, however, she doesn't remember if she talked to other inmates. So, at the present time, it's being explored whether or not there was indirect contact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: So, at the moment, it is just a theory, but investigators are pursuing this possible theory that Casey Anthony fabricated this story about her daughter drowning in the family pool after possibly hearing that story while she was in jail.
CHETRY: We are also looking at a short day of testimony today, David. Court said to be done by lunch time, which is interesting. A couple of days ago the judge said it's taking too long. Why this change?
MATTINGLY: Actually, the judge makes the rules. He can also break them. He said that they are having a half day today because of a prior commitment that he has. But he said he has been very conscious of this jury being sequestered and being -- making sure that this trial moves along quickly so they are not kept behind locked doors any longer than they have to be.
Already we are seeing longer hours this week during the day. Also we're expecting to see a very long day on Saturday as well. So he wants to make up ground, but he said this is something he just couldn't avoid.
CHETRY: All right, David Mattingly for us this morning, thanks so much.
We are looking at the top stories at half past the hour. Disaster narrowly averted at JFK's international airport in New York City. We are just learning about it today but an incident that happened on Monday. A Lufthansa jet was taking off when an Egypt airplane apparently made a wrong turn and ended up on the same runway.
An air traffic controller realized what was about to happen and ordered the Lufthansa jet to brake. There is still no word on how close the two planes to colliding. The Lufthansa jet took off safely later about an hour and 40 minutes later.
COSTELLO: Disaster averted.
Chicago cleaning up this morning after violent wind gusts ripped through the area last night and littering the street with tree limbs and debris and cutting power to over 3,000 customers. Commuter trains stopped on its track and airlines canceled over 400 flights.
CHETRY: President Obama is set to address the nation tonight on the future of the war in Afghanistan. Sources say that his number is final -- 30,000 U.S. forces home by the end of 2012 and 10,000 of them home by the end of this year.
COSTELLO: That brings us to our question of the day. We asked you what you wanted to hear from the president tonight. We have gotten good responses. This is from Tony. "A limited withdrawal would in Afghanistan's best interest and ours.
Isaac on Facebook writes "All I want to hear we are out and staying out. We need to stop a lot of our military spending."
COSTELLO: This is from Jeff on our blog. "I want to know why we are worried about leaving Afghanistan so quickly after Osama bin Laden was killed, yet no big hurry to get out of the Iraq and Saddam Hussein has been gone for a long time."
"TIME" magazine calls him the Republican that Democrats fear the most. Even the president's campaign manager says the prospect of running against Jon Huntsman makes him a little queasy.
CHETRY: High praise for politician most Americans have never heard of yet. So we want to get to know him a little bit better. Former Utah governor and Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman joins us this morning. Thanks so much for being here.
JON HUNTSMAN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm honored and delighted to be here. Thank you.
CHETRY: You had your big announcement yesterday with the Statue of Liberty in the background. Still, in our polling, a lot of people aren't familiar with who you are and don't know a lot about you. What would you say in a nutshell for people about why you're running for president and why you think you would be the best man for it?
HUNTSMAN: I love this country. I think it's absolutely unacceptable we're about to pass down the greatest country that ever was to the next generation less strong, less able, less compassionate, less competitive, and less confident than the United States we got.
And I say you can either stand on the sidelines, as most people want to do, or you can get in the arena and expand the debate and do something about it knowing full well that it's a long marathon, it's going to be tough. And as a family person with seven kids, it won't always be easy but you believe in this country and you want to try to do the right thing at the right time.
COSTELLO: One thing you're likely to tackle is Afghanistan. The president is making his big speech tonight and will withdraw 30,000 troops but we still will have 70,000 troops in Afghanistan. What would you do in that situation? How many troops would you withdraw?
HUNTSMAN: I can't give you an exact number after to say after nine years and 50 days, after having put Karzai in power after the elections of 2004, routed the Taliban, disrupted and dismantled Al Qaeda I think we are can do better than 100,00 very expensive boots on the ground. And there should be I think a fairly aggressive drawdown in the next year.
COSTELLO: What is fairly aggressive? I mean, 30,000 you could argue is fairly aggressive according to the generals, right?
HUNTSMAN: I think we can go beyond that. I think what is important is recognizing the asymmetric threat we face. It will require intelligence gathering on the ground, Special Forces who are able to respond with precision like fashion and probably some training on the ground as well.
Now whether that is 15,000 or 20,000 or 30,000 I'm talking to a lot of so-called experts these days to see what exactly that right balance is, but we have got -- it will be a discussion on proportionality. Is it right to have 1 out of every 6 defense department dollars into Afghanistan? I'm here to tell you the future of the United States will not be won or lost in the prairies of Afghanistan.
COSTELLO: A lot of Americans want troops out right now. They don't want more money spent in Afghanistan not when the infrastructure is crumbling. So in your opinion, when should the troops be out of the Afghanistan once and for all?
HUNTSMAN: I think we will always have a presence in south Asia.
COSTELLO: Talk about Afghanistan. When should the troops be gone?
HUNTSMAN: Let's separate the heavy boots on the ground from the counterterror efforts. I think we always have to have an aggressive counterterror effort in many places around the world. That is the threat we face and we need to recognize the threat we are up against. We are up against a subsidiary, a series of subsidiaries around the world intent on doing us in. And whether they're in Mindanao or whether they're in Karachi, I think we need to be in a position to be able to respond.
COSTELLO: I want to pin it down to Afghanistan. What does it mean for Afghanistan specifically?
HUNTSMAN: Well, I'm not a fortune teller here, but I can tell you that, at some point, the 100,000 troops on the ground will have to be taken out substantially. It's heavy. It's expensive. It's disproportionate in terms of where our spending and our focus ought to be. Instead we need to realize that we're up against an asymmetric enemy, and we need to be able to fight them wherever we can. Whatever is left behind should be appropriate to the threat.
CHETRY: He is not going to answer a number for you today.
HUNTSMAN: Hey, give us at least 48 hours.
CHETRY: There's some say you're a dream candidate for the general but it's difficult for you among conservatives for a couple of reasons. First, the fact you were in the Obama administration and worked as the ambassador to China. You praised Obama at the time and have since been critical of him. Are you glad you worked in the Obama administration?
HUNTSMAN: I'm glad I served my country and I would do it again. I served President Reagan and President Bush and I served President Bush. When a president who is everyone's president asks you to serve during a time of war and time of economic hardship, I'm the kind of person who will say I'll serve my country before concerns about party. And I hope I go to my grave with that philosophy.
CHETRY: You now think you've changed your mind on thinking Obama is doing a good, effective job?
HUNTSMAN: I think he is a very decent person. He is earnest and hardworking and doing his best. We come from different parties and different world views and different philosophies. We want to do what is best for a country we love.
CHETRY: But for conservative credentials you have that issue. And this polling which is interesting because we know how big of a voting bloc evangelical Christians are, and 34 percent say it would work against a candidate if they knew the candidate was Mormon. You're a Mormon. How do you get over that? HUNTSMAN: Well, I like our chances. I think when you get out and people begin to get to know you and understand where you're coming from and understand your record as governor, we're running a record. A lot of people run away from their record. We are running on a record, which is very transparent.
And here is what we have to offer in terms of economic development, job creation and health care reform, so on, so forth. When you take a look at it, you'll see I'm pretty much a conservative problem solver and I think that will play very well among the early states and the people you're describing.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about one conservative, Jim DeMint. We interviewed him this morning. He wants potential presidential candidates and presidential candidates running on the Republican side to sign a debt pledge. He said if you, Mr. Huntsman, don't sign this debt pledge he will not throw his support behind you, and he is a pretty powerful voice in South Carolina.
HUNTSMAN: Other than the "Pledge of Allegiance," I don't do a lot of pledges. I think the Ryan plan is an excellent place to be longer term. Short term the debt ceiling issue and think the negotiations will play out until the final hour and I suspect we will get real cuts in exchange in meeting the debt ceiling and we need to be longer term in a debt ceiling.
So if you got cuts and you start to talk about the balanced budget amendment, something that every governor has to deal with, that's the most important safeguard for governor. You present a budget that is in balance. You have to as a requirement by law. I think that would be a pretty good out outcome and I don't need to take a pledge to get there.
CHETRY: And one thing that could also be a social litmus test is same-sex marriage. You have express in the past support for equal rights for same-sex couples and civil unions. Would you support same- sex marriage in America?
HUNTSMAN: I'm not in favor of gay marriage. I don't think you can redefine marriage in the traditional sense. I think you get in trouble longer term. I think subordinate to that we have done an inadequate job in terms of equality, in terms of recognizing reciprocal beneficiary rights.
CHETRY: Why can't marriage be extended to people who happen to be in love with somebody of their same gender?
HUNTSMAN: Civil unions I'm OK with as it relates to gay marriage. That is when you speak in redefining marriage, and I think you have no end to that. And I'm for traditional marriage. I think it's been a super piece of society from the very beginning. Civil unions, I've come out and I've stated my piece there. Some people like it, some people don't. But it's what I feel inside and I have to be honest about that.
COSTELLO: And it's J-o-n, not J-o-h-n. HUNTSMAN: I've been suffering the implications of no "h" in my name for a very, very long time, not only recently.
COSTELLO: We showed that on the air and hopefully it will never happen again.
HUNTSMAN: Thank you so much. Great to be with us.
CHETRY: We will take a break. It's 41 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 45 minutes past the hour.
You know when you hear the word human trafficking you might think it only happens in far-flung places in the world. But we've learned from CNN's Freedom Project and its actually taking place right here in our own backyard essentially.
COSTELLO: Oh yes, it's heartbreaking. And our next guest is leading a campaign here in New York City to combat human trafficking and it includes a public service announcement with the actress Emma Thompson. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMA THOMPSON, ACTRESS: Fact: innocent people are deceived, then bought and sold like property. They are promised jobs and then held against their will. They are offered work, then forced to give up their wages, their papers, their freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Joining us now, New York City Deputy Mayor Carol Robles-Roman. Thanks for joining us this morning.
And a lot of thought went into that PSA. So tell us what kind of message you want people to take from it?
CAROL ROBLES-ROMAN, DEPUTY MAYOR FOR LEGAL AFFAIRS AND COUNSEL TO MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: Well, a lot of thought did go into the PSA. And we know that when people think of the word trafficking they think that people are in handcuffs and shackles. That if they're walking down the street you'll going to recognize it immediately and that's simply not the case.
So we wanted to create a public service announcement that was going to resonate with everybody, including victims themselves because sometimes the victims themselves don't even realize that they are being trafficked. So we need to educate and we need to raise the level of discourse across the board.
CHETRY: What are some of the warning signs, I guess, and some of the people that become most vulnerable? Are they people who perhaps have entered the country illegally or were promised if they we're going to come in and have legitimate papers and then don't? Are they typically girls as opposed to males? I mean, is there a profile of a victim?
ROBLES-ROMAN: Well, we saw the PSA. You're working for no wages. That's a sign. If you go -- and I'm speaking directly to victims as well, if you're working and you have a job and you're not getting a salary, there is something wrong with that. And sometimes they are coming from other countries and they don't realize that. We have domestic trafficking that's taking place right in this country.
And you asked the question about who is most at risk. Right now, what we're seeing in increasing numbers as well which is very scary is young kids. We see young girls. We see criminal gangs targeting runaways, targeting young girls that maybe have an unpleasant work situation -- home situation.
They go to the foster care areas or runaway shelters and they prey on them. And they take advantage of these young girls and they put them into sex trafficking situations as well.
COSTELLO: You know, we hear about the girls being trafficked, right? But we never hear about the people who are trafficking the girls or these young kids. Like are there strong enough penalties against the people who recruit these girls to get into this horrible way of life?
ROBLES-ROMAN: Well, we saw the recent case with the NFL player who --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Lawrence Taylor.
ROBLES-ROMAN: Lawrence Taylor. And that trafficker received a substantial federal penalty. He was prosecuted in federal court.
Now, let's talk about that young girl.
COSTELLO: Well, just to refresh people about Lawrence Taylor. He bought -- paid for --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Yes, he went to a motel to have sex and it turned out that she was underage and he claims he didn't know which is what always happens. Everybody says they don't know.
ROBLES-ROMAN: That's correct.
CHETRY: So what happens?
ROBLES-ROMAN: So what happens there is two things. Lawrence Taylor was prosecuted.
COSTELLO: He got six years probation, though. It was nothing.
ROBLES-ROMAN: He was not the trafficker in that particular case. And he received probation. The trafficker received federal time. And when we talk about the young girl, the media initially said, because that's what the prosecution had presented was that she was a prostitute.
Thereafter, she came forward and said, "I'm not a prostitute. I'm a victim. He drugged me, beat me, he told me if I didn't go to this room he was going to kill me."
CHETRY: So how is New York as well as cities across the country tackling this? How is law enforcement trying to put a dent into what is happening?
ROBLES-ROMAN: Well, Mayor Bloomberg has taken a very strong stance. Ray Kelly has really trained his enforcement people. They've retooled their trafficking task force. And what we have learned -- and part of the reason for the PSA is -- we need to get information. We need to know what's happening. If you're a victim, you need to tell somebody if you don't want to go to law enforcement initially.
There are service providers, hospitals. One of the main people that we're finding who are most engaged and interested in working in creative ways of getting people for us are the hospitals, are doctors because they seeing people come in through the emergency room. And we've asked the doctors, so what do you see? What could you tell us? They said the teeth.
COSTELLO: Wow.
ROBLES-ROMAN: If you have really bad teeth and you're in an unsanitary working situation, that's often a telltale sign. And they will often -- after a bit, they will confide in the doctor and that is fabulous and that's important for us.
COSTELLO: Wow.
ROBLES-ROMAN: And so now they are now working with law enforcement. They are working with service providers. They're working with the city of New York.
So we've created this sort of interdisciplinary across the board collaboration and that's what the public service announcement is all about.
COSTELLO: Well, we're glad you joined us this morning. We appreciate it and we appreciate the effort too because it's important.
ROBLES-ROMAN: Well, I just want you to know that you probably saved many lives today and I just want to thank you for doing that.
CHETRY: Well, thank you for being on with us Carol Robles-Roman, Deputy Mayor of New York. Thanks so much.
ROBLES-ROMAN: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Also this weekend, Demi Moore joins the 2010 CNN "Hero of the Year" to take you inside the fight and the kind of modern day slavery. She's going to talk about Nepal's stolen children. That a CNN Freedom Project (AUDIO GAP) 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
Fifty minutes past the hour. We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Its 52 minutes past the hour. A look at your morning headlines.
We are following breaking news this morning. An al Qaeda jail break in Yemen. Reuters is reporting that dozen's of militants escaped from prison after the compound was attacked.
President Obama speaks to the nation tonight about the future of Afghanistan. A congressional source telling us he'll announce plans to pull out 10,000 troops this year and another 20,000 by the end of 2012.
South Carolina lawmakers passing a new immigration bill that requires police to check a suspect's immigration status and it also penalizes businesses that are knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. Governor Nikki Haley is expected to sign that bill into law.
Authorities in Pennsylvania say that Jackass star Ryan Dunn was traveling at 130 miles-per-hour when he crashed his Porsche, killing himself and a passenger. Police are still waiting for toxicology reports to see if alcohol was involved in that crash.
The markets about to open in 35 minutes. Right now the DOW, NASDAQ, S&P 500 futures are all down slightly as investors wait for the Federal Reserve's decision on whether or not to raise interest rates.
Well, you're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning, Atlanta. Cloudy skies there right now, 76 degrees. Possibility of -- it looks like it's going to rain there later, doesn't it? But it's going to be, overall, a nice day.
I like that music.
CHETRY: Nice day to take a nap in a hammock perhaps. If you're having trouble sleeping, there's a new study by a Swiss scientists who say that the hammock's gentle rocking motion makes people fall asleep faster and easier and they actually get a deeper sleep.
One researcher compared it to being cradled in your mother's arms when you're a baby. They hope that the findings can one day help people who suffer from insomnia.
It's terrible to suffer from insomnia, but at least hire a chiropractor or having him standby if you're sleeping in a hammock all night. I mean a nap is one thing, but --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Does sound nice, though doesn't this?
As does this. Being married can be good for your health. A new study says being married boosts the odds that people will survive colon cancer this is true for men and women. Researchers at BYU in Penn State found that married patients had a 14 percent lower risk of dying from the disease and they say the extra care they are getting from their husbands or wives may be the x-factor.
CHETRY: I have a different theory about. It's that it's extremely a treatable cancer if it's caught earlier. And if you're a wife, you're more likely to bother your husband about going for yearly checkups, yearly, you know, colonoscopies, et cetera.
COSTELLO: That is true.
CHETRY: Well, when he is not making movies, actor Kevin Kline is working to raise awareness and to push for more online research about juvenile diabetes. The disease has affected his family. He has a child living with juvenile diabetes.
COSTELLO: He does. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING we asked him about parenting a child with Type 1.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN KLINE, ACTOR: Once you have a child diagnosed with a type of diabetes, you immediately stop being merely a parent. You become a parent, a doctor, a nurse, unless you want your child to live in the hospital.
The families take on a tremendous responsibility, depending on the age of the child, until they reach an age where they can manage it themselves. You have to count every carbohydrate that they, you know, take in at a snack or a meal. You have to watch their activity because that affects your blood sugar. You have to give them injections. You have to prick their fingers ten times a day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Later today he will testify at a senate hearing along with kids from all over the country who have Type I diabetes.
CHETRY: Yes they want to fast-track devices including artificial pancreas that have been showing a lot of promise for these kids.
It's 57 minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Again a reminder, President Obama speaks on Afghanistan tonight from the White House 8:00 Eastern. CNN will have live coverage for you.
CHETRY: And that's going to do it for us today. It was lovely working with you today.
COSTELLO: Thank you very much. I'm back to Washington tomorrow.
CHETRY: You're busy all the time.
"CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts right now. Good morning, Kyra.
