Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Bombing at Iraq Police Center Kills Dozens; Memorial Dedicated to Victims of Flight 587; President Bush to Meet with Iraq Study Group Monday

Aired November 12, 2006 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In Iraq, more than 50 people dead in five hours. Tonight, coming up with a new plan to stop the violence and bring U.S. troops home.
Also, the new George Bush? You might be surprised by his frenemies.

And who was hurt and who was helped by the Tuesday's election? And who gets a boost for 2008? Hello and welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All that and more after this check of the headlines.

Two suicide bombers set off a blast outside a police recruitment center in Baghdad, killing at least 35 people. Other attacks killed at least a dozen more. More on that in one minute.

Changes may be in store for Iraq. President Bush and his national security team plan to meet tomorrow with the bipartisan Iraq Study Group led by former secretary of state James Baker.

Families are gathering in New York today to dedicate a memorial to those killed on American Airlines flight 587. The plane crashed into a Queens neighborhood five years ago today, killing 265 people.

Residents in the Pacific Northwest are cleaning up after a week of heavy rains and flooding. Forecasters say more rain is on the way. But the good news is, there is little chance of more flooding.

We're going to spend much of the next hour focusing on new directions in this country post election and the impact on Iraq. We have got all the angles. We begin in Baghdad, where Iraq's prime minister is pledging political change amid another spasm of killing. Here's CNN's Arwa Damon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We don't know her name. We don't know who she is grieving for. All we know is her sorrow. Sorrow that many Iraqis have felt in the last three and a half years. They are a people desperate for change. So far, their young government hasn't been able to come up with a solution to the violence. It seems one of its largest obstacles, itself.

MAHMOUD OTHMAN, IRAQI PARLIAMENT MEMBER: If they stay like this not agreeing with each other, not working as a team, differences in between, goes out to media, as you have heard, they can't do it. They will be very weak.

DAMON: Now the prime minister, seen by many as weak and beholden to radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, is asking the parliament to allow him to make changes to the cabinet, saying this cabinet was not his choice.

NURI AL-MALIKI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): And if it was my choice, I would have selected other than the current ministers or at lease some of them.

DAMON: Some say accepting a cabinet whose members don't all support him was his first mistake and al-Maliki is running out of time.

OTHMAN: By the end of this year if nothing changes and things deteriorate as they are doing, they are deteriorating by the day, I think unfortunately we may reach a point where we couldn't do much.

DAMON: The urgency highlighted by Sunday's attacks. In the capital alone, at least 50 Iraqis were killed in just five hours. The deadliest attack from twin suicide bombers who detonated their explosives in a group of Iraqi police recruits, killing at least 35.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Why? Why? Why? Recruits, explosive belt and mortars, why? It targeted the civilians who were about to be recruited.

DAMON: The agony in his voice, expresses what many Iraqis feel.

(on camera): However potential cabinet changes play out, the move will test al-Maliki's ability to hold his nation together. And if he is able to choose his own ministers, his choices could shed light on where his own loyalties lie. Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And in the last few hours, we've learned of more American and British troop deaths in Iraq. The U.S. military said three more American soldiers died yesterday in combat in the Anbar Province. And today four British soldiers died in Basra in a bomb attack on their patrol boat. And in Baghdad, U.S. officials said 10 people suspected of having links to al Qaeda were detained in raids earlier Saturday. A statement said the suspects are associated with terrorists.

And later this hour we'll talk about possible options for change. Author and scholar Liam Anderson joins me in about 20 minutes from now.

And now to the White House: has the strategy on Iraq gone from stay the course to change course? Administration officials say they are now open to new ideas. That's exactly what President Bush may hear at a critical meeting scheduled for tomorrow. For more on that, let's go live to the White House with Ed Henry -- Ed?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fred. You know, the jury is still out on what tangible impact Democrats will have in changing policy on Iraq. But what's clear already is that they're turning up the heat on the president very quickly after taking power. And the White House is showing some new flexibility on changing course.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): In a sign of the new pressure President Bush will face from a Democratic Congress, the incoming chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee is demanding a dramatic shift in Iraq policy.

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: We need to begin a phased redeployment of forces from Iraq in four to six months.

HENRY: A move supported by the new Senate majority leader.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), NEW MAJORITY LEADER: We would have to start redeployment in the next few months. So the exact time doesn't matter. But we're going to have to do it. It's important that we get the Iraq change, the course of the war in Iraq changed as soon as possible.

HENRY: The White House is still rejecting any fixed timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops. But Chief of Staff Josh Bolten says the president is ready for a course adjustment.

JOSH BOLTEN, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Nobody can be happy with the situation in Iraq right now. Everybody has been working hard. But what we have been doing has not worked well enough or fast enough. So it's clearly time to put fresh eyes on the problem.

HENRY: Those fresh eyes are most likely to come from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by Republican James Baker and Democrat Lee Hamilton, who will consult with the president and his national security team at the White House Monday, and then soon deliver a bipartisan report.

BOLTEN: We're looking forward to the recommendations of the Baker-Hamilton bipartisan Iraq Study Group, and we're looking forward to a dialogue with bipartisan leaders in Congress.

HENRY: There's been wide speculation that Robert Gates, a former member of the Iraq Study Group, was tapped to replace Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in order to implement the commission's findings. But former defense secretary William Cohen notes Gates and Baker were not always on the same page during their time together in the first Bush administration.

WILLIAM COHEN, FMR. DEFENSE SECRETARY: We ought to be careful about having too much irrational exuberance about the Baker commission coming forward with a consensus. It seems to me based on recent reports there is still some division in terms of how they should proceed.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HENRY: The White House is also trying to damp down speculation that the Iraq Study Group will find some sort of panacea. One senior official telling CNN, "If there was a rifle shot solution, we would have already pulled the trigger" -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And now what is this, Ed, about an investigation into any corruption involving Iraqi contracts?

HENRY: Well here's one example where Democrats may have an impact. They don't have full power. They're only sharing the government come January. But the Republicans on the Hill were trying to shut down this inspector general taking a look at contracting abuses in Iraq, abuse of power, et cetera.

Now all of the sudden with Democrats raising a lot of cane about it, the White House today, Josh Bolten on CNN for example showing new flexibility saying, "Well maybe we'll keep that inspector general on the job." That's something they didn't want to do a couple of months ago.

Now Democrats planning a whole series of bills on the Hill to put even more pressure on the White House. Also some hearings, et cetera. So while they don't have full power, they clearly can have an impact, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Ed Henry at the White House.

And we're not done talking about this topic. CNN's own political guru Bill Schneider gives us his take on the importance of the Iraq Study Group and he looks ahead to the 2008 election with some intriguing predictions on who is at the head of the pack. That's coming up in less than 30 minutes from now.

And time to go global with headlines from around the world now. A packed schedule for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He arrived in Washington today and will have dinner with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in just about two hours from now. Tomorrow, he holds talks with President Bush on a number of issues including the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict.

And back in Gaza, rival Palestinian factions are coming together to try to form a new unity government. Hamas and Fatah members opened talks today. They say new cabinet seats hopefully will be filled within weeks. If a unity government is formed, Western sanctions against the Hamas-led government could be lifted.

And authorities in Bangladesh say they'll use troops to restore order in the capital of Dhaka after one person has died in protests to the upcoming election. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets demanding change to the country's election commission. Critics say the transitional government has done very little to ensure free and fair elections in January.

A memorial is being dedicated in New York today to remember victims of American Airlines flight 587. Bells tolled at a beach- front ceremony honoring those killed in the crash. Family members then read the victim's names out loud. The flight crashed into a Queens neighborhood five years ago today, killing all 260 people on board and five people on the ground. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was on hand for the dedication.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, MAYOR, NEW YORK: That truly is our prayer for the victims of flight 587. And their souls have found peace. And here at this beautiful memorial, I also believe that you, their loved ones, can also experience the peace that surpasses all understanding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Flight 587 was the second deadliest air accident in U.S. history.

The new Democratic Congress may be more conservative than you think. That may cause some friction after all between Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues. Next, how will she pull her party together? Plus will how the strategy in Iraq change now that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is on his way out? And an entire family killed by a hit-and- run driver. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Tonight, Lou Dobbs salutes the men and women in uniform protecting Americans at home and abroad. CNN celebrates America's heroes. That's tonight at seven Eastern, only on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well here are some of the most popular stories on CNN.com. A deadly ambush in south Florida. Police say a sheriff's deputy was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop. Another deputy was wounded. A search for one or more suspects is under way.

U.S. government officials believe Fidel Castro has terminal cancer. The official speaking anonymously say the Cuban leader likely has cancer of the stomach, pancreas or colon and probably will die within 18 months.

And two suspects are behind bars in a deadly hit and run accident in Denver. Police say a pickup truck hit a couple with a stroller, killing the mother and her two young children. The father was injured.

Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will have a difficult balancing act as she takes on her new job. Not only will she have to work with Republicans, she is likely to find differences within her own party. Gary Nurenberg reports on how she will be walking that fine line.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After the Tuesday night election elation, the presumptive speaker of the House put it simply to CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: The campaign, as I said, is over. We're ready to lead, prepared to govern, and look forward to working with them.

NURENBERG: Ready and willing. But able?

JOSEPHINE HEARN, "THE HILL" NEWSPAPER: I think she is going to face some tough tests.

NURENBERG: Josephine Hearn covers Congress for "The Hill" newspaper and knows Pelosi's Democratic majority is divided.

HEARN: She has the liberals of which she is one, and the conservative blue dogs, which often are not on the same page.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you a Nancy Pelosi Democrat?

HEATH SHULER (D), NORTH CAROLINA CONGRESSMAN-ELECT: You know, I don't like to classify...

NURENBERG: Heath Shuler opposes abortion rights, pro-gun, won in a conservative North Carolina district by convincing voters...

SHULER: You know, he's not like some of the national Democrats. You know? He is one of us.

NURENBERG: Pelosi says she will govern from the center.

HEARN: The Democrats are cognizant of the fact that they are now taking over the moderate territory and that they can't listen to the most liberal factions in the caucus.

RICHARD GEPHARDT (D), FMR. CONGRESSMAN: Our new speaker, Newt Gingrich.

NURENBERG: But old-line liberals who have been out of power since the Republican revolution of 1994 are likely to push Pelosi left.

HEARN: It will be the central test in her speakership, is whether she can hold the together.

NURENBERG (on camera): Because there is someone else in town who has experience keeping moderate and conservative Democrats happy. Someone who was governor of Texas when the legislature was run by Democrats like that.

RICH GALEN, REPUBLICAN COLUMNIST: The president knows how to reach out to them, knows how to talk the language, knows how to give them the things that they need to be successful.

NURENBERG (voice over): So if congressional Democratic leaders can't walk that fine line balancing competing demands of liberals and conservatives in their party... GALEN: They may find that the White House has effectively undermined their authority with a significant number of their caucuses and been able to work with them around what we suspect will be the liberal wing of each the House and the Senate.

NURENBERG: A reminder the election was so last week.

GALEN: In Washington, politics never ends. Politics goes on forever.

NURENBERG: Something the speaker-to-be knows very well.

Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: In an article in this week's "Time" magazine, Pelosi's youngest daughter, Alexandra says President Bush and her mother are not all that different. Pelosi followed Mr. Bush on the 2000 campaign trail while filming a documentary, the younger Pelosi. And writing in "Time," Alexandra Pelosi said, quote, "George was in the White House and he told me, 'You ought to be proud of your mom.' At the time, she was fighting her heart out on the House floor against the Iraq war," end quote.

Pelosi also says, "On any occasion that I have seen them together in private, they have appeared to be the best of 'frenemies'." That quote from Alexandra Pelosi, the daughter of Nancy Pelosi. That in this week's "Time" magazine.

Next, a look at new options in changing the strategy in Iraq and how would it affect troop levels there? And who were the real winners and losers in the midterm elections? Their names may not have been on the ballots.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Shifting gears now to a little health. As women age, it gets tougher to keep the weight off. Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains why and what you can do about in his "Health for Her" report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four years ago, Loretta Beggs would never have been on skates. Back then, she weighed almost 200 pounds and had a tough time getting off the couch, let alone getting on the ice. But now after dropping 80 pounds, she is perfecting her figure eights.

LORETTA BEGGS, DIETER: I hadn't always been fat and I gained a bunch of weight in my twenties, actually.

GUPTA: Beggs' dietitian, Katherine Tallmadge says the 39-year- old is at an age that nutrition is crucial. That's because as we get older, our bodies crave nutrients that we didn't need when we were kids. In our 30s, eat protein. It builds up muscle and bone mass, something we begin to lose after we hit the big 30. Keep the protein lean by eating fish and chicken. But not all in one sitting.

KATHERINE TALLMADGE, DIETITIAN: Because if you have too much in one meal, you body can't metabolize it or use it anyway.

GUPTA: Add some high calcium and Vitamin D fortified foods such as skim or soy milk to boost bone structure.

In our 40s, metabolism begins to slow down and we need to change from junk food like chips and candy to low-calorie snacks like fruit, veggies and yogurt.

Start thinking about heart health and eat foods such as oats, small amounts of nuts, cocoa, wine or purple grape juice, even green tea. Switch from butter or margarine to healthy oil such as olive and canola.

In our 50s, eat greens three times a week. They're good for the eyes.

TALLMADGE: Spinach, kale, they're loaded with a nutrient called lutein. And studies are confirming that lutein is important for prevention of macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness as we age, but also cataracts and other eye diseases.

GUPTA: Add tomato products regularly for prostate and heart health. Snap up more fiber, like whole grains and beans for healthier digestion as the digestive track slows down. And exercising and eating well will reduce the risk for heart disease and cancer well beyond your 50s.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A change in leadership at the Pentagon with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on his way out. What does that mean for the plan in Iraq? Here is CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Now that he is a short-timer, even outgoing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admits the current strategy in Iraq is not working.

DONALD RUMSFELD, OUTGOING SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: It has not been going well enough or fast enough.

MCINTYRE: In an exchange with students at Kansas State University, Rumsfeld urged perseverance and resolve as adjustments to the strategy are made by the man nominated to replace him, former CIA director Robert Gates, who is one of 10 members of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group charged with finding a way out of Iraq. The options include stay the course, which is already seen as failing, strategic redeployment, pulling the troops back, perhaps as far as Kuwait. Under that option advocated by Representative John Murtha and other Democrats, overall troop levels would stay the same. But many troops would be pulled off the front lines to be used as a quick reaction force only if Iraqis got in trouble.

Other possibilities, more U.S. troops, which U.S. commanders say won't help in the long term. And partition along sectarian lines, something the White House has labeled a non-starter. So the most likely options appear to be a phased withdrawal under a carefully planned time line to force the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own security.

LAWRENCE KORB, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: I think basically unless we start a phase withdrawal, the Iraqis will never make the political compromises necessary to create an Iraq that is worth fighting and dying for.

MCINTYRE: Another likely proposal is engaging Iraq's neighbors, Iran and Syria. But an option vigorously opposed by hard-liners.

FRANK GAFFNEY, CENTER FOR SECURITY POLICY: Will we be negotiating with enemies like the regime in Iran in the hopes THAT they will somehow help us the problem they're creating in no small measure in Iraq. And I think that's going to be a mistake, potentially very strategic and long-standing dimensions.

MCINTYRE: Also taking the long view is lame-duck Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld, who insists America is on the right side of history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you were going to give yourself a letter grade for your performance as secretary of defense, what grade would that be?

RUMSFELD: I'd let history worry about that.

MCINTYRE (on camera): Senate hearing confirmations for Robert Gates are on a fast track, set for early December. And the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group are expected shortly thereafter. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So does new leadership in the Defense Department secure a better plan for Iraq? Joining us live from Dayton, Ohio, author and academic Liam Anderson. He is associate professor of political science at Wright State University and the author of the book "The Future of Iraq: Dictatorship, Democracy or Division?"

Well, that is some title, professor. Let's cut to the chase right now. Let's talk about whether a new direction at the state -- at the Defense Department does indeed secure a better plan for Iraq?

LIAM ANDERSON, AUTHOR: Well, I think the dismissal of Rumsfeld helps create some space to have a more realistic debate about the stage that Iraq is in and what we could conceivably achieve there.

I think Rumsfeld was a sort of cheerleader in chief for the position that things were getting better, that we were winning the war, that the Iraqis were heading towards democracy. And the reality on the ground was so far removed from, from the way he was portraying it, that it kind of stifled the debate. And I think if you argued against that position, you know you were characterized as a coward or a cut and runner or whatever.

WHITFIELD: So what should the realistic expectations be with a new plan, a new approach, a new defense secretary on board? When might the folks in Iraq see some real differences or when might the differences also be felt by U.S. troops there?

ANDERSON: Well, I think there is a limit to what the U.S. can actually achieve in Iraq anymore. I think events -- we are kind of assuming that we came up with a plan and imposed it on Iraqis and that will change everything.

I think we have lost control over political events in Iraq. And so Iraq is headed for I think, if you want to call it a partition or a federal system of three ethnic regions anyway, whether we like it or not. So I think we'll see a drawdown in troops. I think that troops will be less exposed. Maybe down to 50,000 fairly quickly. But those 50,000 will stay there for some time.

WHITFIELD: So am I hearing from you that perhaps you are in agreement with Carl Levin, who says this is not a military solution that is needed, but instead a political solution that is needed in Iraq?

ANDERSON: Yes, that's been the case for some time now. And the problem really is that we have created a political system in Iraq with the best of intentions, a Democratic system that produces a government that is too weak to actually impose itself on its own population.

WHITFIELD: But it seems like how can you possibly have political stability if you have the security issues at hand in that country -- there is instability in every other way, shape or form?

ANDERSON: I don't disagree with that. The real question is whether the presence of U.S. forces contributes to stability or instability. John Murtha would argue of course that our presence there is what contributes to the continued insurgency and there is some truth to that.

WHITFIELD: Liam Anderson, author of "The Future of Iraq" and also of Wright State University. Thanks so much for your time.

ANDERSON: Sure, a pleasure.

WHITFIELD: And stay with us for more on the future of Iraq when retired general David Grange reacts to the call for gradual U.S. troop withdrawal within four to six months. That is next at 5:15 Eastern, in the next hour that is. And this program note about a look at life after fighting a war. CNN's Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta explore what really happens when our war veterans come back home. Tune in tomorrow for an unforgettable "ANDERSON COOPER 360" at 10 p.m. Eastern.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, President Bush is reaching out to Democrats now a lot more than in the past. Is this a new president in his last two years of office?

Hunting for the remains of U.S. soldiers in Russia. How American teams are still searching and families are still waiting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Half past the hour, here's what is happening right now in the news. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert is in Washington. His itinerary includes dinner with secretary of state Condelezzaa Rice tonight, and a visit with President Bush tomorrow. On the agenda, Middle East regional issues such as Iran's nuclear program and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

President bush says he is looking forward to hearing what former secretary of state, rather, James Baker has to say about the Iraq war. Baker chairs the bipartisan Iraq study group, which will meet with the president tomorrow. The group's mission is to develop a new course for the war.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki wants change to his cabinet. Sources in the prime minister's office say al-Maliki called on parliament to allow him to replace some cabinet members. The cabinet, which was already formed before al-Maliki took office, includes Suni, Shiite and Kurdish representatives.

The midterm election is over, but the jockeying for the 2008 campaign is just starting. With control of both the House and Senate now, Democrats look at the White House as their next political prize. Earlier I spoke to CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well clearly a number of Democrats look good after the elections, Hillary Rodham Clinton the Senator from New York was easily re-elected, I think it enhances her stature. Bill Richardson the Governor of New Mexico may end up running for president. He also was easily re-elected. The message of John Edwards is one of economic populism and that seemed to resonate throughout much of the country.

But if there was one rock star that came out of this campaign on the Democratic side, it was Obama. He wasn't running for anything. But he campaigned across the country, he appeared on Oprah. He appeared on television shows discussing values and feelings. A lot of Democrats see him as an alternative to Senator Clinton with less political baggage. If there was a Democrat who was damaged by this campaign I would say that was John Kerry. His -- his joke that back fired on him I think created a problem that is going to be very hard for him to deal with in the next couple years.

WHITFIELD: And so when you mention these names, Clinton, Obama, Richardson, we're talking also about positioning themselves for the '08 presidential race possibly? We know that Russ Feingold says, "Forget it I'm out." But then -- who are the realistic hopefuls?

SCHNEIDER: Well, Senator Clinton, I think, Obama, are people that a lot of Democrats are taking a very hard look at, of course there are others Richardson. Edwards who might enter the race, Feingold says he is not running. That leaves the left wing of the Democratic Party many of whom have problems with Hillary Clinton's censures as they describe it. They want some one who is more outspoken on the war.

They don't really have a horse to ride. Some of them are even looking at Al Gore as a possibility though he is not even showing a real strong interest in this race. I should add that the conservatives don't look good coming out of this election. Their message seems to have been badly beaten. They don't have a horse to ride in the '08 campaign either. The guy on the Republican side comes out looking pretty strong is John McCain. He has the most bipartisan message.

WHITFIELD: The man who is already in the White House. Did he come out of this election instead of being completely hurt because his party was so terribly defeated but instead we had an opportunity to see a perhaps new President Clinton -- President Bush meeting with Pelosi, meeting with Harry Reid.

SCHNEIDER: There was certainly a powerful message to President Bush that people are tired of the gridlock, tired of the partisanship. They want this president to reach out to the other side to be more conciliatory. He has started out by doing that. There are two different images of George Bush. One when he was governor of Texas he took pride in working with Democrats, he was very bipartisan. Now of course Texas Democrats are not quite the same as Nancy Pelosi or John Murtha. But he did manage to work with them. He had a moderate image as governor. Maybe he'll return to that image and we will see a different George Bush. The message of the voters is that is the George Bush we'd like to see.

WHITFIELD: This election wasn't just about parties but it was a referendum on Iraq. Everyone admits to that. So as -- as this point forward, looking at Iraq, what can or what are the expectations of this administration when it comes to dealing with Iraq and Congress?

SCHNEIDER: Well the message of the voters was pretty clear. They want out. They want Americans out of Iraq. Not immediately. They don't want to leave Iraq in a dangerous or threatening situation. They understand what the United States has at stake. But they, they sent the message that what the Bush administration is doing; the strategy for victory that it is following is just not working. They don't see victory in sight. They want something different.

The Democrats have not really articulated a clear exit strategy. The administration hasn't either. Except to win. They're looking for an answer. Well there is one out there. There is a voice that we are waiting to hear from, and that is the bipartisan Iraq study group that is going to meet with President Bush tomorrow. They're going to meet with Prime Minister Tony Blair. They are going to come out with recommendations in December. No one believes they're going to come out with an easy answer. But both Democrats and Republicans are looking to that bipartisan study group to come out with some kind of an exit strategy to do what the voters want and begin getting the United States out of Iraq.

WHITFIELD: Bill Schneider thanks so much. Part of the best political team on television.

Well if you watched our election coverage here on CNN you weren't alone. More viewers came to CNN than to any other cable news channel on Election Day. CNN.com was the number one news Web site on Election Day as well.

So as the countdown to 2008 begins stay with CNN and the best political team on television.

Across America today, former President Gerald Ford earns a new distinction. Living longer than any other former president. Today the 93-year-old Ford surpassed the record held by Ronald Reagan.

In Hawaii, they're keeping a watchful eye and closing a couple beaches after a shark attack. A Canadian tourist suffered bites to his hand and lower leg while swimming off the Maui coast yesterday. Hi is in stable condition.

Welcoming ceremonies under way this hour in Washington preceding tomorrow's ground breaking for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monument on the National Mall. More than 5,000 dignitaries are expected for the event which CNN will cover live starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.

Severe weather on both coasts this weekend for more on that lets check in with meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.

Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey Fredricka. We will start out in the Pacific Northwest, because they have already been hammered so hard in the last week and this storm, quite impressive on satellite imagery. You can see all the moisture already making its way inland. We haven't seen a lot of rain yet today. The big impact with the storm comes into play we think late tonight and throughout much of the day tomorrow.

We are talking about heavy amounts of rainfall. The one good note about this system is that it looks like it is colder, core storm. Meaning that the snow levels are going to be a lot lower. We won't see as much rain into the higher elevations. The Seattle forecast showing you the wet weather lasting until Wednesday. Before we start to see any of those significant improvements. Look at all the advisories up. The red and the blue are the snow. The yellow and the orange are the wind advisories. Could get as strong as 60, maybe 70 miles per hour along the coast. Next hour we are going to talk a little bit more about the northeast. We have a storm system there, big time travel delays. Tell you an hour from now.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll look forward to that. Thanks a lot Jacqui. Well MIA is from the clash of Titans. Crews are on the ground in Russia. Searching for the victims.

Later, an injured Iraqi child and how a U.S. serviceman helped save her.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: It seems like wireless hot spots are everywhere these days. But how would you like to avoid those and use your cell phone as a way to get on line with your laptop. Joining us now to talk about that is Brian Coolly, editor at large with CNET. So Brian basically using your cell phone as a modem?

BRIAN COOLLY, EDITOR AT LARGE, CNET: Right. Because if you are at the airport or a hotel, and you are traveling. You don't want to go find a hot spot. You have to pay to use them. You have data on your phone in many cases. A broadband connection on these modern smart phones, so why not share it. So what you do is you take a cable from your smart phone that has high speed Internet. Run it to your laptop. And make a couple of tweaks in your Internet explorer browser settings telling Internet explorer that this is now it's connection to the Internet.

Now you can and log on with pretty good speed. Let me show you. I am going to reload the CNN page here. While it is not as fast as what you are use to at work or at your home broadband connection it is like a low-end broadband connection. That is loading up relatively well. That is not going to kill you to use that kind of speed.

SIEBERG: So you avoid the hot spot charges but is it free totally?

COOLEY: It is based on the data plan. If you have unlimited data plan then you have unlimited Internet access through your computer, through your phone. If you have a metered data plan that only has a certain amount of data per month. Make sure you don't go overboard like using your phone. All the same data plan. The phone carriers, some are not crazy about this. You may have to do this without their permission if you will. But it is not hard to do. There are plenty of guides on line that will show you how to use your particular phone with your laptop. There are some guides on CNN and other Web sites you can search.

SIEBERG: All right. Great. Thank you so much for helping us out. Brian coolly, editor at large at CNET.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: As Americans pay homage to military veterans this weekend a hunt goes on in Russia for U.S. troops missing from a different time. Dozens of Americans were shot down by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Many were never found. CNN's Ryan Chilcote has that story from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hunting for the remains of dozens of American servicemen shot down by the Soviets during the Cold War is a daunting task. Even when an American team excavates a crash site in the Russian far east it appears almost certainly to be one of their own --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: USA.

CHILCOTE: Yu can't be sure an American crew was on board. The U.S. gave the Soviet Union then an ally planes during World War II. The U.S.-Russian joint commission on POWS and MIAS was established after the fall of the Soviet Union in an era of warm relations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Says U.S. government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: U.S. government?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. U.S. government.

CHILCOTE: The former Cold War adversaries relationship chilled in recent years the job for American search teams got much more challenging.

GEN. ROBERT FOGELSONG (RET.), CO-CHAIR, US-RUSSIA COMM: For the first 12 years of this commission, things percolated along pretty quickly. There was a lot of progress made. Then for about the last two years or so, since about April 2004 it has gone into neutral is the best way to describe it.

CHILCOTE: Neutral or maybe reverse. This month the U.S. lost access to Soviet pilots reports about their dogfights with American pilots during the Korean War. Reports that provided help in clarifying the fates of hundreds of American POWS.

Lieutenant Colonel Michael O'Hara and his colleagues are still allowed to review declassified files from the gulag. The head of the commission believes but cannot prove hundreds of American POWS from Korea and Vietnam were secretly transferred to the camps before being executed. But there too, after scanning thousands of pages of material, leads are hard to come by.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here is a good example. Here is something marked top secret. But what you won't find in here is any list of names of who the prisoners were. That's what we need to get to.

CHILCOTE: That requires cooperation and officially the Russian side of the POW-MIA Commission doesn't even exist. Stuck in a process of bureaucratic reform for the last two years. That makes it hard to find anyone to talk to. We ourselves spent more than a week and a half trying to contact a Russian member of the commission but no one even answered the phone.

Privately members of the U.S. side of the commission are beginning to wonder if Russia really wants to help the United States find it's missing. From her home in West Virginia, Pat Lively Dickinson has been following the commission's work closely. Her brother Jack was on an air reconnaissance flight in the Soviet far east when he went missing 55 years ago this week. She blames her government for failing her in its dealings with Russia.

PAT LIVELY DICKINSON, SISTER OF MIA SOLDIER: I really don't feel that they have pressed the Russians hard enough at this point to get them to reciprocate.

CHILCOTE: And U.S. intelligence reports she says have been useless. Almost everything censored.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a picture so you can easily see --

CHILCOTE: There is a chance the crash site the U.S. team excavated last month is her brother's. She provided a DNA sample for her a sign of hope.

DICKINSON: That is the whole idea of this search. Every search for 13 years to find the fate of Jack and his fellow crewmen.

CHILCOTE: A reminder for her government there are families still waiting.

Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And stay tuned, this weekend for CNN Presents "Combat Hospital" that airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. You can go to our web site for a closer look at what makes those doctors and nurses so good and so tough. Go to CNN.com and click on combat hospital.

Well she barely escaped the war. Next, we have new pictures from a viewer in Iraq of that baby being reunited with family.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: You are looking at live pictures right now out of Baltimore, Maryland and the Basilica of the Assumtion Catholic Church; a 200-year-old Catholic Church is now filling up after two years of being closed for $34 million restoration project. Well now a special mass will be underway momentarily there out of Baltimore. Among the many people who have filed through it today, opera singer, Beverly Williams as well as a former mayor of Baltimore as well as the current mayor of Baltimore, Martin O'Malley. More on the services throughout the evening.

Heart warming news from our I-report files. An Iraqi girl we introduced you too recently has been claimed by her family. Remember that picture a few weeks ago that we introduced you to the girl. A viewer in Iraq has sent us this picture. Insurgents had executed her family in front of her then shot her in the head. Nurses at the air base hospital said only one man that man right there could calm down the child. She slept securely in the arms of Chief Master Sergeant John Gebhardt. Yesterday, Gebhardt talked to us about the experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF MASTER SGT. JOHN GEBHARDT, U.S. ARMY: You reflect on a lot of things how grateful I am for the life I live with my children. My nephews, nieces, the life we live here in America. Wishing the same for her and the other Iraqi children that we saw over there on a regular basis. You wish that they would have the same freedom, fear of -- fear of not having that fear of the threat that they have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And so again we are happy to report that that little girl has left the hospital and is now staying with a cousin in Iraq.

Well the call came early this morning from the incoming head of the armed services committee. Next in the newsroom. Reaction to the push to start bringing the troops home from Iraq.

And can you live off $10,000 a year? You have no choice if you are paid minimum wage. We take on that contentious issue, still contentious even after last week's midterm elections. That's coming up next in THE NEWSROOM.

JERAS: I'm Jacqui Jeras with today's cold and flu report, a big change between last week and this week in the cases of the flu. Especially across parts of the east. The area worst hit is the state of North Carolina. There have been a number of reports of flu here, particularly in western parts of the state. In fact, several schools even closed down for several days to help control the spread of the flu.

We also have some local activity being reported in Louisiana, into the state of Florida. Watch for this to start to close in for those that live in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and into South Carolina. Doing pretty good across the nation's midsection. No reports right now in Iowa the only place. Also seeing a little bit of activity across parts of the west into California and Hawaii.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com