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Canadian Man Arrested in Stolen Plane, Unscheduled U.S. Flight Incident; Reported Assassination Attempt Against Obama in Turkey; President Obama Makes Stop in Baghdad to Visit Troops
Aired April 07, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: First, here's a stolen plane triggering some big fears. Fighter jet scramble, a state capital evacuated and the student pilot lands safely -- in jail.
Also, President Barack Obama overseas and possibly in the crosshairs. We're going to tell you about an assassination plot.
Also, in Italy, death toll climbs. The clocks becomes the enemy now. The search intensifies for victims of yesterday's powerful earthquake.
Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes sitting in today for Heidi Collins. Today is Tuesday, April 7th and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We do begin this hour with that daylong drama that we saw yesterday over a stolen plane. It spanned two countries, three states, and about seven hours. Ended pretty shockingly casual. The student pilot who landed that plane, he just strolled into a convenience store and was sipping on a Gatorade when police arrived to take him into custody.
All right, take a look now. This is what happened. This is the journey, 783 miles of it. The plane was reported stolen from a flight school in Thunder Bay, Ontario. That was yesterday afternoon.
Now, less than a half hour later the plane was flying over at Lake Superior. Now F-16 fighter jets intercepted it near Michigan's upper peninsula border with Wisconsin.
Now, while all this was going on, Wisconsin took a precaution and evacuated the state capital. Nearly seven hours after the plane took off at around 3:00 in the afternoon it landed on a road in southern Missouri in a tiny town of about 400 people. This wasn't too far from the Missouri/Arkansas border.
Jeanne Meserve is the CNN's homeland security correspondent.
Jeanne, help us with this, a strange, strange occurrences here. Do we know what in the world this guy was up to?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: We really don't know what he was up to. We do know his name, Adam Leon. We now have a mug shot of him. He is a Canadian citizen but he was born in Turkey. His name was Yavuz Berke, but then he moved to Canada, changed his name to Adam Leon.
He had had a couple of hours of flight training but no one was quite sure what his flying capabilities were when he was up in this plane. Now F-16s and a Customs and Border Protection citation jet were dispatched to make contact with this guy. They tried signaling him, they tried reaching him by radio.
Air traffic control was trying to reach him from the ground. All of them to tell him to put down that plane somewhere close. NORAD says at some point he did turn and look at the planes. He was aware they were there but he was absolutely refusing to communicate and obviously did not put this plane down until he did so in Missouri.
He is in custody now. He's being detained. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be interviewing him later today to determine if there are immigration violations. Sounds pretty certain that there will be and that he will face additional charges as well for this merry chase.
HOLMES: This merry chase. Help us understand still. We think about 9/11 and planes can only go in certain places and certainly when they are not in communication with folks trying to get a hold of them, they are looked at as, oftentimes, a threat.
Take us through kind of what maybe the government was thinking and how close maybe he would have been to getting shot down and maybe why actually it wasn't taken against him.
MESERVE: Well, they did immediately intercept him. We know that happened over the border of Wisconsin in the upper peninsula of Michigan. They had -- they knew who this guy was. They had his name. They did a background check on him and according to a federal law enforcement source they found no nexus to terrorism in his background so that eased some of their fears.
They also took into account that he was in a small single engine plane, one person on board. We were not talking about a huge passenger plane the way were on 9/11. So the feeling was, even if he'd wanted to do damage he would not have been able to do very much.
But he also was flying past potential targets. You know, they evacuated the state capital in Madison, Wisconsin. They were so afraid what this guy may be up to. He flew past, he flew past St. Louis, continued on his merry ways. So as time evolved, they came to realize he probably did not have terroristic intent.
Now was there discussion of shoot down? We talked to NORAD about it last night. They said, listen, if we believe he poses any threat to civilians or the critical infrastructure, yes, we will consider -- all options will be on the table.
It would have to be approved at the very highest level of government, however, but it never went to that level. He never did appear to threaten any civilians. He never appeared to threaten critical infrastructure. And in fact, there were some amazement last night that this all ended the way it did because he was a student pilot, because he was running very low on fuel. There was some fear that he might crash this aircraft. He didn't. He landed it successfully and he walked away.
HOLMES: He landed, walked away - what? - and got a Gatorade, tried to get some beef jerky. And it ended fairly unceremoniously after all that drama.
MESERVE: Exactly. We really want to know what this was all about but we just don't have a hint yet.
HOLMES: Well, hopefully, we'll get some answers.
Jeanne Meserve, we appreciate you. Thank you so much.
And we are going to try to get some more answers from a NORAD spokesperson who's going to be joining us here live in just moments. He's been up all night actually monitoring the developments so certainly he will have the very latest for us.
We'll turn now to the president whose overseas trip wheels up for the president this morning. Air Force One took off just a short time ago from Turkey. Now this is the last official stop on the president's trip overseas, a five-nation, eight-day trip. We'll talk more about the president's trip there to Turkey, his latest stop. We'll talk about that in just a second.
First, we also want to tell about a threat that U.S. officials are taking quite seriously.
CNN's Ivan Watson joins us now from Istanbul, Turkey this morning.
And again, Ivan, a very strange situation here and authorities are taking this seriously. A man talking about possibly trying to kill the president?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't have too many details about this, T.J. We do know a senior U.S. official has told CNN that the man -- a suspect who was arrested by Turkish police on Friday, two days before President Obama got here to Turkey, that that man has since been released.
Turkish officials so far have refused to comment to us, to tell us anything more about this. We've had some unconfirmed reports in a Saudi newspaper, of all places, that this man could have been a Syrian, of Syrian origin and possibly carrying a knife but, again, he was arrested and has since been released two days before the American president even landed here.
HOLMES: Released already? Again, kind of a strange situation there. We'll continue to monitor that one.
Let's get back to the president's trip here in particular. His last stop on his trip there in Turkey. He had a bit of a town hall meeting there.
Let's take a quick listen. I'll ask you about it on the other side, Ivan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: First, I believe we can have a dialogue that's open, honest, vibrant and grounded in respect. And I want you to know that I'm personally committed to a new chapter of American engagement.
We can't afford to talk past one another, to focus only on our differences, or to let the walls of mistrust go up around us. Instead, we have to listen carefully to each other. We have to focus on places where we can find common ground and respect each other's views.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right, Ivan, tell us about the audience here he was talking to. And, I guess, what really he was trying to convey to them and really what they wanted to hear from him.
WATSON: Well, this was really interesting, T.J. There were dozens of students here, Turkish students. And the president was conversing with them, taking, fielding questions from them in a really relaxed manner. Some of the questions coming in Turkish and he would make jokes about how his Turkish isn't any -- isn't too good and he'd have to pop in an earpiece and there were translation problems.
The students seemed to be pretty happy to see the president, excited to shake his hand. Welcoming him to Turkey.
One of them had a question, though, kind of tough question. He said, you know, you are a different face for the leader of America, but are you really different at your core from the previous president, President Bush? And to that question, President Obama answered, he said, no, we do have some real differences. For instance, President Obama believes that climate control is a real threat. He disagreed with the decision to launch the war into neighboring Iraq which was really unpopular here, T.J., among Turks.
But they -- he said that the two presidents did have some similarities, for instance, that President Obama feels that al Qaeda is a real threat and that countries like Turkey and NATO ally does have to work very closely with the U.S. to battle any kind of terrorism, any kind of threat.
What President Obama was doing here, T.J., was trying to re-brand America after its popularity sunk to single digits here in polls just two years ago here. He was trying to sell America again to Turks. This is the first Muslim country that the American president visited since he was elected president, and the response here was pretty much positive.
You had headlines calling this a historic visit saying, welcome, Mr. President. T.J.?
HOLMES: All right. But wheels up there for the president, wrapping up the trip there to turkey.
Ivan Watson for us there in Istanbul. Thank you so much.
And before that town hall we were just talking about there, President Obama had a chance to take in some of the sights around Istanbul. It included the massive Hagia Sophia. It was once the world's largest religious monument. It's a museum now.
The president also toured the national mosque of Turkey. That's better known as the Blue Mosque. It's one of Turkey's most historic buildings.
Well, of course, we saw the president, his wife on a trip with him. She didn't stop in Turkey with him but she got really high marks and just wowed them over in Europe but how did the president do on his first overseas trip?
We want to hear from you. Let us know. You can e-mail us at CNNNewsroom@CNN.com.
Well, the former Senator Ted Stevens, he was convicted, he could be cleared, however, today. A hearing scheduled to start next hour where a judge is expected to order that the federal corruption conviction be tossed out. The Alaska Republican was convicted last year of lying on Senate financial disclosure forms but the Justice Department says now it has found evidence of misconduct by federal prosecutors in that trial.
We'll keep an eye on that and keep you posted when something goes down in court.
Well, to the horrible story now in Italy. A lot of folks still trapped in the rubble. Rescue crews in the debris of that Italian earthquake. They are still pulling out and still looking for survivors.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We want to update you again about our top story. A small plane that crosses from Canada into the U.S. and fighter jets had to scramble into action. Those jets, one of the orders of NORAD, that's the joint operation that protects the skies over North America.
So what went into yesterday's response including the decision not to take any action against that plane, not shoot it down at least. Joining us by phone is Major Brian Martin. He's a spokesman for NORAD.
I know you've been up all night, kind of monitoring this thing, sir, so we appreciate your time. So help us understand, I guess, when did you -- were you first alerted that there was some kind of a problem that you need to take some kind of action? MAJ. BRIAN MARTIN, NORAD SPOKESMAN (via telephone): We were first alerted by NAV Canada which operates in Canada and they approached our NORAD sector out in Canada and told them that a potential plane was stolen and that it was heading south.
So we began tracking it at that point. Once it started crossing Lake Superior, we made a decision that we would actually intercept that aircraft before it entered into U.S. air space.
HOLMES: I guess what kind of goal -- are you thinking in your mindset when this happens? I guess oftentimes maybe communications can be broken down or something like that, or do you always think that maybe there is some kind of ill intent or you have to make that assumption?
MARTIN: Well, you always hope for the best but you certainly prepare for the worst. In this case that's exactly what could have happened is the man just could have had a broken radio.
So on the -- at the request of the FAA and NAV Canada, we did send those aircrafts up there to check out what was going on. So once we arrived on scene, which was just at the -- bottom of Lake Superior, Michigan, area, we tried to contact the pilot.
HOLMES: And when he did not -- I guess there were some reports that maybe he looked over and so he certainly was aware that these jets were around him, he knew they wanted something from him but you never got any kind of response from him?
So I guess what is your all's response if you know that this pilot is not acknowledging you all, how do you proceed then?
MARTIN: Well, we have a graduated approach to any type of aircraft that is not listening to us. In this case, we started with the verbal communication, trying on the radio and then went to nonverbal communication.
HOLMES: Was there anything -- again, like you said, nonverbal. Did you ever get any kind of acknowledgment from him?
MARTIN: No, we did not. Certainly when you have an F-16 sitting beside you as you're flying in a Cessna, you can't help but notice the aircraft is there. After the pilot decided not to listen to our nonverbal signals, we decided to tail it.
HOLMES: All right. And last thing here quickly, sir, was there anything -- we understand he was kind of flying erratically but anything threatening? I don't know what that would be but anything threatening coming from this pilot or the way he was flying?
MARTIN: In this case, we decided that the pilot -- we continued to tail the pilot so that we would make sure that the safety and security of all the air traffic around the area as well as the people on the ground were safe.
HOLMES: All right. Again, Major Brian Martin, again, from NORAD. Sir, we know you all have been up dealing with this for quite some time. We appreciate you taking the time out for us, sir.
MARTIN: Thanks, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Want to turn back now to the aftermath of that deadly earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy. The latest for you this morning, rescue crew searching through wreckage right now trying to find people who may still be trapped in that rubble.
The Italian government has promised more help. Meanwhile, more bodies were pulled from the rubble this morning. Death toll from the quake now stands at 207. Thousands of people have been left homeless by this earthquake. Officials have asked people to stay away from their homes. Many right now are living in tents and even cars.
Now in the aftermath of this quake, we've got a lot of iReports from Italy. Here's one that comes to us from an American, Alison Victoria, who is living in Rome.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALISON VICTORIA, CNN IREPORTER: We didn't know if it was just an initial tremor, if it was something -- an earthquake here in Rome or where the epicenter was. It took a few minutes before we were able to find information about it on the Internet.
Using my iPhone, I was able to connect. And we found that the epicenter was, indeed, in L'Aquila which is a good -- I would say at least 60, 70 miles away from Rome. And so being that distance and it being so strong and so -- such a long time, because really the house shook for such a long time, we were really worried that the -- at the epicenter it was a very severe earthquake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And if you have -- you know, pictures to share, we would love to have them. Send them our way. Just log o to ireport.com. Please don't take any necessary risk or chances out there as you are collecting your pictures.
Rob, OK, a lot of us are shaking our heads, come on now, when we heard this. Somebody out there, we are hearing predicted this quake. Now precise of a prediction are we talking about.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, there's a seismologist over there named Giuliani, not to be confused it with the mayor, who warned of this a couple of weeks ahead of time.
There's an old theory about radon gas emissions within water that they've tried to test it over the decades and it really -- they haven't been able to replicate it. So most seismologists say he just had a -- it was a good guess. So it's -- the USCS basically says there is no way to project earthquakes. So until they figure out a good way and test it, it's just...
HOLMES: But this one has been around a while. You said they tried but it's never really proven to be effective over time, I guess if you will?
MARCIANO: Yes. I mean the USGS, along with Cal Tech, has done a number of experiments over decades of data and trying to predict earthquakes. It's just they haven't been able to replicate it in a predictable scientific way.
So it's going to be one of these mysteries. But we kind of know why it happens but when and how big is the big question, T.J. One thing is for sure is that this part of Italy, even as far out as Rome, as we saw felt it.
This is a Google Earth map which has some imagery on it that tells you where it was felt. So it was felt as far west as Rome and a little bit farther to the north. So basically about a hundred miles out on either side and then closer into the epicenter which is very close to the town, L'Aquila, that got hammered.
This was felt in a very strong way, according to that case. So there you go. Predicting these things, this thing can happen at any time with any sort of accuracy, that's for sure. But one thing is for sure when it does happen, it can be pretty treacherous.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: We are now past the first full week of April, T.J., and winter just doesn't want to go away. Talk more about that in a half hour.
HOLMES: Yes, it's a little surprising here. Got down to the 30s. I think it got freezing temperatures here in Atlanta last night almost. That wasn't pleasant.
MARCIANO: No. And they're gearing up the masters down the road.
HOLMES: Just keep things in perspective for us there, Rob. All right. Appreciate it. Talk to you here shortly.
Well, a TV station in New York gets a letter but this one signed by a man that police say killed 13 people. What does this tell us now about his state of mind?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: New information about the man police blame for Friday's deadly shootings spree in Binghamton, New York. This comes in a letter signed by the shooter and mailed to a CNN affiliate.
Here now our senior correspondent Allan Chernoff.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The letter appeals to offer a window into the mind of a mad man. "I am Jiverly Voong shooting the people," the letter addressed to News 10 begins. The author writes of how he has been taunted and tortured by undercover police, touching him as he slept, even taking money from him, repeatedly driving in front of him and stopping short. In a rambling summation, the letter demands a cop must be held responsible, quote, "I cannot accept my poor life." It ends chillingly. "You have a nice day."
Enclosed with the letter, photos of Voong holding guns, also his driver's license and pistol permit.
Police are working to confirm whether the letter was, indeed, written by Voong. The letter is dated March 18th, more than two weeks before it was postmarked Friday, April 3rd, the day Voong burst into the American Civic Association killing 13 people and then himself. No police were injured in the attack.
Voong, authorities say, had been upset over losing his job and being teased about his poor English. The letter, if indeed it was written by Voong, points to a man who was more than distraught, someone whose paranoia may have led him to become a mass murderer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. We bring our Allan Chernoff in here now.
Allan, there's some chilling stuff in that letter, but as far as it being postmarked and all those items being in there, I guess police believe it was from the killer. So is this evidence that certainly this thing was premeditated?
CHERNOFF: Right. Well, they are now working to authenticate the letter but as we said in our package, the letter is dated March 18th. It was actually mailed on the 3rd, the day, of course, of the attack.
This is more than two weeks in advance. So if authentic, this would seem to indicate that it was most definitely premeditated.
HOLMES: And also, help us understand, at least the family members have come out and said that they are not surprised that this happened?
CHERNOFF: When the police interviewed family members, they did indicate that they were not surprised. Those are the words of the police chief, Joe Zikuski. He said that they were not surprised that this terrible turn of events and so that, of course, raises the question why did anyone not contact the authorities?
HOLMES: All right. A lot of whys, a lot of questions. Allan Chernoff, on the story for us. Thank you so much.
Well, it is that time of year again. Time for storm predictions for '09. Rob Marciano, he has the latest hurricane forecast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Well, after a four-week rally, investors turning caution. This as companies all across the country get ready to show their quarterly report cards.
Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with the details.
Susan, hello. Report cards coming out, and what are we expecting?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're expecting that the first quarter was tough. But basically investors want to know what companies have to say about the rest of the year, T.J.
You're right, investors turning cautious stocks fell yesterday for the first time in five sessions. More than gravity perhaps taking effect. We are expecting another lower open and we're seeing that in the first few seconds of trading.
Billionaire hedge fund managers George Soros says the market's gain over the past four weeks are not the making of a bull market. He told Bloomberg TV that they're a bear market rally because the economy has not yet turned around. And the IMF says toxic debts racked up by banks and insurers could spiral to $4 trillion. The IMF said in January they expected the deterioration in U.S. originated assets to reach 2 trillion. So, clearly getting worse.
Alcoa kicks off the earnings season later today. The aluminum giant expected to report a huge loss. Overall, Thomson Reuters says earnings among S&P 500 companies expected to fall by 37 percent. But because the bad news is built in, investors may focus on what companies say about earnings for the rest of the year. That could guide stocks this week, especially since there are no big economic reports and it's a holiday shortened trading week. The market closed for Good Friday.
Taking a look at the early numbers right now, the Dow down triple digits, 111 points, 1 1/3 percent, the NASDAQ down 1 1/2 percent.
T.J. listen up, GM teaming up with Segway to make an electrically powered vehicle with only two wheels.
HOLMES: Oh my goodness, what is this?
LISOVICZ: The companies say the two-seated vehicle could change urban mobility...
HOLMES: Yes, that's hot!
LISOVICZ: ... of the new vehicle comes ahead of the New York auto show. Just big enough for you...
HOLMES: And who?
LISOVICZ: And me.
HOLMES: Yes.
LISOVICZ: And nothing else! Nothing else.
HOLMES: Yes. How would you like to see the guy show up to your place picking you up in that thing? Come on, Susan!
LISOVICZ: Make an impression.
HOLMES: All right. Susan Lisovicz, always a pleasure and talk to you here shortly.
We know the economic news hasn't been quite sunny lately. Why are more and more economists saying a recovering could be on the horizon? Gerri Willis, I like the sound of this. Why do they have good reason to be optimistic?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: That's right. Most economists say we're not going to have a recovery for nine months, maybe more, maybe late next year, who knows. There are a small number of economists who are looking at the data and saying you know what we need to get that recovery started in just four months and what's more it could be really strong. Here is why they are saying it.
Stock market up 22 percent from its 12-year close low on March 9th. Housing activity is picking up. I pay a lot of attention to this. We see existing home sales up 5.1 percent in February, new home sales up 4.7 percent in February. The fact that interest mortgage rates here are extremely low that's a big help. There is incredible inventory out there that the market has to work off.
Another sign of positive news and it's a trend number, job losses. Although they are huge, they are easing off and they may have peaked in January when the economy lost 741,000 jobs.
Think about it. January, 741, February, 651, March job losses 663,000. That appears to many economists to be a trend away from these incredible jobless numbers we've seen.
Now, it's just not economists, T.J., who think things could be getting better. A recent poll shows that 20 percent of people now think the economy is getting better compared with just seven percent in mid January, just before President Obama took office. The percentage of people who said the economy was getting worse has declined from 54 percent in January to 34 percent today. So no less an expert than the American consumer is weighing in and seeing some reasons to be positive.
HOLMES: Yes, when you say a 20 percent number thinks things are getting number. That's not a good number but compared to seven percent, that's great.
WILLIS: Compared to where it's been, it's very good.
HOLMES: All of this we're talking about, some of this possible optimism and a turnaround that some might think is happening is this stimulus package related?
WILLIS: I think what's interesting is you're seeing the numbers before the stimulus package kicks in, right? So we haven't seen that yet. So you've got to think that when that really starts kicking in, that money really starts flowing and people really start feeling the effects of that, that we'll have a much bigger uptick in the basic fundamentals of the economy and that will really solidify what may already be starting to happen out there - T.J.
HOLMES: Finally, here you talked about, I think it's just a small number of economists out there who are on board with this. Obviously, not everybody is on board with this optimism?
WILLIS: No, no, no. I think Susan mentioned George Soros saying that he thought the economy was going to be poor for some time. That's certainly not a minority view. There are a lot of people who think the economy could continue to be soft into next year, well into next year.
One housing economist I talked to said you really have to see these jobless numbers get a whole lot better before you see the economy get better. Remember, that's where all of this trouble started in the first place was with housing. The problem with people losing their jobs as they so often lose their homes, too, because they can't pay the mortgage.
That's what we will be watching. Certainly, what happens to that trend in jobless numbers does it continue to get a little better each and every month. If that happens, not only do you see an improved economy you could see the reappearance of inflation, you could see the reappearance of higher mortgage rates, interest rates here. There are a lot of things to be thinking about in the mix.
HOLMES: You got to take the good with the bad and sometimes sprinkle in some ugly.
Gerri Willis we appreciate you.
WILLIS: Let's get rid of the ugly.
HOLMES: All right, let's please. Thank you so much, always good to see you.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
HOLMES: That student pilot we've been talking about in Missouri, he's in jail now in Missouri looking at some possible immigration law violations after he allegedly stole a plane and then triggered a major scare in the skies above the U.S.
U.S. fighter jets were scrambled shortly after the 31-year-old by the name of Adam Leon, allegedly stole the Cessna from his Ontario flight school. He then flew erratically over three states, prompted the evacuation of the Wisconsin state capital and eventually landed on a road in southern Missouri. One of the troopers who arrested him told ABC's "Good Morning America" that Leon said he wanted to be shot down.
HOLMES: California police have found the body of an 8-year-old child who went missing 10 days ago. Sandra Cantu is her name, there she is. Her body was found inside a suitcase in the bottom of an irrigation pond not far from where she lived. She was last seen after she left home to play with a friend.
Farm workers say they discovered the suitcase while draining the pond to water their fields. Authorities are now examining the body to determine how she died.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JANET THIESSEN, TRACY, CALIFORNIA POLICE: From this point forward, investigators will be looking at all of the evidence collected today and the evidence that and information that we have collected prior -- in the prior days regarding this investigation. We will be determining the person or persons responsible for this reprehensible act and we will bring them to justice.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Investigators say they don't yet have any suspects.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: President Obama wrapping up his first overseas trip as president today with a town hall meeting in Turkey. The president reaching out to Muslims and trying to rebuild international alliances that grew a bit strained over the last several years.
CNN's Candy Crowley takes a look at just how he is doing in this mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before the Turkish parliament, the president of the United States looked to begin a new era with the Muslim world. To Turkey he stressed the ties that bind, the battle against al Qaeda and Afghanistan, NATO membership and the personal touch.
OBAMA: The United States has been enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their families. Or have lived in a Muslim majority country. I know, because I am one of them.
CROWLEY: U.S. ties with Turkey always complicated got more so in the Bush era when Turkey refused to do allow U.S. troops to use Turkish soils to enter Iraq.
OBAMA: I know that the trust that binds the United States and Turkey has been strained. And I know that strain is shared in many places where the Muslim faith is practiced. So let me say this as clearly as I can. The United States is not and will never be at war with Islam.
CROWLEY: Former President George Bush made the same point many times but both Europe and the Muslim world had stopped listening. It is the advantage of a new face dealing with old problems, showing up can help. Showing up can be a beginning.
OBAMA: We're going to be able to, I think, shape a set of strategies that can bridge the divide between the Muslim world and the west that can make us more prosperous and more secure.
CROWLEY: It will take more than the Obama era to fully bridge the kind of gap that exists between the U.S. and much of the Muslim world. On one side there is resentment that the U.S. is too close to Israel at political and human costs to Palestinians. On the other, there is mistrust. A new CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll asked Americans if they think the U.S. should trust Muslim allies as much as other allies. The country split.51 percent said yes and 48 percent said no. Making amends with a Muslim world is not just about a single war. It's about attitudes, here and overseas. Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Tonight, a CNN exclusive. The vice president, Joe Biden, sitting down in "THE SITUATION ROOM." He will be there of course with our host Wolf Blitzer and CNN political analyst Gloria Borger. It's happening tonight, 6:00 Eastern on CNN.
Also, it's like a pop culture hall of fame and now the first lady has her spot. Madam Tuso in Washington will unveil a wax figure of Michelle Obama today. The wax version we're told will have a sleeveless dress on that she is being known for these days, it will be kind of like this one that she wore on the night her husband sealed the democratic nomination. The museum only has two other wax figures of first ladies, those being Jackie Kennedy and Hillary Clinton.
Chicago voters picking a new member of congress in a special election today, they're filling the seat left by Rahm Emanuel you see there who left to become the president's chief of staff. The district tends to vote democratic which could be a good thing for Mike Quigley, that's the democrat he's shown here on the left. He's up against republican Rosano Pulido, she's on the far right there. Also running green party candidate Matt Rikle (ph) seen there in the middle.
New parents on an emotional roller coaster, since learning their baby girl was breast-fed by another woman.
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HOLMES: It was supposed to be a eight-day, five-nation tour by the president, turns out it's going to be at least six nations. We just got word President Obama is on the ground in Baghdad making his first trip there as the president of the United States.
This is coming to us from the "Associated Press." We are getting this confirmed now but, yes, in fact, the president, we understand is now in Baghdad. There was speculation since he was in the neighborhood, if you will, that he might be stopping by to check out things there on the ground in Baghdad but, yes, we are getting word the president has made the stop here.
He was wheels up in Istanbul not too long ago. He was there of course a part of his tour. He had stopped in Turkey. Expected to be his last official stop on his tour but, in fact, unannounced as these things often are. You can't release these types of schedules because of security reasons but in fact he is in Baghdad now.
Let's turn to our Suzanne Malveaux who has been covering the president on his first trip overseas.
Suzanne, now we do know that he is in Baghdad. I guess in a lot of ways not a surprise since he was in the neighborhood, if you will, to go ahead and stop by. So what do we know? What else do we know about this trip?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): T.J., it's not entirely a surprise. It's actually much anticipated because, obviously, he is in the neighborhood. Just to give us a sense of how this works. The traveling pool with the president, a small group, will go ahead and travel and won't give any kind of indication in terms of where he's traveling until a pool report is released when they are on the ground and given permission that you can actually move forward with the information.
We are getting information now from that pool. Let me just read it to you.
It's Air Force one has landed at Baghdad International Airport at 4:42 near the end of the flight, the Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that the choice of Iraq, rather than Afghanistan, was made for three reasons. Essentially, one of them being the proximity to Turkey, the need to consult with Iraqi officials, after its progress there lie in the political solutions, and it really is mostly about U.S. troops. They are equally deserving of the president's attention, appreciations no matter where they serve.
He went on to say that our men and women who are in harm's way, whether in Iraq or Afghanistan deserve our utmost respect and appreciation that they plan to hello to Prime Minister Maliki and Talabani, the president, to actually convey that message.
HOLMES: We are -- our Suzanne Malveaux is there who of course has been traveling with the president on this trip.
Suzanne, thank you. Stand by.
We want to let our viewers know, again, the president making his first stop in Baghdad as the president. We understand he just got on the ground there in Baghdad. We are standing by to hear from the pool reporter who is also there in Baghdad traveling with the president and traveling with a pool, the pool team of reporters so we're expecting to hear from that reporter shortly. When that happens we will bring that to you.
Also, want to bring in our Chris Lawrence who is over at the Pentagon.
Chris, what can you tell us?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., I think you made a good point when you said he is making his first visit to Baghdad and Iraq as the president, but it's not his first visit there. He was there in 2006 as a Senator Barack Obama on a congressional trip in which he went outside the green zone with several other senators to meet with some of the military commanders there. That was at the time he was formulating and trying to formulate what he would articulate later as his theory and his plans for Iraq.
Then, he was there last year in July, but that trip was overshadowed by this question of his campaign promise to bring troops home within 16 months. So not only is he there under very different circumstances.
Now we know what his Iraq plan is. He's already come out with it and talked about bringing the troops home in 2010 month for the most part and trying to meet that deadline of 2011 to have all the troops withdraw under the agreement that they've come up with the Iraqi government.
HOLMES: Again, as we know that trip you mentioned he did take last summer was actually a trip that is being used. He was the democratic candidate at that point, so a lot of people said he was doing that - going to stop here because I understand that we do have the reporter ready.
What do we have in Baghdad? Fred Pleitgen for us there in Baghdad. There he is. Again, Chris Lawrence still standing by again.
The word for our viewers is that, in fact, the president making his first trip to Baghdad as president. Fred, we know the president, these things are unannounced but he is there. What can you tell us?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've also just received a confirmation T.J. that the president has landed here in Baghdad. There has been a lot of speculation whether or not he would come here or return directly to the United States after his trip to Turkey.
We're not exactly sure what the president is going to be doing here. As he has landed in Baghdad, there had been a lot of chatter, however, here within the Iraqi government, speculating that the president might come, might talk to Iraqi politicians here.
That, however, is all speculation so far, but if we go back to what Chris Lawrence was just saying a couple of minutes ago, I actually saw then candidate Barack Obama when he was here on his last visit to Baghdad and as Chris rightly said he was then still trying to formulate his policies on Iraq. He was very tight-lipped.
We tried to corner him a couple of times at several events that he had been holding during that time on that congressional fact- finding mission, and he really didn't want to talk at all about what he was going to be doing there. Didn't want to talk about the policy at that point in time he was still formulating.
So, we're going to wait and see what this visit is going to bring. Obviously, right now we know what his policy is going to be. And if you look at the trip that he has done so far, to Europe, but also to Turkey, we've heard very, very little about his Iraq policy. We've heard a lot about the momentum shifting, about the U.S. interest shifting away from Iraq all the way here.
HOLMES: Sorry, my man, I need to cut you off, because we understand the pool reporter - all right, we were supposed to be going to Chip Reid. Again, this is the pool reporter who is traveling with the president, not the entire press corps is with the president right now. But this pool reporter is and a pool team of reporters who are taking video for all of us and also reporting for all of us.
So that reporter we're standing by to hopefully hear from him. Supposed to be filing a report, we will get that to you as soon as we can.
Fred Pleitgen, sorry I had to cut you off there. I'll bring you all back in here.
Again, we were talking about the president here. We know what's on the line now and we know what's coming down the pike, the president's plan to pull all the combat troops out by August of next year and then have all the forces out by the end of 2011, but Fred -- forgive me here.
We've got the audio back, I'm told now, from the pool reporter, Chip Reid.
Let's try to take a listen in now.
CHIP REID, WHITE HOUSE POOL REPORTER (via telephone): ... the plane headed to the southeast.
He's here for a visit with the troops. He is also going to participate in the awarding the 10 medals of valor. He's going to meet with General Odierno, the commander here and talk about how things are going on the ground.
He is also going to talk to Prime Minister Maliki about the political solutions that the president says are necessary for success here.
Robert Gibbs came to the back of the plane, Robert Gibbs, the press secretary, of course, gave us a quick briefing and said there has been (INAUDIBLE) but -- and I can vouch for this - the air is so full of dust here, there was not enough visibility to travel by helicopter. So, we are motorcading to Camp Victory, where the president is going to spend some time with the troops.
I'm Chip Reid traveling with the president in Baghdad.
HOLMES: All right. And that's the report we were waiting on. Chip Reid there on the ground, the pool reporter there reporting.
Sounds like it's kind of tough to pick up there, but we heard they're traveling by motorcade. It was so dusty, he says, once they landed there in Baghdad that they had to actually take a motorcade to Camp Victory where he'll be meeting with some U.S. troops.
I don't know the precedent for this. Maybe Fred can help us here.
Fred Pleitgen, back to you about the Baghdad airport. We always know these things are never announced and that the security around these is just extraordinary. So, he's taking a motorcade instead of a helicopter, we hear, from the airport to Camp Victory, I guess. What is that distance if he's trying to make it in a motorcade?
PLEITGEN: Certainly, T.J. it's really not much of a distance.
If you look at the compound of Camp Victory and the compound of the Baghdad International Airport, it is something that is interconnected. So, certainly, if the president takes a motorcade there, he would not be leaving an area that is secured by U.S. troops. So, certainly, he would be within that area the whole time. It is something that could take a while. The distances there are quite far, but he would certainly minimize the security threat so he wouldn't ever leave an area that is secured by U.S. forces.
Very interesting there to hear from the pool reporter that he's, obviously, going to be meeting with the troops, going also to be meeting with General Odierno and also Nuri al Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister. It is absolutely true, there is a lot on the line here in Iraq and also in relation to the strategy that President Obama has formulated towards Iraq, drawing down the troops, pulling out combat troops of Iraqi urban areas by June 30th. That is a very bold plan, as many see it here on the ground in Iraq, because the Iraqi security forces are still very much in a stage of building up.
And one of the things that he'll certainly be talking about with the Iraqi prime minister when he meets him is the situation of reconciliation between the different groups here in Iraq, the Shia, the Sunni and the Kurd. There have been some pretty bad instances in the past couple of weeks, some tensions there, especially among the Sunni, who helps the U.S. fight al Qaeda here and helped bring a lot of the security back to the streets of Iraq and the Shia-dominated government. The Sunni feel that they're being excluded from the government that they're not being integrated quick enough.
So, certainly, one of the things that we believe Barack Obama is going to be doing, he is going to be talking very frankly to the Iraqi prime minister, telling him that he has to get the process of national reconciliation going, that he has to integrate these Sunni groups. Otherwise, the situation here in Iraq could destabilize, and that, of course, is very, very bad news as the U.S. starts pulling down its troops - T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Fred Pleitgen there in Baghdad where we do know now the president of the United States, President Obama on a surprise visit.
Also our Chris Lawrence here from the Pentagon and Suzanne Malveaux, who has been traveling with the president, been covering him on this first overseas trip that took him to what was supposed to be an eight-day, five-nation tour in London, parts of Europe, then over to Turkey, as well. But now he is, we know, in Iraq.
Suzanne, I will bring you back in.
You're still there in Istanbul. But tell us here, we know that the president made some moves on Afghanistan, making that more of a priority since he became president, sending more troops there. And a lot of people thinking that is becoming more of his war, but he still has a lot on the line in Iraq.
MALVEAUX: Absolutely, T.J. And it may come as a surprise to many watching, but for those of us who have been following the president, there was a lot of talk, a lot of questions, and obviously, anticipation that he would be going to either Iraq or Afghanistan. I even asked one White House aide recently which place he would actually choose, and one person saying they thought, you know, forward looking, it would be Afghanistan.
But clearly, we heard Robert Gibbs also making the point here that it is for proximity's sake. It is right beside Turkey, Iraq is just a two-hour flight time, about 998 miles away. So that was important to hit the ground running, to make this statement that, yes, Iraq is a war that is going to be turning a corner, if you will. He has made it very clear from the very beginning that from the campaign days that Iraq is not the central front in the war on terror, that it, in fact, is Afghanistan.
But as Gibbs said as well, the troops that are in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's about thanking them. He will be at Camp Victory to do just that.
We have also been learning from the pool reports, those who have been traveling directly with President Obama on the ground there, is that he wants to reach out to the Iraqi leaders directly. Now, we understand because of the weather conditions that might not be possible to actually see in person Prime Minister Maliki as well as Talabani, the president, but that they will be on the phone, that they will have those kinds of conversations about the political way forward also to thank the troops on the ground.
But T.J., this is very important here, because we have seen President Obama in his first 100 days, less than 100 days, turning the corner, if you will, saying essentially that the new front is in Afghanistan where he'll be going after al Qaeda as well as the Taliban. That is the whole point of this whole European trip, is to try to garner more support for this new direction, this new mission.
Speaking with White House aides, they are pleased that they got something out of this trip. Obviously, they wanted more troops, more combat troops, but they were able to come away with something tangible to bring back to the United States. So, when you see the troops and you see the president with the troops in Baghdad today, in Iraq today, he will speak to them and he will talk about how he's grateful for their work. But he will also, as well, address the issue of troops now going to Afghanistan.
And what we know that he's gotten out of this trip is about 3,000 or so NATO forces that at the very least will be there in Afghanistan side by side with U.S. soldiers through the Afghan elections. That is a critical time, very important for security purposes. Two thousand or so that we know are going to be helping train those Afghan forces and $100 million that has been pledged by those NATO members simply to help with the cost, with the expense of all of this.
So, White House officials pleased. We also have heard from the president saying that this was not a pledge trip, per se. He didn't necessarily expect really concrete, hard pledges, but he did get something. Perhaps, even more importantly, T.J., is really establishing a totally different tone, a different message, a different mood here in Europe in the Middle East.
HOLMES: And Suzanne -- and again, for our viewers, we're coming up on the top of the hour, 10:00 Eastern time. We're just getting word minutes ago that the president, who had left Istanbul a couple hours ago, that was his last official stop on his first overseas trip, he has now made an unofficial stop, a surprise visit to Baghdad. The president is on the ground there now. That is our breaking news coming up here at the top of the hour.
Suzanne, again with you here, though, back in 2006, he made his first trip to Iraq. And then last summer, he made another trip as a presidential candidate. And at that time is when he talked about building relationships that he might have to have for the next eight, 10 years, or whatever it may be.
So, how did he do about building those relationships? Of course, he can pick up the phone and call from the White House, but how important is it for him to make these trips to sit down face to face, for them to see him, and for the Iraqi people to see a different U.S. president?
MALVEAUX: Well, absolutely, T.J., it's extremely important that they see him on the ground that they see that he is actively engaged in this, and that he is also, essentially, going to be giving the message to the Iraqi people that our job is done.
You may recall in Camp Lejeune before Marine Corps soldiers, that he essentially said you have succeeded in your mission. Your job is done now. It is time for you to go home. During the campaign, obviously, he said he wanted to pull out all of those troops or so within 16 months. We heard just within the last hundred days or so that they would be a little bit longer, about three months extension of that timeline, seen as a compromise if you will.
The one thing that people looked at when they looked at his Iraq plan, and some democrats were not pleased with this, is that the footprint of the United States would still remain for quite some time, at least a year or so. That there would be more troops that would remain for a while because he feels that he doesn't want this whole thing to fall apart, to unravel. That the commanders on the ground said that they needed more time, that they needed more troops.
But essentially, he is saying that in a couple of years or so, in December or so 2011, is when he wants all of those forces gone. And he said, you know, this is the time this year when these troops will begin to diminish, when we'll begin to see a real change in this mission.
This is something that he talked about in the campaign. Obviously, he won a great deal of support from people who wanted to get out of Iraq. He has said all along that this is not the central front in the war on terror, but that now that central front is Afghanistan.
So, we'll hear from the president. He will thank the troops. He will give out those awards, recognize the soldiers there. And then, he will make that pivot. He'll make that turn and say, we still have a lot of hard work to do that we still have to go after al Qaeda. They're posing a threat to the United States and the rest of the world, and we will do so in a new front, that being Afghanistan as well as Pakistan.
HOLMES: All right, again, our Suzanne Malveaux standing by for us there in Istanbul, where the president left a short time ago on his last scheduled stop on the trip overseas. But we know that it is not his last stop. He made an unofficial one now in Baghdad.
