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President Obama Addresses Muslim World; Message to Muslims: President Obama Promotes Women's Rights; Iranian Reaction to President Obama's Speech; Heart Support for Dying Teen

Aired June 04, 2009 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's easier to blame others than to look inward. It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: A speech like perhaps no other.

Hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez with the next generation of news. This is a conversation. It's not a speech. And it is your turn to get involved.

This is what many Americans have been talking about, for years, in fact. We have bombed and bombed and bombed, and al Qaeda's message has arguably grown in popularity. So have its ranks since the 1990s, under Clinton and through the last eight years under George W. Bush.

This president, Barack Obama, today chose to use words that many of you on Twitter told me today were akin to a megaton bomb taking out five al Qaeda brigades.

Is it? Were they that powerful? Here's what the president did. He copped, he came clean on what the United States has done or failed to do with regard to the Palestinians, with regard to Iran, with regard to torture.

But then he turned the tables on his Muslim audience, and he told them what they have done and what they have failed to do with regard to the killing of innocents -- those are the words he used -- the killing of innocents, to their treatment of women, to how they treat and disregard Israel.

The speech was, in large measure, a new way of setting the table, uniquely transparent. And it insisted that Christians, Muslims and Jews have to find a new way to get along, to somehow make this work.

Here he is, addressing Muslims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism; it is an important part of promoting peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: But then, interestingly enough, a statement appeared on Islamic Web sites believed to be from Osama bin Laden.

This is the full version of what he released yesterday. But it -- because it came out essentially in full version on the heels of Obama's speech, it made the al Qaeda leader seem angrier, seem more disconnected, almost out of touch, even more so than he has sounded before.

We're going to go through this with Ben Wedeman, who is joining us now from Cairo, among others.

Ben, thanks so much for being -- for being with us.

Dare I say, Ben, that this is the first time we have seen an American president if -- you're comparing him and what he said to what Osama bin Laden said, an American president outflank and possibly outmaneuver al Qaeda's number one?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rick, I have got some breaking news for you. Al Qaeda isn't quite as big as sometimes it appears to be in the media.

Most Egyptians, most Palestinians, most people in the Middle East sort of put -- put Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda behind them long ago. They never really had a big following in the Arab world. And certainly, in recent years, that following has dwindled even more.

So, even though Jazeera and CNN and other networks do pay a lot of attention when these messages come out, most ordinary Egyptians I know, for instance, don't really pay much attention. But they did pay attention to Barack Obama's speech today.

And it was something that has been the topic of discussion for many people here in the Egyptian capital. The reaction was pretty favorable. There were people who said -- for instance, one human rights activist I know, he said, it was a minimalist speech, that he touched on all the important points, but didn't really drive them home.

Certainly, as far as, for instance, democratic reforms in Egypt, they were hoping for a much stronger speech from Barack Obama. But the speech was entitled "A New Beginning," and many people said it was, it is a new beginning for relations between the United States and the Muslim world.

SANCHEZ: Let me ask you -- let me ask you a follow-up to what you just said, because you seem to be implying -- and I'm really struck by what you're saying -- that al Qaeda doesn't matter.

And let's put on the table the fact that, to many Muslims, al Qaeda doesn't matter. Here's what does matter, the message that al Qaeda has rooted into the minds, if not vice versa, that the United States and Israel have been ganging up on them for years, that they're trying to kill them, that they have attacked their countries, that they're doing many things against the Muslim world.

That's the message that Barack Obama was trying to attack today, whether you put it on al Qaeda or you put it on anywhere else.

WEDEMAN: But the point is, Rick, that many people in the Muslim world have felt that way, that, for instance, Israel and the United States have been aggressive against Muslims, against Palestinians, against Iraqis, against Afghans. But they didn't need al Qaeda to tell them that.

They were -- felt that beforehand. Before al Qaeda even existed in the public mind, you could have found plenty of Palestinians who would argue that the United States turned its back on them and allowed Israel, from 1967, to build settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.

SANCHEZ: But that's the point. But, Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben -- hold on, Ben.

WEDEMAN: They didn't feel -- you know, al Qaeda didn't exist back then.

SANCHEZ: Ben, the point I was making when I started this newscast -- and maybe you just didn't get it -- because you didn't listen to the last part of it -- was that what the president of the United States did today was send a message that counters the message that many in the Muslim world have been hearing.

And it's interesting that it came out on the very same day that Osama bin Laden's message came out. One man came out and gave a message of hope, of maybe Jews Christians and Muslims coming together. The other man came out with a message essentially saying Muslims need to continue to kill the infidels.

It was the striking difference between those two messages which seems to me to be the kind of thing that helps Barack Obama's cause in this battle like perhaps no other president has been able to fight it.

WEDEMAN: Well, certainly the message that was framed by Barack Obama today is a very effective counter message to the message of Osama bin Laden. I don't think anybody would argue with that.

I think the point I was trying to make is that the message of Osama -- Osama bin Laden does not resonate in the Arab and the Muslim world as some might think. It's a minority voice, to say the least, and I would dare to say a tiny minority voice at that -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: All right, Ben Wedeman, enjoyed the discourse. Fine, fine job. Thank you, sir. We appreciate it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal. But I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The president scolded Muslims for their treatment of women. And this part became very personal for the president. Why? Because he has two daughters. This is a part of the speech that we have now learned he added to the speech, himself, because he wanted to say it. You're going to hear how he puts it.

Also, the man accused in a fatal shooting at a military recruiting center in Arkansas, who's Muslim convert, may have wanted to do the same thing in other cities. We're going to tell you what the FBI has found.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. I'm Rick Sanchez. We're coming to you today from the headquarters of Time Warner in New York City.

And, yes, at least in social media, on Twitter and Facebook and MySpace, there's going to be a lot of response on this day, because many -- because of the reports that we are filing, especially everything having to do with not only Barack Obama's speech this morning, but the conversation, for example, that I just had with Ben Wedeman, some differences there, good exchange.

He is charged, by the way, with capital murder and engaging in a terrorist act, following Monday's fatal shooting at an Army recruiting center in Arkansas. This is a story that we have been following and have aired many times, but there's a follow-up. There's something more frightening to consider on this story now.

Federal authorities are saying the 23-year-old Muslim convert, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, looked at many more targets. The FBI says that it has notified authorities in New York, in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Memphis, Louisville, Kentucky, after discovering the suspect allegedly researched possible targets in those cities as well.

Muhammad has fled so far not guilty in court Tuesday. He allegedly, though, told detectives that he was angry at the treatment of Muslims. Again, remember, he's a Muslim convert.

By the way, President Obama's two-state solution for Palestinians and Israelis and the big stumbling block to that proposal, this is a lively discussion. Many are saying that the president of the United States is possibly undermining Israel. Others are saying he's playing it right down the middle.

What's right? What's wrong? Jim Clancy's been looking at this all day long. He's going to join us in just a little bit to enjoy this exchange with me as well. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Let's try something different here, since we're in these New York studios and we have got this wonderful big wall over here.

Give me the Twitter board, if you can, Danny, up here on this big wall. Let's see if we can go through some of the things that people are saying, while they are following on newscast and they're writing about.

Dreamcatcher07, he says: "The moderates have no use for these killers either. One speech will change little. Sorry. That's the reality."

All right, here's another opinion, though. I made the point earlier that it may have been like a megaton bomb.

T.S. Strike (ph) is writing: "Rick, try a thermal nuclear's bomb. Cut A.Q.'s legs from underneath them."

All right. There's a lot -- let me go to one more. Look at the next one there: "The arrogance and lecturing of Obama will only infuriate al Qaeda" -- two of the comments that we have been getting so far. We will -- or three, I should say. We will continue to check on those, by the way.

And I'm told, in Atlanta, that there are tons of those that have been coming in.

Let me say this. President Obama's speech in Egypt was really not, not a policy speech. It was what most would refer to as a framework speech. In other words, it's a speech that hopes to instill in Muslims a new way of thinking, and, even more importantly, a new way of viewing America, an America through the eyes of a president whose middle name is Hussein.

Joining me now from Atlanta, Jim Clancy of CNN International.

Jim, thanks so much for being with us.

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Great to be with you. You look great up there in that New York studio.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Jim.

Let's, you and I, listen to part of this together, first, the president on the Palestinians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: That is in Israel's interests, Palestine's interests, America's interests, and the world's interests. And that's why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all of the patience and dedication that the task requires.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: This is interesting, because it came -- it became very, very personal for the president when he started talking about this. And he castigated both sides, by the way, and said what they both need to do.

However, I want to go back to the conversation I was having with Ben Wedeman, because it just seems to be stuck on my mind, and I want to get your impact -- your -- your input on this.

The idea that the president of the United States would go and try to undo the Muslim perceptions -- and, I know, Muslim perceptions aren't all the same. There's those who are on the far right, those who are in the middle, the folks who want to come over here and kill us and the folks who want to come to some kind of agreement.

But, if you go back in history, all the way to the Muslim brotherhood, before Osama bin Laden, when Zawahri, the doctor, was trying to set this stuff up, it has been about pointing the finger at the Jews, pointing the finger at Israel, and pointing the finger at the United States, and telling the Muslims, look at all the horrible stuff they have done.

This president went there and said to them, did he not, Jim: I get it. We know we have made mistakes, but let's find a way to work through those, your mistakes and ours.

Is that not powerful? Doesn't that undercut al Qaeda? Which is the point I was trying to make earlier.

CLANCY: Oh, you know, you couldn't be more correct about that, because, Rick, as you look at it, and you listen to what people in the room had to say, one of the most prominent Arab commentators said the room was mesmerized by this guy.

Another one, a correspondent, columnist with a prominent Arab newspaper in London said, you know, this guy is the radical's worst nightmare.

SANCHEZ: Really.

CLANCY: Why? He has a vision. He laid his vision out. He didn't say, you're with us or you're against us. What he said was: There's my vision. You want to join in with me?

And it was a good vision.

SANCHEZ: And it's interesting. And that was the point I was making. I will let it go. I'm not going to beat it to death, because my producer's going to tell me that I'm doing it again. And I won't.

But I will tell you, I thought what stood out was not so much the president's speech, which, by the way, some people are aptly criticizing, saying he may have gone too much in undercutting the U.S. and Israel as well. And that's a point to be considered. And we're going to discuss that during this show.

But the fact that the timing that Osama bin Laden's message came out while this president was giving a very conciliatory speech, I think, helps the president.

But let me ask you something else. Let's -- let's talk about Israel. Let's talk about Israel and the Palestinians. He told them, his audience, that they had to accept Israel because of what history did to Israel.

And he spoke of his uncle freeing the concentration camps, who liberated them. And he seemed to be telling them, don't act like Nazis. I mean, that's what -- that's what he was saying. When you say those things about people in Israel, you're acting like the worst of the worst in our history.

How important was that?

CLANCY: Well, it was very important. But, remember, they have heard it before. They have heard all of this. What they hadn't heard was the other side of this, which was the settlement issue.

SANCHEZ: He's pressing Israel on the settlements. And one wonders -- by the way, he got a big applause on that. Did you -- did you...

CLANCY: Of course he did, because they hadn't heard it before directly from him. Yes, they have heard it coming from the White House. But they were hearing it. He was addressing them. He didn't back away. He didn't mince his words.

And we have seen the reaction, and it has come from the radicals on both sides. Some say, well, he didn't talk about this. There are some that wanted to see a U.S. capitulation. That is not going to come from this president or any other.

But, at the same time, you have the -- the radicals among the Jewish settlers who hated this speech. They referred to him as Hussein Obama and said he was now spreading the Arab lies.

SANCHEZ: But, to be an honest broker in this, didn't he have to do that, or else they...

(CROSSTALK) CLANCY: Sure he had to do that. Arabs have been waiting for this -- Arabs have been awaiting this for decades, to see some actual motion here.

(CROSSTALK)

CLANCY: And, mark my words, the debate right now in Israel is whether or not Benjamin Netanyahu is going to back down.

The bets are on. "Haaretz," the leading diplomatic newspaper, English-language, if you like, in Israel is saying right now, it's only a matter of time, a week or a month. Netanyahu will have to back down and bow to President Obama's wishes.

SANCHEZ: Well, we will see if that happens.

Interestingly enough, I want to make one more point, because it's interesting that, while he gave this speech, he did, in fact, get a rousing ovation. Condoleezza Rice, George W. Bush spoke to the same audiences or similar audiences, not the same people. They pretty much sat on their hands while they listened to that. That's important.

One other point -- when he made his point at the Nazis -- about the Nazis and what they had done, he was really taking an indirect shot at Ahmadinejad, was he not?

CLANCY: Well, certainly.

You know, his message to Iran there was an important one. The door could not be swung any wider open for Iran. The hand is indeed stretched out there. The Iranians -- as he well knows it, the Iranians are in the middle of a heated election debate.

And, in fact, President Ahmadinejad's main challenger in all of this, today, in a debate, just reached out and he said: Ahmadinejad, with your comments about the Nazis and everything else, you have further isolated Iran in the world than anybody before you. It was a dumb move.

SANCHEZ: Well, it's interesting. There's other perspectives. And we're going to be sharing them with you, but usually none better than yours, Jim. Thanks so much for being with us.

CLANCY: Great to be with you.

SANCHEZ: All right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I have come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And Muslims around the world watched this speech, some of them in secret in places like Iran. How are President Obama's words being received there?

Also, another update -- two American journalists, including Laura Ling -- she's on the right there -- and her producer, Euna Lee, on trial today in North Korea. Remember, they were last seen here on this program, before this happened to them. A verdict could be coming in any moment now. We're going to be all over this one. And, of course, when it happens, you will see it first on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: So many comments are coming in on the conversations that we have been having so far. You could certainly say that they have been transparent. We have said what we were thinking at the time.

We're waiting for a verdict in the case of two American journalists on trial today in North Korea. Laura Ling, who you have been seeing us follow for some time -- you see her there on the right -- and photographer Euna Lee of Current TV are facing years of hard labor if convicted of illegal entry.

They are charged with so-called hostile acts against the communist state. North Korean border guards arrested them in March. Last night, family members and even total strangers held vigils. Loved ones have suggested that Ling and Lee are being used as political pawns between Pyongyang and Washington.

Obviously, we're following this very carefully, and we're going to let you know what happens.

President Obama calls for equal rights and better education for women, including Muslim women.

Before I do that, though, I'm being told now that there's something going on that I want to share with you, the president of the United States -- speaking of the president of the United States -- arriving in Germany. You heard him say this morning during his speech, when he was addressing Muslims, that it was extremely important for the world to take into account the way history has treated the folks who now live in Israel.

I mean, he was talking directly about the concentration camps and how the Jews were essentially put to death. There's the president arriving moments ago in Dresden, Germany, where we're told he's going to be going to at least one concentration camp, possibly with his uncle, who, at the time, as a -- as G.I., as an American soldier, helped to liberate the concentration camp.

This is going to be a very, very important and symbolic moment for the president of the United States. There he is, just moments ago, getting off the plane. We are going to be following this story, obviously, very carefully, and letting you see it transparently as it happens throughout the course of today and the rest of the week.

By the way, when it comes to women, the president of the United States continued to say that it's the right thing to do. He makes a very personal point about his own daughters, and made the point to the Muslim audience he was speaking to. We will let you hear what the president had to say when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: All right. Let's take off this topic now, because this is as important as anything else the president said today.

If nothing else, it seemed important to him. On the issue of women, the president spoke to Muslims as a father of two young daughters. And he said -- he told them, flat-out, he's not willing to accept the notion that their sons can be educated, but his daughters -- his daughters -- can't be educated.

Here's that part of the speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal. But I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well educated are far more likely to be prosperous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All right. This is important. I want to talk about this a little bit more.

I'm joined by two guests.

First, a Mideast analyst joining us who's been a regular on our newscast. Fawaz Gerges is good enough to be with us.

Good Doctor, good to see you.

Also Dr. Qanta Ahmed, author of the book "In the Land of Invisible Women," great account of living and working two years in Saudi Arabia.

My thanks to both of you for being with us.

DR. QANTA AHMED, AUTHOR, "IN THE LAND OF INVISIBLE WOMEN": Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Let's start with what the president said. And he seemed to be -- did you hear, Doctor, when he was going both ways here? He said, look, what we have done, when we have not allowed women to wear the headdress in the United States, is wrong, but to not educate women is equally wrong, if not worse.

How's that going to be received?

AHMED: I think that's going to be received with tremendous joy. And not only by women in the Muslim world, but by men who are their advocates and wanting to push for this change. Educating women has been an integral part of Islam from the very beginning. And in the early Islamic period, the Islamic scholars were often women. So it will be very warmly received.

SANCHEZ: Does he have more legitimacy or credibility than other westerners who may go over there to talk to them about the American or western perspective?

FAWAZ GERGES, MIDEAST ANALYST: Well, I think, really, a critical point must be made. He was not preaching to Arabs or Muslims. He made it very clear that we are not in a position to impose our own values.

SANCHEZ: Were other presidents preaching?

GERGES: Yes, absolutely. I mean, this is why really his speech represents a rapture for the last eight years in American foreign policy. He talked about...

SANCHEZ: Just eight years? But why are you putting it on Bush? Was Clinton any better?

GERGES: Yes, absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Better than Bush, but not better than Obama?

GERGES: Much more nuanced, much more sensitive.

SANCHEZ: Clinton was?

GERGES: Absolutely. Remember, in the last eight years, we're talking about really a war, a war taking place in multiple areas in the Muslim world. And what Barack Obama was trying to do today is to reframe the debate, is to offer a new paradigm, to speak power with humility, to say not only are we, we the United States of America, we are not at war with Islam, we would like to be partners with Muslims.

So he really beyond the discourse of -- Osama bin Laden says America is waging a war on Islam and Muslims. The president of the United States said not only we are not waging a war against Islam, in fact, we want to reverse the cycle of violence. We want to be partners in humanity, common interests, common background, and partners as well.

SANCHEZ: Doctor, what do you say to those who say, you know, that's the wrong tact, that's the wrong strategy, that is the wrong thing to do with people who when you give them a finger will take an arm?

AHMED: Gosh, I think I disagree. And so much more is accomplished by collaboration than by conflict.

America is in a unique position to invest in intellectual capital and extract development from nations that are hungry for this. Just the comment about educating women reminds me of the fact that 57 percent of all graduates in Saudi Arabia are women. And Saudi Arabia has an 82.7 percent literacy rate. I would hazard a guess much better than Afghanistan or Pakistan.

They already know that the future is going to come by investing in the education of women.

SANCHEZ: Did -- go ahead.

GERGES: Let me ask the question. The question -- let me turn the question on its head...

SANCHEZ: Go ahead.

GERGES: ... and say what were, what have been, what were the costs of the last eight years for the United States' military engagements in the world?

SANCHEZ: Loss of image.

GERGES: Look at the image -- blood and treasure. Blood and treasure.

Thousands of American casualties. Trillions of dollars. Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Iraqi casualties.

SANCHEZ: Are you asking...

GERGES: What I'm saying -- what I'm saying, this particular struggle against al Qaeda could have been won in a more swiftly way had President Bush applied a particular approach -- engagement, partnership, less strangle the beast, the beast being al Qaeda, from within. Let's partner with Muslim societies, as the president said today. We do not see the Muslim world through the prism of al Qaeda.

SANCHEZ: But -- wrong. President Bush will tell you, and so will Dick Cheney, that they only fought a war with extremists, they did not fight a war, as you characterize -- as you characterize -- with the Muslim world.

GERGES: This is the irony. When the president talks about Islamofascism, when the president and his advisers try to wage a war in the heart of the world of Islam, the question to you and to President Bush and Cheney, what did Iraq have to do with 9/11? Why would we expand the global war on terror and get involved in the heart -- of course, Saddam Hussein, we know he was a dictator. That's not the question.

But we were perceived in the Muslim world and the international system -- forget about the Muslim world. The United States was waging an ideological struggle.

SANCHEZ: That was the perception, no question about it. You convinced -- but was it...

(CROSSTALK)

AHMED: But if I can... SANCHEZ: Let me ask you before -- and, yes, Doctor, you will be able to make your point. Do you agree with him that the perception in the Muslim world was undoubtedly that they were in fact -- the United States was waging war against the Muslim world?

AHMED: I think in probably the less educated sectors or the more disenfranchised sectors, yes. We use this phrase "The Arab Street" as if it is...

SANCHEZ: A one-way street.

AHMED: ... always for (ph) people, but it's not. They are often our academic counterparts who are also enraged.

But I think there were two other casualties or costs to this war, and one has been the role of America as a place of hope or the global vision of hope. And the other has been the vilification of an entire religion.

SANCHEZ: But let me ask -- let me ask you a question as Americans now.

GERGES: Yes.

SANCHEZ: And I'm going to ask you a question as Americans. If George Bush would have come out after 9/11 and done what you seem to suggest and had been very conciliatory, would that have been accepted in this political system, in that political climate at that particular time?

GERGES: I mean, this is the challenge really of visionary leadership. We could have used the tragedy of 9/11, bloody and insidious and horrible, in order not only to change the world perception of America -- remember, Rick, there was a great deal of outpouring of sympathy and empathy for America. "We are all Americans." That was the title of newspapers.

The point I'm trying to make is that, in fact, our own actions laid directly into the hands of the bloody murderers, al Qaeda. In fact, the way we conducted the war, that -- I mean, the question is not about the right action, the right -- we empowered the militants and we convinced and we lost the middle ground, the moderate Muslim population.

SANCHEZ: Which is what this president is trying to do.

GERGES: Is trying to do, to repair the dread (ph), try to mend the fences, try to shift the debate and basically...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: You're saying what other Muslim scholars have said, that we played right into Osama bin Laden's hand...

AHMED: Who was the most nefarious profiteer of this all.

SANCHEZ: He wants World War III and we gave it to him.

GERGES: You see, we -- in fact, we accepted his bloody rhetoric that he was the spokesman for common Muslims.

SANCHEZ: Understood. Understood.

GERGES: And what he's saying, President Obama, we do not view the Muslim world through the prism of al Qaeda. It's a tiny, tiny fringe minority.

SANCHEZ: So you liked the speech.

AHMED: But I also...

SANCHEZ: Because we're down to about 20 seconds.

AHMED: The same thought crossed my mind, is I wonder what would have happened if we had this speech immediately post-9/11? And we have the same groundswell of opportunity and good will now that the United States found itself immediately after 9/11, when Tehran was holding candles for 9/11.

SANCHEZ: Well, you can't put the...

AHMED: So, we can't squander it again.

SANCHEZ: You can't put the toothpaste back in the bottle.

Ten seconds.

GERGES: Barack Obama is the best ambassador for the United States of America. He is the human face of America. He is the counter -- the counter-ideological narrative to the murderers like al Qaeda. His message is getting traction, will get traction.

This is the beginning. The beginning of a long process.

SANCHEZ: Strong words.

We appreciate both of you for coming on and sharing that perspective.

AHMED: Our pleasure.

SANCHEZ: I'm sure many people are sitting at home going, wow, maybe didn't think about it that way.

My thanks again.

AHMED: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Yes, this is a teenager holding on for dear life in an American hospital thousands of miles away from home. And now we have an update on the boy from Guatemala who needs a heart.

Also, there's another voice that we want to hear from on the topic of the president's speech today. The perspective from the right, which may be -- or may differ in many ways from what you just heard from our guests.

We'll bring that to you as well.

Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Let's check the Twitter board before we do anything else, if we possibly can.

Let's get -- Danny (ph), put it up on the big board over there. Let's take a couple of comments. Let's what people are writing about.

"Of course the right wing will not say anything positive about the speech."

I'm not sure that's fair, because to criticize something doesn't necessarily mean you don't have a right to.

The next one says, "I think true Muslims believe bin Laden is evil and wish he'd go away. Frankly, I believe Old Bin is dead."

And we've got one more. "Say what you will, but Rick Sanchez is one -- gets me excited about the news."

Hey, thanks, Cliff! Finally a compliment, my mother would say.

Imagine if the United States government jammed a speech by the leader of Iran, but millions of Americans still found ways to hear it. That's exactly what happened in reverse when Barack Obama addressed the world's Muslims today.

This is interesting. Here's a part of what they heard in Iran. This is what was heard through Persian ears from "Voice of America" and various online secret links.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: For many years, Iran has defined itself in part by its opposition to my country. And there is, in fact, a tumultuous history between us.

Rather than remain trapped in the past, I've made it clear to Iran's leaders and people that my country is prepared to move forward. The question now is not what Iran is against, but, rather, what future it wants to build.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: There is a way that Iranians can communicate. Do you know what they can do? They can Twitter.

Back in Atlanta, let's check in with my fave, Octavia Nasr. She's been receiving Twitter messages about the president's speech from Iranians in Iran.

This is fascinating and we want to know from you what they're saying -- Octavia.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR, ARAB AFFAIRS: Well, first, of all, let's make it clear, they like the message, they like the messenger, but now they want to see actions. So, basically they're sending a challenge back to President Obama saying, show me what you mean.

And to give you examples, we followed two people from inside Iran. One is Ali (ph), and he said, "Some Iranians are following the speech via 'Voice of America' by satellite, which is illegal in Iran." He also says, "Explaining that he's Christian but his father is Muslim is great. His root is a reason for his popularity among Muslims."

That was Ali (ph).

Now, Chezad (ph), she says, "I like to wait and see what comes out of it. He's definitely different and his tone has no arrogance toward the East like pre-U.S. presidents." She also says, "With Obama's speech, I got sure that America no longer uses military attack against any country, especially Iran."

How about that? He gave her hope that he's not going to attack Iran.

SANCHEZ: But you know what I was thinking was, though, is this a skewed message? Because it's coming from people -- if they took the time to go to "Voice of America," that means they probably agreed with this guy or were more apt to give him a break to begin with.

What about the rest of the folks? Go ahead.

NASR: Yes, they didn't agree with him. They went into this very skeptical.

SANCHEZ: Huh.

NASR: And actually, when I sent out the message saying, "If you're Arab, if you're Muslim, join me in tweeting live," they didn't know where this was going. So, we saw raw emotions. We saw them like when he quoted from the Koran, for example.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

NASR: They thought that he was genuine, he was real. But at the same time, they're saying, look, we've heard too much rhetoric. We want to see actions.

SANCHEZ: I'm so glad we have you, Octavia, to bring us a perspective that often isn't shared.

Thank you.

NASR: Thank you, Rick. SANCHEZ: This is a boy from Guatemala who needs a heart. I've introduced you to him on my program in the past. Now he's getting an outpouring of support from others. This is an amazing development on this story.

But, by the way, one of those others? Our own Larry King.

This is cool. I'll share it with you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back.

This is an important story I've been wanting to share with you. This is a follow-up to a story that we told you about a couple of weeks ago. I think you're going to remember this one.

It's a story of an 18-year-old Guatemalan teenager in the United States. He's dying. His last wish? To see his parents.

Well, that wish came through, but chances are he was still not going to make it. Now several people are helping him get the medical treatment that he needs to survive. I mean, this has all kind of developed out of the blue.

Brooke Baldwin is here to take us through us.

The first thing is, last time you and I talked, he was basically being told -- look, nobody could play God here, but doctors' best estimates were he had about six months and he was probably going to die.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that still is the case. And the latest development which we thought was phenomenal was the fact that we, through a viewer, through several viewers, were able to get his parents from Guatemala to Atlanta to see his...

SANCHEZ: To be with their dying son before he leaves this Earth.

BALDWIN: Right.

SANCHEZ: Which it would have been horrible for them to stay there and him to die here by himself.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Even if he is an illegal alien.

BALDWIN: Correct. Correct.

But now, thanks to our stories and your show, another viewer has come forward. And we can identify him as a gentleman by the name of Sam Shapiro (ph). And you mentioned our own Larry King, two heroes here who both met Juan and his parents last Sunday.

Sam saw Juan's story, wanted to help. And he's reached out to CNN and has since donated -- I'm not a lot to say -- let's just say a huge chunk of change for medical treatment for this potential transplant. Yes, we're talking transplants at this point in time.

Larry King saw the story and, almost equally important, so did his viewers. They said, hey, Larry, you've got to help Juan.

They knew about Larry King's cardiac foundation. It was created about 21 years ago after Larry's heart attack, and it's a foundation -- it really just centers its effort on helping Americans who simply cannot afford health insurance.

So, the foundation's role in all of this, just to explain, to help Juan find a donor. And in doing so, they've moved him to this partner hospital. That's where these pictures are coming in from in Atlanta, at St. Joseph's.

So, what's happening right now? These doctors are evaluating Juan here this week. They say Juan appears to be a good candidate for a transplant. That's incredibly encouraging, but it's difficult to know if he will live until they find a heart.

Here's a doctor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JEFFREY MILLER, CARDIOLOGIST, SURGICAL DIRECTOR: If we feel that he's not going to make it to a transplant and not make the wait for a donor heart to become available, then we will move and put a left ventricular assist (ph) device in, which is a pump that can support him until an donor organ becomes available.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And as you mentioned, Juan did come here last fall illegally. So, if and when doctors actually find a heart in time, it's important to point out it's a max of five percent of heart transplants every year in the U.S. can be performed on foreign nationals.

SANCHEZ: Yes, but you know what this story says? This is the goodness of this country. That's what says America is a great nation, because this is a human story, not a political story. And maybe that's why it makes that difference.

And my thanks to you for bringing it to us.

BALDWIN: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Really cool. We'll follow it.

BALDWIN: We will. We will.

SANCHEZ: All right.

President Obama clearly drew the line with his speech today. That is what Republican strategist Ed Rollins said today early on "AMERICAN MORNING." I've listened to it, I've asked him to join me here, and he's right on the other side of the studio. He's going to be walking up here and having a conversation with me in just a little bit.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We welcome you back.

I'm Rick Sanchez.

As promised, Republican strategist, no less than one of the best Republican strategists, should I say, Ed Rollins.

Thanks for being with us, sir.

ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Thank you, Rick. My pleasure. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: What was the problem? As you look at the president's speech, what did he fail to do?

ROLLINS: Well, I don't think there were any specifics. I think the bottom line, it was great rhetoric. I think it was from his heart. It was very much like his campaign speeches -- America could be a better place, you can elect someone like me, I can make it a better place. Today, to the Muslim world and to the whole Arab world, it can me a better place for certain reasons.

The bottom line, it's sort of like marriage counseling. You know, you sit down and then you say, "Well, you've got to listen to her. You've got to listen." You know, there's two sides to this issue and what have you.

You go back home, "I'm a slob. I dump my clothes on the floor. My wife's mad at me. She's vacuuming during the ballgame." We're right back to the same situation.

My sense is it was a lot of fancy rhetoric, he walked a very thin line. I think it came from his heart. It's still up to the Palestinians and the Israelis. There was not a lot for the Israelis today.

SANCHEZ: So you wanted to see more of a policy speech, because, you know, this was not a policy speech. This was a framework speech -- I'm going to create the conditions where something good may come out of this. That seemed to be his intent.

ROLLINS: That's his intent. And I think to a certain extent, he went right around the host. I mean, Mubarak's an 81-year-old. He's in Egypt today. Egypt is not what you'd call a democracy. The guy's been there forever and he's been a very strong ally of ours.

Most of leadership of the Arab world are not democracies. They don't want democracies. His speech was to the young and to the next generation. He may have raised false hopes.

SANCHEZ: But you know what it is, too? He was doing something that was very different from what we have done in the past. And do you fear that some people will listen to this conversation that we're having right now and they'll say, by golly, there go the Republicans again? They're trying to go and do things granddad's way, as opposed to the cool cousin or the cool uncle?

ROLLINS: Well, I think all Republicans can do at this point is basically put a microscope on the things that are occurring. A lot of things occurring that we don't think are going to work long term, but it's not our game anymore. It's his game.

He's certainly, I think, as I said, I think it's from his heart. I think it's the world he would like to see. But getting there is a very, very hard place.

SANCHEZ: You think he should press BB Netanyahu some more?

ROLLINS: I don't think he can. I think BB is in a very precarious place. He's a hard-liner. He doesn't even have a majority government. I think he got elected because he was a hard-liner.

SANCHEZ: Can this president make BB Netanyahu's arm twisted enough to get him to settle on the settlements and on the two-stage solution?.

ROLLINS: Well, settlements are very important. You know, you live in Atlanta. It's like taking a major suburb there and saying tear it down and give it back to south Georgia.

You know, it's a serious question. And I don't think he can do it.

SANCHEZ: But politically, let's go to the politics part before we run out of time. How big a gamble is he taking by publicly pressing the prime minister of Israel?

ROLLINS: It was -- first of all, that's a very significant constituency to the Democratic Party, more so than the Arab world has been. And I think to a certain extent, Rahm Emanuel's phones are ringing off the hook today by prominent Jewish leaders who are very concerned about this.

SANCHEZ: So if you were handling this president, you would be saying to him back off?

ROLLINS: I'd been very sensitive to Israel. Israel is a democracy.

SANCHEZ: So why is he doing it? Does he not care about the politics?

ROLLINS: I think it's because he grew up in a Muslim family. I think it's what he believes. I don't -- not dissuaded that it's not sincere. It's just that it's a complicated issue and these people have been at war with each other for a long, long time. SANCHEZ: Ed Rollins, I want you to toss the show over to your friend in Washington, Mr. Wolf Blitzer.

ROLLINS: To the best. Mr. Wolf Blitzer, who basically will give us great insight.