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Flooding in Pakistan; President Obama Talks War; Out of Work and Out of Benefits

Aired August 02, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7 at CNN world headquarters, the big stories for Monday, August 2nd.

Al Qaeda's rising star, he's an American.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a spiritual guide ideologically condoning violent acts, this YouTube jihadist has inspired dozens of young men.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: CNN's Deborah Feyerick looks at the Colorado State University grad who experts say may assume the bin Laden mantel.

Extreme flooding takes 1,100 lives in Pakistan. Thousands are left without clean drinking water.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no medicine for us. There's no water for us. There's no meals for us. But we don't have anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And BP ready for the kill. The plan to permanently seal the oil well may begin tonight. Gulf business owners say finally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you see somebody saying it's good down here, come on down here, spend some money, help some of these hard- working people out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye, in for Tony Harris.

Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.

There is water everywhere, but none to drink. That is quickly fueling disease among 2.5 million desperate flood survivors. This disaster is unfolding in northwestern Pakistan, Taliban and al Qaeda territory. Experts say the government's slow response will only mean a groundswell for the terrorists.

CNN's Reza Sayah is covering our lead story from Charsadda, Pakistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The wet and muddy planks of wood were twice her size, but 8-year-old girl Moniba (ph) wasn't about to let them slip away.

"Our house washed away and I'm finding wood," she said -- wood her family plans to use as they build a new place to live.

Like tens of thousands of others, Moniba (ph) lost her home in the worst floods ever to hit northwest Pakistan. Set off by record breaking monsoon rains, the water leveled entire villages. The mud houses in this settlement never had a chance. With no one to help and nowhere to go, the villagers pitched tents at this nearby graveyard. For now, this is home.

EKRAM SAFI, FLOOD VICTIM: There's no medicine for us. There's no water for us. There is no meal for us. But we don't have anything.

SAYAH: A family of 35 used to call this place home. The decision now: move or rebuild.

UMER SAEED, FLOOD VICTIM: This is the first time in my life that I am (INAUDIBLE) in a disaster.

LIAQAT ALI, FLOOD VICTIM (through translator): There is no food. We left it inside the houses. We have nothing. We took refuge in a mosque and prayed for God's help. There was nothing to eat for almost 48 hours. We were neck-deep in water with women and children standing almost naked.

SAYAH: The government insists it's doing what it can to bring relief to the victims. But in the villages near Charsadda, two hours west of Islamabad, there was no sign of help from the government or aid groups. Local villagers recovered the dead themselves. In area roads, entire families walked, often barefoot, with the few items they had left.

SAEED: Looking on the TV, government has promised us that there is 200 boats coming from Karachi. And there is still nothing.

SAYAH (on camera): Why haven't relief crews been able to get to some of the victims? There is a big reason -- this is one of the bridges on the motorway, the major highway connecting Islamabad, the federal capital east, to Peshawar and other villages west. And as you can see, the floodwaters have completely demolished it.

(voice-over): With the bridge down, traffic to Peshawar, the biggest nearby city, was backed up for hours. No one seemed to be moving. Not even brides and grooms.

With scorching temperatures and little food or water, frustration has set in. Villagers threw mud at pictures of their local government officials, the same mud that buried their homes. It's their way of saying, "Get us help now."

Reza Sayah, CNN, Charsadda, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Other big stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Federal crash investigators will get to work today on the outskirts of Alaska's Denali National Park. Three people aboard a cargo plane are believed dead after it slammed into the south slope of Mt. Healy. A spokeswoman at Denali says the plane pretty much disintegrated. A fire sparked by the crash is contained this morning.

Crews in western Russia say half of the 700 wildfires they are battling are either out or contained today. The disaster, fed by record heat, as killed 34 people and left 5,000 homeless. Temperatures hit 102 in Moscow last week, the highest since record- keeping began back in 1879.

President Obama talks about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq this hour. The president just arrived here in Atlanta. He speaks shortly to the National Convention of Disabled American Veterans.

Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry joins me here in the studio to talk about this.

Ed, good to see you.

ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Randi.

KAYE: So, the Iraqis are saying that violence is the worst it's been in years, the president is saying the violence is the lowest it's been in years.

HENRY: Yes. And squaring that rhetoric is going to be a big important part the of this speech, because this is a big moment right now.

August, the deadline has finally come for all U.S. combat troops to come out. There's still going to be a small amount of troops there through the end of next year.

This is a big moment, because the White House wants to play this up as a major campaign promise kept. You'll remember -- we've sort of forgotten about it because we talk about the financial crisis, health care, but --

KAYE: Right. He hasn't talked much about Iraq at all lately.

HENRY: -- he hasn't talked about Iraq a lot. But you have to remember, at the very beginning of the campaign, the thing that really lifted him up against Senator Clinton was his opposition to the war in Iraq. That was a big deal at the time, and he promised to get combat troops out within 16 months, he's doing it a couple of months later.

But when you square -- can you square that rhetoric about the violence? The White House wants to show, look, the conditions on the ground in Iraq are much better. But you're right, the Iraqi officials are saying, actually, in July, the violence was the worst its been in two years, number one. And number two, when you look at the stream of stories coming out right now from Baghdad saying that they have got very little electricity, that the oil law they have been talking about for a couple of years --

KAYE: Right. Are they ready is the bigger question.

HENRY: Yes. They haven't done the political reconciliation, the real hard work to share the oil revenue, for example, so that all different factions in Iraq are actually going to share in some of that money. They're expected to get huge bits of royalties that can help rebuild that country.

And so, the White House really wants to push this along because, number one, they are sending a lot more troops to Afghanistan and they really want to shift the focus there. And they point out that even though we're surging in Afghanistan right now, pretty soon the president is going to have 100,000 U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan. There's actually going to be less troops on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq pretty soon than when the president took office because of this drawdown in Iraq.

But when we look at Afghanistan as well, the president talks about a pivot point next summer when he's going to start drawing down at least some troops. When you look at the facts on the ground in Afghanistan, can he really do that next summer? That's a big question.

KAYE: It almost seems though -- I know we are talking about Iraq, but it almost seems that this is really a message about Afghanistan, because he's in a way showing that I stuck with my commitment here, I'm pulling these troops out, I can end this war responsibly, as he puts it. So, it's almost a message that I can do this in Afghanistan, please don't worry.

HENRY: You're absolutely right. But when you see the challenges he's facing to actually finish the job in Iraq and prove that violence is down, even when the facts on the ground are suggesting maybe violence is not down, he's going to have the same challenges when he tries to draw down the war in Afghanistan, because we saw with these WikiLeaks documents, the White House kept saying nothing new here. And true, a lot of that had been aired, a lot of the challenges on the ground in Afghanistan, but the bottom line is it's not turning for the better just yet.

And so the White House has a lot of work to do still to actually get those troops home. So this is a pivotal moment right now.

KAYE: And this event today is, what, a series of events?

HENRY: Yes. He's delivering a speech to the disabled American veterans here. Also, some veterans groups have been upset at the president, had a meeting with him last week at the White House saying that they want to see more from him on some of these returning veterans who are injured -- you know, serious, serious injuries both from Iraq and Afghanistan.

So they're going to be listening closely to what he has to say that. But you're right, this is a pivotal moment in both not just Iraq, but in Afghanistan as well.

KAYE: Right. And we'll watch the speech together --

HENRY: 11:30.

KAYE: -- and we'll talk about it a little bit more.

All right. As Ed just said, you can, of course, watch the president's speech live right here on CNN. His address to the National Convention of Disabled American Veterans is scheduled to begin about 20 minutes from now, at the bottom of the hour.

For U.S. officials tracking terror threats overseas, one name keeps popping up case after case, Anwar al-Awlaki. Why terrorist experts say he may be the next Osama bin Laden.

The markets have been open two hours now. Let's get a look at the Dow. It is doing pretty well, in positive territory there, up almost 180 points.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Some terror experts call him the next Osama bin Laden, a radical cleric born in the U.S., blacklisted by Washington and the United Nations.

In a story you'll see only here on CNN, Deborah Feyerick looks at why Anwar al-Awlaki is so feared.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANWAR AL-AWLAKI, RADICAL CLERIC: Well, that's what they're doing today. They're plotting to kill this religion.

FEYERICK (voice-over): From the safety of his hideout in Yemen, American Anwar al-Awlaki poses a threat to the United States unlike any other.

LT. COL. ANTHONY SHAFFER, CENTER FOR ADVANCED DEFENSE STUDIES: I believe Anwar al-Awlaki represents the heir apparent to the overall al Qaeda global effort.

AL-AWLAKI: False role models -- FEYERICK: Al-Awlaki, not yet 40, has vowed to bring America to its knees, one terrorist at a time. An army of lone wolf insurgents.

SAJJAN GOHEL, COUNTERTERRORISM EXPERT: He is the individual that is continuing the doctrine that people like Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri started.

FEYERICK: His credentials as an American citizen fluent in English and Arabic give him a unique authority among social media savvy wannabe jihadist.

AL-AWLAKI: And I eventually came to the conclusion that jihad against America is binding upon myself just as it is binding on every other able Muslim.

GOHEL: He unlike others has been able to recruit --

FEYERICK: Counterterrorism expert Sajjan Gohel --

GOHEL: Al-Awlaki through his Internet sermons are preying on these young people, encouraging them to go off to faraway lands in which they have no real relationship with to link up with terrorist outfits.

AL-AWLAKI: The simple answer is America cannot and will not win.

FEYERICK: As a spiritual guide ideologically condoning violent acts, this YouTube jihadist has inspired dozens of young men. In the last few years, alleged plotters include the Times Square bomber, the young Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a U.S. jetliner over Detroit, the alleged Fort Hood shooter, young American Somalis bent on jihad and others all following a man born 39 years ago in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Awlaki spent his teen years in Yemen before returning to study in the United States.

(on camera): Anwar al-Awlaki was 19 years old when he came here to Colorado State University to study engineering. He had received a $20,000 federal grant courtesy of U.S. taxpayers. Applying for a student visa to come here, he lied and told authorities he was born in Yemen, not here in the United States.

(voice-over): Years later, that lie almost got him arrested. He was investigated for passport fraud following 9/11, but the arrest warrant was rescinded and al-Awlaki left America in 2002 never to return.

YUSUF SIDDIQUI, AWLAKI'S FRIEND: I got a feeling that he wasn't --

FEYERICK: Yusuf Siddiqui and Awlaki were good friends taking the same classes and sharing a love of Islam.

We were both passionate of being part of the Muslim Student Association and, you know, just combating stereotypes and misunderstanding and ignorance. FEYERICK: But there was another side to the young al-Awlaki rooted in the years he'd spent in Yemen. Osama bin Laden's ancestral homeland.

SIDDIQUI: I think he was proud of the fact that he had been to Afghanistan and, you know, learned something about, you know, the Mujahideen and maybe trained a little bit.

FEYERICK: Trained to fight Soviets in a guerrilla war bankrolled by the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And Deb joins me now from New York.

Deb, al-Awlaki used to be considered a rationale mainstream voice of Islam. So what happened?

FEYERICK: Well, and it's really interesting. I spoke to a number of very prominent clerics last week, and they don't know what happened.

They believe that it perhaps is the year he spent in prison in Yemen. Here he is, an American citizen. It's not clear whether the Americans knew, whether they condoned it, whether they were aware of the potential torture that was going on. But his ideology really, really changed, and mainstream Muslims will tell you it is not in the Koran. One cleric telling me -- he said, "Look, I don't need the prophet to tell me that it's wrong to kill people on an airplane."

So, what really makes him so interesting, Randi, is that he is dangerous because young men who are predisposed to violence are really looking towards this self-taught cleric to legitimize acts of terror against the United States, Canada and Great Britain. And it's not just that he was born here, but he also studied here. He studied human leadership, he studied other things that really have made him able to kind of harness the power of the western intellect and imagination to target these young men. And that's why he's so dangerous.

KAYE: Fascinating story. Deb, thank you.

A million and a half Americans are maxing out on their unemployment checks, and no jobs are in sight. We're checking on economic survival for the 99ers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Economists say the recession is officially behind us, but tell that to the jobless -- 14,600,000 are still looking for work, 6,800,000 of those are long-term unemployed. And many of those have maxed out on their unemployment checks. They are pushing Congress to extend benefits, but it's not that simple, as CNN's Lisa Desjardins reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LISA DESJARDINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This small building in Washington is an economic survival camp.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The hiring manager is Tony.

DESJARDINS: The Opportunities Industrialization Center runs an intensive program of job placement --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And these are the positions that they're currently hiring for.

DESJARDINS: -- and job training. And it's how Alfreda Ray hopes to survive.

Two years ago, she was laid off. And then one month ago, her unemployment benefits ran out. She's a 99er -- 99 weeks of checks are over.

ALFREDA RAY, OUT OF BENEFITS: I wish they would extend it because it is of great help. It is a great help when you don't have any food stamps and you have rent to pay and you want to keep your phone on.

DESJARDINS (on camera): Ray is one of an estimated 1.5 million Americans who will max out on unemployment benefits this is year. Here's how that works.

It depends on your state but the majority, here in red, cut off benefits after 99 weeks. That's the absolute max. So-called 99ers are pushing for more benefits for everyone in all states. That raises a complicated debate over how long unemployment benefits should last.

RAY: The benefits is nice. It did hinder me, though, very much. It did hinder me very much.

DESJARDINS (voice-over): Ray says while she received the checks, she was depressed. She moped around. She didn't do her hair. Losing the benefits, she says, pushed her into gear. And she's blossoming here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you're going to upload your resume what must be done first? DESJARDINS: But here's the thing. Staff at the center says that most of the people they see desperately need those checks.

DYANNE HORNER LITTLE, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, OPPORTUNITIES INDUSTRIALIZATION CENTER: The people that we're serving, it's helping them to stay alive, to just make it.

DESJARDINS: Indeed Ray has no phone service, but she does get e- mail at the center. She would like six more months of benefits. But without it she's more determined than ever to find a job.

RAY: I'm just going to keep grinding the mill and helping people and let people help me.

DESJARDINS: Lisa Desjardins, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Some federal tax cuts are about to expire. Unless Congress acts soon, many taxpayers will have to pay more to Uncle Sam next year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Congress does nothing, it could lead to one of the largest tax increases in American history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If new tax law legislation is not implemented, there would be a dramatic effect to the middle class.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Dire warnings. Who might have to pay more? The bottom line coming up in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

Late details now on the Gulf oil disaster.

One hundred and five days after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, BP is ready to begin permanently sealing its busted well, perhaps as early as tonight. The procedure involves pumping mud and cement into the well shaft.

Other top stories.

A Florida-based budget airline is expanding fees to include carry-on luggage. A bag brought onto a Spirit plane will now cost you as much as $45. Spirit insists the move is not profit-motivated, but rather to reduce carry-ons and speed up gate departure times.

And troubled Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan left jail today and went straight to rehab. She spent just 13 days behind bars. A judge gave her 90 days for violating parole, but the Los Angeles County sheriff can grant early release due to overcrowding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: There you see President Obama here in Atlanta today. He's speaking to the Disabled Veterans of America at the conference there, and he's talking about the drawdown in Iraq.

Let's take a listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are grateful to you. Thank you for everything that you have done.

(APPLAUSE)

I want to thank your great leadership team for welcoming me today -- Chairman Ray Dempsey -- (APPLAUSE)

Absolutely. Incoming commander, Wally Tyson --

(APPLAUSE)

-- National Agitant Art Wilson --

(APPLAUSE)

-- Judy Hezlep of the DAV Auxiliary --

(APPLAUSE)

-- and your outstanding executive director in Washington, Dave Gorman.

(APPLAUSE)

And I am pleased to be joined by a decorated Vietnam veteran, wounded warrior, and a lifetime member of the DAV, my outstanding secretary of Veterans Affairs, Rick Shinseki.

(APPLAUSE)

Disabled American veterans, I valued your advice and counsel when I was a senator and when I cosponsored the post-9/11 GI Bill. You were one of the first veterans organizations that I called upon when I began my presidential campaign.

(APPLAUSE)

And as president, it's been my pleasure to welcome you to the White House to make sure America is serving our veterans as well as you've served us.

(APPLAUSE)

And most recently, to sign advanced appropriations into law so that veterans' health care will never again be held hostage to the budget battles and the political games in Washington.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, there's another visit I won't forget. I was in the Oval Office expecting a visit from the DAV, and in comes Bobby carrying a baseball bat. Now, it's not every day that somebody gets past the Secret Service carrying a baseball bat. You may have heard about this.

It turns out it was a genuine Louisville slugger, a "thank you" for going to bat for our veterans on advanced appropriations. So I'm grateful for that symbol of our partnership and I'm proud of the progress we have achieved together. But as one of your outstanding DAV members from Illinois just reminded me, this is a promise I made during the campaign. It was a promise made and it was a promise kept, and I intend to keep on keeping my promises to the veterans of America.

(APPLAUSE)

In the life of our nation, not every generation has been summoned to defend our country in its hour of need. But every generation to answer that call has done so with honor and with courage.

Among you are members of that generation that saved the world from fascism. I was honored to stand with our World War II vets at Normandy last year for the anniversary of D-Day. And this year, as we mark -- this year, as we mark the 65th anniversary of our victory in that war, we once again salute our veterans of the Second World War.

(APPLAUSE)

Others among you faced a brutal foe on a cold Korean peninsula. This year, as we mark the 60th anniversary of that conflict, I will be proud to travel to the Republic of Korea in November to pay tribute to our veterans of the Korean War.

(APPLAUSE)

Many of you served in the jungles of Vietnam. You also served with honor, exemplary dedication and courage, but were often shunned when you came home. That was a national disgrace and it must never happen again.

(APPLAUSE)

And that's why we're making sure our veterans from today's wars are shown the respect and the dignity that they deserve.

(APPLAUSE)

And whether you served in the Gulf to free a captive Kuwait or fought in the streets of Mogadishu or stopped an ethnic slaughter in the Balkans, you, too, are part of an unbroken line of service stretching across two centuries.

For you, coming home was the beginning of another battle, the battle to recover. You fought to stand again and to walk again and to work again. You fought for each other and for the benefits andtreatment you had earned. You became leaders in our communities, in our companies and our country, including a former Vietnam vet and Senator Max Cleland, who reminded us that America's disabled veterans are strong at the broken places.

(APPLAUSE)

Today your legacy of service is carried on by a new generation of Americans. Some step forward in a time of peace, not foreseeing years of combat.

Others step forward in this time of war, knowing they could be sent into harm's way. For the past nine years, in Afghanistan and Iraq, they have borne the burdens of war. They and their families have faced the greatest test in the history of our all-volunteer force, serving tour after tour, year after year. Through their extraordinary service, they have written their own chapter in the American story. And by any measure, they have earned their place among the greatest of generations.

Now one of those chapters is nearing an end. As a candidate for president, I pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end.

(APPLAUSE)

Shortly after taking office, I announced our new strategy for Iraq and for a transition to full Iraqi responsibility. And I made it clear that by August 31st, 2010, America's combat mission in Iraq would end.

(APPLAUSE)

And that is exactly what we are doing, as promised and on schedule.

(APPLAUSE)

Already, we have closed or turned over to Iraq hundreds of bases. We're moving out millions of pieces of equipment in one of the largest logistics operations that we've seen in decades. By the end of this month, we'll have brought more than 90,000 of our troops home from Iraq since I took office. More than 90,000 have come home.

(APPLAUSE)

Today, even as terrorists try to derail Iraq's progress, because of the sacrifices of our troops and their Iraqi partners, violence in Iraq continues to be near the lowest it's been in years. And next month, we will change our military mission from combat to supporting and training Iraqi security forces.

(APPLAUSE)

In fact, in many parts of the country, Iraqis have already taken the lead for security.

As agreed to with the Iraqi government, we will maintain a transitional force until we remove all our troops from Iraq by the end of next year. And during this period, our forces will have a focused mission: supporting and training Iraqi forces, partnering with Iraq is in counterterrorism missions, and protecting our civilian and military efforts.

Now, these are dangerous tasks. There are still those with bombs and bullets who will try to stop Iraq's progress. And the hard truth is we have not seen the end of American sacrifice in Iraq.

But make no mistake: Our commitment in Iraq is changing from a military effort led by our troops to a civilian effort led by our diplomats. And as we mark the end of America's combat mission in Iraq, a grateful America must pay tribute to all who served there.

(APPLAUSE)

Remember, our nation has had vigorous debates about the Iraq war. There are patriots who supported going to war, and patriots who opposed it.

But there has never been any daylight between us when it comes to supporting the more than 1 million Americans in uniform who have served in Iraq; far more than any conflict since Vietnam.

These men and women from across our country have done more than meet the challenges of this young century. Through their extraordinary courage and confidence and commitment, these troops and veterans have proven themselves as a new generation of American leaders.

And while our country has sometimes been divided, they have fought together as one. While other individuals and institutions have shirked responsibility, they have welcomed responsibility.

While it was easy to be daunted by overwhelming challenges, the generation that has served in Iraq has overcome every test before them. They took to the skies and sped across deserts in the initial charge into Baghdad.

And today we're joined by an infantry member who was there as part of the 101st Airborne Division. Sergeant Nicholas Bernardi Ishere.

(APPLAUSE)

When invasion gave way to insurgency, our troops persevered, block by block, city by city, from Baghdad to Fallujah. As a driver in a transportation company, this soldier endured constant attacks butnever wavered in his mission. And we thank Sergeant Dan Knabe.

Thank you, Dan.

(APPLAUSE)

When terrorists and militias plunged Iraq into sectarian war, our troops adapted and adjusted, restoring order and effectively defeating al Qaeda in Iraq on the battlefield.

And among those who served in those pivotal days was a scout with the 1st Cavalry Division, Specialist Matt Seidl.

Matt?

(APPLAUSE)

For each of these men and women, there are countless others. And we honor them all: our young enlisted troops and noncommissioned officers who are the backbone of our military, the National Guardsmen and Reservists who served in unprecedented deployments, more women tested by combat than any war in American history --

(APPLAUSE)

-- including a Marine here today, Sergeant Patricia Ruiz.

Patricia?

(APPLAUSE)

I teased Patricia. I said, she looks like she's still in high school...

(LAUGHTER)

... but she's a Marine.

(APPLAUSE)

And we salute the families back home. They, too, have sacrificed in this war.

(APPLAUSE)

That's why my wife Michelle and the vice president's wife, Dr. Jill Biden, have made it their mission to make sure America takes care of our remarkable military families, including our veterans.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, this summer, tens of thousands of our troops in Iraq are coming home. Last week, Vice President Biden was at Fort Drum to help welcome back members of the legendary 10th Mountain Division. Families are being reunited at bases across the country, from Fort Bragg in North Carolina to Fort Riley in Kansas to Fort Lewis in Washington.

And in this season of homecomings, every American can show their gratitude to our patriots who served in Iraq.

As we do, we are humbled by the profound sacrifice that has been rendered. Each of the veterans I've mentioned carried with them the wounds of this war. And as a nation, we will honor forever all who gave their lives, that last true measure of devotion, in service in Iraq: soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, active, Guard, Reserve.

Even as we end the war in Iraq, even as we welcome home so many of our troops, others are still deployed in Afghanistan.

So I want to remind everyone, it was Afghanistan where al Qaeda plotted and trained to murder 3,000 innocent people on 9/11. It is Afghanistan and the tribal regions of Pakistan where terrorists have launched other attacks against us and our allies.

And if Afghanistan were to be engulfed by an even wider insurgency, al Qaeda and its terrorist affiliates would have even more space to plan their next attack. And as president of the United States, I refuse to let that happen.

(APPLAUSE)

The effort in Afghanistan has been long and difficult. And that's why, after years in which the situation had deteriorated, I announced a new strategy last December: a military effort to break the Taliban's momentum and train Afghan forces so that they can take the lead for their security and a civilian effort to promote good governance and development that improves the lives of the Afghan people and deeper cooperation with Pakistan to root out terrorists on both sides of the border.

We will continue to face huge challenges in Afghanistan. But it's important that the American people know that we are making progress and we are focused on goals that are clear and achievable.

On the military front, nearly all the additional forces that I ordered to Afghanistan are now in place. Along with our Afghan and international partners, we are going on the offensive against the Taliban, targeting their leaders, challenging them in regions where they had free rein, and training Afghan national security forces.

(APPLAUSE)

Our thoughts and prayers are with all our troops risking their lives for our safety in Afghanistan.

And on the civilian front, we're insisting on greater accountability, and the Afghan government has taken concrete steps to foster development and combat corruption and to put forward are integration plan that allows Afghans to lay down their arms.

In Pakistan, we've seen the government begin to take the fight to violent extremists within its borders and major blows have been struck against Al Qaeda and its leadership.

Because in this region and beyond, we will tolerate no safe haven for Al Qaeda and their extremist allies. We will disrupt, we will dismantle, and we will ultimately defeat Al Qaeda.

(APPLAUSE)

And we will give our troops the resources and the equipment toget the job done and keep our country safe.

(APPLAUSE)

At the same time, every Americans who's ever worn the uniform must also know this: Your country is going to take care of you when you come home.

(APPLAUSE)

Our nation's commitment to our veterans, to you and your families, is a sacred trust. And to me and my administration, upholding that trust is a moral obligation. It is not just politics. That's why I've charged Secretary Shinseki with building a 21st- century V.A.

(APPLAUSE)

And that includes one of the largest percentage increases to the V.A. budget in the past 30 years.

(APPLAUSE)

We are going to cut this deficit that we've got and I've proposed a freeze on discretionary domestic spending. But what I have not frozen is the spending we need to keep our military strong, our country safe and our veterans secure. So we're going to keep on making historic commitments to our veterans.

(APPLAUSE)

For about 200,000 Vietnam vets who may have been exposed to Agent Orange and who now suffer from three chronic diseases, we're making it easier for you to get the health care and benefits you need.

(APPLAUSE)

For our Gulf War veterans, we've declared that nine infectious diseases are now presumed to be related to your service in Desert Storm.

(APPLAUSE)

For our disabled veterans, we've eliminated co-pays for those ofyou who are catastrophically disabled.

(APPLAUSE)

We've kept our promise on concurrent receipt by proposing legislation that would allow severely disabled retirees to receive your military retired pay and your V.A. disability benefits. It's the right thing to do.

(APPLAUSE)

We've dramatically increased funding for veterans health care across the board, and that includes improving care for rural veterans and women veterans.

(APPLAUSE)

For those half-million vets who had lost their eligibility, our Priority 8 veterans, we're restoring your access to V.A. health care.

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And since the rumors continue to fly, even though they are wrong, let me say it as clearly as I can: The historic health care reform legislation that I signed into law does not -- I repeat, does not -- change your veterans benefits. The V.A....

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The V.A. health care benefits that you know and trust are safe, and that includes prosthetics for our disabled veterans.

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Thanks to advanced appropriations, the delays for funding of veterans medical care are over. And just as those delays were unacceptable, so too are long delays in the claims process.

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So Secretary Shinseki is working overtime to create a single lifetime electronic record that our troops and veterans can keep for life. And today --

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-- today I can announce that for the first time ever, veterans will be able to go to the V.A. Web site, click a simple blue button, and download or print your personal health records so you have them when you need them and can share them with your doctors outside of the V.A.

That's happening this fall.

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We're hiring thousands of new claims processors to break the backlog once and for all. And to make sure the backlog doesn't comeback, we're reforming the claims process itself with new information technologies and a paperless system.

UNKNOWN: Hallelujah.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: We've got an "amen" over here.

(LAUGHTER)

As a result of the innovation competition that I announced last summer, our dedicated V.A. employees suggested more than 10,000 new ways to cut through the red tape and the bureaucracy.

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And we're already putting dozens of these innovative ideas into action.

Additionally, we're enabling more veterans to check the status of their claims online and from their cell phone.

(APPLAUSE) As a next step, we're opening this competition to entrepreneurs and academics so the best minds in America can help us develop the technologies to serve our vets, including those of you with multi- pletraumatic injuries. And we're going to keep at this until we meet our commitment to cut those backlogs, slash those wait times and deliver your benefits sooner. This is a priority and we are going to get it done.

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We're making progress in ending homelessness among our veterans.

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You know, today, on any given night, there are about 20,000 fewer veterans on the streets than there were when we took office. But we're not going to be satisfied until every veteran who has fought for America has a home in America.

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We will not stop.

Finally, we're keeping faith with our newest veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. We're offering more of the support and counseling they need to transition back to civilian life. That includes funding the post-9/11 G.I. Bill, which is already helping more than 300,000 veterans and family members pursue their dream of a college education.

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And for veterans trying to find work in a very tough economy, we're helping with job training and placement. And I've directed the federal government to make it a priority to hire more veterans, including disabled veterans.

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And every business in America needs to know our vets have the training, they've got the skills, they have the dedication, they are ready to work, and our country is stronger when we tap the incredible talents of our veterans.

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For those coming home injured, we're continuing -- we're continuing to direct unprecedented support to our wounded warriors in uniform -- more treatment centers, more case managers - delivering the absolute best care available.

For those who can, we want to help them get back to where theyw ant to be: with their units. And that includes service members with a disability, who still have so much to offer our military.

We're directing unprecedented resources to treating the signature wounds of today's wars: traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

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And I recently -- I recently signed into law the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act. That's a long name, but let me tell you what it does. It not only improves treatment for traumatic brain injury and PTSD, it gives new support to many of the caregivers who put their own lives on hold to care for their loved one.

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As so many of you know, PTSD is a pain like no other: the nightmares that keep coming back, the rage that strikes suddenly, the hopelessness that's led too many of our troops and veterans to take their own lives.

So today, I want to say in very personal terms to anyone who is struggling, "Don't suffer in silence. It's not a sign of weakness to reach out for support, it's a sign of strength. Your country needs you. We are here for you. We are here to help you stand tall. Don't give up. Reach out."

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We're making major investments in awareness, outreach and suicide prevention, hiring more mental health professionals, improving care and treatment.

For those of you suffering from PTSD, we're making it a whole lot easier to qualify for V.A. benefits. From now on, if a V.A. doctor confirms a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, that is enough, no matter what war you served in.

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These are the commitments my administration has made. These are the promises we've worked to keep. This is the sacred trust we have pledged to uphold, to you and all who serve.

I want to make special mention of a truly inspiring American, Staff Sergeant Cory Remsburg.

(VIDEO GAP)

KAYE: And there you have it. President Obama speaking to the Disabled Veterans of America conference. The president said violence in Iraq is the lowest it's been in years, and next month, the mission will change from combat to support. A transitional force will remain there, he said, until the end of next year. Mr. Obama telling his audience the mission from here on in will be to train Iraqi forces and protect civilians there. The mission is changing, he said, from a military effort led by our troops, U.S. troops, to a civilian effort led by our diplomats, he said.

President Obama pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a, quote, "responsible end." He also said today, he made it clear that by August 31st, 2010, the mission in Iraq would end. And that is what he is doing, as promised, and on schedule, he said. Mr. Obama also added that the U.S. has already turned over hundreds of bases to Iraq by the end of this month, and more than 90,000 U.S. troops, he said, have returned home from Iraq.

The president also talked about Afghanistan, where he says the situation has deteriorated for years. Those were his words. He said the U.S. military is going on the offensive against the Taliban.

A lot to talk about after the president's comments. We'll do that with White House correspondent Ed Henry, coming up at the top of the hour.

Be sure to tune into "THE SITUATION ROOM" today. We'll look at the troops who have been in Iraq in a special series called "The Journey Home." It's extraordinary reporting by our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, as she follows injured troops home. That is "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer today at 5:00 Eastern.

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