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Last Full Combat Brigade Leaves Iraq; Military Shifting Role in Iraq; Where Things Stand in Iraq

Aired August 19, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone.

Live from Studio 7 at CNN world headquarters, the big stories for Thursday, the 19th of August.

The last full convoy of American combat troop leaves Iraq. On the other side of the world, anxious Americans wait to hold their loved ones in their arms.

The final kill on the BP oil well still to come. The government's point man on the disaster announces a new time frame today.

And three weeks into Pakistan's flood catastrophe, the U.S. announces it will increase aid for victims, but it is still far short of what a desperate nation really needs.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

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

Winding down the war, the last full U.S. combat brigade is heading home from Iraq. This withdrawal comes seven years, five months since Shock and Awe marked the moment U.S. and coalition forces began military action in Iraq on March 19, 2003.

Another symbolic event, April 9th, the statue of Saddam Hussein being toppled. And now the U.S. combat convoy, troops of the 4th Stryker Brigade 2nd Infantry Division crossing the border into Kuwait early this morning.

Our Ben Wedeman is at Camp Virginia, the U.S. military base in Kuwait.

And Ben, let's start here with the basics. How many troops in this Stryker Brigade made the crossover from Iraq into Kuwait? And what's next for those troops?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, about 4,000 of those men and women, those troops, crossed over from Iraq into Kuwait this morning. They've been resting throughout most of the day because it is beastly hot here, Tony. It's about 120 degrees.

Now, tomorrow, they're scheduled to sort of clean up all their equipment from that long trip from Iraq and get it ready to be shipped out by sea from here to the United States, and Europe as well. Now, the soldiers, most of them are going to be going home by jetliner, but obviously it's going to take a few weeks to get everybody on the planes, because as one officer here said, those plains are leaving one at a time. So it's going to be a few weeks before they can finally get home.

There are still about 6,000 troops remaining to be pulled out of Iraq by that self-imposed deadline of the 1st of September, and then, of course, this operation, Operation New Dawn, will begin. And that's when the remaining, around 50,000 U.S. troops, are going to be involved in training and supporting the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army in the hopes that they will be able to bring some form of stability to that country -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right. CNN's Ben Wedeman for us.

Ben, appreciate it. Thank you.

As those troops continue their journey home, some of their comrades already are arriving back on U.S. soil. Members of the 4th Stryker Brigade have been returning from Iraq to the hugs and kisses and happy tears of their loved ones. More troops are expected shortly at Lewis-McChord Air Force Base in Washington.

Our Casey Wian is there.

And Casey, I guess the question of the moment is have the troops arrived yet?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they actually have. About 350 troops arrived from Iraq overnight and early this morning.

Those troops are going through the process of returning home right now. They are turning their weapons over. They're getting briefings from superior officers. They are filling out paperwork, and are going to be getting their orders as to what they're going to be doing over the next couple of days, and when they need to report back here to this joint Army and Air Force base.

But meanwhile, their family members are anxiously awaiting their arrival. We're expecting them to arrive here in this gymnasium for a welcome home ceremony in about a half hour or so.

Let's talk to some of those family members.

We are with the family of Sergeant Brad Sumrall. And this is Stan Sumrall, his father.

Tell me what you are feeling right now waiting for your son to come home.

STAN SUMRALL, RETURNING SOLDIER'S FATHER: Well, a whole lot of emotions. Just nervous, anxious, and all that good stuff.

WIAN: How long has hen been gone? And have you had much contact with him while he's been deployed?

SUMRALL: Yes. He's been gone right at a year with the unit and stuff. He's on his second deployment. And we have had contact. We use Skype, so we've been communicating through that.

WIAN: And his mother Angie is also with us.

What's it been like to have your son deployed twice in Iraq?

ANGIE SUMRALL, RETURNING SOLDIER'S MOTHER: Well, there's, like you said, different emotions and a sense of pride, being very proud that your son is actually fighting for our country.

WIAN: Do you feel like this mission and this deployment has been worth it?

A. SUMRALL: Oh, yes. Yes, I do.

WIAN: And what do you think your son thinks?

A. SUMRALL: Yes. That's what he went in the military for, was to defend our freedom.

WIAN: And there is also someone else here who has got a big interest in him coming home, and that's his fiancee, Brittany.

Brittany, tell me what's going through your mind right now waiting for your fiance to come in.

BRITTANY MCQUEEN, RETURNING SOLDIER'S FIANCEE: Some things. I'm so nervous.

WIAN: You're his fiancee. Any specific plans for a wedding, anything like that?

MCQUEEN: Christmas Eve, so far.

WIAN: And what are your plans once he gets off the plane? What are you guys going to do with him?

MCQUEEN: I'm going to run and jump on him.

HARRIS: Love it. Love it. Love it.

WIAN: Thank you. Thank you very much.

Tony, you know, as reporters, we get to cover or have to cover a lot of things that are not very pleasant, but this is one of the stories that's always a pleasure to cover, seeing these family members ready to unite and eventually reuniting with their loved ones who have been overseas for, in many cases, multiple deployments -- Tony.

HARRIS: So, Casey, when will the family members actually -- is there a timeline for this when the family members will get to be reunited with their loved ones? Because we want to be there as it happens. WIAN: Well, we're expecting it could happen as early as a half our from now. You know, as these things happen, they've got a lot of paperwork to fill out, they've got a lot of motions that they have to go through. We don't know an exact time, but the tentative plan is about 8:30 local time, 11:30 Eastern.

We'll just have to wait, but will be here and bring it to you when it happens.

HARRIS: I don't want to miss a moment of it, so flag us when you get the first indication that these reunions are starting to take place. All right?

WIAN: You got it.

HARRIS: All right, Casey. Appreciate it.

The combat mission may be ending, but the U.S. military's role in Iraq is far from over.

Let's bring in Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.

And Barbara, what is next in Iraq for the 50,000-plus troops remaining there? And what is Operation New Dawn?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Tony, just as Casey is showing one sign of a war winding down, those very heartwarming pictures of troops almost reuniting with their families, and we saw last night the last combat convoy rolling out of Iraq, back across the line into Kuwait in the evening hours, the war does continue. It is not over.

There are still 56,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. Fifty thousand really will remain through much of next year, and their mission in Operation New Dawn will be officially not combat. Officially, it will be to train, to help, to assist the Iraqi forces.

But let's be very clear, these are combat forces. If they come under attack, they will defend themselves. They still will be involved in looking for al Qaeda terrorist operatives in Iraq. It still will be a very dangerous, precarious situation for those who are still on duty in Iraq.

The war is not over. There's a long way to go. And perhaps, really, first up is the Iraqi government itself.

Five months since an election, and they still have been unable to form a government. It's a very worrisome sign about the fragility of the situation -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes, you're right. Months, and still no formal government in place.

Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us.

Barbara, appreciate it. Thank you. STARR: Sure.

HARRIS: We never want to forget our military men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq -- 4,406 U.S. troops have died in that war in service to this country.

You know, we want to hear from you on this story. Our question is a pretty straightforward one: Was it all worth it?

Let us know what you think. You can find me on Facebook, of course. There's Twitter, and our blog page, CNN.com/Tony. Leave us a comment and we'll share some of them a little later in the newscast.

U.S. combat troops, big withdrawal from Iraq, that's the lead story. Where does that leave the Iraqi people? Our Josh Levs is on that story.

And Rob Marciano is tracking the weather for us -- Doctor.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Tony. Overnight last night we had some heavy rain move across the Tennessee area, just north and east of Nashville. Cumberland River is on the rise. They're going to hit flood stage.

Will it be as bad or even close to May? We're on it. The weather is coming up soon.

Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So, once again, we are asking for your thoughts on whether the war in Iraq was worth it? Fourth thousand four hundred six U.S. service members killed, more than 31,000 wounded.

Retired Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt offered his assessment earlier on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT (RET.), FMR. ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE FOR POLITICAL MILITARY AFFAIRS: We'll never be able to just simply tell the American people that the loss of any life is worthwhile. But what I would say is let's take a look at where Iraq is today.

It's a democratic state, a friend to its neighbors, no longer a threat to the United States. Those soldiers who have sacrificed for the last seven and a half years, some who have given their lives, I think they can look back and realize that they left Iraq in a much better position over the last seven and a half years by this presence than had they not been there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So let's do this -- let's take a closer look at exactly where Iraq stands today. Is it really in much better shape? Our Josh Levs is here to weigh in.

And Josh, what is daily life like, if we can sort of outline that for folks, in Iraq today?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Yes.

And Tony, I'm going to talk you through some basics, but the first thing I want to do, actually, is talk quickly about violence in Iraq, because when we talk about life for the people on the ground there, obviously these horrible attacks that were happening so incredibly often were the biggest thing. But before we dig into some specifics, I want to show you a chart here from Brookings Institution.

Look what they've put together.

Could you zoom way in on this for me?

Take a look here. This is the fatal attacks on civilians in Iraq going back to 2003. Here it was 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, up here, boom, all the way back down here in 2010.

Now, it's insane that it ever even got this high, which is monthly fatalities over 3,500. But the idea here is now, in 2010, clearly at a much better place. And when you just look at that line, you can see how important it is to see that drop there.

All right. Let's talk now about poverty. I want to start there, because one of the first things we should understand to understand what's going on, on the streets there, is the condition of poverty in Iraq now.

The figures that we have are about 23 percent of Iraq's population right now is considered to be below the poverty line. Now, that's about twice what it is in the United States. It's also pretty much in line with the Arab world in General, 23 percent there below the poverty line.

Also, when you take a look at hunger figures, which is really important, hunger figures are relatively low compared to some other countries ravaged by war. You have about three percent of Iraq's population is food insecure currently. Another nine percent could fall into food insecurity, according to the World Food Program.

Millions of people are dependent on a program right now to get them food every day. So, it's awful that even three percent are. But we're talking about overall, a good number of people getting food in general. So there's a couple stats.

I want to take you now to this over here. One of the first things I look at is electricity, because if you want to know what it's like on the ground, you've got to know, do people have power to even run anything at all?

Well, right now, according to the U.S. special inspector general for Iraq, two-thirds, 66 percent, of Iraq has this its electricity demand met. Of course, that still means millions don't. Also, they're saying outside of Baghdad, there are millions of people who can only get it for four hours a day.

Here's another one, potable water. You've got a population of about 29 million. Twenty-two million people now have access to potable water.

It's a big jump, Tony. It was once just about 13 million. So it's gone up a lot over the last few years.

Two more things to tackle here. We're talking about what things are like inside Iraq. One is refugees.

You still have more than a million people who fled the country, who are still out there in neighboring nations. Another 1.5 million that are inside the country and displaced.

And finally, Tony, probably the thing people ask me about the most, one of them, is oil. What's the deal with the oil?

HARRIS: Right.

LEVS: Well, it's actually been relatively flat for the last two and a half years, according to the special inspector general. It's at around 2.4 million barrels a day, just below what it was before the war. But they have a long way to go to obviously maximize their capacity.

So, look, short version here, yes, there have been some really important improvements that need to be acknowledged, but there's a long way to go to making life what it needs to be.

HARRIS: Long way to go. Yes, and that makes sense.

All right, Josh. Appreciate it. Thank you.

LEVS: Sure. You've got it.

HARRIS: Corporations coated in Teflon, American companies that are booming during the economic bust. And we've got the list.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Some new evidence today that the economic recovery is indeed stumbling.

The Labor Department says first-time unemployment claims surged to the half-million mark last week. That is the first time the number has been at 500,000 since last November, and it was the third week in a row initial jobless claims lurched higher.

New signs General Motors' comeback is the real deal. The automaker will begin selling stock again as early as October. The money will help repay taxpayers who bailed out GM last year and currently own a majority stake of the company. General Motors is also pumping another $20 million into its engine plant in Bay City, Michigan. That brings the total investment in that plant over the last year to almost $100 million. At one point during the economic meltdown, workers thought the plant would be closed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are hard workers. We believe in our product.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel great, you know, knowing that we still are part of the GM plant. You know, the plant could have been closed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need a lot more to replace what we've lost, but this is a step in the right direction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the first chapter with many more to continue to make us number one again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So, clearly, these are difficult days at many American companies, but some are actually thriving in these difficult times. "Fortune" magazine lists them.

Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi now on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Let me just tell you about them.

The first one is a company called Eldorado Gold. It's a Canadian gold company. Now, that's a bit of a misnomer because many gold companies are Canadian.

The Canadian Stock Exchange has historically been the home for mining companies. It's an attractive place to go, investors go there to invest.

So this company -- well, you have you seen what's been going on with the price of gold. It's been increasing.

This company tries to keep its production costs for an ounce of gold to about 325 bucks an ounce. So that means anything more than 325 bucks an ounce, this company is making money on it.

So that's why that company is doing very, very well.

The second one is Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.

You know this company?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: No. KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. The one where they have the prepackaged --

VELSHI: The little Keurig cups, yes. Those little K-Cups.

CHETRY: Right.

VELSHI: So you see those all over the place.

CHETRY: We have them right over here.

VELSHI: I think we changed the system here. But we used to have them here. Bed Bath & Beyond sells them. Everybody has got these things.

They are doing particularly well because they have got more and more brands. When it came out it was just a few types of coffee. Now they have got lots. This company is doing very well.

The third one, Ebix, which is a software services company to the insurance industry. This company has made more money in the first three months of this year than it had in all of 2007. Now when you are looking at stocks and companies, remember a couple of things. Growth is interesting. But price, some other people also think those are good companies.

So the price-to-earnings ratio, the price of the stock, compared to how much it earns, in two of the three of these companies, in Eldorado Gold and in Green Mountain -- is high. Which means someone else is in on that secret about it being a good company.

More exciting though, I want on show you the fastest risers. Because fastest risers companies are the ones you end up hearing about in five years, they end up being big, big companies.

The first one is called First Solar based out of Tempe, Arizona. And they, obviously, are a solar company. They manufacture film based solar cells, thin film solar cells. Doing very, very well. Obviously that's --

CHETRY: Is this for home building? Or for -- is this more for --

VELSHI: No, no. This is - sort of larger-scale sort of collection of solar energy.

CHETRY: Like huge solar panels frames.

VELSHI: Right. Yes. So this is a less efficient way of doing it than the other way of making solar cells. But it is -- it is growing in popularity. There's versatility. First Solar is doing very, very well. Fast-rising company.

The second one I want to tell you about is DG Fast Channel.

This is a company that lets say takes an ad - that a company has made. That normally you would have to take a TV ad, you know, convert it to HD and then send the tape or the disc over to CNN and we run it. Well these guys, it is all digital. It is all done on servers and online. And hence somebody could finish the ad at 6:00 this morning, let's say somebody need ad political ad overnight to respond to something.

CHETRY: Right.

VELSHI: We could be running it right now on TV. That's just -- I mean, it seems intuitive, but it actually works. They are doing it.

The third company I want to tell you about, this one is very, very exciting. Intuitive Surgery. This is a company that uses robots to do some simple surgeries. And when I say simple surgeries, they take high definition video feed and camera.

It goes inside of a patient and can do things like removing tumors and taking suture skin out, you know, sort of basic things, but it is less invasive. So the healing time is much shorter. The cost is much lower. Obviously this is -- in a high health care cost environment, companies like this will do very well.

So these, within that list of 100 companies in the magazine, these are the fastest risers. Just stuff to think about.

Don't go buying them because I said so. Buy the magazine. That's a smaller investment. And you study it yourself, make sure do you a little more research into it and never back the truck up and buy -- you know, use all your money to buy the stock in one company.

But it's a tough environment and there are some companies making money and growing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ines Ferre checking our top stories.

The last full American combat brigade in Iraq arrived in Kuwait today. Soldiers from a brigade that left Iraq earlier this week are arriving home today.

CNN is live from Fort Lewis, Washington, soon.

And Zooper Tango double strollers made in 2007 and 2008 under a recall alert today. The latch holding the frame open can come unfastened, allowing the stroller to collapse on its passengers. At least two children have been injured.

And a dangerous river rescue in Washington State calls for a tight fit. A Navy pilot had to steer his Nighthawk helicopter under a steel bridge at the same time he had to keep the chopper's rotors away from the canyon walls. A 16-year-old girl was finally pulled to safety, suffering hypothermia

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: It's the picture of the day, and we are really waiting for it. And I've got to tell you -- dare I say this?

All right. This is tape, right? This is not happening now?

OK. This is tape I believe from Saturday of some of the troops returning home in Washington State. And this is Joint Base Lewis- McChord. We're waiting for today's event.

Let's go to the live pictures. OK.

Any moment now we're going to start to see this homecoming. And we're going to start to see this welcome. And it is the story of the day. It's, dare I say, the only story that we care about in these two hours, because this is going to be so good, welcoming home brave soldiers who have spent months, in many cases years, with multiple deployments.

We're waiting for it. We will bring it to you live, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPECIALIST DON LANPHER, U.S. ARMY: I mean, we put our blood, sweat and tears, since we've been here for 12 months. And, you know, we know we did our job, and we know it's not going to be in vain.

1ST SGT. MARC OHME, U.S. ARMY: To be here at the tail end as well and to be able to -- not so much finish it, but to see that the end is in sight for the Iraqi army, and that they are going to be able to manage this process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: How about this, the final full U.S. combat brigade coming home from Iraq? Some of their comrades already are arriving back on U.S. soil. Members of the Fourth Stryker Brigade have been arriving at to the hugs, kisses and happy tears of loved ones at Lewis McChord Air Force base in Washington.

And our Casey Wian is there. Casey, if you would, take it away. Set that scene for us.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What's happening here are these family members are waiting for about 350 soldiers to arrive in this gymnasium on the base to be reunited with their family members. They were just told it will be another 20 or 30 minutes before they arrive, but the soldiers are on buses en route to this facility, and a big cheer went up in this crowd when that was announced that they were actually physically on their way here.

One of the things they were doing that you might not even think about when a soldier returns from combat is they actually go through customs. Even U.S. military personnel have to clear customs when they return from deployment overseas.

Let's talk to some of those family members who are still waiting. We're with Margaret Ferrara, whose son, Joseph, is one of those who is returning. Tell me what this waiting has been like for you?

MARGARET FERRARA, SOLDIER'S MOTHER: He's been on a Stryker unit, so it's been - he's been in a lot of danger, so I'm glad he's coming home.

WIAN: Tell me about what sort of danger he was facing over there. What has he told you about?

FERRARA: He's talked a lot to my husband because he was in the Army also. So, more to my husband. They would have a lot of conversations.

WIAN: How many deployments has he had?

FERRARA: One to Iraq in September, and then he was home in December for a few weeks.

WIAN: Must be a relief that he's coming home safe.

FERRARA: Yes.

WIAN: Now, let's move to Adriana Duran. Now, your husband, Joseph, is on his way home. What has it been like for you to be separated from him for a year. is you coming home.

ADRIANA DURAN, SOLDIER'S WIFE: Oh, very hard , not only for me but for my kids.

WIAN: How many kids?

DURAN: I have three kids, 6, 5, and 3. They are like, when is he had coming home? It's going to be how many days? How many days?

WIAN: What are you go to do as a family when he first gets here?

FERRARA: We want to go to Miami and see our family and spend time together.

WIAN: Here's Tiffany Bissell, whose husband, Jonathan, is also coming home. What's he been doing in Iraq, and what's this been like for you?

TIFFANY BUSSELL, SOLDIER'S WIFE: It's been really hard. It's our first year of marriage. It's been really, really hard. I miss him a lot. I can't wait see him. He's coming soon. So, I'm just really excited.

WIAN: That's the story here, Tony. A lot of family members -

HARRIS: Love it, love it. WIAN: -- very anxious to see loved ones. Hopefully, within 15 or 20 minutes or so they will be here, and hopefully, we'll be able to bring you that shot. It will be an incredible shot.

HARRIS: We need that shot.

WIAN: It'll be nice to see them march through that door. We will get it for you as soon as it happens, Tony.

HARRIS: Perfect! OK, Casey, appreciate it. Thank you.

Of course, we must not forget our military men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq. 4,406 have died in that war in service to this country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INES FERRE, CNN CORREESPONDENT: House lawmakers questioning experts right now about the safety of Gulf seafood. A live picture from the Capitol that you are looking at. The hearing is just about to begin. Meanwhile, the government's point man on the oil disaster tells CNN the final kill on BP's well is still a few weeks off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADMIRAL THAD ALLEN (RET.), U.S. COAST GUARD, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: Over the last 48 hours, we've agreed to a sequence of actions that I'm going to direct BP to take, starting with flushing out the current blowout preventer. Actually looking for a material that might cause us a problem, and then actually move to put a new blowout preventer on and then do the bottom kill. This will ensure that we can withstand any pressures that may be generated.

If all that lines up, we should be looking at somewhere around the week after Labor Day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FERRE: And next hour, Tony will talk live with Gulf Coast realtor Emily Gonzalez and Kenny Glavin, a hotel manager on the coast. And I'll ask them about the tourism outlook for Labor Day and whether business is picking up since the oil well was capped.

Taking a look at top stories. An egg farm in Iowa voluntarily expands its nationwide recall to 380 million eggs. Those eggs possibly contaminated with salmonella. Hundred of people reported sick in three states.

And lawmakers on Capitol Hill are asking if Gulf seafood is safe to eat. Scientists, professors and members of seafood groups are testifying at a House committee hearing today.

And more rain soaks flood-weary Tennessee. Parts of the state were pounded with eight to 10 inches of rain over 12 hours Wednesday, pushing rivers over banks and floodwaters into the streets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have two little dogs and that's how I knew it got in the house because all of a sudden they barked. And I looked downstairs, and it was rushing in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's terrible. It's not a nice situation at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Washed out bridge. It was really bad. That house over there got about two feet of water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: She was the African-American woman who called Dr. Laura for advice on advice of how to deal with racist comments only to hear Dr. Laura say the "N" word 11 times. Nita Hanson spoke exclusively to CNN this morning about that now-infamous call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: In your opinion, is it ever okay, no matter what context? Of course, Dr. Laura didn't directly call you the "N" word, but she used it. Do you think it's okay, in any context, for Dr. Laura or anybody else to use it, no matter what context?

NITA HANSON, CALLER WHO SPARKED DR. LAURA CONTROVERSY: It is never okay to use that word or any other derogatory word that a whole race -- it's just a very hateful word. Dr. Laura -- I have a problem with Dr. Laura because she's old enough to know better. She knows where the word came from, why it was used. She knows the whole civil rights movement and how, you know, black Americans had to fight where we are today, and for her to use that word and continue --

HOLMES: Yes, I think nobody accused her of being an unintelligent woman. So, with her knowing and understanding it, why do you think she decided to use it? Not one, not twice, but several times. Why do you think, if she's smart enough to know better, why would she do it?

HANSON: That's how she honestly feels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Since that incident, Laura Schlesinger announced on CNN that she will quit her radio show at the end of the year. She had more to say last night with CNN's John Roberts, hosting Anderson Cooper's "360."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LAURA SCHLESINGER, HOST OF "DR. LAURA" RADIO SHOW: I was trying to make a point about the hyper sensitivity of racial issues, and I made it the wrong way. I instantly realized I had blown it. JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: You seemed to, and correct me if I'm wrong, Dr. Schlesinger, saying that you have taken yourself off your radio show because other people are not allowing you your First Amendment rights even though you were wrong to have said what you said.

SCHLESINGER: I said something wrong, and I apologized. I didn't intend to hurt anybody.

My decision was not based on this incident. My decision has been percolating for about a year. My point is, when I began in radio, there was discussion and debate. And now there are organizations like Media Matters who exist for the purpose of silencing voices, not debating. That is my whole point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Now, the crisis in Pakistan is mounting. Millions are desperate. We will look at how the world is responding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A push for compromise on building an Islamic center and mosque just blocks from where the Twin Towers came down. Last night on "LARRY KING LIVE," New York Governor David Paterson says he has reached out to the imam backing the project and its developers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": So, you think there is a solution acceptable to all sides?

GOV. DAVID PATERSON (D), NEW YORK: I think if we work hard enough that we can find one, and if people would stop talking about what's impossible and talk about what could actually happen -- if people put their heads together, maybe we could find a site that's away from the site now but still serves the Catchman area that would be a noble gesture to those who live in the area who suffered after the attack on this country. And at the same time would probably in many ways change a lot of people's minds about Islam, which is really a peaceful religion practiced by peace-loving people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Paterson said a meeting had planned for Monday, but the imam is traveling in the Middle East. Got to tell you, that bitter debate rages on in New York.

But Muslims have been praying for years right on another site of the 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon. CNN's Chris Lawrence takes us inside that chapel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRSPONDENT(voice-over): Once a day, Muslim civilians and soldiers who work in the Pentagon come here to pray. Less than 100 feet from the terrible impact nine years ago where terrorists crashed a plane into the Pentagon and killed 125 people.

GEORGE WRIGHT, ARMY PUBLIC AFFAIRS: We're very tolerant here of one another and our faith.

LAWRENCE: Cameras aren't allowed in any of the actual services. But a chaplain tells me Muslim worshippers come at 2:00 every afternoon. Lay out their prayer mats and pray. WRIGHT: We don't keep track of who comes in here. We don't count numbers. We have estimates, of course, 300, 400 a week. But people are free to worship here as they see fit.

LAWRENCE (on camera): Unlike the controversy in New York where they're debating city blocks, here in the Pentagon, it's literally a matter of inches. That's the distance from the September 11th memorial to the front door of the chapel where Muslims worship.

(voice-over): It's not a mosque. All faiths get a chance to use the chapel. Take Wednesdays, for example, there's a Catholic mass at 11:30 followed by Protestant Bible Study, an Episcopal service and then the Muslim prayers.

On other days, Hindus and Mormons get their time slots, too. On Fridays, there's a Jewish service followed immediately by a Muslim one where a local imam actually comes in to lead prayers.

(on camera): Is it the same imam every week or pulled from a rotating group?

WRIGHT: I think it's pulled from a rotating group.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): There are nearly 3,700 Muslims in the U.S. military, but that's less than one percent of all service members. Some are deployed to the war zones. An Army Corporal Corinne Kahn was awarded a Purple Heart posthumously after he was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq.

Now, the center proposed for lower Manhattan is a very different structure but the issue of Muslims worshipping at the site of the attack hasn't come up here.

WRIGHT: I've never heard of any complaints or issues or questions about it.

LAWRENCE: But no one here is minimizing the complaints in New York, and several people told us they think folks in Manhattan have some genuine concerns.

Now, for its part, the Pentagon uses an outside Islamic organization to recommend and clear local imams for Friday prayers, same as they would do for priests or rabbis.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: Boy, I got to tell you, we are really excited about the moment we're anticipating here. OK? In the next few minutes - literally, maybe in the next five minutes or so -- members of the Fourth Stryker brigade will -- actually, there it is. Will actually come into this field house, gymnasium and their families and friends will lose their minds. We will be there for all of it.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's see. Roger, do we have live pictures again? Oh, shoot. I thought that was the moment.

All right. We've got the live pictures up. This is from the gymnasium at joint base Lewis-McCord in Washington State. And you can see everyone in the stands in the gymnasium, waiting for the loved ones to enter. We are clearly moments away. Folks are jumping up.

Let's just ride this a little bit. Let's just ride this a bit. Because it's clearly happening. Oh, let's listen and watch.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

HARRIS: So, let me jump in for just a second here. Our Casey Wian is in that gymnasium. And Casey, this is the moment we've been waiting for. We thought it would happen a little earlier, but the processing goes on, but we've got it. And give us a sense of what's going to happen here in these moments before the troops get an opportunity to greet their loved ones.

WIAN: Well, Tony we're awaiting for a brief welcome home ceremony, which you may be able to hear in the background just beginning. Then after that, welcoming home ceremony, which we expect might last five or ten minutes, they're going to be allowed to reunite with their family members, and that's goings to be quite a scene. These people are going to come down from those stands and they've all told us they're going to jump into the arms of their husbands and fathers, and we're going to be here for it and it's going to be quite a scene.

HARRIS: OK. So, what we'll do is we'll get in a little more news and then give us a heads-up, Casey, at the moment when you believe that ceremony is coming for a close, and we can time this thing out so we can see that moment. That's going to be really terrific.

OK. Let's get you to CNNmoney.com right now. Your source for financial news. You can see what's going on here. New jobless claims out today, 500,000 new jobless claims. That's -- we haven't seen that level since November. A

nd the quote here, makes sense. "Just a bad trend that's going on now. We're just stuck. The numbers are just so bad on the jobs front." All right. Want to get you to the Big Board. New York Stock Exchange, I think this is reflective of that, that jobless claims number -- first-time jobless claims. We're trading down, 192 points. That's not a good number at all. The NASDAQ is down as well, down 45 points. We're going to continue to follow these numbers for you throughout the day in the NEWSROOM.

Got to tell you, a blog chronicles drug violence in Mexico showing images mainstream media would not. Rafael Romo reports. That's in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

Plus, now that the gushing oil has gone away, are the tourists coming back? We'll check in with two of our tourism experts next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Oh, here we go. And Casey Wian is there -- of the ceremony, you said it would be brief, Casey and you weren't kidding. This is the moment that we've been waiting for. Let's just watch some of the pictures unfold. And Casey, when you see moments you want to highlight, just jump on in.

WIAN: Yes, absolutely. You know, Tony, it's just, it's incredible. These families have been separated from their loved ones for a year, and many of these service members have had multiple deployments to Iraq. You know, children not having seen their fathers for a year, wives not having seen their husbands for a year. It really, really is a touching, touching moment.

And let's not forget about what these soldiers accomplished while they were in Iraq. Some of the things that this Striker brigade points out that they were able to do. They taught the Iraqi military to better communicate with local police officers on the ground. They provided security for the Iraqi elections back in March, which was a 60 percent turn-out and was sort of a repudiation by many people of the terrorists who had so many in fear in Iraq afraid to vote. Sixty percent of that nation turned out for those elections in March. And this Striker brigade was a big part of that.

So, these folks are celebrating what they see as the success of their mission and the safe return of their loved ones.

HARRIS: Casey, how many are a part of this particular unit? I know there was an arrival, I believe on Saturday, last weekend. And the number there was about 250 or so soldiers who were greeted, probably in that same gymnasium. How many returning in this particular group?

WIAN: Yes, we have 350 that are in this group, returning. And let's talk to one of those soldiers who just returned. Now, we spoke to you a little bit earlier. And your last name is Durand, right?

JOSEPH DURAND, SOLDIER RETURNING HOME FROM IRAQ: Yes, sir.

WIAN: Tell me what your first name is? J. DURAND: Joseph.

WIAN: Joseph Durand. What's it like being home?

J. DURAND: It's amazing. As you know, it's been almost a year since I've been back. I took a mid-tour leave back in December, so it's been a long haul. And I can't wait to get home and see the kids.

WIAN: What's it like seeing your wife?

J. DURAND: It's amazing. Big change, new haircut.

(LAUGHTER)

WIAN: How does she look?

J. DURAND: She looks beautiful.

WIAN: What are you guys going to do when you get home with the kids?

J. DURAND: The first four-day weekend we're going to take them out to Wolf Lodge and on leave, we're going to go back home to Miami and see our family.

WIAN: I know that probably the mission is a little bit far from your mind right now because you're concerned about reuniting with your loved ones. But tell me about the mission and what your feelings are coming home and what you were able to accomplish.

J. DURAND: Well, everything that we did over there, I think we made history with the elections and everything. And the biggest thing was we all came back. That's -- that's probably the best mission we accomplished. Didn't lose anybody.

WIAN: And that says it all, Tony. Thank you very much. They didn't lose anybody, and these family members are thrilled to see their loved ones home.

HARRIS: All right. Case, we're going to give you a moment to grab some more folks. We want to stay with this as long as we can, and we'll get back to you in just a second after a quick reset.