Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Stryker Brigade Leaves Iraq; Weekly Jobless Claims; Eco- Friendly Furniture; Roger Clemens Indicted; Pakistan's Sliver of Hope; Last U.S. Combat Brigade Leaves Iraq; Help For Our Warriors; New Moon Robot Busts A Move; XYZ: Listening, Learning and Continuing the Discussion
Aired August 19, 2010 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: All right. It's a new hour, here's what I've got on "The Rundown."
Get ready for a new round of "Q&A." My pal-turned-rival Richard Quest and I take on a troubling question for you today. Are we heading for a double-dip recession? I'm not talking about ice cream, folks. I'm talking about a recession.
Plus, so many of you are tweeting and Facebooking me about that planned Islamic center near Ground Zero. I invite you to go to my Facebook page. I've seen in the last five minutes things more hateful than I thought anyone would ever post on my page. Facebook.com/Ali. I offered up a take on the raging debate yesterday, and that really opened up the social media floodgates. Today, I will respond.
Also, for wounded veterans, the real battle often begins when they get back home. I'll introduce you to a wounded warrior who's making that mission possible.
Well, in the almost seven-and-a-half-year history in the U.S. war in Iraq, today will go down as a reference point, if not a turning point. Today, the last U.S. combat brigade, the 4th Stryker Brigade 2nd Infantry Division, crossed out of Iraq and into Kuwait 13 days ahead of a White House deadline for ending the U.S. combat role in Iraq.
On September 1st, Operation New Dawn is set to begin, with a cap of 50,000 U.S. troops advising and assisting Iraqi troops. But even that may not be the turning point for the Obama administration or the turning point that the Obama administration is hoping for.
CNN's Arwa Damon has seen many of this war's highlights and lowlights from all over Iraq. She joins me now live from Baghdad.
And Arwa, I've been watching you in the last day. Give an explanation as to what this really means, that these, the last of the combat troops, are leaving. For those of us who don't speak in military jargon, what does this mean?
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is basically President Obama making good on his pledge to begin to bring about an end to the war. This is the last combat convoy to leave Iraq while the U.S. is trying to reach that aim of having troop levels at 50,000 by the end of September. That being said, there are still 6,000 more troops that need to depart before that goal can be achieved.
What is going to happen on September 1st is the U.S. military is going to move into what is officially going to be known as a non- combat role. This does not, however, mean that American troops are going to cast aside their weapons and their flak jackets. No, they most certainly will remain armed, they most certainly will remain active. They will still maintain the ability to protect themselves.
But it means that the mission statement is going to focus more on training the Iraqi security forces, as opposed to, for example, protecting the Iraqi population, or going out on specific targeted missions, trying to go after insurgent extremist cells.
VELSHI: Arwa, I want to ask you about what's going to be different today than was yesterday, what's going to be different on September 1st than before that.
How does this change the reality on the ground in Iraq?
DAMON: What's going to be different today versus what it was yesterday is actually pretty much the same. This drawdown that we saw unfolding overnight of a few thousand troops does not have a drastic impact here because the U.S. military has been drawing its forces down for months now.
This has been an ongoing process that has been, as the U.S. military says, a responsible drawdown. It's not as if the U.S. military, all of a sudden and all at once, disappeared out of the streets of Iraq.
September 1st is going to see a difference, though. It is going to see, as the military puts it, a civilian-led effort, as opposed to a military-led effort. And it is going to see U.S. troops even more behind the wire, with even less of a footprint on the Iraqi streets, even less of an ability to directly impact security. They are going to be heavily relying on the Iraqi security forces, hoping that the lessons that they've been trying to implant in them will stick, and that they will be able to carry them moving forward -- Ali.
VELSHI: Arwa, given all the time that you have spent in the region, how would you describe the security situation in Iraq today compared to what we've seen over the last few years?
DAMON: Well, when we compare it to over the last two years, I think over the recent weeks there has been an increase of acts in violence. But when we compare it to the barometer that the U.S. military likes to use, and that is what Iraqis call the dark years, 2005 to 2007, of course the situation has significantly improved.
The thing is that, for Iraqis, that is not enough. And that is not the barometer by which they go by.
They say that they still largely live in a state of fear and anxiety. There are very real concerns that the security situation could deteriorate with the U.S. drawdown, with the fact that there's so much political uncertainty, there's a political vacuum. They've been waiting months for a new government to form, and they know that politics and violence here are very intertwined. So, it does remain a very complex and still volatile situation.
A lot of troops that we've been talking to as they have been leaving are under no illusion that they're leaving behind a peaceful Iraq. In fact, some of them will go so far as to say that their biggest concern is that one day they are going to have to come back. Of course, they hope that that is not going to be the case, and they hope that everything that they've sacrificed at the end of the day is not going to be a sacrifice in vain.
VELSHI: Arwa, thanks very much for your great coverage over the years and your ability to give us some context on this, and whether this is a turning point.
Arwa Damon, a correspondent in Baghdad.
Let's talk a little bit about this war in Iraq.
We haven't heard the phrase "Shock and Awe" lately, but that was how the Iraq War was supposed to go down.
March 20, 2003, the U.S. bombardment began. Less than a month later, Baghdad fell.
In May of the next year, President Bush gave a triumphant speech from the deck of a U.S. aircraft carrier. You'll remember the banner, "Mission Accomplished."
2004 brought the bloody fight for Fallujah, also the horrors of the Abu Ghraib prison.
In 2005, Iraqis took part in their first free elections in half a century. And through it all, insurgents battled troops and civilians battled one another, and the hanging of Saddam Hussein came in late 2006. It didn't change anything. It didn't change much.
In 2007, the Bush administration launched the surge, bringing U.S. troop strength to an all-time high of more than 170,000.
Fifty-six thousand U.S. troops are in Iraq today, 6,000 of them are going to leave.
The man you see there, General David Petraeus, is heading up the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
Finally, I have to take note of two other numbers -- 4,419, the Pentagon's tally of U.S. servicemen and women killed in the Iraq War so far. Seven hundred and forty-two billion dollars is the cost in U.S. dollars, just the direct cost of the war in Iraq so far.
OK. Switching to something else. The bad news keeps coming on the economy. I've got a couple of guests coming up who will tell us why today's jobless claims numbers are especially troubling.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right. I want to talk to you about your money.
We had our weekly jobless claims. That's what we get every week. Once a month we get the unemployment number, but the weekly jobless claims, the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits for the first time, hit 500,000 last week.
And that's a worrisome number. A lot of people say even though the trend has been going up recently, and that's been worrying us, once you get to that 500,000 number, you now start worrying about that concept of a double-dip recession again, amongst other economic data that we have.
So I'm joined now by Chrystia Freeland. She is the global editor-at-large from Reuters. And our good friend, Richard Quest, the host of "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS," joining us from London.
Chrystia, I want to start with you. This has been a trend. Should we be particularly worried because it's a round number, or are you in the camp that says there's enough going on here that we should worry about a double dip to this recession?
CHRYSTIA FREELAND, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, REUTERS: I think we should be worried, and I think we should be worried particularly about the jobs. I think there are -- what is of real concern is, if people are unemployed for too long, most economists say for more than six months, it starts to have a long-term impact on their lives.
You know, they start falling in terms of their lifelong income. And America, I think, is starting to be in a place where there's a cohort of people, older workers, but also people graduating from college, whose lives are really going to be blighted by this period of joblessness.
VELSHI: And we have an unemployment rate of 9.5 percent.
Richard, I want to ask you, because you cover a lot of countries in Europe, where the unemployment rate is substantially higher. The bottom line is, when you think of prosperity and you think of the things that people need to feel like their lives are improving economically, it's your wage going up, it's the value of your home going up, and it's your investments going up.
Your wage isn't going up if you are constantly competing with everybody else who's out of a job.
RICHARD QUEST, HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Not only is your wage not going up, Ali, but the depressing effect it has on economic activity is quite illuminating.
For example, the mere fear that you're going to lose your job will cause people to retrench on their purchasing. They don't buy that extra -- they don't go out to eat, they don't go to a movie, they don't buy those extra consumer goods. That pushes down economic activity.
If you then add what you were just talking about, the long-term unemployed, they used to say that there's a percentage of the population that is unemployable. A very small amount. I would say less than two percent. But that was the number that you were never going to get unemployment down below.
Well, if we're starting to see entrenched levels of unemployment at six percent, seven percent, eight percent, nine percent -- take Portugal, 10 percent, Spain, 20 percent, the U.K., eight percent, nine percent -- where is that going to come down to? If we're not bring unemployment down -- and yes, please don't tell me it's a lagging indicator. But at some point, even lagging indicators have to move in the right direction.
VELSHI: Right.
FREELAND: I would just like to echo Richard's remarks if I may --
VELSHI: Yes.
FREELAND: -- and bring the conversation back to the United States to say two things.
The first is those numbers from Europe are really scary. But in Europe, at least for the unemployed, these are societies with a secure, developed and, yes, expensive, social safety net. The comparable unemployment numbers in America I think feel a lot worse and are a lot scarier --
VELSHI: Because we don't have that.
FREELAND: -- because that structure doesn't exist for people.
VELSHI: We have to sit with Congress and try and get those -- we have to get those unemployment benefits extended to Congress, and we have big debates over that sort of thing. Very interesting point.
But this is definitely going to be, as we head into these midterms elections, the biggest deal for this administration to deal with.
Richard, thanks very much.
Richard Quest will be back later in the show for our second installment of "Q&A." And we're going to be talking about a double- dip recession. What does it mean?
Chrystia, always a pleasure to see you, global editor-at-large at Reuters and a good friend of the show.
If you want to see more of this sort of discussion, tune in to "YOUR $$$$$" every Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern or Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
I'm going to totally smack down Quest in "Q&A" later on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: So, the next time you stub your toe on a piece of furniture, keep this in mind. According to an industry report, Americans purchase more furniture than anyone else, accounting for about a quarter of total world furniture buying. Now you can pretty up your home and you can actually do something nice for the planet.
Here's Randi Kaye with "One Simple Thing."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREN KALMEK, OWNER GREEN HOME CHICAGO: This for me is a business, it's a concept in the making of about 35 years.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This eco-friendly furniture store was built with a social consciousness in mind and a desire to create jobs.
KALMEK: I'm certainly not a tree hugger. And I think that the way that I got into this business, I think I came into it more from the aspect of job creation and poverty alleviation.
KAYE: But along with creating jobs, owner Karen Kalmek is designing furnishings that will appeal to people's taste while at the same time supporting their local economy by buying recycled products.
KALMEK: My feeling about green generally in design is, I've said all along, it that it has to be beautiful because if it doesn't look good, nobody is buying it. My favorite statement is, "We're not the green police. Everybody makes their own decisions."
The people who come here are really committed to -- to doing the right thing, whatever that means for them. To me, saving something from a landfill is one of the greenest things you can do. And it also requires wonderful creativity.
So, you can take a chair that looks like it's -- even not good enough for your cat to claw and get it -- get new greener foam put in it, or soy resin or whatever. And then we have a selection of fabrics like the ones behind me and you can completely transform the style of the chair.
KAYE: Just like her eco friendly counter tops that have recycled content and come from local manufacturers.
KALMEK: I think that it's about recycling, about using materials that we already have that were going to go into landfill. For example, this local product is 85 percent recycled glass by weight and that glass comes from our own local oven door manufacturer.
KAYE: And by buying recycled glass, which comes directly from local manufacturers, Karen hopes that her customers will realize that not everything is disposable. KALMEK: Instead of buying five of one thing, buy one really good thing that maybe made locally and is more expensive because labor is more expensive but understand what you're doing when you do that.
KAYE: It's all part of "One Simple Thing," to rethink furniture the green way.
Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: It is "Q&A" time.
Hello, Richard.
QUEST: Good afternoon, Ali. Good evening from London.
On Thursday, you and I, around the world, talking business, travel and innovation. And doing battle.
VELSHI: And nothing is off limits. You just go to our blog at CNN.com/QMB for Richard, or CNN.com/Ali for me, and tell us each week what you want to talk about.
Richard, what have we got this week?
QUEST: Today, the viewers, you, wanted us to talk about double dip. And we're not talking about going twice into the salsa or the ice cream.
Ali, you have 60 seconds to tell me something about double dip starting now.
VELSHI: And I think our viewers were interested in talking about a double-dip recession, something we've been hearing a great deal about for a long time.
A double-dip recession is a hilly economy. Basically, it looks like the letter "W."
The economy goes down, it settles around here, then it starts growing. It starts recovering a little bit. But then it heads down again, and hopefully at some point recovers. We thought we were here, but maybe we're somewhere here.
I mean, the interesting thing about a double dip is that your first dip is usually going to be the most meaningful. But from then on, it starts to improve. But something then goes wrong and you end up taking a double dip.
Now, it could be just that we have a slow recovery, Richard. It may not be another recession. The recovery, though, may be jobless, and that's what got people worried, because at 9.5 percent unemployment here, higher in some European countries, consumers are not taking to the streets and spending their money. And as a result, we are not seeing the robust recovery that we should have been seeing this long after a recession began.
(BUZZER)
QUEST: Well, what can one say about that, except Ali is feeding his face with his props?
OK. Now my turn: the double-dip recession.
The Voice, give me 60 seconds on the clock.
Look, the truth of the matter is, when you talk about a double- dip recession, what normally happens after a recession is we end up as a V shape, straight forward, very fast down, very fast back up again. But as Ali pointed out a few moments ago, a few seconds ago, this time it's been very different. We've had this W.
Now, where are we in the W? Are we on this bit? No. We are somewhere round about here. And what we don't know is how fast this slowdown is going to come, because what Ali didn't tell you is that nine out of 10 recoveries have a slowdown within them, but they don't turn into double-dip recessions.
The sort of numbers that we're seeing at the moment from the U.S. Treasury, these are the figures. The U.S. Treasury, the ECB, the Bank of England, they're all saying the same things -- things are slowing down. But it doesn't matter whether it's a double dip or not. Alan Greenspan called it a quasi-recession.
(BUZZER)
VELSHI: That's really good, bringing economic reports as a prop. I think I win on the prop department with edible props, Richard.
QUEST: Eh.
VELSHI: All right. Time to separate the men from the boys once again, Richard.
QUEST: It's time for us to actually go head to head. And that means "The Voice."
VELSHI: Voice?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good day, gentlemen. It's time for triple dip of "Q&A." And let me tell you, the only props you'll need for this are your brains.
Are you ready?
QUEST: Ready.
VELSHI: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First question: How many double-dip recessions have there been in the U.S. since the 1950s?
(BELL RINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Richard with an early ring.
QUEST: One, 1980.
(BELL RINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Richard, you are exactly right, from 1980 to '82. And it took about five years for the jobless rate to drop back to levels preceding that period.
Richard on the board early.
Question number two: How does the International Monetary Fund define a global recession? A, a slowdown in global growth of two percent; B, a slowdown of three percent; C, a slowdown of four percent; or D, negative global growth?
(BELL RINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ali, that was you. What have you got?
VELSHI: D, negative global growth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, that's wrong.
Richard, care to ring in?
QUEST: Yes, I would go for -- it's a bit of a guess. Since Ali went for the one that I would have said, I'm going to go for A.
(BUZZER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my goodness. I thought both of you knew the answer to this, but you're both wrong.
It's B, a slowdown in global growth of three percent. Economists at the IMF state that a global recession is a slowdown in global growth of three percent or less. Commit that to memory. By this measure, four periods since 1985 qualify.
VELSHI: Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Richard still leads 1-0.
This is for all the marbles. Question three: Who was it who originally said a recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a depression is when you lose yours: A, Teddy Roosevelt; B, Harry S. Truman; C, Harold Wilson?
(BELL RINGING)
Ali?
VELSHI: George Carlin. Everyone knows that.
(BUZZER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wrong. Not even funny and wrong.
Richard, it's up to you.
QUEST: OK. It's either Roosevelt or Truman. I am going to go with Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt.
(BUZZER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Richard, I'm sorry. You were so close. You should have gone with Harry S. Truman. And that means the buck stops here, because according to the Library of Congress, Truman said it first in the magazine "The Observer" published on April 13, 1958.
Interesting tidbit -- Ronald Reagan went on to use the quote himself, but he added the line, "And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his job in the 1980 presidential election."
And that means in the second round of "Q&A," Richard narrowly takes it 1-0.
VELSHI: Well, thank you, Voice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're welcome, Ali.
VELSHI: Not too impressed for this week.
Remember, we are here each week, Thursdays, at 2:20 p.m. Eastern Time.
18:20 your time, Richard?
QUEST: Indeed, on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS," where it is 20:29 at the moment.
Ali, have a lovely week and I will see you when we do battle next week.
VELSHI: All right. We'll see you next week, Richard. Have a good one.
Twelve months in the Iraqi combat zone. Now the fighting there is over for 4,000 of the U.S. combat troops. But the Iraqi war is far from over.
We're going "Globe Trekking" right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Now the fighting there is over for 4,000 of the U.S. combat troops. But the Iraqi war is far from over. We're going "Globe Trekking" right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: I want to bring you some breaking news about Roger Clemens. We are hearing now, we've confirmed that major league pitcher Roger Clemens was indicted for obstruction of Congress and other charges on Thursday related to statements that he is made to a Congressional committee back in 2008.
Now the charges stem from the 2008 appearance by Clemens and his former trainer Brain McNamee before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. In their sworn testimony, the two contradicted each other. Clemens said he had never used performance-enhancing drugs. Now, McNamee's testimony, as well as a report by former Senator George Mitchell stated that Clemens had, in fact, used performance-enhancing drugs or banned substances, at least, at some point in his career.
As you know, Clemens has not pitched since 2007. He had a career with the Red Sox, the Blue Jays, the Astros and the New York Yankees. He was the first pitcher to win seven Cy Young Awards. He's been indicted for obstruction of Congress and other charges today related to statements he made in front of that Congressional committee back in 2008. We'll bring you more on that as soon as we have it.
Time now to go "Globe Trekking." First to flood-devastated Pakistan. Today, a bit of a ray of hope. After three weeks of devastating flooding, countries around the world are finally starting to ramp up relief aid to the millions of suffering people.
For many people, though, it may be too late. Consider the 20 million men, women and children who are affected. Nearly 1,500 people have been killed, more than 4 million people are homeless, 3.5 million children are at risk for deadly diseases.
Later today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to tell the United Nations that the U.S. will provide an additional $60 million in aid. That'll bring the total amount pledged to $150 million.
Already, there are U.S. military helicopters in country. They've been part of a U.S. mission that's rescued 6,000 people. And along with other U.S. planes, they've helped deliver 717,000 tons of food and other needed supplies.
Senator John Kerry is in Pakistan right now. He spoke with our Reza Sayah while touring one of the hard hit areas. Here's what he told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Senator, briefly your thoughts on what you saw?
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Well, I saw a country that's been devastated. Countless number of homes that are destroyed. An area, the size bigger than Italy in its entirely, 500 miles plus up and down. Obviously people living under very, very difficult circumstances.
So this is a huge challenge, and one that's going to take an enormous amount of effort to deal with.
VELSHI: Do you trust the money you're giving to this government will go to the people you just saw?
KERRY: The money we're giving right now is going directly into programs that are providing food and providing shelter. And I can guarantee you that accountability and transparency on the flow is one of the central features of President Obama's efforts with the State Department to do what needs to be done here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Also, Germany and Saudi Arabia have announced new pledges of aid and Japan says it would send helicopters to distribute food, water and medicine.
Let's shift to Kuwait now. As we mentioned, the U.S. Army's 4th Striker Brigade combat team pulled out of Iraq today, it's now in Kuwait. Known as "The Raiders," they were the last U.S. brigade combat team in Iraq.
Here's more information about The Raiders. They are part of the Army's 2cd Infantry Division. They arrived in Iraq in September of last year. Their mission was training the Iraqi Security Force and they helped provide security during the national election back in March.
These troops are now in Kuwait waiting to return home. Ivan Watson is with them at Camp Virginia.
Ivan, how did the withdrawal go? What's the mood there?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I confess I'm in Kuwait City now, about an hour's drive from Camp Virginia now, Ali.
Those soldiers did come across the border. There were scenes of some jubilation and relief, as you can imagine after troops completed yet another, potentially dangerous tour there in Iraq.
Now, important to put this into context. This is described as the last combat brigade in Iraq, Ali, but there are currently still 56,000 American soldiers stationed in Iraq. In comparison, there are perhaps 30,000 soldiers stationed in South Korea, defending the Demilitarized Zone there against North Korea.
The Pentagon says it has to move out an additional 6,000 soldiers by the end of this month and it will complete its complete withdrawal by the end of 2011. The goal here in the next two weeks is to shift from combat operations to advise and assist.
Now there are some mixed opinions now that these -- this transition is taking place. Let's take listen, Ali, to sound from two different people with very differing opinions about what this moment means.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Life remains very difficult and scary and dirty and hot for most Iraqis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm pretty comfortable with the combat capability of the Iraqi Security Forces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Ali, just another indicator here, Iraq at this point does not have a fully functioning government. There's a stalemate going on between different factions since elections took place last March. They haven't been able to sort that out.
Just Wednesday night, our Baghdad bureau reporting that there were three deadly attacks around the country on security outposts manned by Iraqi troops.
This is a country that is definitely still in the state of transition and the U.S. is clearly scaling down, but still maintaining a significant military footprint in that country -- Ali.
VELSHI: Ivan, thanks very much for that.
Ivan Watson in Kuwait.
You don't want to miss "RICK'S LIST" tonight. Brooke Baldwin is live from Fort Benning, Georgia as troops start to return home from Iraq. "RICK'S LIST" primetime tonight 8:00 Eastern.
Well, the greatest casualty is being forgotten. We'll find out more about group who makes it their business to keep wounded warriors on the minds and in the hearts and minds of people. Today's "Mission Possible" is coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Let me bring you up to speed with some of the top stories we're following.
The timeline finally firming up for BP's bottom kill. The operation is meant to permanently plug it's Gulf Coast wellhead. It was delayed over concerns about built-up pressure among other things, but BP and government engineers have agreed on how to address those issues. Government pointman Thad Allen says this should all be over by mid-September.
General Motors ready to start selling its stock again to the public. The Detroit automaker filed the necessary documents yesterday. The initial public offering is expected to generate anywhere from $10 billion to $20 billion. That would make it one of the largest in U.S. history. And President Obama throwing his support behind stalled legislation that would provide health care to 9/11 responders. The White House has issued a statement saying he looks forward to signing it once Congress manages to agree and pass it.
Well, in today's "Mission Possible" we're talking about an organization that works to improve the quality of life for our servicemen and women who are injured in the line of duty.
The Wounded Warriors Project makes it their mission to honor and empower wounded service members, and they do this in three ways. One, by raising awareness and enlisting the public's help for the needs of severely injured service members; helping the injured help each other; and providing unique and direct programs and services to meet their needs.
Joining me now is Ryan Kules, he is the director of the Wounded Warrior Project Alumni. Ryan, thanks very much for being with us to tell us a bit about Wounded Warrior. How did you get involved in it?
RYAN KULES, DIRECTOR, WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT ALUMNI: Well, thank you very much for having me, Ali.
I was myself wounded in Iraq in November of 2005 and was a recipient of some of Wounded Warrior Project's programs and services. After I retired in May of 2007, I knew I needed to give back to the organization that had given me and my family so much.
VELSHI: Let me ask you something and I have never really gotten to the bottom of on my show, there are people who believe if you're wound while in the service of your country, everything is taken care of. The government steps in and takes care of you completely start to finish, and that's not entirely true.
KULES: The Department of Defense and Department of Veteran Affairs do have excellent services and programs out there, but there are gaps to fill and that's where organizations like Wounded Warrior Project are able to fill those gaps and provide programs and services that aren't provided by the government.
VELSHI: Tell me a little about some of those gaps some of those -- I get what you are saying, that there are services out there, but things change. What are some of those gaps that Wounded Warrior is able to fill?
KULES: Well, one of the biggest gaps that is out there is just ensuring that wounded warriors are getting their benefits.
Also ensuring that some of warriors that have injuries that you can't see. My injuries are very visible, but many folks out there that are suffering with traumatic brain injury or post traumatic stress disorder, and those are injuries you can't see by first look.
VELSHI: Ryan, you just mentioned your injuries our viewers aren't going to know about this. You were an Army captain, you lost an arm and a leg in Iraq in 2005 when the vehicle you were in hit an IED, I understand.
KULES: That's correct. The vehicle I was in struck an IED. I was -- I lost my arm and leg in an explosion and most importantly, lost two other guys that were in the truck with me. I spent about the next 18 months at Walter Reed doing recovery and have transitioned backed into the civilian world since then.
VELSHI: Am I right, am I reading correctly where I read that you snowboard, you water ski and you golf as part of your rehab?
KULES: I'm able to get out there and do stuff like that. Just some of the things I've been able to do with the Wounded Warrior Project and some of the other organizations that are out there to help.
And being able to get back into a life where I have a beautiful home and family really says a lot to those folks around me and me, myself.
VELSHI: Psychologically, coming back from a war wounded, many people see it as statistics. What do you go through?
KULES: Well, there's the support and services that are at Walter Reed when you're there are amazing. The care that I received was second to none.
That transition back into the civilian world where it may not be those services that are right in front of you is a little bit difficult. That's where Wounded Warrior Project is able to step in and is able ensure that alumni are staying connected with each over, staying connected with the organization and staying aware of the programs and services that are out there.
VELSHI: Do you do that? Do you find that it's supportive to talk to other soldiers who have come back and been injured and gone through this program?
KULES: I think that's one of the most important things that any servicemen can do. With other service members you have that instant connection, that camaraderie.
And being able to talk to other wounded warriors, you have experiences that are similar and are able to connect on a level that you may not be able to do with your next door neighbor or whoever it might be.
VELSHI: Ryan, how do my viewers get involved in this?
KULES: WoundedWarriorProject.org is the website, and there's a lot of opportunities for them to potentially volunteer, financially contribute.
And really the biggest thing is just remembering that wounded warriors are out there and coming back in some pretty banged up shape, but they are able to transfer into the civilian world and be very successful. VELSHI: What a great cause, what a great organization. I'm glad we've got you here. You came back in banged up shape but you look like you're forging along.
Ryan Kules, thanks very much for joining us.
KULES: Thank you very much for having me.
VELSHI: If you want more information on the Wounded Warrior Project, you can also go to our website, CNN.com/Ali, I'll have a link there that you can click on to get to its website and you can make a difference.
Well, NASA has made a robot and it dances. We're going to see it bust a move when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Let's go to a robot busting a move. Look at this. I'm not --
Good thing that was there because you're all looking at me like I'm going to do something.
What are we looking at there, Chad?
MYERS: You are looking at ATHLETE. You know how the government loves acronyms, All-Terrain Hext Leg Extra-Terrestrial Explorer. Six miles per hour, but look at that bad boy dance.
It's actually two old units put back to back. This is a brand new prototype from 2009, the first one was made in 2005. But this thing is from JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and of course, NASA.
The big thing is that this can go 100 times faster than that old Mars Lunar Explorer. Remember that thing that just kind of crept along the moon? We waited it for to die and it literally almost never did. But this is made to go on the moon. It goes 6 miles an hour, that's flying across the moon.
But the big thing is what it can do. It can go up and down almost vertical surfaces because of the way the arms move, or the legs if you will.
VELSHI: So the dancing -- it's not meant to dance, it's showing you that this thing has a lot of moves. So it can bend, it can reach, it can do whatever it has to do.
MYERS: Let's just play it again.
VELSHI: Let's play that again. Let's see that bust a move again. It's the music that helps.
MYERS: I can't do that old robot. Can you do that old robot thing back in the '80s? I could never do that.
There you go. Big Time, it's the new Lunar Explorer.
VELSHI: I can go to space. I can go to space. The whole show has gone to the dogs now.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: You know what else is not meant to dance? Ali Velshi. We saw one of the ugliest moves we've ever seen on national television, my friend.
VELSHI: What are you talking about?
SANCHEZ: Do that again.
VELSHI: I am busting a move.
MYERS: Let's see you shake it there, Rick? We'll see him at 3:00.
VELSHI: I am now assured that we have no viewers left.
MYERS: You have no viewers left, Rick.
VELSHI: We have scared them all away, Rick. If you notice something in your ratings that looks a little different, it may be because the two of us were dancing.
That was an unusual "Off the Radar," Chad. Thank you very much.
MYERS: You're welcome, Ali.
VELSHI: All right, straight ahead, fighting words. Actually, make it two fighting words. "Wordplay" coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: I have been getting a ton of tweets and Facebook comments after I offered up a take yesterday on the debate over the planned Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero. Some of those comments took what I said way out of context, so I feel I' got to respond. I will in a minute in my "XYZ."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Time now for "The XYZ of It."
Yesterday, for the first time, I dipped a toe in the debate for the proposed mosque and cultural center near Ground Zero. I had held back because, frankly, another voice really wasn't really need.
I've been reading and listening and talking to you on Twitter and Facebook about it, and I could see a growing trend of misinformation and prejudice. So I put an idea out there yesterday. Not an opinion, an idea.
I compared the anger over this proposed Islamic center and mosque to the Oklahoma City bombings, and asked whether Timothy McVeigh's Catholicism would create objections to the Catholic Church near the Murrah Building.
Moments later, I read a tweet which out of context implied that I had suggested banning Catholic churches from Oklahoma because of McVeigh. Obviously, I didn't, but it seems in this climate it's hard to profess ideas without ideologues trying to pin you down.
Moments after that, adjectives were added to the dozens of retreats, identifying me both as Kenyan born and a Muslim.
I am Kenyan born, an unlike President Obama who faces the same accusation from some quarters, I actually am Muslim; he's not.
I wish I were as open to ideas as I profess to be on a daily basis, but the truth is, we all have inherent prejudices. That's why I work really hard to make this place a show for ideas -- ideas about technology, about science and health and politics and education. So what I said about the mosque yesterday, well, those were some ideas meant to provoke discussion and thought.
Well, it clearly provoked something and so many of you have offered thoughtful responses. I agree with some of them and I disagree with some of them, but that's why this dialogue is so great. We can agree and disagree and respect so much about each other and our ideas.
For what it's worth, my ideas do evolve. They are subject to ever improving arguments about a situation. I try not to get dug in. But where I was born and the religion I was born into, that's about as malleable as the color of my skin or the way I do my hair.
It would be better that we may more attention to each other for what we say or write then where we're from or how or even whether we chose to worship. Let's continue the discussion.
That's my "XYZ." Time now for "RICK'S LIST."
