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Korean Crisis Escalating; WikiLeaks Releases New Round of U.S. Documents; WikiLeaks Documents to Impact U.S. Foreign Relations; WikiLeaks Claims Computer Attacked; Polls Results on Key Issues Facing Obama/Congress

Aired November 28, 2010 - 18:00   ET

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

JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: Thousands of pages of secret U.S. documents released to the world. Iran, Israel, Pakistan and China -- among the countries named in the previously undisclosed messages between the State Department and U.S. diplomats. The damage control already under way. We have live team coverage.

Trying to avoid a possible war, China calling for emergency talks on the crisis in Korea. North Korean missiles taking aim as South Korea and the U.S. military forces take part in war games exercises.

And heading back home after your holiday trip. Big delays already reported at several airports and the weather is making driving a challenge in some parts of the country. The CNN travel desk is monitoring the ground and the sky.

Hello. I'm Joe Johns. Don Lemon is off.

Tens of thousands of what were once confidential U.S. government documents are available to anyone worldwide -- thanks to the self- styled whistleblower Web site called WikiLeaks. The documents were first released to "The New York Times" and four major European papers. They include candid assessments on everything from Iran's nuclear program to instability in Pakistan and the Middle East.

U.S. government officials condemn the release. They say it could compromise relations with allies. Even put lives in danger.

CNN is not among the news outlets given advance access to the materials. CNN declined to sign a confidentiality agreement with WikiLeaks.

Our Tim Lister, who is a person we depend on day and night to tell us the facts and what we know and what we don't know. He's with us right now, sort of analyzing, going through these reports. I think we should start, as we've said before, talking about Iran, which seems to be the major disclosure we've been able to find so far.

TIM LISTER, CNN EXECUTIVE EDITOR: That's right. It's important to say, Joe, we've been only been able to see a fraction of the documents so far. They only came out within the last two to three hours and many more are still to come. They're going to leak these out over a period of days and maybe weeks. But what does come across in your first analysis of the raw documents is just how Iran's nuclear program is a matter of concern, not just for Israel, but for a lot of the moderate Arab states in the Gulf, particularly Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and others.

The Saudis particularly concerned in a meeting that King Abdullah had with John Brennan back in 2009 that the Iranian program should be stopped before it goes to the point where it can't be stopped. The king of Bahrain, the Omanis and others, all expressing very much the same sort of view. So, that really comes across as number one feature of these cables so far.

JOHNS: And there's this one comment we've seen and talked about, cutting off the head of the snake. That actually did not come from Israel, as you might expect, but someone much more familiar, if you will, with Iran.

LISTER: That came from King Abdullah who, in a wide-ranging conversation with John Brennan, makes it clear that he's got no confidence whatsoever in the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, who he regards as an agent of Iran. He recounts to John Brennan how he just had a heated conversation with the Iranian foreign minister and warned him that you Persians have no business in Arab affairs -- a really difficult meeting.

He also talks about a back channel the Saudis have tried to set up with the Iranians, had never been used. But he also talks about how he wants the U.S. to restore its credibility in the Middle East starting at that moment -- March, 2009, three months after President Obama had taken office.

JOHNS: Second on the list, among the things we know a little bit about already, is the issue of Pakistan. And the concerns about its nuclear materials, if you will, falling into the wrong hands.

LISTER: That's very true. I think we'll see much more in the way of documents coming out about Pakistan. We know that over the last two years or so, the United States has had a very troubled relationship with the Pakistanis, trying to get them to take on militants in North Waziristan, for example, trying to get them to cooperate on the Afghan track.

But also, there is this concern about the nuclear materials and the U.S. ambassador sent a cable back to Washington to say, I can't get access for American technicians to this exploratory reactor which has this highly-enriched uranium fuel simply because the Pakistanis are terrified it will get out into the media and then the whole relationship will be put into question. The Pakistanis aware that the domestic pressure has very much played in to their attitudes towards the United States and the level of cooperation that they'll offer to the United States.

JOHNS: You're certainly well-read and you've seen the world. Is this shocking to you or is it about what we would expect in diplomatic conversation? LISTER: I think what's interesting is that you see here the candor of diplomats when they don't think they're being observed or quoted, and they're prepared to make much franker assessments. For example, as one cable from the ambassador in Egypt talking about Hosni Mubarak and his visceral hatred towards the Iranians and talks also about how the Egyptian foreign minister is somewhat vain and has a tendency to lecture people.

So, you see some of the personalities coming into this. I believe we haven't seen the documents, that there's also some fairly negative comments about Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, for example, and how when backed into a corner, she tends to be less than creative. And a lot of U.S. ambassadors around the world are going to find their jobs a little bit more difficult after this stuff comes out and the next time they go to the foreign ministry, it's going to be in the back of their minds.

JOHNS: Fascinating stuff. Thank you so much, Tim Lister, for coming in and sharing with us.

U.S. government reaction to the WikiLeaks document release has been quick and harsh.

CNN foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty is standing by with more reaction from the U.S. and around the world.

Jill, damage control already under way.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's been under way for quite a while, Joe, because after all, knowing that something was coming, the U.S. government and State Department already were notifying foreign governments that this was coming, talking about a potential impact.

And if you look at what the White House and the State Department and the Pentagon are doing right now, they're condemning in no uncertain terms, but they're not getting into any specifics, at least at this point. They're not saying, for example, how did this come about that there was a particular statement by an ambassador. They're simply not playing that game.

And the difficulty for them right now is that these documents are coming out in waves. I mean, as Tim pointed out, some come today, some will be coming later, and a lot of them, although they go back -- a lot of them go way back, but the major part concern the Obama administration. So, it is something that this administration really has to answer. They can't, Joe, say that, you know, it was a previous administration that did that.

JOHNS: We've heard a lot of talk about how this is supposed to damage U.S. relations with other countries. Around the world, is that a fact? Do you think when we get to the end of the day or has everyone been sufficiently warned to brace for whatever may be in some of these documents?

DOUGHERTY: You know, it's hard to assess right now. I did speak with a couple of embassies and what they said is, we're going through those documents. We want to know exactly what's out there, how it could impact. They're really studying it, but I think it's really important to point out that although this may seem surprising to the average person, this is how diplomacy is done. If these people who are in the field, ambassadors and people in embassies and consulates all over the world were not giving that information, then they wouldn't be doing their job.

Now, it's raw, unvarnished. It can be embarrassing, but that is their job. They're kind of like journalists, in a way, swooping up, sweeping up that information around the world and sending it back. And that is how diplomacy is conducted.

So, right now, we're going to be waiting for the other embassies around the world, perhaps international leaders who might say something.

But, again, Joe, this is not a surprise to people who do this for a living. It's not a surprise to other embassies that this is precisely what is done. At least what we've seen so far.

JOHNS: Jill Dougherty, thanks so much and we'll be checking back in with you on this story.

Now, to the Korean Peninsula, where China is urging emergency talks to keep tensions from boiling over. U.S. and South Korean forces began joint military exercises in the Yellow Sea today. Pyongyang claims the drills are in attempt to find a pretext for aggression and ignite a war at any cost. And it says the drills are putting the peninsula into a state of ultra-emergency.

The joint exercises come just five days after North Korea shelled a South Korean island. China is urging the six nations involved in past North Korea nuclear talks to send diplomats to an emergency meeting. We'll have much more on the rising tensions.

North Korean expert and author Gordon Chang will join us -- straight ahead.

The bomb plot that wasn't. Ahead, what we're --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: More now on the tensions simmering on the Korean Peninsula. It's a situation that Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs, says could be dangerous for the entire world. North Korea warns it's being pushed to the brink of war as the U.S. and South Korea hold joint military drills.

Gordon Chang is the author of "Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World," and a columnist for Forbes.com. He joins me live right now from New York.

Thanks for coming in, Gordon.

I think one of the things that a lot of people are wondering about is, is what's going on in the Koreas right now a reflection of the transition of power we expect in a few years there? Or is it something more complex, like an attempt by North Korea to draw China into the conversation and straighten out some issues they may have?

GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR, "NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN": There are a number of things going on here. The succession issue is obviously one of them.

Kim Jong-Il, the current leader, wants to pass power to his 28-year- old son. He's not prepared. He's not ready.

And so, Kim is trying to give his son some accomplishments. And, therefore, we've seen the sinking of the South Korean ship. We saw the shelling of the island.

But there's a couple other things going on and that is that North Korea's regime, they call it "sun'gon," military first, needs to have sort of military success for its legitimacy. And I think that's a large part of this as well. So, we have a number of factors coming together.

JOHNS: There's also this question of China. Is China asleep at the switch? We do know that the United States and other countries have said China has to get more involved and it appears, at least to the casual observer, that China is only sort of working around the edges of this thing at least so far.

CHANG: Well, China and North Korea have been each other's only military ally. They have been friends through thick and thin, for six decades. I think China really has a pretty good idea of what the North Koreans are doing and what they're going to do, because there's a lot of conversations between Pyongyang and Beijing.

Beijing really derives from a lot of short-term gain from problems on the Korean Peninsula. And one of them is every time North Korea does something awful, the Washington runs to Beijing and ask for help, and the Chinese gets concessions from us because of that. So, I'm not so sure that Beijing is sleep at the switch. I think that it really is sort of working fairly closely with the North Koreans.

JOHNS: What kind of a resolution do you see here, a peaceful resolution? How do the parties get together to sort of avoid what looks like a real troubling situation right now?

CHANG: I think that this current period of tension will dissipate. The real issue is, when are we going to see another provocation from North Korea? Usually, Kim Jong-Il spaces his provocations out every two or three years. What's really stunning this year is how we saw the sinking of the South Korean ship in March and the shelling of the island in November. I think that there -- you know, you talked about the succession. I think that that really is accelerating the pace of these belligerent acts.

JOHNS: One thing we've heard so many people say is how North Korea is so unpredictable. Is that your view, that North Korea is just a purely unpredictable country? Or, actually, are they very predictable, perhaps, because they're trying to get, you know, mutual agreement that North Korea is OK by the rest of the world community?

CHANG: Well, I think North Korea is unpredictable, but it's predictable in the way that it is sort of bizarre because its behavior sort of fits into certain patterns that we've seen in the past and we can sort of measure the differences.

We don't know when North Korea will strike. We don't know where North Korea will strike. But we have a pretty good idea that they'll do something every so often. And as I mentioned, whether one of the things we're concerned about right now is just really the pace of events on Korean Peninsula.

JOHNS: And is the point of this to get back to talks? Is that what the point is?

CHANG: Well, you know, if the North Koreans wanted to talk to the United States, all they need to do is pick up the phone and say, I'd like to speak with you. And they're not doing that. So, I think that there's more going on here.

Kim Jong-Il certainly has to respond to the generals who have their own desires to what they want to do. And, yes, I think he would like to speak to us, but there are other things involved. Otherwise, it would be just too simple for Kim to sort of get together with the other countries. Remember, he busted the six-party talks a couple years ago. If he wants to talk, he knows how to do it.

JOHNS: All right, thank you so much, Gordon Chang. Appreciate you coming in on a holiday weekend to talk to us and we will be back in touch.

It's been a rough year in Haiti. Now, presidential elections are under way, but some candidates want the process annulled. We will tell you why.

Jacqui Jeras is manning the travel desk tonight.

So, Jacqui, you've got a quiz for the viewers.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, we were searching the Web site of Bureau of Transportation and found some surprising facts about holiday travel. We'll start you out with this question. What's the mode of transportation that most people take for the Thanksgiving holiday? Is it, (a) train; (b) plane; or (c) car? We'll have that answer, plus your travel forecast coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: Millions of Americans are heading home right now after the long Thanksgiving weekend with friends and relatives. CNN is committed to giving you the latest information on where the problem spots are. This being one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Our Sandra Endo has been monitoring the comings and goings at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

Sandra, long lines through security, no? How is it looking?

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, not too bad. Actually, right now, we're kind of seeing the evening rush. But this has been the busiest it's been really all day. Most of the time we've just seen a slow trickle of travelers coming through, breezing on through security. What they are seeing are more signs, travel advisories, things they can't take on board, what they can.

And this is kind of new, Joe. Take a look at this. Passengers are not permitted to check or carry on toner and printer cartridges and these are new signs that the TSA put up in response to last month's terror bomb plot. As you know, that was targeting the United States.

But take a listen to some travelers we spoke to who landed here in Washington, D.C. about their travel experience today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was good. Not bad. A little bit increased security, where I traveled from, Knoxville, Tennessee, but pretty smooth overall.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was fine. Honestly, I just walked route three no problem on the way up there and back. And I didn't -- I saw one person getting patted down. But it really -- it's actually faster than usual. It seems like this time of year, more people are traveling, but not really this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ENDO: And take a look right there. That is the controversial body scanning machine that a lot of passengers were kind of up in arms about. They have 400 nationwide at 70 airports. And when you do the math, Joe, it's a small percentage of people who actually have to go through that machine.

So, overall, we've talked to passengers. They're taking things in stride here. It's pretty easy travel day so far for a lot of people -- Joe.

JOHNS: Yes. You know, I've done some flying this weekend myself. I had to walk through one of those machines at Washington National, as a matter of fact. Perhaps that one.

Now, of the people you've spoken to, are they accepting the TSA procedures or do they feel it's crossing the line? You know, is it embarrassing or what?

ENDO: Well, yes, it's a pretty much a mixed bag. But overall, after all the passengers we spoke with, they pretty much mirror all the national polls, Joe, that say that the majority of Americans do accept these body scanning machines. Some, of course, say they go too far. But the majority say it's really safety over their privacy rights when it comes to airline traveling.

JOHNS: That does reflect what we've been hearing from people. Thanks so much, Sandra Endo, there at Washington National Airport.

Now, weather is always a factor on a busy travel day like. Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras, CNN weather center.

Jacqui, you got a quiz.

JERAS: Yes, we gave you that question right before the break and let's take a look at the answer. What is the mode of transportation most people take? Was it planes, trains or automobiles? Well, automobiles -- 91 percent, Joe.

JOHNS: Got to be. Got to be. That's the way I always did it.

JERAS: Yes. Automobiles didn't surprise me, but what did surprise me was that it was such a high percentage.

JOHNS: Yes. There's -- I mean, many times, I've driven long, long distances just to be with the fam, you know?

JERAS: I love that. That's why we like you, Joe Johns.

Hey, couple other questions, real quick. What day is more heavily traveled during the holiday? Is it Wednesday, Thursday or Sunday? What's your guess?

JOHNS: I would definitely say Sunday because a lot of people would go the previous weekend and stay the whole week, but everybody's going home on Sunday, right?

JERAS: Coming back on Sunday. Actually, this one surprised us, too. Thursday.

JOHNS: Really?

JERAS: Yes. I guess it's more of those people who stay in town --

JOHNS: Wow!

JERAS: -- and just kind of, you know, maybe go 20 miles or so.

And the last question for you is: what is the average length of a long distance Thanksgiving holiday road trip?

JOHNS: I'd give it 120 miles.

JERAS: OK. Not a bad guess. The answer is, ding, ding, ding -- 214 miles.

JOHNS: Wow.

JERAS: Little longer than that. So, it's a couple hours on the roadways, hey?

All right. Well, let's see what the roadways look like out there at this hour. We've got a couple of areas where things are a little bit on the dicey side. We've got the snow, which has been coming down across parts of the west.

Salt Lake City -- unfortunately, you guys got hit with a blizzard on Wednesday and here we are on another very busy travel day and you're looking at the snowfall, about three inches on the ground now. We're going to wake up to about four to eight total.

Denver, you're starting to get in on the action along I-70, as well as I-25. Slow going because of some of that light rain and mist and then snow into the higher elevations. The east-west highways are where we're seeing the most problems across the nation's midsection with all those wind advisories that remain in place. And tomorrow will be the nation's midsection if you're extending that travel time at all.

Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, stretching down towards New Orleans. The airways at this hour where Sandra Endo was -- look at that. We got a little delay at Reagan National, 30-minute departure delays. We also have over two hours at Teterboro and White Plains and we're also looking at some road problems.

Little picture there of Boston for you. We're getting reports now on the Massachusetts turnpike. Little congestion around the airport there -- Joe.

JOHNS: All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui.

The numbers are in. How did retailers fare in this year's Black Friday weekend? Did the shoppers open their wallets wide? And we're learning new details about the man accused of plotting to blow up a Christmas celebration in Oregon. We go live to Corvallis to get the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: In Oregon, the FBI has put up a $10,000 reward for information in an arson attack early this morning against a mosque in Corvallis. So far, the agency is not making a connection between the fire and the arrest of teenage terror suspect Mohamed Osman Mohamud. The 19-year- old Somali-American was charged with trying to set off a car bomb Friday night at a crowded Christmas tree-lighting in downtown Portland.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is digging into this frightening case for us and joins us live from Corvallis.

Thelma, the arson seems, if you will, to be more than a coincidence or a lot of people would construe it that way. What have you picked up?

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're absolutely right, Joe. That's exactly what the imam had told us. He says that in 40 years that that mosque has been here in the community of Corvallis, nothing like this has ever happened before.

Apparently, around 2:00 this morning, an officer saw smoke coming from the mosque and it sounds like witnesses say that a firebomb, a Molotov cocktail, something like that, was thrown through the window of the mosque. All of a sudden, it was engulfed in flames and 80 percent of the office at the Islamic center was completely destroyed. So, we're talking about marriage certificates, death certificates, wills, that kind of thing, all destroyed in that fire.

JOHNS: Well, the $50 question here really is, did Mohamed have any connection at all to this mosque? Or do we know -- and what are the Islamic leaders there saying about this anyway?

GUTIERREZ: Joe, we talked to the imam and he told us that he did know Mohamud. Mohamud was there maybe once every two months. It's not as though he was a regular.

We talked to a group of men who were there at the mosque this morning. They told us they saw him but very infrequently. He wasn't someone who was constantly there.

Now, the imam, I asked, how did you feel about this, you know, to know that this young man had been associated with this terrible crime allegedly? What did you think about it? He said that he appeared to be such a smart, young student and that he was very saddened that he had decided to take this path.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUTIERREZ: What was your first reaction when you heard that he had been arrested?

YOSOF WANLY, IMAM: I was shocked and the greatest thing, you know, that affects me most is that I wish I could have intervened in a way to consult him. I wish he could have spoken to me in a way. And that's the thing I regret.

GUTIERREZ: Seems as though you're very saddened by this. It's a very emotional time. Why?

WANLY: Because he destroyed his future, you know?

GUTIERREZ: And hurt the Muslim community as well?

WANLY: And he put, you know, civilians in threat, you know, and the U.S. population as a whole. So, it's just a difficult situation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUTIERREZ: Now, the imam also told us that many people in the community here in Corvallis have stopped by the mosque to express their condolences, also to offer any help. Some of the business community have already started talking about fund-raisers to try to raise money to help the imam rebuild the mosque -- Joe?

JOHNS: Thelma, thanks so much for your reporting. And we will be following this story as it develops.

The largest solar boat of its kind is making its way around the globe. What lucky U.S. city actually got a visit? That's ahead.

And WikiLeaks releases another round of documents. What's at stake for those involved? And why you should care? We'll take a look next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: We are tracking U.S. and world reaction this hour to the release of tens of thousands of U.S. government documents. WikiLeaks.com gave the documents to five major world newspapers, including "The Guardian" of London and "The New York Times." U.S. officials say the sensitive diplomatic cables could damage U.S. relations with other countries, even put lives at risk. The reports include revelations about Iran's nuclear program, the transfer of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, and U.S. relations with Pakistan.

CNN national security analyst, Peter Bergen, is here to talk about the WikiLeaks documents and their impact on the U.S. and its allies.

Peter, you've been reading these reports. What jumps out at you initially?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, the big story, something that's not entirely surprising, is the extent to which Arab nations around the gulf are united in their desire to, in some ways, sabotage or have somebody else sabotage the Iranian nuclear program. And we have multiple accounts of Arab leaders in conversations with U.S. officials saying that they hope, you know, that action is taken. Of course, if action was taken, it would be taken most likely by Israel, which is another account, particularly in "The Guardian," of the extent to which Israeli leaders are constantly said in private meetings that they're contemplating military action against Iran.

Now, none of this is really very surprising. The Arab countries are, of course, all Sunni, generally speaking, and they are very concerned about an ideologically Iranian nuclear state, a Shia state with a nuclear weapon. Nor is it surprising that Israel's planning military action. This is something journalists have been writing about for years now. But it's interesting to see these things also show up in these raw documents, accounts of meetings, Joe.

JOHNS: Another issue that's definitely surfaced in these documents is something we've talked about for a while and that is corruption in Afghanistan. You've also seen in these documents some of the more pointed references to that.

BERGEN: Indeed. There is one account of the vice president of Afghanistan allegedly traveling with $52 million when he was visiting the gulf. Now, since Afghan government officials are paid officially, only a few thousand dollars a month at most, the fact that this guy is traveling around with $52 million is pretty strange.

JOHNS: Absolutely. You also wanted to talk a little bit about something you've seen on Yemen, and that's been circulating around the newsroom here as those documents got released today.

BERGEN: Yes, I mean, as you know, Joe, there have been strikes in Yemen against al Qaeda-associated targets. It's sort of an open secret that these targets, these strikes have been done by the United States. For the reasons plausible deniability, the word is being put out they have been done by the Yemeni government. In fact, as these documents show, the Yemeni government's well aware that they're done by the United States and we even see President Saleh, the president of Yemen, and others in his circle, sort of joking about it with U.S. officials.

So, again, similar to Iran, stuff that we sort of knew about already or had certainly assumed that the United States was involved in direct strikes in Yemen, confirmed by these cables.

JOHNS: Certainly, much more blunt conversations between diplomats than we hear when they go out and talk to the media and to the cameras.

Thank you so much, Peter Bergen, for that.

BERGEN: Thank you.

JOHNS: The WikiLeaks web site has been down for much of today. In a statement posted on Twitter, the site claims its servers have been under electronic attack.

Josh Levs now joins me with more on that.

Josh, the site did come up for a while. Is it still up?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It did, yes. Last we checked, it's still going and they also sent out tweets, all within the last couple of hours. We followed the web site all day long looking for when there would be this actual posting, when they would talk about what it is they would put out today. It's just in the last couple of hours, the site came up, they sent out a tweet. What I've done is I've pulled on the key quotes from what WikiLeaks has put out there. I want you to see, when they talked about what they've now released.

Take a look at this. They're calling this the largest set of confidential documents ever to be released into the public domain. That's the statement they have put out just in the last couple hours. They say it will give people around the world an unprecedented insight into U.S. government foreign activities. Now, this is the mega quote I want you to see here, because this is where they summarize what's in it. They say, "The cables show the extent of U.S. spying on its allies and the U.N. turning a blind eye to corruption and human rights abuse in client states, backroom deals with supposedly neutral countries, lobbying for U.S. corporations and the measures U.S. diplomats take to advance those who have access to them." They write a lot about their philosophies about what they feel they're doing, about why they believe it's so important.

A couple of numbers I want to break down for you here. They say just over 250,000 documents total. and keep in mind, these go all the way back to 1966 in some cases. We're talking about decades of documents. Many of them confidential, including this number. Take a look at how many are confidential. About 50,000 secret, 101,000, 102,000 confidential. About 134,000, they say, were unclassified. Those are some of the key numbers and some of the basic ideas here. When we take a look at what they say about what all this is, they also talk about their philosophy on what it is that they're doing. And they say -- they have a quote here about George Washington. And, Joe, I'll mention this to you. They say, "Every American school child is taught that George Washington could not tell a lie." They say, "If the administration of his successors lived up to that idea, then this posting would be just an embarrassment." And they go on to say, "Instead, it's a lot more."

And they're sending out warnings, suggesting that the government throughout generations, throughout various administrations has lied to the people, and that it's their philosophy that they are now trying to prove that and show the world all sorts of truths.

Obviously, we're hearing a lot of the criticisms and, Joe, we'll be hearing a lot more in the coming days, weeks, months. They say they have so many documents, they're going to drop them in basically sessions over the coming weeks to bring attention to all of them.

JOHNS: Without weighing into their rhetoric, if you will, it's certainly true that a lot of these documents we've seen really do shed some light on the way diplomats communicate around the world. And just that is fascinating in and of itself.

LEVS: And the way government works behind the scenes sometimes.

JOHNS: That's for sure. The philosophy, I'll let somebody else debate.

Thanks so much, Josh Levs.

LEVS: You've got it.

JOHNS: Chasing tornadoes. There's no denying the danger and the thrills, but we'll meet a team that says it's all for science.

And up next, President Obama is set to meet with congressional leaders this week. Our Paul Steinhauser is here to break it all down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: Congress is coming back for its lame-duck session tomorrow. Americans are eager to see their political leaders hunkered down on some important issues, or not. And this week, President Obama and congressional leaders of both parties are expected to sit down and start hashing them out. At least we hope so. And we do know this meeting has been delayed at least once.

CNN deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, has a preview with some polling data on the key issues.

Paul, we all know the big one is extending the Bush-era tax cuts. What are you hearing on that?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Oh, yes, that was the big topic during the campaign for the midterms and, Joe, the elections are gone but that issue is still huge. I'm sure it's going to come up at the White House on Tuesday when the president meets with those congressional leaders.

Here's how it breaks down. Remember, these things expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts. Republicans say, you know what, extend the tax cuts for everybody. These tax cuts came at the beginning of the decade under President Bush. Democrats and most of them say, no, only extend them for families making $250,000 or less.

Check this out. Our most recent CNN/Corporation national did polling on this two weeks ago. And 35 percent said, yes, extend those tax cuts for all Americans regard his had of how much they make. You can see that in the middle. Nearly half said extend those tax cuts only for families making less than $250,000 a year. Joe, at the bottom, 15 percent say, extend them for nobody.

JOHNS: Has 15 percent, that's quite more than I would have thought. But the whole numbers is fascinating as well.

Let's turn to that other very controversial issue a lot of people talked about for the lame-duck session, on again, off again, the question of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and whether it should be repealed. What are you hearing on the polling?

STEINHAUSER: We're talking about the law implemented back during the Clinton years that prevents openly gay people from serving in the military. There's some pushback from Republicans. You heard John McCain today on Candy Crowley "State of the Union" pushing back against this. But our polling indicates that most Americans, more than seven out of 10, favor openly gay people serving in the military -- Joe?

JOHNS: All right. And the START treaty, the last one, so many people on Capitol Hill have wondered whether we would actually see movement on that. We know the Obama administration has been very interested in it and some Republicans on Capitol Hill are balking. What's the public saying to our pollsters about that?

STEINHAUSER: Take a look at the same numbers from that poll and you can see most Americans say that, yes, the treaty, which would reduce weapons with Russia, should be implemented. Almost three out of four say, yes, ratify the treaty with Russia. Only a minority say, no, but you heard again today some Republicans in the Sunday talk shows saying, no, not a good idea. We need to wait on this. Let's deal with this next year. That's not what the administration wants, Joe.

JOHNS: Thanks so much, Paul Steinhauser.

As we all know, a lot of lame-duck sessions don't get too much done. Question is, whether this one is just going to be lame. We still have a little time to find out.

Thanks, Paul Steinhauser, for coming in on a Sunday.

People in Haiti are going -- people in Haiti are going to the polls today to elect a new president, but already, 12 of 18 presidential candidates have issued a declaration calling for the elections to be annulled. They're alleging widespread fraud and ballot-box stuffing. Haiti is struggling to overcome the aftereffects of the January quake and a cholera epidemic.

A prayer vigil is planned tonight for these three missing brothers in Michigan. The boys are 5, 7 and 9 years old. Their father, John Skelton, claims he dropped the boys off with a woman he knew on the Internet before attempting to hang himself last Friday. He survived the attempt and now is in a mental health facility. Police say they're not sure the woman exists and have launched a search for the boys.

So far, so good, as the early Christmas shopping season goes. The National Retail Federation reports 212 million shoppers were out on Black Friday weekend, ringing up about $45 billion in sales. That beat initial forecasts. Online sales were also up 16 percent, with jewelry seeing the biggest jump. Some other observations, compared to last year, fewer people shopped at discounters while more people used their phones to make purchases.

There's more to tracking tornadoes than just the thrill of the chase. Reed Timmer, author of the new book, "Into the Storm" and star of the "Discovery Channel" show "Storm Chasers," says his team does it in the name of science. Gary Tuchman explains in today's "Edge of Discovery."

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JOHNS: Let's take a look now at what will be in the news in the week ahead. From the White House to Wall Street, these are the stories expected to grab the headlines. We begin tonight with what's on the horizon for President Obama.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Henry at the White House where the holiday celebrations have already begun. You see the Christmas trees are going up outside the West Wing. The president on Thursday is going to be hosting a Hanukkah celebration. But there is going to be serious business on Tuesday, when the president has that long-awaited Slurpee Summit with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders. At the top of the agenda, the fate of the Bush tax cuts. Are your taxes about to go up? We may find out this week.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I'm Chris Lawrence. And there is a big week coming up at the Pentagon. First off, more than 7,000 American troops have started training with their South Korean allies off the coast of Korea. All eyes, especially officials here at the Pentagon, will be keeping a close eye on how North Korea responds.

Also on Tuesday, the Pentagon releases its year-long study on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Both Secretary Robert Gates and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, expected to come out publicly and talk about the results. Will it show that there are problems with repealing the policy or will it show that most troops just don't care? All that coming up this week at the Pentagon.

POPPY HARLOW, HOST, CNN MONEY: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. After the shopping madness of Black Friday, people get back to work. On Monday, Wall Street has a lot to focus on. The economy, of course, front and center as we head into the end of the year. We're going to get a reading on November consumer confidence, that's critical, as well as the November auto sales readings. Those are both due out this week.

Also ahead, we're going to get a look at home prices in the 20 biggest cities around the country. On top of that, the latest numbers on pending home sales. We'll crack it all for you on "CNN Money."

JOHNS: Now, that's on the domestic front. CNN international desk editor, Azadeh Ansari, is here.

And you're going to give us the global picture. We know you're going to be covering North Korea. We know you're going to be covering WikiLeaks. What else?

AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK EDITOR: Well, one of the biggest stories that's out there right now, and I'm sure you've heard about this, but Brazilian police and soldiers raided a slum in Rio, called Alameo (ph), and they took over the largest gang that was there, the drug gang that was there. and it was one of the largest busts they have had in the past two years. It's an effort for them to clean up the city, leading up to the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. So, I mean, imagine if, in one of our cities, troops just rolled in to clean up. But that's what happened.

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JOHNS: The Brazil version of taking out streets back.

ANSARI: Exactly.

JOHNS: And we have something going on in Cancun. This has to do with the environment?

ANSARI: Exactly. It's the United Nations climate conference taking place for two weeks. 194 heads of state are heading there as we speak right now to partake in the 16th conference of the parties that's taking place. A lot of stuff's going to come out of this that we're going to be monitoring closely.

JOHNS: It's interesting to have a conference like that this Cancun. This is a place that's always hot. I don't think you'd call that global warming. It's just the way life is in Cancun.

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All right. Azadeh, I'm sorry. Thanks so much.

ANSARI: Thank you.

JOHNS: We all know that Apple Computers have a huge following, so it's not so hard to imagine a piece of Apple history would sell for a pretty penny. Just how much did someone shell out for this piece of computing history?

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