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President Obama's Drawdown Plan; Civilian Surge Impact on Afghans; Getting to Know Jon Huntsman; Gadhafi Air Strikes Kills Civilians in Misrata
Aired June 22, 2011 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I want to get you up to speed for Wednesday, June 22nd.
President Obama addressing the nation tonight from the White House, laying out his plan to begin drawing down U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Now, a number of sources tell CNN that the president will announce 10,000 troops will come home by the end of this year. Another 20,000 would leave by the end of 2012. That would leave 70,000 American forces in Afghanistan as 2013 begins.
Well, a pilot dodges disaster at New York's JFK Airport. A Lufthansa jumbo jet speeding for takeoff had to come to a screeching halt when an Egypt Air flight turned onto the runway. It is not clear how close those planes got, but at takeoff speeds, the pilot would have just had seconds to react.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
EGYPT AIR CONTROLLER: American 158 Heavy. You are ready to go.
LUFTHANSA AIR CONTROLLER: Whoa. Whoa.
EGYPT AIR CONTROLLER: Egypt Air 985 Heavy.
LUFTHANSA AIR CONTROLLER: Cancel takeoff plans. Cancel takeoff plans.
LUFTHANSA PILOT: Lufthansa 411 Heavy is rejecting takeoff.
LUFTHANSA AIR CONTROLLER: All traffic is stopped right now.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: In Orlando, prosecutors in Casey Anthony's murder trial reveal another odd twist. They're investigating whether Anthony crossed paths with another inmate who lost a child. That inmate's story, eerily similar to the ones Anthony's defense attorneys are telling about their client's daughter Caylee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA DRANE BURDICK, PROSECUTOR: The name of the witness is April Whalen. Apparently, her child died in a swimming pool and was found by the child's grandfather, who immediately administered CPR and called 911.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Bismarck, North Dakota, is sending leftover sandbags from recent flooding north to Minot. Twelve thousand residents in Minot have until early evening to get out of their homes. Forecasters say the river will overrun Minot's levee system, perhaps as early as tonight. A city spokesman says the river could break a record set in 1881.
Repair crews say it could take days to get power back on for everyone in Chicago and its suburbs. Three hundred thousand customers lost electricity when heavy-duty thunderstorms just whacked the city. O'Hare and Midway Airports had to canceled almost 400 flights. The storm left hundreds stranded on commuter trains.
Experts say it will probably be mid-July when seasonal rains arrive before crews get a handle on the wildfires in the Southwest. Seven hundred fifty thousand acres have burned in Arizona this fire season, and large fires are raging today in 11 states from Alaska to Florida. Nationally, an area about the size of Delaware has burned this season, triple the amount burned last year.
Amateur video from Syria shows anti-government protesters under fire. Activists say security forces killed at least two people in homes. New violence comes as the government orders state workers to take part in rallies to support President Bashar al-Assad.
A second night of riots in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Police say mass thugs whipped up trouble in a Catholic neighborhood. A burst of gunfire left a photographer with a gunshot wound. Residents say it was one of Belfast's worst nights in a decade.
Well, first lady Michelle Obama visited Soweto today. It is the heartbeat of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement.
The first lady compared South Africa's struggle to the civil rights movement in the United States during a speech at a historic church. Women from across the continent came to hear Mrs. Obama. Earlier, the first lady visited Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first post-apartheid president.
And here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. That is Afghanistan. What do you want to hear from President Obama in the primetime speech tonight?
Carol Costello, she's joining us from New York.
And Carol, a lot of people, their lives are going to be impacted by this. A lot of people have loved ones who are over in Afghanistan.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, one way or another.
But President Obama will look you in the eye tonight and tell you why we're still in Afghanistan. He'll likely say we have to stay there so the Taliban won't take over the country again. We have to stay until Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government is stable enough to hold its own.
The question is, are Americans so angry about the state of our economy and so war-weary, they'll tune out whatever it is the president will say? Lawmakers are aware of that. You only had to watch C-SPAN or CNN to know that.
Listen to Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican John McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: It is impossible to defend the mission in Afghanistan in which we are rebuilding schools, training police, teaching people to read. In other words, building a country, even at the expense of our own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: The statements by the senator from West Virginia which characterize the isolationist withdrawal, lack of knowledge of history, attitude that seems to be on the rise of America --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: President Obama will tell you tonight he is going to withdraw 30,000 troops from Afghanistan over the next year and a half, but 70,000 will remain. The United States will continue to pour billions of dollars into Afghanistan, and our troops will continue to die. More than 1,600 so far.
So, the "Talk Back" today: What do you want to hear from President Obama tonight?
Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comment later this hour.
MALVEAUX: It's so interesting, Carol, because under President Bush, for years they were saying this is the forgotten war, we've got to clean up the mess in Afghanistan. There seems to be really a sea change in public opinion here saying, you know, with Osama bin Laden gone, and some of the other progress, why is the United States still there? It's an excellent question.
COSTELLO: It's an excellent question because people are hurting in this country right now. Fourteen million Americans are unemployed, and they're wondering why we're pouring billions of dollars into a country to, in essence, rebuild it when we're not paying attention to rebuilding our own country. And I think that's on the minds of many Americans. And I expect that many of our Facebook friends would agree with that.
MALVEAUX: OK. Carol, thanks. Appreciate it.
American troops have been in Afghanistan for almost a decade now. In anticipation of the president's speech, we're taking a hard look at where the war stands now.
First, the end game. What would victory in Afghanistan even look like? And what are we still trying to achieve there?
And then, lessons from Iraq, what the other war can teach us about pulling out of a difficult situation.
And the threat now almost 10 years after September 11th. Are we safer today than when we were American boots first hit the ground in Afghanistan?
And finally, the human impact, what a decade of war is doing to the people we're trying to protect.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Tonight will mark the beginning of the end. After almost 10 years of war in Afghanistan, President Obama will announce the first phase of troop withdrawals. But to understand how we get out, we first need to understand how we got in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): September 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks America. Shock soon gives way to anger.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people -- and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.
MALVEAUX: Afghanistan's Taliban rulers refused to eject Osama bin Laden.
BUSH: On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
MALVEAUX: Al Qaeda's last bastion at Tora Bora is destroyed. The Taliban retreat to the mountains.
Over the next two years, the U.S. and its NATO allies try to subdue a stubborn insurgency. And then another invasion.
BUSH: Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.
MALVEAUX: Within two months, there are 150,000 American troops in Iraq, but those weapons are never found. As the U.S. military gets bogged down fighting a local insurgency and al Qaeda followers, Afghanistan becomes the forgotten war.
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The reality is, we won the first Afghan war in 2001-2002. We were diverted by Iraq, and we basically neglected Afghanistan for several years.
MALVEAUX: That's the argument candidate Obama makes as he pitches himself for the White House.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: We're confronting an urgent crisis in Afghanistan, and we have to act. It's time to heed the call from General McKiernan and others for more troops.
MALVEAUX: For much of 2009, as president, Barack Obama wrestles with a new strategy in Afghanistan, eventually opting for a surge in troops to take on the Taliban in their heartland.
OBAMA: As commander-in-chief, I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan.
MALVEAUX: But progress is slow, gains fragile. The Taliban have support and resources across the border in Pakistan.
The U.S. has a prickly relationship with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, who berates his allies over civilian casuals. But the U.S. is also taking casualties.
By February, 2010, 1,000 American soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan. There is progress in the south, the Taliban's heartland, but much still to be done. And the American public is tiring of a decade of war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: So many of those weary of this war are going to be listening tonight for specifics from the commander-in-chief, people who need to know the speed, the scope of his plan, starting to bring these troops home.
Retired Major General James "Spider" Marks, he's joining us from Washington. He's a former commander of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center.
And General, thank you for being with us.
MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Thanks, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Essentially, what is the end game here?
MARKS: Well, the end state, I would say, the end game, is an Afghanistan that is friendly to the United States, where we have a relationship, we have -- there's a form of stability and security, where the Afghan people and the Afghan government, with forms of governance that take place throughout the country and a security force, both, I would say, police, border patrol folks, as well as military, that can ensure a sustained security so they can move forward and achieve whatever their objectives are. But we can't allow collectively the Afghans and the United States and the coalition of those that want to participate, we can't allow Afghanistan to harbor terrorists and to be a terrorist-sponsored state.
MALVEAUX: Right. So, General, how do we know when we've won? MARKS: Well, you know, Suzanne, I don't think we're going to win this fight at the strategic level. Victory will be described as a stable Afghanistan.
We've already invested a heck of a lot of national treasure, commitments of families and this United States, and a heck of a lot of money. And what we need is to try to envision is an Afghanistan that is stable and has partners within the region where there's regional stability and they're a part of that.
But every day, Marines and soldiers are taking the fight to the enemy, and they're providing a fire break, if you will, between bad guys and families and local Afghans that want to move forward. So, victory at the tactical level is occurring every day in incredible acts of courage, both moral and physical courage, that we can see.
MALVEAUX: General --
MARKS: At the strategic level it's just difficult to define.
MALVEAUX: So how will we know when this war is over? Is that 2005 (sic), when all international forces are slated to pull out?
MARKS: 2014, international forces by the end of that year are supposed to be gone. Well, it's very easy to say it's over if we're not there, not unlike Vietnam. When we left in the spring of 1975, it suddenly was over. Over the course of decades our relationship with that part of the world has changed and altered.
We would anticipate and we could expect the same thing in Afghanistan, but it takes place because we're vigilant and we don't let go. We still have an intelligence stare on the region, we still have partnerships. And I would argue that we're probably going to have a military presence of some form well beyond 2014.
MALVEAUX: All right. General Marks, thank you so much. Obviously, we're going to talk to you in a little bit, about five minutes away. We want your insights on some of the lessons that we have learned from the Iraq War as well.
And, of course, CNN is staying on the Afghanistan troop drawdown story throughout the day, right up to the president's address to the nation. It is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 Pacific. You can watch it live here on CNN.
Well, the Casey Anthony murder trial takes another surprising turn. The latest twist involves the defense claim about how Anthony's 2- year-old daughter died.
Details coming up in a live report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: The U.S. hasn't only invested its military might in Afghanistan, but hundreds of people from the State Department have been sent to the country as part of a civilian surge working to win what they say, the hearts and minds of the Afghan people.
Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jill Dougherty, she joins me from the State Department.
And Jill, tell us, first of all, what are these civilians actually doing on the ground to improve conditions for the Afghan people?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Suzanne, my producer and I, Elise Labott, saw that actually on the ground when we were in Afghanistan at the end of last year. And I'll give you a good example.
The areas like agriculture, a farmer from the United States helping Afghan farmers to learn better techniques so that they can feed themselves. There were also legal experts who were advising lawyers and judges in Afghanistan to have a better legal system and courts and jury trials, et cetera.
And then you also have people who advise mayors and governors on how to really build a government. You know, a lot of people in Afghanistan, unbelievably, in the government, even, cannot read. So, there were issues like that.
Very big challenges. But what they're trying to do is build up the capacity of Afghans themselves to carry out these basic services that government provides. And the whole idea is to wean them away from the Taliban, give them the services that sometimes the Taliban comes in and gives them.
MALVEAUX: And Jill, is there a sense of how long these diplomats and this civilian surge is going to be in Afghanistan before they pull out?
DOUGHERTY: Well, you know, when you compare it to the military, the numbers are really extremely small, but there are about 1,300 of them scattered throughout the country, most of them in Kabul. But there are about 400 or 500 in the field.
They will ramp up a little bit. There may be about 100 more. And then they will start to diminish, kind of like the way U.S. troops are.
But they will be in there for a while, just in terms of providing these services. After the military leave, then you'll still have civilians working out of the U.S. embassy and the consulates throughout the country, helping to supervise some of these programs that they hope the Afghans can continue.
MALVEAUX: And Jill, I guess a lot of people are cynical about this, but is it a foregone conclusion after U.S. troops, diplomats leave in significant numbers, that Afghanistan is going to revert back to the way it was, kind of devolve into this kind of corrupt narco-state, become a safe haven for al Qaeda?
DOUGHERTY: Boy, that really -- you know, that's the issue. And nobody really knows. Nobody can say. But certainly what they're trying to do is have programs that can help the Afghans do this, because the United States, we all know, with the budget considerations that are going on, and the debate on Capitol Hill -- don't forget, Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, will be on the Hill tomorrow, in fact, testifying on this. And you have to make the case.
But what they are saying is, if you don't try to build up the capacity of Afghans to have their own government and provide those services, you are guaranteed to have a black hole of problems into which the Taliban can come.
MALVEAUX: All right. Jill Dougherty, thank you so much for your perspective. We'll be keeping a close eye on your reports.
And also, in planning for a successful troop drawdown in Afghanistan, many experts say all you have to do is just take a look at the other war, Iraq.
Retired Major General James "Spider" Marks, he's joining us again from Washington. And he is a former commander of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center.
General, there are a lot of things that the United States did right and did wrong in Iraq that perhaps can serve as lessons learned in Afghanistan.
What were the things that went right in Iraq that we can take away when we look at what's happening in the future in Afghanistan?
MARKS: Suzanne, what happened in Iraq is that, subsequent to a surge, if we'll all recall the surge in Iraq back in 2007, achieved some significant progress in a number of real thorny areas. And there's debate on how that occurred and where specifically that occurred and all the contributing members. But what's important to realize is that after those conditions had been achieved, in Iraq we, collectively, the Iraq people, the military, the security forces, had reached a level of professionalism, and the United States and those other coalition members were able to sustain that level of goodness so that the U.S. and some of those other nations could withdraw in a very orderly way. And we end up today with about 50,000 in Iraq.
In Afghanistan, there are some significant differences, obviously. Iraq has a long history, very modern, very educated. It has an infrastructure.
Afghanistan mostly is disparate tribal thiefdoms, and its borders are defined by its neighbors. So it's very difficult to draw, you know, what I would call a direct causal link between what we saw in Iraq and what we're going to see in Afghanistan, but the conditions have to be the same.
There has to be a level of security, there has to be a level of legitimacy in the government, and those efforts are ongoing right now. And that's been told to the president, obviously, from General Petraeus and others, that now is the time to start to make a measured withdrawal of these surge forces in Afghanistan.
MALVEAUX: General, is there anything that we did that was really wrong, big mistakes in Iraq that we should just not repeat in Afghanistan?
MARKS: Well, the first thing we did in Iraq that we didn't do right is we didn't put enough firepower and boots on the ground to help stabilize the country. There is no better intelligence collector and there's no better policemen on the ground than an infantryman or a young Marine. And we didn't have enough forces going in.
In Afghanistan, Secretary Gates has already indicated a similar pattern -- great, quick victory in Afghanistan, with the Taliban dispersed, and then a diversion into Iraq, if you will. So, we didn't have enough boots on the ground.
So, the key thing is, we've got to measure where the Afghan security and military forces are capable, and where in terms of governance the Afghan government is capable. And then we have to ensure that we are a welcomed partner moving forward to ensure that those functions can be met and the numbers of forces can be met as well. And we're doing that right now.
MALVEAUX: And General, real quick here, we're hearing numbers, 10,000 withdrawing this year, that that's what the president's going to be announcing. But you had his -- you had General Petraeus, you had the former secretary of defense, Robert Gates, both saying they didn't think that was a good idea, that you should not withdraw those many so quickly.
Is that a good idea, that the president essentially is not taking the advice of those military advisers and going in a different direction?
MARKS: I bet you, Suzanne, the president would say he is taking the counsel of his military advisers. They give them -- they, the military commanders, always give the president a range of options. And all of those options are doable. They can be achieved.
So, the president might have taken option two instead of option one. So, he has the words and the wisdom of those commanders on the ground. And what you're seeing is the 30,000 that went in by the president, the 30,000 that are coming out, it still leaves 70,000 on the ground over the course of the next couple of years to determine what that end state might look like and if there is a force going forward even beyond 2014.
MALVEAUX: All right. General Marks, thank you. Appreciate your perspective.
MARKS: Thank you, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Thank you.
MARKS: You're welcome.
MALVEAUX: Well, as we spend our time focusing on the thousands of troops preparing to come home next month, we also want to remember the face of those who did not.
U.S. Army Sergeant Amaru Borgen from Miami was just 26 years old. He was killed in Afghanistan last month in Kandahar Province. And he was first-time father of a 9-month-old. Friends say that he could not wait to teach his son his passion for Taekwondo. Borgen was an IT computer whiz who organized Facebook care package drives for his platoon.
Army Private First Class Kristopher Thomas was just 18 when he was killed in a helicopter crash south of Kabul four years ago. He was from Roseville, California. Thomas was the youngest-ever member of the elite Army Rangers, and his friends say he had an unusual drive, a sense of purpose and social consciousness.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a quick rundown, some stories we're working on next.
An unexpected turn in the Casey Anthony trial. Prosecutors want to know if this woman ever spoke with Anthony when the two were in jail together.
Then Moammar Gadhafi's troops are once again shelling Misrata. Rockets are hitting civilian areas with tragic results. We're going to have a live report.
The Casey Anthony trial takes another unexpected twist. Testimony resumed today with more forensics experts taking the stand for the defense. But the latest twist involves that the defense claim that Anthony's two -year-old daughter was not murdered but drowned accidentally.
CNN's David Mattingly joins us live from Orlando.
David, I understand that there is a woman who was in jail at the same time as Casey who has a similar story.
Can you connect the dots for us?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This woman's name is April Waylan. She was in jail the same time as Casey Anthony back in 2009. This woman experienced a tragedy in her life. Her young child, a son, drowned in the family swimming pool. The body was discovered by the child's grandfather. Attempts to revive the child were unsuccessful and the child drowned accidentally in that pool.
That story is very similar to the one that Casey Anthony, through her attorney, is now telling the court about what happened to Caylee. So, what investigators are trying to do, they're trying to find out if somehow that woman's story reached Casey and Casey used it to fabricate an alibi of her own.
So, they are looking into this possibility. It's still a theory. They have not prepared -- they're not prepared to go before the jury with this yet. In fact, they brought this up in court when the jury was behind closed doors. But again, investigators have not obtained that definitive link yet, but it shows that this investigation is still going on and they're still looking for evidence in this case.
MALVEAUX: That would be such an interesting development if they were able to actually make that link. Is that the approach the defense is taking?
What are they doing today?
MATTINGLY: Well, what the defense is doing today is very slowly and methodically going through expert after expert after expert, bringing them to the stand to refute the findings of the prosecution.
For instance, we heard from an FBI geologist today in testimony for the defense saying that they tested the dirt on Casey Anthony's shoes. They weren't able to determine she was ever at the scene where Caylee's body was found. An FBI chemist took the stand and said they weren't able to find any sort of sedatives in hair samples from Caylee.
So, it's been that kind of testimony that they're bringing forward to have the jury hear as the defense tries to poke holes in the prosecution's case that Caylee Anthony was murdered by her mother. What they're trying to do is establish the doubt and challenge the credibility of the assumptions the prosecution's making.
MALVEAUX: All right. David, thank you so much.
More on the Casey Anthony trial ahead. Criminal defense attorney Holly Hughes gives us her take on the latest twist and why she thinks the defense is in trouble. That's coming up in the next hour, noon Eastern.
Well, the newest face in the race for president could use some help in the name recognition department. Our Jeanne Moos investigates Jon Huntsman.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
President Obama's former ambassador to China is the newest Republican presidential candidate. And he's not exactly a household name, at least not yet.
Jeanne Moos takes a look at Jon Huntsman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their two-minute stroll across the grass --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There comes the Huntsman.
MOOS: -- with six of their seven kids felt a little like the Von Trapp family with the sound of campaigning.
This relative unknown has so far to run that he has to keep introducing himself.
JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm Jon Huntsman and I'm humbled.
I'm Jon Huntsman.
I'm Jon Huntsman and I'm running for president of the United States of America.
MOOS: And even when he said those words --
HUNTSMAN: My kids can't believe I just said that.
MOOS: Even his own campaign spelled his name wrong on the press pass handed out. J-O-H-N should have been J-O-N.
When they realized the mistake, the Huntsman campaign people tried to gather up and take back all the misspelled press passes but they missed a few. We went hunting for someone who knows Jon Huntsman.
Who is Jon Huntsman?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Haven't a clue.
MOOS: Jon Huntsman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No idea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No idea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.
MOOS: Does this help at all?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For president? He's running for president.
MOOS: Yes. Ding, ding, ding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he running for the Republican Party?
MOOS: See, you're from Australia?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MOOS: You know more than Americans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do actually and we're proud of it.
MOOS: But there was a day when people didn't know this guy either.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Barack? Barack? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never heard of him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His name is like a rapper.
MOOS: At least Huntsman is easy to pronounce. But if you Google it on Google images look what comes up. The huntsman spider. At least its bite isn't considered dangerous.
American comedians have a duty to introduce this latest candidate to the public.
DAVID LETTERMAN, TALK SHOW HOST: Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman is running.
MOOS: Will "Get to know Jon Huntsman" become a recurring bit?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's actually no reason to get to know Jon Huntsman. This has been get to know Jon Huntsman.
MOOS: Conan is helping, too.
CONAN O'BRIEN, TALK SHOW HOST: There's a picture of him right there. It looks like he's interrupting a lunch conversation. Couldn't help but overhear.
MOOS: Huntsman's already been mistaken for someone else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The shirtless Twitter guy?
MOOS: Actually it was Craigslist but there is a certain resemblance and we advise this relative unknown not to become over-exposed.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Well, revved up and ready to run. Republican Michele Bachmann sets the date for her big, formal announcement. We've got details in our political update.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: She's actually been running for a while. Now Michele Bachmann is ready to make her formal announcement.
Kate Bolduan, part of the Best Political Team on Television is live from Capitol Hill.
Kate, what have we learned about her plans now? When are we finally going to get the official announcement?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, finally. People are going to be scratching their head saying, wait, hasn't she already -- anyway, Michele Bachmann is set to formally announce her presidential bid on Monday. And this comes as no surprise to our avid CNN viewers, our lovers of politics that we all are. As Bachmann said as much at the CNN debate earlier this month when she announced that she had formally -- she had filed the papers, the appropriate and necessary papers and would be making her announcement soon.
So that apparently is coming Monday. And she's making the announcement in Waterloo, Iowa. Why Waterloo, Iowa, you ask? Well, not only is Iowa home to the politically famous and important Iowa caucuses, but also the Waterloo is also birthplace of one Michele Bachmann. So, there you have it, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Oh, OK. Good. A two-for there for her.
BOLDUAN: Exactly.
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: Now, Sarah Palin, she gets a lot of publicity, a lot of press for what she's doing. She hasn't thrown herself into the race yet, but we're hearing that her daughter Bristol -- Bristol Palin has a book out, right, that's hitting the stores now, it's not just Sarah Palin, but Bristol?
BOLDUAN: Yes. I guess we can coo call this politics light, maybe. Bristol Palin, daughter of Sarah Palin, well-known former governor or Alaska and former vice presidential candidate, at 20 years old already has a memoir. Yes, do you feel like you have not accomplished enough?
MALVEAUX: I feel a little old.
BOLDUAN: Or that. Not intended, though.
So the book hit shelves Tuesday, and she -- I will acknowledge that I have not yet read it but she does dish on everything from the presidential campaign of 2008, to even her experiences as a young teenage mother.
And, of course, this book would not be complete without her talking about Levi Johnston, the father of her child and the on again/off again romance that has continued between the two of them. And don't worry, Suzanne, Levi Johnston apparently has his own book coming out in the fall.
MALVEAUX: Oh, god. (INAUDIBLE) treating, I guess. I don't know. We'll have to see how both of them do.
I met Bristol Palin at White House Correspondents' Dinner. She was a very nice, very lovely woman. So we'll have to see what she has to write about.
BOLDUAN: What she has to say, exactly.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thanks, Kate.
For the latest political news, you where to go, CNNpolitics.com.
Small businesses created more than half the new jobs over the past 15 years. That is according to the Small Business Administration. And women started many of those businesses.
Our CNN's Alison Kosik, she has today's Top Tips for women who would be entrepreneurs on how to actually start smart.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Suzanne. More than eight million businesses in the U.S. are run by women and when it comes to breaking it down by gender, between 1997 and 2011, the number of female owned firms increased by 50 percent. That's one and a half times the national average. By contrast the American Express Open State of Women-Owned Business Report says male-owned firms grew by just 25 percent.
So ladies if you're out there and thinking of starting a business, first do your research. Nell Merlino had some great advice. Merlino is the founder and president of Count Me In, that's an education group for women entrepreneurs. She also created Take our Daughters to Work Day. She says Google is a girl's best friend so put in your different configurations of your idea and see if there's an approach you have that others don't. Then figure out how you can make money from it.
And start small. Try to sell your product or service at a flea market or a local fair. Also, Merlino says even if someone else has your idea out there, network with them, try to partner up. Then work on building your brand.
Catherine Kaputa, author of "The Female Brand" says you need to have a creation story and an elevator speech in 60 seconds or less to sell yourself and your business. People want to know how it all came together. Next, the digital world is the easiest, lowest cost way to get your brand name out there. So Kaputa says blog, tweet and have a Facebook profile for your business.
And finally, ask for help. Merlino says 70 percent of all women business owners make $50,000 or less in annual revenue, so to make your business thrive, she says, hire employees. Think of it as an investment. She says, don't look at hiring as an expense but, instead, a way to grow your business. Merlino says that if women hire an employee in the first six months of business, they're much more likely to reach $1 million in revenue -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thanks, Alison.
Well, check this out. Commotion outside the Wal-Mart. Why is this woman jumping on the hood and windshield of this car?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: You've been sounding off on our talk back question. What do you want to hear from President Obama tonight, his primetime speech on Afghanistan?
Our Carol Costello, she's joining us from New York.
And Carol, what are folks saying?
COSTELLO: Overwhelmingly, Suzanne, they want to bring all the troops home. Our Talk Back question, what do you want to hear from President Obama tonight?
This from rusty. He says, "Bringing all the troops home now won't happen but we truly need to stop wasting irreplaceable lives and vast sums of money on that pitiful excuse of a country. Our country can very much use the savings."
This from Joanne. "I want to hear President Obama say we did what we could. We completed the original mission of tracking down bin Laden so the troops will be returning home on an organized, quick and efficient schedule. And want him to keep his word."
This from Ken. "When the hell are we going to mind our own damn business and keep our own money to help our own people? The United States need to help itself right now. Nobody else, period."
And this from Michael. "Mr. President, it's time to face the realities of domestic issues. You have done well. The villain is gone and now we need a hero here at home."
This from Kara. "I'd like to hear that after my husband finishes up his current deployment, he won't have to turn around and go right back again."
Keep the comments coming. Facebook.com/CarolCNN. And I'll check back with you in, oh, about 15 minutes or so.
MALVEAUX: OK. And, Carol, you know we always have to save the best stories for you. So you know there's one coming. So you got to stick around for this one. This is one of our favorites.
COSTELLO: OK, I'm ready.
MALVEAUX: You never know what will happen at the Wal-Mart. But this Wal-Mart customer, right, I think she was wearing a superhero outfit under her shopping clothes. This is Monique Lawless. She saw a couple of guys shoplifting beer.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MONIQUE LAWLESS, GOOD SAMARITAN: I told the cashier, do something, you know, they're leaving. And she couldn't do anything. So I told her, watch my purse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: OK, watch her purse. That's when the two guys leaving the store on the right, beers in hand. They rush out to the car. It was parked in a fire line for a quick getaway. Here comes Monique to the rescue. All right? Don't try this at home.
COSTELLO: She's running.
MALVEAUX: She rushes out of the store, takes a running leap, landing on the hood, stomping on the windshield. COSTELLO: No, way.
MALVEAUX: Listen to this. Listen, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAWLESS: Then he started the car and I knew I needed to get off because he didn't care -- they were laughing at me the whole time in the car. And I hit my face and I have -- I don't think my nose is broke but it swole (sic) up really big.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
You know, she's got a swollen nose there Carol. But her commotion, she got the attention of the police, they nabbed the beer thieves. You know, would you do that, Carol? Do you think you'd do that for -- to --
COSTELLO: No, Monique, Monique, don't ever do that again. It could have ended so badly. Oh, my gosh. I cannot believe she did that.
MALVEAUX: Yes, really kind of amazing. I've never seen anything like that at the Wal-Mart.
COSTELLO: I admire her for trying, but it was only beer, Monique. It was just beer.
MALVEAUX: She's got the swollen nose to prove it. She feels good. And her last name is Lawless so I guess she was compelled to get involved, right, Carol?
COSTELLO: Maybe so. I admire her, but please don't ever do that again, Monique.
MALVEAUX: All right. Word to Monique, not again. Once is enough.
Carol, we'll have more after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: As fighting continues in Libya, pressure is mounting at the U.S. capital. House Republicans want to limit U.S. involvement to a non-combat role until President Obama gets permission from Congress to continue fighting. That's under the War Powers Act. Senators John McCain and John Kerry are pushing opposing the legislation that would allow the president to continue without that approval.
Well, as the debate in Washington continues, the violence in Libya, it is raging on and civilians now are getting caught in the cross fire.
Ben Wedeman reports from Misrata.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BED WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twelve-year-old Fatah Jabushabah (ph) is burned and in shock. But somehow he manages a weak smile from his hospital bed.
Monday evening, a rocket fired by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi slammed into his home in Misrata's Royasat (ph) district. His 14- year-old bother Ibrahim wasn't a fighter but died like so many others in Misrata in the last four months, without rhyme or reason.
He was killed here instantly while washing his hands at the sink before evening prayers. Ibrahim's uncle Abdullah, rushed to the scene when he heard the blast.
ABDULLAH, UNCLE: I found this place was on fire, he recalls. Ibrahim was here. I threw water on him, then took him to the ambulance, but he was already dead.
WEDEMAN: Dinner from the night before is still on the stove. A family's life frozen in time by a missile that shattered the calm and their lives on a warm and breezy June evening.
(on camera): When the war impacted on Monday evening, it sprayed hundreds of these little metal balls in every direction. Now, this sort of weapon might be permissible on the battle field but this is distinctly a civilian area.
(voice-over): Three rockets hit Misrata Monday evening in quick succession. All were packed with these medal balls.
A wall saved the family inside this home, but the message from the shelling is clear: nowhere in Misrata is safe.
Ibrahim's father, Ali, received burns to his arms and legs. His face, etched with grief, shock and exhaustion.
"We were sitting at home, the whole family," he says. "We didn't know what happened."
Ibrahim's mother, Fatima (ph), was also injured in the attack.
DR. MOHAMMED FROKA, ABBAD HOSPITAL: She has got second-degree burns of both legs, both lower limbs, and both upper limbs and her face. Luckily, she has got a first-degree (ph) burn of her face, but her condition, when she has been brought here, it was a little bit critical.
WEDEMAN: The day before the attack, Fatima (ph) gave birth to a son, cradled in the arms of his grandmother, Muna (ph). They've named him after his dead brother.
Ibrahim was buried Monday night just hours after he was killed, the latest grave in this city's growing cemeteries.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Misrata.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Ben Wedeman joins us now live from Misrata. And, Ben, as you know what is taking place here, stateside, Congress is now debating whether or not the United States should be in Libya without approval from Capitol Hill, from Congress.
What do you think an interruption would mean if we did not get involved and it stopped, for those people who are there?
WEDEMAN: Well, let me put it in perspective, Suzanne. This city is surrounded on three sides by Gadhafi's forces. Its only window to the world is the sea. Every single day the city is bombarded by missiles. Today nine of these grod (ph) missiles landed on Misrata, and most of them are using these steel ball bearings as anti-personnel weapons.
The fear here in Misrata is that if the NATO cover were to be removed from Libya, from Misrata, that Gadhafi's forces which essentially said that they were ordered to quote, "turn the sea red with blood." If they were to take this city over again. So, the consequences for the people of Misrata are very clear . They would punished, punished harshly, severely for their revolt against Moammar Gadhafi.
We've already seen, there are thousands of people who were killed in this city during the siege. According to some sources as many as 1,000 women were raped by Gadhafi's forces. So, the expectation is if they come in here again, if NATO's cover is removed, it could be just like that but far worse -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Ben Wedeman, thank you very much for that very sobering report.
Thanks, Ben.
