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American Morning
Thousands of Demonstrators Still on Streets of Damascus; Clinton Surgery; Michael Jackson Trial
Aired March 09, 2005 - 08:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Insurgents leaving another bloody trail in Iraq today. Suicide attacks across the country. While in the western desert, a grim discovery. Dozens executed near the Syrian border.
Six miles high, a towering plume of ash and smoke. Mt. Saint Helens stirs once again. Is a major eruption up next?
And as the notorious rap wars heat up again, Reverend Al Sharpton with some tough talk of his own on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Nine o'clock here in New York. Good to have you along with us today. Final hour here.
And good morning again.
O'BRIEN: Good morning.
HEMMER: In the Michael Jackson matter, the brother of the boy accusing Jackson of molestation is back on the stand today for even more tough cross-examination. Also, his brother, who is the accuser, could take the stand as early as today. And Jeff Toobin stops by to explain the strategy for the prosecution in a moment.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, just one day before his surgery, former President Bill Clinton playing in a charity golf tournament, along with former President Bush. A little later we're going to talk to the host of that tournament, golf legend Greg Norman.
HEMMER: He keeps going and going. So, too, does Jack.
What's happening.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Those guys getting along pretty good. I think they've become pretty close friends.
O'BRIEN: I think it's a real thing. I didn't believe it at first.
CAFFERTY: Maybe the next flight overseas they'll share that bedroom.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Maybe, you never know.
CAFFERTY: No, I mean, they seem to like each other, you know, which is interesting. Or not. Maybe it's not interesting.
The e-mail "Question of the Day" has to do with the decline in the number of women and minorities joining the all-volunteer U.S. Army. Down significantly over the last several years.
What to be done about it? How do you use the recruitment levels among those two groups. AM@CNN.com.
HEMMER: All right, Jack. Thanks for that.
Back to the headlines. Here is Carol Costello talking about the weather here in the Northeast.
Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It's cold outside, isn't it?
HEMMER: Yes.
COSTELLO: It feels like zero, they say. Yes, the Northeast is digging out from a late winter storm this morning.
Gusty winds, icy rains and frigid temperatures. Some wind-chills recorded as low as negative 24 degrees. When will the cold snap end? Well, Chad will be along in just a bit to tell us. Hopefully he'll say March 20, because that is when spring begins.
The faithful in Rome catching a glimpse of the pope this morning from his hospital window. It's the third time he's appeared since his surgery last month. The pope blessing the crowd.
The 84-year-old pontiff has been recovering from a tracheotomy at Gemelli Hospital. The Vatican says he should be released in time for Easter.
Los Angeles may get its first Hispanic mayor in more than a century. Votes are still being counted, but preliminary reports show city Councilman Antonio -- oh, this is a hard one -- Villariagosa, he's in the lead. That could set him up for a potential rematch against incumbent James Hahn in a May off. So imagine if Mayor Villariagosa meets with Governor Schwarzenegger.
O'BRIEN: Very nicely done. And we'll just start using their initials.
COSTELLO: Thank you. Exactly. A lot easier.
That's Governor V., everybody -- Mayor V. and Governor S. Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure. O'BRIEN: Well, there have been some violent and deadly incidents in Iraq to talk about today, including a suicide car bomb that exploded on a road that leads to a U.S. base in Iraq. Another suicide bomber used a garbage truck to get into a target in Baghdad.
Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad this morning.
Aneesh, good morning.
First, let's talk about this garbage truck attack. How exactly did that happen?
All right. It looks like we're having some audio problems with Aneesh. We're going to go back to that in just a few moments as soon as we are able to establish that link -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right. About two minutes now past the hour.
Let's move back to the Middle East again, where thousands of demonstrators from the streets of Damascus again at this hour. They are there on the street, showing support for their president, Bashar al-Assad. The Assad government has been under pressure to pull its troops out of neighboring Lebanon.
Syrian troops have begun a pullback. However, Syria has not set a hard date yet for when its troops might be gone for good.
President Bush, meanwhile, again in a speech yesterday, insisting that Syria get out by the Lebanese elections now scheduled for May. The former secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, was talking about it earlier today with us about that very topic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: He has made that a very important part of his policy because we and the French have supported the Security Council resolution calling on the Syrians to go. And the reason that we want them to go is that, in fact, it's important for Lebanon to be an independent country and not be a client state of Syria.
But it's not without its difficulties, as you have reported, because there are pro-Syrian factions in Lebanon, and they are the Hezbollah. That is actually a very powerful political movement that put on a huge counter-demonstration yesterday.
HEMMER: One of the most frequently asked questions in Washington today is this -- and you can pick up on this in every talk show you listen to out of Washington -- was the president right about his push for democracy in the Middle East? When you answer that question, what do you say?
ALBRIGHT: Well, I think that -- I agree with the fact that everybody in the world is the same and wants to be able to make decisions about their lives. And democracy is the best approach to it. I think the question is the extent to which it is viewed as an American program, rather than in support of what is going on in countries themselves. And I think we have to be very careful in the way that the president phrases this of making it sound as if democracy is in America demand.
You can't impose democracy. You have to talk about it as offering it to the people.
And I have to say, in listening to newscasts, we are on a rollercoaster ride here. Democracy in various ways is being exhibited in these countries, but we're a long way from democracy. And for the president to keep pushing and pushing and pushing in ways that sound like this is our program and not theirs, I'm not sure is truly helpful.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Madeleine Albright earlier today. She's in Madrid, Spain, right now, for a conference on terrorism -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, former President Bill Clinton is going to have surgery tomorrow. Mr. Clinton is going to have a buildup of fluid and scar tissue removed from his lung. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with a look at exactly what the president faces.
Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And a lot of people sort of saying, you know, he's sort of matter of fact about this.
O'BRIEN: Very calm.
GUPTA: He's playing golf today and in the OR tomorrow. But nobody takes this lightly. Certainly not the surgeons who are going to work hard tomorrow to try and relieve the symptoms that have been plaguing the former president for weeks now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): The first clues were subtle. During routine exercise near his home in New York, doctors say former President Clinton began to feel the nagging in his chest and shortness of breath.
DR. ALLAN SCHWARTZ, NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: He had noticed over the past month or so that on steep hills, he was getting winded a bit more easily. At the same time, he was starting to feel a bit of discomfort in his left chest.
GUPTA: A rare complication of fluid and scar built up in the chest will place Clinton back in the operating room on Thursday.
SCHWARTZ: This is not an emergency. This is being done to assure that he is able to continue to maintain a highly active lifestyle and that he's not at all functionally limited by his lung. But this is not a medically urgent procedure.
GUPTA: Even though Schwartz called the procedure elective, it's clear that President Clinton needs the operation. His discomfort due to fluid, which is causing the thin lining outside the lungs, called the pleura, to thicken and collapse.
SCHWARTZ: Left untouched for a long period of time, any collection in the body is potentially could be seeded with infection, although that risk is extremely low. We don't want to leave him with compromise of normal lung function.
GUPTA: So doctors will perform a procedure to shore off those thickened layers and remove fluid, allowing the lung to heal and re- expand. When asked if Clinton's busy schedule, including recent trips to areas devastated by the tsunami, are to blame for his condition, doctors said...
SCHWARTZ: The short answer is no.
GUPTA: And so the president kept his busy schedule and even talked about the procedure.
CLINTON: It's a routine sort of deal, and it'll knock me out of commission for a week or two, then I'll be back to normal. It's no big deal. And, you know, I felt well enough to go to Asia to try to keep up with President Bush, and we're going to go play golf tomorrow. So I'm not in too bad a shape.
GUPTA: Doctors do predict expect a routine operation and recovery, in and out of the hospital in three to 10 days.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: President Clinton and President Bush going to play golf tomorrow to raise money for the tsunami victims. It goes to show how sick he is.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: And chances are he is going to do well. You know, interesting, the surgeon who performed his operation back in September said he's done about 6,000 of these. Only about 10 of his patients have had complications like the former president's. I bet you he wishes former President Clinton didn't have that. Clinton should be out of the hospital three to 10 days from now.
Also, coming up later in the hour, an important study coming out talking about second hand smoke and breast cancer, showing for the first time that one may cause the other. I'll have more about that in about half an hour or so -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right. We'll look forward to that. Sanjay, thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Bill. HEMMER: Well, in the northwest, Soledad, scientists at Mt. Saint Helens now working to get a clearer look inside its crater today. This plume of smoke and ash exploded from inside the volcano last evening. A 2.0 magnitude quake on the east side of the mountain took place about an hour before that.
Scientists say the explosion does not necessarily mean there is an increased risk of a larger explosion; however, it does not slide by without some level of concern. A lot of people taken by surprise for this, and some reports say the equipment out there did not detect it. It makes it quite interesting for another day today dawning there.
Here's Chad Myers watching the weather outside, also in the Northwest.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, Michael Jackson's accuser could take the stand as soon as today. Is it a mistake? Jeff Toobin dissects the prosecution's strategy.
HEMMER: Also, critics are saying that 50 Cent and artists like him are cashing in on violence. Is a ban on their music the answer? The Reverend Al Sharpton has a number of opinions on that. We'll talk to him.
O'BRIEN: Plus, call Darryl Strawberry the comeback kid. After battles with drugs and cancer, he's back in baseball. He talks about his new role just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Michael Jackson's accuser may take the stand later today. This after more cross-examination of his brother, who is expected back on the stand as well.
Our legal analyst is Jeffrey Toobin. He stops in now.
Good morning to you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning.
HEMMER: This is really coming to crunch time then if you put the accuser on, right?
TOOBIN: Quickly. One of the things I think the prosecution is doing right in this case is not wasting a lot of time with preliminary witnesses.
This is an eyewitness to the alleged molestation, the brother. The victim is the next witness. Put them on the stand. Tell the jury this crime occurred.
HEMMER: But if you're putting the accuser on the stand now, does that mean this trial is winding toward a quicker finish?
TOOBIN: It would appear that way. Because, you know, people were saying five, six months.
HEMMER: Sure.
TOOBIN: You know, this is in the second week. And we're already getting the accuser on the stand.
I think, you know, it will slow down to a certain extent. But I think the prosecution, again, wisely is moving this thing along.
HEMMER: The linchpin in this case, and you say it just about every time you're sitting on this couch, if the jury buys the story of accuser, it is not good news for Michael Jackson.
TOOBIN: Absolutely. And what's unusual about this case, child molestation case, there's an eyewitness, the brother who testified yesterday and will be back on the stand today. He says, "I saw Michael Jackson molest my brother." Now, he's a problematic witness, but if the jury believes that part of his testimony, game over.
HEMMER: Now, under cross-examination, if you read these transcripts, it appears that Thomas Mesereau, a fine attorney, by the way, is really having a bit of his way with this 14-year-old boy. Do you get that same read?
TOOBIN: Absolutely. I mean, there is -- there are a lot of problems with the brother's testimony.
You know, he told different stories about what happened to different people. He admitted lying under oath in a separate lawsuit, also initiated by his mother. You know, he said that he saw a magazine, a porno magazine in Michael Jackson's room.
Mesereau pointed out in a great dramatic flourish yesterday that magazine was dated six months after he was supposedly in the room, so it couldn't have been that magazine. That's -- I mean, that's good cross-examination material. But, you know, he's a young kid. The jury may say, oh, he's confused about details, we believe him anyway.
HEMMER: Now, you're a former prosecutor. You've got a 14-year- old kid on the stand, and you've got this hulk of a man in Thomas Mesereau with the flowing gray hair. He comes in the court, a very effective attorney. One thing we cannot tell is the tone that he's using with this boy. How critical could that be for juries?
TOOBIN: You know, it's very -- I mean, one of the most difficult things for any lawyer to do is examine a child. And here, you know, you have the brother.
Think about what it may be like today for the alleged victim, who is not only, at least purportedly, a victim of child molestation, this is a kid who had a 16-pound tumor removed from his stomach who was near death for a year from cancer. The jury has got to have some natural sympathy for him.
How does Mesereau walk the line of sympathy for what this kid went through and cross-examining him like a defense attorney, trying to save his client from going to jail?
HEMMER: One more point, and I'll let you go here. Any indication of when the mom, the mother, may take the stand?
TOOBIN: No. I think there is no -- I mean, that is going to the low point of the prosecution case.
HEMMER: You believe that?
TOOBIN: Oh, absolutely.
HEMMER: Why?
TOOBIN: And -- because there are so many lies on the record. And just like you have to be delicate with the children, Mesereau can be bombs away with her. Because with her, there's a history of making these claims of child abuse. And with her, you can argue, it's all about money, which is something the jury won't like.
HEMMER: And it's also adult on adult...
TOOBIN: That's right.
HEMMER: ... which changes the dynamic there. Thank, Jeff.
TOOBIN: OK.
HEMMER: Here's Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The Reverend Al Sharpton is calling for a 90-day radio and television ban on artists who use violence to promote their music. This comes on the heels of last week's shooting between rapper 50 Cent and his protege, The Game. Producer Russell Simmons had this to say about the violence depicted in music.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSSELL SIMMONS, RAP MOGUL: If a violent rap artist has some words that people don't like in middle America, we have to attack the root. That violence that 50 Cent or The Game is engaging in today is the same violence that's happening in Brooklyn and Queens and all over America today as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, I spoke to the Reverend Sharpton about what he hopes to accomplish with this plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. AL SHARPTON, THE NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK": This is the only part of the entertainment industry there's no rules, there's no regulation. And what I'm saying is, Russell is right.
They have the right to talk about the violence they come from. I come from that violence. But I do not have the right to go out and engage in violence and then ask the federal airwaves to allow me to continue in my career like it's nothing.
Are we saying these kids are nothing? We saw the FCC outraged over Janet Jackson's flashing at the Super Bowl. We're not going to be outraged about actual shootings in front of radio stations?
O'BRIEN: What's the response been from the FCC?
SHARPTON: We're going to meet with them. We're going to meet with advertisers. We want to know why dollars that come out of our communities are being used to uphold those that engage in violence.
There's -- again, now, I'm not talking about content. I'm talking about actual acts of violence. Are we condoning them by not putting a standard in the business?
O'BRIEN: Do you then see a voluntary imposition of these standards from the entertainment industry? You think that's realistic?
SHARPTON: It's been done in sports every day. We do it in every form of sports. We do it in Hollywood. There's a morals clause in contracts. There's one in your contract.
O'BRIEN: But you don't -- in my contract, it doesn't -- I'm not better off if I engage in violence. When you're talking about rappers, it actually builds their credibility. It makes them more popular.
For most people, that's not the case. A shootout doesn't help their career. For rappers, it actually helps the career and the industry, frankly.
SHARPTON: It helps because -- it may help because it's permitted. It would not help if it is not permitted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Al Sharpton says he's also trying to meet with major advertiser to support the ban -- Bill.
HEMMER: Here's a twist. Bill Clinton may be scheduled for surgery tomorrow. Today, though, he's playing golf with some good friends, including Greg Norman, the golfing legend. Is there sharp (ph) surprise about that? We'll find out. He'll join us live in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: After battling colon cancer and then drug addiction, Darryl Strawberry's back in the game this week. He's reunited with his former team, the New York Mets. That's where he started his baseball career more than two decades ago.
Last hour, here on AMERICAN MORNING, I talked to Strawberry, asking him if he personally witnessed abuse of steroids as a player in baseball. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARRYL STRAWBERRY, NEW YORK METS: Personally, I never witnessed any steroid abuse, you know, from players. But, you know, I knew guys who were getting a lot bigger than -- than the normal, you know. So, you know, personally, I never had to use any steroids to be a homerun hitter, and I was truly grateful for that because, it's not the affect that it's going to have on the players that's playing today, you know, it's the affect it's going to have on the younger guys that's coming up behind them that's thinking, you know, this is what I have to do to be able to perform at this level and be successful.
HEMMER: Yes. Listening to the beginning of your answer, I think you're implying that you knew it was going on. Was that a fair read on my part?
STRAWBERRY: Well, anybody that plays sports knows what's going on, you know. I mean, when a guy comes twice as big as he was, you know, a year ago, or two years, but, you know, it's a normal thing. But, you know, we have clubhouse codes and we just don't break those codes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Darryl Strawberry last hour here down in Port St. Lucie. He's a special training instructor for the Mets, hoping to help some younger athletes. He says help shape them, make decisions in their lives, and they don't make mistakes like he did as a player. Darryl Strawberry from the last hour here -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Tine to check in with Jack. He's got the "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: What a shame that was. He had one of the greatest natural homerun swings in the history of the game and threw the whole thing in the garbage.
HEMMER: But if you listen to him, he knows the mistakes he made.
CAFFERTY: Well, it's too late now. He can't play anymore now.
What?
O'BRIEN: His family stuck with him. It's not too late for him. He's got...
CAFFERTY: No. But, I mean, you know, given opportunities that most people only dream about, and threw it right in the garbage can. That's sad.
The Army's having recruiting problems, particularly among blacks and women. In 2000, African-Americans made up 23.5 percent of Army recruits. Today it's less than 14 percent. Similarly, women have declined from 22 percent of recruits to 17 percent during the same period. It's tough to tell whether the decline is because of these pesky little wars that are going on, or maybe the economy's getting better and that provides better job opportunities here at home. Either way, it's a problem for Uncle Sam.
The question this morning is, how should the Army go about attracting more minorities and women?
Stephen in Missoula, Montana, writes: "Jack, after further review, I say we invade another country. If that kind of adventure and excitement doesn't attract a few more recruits, I don't know what will."
Reg in Thunder Bay, Ontario, "Let's see, I can go over to Iraq and let some ungrateful Arab shoot at me and live in a tent with no running water. Or I can go to work at McDonald's for more money and go home every night to my wife and watch my kids' little league games. This is a trick question, right?"
Joanne in Oklahoma City writes: "In my opinion, there isn't much the Army can do to change the number of who comes in, except perhaps ditch that awful 'Army of One' campaign." Which I agree, it's just awful, tedious, terrible. "We are a nation war, and recruitment is going to drop. That's just the way it is."
That's just the way it is. Isn't that the way he used to sign off...
HEMMER: An appropriate day today.
CAFFERTY: He ain't making himself look very good, trashing Dan Rather, by the way. Just one humble country boy's opinion.
O'BRIEN: Talking about Walter Cronkite?
CAFFERTY: Yes. Yes.
O'BRIEN: Let's get back to the letters, shall we?
CAFFERTY: You know, you're retired, Walter. Go sail your boat.
Meg in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, "I'm an African-American female who is a reservist on active training status. The Army is white male dominated and many of them are not culturally sensitive to the needs of people of other races, although they claim to be. There are racists in the Army."
Let's see, we got the Army, Cronkite and Strawberry. I'm done.
O'BRIEN: All in 90 seconds. Thanks, Jack.
HEMMER: Thank you.
Sylvester Stallone stepping back into the ring. Doesn't want to be "Rocky." He wants to find the next "Rocky." The show's called "The Contender." We'll talk about it with the lowdown from our "90- Second Pop" a bit later.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired March 9, 2005 - 08:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Insurgents leaving another bloody trail in Iraq today. Suicide attacks across the country. While in the western desert, a grim discovery. Dozens executed near the Syrian border.
Six miles high, a towering plume of ash and smoke. Mt. Saint Helens stirs once again. Is a major eruption up next?
And as the notorious rap wars heat up again, Reverend Al Sharpton with some tough talk of his own on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Nine o'clock here in New York. Good to have you along with us today. Final hour here.
And good morning again.
O'BRIEN: Good morning.
HEMMER: In the Michael Jackson matter, the brother of the boy accusing Jackson of molestation is back on the stand today for even more tough cross-examination. Also, his brother, who is the accuser, could take the stand as early as today. And Jeff Toobin stops by to explain the strategy for the prosecution in a moment.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, just one day before his surgery, former President Bill Clinton playing in a charity golf tournament, along with former President Bush. A little later we're going to talk to the host of that tournament, golf legend Greg Norman.
HEMMER: He keeps going and going. So, too, does Jack.
What's happening.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Those guys getting along pretty good. I think they've become pretty close friends.
O'BRIEN: I think it's a real thing. I didn't believe it at first.
CAFFERTY: Maybe the next flight overseas they'll share that bedroom.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Maybe, you never know.
CAFFERTY: No, I mean, they seem to like each other, you know, which is interesting. Or not. Maybe it's not interesting.
The e-mail "Question of the Day" has to do with the decline in the number of women and minorities joining the all-volunteer U.S. Army. Down significantly over the last several years.
What to be done about it? How do you use the recruitment levels among those two groups. AM@CNN.com.
HEMMER: All right, Jack. Thanks for that.
Back to the headlines. Here is Carol Costello talking about the weather here in the Northeast.
Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It's cold outside, isn't it?
HEMMER: Yes.
COSTELLO: It feels like zero, they say. Yes, the Northeast is digging out from a late winter storm this morning.
Gusty winds, icy rains and frigid temperatures. Some wind-chills recorded as low as negative 24 degrees. When will the cold snap end? Well, Chad will be along in just a bit to tell us. Hopefully he'll say March 20, because that is when spring begins.
The faithful in Rome catching a glimpse of the pope this morning from his hospital window. It's the third time he's appeared since his surgery last month. The pope blessing the crowd.
The 84-year-old pontiff has been recovering from a tracheotomy at Gemelli Hospital. The Vatican says he should be released in time for Easter.
Los Angeles may get its first Hispanic mayor in more than a century. Votes are still being counted, but preliminary reports show city Councilman Antonio -- oh, this is a hard one -- Villariagosa, he's in the lead. That could set him up for a potential rematch against incumbent James Hahn in a May off. So imagine if Mayor Villariagosa meets with Governor Schwarzenegger.
O'BRIEN: Very nicely done. And we'll just start using their initials.
COSTELLO: Thank you. Exactly. A lot easier.
That's Governor V., everybody -- Mayor V. and Governor S. Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure. O'BRIEN: Well, there have been some violent and deadly incidents in Iraq to talk about today, including a suicide car bomb that exploded on a road that leads to a U.S. base in Iraq. Another suicide bomber used a garbage truck to get into a target in Baghdad.
Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad this morning.
Aneesh, good morning.
First, let's talk about this garbage truck attack. How exactly did that happen?
All right. It looks like we're having some audio problems with Aneesh. We're going to go back to that in just a few moments as soon as we are able to establish that link -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right. About two minutes now past the hour.
Let's move back to the Middle East again, where thousands of demonstrators from the streets of Damascus again at this hour. They are there on the street, showing support for their president, Bashar al-Assad. The Assad government has been under pressure to pull its troops out of neighboring Lebanon.
Syrian troops have begun a pullback. However, Syria has not set a hard date yet for when its troops might be gone for good.
President Bush, meanwhile, again in a speech yesterday, insisting that Syria get out by the Lebanese elections now scheduled for May. The former secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, was talking about it earlier today with us about that very topic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: He has made that a very important part of his policy because we and the French have supported the Security Council resolution calling on the Syrians to go. And the reason that we want them to go is that, in fact, it's important for Lebanon to be an independent country and not be a client state of Syria.
But it's not without its difficulties, as you have reported, because there are pro-Syrian factions in Lebanon, and they are the Hezbollah. That is actually a very powerful political movement that put on a huge counter-demonstration yesterday.
HEMMER: One of the most frequently asked questions in Washington today is this -- and you can pick up on this in every talk show you listen to out of Washington -- was the president right about his push for democracy in the Middle East? When you answer that question, what do you say?
ALBRIGHT: Well, I think that -- I agree with the fact that everybody in the world is the same and wants to be able to make decisions about their lives. And democracy is the best approach to it. I think the question is the extent to which it is viewed as an American program, rather than in support of what is going on in countries themselves. And I think we have to be very careful in the way that the president phrases this of making it sound as if democracy is in America demand.
You can't impose democracy. You have to talk about it as offering it to the people.
And I have to say, in listening to newscasts, we are on a rollercoaster ride here. Democracy in various ways is being exhibited in these countries, but we're a long way from democracy. And for the president to keep pushing and pushing and pushing in ways that sound like this is our program and not theirs, I'm not sure is truly helpful.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Madeleine Albright earlier today. She's in Madrid, Spain, right now, for a conference on terrorism -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, former President Bill Clinton is going to have surgery tomorrow. Mr. Clinton is going to have a buildup of fluid and scar tissue removed from his lung. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with a look at exactly what the president faces.
Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And a lot of people sort of saying, you know, he's sort of matter of fact about this.
O'BRIEN: Very calm.
GUPTA: He's playing golf today and in the OR tomorrow. But nobody takes this lightly. Certainly not the surgeons who are going to work hard tomorrow to try and relieve the symptoms that have been plaguing the former president for weeks now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): The first clues were subtle. During routine exercise near his home in New York, doctors say former President Clinton began to feel the nagging in his chest and shortness of breath.
DR. ALLAN SCHWARTZ, NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: He had noticed over the past month or so that on steep hills, he was getting winded a bit more easily. At the same time, he was starting to feel a bit of discomfort in his left chest.
GUPTA: A rare complication of fluid and scar built up in the chest will place Clinton back in the operating room on Thursday.
SCHWARTZ: This is not an emergency. This is being done to assure that he is able to continue to maintain a highly active lifestyle and that he's not at all functionally limited by his lung. But this is not a medically urgent procedure.
GUPTA: Even though Schwartz called the procedure elective, it's clear that President Clinton needs the operation. His discomfort due to fluid, which is causing the thin lining outside the lungs, called the pleura, to thicken and collapse.
SCHWARTZ: Left untouched for a long period of time, any collection in the body is potentially could be seeded with infection, although that risk is extremely low. We don't want to leave him with compromise of normal lung function.
GUPTA: So doctors will perform a procedure to shore off those thickened layers and remove fluid, allowing the lung to heal and re- expand. When asked if Clinton's busy schedule, including recent trips to areas devastated by the tsunami, are to blame for his condition, doctors said...
SCHWARTZ: The short answer is no.
GUPTA: And so the president kept his busy schedule and even talked about the procedure.
CLINTON: It's a routine sort of deal, and it'll knock me out of commission for a week or two, then I'll be back to normal. It's no big deal. And, you know, I felt well enough to go to Asia to try to keep up with President Bush, and we're going to go play golf tomorrow. So I'm not in too bad a shape.
GUPTA: Doctors do predict expect a routine operation and recovery, in and out of the hospital in three to 10 days.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: President Clinton and President Bush going to play golf tomorrow to raise money for the tsunami victims. It goes to show how sick he is.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: And chances are he is going to do well. You know, interesting, the surgeon who performed his operation back in September said he's done about 6,000 of these. Only about 10 of his patients have had complications like the former president's. I bet you he wishes former President Clinton didn't have that. Clinton should be out of the hospital three to 10 days from now.
Also, coming up later in the hour, an important study coming out talking about second hand smoke and breast cancer, showing for the first time that one may cause the other. I'll have more about that in about half an hour or so -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right. We'll look forward to that. Sanjay, thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Bill. HEMMER: Well, in the northwest, Soledad, scientists at Mt. Saint Helens now working to get a clearer look inside its crater today. This plume of smoke and ash exploded from inside the volcano last evening. A 2.0 magnitude quake on the east side of the mountain took place about an hour before that.
Scientists say the explosion does not necessarily mean there is an increased risk of a larger explosion; however, it does not slide by without some level of concern. A lot of people taken by surprise for this, and some reports say the equipment out there did not detect it. It makes it quite interesting for another day today dawning there.
Here's Chad Myers watching the weather outside, also in the Northwest.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, Michael Jackson's accuser could take the stand as soon as today. Is it a mistake? Jeff Toobin dissects the prosecution's strategy.
HEMMER: Also, critics are saying that 50 Cent and artists like him are cashing in on violence. Is a ban on their music the answer? The Reverend Al Sharpton has a number of opinions on that. We'll talk to him.
O'BRIEN: Plus, call Darryl Strawberry the comeback kid. After battles with drugs and cancer, he's back in baseball. He talks about his new role just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Michael Jackson's accuser may take the stand later today. This after more cross-examination of his brother, who is expected back on the stand as well.
Our legal analyst is Jeffrey Toobin. He stops in now.
Good morning to you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning.
HEMMER: This is really coming to crunch time then if you put the accuser on, right?
TOOBIN: Quickly. One of the things I think the prosecution is doing right in this case is not wasting a lot of time with preliminary witnesses.
This is an eyewitness to the alleged molestation, the brother. The victim is the next witness. Put them on the stand. Tell the jury this crime occurred.
HEMMER: But if you're putting the accuser on the stand now, does that mean this trial is winding toward a quicker finish?
TOOBIN: It would appear that way. Because, you know, people were saying five, six months.
HEMMER: Sure.
TOOBIN: You know, this is in the second week. And we're already getting the accuser on the stand.
I think, you know, it will slow down to a certain extent. But I think the prosecution, again, wisely is moving this thing along.
HEMMER: The linchpin in this case, and you say it just about every time you're sitting on this couch, if the jury buys the story of accuser, it is not good news for Michael Jackson.
TOOBIN: Absolutely. And what's unusual about this case, child molestation case, there's an eyewitness, the brother who testified yesterday and will be back on the stand today. He says, "I saw Michael Jackson molest my brother." Now, he's a problematic witness, but if the jury believes that part of his testimony, game over.
HEMMER: Now, under cross-examination, if you read these transcripts, it appears that Thomas Mesereau, a fine attorney, by the way, is really having a bit of his way with this 14-year-old boy. Do you get that same read?
TOOBIN: Absolutely. I mean, there is -- there are a lot of problems with the brother's testimony.
You know, he told different stories about what happened to different people. He admitted lying under oath in a separate lawsuit, also initiated by his mother. You know, he said that he saw a magazine, a porno magazine in Michael Jackson's room.
Mesereau pointed out in a great dramatic flourish yesterday that magazine was dated six months after he was supposedly in the room, so it couldn't have been that magazine. That's -- I mean, that's good cross-examination material. But, you know, he's a young kid. The jury may say, oh, he's confused about details, we believe him anyway.
HEMMER: Now, you're a former prosecutor. You've got a 14-year- old kid on the stand, and you've got this hulk of a man in Thomas Mesereau with the flowing gray hair. He comes in the court, a very effective attorney. One thing we cannot tell is the tone that he's using with this boy. How critical could that be for juries?
TOOBIN: You know, it's very -- I mean, one of the most difficult things for any lawyer to do is examine a child. And here, you know, you have the brother.
Think about what it may be like today for the alleged victim, who is not only, at least purportedly, a victim of child molestation, this is a kid who had a 16-pound tumor removed from his stomach who was near death for a year from cancer. The jury has got to have some natural sympathy for him.
How does Mesereau walk the line of sympathy for what this kid went through and cross-examining him like a defense attorney, trying to save his client from going to jail?
HEMMER: One more point, and I'll let you go here. Any indication of when the mom, the mother, may take the stand?
TOOBIN: No. I think there is no -- I mean, that is going to the low point of the prosecution case.
HEMMER: You believe that?
TOOBIN: Oh, absolutely.
HEMMER: Why?
TOOBIN: And -- because there are so many lies on the record. And just like you have to be delicate with the children, Mesereau can be bombs away with her. Because with her, there's a history of making these claims of child abuse. And with her, you can argue, it's all about money, which is something the jury won't like.
HEMMER: And it's also adult on adult...
TOOBIN: That's right.
HEMMER: ... which changes the dynamic there. Thank, Jeff.
TOOBIN: OK.
HEMMER: Here's Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The Reverend Al Sharpton is calling for a 90-day radio and television ban on artists who use violence to promote their music. This comes on the heels of last week's shooting between rapper 50 Cent and his protege, The Game. Producer Russell Simmons had this to say about the violence depicted in music.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSSELL SIMMONS, RAP MOGUL: If a violent rap artist has some words that people don't like in middle America, we have to attack the root. That violence that 50 Cent or The Game is engaging in today is the same violence that's happening in Brooklyn and Queens and all over America today as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, I spoke to the Reverend Sharpton about what he hopes to accomplish with this plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. AL SHARPTON, THE NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK": This is the only part of the entertainment industry there's no rules, there's no regulation. And what I'm saying is, Russell is right.
They have the right to talk about the violence they come from. I come from that violence. But I do not have the right to go out and engage in violence and then ask the federal airwaves to allow me to continue in my career like it's nothing.
Are we saying these kids are nothing? We saw the FCC outraged over Janet Jackson's flashing at the Super Bowl. We're not going to be outraged about actual shootings in front of radio stations?
O'BRIEN: What's the response been from the FCC?
SHARPTON: We're going to meet with them. We're going to meet with advertisers. We want to know why dollars that come out of our communities are being used to uphold those that engage in violence.
There's -- again, now, I'm not talking about content. I'm talking about actual acts of violence. Are we condoning them by not putting a standard in the business?
O'BRIEN: Do you then see a voluntary imposition of these standards from the entertainment industry? You think that's realistic?
SHARPTON: It's been done in sports every day. We do it in every form of sports. We do it in Hollywood. There's a morals clause in contracts. There's one in your contract.
O'BRIEN: But you don't -- in my contract, it doesn't -- I'm not better off if I engage in violence. When you're talking about rappers, it actually builds their credibility. It makes them more popular.
For most people, that's not the case. A shootout doesn't help their career. For rappers, it actually helps the career and the industry, frankly.
SHARPTON: It helps because -- it may help because it's permitted. It would not help if it is not permitted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Al Sharpton says he's also trying to meet with major advertiser to support the ban -- Bill.
HEMMER: Here's a twist. Bill Clinton may be scheduled for surgery tomorrow. Today, though, he's playing golf with some good friends, including Greg Norman, the golfing legend. Is there sharp (ph) surprise about that? We'll find out. He'll join us live in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: After battling colon cancer and then drug addiction, Darryl Strawberry's back in the game this week. He's reunited with his former team, the New York Mets. That's where he started his baseball career more than two decades ago.
Last hour, here on AMERICAN MORNING, I talked to Strawberry, asking him if he personally witnessed abuse of steroids as a player in baseball. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARRYL STRAWBERRY, NEW YORK METS: Personally, I never witnessed any steroid abuse, you know, from players. But, you know, I knew guys who were getting a lot bigger than -- than the normal, you know. So, you know, personally, I never had to use any steroids to be a homerun hitter, and I was truly grateful for that because, it's not the affect that it's going to have on the players that's playing today, you know, it's the affect it's going to have on the younger guys that's coming up behind them that's thinking, you know, this is what I have to do to be able to perform at this level and be successful.
HEMMER: Yes. Listening to the beginning of your answer, I think you're implying that you knew it was going on. Was that a fair read on my part?
STRAWBERRY: Well, anybody that plays sports knows what's going on, you know. I mean, when a guy comes twice as big as he was, you know, a year ago, or two years, but, you know, it's a normal thing. But, you know, we have clubhouse codes and we just don't break those codes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Darryl Strawberry last hour here down in Port St. Lucie. He's a special training instructor for the Mets, hoping to help some younger athletes. He says help shape them, make decisions in their lives, and they don't make mistakes like he did as a player. Darryl Strawberry from the last hour here -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Tine to check in with Jack. He's got the "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: What a shame that was. He had one of the greatest natural homerun swings in the history of the game and threw the whole thing in the garbage.
HEMMER: But if you listen to him, he knows the mistakes he made.
CAFFERTY: Well, it's too late now. He can't play anymore now.
What?
O'BRIEN: His family stuck with him. It's not too late for him. He's got...
CAFFERTY: No. But, I mean, you know, given opportunities that most people only dream about, and threw it right in the garbage can. That's sad.
The Army's having recruiting problems, particularly among blacks and women. In 2000, African-Americans made up 23.5 percent of Army recruits. Today it's less than 14 percent. Similarly, women have declined from 22 percent of recruits to 17 percent during the same period. It's tough to tell whether the decline is because of these pesky little wars that are going on, or maybe the economy's getting better and that provides better job opportunities here at home. Either way, it's a problem for Uncle Sam.
The question this morning is, how should the Army go about attracting more minorities and women?
Stephen in Missoula, Montana, writes: "Jack, after further review, I say we invade another country. If that kind of adventure and excitement doesn't attract a few more recruits, I don't know what will."
Reg in Thunder Bay, Ontario, "Let's see, I can go over to Iraq and let some ungrateful Arab shoot at me and live in a tent with no running water. Or I can go to work at McDonald's for more money and go home every night to my wife and watch my kids' little league games. This is a trick question, right?"
Joanne in Oklahoma City writes: "In my opinion, there isn't much the Army can do to change the number of who comes in, except perhaps ditch that awful 'Army of One' campaign." Which I agree, it's just awful, tedious, terrible. "We are a nation war, and recruitment is going to drop. That's just the way it is."
That's just the way it is. Isn't that the way he used to sign off...
HEMMER: An appropriate day today.
CAFFERTY: He ain't making himself look very good, trashing Dan Rather, by the way. Just one humble country boy's opinion.
O'BRIEN: Talking about Walter Cronkite?
CAFFERTY: Yes. Yes.
O'BRIEN: Let's get back to the letters, shall we?
CAFFERTY: You know, you're retired, Walter. Go sail your boat.
Meg in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, "I'm an African-American female who is a reservist on active training status. The Army is white male dominated and many of them are not culturally sensitive to the needs of people of other races, although they claim to be. There are racists in the Army."
Let's see, we got the Army, Cronkite and Strawberry. I'm done.
O'BRIEN: All in 90 seconds. Thanks, Jack.
HEMMER: Thank you.
Sylvester Stallone stepping back into the ring. Doesn't want to be "Rocky." He wants to find the next "Rocky." The show's called "The Contender." We'll talk about it with the lowdown from our "90- Second Pop" a bit later.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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