Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Bush Prepares for Fourth Iraq Speech; Iraqi Expatriates Cast a Vote; A Top General Discusses Progress in Iraq

Aired December 13, 2005 - 16:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information from around the world are arriving all the time.
Happening now, 1,000 days and more than 2,000 deaths. It's midnight in Iraq, where U.S. forces face new milestones. We're tracking the numbers and whether they're taking a toll on the president's Iraq PR pitch.

Also this hour, former President Gerald Ford hospitalized. It's 1:00 p.m. in California, where the former president is undergoing tests right now. We'll have a live report on the condition of the Republican who once declared America's Watergate nightmare over.

And some are calling it the gay cowboy movie. Now it's the top contender for the Golden Globe Awards. It's 1:00 p.m. in Hollywood, where "Brokeback Mountain" is adding heat to the culture wars.

I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

First up this hour, a line in the sand in Iraq. It's been 1,000 days since U.S. troops first invaded, a marker for the White House to stress what's been accomplished and a harsh reminder to war opponents that American forces still aren't home yet. Today, the Bush administration is pressing on with its stay the course, finish the job message.

CNN's Elaine Quijano is over at the White House. Elaine, the president expected to deliver yet another speech on Iraq tomorrow. What do we expect to hear?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we can expect the president to tie in all three elements of the U.S.'s strategy in Iraq -- that is, working on the economic, security, and also the political fronts, of course.

Now, the president delivering this speech here in Washington. He's going to go over to the Woodrow Wilson Center and take his message before a group of scholars. And as he did in Philadelphia yesterday, the president is going to basically try to make the case that the U.S. does, in fact, have a plan for victory in Iraq, and that the plan is working. Now that really has been the goal of all of these speeches, as you know, Wolf.

And we saw yesterday, as well, the president engage in a rare question and answer session with audience members. His audience there, members of the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia.

Well, today, Senator Rick Santorum, who was with President Bush on that trip, said that he and Senator Arlen Specter actually encouraged the president to take questions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICK SANTORUM (R), PENNSYLVANIA: He asked for advice on that. And we said look, this is as good a crowd to open it up to -- this was not a friendly crowd. I would suggest that probably more than half the people in that room didn't vote for him. And we strongly suggested that he open up questions. And he obviously did so and felt comfortable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, Senator Santorum was here at the White House for a briefing on Iraq. He was here with a group of other Republican senators. Later this week, we understand Democrats will be here, as well.

This really is all part of the White House's larger strategy not only to reach out to the American public, but also reach out to lawmakers, as well, who have their own questions, of course, on Iraq.

And taking a look at the latest CNN/"USA Today" poll, the numbers though, showing that the president still has some convincing to do. While his Iraq approval number is actually up a few points from 35 percent last month to now 39 percent, when Americans were asked if the president has a plan to achieve victory in Iraq, only 38 percent said yes and 58 percent said no. So Wolf, look for the president again tomorrow to continue making his case. This, of course, will be the speech on the eve of Iraq's parliamentary elections.

The president will try to make the case that democracy is taking root in Iraq. And expect him, once again, to appeal to the American public for patience.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Elaine Quijano at the White House. Thank you very much.

A leading Democratic critic of the president's Iraq policy is preparing to return to Iraq. Senator Joe Biden says President Bush still has failed to explain his exit strategy to the American people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), RANKING MEMBER, FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Staying the course. Not getting the sewage out of the streets. Not making sure that we have agencies that function in Iraq. Not making sure -- failing to have a coordinated capability for the Iraqi military that is being trained. Failure to get a consensus constitution. Spells doom for our policy in Iraq. So what is the plan, Mr. President?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Senator Biden will be our guest live here in THE SITUATION ROOM in the next hour. You'll want to stick around for that.

Four more U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq when their truck hit an explosive device outside Baghdad. That brings the U.S. troop death toll up to 2,150.

A more upbeat milestone in the fight for Iraq. Thousands of Iraqis in this country and around the world are casting ballots today before Thursday's historic parliamentary election in their homeland.

Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider is in London, where Iraqis have been voting. You went out earlier in the day, Bill, to one of those Iraqi polling stations. What are the Iraqi expatriates in London saying to you?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I spoke to several expatriates. You know, elections are supposed to expose divisions in the country, red versus blue. But the Iraqis that I spoke to at the polling place here in London didn't talk about division, even though they had 400 parties to choose from on this immense ballot.

When I asked them are you a Kurd, a Shiite, a Sunni, are you an Arab, they all said the same thing: I'm an Iraqi. I'm not here to make a statement about division, I'm here to make a statement for my country. It was a real statement of pride. Their mood was one of celebration. And some of them actually brought their children with them to show that, you know, an act of voting can be an act of pride and defiance, defiance of division and defiance of terrorism.

It was a very celebratory moment. There was dancing, there was singing. And when someone voted in this election, these expatriates, the response was the other people in the room would shout and they would applaud. They were making a political statement, but not a statement about division.

BLITZER: Bill Schneider in London for us. Bill, thank you very much. They're voting here in the United States in Detroit, outside Washington, D.C. We're monitoring all of that, as well.

A new poll suggests Iraqis are upbeat about the upcoming election. More than three-quarters of Iraqis surveyed for the "TIME"/ABC News poll said they're confident the election will create a stable government. But they're also critical of the United States. Nearly 60 percent of those questioned said the U.S. and its allies have done a bad job carrying out their responsibilities in Iraq.

One thousand days in Iraq -- a compelling look back at the war as only we can show it right here in THE SITUATION ROOM. That will be coming up during our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour.

And tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, ANDERSON COOPER 360, live from Iraq -- a special report on the mission and the Iraqi election. You won't want to miss it -- Anderson Cooper in Baghdad, 10:00 p.m. Eastern tonight.

Now the former president of the United States, Gerald Ford, in a California hospital this hour. The 92-year-old Gerald Ford is the oldest of the four still living past presidents.

CNN's Dan Simon is joining us now live from Rancho Mirage in California. What exactly happened, Dan?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good afternoon, Wolf. We are told that Mr. Ford has had a nagging cold. It hasn't gotten any better. So he checked himself into the hospital to find out what's going on. According to a spokesperson for the former president, he's undergoing some random tests. These are routine, we are told. And they're trying to figure out basically what's happening. But according to that spokesperson, he could be released as early as tomorrow.

Now, at 92, Mr. Ford has maintained an active lifestyle. He still gives some speeches. And we're told he still takes to the golf course from time to time. But he has had some health problems in the last couple of years. In the year 2000, of course, he suffered a mild stroke during the Republican National Convention. Then a few years later, he had some dizzy spells while on the golf course.

But we are told that he bounced back quickly from those episodes and he's been doing fine until just recently, when he had this bad cold, this nagging cold that simply hasn't gone away, Wolf.

BLITZER: Well, we wish him a speedy recovery. Gerald Ford in the hospital. Hopefully he'll be out very soon. Dan Simon, thank you very much for that.

Let's go up to New York. Jack Cafferty is standing by with the "Cafferty File."

You know, when he had that minor stroke in 2000 at the Republican Convention in Philadelphia, Jack, he was on the floor at the Republican Convention. You know what reporter did the last interview with him before he had that stroke?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Why do I think it's probably the one I'm talking to?

BLITZER: That would be correct. I remember it. And I felt really guilty, although I didn't really ask him any tough questions. But a couple hours later, he was rushed to the hospital and I was saying, oh, my god, what did I do?

CAFFERTY: Yes, you know, he's a tough guy, though. He played football at the University of Michigan. And when he was in office, he used to go around bumping into stuff all the time and that didn't seem to -- he could handle it. He was a tough guy.

BLITZER: Yes, he was a great guy, still is a great guy. And he's still very robust for 92. You and I should be 92.

CAFFERTY: My father-in-law is 92 and I think the former president is probably doing better than he is. You might live that long. There's no way I'll get that far.

All right, we got three questions. We start slow today and we build up momentum. The first one is this. Christmas is coming. Airports will soon be jammed with people and Christmas presents, lots and lots of Christmas presents.

And the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee is riding in, just in time for the holiday -- Ted Stevens of Alaska. He apparently is wanting to be the grinch in all of this. He is thinking about limiting the size of carry-on luggage and reducing the number of carry-on bags from two to one. Trying to make it easier for us, you know what I mean? The idea is to give baggage screeners fewer items to worry about. Two is apparently too much for them.

Here is the question. Should the amount of carry-on luggage allowed on airplanes be reduced? You can email us at CaffertyFile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile.

Later in THE SITUATION ROOM, we have cell phone pornography coming to America soon. And we also have one of the most prestigious universities in all the land with a $26 billion endowment, taking handouts from Saudi Arabia.

So there are reasons to stay tuned besides Wolf Blitzer's recollections of his interview with a critically-ill-at-the-time former President Gerald Ford.

BLITZER: Just before he got sick. All right, Jack, thanks very much -- Jack Cafferty with the Cafferty file.

Coming up, the U.S. mission in Iraq, 1,000 days later. A general from the U.S. military Central Command --we'll get his take on what's happening on the ground in Iraq and how this week's Iraqi vote figures into all of this.

That's coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Also ahead, explosion and fire, and an apartment complex up in smoke. An update on an emergency that at last report was still under way.

And later, a Democratic presidential prospect making a good impression on his party. The race to 2008 moving forward. All of that coming up in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to THE SITUATION ROOM. Now a general's take on Iraq at a possible turning point. U.S. forces have been in country for 1,000 days and now Iraqis are just two days away from historic parliamentary elections.

We're joined by Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt. He's the deputy director for plans and strategy at the U.S. military Central Command, former deputy director of U.S. Army operations in Iraq. A familiar face to many of our viewers. General Kimmitt, thanks once again for joining us.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMIT, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Glad to be here.

BLITZER: General Kimmitt, the president keeps saying as Iraqi forces stand up, U.S. forces will be able to stand down. At last report -- maybe you can update us -- only one Iraqi brigade, 500 to 700 Iraqi troops, were ready to stand up on their own. Has that changed?

KIMMITT: Again, that number is a little bit misleading because it talks about those units that are able to be act completely autonomously and quite frankly, we have very few U.S. forces that are able to operate autonomously without support from other organizations.

The fact is that the Iraqi forces are getting better every day. They are getting more experience on the ground every day. And they're proving themselves on the battlefield every day. Yes, they are getting better.

BLITZER: How many Iraqi brigades -- and translate that into actual troops -- can go out and in effect, take the lead, albeit with some U.S. help in going after the insurgents, and taking charge and dealing with Iraqi security?

KIMMITT: A significant number of the Iraqi security forces, the Iraqi army units out there on the ground right now, can, with U.S. support -- small bits of U.S. support, adviser support, as well as the capability to bring in U.S. aircraft as needed -- are capable of operating on the ground today. They're doing that. You see that in wide parts of Iraq where they are holding terrain themselves without any type of coalition support, and in many parts of Baghdad where you won't see a coalition soldier at all.

BLITZER: You say a significant number. Can you put an actual number on how many Iraqi troops are battle-tested, ready to operate, albeit with some U.S. support?

KIMMITT: Again, you've got about 100,000 Iraqi troops out in the field right now. That's a subjective assessment. I really wouldn't want to put a specific number on it. The important fact is they're out there. They're fighting. They're making a difference for the people of Iraq. And they're proving themselves every day on the battlefield.

BLITZER: Congressman John Murtha, a Democrat, very close to the U.S. military as well, you know, over the years. He's been outspoken in recent weeks, saying the U.S. should start pulling out over the next six months. Listen to what he said on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN MURTHA, (D) PENNSYLVANIA: There's a civil war right now. There's a civil war in Iraq right now. And we're caught in between that civil war. We're the targets. Our United States service people are the targets of that civil war. And we have inadequate forces for -- to control it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Is there a civil war under way in Iraq right now?

KIMMITT: There are certain amounts of sectarian violence, small amounts. Certainly not one where one could categorize that -- not to the point where one should or could categorize it as a general civil war. Certainly not the type of sectarian violence we saw in places such as the former Yugoslavia years ago.

By and large, the people of Iraq want to live together in a unified country in peace. And so I'd have a hard time actually categorizing it as a civil war.

BLITZER: Dan Senor, who used to appear on CNN and other networks together with him, when he was working for Paul Bremer in Iraq -- he was a senior adviser to the Iraq Coalition Provisional Authority -- he said this in the "Washington Post" on Sunday. He said, "I believed and I said from the podium that as Iraqis become more politically empowered, the insurgency would become politically weakened. That hasn't happened. The political process has been resilient and so has the insurgency."

Is the insurgency getting stronger?

KIMMITT: Dan made a very important point, which is, as the political process includes more and more of the people of Iraq, there's less reason for the insurgents to fight, clearly by bringing in the Sunnis into this election, by them making the decision not to fight their way through the elections, but actually vote their way through the elections. The more we can include all the people of Iraq -- the Sunnis, the Shia and the Kurds -- into the political process, that's the best guarantee to ensure that we'll have stability inside of Iraq.

BLITZER: One final question, if you have a quick answer. At this time next year, do you have a plan -- you're in charge of plans -- how many U.S. troops will still be in Iraq?

KIMMITT: I think the conditions on the ground are going to make that determination, Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll wait and see. Good luck to you. Good luck to all the men and women in the U.S. military operating in Iraq right now. General Kimmitt, thanks very much for joining us.

KIMMITT: Thank you.

BLITZER: CNN's Zain Verjee is joining us from the CNN Center in Atlanta with a closer look at some other stories making news.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf. Emergency workers in New Jersey say people may be trapped under the rubble of an apartment complex after a massive explosion blew out the back of the building and set it on fire. At least one person was killed and five others injured. Initial indications are that a gas leak caused the blast. Supporters of Stanley Tookie Williams are pledging to prove his innocence and work to defeat California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Williams' supporters and death penalty opponents held a vigil outside the prison where the convicted murderer was executed early this morning. Schwarzenegger declined a clemency request and the Supreme Court refused to issue a stay late yesterday. The stepmother of one of four people Williams was convicted of killing said the execution was, in her words, "a just punishment long overdue."

The American Red Cross is getting a new leader. The agency's president and CEO, Marsha Evans, announced her resignation today effective on the 31st of January. She took over the Red Cross in 2002 amid all of the controversy over the allocation of funds for September 11 victims. Evans is a retired Navy rear admiral and former president of the Girl Scouts. She says that she looks forward to spending more time with her family.

It's not named the Do Not Call Registry for nothing. Those words from FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras as she announced that satellite provider DIRECTV would pay more than $5 million for violating the do not call rule. It's being called the largest civil penalty ever obtained by the FTC in a consumer protection case.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Zain, thank you very much. Zain Vergee reporting for us.

Still ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM, it's usually not news when a husband and wife go out for dinner, but Bill and Hillary Clinton are not necessarily your average couple. We'll tell you about their plans for tonight in our "Political Radar."

Also, the president pushing his Medicare law, but is he getting any political credit for it? And is the plan confusing lots of seniors? Our prognosis coming up.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: On our "Political Radar" here in THE SITUATION ROOM, the case against indicted Congressman Tom DeLay is overlapping into the bribery case against a now former congressman.

Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle has issued subpoenas for bank records and other information from a defense contractor. That contractor is listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the plea agreement by former Congressman Randy Duke Cunningham. DeLay's lawyer says Earle can subpoena all he wants but he won't find anything.

Senator Rick Santorum may be thinking twice about appearing with President Bush in Pennsylvania yesterday. A new Quinnipiac Poll shows 60 percent of voters in Santorum's home state think Bush's support hurts the senator's reelection bid next year.

Bill Clinton is back on the fundraising circuit in New York tonight, once again to fatten his wife's Senate reelection war chest. Hillary Clinton has been busy pulling in campaign cash. She was in New Jersey last night for a fundraiser featuring the governor-elect, Jon Corzine. Senator Clinton is widely considered a frontrunner in the Democratic presidential race in 2008 but some other party leaders are testing the waters as well and apparently getting a pretty good response.

Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is covering the race to 2008. She's joining us now live. Candy?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, your average voter is probably looking at the calendar right now and thinking Christmas '05, but your average political activist is looking at the calendar and thinking November '08.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY (voice-over): If there were an '08 election calendar, he would be Mr. December.

(on camera): You're already the it guy.

GOV. MARK WARNER (D), VIRGINIA: Flavor of the month to it. I'm not sure what that -- because I've got obviously a major decision to make.

CROWLEY (voice-over): Meet Virginia Governor Mark Warner, the latest frequent traveler along the presidential flight path. Just last week, he landed in the early primary state of South Carolina.

WARNER: With that kind of welcome, I'm going to come back.

CROWLEY: Over the weekend, he perked interest in the Democratic equivalent of the Alamo, Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Possible presidential candidate, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's what I was thinking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

CROWLEY: He fits the Clinton template: a moderate southern governor with cross party appeal, the kind of guy who could breach the Republican stronghold below the Mason-Dixon.

WARNER: I think we, as the Democratic Party, are crazy if we keep putting up candidates and ideas that are only going to be competitive in 16 states.

CROWLEY: Democratic activists are shopping and word of mouth from New Hampshire to South Carolina to Florida is that Mark Warner is worth a look-see but not the only see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like Vilsack. I like Warner.

CROWLEY: Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is within the parameters of the Clinton template, a Midwest moderate with a story to tell.

GOV. TOM VILSACK (D), IOWA: First and foremost, I think the candidate has to be authentic and has to be genuine. Whatever that candidate believes or feels has to come from the heart and the gut.

CROWLEY: Orphaned at birth, an adoptive mother addicted to alcohol and drugs, Vilsack focuses on building community support systems. He is easy quoting Bible verses.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a wonderful leap and a great direction for us to win over the Christian -- any religious group, you know, because these are moral values, and we're losing them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: Vilsack does not have the current buzz of a Warner, let alone the constant buzz of a Hillary Clinton. But if there were an '08 election calendar, it would show 35 months until the election, which is lots of time for monthly flavors .

Wolf.

BLITZER: Lots of time to get ready for Iowa, New Hampshire and maybe some caucus states in between, as well.

CROWLEY: Absolutely.

BLITZER: Candy, thank you very much.

President Bush was out today promoting the new Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, calling it a good deal. But at a retirement community in Virginia, he acknowledged the program that starts up next month may be confusing. He's urging seniors to get help and not give up on getting coverage. Enrollment for the plan began a month ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We fully recognize that for some seniors, that this is a daunting task. It's -- you know, when you give people choice and options, it is -- it can be a situation where people say, I don't really -- this is something I may not want to do.

And so I want to assure the seniors the following things. One, the new Medicare plan is voluntary. It's optional. Two, that there are people around who are willing to help explain the program for you and to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Some political context to the president's appeal. A recent poll shows more than half of Americans think the Democrats do a better job on Medicare. Twenty-four percent think Medicare is better off in the hands of Republicans. But how daunting is this prescription drug plan for seniors?

Our Ali Velshi has been looking into that, and he has got the "Bottom Line". Ali?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I would be one of those people, Wolf, if I were polled about this. I'd have to say I don't know. Credit to anybody who answers this because this is so confusing. Medicare Part D is what it's called. It's the new prescription drug coverage, comes into effect January 1, 2006. And as the president said, it's hard to figure out. It is voluntary. You're not obligated to enroll in it. And for some people, it makes sense not to enroll in it because your veterans administration benefits or your union or company, you know -- the privileges, the benefits you get from them might be better.

However, if you do enroll in Medicare Part D in January, you might lose other benefits that you get from your company, and you may not be able to re-enroll. So the point is, you have to, have to, have to, research this.

Now, I spend my day researching numbers and going through things like that, Wolf. And I find this very, very confusing. Now, there are resources on the Internet to try and figure this out, except that my guess is that a number of people, the retirees who need information on this, might not be all that Internet savvy. So hopefully here in THE SITUATION ROOM, we can offer them some help on that.

BLITZER: We can indeed.

You know what, Ali? Abbi Tatton is standing here in THE SITUATION ROOM. She's got some information that might be able to help some of those seniors or at least maybe their children who could help the seniors if the seniors aren't online yet. Abbi?

ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, all the information online, yes, can be even more bewildering if you're not used to using the Internet. Well, help is at hand.

This is a site here, Generations Online. What they've done is taken the official Medicare site and they've added tools for people who are not used to using computers. Look for example, if a window pops up when you're using this and you don't know what to do with it, it shows you how to reduce it, how to minimize it. It shows you basic tools like how to scroll down to the bottom of the page, how to choose an option, and also, of course, how to increase the font size.

What they're saying is they're there to reach out to the intimidated and the reluctant to give them important resources online.

One other site to show you, as well is Shiptalk.org. This is a national network of volunteers who can give you one-on-one advice should you need it over the phone or in person, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Good work, Abbi. Thank you very much.

This Sunday, "TIME" magazine, our sister publication, will announce its person of the year. The magazine's editors award the title to the person they think for better or worse had the biggest impact on the year's events. One possible candidate is someone we talk about quite often here in THE SITUATION ROOM, President Bush.

CNN's Anderson Cooper has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: President George Bush has had quite a ride in 2005 and is the key decision maker in a year when the news never stopped. President Bush is a candidate for "TIME" magazine's person of the year.

LISA BEYER, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, "TIME": There is rarely a year when the person who most affects the news for better or worse isn't the leader of the free world, the president of the United States of America.

So given that that's the case, certainly in the year 2005, when the president of the United States was the one who was waging a war in Iraq and trying to remake the region and bring democracy to Iraq and that was having great consequence for the region as a whole, given that the president of the United States was the one who was called upon to answer the greatest natural disaster in this country, the Katrina disaster, which was a huge story, the president was really at the center of all of the biggest stories of the year and could arguably be, once again, the person of the year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And Anderson Cooper will host a special one-hour lead-up to the person of the year. That would be this Sunday morning, 8:00 a.m. Eastern. The announcement will be made Sunday morning, 8:00 a.m. Eastern, "TIME" magazine's person of the year.

Up next, a major milestone today for this man. We'll go live to Capitol Hill to tell you what that milestone is when we return.

Plus, the political fight over the war in Iraq. Who's winning the home front battle? I'll ask two experts, Donna Brazile, Torie Clarke. They're standing by right now in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Fifty years. That's half a century. It's a very, very long time indeed. And it's a really long time for a United States lawmaker to serve in the Congress. But one Democrat today is marking half a century -- yes, half a century -- on Capitol Hill.

Let's turn things over to our congressional correspondent Ed Henry. You haven't been there half a century, but you've been covering John Dingell for quite awhile.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. In the hallways up here, he's known as Big John, tough and gruff, an FDR Democrat who even at the age of 79 is still one of the president's fiercest critics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HENRY: He's known as Big John -- tough and gruff -- an FDR Democrat who even at 79 is one of President Bush's fiercest critics.

REP. JOHN DINGELL (D), MICHIGAN: They have no judgment as to what they're going to do about Iraq. They're in terrible disarray on major policies.

HENRY: That explains why the president has given John Dingell another nickname, biggest pain in the ass on the Hill.

DINGELL: The president said it, he clapped me on the back, and said it with a smile. I said, well, Mr. President, thank you. That's the finest compliment I've ever gotten.

HENRY: But respect runs deep for Dingell, so the president hosted a private lunch Tuesday to celebrate the congressman's 50th year on Capitol Hill.

DINGELL: When I came, I had four typewriters and four staff members. As you will note, that's quite different.

HENRY: Memories are rushing through his mind like the 10 presidents he served with. And lessons learned from his mentor, the late speaker Sam Rayburn, which is why he wanted to stand beside this statue.

DINGELL: Integrity. Purpose. A respect and a love for the institution.

HENRY: When his father died in 1955, he took the seat, which means that a Dingell has been on the Hill for 72 years.

DINGELL: He was an extraordinarily tough man.

HENRY: It rubbed off on the son, who ran the Commerce Committee with an iron fist and thirsts for that power once again.

DINGELL: Big John is working very hard to take control of the House for the Democrats.

HENRY: He has no plans to retire.

DINGELL: There's an old Polish saying that before you sell the hide of the bear, you've got to first shoot the bear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, John Dingell also longs for the days when Washington was a bit more civil. He told me one of his favorite presidents was a Republican, his fellow native of Michigan Gerald Ford, who was just hospitalized. He says that historians have not given Ford enough credit for pardoning Richard Nixon and pulling the country together after Watergate, Wolf.

BLITZER: Congratulations to John Dingell, his wife Debbie Dingell, and thanks, Ed Henry, for bringing us that story. Coming up, the president opens up and takes questions following yesterday's speech on Iraq. Is this a smart strategy? I'll ask two experts, Donna Brazile, Torie Clarke, when we return.

Plus, U.S. troops reach a major milestone in Iraq. We'll spotlight 1,000 days in Iraq coming up in our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: In today's strategy session, with troops marking 1,000 days in Iraq, how much is their future tied to successful elections? Will the elections be a turning point or just a step in deciding when troops can come home?

Plus, are those who are eyeing the White House in 2008 walking a fine line with their positions on Iraq? Joining us, our CNN political analyst, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, former Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke. Guys, thanks very much for joining us.

Donna, how significant is this election, the election Thursday?

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely, this is a very significant election. This is one of the most important benchmarks that matter to the American people because the president has said over and over again that once the Iraqi people are able to vote, this can begin a new turning point, so to speak, to allow our troops to stand down and to come home in a responsible way.

BLITZER: The stakes are enormous as far as you're concerned. Listen to what Senator Joe Biden, who's going to be on this program in the next hour, the ranking Democrat in the Foreign Relations Committee, said on Sunday. Torie, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: An unsuccessful election means it's game over. A successful election means we are now still have a prospect, at least an even chance, of succeeding in leaving a united country behind able to fend for itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Do you agree with him?

TORIE CLARKE, FORMER PENTAGON SPOKESWOMAN: I do agree with him. I think it's a very, very important benchmark, as Donna says, for us, also for the Iraqi people. There's a long way to go, but this is an important benchmark for them moving that country forward in ownership of their country.

BLITZER: The latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, we asked this question: Has Iraq made real progress toward democratic government in the past two years? Sixty-three percent said yes, 34 percent said no. That's pretty encouraging. BRAZILE: Look, Democracy is contagious. And once the people go out to the polls on Thursday, come out with their purple fingers in the air, telling the world that they're ready to take control, that's your signal to our politicians that it's time for them to stand down and come up with a credible strategy to begin the redeployment of our troops in 2006.

CLARKE: And as encouraging, are the polls within Iraq that say the Iraqi people are more confident about the direction their country is taking. They know there will be problems, but they're more confident about the way things are going.

BLITZER: The president yesterday was pretty candid. He even acknowledged that 30,000 Iraqis probably have died in the course of this past two and a half years. Is that a good strategy, for the president to be somewhat more candid and not just be sort of upbeat all the time about what's happening in Iraq?

CLARKE: Absolutely. I think we have to be brutally honest with the American people and others about this. As I've said before, he has to be communicator-in-chief as well as commander-in-chief. This is very, very difficult stuff. So he needs to be out there and his senior people out there engaging with the American people and public at large about what's at stake.

BLITZER: Hillary Clinton faces a really difficult balancing act in positioning herself potentially for 2008. Listen to what she said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: We're going to have elections in Iraq in a few days. And then I hope we will have a government that we can begin to deal with and negotiate with, that will help secure a better and stable future for the people of Iraq and begin the process of bringing our men and women home.

(END VIDEO CLIP).

BLITZER: What do you think? Can she walk that delicate tightrope? Because a lot of people on the left think she is too much in support of the president's policy.

BRAZILE: Well, I'm going to get in trouble with the left for saying this, but Hillary Clinton is entitled to her own opinion, like Joe Lieberman and other people in the party. And it's time that we not have a litmus test for our candidates to straddle a fence on one side when in fact I think Mrs. Clinton has been very consistent in her views about Iraq and about the military.

She sits on Armed Services. And I think what she's trying to do is show leadership that there's a way out of this quagmire that we've had in Iraq and there's a way for us to move forward. And that's what they should listen to and not try to get Mrs. Clinton to pin down when the timetable should begin -- because we want people to come home, but we want them to come home successfully. BLITZER: Well, how do you think she's handling this, Senator Clinton?

CLARKE: I think so far, fine. I think lots of people are looking to 2008 and trying to start to walk a line on Iraq. I think it's a stupid thing to do. It is a very difficult issue. You better decide how you feel about it substantively and stick to that rather than trying to wordsmith it.

BLITZER: Torie, Donna, thanks very much to both you.

CLARKE: Thanks, Wolf.

BRAZILE: The issue is leadership and she's shown leadership.

BLITZER: Are you endorsing her?

BRAZILE: It's too early.

BLITZER: OK. Thanks, Donna, very much.

Up next, what difference has 1,000 days in Iraq made? As I mentioned, I'll ask Democratic Senator Joe Biden that question. He's on his way to Iraq to oversee some critical elections. He'll be joining me in the coming hour here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

And man swimming with man-eating sharks. Dangerous, but some would say important work in Spain, at least. We'll tell you why these divers are flirting with danger.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's head back to Zain Verjee at the CNN Center in Atlanta for a closer look at some other stories making news. Once again, hi, Zain.

VERJEE: Hi, Wolf. Syria says it's cooperating fully with a U.N. investigation into the killing of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri last month. Investigators say Syrian cooperation has been slow and incomplete. In a statement to the U.N. Security Council, Damascus disagreed with that assessment and says investigators have violated international standards when questioning Syrian officials.

This is what it looked like on Sunday when it was called one of the biggest blazes in Europe since World War II. But firefighters in Britain now saying that all 20 of the tanks that ignited after a series of explosions at a fuel depot are now extinguished. A few small fires continue to burn, though, at the facility north of London. Experts say that there are no health risks to anyone in the area.

An uneasy calm is being reported in Sydney, Australia. Authorities there have tripled the number of police out on the streets in an effort to prevent a third night of race riots. The violence began on Sunday when about 5,000 white youths went on a rampage against people they believed to be of Middle Eastern descent. Car- loads of young, Arab men then struck back. Police saying nearly 40 people were injured and 27 were arrested.

Scenes of the birth of Jesus have long been populated with a whole menagerie of animals, a donkey, an ox, a sheep, even a peacock. You know, it's not uncommon, Wolf. And now, you can add sharks to the list. Divers descended into a shark-filled tank at the Madrid Zoo to set up a nativity scene today. Now, the word is that the sharks aren't particularly devout. A 50-year-old turtle, though, was said to be the only occupant of the tank to show even a remote interest in the display.

Wolf.

BLITZER: I wonder if that turtle was a little nervous, too, with a shark roaming around. Zain, getting back to the racial tensions in Australia, I don't know about you, but I was surprised to see the level of this tension that has been exploding over the past few days. What are some of the reasons behind it?

VERJEE: Well, experts in Australia say that the tension's actually been on rise for a number of years. They point to three things. Number one, the September 11 attacks on the United States that fermented anti-Muslim sentiment in the country. They also said the 2002 Bali bombings where most of the people that were killed were Australian, 88 people. And finally, they point to a significant case, a gang rape, where a bunch of Lebanese men raped white women, and they were throwing racial slurs at them the whole time. So that, many people in the region say, really fueled the tension.

Wolf.

BLITZER: What a story that is, Zain. Thank you very much. Zain Verjee, we'll get back to you soon.

Still to come, a drama playing on and off the screen. A movie entitled "Brokeback Mountain" involves two male cowboys who fall in love with each other. It's winning rave reviews and just earned seven Golden Globe nominations. Some conservatives are upset about it. We'll tell you what's going on.

Also, freefall survivor. A pregnant woman whose parachute malfunctioned drops from the sky at 50 miles an hour and lands on her face. Find out how she lived to tell her truly incredible story. She's going to join us here in THE SITUATION ROOM, 7:00 p.m. Eastern tonight. You'll want to watch that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Did a 2003 redistricting plan reduce minority voting strength in Texas? The Supreme Court has agreed on an expedited basis to hear a group of cases involving that very issue.

Our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton is here to explain exactly how this decision could affect the 2006 midterm elections. Abbi? TATTON: Wolf, the best way to look at this is to actually go to the sites and see how these districts changed in Texas. First of all, here's the Texas politics site from the University of Texas. This talks you through the history of the redistricting. But you need to look at the maps themselves to see exactly what happened.

Here's the text Texas government site REDViewer that shows you the before pictures and the after pictures in 2003. It's an interactive map. You can go to the district itself. Here's the tenth district, one of those in question, and see how much this changed. It was very compact in 2001. In 2003, it was extended. So it was much bigger. And this changed the demographics of the state. This available at the Texas government site REDViewer -- Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Abbi, thanks very much.

Let's go to New York. Jack Cafferty is standing by with the "Cafferty File." Hi, Jack.

CAFFERTY: How you doing, Wolf? The chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, that would be Ted Stevens of Alaska, is thinking about limiting the size of carry-on luggage and reducing the number of carry-on bags from two to one. The idea is to give the baggage screeners fewer items to worry about.

The question is, should the amount of carry-on luggage allowed on airplanes be reduced?

Libby in Burnsville, Minnesota: "Please. I am so tired of people dragging umpteen bags onto the plane, filling all of the overhead storage, and then holding everybody up while they retrieve their bags from all over the planes. Some of us have connections to make. Bah humbug."

Debra in Houston, Texas: "Ted Stevens should take a long hike on his short bridge to nowhere in Alaska. And he can take all his baggage with him."

Troy in Philadelphia: "As many times as they've lost my luggage, I can't afford not to carry my laptop and another bag of clothes, toothbrush, et cetera, on board."

Alan in Washington, D.C.: "Hooray. I think Ted Stevens is right on the money. How many times have you been standing in the aisle, watching some bozo trying to stuff a bag bigger than Manhattan into the overhead bin, then proceed to argue with the flight attendant that it fit just fine on the previous flight? The sooner these losers are dealt with, then maybe our flights might start departing and arriving on time."

And Dennis writes, "How does Senator Stevens get all that pork to Alaska with only two carry-on bags? He should have resigned when he threatened to. He's the biggest crybaby in the Congress".

Wolf.

BLITZER: Very funny. Thanks very much, Jack.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com