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CNN Saturday Morning News

Troops Home From Iraq By New Year's Eve; Gadhafi's Body on Display While Burial on Hold; Jessica Simpson Confirms Pregnancy Rumors; Hertz Fires Muslims For Not Clocking Out While Praying

Aired October 22, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: We're at the top of the hour here now in the CNN SATURDAY MORNING, give you a look at some of the stories making headlines.

And arrangements are being made for Saudi Crown Prince Sultan who died overnight in a New York hospital. The prince, one of the most visible members of the Saudi royal family, had reportedly been battling cancer the past few years. He was thought to be in his 80s. The exact cause of death has not been revealed.

Also former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's burial is on hold as the U.N. human rights office wants to investigate exactly how he died on Thursday since conflicting accounts out of Libya along with video of Gadhafi's capture cast doubts as to whether he was executed by rebel fighters.

Also a private ceremony set for today in Birmingham, Alabama, for Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth. The civil rights activist died earlier this month. He helped lead the fight against segregation and co- founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. His body will lie in repose on Sunday at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. His funeral and burial will take place on Monday.

Well, we turn now to the war in Iraq. It has an expiration date, New Year's eve. President Obama says the troops will be home for the holidays and the war will be over. The end of one of the most controversial wars in U.S. history comes after almost nine years. "Shock and awe," "surge" are things you heard thrown around over the past several years.

This all started back in March of 2003. The Department of Defense estimates they spent more than $700 billion just on "Operations Iraqi Freedom" and "New Dawn" in Iraq. 4,421 U.S. service members have died in the war and another 30,000 have been wounded.

Our Athena Jones standing by for us at the White House. Athena, we heard from the president on this yesterday and he started out by saying, hey, promise kept.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. That's the point he made at the beginning. He says as a candidate, I pledge to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end, so he made that point twice in his speech yesterday. His aides, his national security aides, made that point a few more times in the briefing afterwards. And so we all get the message.

The president was against the Iraq war from the beginning. He gave a speech in the run-up calling it a dumb war, a rash war, saying he wasn't against all wars but he was against wars that were dumb and rash. He has argued all along since his time as a candidate that the war in Iraq caused the U.S. to take our eyes off the ball in Afghanistan which was the war that we should have been focusing on, and so he pledged as a candidate to do what he announced yesterday. And so as far as they see it, it's a promise kept.

Let's listen to what he had to say in this morning's weekly address about - about this announcement -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In Iraq, we've succeed in our strategy to end the war. Last year, I announced the end of our combat mission in Iraq. We've already removed more than 100,000 troops and Iraqi forces have taken full responsibility for the security of their own country. Thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, the Iraqi people have the chance to forge their own future. Now the rest of our troops will be home for the holidays.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And so one point I should make, T.J., something the president did not bring up, not in the weekly address this morning, not in his remarks yesterday in the press briefing room here at the White House, he didn't point out that it was actually security agreements reached during the Bush administration back in 2008 that set this December 31st, 2001 end date.

And so, that was sort of our -- that was already decided some time ago, and now, of course, there's been an issue about whether the military troops would stay behind, a few thousand, to help train Iraqi security forces, but the U.S. and Iraq couldn't reach an agreement on immunity for the U.S. troops and so here you have it, almost all of the 40,000 troops are going to be out by the end of this year.

HOLMES: We know a lot of families, we're going to hear some reaction or share with our viewers in a second from families and soldiers are certainly excited about the news, but it comes as well with criticism from some familiar places.

JONES: Absolutely. So, you have Democrats applauding the president's decision saying that this shows the effectiveness and the success of American troops. It's going to save taxpayers millions of dollars. But then you have Republicans not unexpectedly expressing concern about what this means for Iraq.

Let me read from you what Representative Howard McKeon, Buck McKeon, who is the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, what statement he put out yesterday. He said, "I remain concerned that this full withdrawal of U.S. troops will make that road tougher than it needs to be," the road forward in Iraq. "Multiple experts have testified before my committee that the Iraqis still lack important capacities in their ability to maintain their internal stability and territorial integrity. These shortcomings could reverse a decade of hard work and sacrifice both countries have endured to build a free Iraq."

And so, that really summarizes a lot of the criticism coming from the GOP side and also some general concern about Iraq's ability to secure its own future. There's still violence in Iraq, although a lot less than a few years ago, and there's concern about the influence of its neighbor, Iran, and their influence growing as U.S. troops pull out. But there's one more point I want to make, T.J., and that's back at the beginning of his administration.

In 2009, the president went to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and gave a speech about Iraq, and he said, We can't basically let perfect be the enemy of good here. U.S. troops in Iraq have worked with Iraqis to get them to this point. Now they're in a situation where it's time for them to take responsibility for their own security.

And so, it will be interesting to see what happens and whether Iraq ends up more stable, at least for some period of time, but it's time, the White House believes, for the U.S. troops to come home.

HOLMES: All right. Athena Jones for us at the White House. Thank you so much.

And that reaction we were talking about coming from families and fellow soldiers, you can imagine what some of it sounds like. Take a listen now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY SYMONDS, SON FOUGHT IN IRAQ: Not only does my son come home safe and sound to us as a family, our family is whole again, and I'm very thankful for the job that him and all his fellow soldiers have done for us.

SGT. JERRY RUPPELT, U.S. ARMY: Time to bring our boys home. It's time for them to come home to their families. They shouldn't have to be over there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Especially coming home around the holiday times, it's going to be great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, some of the reaction to President Obama's announcement was quick and predictably partisan from the GOP presidential hopefuls.

Here from Mitt Romney. He said, "President Obama's astonishing failure to secure an orderly transition in Iraq has unnecessarily put at risk the victories that were won through the blood and sacrifice of thousands of American men and women."

He goes on to say "The unavoidable question is whether this decision is the result of a naked political calculation or simply sheer ineptitude in negotiations with the Iraqi government."

Something similar from Governor Rick Perry, saying, "I'm deeply concerned that President Obama is putting political expediency ahead of sound military and security judgment by announcing an end to troop- level negotiations and the withdrawal from Iraq by year's end."

Perry went on to say that "America's commitment to the future of Iraq is important to U.S. national security interests and should not be influenced by politics."

A different take on the pullout of U.S. troops from former President Jimmy Carter. Caught up with him yesterday in Native Plains, Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I think it's long overdue. We never should have been in Iraq to start with. Once we were there, of course, we accomplished our goal, and now it's important I think for us to get out of Iraq. And then as soon as possible out of Afghanistan as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Carter went on to say that he wishes the best for Libya's quest on freedom and democracy. Also mentioned that the former first lady, Rosalynn Carter, is in neighboring Tunisia today, of course, where this year's Arab Spring originated.

So, what exactly is going to happen to Libya now that Moammar Gadhafi is gone? An internationally recognized scholar of Islam and human rights is here to help put it all in perspective. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 12 minutes past the hour now.

More on Libya and the death of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Libyans are lining up now to view his body. It's being kept in cold storage literally in a meat locker in Misrata. Gadhafi's burial is on hold while the United Nations and two major human rights groups want an investigation in to exactly how he died.

Meanwhile, NATO says it will scale back operations in Libya by the end of the month. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said a U.S. drone was part of the NATO air strike on Gadhafi's convoy. Colonel Gadhafi's death and what it means for Libya's future topped President Obama's weekly address -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: In Libya, our brave pilots and crews helped prevent a massacre, saved countless lives, and give the Libyan people the chance to prevail, without putting a single U.S. service member on the ground. We achieved our objective. Soon, our NATO mission will come to a successful end even as we continue to support the Libyan people and people across the Arab world who seek a democratic future. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, Obama supporters say the Libyan conflict and the successful military operations that killed Osama Bin Laden and recently radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki bolster the president's credentials when it comes to foreign policy.

Well, the same man has led Libya for more than 40 years and now that Moammar Gadhafi is dead, what's next? Abdullani Ali-Na'im is a Charles Howard Chandler professor of law and a fellow of Emory's law and religion program here with some perspective.

Thank you for being here.

Let's start with the images we've been seeing the past couple of days. What does it do to their cause moving forward for the world to watch now rebels put this man's dead body on display?

ABDULLANI ALI-NA'IM, CHARLES HOWARD CHANDLER PROFESSOR OF LAW: I think that was ugly and unnecessary, unwise, but it should not detract from the tremendous achievement of the people of Libya. I think you will find a few vindictive elements in the leadership, but I think the way that the people of Libya have conducted themselves in the last seven, eight months is really a tremendous tribute to the drive of freedom and human dignity.

HOLMES: You said it might not do long-term damage, but I guess what is it saying to the world? What is the potential damage for the rest of the world seeing some of this behavior now?

ALI-NA'IM: It is just simply a sense of worrying about whether there's going to be fair justice for all or whether there is going to be a retaliation against former enemies. But I think the eyes of the world are so much focused on Libya that the leadership cannot afford to engage in such sort of (INAUDIBLE) from the original purpose of the whole custodian.

HOLMES: There are a number of things, of course, that now need to be done. Some of those things are already under way. I guess just Moammar Gadhafi's death made it official and final in a lot of people's minds, but of all the things they need to do, what would you say they have to start with in getting that country up and going?

ALI-NA'IM: I think they need to build political institutions. I mean, democracy is not simply mass rule. It has to be organized, accountable, transparent. Libya in a way is blessed by not having had - because they don't have corrupt institutions that they have to correct. But still they have to build from scratch. They have to build political parties media (INAUDIBLE) democratic government. It's a country that has been ruled by a monarchy, followed by a cruel dictatorship. So, two generations of Libyans or more never had any experience with self-government.

HOLMES: What gives you pause? I guess, what is unique to their situation that might have been different from what we saw in Egypt? What's unique to Libya that gives you pause to say this is working against them but also what do you see and say, well, these are the advantages that might help them get it right?

ALI-NA'IM: I think the fact that they had nothing to start with, and that they conducted a very effective war against a brutal dictatorship that has been tremendously armed and trained. They went against the odds and succeeded in overthrowing the regime. But that's only the first step.

So, not having anything to work with in terms of political institutions gives them human capital. The people of Libya although the country is tremendously rich, but that wealth has not reached in delivering services, education, to the vast majority of the people.

So, where do you start? They are all challenges. But I think the main thing is their own determination, their commitment to be this democratic government in transition, and the goodwill of the world around them. Everybody is really sympathetic at this point.

HOLMES: Last thing, quickly. Who is next? A lot of people talking about Al Assad in Syria, but who could be next to fall?

ALI-NA'IM: My worry is not about what's going to fall wherever anybody else has fallen. So I think it is - we tend to focus on who is next to go but I think we should also remember what else needs to be done to sustain democratic transition. So Syria may be different because it's a brutal political party that is in total control of the country and the administration so it may be harder. But overthrowing regimes is one thing. Building countries is another.

HOLMES: Good point to make, Abdullani Ali-Na'im. Sir, thank you so much for coming.

ALI-NA'IM: Thank you.

HOLMES: Thank you so much.

We're 18 minutes past the hour now, and a mass firing to tell you about at a Hertz location in Seattle? Twenty six employees told they need to get out of there. It has to do with praying and a time clock. We'll explain. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Twenty one minutes past the hour now. Looking at the stories making news across the country.

Start in South Florida where it may be easy to overlook this little drummer prodigy, he's keeping the beat at the Belle Glades High School. He's in the band there, but the thing is (INAUDIBLE) is not even five feet tall and he's just 10 years old. Yes, he's playing for the high school band. The band director says he is just that good and they'll take him right now.

And a surfer's close call with a shark. Is that really a close call? That's too close. That's a 23-inch chop that was taken out of Bobby Gum's surfboard. Shark experts say the bite suggests the shark was anywhere between 16 and 20 feet long. Also, just in case you're wondering, Jessica Simpson has confirmed but a lot of people say that they already knew, she's pregnant. She confirmed this news in the latest edition of "OK" magazine.

Now, like I mentioned, reports out there that everybody pretty much knew this but she waited to confirm it they say because she was waiting on a half million payday so she could give "OK" magazine the exclusive rights to the story. Baby already making money.

Well, 26 employees fired from Hertz. Why? For praying. The company location in Seattle says the employee who are Muslim never clocked out when they took breaks to pray.

Denise Whitaker now from our affiliate KOMO reports the employees complain it's an assault on their religious freedom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ILEYS OMAR, FIRED HERTZ EMPLOYEE: (INAUDIBLE) want to fight for what we believe in.

DENIS WHITAKER, REPORTER, KOMO: Ileys Omar is out of a job, terminated after she refused to clock in and out to pray at work. She is a Muslim who prays five times a day. In the past Muslim employees at Hertz paused for their prayers without clocking out.

OMAR: It's five minutes. It's not a big deal as the company is making.

WHITAKER: But Hertz tells me that some employees were abusing their privilege to pray. Spokesman Richard Broom in an e-mail told me the abuse had become a significant problem creating issues of fairness among employees. Teamster Union 117 who represents Hertz drivers tells me a blanket policy is not the way to address that.

TRACEY THOMPSON, UNION REP, TEAMSTER 117: If there's a problem with the performance or the conduct of any employee, you have the right to deal with that employee individually. That's not what they did here.

WHITAKER: The union provided me with this notice posted for employees at Hertz earlier this year. It stated, employees who want to take their 10-minute break in smaller chunks don't have to punch but must notify their supervisor. Then, September 30th, the union claims Hertz posted this new policy which states all rest and meal periods must be punched including all religious observation.

THOMPSON: The company unilaterally implemented this policy to clock in and out and specifically identified prayer breaks in their policy. They have not applied the policy to people who take smoke breaks.

WHITAKER: Hertz tells me clocking out is required for all breaks and it is now enforcing that policy to prevent abuse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right, we're 24 minutes past the hour. Up next, our Reynolds Wolf, he has your game-day forecast. A lot of you keeping an eye on that college football Saturday. He'll let you know if your game is going to have any issues with the weather. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Getting close to the bottom of the hour. You want to let this (INAUDIBLE) thing go?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Let's let it go.

HOLMES: We got to work together for the next few hours and we'll let it go.

WOLF: Can you help me with this?

HOLMES: What do you need?

WOLF: We'll do the forecast, we'll do the college game-day forecast-

HOLMES: All right.

WOLF: But it's not just the weather, I want your pick for each one of these games.

HOLMES: That's not a problem.

Arkansas. Sorry.

(CROSSTALK)

WOLF: OK. Arkansas, Ole Miss, they are playing in Oxford it will be beautiful. Kickoff at 12:21. Sixty degrees, what do you think?

HOLMES: It's easy game. You hear me? Easy game. Fellas, don't make me look bad.

WOLF: All right. Let's look at this one. Yes, #1 LSU against number 20 Auburn. You tell me.

HOLMES: They suspended a few guys down there in Auburn you are all known to kind of have referees that are on your side. You all stuff their pockets with cash.

WOLF: Hey, stop (INAUDIBLE) what are you talking about?

HOLMES: Auburn has a good shot.

WOLF: That's horrible! The thing about Auburn is that this weekend they are actually starting a new quarterback, Clinton Moseley will be coming in and it's his first start playing at LSU.

HOLMES: Oh good. Very wet out.

WOLF: It should be great. Should be great. This game looks pretty good weather wise, Alabama/Tennessee, (INAUDIBLE) a great traditional rivalry, what do you think?

HOLMES: Of course they are. Did you hear Nick Saban's press conference this week as well?

WOLF: I liked it.

HOLMES: I like it as well.

WOLF: I really did, too. I mean (INAUDIBLE) but we've all been there before.

(INAUDIBLE) for the Oklahoma/Texas Tech game where we're talking about Auburn's former coach (INAUDIBLE) trying to take it to Norman, to Oklahoma and the Sooners will have some rain and some wind possibly, it's going to be, well, it's going to be ugly.

HOLMES: Really? It might be an ugly game.

WOLF: Could be, but I'm talking the field could be nasty too.

HOLMES: It's going to be ugly.

WOLF: It's going to be really bad. Going from that one possibly to -

HOLMES: I'll take Michigan State.

WOLF: Really?

HOLMES: I will.

WOLF: I am going with the Spartans, it should be great. We're going to wrap it quickly with Stanford and Washington.

HOLMES: I'll take Washington.

WOLF: Really? I'm going to go Stanford (INAUDIBLE).

HOLMES: All right, we'll be back. Top of the hour, enjoy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)