Return to Transcripts main page

Your World Today

North Korea Agrees to Return to Talks; Iraqi Prime Minister Orders U.S. Military to Ease Stranglehold of Sadr City; Rioting in Mexico

Aired October 31, 2006 - 12:00   ET

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

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Getting the message. North Korea agrees to return to talks on its nuclear program.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Checkpoint changes. The Iraqi prime minister orders the U.S. military to ease its stranglehold on Sadr City.

CLANCY: The Bush factor. With the president's approval rating sinking, some Republican candidates go it alone ahead of the election.

GORANI: Plus, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Pop star George Michael sparks controversy by lighting up a joint on television.

Hello, and welcome to our report broadcast around the globe.

I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

From Pyongyang to Washington, wherever you are watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

GORANI: The chief American envoy says he's not breaking out the cigars and champagne yet, but Christopher Hill does call it a very positive move. After hours of discussion between U.S., Chinese and North Korean envoys in Beijing, North Korea says it's ready to return to stalled six-party talks. It comes weeks after Pyongyang conducted its first known nuclear test.

Hugh Riminton has the latest from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After seven hours of secret talks, perhaps a breakthrough.

CHRISTOPHER HILL, U.S. ASSIST. SEC. OF STATE: Nice to see you all.

RIMINTON: Barely three weeks after North Korea's first nuclear tests, it is returning to six-party talks to discuss getting rid of its nuclear program.

HILL: I don't think the situation is getting any easier for them staying away from these talks. RIMINTON: It was China late last week that sent a message to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, would Washington agree to a quiet meeting in Beijing involving the North Koreans? The chief U.S. envoy says the North Koreans made no apology for their October nuclear test, but agreed to return to talks without preconditions. There will be no easing of U.N. sanctions.

HILL: Well, I made very clear that the U.N. Security Council resolution stands, and that this was not a subject of our discussion. They don't like it, but it stands.

RIMINTON (on camera): The only allowance made to the North Koreans, an agreement to discuss Pyongyang's complaints over the seizure of illegal North Korean assets at a bank in Macau. A seizure that enraged Kim Jong-il's regime.

(voice over): North Korea agreed to return to the talks to discuss the deal it struck in September last year to dismantle its nuclear weapons program in return for energy and other incentives. The six-party talks are now set to resume in November or December.

The U.S. envoy praising China's role and declaring this development a validation of the six-party process which ties the United States, Japan and all North Korea's immediate neighbors to the issue. It may also reduce the immediate threat of more North Korean nuclear tests.

HILL: I think it's self-evident that they should not engage in these kinds of provocations.

RIMINTON: But diplomats well used to dealing with North Korea still urge patience.

HILL: I have not broken out the cigars and champagne quite yet, believe me.

RIMINTON: Hugh Riminton, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: A major development and other parties to the talks. South Korea, Russia and Japan say they welcome it. U.S. President George W. Bush is hailing the move as well, but also sounding a word of caution.

Let's go now live to the White House and correspondent Ed Henry -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Jim.

That's right, the president proclaiming that he is very pleased by this latest development. His spokesman, Tony Snow, going a step further by declaring that this is vindication of the president's strategy to stick with the six-party talks, not give into critics who said that he should have direct one-on-one talks between the U.S. and North Korea. The president himself made his comments this morning here at the White House, the Oval Office, after a meeting with his secretary of state, as well as his special envoy to Sudan. The president saying he got a "grim report" on the situation in Sudan. And he insisted that he will help put together a singular plan among the international community to try to help save lives in Sudan.

But then he quickly turned to North Korea and talked about this development.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll be sending teams to the region to work with our partners to make sure that the current United Nations Security Council resolution is enforced. But also, to make sure that the talks are effective, that we achieve the results from want, which is a North Korea that abandons her nuclear weapons programs and her nuclear weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, that's the note of caution that you mentioned at the top, Jim. While the White House is feeling good that this is a short- term vindication of the president's diplomatic strategy, they're fully aware that over the long term, they are going to have to show that the six-party talks actually yield some results. So far they've yielded very little. And just getting people back to the table, while an important step, is still far from actual victory in this diplomatic confrontation with North Korea and Kim Jong-il -- Jim.

CLANCY: Ed, we've got some other developments that we want to discuss with you in just a minute. We need some White House input on that. Ed Henry, if you'll just stand by.

I want to tell our viewers now that Japan taking a very skeptical line on North Korea and these developments. New Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe speaking to CNN a little bit earlier. We're going to bring you that exclusive interview with the new prime minister of Japan later this hour -- Hala.

GORANI: All right.

Now to Iraq, where the prime minister is making clear who has the final say in that country. In a major security crackdown in Sadr City, Nouri al-Maliki ordered the U.S. military to lift checkpoints around the Baghdad district, a stronghold of Shia militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr.

Troops began abandoning their posts shortly after. Al-Sadr had called for shops to close and people to stay home to protest what he called a siege of Sadr City. U.S. troops set up the cordons last week to search for an abducted soldier. An al-Sadr aide says that was just a ruse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FATAH AL-SHEIK, SPOKESMAN FOR MUQTADA AL-SADR (through translator): What Sadr City went through is another lie similar to what the American government did when it said that there were weapons of mass destruction and occupied Iraq. This time it has another excuse, the abducted soldier, abducted American in Sadr City.

This is not true. There is no abducted American soldier. But this is just an attempt to hit the city or infiltrate it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, the controversy over checkpoints is just the latest public rift between the U.S. and Prime Minister Maliki.

Let's get some perspective now from Michael Ware in Baghdad.

Now, we hear the Iraqi prime minister say to the U.S., dismantle those checkpoints. The U.S. dismantles the checkpoints.

What message is he sending? Is this Maliki trying to assert his authority?

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very much so, Hala. In fact, he's playing rather importantly to a domestic audience.

I mean, he needs to establish his own power base separate from the Americans, because quite frankly, he does not have one. I mean, this unfolding story, Hala, is an extremely telling one about the nature of the bilateral relations between the U.S. and Iraq.

It began eight days ago with the mysterious disappearance of a U.S. soldier in the most bizarre circumstances that's left a lot of questions unanswered. However, the American focus in terms of getting this soldier back has been on the Mehdi militia of Muqtada al -Sadr and their Sadr City stronghold here in Baghdad.

We saw the city encircled by U.S. and Iraqi checkpoints, driven by the American forces. And then we've seen some targeted raids which have caused an absolute furor.

Now, this came to a head last night when Muqtada himself called for a general strike in Sadr City's population of 2.5 million, which today saw the streets all but empty -- government offices closed, shops closed. This then saw the Iraqi prime minister, America's partner in this all-important hunt for a missing American soldier on the eve of the elections, order the removal of these checkpoints. Not by telling the American forces, but through a release to the media.

It caught the 4th Infantry Division's spokesman off guard, and he had to catch up. We now see those checkpoints being opened -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. One quick question there on the shocking levels of violence we continue to see in Baghdad and across Iraq, mass kidnappings, attacks on wedding ceremonies. Is there any sense that all the talk of increased cooperation between U.S. and Iraqi officials is going to work in reducing the violence? WARE: Oh, look, there's absolutely nothing to suggest so far that in all of this hot air and rhetoric -- and quite frankly, that's what it's been so far -- that there's anything truly substantive. Certainly not yet on the streets.

I mean, look at this attack in Sadr City. A bomb in a car detonates, killing 15 people in a wedding party convoy. This is in an area just near the Sadr City stronghold of the Mehdi militia and was a focus area of the grand American-led Operation Together Forward, the so-called Battle of Baghdad. Yet, we are still seeing a car bomb ripping people apart.

Twenty-two people died in the capital today alone. Ten bullet- riddled bodies, some with signs of execution, were found this morning.

Nothing is being done to really address the core issues, which is the power block -- the building blocks of power here, Hala, the militias, the insurgency and the external players who are having a hand here. Everything is on the surface. Nothing is really being done by the U.S. to effect real change.

GORANI: All right. Michael Ware live in Baghdad.

Thanks so much, Michael -- Jim.

CLANCY: Well, let's go back to the White House and talk once again with Ed Henry.

Ed, Prime Minister al-Maliki says, "I'm not the U.S. man." He's giving orders to U.S. troops on the streets of Baghdad.

What's the White House saying?

HENRY: Well, not surprisingly, perhaps, Tony Snow, the White House spokesman, a short while ago tried to downplay this latest situation with Prime Minister Maliki and the checkpoints. And also, broadly speaking, tried to downplay any talk of a rift.

He said over and over there's no rift. The president said there's no rift with the prime minister. But clearly what you heard from Michael Ware there, there is some sort of -- they're not on the same page, if you will. And that was one reason why this past weekend the White House put together quickly a video conference between President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki to try to show they are back on the same page. But clearly, they are having some difficulty there -- Jim.

CLANCY: Having some difficulty, too. We've got a week to go before these midterm elections, a lot is at stake here. The Bush administration seems to be saying that a vote for the Democrats is a vote for their allies, the insurgency in Iraq.

HENRY: Well, Tony Snow was asked about that today because Vice President Cheney gave an interview yesterday where he suggested the insurgents are trying to break the will of the American people. Tony Snow was asked by a reporter, "Does that mean you're suggesting the insurgents are rooting for a Democratic victory to take control of the U.S. Congress?"

He said no, but the Democrats have no plan to assure victory in Iraq. That's from Tony Snow.

Well I and another reporter said, well, what's the White House plan to assure victory in Iraq? And what the White House does is turn it around on reporters and say, well, what that question asked back during World War II? Sort of suggesting, do you really want the United States to win in Iraq?

I pressed Tony Snow on the point that at the beginning of this war, the White House was sure that it was going to be easy. They said that we would be greeted as liberators in Iraq, that the United States would almost have a cakewalk.

That assurance has not proven to be true. That's part of the reason why the White House has faced criticism. But they are pushing back pretty hard because the president realizes this is a central issue, and he is really trying to frame it as, do you want to finish the job or not -- Jim.

CLANCY: Ed Henry, summing it all up for us there from the lawn of the White House.

Thank you.

HENRY: Thank you.

GORANI: All right. A lot more ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

The war, the president, and voters...

CLANCY: How large does Iraq loom in these U.S. congressional elections? And while he may not be on the ballot, how large does President Bush loom?

We're going to take a closer look at that.

GORANI: And up next, an embattled city in Mexico. Protesters call for a politician's resignation. We'll tell you why in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Demonstrators says they won't relinquish their hold on a southern Mexico city. The coastal city of Oaxaca is the scene of a battle between angry citizens and federal troops.

At issue, Governor Ulysses Ruiz, who protesters accused of vote- rigging and squashing dissent.

Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY, scene live around the globe.

Protesters want Governor Ruiz to resign and for months have turned the popular tourist city into a battle zone.

As Casey Wian reports, one casualty so far, among others, has been a U.S. filmmaker.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Mexican federal police moved in to retake violence-plagued Oaxaca, since May the site of protests by teachers and others demanding the ouster of the state government. An American independent journalist was killed while covering the uprising. You can hear the bullet and his screams while his camera rolled.

IndyMedia photographer Brad Will was one of three people killed by local police in civilian clothes, according to a Reuters report. It was not confirmed by U.S. or Mexican authorities. Incredibly, the State Dept says it's only hoping, not demanding, that Mexico investigate the killing.

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: We would hope that the matter is investigated vigorously to determine who's responsible. And that in the case there were laws violated, that that person be brought to justice.

WIAN: U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza released a statement calling Will's death tragic. He also extended an advisory warning American citizens about the risks of travel to Oaxaca.

A similar advisory exists for the border city of Nuevo Laredo, where drug violence is out of control.

(on camera): Meanwhile, the State Department downplayed concerns the violence will destabilize Mexico, while a new leader is about to take office. Spokesman Sean McCormack says Mexico's government has withstood every test since the disputed presidential election in July.

Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Hala, it must have been in the stars. This is a great day for astronomers and fans of space alike.

GORANI: A reprieve of sorts tops our check of other stories making news around the world this hour.

And the Hubble telescope will be able to keep its eye on the universe a little longer. NASA has approved a repair mission for 2008, reversing an earlier decision that the risks were too great. The first orbiting telescope ever deployed will get new sensors and even a battery replacement -- Jim.

CLANCY: Australia's top Muslim cleric stepping aside amid criticisms of his remarks comparing women who don't wear veils to, in his words, "uncovered meat." Sheikh Taj El Din al-Hilali says he is taking an indefinite leave for health reasons. He was hospitalized on Monday after collapsing at a Sydney mosque.

GORANI: Tens of thousands of Pakistanis turned out to protest the military's attack on a religious school that killed 80 people. The government says it bombed the school near the Afghan border because it was used as a terror training camp. Local officials deny that.

CLANCY: A spokesman for the Pakistani army talked with us about that strike. Major General Shaukat Sultan said no children were killed in the strike. Sultan also said he is not concerned about civil unrest in response to the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. SHAUKAT SULTAN, PAKISTANI ARMY SPOKESMAN: There are certain religious elements who would try to take political advantage out of this incident. And they are trying to exploit this. But the larger part of the population is (INAUDIBLE), and they are they are not going to come out in the streets in support of these religious elements.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: All right. Time for us to check in on how the markets are doing.

For that, it's over to Stephanie Elam in New York.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

CLANCY: We are going to take a break.

Still ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, in the last election he was the star of the campaign trail.

GORANI: Well, this time some Republicans would prefer that Mr. Bush just stay home. The president's plunging poll numbers aren't helping his party's candidates who are fighting for their political lives in next week's midterms.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, everyone. I'm Tony Harris at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

More of YOUR WORLD TODAY in just a few minutes, but first a check on stories making headlines in the United States.

They walked away from the bargaining table. Now they say they are coming back. North Korea has agreed to return to six-party talks on its nuclear weapons program. The agreement came after negotiations between the U.S., China and North Korea.

Six-party talks would also include South Korea, Russia and Japan. Talks could resume before the end of the year. President Bush was pleased with North Korea's decision, but says a lot of work remains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BUSH: We'll be sending teams to the region to work with our partners to make sure that the current United Nations Security Council resolution is enforced. But also, to make sure that the talks are effective, that we achieve the results we want, which is a North Korea abandons her nuclear weapons programs and her nuclear weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Control of Congress hanging in the balance as Americans prepare to head to the polls next week. We talked about the midterm elections and some controversial comments in the "NEWSROOM" with CNN contributor Bill Bennett. He's also the host of the radio talk show "Bill Bennett's Morning in America".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I want to talk to you about something on your radio program this morning. There was something that John Kerry said. We'll go ahead and put this up on the screen and then we've got a caller who actually phoned in to you and said -- we'll listen to that as well.

First of all, this is what he said with regard to the Iraq war: "You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Now to the sound from one of your callers from Orlando, Florida.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BILL BENNETT, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST (voice-over): OK, Esmond (ph) in Orlando, good morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people in the military have very high intelligence and very good education. My son was valedictorian of his high school with a straight A average, could have went to any college in the United States he wanted to, but he chose to go to West Point.

He graduated from West Point 23rd in his class with a degree in nuclear engineering. And he's a first lieutenant in Iraq today.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COLLINS: Obviously you say you got a lot of phone calls on this, this morning.

What was John Kerry trying to say?

BENNETT: I don't know what he was trying to say, but let me say this: In 2004, Bob Shrum, who was managing part of Kerry's campaign, saw me on a train. He said I was tough to Kerry but fair. I'll be fair and tough today.

I think this ends John Kerry's quest for higher office. You cannot say of the soldiers in Iraq what he said -- you know, that if you don't study and if you're not smart -- that's what he said by implication -- that you end up in Iraq.

You know, "Be all that you can be," "The few, the proud, the select, the brave" is now the bottom of the barrel for John Kerry. This -- this is an extraordinary comment.

We had a flood of phone calls. I had one woman, Julie, who called late in the show. She said, "My son is studying, working on his studies, training himself intellectually, morally, physically, spiritually, so he will be up to the standards of the U.S. Marine Corps."

What Kerry said is a disaster for John Kerry. He'll never be president. I don't think he'll have a serious candidacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Senator Kerry had this to say in response to criticism about his comments. "If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they are crazy. This is the classic GOP playbook. I'm sick and tired of those despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did."

CNN primetime next Tuesday night -- beginning at 7:00 Eastern, Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Paula Zahn and Lou Dobbs lead the best political team on television. As your votes is counted, the races, the results, the ramifications. Tuesday night, beginning at 7:00 Eastern.

Let's get a quick check of weather now. Jacqui Jeras in the CNN weather center.

Hi, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Tony.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Ahead in the "NEWSROOM," a conversation with Jesse Jackson. Join Kyra Phillips and Don Lemon at the top of the hour.

Meantime, YOUR WORLD TODAY continues after a quick break.

I'm Tony Harris.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

GORANI: Well, North Korea has been a major challenge for Japan's knew prime minister during his first month in office. Now in a revealing exclusive interview with our Atika Shubert, he talks about changing relations with China, the Yasukuni Shrine controversy, and of course what to do about Pyongyang.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Japan's new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, was elected by a landslide. But less than a month in office, Abe faced the biggest challenge of his career, North Korea's announcement of a successful nuclear test. Prime Minister Abe has a reputation as a hawk, intent on bolstering Japan's military. But even in the face of North Korea's nuclear test, the prime minister made it clear that nuclear weapons are not an option for Japan.

SHINZO ABE, JAPAN'S PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Japan is different in one respect from all of the countries in the world. And that is Japan is the only country that has been the victim of atomic bombs. Because of that experience, we believe we have a special mission, and that mission is we need to take the lead in striving to eliminate nuclear weapons from the face of the earth. In that context, we gave up nuclear arms as a policy option.

SHUBERT: Instead, the prime minister underscored the strength of the U.S./Japan security alliance.

ABE (through translator): From the perspective and deterrence, it is precisely even for that purpose that we have the Japan/U.S. alliance. When I talked over the phone with President Push following the North Korean nuclear test, President Bush also stated very clearly that the Japan/U.S. alliance anti-deterrence they are under will remain unshakable. I think that that in itself will constitute a deterrence.

SHUBERT: Prime Minister Abe also wants to improve frosty relations with China, making a point to make Beijing his first destination for a summit, not Washington, D.C.

ABE (through translator): Japan/China summit meetings have been suspended for some time. And my view was that it is precisely because problems exist in our relationship that the leaders of the countries concerned should meet with each other. That is why I decided to go to China first.

SHUBERT: Do you see China as a rival or a partner to Japan?

ABE (through translator): In the economic realm, there certainly would be times when we would be, would regard each other as rivals. But at this moment, as well, and basically, I think economically, we need each other, and I think it is important that we both recognize we are in that sort of inseparable relationship.

SHUBERT: Yet, diplomacy has not erased the controversy surrounding Yasukuni Shrine, Japan's memorial to its war dead, including several convicted war criminals from World War II.

ABE (through translator): I've been saying this, and in fact i've told my counterparts at the Senate meetings in China and Republic of Korea as well that paying visits, paying respects at the Yasukuni Shrine, in itself, does not glorify militarism, and does not glorify any specific persons.

SHUBERT: Previous prime ministers have visited the shrine, as has Abe, but China has warned that any further visits could irreparably damage relations between the two countries. Abe defended his right to pray at Yasukuni, but declined to say whether he would visit the shrine as prime minister.

ABE (through translator): Many Japanese prime ministers have paid respects at Yasukuni Shrine to date. All these prime ministers have protected freedom, democracy and basic human rights, and have made significant contribution to world peace. And amongst them there is not a single militarist.

SHUBERT: Abe has stated that he wants to revamp Japan's military, including changing the pacifist constitution, specifically he says, article nine, the clause that renounces war has become outdated. Though he says Japan will always be a pacifist country.

ABE (through translator): After 60 years since the constitution was promulgated, it is a fact that this constitution contains provisions that do not necessarily fit the times. And it is a fact that new values have e emerged since. Certainly the philosophy that is contained in the current constitution, that is sovereignty meaning the people, basic human rights, and pacifism. These basic philosophies certainly will be inherited by any new constitution.

SHUBERT: His tough line on North Korea and diplomacy with China have been well received. But he created the biggest stir by daring to hold his wife's hand in public, rarely seen in this conservative country, and bolstering his popularity. Abe says he would never have become prime minister without the support of his wife, Akie.

ABE (through translator): For any politician, I think the wife is a partner. And I believe that the introduction of my wife has been very significant in enabling me to fulfill that job here as prime minister. Tradition in Japan in the past that the wife would stay home.

But as the times are changing, I would like my wife to give me support in many respects as my partner.

SHUBERT (on camera): Shinzo Abe is one of Japan's youngest prime ministers, and the first to be born after World War II, a significant generational shift.

In his interview, Abe said that he wanted to create a Japan that was, quote, "a beautiful country," one that cherishes its history and traditions, but also exercises leadership on a world stage, the political vision of Japan's new prime minister.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, you can see the full interview at the times listed on your screen. And for the viewers in Japan, you can catch it this Friday at 7:00 p.m.

CLANCY: Well, just ahead, a reality check in Iraq.

GORANI: Well, the best hope for U.S. troops to leave Iraq is in the hands of Iraqi security. Up next, the roadblock in the way of training those forces.

And Saudi Arabia's view of the war in Iraq, and other pressing issues impacting the region. We'll talk with its ambassador to the United States.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: We are live across the globe. Welcome back to CNN International. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. U.S. commanders proposing that an extra 15,000 Iraqi security forces be trained and equipped. A Pentagon official calling the proposal a modest increase to the overall goal of 325,000 Iraqi forces. U.S. officials say a number reported by CBS News of up to 100,000 additional Iraqi troops is way too high. Now, any increase in Iraqi forces could require additional U.S. military trainers. Although Secretary Rumsfeld of the Pentagon says that may not be true. He says he's looking it over. He generally thinks that the recommendations are good. he does not think that it would effect the length that U.S. troops have to stay there. Let's listen to what he had to say a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The goal is to have the Iraqis have a number of security forces that are sufficiently capable and equipped and trained and effective. That they can provide for the governance, correction, the security in that country and support the government. That's the goal. And the sooner the better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well in Baghdad, John Roberts takes a look at the many issues Iraqi forces still must address before they can take over security of their own country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ROBERTS, SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the dangerous neighborhoods of Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi Army soldiers work side by side, a clearing operation to rid the area of weapons and militia members, an attempt to break the escalating cycle of sectarian violence.

SGT. THOMAS VANANTWERP, U.S. ARMY: They're doing actually pretty good. I was actually pretty impressed. A little slow getting motivated, but once they got working on it, they were doing pretty good.

ROBERTS: Homegrown security forces are not just the key to Iraqis controlling their own country. They are also the best hope that U.S. troops will one day be able to come home. But there are complaints in both America and Iraq that the process is taking too long. Iraq's prime minister on Saturday urged President Bush to accelerate training. And the general in charge of this Iraqi brigade says he doesn't yet have the weapons to build a complete army.

ROBERTS: Saleem, who fought the Americans as a member of Saddam's army says it was a mistake for the Pentagon to disband the Iraqi security forces after the invasion. The U.S. wanted to get rid of Saddam's apparatus but Saleem insists Iraq would not be racked by the current violence had the military stayed intact. The army would have affected and controlled the situation from the beginning, he says.

(on-camera): The best estimate the U.S. military has for how long it's going to take to transfer authority for security of Iraq to the Iraqi army and police is 12 to 18 months. That's what General George Casey said last week. But Nouri Al Maliki, the country's prime minister, is complaining about that, saying if he had the weapons that he needs he could get the job done within six months.

(voice-over): Whether that's true is open to debate. But weapons are just one complaint you will hear when you talk to these soldiers off camera. They also gripe about bad pay, an average of $300 a month for basic soldiers. Then there's the lack of armored vehicles, they say, and few spare parts. The brigade doctor who didn't want to be identified complains there's no military medical care. Wounded soldiers go to civilian hospitals, where they're at risk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They come to the hospital...

ROBERTS: The terrorists come to the hospital looking for military personnel and they attack them and kill them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes. Sometimes it happens.

ROBERTS: Accelerating training and the handoff to Iraqi forces could bring its own problems. In many areas where they have taken control, they haven't been able to keep a lid on the violence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want them to put some guards over here in this wood line.

ROBERTS: And it's clear from this joint operation they still need a lot of coaching. Until recently, the U.S. battalion commander says their main job in Baghdad had been manning checkpoints.

LT. COL. CHUCK WEBSTER, US ARMY: It's very hard for them to come off that type of tactic because that's what they're used to. That's what they're taught. That's what they lack more than anything else, is an offensive mindset.

ROBERTS: The Americans are attempting to turn the Iraqis into hunters, to rout out the insurgents and militia members driving the violence. They all seem genuinely enthusiastic about the partnership. And why not? Each side is the best investment the other has got.

John Roberts, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Looking on from outside Iraq's borders, the country's neighbors are concerned about the situation there. We talked with the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S. Turki al-Faisal a little bit earlier and he gave us an assessment about how the neighbors feel about the situation -- the chaos and violence they see.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRINCE TURKI AL-FAISAL, SAUDI ARABIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Our vital interests are at stake. Iraq is not only our neighbor, but historically, we share tribal connections and we share history and tradition that goes many thousands of years. So whatever happens in Iraq effects us immediately. Our immediate concern, of course, is for the Iraqi people to achieve the kind of stability and peace that is deserved by them after so many years of struggle and hardship.

CLANCY: In this election year, obviously Iraq has become a key issue in the election. Could you share with us, how is this being perceived in the Arab world, in the Muslim world, as some Americans say, you know, I no longer support this war. In fact, Americans didn't really really think they were getting into a war, they thought they were liberating a country. That's what they sincerely believe. Now they see the mess. But when it's debated so openly here in this election, what's the perception out there?

AL-FAISAL: Well, I always tell my American interlocutors that since America came into Iraq uninvited, it should not leave Iraq uninvited. The Iraqi people and the Iraqi government as I've seen reported in the press are engaged with your officials in drawing up future plans for the relationship between the two countries. And you know, the United States has many treaty relationships with many countries in our part of the world. It would not be too difficult to envision in the future Iraq and United States signing some type of cooperation treaty on all issues, like troop withdrawal and the presence of American forces in Iraq and other engagements between the two countries. But you know, the election process that you have here, for us particularly in the kingdom, is a learning process. We've started our way towards participatory and representative government some time ago. And we look upon your elections and try to learn from them.

CLANCY: The situation vis-a-vis Iran is coming to a test in the Security Council. Obviously there are regional concerns. If Iran continues on this course, what are the concerns there from Saudi Arabia? What is the advice of Saudi Arabia to the Security Council?

AL-FAISAL: We've been talking to our Iranian neighbors very closely on these issues. And we tell them the following. That since Iran by its own declarations wants to abide by the NPT treaty arrangements, that in abiding in that, they should accept the offer that has come to them from the six plus one, I think it is. Or five plus one countries about the enrichment of uranium. And we also tell them that Saudi Arabia has a proposal in front of the United Nations, which would declare the Middle East an area free of weapons of mass destruction. We believe that that would remove any suspicions from anybody's mind that Iran has ambitions to build a nuclear bomb.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right. Our thanks to Turki al-Faisal, the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. for joining us for that.

GORANI: A break here on YOUR WORLD TODAY and we're switching gears. Talk about switching gears. Stupid, naive and worrying.

CLANCY: And those are some of the nice things people are saying about George Michael now. What's the wayward pop star gotten himself into now?

GORANI: When YOUR WORLD TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well over the years, the pop star George Michael has become used probably to seeing his name in the headlines.

CLANCY: It's really true, too. Lately he's been more in trouble for his off-stage antics than his musical accomplishments, that's for sure.

GORANI: Well he's at it again, apparently. Paula Hancocks tells us what the singer has gotten himself into now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For pop singer George Michael, it really is a life of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Over the years, he's been busted for lewd behavior, criticized for his promiscuous sex life and made little secret of the fact he takes drugs. But now, he's taken it one step further, in an interview at the start of his first live tour in 15 years. On a British television program, the South Bank show screened on Tuesday, the singer is seen smoking cannabis before a concert in Spain. He even appears to endorse the drug.

GEORGE MICHAEL, SINGER: This stuff keeps me sane and happy. I could write without it, if I was sane and happy. It's a great drug, I mean obviously not very healthy. But if you are going to take any kind of drug, this is the only kind of drug that I've ever thought was worth taking.

HANCOCKS: Possession and use of the drug is legal in Spain. Selling it, is not. But anti-drug campaigners have called the singer stupid and naive.

PAUL CORRY, RETHINK: He doesn't say here's a drug that I wish I wasn't using but I do use because I feel an addiction to it. He says here is a drug that helps to get me through the day and helps me to relax and helps to keep me sane. And it's not a drug that helps to keep you sane. It's the drug of all drugs that's likely to make you insane.

CROWD: George Michael.

HANCOCKS: The TV show was meant to celebrate George's 25 years at the top of the pop tree, starting with the group Wham!. But as so often happens with celebrities, the personal has overshadowed the professional. Paula Hancocks, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: That's it for this hour of YOUR WORLD TODAY, thank you for watching. I'm Hala Gorani.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. You are tuned to CNN International. There's more news ahead on CNN. Stay with us.

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