President Bush Meets With New Iraqi Government
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And hi to you all out there. Here is what is happening at this moment. North Korea may be ready to test a new long-range missile that could actually reach North America. Some observers say it could be a way to gain leverage in stalled talks over its nuclear program. Controversial University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill calls a committee recommendation that he be fired baloney. He's now threatening to sue the school if it follows through -- among Churchill's remarks, calling some victims of the World Trade Center attack "little Eichmanns," a reference to Nazi war criminals. A House panel is proposing a boost in the minimum wage from the current $5.15 an hour to $7.25 over the next three years. And Congress itself is on track to get a cost-of-living increase, giving members more than $168,000 a year. Right now, as we speak, President Bush is on Air Force One, flying back from a surprise trip to Baghdad. The trip was so secret, only a few officials knew it was even going to happen, so secret, in fact, even the nation's two top intelligence officials were kept completely out of the loop. The president spent about six hours on the ground in Baghdad, an important opportunity for him to meet the new Iraqi prime minister face to face, to talk with his top general, and to speak with an adoring crowd of U.S. service men and women. It was also a powerful photo-op for a president struggling in the polls. Our chief national correspondent, John King, was one of the few reporters to make that trip with the president.</s>JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Air Force One arrived in Baghdad after a secret overnight flight -- first up on the president's surprise trip to Iraq, a heavily armed helicopter ride into the heart of the city's fortified Green Zone. The daylight arrival only added to the security concerns. Iraqi officials were kept in the dark, Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki receiving a five-minute heads up that the president of the United States was here to see him. Mr. Bush's official schedule called for him to be on the other end of this meeting, at cozy Camp David back home for a second day of Iraq planning meetings -- instead, this first face-to-face meeting with Iraq's new leader and his key ministers, the culmination of top-secret planning, dating back almost a month. Facing critical decisions about U.S. troop levels, reconstruction spending, and a host of other issues, aides say Mr. Bush wanted to meet the Prime Minister Maliki in person as soon as possible after the completion of the new Iraqi cabinet, and wanted to visit Baghdad as a gesture of support. It is also an image the White House hopes helps back home, where the unpopular war is the biggest election-year drag on the president and his party -- this dramatic visit part of yet another White House effort to rally public support, or at least halt the erosion. Secrecy was paramount. Monday's planning session was organized at remote Camp David, instead of the White House, to allow the president and a handful of top aides to leave undetected after dinner -- in hindsight, maybe a playful hint during a break Monday, when the president talked of how much he was looking forward to a secure video session with the new Iraqi cabinet.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And that will be a very interesting experience for all of us, to be able to talk to our respective counterparts.</s>KING: Of the top-level team on hand, the White House says only Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Rice, and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld knew the president wouldn't be there for breakfast and would surprise both the Iraqi and most of the U.S. Cabinet by joining Tuesday's session from the Baghdad end of the video link.</s>BUSH: And, Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for this opportunity to visit with your cabinet.</s>KING: Iraqi officials have talked of dropping U.S. troop levels from more than 130,000 now to below 100,000 by the end of the year. While the White House would welcome that, previous Iraqi governments have struggled. So, one goal of the visit was to get a personal confidence level in the new prime minister and his national security team, and a face- to-face assessment from the U.S. military commander, General George Casey. The president made no promises in this pep rally with troops stationed in the Green Zone that serves as coalition headquarters.</s>BUSH: The fate and future of Iraq is in their hands. And our job is to help them succeed, and we will.</s>KING: The president's caution about promising troop reductions or sounding overly upbeat is one legacy of setbacks and disappointments -- this trip, under extraordinary security, designed for a firsthand assessment of whether he might finally have reason to turn more optimistic. John King, with the president in Baghdad.</s>ZAHN: And the president said today, Iraq's future is in the hands of its new government. But while he visited, the bodies kept piling up outside Baghdad's secure Green Zone. Iraqi police found six people shot to death in various Baghdad neighborhoods. All showed signs of torture. An Iraqi police officer was killed by a roadside bomb. And a college professor was gunned down while driving in Baghdad. So, in just a couple of hours, a week after the airstrike that killed terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Iraq's government is starting a major push to show it can keep its people safe by putting tens of thousands of Iraqi troops on the streets of Baghdad. John Vause takes us "Beyond the Headlines" tonight.</s>JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Even by Baghdad standards, there's been a dramatic increase in car bombings, drive-by shootings, and other attacks in recent days. Most have targeted civilians and police -- the government's solution, a massive crackdown to begin just after dawn tomorrow. According to the Interior Ministry, more than 70,000, mostly Iraqi troops, will patrol the streets of Baghdad for an indefinite period of time. Checkpoints have already gone up on roads in and out of the city. And vehicles are being searched. "We're fulfilling orders to put the Baghdad security plan into force," says this Iraqi commando, "so that we can eliminate terrorism and seize car bombs." The increased security around the capital also coincided with the sudden unexpected visit by the U.S. president. It also coincided with the posting on an Islamic Web site of a statement from a terrorist describing himself as the successor Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The statement threatened new attacks. It also said that "The end is near," and that "The enemy, presumably the American military, will be showing us its back soon." The new security operation ordered by the Iraqi prime minister is the largest since sovereignty was handed back to the Iraqis two years ago. It will involve policemen, Army commandos, and other Iraqi security forces. Coalition troops will also be part of the operation, even to the extent of providing airstrikes, if necessary. The government will also enforce a ban on the widespread practice of carrying weapons. And there is the possibility of a nighttime curfew, which could keep most Baghdad residents off the streets. But some of the worst violence in the past 36 hours has been outside the capital. In the northern city of Kirkuk, five early-morning explosions left more than a dozen dead. The police chief was among the targets, but survived.</s>ZAHN: So, John, what is the prime minister saying about the security in the rest of the country?</s>VAUSE: Well, Paula, the Iraqi prime minister says he has a plan to restore security to the rest of the country. No details, no specific details, have been given on that. He says his priority right now is to try and take back the capital. And this crackdown, which we're about to see in two hours from now, will be a major test for these new Iraqi forces and their ability to take the lead from U.S. and coalition troops in trying to restore law and order -- Paula.</s>ZAHN: A test that everybody is hoping will go just fine. John Vause, thanks so much. Appreciate the update. Right now, we move on to our countdown of the top 10 most popular stories on CNN.com -- 18 million of you logging on to our Web site today. At number 10 -- top White House aide Karl Rove will not be charged in the CIA leak case. A grand jury has been investigating who leaked Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA operative. Rove has testified before that panel five times. Number nine -- scientists studding polar bears in northern Alaska and Canada say global warming may be forcing polar bears to kill and eat one another. Researchers believe that longer seasons without ice are actually keeping the bears from getting to their natural prey, which happens to be seals. Numbers eight and seven just ahead -- plus, they say you can find just about anything on the Internet these days, but just wait until you see what we found.</s>ZAHN (voice-over): There is no privacy, and it is getting downright personal. This Virginia woman can find Kelly Ripa's Social Security number, and Jeb Bush's, and even where Colin Powell lives. Imagine what she or anyone else can find out about you. And what was he thinking? Ben Roethlisberger wouldn't play football without a helmet. So, why endanger a brilliant career with a ride on the wild side? All that and more just ahead.