New Vision For Old Glasses
WHITFIELD: President Obama is going to take his case for military strikes on Syria directly to the American people. The president will deliver a nationwide address on Tuesday, but he has to still convince Congress that it's the right move. The White House is under a whole lot of pressure right now, and my next guest know what is that's like. William Cohen was secretary of defense from 1997 to 2001. He is now the chairman and CEO of the Cohen Group, an international consulting firm that represents defense contractors and others. Mr. Secretary, good to see you.</s>WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Good to see you.</s>WHITFIELD: So, if this is indeed a world problem as you hear, a number of lawmakers, particularly those on fence put it, and it is something that the world should be responding to. Is it your view that the U.N. still has an opportunity to respond to the problem in Syria?</s>COHEN: I think the U.N. has an obligation to respond to it. That's one of the reasons why I recommend that President Obama take the evidence that we have, if it's so clear and convincing as Secretary Kerry and others have said, lay it out before the Security Council. If then President Putin says no, yet, we at least showed that he's never going to be supportive of taking action, even when international laws are violated. But at least he'll be isolated and seen as a man and a country that represents suppressing civilians with gas and other chemical weapons. So I think it's important that the president go to the U.N. Secondly, I think the president and his state of the union address so to speak or speaking from the oval office, he has to persuade the members of Congress. He's talking about an action not like what's happened in Iraq or Afghanistan, but what we were able to do with President Clinton and going after Saddam on a four-day attack called "Desert Fox," which was very successful. No lives were lost, no boots on the ground. Also in Kosovo, a 78-day campaign, much longer with a much bigger mission, no personnel lost. These are the kinds of arguments he has to make to say a limited action can take place with limited casualties and no casualties on the part of the U.S., but there is a risk that whenever you initiate a military action, that innocent people will die.</s>WHITFIELD: But hasn't the president done that? You mentioned the president has to convince the American people it's not like Iraq, not like Afghanistan. He said that. No boots on the ground. He said that. But it seems like those words are not enough, so what more needs to enhance that, you know, layout of the plan?</s>COHEN: Assuming the evidence is there. The president has to make the case of saying having drawn this red line and failing to enforce it now that has been breached, the credibility of the United States is certainly going to be diminished, not only in that region, but globally. Secondly, it's not only about Syria. It's about Iran. Iran, we have also drawn red lines in terms of whether the Iranian cross that line and build nuclear weapons capability. The Israelis are watching very closely because they have been depending upon us to enforce those red lines should they be crossed. In the event that the United States fails to take action in the face of overwhelming evidence that Assad has used chemical weapons, the Israelis will never trust us. They will feel compelled to go it alone and we've seen from history, when they're faced with a threat, they will go it alone so that is another issue we have to contend with. And finally, in the Asia-Pacific region, the countries in that part of the world are looking at the United States in terms of what role do we intend to continue to play to secure their security interests as well as our own.</s>WHITFIELD: And if, Mr. Secretary, the United States were to go it alone, it doesn't give the U.N. backing, et cetera. You heard from Senator John McCain and even Lindsey Graham who were saying they want more than a limited strike. What does that mean in your view?</s>COHEN: Well, they want more support for the rebel groups that we're currently supporting. In other words, they don't want just a pinprick or what the president described as a shot across the bow. That's not going to be sufficient to hold their support so they want --</s>WHITFIELD: Arming the rebels for example? Do you think that's a good idea?</s>COHEN: We are going to arm the rebels. As a matter of the fact, the president has promised us six months ago, a year ago, and has done nothing to do it, so I think that is part of agreement. That if he's going to have the support of Senator McCain, Senator Lindsey Graham and other, he's going to have to couple the limited strikes with additional support for the rebels that we're currently supporting.</s>WHITFIELD: OK, you mentioned arming the rebels. We have heard the administration say it was entertaining it, it hasn't happened and now, as we hear the administration talk about a strike. If this doesn't happen, what does this say about this administration who continues to say if you do this, then we'll do that, but it doesn't happen? What's at stake?</s>COHEN: What's at stake is the presidency itself. I think the president's not in a good position. This is more of a lose-lose proposition from his point of view because if he takes action and is seen as unsuccessful, he would be criticize. If he fails to take action, he'll be seen as weak and feckless. So this is not something that he's going to win politically on. The real issue for President Obama is one of leadership. Is he as a leader of the free world taking action on behalf of international law, which has been in effect since the end of World War I? If he is unable or unwilling to do that, that will affect his future as the president of the United States and the legacy that he will leave for whoever succeeds him.</s>WHITFIELD: OK, we'll have to leave it there. Secretary William Cohen, always good to see you. Thanks very much.</s>COHEN: Thank you.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, he taped a confession for the internet. Coming up, we'll tell you why this man did that. But first, it's challenging for some students to focus in school. Imagine doing it when everything is a blur. After breaking his glasses, in this week's 17-year-old CNN hero found himself in that position. Now, he wants to help others around the world who face the same obstacles.</s>YASH GUPTA, YOUNG WONDER: I was only 5 years old when I got my first pair of glasses. When I was a freshman in high school, I broke my glasses. I just couldn't see anything and so, I really realized just how much glass meant to me. Without them, I really couldn't do anything normally. I know there are millions of students around the world who need glasses but cannot afford them. I had this problem for one week. These kids have these problems for their whole lives. My name is Yash Gupta and I'm trying to help students around the world see better. Perfect. There are millions of glasses discarded annually in North America alone, so why not put them to good use. When I was 14, I started reaching out to local optometrists and putting collection boxes in their offices, so when a patient came to get a new pair of glasses, they could drop off their old pair. We work with other organizations and they distribute the glass. The other way we distribute glasses is by going on clinic trips. We're in Mexico today and we'll be distributing these to kids in orphanages. It's a personal interaction and that's what I really love, being able to see the people. Watching someone get glasses for the first time, it's really inspiring. To date, we've collected and distributed over $425,000 worth of glasses, equivalent to 8,500 pairs. I'm 17 years old and although many people believe kids can't make a difference. I have. I think anyone can to that. It's just about being motivated and going out there and just doing it.