Bremer Says Most Lethal Enemy Web of Foreign Terrorists, Islamic Extremists
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: A rainy day in New York. That's OK, though, we have been really lucky lately here in the Northeast.</s>SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's dark and miserable, but yes, the three prior days were beautiful, though.</s>HEMMER: Good day to sleep in. That ain't happening. Welcome back, everybody, same sex marriage. Oregon now the latest state where local leaders are presiding over ceremonies. Kamber and May tackle the political side of this issue in a moment.</s>SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, Dr. Sanjay Gupta back with us, talking about a new study that some day may have doctors telling women with a risk to arthritis to take birth control pills. We'll explain the link there.</s>HEMMER: Also top stories now, bottom of the hour, some changes at Walt Disney. Michael Eisner stripped of his chairman title yesterday, but will remain as the CEO. The board decided to strip Eisner of his responsibilities after 40 percent of the shareholders voted to oppose his re-election to the board. Former Senator George Mitchell will be the company's new chairman. More on this throughout our show with Andy Serwer, who is watching it quite closely. French government now criticized for keep a major bombing threat under wraps. About 10,000 Rail workers inspected tracks after a group had threatened to blow them up. The group claimed that it would blow up the tracks if it was not paid the equivalent of $5 million. The government says it's treating the threats as a criminal case. In this country, prosecutors in Colorado says they will appeal a decision by the judge in the Kobe Bryant case. The judge decided that he would not limit the scope of questioning over the accuser's sexual history, saying it's relevant to the case. Prosecutors hope that to hear by March 12th whether or not they're appeal to the highest court in Colorado will be accepted. Supporters of same-sex marriage are taking to the streets here in New York City, a live picture in lower Manhattan. It's being described as a massive demonstration, an illegal picket area next to city hall. How massive? We can't say just yet. The group is demanding that Mayor Bloomberg instruct the city clerks to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Baseball great Pete Rose finally making it into the hall of fame, albeit of a different sort, the wrestling hall of fame. Rose has participated in three Wrestlemania events in 1998 to 2000 with WWE. Next week, he will be a member of the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame. There he is on the mat, Charlie Hustle, in a chicken suit.</s>SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The top American in Iraq, Paul Bremer, says that the most lethal enemy is a web of foreign terrorists and Islamic extremists. Bremer yesterday said recent violence aimed at Iraqis comes from, quote, "outside the country," and that makes for a dangerous scenario, as the deadline passes for the U.S. to pass control to the Iraqis. For more on this now, we go to Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. Barbara, good morning.</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad. Well, of course, Ambassador Bremer now talking about more border security in Iraq to keep those foreign fighters out. But the question is, will it be enough?</s>STARR (voice-over): The horrific bombings Tuesday in Baghdad and Karbala are raising questions again about the ability of Iraqi forces to take control as the June 30th date for sovereignty approaches.</s>GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: One of the weak spots is the still building capacity of Iraqi security institutions.</s>STARR: A weak spot exploited by terrorists. Suicide bombers and carts of explosives apparently made it past Iraqi security near the mosques. U.S. forces had stayed out of sight in deference to worshipers. It was the same scenario at a recent attack on Iraqi security forces in Fallujah. U.S. forces responded after the attack began, trying to give the Iraqis the opportunity to handle things themselves. That strategy is not being changed. In Baghdad, the plan is to reduce the profile of U.S. troops from last year's high of 36,000 in 46 locations to 24,000 in eight locations. A smaller urban profile certainly will mean less attacks on American troops. But Abizaid still worries Iraqis need more training and experience.</s>ABIZAID: We do not intend into knee way, shape or form to abandon these immature security formations to their fate, and if they get in trouble and don't ask for help, we'll still come to their aid.</s>STARR: Now, Soledad, CNN had learned this morning that it was only in the last few weeks that links were uncovered between Abu Massad Zarkawi (ph), the Jordanian terrorists believed responsible for some of these latest attacks, and Iraqi intelligence elements. There is very strong belief by U.S. officials now, is that those two are working together inside Iraq -- Soledad.</s>O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon. Barbara, thanks -- Bill.</s>HEMMER: In politics, President Bush's re-election team now rolling out its first TV ads of the 2004 campaign.</s>ANNOUNCER: The last few years tested America in many ways. Some challenges we have seen before. And some were like no others.</s>HEMMER: In those ads, citing the president for leadership, start airing today in 16 states. Many of those states battleground states and critical for the election next November. In addition, the group, moveon.org, launching its own series of ads attacking the president, in turn. More on the media wars with Kamber and May today. Democratic consultant Victor Kamber is back with us. Vic, nice to see you. Good morning to you.</s>VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: My pleasure, Bill. How are you?</s>HEMMER: I'm doing just fine, thank you. Former RNC communications director Cliff May, now with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Cliff, good morning. How are you?</s>CLIFF MAY. FMR. RNC COMM. DIR.: Good morning, Bill. Fine.</s>HEMMER: This is what we're hearing, Vic, from the White House, they are hitting John Kerry on three points. They say he waffles on votes and issues, he will raise your taxes as president, and does not have a plan for national security. From a democratic standpoint, how will they defend those three charges.</s>KAMBER: Well, I think all we have to do is defend by talking about Bush's record in office --- are you better off today than you were four years ago? And the answer is, no. The president hasn't dealt with the economy, he hasn't dealt with jobs. We have a war going on, where there's no solution, no way to get out. We have a president that's, frankly, absent on the job, and is relying on the image of 9/11 to prop him up. You know, John Kerry, I think, can easily defend himself, 19 years in the Senate. Yes, he changed his position on some issues, but the positions changed. I mean, when he supported the president two years ago, or a year and a half ago on the war, it was based on certain information that doesn't exist as we know it today. He might have voted differently today if he knew the facts then. That's going to be an easy argument. The question is really the president's record. That is what this election is about.</s>HEMMER: Cliff, what about the record?</s>MAY: I think the president has shown great leadership since 09/11. I think what these ads do is to remind people who they new the president to be before the Democratic primary when every night on CNN and every other station, you saw nine Democrats out there, beating the president up side the head continually. It's fine for John Kerry, or for Vic, to talk about the problems out there. At some point, they will have to say here's what we will do differently in order to attempt to grapple with those problems. We haven't heard that yet, and we don't expect it during the Democratic primaries, but at some point, you are going to have to have some idea. I don't know, you know, if what you are saying -- on national security, I hope that John Kerry is somebody who understands everything changed 9/11, and I hope we will hear a very good plan for winning the war against America's enemies who are right now plotting against us around the world.</s>KAMBER: We heard it. The problem, Cliff, that you are just alluding to is we've heard nine different Democrats say the same thing, we have a president and a presidential failure, here are a number of solutions.</s>MAY: You are right, we heard nine different solutions.</s>KAMBER: And we heard a president of the United States who never answered one. For the last four months, this president has been on vacation or been gone. All of a sudden, he's running some pretty pictured ads, taking advantage of 9/11 as his high point.</s>HEMMER: Let me clear you both on this. Cliff, you said to some of our producers last night, the president has to define John Kerry before John Kerry defines the president. At this point -- Victor, go ahead and take this first -- who is defining whom at this point?</s>KAMBER: I think, clearly, the Democrats are defining the president as they understand him to be. The president has not yet engaged the American public. He certainly has the money to do it, if that's what he's going to try to do. These first set of ads are trying to redefine himself, and I think within a month, you are going to see what they call the negative, nasty ads coming against the Democrats.</s>MAY: I don't think that's true at all. I think what you're seeing here is the president starting out, as he should, with positive ads, optimistic ads, ads reminding people who he's been and the kind of leader he's been. They've liked him, his leadership. At some point, I do think it will be necessary for the president's campaign to talk about who John Kerry is and why he would not be a suitable alternative for President Bush.</s>HEMMER: Gentlemen, if I could, I want to get to two other topics, quickly. The vice president thing, too, I want to get to also, but gay marriage. Most Americans, it shows anyway, polling is opposed to this. Who wins politically on this issue?</s>MAY: Everybody may lose on this issue politically.</s>HEMMER: Everyone?</s>MAY: Yes, I don't think it was on anybody's to-do list. Certainly not the president. He was reluctant to get into this. And I don't think it's on John Kerry's. Now the president has taken a stance. As somebody's whose day job is try to understand and promote Democratic governance, I've got to say the most important thing here is not what we decide, but who decides. Americans can decide to redefine marriage any way they want, but four judges in Massachusetts and one mayor in San Francisco does not have that power, does not have that right. And if we let them do that, we will be giving up democracy in this country.</s>HEMMER: Let me butt in for Vic quickly.</s>KAMBER: I would have hoped that Cliff would have said that when we had the election four years ago, that four or five people couldn't decide what the American people wanted. We'd have a different president. On gay marriage, there's no doubt in my mind that President Bush and his people are delighted with this issue, because they're trying to make it a wedge issue. They're want to run on social issues -- on guns, abortion, on gay marriage; they don't want to run on the issues that affect America, pocketbook, taxes, the war, et cetera. And he will lose on the American issues. He's not going to win on social issues.</s>MAY: You're seeing the ad on that shows what the president wants to run, on the two most important issues -- and I believe they are the two most important, security at a time of war, and also how we grow the economy and create jobs. I think both candidates would prefer those.</s>HEMMER: I want to get a name from each of you. Victor, give me a vice president candidate for John Kerry.</s>KAMBER: Why can carry a state? Gephardt, Richardson, Edwards, Graham, any of the above, all of the above.</s>HEMMER: Cliff, from a Republican standpoint, who do you want to face off against?</s>MAY: Oh, who do I want to face of against? Michael Moore, I guess. Dennis Kucinich, Al Sharpton. No, who do I think it would be. Gephardt would be a smart pick. I think Evan Bayh would be a smart pick, somebody who's clearly in the middle.</s>HEMMER: Got it. Listen, maybe two or three months away from final decision. Thanks, guys. Kamber and May, down there in D.C. Nice to talk with you.</s>O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING in the next hour, some damaging eyewitness testimony in manslaughter trial of NBA star Jayson Williams.</s>HEMMER: Also women who are on the pill, you may be defending yourself from the possibility of pain in the future. We'll explain that.</s>O'BRIEN: And Budweiser might not be the king of beers for too much longer. We'll explain as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this short break.