Al-Maliki Out?; Listening Mode; Diana's Death
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Power struggle. New this morning, reports of a plan inside Iraq's parliament to oust Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.</s>MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A princess bugged? A London newspaper says America eavesdropped on Princess Diana the day she died. Part of a new report coming out nearly 10 years after the princess' death.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Taco Bell is now promising that its food is safe. The number of E. Coli cases at Taco Bell holding steady. And one ingredient is off the menu.</s>M. O'BRIEN: And career comeback. Mel Gibson delivers a winner, despite his rocky year, with "Apocalypto," on top of the U.S. box office on this</s>AMERICAN MORNING. S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Monday, December 11th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.</s>M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks for being with us this morning.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Let's begin with the war in Iraq. Here's what's new. A political shake-up could be brewing in Baghdad, moving Prime Minister al-Maliki out, engineered possibly by the Shiite leader al- Hakim. President Bush heads to the State Department this morning. He's working to deliver his own ideas for Iraq before Christmas. And in Iraq, officials report 51 bodies found in Baghdad on Sunday. Four U.S. soldiers were killed, three wounded by roadside bombs. Let's begin with those reports out overnight about the Iraqi prime minister. CNN's Nic Robertson is live in Baghdad this morning. Good morning to you, Nic.</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Well, we've talked to the prime minister's office. One of his spokesmen denied that there was any move to remove the prime minister at the moment. But what is happening here, there are divisions within the politics. We have seen recently the firebrand Shia cleric, who had supported the prime minister, move away, remove his parliamentarians from the parliament, say that he was going to stand against the prime minister. We've seen a grouping of Sunni politicians join up with him. Now, the way this has been described to us by some of the leading and influential politicians here is, this is a group of extremists who are trying to block and oppose the government. What's happening within the government is there is a grouping, a cross-sectarian grouping trying to form that wants to speed the political process here. A group that would describe themselves as moderates. Now we've been told the prime minister is within that group of moderates. There is no, according to his spokesman, at least no plans to change the prime minister. But there are divisions within the political makeup here. And certainly, as we've seen in the past, different politicians have tried to play for their own personal advantage, which many of them privately blame on the situation the country's now in. Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a little bit about the fallout from the Iraq Study Group but in Iraq. The president of Iraq, Talabani, rejected, essentially, the recommendations. Do Iraqis agree with his take on that?</s>ROBERTSON: You know what's interesting? He's a Kurd. The Kurds and Jalal Talabani, the president, have always been big supporters of the United States. This does seem a turnaround from his position. But it seems to be a very Kurdish position. What is said here is that too many U.S. military trainers, as indigoes (ph) by the Study Group, would undermine the sovereignty of the Iraqi army, therefore undermine the sovereignty of Iraq as a whole. What we've heard from one of the other senior Kurdish leaders is that really the big concern is that the Study Group wants to centralize power in Baghdad, take power and control away from the Kurds in the north and take away their control over the oil revenues from the north of the country. That seems to be at the root of those criticisms. What we've heard from other politicians here is that by and large they support a lot of what the Study Group has said. There are some issues that they think are what they call half-cooked, half-baked. But, broadly, there does seem to be more support than expressed by the president. Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Nic Robertson for us in Baghdad this morning. Thank you, Nic. Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: It's clear the Baker-Hamilton report on what to do about Iraq will not be the last word. President Bush offering a cold shoulder so some of the key recommendations and spending time this week listening to more advice. All this a run-up to a speech he will deliver sometime before Christmas where he will lay out his new strategy. Elaine Quijano with more from Washington.</s>ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This week, President Bush is in listening mode. This morning he heads to the State Department for a private briefing with senior officials and is expected afterwards to make a statement on Iraq. Then this afternoon, he'll sit down with a group of what officials here say are outside Iraq experts. And the consultations continue tomorrow and Wednesday, including a video conference with top military commanders in Iraq. All of this comes as the president is awaiting the results of three internal administration reviews. Senior Bush aides say the goal is to announce any changes to Iraq policy in a speech before Christmas. Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Americans are already drawing their own conclusions about the Baker-Hamilton report and the Iraq War in general. "Newsweek" out with a new poll showing 39 percent agree with the recommendations on Iraq in the Iraq study report, 20 percent disagree, 26 percent aren't aware of the group, 62 percent believe the U.S. should set a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops. Only 21 percent think the U.S. is making progress in Iraq, 68 percent think the U.S. is losing ground. Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: A day of testing the presidential waters for Illinois Senator Barack Obama. He addressed a sellout crowd on his first trip to New Hampshire where the presidential primary race kicks off. Obama is still serving his first term in the Senate, says he hasn't decided to jump into the Democratic race for president yet.</s>SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) ILLINOIS: It is entirely legitimate for people to look at the body of my experience and the other candidates' experience and ask tough questions and put us through the paces. That's how our democracy is supposed to work. The one thing that I'm confident about, and I think New Hampshire is a part of this process, is that if I decide to run, at the end of the process, people will know me pretty well.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Should he decide to run for the Democratic nomination, Obama faces more experienced candidates, including New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. She's coming out this week with a tenth anniversary edition of her book "It Takes a Village." New details now about the death of Princess Diana coming out just before an official British report is released this week. Alphonso van Marsh is in London with that for us. Good morning to you, Alphonso.</s>ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. As you mentioned, some of those details coming out before the official report due out on Thursday. This is a report commissioned by the royal coroner to take a look at events before and after the car crash that killed Diana, princess of Wales. Now, as I mentioned, this report is not due out until Thursday, but already some details leaked to the British press.</s>VAN MARSH, (voice over): According to British newspaper "The Observer," a new government report found U.S. intelligence was eavesdropping on Diana's phone calls hours before her fatal accident in 1997. CNN has not independently confirmed this report, but we continue to try to verify the story. Meanwhile, other details of the report, led by Britain's former top cop, are leaking out to the British press. Details that could end speculation on how and why one of the world's most recognized women died on August 31st, almost a decade ago.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard to see how he will conclude the crash was anything other than an accident.</s>VAN MARSH: A BBC documentary looks at events before and after the car crash that killed Diana, her companion Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul. In the documentary, it is revealed that the report is expected to conclude that -- claims that Diana was pregnant and planning to marry Fayed are not credible and that driver Henri Paul was three times over the French drunk driving limit when their car crashed in a Paris tunnel.</s>MARTINE MONTEIL, HEAD OF FRENCH INVESTIGATION, (through translator): There was a horde of photographers who were following the couple and they were very close to the Mercedes when the accident happened. Obviously, this causes annoyance and stress. But it is not the only explanation. The driver also lost control of the car. That's obvious.</s>VAN MARSH: Dodi Fayed's father, a London businessman, Mohammed al Fayed, has long maintained that the crash was no accident, but part of a British agent murder plot to keep Diana from marrying his son, an Egyptian Muslim. Al Fayed believes that the authorities likely switched the driver's blood samples with those of a probable suicide victim with alcohol and drugs in his body. Something he has not been able to prove. He's indicating that the BBC has fallen for a cover- up. Through a spokesman, al Fayed says, the BBC documentary, "has fallen into a trap deliberately laid for it." Others who knew Diana say people must accept the report results when they are officially released.</s>ROSA MONCKTON, DIANA'S FRIEND: I hope that now, once and for all, the line can be drawn under this. It was not a conspiracy. It was a tragic accident.</s>VAN MARSH: Now this report is expected to be taken into evidence as part of public hearings. Hearings that are part of a public inquest into the death of Diana, princess of Wales. Now, this inquest will be open to the public and it's expected to begin early next year.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Alphonso van Marsh for us this morning. Thanks, Alphonso. Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning. Cedar Falls, Iowa. More suspected E. Coli cases. At least 19 people sick after eating at Taco John's. That restaurant not related to Taco Bell. Meanwhile, Taco Bell says there are no more green onions at its 5,800 restaurants. The onions, the likely source of the E. Coli outbreak last month. Taco Bell is assuring customers it's safe to eat there.</s>GREG CREED, PRESIDENT, TACO BELL CORP.": What we can assure you is, the food at Taco Bell is absolutely safe to eat. And why do I know that? Because we've done extensive testing. Over 140 centers have been tested and they've all come back negative.</s>M. O'BRIEN: More than 120 people in six states possibly infected by E. Coli linked to food they ate at Taco Bell restaurants now. Another weekend, another sick cruise ship back in port. One hundred and ten people, once again, sick on the Freedom of the Seas. It appears to be the Norovirus. Last week 380 passengers on the same ship were hit with the gastrointestinal illness. And more than 100 people came home sick on the Sun Princess, another cruise liner, after a 10-day Caribbean voyage.</s>S. O'BRIEN: More details now in the death of James Kim. "The San Francisco Chronicle" is reporting that Kim walked at least 16 miles in the Oregon wilderness trying to get help for his stranded family. Kim's wife and daughters were found alive after eleven days in the cold. Paula Zahn now goes behind the headlines of this heroic and tragic story. It's called "Stranded: The James Kim Ordeal." It airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. Some very strong reaction in Chile to the death of the former dictator, Augusto Pinochet, who died on Sunday of heart failure. He was 91 years old. Demonstrators, some whom supported Pinochet, others who opposed him, clashed on Sunday. Take a look at these pictures. Pinochet ruled Chile for 17 years, until 1990. He had been under house arrest. He was charged with murdering two opponents in 1973. Accused of torturing and killing thousands of others while he was in power. A military funeral is scheduled for tomorrow. The widow of the poisoned ex-Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko, is speaking out for the first time and placing blame for her husband's death. Her name is Marina Litvinenko and she says the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, "created an atmosphere that made it possible to kill a British person on British soil. Marina has also tested positive for radiation, as have two British police officers who are investigating the case.</s>M. O'BRIEN: High above us now the shuttle Discovery links up with the International Space Station this afternoon. So far so good for Discovery's voyage. The crew took a close look at the shuttle's heat shield yesterday, trying to make sure there's no damage after the launch. Beautiful one it was Saturday night. NASA sees no reason for concern so far. There may not be an English word in it, but "Apocalypto" is still translating into success to Mel Gibson. The film raking in a little more than $14 million over the weekend. Rounding out the top five, another new movie, "The Holiday," starring Cameron Diaz and Jack Black took in $13.5 million. "Happy Feet" dropped to number three, followed by "Casino Royale" and "Blood Diamond."</s>S. O'BRIEN: Well, the arctic blast has passed, but much of the country is still feeling the effects. We're going to have a travelers forecast for you coming up next. And then taking down the trees. Is Christmas under attack at Seattle's airport? We're going to tell you what they did there straight ahead when AMERICAN MORNING returns.