Clinton's Warning to Afghanistan; Short on Swine Flu Masks
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, once again, to you. We're coming up right here, two minutes past 8:00 in New York on this Monday. It's October 12th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.</s>JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Here are the big stories we'll tell you in about next 15 minutes. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is doing her part to put the pressure on Afghanistan's struggling government. Speaking in Europe, Secretary Clinton is saying Afghan leaders need to step up to ensure stability. Our Jill Dougherty is traveling with the secretary of state. We'll also speak to Mark Thompson, "Time" magazine's deputy bureau chief.</s>CHETRY: A top health official trying to squash fears about the swine flu vaccine, saying it is safe and the risk of not getting it is worse, especially for kids. The assistant surgeon general answers your questions about your children and H1N1 -- just ahead.</s>ROBERTS: And what are the five best paying, most stable, least stressful jobs in America today? Many of you maybe spending Columbus Day sending out resumes. Are you looking in the right places? We'll help you narrow down the field with the help of "Money" magazine's new can't miss list. But, first, with President Obama under pressure for a new strategy in Afghanistan and U.S. forces under attack, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is promising the U.S. is committed to the fight. That headline and many more are being made as Secretary Clinton continues her five-day tour of Europe. Our Jill Dougherty is live in Belfast, Northern Ireland, this morning, where the secretary of state is. And, Jill, Hillary Clinton also commenting on the recent elections in Afghanistan and the way forward for that particular issue.</s>JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Right, John. One of the dilemmas for the Obama administration now is the election that recently took place and it's looking as if Hamid Karzai will be re-elected, but at what price? A lot of election fraud. And that certainly undermines him not only in the eyes of the international community, but in the eyes of the Afghan people. So, Secretary Clinton is making the case that the U.S. really does expect him to patch that up, to do more and to improve his cooperation with the U.S. and also his relations with the Afghan people themselves. Throughout this trip, she's been talking with almost every leader about Afghanistan and with Foreign Minister Miliband in London, for example, Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London. She's telling them about these discussions that are taking place with the president and members of his administration, defining what are the next moves on U.S. strategy on Afghanistan. Interestingly, John, one point that she made -- it was a subtle one, because she's not giving a lot of detail about those discussions -- but she did say that they are analyzing who is actually allied with al Qaeda. And that is one of the questions, whether the Taliban, for instance, could be peeled away, some members of the Taliban, and perhaps even worked with in new Afghan government. And also, from the secretary's perspective, it's very important that the people who work with her, with the State Department, the aide workers, development workers, have protection to carry out their work in Afghanistan. Right now, they can donate that very easily, because they are being attacked by the Taliban. So, even on that debate on troops, whether there should be more, and if so, how many, she would -- you'd have to say, although she won't define it, she would certainly want adequate troops to make sure that the very important other role for the U.S. government, and that's development, can be carried out.</s>ROBERTS: She also, Jill, has a message for leader there is in Northern Ireland. They're very close to completing the peace process there with the -- you know, the takeover of police and security forces, but they've hit a bit of a snag. How difficult is it going to be to get that process completed?</s>DOUGHERTY: Well, there is some worry, because after all, the story on the Northern Ireland peace process, which has been going on now for more than 15 years, has been a good one. In fact, Secretary Clinton would make the case that Northern Ireland is a great example for other conflict zones around the world, that they've been able to bring people together, that there has been an uptick in some violence. They found, not too long ago, a 600-pound bomb that was not exploded. So, the fighting, some of it, or at least terrorist acts, aren't over. So Secretary Clinton is making a very passionate speech to the Northern Ireland legislature, the Stormont Assembly. And it was interesting, just to look around that room, John, I was in the room when it happened, and you had Ian Paisley, the unionist leader Gerry Adams from the Catholic side, all of them in one room. These are people who used to, literally, try or their supporters tried to kill each other, but they're in the room together. So, Secretary Clinton making the case that the Obama administration is committed to this peace process, that a big part of it will be economic development, and also that there are still those out there, as she put it, who want to undermine the process and derail it with thuggish tactics. But she argues they're on the wrong side of history.</s>ROBERTS: All right. Jill Dougherty for us in Belfast, Northern Ireland, this morning -- Jill, thanks so much. If the president does decide to send in more troops to Afghanistan, what would it cost? Could we even afford it? In 10 minutes time, the dollars and cents of war with Mark Thompson. He's the deputy Washington bureau chief for "Time" magazine and the numbers, by the way, just might surprise you.</s>CHETRY: There are some alarming new statistics about swine flu. While everyone is at risk, children seem to be the most affected. But many parents say they're not planning to get the swine flu vaccine for their kids. On "STATE OF THE UNION," the assistant surgeon general joined John King to try to clear up some of the confusion out there.</s>JOHN KING, HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": There's a mistrust across the political spectrum of government institutions. Why is it, do you think, many persons, many parents aren't quite sure? Number one, it's new.</s>DR. ANNE SCHUCHAT, ASSISTANT SURGEON GENERAL: Well, you know, a lot of people are saying it's new, but it's important to know that the seasonal flu vaccine is made exactly the same way as this H1N1 vaccine. A hundred million people, including a lot of children, get the seasonal flu vaccine every year and it has a really good safety record. So, I think parents are wondering: Is this something new? Has it been fully tested? What I can say is that everything we know right now suggested a very good safety profile for the vaccines.</s>CHETRY: And, of course, the threat of swine flu is rising. Surgical masks are rolling off production lines here in the U.S., but it may be impossible to meet the demand. As our Jeanne Meserve shows us, it may be a painful reminder of how dependent this country has become on products made somewhere else.</s>JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, one of the supplies used to control the spread of flu, simple surgical masks. But does the U.S. have enough of them on hand and can it get a lot mores if it needs them? (voice-over): During the cataclysmic 1918 flu pandemic, Red Cross nurses hand-made surgical masks to help control the spread of disease. Now, machines crank them out at the Prestige Ameritech plant in Richland Hills, Texas -- one of the few manufacturers in the U.S. Ninety percent of production has moved to other countries, where labor is cheaper and, some say, that has created a vulnerability right here.</s>MIKE BOWEN, PRESTIGE AMERITECH: If there's a pandemic, America won't be able to supply its own need.</s>MESERVE: Bowen and others fear that in a 1918-sized pandemic, the nations that make masks, like China and Mexico, would keep them for themselves.</s>REP. JOE BARTON (R), TEXAS: When push comes to shove, you take care of your own before you take care of others. That's just -- that's just human nature. And for that reason alone, I think we should buy more of these masks in the United States and we should encourage the capability to manufacture more of these masks in the United States.</s>MESERVE: The government estimates the U.S. could need 3 billion surgical masks during the H1N1 outbreak. Right now, the strategic national stockpile continues only a small fraction of that amount, 37 million. It's a yawning gap government officials acknowledge, one that was laid out in stark detail in this Health and Human Services PowerPoint presentation two years ago. Government officials say before they build up supplies, they want more evidence the masks provide effective protection, but current guidance from the CDC recommends the use of surgical masks. And last year, OSHA estimated that a single health professional could go through close to 2,000 during a pandemic. Bowen has been crusading for more domestic production of surgical masks. He could benefit financially, but says this isn't just about business, it's about the nation's health and security.</s>BOWEN: Important things like face masks should be made in America, and I think they'll finally realize what we've been trying to tell them for almost three years.</s>MESERVE (on camera): Hospitals, clinics, and physicians are creating their own stockpiles of surgical masks, a good thing, except manufacturers are already having trouble keeping up with demand. And if H1N1 becomes more deadly, that demand will likely grow much larger. John and Kiran, back to you.</s>CHETRY: And as we were talking about kids being more vulnerable, so far this season, they say that -- or this year, they say that 77 kids have died from the swine flu, some of them had pre-existing conditions, others did not. So it's really, you know, it's still -- there's a lot of confusion and just a lot of what we don't know about just how this flu will hit various...</s>ROBERTS: Definitely something to be very cautious about, no question, I think. "This Is It," Michael Jackson's final single was released overnight. The song features background vocals by the Jackson Brothers.</s>CHETRY: It's going to be playing over the credits of the upcoming Jackson film. All of it is going to be available as well in a two-disk album that's set to be released two weeks. Here's a sample of the song.</s>CHETRY: This song, by the way, is also available on Jackson's official Web site and all of it is expected to sort of be part of this big marketing blitz to capitalize on the emotion following Jackson's death. So far, that has worked. A lot of his old albums have been, you know, selling like hot cakes.</s>ROBERTS: And the movie's coming out at the end of the month, too -- so, trying to build some momentum for that as well. So, these plans to increase troops in Afghanistan, some folks are saying 10,000, others are saying 40,000. Some might even want more than that. But what's the ultimate cost in dollars and cents to taxpayers? We'll find out -- coming up next. It's coming up on 13 minutes after the hour.