President Bush In Iraq; British Pullback
COLLINS: We want to show you some more of these pictures now that we are getting in here to CNN of President Bush on his unannounced trip to Iraq. There you see him getting off of Air Force One. He landed in Anbar Province. This was just two weeks now before the administration is scheduled to report to Congress on progress in Iraq. We've been talking about that September report for a long time. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley traveled with the president. You also see Roberts Gates there, Defense secretary. This is the president's third trip to Iraq. He did land in Al Assad Air Base, which he has not done before. But it seems like, but at least we learning here -- I believe they landed there because the Sunni province, west of Baghdad, is pretty symbolic of what the president says can be done elsewhere in Iraq. Using it as an example, if you will. We'll continue to watch these pictures as the president met with 7,000 Marines, 3,000 soldiers stationed at Al Assad. We will continue to watch those pictures. Meanwhile, Iraq war strategy under fire once again. This time from a couple of retired British generals. CNN's Emily Chang has that.</s>EMILY CHANG, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For the second day in a row, a top British general has attacked America's policy in Iraq, calling it fatally flawed. Retired British Major General Tim Cross criticized former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in the "Daily Mirror", saying, quote, "We were all very concerned about the lack of detail that had gone into the post-war plan and there is no doubt that Rumsfeld was at the heart of that process." Major General Cross is the most senior British officer involved in post-war planning. His comments followed similar remarks by retired British General Sir Mike Jackson, calling Rumsfeld's plan "intellectually bankrupt" in an interview with London's "Daily Telegraph" and condemning U.S. strategy to, quote, "apply overwhelming force, win, and go."</s>MAJOR GEN. MIKE JACKSON: Such an approach isn't really going to work in the very complex situations we have such as the one we have in Iraq now.</s>CHANG: The Pentagon didn't want to comment on the remarks, but a U.S. admiral in Iraq seemed to take them in stride.</s>REAR ADM. MARK FOX, MULTINATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ: First of all, there can be disagreements amongst professionals about certain ways of how you handle strategy and tactics and so forth. But I also would review a bit of the recent past of how we've gotten to where we are.</s>CHANG: The statements draw attention to the perceived tensions between the U.S. and the British command over strategy in Iraq. As far as the British government's concerned? (</s>On camera): The ministry of defense released just a short statement saying the generals are, quote, "private individuals expressing private views and we respect that. They are both entitled to their opinions." (</s>Voice over): The remarks come at a highly sensitive time, as British troops prepare to hand over control of Basra to the Iraqi Army. Speculation swirls about if and when the British will pull out of Iraq for good. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has promised President George W. Bush the British will continue to fulfill their responsibilities in Iraq and there is no timetable for withdrawal. As the debate over Iraq policy continues. Emily Chang, CNN, London.</s>COLLINS: A disgraced senator pushed out of a job. Today his party's handling of the scandal very much in the headlines. Larry Craig announced plans to resign after days of relentless media coverage of his men's room arrest. A police officer says Craig solicited sex in an airport restroom. Craig denies that, but pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. Members of both parties accuse the GOP of rushing to judgment to diffuse the scandal.</s>SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R), PENNSYLVANIA: I don't think either of them said he'd been asked to resign. I'd still like to see Senator Craig fight this case. He's got his life on the line and 27 years in the House and Senate. And I'd like to see him fight the case, because I think he could be vindicated. Listen closely to what Senator Craig said, he said he intends to resign. Once you resign, you're out. But when you have a statement of intent to resign, that intent can change. If that case goes to trial -- and I say -- I've seen matters like this from my days as a prosecutor -- he wouldn't be convicted of anything. And if he went to court, was acquitted, all of this hullabaloo would have no basis. Doesn't have a whole lot of basis to start with.</s>SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: From a legal point of view he makes a very, very good point. Now from a political point of view, I don't pretend to know what Idaho's politics are or how they might be. But Senator Specter has laid out as strong a legal case as I've heard.</s>COLLINS: Craig says he will now work to clear his name. No word on when Idaho's Republican governor will name his replacement. When it comes to getting the job done, Americans are number one. Susan Lisovicz is in the New York Stock Exchange now with details on all of this. This is good news. Does that mean we work hard, like on Labor Day?</s>SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Heidi. A direct correlation, fewer vacation days, compared to other industrialized nations. It's all in there, Heidi. A new report on this Labor Day says Americans do indeed labor. They stay longer at the office, at the factory, or on the farm than their counterparts in Europe, and most other wealthy nations. And they produce more per person all year as a result. They also get more done per hour than everyone than the Norwegians. All this according to a U.N. report released today that says the U.S. leads the world in labor productivity. The average u.s. Worker produces just under $64,000 of wealth per year, more than their counterparts in all other countries. Ireland second, then Luxembourg, Belgium and France. By the way, Heidi, we'll get the government's latest read on worker productivity in the second quarter, this Thursday.</s>COLLINS: It's interesting. I didn't know where the countries stood. As I mentioned before, probably worth repeating, since you and I are both here on Labor Day, I bet it has something to do with the hours that Americans work.</s>LISOVICZ: That's right. We've talked about this --</s>COLLINS: Think people feel sorry for us yet?</s>LISOVICZ: No, they don't. Not for us. And probably they shouldn't. We're pretty lucky, aren't we, Heidi, overall?</s>COLLINS: Yes.</s>LISOVICZ: But Americans typically put in 1,800 hours of work every year based on figures from '06. By comparison, the French put in about 1,500 hours, Norwegians, $1,400. In Asians countries like South Korea, Bangladesh and China workers put in 2,200 hours a year, but they aren't nearly as productive. Because among other things they just don't have the technical infrastructure that we Americans take for granted. You know, there's a direct correlation between worker productivity and the health of the economy. In fact, the folks who did this study said that if you're not getting the most out of your work force, it is an underlying source of poverty. It is very important. While you and I, Heidi, are on the job, Wall Street taking the day off. We'll kick off trading for September tomorrow. Even though it was a roller coaster ride, August actually turned out all right.</s>COLLINS: Really!</s>LISOVICZ: The Dow and</s>S&P; 500 -- COLLINS: You'd never know it!</s>LISOVICZ: I was surprised myself. I covered every day, Heidi. When I looked at the numbers before the closing bell on Friday, I really had to do a double-take. The Dow and S&P; were each up more than 1 percent for August. The Nasdaq soared 2.25 percent. What could September have in store for us, Heidi? We'll be on that case starting tomorrow. I'll see you in the next hour.</s>COLLINS: I don't know. I think there will be a lot of people doing this. Not sure. But we'll have to watch it.</s>LISOVICZ: More of that roller coaster ride.</s>COLLINS: Yeah, you got it. All right. Susan Lisovicz, thanks so much.</s>LISOVICZ: You got it.</s>COLLINS: What if this was your house? A pilot attempts an emergency landing and ends up in a carport. And hardcore inmates doing hard time.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's rehabilitation one step at a time.</s>COLLINS: Not your typical day in the yard for these inmates, that's for sure. That story ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.