Obama Threatens to Veto Resolution on Bailout Money; Osama bin Laden Calls for Jihad on New Released Audiotape; Senators Grill Hillary Clinton on Husband's Foundation
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we're just coming up on a minute before the top of the hour. We have breaking news this morning. Osama bin Laden believed to be speaking out about the war in Gaza. The Al-Qaeda leader is calling for jihad, or holy war, against Israel. In a just released audio tape, he also speaks about the end of President Bush's and the beginning of President-elect Barack Obama's. It could be the first time we've heard from bin Laden since May of last year. Also breaking right now, new rocket fire in northern Israel. Israeli police saying that three rockets landed near the town of Curiat Shimona, which Hezbollah bombarded during the 2006 war. Meanwhile, Israeli war planes and artillery pounded Gaza for a 19th day. The fugitive pilot accused of faking his own death. Well, this morning, he's live and under arrest. US Marshals in Florida say they found Marcus Schrenker at a campsite.</s>JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, back now to our breaking news. Osama bin Laden speaking out about the war Gaza. The message in a just released audio tape believed to be from the Al Qaeda leader calls for a jihad, or holy war, against Israel to them to stop its military operations in Gaza. It also takes Arab governments to task for sitting on the sidelines instead of helping to "liberate Palestine." Let's bring in our CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen. And, Peter, we heard from Ayman al-Zawahri (ph) on this topic just a little while ago. A surprise to you to be hearing from Osama bin Laden himself on it?</s>VOICE OF PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, we haven't heard from him for nine months, John. You know, we were expecting to hear from him during the run-up to the presidential election as we had four years ago in the previous American presidential election and we heard nothing. This is quite a long period for him not to have said anything, and I think the reason that you can expect that while that's the case but one potential reason is our bureau in Pakistan's count, there have been 30 hellfire missile strikes into the tribal areas in Pakistan in the last year, compare that to 2007 when there were only four. Obviously, those hellfire missile strikes put pressure on al- Qaeda. They killed a number of key leaders in the last several months. In fact, President Bush referenced those strikes in his interview last night with Larry King two al-Qaeda leaders were killed on January 1st. So those strikes have certainly put a fair amount of pressure on al-Qaeda, and that's one of the reasons I think, John, that we haven't heard from bin Laden for such a long time.</s>ROBERTS: So it raises the question, Peter, is he in a position where all he can do is issue these audiotape statements? We don't know how long or the chain of cust -- how long it took for this to get out of the chain of custody that took to get it out but is he relegated simply to making these statements or do you believe that he could, through technology, still be in an operational capacity?</s>BERGEN: I don't think he's in an operational capacity, John, but these tapes are, you know, this tape is being coveted by every news organization in the world as we speak. So you don't really need to get on the phone and call people. You can put out general messages, you know, inciting people to violence and this is the way it happens. So, you know, he puts out all strategic guidance to al-Qaeda, to the Jihadi network through these audiotapes and videotapes. Sometimes we've seen him make very specific calls for attacks on particular places. For instance, he called for attacks on Spain and there were attacks in Madrid in 2004. He called for a response to the Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad and there was an attack by al-Qaeda on the Danish embassy in Pakistan last year. And I can give you several other examples so that's the way that he kind of maintains operational control.</s>ROBERTS: All right. Well, we'll see if anything comes out of this audiotape. Peter Bergen on the phone for us from New Orleans this morning. Peter, thanks so much. And just last night, President Bush sat down with our Larry King as Peter mentioned and Larry asked Mr. Bush about whether or not the U.S. would ever find Osama bin Laden.</s>LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Are we ever, ever going to find bin Laden?</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, of course, absolutely.</s>KING: And you're confident based on?</s>BUSH: Because we got a lot of people looking for him, a lot of assets out there, and he can't run forever. Just like the people who allegedly were involved in the East African bombings, a couple of them, you know, were brought to justice just recently.</s>KING: Did we ever come -- did we ever come close?</s>BUSH: I don't know. I can't answer that.</s>KING: You don't know or you --</s>BUSH: I really don't know, no. I'm not trying to hide anything.</s>ROBERTS: And just ahead on the "Most News in the Morning," we're going to be talking with a panel of security experts about the challenge that Barack Obama faces, keeping America safe. It's part of our ongoing series on the top five issues facing the incoming president.</s>CHETRY: And there are just six days until there's a new president of the United States and already Barack Obama is threatening fellow Democrats with a veto. President Bush's first veto came during his second term in office with a Republican Congress. The dispute is over your money, the second half of the $700 billion bailout. Obama wants it released, but many senators are saying they want more details about how Obama is going to spend it. One Democratic senator said instead of transparency he's getting a lot of "mumbo jumbo." For more on this we're joined by Suzanne Malveaux live from the White House this morning. And, Suzanne, so the president-elect threatening a veto for a resolution from a democratic-controlled Congress. So what is going on?</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Barack Obama really realizes that he needs those Democrats to get on his side. He has set a very ambitious agenda behind closed doors with the senators. I talked to some of them from yesterday who say that he is really making the sales pitch saying there's a sense of urgency, that he needs everything in the tool kit when he first starts to really take a look at the economy and part of that is he believes that the $350 billion is going to be useful. So what is he doing? He is trying to use some of the rapport, the trust that he's built with fellow lawmakers to persuade them here to come on board. He actually really needs their support, but he could be in a very difficult and awkward position of vetoing if necessary. He does not want to do that, and what is happening here is people are asking for some written commitments. Tell us where this money is going to go. How are you going to be held accountable? How is this going to be different than the Bush administration and Secretary Paulson? Obama seems to be cooperating in that sense that he will give some written commitments that he will follow through and answering some of those questions and being held accountable. At least that is what he's trying to convince lawmakers now, Kiran.</s>CHETRY: Also out this morning, the news that the president-elect once in office will end the military's 15-year "Don't ask, don't tell policy." What can you tell us about that? I mean, as we famously know, this is something that tripped up President Clinton in the early days when he first took office.</s>MALVEAUX: And the Obama team is going to make sure that they're not too ambitious about this in rolling this out in say the first day or the first week, that kind of thing. But yes, it was on Friday that Robert Gibbs, the spokesman for President-elect Obama said on the transition Web site in answering a question from somebody from Michigan whether or not he was going to repeal this policy. And he said, well, you know, you rarely hear a politician give a one-word answer but in one word, yes. So we heard from Robert Gibbs again this morning reiterating that yes, Barack Obama will in fact repeal that policy, the "Don't ask, don't tell policy." We heard over the campaign Barack Obama talking about how he didn't agree with it, that gays should be able to serve openly in the military. But Robert Gibbs also cautioning today this morning that look, the top priority is going to be jump-starting the economy. This is something that Obama will follow through with repealing this policy, but don't expect it to be the first thing on his agenda, Kiran.</s>CHETRY: Suzanne Malveaux in Washington for us. Thanks.</s>ROBERTS: She once called Barack Obama irresponsible and naive. That was back when he was a candidate. Now Senator Hillary Clinton is promising to bring smart power back to the State Department under her new boss.</s>SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), SECRETARY OF STATE NOMINEE: I assure you that if I am confirmed, the State Department will be firing on all cylinders to provide forward-thinking, sustained diplomacy in every part of the world.</s>ROBERTS: Well her confirmation hearings looked like the expected shoo-in, until the questions came about Bill Clinton. Jim Acosta joins us live from Washington this morning. And there were some pointed questions about her husband. Did she put all of the concerns to rest, do you think, Jim?</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think so, John. And those Republicans on Capitol Hill, they love to talk about Bill Clinton, don't they? But, you know, much of yesterday was about this departure from the Bush administration that Hillary Clinton says will be a force of the Obama administration. And after a lot of hand-wringing in Washington over whether the Obama administration would be more hawkish than expected, Hillary Clinton signaled there will be a break from Bush foreign policy.</s>SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), SECRETARY OF STATE NOMINEE: Well, Mr. President -- president-elect -- chairman.</s>SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I'll take that.</s>CLINTON: It was a Freudian slip. The president-elect --</s>KERRY: We're both subject to those.</s>ACOSTA (voice-over): Proving there is life after a failed presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton made the case for a new way forward in the post-Bush world.</s>CLINTON: The president-elect and I believe that foreign policy must be based on a marriage of principles and pragmatism, not rigid ideology.</s>ACOSTA: As a soon-to-be former president who just this week quarreled with the notion that America's moral standing in the world is damaged.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It may be damaged among some of the elite.</s>CLINTON: American leadership has been wanting but is still wanted. We must use what has been called smart power.</s>ACOSTA: Obama/Clinton's smart power includes a possible future dialogue with Iran, engaged diplomacy on Gaza, a determined withdrawal from Iraq and redeployment to U.S./NATO operations in Afghanistan.</s>JAMES RUBIN, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: What you are really seeing was the end of an era of unilateralism in the United States and the beginning of an era of American diplomacy.</s>ACOSTA: And an era of diplomacy for Clinton. This was not candidate Clinton who once issued a dire warning to Iran should it ever attack Israel.</s>CLINTON: We would be able to totally obliterate them.</s>ACOSTA: Sitting in front of her daughter, Clinton was pressed on her husband's private foundation, a foundation that fights AIDS and malaria but also raises money from foreign countries and multinational corporations.</s>CLINTON: My husband doesn't take a salary. He has no financial interest in any of this. I don't take a salary. I have no financial interest.</s>SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R), INDIANA: The core of the problem is that foreign governments and entities may perceive the Clinton foundation as a means to gain favor with the secretary of state.</s>ACOSTA: As Mr. Bush was handing out his final presidential medals of freedom to his allies in the war in Iraq, Vice President- elect Joe Biden was discussing troop withdrawals in Iraq. The Obama transition team was working on its plans to close Guantanamo, and Hillary Clinton was gearing up to take on a troubled world.</s>CLINTON: America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America.</s>ACOSTA: Hillary Clinton is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate as early as inauguration day. At her hearing, she spent a fair bit of time quoting Thomas Jefferson, the country's first secretary of state, who as it later turns out, John, became president.</s>ROBERTS: To tell you, our Zain Verjee is going to have an interesting job following her around the world in the first 100 days of the presidency, just to see how much American policy in the global market changes. Jim Acosta this morning, Jim, thanks so much.</s>ACOSTA: You bet.</s>CHETRY: And breaking news this morning. Osama bin Laden releasing a new audiotape, calling for jihad and also apparently with some words for Barack Obama. In fact, we're going to be speaking to the former head of the homeland security, also a member of the 9/11 Commission, as we continue to follow this breaking news this morning, just ahead. It's 10 and a half minutes after the hour.