[John Roberts, Cnn Anchor:] The commander of U.S. forces reports to Congress in front of the next commander in chief.
[Sen. Hillary Clinton , Presidential Candidate:] The current strategy in Iraq has very real costs.
[Sen. Barack Obama , Presidential Candidate:] To go into Iraq was a massive strategic blunder.
[Sen. John Mccain , Presidential Candidate:] It is possible to talk with real hope and optimism about the future of Iraq.
[Roberts:] Relay raid. Calls for a boycott getting louder as the Olympic torch hits U.S. soil.
[Unidentified Male:] China lie, people die!
[Roberts:] And grounded. Flying American Airlines this morning? Why you may want to call ahead. More chaos and cancellations at a major airline on this AMERICAN MORNING. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING on this Wednesday. It's the 9th day of April. John Roberts along with Kiran Chetry, and good to have you with us this morning.
[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] Yes, and a lot going on today. We begin though in San Francisco, and that's where the Olympic torch makes its only North American run. It's happening this afternoon. Thousands of protesters angry over China's human rights record and actions in Tibet are expected to turn out, and hundreds of police will also patrol that route. The plan is to have 79 people carry the torch along six miles of San Francisco's waterfront. The mayor though says that the route could be changed to prevent a repeat of some of the mayhem caused by protesters in London and Paris. There was also a candlelight vigil last night where thousands gathered, including the archbishop, Desmond Tutu, as well as actor Richard Gere. All of them in support of a free Tibet, and calling on the president, our president, to boycott the opening ceremonies in Beijing. CNN's Ted Rowlands joins us from San Francisco now with a preview of what is expected a little bit later this morning. Hi, Ted.
[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, Kiran. Every member of the San Francisco Police Department is working today. Vacations were pulled back. Everybody will be on duty. The Feds are helping out. FBI and state and local police all working together. Bottom line is that after London and Paris, what happened there, people in San Francisco don't know what to expect today.
[Rowlands:] It was all smiles for the carefully orchestrated arrival of the Olympic flame, but clearly the city of San Francisco is bracing for trouble. After watching the chaos in London and Paris, San Francisco police admit they're concerned the same problems could erupt along the planned six-mile San Francisco torch route, which they may end up changing at the 11th hour.
[Sgt. Neville Gittens, San Francisco Police Department:] Things still are subject to change based on the information that we receive. The goal is to have a safe event for everybody, the spectators and the participants.
[Rowlands:] Torchbearer Marilyn King knows firsthand the worst case scenario of the Olympic stage. The two-time Olympian was in Munich in 1972 when 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by terrorists. She also lost her chance to compete in the 1980 Olympics because of the U.S. boycott in Moscow. She is planning to run with the Olympic torch even though she is concerned that something may happen.
[Marilyn King, Torchbearer:] There are always people who are willing to step outside of those boundaries, so I have some anxiety about that.
[Rowlands:] Protesters have already made their presence felt in San Francisco with the precision-planned Golden Gate Bridge stunt that included using baby carriages to sneak in banners and climbing equipment past police.
[Protesters:] China!
[Rowlands:] Several organizations held demonstrations Tuesday, including actor Richard Gere's International Campaign for Tibet. Gere sat down with us to discuss the torch protest which he describes as extraordinary.
[Richard Gere, Actor:] The whole world seems to spontaneously react to this situation, and know that it's a fraud what the Chinese are doing. It's a fraud. This is not an athletic game to them. This is pretty much a stamp of approval on repression and human rights abuses.
[Unidentified Male:] Stop lying to the world!
[Crowd:] Stop lying to the world.
[Unidentified Male:] China lie, people die!
[Rowlands:] San Francisco is the only North American torch stop in the world including China. We'll be watching to see what happens. And people will be watching closely the conduct of the Chinese police that are Chinese security forces that accompany the flame as well. They've come under some criticism after Paris and London saying that their conduct was too aggressive and it may have made matters worse. That will be one thing people are looking at. Also, the torchbearers themselves, we do expect a few of them to show their support for Tibet in some way. We've been told, not sure what they'll be doing. Eighty people will be carrying the torch or were originally going to be carrying the torch. One person has bowed out because of safety concerns. A teenager said he doesn't want to deal with it, doesn't want to take a chance. A lot of eyes on San Francisco today obviously, and a lot of people crossing their fingers that this thing goes off without any trouble.
[Chetry:] Absolutely. We'll be following it throughout the morning as well. Ted Rowlands in San Francisco for us, thanks.
[Roberts:] It's now five minutes after the hour. Right now, Baghdad is on lockdown. A shaky cease-fire could erupt into new violence at any time. Even though a demonstration set for today has been postponed, a curfew is still in place. No cars allowed into the city until midnight tonight. That's 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. There are fears that the powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr will call his militia to action again. Last week, his fighters dug in against Iraqi soldiers and hundreds of people died. With all of that as a backdrop, the top U.S. commander in Iraq is asking Congress for more time. General David Petraeus will be on Capitol Hill for day two of his Iraq war report today. This time the House gets its turn. The general told senators yesterday that there has been significant but uneven security progress in Iraq, and that it is fragile and reversible. Petraeus says al-Qaeda in Iraq and a number of other extremist elements have been dealt serious blows, but that does not mean that the troops can come home.
[General David Petraeus, Multi-national Commander, Iraq:] I have repeatedly noted that we haven't turned any corners. We haven't seen any lights at the end of the tunnel. The champagne bottle has been pushed to the back of the refrigerator.
[Roberts:] CNN's Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon for us this morning. And Barbara, a lot of the talk yesterday was on this pause that General Petraeus says he wants in July. He's called for 45 days at the beginning. How long could that go on?
[Barbara Starr, Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, General Petraeus again today will not be pinned down on that question, John. I think it's fair to expect. At the Senate yesterday Carl Levin, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, tried to get an answer, how long could a 45-day pause really last? Could that pause go on for some time? Listen to what General Petraeus had to answer.
[Sen. Carl Levin , Armed Services Chairman: Petraeus:] I'm just asking you a direct question. Could that be as long as three months?
[General David Petraeus, Multi-national Commander, Iraq:] It could be, sir.
[Levin:] Could it be as long as four months?
[Petraeus:] Sir, it is when the conditions are met.
[Starr:] Conditions are met. And what General Petraeus is not going to be pinned down about today, John, on the House side when he appears is any timetable. He wants to see security conditions improve and have some additional stability in Iraq. That is what he is going to continue to say. But the calendar will tick on, 45-day pause at least after the last surge brigade comes home in July. But the next nonsurge brigade, if you will, the next brigade scheduled to rotate out after the surge ends comes in September. So, fairly soon. The reality is General Petraeus will have to make a decision, does he let that brigade continue to be replaced by fresh troops, or does he let it come home and have it not replaced and have a further drawdown? John?
[Roberts:] There was a lot of talk about al-Qaeda as well yesterday. General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker warning if you pull the U.S. troops out, it might create a vacuum in which al-Qaeda could again flourish. And also, Ambassador Crocker said as dangerous as al-Qaeda is in Iraq, so is Iran.
[Starr:] Absolutely. Throughout the day, and I think we will see it again later today, Iran was a threat. Both General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker going to great lengths to say that Iran continues to be heavily involved militarily and economically as well as on the religious side through the Shia militias, deeply involved in affairs inside Iraq. Both of them invoking the Specter of Lebanon and Iran's involvement over the years there suggesting that the Iranian strategy could be, perhaps, to create some sort of puppet state, if you will, in Iraq. Expect to see a lot more about that today, but there will be a lot of tough questions. The question really begins, when does the U.S. sit down and talk to Iran? There have been a number of talks already. Are they going to sit down with them again? John?
[Roberts:] And Senator Obama suggesting yesterday that what's needed is a diplomat surge as well, particularly with Iran. Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon. Thanks, Barbara.
[Starr:] Sure.
[Roberts:] Kiran?
[Chetry:] Following other news this morning as well, and Veronica De La Cruz is here with an update for us. We start off with the airlines. Could be more headaches if you're trying to fly today.
[Veronica De La Cruz, Cnn Internet Correspondent:] Absolutely. We're talking about these MD-80s. Good morning to you, and good morning to all of you out there. New this morning. Today could be another rough day, like Kiran was just saying, for travelers on American Airlines. More flights could be disrupted after the airlines canceled close to 500 flights yesterday to check the wiring on its MD-80 planes. American says it will try to arrange other flights for travelers, and it will also foot the bill for meals, hotels and ground transportation. Disturbing new details coming out this morning about what was going on behind the scenes of polygamist ranch in Texas. Court papers say the teen who sparked the investigation called a local family violence shelter several times last month saying her parents brought her to the ranch a year ago, and she was being physically and sexually abused by an adult male member of the church. She was forced to spiritually marry. Four hundred sixteen children are in temporary legal custody, but that girl has still not been accounted for. The government is expanding its warning on a blood-thinning drug, heparin, after discovering the number of deaths linked to tainted batches has tripled. The Food and Drug Administration now says 62 deaths since last January may now be related to contaminated heparin. That's up from the 19 deaths the agency previously counted. The tainted supplies came from China. The Feds are asking manufacturers to check codings on devices like stents and catheters for contamination. And was he fighting for the rights of his fellow commuters, or was he just being a sea hog? A retired cop has been acquitted on charges of assault and harassment after he cursed at a fellow rider for talking on a cell phone and slapped down another one's hand on the Long Island Rail Road. But his accusers say he was that guy on the train who would hog up five seats on the 7:39 to Penn Station. 60-year-old John Clifford claimed he needed the seats for his bad back and even compared himself to Rosa Parks for fighting for his right to sit where he wants. Hmmm.
[Chetry:] Yes. In a lot of the pictures that they had in the local newspapers, you see him by himself in this island. Nowhere is anywhere near him. I guess they were all petrified at this guy, but the judge didn't find enough evidence.
[De La Cruz:] I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, John, but on the Acela, they have a car for people who want to be loud, talk on their cell phones.
[Roberts:] It goes the other way around.
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Senior Business Correspondent:] It has the quiet
[Roberts:] And here is the funniest thing about the quiet car.
[Chetry:] Yes.
[Roberts:] At least on the train that I take every week coming back up from Washington is at every stop, the conductor gets on the intercom and as loudly as he possibly can says, if you're in the quiet car and you want to talk, get out! I'm like, whoa!
[Chetry:] Well, this is the Long Island Rail Road
[De La Cruz:] Apparently not.
[Chetry:] Definitely trying to avoid this guy. All right. Thanks, Veronica.
[Roberts:] Quiet is all relative, I guess. Hey, Fed fears for the economy. Warning of a possible severe and protracted downturn ahead that could mean another rate cut in the cards. And also, more warnings about inflation not being completely taken up.
[Velshi:] There's nobody formerly or presently employed by the Fed who's been quiet about anything. Everybody who ever had anything to do with the Fed who is alive is making speeches and talking about Alan Greenspan. We had Paul Volcker who was the Fed chair before Alan Greenspan, making a speech at the Economic Club of New York. Now, I got to tell you, I sometimes think that the show gets too many viewers. So I just want to take care of that right now with a little clip from Paul Volcker. This is what he said yesterday.
[Paul Volcker, Former Federal Reserve Chairman:] The apparent pressure on the Federal Reserve to take many billions of uncertain assets into its own balance sheet raises questions that must be decisively answered by demonstrating the commitment to deal with emerging inflationary pressures.
[Velshi:] Fed language entirely. It's sort of like just hearing something in Chinese, if you've never heard Chinese. Basically, he's saying that the Fed has taken on all these bad debts like the Bear Stearns stuff. They guaranteed that these mortgage-backed securities is all going to be OK. But, you know, we have inflation problems. That's what all of you know out there. You pay more for stuff, and the Fed keeps dropping interest rates. It's done it six times in six months. It's probably going to do it again on April 30th. Maybe not as much, but another quarter of a percentage point. That actually stimulates inflation. The dollar gets lower, it creates demand. So Volcker is basically saying really the Fed, you got to look at inflation. It's a concern for most people. But the minutes from the last meeting, they always wait several weeks before giving them out. And at the last meeting, there were a few of the people on the Fed when they made that last cut, who said, no, no, we don't have to cut so much. Inflation is, by the way, not nearly going to be the problem that it is. So here's this is always the case. The Fed seems to be a few months behind what Americans are realizing about the economy and about inflation. So those are the concerns.
[Roberts:] That was Greenspan's primary concern.
[Velshi:] Well, Green right. But now people are saying, well, if you were concerned about inflation why did Greenspan keep rates as low as he did all those years. And he came out this week saying don't blame me.
[Roberts:] Although he does say that he missed the housing crisis.
[Velshi:] Yes, but he says it in a way that makes it sound like anybody would have kind of thing.
[Roberts:] Chinese, right?
[Velshi:] It's Chinese.
[Roberts:] Ali, thanks.
[Chetry:] Still ahead, power to the patient. A new study out on diabetes and what patients can do to protect themselves from heart disease and strokes. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us coming up next. Also the city of San Francisco, all eyes will be on it today as it prepares for protests. The Olympic Torch Relay making its way through the City by the Bay. China still cracking down. The whole world watching. And we're going to be talking to CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour about the Olympics and what's going on across the world on AMERICAN MORNING.