[John Roberts, Cnn Anchor:] Breaking news. Barack Obama lands in Iraq overnight. How his plan for a pullout is being received this morning. Plus, Mojave Desert Storm.
[Unidentified Male:] It's like a really expensive army laser tag.
[Roberts:] The troops are real. The enemies are actors. A documentary takes you to Iraq without ever leaving home, on this AMERICAN MORNING. Fascinating look at a different perspective on war coming your way this morning. Thanks for joining us. It's the 21st of July, Monday, as we get to a brand new week. Good morning to you. Hope you had a good weekend.
[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] You, too. And we start off with some breaking news. Senator Barack Obama is in Iraq right now. He arrived in Baghdad overnight, part of a congressional delegation that includes Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. Senator Obama is expected to meet with General David Petraeus and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The senator has pledged to end the war if he is elected and to send more troops to Afghanistan. He also met with troops and Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul over the weekend. Last week Obama criticized Karzai's government for not doing enough to organize the country. And Iran could face new sanctions. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the country has only two weeks left to accept an incentives package for ending its nuclear activity. Rice says the country wasn't serious during talks with the U.S. and other nations in Switzerland over the weekend. And the U.S. Air Force B-52, one of them crashed off the island of Guam. And now, the search crews are look for six crew members. No survivors found yet. Rescuers did find an oil slick but have not located the wreckage. Right now, they're searching an area 30 miles northwest of Guam where they think the plane went down.
[Roberts:] Back to our top stories this morning. Senator Barack Obama is in Iraq right now. Obama has called for an end to combat operations within 16 months of becoming president. But his rival, Senator John McCain, says the withdrawal should be based on progress, not a fixed timetable. Our Morgan Neill is live in Baghdad for us this morning. What are we hearing of the visit so far this morning, Morgan?
[Morgan Neill, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, John, we're told that Senator Obama will meet with the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, with the U.S. ambassador here, Ryan Crocker, and with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. He is fresh off a trip to Afghanistan where Obama says U.S. efforts will shift their focus if he becomes president. But there's one topic that's sure to dominate his visit here. Senator Obama's plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.
[Neill:] Barack Obama comes to Iraq fresh off a pledge to end the war.
[Sen. Barack Obama , Presidential Candidate:] I want Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future and to reach the political accommodation necessary for long-term stability. That is victory. That is success. That's what best that is what is best for Iraq. That is what is best for America. And that's why I will end this war as president.
[Neill:] But Iraq's government says pulling out too quickly could be a grave mistake.
[Ali Al-dabbagh, Iraqi Government Spokesman:] That is coming to the White House, would not as this reality, and then accordingly to decide.
[Unidentified Male:] Is that a message to Barack Obama?
[Al-dabbagh:] I think so, yes.
[Neill:] Obama's rival, Republican nominee John McCain, says he opposes a timetable for withdrawal. But that worries many in Iraq as well, where the specter of an indefinite U.S. presence brought talks on a long-term security agreement to a standstill. So the next president will have to deal with a country that both wants and fears the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Levels of violence are at their lowest since 2004, but the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, consistently warns that security gains are both fragile and reversible. And the next U.S. president will have to deal with an increasingly assertive Iraqi government, one that's been praised for offensive in Maysan province, Basra and Sadr City. And that's what U.S. officials say they've been working toward all along, more independent, capable, assertive Iraqi government. But that also means that the next U.S. president will have to deal with the government that's more insistent on its own goals, more cognizant of its own political realities John.
[Roberts:] Morgan Neill for us this morning in Baghdad. Morgan, thanks so much. Also breaking this morning, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki distancing himself from comments that he made over the weekend in an interview with a German magazine that appeared to support Barack Obama's 16-month troop withdrawal plan. The Bush administration called the prime minister's office to get clarification because the two governments had just announced an agreement over American troops a day earlier. An Iraqi spokesperson said al-Maliki was mistranslated and was not enforcing any specific plan. The magazine however is standing by its interview and a separate CNN translation of Maliki's comments does appear to show support for Obama's plan.
[Chetry:] The "Most Politics in the Morning" now. Senator Joe Lieberman criticizing Barack Obama's position on Iraq saying that he's choosing to lose the war by planning to withdraw combat troops.
[Sen. Joseph Lieberman , Connecticut:] Senator Obama was prepared, he announced it early last year, to begin pulling American troops out one or two brigade as month, so that in March of this year, 2008, all American combat troops would be out. If he had done if Barack Obama had carried out the policy he wanted in Iraq, Barack Obama couldn't be in Iraq today because it wouldn't be safe. Al-Qaeda and Iranian extremism would be in charge of the country.
[Chetry:] Lieberman, a Democrat turned independent, is a McCain supporter and he credits the troop increase with making Iraq safer. Evangelical leader James Dobson appears to be softening his stance on John McCain. In today's pre-taped radio show, Dobson will say that he's not supporting McCain now but he may at some point. He says neither candidate shares his exact views, but McCain is much closer and Barack Obama contradicts and threatens everything he believes in. John McCain spent his Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium watching the Yankees beat the Oakland A's with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. That had some people speculating that Giuliani could be McCain's running mate. Before the game, McCain was on the field signing autographs and talking with the managers of both teams.
[Roberts:] We are watching two storms churning into the Atlantic this morning. Tropical Storm Dolly expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico today. It could develop into the first hurricane to hit the United States in more than two years. Meantime, Tropical Storm Cristobal is headed away from the North Carolina coast leaving behind some rough surf. Reynolds Wolf watching it all and he's going to join us later on with an update. Serious concerns meantime about air quality as the Olympic Games draw near. But is China's new plan to cut the dirty air too little too late? We're live in Beijing straight ahead.
[Chetry:] From gas guzzler to gas free.
[Lefteris Padavos, Built Electric Car:] What you see here is available existing technology. This is off the shelf stuff.
[Chetry:] Do it yourself or find a solution to the high cost of fuel.
[Paul Scott, Electric Vehicle Assn. Of So. Calif:] It's the only way to drive. You know, electricity instead of oil.
[Chetry:] You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."