Obama Visits Troops, Leaders in Iraq; Aftershocks Hamper Italian Earthquake Recovery
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Tony, thanks. President Obama pushes forward his Iraq policy, making his first trip their as commander in chief. He's talking with troops and politicians about the war he campaigned so hard to end. More survivors, more victims pulled from the rubble in L'Aquila, Italy. The earthquake toll: 207. The grief, beyond calculation. Hello everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. He was in the neighborhood, so why not? President Obama made his trip to Afghanistan a higher priority, but today he's all about Iraq. He arrived this morning from Turkey, shaking hands with troops, helping award metals of valor, talking to commanders about the mission and putting a face on the changing policy. The president says the troops are doing extraordinary work, but there are still unresolved issues in Iraq. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Iraq. Fred, it seems the president is cramming a lot of business into a very short amount of time. Can he really be that effective?</s>FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he certainly seems to think so. One of the things that he said as he was addressing the troops as he was sort of getting off that plane in Baghdad, as he was saying, that perhaps his presence here in the Iraqi capital can help resolve some of the problems that are still within Iraqi politics and between the different Iraqi political groups. As you said, after meeting the troops there in Baghdad, the president held a meeting with Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, reaffirming his commitment to pull U.S. combat troops out of Iraq as fast as possible, but also of course, also in an orderly and responsible way. Before that, he held a speech in front of some 1,500 U.S. troops there at Camp Victory right outside of Baghdad where he told them it is now time to transition control from U.S. forces over to Iraqi security forces and make sure they are responsible for the security in their country. And as you said, very readily, he did say, yes, it's time to do that, but there are still a lot of issues. That's something, Kyra, that we have been seeing in the last couple of days, a lot of tension here between the different groups here in Iraq. And also in the past couple of days, we have seen some major violence here, especially in the Baghdad area, Kyra. So there is certainly, as the president says, a lot of work still to be done, Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: Fred Pleitgen, thanks so much. And like you said, plenty of "hooahs" and handshaking with the U.S. troops. But what about the Iraqi troops, the ones that we're training, the ones who will fight and die long after our service members are gone? President Barack Obama in their country today, the president many of them wanted. This time last year, long before Obama sealed the deal, I talked to Iraqi soldiers unfiltered and asked them who they wanted to lead the U.S. effort in their country and what changes were needed to make Iraq successful. No one else talked to these guys. So take a listen.</s>PHILLIPS: Do you have a favorite candidate?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama.</s>PHILLIPS: Obama?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He's practical, and he loves to serve his country.</s>PHILLIPS: If you could sit down with Obama, what would you tell him you need from him?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I would ask him to pay attention to the Middle East and the Iranian and American conflict that's happening on Iraqi land. That is affecting Iraq and needs to be addressed.</s>PHILLIPS: Why are you so concerned about Iran?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They are our neighbors. They affect us directly, and this is important to Iraqis.</s>PHILLIPS: There's been lots of talk about how Iran is affecting this war, funneling terrorists, weapons.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Of course we believe that. We have proof that the Iranians help the terrorists by giving them money, weapons, and many other things.</s>PHILLIPS: Well, so they got the president they wanted. Now the question is, are they getting the change that they wanted? Let's get straight to the guy at the Pentagon, our guy, Chris Lawrence. Chris, let's talk about how we're turning Iraq back over to these guys that I talked with. How is the draw down plan looking right now?</s>CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, when you look at President Obama's trip, you can really see the evolution. You know, when he first came here in 2006, he was Senator Obama, and he was still formulating his stance on what it would be on Iraq. When he came back last summer, the candidate Obama, his trip was sort of overshadowed by his campaign promise to bring troops home in 16 months. Now he's going there for the first time as President Obama, and he's turning his plan into official U.S. policy. Here's how we believe it's going to work. This is what you can expect to see. If you take a look at this map, by the end of June, most American troops will withdraw from the major cities, and they'll pull back to some of the areas you see here: Fallujah, Tikrit, Al Asad, which a little bit west of Baghdad, and Balad Air Base, which is the largest base there in Iraq. And at one time has been the second busiest airport in the world. Now, you will see two brigades, about two brigades, leave Iraq and come home by the end of the year. But most troops are going to stay through those elections at the end of the year and then next year you'll start to see more troops rotating home with the eventual goal of having most of the combat troops out by the end of the next summer, with the residual force of between 35 to 50,000 troops.</s>PHILLIPS: And we'll be tracking it all. That's for sure. Chris Lawrence, thank you so much. Our new poll actually shows nearly two-thirds of Americans now oppose the war in Iraq. A CNN/Opinion Research survey found that 35 percent favor the war. Nearly seven in ten favor the new plan proposed by President Obama. That plan would remove most U.S. troops by August of next year but keep 35 to 50,000 in Iraq past that date. Thirty percent are opposed to that plan. Now, President Obama's visit to Iraq. That's just one of the things that Vice President Joe Biden talks about when he sits down with CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Gloria Borger in "THE SITUATION ROOM." The full interview is coming up at 6 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.. Using heavy equipment, dogs, even just their hands. Search crews still hoping to find survivors in the rubble. More than 36 hours after an earthquake shook central Italy, the death toll has risen to at least 207 in and around the city of L'Aquila. Doctors there are treating about 1,500 people who are wounded. But it's been very difficult. Part of L'Aquila's main hospital had to be evacuated due to fears that it might collapse. We're going to have a live report from Fionnuala Sweeney, coming up in just a moment. Even as aftershocks rattle Italy, another big earthquake has hit in the Pacific. The epicenter of the 6.9 quake, just east of Kuril Islands, which are claimed by both Russia and Japan. Fewer than 20,000 people live there, and they're no strangers to seismic activity. The Kurils are part of the so-called ring of fire, a region that sees about 90 percent of the world's earthquakes.</s>PHILLIPS: And another hurricane season is less than two months away. Forecasters have done an about-face. We're going to find out from Chad Myers why they are, well, dialing down their predictions. Also, the Canadian man of stealing a plane and flying it to Missouri with F-16s hot on his trail was trying to kill himself. That word now from the straight trooper who actually arrested him. Identified as 31-year-old Adam Leon, police say that Leon stole a singe-engine Cessna at a flight school in Ontario. Hat plane entered U.S. air space. In Wisconsin, where F-16s -- the Wisconsin National Guard were scrambled. It continued on towards the state's capital city of Madison. And as it approached the city, authorities were so concerned that they briefly evacuated the state capital building. That Cessna continued on into Illinois and then Missouri, where Leon was arrested after he set the plane down on a road about 120 miles from St. Louis. Total flight, 783 miles. That trooper who made the arrest said that Leon told him he was wanted to commit suicide and feared he'd be shot down after taking the plane into the U.S. Well, we're pushing forward our coverage of President Obama's surprise visit to Iraq. We're getting ready to ask a retired general who knows his stuff how important and how useful this quick stop is and what needs to be happening over there right now.