White House Meets With Lawmakers On ISG Report
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.</s>HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins. Here's what's coming up today on THE NEWSROOM. We're going to be talking about President Bush. He's meeting with Congressional leaders from both parties, part of the search for a new approach in Iraq. We're going to be talking with our White House correspondent on that.</s>HARRIS: Radiation -- it killed this man. Now, another ex- Russian spy may be seriously sick.</s>COLLINS: And a father seeking help for his snowbound family loses his life in the cold. Our Rick Sanchez with ways to beat the odds -- back country survival in</s>THE NEWSROOM. HARRIS: Breakfast time huddle -- it's more than just coffee talk. Right now, President Bush is meeting with Congressional leaders from both parties, part of the search for a new approach in Iraq. White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us now -- and, Suzanne, you've been so great this week at sort of keeping us up to speed on all of the meetings that the president has been having with Congressional leaders. I'm just curious about, A, the tone of this. And, secondly, do we get a sense that there is real frank discussion going on back and forth?</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is really a formality, if you will. But the president -- this is a new reality of this White House. What you see here is really a very aggressive and active outreach not only to the Republican leadership -- we've seen a lot of that, of course, in the last couple of years -- but now to the Democratic leadership, as well. Both of them, from the House and the Senate here having breakfast with the president in the Cabinet Room. We are told that the president is going to talk about this report from the Iraq Study Group, his impressions of it. So that really is somewhat new here, Tony. We certainly hope that we'll get a sense of whether or not there's a little bit of give and take there. But certainly more aggressive outreach. It comes at a time, as we know, the president is weighing his options about how to change U.S. policy, if he will change U.S. policy. We know there are a couple of things that he has already ruled out and things that he's entertaining. We heard yesterday again refusing one-on-one talks with Iran and Syria. But he has not ruled out a regional conference involving his administration and those regimes. We also heard the president talk about suggesting a more robust role for the Bush administration in the Israeli-Palestinian Middle East peace process. That is something that the group has called for. And we do know that there has been no indication from this administration that they would commit to pulling out U.S. troops with any kind of specific timetable or window. The report calling for trying to reach a goal, at least, for 2008. President Bush reiterated that it all depends on what happens on the ground -- Tony.</s>HARRIS: Our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, for us. Suzanne, thank you.</s>COLLINS: Fix it strategy... Iraq Study Group proposals the buzz in Washington, merely a soft whir in Baghdad. CNN's Nic Robertson with that.</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Already a very bloody month. More than 30 U.S. servicemen killed in the first week of December. American soldiers still under attack as Iraqi politicians ponder the Iraq Study Group's report. Haider Al Abadi has lots of influence in the prime minister's party.</s>HAIDER AL ABADI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER'S PARTY: And that is very clear direction that, at the end of the day, U.S. forces are going to leave. This is good news.</s>ROBERTSON: But he's also worried about how it could possibly work to have 20,000 U.S. military trainers embedded with the Iraqi military.</s>ABADI: There is a nightmare. I thought immediately, 20,000 -- how many translators? I mean, Iraqis, most of them, they don't understand English. We need the prepare translators, efficient translators, to give the message to the Iraqis to get trained properly.</s>ROBERTSON: On the vexing question of U.S. engagement with Iran and Syria, Iran's national security adviser was delighted with the recommendations.</s>MOWFAQ RUBAIE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: From our perspective, we believe that the United States government should engage with Iran, should engage with Syria.</s>ROBERTSON: According to Rubaie, only America wields enough power to stop Iranian and Syrian interference. The situation is so out of control now, he says, Syria is the gateway for 85 percent of all foreign fighters entering Iraq.</s>RUBAIE: And probably more than 90 percent of this 85 percent are landing in Damascus airport. This says the Syrian government can stop the foreign fighters.</s>ROBERTSON: Equally pressing, figuring our how to disband Iranian-backed militias, which now control large chunks of Baghdad. For Iraq's government, the Study Group's recommendations offers no quick fix.</s>ABADI: They are very keen to see the militias disarmed. I know the prime minister is very keen on this. He wants to implement it very quickly.</s>ROBERTSON (on camera): Can he, though?</s>ABADI: That is a problem.</s>ROBERTSON: A problem because even under the accelerated hand over envisioned by the report, Iraqis say they won't have the power they need to combat the militias until late into next year, at the earliest. Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.</s>HARRIS: Have you heard this? A new report this morning suggests funding for sectarian violence in Iraq may be coming from Saudi Arabia. The Associated Press reports private Saudi citizens are giving millions to their fellow Sunnis in the Iraqi insurgency. Officials say that money often tucked and trucked in across the border is used to buy guns and explosives that together Shiites and U.S. troops. The A.P. says some Saudis appear to know the money is headed to Iraq's insurgency, but others merely give it to clerics, who funnel the cash to anti-coalition forces. Saudi government officials reportedly deny that any money is being sent to insurgents. And it is not the final farewell ceremony, but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld holds his last town hall meeting with Pentagon employees this morning. That's coming up at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. You never know what he might say. We'll have his opening remarks live and bring you highlights as they happen, right here in</s>THE NEWSROOM. COLLINS: Fast moving flames in southern California. This wildfire has scorched 6,000 acres in a hilly area near Bakersfield. That's about 75 miles north of L.A. It started when a pickup truck caught fire on an interstate. That sparked a brush fire that quickly spread out of control. Crews say strong winds are fueling the blaze now. Firefighters have almost half of it contained. Chris Van Horne from affiliate KERO is live now in Kern County, California -- Chris, what can you tell us about all of this? Any homes being threatened at this point?</s>CHRIS VAN HORNE, KERO NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, at this point there are no major structures being threatened. There are some -- a few homes out to the rural part where this fire is burning right now. But within the last hour, hour and five minutes, the fire is starting to burn out of control. It's gotten over some breaks that they put out last night to try and control the fire. But right now the fire has gotten past those and are burning in an area they hoped it wouldn't get to. Now, when this fire started, again, about 6:00 last night on Interstate 5 -- it's called the West Side Fire because it started on the west side of Interstate 5 -- it looked like it was moving pretty fast -- 30 to 45 mile per hour wind gusts were moving the fire pretty steadily to the west. And that was causing some scare. There are some homes in that area, but firefighters say that that kept about two miles north of where those homes are. And so that's not a concern right now. But the fire is considered to be out of control at this time. More than 6,000 acres have burned, we believe, at this point. And they're really trying to get a handle on this. Kern County fire crews, Los Angeles Fire County crews and California Department of Forestry are out here. And they are trying to get control of this. When the sun-does come up, we are expecting to have a lot of tankers and fixed air wings coming out here to work on this fire. The steep terrain and the winds are causing a lot of problems for hand crews. And so this is those firefighters in the air will be able to help them out. But, again, this fire right now burning out of control behind me just in the last hour or so -- Heidi.</s>COLLINS: Wow! All right, Chris Van Horne from KERO. Hope that weather cooperates with the fire crews today, certainly. Thank you, Chris.</s>HARRIS: Cold, cold, cold outside, to be sure. This Arctic blast sending temperatures diving from the Midwest and into the South. Single digits reports in some areas around Louisville, Kentucky. The bitter cold and slick roads forced several school systems to close -- that's understandable -- in Illinois and Missouri. Thousands of folks still in the deep freeze and in the dark. It has been a week since a brutal wintry storm blanketed the area in ice and snow. Residents accuse power companies of not doing enough to get folks back online. Let's check in now with Chad Myers -- and, Chad, you promised us that this would be a fast moving system. We hope so, because is has definitely dipped down into the South.</s>CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Wow! You know what? Chicago yesterday at this time had a wind chill factor of 20 degrees below zero.</s>HARRIS: Oh, man.</s>MYERS: And on Sunday, it will be 50.</s>HARRIS: Whoa!</s>MYERS: Seventy degrees difference.</s>HARRIS: That's insane, yes.</s>MYERS: So -- it is. And this is that kind of the cold and flu season for sure, when you get that type of temporary change and you're not used to it or you get outside and you're not prepared for even an air temperature in Chicago right now of five and a wind chill of six below.</s>HARRIS: And here's a question for you -- could you survive being lost, first of all, in the cold? How about the cold wilderness? There are ways to better your chances of making it out alive. We will hear from an expert in</s>THE NEWSROOM. COLLINS: Another former Russian spy suffers radiation poisoning and investigators are tracking radiation all over London. New twists in the spy murder mystery, in</s>THE NEWSROOM. HARRIS: The long arm of the law just got a little shorter. One of Santa's helpers nabbed some naughty drivers. That story ahead in</s>THE NEWSROOM. COLLINS: That's going to cause an accident.