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Anti-American Rage Spreads; "Occupy" Marks One Year Anniversary; Royal Couple to Sue Over Photos; Israel Cranks Up Pressure on U.S.; Obama: China Hurting U.S. Auto Industry; Ryan Blast Obama Over Israel Snub; NFL Replacement Refs Ripped

Aired September 17, 2012 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Soledad. Thanks a lot.

Happening now in the NEWSROOM, the red line and a stern warning. The Israeli prime minister warning the United States to establish a clear line that Iran cannot cross with its nuclear program. This morning we ask, what is that line and what happens if it's crossed?

Plus front page scandal. The royal family trying to stop topless pictures of Kate from spreading. Now an Italian magazine owned by the former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is publishing a 38-page special edition. And it's hitting newsstands now.

And replacement ref replaced just hours before the Carolina Saints kickoff. Side judge Brian Stropolo booted for openly being a Saints fan. He even posted pictures of himself in Saints gear tailgating. Will Monday morning quarterback this one?

NEWSROOM begins right now. And good morning. Thank you so much for being with us. I'm Carol Costello.

We begin this hour with Muslim outrage and new flare-ups of anti- American violence. One flash point, Kabul, Afghanistan. Crowds of protesters turn on police when they try to block their march toward the U.S. embassy. At least 15 officers are hurt and their vehicles set on fire.

In Indonesia protesters bombard police outside the U.S. embassy in Jakarta. They pelt them with rocks and use slingshots to whip marbles at them. Only a volley of tear gas managed to chase away the crowd.

Also Google India is blocking Internet users from viewing the low- budget movie that has ignited the fury. The movie follows the Afghan government ordering an indefinite block of YouTube.

CNN's Anna Coren is in the Afghan capital of Kabul to tell us about the protests there. Good morning.

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hello, Carol. As you were saying, these protests hit the streets earlier this morning here in Kabul. Three hundred protesters trying to make their way to the U.S. embassy were stopped by police. They attacked the police and 15 officers were hurt including the commander. Two police cars were set on fire. There were plumes of black smoke coming from this area. We were able to get within a couple of hundred meters, and then we heard reports that they were firing into the crowd and targeting Westerners.

Our security kept us away. But certainly this is a major disappointment for the Afghan government. They were trying to keep a lid on the fury here. Because obviously they were going off what happened last year when there were mass riots in relation to the Terry pastor, the pastor I should say, Pastor Terry Jones in the United States burning that Quran. And there were dozens of people that were killed.

So they tried their best efforts to keep a lid on this by blocking that YouTube, blocking the video from going to air here in Afghanistan. But Carol, you'd have to say that sadly that has failed.

COSTELLO: Anna Coren reporting live from Kabul, Afghanistan, this morning.

One of Washington's closest allies is warning the United States that time is running out. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran is getting dangerously close to producing a nuclear bomb and the United States need to draw a red line that Tehran would not dare cross.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, CNN'S STATE OF THE UNION: What we know is, of course, that Iran is allowed under agreements, international agreements to go ahead and do what it's doing. Because there are legitimate peaceful purposes for enriching this uranium.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: You think so? You think so, Candy? That's like -- well, let me interrupt. It's not legitimate. This is a country that talks about -- denies the holocaust. Promises to wipe out Israel. Is engaged in terror throughout the world. It's like Timothy McVeigh walking into it -- into a shop in Oklahoma City and saying, I'd like to tend my garden. I'd like to buy some fertilizer. How much do you want? Oh, I don't know, 20,000 pounds.

Come on. We know that they're working towards a weapon or not -- we know that. It's not something that we surmise. We have absolute certainty about that. And they're advancing towards that nuclear program.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The thing is, we hear about this red line. Well, what is the red line? And what are the military options if that red line is crossed?

About 10 minutes from now we'll talk with retire army general and CNN contributor, Spider Marks. Right now in New York City the 99 percent are dusting off their protest sides and gearing up for clashes with police on the one-year anniversary of the "Occupy" protests that started it all. Earlier protesters tried to get on Wall Street to form a human chain around the New York Stock Exchange, but police stopped them in their tracks.

Poppy Harlow is live for us in New York. Poppy, we haven't heard much from the Occupy movement lately. Where do they stand this morning?

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They stand right here trying desperately to get on Wall Street, Carol. I've been here with them throughout the morning. We were with them as they marched down Broadway. That's the street next to me. They were blocked by police. A lot of police. If you talk about the ratio of press and police to occupiers here, it's almost even. They are trying to get on all sides around the New York Stock Exchange. But they're blocked off by police barricades, police on horses. So the cops very prepared.

Interesting note, though, police are actually filming the protesters as the protesters film the police. That's something that I hadn't seen before today. And we've been covering it over the past year. But if you ask a lot of folks here, they think the movement is dead. If you ask the protesters, they say not a chance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW (on camera): Some folks think this movement has fizzled. That you guys are done for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've been writing that obituary since day one.

HARLOW (voice-over): It started with this one year ago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's our duty as Americans to fight for our country and to keep it, you know, true to serving its people.

HARLOW: A grassroots movement that made the 99 percent and the 1 percent part of our lexicon. Occupy. In a Brooklyn workspace, Justin Wedies is keeping Occupy alive today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's changed is that people now recognize that the game is rigged. As we organize and as we evolve and grow we're going to continue to resist. That's the impulse behind Occupy Wall Street.

HARLOW: That impulse grew in New York's Zuccotti Park. Took over stops in Brooklyn.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want the banks to stop foreclosures.

HARLOW: Spread from Oakland to Berlin to Hong Kong. Saw thousands of arrests. And got people talking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All great movements start with just a few people.

HARLOW (on camera): Police are trying to clear us all off the street right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell me what (INAUDIBLE) day looks like.

CROWD: This is what the police say look like.

HARLOW: Around 1:00 a.m. November 15th cops surrounded the Zuccotti Park and evicted the protesters who'd been camping out here for two months. They didn't go calmly. And they vowed to keep the movement alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is it. It's a continued stand.

HARLOW (voice-over): For a few months they worked out of an office. Ironically right off Wall Street.

(on camera): And when you walk in, you get a name tag like this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is some of our working spaces. You can see lots of occupiers working here.

HARLOW: Hoping to reinvigorate the movement, May 1st, a day of action around the globe. But it wasn't sustained.

(On camera): Do you think it's relevant today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the message has got diluted.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't see any reason that it would have diminished in importance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just seem to be -- to be a ragtag bunch of people.

HARLOW: Stronger? Weaker?

MARK BRAY, OCCUPY ACTIVIST: Different. I think that there are things that are stronger. I think our connections to actual organizing issues are definitely stronger.

HARLOW (voice-over): Occupy says it has about $40,000 left in the bank and has formed groups focusing on specific issues like student debt and housing. There from the beginning, Mark Bray says, give it time.

BRAY: If you look at all the social movements in history whether it be the civil rights movement, feminist movement, it takes decades before you get going.

HARLOW: Zuccotti Park is no longer occupied. But it is still surrounded by police barricades. A reminder of the past year.

BRAY: We don't need to sit in the park. We've got your attention. Now what we need to do is actually follow through.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARLOW: And, Carol, that's what they're trying to do today. To follow through to make their presence more visible. Just a little color. I was walking with the protesters around Wall Street just about half an hour ago. Many are wearing birthday hats, holding balloons, singing happy birthday.

And it's relatively calm. I've only seen a few arrests. But I will tell you, there's still this big question of what exactly does the movement stand for and how are they effecting change? One occupier told us we're building the roots of a visible struggle. They believe this is the beginning and they're in it for the long haul.

COSTELLO: Poppy Harlow reporting live for us from New York City this morning.

Lawyers for Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton will be in a Paris courtroom just a few hours from now. They want to stop those topless photos of the duchess from being published anymore. And they want the photographer to face criminal charges. This comes as magazines in France, Ireland and now Italy have released the photos of Kate sunbathing partially nude.

Royal correspondent Max Foster joins us by phone from the Solomon Islands. That's where the royals are. And are there more pictures out there? I mean, have we just seen a few of them? Or more to be made public?

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the French magazine certainly says they have more pictures. And part of the legal action is that there will be an injunction against that magazine for publishing any more pictures and actually taking existing ones offline.

The Italian magazine has a whole load of pictures. There may be more pictures out there. We don't even know who the photographer is. And the palace is pursuing criminal charges against them, asking prosecutors to look into that. Even though they don't know who that photographer is. The French magazine is pretty much the only sort of source for that photographer's name. And they're not likely to give it up very easily. But there are pictures out there.

And I was speaking to the duke and duchess today and they are angry. They're upset. They are looking at this French case and a good -- as an example for the rest of the world. If they win this, it's a very clear message to the rest of the world.

I think William certainly feels very angry about this. He talked about Diana and the -- the direct relationship to this story and to the way Diana died in his eyes, I think. And he doesn't want his wife to suffer what his mother suffered. And he was pursued by paparazzi right up until she died. So he's angry about this. He wants to draw a line and say this is completely unacceptable. That's the message from us. And there are certain things we -- we won't accept. And they're arguing that everyone, no matter how famous, has a right to a certain level of privacy.

COSTELLO: How successful might they be in their suit?

FOSTER: Well, one of the reasons they're pursuing the French case as opposed to the Italian or Irish is because there are very strong privacy laws in France. And they're more likely to win a case there. So that's part of the reason. And it was the first country where the pictures were published as well.

They do feel very confident about winning the case in France. They're putting a lot into it. And then will take a lot out of either Prince Charles's or Prince William's budget. But they do feel confident about winning it. And they want to send a message to the rest of the world as well that they will pursue things if required.

They're expecting other publications in other countries to live up to their morals, I guess you could say. They want them to question whether or not you should be publishing these pictures. And perhaps there's some backlash in France and Italy, for example, for these pictures. And a lot of people do feel that if they had a wife or a daughter, they wouldn't want those pictures published in a magazine anywhere in the world. So there's a public debate here as much as a legal debate, I think.

COSTELLO: Max Foster reporting live for us this morning.

The thin red line on Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sending a stern warning to the United States. The action he wants the Obama administration to take to help avoid a possible war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is 15 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now.

One of America's most trusted institutions is accused of covering up sexual abuse going back decades. An investigation by the "L.A. Times" lays out shocking allegations against the Boy Scouts of America. It says the organization protected personnel and volunteers accused of sexual abuse and often did not report incidents to police or parents.

The Boy Scouts said in a statement yesterday that they, quote, "continuously enhance policies and procedures which now include background checks and comprehensive training programs," end quote.

Cancer is now the number one cause of death for Hispanics in the United States. That's according to a new study. But for African- Americans and non-Hispanic whites, heart disease remains the leading cause of death.

And an Illinois man accused of plotting to blow up a car outside a downtown Chicago bar is due in court today. Federal agents arrested 18-year-old Adel Daoud. You can see his home here.

Over the weekend, police charged him with domestic terrorism. His arrest followed an undercover investigation spanning several months.

Torrential rains expected to cross the Southeast today. Flood watching in effect from Central Tennessee to West Virginia. As earlier drought conditions have been alleviated in recent weeks. Rains are welcome in Georgia, however, where more than 50 percent of the state is under some form of drought.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is cranking up the pressure on President Obama to draw a clear red line with Iran on its nuclear ambitions. The administration is now responding.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice was on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN RICE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: President Obama has been absolutely clear and on this there's absolutely no daylight between the United States and Israel, that we will do what it takes to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Joining me now is General Spider Marks. General, welcome.

GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Ambassador Rice said there is no daylight between the United States and Israel. Israel begs to differ. But let's start with whether there should be a red line in the first place. From a military perspective, should there be a red line?

MARKS: Well, a red line is simply a term that Netanyahu is using. Clearly, what it means is he's trying to get the international community to say this is acceptable behavior, and this is unacceptable behavior. And then everybody needs to kind of gather around that and agree that Iran cannot cross a certain -- or go down a certain path. It's a term that he's using.

It clearly is used to try to bound the type of behavior that can be identified and can be measured. The United Nations should certainly be involved in the International Atomic Energy Commission and those kinds of inspections should be used and should be put in place. Clearly, what the prime minister is concerned about is enrichment of uranium.

And then military actions are certainly an option, Carol. They should never be addressed overtly. But they should never be -- no options should ever be taken off the table.

COSTELLO: No options have been taken off the table as far as I know.

MARKS: Correct.

COSTELLO: But let's say both sides, everybody agrees to this red line. And Iran crosses it. So what happens?

MARKS: Well, you know, it has to be -- first of all, Iran would not cross a red line without the international community and certainly specifically the United States and Israel with incredibly close intelligence sharing relationships knowing that they're about to cross that line.

So if Iran were to get up to that line, the United States and Israel would start to bang a drum a heck of a lot more loudly. We would hope.

Israel's primary concern is that they want to make sure Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon. Clearly, what the United States has established as the red line is the -- the acquisition of that nuclear weapon by Iran.

So there is a gap between those two. Clearly, the United States and Israel are not on the same page.

But in terms of military actions, there could be covert operations that could be taking place right now to ensure that all those steps that are necessary for Israel to acquire that capability or get closer cannot be reached.

COSTELLO: OK. So let's just go back to possible military action. Because I just want our viewers to kind of understand what that would mean.

If the United States and Israel decided to attack Iran, would they be in it alone?

MARKS: I don't think they would be in it alone. Clearly, the United States and Israel would have to lead an effort militarily. Then the international community would have to back it up. And if they chose not to, then the United States and Israel would be alone.

Clearly, there would be a resistance from Russia, we would anticipate China, and there may be other nations that would disagree with the use of military force. But, clearly, the United States and Israel have to be completely connected in this. And the type of military action could include a conventional attack or, as I indicated, it might include and it should include forms of special operations well in advance to try to degrade and begin the degradation of the capabilities that Iran has.

COSTELLO: Is it a fair comparison, you know, to compare what's happening now with Iran to what happened with Iraq?

MARKS: No, I don't think so. I think what -- what needs to take place is that, first of all, the conditions are far different. In the use of not only military force, U.S. military force and then coalescing an international community that has now been frankly jaded yet is staying the course in that part of the world.

And so, what we have right now is Iran, clearly a bit of an outlier in the Arab community in that part of the world clearly is vulnerable. But it has its allies and it has its capabilities. Those need to be degraded and they can be degraded.

So I don't think we would see a similar type of coalescing of an international body and that type of a large military application of force. But, clearly, United States can do that if they chose to do it. And Israel certainly would be a part of that.

COSTELLO: General, thanks so much.

MARKS: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: President Obama taking action against China. What he says the country's government is doing that's taking money out of your pocket.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day.

The question for you this morning, what do you make of the attacks on U.S. embassies? What's really behind the attacks on U.S. embassies in the Middle East and beyond? Is it that cheaply made anti-Islam movie that few people have seen? Or is it a long simmering resentment of U.S. policies?

And was the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya preplanned? That depends on who you ask.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

RICE.: What happened in Benghazi was, in fact, initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in Cairo -- almost a copycat of the demonstrations against our facility in Cairo which were prompted, of course, by the video.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: Most people don't bring rocket- propelled grenades and heavy weapons to a demonstration. That was an act of terror. And for anyone to disagree with that fundamental fact, I think, is really ignoring the facts.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

COSTELLO: Libya's president says foreign extremists did plan the attack. But in Egypt, officials say some protesters there actually got paid to participate. Of course, events overseas have already changed the dialogue when it comes to the election here at home. Until now, Mitt Romney's message has centered on the economy.

But with Obama leading in the polls, Republicans have seized on the embassy crisis to attack the President's leadership.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: All of us are watching events closely. But we know who America is dealing with in these attacks. They are extremists who operate by violence and intimidation. And the least equivocation or mixed signal only makes them bolder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Conservative pundit Bill Kristol has gone so far as to predict whoever wins the national security debate over the next few weeks will win the election. Really? What happened to it's the economy, stupid?

So, the talk back question for you today, what do you make of the attacks op the U.S. embassies? Facebook.com/CarolCNN, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. Your comments later this hour.

Echoes of the Cold War. Our Jill Dougherty looks at the modern day problems posed by China and Russia, the tough decisions that await the next president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is 30 minutes past the hour. Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you for being with us.

Stories we're watching right now in THE NEWSROOM:

The opening bell on Wall Street rang just a few seconds ago to kick off the new workweek. Investors are watching the housing market after the Federal Reserve announced its plans to buy back more mortgage- based securities. Ringing the opening bell: executives and guests of the New York public television station Thirteen, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

City of Chicago will ask a court to end a teachers strike that's now entering a second week. Sunday, the Chicago teachers union made the decision not to end the walk out after they failed to reach a deal with the school district. They want more time to go over the latest proposal. More than 350,000 students are affected by this strike.

To politics now.

With 50 days to go until Election Day, President Obama heads to the battleground state of Ohio for his 12th visit this year. It comes as his administration gears up to file a trade complaint against China, accusing the country of illegally subsidizing the cost of auto parts and auto exports. The auto industry, as you know, is a crucial part of Ohio's economic.

White House correspondent Brianna Keilar joins me live now. Good morning, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, a crucial part of Ohio's economy and other battleground states as well. No coincidence there.

The Obama administration is set to announce that it is filing a complaint with the WTO saying that China illegally subsidized auto exporters. Chinese auto exporters who they say obviously would be competing with U.S. suppliers.

So the allegation here is that there's $1 billion in illegal subsidies that were put in place between 2009 and 2011. Well, obviously, China and the U.S., members of the WTO. And, of course, this comes as President Obama is set literally to depart the south lawn any moment to head to Ohio where he'll have two events.

And Ohio is a state where certainly the auto industry plays big. More than 10 percent of the jobs in Ohio tied in some way to the auto industry. So this is something President Obama is doing in his official capacity but, of course, with an eye to November.

And I should tell you that the Romney campaign has put out a response a short time ago. Their response to this, which obviously the expectation is that it would play very well with voters who are concerned about the auto industry in these states, Carol. It says, "President Obama has spent 43 months failing to confront China's unfair trade practices, campaign season trade practices may sound good on the stump, but it is too little, too late for American businesses and middle-class families."

This is a huge issue as these candidates are fighting for votes in areas where the auto bailout and auto industry are big issues, Carol.

COSTELLO: Brianna Keilar reporting live from the White House this morning.

China's Cold War ally Russia is also presenting modern day challenges for President Obama and future occupants of the Oval Office. CNN foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Russia and on China, Barack Obama made cooperation his motto.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In an interconnected world, in a global economy, nations, including our own, will be more prosperous and more secure when we work together.

DOUGHERTY: But with the Kremlin's increasing authoritarian outlook and with Beijing's growing assertiveness in Asia, he's found that approach more difficult.

OBAMA: After a decade in which we fought two wars that cost us dearly in blood and treasure, the United States is turning our attention to the vast potential of the Asia-Pacific region.

DOUGHERTY: With his pivot to Asia, Mr. Obama made a strategic decision for the U.S. to play a larger, long-term role in Asia. And facing a more than $200 billion trade deficit with China, he brought suits against Beijing at the World Trade Organization.

OBAMA: We're going to continue to be firm in insisting that they operate by the same rules that everybody else operates under.

DOUGHERTY: He fended off Republican and Democratic demands to designate China a currency manipulator. Concerned it would start a trade war. Angering Beijing, he signed off on arms sales to Taiwan, but refused to sell them advanced F-16 fighter jets.

But Mitt Romney vows to take off the gloves.

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So if I'm President of the United States, I will finally take China to the carpet and say, look, you guys, I'm going to label you a currency manipulator and apply tariffs unless you stop those practices.

DOUGHERTY: China, Governor Romney says, is a cheat.

ROMNEY: China is stealing our intellectual property, patents, designs, know how, brand names.

DOUGHERTY: Romney says he would sell more arms to Taiwan. And he'd confront China on its human rights record.

With Russia, Obama tried the reset button.

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We want to reset our relationship.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's do it together.

CLINTON: We will do it together. OK?

(LAUGHTER)

DOUGHERTY: He wanted a new START arms control agreement. Got Vladimir Putin's green light opening crucial supply lines for coalition forces in Afghanistan, and canceled the Bush administration's plan for putting missile defense components in Poland.

Mitt Romney blasts Obama's approach.

ROMNEY: Under my administration, our friends will see more loyalty and Mr. Putin will see a little less flexibility and more backbone.

DOUGHERTY: Romney says if he's elected, he'll ditch Obama's reset button. Russia, he says, is --

ROMNEY: Without question, our number one geopolitical foe.

DOUGHERTY: Romney vows to reevaluate that arms control treaty and to confront the Kremlin on its human rights record. But would Mitt Romney substantially change U.S. policy toward Russia or China?

Four years ago, Barack Obama took a harder line, too. Once in office, he tempered that with diplomatic calculus.

(on camera): Right now, Moscow and China opposed U.S. efforts to remove Bashar al-Assad in Syria. But Washington needs their help on other challenges like Iran and North Korea. Debates over Russia and China often are black and white. But seen from inside the White House, there's a lot more gray.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Log on to CNN.com/election for a full series of reporting on major issues as we count down to the election.

President Obama will not be having a sit-down like this with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the United Nations. And the President's decision is getting a lot of pushback on the campaign trail. We'll talk about that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's running mate, is stepping up his attacks on President Obama's decision not to meet with the Israeli prime minister this week. As you know, Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to meet with Mr. Obama at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The President had scheduling conflicts.

Here's Ryan on the Christian Broadcasting Network.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CBN NEWS)

DAVID BRODY, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, CBN NEWS: Benjamin Netanyahu is not going to meet with the President. The President says, it's not going to happen.

RYAN: I've heard.

BRODY: Yet, oh, by the way, he's going to meet with President Mohamed Morsi next week at the U.N. What does that tell you exactly about this administration?

RYAN: I'm really troubled by this. Israel is our greatest ally in the Middle East. Of all times when we need to show very little daylight if any between our relationship with Israel, it's now. So, I think this fraying relationship with Israel bordering on contempt is the worst possible thing we should be doing at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Mohamed Morsi is the President of Egypt. So, Ryan's issue? Why meet with Egypt's president and not the Israeli prime minister?

So, let's talk about that with our CNN contributors L.Z. Granderson who leans left, and Will Cin who leans right. Welcome to both of you.

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. Should the President change his mind and go ahead and meet with Benjamin Netanyahu, find some little space in his schedule where he can do that, Will?

CAIN: Yes, definitely. First of all, it's not an either/or choice. Why would he meet with the Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, and not Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? You can do both.

We need to meet with Egypt. We need to see what kind of country Morsi intends to run in Egypt and whether or not he intends to let the Salifists and hardcore Muslim extremists actually dictate the nature of the Egyptian foreign policy and the future of that country. But he also needs to be talking to Benjamin Netanyahu.

And Paul Ryan wasn't stepping up an attack. I actually think, Carol, he's stating the obvious. The relationship between Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama, it's a huge understatement to say it's strain. We have audio of President Obama saying I have to put up with Netanyahu to French President Nicolas Sarkozy. We now know he can't seem to find it in his schedule to meet with Netanyahu.

Israel is dealing with some very, very big issues. Most obviously it's Iran. I think for President Obama to not be able to find time in his schedule -- he's sending a message clearly to Netanyahu in Israel.

COSTELLO: It is interesting that the prime minister of Israel is saying these things right in the middle of an American election. I mean, is he stirring the pot here knowing that he can?

GRANDERSON: Absolutely. You have to remember, he's not the prime minister of America. He's the prime minister of Israel. So he needs to do what he needs to do to make sure that he appears to be working as hard as we possibly can for the freedom and the safety of his country, which is what he should be doing. President Obama is doing what he's doing which is being responsible and doing what's in the best interest of this country.

I agree with a lot of things that Will said. The President definitely needs to make time to make sure he meets with both individuals, both world leaders. Not just for appearances sake, but just to make sure that he's getting the message across about what America will and won't do going forward.

I just find it very interesting that it's Paul Ryan on television making these remarks. If you check his voting record, he appears to be making quite a few no votes towards sanctions against Iran that would make this process easier. He has a string of no votes condemning businesses in America from doing business with Iran and crude oil companies to make profit and things like that.

So, if you look at his record and you look at that interview, you see two totally different Paul Ryans.

COSTELLO: You know what Paul Ryan would say. He says it's Romney that's going to make the decisions, not me.

GRANDERSON: Yes. He's the number two guy, though. So if something happens to Ryan -- to Romney, God forbids, he would be the person in charge. In fact, he voted no against withholding $359 million to the World Bank which is the exact same amount of money the World Bank loans to Iran. That was done as a way of creating sanctions on Iran. Paul Ryan voted no against that measure. So if you look at his record, you don't see a person who really has a leg to stand on in criticizing the President when it comes to Iran and Israel.

COSTELLO: Will, do you know of new sanctions that Governor Romney wants to impose on Iran to stop them from going forward to produce these nuclear weapons?

CAIN: Well, as you know, Carol, I think L.Z. mentioned earlier, this is kind of an important time to be sorting out what's going on in that area of the world, right? Israel and Iran's relationship is integral. Will there be no sanctions? I don't know. I know the conversation is where will you set your red lines, right? Where will you tell Iran you can go no further?

Now, I'll say this. I think that both -- I think that both President Obama and Mitt Romney are fuzzy on this. They keep moving. Is it -- is it when they acquire enough fissile material but not when they move to actually put bomb parts together? You know what exactly is Mitt Romney's difference with President Obama on this? I'll be honest with you, I'm unclear.

COSTELLO: Well, we're going to have that discussion in the next hour of NEWSROOM. So thanks for bringing that up.

Will Cain, L.Z. Granderson, thanks so much for another interesting conversation. I appreciate it.

CAIN: Thanks.

COSTELLO: We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Forty-eight minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now.

More protests worldwide over the anti-Muslim film shot here in the United States. About 300 protesters clashed with police in Kabul, Afghanistan this morning near the U.S. embassy. At least 15 police officers were hurt. Two police vehicles were set on fire.

Mother Nature putting a halt on the final trip for space shuttle "Endeavour". Bad weather is forcing NASA to postpone the piggy back flight of the space shuttle to California where it will be put on display. "Endeavour's" final flight now expected to take place tomorrow.

In money news, Yahoo! workers are getting more connected. New Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer is getting every U.S. employee a smart phone. And the search engine giant will foot the bill and data bills. The goal? To get employees to use the same technologies its customers are using. Smart phones include the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S3.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: "Talk Back" question this morning: What do you make of the attacks on the U.S. embassy?

This from Steven. "I'm sick of the finger-pointing excuse-driven Obama administration. It's delusional and dangerous to state that all the violence was spontaneous and based on a stupid film."

This from Amanda. "These attacks scare me to the core. If this is another way of terrorism, it's working."

This from Pamela. "It is time our President gets a backbone and we need to stop all aid. Hit them in the pocketbook and the trouble will stop. Look at the money we'll save, just saying."

This from Gary. "The attacks were predictable. We've meddled in the affairs of too many Middle Eastern countries for too long and done what Israel wants for too long. If we cave to Israel's red line demand on Iran, the big war will begin."

Keep the comments coming Facebook.com/CarolCNN. More comments in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We're only in the second week of the NFL season but players and fans are already blowing the whistle on replacement refs. Take the Ravens-Eagles game yesterday. The officials looked confused at times and their on-field conferences helped push that game beyond three and a half hours. It was crazy.

After the game, the Ravens' famous linebacker Ray Lewis said, quote, "There are some serious calls the refs missed. It is just the way it is, man, all around the league. These are calls, with the regular refs, if they were here, we know the ways the calls would be made," end quote,

I talked about the replacement refs before with our CNN contributor Tiki Barber. Good morning, Tiki.

TIKI BARBER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: How are you doing?

COSTELLO: Did you watch that game?

BARBER: I saw a little bit of it. I was actually at the Giants-Tampa Bay game here in the -- not Meadowland but (inaudible) stadium but I heard this about controversy and it is interesting because Ray Lewis is exactly right.

The NFL made a concerted effort to put pressure on the existing referees by replacing them and saying, you know what; they're going to get better as the season goes on as they get more repetitions. But clearly they're not.

I saw it at the game that I was at. They conference on everything just to make sure that they're making the right calls. And as the games go on and on and on, you start to worry about how that's going to affect the nature of play in the National Football League. COSTELLO: Well, what was really scary because I watched that Ravens- Eagles game. You know, the Ravens are tough. There were fights after almost every play in the first quarter and the refs were calling like -- they weren't like blaming anyone. They had offsetting penalties so no one was punished.

(CROSSTALK)

BARBER: They didn't know -- you're absolutely right. They didn't know what to do. And we brought this up about two or three weeks ago that the regular referees have been doing this for a long time. They know how to get in the right positions and most importantly they know how to police the game when things start to get out of hand. When fights start to break out and when to warn the right guy and when to warn the sidelines or the coaches so they start policing themselves.

These replacement refs don't have a handle on that side of this game and its' going to start hurting the outcome of contests unfortunately.

COSTELLO: I thought Michael Vick's ribs were going to be broken again. That was the call that they were trying to figure out whether it was a forward pass and it obviously was to everyone except them. But Michael Vick was being -- I just couldn't believe how hard they were hitting him. You could see people pulling people's face masks and there were a lot of calls that were simply missed.

BARBER: There were -- there were a lot of calls that were missed. And I think the commissioner and the NFL have to start taking a hard look at what they're really doing by locking out these current referees because we felt that the replacement referees were going to be less of a distraction on the game. They were maybe going to take it easy and maybe not influence the outcomes of games by making too many calls.

But regardless they're still talking about them. We're still talking about them. Every week it's something else seems to come up. In fact, there was a story, a side story different from this about a referee who was posting on Facebook how big of a Saints fan he was and he was scheduled to work the Saints and the Carolina Panthers game so the NFL had to pull him.

So it's very interesting how many divergent problems these replacement refs are starting to prove for the National Football League.

COSTELLO: Yes. And just another note about the violence of the game and maybe players are taking extra chances because they know these replacement refs and you said he watched the Giants-Bucs game -- you know, Eli Manning taking a knee and then he got knocked down by the Bucs. I mean, come on.

BARBER: You know, that is a debate that's raging here in New York about whether Greg Schiano, the new head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should have told his defensive linemen to go all out, try to force a fumble on a kneel-down play with zero time left on the clock. Tom Coughlin was obviously and visibly disturbed after the game, yelling at Coach Schiano.