morning. ets it's going to go like that today. also joining us is jeff toobin the cnn senior legal analyst. thank you for joining us and hank of political strategist, iconic political strategist. nice to have you joining us. >> thank you. >> lots to get to. the afghan man who hijacked a car and then breached security, drove on to the runway in kabul just as the pentagon chief leon panetta was landing. that man has died. he died from burns he received after he lit himself on fire. we learned that he apparently was trying to run over a group of marines who had assembled to meet the defense secretary. the british soldier was also injured in that incident. leon panetta is in the capital and he's going to be meeting with the afghan president, harmid karzai and that comes days after a u.s. army sergeant apparently went on a violent attack and went door to door in the middle of the night killing 16 afghan civilians and most women and children. this morning, that suspect, a father of two have been flown out of afghanistan and being held at a military jail in kuwait. gary joins our panel this morning. nice to have you joining us. thank you for being with us. let's start with the suspect in the killings in this massacre. are you surprised that he's been removed out of afghanistan and now in kuwait? >> it's probably a good call. the afghans are not going to be happy about this, but preparations for the trial and for safety and for u.s. forces in rc south where he reportedly conducted this attack, it's probably the best thing to do to move them out. they were probably all in agreement on doing this. >> i read that they notified some other afghan leadership, but very vague on who was notified. would you expect fallout from that? >> there are members of the afghan parliament that are complaining already. i am sure they will call members of the karzai administration in front of them to question them on this. exercising more authority in the past year. president karzai was informed of this, i read and, you know, my understanding is he didn't make a formal complaint, but i suspect the afghans will want him tried back in afghanistan and moving him out from kuwait doesn't move him to baggram for a trial in the end. >> we're talking about the guy who drove the car out on the tarmac and he's now dead. doesn't seem to be specifically connected to leon panetta landing, you know, i don't get the sense that he knew that it was secretary panetta, although he did know that there were marines assembled to greet them. that doesn't surprise you, does it? >> 40 attacks by afghan security forces on forces there. part of the problem with all of this is that, you know, they did a poll about a year ago on the afghan men between the ages of 19 and 32 and 40% of them didn't know why we were there. didn't know about 9/11. afghan has a very low literacy rate, we are losing the propaganda war and the taliban respond very quickly to attacks and despite the fact that we're there at the desires of the afghan government that we built thousands of schools. i mean, we've done a lot of good work there. the majority of afghans support our presence there, but, you know, pakistnis, iranians, militant groups on the afghan border don't want us there and are conducting a propaganda war against the u.s. with some success. >> you say, you know, a majority of the afghan people don't know why we're there, i think you might also include the american people in that group. what's the goal? how can we tell when we won in afghanistan? >> well, i think that, you know, the issue here is this. we all know afghanistan was the place where an attack on the united states was launched. the problem is that this is going to look like korea after the korean war. there is not going to be any final ending to this conflict. we will be there for many years and the president has stated that his plan for the air force and special operation forces is going to be there for a much longer period than 2014. a statement made a couple months ago, so, we're there to stabilize afghanistan, but more than anything else, you have to remember that the afghan border and the tribal areas of pakistan have 24 militant groups and many organizing attacks on the west and have been doing so for years. this was a phenomenon that didn't follow our invasion in 2001. it was something that was, you know, active for years before our entry into that area. we have an interest in, you know, helping to defeat those groups and working with the afghan government and the pakistani government to do that and for long term stability of that area. look, forced levels will have to be dropped significantly lower. you know, possibly a third of what we got there so we can sustain over the long haul to accomplish the goals of the u.s. in that region. >> leon panetta says, stay the course. let's play a little bit of what he said. >> we will not allow individual incidents to undermine our resolve to that mission and to sticking to the strategy that we put in place. >> that, i think, it goes, is consistent with what you just laid out there. you wanted to jump in, hapg. >> does this mean every week we're going to hear more attack on american service people and on a constant basis. is this ever going to come to an end? are we really in control? does the infrastructure matter so bad. >> i would add to that, you know, the taliban has also made threats about beheading americans. would you, i guess that's not an idle threat. do you expect to see the violence just increase. >> we have been fighting this war for ten years. these attacks on u.s. forces have been going on for three years and a lot of people just weren't paying attention and we're seeing more of it now and it's more in the news, but, you know, this is a continuation of what has been occurring. if u.s. forces shift the mission, which they're going to, that means we're not going to control battle space any more. we'll work with their army to have them take the lead and with reduction in u.s. losses. but americans will be on the battlefield in afghanistan for a number of years to come, regardless whether this is a democratic or republican adm administration in washington. >> joining us this morning, thanks for your time, we appreciate it. >> you're welcome. other stories making news. christine has those. good morning. >> a deadly collision on a highway in southern pennsylvania. a truck hit a school bus almost head on. the truck driver was killed. close to two dozen students were hurt, six of them airlifted to the hospital. two families who sued virginia tech for a deadly campus shooting in 2007. they were awarded $4 million each by a jury. the suit claims the school failed to notify the rest of campus fast enough after two students were found dead. 33 people were killed that day in the worst. >> i think justice is clearly in the message. the prides and petersons have said from day one, this is not about the money. as have most of the family members. it's not about the money, it's about the truth being told. the university knew at 7:31 a.m. that there was one mortally wounded, one deceased and a gunman on the loose on campus. they did nothing to inform students, staff and faculty about that danger. >> this is not the last word. the state giving strong signals it will appeal. off to prison today for former illinois governor rob blagojevich. the attempted selling of president obama's illinois senate seat. looking at live pictures of him outside his chicago home because he has to report to federal prison. he will serve his term at federal prison in colorado. coming up at 7:30 we'll talk to a man who knows what it is like behind bars. jack abramoff joins us. teen smoking an epidemic, the centers for disease control revealing its new, national ad campaign aimed at getting smokers to quit and keep anyone else, especially kids, from starting in the first place. the ads represent graphic images like this one, along with tips from former smokers showing the severe health effects of tobacco use. minding your business this morning. gas prices up for the sixth day in a row. the national average, $3.82 a gallon. gas is up almost 60 cents a gallon in since january. top their records this summer if oil prices remain strong. quite a guest list at the state dinner at the white house last night. corporate heavyweights like warren buffett and, george clooney arriving solo. president obama using the occasion to thank cameron for his consistent friendship. >> i've learned something about david. in good times and in bad, he's just the kind of partner that you want at your side. i trust him. he says what he does and he does what he says. >> as for the seating assignments, let's just say it's good to be the first lady. check out this tweet last night from mark knoller. i guess mrs. obama seated between prime minister cameron and on her left and george clooney on her right. >> she is like, blah, blah, blah, the prime minister, george, let's talk about the sudan. thanks, christine, appreciate it. still ahead on "starting point." rick santorum says puerto rico needs to adopt english if it wants to become a state because it is the law. it's not the law. where do america's biggest boozers live? in case you're wondering. there is a new list. people make lists about this stuff. there's a new one. our get real this morning, i love this story. a guy who took the money and literally ran. he is the man in charge of the office pool for the lottery. i'll leave it at that. we'll have our get real straight ahead. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle -- 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! i want to fix up old houses. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon. i'm going to own my own restaurant. when i grow up, i'm going to start a band. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. this is off of jeff toobin's playlist. i haven't heard that song in forever. >> this song was like 20 years older than mine. you made fun of me for my song being old. >> i'm contemporary of that song. i have never heard of your song. >> originally written and very famous french song -- >> it's a little slow. early mornings, early mornings. let's move on. our whole entire playlist can be found online at cnn.com/startingpoint. the gop campaigns are moving to puerto rico. 23 delegates up for grabs in puerto rico. it's an opportunity, of course, to get votes, an opportunity for mistakes, of course. rick santorum was asked if he would support making puerto rico a state and he told the local newspaper this. "like any other state, there has to be compliance with this and any other federal law. english has to be the principal language. to be a state of the united states, english has to be the principal language." but that's not really true, is it? our many lawyers on the panel today. it's not true at all. let's bring in pedro, nice to see you, sir, thank you for being with us. let me start with what your reaction is to mr. santorum's comments. the reaction of yourself and then others in puerto rico after reading these comments in the newspaper. >> well, first, it's incorrect to say that there's a federal law imposing english as the only official language in our states. the constitution doesn't provide anything along those lines either. and in puerto rico, as a matter of fact, we have two official languages. english and spanish. santorum's view is narrow and limiting view of what america is all about. english is the predominant language in the u.s. and will continue to be so, whether puerto rico becomes a state or not. in puerto rico, 90% of our parents want their children to become fluent in english. so, it's a nonissue and shouldn't be a factor in determining whether puerto rico can join the union or not. >> there's a whole vote on this, of course, come november. puerto rico, those who want statehood for puerto rico will decide that happens in november. explain to me the whole federal law in this, jeff toobin, about english only. this is something that has been debated for a long time. >> it has been debated, but never any federal law that says english is the official language of the united states. >> there are 41 states that have decided -- >> state permissions. but there are many federal laws that say you have to make available to citizens government benefits, government obligations in the language that they understand. when you have an american courtroom, i used to be a federal prosecutor. it is a requirement that you have an interpreter there, whether they're speaking english, whatever it is, the idea is the government has to make sure that people understand what's going on, not that people have an obligation to speak english. >> politically speaking, as you're campaigning for votes in puerto rico, is this a tough issue for him, judge. >> he ought to save his money and buy a house. this is absolutely nuts. puerto rico is not going to be a state and not the first time a referendum on the issue and nonbinding. he a resident commissioner and he has no power. $25 billion goes out of this country every year to puerto rico in aid. for him to engage in this kind of behavior, santorum shows he has become part -- >> that kind of far run end of the spectrum and xwr have to point out this isn't the first time, although jeff is right, no federal law requiring english the official language. when louisiana was brought into the country, the government said you need to adopt english as your official language. there was a law that said you have to have public schools conduct english as your official language. not the first time. let's not paint santorum as a do doofis. this is not unprecedented. >> this is not about the language. santorum being used by local politicians and a referendum that has no binding, whatsoever. puerto rico will not become a state. >> let's go back to congressman, you have pushed for better instruction in both english and spanish for students in puerto rico. is the quality of english education in puerto rico a problem? >> we have to enhance it and, you're right, that's what we have been doing but i, let me clarify the record. first of all, i am a member of congress. i represent 3.7 million american citizens in congress. my title is resident commissioner. but don't forget, puerto rico is part of the u.s. we are american citizens and the question of statehood, two things must happen for that to occur. the people of puerto rico must request it and then congress must grant it. and to say that it is out of the question when you don't really, we haven't had the vote yet. the last time the people of puerto rico were consulted on this issue was 14 years ago. it is about time we know whether the people of puerto rico aspire to become a state and that's going to happen in november. so, you go step-by-step, but to impose on puerto rico a condition that no other state has, it's unreasonable. by the way, federal agencies conduct their business in puerto rico in english and our government in puerto rico, whenever required, provide service in english, as well. just a matter of getting the record straight. >> what's the fall out been in puerto rico in terms of how the election you feel is going to go? how are the polls going in puerto rico? >> well, our governor is affiliated with the republican party and he has endorsed mitt romney. i would expect that romney will prevail, we'll see on sunday and but in terms of the general elections in the u.s., president obama has been great here in puerto rico. he included puerto rico in our program in the stimulus. he also increased considerably the funding that puerto rico gets for its health problems. there's no parity, but we got an enhancement as part of the affordable care act and he's been straight forward on the status issue. he has told the people of puerto rico that he will support the will of the majority of the people of puerto rico when the time comes for them to express themselves on the status quiiss >> which will be come november. we are out of time. i want to thank you, congressman, for joining us. we certainly appreciate your remarks on that. >> thank you. still ahead on "starting point" north korea's new leader reportedly showing no mercy as he takes control of a military drill this morning. the latest on that. in our "get real" a word to the wise, don't trust your co-workers. an office lottery pool cheat is caught after he takes the entire jackpot for himself. i've got that story straight ahead on "starting point." to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. woman: what do you mean, homeowners insurance doesn't cover floods? [ heart rate increases ] man: a few inches of water caused all this? [ heart rate increases ] woman #2: but i don't even live near the water. what you don't know about flood insurance may shock you -- including the fact that a preferred risk policy starts as low as $129 a year. for an agent, call the number that appears on your screen. will cain has a diverse playlist. >> i assume that's a compliment. >> always a compliment when i'm talking to you, will cain. our "get real "this morning may be my favorite story of all time. the winner is a guy named america lopez' a j. a jury found him cheating his way out of the office lottery pool. go buy the lottery tickets and he worked at a construction company in new jersey. so, november 2009, he buys a mega millions ticket and it wins. it hits $77 million. split two ways. two winning tickets in that. he opted for the lump sum of $24 million and didn't tell anybody. he calls in sick and says, i'm going to get my foot surgery done and comes back to work to say, i'm quitting, i won the lottery. enough time has passed. he claimed the winning ticket was his own purchase with his own money and the judge disagreed with him and gave his five co-workers $4 million apiece. >> this isn't that easy of a case. i turned to jeff during the break and we talked about this. the guy's defensive. we all put money together to buy a ticket and i bought some on my own. it makes the contract to split the winnings a little difficult. >> the one he won, he tried to get that sort of time difference. this can't be the first time this happened, right? >> another famous case in new jersey where office workers started having a fight. that one was resolved because it turned out they didn't have a winning ticket. too bad. what's so hilarious about this. these are not millionaires. why wasn't $4 million enough? why couldn't you say, you know what, i hit the lottery, i think i'll take $4 million. >> given $24 million -- >> $24 million, jeff. >> i never held $4 million. so -- >> he wanted to do what everybody else has done. go to wall street and make a lot of money. >> i think it was a brilliant plan, but karma will always get you and karma got him in the end. >> when he showed up to quit in a lamborghini, it mi