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Washington (CNN) – As the American public and the global community await the completion of the Obama administration’s extensive review of U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan, Mikhail Gorbachev, the former president of the Soviet Union, said Sunday that, instead of sending more troops, Obama should begin to the lay the groundwork to withdraw from Afghanistan.

“I think that what’s needed is not additional forces,” the former Soviet leader said through a translator, “this is something that we discussed, too, years ago but we decided not to do it. And I think our experience deserves attention.”

WATCH: The entire Gorbachev interview

Instead of more troops, Gorbachev said the Soviets decided to emphasize domestic development in Afghanistan and promoting national reconciliation between the various clans in the country. In deciding how to proceed in Afghanistan, Gorbachev said the Soviet Union also consulted with other countries including the United States, Iran, Pakistan, and India.

Soviet troops occupied Afghanistan in 1979. They withdrew a decade later after facing stiff resistance from Afghan fighters, who were backed by the United States and Pakistan. The conflict killed 13,000 Soviet soldiers and more than a million Afghan civilians.

But the former world leader added that Afghanistan’s history as a staging ground for international terrorism could not be ignored.

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The dramatic late Saturday House vote in favor of sweeping health care changes was a major topic of the Sunday conversation, with the debate breaking down this way:

*Democrats saw the victory, as narrow as it was, as a major step forward and a momentum boost they say dramatically increases the odds of getting legislation to President Obama this year.

*Republicans took the 220-215 margin – and the 39 Democrats who voted “No” – as proof of jitters in the Democratic ranks, and proof that they will end up on the winning side of politics of health care.

Other major Sunday attention grabbers:

*Gen. George Casey, the Army Chief of Staff, chose his words carefully when discussing the tragic massacre at Fort Hood. But he was emphatic in his appeal that Muslims serving in the Army and other military services should not face suspicion or discrimination because of the actions of Fort Hood gunman Maj. Nadal Malik Hasan.

*Mikhail Gorbachev joined us for “The Last Word” to discuss the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and we took the opportunity to ask his view of President Obama as a world leader, and his advice as Mr. Obama ponders sending more troops to Afghanistan.

Straight now to the Sound of Sunday, beginning with health care:
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Washington (CNN) - Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao was the only Republican to vote in favor of the Democratic health care bill that passed the House late Saturday, a vote that came after President Obama called to personally to ask for his support, Cao told CNN.

The president dialed the freshman congressman from Louisiana around noon on Saturday, hours before a vote on an amendment offered by anti-abortion Democrats that banned most abortion coverage from the public option and other insurance providers in the insurance "exchange" the legislation would create. That measure passed later in the evening.

Cao said he explained to the president he could not support the health care bill without the amendment, but said he would support the bill if the abortion measure passed. It was a sentiment he also expressed to House GOP leadership ahead of the vote, he said.

Earlier: I put needs of my district first, Cao says

The final vote came after several discussions about the bill with White House officials.

Cao, who hails from one of the most Democratic districts in the country, also asked the president for assurances that the administration would do more to help with ongoing disaster relief efforts in his New Orleans district, specifically by forgiving millions in disaster loans to the region.

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Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama on Sunday praised the "historic" House vote to pass a bill overhauling the nation's ailing health care system, and said now it is time for the Senate to "take the baton" and complete its work.

The House passed its health care bill late Saturday night by a 220-215 vote, with 39 Democrats in opposition and one Republican supporting it. Senate approval is considered less certain due to opposition by all Republicans and some moderate Democrats.

Obama called the support by many House members "courageous" in the face of what he called "the heated and often misleading rhetoric around this legislation."

Full story

Washington (CNN) - Fresh off his win last week in Virginia's gubernatorial race, Republican Robert McDonnell wasted no time Sunday taking issue with health care reform, the Democrats' biggest domestic policy item of 2009.

Asked about the public health insurance option contained in the House health care reform bill passed late Saturday night, and about the different variations of the public option that could still be included in the final version of the Senate bill, Virginia's governor-elect said he was not keen on having his state involved in government-provided health insurance.

"[T]he public option does not seem to be something that is going to help us in Virginia," McDonnell said Sunday on CNN's State of the Union.

"However they structure it," McDonell also told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King, "if it gives flexibility to states, I think that's a good thing." He added that he was "very concerned about turning this signifcant section of the American economy over to the federal government."

McDonnell also stood by his campaign promise not to raise taxes in his state.

"I think that's the worst thing you do in a recession is to raise taxes on - on the citizens. We're going to have hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes at the federal level with this health care bill. When the tax cuts [passed under former Pres. George W. Bush] expire in 2011, it's going to be a crushing increase in new taxes."

"People want a better bang for their buck out of their government," McDonnell also told King, "and [they] don't want to have a tax increase every time we have an economic downturn."

Updated: 1:28 p.m.

(CNN) - Sen. Joseph Lieberman said Sunday he intends to launch a Senate committee hearing on whether the Fort Hood shootings were a terrorist act and if the Army should have taken pre-emptive steps due to reported signs of Islamic extremism by the suspected gunman.

"I'm intending to begin a congressional investigation of my Homeland Security Committee into what were the motives of (Maj. Nidal Malik) Hasan in carrying out this mass murder," the Connecticut independent, who belongs to the Democratic caucus, said on "FOX News Sunday."

If Hasan was showing signs of being an Islamic extremist, the Army should have acted on that earlier and "he should have been gone," said Lieberman, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Saying it was too early to know Hasan's exact motive, Lieberman declared that if reports of the alleged gunman's possible Islamic extremism are true, then "the murder of these 13 people was a terrorist act."

"We don't know enough to say now," Lieberman said, noting what he called "strong warning signs" that Hasan had become an Islamic extremist.
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Washington (CNN) - Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao said Sunday he put the needs of his district over the desire of his party in being the lone House Republican to vote for a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care system.

Related: Lone GOP vote came after call from Obama

Cao's "yes" vote ended up being unnecessary for House Democrats in the 220-215 tally, but as the only GOP member to support the bill, he gave House Speaker Nancy Pelosi license to tout bipartisan support for the controversial measure.

"I felt last night's decision was the proper decision for my district even though it was not the popular decision for my party," Cao, a first-term representative from Louisiana's traditionally Democratic 2nd District, told CNN.

"A lot of my constituents are uninsured, a lot of them are poor," Cao said. "It was the right decision for the people of my district."

The first Vietnamese-American to serve in the House, Cao defeated nine-term Democratic incumbent William Jefferson in last year's election. Jefferson was under indictment on money laundering and bribery charges at the time, and has since been convicted.

Cao, a devout Catholic, said Sunday that an amendment to strengthen anti-abortion language in the House bill cleared the way for his support.

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Washington (CNN) – The Army Chief of Staff hesitated Sunday to get into any details of the investigation into Thursday’s shootings at Fort Hood. At the same time, Gen. George Casey said he was ‘concerned’ that the incident could result in a potential backlash against Muslim soldiers.

Maj. Nadal Malik Hasan, a U.S.-born citizen of Palestinian descent, is the sole suspect in the shootings.

Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, Casey told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King “there’s an ongoing investigation and I can’t speak to the particulars of the investigation or to any motivation of Maj. Hasan.”

Echoing recent comments by President Obama and Texas’ Republican senators, Casey cautioned against speculating about the causes behind the shootings.

“We have to be careful,” Casey told King, “because we can’t jump to conclusions now based on little snippets of information that have come out.”

Casey said he was “concerned that this increased speculation could cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers” and added that he had asked leaders in his service to be on the lookout for signs of a backlash.

“As great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well,” the Army Chief of Staff also said Sunday.

Casey was quick to add that he does not think there is currently discrimination against the roughly 3,000 Muslims who serve in the Army as active duty soldiers or in the reserves.

Updated: 11:41 a.m.

Washington (CNN) - The House of Representatives passed a sweeping health care bill Saturday night with a tight vote of 220-215, making it the biggest expansion of health care coverage since Medicare was created more than 40 years ago.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act, or H.R. 3962, restricts insurance companies from denying coverage to anyone with a pre-existing condition or charging higher premiums based on gender or medical history. It also provides federal subsidies to those who cannot afford it and guarantees coverage for 96 percent of Americans, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

However, turning the bill into law remains uncertain.

Full story

Washington (CNN) - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's sharp criticism of the media won't stop her from breaking bread with journalists next month at a dinner here in the nation's capital.

The 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee will be the GOP speaker at the Gridiron Club and Foundation's annual winter dinner, the organization announced Friday.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts, will be the Democratic speaker at the Dec. 5 event.

Palin's appearance at the Gridiron dinner will come a few weeks after her new book, "Going Rogue: An American Life," goes on sale.

Washington (CNN) - The House of Representatives on Saturday night passed a sweeping health care bill bya vote of 220-215.

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Washington (CNN) - The House of Representatives on Saturday night passed an amendment to pending health care legislation that prohibits federal funds for abortion services in the public option and in the insurance "exchange" the bill would create.

The vote passed 240-194.

A second amendment considered by the House, introduced by Minority Leader John Boehner, which would have substituted several sections of the health care bill dealing with insurance, did not pass. Legislators voted against the amendment 258-176.

Full story

Washington (CNN) - The House of Representatives on Saturday night passed an amendment to pending health care legislation that prohibits federal funds for abortion services in the public option and in the insurance "exchange" the bill would create.

The vote passed 240-194.

The amendment was introduced by anti-abortion Democrats. Its consideration was considered a big win for them and for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which used its power - especially with conservative Democrats in swing congressional districts - to help force other Democratic leaders to permit a vote that most of them oppose.

The prohibition, introduced by Democratic members, including Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Indiana, and Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Michigan, would exclude cases of rape, incest or if the mother's life is in danger.

Republicans strongly supported the measure.

The GOP accounted for 174 of the votes in favor of the amendment, with 1 Republican voting "present."

On the Democrat's side, 64 voted for the measure, and 194 voted against.

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Washington (CNN) - In the final hours before the House was set to vote on a sweeping health reform bill, indications were that the vote could come down to the wire.

House Democrats needed 218 votes to pass the health care bill. Without any Republican support, that meant Democrats can lose no more than 40 of their own members. And as the House appeared to near a vote late Saturday night, CNN confirmed at least 35 Democrats planned to vote no. Another dozen or so had not made public commitments or were undecided.

In other words, if no Republicans voted yes, Democrats could afford to lose only five more members of their 258-member caucus on the issue.

As late as 8:30 p.m. ET, some key Democrats were still undecided.

Full story

Washington (CNN) - Foes of the House Democrats' health care bill rallied outside the Capitol Saturday afternoon, hours before what many of them anticipate will be a setback for their position - approval of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's bill.

"It may pass out of the House tonight. We do realize that," Jenny Beth Martin, event organizer for the Tea Party Patriots, said. "But there is the Senate still. And we are going to leave no stone unturned and fight the government taking over our health care."

Chanting "Kill the bill" and "Hell, no" throughout the nearly 90-minute rally, the few hundred attendees kept up their opposition despite having a much lower turnout than a similar rally held on Thursday.

More than a dozen Republican lawmakers spoke to the protesters and encouraged them to keep up the fight by speaking to wavering Democrats and their families, friends and neighbors about the legislation.
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Washington (CNN) – In the midst of a heated debate on health care legislation, Rep. John Shadegg, R-Arizona, brought the cute, bald 7-month-old daughter of his Chief of Staff to the floor and gently bounced her in his arms as he expressed his opposition to the Democratic health care reform bill.

Shadegg used Maddie to illustrate how he said the Democrats’ proposal would pass debt on to her generation.

“Maddie believes in patient choice health care,” Shadegg said. “She asked to come here today to say she doesn’t want the government to take over health care, she wants to be able to keep her plan.”

Shadegg continued as the small child began playing with the foam microphone cover: “You see, Maddie knows that if this bill passes her mom’s health care goes away and won’t be around in five years. As a matter of fact, the bill says, if the bill passes, then no more health care for her mom because it has to change.

“Maddie wants patient choice. Maddie doesn’t want her mom’s premiums to go. She doesn’t want her mom’s taxes to go up by $730 billion dollars, do you Maddie? That’s too much money.”

Shadegg then did what few if any lawmakers have done before on the floor of the house: He quoted an infant. “She believes in choices, but most of all, Maddie says, ‘Don’t tax me to pay for health care that you guys want. If you want health care, pay for it yourselves. Because it’s not fair to pass your health care bill on to me and my grandchildren.’”

When Shadegg’s time ran out and California Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman reclaimed control of the microphone, he said of Maddie, “That was a remarkable child,” and of Shadegg, “and a great ventriloquist.”