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CNN Live At Daybreak
President Bush's News Conference; What Do Iraqis Have to Say About Bush's Commitment to Staying Course?
Aired April 14, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Let me bring you up to date right now.
The nation's intelligence chiefs will face the 9/11 Commission today. You can watch testimony from CIA Director George Tenet and FBI Director Robert Mueller live right here on CNN.
Authorities are working to identify the remains of four bodies found in shallow graves near the site of a convoy attack in Iraq. Seven American contractors went missing after that attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will make his case to President Bush today. Sharon wants U.S. approval for his unilateral plan to give up parts of Palestinian land and keep other parts.
And Vice President Dick Cheney is in China this morning. He's talking to leaders there about Iraq and North Korea.
Now to the forecast center and Chad -- good morning.
Chad?
Chad isn't quite ready yet. He's still buttoning up his suit. I see him up there.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You see me up here.
COSTELLO: I do see you.
Can we go back up to the forecast center? There you are. What were you doing up there?
MYERS: I was already talking to you and I forgot to put my mike on.
COSTELLO: Oh.
MYERS: So it doesn't actually work unless you have the mike switch on. You can talk all you want, but it doesn't matter.
COSTELLO: You know, good advice this morning. MYERS: Yes.
But you know what? My wife likes it when my mike's not on, because then she can't hear what I'm saying, along with every wife.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Did you get to watch President Bush's news conference last night? It was his first one in more than a year. One interesting point is that President Bush says he cannot think of one single mistake he's made either before or after the September 11 attacks.
Our senior White House correspondent John King has more details on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraq dominated the hour-long event. And as the president rebutted his critics and vowed to stay the course, he also predicted what called a tough series of weeks for the American people would not cost him his job come November.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, nobody likes to see dead people on their television screens. I don't. It is a tough time for the American people to see that. It is gut- wrenching.
KING: Mr. Bush met with reporters in the East Room of the White House, as the Pentagon mulled adding 20,000 troops to deal with the violent insurgency.
BUSH: If additional forces are needed, I will send them. If additional resources are needed, we will provide them.
KING: The president said it is critical to hold fast to a June 30 deadline to transfer sovereignty to a new Iraqi government, even though there is no clear plan yet as to what that new government will look like.
BUSH: As a proud and independent people, Iraqis do not support an indefinite occupation and neither does America. We're not an imperial power.
KING: But Mr. Bush made clear a significant number of U.S. troops would remain in Iraq well past the transfer of sovereignty and in doing so he took sharp issue with critics who call Iraq this president's Vietnam.
BUSH: I think the analogy is false. I also happen to think that analogy is -- sends the wrong message to our troops and sends the wrong message to the enemy.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry says President Bush is being stubborn. In a written statement issued right after Bush's news conference, Kerry said: "The president had the opportunity to tell the American people what steps he was going to take to stabilize the situation in Iraq. Unfortunately, he offered no specific plan whatsoever. Rather, the president made it clear that he intends to stubbornly cling to the same policy that has led to a greater risk to American troops and a steadily higher cost to the American taxpayer."
So, what do Iraqis have to say about President Bush's commitment to staying the course in their country?
For some answers, let's head live to Baghdad and Karl Penhaul -- hello, Karl.
What are Iraqis saying? And did many watch the president's speech, do you think?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
I think there are two points there. First of all, because of the hour of the president's speech and also access to TV sets -- obviously, yes, there are satellite TV channels and such like -- but most Iraqis on the whole I would not expect to have been glued to the presidential press conference. The other thing, though, and it kind of feeds into that, to the situation on the ground here in Iraq, over the last few days with the rash of kidnappings of international personnel here -- we now understand that there are 40 international hostages from 12 different countries -- that is making all international personnel's job very difficult, including ours, and makes it very difficult to get out on the street to actually take the pulse on the street from ordinary Iraqis.
But certainly listening to that speech and reading through that speech, it seems that there's not a huge deal new in terms of fundamentals. But some of the tones of President Bush's comments are, yes, different, and certainly in terms of the security aspect there's very much an effort here, it seems, to tie the two sources of uprising, of revolt against coalition authority at the moment to international terrorist organizations.
On the other hand, we hear President Bush referring to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and him declaiming him for publicly supporting groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. And on the other hand we have heard in recent days from U.S. commanders on the ground that the conflict in the western city of Fallujah is also closely tied to foreign fighters, including affiliates of al Qaeda -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Karl, I know you said it's difficult to get around. The president said that power will be turned over to the Iraqis on June 30th, but he didn't outline any specific plan as to who power would be turned over to.
Is that something the Iraqi Governing Council wanted to hear from the president last night?
PENHAUL: I think rather than the specifics of what was said there, I think that this is certainly a message that the Iraqi Governing Council will want to hear, possibly the Iraqi people themselves will want to hear, and it's certainly a message that the coalition on the ground here have been telling us over recent days, that despite the current unrest here in Iraq and points west, south and within Baghdad itself, the coalition is still very much insisting that they are on track to turn over authority to some kind of Iraqi authority by June the 30th and they're trying not to blow the current situation out of proportion. They're insisting still that this is not chaos that the country is facing but these problems can be overcome by June 30th -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Karl Penhaul live in Baghdad this morning.
Military families, U.S. military families have mixed responses to the president's message.
Listen to some of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM WMUR)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He talks about just keeping them safe. I just, that's the only part I just have such a hard time with, you know? They've been there too long.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted for this man and I support him. I just don't support how they're treating our soldiers right at the moment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd like to tell him bring the 94th Company home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear June 30th and how firm he is on that deadline. That comforts me a lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Give us your gut reaction to President Bush's comments. We want you to send your e-mails to daybreak@cnn.com. We'll read some of them on the air. We'll present them to our friend Jimmy Barrett, who is, of course, a radio talk show host in Richmond, Virginia that we often speak to. So give us some ammunition for him, daybreak@cnn.com. What did you think of the president's remarks? Did they make you feel better about what's going on in Iraq or about what's coming out of the 9/11 Commission? Daybreak@cnn.com.
Russia will begin evacuating some of its 800 contractors working in Iraq. The move comes after eight employees of a Russian firm were kidnapped in Baghdad and then released this week. Russian officials say the evacuation is not mandatory and individual companies will decide if their workers should leave.
The U.S. military is reporting more deaths in Iraq this morning. Four Marines were killed during two days of fighting in Anbar Province. That area includes the city of Fallujah, which, as you know, is a hotbed of insurgent activity. And we are still awaiting word on the identities of four mutilated bodies found west of Baghdad on Tuesday. The Halliburton Company says it cannot confirm the bodies are among the seven contractors who went missing last week from that convoy you're looking at. One of those workers, Thomas Hamil, has been seen on videotape in the custody of armed masked men.
In Macon, Mississippi, Hamil's wife pleaded again for her husband's release.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLIE HAMILL, WIFE OF HOSTAGE: Hello. My name is Kellie Hamil. I would first like to say to my husband Tommy we love and miss you very much.
We would also like to say to the persons who are holding him captive, our hopes are that you will release him unharmed and as soon as possible.
Last, we would like to say to the persons of the community and all across America who have been praying for us, we thank you very much from the bottom of our heart.
We would also like to extend our love and prayers to all the KBR families and other people in our situation.
Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The deadline for Hamil's kidnappers to kill him passed Sunday without word of his fate.
A difference of opinion on who dropped the ball on intelligence before the 9/11 attacks. Just ahead, the 9/11 Commission grills federal law enforcement on what went wrong.
Plus, Vice President Dick Cheney wants China to get more aggressive with the North Korean nuclear crisis. We're going to take you live to Beijing.
And later, the bite turns out to be much bigger than the bait on a fishing expedition. What a 6-year-old found at the end of his hook.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The CIA tops the agenda for today's testimony at the 9/11 Commission. CIA Director George Tenet is scheduled to make his second public appearance in front of the Commission. His testimony should begin at about 9:30 this morning. He'll be followed later in the afternoon by FBI Director Robert Mueller.
And, of course, the FBI did come under some harsh criticism from the Commission members during yesterday's proceedings. Attorney General John Ashcroft also found himself on the defensive.
Here's CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid accusations terrorism was not one of his priorities before the September 11 attacks Attorney General John Ashcroft forcefully rebutted his critics. Among them, then acting FBI Director Thomas Pickard who told the commission Ashcroft did not want to hear about terrorism.
JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I care greatly about the safety and security of the American people and was very interested in terrorism and specifically interrogated him about threats to the American people.
ARENA: Ashcroft blamed missed intelligence opportunities on a legal law that used to separate criminal investigators from intelligence agents.
ASHCROFT: Government erected this wall. Government buttressed this wall and before September 11 government was blinded by this wall.
ARENA: The commission members laid much of the blame on the FBI and its inability to adequately respond to the growing terror threat.
TOM KEAN (R), 9/11 COMMISSION CHAIRMAN: I read a staff statement as an indictment of the FBI for over a long period of time. You know and I read things like that 66 percent of your analysts weren't qualified, that you didn't have the translators necessary to do the job.
ARENA: Pickard, who was running the FBI at the time, admitted that he only found out after the September 11 attacks about vital intelligence, including the arrest of accused terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui and he could not explain why several key FBI field agents were not aware of increased terror chatter in the summer of 2001.
THOMAS J. PICKARD, FMR. FBI ACTING DIRECTOR: I don't understand why they didn't hear it. I spoke to each of them individually, as I said, and in addition I had the communications out to them. I don't know what more I could have done.
ARENA: Questions persist about whether the FBI is up to the job of collecting domestic intelligence and commissioners are considering whether to endorse a separate agency to do the job.
(on camera): On Wednesday, Director Robert Mueller and CIA Director George Tenet are expected to make a case against such a change.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: You can review all of Tuesday's testimony by logging onto our cnn.com Web site. As for today's testimony, be sure to stay right here. We'll have live coverage of the hearings beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 5:16 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning in Iraq.
It's not yet known if the four unidentified bodies discovered west of Baghdad are connected to the disappearance of seven American contractors near Baghdad last week. The families of the missing contractors have been notified of the discovery.
In money news, not much time left to finish doing your taxes. Tomorrow is the filing deadline. Many post offices will stay open late to accommodate all of you procrastinators.
In sports, suspended University of Colorado head coach Gary Barnett says a lot of bad decisions were made by players and coaches. The coach testified for five hours in front of a panel investigating whether the university used sex as a recruiting tool.
In culture, a stamp commemorating famous composer Henry Mancini will be available at the post office starting today. Mancini penned such classics as "Peter Gunn" and "Moon River," as well as the theme music from "The Pink Panther."
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
In business news, the dollar rose to a four and a half month high against the euro today.
For more on the European markets, let's head live to London and Malika Kapur -- good morning, Malika.
MALIKA KAPUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
It's a down day here in Europe. As you can see, all the main markets are quite sharply lower at the moment. They did open in negative territory and they've been slipping steadily over the last two hours of trade.
Germany's DAX the worst hit at the moment, down about 1 1/2 percent.
It's a very different picture from Tuesday, when the European markets actually managed to pull in some very strong gains and even closed higher. But these markets, of course, are no doubt under pressure today, taking their cue from the losses we saw on Wall Street on Tuesday. One of the sectors that is hurting quite badly in Europe today is the chip sector. All the main chip companies down quite sharply. The Dutch company ASML down about four and a third percent at the moment. So the chip sector is suffering. And that is because of the Intel effect.
Intel, which is the world's largest chip maker, reported results after the bell on Wall Street on last night, on Tuesday. And even though it reported an 89 percent rise in first quarter profits, its stock has been slipping in after hours trade, and that's because Intel says that its current quarter -- the revenues in its current quarters will miss expectations, and that is affecting the chip sector here in Europe.
Another sector also suffering today in Europe is the technology sector. The big name tech companies under quite a bit of pressure. Ericsson and Siemens down more than two percent.
And a quick look at Burberry. Its stock is also down quite sharply, even though the company said its sales improved by 13 percent. That isn't enough to please investors and its stock is down two and a half percent -- back to you.
COSTELLO: Malika Kapur live from London this morning.
The hits just keep on coming. One of baseball's greatest keeps belting them out of the park. We'll bring you the madness of McCovey's Cove.
And how's Dick Cheney doing as he tries to get Beijing's backing for a U.N. role in Iraq? We get the latest for you in a live report.
In the meantime, President Bush is making strong statements about Iraq and taking some tough questions, but was it what you wanted to hear? Tell us what you think of the president's speech last night. E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: We're not an imperial power, as nations such as Japan and Germany can attest. We're a liberating power, as nations in Europe and Asia can attest, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: I'm just getting some e-mail off the printer here. It's great. We're going to read it a little later on DAYBREAK. Keep 'em coming. Daybreak@cnn.com. We've been soliciting your comments on the president's speech last night.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Let me do this before we get to Barry Bonds, shall I?
MYERS: Go ahead.
COSTELLO: Is that -- like is that correct grammar? I don't know.
MYERS: We.
COSTELLO: A not so smooth landing tops our DAYBREAK Eye-Opener.
How do you explain this one to the insurance company? An SUV was hit by a small plane.
MYERS: Huh?
COSTELLO: Yes, Chad. It happened on a San Francisco area interstate highway. The plane burst into flames after the crash, but no one on board was injured, believe it or not. One person in the SUV, though, is in serious but stable condition this morning.
Ooh, this fly by went a little better. The Air Force Thunderbirds made a special trip to the strip in Las Vegas.
MYERS: Wow!
COSTELLO: The precision teams sped by at just about a thousand feet in the air. The F-16s made two passes as a salute to the city for its support of the Thunderbirds. What a sight.
Here's no ordinary fish story. This 6-year-old, Evan Schumacher (ph), hooked a whopper while on a spring break trip to Florida. It took a little help from the crew, but Evan was finally able to reel in the nearly 200 pound shark. Now, Evan has a six foot trophy for his bedroom.
MYERS: Those are not sharks. Those are like little panthers.
COSTELLO: Two hundred pounds.
MYERS: Awesome.
COSTELLO: So cute.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: All right. You want to read the e-mail first?
Oh, let's do Barry Bonds first, because it was a good night for him. He hit another one.
MYERS: He did. And, you know, I was just thinking about this, how many home runs would he have if they didn't pitch around him all the time, if they gave him anything to hit, right? I mean they're always intentionally walking the guy. Anybody who's on base, forget about it. There you go, McCovey Cove, see you. Baseball sized hail coming down.
COSTELLO: That's right. That's right. MYERS: Look out.
COSTELLO: He's going to turn 40 in July. That's what I like best about him.
MYERS: Yes, it gives us all hope that some day we can still play in the majors.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
All right, I'm going to whip through some of this e-mail because we're getting a lot and we appreciate it. Viewers are responding to President Bush's speech last night. This is from John in Los Angeles, California. He said: "After viewing President Bush's press conference, I can see why all the confusion over what Bush knew and what he wanted to do about it. I still don't know the answers to those questions. Bush's inability to clearly communicate obviously contributed to the intelligence failures of 9/11."
This is from Mike from New Hampshire. He says: "I thought Bush was very repetitive. In answering reporters' questions he simply repeated the appropriate parts of his speech. When he refused to admit any mistakes, I turned it off. I am disheartened and disgusted."
One of the reporters asked him if he felt he made any mistakes before 9/11 or since...
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: And he says, you know, I can't think of one, but I'm sure I have, but I can't think of one right now.
One more, if you don't mind. This is from Cathy. She says: "Good morning. As an Army wife for over 20 years, my heart is warmed and proud that we have a president that will stand up for our freedom. We are aware that we are a nation at war. This president has taken care of our soldiers and their families better than we could ever ask for."
Keep them coming at cnn.com.
We're going to take a break.
We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Few people look forward to April 15th, yet there is one company that's turned tax day into a gold mine, Intuit, maker of the leading tax preparation software, Turbo Tax. Intuit also makes the software for consumers who want to plan their financial present and future, Quicken. The company recently reported sales of its tax software have risen 11 percent versus a year earlier despite competition from H&R Block and its Tax Cut product line. (END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired April 14, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Let me bring you up to date right now.
The nation's intelligence chiefs will face the 9/11 Commission today. You can watch testimony from CIA Director George Tenet and FBI Director Robert Mueller live right here on CNN.
Authorities are working to identify the remains of four bodies found in shallow graves near the site of a convoy attack in Iraq. Seven American contractors went missing after that attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will make his case to President Bush today. Sharon wants U.S. approval for his unilateral plan to give up parts of Palestinian land and keep other parts.
And Vice President Dick Cheney is in China this morning. He's talking to leaders there about Iraq and North Korea.
Now to the forecast center and Chad -- good morning.
Chad?
Chad isn't quite ready yet. He's still buttoning up his suit. I see him up there.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You see me up here.
COSTELLO: I do see you.
Can we go back up to the forecast center? There you are. What were you doing up there?
MYERS: I was already talking to you and I forgot to put my mike on.
COSTELLO: Oh.
MYERS: So it doesn't actually work unless you have the mike switch on. You can talk all you want, but it doesn't matter.
COSTELLO: You know, good advice this morning. MYERS: Yes.
But you know what? My wife likes it when my mike's not on, because then she can't hear what I'm saying, along with every wife.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Did you get to watch President Bush's news conference last night? It was his first one in more than a year. One interesting point is that President Bush says he cannot think of one single mistake he's made either before or after the September 11 attacks.
Our senior White House correspondent John King has more details on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraq dominated the hour-long event. And as the president rebutted his critics and vowed to stay the course, he also predicted what called a tough series of weeks for the American people would not cost him his job come November.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, nobody likes to see dead people on their television screens. I don't. It is a tough time for the American people to see that. It is gut- wrenching.
KING: Mr. Bush met with reporters in the East Room of the White House, as the Pentagon mulled adding 20,000 troops to deal with the violent insurgency.
BUSH: If additional forces are needed, I will send them. If additional resources are needed, we will provide them.
KING: The president said it is critical to hold fast to a June 30 deadline to transfer sovereignty to a new Iraqi government, even though there is no clear plan yet as to what that new government will look like.
BUSH: As a proud and independent people, Iraqis do not support an indefinite occupation and neither does America. We're not an imperial power.
KING: But Mr. Bush made clear a significant number of U.S. troops would remain in Iraq well past the transfer of sovereignty and in doing so he took sharp issue with critics who call Iraq this president's Vietnam.
BUSH: I think the analogy is false. I also happen to think that analogy is -- sends the wrong message to our troops and sends the wrong message to the enemy.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry says President Bush is being stubborn. In a written statement issued right after Bush's news conference, Kerry said: "The president had the opportunity to tell the American people what steps he was going to take to stabilize the situation in Iraq. Unfortunately, he offered no specific plan whatsoever. Rather, the president made it clear that he intends to stubbornly cling to the same policy that has led to a greater risk to American troops and a steadily higher cost to the American taxpayer."
So, what do Iraqis have to say about President Bush's commitment to staying the course in their country?
For some answers, let's head live to Baghdad and Karl Penhaul -- hello, Karl.
What are Iraqis saying? And did many watch the president's speech, do you think?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
I think there are two points there. First of all, because of the hour of the president's speech and also access to TV sets -- obviously, yes, there are satellite TV channels and such like -- but most Iraqis on the whole I would not expect to have been glued to the presidential press conference. The other thing, though, and it kind of feeds into that, to the situation on the ground here in Iraq, over the last few days with the rash of kidnappings of international personnel here -- we now understand that there are 40 international hostages from 12 different countries -- that is making all international personnel's job very difficult, including ours, and makes it very difficult to get out on the street to actually take the pulse on the street from ordinary Iraqis.
But certainly listening to that speech and reading through that speech, it seems that there's not a huge deal new in terms of fundamentals. But some of the tones of President Bush's comments are, yes, different, and certainly in terms of the security aspect there's very much an effort here, it seems, to tie the two sources of uprising, of revolt against coalition authority at the moment to international terrorist organizations.
On the other hand, we hear President Bush referring to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and him declaiming him for publicly supporting groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. And on the other hand we have heard in recent days from U.S. commanders on the ground that the conflict in the western city of Fallujah is also closely tied to foreign fighters, including affiliates of al Qaeda -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Karl, I know you said it's difficult to get around. The president said that power will be turned over to the Iraqis on June 30th, but he didn't outline any specific plan as to who power would be turned over to.
Is that something the Iraqi Governing Council wanted to hear from the president last night?
PENHAUL: I think rather than the specifics of what was said there, I think that this is certainly a message that the Iraqi Governing Council will want to hear, possibly the Iraqi people themselves will want to hear, and it's certainly a message that the coalition on the ground here have been telling us over recent days, that despite the current unrest here in Iraq and points west, south and within Baghdad itself, the coalition is still very much insisting that they are on track to turn over authority to some kind of Iraqi authority by June the 30th and they're trying not to blow the current situation out of proportion. They're insisting still that this is not chaos that the country is facing but these problems can be overcome by June 30th -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Karl Penhaul live in Baghdad this morning.
Military families, U.S. military families have mixed responses to the president's message.
Listen to some of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM WMUR)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He talks about just keeping them safe. I just, that's the only part I just have such a hard time with, you know? They've been there too long.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted for this man and I support him. I just don't support how they're treating our soldiers right at the moment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd like to tell him bring the 94th Company home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear June 30th and how firm he is on that deadline. That comforts me a lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Give us your gut reaction to President Bush's comments. We want you to send your e-mails to daybreak@cnn.com. We'll read some of them on the air. We'll present them to our friend Jimmy Barrett, who is, of course, a radio talk show host in Richmond, Virginia that we often speak to. So give us some ammunition for him, daybreak@cnn.com. What did you think of the president's remarks? Did they make you feel better about what's going on in Iraq or about what's coming out of the 9/11 Commission? Daybreak@cnn.com.
Russia will begin evacuating some of its 800 contractors working in Iraq. The move comes after eight employees of a Russian firm were kidnapped in Baghdad and then released this week. Russian officials say the evacuation is not mandatory and individual companies will decide if their workers should leave.
The U.S. military is reporting more deaths in Iraq this morning. Four Marines were killed during two days of fighting in Anbar Province. That area includes the city of Fallujah, which, as you know, is a hotbed of insurgent activity. And we are still awaiting word on the identities of four mutilated bodies found west of Baghdad on Tuesday. The Halliburton Company says it cannot confirm the bodies are among the seven contractors who went missing last week from that convoy you're looking at. One of those workers, Thomas Hamil, has been seen on videotape in the custody of armed masked men.
In Macon, Mississippi, Hamil's wife pleaded again for her husband's release.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLIE HAMILL, WIFE OF HOSTAGE: Hello. My name is Kellie Hamil. I would first like to say to my husband Tommy we love and miss you very much.
We would also like to say to the persons who are holding him captive, our hopes are that you will release him unharmed and as soon as possible.
Last, we would like to say to the persons of the community and all across America who have been praying for us, we thank you very much from the bottom of our heart.
We would also like to extend our love and prayers to all the KBR families and other people in our situation.
Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The deadline for Hamil's kidnappers to kill him passed Sunday without word of his fate.
A difference of opinion on who dropped the ball on intelligence before the 9/11 attacks. Just ahead, the 9/11 Commission grills federal law enforcement on what went wrong.
Plus, Vice President Dick Cheney wants China to get more aggressive with the North Korean nuclear crisis. We're going to take you live to Beijing.
And later, the bite turns out to be much bigger than the bait on a fishing expedition. What a 6-year-old found at the end of his hook.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The CIA tops the agenda for today's testimony at the 9/11 Commission. CIA Director George Tenet is scheduled to make his second public appearance in front of the Commission. His testimony should begin at about 9:30 this morning. He'll be followed later in the afternoon by FBI Director Robert Mueller.
And, of course, the FBI did come under some harsh criticism from the Commission members during yesterday's proceedings. Attorney General John Ashcroft also found himself on the defensive.
Here's CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid accusations terrorism was not one of his priorities before the September 11 attacks Attorney General John Ashcroft forcefully rebutted his critics. Among them, then acting FBI Director Thomas Pickard who told the commission Ashcroft did not want to hear about terrorism.
JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I care greatly about the safety and security of the American people and was very interested in terrorism and specifically interrogated him about threats to the American people.
ARENA: Ashcroft blamed missed intelligence opportunities on a legal law that used to separate criminal investigators from intelligence agents.
ASHCROFT: Government erected this wall. Government buttressed this wall and before September 11 government was blinded by this wall.
ARENA: The commission members laid much of the blame on the FBI and its inability to adequately respond to the growing terror threat.
TOM KEAN (R), 9/11 COMMISSION CHAIRMAN: I read a staff statement as an indictment of the FBI for over a long period of time. You know and I read things like that 66 percent of your analysts weren't qualified, that you didn't have the translators necessary to do the job.
ARENA: Pickard, who was running the FBI at the time, admitted that he only found out after the September 11 attacks about vital intelligence, including the arrest of accused terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui and he could not explain why several key FBI field agents were not aware of increased terror chatter in the summer of 2001.
THOMAS J. PICKARD, FMR. FBI ACTING DIRECTOR: I don't understand why they didn't hear it. I spoke to each of them individually, as I said, and in addition I had the communications out to them. I don't know what more I could have done.
ARENA: Questions persist about whether the FBI is up to the job of collecting domestic intelligence and commissioners are considering whether to endorse a separate agency to do the job.
(on camera): On Wednesday, Director Robert Mueller and CIA Director George Tenet are expected to make a case against such a change.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: You can review all of Tuesday's testimony by logging onto our cnn.com Web site. As for today's testimony, be sure to stay right here. We'll have live coverage of the hearings beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 5:16 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning in Iraq.
It's not yet known if the four unidentified bodies discovered west of Baghdad are connected to the disappearance of seven American contractors near Baghdad last week. The families of the missing contractors have been notified of the discovery.
In money news, not much time left to finish doing your taxes. Tomorrow is the filing deadline. Many post offices will stay open late to accommodate all of you procrastinators.
In sports, suspended University of Colorado head coach Gary Barnett says a lot of bad decisions were made by players and coaches. The coach testified for five hours in front of a panel investigating whether the university used sex as a recruiting tool.
In culture, a stamp commemorating famous composer Henry Mancini will be available at the post office starting today. Mancini penned such classics as "Peter Gunn" and "Moon River," as well as the theme music from "The Pink Panther."
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
In business news, the dollar rose to a four and a half month high against the euro today.
For more on the European markets, let's head live to London and Malika Kapur -- good morning, Malika.
MALIKA KAPUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
It's a down day here in Europe. As you can see, all the main markets are quite sharply lower at the moment. They did open in negative territory and they've been slipping steadily over the last two hours of trade.
Germany's DAX the worst hit at the moment, down about 1 1/2 percent.
It's a very different picture from Tuesday, when the European markets actually managed to pull in some very strong gains and even closed higher. But these markets, of course, are no doubt under pressure today, taking their cue from the losses we saw on Wall Street on Tuesday. One of the sectors that is hurting quite badly in Europe today is the chip sector. All the main chip companies down quite sharply. The Dutch company ASML down about four and a third percent at the moment. So the chip sector is suffering. And that is because of the Intel effect.
Intel, which is the world's largest chip maker, reported results after the bell on Wall Street on last night, on Tuesday. And even though it reported an 89 percent rise in first quarter profits, its stock has been slipping in after hours trade, and that's because Intel says that its current quarter -- the revenues in its current quarters will miss expectations, and that is affecting the chip sector here in Europe.
Another sector also suffering today in Europe is the technology sector. The big name tech companies under quite a bit of pressure. Ericsson and Siemens down more than two percent.
And a quick look at Burberry. Its stock is also down quite sharply, even though the company said its sales improved by 13 percent. That isn't enough to please investors and its stock is down two and a half percent -- back to you.
COSTELLO: Malika Kapur live from London this morning.
The hits just keep on coming. One of baseball's greatest keeps belting them out of the park. We'll bring you the madness of McCovey's Cove.
And how's Dick Cheney doing as he tries to get Beijing's backing for a U.N. role in Iraq? We get the latest for you in a live report.
In the meantime, President Bush is making strong statements about Iraq and taking some tough questions, but was it what you wanted to hear? Tell us what you think of the president's speech last night. E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: We're not an imperial power, as nations such as Japan and Germany can attest. We're a liberating power, as nations in Europe and Asia can attest, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: I'm just getting some e-mail off the printer here. It's great. We're going to read it a little later on DAYBREAK. Keep 'em coming. Daybreak@cnn.com. We've been soliciting your comments on the president's speech last night.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Let me do this before we get to Barry Bonds, shall I?
MYERS: Go ahead.
COSTELLO: Is that -- like is that correct grammar? I don't know.
MYERS: We.
COSTELLO: A not so smooth landing tops our DAYBREAK Eye-Opener.
How do you explain this one to the insurance company? An SUV was hit by a small plane.
MYERS: Huh?
COSTELLO: Yes, Chad. It happened on a San Francisco area interstate highway. The plane burst into flames after the crash, but no one on board was injured, believe it or not. One person in the SUV, though, is in serious but stable condition this morning.
Ooh, this fly by went a little better. The Air Force Thunderbirds made a special trip to the strip in Las Vegas.
MYERS: Wow!
COSTELLO: The precision teams sped by at just about a thousand feet in the air. The F-16s made two passes as a salute to the city for its support of the Thunderbirds. What a sight.
Here's no ordinary fish story. This 6-year-old, Evan Schumacher (ph), hooked a whopper while on a spring break trip to Florida. It took a little help from the crew, but Evan was finally able to reel in the nearly 200 pound shark. Now, Evan has a six foot trophy for his bedroom.
MYERS: Those are not sharks. Those are like little panthers.
COSTELLO: Two hundred pounds.
MYERS: Awesome.
COSTELLO: So cute.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: All right. You want to read the e-mail first?
Oh, let's do Barry Bonds first, because it was a good night for him. He hit another one.
MYERS: He did. And, you know, I was just thinking about this, how many home runs would he have if they didn't pitch around him all the time, if they gave him anything to hit, right? I mean they're always intentionally walking the guy. Anybody who's on base, forget about it. There you go, McCovey Cove, see you. Baseball sized hail coming down.
COSTELLO: That's right. That's right. MYERS: Look out.
COSTELLO: He's going to turn 40 in July. That's what I like best about him.
MYERS: Yes, it gives us all hope that some day we can still play in the majors.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
All right, I'm going to whip through some of this e-mail because we're getting a lot and we appreciate it. Viewers are responding to President Bush's speech last night. This is from John in Los Angeles, California. He said: "After viewing President Bush's press conference, I can see why all the confusion over what Bush knew and what he wanted to do about it. I still don't know the answers to those questions. Bush's inability to clearly communicate obviously contributed to the intelligence failures of 9/11."
This is from Mike from New Hampshire. He says: "I thought Bush was very repetitive. In answering reporters' questions he simply repeated the appropriate parts of his speech. When he refused to admit any mistakes, I turned it off. I am disheartened and disgusted."
One of the reporters asked him if he felt he made any mistakes before 9/11 or since...
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: And he says, you know, I can't think of one, but I'm sure I have, but I can't think of one right now.
One more, if you don't mind. This is from Cathy. She says: "Good morning. As an Army wife for over 20 years, my heart is warmed and proud that we have a president that will stand up for our freedom. We are aware that we are a nation at war. This president has taken care of our soldiers and their families better than we could ever ask for."
Keep them coming at cnn.com.
We're going to take a break.
We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Few people look forward to April 15th, yet there is one company that's turned tax day into a gold mine, Intuit, maker of the leading tax preparation software, Turbo Tax. Intuit also makes the software for consumers who want to plan their financial present and future, Quicken. The company recently reported sales of its tax software have risen 11 percent versus a year earlier despite competition from H&R Block and its Tax Cut product line. (END VIDEOTAPE)
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