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American Morning
Admitted Child Molester Goes Free Because Alleged Victim Committed Suicide
Aired April 16, 2004 - 08:00 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A show of unity by the architects of the war in Iraq. President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair meeting to discuss how to give the country back to the Iraqis. U.S. forces poised to strike against a radical cleric hiding in Najaf. A rare view from the scene as we talk to a reporter who is there right now.
And outrage in California about an admitted child molester. He goes free because his alleged victim committed suicide.
Those stories are all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody.
Eight o'clock here in New York on a Friday morning.
A lot of pressure on the White House. More troops dying this month in Iraq than at any other point during the war. We'll talk to the president's campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, about that in a few minutes.
Also, what changes are coming at the White House with the approach to Iraq in this election cycle, talk about the U.N. involvement there. So we'll get to all that in a moment with Mr. Mehlman.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to join us to take a look at two problems that you probably would never think are connected -- little children who don't get enough sleep developing substance abuse problems later in life. It's very strange. He's going to explain that study for us.
HEMMER: All right, to Jack Cafferty again on a Friday -- good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Bill.
Coming up in the Cafferty File, Jesse Ventura, professional wrestler, governor of Minnesota, Harvard professor, you won't believe what might be next for the bearded one. He's got a big old beard now.
And we'll tell you what a top al Qaeda leader has in common with a lobster and a high ranking officer in the French Special Forces. HEMMER: Wow! This is a riddle.
O'BRIEN: That's a tease.
HEMMER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: True.
O'BRIEN: A lobster?
HEMMER: Can we get our guesses in now?
O'BRIEN: No.
HEMMER: Allrighty, thank you, Jack.
Let's get to Iraq straight away here at the top of the hour.
Three former hostages now out of that country. Eyewitnesses saying the Japanese citizens released yesterday are now in Dubai.
Meanwhile, overnight explosions have rumbled across the Iraqi town of Falluja. A military spokesperson confirming there is fighting ongoing in the city, but it's not clear who is involved. U.S. military and civilian officials planning to meet today with leaders from Falluja to try and figure out a way to end the violence there. Six days for that cease-fire. That is off and on yet again today.
Iraq will be the main focus of a meeting today with the president and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The two leaders will try to show unity again on the coalition efforts there. They're also planning to talk about peace efforts in the Middle East.
The White House considering a proposal to establish a director of national intelligence. The "New York Times" reports the Bush administration may move on the idea before the 9/11 Commission's final report this summer, expected at the end of July. The paper says the director would manage and control budgets for the government's 15 intelligence agencies, currently dispersed among several departments and agencies. More on this in a moment with Ken Mehlman.
Spain's parliament has voted to approve the new prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Law makers voted 183-148, with 19 abstentions. He has pledged to withdraw all Spanish troops from Iraq if the U.N. does not take charge by the end of June. Zapatero is due to officially be sworn in as Spain's prime minister tomorrow. That's on Saturday.
You're up to date now.
8:03 here in New York City.
O'BRIEN: Want to hear some good news?
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: It's supposed to be in the '70s this weekend here.
HEMMER: So I -- rumor has it.
O'BRIEN: And into next week, right, Chad?
HEMMER: And here's one guy whose reputation is clear out on the line right now. It's this guy, Chad Myers.
O'BRIEN: That's right, no tag because if it doesn't work out this week...
HEMMER: I'm telling you, pal.
O'BRIEN: ... we're coming to Atlanta.
HEMMER: We've been suffering since September.
O'BRIEN: Hi, Chad.
HEMMER: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: You've done a good job this week.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's coming. It's on its way.
HEMMER: Yes?
MYERS: It's getting better and better.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: For some 20,000 soldiers in Iraq, it is now official. They'll be there at least 90 days more because of intense battles with insurgents. The word came yesterday from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and he expressed regret that he was breaking his promise to those who had been told they'd be coming home.
Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The decision to keep 20,000 troops in Iraq three more months is a tacit admission the Pentagon was overly optimistic about how calm Iraq would be one year after the war began. At yesterday's Pentagon briefing, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was more candid, admitting he didn't foresee the staying power of the insurgents.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I certainly would not have estimated that we would have had the number of individuals lost in that -- that we have had lost in the last week.
MCINTYRE: April has been the deadliest month of the war, with nearly 90 Americans killed and more than 540 wounded; more than half of the deaths coming in the past week. The Pentagon estimates during the same time, between 1,500 and 2,000 enemy fighters have been killed. But those figures are not released to avoid the mistake of Vietnam, when body counts were cited as a measure of success.
The decision to hold 20,000 troops in Iraq for three more months will affect some 40 Army units, including 11,000 soldiers from the 1st Armored Division; 3,200 from the 2nd Armored Calvary Regiment; and about 6,000 Guard and Reserve troops.
(on camera): Rumsfeld said he regretted having to extend the stay of troops who had been promised they would only have to serve a year in Iraq. He said the current plan is to replace them with fresh troops if higher troop levels are still needed by the summer.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: About 11,000 of the soldiers being kept in Iraq are from the Army's 1st Armored Division, based in Germany. About 6,000 are members, as Jamie said, of the Reserves and the National Guard -- Bill.
HEMMER: Well, certainly, the president facing withering criticism over the past few weeks about Iraq and the attacks of 9/11.
How might these issues now affect that reelection campaign?
Bush Campaign Manager Ken Mehlman our guest today on AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back.
Nice to have you here.
KEN MEHLMAN, BUSH CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Good morning.
HEMMER: Yesterday the president said this is tough work in Iraq. He said it again on Tuesday night in front of the national people in the East Room of the White House.
How was the president today willing to explain the tough work in Iraq today, with 88 troops dead since the first of April?
MEHLMAN: Well, obviously, the president, as he said earlier in the week, he thinks a lot about their families. Everyone in the administration and all of the American people do. But we need to remember the mission that these men and women in Iraq are undertaking. Their work is to help make sure that we're safer. Their work is to help defeat the terrorists and to help bring stability and democracy to a part of the world where the 9/11 hijackers came from and to make sure that we do everything we can to avoid a future 9/11 attack.
That's what this Iraq war is all about. Defeating the terrorists is critical. And with George W. Bush as president, you have a resolved leader who will support our troops and who will stay the course to make sure that the terrorists are defeated.
HEMMER: There's another side of this argument. Somebody sitting here who was opposing the president might tell you listen, that wasn't the premise for the war in the first place.
MEHLMAN: Well, I would...
HEMMER: It was all about weapons of mass destruction. It had nothing to do about the issues today, about bringing democracy to Iraq.
MEHLMAN: Well, I would respectfully disagree. I think what we all resolved as a country right after 9/11 was that we would anticipate risk and that we would deal with the risks when they were gathering so that when they were imminent, America wasn't attacked, as it was on 9/11.
Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who had used weapons of mass destruction, who had invaded his neighbors, who supported terrorists, who allowed terrorists to operate out of his country. He continued to seek weapons of mass destruction and the entire international community and the previous administration agreed that he had containers of weapons of mass destruction.
For the president not to have acted in Iraq would have been irresponsible and for the president not to have acted in Iraq would have been to miss the lessons we learned on 9/11.
HEMMER: Let's move...
MEHLMAN: Today we face a terrorist threat that is in Iraq and other places and this president is resolved to deal with it.
HEMMER: Let me move our argument a little forward here.
John Kerry from yesterday talking about more involvement there in Iraq.
Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that there is a better way to share the responsibilities for this burden. This is not just a United States goal. Succeeding in Iraq is important to the Arab countries in the region. I noticed that the president finally is going to send Mr. Armitage to talk to them. That should long ago have occurred. That should be a full measure of our approach.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: It's no secret Senator Kerry wants more U.N. involvement.
Is that argument winning now with the discussions with Lakhdar Brahimi in Baghdad?
MEHLMAN: Well, I think that -- when I heard Senator Kerry yesterday -- on the same day that Mr. Brahimi announced significant progress -- complain that there was insufficient United Nations involvement, it just reminds you of so often with Senator Kerry and this war on terror, he's on three sides of a two-sided issue. The fact is that from the beginning we've had a strong level of support. Sixteen of the 26 NATO nations are involved. More than 30 nations are involved in this coalition.
Just a few weeks ago, Senator Kerry complained and dismissed these troops who are also risking their lives as being window dressing. That was wrong. It was also wrong when yesterday Senator Kerry said that President Bush was exaggerating the threat of terrorism, on the same day that Osama bin Laden issued a new threat.
I think in this war on terror, you need steady leadership. You need strong leadership. We don't need political games and we don't need people who are one day for it and one day against it, which is why I strongly believe that the president will be reelected and the American voters will say no thank you to that kind of political approach that Senator Kerry is putting forward.
HEMMER: Ken Mehlman is the Bush campaign manager, live in D.C.
Good to have you.
We'll talk again many times.
MEHLMAN: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: Seven months and counting now, early November -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Some fiery words today from the man with whom the United States is trying to negotiate a truce in Najaf. Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr says that if he is killed or if he is detained, his supporters will respond with unimaginable force and severity. Some 2,500 American troops surround the holy city at this hour.
I spoke earlier this morning with Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson.
She's a reporter with the Knight-Ridder Service.
She is in Najaf.
And I asked her to describe what it's like where she is right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SORAYA SARHADDI NELSON, KNIGHT RIDDER REPORTER: I just left the Kufa Mosque a short while ago, where the situation was very tense this morning. Earlier, at about 9:00 a.m., there was a firefight between Marines and the Al-Mahdi Brigade, which is the militia that the U.S. military is seeking to disband. It belongs to the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who they're looking to arrest.
Muqtada had, for the first time in two weeks, spoken at Friday prayers today. And his tone and his message was as belligerent and angry toward the American-led coalition as it has always been. It seems talks are not going well to try and resolve the issue peacefully.
O'BRIEN: You talked about the tension with the 2,500 or so U.S. troops who are amassed outside of Najaf. That has to be adding to the tension.
How is their presence being felt by the population in Najaf?
NELSON: Well, they are visible from various spots. One of the top Shiite leaders, for example, you can stand on his doorstep of his office and look out across the Wahdi and you can see armored troops there. They have been -- there have been Marines moving to various positions. You can see some of the troop movements. And the war planes which go overhead certainly remind people that the Americans are closing in.
Having said that, you know, there is some degree of, I think, safety for the people here. They do appreciate the need to have the coalition forces here.
O'BRIEN: In fact, the U.S. military, as you and I well know, have threatened to kill or capture al-Sadr.
NELSON: Right.
O'BRIEN: What kind of an implication do you think potentially that would bring if, in fact, they do capture him or if they kill him?
NELSON: Well, it depends on the circumstance. While Muqtada al- Sadr says that everyone will rise up if he is, in fact, harmed in any way, I don't think that's the feeling among the Shiites. What is the problem is that Muqtada al-Sadr is hiding out in the most holiest of cities for Shiites, Shiite Muslims. And so any foreign troops coming into the city itself to try and retrieve him or any sort of gun battle that might take place near the holy shrines would be something that would be very upsetting to the Shiite population, not just in Najaf and Kufa, but all over Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Joint Chiefs Chairman General Richard Myers says there is a limit to just how long the Marines will wait. And Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday that the fate of the Iraqi people will not be determined by a small band of terrorists.
HEMMER: In a moment here, a confessed child molester admitting to more than 200 attacks. He is now free. How could this happen? The prosecutor joins us in a moment on that case.
O'BRIEN: And Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, her legend lives on nearly a decade after her death. We're going to hear from the author of a new book about her, just ahead.
HEMMER: Also, that amazing little girl surviving for days after a terrible car crash. How she is doing today, next in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: A serial child molester who admits to more than 200 attacks is free and now living in Washington State. A California appeals court decided to free Edward Harvey Stokes, ruling that he hadn't had a chance to face his accuser in court. Stokes was convicted and sentenced to life in California based on the testimony of a teenager who then committed suicide before the second trial.
Earlier this morning, I spoke to the prosecutor in the case and I asked Orange County, California District Attorney Tony Rackaukus if he intends to continue to pursue this case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TONY RACKAUKUS, ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We absolutely haven't washed our hands of the case. We've been in touch with the authorities in Seattle and, you know, indicated what happened to this, in this case in the first place and who this person is and that, you know, to keep an eye on him. And we've been tracking him, of course, as much as we can. And we know he was, for example, he was in a Costco store buying candy. That's how we learned that he was in Seattle in the first place. So -- or in that area.
And, so, no, we're keeping track and we're available to assist in any way with law enforcement in another state or county to try to help to get this person back into custody. You know, this guy is the monster and there are kids out there that are going to, you know, that don't know about him who are going to meet him and be subjected to his will, probably, before we ever get him back into custody again.
O'BRIEN: He, in fact, claimed that he attacked more than 200 young people, victims.
Is there no legal recourse? You would think if there are 200 some odd victims out there, you might be able to find another one in Orange County that could lead to a new case.
Is that not an option?
RACKAUKUS: Well, you know, unfortunately at this point it's not. We've tried. We've handled whatever there is in our county, and not just our county, but our state. We've handled all of the California case. The other, the rest of the cases happened in other states -- Oregon and Washington. And, of course, our statute, things are a little bit different in California. We have a longer statute of limitations. And so we were able to go back farther in terms of bringing cases.
But like I said, we'll assist with whatever prosecution we can in any way that we can. There are certainly other victims. There were 10 victims who were perfectly willing to give statements and testify here.
O'BRIEN: One of his biggest opponents is the man's sister. Edward Stokes' sister has been running around warning people about her own brother.
Is she now concerned about her safety?
RACKAUKUS: Well, you know, I think that she has the bigger concern about the safety of people who are going to be subjected to this person. It was, it's so clear that he's going to -- that he's going to have more victims. You know, he said so in his own manifesto. He said that he's 97 percent likely to reoffend, in his view, if he gets treatments. And here he's out, no treatment. And it's just, it's just such a clear thing.
And it's so, the behavior is so ugly and so violent. You know, he befriends these young men and -- or, and boys, and drugs them out, plies them with alcohol and drugs and they wake up to being sexually molested, forcefully, you know, being shackled and chained. It's just horrible.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That was Orange County, California District Attorney Tony Rackaukus talking to us a little bit earlier this morning.
Stokes was first arrested back in 1974. He has been convicted five times, but he says he's now been given another chance and plans to blend into the community without further incidents. Obviously, prosecutors disagree with the chances of that happening -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, about 20 minutes past the hour.
More than half the country does not meet federal air quality standards. The EPA now warning counties in 31 states, highlighting, you'll see in a moment here in red that they are over the limit for ozone, which leads to smog. California is said to have the worst problem. And a high concentration of ozone spreading over much of the Northeast, as we can see here. Some of the remedies include new controls on industrial plants, restrictions on transportation, tougher vehicle inspection standards and cleaner burning gasoline. The states have anywhere from three to 17 years to clean up their own air -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Britain's Tony Blair once persuaded President Bush to try to work through the U.N. With chaos in Iraq and a deadline looming, what will they talk about today? And will the extended tours of duty in Iraq shorten the president's political career? We've got opinions on that ahead on Give Me A Minute.
Stay with us.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: The Question of the Day.
Here's Jack. Welcome back.
CAFFERTY: Thank you.
I'm a little out of breath. I had to run up the stairs.
HEMMER: You'll get it.
CAFFERTY: The administration may, may create a new post called the director of national intelligence. This is according to the "New York Times." Some viewers suggest that's an oxymoron, but we won't get into that here. This new department would manage and control the budgets of the 15 intelligence agencies we already have in this country.
The plan was drafted more than a year ago, but the White House hasn't done anything with it until now and maybe the timing has something to do with the 9/11 Commission, due out with their final report this summer.
In the meantime, the intelligence community, the 15 agencies we have, many of them operating with computers, for example, that are way, way behind those in the private sector. In fact, I got a fascinating letter I'm going to read a little later from a guy who's been in the government for 31 years and is involved in this intelligence work. It's mind boggling.
Anyway, the question is do we need another director of national intelligence? Will that be the answer to the country's security problems?
You know how hard it is to keep talking when you're out of breath? It's very hard.
HEMMER: I think, you know, I was thinking, Jack, if you would, you know, take, inhale real quickly here, we could just like...
CAFFERTY: Have you got some more of that Phil Mickelson interview? Maybe we could run and I could just catch my breath.
HEMMER: You could just catch Phil and Amy over there.
CAFFERTY: Here are the letters.
Ken writes this: "Creating a new position and a new agency to meet the U.S. intelligence needs is laughable. The government can't manage the existing agencies, which already have huge budgets and are still operating with 1980s technology."
John in California: "The last thing we need is another chef in the intelligence kitchen. If anything, we need to streamline. Another department would just be a demonstration of government waste in the name of public safety."
Gary in Maryland: "A new agency is what we don't need. All that would do is give us one more agency to have to investigate when there's another screw-up. What we need is a president who reads and appreciates what's given to him in the first place."
Tim writes: "The name should be changed to director of emergency national interests. That way the acronym would be close -- DENI, DENI, DENI."
And Jim in Cambridge, New York: "Who will you select, Jack, as your deputy director after you're confirmed as the director of CYA, for cover your situation?"
HEMMER: Apple.
CAFFERTY: "You'll be missed on AMERICAN MORNING. I could take solace in knowing you'll be highly visible in a constant barrage of reassuring press conferences and commission hearings, but I think a suit jacket is required for those appearances. Maybe Bill or Andy can fix you up with some hand-me-downs."
O'BRIEN: That was very funny.
CAFFERTY: It's cute, huh?
O'BRIEN: Who was that from?
CAFFERTY: Yes. That's from Jim in Cambridge.
O'BRIEN: Jim in Cambridge.
CAFFERTY: "In The Money" this weekend -- it is Friday and we do invite you to join us -- high school seniors across the country getting college acceptance or rejection letters. This is traumatic in many households. Is the pressure simply too much on these kids? We'll look at that and how many educators think it's making our kids too high strung to really learn anything. That's on "In The Money," Saturday at 1:00, Sunday at 3:00.
However, I must add a postscript. In my house, I'm under too much pressure. It doesn't get -- it's not an excuse.
O'BRIEN: I was going to say how is that different than when the rest of us went to college?
CAFFERTY: Well, we're going to find out. Maybe it's a...
HEMMER: It's not (UNINTELLIGIBLE) start thinking anyway, by the way.
CAFFERTY: It probably is a little more intense process, at least since I went to college, which was probably right after the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) come barging in...
O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.
HEMMER: I agree with that wholeheartedly.
O'BRIEN: No, I think that's true.
HEMMER: Absolutely.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: At a much, much younger age. That's right.
O'BRIEN: I've met 10 year olds who are talking about what colleges they're thinking about in Manhattan.
CAFFERTY: Now, that ridiculous.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: It's a little scary.
CAFFERTY: It is scary. I'm very afraid.
HEMMER: We missed you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Catch your breath?
CAFFERTY: Huh?
O'BRIEN: Feel better?
CAFFERTY: I feel better now. We have to go from downstairs -- my office is in the basement here at...
HEMMER: All of our offices are in the basement.
O'BRIEN: It's not the basement.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: It's in the basement and we have to...
O'BRIEN: You're so dramatic today.
CAFFERTY: Well, it is. What would you call that place down there?
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, when I walk up the stairs, I'm out of breath, too, but, you know...
CAFFERTY: Well, but I'm not five months pregnant. There's no excuse for me to be out of breath, except I did race up here.
O'BRIEN: Got us to...
CAFFERTY: And it's hard.
HEMMER: Thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Sure. You're most welcome. HEMMER: Twenty thousand troops still in Iraq, another three months at least. In a moment, what's the message from the White House regarding this in the Pentagon? We'll tackle that in Give Me A Minute on Friday morning. Our panel is standing by -- Jonah, Donna and Andy, after this.
Get your breath, Cafferty, back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired April 16, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A show of unity by the architects of the war in Iraq. President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair meeting to discuss how to give the country back to the Iraqis. U.S. forces poised to strike against a radical cleric hiding in Najaf. A rare view from the scene as we talk to a reporter who is there right now.
And outrage in California about an admitted child molester. He goes free because his alleged victim committed suicide.
Those stories are all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody.
Eight o'clock here in New York on a Friday morning.
A lot of pressure on the White House. More troops dying this month in Iraq than at any other point during the war. We'll talk to the president's campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, about that in a few minutes.
Also, what changes are coming at the White House with the approach to Iraq in this election cycle, talk about the U.N. involvement there. So we'll get to all that in a moment with Mr. Mehlman.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to join us to take a look at two problems that you probably would never think are connected -- little children who don't get enough sleep developing substance abuse problems later in life. It's very strange. He's going to explain that study for us.
HEMMER: All right, to Jack Cafferty again on a Friday -- good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Bill.
Coming up in the Cafferty File, Jesse Ventura, professional wrestler, governor of Minnesota, Harvard professor, you won't believe what might be next for the bearded one. He's got a big old beard now.
And we'll tell you what a top al Qaeda leader has in common with a lobster and a high ranking officer in the French Special Forces. HEMMER: Wow! This is a riddle.
O'BRIEN: That's a tease.
HEMMER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: True.
O'BRIEN: A lobster?
HEMMER: Can we get our guesses in now?
O'BRIEN: No.
HEMMER: Allrighty, thank you, Jack.
Let's get to Iraq straight away here at the top of the hour.
Three former hostages now out of that country. Eyewitnesses saying the Japanese citizens released yesterday are now in Dubai.
Meanwhile, overnight explosions have rumbled across the Iraqi town of Falluja. A military spokesperson confirming there is fighting ongoing in the city, but it's not clear who is involved. U.S. military and civilian officials planning to meet today with leaders from Falluja to try and figure out a way to end the violence there. Six days for that cease-fire. That is off and on yet again today.
Iraq will be the main focus of a meeting today with the president and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The two leaders will try to show unity again on the coalition efforts there. They're also planning to talk about peace efforts in the Middle East.
The White House considering a proposal to establish a director of national intelligence. The "New York Times" reports the Bush administration may move on the idea before the 9/11 Commission's final report this summer, expected at the end of July. The paper says the director would manage and control budgets for the government's 15 intelligence agencies, currently dispersed among several departments and agencies. More on this in a moment with Ken Mehlman.
Spain's parliament has voted to approve the new prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Law makers voted 183-148, with 19 abstentions. He has pledged to withdraw all Spanish troops from Iraq if the U.N. does not take charge by the end of June. Zapatero is due to officially be sworn in as Spain's prime minister tomorrow. That's on Saturday.
You're up to date now.
8:03 here in New York City.
O'BRIEN: Want to hear some good news?
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: It's supposed to be in the '70s this weekend here.
HEMMER: So I -- rumor has it.
O'BRIEN: And into next week, right, Chad?
HEMMER: And here's one guy whose reputation is clear out on the line right now. It's this guy, Chad Myers.
O'BRIEN: That's right, no tag because if it doesn't work out this week...
HEMMER: I'm telling you, pal.
O'BRIEN: ... we're coming to Atlanta.
HEMMER: We've been suffering since September.
O'BRIEN: Hi, Chad.
HEMMER: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: You've done a good job this week.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's coming. It's on its way.
HEMMER: Yes?
MYERS: It's getting better and better.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: For some 20,000 soldiers in Iraq, it is now official. They'll be there at least 90 days more because of intense battles with insurgents. The word came yesterday from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and he expressed regret that he was breaking his promise to those who had been told they'd be coming home.
Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The decision to keep 20,000 troops in Iraq three more months is a tacit admission the Pentagon was overly optimistic about how calm Iraq would be one year after the war began. At yesterday's Pentagon briefing, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was more candid, admitting he didn't foresee the staying power of the insurgents.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I certainly would not have estimated that we would have had the number of individuals lost in that -- that we have had lost in the last week.
MCINTYRE: April has been the deadliest month of the war, with nearly 90 Americans killed and more than 540 wounded; more than half of the deaths coming in the past week. The Pentagon estimates during the same time, between 1,500 and 2,000 enemy fighters have been killed. But those figures are not released to avoid the mistake of Vietnam, when body counts were cited as a measure of success.
The decision to hold 20,000 troops in Iraq for three more months will affect some 40 Army units, including 11,000 soldiers from the 1st Armored Division; 3,200 from the 2nd Armored Calvary Regiment; and about 6,000 Guard and Reserve troops.
(on camera): Rumsfeld said he regretted having to extend the stay of troops who had been promised they would only have to serve a year in Iraq. He said the current plan is to replace them with fresh troops if higher troop levels are still needed by the summer.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: About 11,000 of the soldiers being kept in Iraq are from the Army's 1st Armored Division, based in Germany. About 6,000 are members, as Jamie said, of the Reserves and the National Guard -- Bill.
HEMMER: Well, certainly, the president facing withering criticism over the past few weeks about Iraq and the attacks of 9/11.
How might these issues now affect that reelection campaign?
Bush Campaign Manager Ken Mehlman our guest today on AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back.
Nice to have you here.
KEN MEHLMAN, BUSH CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Good morning.
HEMMER: Yesterday the president said this is tough work in Iraq. He said it again on Tuesday night in front of the national people in the East Room of the White House.
How was the president today willing to explain the tough work in Iraq today, with 88 troops dead since the first of April?
MEHLMAN: Well, obviously, the president, as he said earlier in the week, he thinks a lot about their families. Everyone in the administration and all of the American people do. But we need to remember the mission that these men and women in Iraq are undertaking. Their work is to help make sure that we're safer. Their work is to help defeat the terrorists and to help bring stability and democracy to a part of the world where the 9/11 hijackers came from and to make sure that we do everything we can to avoid a future 9/11 attack.
That's what this Iraq war is all about. Defeating the terrorists is critical. And with George W. Bush as president, you have a resolved leader who will support our troops and who will stay the course to make sure that the terrorists are defeated.
HEMMER: There's another side of this argument. Somebody sitting here who was opposing the president might tell you listen, that wasn't the premise for the war in the first place.
MEHLMAN: Well, I would...
HEMMER: It was all about weapons of mass destruction. It had nothing to do about the issues today, about bringing democracy to Iraq.
MEHLMAN: Well, I would respectfully disagree. I think what we all resolved as a country right after 9/11 was that we would anticipate risk and that we would deal with the risks when they were gathering so that when they were imminent, America wasn't attacked, as it was on 9/11.
Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who had used weapons of mass destruction, who had invaded his neighbors, who supported terrorists, who allowed terrorists to operate out of his country. He continued to seek weapons of mass destruction and the entire international community and the previous administration agreed that he had containers of weapons of mass destruction.
For the president not to have acted in Iraq would have been irresponsible and for the president not to have acted in Iraq would have been to miss the lessons we learned on 9/11.
HEMMER: Let's move...
MEHLMAN: Today we face a terrorist threat that is in Iraq and other places and this president is resolved to deal with it.
HEMMER: Let me move our argument a little forward here.
John Kerry from yesterday talking about more involvement there in Iraq.
Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that there is a better way to share the responsibilities for this burden. This is not just a United States goal. Succeeding in Iraq is important to the Arab countries in the region. I noticed that the president finally is going to send Mr. Armitage to talk to them. That should long ago have occurred. That should be a full measure of our approach.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: It's no secret Senator Kerry wants more U.N. involvement.
Is that argument winning now with the discussions with Lakhdar Brahimi in Baghdad?
MEHLMAN: Well, I think that -- when I heard Senator Kerry yesterday -- on the same day that Mr. Brahimi announced significant progress -- complain that there was insufficient United Nations involvement, it just reminds you of so often with Senator Kerry and this war on terror, he's on three sides of a two-sided issue. The fact is that from the beginning we've had a strong level of support. Sixteen of the 26 NATO nations are involved. More than 30 nations are involved in this coalition.
Just a few weeks ago, Senator Kerry complained and dismissed these troops who are also risking their lives as being window dressing. That was wrong. It was also wrong when yesterday Senator Kerry said that President Bush was exaggerating the threat of terrorism, on the same day that Osama bin Laden issued a new threat.
I think in this war on terror, you need steady leadership. You need strong leadership. We don't need political games and we don't need people who are one day for it and one day against it, which is why I strongly believe that the president will be reelected and the American voters will say no thank you to that kind of political approach that Senator Kerry is putting forward.
HEMMER: Ken Mehlman is the Bush campaign manager, live in D.C.
Good to have you.
We'll talk again many times.
MEHLMAN: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: Seven months and counting now, early November -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Some fiery words today from the man with whom the United States is trying to negotiate a truce in Najaf. Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr says that if he is killed or if he is detained, his supporters will respond with unimaginable force and severity. Some 2,500 American troops surround the holy city at this hour.
I spoke earlier this morning with Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson.
She's a reporter with the Knight-Ridder Service.
She is in Najaf.
And I asked her to describe what it's like where she is right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SORAYA SARHADDI NELSON, KNIGHT RIDDER REPORTER: I just left the Kufa Mosque a short while ago, where the situation was very tense this morning. Earlier, at about 9:00 a.m., there was a firefight between Marines and the Al-Mahdi Brigade, which is the militia that the U.S. military is seeking to disband. It belongs to the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who they're looking to arrest.
Muqtada had, for the first time in two weeks, spoken at Friday prayers today. And his tone and his message was as belligerent and angry toward the American-led coalition as it has always been. It seems talks are not going well to try and resolve the issue peacefully.
O'BRIEN: You talked about the tension with the 2,500 or so U.S. troops who are amassed outside of Najaf. That has to be adding to the tension.
How is their presence being felt by the population in Najaf?
NELSON: Well, they are visible from various spots. One of the top Shiite leaders, for example, you can stand on his doorstep of his office and look out across the Wahdi and you can see armored troops there. They have been -- there have been Marines moving to various positions. You can see some of the troop movements. And the war planes which go overhead certainly remind people that the Americans are closing in.
Having said that, you know, there is some degree of, I think, safety for the people here. They do appreciate the need to have the coalition forces here.
O'BRIEN: In fact, the U.S. military, as you and I well know, have threatened to kill or capture al-Sadr.
NELSON: Right.
O'BRIEN: What kind of an implication do you think potentially that would bring if, in fact, they do capture him or if they kill him?
NELSON: Well, it depends on the circumstance. While Muqtada al- Sadr says that everyone will rise up if he is, in fact, harmed in any way, I don't think that's the feeling among the Shiites. What is the problem is that Muqtada al-Sadr is hiding out in the most holiest of cities for Shiites, Shiite Muslims. And so any foreign troops coming into the city itself to try and retrieve him or any sort of gun battle that might take place near the holy shrines would be something that would be very upsetting to the Shiite population, not just in Najaf and Kufa, but all over Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Joint Chiefs Chairman General Richard Myers says there is a limit to just how long the Marines will wait. And Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday that the fate of the Iraqi people will not be determined by a small band of terrorists.
HEMMER: In a moment here, a confessed child molester admitting to more than 200 attacks. He is now free. How could this happen? The prosecutor joins us in a moment on that case.
O'BRIEN: And Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, her legend lives on nearly a decade after her death. We're going to hear from the author of a new book about her, just ahead.
HEMMER: Also, that amazing little girl surviving for days after a terrible car crash. How she is doing today, next in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: A serial child molester who admits to more than 200 attacks is free and now living in Washington State. A California appeals court decided to free Edward Harvey Stokes, ruling that he hadn't had a chance to face his accuser in court. Stokes was convicted and sentenced to life in California based on the testimony of a teenager who then committed suicide before the second trial.
Earlier this morning, I spoke to the prosecutor in the case and I asked Orange County, California District Attorney Tony Rackaukus if he intends to continue to pursue this case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TONY RACKAUKUS, ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We absolutely haven't washed our hands of the case. We've been in touch with the authorities in Seattle and, you know, indicated what happened to this, in this case in the first place and who this person is and that, you know, to keep an eye on him. And we've been tracking him, of course, as much as we can. And we know he was, for example, he was in a Costco store buying candy. That's how we learned that he was in Seattle in the first place. So -- or in that area.
And, so, no, we're keeping track and we're available to assist in any way with law enforcement in another state or county to try to help to get this person back into custody. You know, this guy is the monster and there are kids out there that are going to, you know, that don't know about him who are going to meet him and be subjected to his will, probably, before we ever get him back into custody again.
O'BRIEN: He, in fact, claimed that he attacked more than 200 young people, victims.
Is there no legal recourse? You would think if there are 200 some odd victims out there, you might be able to find another one in Orange County that could lead to a new case.
Is that not an option?
RACKAUKUS: Well, you know, unfortunately at this point it's not. We've tried. We've handled whatever there is in our county, and not just our county, but our state. We've handled all of the California case. The other, the rest of the cases happened in other states -- Oregon and Washington. And, of course, our statute, things are a little bit different in California. We have a longer statute of limitations. And so we were able to go back farther in terms of bringing cases.
But like I said, we'll assist with whatever prosecution we can in any way that we can. There are certainly other victims. There were 10 victims who were perfectly willing to give statements and testify here.
O'BRIEN: One of his biggest opponents is the man's sister. Edward Stokes' sister has been running around warning people about her own brother.
Is she now concerned about her safety?
RACKAUKUS: Well, you know, I think that she has the bigger concern about the safety of people who are going to be subjected to this person. It was, it's so clear that he's going to -- that he's going to have more victims. You know, he said so in his own manifesto. He said that he's 97 percent likely to reoffend, in his view, if he gets treatments. And here he's out, no treatment. And it's just, it's just such a clear thing.
And it's so, the behavior is so ugly and so violent. You know, he befriends these young men and -- or, and boys, and drugs them out, plies them with alcohol and drugs and they wake up to being sexually molested, forcefully, you know, being shackled and chained. It's just horrible.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That was Orange County, California District Attorney Tony Rackaukus talking to us a little bit earlier this morning.
Stokes was first arrested back in 1974. He has been convicted five times, but he says he's now been given another chance and plans to blend into the community without further incidents. Obviously, prosecutors disagree with the chances of that happening -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, about 20 minutes past the hour.
More than half the country does not meet federal air quality standards. The EPA now warning counties in 31 states, highlighting, you'll see in a moment here in red that they are over the limit for ozone, which leads to smog. California is said to have the worst problem. And a high concentration of ozone spreading over much of the Northeast, as we can see here. Some of the remedies include new controls on industrial plants, restrictions on transportation, tougher vehicle inspection standards and cleaner burning gasoline. The states have anywhere from three to 17 years to clean up their own air -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Britain's Tony Blair once persuaded President Bush to try to work through the U.N. With chaos in Iraq and a deadline looming, what will they talk about today? And will the extended tours of duty in Iraq shorten the president's political career? We've got opinions on that ahead on Give Me A Minute.
Stay with us.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: The Question of the Day.
Here's Jack. Welcome back.
CAFFERTY: Thank you.
I'm a little out of breath. I had to run up the stairs.
HEMMER: You'll get it.
CAFFERTY: The administration may, may create a new post called the director of national intelligence. This is according to the "New York Times." Some viewers suggest that's an oxymoron, but we won't get into that here. This new department would manage and control the budgets of the 15 intelligence agencies we already have in this country.
The plan was drafted more than a year ago, but the White House hasn't done anything with it until now and maybe the timing has something to do with the 9/11 Commission, due out with their final report this summer.
In the meantime, the intelligence community, the 15 agencies we have, many of them operating with computers, for example, that are way, way behind those in the private sector. In fact, I got a fascinating letter I'm going to read a little later from a guy who's been in the government for 31 years and is involved in this intelligence work. It's mind boggling.
Anyway, the question is do we need another director of national intelligence? Will that be the answer to the country's security problems?
You know how hard it is to keep talking when you're out of breath? It's very hard.
HEMMER: I think, you know, I was thinking, Jack, if you would, you know, take, inhale real quickly here, we could just like...
CAFFERTY: Have you got some more of that Phil Mickelson interview? Maybe we could run and I could just catch my breath.
HEMMER: You could just catch Phil and Amy over there.
CAFFERTY: Here are the letters.
Ken writes this: "Creating a new position and a new agency to meet the U.S. intelligence needs is laughable. The government can't manage the existing agencies, which already have huge budgets and are still operating with 1980s technology."
John in California: "The last thing we need is another chef in the intelligence kitchen. If anything, we need to streamline. Another department would just be a demonstration of government waste in the name of public safety."
Gary in Maryland: "A new agency is what we don't need. All that would do is give us one more agency to have to investigate when there's another screw-up. What we need is a president who reads and appreciates what's given to him in the first place."
Tim writes: "The name should be changed to director of emergency national interests. That way the acronym would be close -- DENI, DENI, DENI."
And Jim in Cambridge, New York: "Who will you select, Jack, as your deputy director after you're confirmed as the director of CYA, for cover your situation?"
HEMMER: Apple.
CAFFERTY: "You'll be missed on AMERICAN MORNING. I could take solace in knowing you'll be highly visible in a constant barrage of reassuring press conferences and commission hearings, but I think a suit jacket is required for those appearances. Maybe Bill or Andy can fix you up with some hand-me-downs."
O'BRIEN: That was very funny.
CAFFERTY: It's cute, huh?
O'BRIEN: Who was that from?
CAFFERTY: Yes. That's from Jim in Cambridge.
O'BRIEN: Jim in Cambridge.
CAFFERTY: "In The Money" this weekend -- it is Friday and we do invite you to join us -- high school seniors across the country getting college acceptance or rejection letters. This is traumatic in many households. Is the pressure simply too much on these kids? We'll look at that and how many educators think it's making our kids too high strung to really learn anything. That's on "In The Money," Saturday at 1:00, Sunday at 3:00.
However, I must add a postscript. In my house, I'm under too much pressure. It doesn't get -- it's not an excuse.
O'BRIEN: I was going to say how is that different than when the rest of us went to college?
CAFFERTY: Well, we're going to find out. Maybe it's a...
HEMMER: It's not (UNINTELLIGIBLE) start thinking anyway, by the way.
CAFFERTY: It probably is a little more intense process, at least since I went to college, which was probably right after the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) come barging in...
O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.
HEMMER: I agree with that wholeheartedly.
O'BRIEN: No, I think that's true.
HEMMER: Absolutely.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: At a much, much younger age. That's right.
O'BRIEN: I've met 10 year olds who are talking about what colleges they're thinking about in Manhattan.
CAFFERTY: Now, that ridiculous.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: It's a little scary.
CAFFERTY: It is scary. I'm very afraid.
HEMMER: We missed you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Catch your breath?
CAFFERTY: Huh?
O'BRIEN: Feel better?
CAFFERTY: I feel better now. We have to go from downstairs -- my office is in the basement here at...
HEMMER: All of our offices are in the basement.
O'BRIEN: It's not the basement.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: It's in the basement and we have to...
O'BRIEN: You're so dramatic today.
CAFFERTY: Well, it is. What would you call that place down there?
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, when I walk up the stairs, I'm out of breath, too, but, you know...
CAFFERTY: Well, but I'm not five months pregnant. There's no excuse for me to be out of breath, except I did race up here.
O'BRIEN: Got us to...
CAFFERTY: And it's hard.
HEMMER: Thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Sure. You're most welcome. HEMMER: Twenty thousand troops still in Iraq, another three months at least. In a moment, what's the message from the White House regarding this in the Pentagon? We'll tackle that in Give Me A Minute on Friday morning. Our panel is standing by -- Jonah, Donna and Andy, after this.
Get your breath, Cafferty, back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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