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American Morning
Bush Speech Against Backdrop of Lower Approval Numbers, Ongoing Criticism That There Was No Plan for Post-War Iraq
Aired May 24, 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
A developing situation in Iraq -- a car bombing in the heart of Baghdad today now followed by even more explosions.
A critical moment for the president -- he talks to the country later tonight. Can he convince Americans that his plan for Iraq will work?
And medical technology creating a legal mess for children, children who were not even conceived until years after the father died.
All ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Welcome back, everybody.
Other stories that we're following this morning, President Bush certainly has his work cut out for him overcoming the negative headlines from Iraq when he makes a nationally televised speech tonight. We're going to have a live update from the White House in just a moment.
Also, we will talk to former White House adviser David Gergen about the very high stakes for tonight's speech.
HEMMER: On a different topic -- sorry about that, Soledad -- international inspectors may have made a major discovery in figuring out who helped Libya develop a nuclear program. We'll talk to a "New York Times" magazine contributor who spent a year investigating illegal arms sales and find out about a North Korean connection in a moment here.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, severe thunderstorms for the last three days have triggered tornadoes and left much of Michigan flooded. There are a number of serious weather situations, in fact, out there brewing today. We're going to go through those with you this morning.
HEMMER: Boy, it is that time of the year, and we saw it over the weekend. Hopefully good news out there. More in a moment.
To Jack Cafferty again on a Monday morning -- good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Can we see those pictures of those little spermatozoa again swimming around there?
HEMMER: It got your attention, huh?
CAFFERTY: We need this at eight o'clock on a Monday morning?
Coming up in the Cafferty File, parents spending big bucks to send their little darlings to Princeton University are not going to be pleased to find out what some of them have been doing in the school store.
And we'll tell you the real reason why men don't live as long as women. The theory goes they don't want to. But that's not the real reason.
O'BRIEN: Interesting.
All right, Jack...
HEMMER: It's a theory.
CAFFERTY: Especially married guys.
O'BRIEN: Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
CAFFERTY: And that's why.
O'BRIEN: Please. Touche, I'll give you that.
CAFFERTY: All right.
O'BRIEN: Just about an hour ago here on AMERICAN MORNING, one of the president's top communications aides told us that the president tonight will paint a picture of what the new Iraqi government will look like.
With other details of the president's speech to the nation, we're joined from the White House by Elaine Quijano -- Elaine, good morning.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
President Bush is set to deliver this speech against a backdrop of lower approval numbers and also ongoing criticism that the president did not have a plan for post-war Iraq. White House officials say that tonight the president plans to talk about specifics in an effort to counter that criticism and let Americans know that the situation in Iraq is not as chaotic as some might believe.
Now, the White House says the president will lay out the future of Iraq as a series of specific steps. It will include a discussion of the interim government, what it will look like, what it will consist of, and his speech may also include some new information on whom U.S. troops in Iraq will report to after the handover of power to the Iraqi people on June 30. Also, look for the president to talk about having the support of the United Nations. In fact, we are told a U.N. resolution could be introduced as early as today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUZY DEFRANCIS: DEP. ASST. TO THE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNICATIONS: The president has said from the beginning we want the U.N. to play a vital role in Iraq and as we move towards this transfer of self- government to the Iraqi people, obviously the U.N. will play a much bigger role and -- as will other nations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: The president may also echo some familiar themes, as well, talking about the difficult days ahead in Iraq, the likelihood of more violence, but also reaffirming his commitment to Iraq. Tonight's speech, by the way, at the Army War College in Pennsylvania, the first of what's expected to be a series of speeches focusing on Iraq leading up to that handover June 30 -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano for us this morning.
Elaine, thanks.
And CNN will have live coverage of the president's address tonight in a special edition of "Paula Zahn Now" at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time -- Bill.
HEMMER: Weather news now, and serious, too. Tornadoes cutting a path of destruction in the Midwest over the weekend. Nebraska is in a state of emergency after at least 18 tornadoes touched down, causing one death there. The governor describing the scene in the town of Hallam as "complete and total devastation." Also in Iowa, hundreds of homes were damaged after tornadoes tore through that state, bringing heavy rain and flooding. Federal disaster assistance is being sought for 16 counties in the State of Iowa. Yet again today, it could be another rough day of weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: International inspectors have discovered evidence that North Korea may have supplied Libya with uranium, a key ingredient needed to make nuclear weapons. U.S. officials confirmed the discovery, but stress that the evidence is not conclusive and say the link is still being investigated. But if true, what would be the significance of this discovery?
Peter Landesman is a contributor to the "New York Times" magazine.
He spent almost a year investigating the illegal arms trade around the world.
He's our guest live in L.A.
Peter, welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
PETER LANDESMAN, "THE NEW YORK TIMES" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
HEMMER: You heard the question there.
LANDESMAN: Yes, thanks.
HEMMER: What is the significance, if, indeed, proved true?
LANDESMAN: Well, unfortunately there's always a momentary shock to these revelations and then a kind of saturating, deep, unsurprise. You have one desperately poor nation, North Korea, which has very valuable weaponized nuclear material to sell, which it mostly got from another desperately poor nation, Pakistan, putting it on the market. And then you have another desperately poor nation in Libya, who apparently has billions of dollars to spend and burn on weaponized nuclear material, which it got from North Korea.
HEMMER: And, again, we're still waiting on conclusive evidence to prove this true.
Why is it so difficult to prove that, Peter?
LANDESMAN: Well, the nuclear black market, as in all weapons black markets, are incredibly fluid. Weapons are constantly on the move, crisscrossing the globe. It's very difficult to get your hands on evidence. It's difficult to get your hands on paper trials. The money involved and the danger involved is very great.
But, also, one thing that's a little more politically sensitive and difficult to trace is there are people, as in many undercover narc operations, drugs operations we do in local police departments, we have people, we have agents, we have operations around the world. We send some of these things, some of this material, some of these people out there. Sometimes we lose control. Sometimes we don't.
In investigating these types of material exchanges and purchases, if you take this stuff to court, if you publicize it, you very frequently expose some of your intelligence and some of your sources. It becomes very dangerous to do future investigations.
HEMMER: Ultimately, though, if the door swings open and this case is proven where Libya has received material from North Korea, does that not pose the question then who else is getting it from Pyongyang?
LANDESMAN: I think it's fair to say that we already know the answer to that question and the answer to that question is anybody who can open a checkbook and pay up. The sad irony is that we went to war over a country that had ghost WMD, nothing. And yet the countries of the former State of the Union, North Korea, Pakistan are openly trafficking weaponized nuclear material on the open market. And it poses a much greater political problem to deal with these nations.
But just about any organization and nation -- you know, North Korea has no ideology about this or discretion. They'll sell to anybody who has money.
HEMMER: Peter Landesman from L.A., thanks for coming back with us.
LANDESMAN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Turning now to a California case that centers on the controversial issue of posthumous conception. State law makers are fighting for the rights of children who are conceived after the father has died.
In just a moment, we're going to check in with Jeff Toobin about the legal issues involved.
But first, CNN's Ted Rowlands tells us about the case that started the so-called Dead Dads Bill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Brandi Vernoff was born four years after her father died, four years after he had a fatal prescription drug reaction. The family had sperm removed from the body of then 35-year-old Bruce Vernoff. And in 2001, his widow, Gabby Vernoff (ph), gave birth to Brandi.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's very smart and spontaneous, pretty. Thank you. We love her.
ROWLANDS: But in the eyes of California and the federal government, Bruce Vernoff is not Brandi's father, meaning she isn't eligible for inheritance rights or Social Security, which the family is now suing for.
WALLY VERNOFF, FATHER OF BRUCE VERNOFF: Even though the deceased put money into the till and the United States holds it and it was meant for his minor children in the event of a tragedy, they're denying her any rights to it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If a child is conceived after death of the father, then Social Security has to look to the state law.
ROWLANDS: Like most states, California has nothing on the books addressing children like Brandi. But that may soon change.
(on camera): Here in California, lawmakers are considering a bill that would recognize these children if they are conceived within a year of the parent's death and if the parent left explicit written permission to have the child.
(voice-over): The Bill's author, Republican Tom Harman, believes every state will eventually have to deal with this issue.
TOM HARMAN (R), CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLYMAN: When you call it the dead dads bill, it sounds a little unusual, but strange things are happening in this new age of science, technology and medicine.
ROWLANDS: Only nine states currently have laws that address this issue. North Dakota specifically denies all inheritance rights to postmortem children. The other eight states require the deceased parent's written permission.
Cases of postmortem birth are still considered rare, but experts in assisted reproductive technology say thousands of Americans, including many U.S. troops heading overseas, are storing their genetic material, just for this reason.
As medical advances give birth to more children like Brandi Vernoff, delivered with them will be more questions about what rights those children have.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Sacramento, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: It is obviously a complicated legal case.
CNN's senior legal analyst, Jeff Toobin, joining us this morning to maybe simplify for us exactly what we're hearing.
So, if the overall question is the rights of the child, is the state essentially saying that this little girl has no father?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That's right. They are saying -- at the moment they're saying she has no father. And, interestingly, this bill would not help her because she was conceived four years after her father's death and the bill only says it has to be within a year.
So I think one of the issues that is very important to think about in this is the issue of certainty. The legal system has to have some certainty. And you couldn't settle people's estates, you couldn't settle men's estates if heirs would turn up 10, 20 years after they died.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, that bill also says that the father has to give explicit permission, and you had that one year deadline. Obviously, if you're going to have in vitro fertilization, it could be very tricky. I mean for many people, it takes a long time before that works.
TOOBIN: It takes a long time. That's why sometimes you can exaggerate the number of people who are involved here. They say there are 400,000 embryos out there, but, in fact, most of them will not turn into babies, and certainly most of the time the father will be alive when the baby is born.
O'BRIEN: So realistically you don't think this is a big problem? Or do you?
TOOBIN: Well, the issue is a big problem because fertilization technology is moving so quickly that issues that we didn't even know were issues will continue to pop up. Will there be that many dead dads having children? No. But certainly the issue raised by this -- there are a lot -- there will be a lot of them.
O'BRIEN: And I would imagine variations on a theme. You may not be talking about dead dads, but you could talk about all the legal complications from couples that get separated and have sperm saved or embryos saved and then someone wants to become a parent with somebody who isn't dead, but doesn't -- certainly doesn't want to be married anymore.
TOOBIN: What if they -- yes, what if they've gotten divorced? What rights do the grandparents have? Do the grandparents say that they have custody or visitation rights if the dad has died? I mean it's not just one issue. When a child is born from this kind of technology, many issues spill out of it.
O'BRIEN: What do you think is the likelihood that this Dead Dads Bill, which, by the way, is just a horrible name...
TOOBIN: Terrible.
O'BRIEN: ... is going to pass?
TOOBIN: I think there is a -- I think it's possible that it may pass because the child is a very sympathetic person. You want to have a child have a father when there's no doubt who the father is. The problem is doing so in a way that will not -- create even more problems in the legal system.
O'BRIEN: Yes, well, that's going to be tricky in this one, isn't it, Jeff?
TOOBIN: It always is.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jeff, thanks.
TOOBIN: All right.
O'BRIEN: Very much appreciate it.
Well, all this morning we have been welcoming a new member of our team. Heidi Collins joining us this morning. She's got a look at some of the other stories that are making news -- Heidi, good morning again.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.
Thanks so much and good morning to you, everybody.
We want to get you up to speed now with the headlines at 15 minutes past the hour.
An explosion in Baghdad has left two people dead, one other wounded near an entrance to U.S. coalition headquarters. The blast, first thought to be a car bombing, went off when an SUV hit an improvised explosive device. Meantime, the U.S. will circulate a draft resolution on Iraq among U.N. Security Council members. A senior State Department official says U.S. and British officials will discuss the text with members of 15 nation Council today. U.S. officials say the new resolution will define a larger U.N. role in Iraq and lay out steps for Iraq's reconstruction.
Israeli tanks have finished pulling out of the key refugee camp in southern Gaza. Now, some residents of the Palestinian neighborhood are burying the dead and surveying the destruction left behind. Israel says last week's operation was aimed at Palestinian militants and weapons smuggling tunnels.
Some delays expected today as security on passenger trains across the country gets a lot tighter. New federal rules are in effect now on train and subway systems. Rail commuters should expect to see bomb sniffing dogs and be ready to show their identification. The new security guidelines come in the aftermath of the Madrid train attacks, which killed nearly 200 people in March.
And in politics, independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is giving out advice on a running mate for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. According to Nader, North Carolina Senator John Edwards or Missouri Congressman Dick Gephardt could help Kerry's ticket. Senator Kerry has not disclosed his choice for a running mate or whether or not he'll be listening to those words of advice from Mr. Nader.
HEMMER: You got a dollar?
COLLINS: Maybe a buck fifty.
O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: Yes, the only thing I have to say about this election is it's normally a surprise across-the-board. Dick Cheney was a surprise in 2000. Joe Lieberman was a surprise in 2000. Jack Kemp was a surprise in 1996.
COLLINS: So maybe they're waiting for the surprise tactic, huh?
HEMMER: Maybe.
O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: But what do I know? He's not listening to us.
CAFFERTY: Well, he might be.
HEMMER: I doubt it.
COLLINS: Yes, really.
CAFFERTY: I listen to you guys.
HEMMER: OK, thank you, Jack. CAFFERTY: I have to.
HEMMER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: The Question of the Day is about this speech tonight that the president is going to make. The stakes couldn't be higher. Questions about Iraq, the prisoner abuse scandal, violence against the troops, the U.N.'s role there, the handover on June 30. And, of course, the president has to have one eye on those poll numbers, which have been going steadily down as the election gets ever closer.
So the question is this: what's the most important thing you need to hear tonight from President Bush?
And these are some of the answers.
Sherry writes this: "Honestly, Jack, I am so disillusioned by this president, who I voted for, there's nothing he can say that'll change my mind. He leaves this conservative Christian Republican no choice -- I have to vote for Kerry."
Gil in Pequea, Pennsylvania: "Lyndon Johnson, in similar circumstances, said it best -- 'I will not seek nor will I accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president' -- then he gave that little gotcha smirk. Bush should do likewise."
Johnny in Monroe, Louisiana: "A single apology or acknowledgement that this administration heinously underestimated the cost of this war, both in terms of dollars and lives, would be, in my opinion, the single greatest boost to his presidency. I am, however, not optimistic."
Eric in Olathe, Kansas: "I'd like to hear that he's firing Rumsfeld over the failed planning and execution of the war in Iraq. I know I won't, though. If I tune in, I'm sure words like 'stay the course' and 'get the evildoers' will predominate."
And Daschle in Taylorsville, Kentucky writes -- whoops.
Whoops.
O'BRIEN: Still, the mail is still running all that way pretty much?
CAFFERTY: Yes, very, 500 to 600 letters in the last hour, maybe a dozen supporting the job that the administration is doing in Iraq. It's a little scary.
HEMMER: Your point last hour is well taken, not so much the words that you hear in speeches, it's the actions that happen after the 30th of June and the amount of violence that's reported there.
CAFFERTY: Yes. Stuff has to start happening. You've got to have stuff happening.
HEMMER: Now, the U.S. Army is making headway in Karbala. If you read the reports over the weekend, the insurgents essentially putting down their arms and walking away. Maybe a similar scene in Kufa.
CAFFERTY: Yes, but they did that once before, a year ago. They all put down their arms and walked away and they've been killing our guys for a year because they walked into houses where there were more guns and they've been fighting. You know, the insurgents came back to do battle another day.
HEMMER: I'm not saying the problems are gone.
CAFFERTY: No, I understand that. But I mean it's, you know...
O'BRIEN: You can't talk about security, you have to fix security. I mean at the end of the day, that's the problem.
CAFFERTY: And who's going to run the country June 30? And how safe will it be then?
O'BRIEN: Details are coming tonight, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Oh. Well, I'll be watching.
O'BRIEN: OK, good.
HEMMER: Thanks, Jack.
Still to come this morning, will former President Clinton's memories be his final campaign? A Republican congressman who was consulted for the book offers his take, up next.
HEMMER: Also, Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" winning raves in France over the weekend. More on that in a moment when we continue after this on a Monday edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
COMMERCIAL
HEMMER: Nearly four years after leaving office, former President Bill Clinton about to embark on his final campaign. That's how our next guest describes the publication of Clinton's long awaited memoir. It's 900 pages. It's called "My Life." It's due out next month.
New York Congressman Peter King was one of the four Republicans to vote against impeachment and someone Bill Clinton apparently has consulted for this book.
And Congressman King is here in New York, his hometown, to talk about it.
Why did he call you?
REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: I guess because I was one of the, you know, one of the Republicans who voted against impeachment. Plus, actually, I had a very good working relationship with him. I had really gotten to know him well through the Northern Ireland peace process. I was involved in it then. And, of course, as president he really brought it to culmination. So we, you know, worked very closely on that. And I think I can say we formed a friendship. HEMMER: He called you last week or when?
KING: Actually, he first called me a month ago when I was in Washington when he was really trying to get final details for the book. And then last Monday morning at 6:30 I got a call. It was Senator Clinton on the phone saying that President Clinton wanted to talk to me, he had some questions on the book. But mainly he was just reading parts of the book and he asked me how I thought it sounded. He was like a kid showing off his new toy. He's pumped with adrenaline, yes.
HEMMER: Is that so? Did you tell him you were coming on national TV to talk about the conversation, by the way?
KING: No, I didn't. You guys invited me. No, no, not at all. No, so.
HEMMER: What did he ask you?
KING: Well, mainly he just wanted some details as to who felt what and why some people changed their votes. But -- and also just different pressure that might have been brought on someone like me. Really, nothing dramatic. I think he just wanted to confirm his version of what happened at that time.
HEMMER: You have said that it appears that he's doing this on his own in terms of finishing the book and getting it done. You talked about it seemed that he had notes scattered all over the place.
What did you mean by that?
KING: This is a book that's obviously been written by the author. This is not going to be any ghost writers. I'm sure there's people helping him, doing some final polishing. No, he was doing the book. I'm talking to him and he said, "OK, let me get that. I have that upstairs." And you could see he was trying to find some notes he had, trying to find records he had.
Now, this is all his own work. He is really into this. This is his crusade.
HEMMER: The other thing you say, he won't give an inch on impeachment.
What do you mean by that?
KING: I think he's going to be very aggressive. He believes that he was wronged. He thinks it was done illegally and wrongly and he is going to fight as hard as he can to defend himself. This is not going to be, I don't think, from what I heard, any kind of an -- it's not going to be apologizing or anything. He's going to be on offense, because this is his legacy.
HEMMER: Do you think he breaks new ground with this book?
KING: I think what people are going to see is he's going to be defending every one of his positions. I'm sure he's going to be coming out with some information. He didn't make that known to me...
HEMMER: I see.
KING: ... but I think he's going to tell, you know, all that he knows, but he's going to be very -- he's going to be on offense. This is his way to define his legacy.
HEMMER: There are many Democrats who suggest the release of this book in a few weeks from now will take headlines away from John Kerry.
Do you believe that, especially when you go on the book tour and you do interviews across the country?
KING: Yes, I don't think it helps. And certainly I know Democrats in Washington are concerned about it because, you know, people have only so much of an attention span and Bill Clinton can suck up oxygen as well as anyone, probably, in history.
HEMMER: Can you tell us what you told him about his questions regarding impeachment?
KING: I told him, "Mr. President, I'm looking forward to reading the entire book." No, I, listen, when you -- I mean there were certain things -- we were just clarifying some facts. But, no, I'm not going to -- you know, he's very proud of the book. He's going to be very aggressive in promoting it, not so much that he wants to sell books, but he wants to get his legacy out there.
HEMMER: Peter King, nice to see you again.
KING: Bill, thank you.
HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, President Bush will try to turn back a wave of negative opinion tonight. Advisers to presidents David Gergen takes a look at just how hard that could be.
Plus, did the U.S. military make a deadly mistake? A videotape turns up with a claim that innocent people were attacked. A look at that is ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues, right after this short break.
COMMERCIAL
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Aired May 24, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
A developing situation in Iraq -- a car bombing in the heart of Baghdad today now followed by even more explosions.
A critical moment for the president -- he talks to the country later tonight. Can he convince Americans that his plan for Iraq will work?
And medical technology creating a legal mess for children, children who were not even conceived until years after the father died.
All ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Welcome back, everybody.
Other stories that we're following this morning, President Bush certainly has his work cut out for him overcoming the negative headlines from Iraq when he makes a nationally televised speech tonight. We're going to have a live update from the White House in just a moment.
Also, we will talk to former White House adviser David Gergen about the very high stakes for tonight's speech.
HEMMER: On a different topic -- sorry about that, Soledad -- international inspectors may have made a major discovery in figuring out who helped Libya develop a nuclear program. We'll talk to a "New York Times" magazine contributor who spent a year investigating illegal arms sales and find out about a North Korean connection in a moment here.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, severe thunderstorms for the last three days have triggered tornadoes and left much of Michigan flooded. There are a number of serious weather situations, in fact, out there brewing today. We're going to go through those with you this morning.
HEMMER: Boy, it is that time of the year, and we saw it over the weekend. Hopefully good news out there. More in a moment.
To Jack Cafferty again on a Monday morning -- good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Can we see those pictures of those little spermatozoa again swimming around there?
HEMMER: It got your attention, huh?
CAFFERTY: We need this at eight o'clock on a Monday morning?
Coming up in the Cafferty File, parents spending big bucks to send their little darlings to Princeton University are not going to be pleased to find out what some of them have been doing in the school store.
And we'll tell you the real reason why men don't live as long as women. The theory goes they don't want to. But that's not the real reason.
O'BRIEN: Interesting.
All right, Jack...
HEMMER: It's a theory.
CAFFERTY: Especially married guys.
O'BRIEN: Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
CAFFERTY: And that's why.
O'BRIEN: Please. Touche, I'll give you that.
CAFFERTY: All right.
O'BRIEN: Just about an hour ago here on AMERICAN MORNING, one of the president's top communications aides told us that the president tonight will paint a picture of what the new Iraqi government will look like.
With other details of the president's speech to the nation, we're joined from the White House by Elaine Quijano -- Elaine, good morning.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
President Bush is set to deliver this speech against a backdrop of lower approval numbers and also ongoing criticism that the president did not have a plan for post-war Iraq. White House officials say that tonight the president plans to talk about specifics in an effort to counter that criticism and let Americans know that the situation in Iraq is not as chaotic as some might believe.
Now, the White House says the president will lay out the future of Iraq as a series of specific steps. It will include a discussion of the interim government, what it will look like, what it will consist of, and his speech may also include some new information on whom U.S. troops in Iraq will report to after the handover of power to the Iraqi people on June 30. Also, look for the president to talk about having the support of the United Nations. In fact, we are told a U.N. resolution could be introduced as early as today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUZY DEFRANCIS: DEP. ASST. TO THE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNICATIONS: The president has said from the beginning we want the U.N. to play a vital role in Iraq and as we move towards this transfer of self- government to the Iraqi people, obviously the U.N. will play a much bigger role and -- as will other nations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: The president may also echo some familiar themes, as well, talking about the difficult days ahead in Iraq, the likelihood of more violence, but also reaffirming his commitment to Iraq. Tonight's speech, by the way, at the Army War College in Pennsylvania, the first of what's expected to be a series of speeches focusing on Iraq leading up to that handover June 30 -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano for us this morning.
Elaine, thanks.
And CNN will have live coverage of the president's address tonight in a special edition of "Paula Zahn Now" at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time -- Bill.
HEMMER: Weather news now, and serious, too. Tornadoes cutting a path of destruction in the Midwest over the weekend. Nebraska is in a state of emergency after at least 18 tornadoes touched down, causing one death there. The governor describing the scene in the town of Hallam as "complete and total devastation." Also in Iowa, hundreds of homes were damaged after tornadoes tore through that state, bringing heavy rain and flooding. Federal disaster assistance is being sought for 16 counties in the State of Iowa. Yet again today, it could be another rough day of weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: International inspectors have discovered evidence that North Korea may have supplied Libya with uranium, a key ingredient needed to make nuclear weapons. U.S. officials confirmed the discovery, but stress that the evidence is not conclusive and say the link is still being investigated. But if true, what would be the significance of this discovery?
Peter Landesman is a contributor to the "New York Times" magazine.
He spent almost a year investigating the illegal arms trade around the world.
He's our guest live in L.A.
Peter, welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
PETER LANDESMAN, "THE NEW YORK TIMES" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
HEMMER: You heard the question there.
LANDESMAN: Yes, thanks.
HEMMER: What is the significance, if, indeed, proved true?
LANDESMAN: Well, unfortunately there's always a momentary shock to these revelations and then a kind of saturating, deep, unsurprise. You have one desperately poor nation, North Korea, which has very valuable weaponized nuclear material to sell, which it mostly got from another desperately poor nation, Pakistan, putting it on the market. And then you have another desperately poor nation in Libya, who apparently has billions of dollars to spend and burn on weaponized nuclear material, which it got from North Korea.
HEMMER: And, again, we're still waiting on conclusive evidence to prove this true.
Why is it so difficult to prove that, Peter?
LANDESMAN: Well, the nuclear black market, as in all weapons black markets, are incredibly fluid. Weapons are constantly on the move, crisscrossing the globe. It's very difficult to get your hands on evidence. It's difficult to get your hands on paper trials. The money involved and the danger involved is very great.
But, also, one thing that's a little more politically sensitive and difficult to trace is there are people, as in many undercover narc operations, drugs operations we do in local police departments, we have people, we have agents, we have operations around the world. We send some of these things, some of this material, some of these people out there. Sometimes we lose control. Sometimes we don't.
In investigating these types of material exchanges and purchases, if you take this stuff to court, if you publicize it, you very frequently expose some of your intelligence and some of your sources. It becomes very dangerous to do future investigations.
HEMMER: Ultimately, though, if the door swings open and this case is proven where Libya has received material from North Korea, does that not pose the question then who else is getting it from Pyongyang?
LANDESMAN: I think it's fair to say that we already know the answer to that question and the answer to that question is anybody who can open a checkbook and pay up. The sad irony is that we went to war over a country that had ghost WMD, nothing. And yet the countries of the former State of the Union, North Korea, Pakistan are openly trafficking weaponized nuclear material on the open market. And it poses a much greater political problem to deal with these nations.
But just about any organization and nation -- you know, North Korea has no ideology about this or discretion. They'll sell to anybody who has money.
HEMMER: Peter Landesman from L.A., thanks for coming back with us.
LANDESMAN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Turning now to a California case that centers on the controversial issue of posthumous conception. State law makers are fighting for the rights of children who are conceived after the father has died.
In just a moment, we're going to check in with Jeff Toobin about the legal issues involved.
But first, CNN's Ted Rowlands tells us about the case that started the so-called Dead Dads Bill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Brandi Vernoff was born four years after her father died, four years after he had a fatal prescription drug reaction. The family had sperm removed from the body of then 35-year-old Bruce Vernoff. And in 2001, his widow, Gabby Vernoff (ph), gave birth to Brandi.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's very smart and spontaneous, pretty. Thank you. We love her.
ROWLANDS: But in the eyes of California and the federal government, Bruce Vernoff is not Brandi's father, meaning she isn't eligible for inheritance rights or Social Security, which the family is now suing for.
WALLY VERNOFF, FATHER OF BRUCE VERNOFF: Even though the deceased put money into the till and the United States holds it and it was meant for his minor children in the event of a tragedy, they're denying her any rights to it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If a child is conceived after death of the father, then Social Security has to look to the state law.
ROWLANDS: Like most states, California has nothing on the books addressing children like Brandi. But that may soon change.
(on camera): Here in California, lawmakers are considering a bill that would recognize these children if they are conceived within a year of the parent's death and if the parent left explicit written permission to have the child.
(voice-over): The Bill's author, Republican Tom Harman, believes every state will eventually have to deal with this issue.
TOM HARMAN (R), CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLYMAN: When you call it the dead dads bill, it sounds a little unusual, but strange things are happening in this new age of science, technology and medicine.
ROWLANDS: Only nine states currently have laws that address this issue. North Dakota specifically denies all inheritance rights to postmortem children. The other eight states require the deceased parent's written permission.
Cases of postmortem birth are still considered rare, but experts in assisted reproductive technology say thousands of Americans, including many U.S. troops heading overseas, are storing their genetic material, just for this reason.
As medical advances give birth to more children like Brandi Vernoff, delivered with them will be more questions about what rights those children have.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Sacramento, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: It is obviously a complicated legal case.
CNN's senior legal analyst, Jeff Toobin, joining us this morning to maybe simplify for us exactly what we're hearing.
So, if the overall question is the rights of the child, is the state essentially saying that this little girl has no father?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That's right. They are saying -- at the moment they're saying she has no father. And, interestingly, this bill would not help her because she was conceived four years after her father's death and the bill only says it has to be within a year.
So I think one of the issues that is very important to think about in this is the issue of certainty. The legal system has to have some certainty. And you couldn't settle people's estates, you couldn't settle men's estates if heirs would turn up 10, 20 years after they died.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, that bill also says that the father has to give explicit permission, and you had that one year deadline. Obviously, if you're going to have in vitro fertilization, it could be very tricky. I mean for many people, it takes a long time before that works.
TOOBIN: It takes a long time. That's why sometimes you can exaggerate the number of people who are involved here. They say there are 400,000 embryos out there, but, in fact, most of them will not turn into babies, and certainly most of the time the father will be alive when the baby is born.
O'BRIEN: So realistically you don't think this is a big problem? Or do you?
TOOBIN: Well, the issue is a big problem because fertilization technology is moving so quickly that issues that we didn't even know were issues will continue to pop up. Will there be that many dead dads having children? No. But certainly the issue raised by this -- there are a lot -- there will be a lot of them.
O'BRIEN: And I would imagine variations on a theme. You may not be talking about dead dads, but you could talk about all the legal complications from couples that get separated and have sperm saved or embryos saved and then someone wants to become a parent with somebody who isn't dead, but doesn't -- certainly doesn't want to be married anymore.
TOOBIN: What if they -- yes, what if they've gotten divorced? What rights do the grandparents have? Do the grandparents say that they have custody or visitation rights if the dad has died? I mean it's not just one issue. When a child is born from this kind of technology, many issues spill out of it.
O'BRIEN: What do you think is the likelihood that this Dead Dads Bill, which, by the way, is just a horrible name...
TOOBIN: Terrible.
O'BRIEN: ... is going to pass?
TOOBIN: I think there is a -- I think it's possible that it may pass because the child is a very sympathetic person. You want to have a child have a father when there's no doubt who the father is. The problem is doing so in a way that will not -- create even more problems in the legal system.
O'BRIEN: Yes, well, that's going to be tricky in this one, isn't it, Jeff?
TOOBIN: It always is.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jeff, thanks.
TOOBIN: All right.
O'BRIEN: Very much appreciate it.
Well, all this morning we have been welcoming a new member of our team. Heidi Collins joining us this morning. She's got a look at some of the other stories that are making news -- Heidi, good morning again.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.
Thanks so much and good morning to you, everybody.
We want to get you up to speed now with the headlines at 15 minutes past the hour.
An explosion in Baghdad has left two people dead, one other wounded near an entrance to U.S. coalition headquarters. The blast, first thought to be a car bombing, went off when an SUV hit an improvised explosive device. Meantime, the U.S. will circulate a draft resolution on Iraq among U.N. Security Council members. A senior State Department official says U.S. and British officials will discuss the text with members of 15 nation Council today. U.S. officials say the new resolution will define a larger U.N. role in Iraq and lay out steps for Iraq's reconstruction.
Israeli tanks have finished pulling out of the key refugee camp in southern Gaza. Now, some residents of the Palestinian neighborhood are burying the dead and surveying the destruction left behind. Israel says last week's operation was aimed at Palestinian militants and weapons smuggling tunnels.
Some delays expected today as security on passenger trains across the country gets a lot tighter. New federal rules are in effect now on train and subway systems. Rail commuters should expect to see bomb sniffing dogs and be ready to show their identification. The new security guidelines come in the aftermath of the Madrid train attacks, which killed nearly 200 people in March.
And in politics, independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is giving out advice on a running mate for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. According to Nader, North Carolina Senator John Edwards or Missouri Congressman Dick Gephardt could help Kerry's ticket. Senator Kerry has not disclosed his choice for a running mate or whether or not he'll be listening to those words of advice from Mr. Nader.
HEMMER: You got a dollar?
COLLINS: Maybe a buck fifty.
O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: Yes, the only thing I have to say about this election is it's normally a surprise across-the-board. Dick Cheney was a surprise in 2000. Joe Lieberman was a surprise in 2000. Jack Kemp was a surprise in 1996.
COLLINS: So maybe they're waiting for the surprise tactic, huh?
HEMMER: Maybe.
O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: But what do I know? He's not listening to us.
CAFFERTY: Well, he might be.
HEMMER: I doubt it.
COLLINS: Yes, really.
CAFFERTY: I listen to you guys.
HEMMER: OK, thank you, Jack. CAFFERTY: I have to.
HEMMER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: The Question of the Day is about this speech tonight that the president is going to make. The stakes couldn't be higher. Questions about Iraq, the prisoner abuse scandal, violence against the troops, the U.N.'s role there, the handover on June 30. And, of course, the president has to have one eye on those poll numbers, which have been going steadily down as the election gets ever closer.
So the question is this: what's the most important thing you need to hear tonight from President Bush?
And these are some of the answers.
Sherry writes this: "Honestly, Jack, I am so disillusioned by this president, who I voted for, there's nothing he can say that'll change my mind. He leaves this conservative Christian Republican no choice -- I have to vote for Kerry."
Gil in Pequea, Pennsylvania: "Lyndon Johnson, in similar circumstances, said it best -- 'I will not seek nor will I accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president' -- then he gave that little gotcha smirk. Bush should do likewise."
Johnny in Monroe, Louisiana: "A single apology or acknowledgement that this administration heinously underestimated the cost of this war, both in terms of dollars and lives, would be, in my opinion, the single greatest boost to his presidency. I am, however, not optimistic."
Eric in Olathe, Kansas: "I'd like to hear that he's firing Rumsfeld over the failed planning and execution of the war in Iraq. I know I won't, though. If I tune in, I'm sure words like 'stay the course' and 'get the evildoers' will predominate."
And Daschle in Taylorsville, Kentucky writes -- whoops.
Whoops.
O'BRIEN: Still, the mail is still running all that way pretty much?
CAFFERTY: Yes, very, 500 to 600 letters in the last hour, maybe a dozen supporting the job that the administration is doing in Iraq. It's a little scary.
HEMMER: Your point last hour is well taken, not so much the words that you hear in speeches, it's the actions that happen after the 30th of June and the amount of violence that's reported there.
CAFFERTY: Yes. Stuff has to start happening. You've got to have stuff happening.
HEMMER: Now, the U.S. Army is making headway in Karbala. If you read the reports over the weekend, the insurgents essentially putting down their arms and walking away. Maybe a similar scene in Kufa.
CAFFERTY: Yes, but they did that once before, a year ago. They all put down their arms and walked away and they've been killing our guys for a year because they walked into houses where there were more guns and they've been fighting. You know, the insurgents came back to do battle another day.
HEMMER: I'm not saying the problems are gone.
CAFFERTY: No, I understand that. But I mean it's, you know...
O'BRIEN: You can't talk about security, you have to fix security. I mean at the end of the day, that's the problem.
CAFFERTY: And who's going to run the country June 30? And how safe will it be then?
O'BRIEN: Details are coming tonight, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Oh. Well, I'll be watching.
O'BRIEN: OK, good.
HEMMER: Thanks, Jack.
Still to come this morning, will former President Clinton's memories be his final campaign? A Republican congressman who was consulted for the book offers his take, up next.
HEMMER: Also, Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" winning raves in France over the weekend. More on that in a moment when we continue after this on a Monday edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
COMMERCIAL
HEMMER: Nearly four years after leaving office, former President Bill Clinton about to embark on his final campaign. That's how our next guest describes the publication of Clinton's long awaited memoir. It's 900 pages. It's called "My Life." It's due out next month.
New York Congressman Peter King was one of the four Republicans to vote against impeachment and someone Bill Clinton apparently has consulted for this book.
And Congressman King is here in New York, his hometown, to talk about it.
Why did he call you?
REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: I guess because I was one of the, you know, one of the Republicans who voted against impeachment. Plus, actually, I had a very good working relationship with him. I had really gotten to know him well through the Northern Ireland peace process. I was involved in it then. And, of course, as president he really brought it to culmination. So we, you know, worked very closely on that. And I think I can say we formed a friendship. HEMMER: He called you last week or when?
KING: Actually, he first called me a month ago when I was in Washington when he was really trying to get final details for the book. And then last Monday morning at 6:30 I got a call. It was Senator Clinton on the phone saying that President Clinton wanted to talk to me, he had some questions on the book. But mainly he was just reading parts of the book and he asked me how I thought it sounded. He was like a kid showing off his new toy. He's pumped with adrenaline, yes.
HEMMER: Is that so? Did you tell him you were coming on national TV to talk about the conversation, by the way?
KING: No, I didn't. You guys invited me. No, no, not at all. No, so.
HEMMER: What did he ask you?
KING: Well, mainly he just wanted some details as to who felt what and why some people changed their votes. But -- and also just different pressure that might have been brought on someone like me. Really, nothing dramatic. I think he just wanted to confirm his version of what happened at that time.
HEMMER: You have said that it appears that he's doing this on his own in terms of finishing the book and getting it done. You talked about it seemed that he had notes scattered all over the place.
What did you mean by that?
KING: This is a book that's obviously been written by the author. This is not going to be any ghost writers. I'm sure there's people helping him, doing some final polishing. No, he was doing the book. I'm talking to him and he said, "OK, let me get that. I have that upstairs." And you could see he was trying to find some notes he had, trying to find records he had.
Now, this is all his own work. He is really into this. This is his crusade.
HEMMER: The other thing you say, he won't give an inch on impeachment.
What do you mean by that?
KING: I think he's going to be very aggressive. He believes that he was wronged. He thinks it was done illegally and wrongly and he is going to fight as hard as he can to defend himself. This is not going to be, I don't think, from what I heard, any kind of an -- it's not going to be apologizing or anything. He's going to be on offense, because this is his legacy.
HEMMER: Do you think he breaks new ground with this book?
KING: I think what people are going to see is he's going to be defending every one of his positions. I'm sure he's going to be coming out with some information. He didn't make that known to me...
HEMMER: I see.
KING: ... but I think he's going to tell, you know, all that he knows, but he's going to be very -- he's going to be on offense. This is his way to define his legacy.
HEMMER: There are many Democrats who suggest the release of this book in a few weeks from now will take headlines away from John Kerry.
Do you believe that, especially when you go on the book tour and you do interviews across the country?
KING: Yes, I don't think it helps. And certainly I know Democrats in Washington are concerned about it because, you know, people have only so much of an attention span and Bill Clinton can suck up oxygen as well as anyone, probably, in history.
HEMMER: Can you tell us what you told him about his questions regarding impeachment?
KING: I told him, "Mr. President, I'm looking forward to reading the entire book." No, I, listen, when you -- I mean there were certain things -- we were just clarifying some facts. But, no, I'm not going to -- you know, he's very proud of the book. He's going to be very aggressive in promoting it, not so much that he wants to sell books, but he wants to get his legacy out there.
HEMMER: Peter King, nice to see you again.
KING: Bill, thank you.
HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, President Bush will try to turn back a wave of negative opinion tonight. Advisers to presidents David Gergen takes a look at just how hard that could be.
Plus, did the U.S. military make a deadly mistake? A videotape turns up with a claim that innocent people were attacked. A look at that is ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues, right after this short break.
COMMERCIAL
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