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American Morning
Iraqi Official Issuing Ultimatum to Rebel Leader Muqtada al- Sadr; Interview with Former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman
Aired August 18, 2004 - 07:00 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: Frustration bowling over in the aftermath of Charley. Official defending some of their actions today.
Amber Frey under the microscope. Scott Peterson's defense team may be ready to go on the attack today.
And swept away -- water surging, washing away nearly everything in its path, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning. Soledad is out resting. Heidi Collins with me here in New York.
And good morning to you.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: Lots of talk about, breaking news out of Najaf. A bid for peace ending in failure. The Iraqi delegation sent in to negotiate with the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr did not get a warm welcome. Al-Sadr didn't even show up in fact. Now it looks like the Iraqi government may be getting tired of the talk. In a moment, we'll be with a reporter who is traveling with that delegation in southern Iraq. We'll get to that in a moment.
COLLINS: Also the calls for New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey to step down now get louder. Former Governor Christie Todd Whitman is one of his critics, and a possible candidate to replace him. We'll talk with her as well.
Also this hour, Scott Peterson's defense team cross-examines Amber Frey today, and this could get interesting. Yesterday, jurors heard more of the phone calls between Peterson and Frey. One thing they have not heard, a confrontation between Scott Peterson and Laci's mother. Lisa Bloom from Court TV joins us in a moment on that case as well.
COLLINS: For now, though. Jack is joining us this morning.
Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Muqtada al-Sadr -- why is this guy still even in the news? For want of a better way to describe him, he's like an outlaw biker cleric over there in Iraq. He's holding the coalition hostage. He's holding the Iraqi government hostage. Nobody seems to be able to figure out what to do about this guy, so we're going to turn it over to you in a few minutes and let you figure it out.
COLLINS: That's right, we will.
And we are also going to turn it over to John Vause right now, who is standing by in Iraq, where an Iraqi official is issuing an ultimatum now to rebel leader Muqtada al-Sadr and his forces in Najaf.
As I said, John Vause is in Baghdad with the very latest on the story.
John, good morning.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
There's been more fighting overnight in Najaf, particularly in the last few hours, and that's with a statement now coming from Iraq's defense minister, warning that the time for talking is now over, and that military preparations to liberate the Imam Ali Mosque are now complete, and he says that will be a lesson for the gangs in Fallujah, Mosul, Basra and Samarra.
A peace delegation tried to negotiate with Muqtada al-Sadr last night, but the Shiite cleric refused to meet with them. His aides said that because of the ongoing fighting in Najaf, it was just too dangerous for a face-to-face meeting between the delegates and the cleric. They blamed the U.S. for the fighting.
Still, despite what appears to be a snub, some of the delegates are saying this was, in fact, a successful trip, and they want to go back in the next day or two to try again, and they are now planning to ask the interim Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi to order U.S. forces and tanks away from the Imam Ali Mosque so they can, in fact, try again.
But a statement came from the prime minister's office within the last few minutes, saying that Iraq would not stand back, quote, "with arms folded," that the Iraqi government will act to restore law and order, not just to Najaf, but to around the country.
All the time this is going on, Heidi, the Iraqi National Conference is still trying to get together to try and vote on that interim assembly, which will advises the interim Iraqi government for the next six months. They have not held those elections yet. It's still a stormy day down there, with many delegates threatening to walk out -- Heidi.
COLLINS: John, just want to clarify, we know that the Iraqi defense minister is saying that only Iraqi troops will go into that shrine, and U.S. troops will only serving as backup, apparently by air and land. Is that correct? Is that what you're hearing.
VAUSE: We've been hearing that for a number of days now. It's a very sensitive issue. Non-Muslims are just not even allowed in the mosque. So there's a huge backlash which could be created if 2,000 U.S. Marines storm the mosque. There's a special force which is being trained. They are now in place, we are told, waiting, on orders for the Iraqi prime minister for that offensive to begin, if in fact it does. We've been in this position many times before, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, John Vause, thanks so much for that, live from Baghdad this morning.
Also want to let you know that we will be speaking a little bit later on with a "Washington Post" reporter who actually went in the shrine, along with the Iraqi delegation. He's going to tell us what he saw and what he heard inside -- Bill.
HEMMER: New Jersey's former governor has joined now a growing chorus of Republicans and some Democrats for Jim McGreevey to resign now, and not in mid-November, as planned in an announcement last week.
Christie Todd Whitman our guest this morning in her home state of New Jersey.
And good morning to you. Good to have you here.
CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, FMR. NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: Why go now?
WHITMAN: Because once you've announced that you are going to be leaving with -- before your term is up, you are a lame duck, and your ability to do your job is compromised. You add on to that the fact the governor stood up and said, look, there's something going on in my life, that means I'm not going to be able to fulfill my obligations as governor of the state of New Jersey in November, but I know it now. That doesn't make any sense. It means he's distracted now. And this state needs a governor who fully concentrates on the needs of the people, particularly because we're in a state of high alert.
We have a convention coming up across the river from us at the end of the month. We need someone who is not distracted by anything. And I just don't understand how can you say, I know I'm going to be distracted so much in three months from now, that I can't do my job, so I'll stick around for those three moss, but I'm telling you now. That just isn't right.
And when you add to the fact, that even when you have a change of government through the electoral process, you don't have three months -- excuse me. You only have two, at the most. So the point here is, if the governor were to step down today, he would allow the people to make a decision in a special election that would be held in November. That's Time enough for them to hear from the candidates and to be able to pick who they want for at least the next year, and then that person really should, if you're going to have a continuity, be someone who's willing to stand for re-election for the next four as well.
HEMMER: Do you want your old job back?
WHITMAN: No, I think it's time for someone new, because I do feel very strongly that whoever the candidate is should be willing to say that they'll serve the next four years, and five years (INAUDIBLE) governor. I think that would be too much.
HEMMER: So then you're saying that if there is a special election, you're not going to put your hat in the ring, is that right? You will not run for governor of New Jersey, if given the opportunity?
WHITMAN: What I'm saying is if we're talking about having a special election -- other than a caretaker. If you're having a special election so you're electing a governor who is going to serve and then going to serve another four years, as they should, I'm not that person. I really think you should have somebody new for that.
HEMMER: Yesterday, you were quoted as saying, "It depends on who is running on the other side." Care to clarify that today?
WHITMAN: No, what I -- yes, sure. No, no, no, it wasn't as far as I was concerned, depends on who's running on the other side, except if you're talking about just an interim. If you're talking about an interim, that s going to bring a different set of candidates, I believe, to the table, because that's going to be a very difficult year. For someone who has the ambition to stay on, if they're really a serious candidate, they're going to want to have the five years, they're going to need i, because the first year is going to be extremely difficult.
I just think that Senator Corzine, whether he intended this or not, is obviously the subject of all the speculation as to what the Democrats want to do. I think he has an obligation to say I'm in or out, I'm interested in this job, or I'm not interested, because that, I think, will clear the field, both on the Democrat side, and it will give the Republicans some idea. Right now, from the Republican perspective, there is no election, except for 2005. So there's really no need to -- for the candidates to start gearing up.
HEMMER: Here's what Jim McGreevey wrote yesterday, an op-ed piece that appeared in "USA Today" in part -- I'm quoting now -- "The fact that I've chosen to leave office before the end of my term only heightens my responsibilities to the citizens of New Jersey, not only to complete the initiatives we have started, but also to oversee an orderly transition of power."
Do you see a smooth transition as necessary?
WHITMAN: Oh, listen, he has no problem at all. When I left the governorship, when I went to do the Bush administration, my successor had three weeks. He was in the same position as Senator Cody. We're talking about a senator of his own party, who has been in the Senate for some 20-years plus, he knows the job inside and out. It's not going to take three months. An orderly transition in this state -- even for the president of United States doesn't have three months.
This is all about politics. This is all about how the Democrats keep control. It's an internecine battle going in within the Democratic Party now. They don't -- not all of them like the Senate president. They're not sure they want him to stay. I mean, this is ridiculous. The good of the states needs to be put ahead of politics now. And Governor McGreevey has said he's not going to be able to do this job in November. That means he's distracted today. He can't do it the way he needs to do it today, he should step aside.
HEMMER: Christie Todd Whitman, we will continue to watch this. Thanks for your time this morning, in Oldwick, New Jersey, live there -- Heidi.
WHITMAN: Ten minutes past the hour now. Time for a look at some of today's other news with Carol Costello and an amazing story out of Nigeria -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It's a heartbreaking story, Heidi. A group of Texas children recovering in the United States after apparently being abandoned in a Nigerian orphanage. Authorities are investigating claims that the seven children who ranged in age from 8 to 16, were abandoned by their adoptive mother in Nigeria, back in October. A visiting Texas missionary discovered the displaced children, who are now with foster families in Houston. A hearing is expected later this month.
In the Middle East, the Israeli military has launched an Attack in Gaza City, targeting an apparent meeting among Hamas militants. Palestinian sources say five people were killed, 16 others wounded. And U.S. officials are withholding judgment on Israel's plans to build more than 1,000 new housing units in the West Bank. Palestinian officials have denounced the plan.
An attorney for pop star Michael Jackson has been slapped with a $1,000 fine. The judge imposed the fine after Jackson's attorney refused to abandon a line of questioning that was deemed off limits. Jackson has pleaded not guilty on child-molestation charges. The pretrial hearing is scheduled to resume tomorrow morning.
And in Athens, the two Greek sprinters embroiled in a doping scandal have withdrawn from the Olympic Games. Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou had a disciplinary meeting with an international Olympic committee earlier today. The duo missed a drug test last week, claiming they'd been in a motorcycle accident.
Back to New York now.
COLLINS: All right, Carol, thanks so much for that.
In Florida now, nearly 400,000 people are still without power in the wake of Hurricane Charley, and there is much frustration as many are still unable to return home. In Ft. Meyers Beach, sheriff's deputies used a high-voltage taser gun on a man who allegedly tried to run a roadblock to get back home. Attempts by CNN attempts to locate the man for his side of the story have been unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, experts are closely watching the federal response to Hurricane Charley, the biggest test for FEMA since it became part of the Department of Homeland Security.
Here now, Jeanne Meserve. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From 700 feet up, the secretary of homeland security surveyed the smash 'em up, break 'em up junk-strewn path of Hurricane Charley. Charley is likely to rank as the most devastating natural disaster and biggest test since the Federal Emergency Management Agency was gobbled up by the Department of Homeland Security.
MICHAEL GREENBERGER, UNIV. OF MD., CTR. FOR HEALTH AND HOMELAND SECURITY: Some people believe DHS has dragged FEMA down. If FEMA falters in its response to Hurricane Charley, it's going to be a black mark on the Department of Homeland Security.
MESERVE: Among those who think FEMA's mission has been diluted, a former director James Lee Witt, who said in March, "FEMA has been buried beneath a massive bureaucracy who's main and seemingly only focus in fighting terrorism, and while that is absolutely critical, it should not be at the expense of preparing for and responding to natural disasters."
But Ridge categorically reject criticism that FEMA's effectiveness, budget and morale have dropped.
TOM RIDGE, SECY. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: As a former governor, I know how important it is to maintain an emergency-management infrastructure to deal with, more often than not, natural disasters, and we will never, never, never diminish or denigrate that capacity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These come in sideways. The mailboxes come in sideways.
MESERVE: During a tour ever Fort Myers, Ridge took every opportunity to praise FEMA's performance, and some local officials gave the agency glowing reviews.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The state and local FEMA partnership has just worked without a hitch here. It's been great to be a part of it.
RIDGE: We got a lot more work to do. We're just beginning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've only just begun.
MESERVE: Others say for exactly that reason, they can got judge yet whether FEMA's integration into DHS is a plus or a minus.
JOHN WILSON, PUBLIC SAFETY DIR., LEE CO. FLORIDA: I can't -- I haven't seen one way or the other at this point.
MESERVE: Ultimately, FEMA will be graded by the thousands in Florida who need its help.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Fort Myers, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: In our next hour, we're going to talk with the mayor of Santa Bell (ph) Island, where the bridges are being reopened this morning to residents there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: All right, Chad, thanks for that. Saw this videotape yesterday, frightening flooding along the coast of England, near Cornwall. Look at this, torrential rain and high tide mixed to create a raging river of mud and debris. This in the village of Boscastle and this wasn't just something that happened over a period of a couple minutes. This just kept going and going, with just about everything in that town going along with the water.
At one point, you can see, as the videotape pulls out, there's actually a fire that's happening on the hillside. That was in Cornwall in England. The flash flooding sent families fleeing to higher ground. No one luckily was injured as a result.
Istanbul, Turkey, heavy rains there, flooding streets with knee- deep water. Rescuers scramble to rescue dozens of people stranded there, some by boat, in fact. The rain there expected to continue today. We watched that videotape from yesterday, too, out of New Mexico. Similar story now from overseas. Wow.
COLLINS: Flooding everywhere.
Still to come this morning, more gold for the U.S. team in Athens. We'll have an update on all of that, coming up.
HEMMER: Also in a moment, a National Guardsman become the first soldier to sue the government for extending his military service. His story in a minute.
COLLINS: And Scott Peterson's legal team cross-examines his former mistress Amber Frey. Just how tough will there questioning be? Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A dramatic shift today in the Scott Peterson trial. Today defense attorney Mark Geragos begins his cross-examination of the prosecution's star witness Amber Frey. Jurors have been hearing hours of phone conversations with Peterson that Frey secretly taped for police.
Court TV's Lisa Bloom is keeping a close eye on courtroom developments. She is joining us now. We should also mention that your mother, Gloria Allred, is of course Amber Frey's attorney in all of this, and so much going on there.
We have an excerpt now from some of these phone conversations. This comes to us from January 17th, which actually ends up being more than three weeks after Laci went missing. Let's go ahead and listen for just a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT PETERSON: Amber, are you asking if I had something to do with this?
AMBER FREY: You've never told me you haven't.
PETERSON: Yes, I have. I had nothing to do with this. You know that.
FREY: How am I supposed to know that when I didn't even know you were currently married, you have a child on the way? How was I supposed to know?
PETERSON: The only way you could know that is just by knowing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: After all of the lies that the jury has heard, and heard Scott admit to...
LISA BLOOM, COURT TV: That's right.
COLLINS: ... after he says that he is not involved at all in Laci's disappearance, what does that say for his credibility.
BLOOM: Well, he has not credibility. He has zero credibility. After the whole international man of mystery routine we heard last week -- off to Brussels and Guadalajara, after lying to Amber about his being single, about his wife being lost and this being the first holidays without her. I don't think denial of the murder carries all that much weight on these tapes.
COLLINS: Something else jurors were looking at yesterday, there were excerpts of a phone conversation between Sharon Rocha, Laci's mother, and Scott Peterson. Not audio, but just transcripts. We want to put them on the screen and read through these quickly.
Sharon says, "You killed my daughter, didn't you?"
Scott Peterson says, "No, I didn't, mom."
Sharon says, "Yes, you did, Scott. And I want to know -- just let me bring my daughter home. OK? That's all I want. I don't anything else from you. I want you to tell me where my daughter is. I want to be able to bury my daughter. Would you tell me where she is, Scott?"
He says, "Don't know where she is. I want my wife..."
"Stop lying. I'm tired of your lies. You have looked me in the eye for weeks and been lying to me. You have looked me in the eye for years and been lying to me and Laci. Now, where is she?"
Peterson says, "I wish I knew."
Very dramatic, heartwrenching stuff here. BLOOM: Absolutely.
COLLINS: Will this be called into evidence, though?
BLOOM: You know, probably not. But even just hearing it now in the media, I mean, what a wonderful balance to the sentimental fantasy life, all the confabulations from Scott Peterson.
Here's a real voice of a real mother who suffered a terrible loss, and she believes strongly, at the hands of Scott Peterson. And those of us who are mothers can understand her anguish and her pain lashing out at him over and over.
And this transcript goes on and on. She demands that he tell her where Laci's body is. She is relentless. But Sharon Rocha has already testified in this trial. This didn't come in. It's probably not going to be heard by the jury.
COLLINS: OK. Well then, let's talk about what we may see today from Mark Geragos...
BLOOM: Yes.
COLLINS: ... Scott Peterson's attorney, obviously. You know, he has a couple of ways to go here with Amber Frey. What do you expect? Is he going to be as tough as we've heard?
BLOOM: Well, we got a little preview yesterday, because the judge made a ruling that Mark Geragos could not ask Amber about her sex life, her relationships, before Peterson and after Peterson. So, he's limited to that couple month period when they did have a relationship.
That gives us an inkling that Mark Geragos is going to go to everything possible that he can. You know, he tends to be very aggressive, even sarcastic in the courtroom. That's his typical speed in the courtroom. That's what I expect he's going to do.
COLLINS: Don't you think he has to be a little bit careful, though, so that he doesn't bully her, in case the jury is, in fact, sympathizing with Amber Frey?
BLOOM: I think so. I think she's come across as a very soft- spoken, sympathetic victim in the courtroom.
And he has some smart things he could do, namely limit her testimony. Bring out that Scott Peterson never said I love you to Amber. Never asked her to marry him, never talked about them moving in together and, most importantly, he never confessed on those tapes.
That was Amber's goal number one: get a confession; get some kind of admission. She never got it.
COLLINS: Right. All right, Lisa Bloom. Everyone will be watching, I bet.
BLOOM: Absolutely.
COLLINS: Thanks so much.
BLOOM: Thanks.
COLLINS: Bill.
COLLINS: Heidi, in a moment here, this full-scale military confrontation in Najaf may be in the works, we're told. Is there a way out before it begins? We'll talk to an Iraqi government source about that.
Also from Athens in a moment, swimmer Michael Phelps, did he get more gold and is he living up to the hype?
And take our Olympic challenge: When did the tradition of the Olympic Torch relay begin? Good question. the answer and an update from Athens in a moment after the break here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody.
Before the break, we asked you: When did the tradition of the Olympic Torch relay begin? 1936 in Berlin. The introduction of the relay there lighted a torch carried from Olympia to the site of the current Games. The custom of the Olympic Flame began 2,700 years ago in Greece. But not until '36 did they begin the Torch relay. And now you know the rest of that story.
Latest in Athens, the Games over there. Michael Phelps picked up some more hardware in the pool yesterday, setting an Olympic record: gold medal performance in the 200-meter butterfly. Another gold in an incredible race: the 4 x 200 free. The U.S. just edging out Australia. Phelps now with three gold and two bronze so far in the Games.
U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team picked up the silver. Trying for gold, did not quite get it this time. Small mistakes cost them, and the gold went to Romania.
Mariel Zagunis mobbed by her teammates after winning a gold in fencing. America's first gold medal in fencing in how long, I ask you?
COLLINS: 100 years.
HEMMER: Thank you. You knew that. Wow! Jack didn't.
Security officials were not amused by a Canadian men wearing a tutu and polka-dot tights. Jumped into the pool at a diving event yesterday. Look at this guy.
CAFFERTY: I like that.
HEMMER: Arrested for the stunt; no word on charges yet. I think he was promoting some sort of online gambling Web site, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
CAFFERTY: What are they going to charge him with? The guy's terrific!
HEMMER: Well, trespassing, security breach. What else do want to add on that?
CAFFERTY: One of the more interesting things that's happened over there since this thing got started.
Anyhow, now on to other things. This rebel cleric, Muqtada al- Sadr -- a.k.a. outlaw, punk, criminal -- remains holed up in this Shiite Muslim shrine in Najaf. Delegation of Iraqi politicians went to the shrine yesterday. They offered him a deal: amnesty for you and your thugs and a role in the political process going forward. The guy never showed up.
Now, Iraq says it's time for negotiations to end. Military preparations to liberate the shrine are complete. The question this morning is: How should the rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr be dealt with?
They haven't been able to figure this guy out over there for months. I mean, we've been talking about him for a long time. He's holding the whole country hostage, the process, the unifying of the nation. And he's a pimple on the rear end of progress over there. So, give us your solutions.
HEMMER: Based on what we're hearing, there may be progress today.
COLLINS: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Is that a -- that's a journalist phrase, right? A pimple on the rear end of progress?
COLLINS: I think -- I've never heard it before, but I think it is now.
CAFFERTY: That will work.
HEMMER: (INAUDIBLE) in your grizzly hide again, aren't we?
Best e-mail...
CAFFERTY: I like the guy in the tutu.
HEMMER: More later on that. We'll talk to the mayor in Athens next hour here.
Also in a moment here, "90-Second Pop" just minutes away on a Wednesday morning.
Find out why Bruce Springsteen's politics may end up hitting him where it hurts the most, and why late-night TV could be ready for a sex change -- ahead, on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired August 18, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Frustration bowling over in the aftermath of Charley. Official defending some of their actions today.
Amber Frey under the microscope. Scott Peterson's defense team may be ready to go on the attack today.
And swept away -- water surging, washing away nearly everything in its path, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning. Soledad is out resting. Heidi Collins with me here in New York.
And good morning to you.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: Lots of talk about, breaking news out of Najaf. A bid for peace ending in failure. The Iraqi delegation sent in to negotiate with the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr did not get a warm welcome. Al-Sadr didn't even show up in fact. Now it looks like the Iraqi government may be getting tired of the talk. In a moment, we'll be with a reporter who is traveling with that delegation in southern Iraq. We'll get to that in a moment.
COLLINS: Also the calls for New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey to step down now get louder. Former Governor Christie Todd Whitman is one of his critics, and a possible candidate to replace him. We'll talk with her as well.
Also this hour, Scott Peterson's defense team cross-examines Amber Frey today, and this could get interesting. Yesterday, jurors heard more of the phone calls between Peterson and Frey. One thing they have not heard, a confrontation between Scott Peterson and Laci's mother. Lisa Bloom from Court TV joins us in a moment on that case as well.
COLLINS: For now, though. Jack is joining us this morning.
Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Muqtada al-Sadr -- why is this guy still even in the news? For want of a better way to describe him, he's like an outlaw biker cleric over there in Iraq. He's holding the coalition hostage. He's holding the Iraqi government hostage. Nobody seems to be able to figure out what to do about this guy, so we're going to turn it over to you in a few minutes and let you figure it out.
COLLINS: That's right, we will.
And we are also going to turn it over to John Vause right now, who is standing by in Iraq, where an Iraqi official is issuing an ultimatum now to rebel leader Muqtada al-Sadr and his forces in Najaf.
As I said, John Vause is in Baghdad with the very latest on the story.
John, good morning.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
There's been more fighting overnight in Najaf, particularly in the last few hours, and that's with a statement now coming from Iraq's defense minister, warning that the time for talking is now over, and that military preparations to liberate the Imam Ali Mosque are now complete, and he says that will be a lesson for the gangs in Fallujah, Mosul, Basra and Samarra.
A peace delegation tried to negotiate with Muqtada al-Sadr last night, but the Shiite cleric refused to meet with them. His aides said that because of the ongoing fighting in Najaf, it was just too dangerous for a face-to-face meeting between the delegates and the cleric. They blamed the U.S. for the fighting.
Still, despite what appears to be a snub, some of the delegates are saying this was, in fact, a successful trip, and they want to go back in the next day or two to try again, and they are now planning to ask the interim Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi to order U.S. forces and tanks away from the Imam Ali Mosque so they can, in fact, try again.
But a statement came from the prime minister's office within the last few minutes, saying that Iraq would not stand back, quote, "with arms folded," that the Iraqi government will act to restore law and order, not just to Najaf, but to around the country.
All the time this is going on, Heidi, the Iraqi National Conference is still trying to get together to try and vote on that interim assembly, which will advises the interim Iraqi government for the next six months. They have not held those elections yet. It's still a stormy day down there, with many delegates threatening to walk out -- Heidi.
COLLINS: John, just want to clarify, we know that the Iraqi defense minister is saying that only Iraqi troops will go into that shrine, and U.S. troops will only serving as backup, apparently by air and land. Is that correct? Is that what you're hearing.
VAUSE: We've been hearing that for a number of days now. It's a very sensitive issue. Non-Muslims are just not even allowed in the mosque. So there's a huge backlash which could be created if 2,000 U.S. Marines storm the mosque. There's a special force which is being trained. They are now in place, we are told, waiting, on orders for the Iraqi prime minister for that offensive to begin, if in fact it does. We've been in this position many times before, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, John Vause, thanks so much for that, live from Baghdad this morning.
Also want to let you know that we will be speaking a little bit later on with a "Washington Post" reporter who actually went in the shrine, along with the Iraqi delegation. He's going to tell us what he saw and what he heard inside -- Bill.
HEMMER: New Jersey's former governor has joined now a growing chorus of Republicans and some Democrats for Jim McGreevey to resign now, and not in mid-November, as planned in an announcement last week.
Christie Todd Whitman our guest this morning in her home state of New Jersey.
And good morning to you. Good to have you here.
CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, FMR. NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: Why go now?
WHITMAN: Because once you've announced that you are going to be leaving with -- before your term is up, you are a lame duck, and your ability to do your job is compromised. You add on to that the fact the governor stood up and said, look, there's something going on in my life, that means I'm not going to be able to fulfill my obligations as governor of the state of New Jersey in November, but I know it now. That doesn't make any sense. It means he's distracted now. And this state needs a governor who fully concentrates on the needs of the people, particularly because we're in a state of high alert.
We have a convention coming up across the river from us at the end of the month. We need someone who is not distracted by anything. And I just don't understand how can you say, I know I'm going to be distracted so much in three months from now, that I can't do my job, so I'll stick around for those three moss, but I'm telling you now. That just isn't right.
And when you add to the fact, that even when you have a change of government through the electoral process, you don't have three months -- excuse me. You only have two, at the most. So the point here is, if the governor were to step down today, he would allow the people to make a decision in a special election that would be held in November. That's Time enough for them to hear from the candidates and to be able to pick who they want for at least the next year, and then that person really should, if you're going to have a continuity, be someone who's willing to stand for re-election for the next four as well.
HEMMER: Do you want your old job back?
WHITMAN: No, I think it's time for someone new, because I do feel very strongly that whoever the candidate is should be willing to say that they'll serve the next four years, and five years (INAUDIBLE) governor. I think that would be too much.
HEMMER: So then you're saying that if there is a special election, you're not going to put your hat in the ring, is that right? You will not run for governor of New Jersey, if given the opportunity?
WHITMAN: What I'm saying is if we're talking about having a special election -- other than a caretaker. If you're having a special election so you're electing a governor who is going to serve and then going to serve another four years, as they should, I'm not that person. I really think you should have somebody new for that.
HEMMER: Yesterday, you were quoted as saying, "It depends on who is running on the other side." Care to clarify that today?
WHITMAN: No, what I -- yes, sure. No, no, no, it wasn't as far as I was concerned, depends on who's running on the other side, except if you're talking about just an interim. If you're talking about an interim, that s going to bring a different set of candidates, I believe, to the table, because that's going to be a very difficult year. For someone who has the ambition to stay on, if they're really a serious candidate, they're going to want to have the five years, they're going to need i, because the first year is going to be extremely difficult.
I just think that Senator Corzine, whether he intended this or not, is obviously the subject of all the speculation as to what the Democrats want to do. I think he has an obligation to say I'm in or out, I'm interested in this job, or I'm not interested, because that, I think, will clear the field, both on the Democrat side, and it will give the Republicans some idea. Right now, from the Republican perspective, there is no election, except for 2005. So there's really no need to -- for the candidates to start gearing up.
HEMMER: Here's what Jim McGreevey wrote yesterday, an op-ed piece that appeared in "USA Today" in part -- I'm quoting now -- "The fact that I've chosen to leave office before the end of my term only heightens my responsibilities to the citizens of New Jersey, not only to complete the initiatives we have started, but also to oversee an orderly transition of power."
Do you see a smooth transition as necessary?
WHITMAN: Oh, listen, he has no problem at all. When I left the governorship, when I went to do the Bush administration, my successor had three weeks. He was in the same position as Senator Cody. We're talking about a senator of his own party, who has been in the Senate for some 20-years plus, he knows the job inside and out. It's not going to take three months. An orderly transition in this state -- even for the president of United States doesn't have three months.
This is all about politics. This is all about how the Democrats keep control. It's an internecine battle going in within the Democratic Party now. They don't -- not all of them like the Senate president. They're not sure they want him to stay. I mean, this is ridiculous. The good of the states needs to be put ahead of politics now. And Governor McGreevey has said he's not going to be able to do this job in November. That means he's distracted today. He can't do it the way he needs to do it today, he should step aside.
HEMMER: Christie Todd Whitman, we will continue to watch this. Thanks for your time this morning, in Oldwick, New Jersey, live there -- Heidi.
WHITMAN: Ten minutes past the hour now. Time for a look at some of today's other news with Carol Costello and an amazing story out of Nigeria -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It's a heartbreaking story, Heidi. A group of Texas children recovering in the United States after apparently being abandoned in a Nigerian orphanage. Authorities are investigating claims that the seven children who ranged in age from 8 to 16, were abandoned by their adoptive mother in Nigeria, back in October. A visiting Texas missionary discovered the displaced children, who are now with foster families in Houston. A hearing is expected later this month.
In the Middle East, the Israeli military has launched an Attack in Gaza City, targeting an apparent meeting among Hamas militants. Palestinian sources say five people were killed, 16 others wounded. And U.S. officials are withholding judgment on Israel's plans to build more than 1,000 new housing units in the West Bank. Palestinian officials have denounced the plan.
An attorney for pop star Michael Jackson has been slapped with a $1,000 fine. The judge imposed the fine after Jackson's attorney refused to abandon a line of questioning that was deemed off limits. Jackson has pleaded not guilty on child-molestation charges. The pretrial hearing is scheduled to resume tomorrow morning.
And in Athens, the two Greek sprinters embroiled in a doping scandal have withdrawn from the Olympic Games. Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou had a disciplinary meeting with an international Olympic committee earlier today. The duo missed a drug test last week, claiming they'd been in a motorcycle accident.
Back to New York now.
COLLINS: All right, Carol, thanks so much for that.
In Florida now, nearly 400,000 people are still without power in the wake of Hurricane Charley, and there is much frustration as many are still unable to return home. In Ft. Meyers Beach, sheriff's deputies used a high-voltage taser gun on a man who allegedly tried to run a roadblock to get back home. Attempts by CNN attempts to locate the man for his side of the story have been unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, experts are closely watching the federal response to Hurricane Charley, the biggest test for FEMA since it became part of the Department of Homeland Security.
Here now, Jeanne Meserve. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From 700 feet up, the secretary of homeland security surveyed the smash 'em up, break 'em up junk-strewn path of Hurricane Charley. Charley is likely to rank as the most devastating natural disaster and biggest test since the Federal Emergency Management Agency was gobbled up by the Department of Homeland Security.
MICHAEL GREENBERGER, UNIV. OF MD., CTR. FOR HEALTH AND HOMELAND SECURITY: Some people believe DHS has dragged FEMA down. If FEMA falters in its response to Hurricane Charley, it's going to be a black mark on the Department of Homeland Security.
MESERVE: Among those who think FEMA's mission has been diluted, a former director James Lee Witt, who said in March, "FEMA has been buried beneath a massive bureaucracy who's main and seemingly only focus in fighting terrorism, and while that is absolutely critical, it should not be at the expense of preparing for and responding to natural disasters."
But Ridge categorically reject criticism that FEMA's effectiveness, budget and morale have dropped.
TOM RIDGE, SECY. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: As a former governor, I know how important it is to maintain an emergency-management infrastructure to deal with, more often than not, natural disasters, and we will never, never, never diminish or denigrate that capacity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These come in sideways. The mailboxes come in sideways.
MESERVE: During a tour ever Fort Myers, Ridge took every opportunity to praise FEMA's performance, and some local officials gave the agency glowing reviews.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The state and local FEMA partnership has just worked without a hitch here. It's been great to be a part of it.
RIDGE: We got a lot more work to do. We're just beginning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've only just begun.
MESERVE: Others say for exactly that reason, they can got judge yet whether FEMA's integration into DHS is a plus or a minus.
JOHN WILSON, PUBLIC SAFETY DIR., LEE CO. FLORIDA: I can't -- I haven't seen one way or the other at this point.
MESERVE: Ultimately, FEMA will be graded by the thousands in Florida who need its help.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Fort Myers, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: In our next hour, we're going to talk with the mayor of Santa Bell (ph) Island, where the bridges are being reopened this morning to residents there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: All right, Chad, thanks for that. Saw this videotape yesterday, frightening flooding along the coast of England, near Cornwall. Look at this, torrential rain and high tide mixed to create a raging river of mud and debris. This in the village of Boscastle and this wasn't just something that happened over a period of a couple minutes. This just kept going and going, with just about everything in that town going along with the water.
At one point, you can see, as the videotape pulls out, there's actually a fire that's happening on the hillside. That was in Cornwall in England. The flash flooding sent families fleeing to higher ground. No one luckily was injured as a result.
Istanbul, Turkey, heavy rains there, flooding streets with knee- deep water. Rescuers scramble to rescue dozens of people stranded there, some by boat, in fact. The rain there expected to continue today. We watched that videotape from yesterday, too, out of New Mexico. Similar story now from overseas. Wow.
COLLINS: Flooding everywhere.
Still to come this morning, more gold for the U.S. team in Athens. We'll have an update on all of that, coming up.
HEMMER: Also in a moment, a National Guardsman become the first soldier to sue the government for extending his military service. His story in a minute.
COLLINS: And Scott Peterson's legal team cross-examines his former mistress Amber Frey. Just how tough will there questioning be? Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A dramatic shift today in the Scott Peterson trial. Today defense attorney Mark Geragos begins his cross-examination of the prosecution's star witness Amber Frey. Jurors have been hearing hours of phone conversations with Peterson that Frey secretly taped for police.
Court TV's Lisa Bloom is keeping a close eye on courtroom developments. She is joining us now. We should also mention that your mother, Gloria Allred, is of course Amber Frey's attorney in all of this, and so much going on there.
We have an excerpt now from some of these phone conversations. This comes to us from January 17th, which actually ends up being more than three weeks after Laci went missing. Let's go ahead and listen for just a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT PETERSON: Amber, are you asking if I had something to do with this?
AMBER FREY: You've never told me you haven't.
PETERSON: Yes, I have. I had nothing to do with this. You know that.
FREY: How am I supposed to know that when I didn't even know you were currently married, you have a child on the way? How was I supposed to know?
PETERSON: The only way you could know that is just by knowing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: After all of the lies that the jury has heard, and heard Scott admit to...
LISA BLOOM, COURT TV: That's right.
COLLINS: ... after he says that he is not involved at all in Laci's disappearance, what does that say for his credibility.
BLOOM: Well, he has not credibility. He has zero credibility. After the whole international man of mystery routine we heard last week -- off to Brussels and Guadalajara, after lying to Amber about his being single, about his wife being lost and this being the first holidays without her. I don't think denial of the murder carries all that much weight on these tapes.
COLLINS: Something else jurors were looking at yesterday, there were excerpts of a phone conversation between Sharon Rocha, Laci's mother, and Scott Peterson. Not audio, but just transcripts. We want to put them on the screen and read through these quickly.
Sharon says, "You killed my daughter, didn't you?"
Scott Peterson says, "No, I didn't, mom."
Sharon says, "Yes, you did, Scott. And I want to know -- just let me bring my daughter home. OK? That's all I want. I don't anything else from you. I want you to tell me where my daughter is. I want to be able to bury my daughter. Would you tell me where she is, Scott?"
He says, "Don't know where she is. I want my wife..."
"Stop lying. I'm tired of your lies. You have looked me in the eye for weeks and been lying to me. You have looked me in the eye for years and been lying to me and Laci. Now, where is she?"
Peterson says, "I wish I knew."
Very dramatic, heartwrenching stuff here. BLOOM: Absolutely.
COLLINS: Will this be called into evidence, though?
BLOOM: You know, probably not. But even just hearing it now in the media, I mean, what a wonderful balance to the sentimental fantasy life, all the confabulations from Scott Peterson.
Here's a real voice of a real mother who suffered a terrible loss, and she believes strongly, at the hands of Scott Peterson. And those of us who are mothers can understand her anguish and her pain lashing out at him over and over.
And this transcript goes on and on. She demands that he tell her where Laci's body is. She is relentless. But Sharon Rocha has already testified in this trial. This didn't come in. It's probably not going to be heard by the jury.
COLLINS: OK. Well then, let's talk about what we may see today from Mark Geragos...
BLOOM: Yes.
COLLINS: ... Scott Peterson's attorney, obviously. You know, he has a couple of ways to go here with Amber Frey. What do you expect? Is he going to be as tough as we've heard?
BLOOM: Well, we got a little preview yesterday, because the judge made a ruling that Mark Geragos could not ask Amber about her sex life, her relationships, before Peterson and after Peterson. So, he's limited to that couple month period when they did have a relationship.
That gives us an inkling that Mark Geragos is going to go to everything possible that he can. You know, he tends to be very aggressive, even sarcastic in the courtroom. That's his typical speed in the courtroom. That's what I expect he's going to do.
COLLINS: Don't you think he has to be a little bit careful, though, so that he doesn't bully her, in case the jury is, in fact, sympathizing with Amber Frey?
BLOOM: I think so. I think she's come across as a very soft- spoken, sympathetic victim in the courtroom.
And he has some smart things he could do, namely limit her testimony. Bring out that Scott Peterson never said I love you to Amber. Never asked her to marry him, never talked about them moving in together and, most importantly, he never confessed on those tapes.
That was Amber's goal number one: get a confession; get some kind of admission. She never got it.
COLLINS: Right. All right, Lisa Bloom. Everyone will be watching, I bet.
BLOOM: Absolutely.
COLLINS: Thanks so much.
BLOOM: Thanks.
COLLINS: Bill.
COLLINS: Heidi, in a moment here, this full-scale military confrontation in Najaf may be in the works, we're told. Is there a way out before it begins? We'll talk to an Iraqi government source about that.
Also from Athens in a moment, swimmer Michael Phelps, did he get more gold and is he living up to the hype?
And take our Olympic challenge: When did the tradition of the Olympic Torch relay begin? Good question. the answer and an update from Athens in a moment after the break here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody.
Before the break, we asked you: When did the tradition of the Olympic Torch relay begin? 1936 in Berlin. The introduction of the relay there lighted a torch carried from Olympia to the site of the current Games. The custom of the Olympic Flame began 2,700 years ago in Greece. But not until '36 did they begin the Torch relay. And now you know the rest of that story.
Latest in Athens, the Games over there. Michael Phelps picked up some more hardware in the pool yesterday, setting an Olympic record: gold medal performance in the 200-meter butterfly. Another gold in an incredible race: the 4 x 200 free. The U.S. just edging out Australia. Phelps now with three gold and two bronze so far in the Games.
U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team picked up the silver. Trying for gold, did not quite get it this time. Small mistakes cost them, and the gold went to Romania.
Mariel Zagunis mobbed by her teammates after winning a gold in fencing. America's first gold medal in fencing in how long, I ask you?
COLLINS: 100 years.
HEMMER: Thank you. You knew that. Wow! Jack didn't.
Security officials were not amused by a Canadian men wearing a tutu and polka-dot tights. Jumped into the pool at a diving event yesterday. Look at this guy.
CAFFERTY: I like that.
HEMMER: Arrested for the stunt; no word on charges yet. I think he was promoting some sort of online gambling Web site, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
CAFFERTY: What are they going to charge him with? The guy's terrific!
HEMMER: Well, trespassing, security breach. What else do want to add on that?
CAFFERTY: One of the more interesting things that's happened over there since this thing got started.
Anyhow, now on to other things. This rebel cleric, Muqtada al- Sadr -- a.k.a. outlaw, punk, criminal -- remains holed up in this Shiite Muslim shrine in Najaf. Delegation of Iraqi politicians went to the shrine yesterday. They offered him a deal: amnesty for you and your thugs and a role in the political process going forward. The guy never showed up.
Now, Iraq says it's time for negotiations to end. Military preparations to liberate the shrine are complete. The question this morning is: How should the rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr be dealt with?
They haven't been able to figure this guy out over there for months. I mean, we've been talking about him for a long time. He's holding the whole country hostage, the process, the unifying of the nation. And he's a pimple on the rear end of progress over there. So, give us your solutions.
HEMMER: Based on what we're hearing, there may be progress today.
COLLINS: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Is that a -- that's a journalist phrase, right? A pimple on the rear end of progress?
COLLINS: I think -- I've never heard it before, but I think it is now.
CAFFERTY: That will work.
HEMMER: (INAUDIBLE) in your grizzly hide again, aren't we?
Best e-mail...
CAFFERTY: I like the guy in the tutu.
HEMMER: More later on that. We'll talk to the mayor in Athens next hour here.
Also in a moment here, "90-Second Pop" just minutes away on a Wednesday morning.
Find out why Bruce Springsteen's politics may end up hitting him where it hurts the most, and why late-night TV could be ready for a sex change -- ahead, on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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