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Claims That Second U.S. Hostage Killed in Iraq; President Bush, John Kerry Trading Hard Blows on Iraq
Aired September 22, 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: Claims that a second U.S. hostage has been killed in Iraq, and now word the Iraqi woman known as "Dr. Germ" may go free. Is Iraq now giving in to terrorist demands?
President Bush and John Kerry trading hard blows on Iraq this morning. Their campaigns answer the criticism. And is there a place in the U.S. most as risk for a hurricane, where the biggest storms strike most often, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: And good morning. Welcome for the second time in two days now an American beheaded in Iraq. It tops our stories this morning. We'll look at that throughout the morning here. Grim news again.
And on this Wednesday morning, good morning, I'm Bill Hemmer.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Heidi Collins, in for Soledad today. Other stories we want to let you know that we're following today. We continue our series on election-year issues with each candidate's position on taxes and spending. The president and the senator making a lot of promises, but how will they pay for it all? And do those numbers add up? we're going to be talking with Kelly Wallace about that in just a few minutes.
Also from California, Scott Peterson matter, a story of a tape played in court, in which a detective tried to get Peterson to confess to murder. A former prosecutor in court yesterday joins us. His thoughts in a moment. Dean Johnson is his name. We'll get to him this morning here.
Jack Cafferty is here right now.
Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Heidi.
One of the great possible ironies of this political season, that "60 Minutes" report on CBS that's built around the phony documents, it was a piece designed to discredit President Bush and perhaps damage his reelection chances. At the end of the day, it may come back to haunt and maybe even hurt the Kerry campaign. We'll take a look at that in a few minutes.
HEMMER: All right, Jack, thanks for that.
Straightaway to Kelly Wallace now, checking the news at this hour.
Kelly, good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you all. And good morning, everyone.
We begin in Iraq, where another U.S. soldier has been killed. Within the past 45 minutes, CNN has learned the death occurred near the town of Tikrit, when attackers ambushed a patrol using an improvised explosive device. Earlier, insurgents targeted Iraqi police recruits outside a center in Baghdad. Officials say at least seven people were killed, some 47 others were injured. More on the situation in Iraq, including the plans to release a female, prisoner coming up.
The full Senate is scheduled to vote today on the nomination of congressman Porter Goss to head the CIA. The Senate Intelligence Committee voted yesterday in a closed meeting to approve Goss' nomination. The vote was 12-4. We will speak with West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller, one of the Democrats who voted against Goss, later in the show.
And the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens is heading back to London this morning, after being denied entry into the United States. The singer was taken off a United Airlines flight last night after his Muslim name turned up on a terrorist watchlist. U.S. officials say he is linked to organizations believed to be aiding terrorism.
That's a quick check of the headlines at the hour. Now back to Bill and Heidi.
HEMMER: All right, Kelly, thanks for that.
I want to go back to Iraq straightaway. Islamist militants say they have beheaded a second American hostage now is as many days. Jack Hensley, abducted along with American Eugene Armstrong and a British national about a week ago. The terrorists threatened to kill the hostages if Iraqi female prisoners were not released from U.S. custody. Already this morning, there are reports that a top Saddam Hussein scientist known as Dr. Germ could go free.
Walter Rodgers starts us off in Baghdad there.
Walter, hello.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.
The Iraqi government, the Council of Ministers, has announced that it will release on bail one of two high-profile female detainees. The woman in question was a former scientist working for Saddam Hussein in his chemical, biological weapons program. It is believed, although the Iraqis now say they have found no reason to detain her, implying that there was no guilt involved in any of the conduct that she had under Saddam Hussein.
Having said that, this seems to be the best hope, the West has for saving the life of the Kenneth Bigley, the lone remaining hostage, the British hostage, who was abducted a week ago Thursday. Bigley is also under death threat. The release, however, is -- the release of that Iraqi woman detainee is no guarantee that Bigley will be saved. Still, it does offer perhaps a glimmer of hope.
Recall that the abductors, that is to say the Iraqi terrorists, said that all females had to be released. As for hat the United States is saying about this, simply it is studying the proposal. Again, it's too late for these two Americans who were beheaded this week -- Bill.
HEMMER: Walter, what is the truth about how many Iraqi women are being held captive. Some reports say two, other reports say none. What is it?
RODGERS: Well, that's an interesting question, because we've asked it twice and gotten both of those answers. It is, however, believed that the United States is holding, but has not imprisoned, two Iraqi women. One of those would be released by this action today, that is Rihab Taha. Having said that, there would be only one other detainee. The issue, though, according to the kidnappers, is they want all women in all Iraqi jails -- presumably that would include prostitute -- released as well. So we don't know how many women are in the Iraqi-run prisons. The United States has never said they had in its custody more than two, and the action of the Iraqi Council of Ministers today suggests that at least one of those is going to be released -- Bill.
HEMMER: Walter Rodgers from Baghdad. Walter, thanks for that -- Heidi.
COLLINS: As you might imagine, Iraq continues to dominate the American presidential race, with each candidate question the other's credibility. President Bush used his U.N. address yesterday to try to present a positive outlook for Iraq.
John King is in New York now, covering the bush campaign. He joins us this morning.
John, good morning to you.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi.
The president this morning has a meeting with the president of Pakistan here in New York, wrapping up his business as part of the United Nations General Assembly. Yesterday it was the prime minister of Iraq. As soon as Mr. Bush is done with that meeting with President Pervez Musharraf, it is off for his 37th trip to Pennsylvania as president, campaigning in the election now just six weeks away. A realtime reminder today, Heidi, of how the president's leadership in the war on terror is the defining issue on campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): Six weeks to election day here at home, Mr. Bush deflected a question about GOP critics of his Iraq policy, saying the Republicans raising those questions still preferred him over Democrat John Kerry.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My opponent has taken so many different positions on Iraq that his statements are hardly credible at all.
KING: Senator Kerry calls Mr. Bush's Iraq policy a colossal failure. He says it is the president who is lost credibility as Iraq spirals into chaos. This campaign debate raises the stakes of Prime Minister Allawi's visit, which includes a speech to Congress on Thursday. Mr. Bush is banking on help convincing Americans that the insurgency will be crushed and a new democracy born.
IYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: We are winning. We are making progress in Iraq. We are defeating terrorists.
KING: Mr. Bush posed with the cameras for Kofi Annan just days after the U.N. secretary-general labeled the Iraq war illegal. As he opened this year's general assembly, Mr. Annan was less pointed, but again, critical.
KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: Every nation that proclaim as rule of law at home must respect it abroad.
KING: Mr. Bush followed soon after, and defended his decision to go to war, though it was clear most in the audience did not agree. While voicing optimism about Iraq's future, the president was more candid about political and security problems in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and he tends to be in more upbeat campaign speeches.
BUSH: But these difficulties will not shake our conviction, that the future of Afghanistan and Iraq is a future of liberty. The proper response to difficulty is not to retreat; it is to prevail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: And while here in New York, Mr. Bush briefed on the tragic beheading of the two Americans, the president offered his condolences to the family, but Heidi, he also said it is imperative what he called the thugs and terrorists not get to decide Iraq's future -- Heidi.
COLLINS: John King, thanks so much for that this morning -- Bill.
HEMMER: More now on the politics of Iraq. Jamie Rubin senior foreign policy adviser to the Kerry campaign with me now in Washington.
Jamie, good morning. Welcome back here.
JAMIE RUBIN, KERRY CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Good morning to you.
HEMMER: The president says now is not the time to cut and run, not the time to retreat. What's wrong with that message?
RUBIN: Nothing. John Kerry has made very clear we have to succeed in Iraq. But in order to succeed, the president of the United States has to have credibility in the world, his judgment has to be respected. What John Kerry is saying that if President Bush goes before the international body and gives a speech in which it would seem that Iraq is going wonderfully, the international community is not going to respond. They want a president to acknowledge the reality on the ground. The way to get a change in course here is to acknowledge the difficulties we're having, convince and persuade countries around the world that they have as much of a stake in success in Iraq as we do. But we're not going to be able to do that with a president who dismisses any suggestion that things are going wrong with pessimism. He even called the national intelligence estimate guesswork. This is the same president who used national intelligence estimates to justify the war.
So losing credibility makes it really impossible for this president to get the help we need.
HEMMER: Yes, Senator Kerry is also talking about pulling U.S. troops out. He says if he were president he would get that under way six months into office. Is that the right message to send to people like Zarqawi?
RUBIN: Well, what John Kerry has said very clearly, is that we have to succeed there, and he has a four-point plan to do that. And he said if we can implement that plan with a new president who will have credibility in the world, then yes, we can begin to withdraw forces after several months, and complete that withdrawal over four years.
But he's not talking about cutting and running. What he's talking about is having a president who is credibility and judgment is respected and who is going to be clear eyed with the American people. We are in difficult straits in Iraq. Republican senators have said we're in deep trouble. We're in crisis. The president is in denial. We don't hear from him the truth, and that's why we're not going to get success.
HEMMER: I apologize for the interruption; I'm just trying to push you forward a little bit.
You mentioned the four-point plan. And two of those points talk about elections next year that are already being worked toward, talk about getting more help from NATO, help train Iraqi forces. The White House will come back and say those four points are already being discussed, and they're already making progress toward them.
So then, what is new on the Kerry side?
RUBIN: Well, what's new is that John Kerry's proposals are far more realistic. Look, on training, the White House says everything is going fine, but the trainer, the general who is doing the training, David Petraeus, is not getting the support he needs. That was reported a couple of days ago in "The New York Times." On elections, we need to have people protecting the election monitors. There are no country's in the world that have signed up for that. Where was the sense of urgency for the president going to the U.N.? Have we heard about meeting in which where he's urgently calling on countries to send forces to protect the election monitors? If this president understood the urgency of getting these elections to happen, we'd be seeing a real plan to get support for those erections -- elections. All of that means that the president gives lip service to the right goals, but he's got no credibility to get them done.
HEMMER: We will talk about that credibility issue and that urgency that you bring up in about 30 minutes with Dan Bartlett from the White House.
Jamie, thanks. Jamie Rubin in D.C.
RUBIN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Dan Bartlett, my guest about 7:30 Eastern Time here on AMERICAN MORNING -- Heidi.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Hey, Chad, don't go far, OK. In a minute, we'll go back to Chad, this time the eye on hurricanes today. And today, why are some spots like Florida's panhandle hit so hard, while others around the same area oftentimes come out unscathed. We'll look at that.
COLLINS: Also ahead, Martha Stewart won't be decorating her home this holiday season. The domestic diva finds out where she's headed.
HEMMER: And more audio tape in the Scott Peterson trial. Find out when he said when a detective tried to get him to confess, ahead this hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The lead detective in the Scott Peterson case returns to the witness stand for a third day of testimony today. In court yesterday, jurors heard Craig Grogan's taped conversations with Peterson in the weeks after Laci disappeared.
Dean Johnson, former San Mateo County prosecutor, was in the courtroom. He's joining us this morning from Redwood City, California.
Dean, nice to see you. Thanks for being here once again.
I want to go ahead and listen to a couple of these excerpts if we could, as we said, took place right after Laci disappeared, between Scott Peterson and Grogan.
Let's hear this one, where he actually breaks down and cries for a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CRAIG GROGAN: How are you doing?
SCOTT PETERSON: I'm losing it. I miss her. I'm just a mess without her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: What's significant here for the jury, Dean?
DEAN JOHNSON, FMR. SAN MATEO COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Well, at this point, I think not very much, because this jury has seen a great deal of Scott Peterson and heard a great deal of Scott Peterson. One thing we know about him is that he can cry at the drop of a hat.
And when you listen to these tapes further between Grogan and Peterson, as they play a cat and mouse game, very similar to the game that Amber Frey played with Scott, a number of lies emerge, and eventually Grogan gives him the opportunity to come clean. He does not do so.
COLLINS: Yes, and let's go ahead and listen to another one now. And here we're going to hear a flat out denial from Peterson. Listen for just a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETERSON: I had nothing to do with Laci's disappearance. Unreal. OK. Hey, I'm going to go.
GROGAN: Scott, what I'm offering you is an opportunity here to end all of this nonsense.
PETERSON: I'm going to find her, Craig.
GROGAN: I want the door open between us. If you want to end all of this nonsense, all you need to is call, all right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Dean you already mentioned the other lies that we have heard Scott Peterson tell, and we've been talking about it in the four months the case has been going on. When the jury hear things like that, does it mean anything to them?
JOHNSON: Well, I think so. Specifically, when Scott Peterson lies about things that he should not necessarily be lying about, things like, well, where's the missing cement? And we know that he claims that the cement was used in his yard. That apparently is not true. A number of things that would otherwise be innocuous, unless there were some sinister implications to what he had done with the cement or with other pieces of evidence, or where he was or what he was doing.
COLLINS: Right. And we also know that Grogan had a list of 41 items or so, reasons why they directly to Scott Peterson as a suspect in this case. Let's go ahead and look at a couple here if we could. Peterson telling police the boat trip that he took the day that Laci went missing was impromptu. Didn't think about it at all. But the license records show it was anything but.
Also Peterson told a neighbor and a cousin he went golfing the day that Laci disappeared, then he told others that went fishing. So he is a suspect, but how does that prove then that he's a murder, Dean?
JOHNSON: Well, none of those facts in and of themselves prove that he is a murder, but this is a very interesting piece of testimony. Under cross -- under direct examination by the chief criminal deputy Flatager (ph), Grogan was able to list 41 items that told the jury why Grogan was suspicious of Scott Peterson. What it sounded like was a prosecution closing argument, summing up all the reasons why now the D.A. is suspicious and thinks Scott Peterson is guilty. This, of course, is the flip side of the old rush to judgment argument. If the defense wants to say the police rushed to judgment, then the prosecution gets to explain why the police made that judgment and gets to point out all the facts that they believe point to Scott Peterson's guilt, including some things that might not otherwise be admissible.
COLLINS: We'll see if the prosecution stays on track and wraps their case as they're expected to next week.
Thanks so much, Dean Johnson, once again this morning.
JOHNSON: Thank you, Heidi.
HEMMER: Twenty minutes past the hour. Back to Jack and the Question of the Day now.
CAFFERTY: How can this trial take -- I mean, Peterson is going to die of old age before they get through with this thing?
HEMMER: Talk to Toobin about this.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: I mean, how can it take this long? Nonsense.
The CBS document scandal has a ways to run. At this point, the Kerry campaign probably would like it to just hurry up and go away. Joe Lockhart, a high ranking member of the Kerry campaign team was all over the news yesterday, including on this program, explaining that, yes, he talked to Bill Burkett, the man responsible for giving those phony documents to CBS. That was a conversation, by the way, that was arranged by CBS producer Mary Mapes. And if she survives this thing, I'll eat this building -- she is toast.
But Lockhart insists they didn't discuss those documents in question. It was just all about the weather and, you know, who was going to win the Orioles series.
One things for sure, there is a lot of damage to go around. CBS and Dan Rather have massive credibility problems. The rest of the media probably tarnished as well, because the public has no great love for any of us in the first place. But it may be, in the end, the Kerry campaign that has the most to lose.
Here's the question, "Did the CBS scandal damage the Kerry campaign, in your opinion?" AM@CNN.com.
HEMMER: That is a great topic. You heard Ed Koch yesterday across the studio say this story is not going away.
CAFFERTY: Well, because we're going to keep it live at least until 10:00 here this morning.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
In a moment, Kelly Wallace back with us, bringing part three of her weeklong series. We call it "Promise, Promises."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Vote with your wallet? The economy is a top issue. But With a ballooning deficit, how much can the candidates really do about your taxes? Part three of our weeklong series of "Promises, Promises," ahead this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Now the eye of the hurricane. August set a record for the most named storms in the same month. Then September had its share as well. Florida hit very hard. But who gets hit and why? And why do others escape the wrath of Mother Nature? Good questions for Chad Myers, back at the CNN Center.
Chad, good morning again.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. Did you buy your Lottery ticket yesterday?
HEMMER: I did not.
MYERS: I did, and I didn't win. That's why I'm still sitting here.
You think of lotteries as kind of a random event. Well, are hurricanes random, too, or not?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MYERS: From Mississippi to the Caribbean and the Carolinas, some areas seem to be hurricane havens.
So far this year, it's Florida's turn. Mother Nature slapped the Sunshine State with three strong storms within a month. Charley sliced the state from the southwest, Frances forced millions to flee from the east. Then Ivan struck the panhandle.
But the Sunshine state is not alone. The Carolina coast breaks the record with some 30 hurricanes making landfall over the past 100 years.
And let's not neglect the Gulf. Last week, Hurricane Ivan devastated the Mississippi and Alabama coastlines, too.
But some of the worst destruction this year was felt in the Caribbean, in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Jamaica and Grand Cayman. It will take months, or years, for the islands to recover from the multiple hurricanes that have swept in from the Atlantic.
Not surprisingly, a map of hurricane activity from the U.S. Geological Survey clearly shows that the eastern seaboard and the Gulf Coast regions are high-risk areas for hurricanes, even states as far north as New York have felt the slap of a passing storm. But some cities seem to wear a lucky charm.
New Orleans has not had a direct hit by a major hurricane since it was struck by Betsy in 1965. And Savannah on the coast of Georgia dodged every major hurricane in the 20th century.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MYERS: So you saw the map. You can see, obviously, Florida kind of hangs out. It's a peninsula, obviously, kind of sticking out there into the Caribbean. Also the Carolina coast sticking out as well, so every time a storm take as turn, or takes a turn to the right, like we always see them do. Obviously, Florida and the Carolina coast in the way, and the Gulf of Mexico obviously, too. New Orleans right in the path, even though they haven't seen one in a long time.
Tomorrow we'll take a look at, why this year? Imagination, El Nino, global warming? We have a shot of setting a record for Atlantic storms this year. So far, we're number 12. Lisa and Matthew is not that far out there. The record is 19. We're only 11 days past halfway past the 2004 season.
HEMMER: Wow. To the end of November it is then.
Great point, too, on the Carolina coast. Oftentimes, especially this season, we forget about it, but as you point out, the history shows otherwise.
Thank you, Chad. See you a bit later.
Here's Heidi again -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, the Wednesday edition of "90-Second Pop."
Oops, she did it again. Britney gets hitched once more. But she's got a big safety net this time.
Plus, the "Star Wars" trilogy finally comes to a galaxy near you on DVD. So why are some fans so unhappy?
Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired September 22, 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: Claims that a second U.S. hostage has been killed in Iraq, and now word the Iraqi woman known as "Dr. Germ" may go free. Is Iraq now giving in to terrorist demands?
President Bush and John Kerry trading hard blows on Iraq this morning. Their campaigns answer the criticism. And is there a place in the U.S. most as risk for a hurricane, where the biggest storms strike most often, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: And good morning. Welcome for the second time in two days now an American beheaded in Iraq. It tops our stories this morning. We'll look at that throughout the morning here. Grim news again.
And on this Wednesday morning, good morning, I'm Bill Hemmer.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Heidi Collins, in for Soledad today. Other stories we want to let you know that we're following today. We continue our series on election-year issues with each candidate's position on taxes and spending. The president and the senator making a lot of promises, but how will they pay for it all? And do those numbers add up? we're going to be talking with Kelly Wallace about that in just a few minutes.
Also from California, Scott Peterson matter, a story of a tape played in court, in which a detective tried to get Peterson to confess to murder. A former prosecutor in court yesterday joins us. His thoughts in a moment. Dean Johnson is his name. We'll get to him this morning here.
Jack Cafferty is here right now.
Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Heidi.
One of the great possible ironies of this political season, that "60 Minutes" report on CBS that's built around the phony documents, it was a piece designed to discredit President Bush and perhaps damage his reelection chances. At the end of the day, it may come back to haunt and maybe even hurt the Kerry campaign. We'll take a look at that in a few minutes.
HEMMER: All right, Jack, thanks for that.
Straightaway to Kelly Wallace now, checking the news at this hour.
Kelly, good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you all. And good morning, everyone.
We begin in Iraq, where another U.S. soldier has been killed. Within the past 45 minutes, CNN has learned the death occurred near the town of Tikrit, when attackers ambushed a patrol using an improvised explosive device. Earlier, insurgents targeted Iraqi police recruits outside a center in Baghdad. Officials say at least seven people were killed, some 47 others were injured. More on the situation in Iraq, including the plans to release a female, prisoner coming up.
The full Senate is scheduled to vote today on the nomination of congressman Porter Goss to head the CIA. The Senate Intelligence Committee voted yesterday in a closed meeting to approve Goss' nomination. The vote was 12-4. We will speak with West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller, one of the Democrats who voted against Goss, later in the show.
And the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens is heading back to London this morning, after being denied entry into the United States. The singer was taken off a United Airlines flight last night after his Muslim name turned up on a terrorist watchlist. U.S. officials say he is linked to organizations believed to be aiding terrorism.
That's a quick check of the headlines at the hour. Now back to Bill and Heidi.
HEMMER: All right, Kelly, thanks for that.
I want to go back to Iraq straightaway. Islamist militants say they have beheaded a second American hostage now is as many days. Jack Hensley, abducted along with American Eugene Armstrong and a British national about a week ago. The terrorists threatened to kill the hostages if Iraqi female prisoners were not released from U.S. custody. Already this morning, there are reports that a top Saddam Hussein scientist known as Dr. Germ could go free.
Walter Rodgers starts us off in Baghdad there.
Walter, hello.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.
The Iraqi government, the Council of Ministers, has announced that it will release on bail one of two high-profile female detainees. The woman in question was a former scientist working for Saddam Hussein in his chemical, biological weapons program. It is believed, although the Iraqis now say they have found no reason to detain her, implying that there was no guilt involved in any of the conduct that she had under Saddam Hussein.
Having said that, this seems to be the best hope, the West has for saving the life of the Kenneth Bigley, the lone remaining hostage, the British hostage, who was abducted a week ago Thursday. Bigley is also under death threat. The release, however, is -- the release of that Iraqi woman detainee is no guarantee that Bigley will be saved. Still, it does offer perhaps a glimmer of hope.
Recall that the abductors, that is to say the Iraqi terrorists, said that all females had to be released. As for hat the United States is saying about this, simply it is studying the proposal. Again, it's too late for these two Americans who were beheaded this week -- Bill.
HEMMER: Walter, what is the truth about how many Iraqi women are being held captive. Some reports say two, other reports say none. What is it?
RODGERS: Well, that's an interesting question, because we've asked it twice and gotten both of those answers. It is, however, believed that the United States is holding, but has not imprisoned, two Iraqi women. One of those would be released by this action today, that is Rihab Taha. Having said that, there would be only one other detainee. The issue, though, according to the kidnappers, is they want all women in all Iraqi jails -- presumably that would include prostitute -- released as well. So we don't know how many women are in the Iraqi-run prisons. The United States has never said they had in its custody more than two, and the action of the Iraqi Council of Ministers today suggests that at least one of those is going to be released -- Bill.
HEMMER: Walter Rodgers from Baghdad. Walter, thanks for that -- Heidi.
COLLINS: As you might imagine, Iraq continues to dominate the American presidential race, with each candidate question the other's credibility. President Bush used his U.N. address yesterday to try to present a positive outlook for Iraq.
John King is in New York now, covering the bush campaign. He joins us this morning.
John, good morning to you.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi.
The president this morning has a meeting with the president of Pakistan here in New York, wrapping up his business as part of the United Nations General Assembly. Yesterday it was the prime minister of Iraq. As soon as Mr. Bush is done with that meeting with President Pervez Musharraf, it is off for his 37th trip to Pennsylvania as president, campaigning in the election now just six weeks away. A realtime reminder today, Heidi, of how the president's leadership in the war on terror is the defining issue on campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): Six weeks to election day here at home, Mr. Bush deflected a question about GOP critics of his Iraq policy, saying the Republicans raising those questions still preferred him over Democrat John Kerry.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My opponent has taken so many different positions on Iraq that his statements are hardly credible at all.
KING: Senator Kerry calls Mr. Bush's Iraq policy a colossal failure. He says it is the president who is lost credibility as Iraq spirals into chaos. This campaign debate raises the stakes of Prime Minister Allawi's visit, which includes a speech to Congress on Thursday. Mr. Bush is banking on help convincing Americans that the insurgency will be crushed and a new democracy born.
IYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: We are winning. We are making progress in Iraq. We are defeating terrorists.
KING: Mr. Bush posed with the cameras for Kofi Annan just days after the U.N. secretary-general labeled the Iraq war illegal. As he opened this year's general assembly, Mr. Annan was less pointed, but again, critical.
KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: Every nation that proclaim as rule of law at home must respect it abroad.
KING: Mr. Bush followed soon after, and defended his decision to go to war, though it was clear most in the audience did not agree. While voicing optimism about Iraq's future, the president was more candid about political and security problems in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and he tends to be in more upbeat campaign speeches.
BUSH: But these difficulties will not shake our conviction, that the future of Afghanistan and Iraq is a future of liberty. The proper response to difficulty is not to retreat; it is to prevail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: And while here in New York, Mr. Bush briefed on the tragic beheading of the two Americans, the president offered his condolences to the family, but Heidi, he also said it is imperative what he called the thugs and terrorists not get to decide Iraq's future -- Heidi.
COLLINS: John King, thanks so much for that this morning -- Bill.
HEMMER: More now on the politics of Iraq. Jamie Rubin senior foreign policy adviser to the Kerry campaign with me now in Washington.
Jamie, good morning. Welcome back here.
JAMIE RUBIN, KERRY CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Good morning to you.
HEMMER: The president says now is not the time to cut and run, not the time to retreat. What's wrong with that message?
RUBIN: Nothing. John Kerry has made very clear we have to succeed in Iraq. But in order to succeed, the president of the United States has to have credibility in the world, his judgment has to be respected. What John Kerry is saying that if President Bush goes before the international body and gives a speech in which it would seem that Iraq is going wonderfully, the international community is not going to respond. They want a president to acknowledge the reality on the ground. The way to get a change in course here is to acknowledge the difficulties we're having, convince and persuade countries around the world that they have as much of a stake in success in Iraq as we do. But we're not going to be able to do that with a president who dismisses any suggestion that things are going wrong with pessimism. He even called the national intelligence estimate guesswork. This is the same president who used national intelligence estimates to justify the war.
So losing credibility makes it really impossible for this president to get the help we need.
HEMMER: Yes, Senator Kerry is also talking about pulling U.S. troops out. He says if he were president he would get that under way six months into office. Is that the right message to send to people like Zarqawi?
RUBIN: Well, what John Kerry has said very clearly, is that we have to succeed there, and he has a four-point plan to do that. And he said if we can implement that plan with a new president who will have credibility in the world, then yes, we can begin to withdraw forces after several months, and complete that withdrawal over four years.
But he's not talking about cutting and running. What he's talking about is having a president who is credibility and judgment is respected and who is going to be clear eyed with the American people. We are in difficult straits in Iraq. Republican senators have said we're in deep trouble. We're in crisis. The president is in denial. We don't hear from him the truth, and that's why we're not going to get success.
HEMMER: I apologize for the interruption; I'm just trying to push you forward a little bit.
You mentioned the four-point plan. And two of those points talk about elections next year that are already being worked toward, talk about getting more help from NATO, help train Iraqi forces. The White House will come back and say those four points are already being discussed, and they're already making progress toward them.
So then, what is new on the Kerry side?
RUBIN: Well, what's new is that John Kerry's proposals are far more realistic. Look, on training, the White House says everything is going fine, but the trainer, the general who is doing the training, David Petraeus, is not getting the support he needs. That was reported a couple of days ago in "The New York Times." On elections, we need to have people protecting the election monitors. There are no country's in the world that have signed up for that. Where was the sense of urgency for the president going to the U.N.? Have we heard about meeting in which where he's urgently calling on countries to send forces to protect the election monitors? If this president understood the urgency of getting these elections to happen, we'd be seeing a real plan to get support for those erections -- elections. All of that means that the president gives lip service to the right goals, but he's got no credibility to get them done.
HEMMER: We will talk about that credibility issue and that urgency that you bring up in about 30 minutes with Dan Bartlett from the White House.
Jamie, thanks. Jamie Rubin in D.C.
RUBIN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Dan Bartlett, my guest about 7:30 Eastern Time here on AMERICAN MORNING -- Heidi.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Hey, Chad, don't go far, OK. In a minute, we'll go back to Chad, this time the eye on hurricanes today. And today, why are some spots like Florida's panhandle hit so hard, while others around the same area oftentimes come out unscathed. We'll look at that.
COLLINS: Also ahead, Martha Stewart won't be decorating her home this holiday season. The domestic diva finds out where she's headed.
HEMMER: And more audio tape in the Scott Peterson trial. Find out when he said when a detective tried to get him to confess, ahead this hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The lead detective in the Scott Peterson case returns to the witness stand for a third day of testimony today. In court yesterday, jurors heard Craig Grogan's taped conversations with Peterson in the weeks after Laci disappeared.
Dean Johnson, former San Mateo County prosecutor, was in the courtroom. He's joining us this morning from Redwood City, California.
Dean, nice to see you. Thanks for being here once again.
I want to go ahead and listen to a couple of these excerpts if we could, as we said, took place right after Laci disappeared, between Scott Peterson and Grogan.
Let's hear this one, where he actually breaks down and cries for a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CRAIG GROGAN: How are you doing?
SCOTT PETERSON: I'm losing it. I miss her. I'm just a mess without her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: What's significant here for the jury, Dean?
DEAN JOHNSON, FMR. SAN MATEO COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Well, at this point, I think not very much, because this jury has seen a great deal of Scott Peterson and heard a great deal of Scott Peterson. One thing we know about him is that he can cry at the drop of a hat.
And when you listen to these tapes further between Grogan and Peterson, as they play a cat and mouse game, very similar to the game that Amber Frey played with Scott, a number of lies emerge, and eventually Grogan gives him the opportunity to come clean. He does not do so.
COLLINS: Yes, and let's go ahead and listen to another one now. And here we're going to hear a flat out denial from Peterson. Listen for just a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETERSON: I had nothing to do with Laci's disappearance. Unreal. OK. Hey, I'm going to go.
GROGAN: Scott, what I'm offering you is an opportunity here to end all of this nonsense.
PETERSON: I'm going to find her, Craig.
GROGAN: I want the door open between us. If you want to end all of this nonsense, all you need to is call, all right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Dean you already mentioned the other lies that we have heard Scott Peterson tell, and we've been talking about it in the four months the case has been going on. When the jury hear things like that, does it mean anything to them?
JOHNSON: Well, I think so. Specifically, when Scott Peterson lies about things that he should not necessarily be lying about, things like, well, where's the missing cement? And we know that he claims that the cement was used in his yard. That apparently is not true. A number of things that would otherwise be innocuous, unless there were some sinister implications to what he had done with the cement or with other pieces of evidence, or where he was or what he was doing.
COLLINS: Right. And we also know that Grogan had a list of 41 items or so, reasons why they directly to Scott Peterson as a suspect in this case. Let's go ahead and look at a couple here if we could. Peterson telling police the boat trip that he took the day that Laci went missing was impromptu. Didn't think about it at all. But the license records show it was anything but.
Also Peterson told a neighbor and a cousin he went golfing the day that Laci disappeared, then he told others that went fishing. So he is a suspect, but how does that prove then that he's a murder, Dean?
JOHNSON: Well, none of those facts in and of themselves prove that he is a murder, but this is a very interesting piece of testimony. Under cross -- under direct examination by the chief criminal deputy Flatager (ph), Grogan was able to list 41 items that told the jury why Grogan was suspicious of Scott Peterson. What it sounded like was a prosecution closing argument, summing up all the reasons why now the D.A. is suspicious and thinks Scott Peterson is guilty. This, of course, is the flip side of the old rush to judgment argument. If the defense wants to say the police rushed to judgment, then the prosecution gets to explain why the police made that judgment and gets to point out all the facts that they believe point to Scott Peterson's guilt, including some things that might not otherwise be admissible.
COLLINS: We'll see if the prosecution stays on track and wraps their case as they're expected to next week.
Thanks so much, Dean Johnson, once again this morning.
JOHNSON: Thank you, Heidi.
HEMMER: Twenty minutes past the hour. Back to Jack and the Question of the Day now.
CAFFERTY: How can this trial take -- I mean, Peterson is going to die of old age before they get through with this thing?
HEMMER: Talk to Toobin about this.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: I mean, how can it take this long? Nonsense.
The CBS document scandal has a ways to run. At this point, the Kerry campaign probably would like it to just hurry up and go away. Joe Lockhart, a high ranking member of the Kerry campaign team was all over the news yesterday, including on this program, explaining that, yes, he talked to Bill Burkett, the man responsible for giving those phony documents to CBS. That was a conversation, by the way, that was arranged by CBS producer Mary Mapes. And if she survives this thing, I'll eat this building -- she is toast.
But Lockhart insists they didn't discuss those documents in question. It was just all about the weather and, you know, who was going to win the Orioles series.
One things for sure, there is a lot of damage to go around. CBS and Dan Rather have massive credibility problems. The rest of the media probably tarnished as well, because the public has no great love for any of us in the first place. But it may be, in the end, the Kerry campaign that has the most to lose.
Here's the question, "Did the CBS scandal damage the Kerry campaign, in your opinion?" AM@CNN.com.
HEMMER: That is a great topic. You heard Ed Koch yesterday across the studio say this story is not going away.
CAFFERTY: Well, because we're going to keep it live at least until 10:00 here this morning.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
In a moment, Kelly Wallace back with us, bringing part three of her weeklong series. We call it "Promise, Promises."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Vote with your wallet? The economy is a top issue. But With a ballooning deficit, how much can the candidates really do about your taxes? Part three of our weeklong series of "Promises, Promises," ahead this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Now the eye of the hurricane. August set a record for the most named storms in the same month. Then September had its share as well. Florida hit very hard. But who gets hit and why? And why do others escape the wrath of Mother Nature? Good questions for Chad Myers, back at the CNN Center.
Chad, good morning again.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. Did you buy your Lottery ticket yesterday?
HEMMER: I did not.
MYERS: I did, and I didn't win. That's why I'm still sitting here.
You think of lotteries as kind of a random event. Well, are hurricanes random, too, or not?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MYERS: From Mississippi to the Caribbean and the Carolinas, some areas seem to be hurricane havens.
So far this year, it's Florida's turn. Mother Nature slapped the Sunshine State with three strong storms within a month. Charley sliced the state from the southwest, Frances forced millions to flee from the east. Then Ivan struck the panhandle.
But the Sunshine state is not alone. The Carolina coast breaks the record with some 30 hurricanes making landfall over the past 100 years.
And let's not neglect the Gulf. Last week, Hurricane Ivan devastated the Mississippi and Alabama coastlines, too.
But some of the worst destruction this year was felt in the Caribbean, in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Jamaica and Grand Cayman. It will take months, or years, for the islands to recover from the multiple hurricanes that have swept in from the Atlantic.
Not surprisingly, a map of hurricane activity from the U.S. Geological Survey clearly shows that the eastern seaboard and the Gulf Coast regions are high-risk areas for hurricanes, even states as far north as New York have felt the slap of a passing storm. But some cities seem to wear a lucky charm.
New Orleans has not had a direct hit by a major hurricane since it was struck by Betsy in 1965. And Savannah on the coast of Georgia dodged every major hurricane in the 20th century.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MYERS: So you saw the map. You can see, obviously, Florida kind of hangs out. It's a peninsula, obviously, kind of sticking out there into the Caribbean. Also the Carolina coast sticking out as well, so every time a storm take as turn, or takes a turn to the right, like we always see them do. Obviously, Florida and the Carolina coast in the way, and the Gulf of Mexico obviously, too. New Orleans right in the path, even though they haven't seen one in a long time.
Tomorrow we'll take a look at, why this year? Imagination, El Nino, global warming? We have a shot of setting a record for Atlantic storms this year. So far, we're number 12. Lisa and Matthew is not that far out there. The record is 19. We're only 11 days past halfway past the 2004 season.
HEMMER: Wow. To the end of November it is then.
Great point, too, on the Carolina coast. Oftentimes, especially this season, we forget about it, but as you point out, the history shows otherwise.
Thank you, Chad. See you a bit later.
Here's Heidi again -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, the Wednesday edition of "90-Second Pop."
Oops, she did it again. Britney gets hitched once more. But she's got a big safety net this time.
Plus, the "Star Wars" trilogy finally comes to a galaxy near you on DVD. So why are some fans so unhappy?
Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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