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American Morning
New Osama Bin Laden Audio Tape Surfaces; Health Officials Learning How to Save Most Lives in Event of Anthrax Attack
Aired December 16, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A new Osama bin Laden audiotape surfaces this morning, this one with references to events just 10 days ago.
CNN "Security Watch" -- health officials learning how to save the most lives in the event of an anthrax attack.
The confusing rules of war in Iraq, where fixing a Humvee could land a soldier in prison. We'll meet the man to whom it happened.
And Las Vegas always an exciting town, especially when about a million bees get loose on the highway.
A sticky situation on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning.
Welcome back, everybody.
Bill Hemmer is making his way back from Japan.
Miles O'Brien is kind enough to sit in for him today -- nice to have you.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's good to be here.
Thank you very much.
Good morning.
Coming up, much more on this new Osama bin Laden tape to tell you about. It looks like it's about an hour and 10 minutes long. A lot on it. Of course, CNN still analyzing it. In a few minutes, we'll talk to one of the experts we have listening to it, Mideast reporter Paul Eedle.
S. O'BRIEN: Also this morning, former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik has been hammered this week in a flood of what you can really only call bad publicity. A little later this hour, we're going to hear from his attorney, Joseph Tacopina, about some of those allegations and get his explanation of some of what's being said.
M. O'BRIEN: Jack Cafferty here -- good morning, sir.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, the aroma rising from that thing is just getting fouler by the day, ain't it?
S. O'BRIEN: Boy, but did the White House know? That's my question.
CAFFERTY: Huh?
S. O'BRIEN: I mean so much, who...
CAFFERTY: Yes, well...
S. O'BRIEN: That's another Question of the Day, isn't it?
CAFFERTY: I heard on the radio this morning, I think it was on CBS Radio, that the White House jumped the gun in making this announcement of the nomination before the FBI had finished doing what the FBI is supposed to do in these cases, which is to take a look at the background of these people. That was a report on CBS Radio.
If that's true, then they made a little boo-boo there.
Coming up in the "Cafferty File," we'll tell you the top 10 most unwanted Christmas gifts, celebrity self-absorption absolutely run amok and the NFL has come up with yet another way to extract more money from its fans. You won't believe it.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. Waiting for that.
M. O'BRIEN: We will stay tuned.
S. O'BRIEN: Unwanted Christmas gifts? Everyone else has a list of like what everybody wants the most. But Jack's list...
CAFFERTY: I have the list...
M. O'BRIEN: Jack's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CAFFERTY: ... of stuff I absolutely don't want.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: What's your point, Soledad?
S. O'BRIEN: None. No point. Just throwing it out there into the karma of the universe.
CAFFERTY: There you go.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's -- the story we're following for you this morning, a new audiotape said to be from Osama bin Laden has appeared on Arabic Web sites this morning. The tape has a reference to that December 6 attack on the consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Is the tape authentic? The big question this morning.
CNN national security correspondent David Ensor is following the story for us.
He joins us now from Washington -- good morning, David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
Officials are saying the CIA is conducting a technical analysis of the new tape to determine whether the voice is, indeed, that of Osama bin Laden. Given the poor apparently of the recording, officials say that effort may take a little longer than usual.
Here's what it sounds like.
(AUDIO CLIP OF TAPE IN ARABIC)
ENSOR: Near the end of the roughly 70 minute tape, the speaker asks for Allah to accept "our brothers who stormed the American consulate in Jeddah as martyrs." Now, that's a reference, of course, to attack in Jeddah December 6. Five consulate employees and four of the five attackers were killed in that incident.
The reference tends to date the tape, suggesting the recording was made in the last week to 10 days.
On the tape, the speaker also says what he calls the current instability in Saudi Arabia is due to regime actions and not to those of terrorists in Saudi Arabia itself.
U.S. officials say the tape appears to be another effort by bin Laden to appear relevant and in command, although he's in hiding and out of direct contact with Al Qaeda operatives in Saudi Arabia.
Most of the tapes that have been analyzed by the CIA, whether it's the voice of bin Laden or that of Ayman el-Zawahiri, have turned out to be the person as claimed -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: David, also some very sharp criticism -- no surprise here -- of the Saudi royal family.
ENSOR: Yes, indeed. This tape is largely aimed at people in Saudi Arabia. And, of course, that's his home country. Osama bin Laden comes from Saudi Arabia. His first goal in life was to overthrow the royal family. There's a lot of invective against that family on this tape -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: One other thought here. We see a new trend here, a new pattern in releasing these tapes, coming directly off the Internet as opposed to going through Al Jazeera and the other Arabic language channels in the Middle East.
Why is that, do you suppose? Is that their effort to get the message past any sort of media filter? ENSOR: Possibly. It's also, perhaps, a little quicker. This tape has to have been recorded in the last 10 days. That's faster than they usually are able to put them out. The problem, of course, is that by putting out a 70 minute tape in one file on the Internet, the quality suffers. And it's a little hard to listen to -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, David Ensor watching it for us in Washington.
Thank you very much -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: More analysis now from Paul Eedle.
He is an investigative journalist who's reported on the Middle East and militant Islam, as well.
He's listened to that tape.
He joins us from our London bureau this morning.
Paul, good morning.
Nice to have you.
Thanks for talking with us.
Give me a sense of what you think of this tape now that you've listened to it.
PAUL EEDLE, MIDDLE EAST EXPERT: Good morning.
This tape is a call for the overthrow of the Saudi royal family. It's an enormously detailed piece of invective against the Saudi royal family and against other Arab rulers, accusing them of being puppets of what Osama bin Laden calls a crusader Zionist alliance led by America which is seeking to steal the wealth and occupy the lands of Muslims.
S. O'BRIEN: What is the significance of the date? Is it only that it was the fastest time that we have seen Osama bin Laden get a tape after a certain event? Or do you think there's more to that?
EEDLE: I think it's intriguing that this tape came out on the Internet yesterday, just a day before the Saudi opposition movement based in London was planning its, supposedly, its biggest protests yet, in Riyadh and Jeddah. The information we have so far is that very little has materialized. But it may be that bin Laden was aware that these protests were planned and wanted to lend his very powerful voice to efforts to overthrow the royal family.
S. O'BRIEN: What do you think is the impact, in fact, of Osama bin Laden if, in the end, it does turn out to be Osama bin Laden, lending his voice and his tacit support to these protesters, in the big picture, not necessarily for those specific protests?
EEDLE: I think he carries enormous moral authority with the people we call jihadis, those who believe in his view of America as leading a war against Muslims. How far that plays in the wider Saudi public, I don't know. We know from opinion polls that have been carried out by American organizations that there is an enormous degree of hostility to American foreign policy in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East.
But we also have indications that the level of support for violent action to change that policy or to drive back American influence is much lower.
S. O'BRIEN: From listening to this tape, who do you think the audience is? Is he addressing jihadists? Is he addressing just Saudi -- people who live within Saudi Arabia? Is he addressing people outside of that country, where he's saying look how relevant I still am? Who is he talking to?
EEDLE: I think he's primarily addressing people who live in Saudi Arabia. He says at the beginning of the tape that this is a message to clarify a number of issues about the conflict within Saudi Arabia. Of course, he doesn't call it Saudi Arabia. He calls it the Arabian Peninsula or the land of the two holy places. And he tries to argue, with a lot of historical examples, that this is an infidel regime, that it implements American policy, for instance, over, you know, years before 9/11.
He said the Saudi government was changing its educational curriculum to please the Americans. More recently, Crown Prince Abdullah's peace initiative toward Israel at the Beirut summit last year, all of this is adduced as evidence that this is a regime which under Islamic belief people should rise and overthrow.
S. O'BRIEN: A 70-minute tape believed to be from Osama bin Laden.
Paul Eedle joining us this morning.
Thanks for your time and your analysis.
Appreciate it -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Much more on the bin Laden tape as the morning goes on, of course.
Also, in CNN's "Security Watch," we'll look at the threat of shoulder fired missiles at Los Angeles airport, what's being done about it.
Right now let's check some other stories going on in the news.
Kelly Wallace here with that -- good morning, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Miles.
Good morning, again, everyone.
Now in the news, a top U.S. general saying that Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, the most wanted fugitive in Iraq, is "most likely in Baghdad." Al-Zarqawi's group claims responsibility for killing U.S. and Iraqi soldiers and beheading numerous civilian hostages. The U.S. is offering a $25 million reward for al-Zarqawi's death or capture.
Less than two hours from now, day two of President Bush's economic summit will be getting under way in Washington. On today's agenda, a look at partially privatizing Social Security, one of the president's top goals for his second term. Also on tap today, a discussion of future challenges facing the U.S. economy. Yesterday, the president took part in a panel discussion on high cost of lawsuits. CNN will have live coverage of the president's closing remarks at around 1:30 p.m. Eastern time later today.
And finally, an angry, buzzing, sticky mess on a Las Vegas freeway. A truck dumping a load of honey and, get this, thousands of bees right in the middle of a busy interchange. That tied up traffic for hours on Interstate 15. Authorities summoned a beekeeper from California to help with the messy situation there. One of those hard to believe situations. I can imagine people calling work and saying sorry, I can't get there, thousands of bees on the freeway.
S. O'BRIEN: Or how about being the one lone beekeeper? Hey, can you come in? We've got a situation.
WALLACE: Exactly.
M. O'BRIEN: You call up and you say honey, honey -- you know, get it?
WALLACE: Oh, I wasn't too quick.
S. O'BRIEN: Really.
WALLACE: That's very good.
S. O'BRIEN: You know, he just (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a whole other direction.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Kelly.
Appreciate it.
WALLACE: Sure.
M. O'BRIEN: Stay with me now.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get a -- we just don't think like you, Miles.
Let's get right to the weather.
Chad Myers at the CNN Center for us with the latest forecast.
What you looking at this morning -- Chad. CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, I was thinking, dumping those bees off the interstate didn't look so safe. I mean that's not a way to calm them down.
M. O'BRIEN: No.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the suspected bin Laden tape -- we're going to talk with someone who's listened to the entire recording, find out about the specific references on that tape.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, and every day it seems we hear about another skeleton in Bernard Kerik's closet. Coming up, we'll get answers from the former cabinet nominee's lawyer.
S. O'BRIEN: And after the break, a soldier who stole a truck in Kuwait and was thrown in jail for it. He says he had to do it to carry out his mission. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Darrell Birt, a chief warrant officer in the Army, has been in the military for 23 years. He is among six Reservists who were court-martialed earlier this year for scavenging parts from abandoned Army vehicles in order to keep their own unit moving.
Joining us this morning from Columbus, Ohio is Darrell Birt.
Nice to see you.
Thanks for being with us.
Explain to me what happened exactly. You were court-martialed for stealing from Army vehicles. Tell me what specific vehicles you took from and what did you take and why you did it.
DARRELL BIRT, CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER, U.S. ARMY: Well, what we -- why we did it was that we had our equipment in six containers that are 20 foot long. As fuel haulers, we don't have the equipment to move these containers or the equipment that was in it to sustain us for combat operations. In it was machine guns, weapons, night vision goggles, our spare parts, tools and things of that nature.
What we took was two trucks and two trailers, trailers to pull behind them, and a cargo, just one that would carry stuff, which was eventually made into a gun truck for us. And we took one other truck, which was used for spare parts because the supply system, being broke the way it was, we weren't getting the spare parts to keep our vehicles no the road, which were on the road daily.
S. O'BRIEN: Did any of the higher-ups know you were doing this?
BIRT: Not to my knowledge at that time, ma'am.
S. O'BRIEN: Did you know that it was illegal, against Army rules?
BIRT: I knew it was against Army rules, yes ma'am. But I felt it was necessary and justified at that time to complete the mission.
S. O'BRIEN: You've gotten support from a number of areas. One of them is Senator Devine of Ohio. And he said this.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MIKE DEVINE (R), OHIO: They were in a combat situation and they were going into Iraq. They had a job to do. They tried to do their job. They took some parts so that they could execute and get their job done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: You were found guilty and court-martialed.
Where does your case stand right now?
BIRT: Well, I'm in the appeal process. Clemency came forth in August and was denied by the convening authority. We're now in the automatic appeal process and waiting for the Army to provide us with a lawyer for that process.
S. O'BRIEN: Are you the only few who've been caught? Is this something that's very typical of what's going on in Iraq?
BIRT: Absolutely. This is very typical. As a matter of fact, during my confinement, there was an active duty M.P. from Fort Hood that told me that hey, we grabbed Humvee trailers all the time, used them and dumped them when we were done. So, yes, it's a common practice there and, you know, this was a necessary part at that particular time.
S. O'BRIEN: At the start of the war, I understand that you were decorated for initiative and courage.
Give me a sense of how you think all this is falling out now and what it's done to your career and your life, frankly.
BIRT: Well, that's -- my career is just done. If it goes through the way it is right now, that I will lose my retirement benefits and the entire career that I have served honorably and faithfully to my country will be gone.
My civilian employer has also terminated me for my actions in combat in Iraq.
S. O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of how that's -- how that feels. I mean you've been with the military for 23 years. Obviously, you're laying your life on the line every day when you're out there.
BIRT: Yes, ma'am. It's -- I feel that it's now trying to shortchange what I've given so faithfully for. I do believe now that the public is hearing about it that the honorable thing will be done and this will all be reversed and I can go ahead and complete my military career honorably, along with the rest of my members of my unit.
S. O'BRIEN: Darrell Birt, Army chief warrant officer, after serving five months in prison.
Good luck on your case.
BIRT: Thank you very much.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks for talking to us.
BIRT: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, the latest on that tape said to be from Osama bin Laden.
And Bernard Kerik's attorney will be here to answer some questions about illicit love affairs, shady business connections and unreported gifts. Oh, and also the illegal nanny.
Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(VIDEOTAPE OF SNOWMAN)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: The love child of Poppin' Fresh and Frosty The Snowman, I think, if they ever got together.
S. O'BRIEN: He's such a skinny snowman.
M. O'BRIEN: Actually, it's le Carnival de Quebec.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh.
M. O'BRIEN: Oui. Oui. They're in New York to try to celebrate le Quebec.
S. O'BRIEN: Really? That's nice. That's fun.
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: It is going on.
S. O'BRIEN: A dancing snowman?
CAFFERTY: I missed it.
M. O'BRIEN: The president of the Jack Cafferty Fan Club right out there.
S. O'BRIEN: Look out the window. Come on, Jack.
M. O'BRIEN: OK.
S. O'BRIEN: Hello.
CAFFERTY: How you doing?
As promised, the NFL has come up with yet another way to extract money from their fans. For those who feel they can never get close enough to the action on the field, the league is testing out luxury field boxes that literally put you on the field of play, or at least nine yards from it. These reclining leather seats are heated. There are plasma TVs so you can watch the instant replays. The boxes have been tested at a Minnesota Vikings game and several New England Patriots games.
S. O'BRIEN: That's awesome.
CAFFERTY: In fact, the Patriots are planning to put between 40 and 44 of these things on the field next season. No price tag yet. You can bet they'll be expensive. And there's already reportedly a waiting list for them.
David and Victoria Beckham, the British soccer star and the former posh Spice, have hired a butler for $2,000 a day to unwrap their Christmas presents. The butler originally was scheduled to work the holiday season over at the Osbournes' place, but the Beckhams made him a better offer, apparently, and now will have someone to spend four hours unwrapping gifts for these -- this couple's kids, as well as the rest of the family. Along with the presents, the butler will also be responsible for making sure all cell phones are turned off for the Christmas meal.
S. O'BRIEN: It's very demanding to open all those presents.
CAFFERTY: There ain't enough money in the Federal Reserve Bank downtown to get me to spend Christmas Day in a place like that.
It's not always Yuletide cheer around the holidays, especially when you open a present and find out you've gotten another tie from somebody you don't care about and it's a tie you wouldn't wear to a funeral if you were the only one there.
A Morgan Stanley poll is out showing where the most unwanted gifts rank. At number 10, kitchen equipment. Then comes executive stress toys, followed by power tools, chocolates and slippers. I like chocolates, actually. Number five, the cheesy Christmas sweater. Number four is packaged toiletries, socks, handkerchiefs are next. And the number one most unwanted gift is cheap perfume.
M. O'BRIEN: Executive stress toys. What are they? CAFFERTY: I don't know. Secretaries.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, OK. You know what? So unnecessary. Public flogging for you.
CAFFERTY: I, you know...
S. O'BRIEN: Inappropriate, unnecessary...
CAFFERTY: You ask these questions, I'm, you know...
S. O'BRIEN: All the men and women who serve as assistants, including your own? You should be ashamed of yourself, Mr. Cafferty.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
The music plays and we...
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: ... "Good Morning America."
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, a new low.
CAFFERTY: I want to get a transfer.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's make sure the transcript...
CAFFERTY: How about that CBS show?
M. O'BRIEN: ... is clear on who said that. That's all I want to say.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh.
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program...
CAFFERTY: Does the "Today" show need any help?
S. O'BRIEN: No.
CAFFERTY: I'll go over there.
M. O'BRIEN: First George Bush and John Kerry had to take their lumps, and now Santa Claus gets lampooned on the Internet site, you know, that JibJab thing. And we will roll it out for you just ahead.
Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired December 16, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A new Osama bin Laden audiotape surfaces this morning, this one with references to events just 10 days ago.
CNN "Security Watch" -- health officials learning how to save the most lives in the event of an anthrax attack.
The confusing rules of war in Iraq, where fixing a Humvee could land a soldier in prison. We'll meet the man to whom it happened.
And Las Vegas always an exciting town, especially when about a million bees get loose on the highway.
A sticky situation on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning.
Welcome back, everybody.
Bill Hemmer is making his way back from Japan.
Miles O'Brien is kind enough to sit in for him today -- nice to have you.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's good to be here.
Thank you very much.
Good morning.
Coming up, much more on this new Osama bin Laden tape to tell you about. It looks like it's about an hour and 10 minutes long. A lot on it. Of course, CNN still analyzing it. In a few minutes, we'll talk to one of the experts we have listening to it, Mideast reporter Paul Eedle.
S. O'BRIEN: Also this morning, former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik has been hammered this week in a flood of what you can really only call bad publicity. A little later this hour, we're going to hear from his attorney, Joseph Tacopina, about some of those allegations and get his explanation of some of what's being said.
M. O'BRIEN: Jack Cafferty here -- good morning, sir.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, the aroma rising from that thing is just getting fouler by the day, ain't it?
S. O'BRIEN: Boy, but did the White House know? That's my question.
CAFFERTY: Huh?
S. O'BRIEN: I mean so much, who...
CAFFERTY: Yes, well...
S. O'BRIEN: That's another Question of the Day, isn't it?
CAFFERTY: I heard on the radio this morning, I think it was on CBS Radio, that the White House jumped the gun in making this announcement of the nomination before the FBI had finished doing what the FBI is supposed to do in these cases, which is to take a look at the background of these people. That was a report on CBS Radio.
If that's true, then they made a little boo-boo there.
Coming up in the "Cafferty File," we'll tell you the top 10 most unwanted Christmas gifts, celebrity self-absorption absolutely run amok and the NFL has come up with yet another way to extract more money from its fans. You won't believe it.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. Waiting for that.
M. O'BRIEN: We will stay tuned.
S. O'BRIEN: Unwanted Christmas gifts? Everyone else has a list of like what everybody wants the most. But Jack's list...
CAFFERTY: I have the list...
M. O'BRIEN: Jack's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CAFFERTY: ... of stuff I absolutely don't want.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: What's your point, Soledad?
S. O'BRIEN: None. No point. Just throwing it out there into the karma of the universe.
CAFFERTY: There you go.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's -- the story we're following for you this morning, a new audiotape said to be from Osama bin Laden has appeared on Arabic Web sites this morning. The tape has a reference to that December 6 attack on the consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Is the tape authentic? The big question this morning.
CNN national security correspondent David Ensor is following the story for us.
He joins us now from Washington -- good morning, David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
Officials are saying the CIA is conducting a technical analysis of the new tape to determine whether the voice is, indeed, that of Osama bin Laden. Given the poor apparently of the recording, officials say that effort may take a little longer than usual.
Here's what it sounds like.
(AUDIO CLIP OF TAPE IN ARABIC)
ENSOR: Near the end of the roughly 70 minute tape, the speaker asks for Allah to accept "our brothers who stormed the American consulate in Jeddah as martyrs." Now, that's a reference, of course, to attack in Jeddah December 6. Five consulate employees and four of the five attackers were killed in that incident.
The reference tends to date the tape, suggesting the recording was made in the last week to 10 days.
On the tape, the speaker also says what he calls the current instability in Saudi Arabia is due to regime actions and not to those of terrorists in Saudi Arabia itself.
U.S. officials say the tape appears to be another effort by bin Laden to appear relevant and in command, although he's in hiding and out of direct contact with Al Qaeda operatives in Saudi Arabia.
Most of the tapes that have been analyzed by the CIA, whether it's the voice of bin Laden or that of Ayman el-Zawahiri, have turned out to be the person as claimed -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: David, also some very sharp criticism -- no surprise here -- of the Saudi royal family.
ENSOR: Yes, indeed. This tape is largely aimed at people in Saudi Arabia. And, of course, that's his home country. Osama bin Laden comes from Saudi Arabia. His first goal in life was to overthrow the royal family. There's a lot of invective against that family on this tape -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: One other thought here. We see a new trend here, a new pattern in releasing these tapes, coming directly off the Internet as opposed to going through Al Jazeera and the other Arabic language channels in the Middle East.
Why is that, do you suppose? Is that their effort to get the message past any sort of media filter? ENSOR: Possibly. It's also, perhaps, a little quicker. This tape has to have been recorded in the last 10 days. That's faster than they usually are able to put them out. The problem, of course, is that by putting out a 70 minute tape in one file on the Internet, the quality suffers. And it's a little hard to listen to -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, David Ensor watching it for us in Washington.
Thank you very much -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: More analysis now from Paul Eedle.
He is an investigative journalist who's reported on the Middle East and militant Islam, as well.
He's listened to that tape.
He joins us from our London bureau this morning.
Paul, good morning.
Nice to have you.
Thanks for talking with us.
Give me a sense of what you think of this tape now that you've listened to it.
PAUL EEDLE, MIDDLE EAST EXPERT: Good morning.
This tape is a call for the overthrow of the Saudi royal family. It's an enormously detailed piece of invective against the Saudi royal family and against other Arab rulers, accusing them of being puppets of what Osama bin Laden calls a crusader Zionist alliance led by America which is seeking to steal the wealth and occupy the lands of Muslims.
S. O'BRIEN: What is the significance of the date? Is it only that it was the fastest time that we have seen Osama bin Laden get a tape after a certain event? Or do you think there's more to that?
EEDLE: I think it's intriguing that this tape came out on the Internet yesterday, just a day before the Saudi opposition movement based in London was planning its, supposedly, its biggest protests yet, in Riyadh and Jeddah. The information we have so far is that very little has materialized. But it may be that bin Laden was aware that these protests were planned and wanted to lend his very powerful voice to efforts to overthrow the royal family.
S. O'BRIEN: What do you think is the impact, in fact, of Osama bin Laden if, in the end, it does turn out to be Osama bin Laden, lending his voice and his tacit support to these protesters, in the big picture, not necessarily for those specific protests?
EEDLE: I think he carries enormous moral authority with the people we call jihadis, those who believe in his view of America as leading a war against Muslims. How far that plays in the wider Saudi public, I don't know. We know from opinion polls that have been carried out by American organizations that there is an enormous degree of hostility to American foreign policy in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East.
But we also have indications that the level of support for violent action to change that policy or to drive back American influence is much lower.
S. O'BRIEN: From listening to this tape, who do you think the audience is? Is he addressing jihadists? Is he addressing just Saudi -- people who live within Saudi Arabia? Is he addressing people outside of that country, where he's saying look how relevant I still am? Who is he talking to?
EEDLE: I think he's primarily addressing people who live in Saudi Arabia. He says at the beginning of the tape that this is a message to clarify a number of issues about the conflict within Saudi Arabia. Of course, he doesn't call it Saudi Arabia. He calls it the Arabian Peninsula or the land of the two holy places. And he tries to argue, with a lot of historical examples, that this is an infidel regime, that it implements American policy, for instance, over, you know, years before 9/11.
He said the Saudi government was changing its educational curriculum to please the Americans. More recently, Crown Prince Abdullah's peace initiative toward Israel at the Beirut summit last year, all of this is adduced as evidence that this is a regime which under Islamic belief people should rise and overthrow.
S. O'BRIEN: A 70-minute tape believed to be from Osama bin Laden.
Paul Eedle joining us this morning.
Thanks for your time and your analysis.
Appreciate it -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Much more on the bin Laden tape as the morning goes on, of course.
Also, in CNN's "Security Watch," we'll look at the threat of shoulder fired missiles at Los Angeles airport, what's being done about it.
Right now let's check some other stories going on in the news.
Kelly Wallace here with that -- good morning, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Miles.
Good morning, again, everyone.
Now in the news, a top U.S. general saying that Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, the most wanted fugitive in Iraq, is "most likely in Baghdad." Al-Zarqawi's group claims responsibility for killing U.S. and Iraqi soldiers and beheading numerous civilian hostages. The U.S. is offering a $25 million reward for al-Zarqawi's death or capture.
Less than two hours from now, day two of President Bush's economic summit will be getting under way in Washington. On today's agenda, a look at partially privatizing Social Security, one of the president's top goals for his second term. Also on tap today, a discussion of future challenges facing the U.S. economy. Yesterday, the president took part in a panel discussion on high cost of lawsuits. CNN will have live coverage of the president's closing remarks at around 1:30 p.m. Eastern time later today.
And finally, an angry, buzzing, sticky mess on a Las Vegas freeway. A truck dumping a load of honey and, get this, thousands of bees right in the middle of a busy interchange. That tied up traffic for hours on Interstate 15. Authorities summoned a beekeeper from California to help with the messy situation there. One of those hard to believe situations. I can imagine people calling work and saying sorry, I can't get there, thousands of bees on the freeway.
S. O'BRIEN: Or how about being the one lone beekeeper? Hey, can you come in? We've got a situation.
WALLACE: Exactly.
M. O'BRIEN: You call up and you say honey, honey -- you know, get it?
WALLACE: Oh, I wasn't too quick.
S. O'BRIEN: Really.
WALLACE: That's very good.
S. O'BRIEN: You know, he just (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a whole other direction.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Kelly.
Appreciate it.
WALLACE: Sure.
M. O'BRIEN: Stay with me now.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get a -- we just don't think like you, Miles.
Let's get right to the weather.
Chad Myers at the CNN Center for us with the latest forecast.
What you looking at this morning -- Chad. CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, I was thinking, dumping those bees off the interstate didn't look so safe. I mean that's not a way to calm them down.
M. O'BRIEN: No.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the suspected bin Laden tape -- we're going to talk with someone who's listened to the entire recording, find out about the specific references on that tape.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, and every day it seems we hear about another skeleton in Bernard Kerik's closet. Coming up, we'll get answers from the former cabinet nominee's lawyer.
S. O'BRIEN: And after the break, a soldier who stole a truck in Kuwait and was thrown in jail for it. He says he had to do it to carry out his mission. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Darrell Birt, a chief warrant officer in the Army, has been in the military for 23 years. He is among six Reservists who were court-martialed earlier this year for scavenging parts from abandoned Army vehicles in order to keep their own unit moving.
Joining us this morning from Columbus, Ohio is Darrell Birt.
Nice to see you.
Thanks for being with us.
Explain to me what happened exactly. You were court-martialed for stealing from Army vehicles. Tell me what specific vehicles you took from and what did you take and why you did it.
DARRELL BIRT, CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER, U.S. ARMY: Well, what we -- why we did it was that we had our equipment in six containers that are 20 foot long. As fuel haulers, we don't have the equipment to move these containers or the equipment that was in it to sustain us for combat operations. In it was machine guns, weapons, night vision goggles, our spare parts, tools and things of that nature.
What we took was two trucks and two trailers, trailers to pull behind them, and a cargo, just one that would carry stuff, which was eventually made into a gun truck for us. And we took one other truck, which was used for spare parts because the supply system, being broke the way it was, we weren't getting the spare parts to keep our vehicles no the road, which were on the road daily.
S. O'BRIEN: Did any of the higher-ups know you were doing this?
BIRT: Not to my knowledge at that time, ma'am.
S. O'BRIEN: Did you know that it was illegal, against Army rules?
BIRT: I knew it was against Army rules, yes ma'am. But I felt it was necessary and justified at that time to complete the mission.
S. O'BRIEN: You've gotten support from a number of areas. One of them is Senator Devine of Ohio. And he said this.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MIKE DEVINE (R), OHIO: They were in a combat situation and they were going into Iraq. They had a job to do. They tried to do their job. They took some parts so that they could execute and get their job done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: You were found guilty and court-martialed.
Where does your case stand right now?
BIRT: Well, I'm in the appeal process. Clemency came forth in August and was denied by the convening authority. We're now in the automatic appeal process and waiting for the Army to provide us with a lawyer for that process.
S. O'BRIEN: Are you the only few who've been caught? Is this something that's very typical of what's going on in Iraq?
BIRT: Absolutely. This is very typical. As a matter of fact, during my confinement, there was an active duty M.P. from Fort Hood that told me that hey, we grabbed Humvee trailers all the time, used them and dumped them when we were done. So, yes, it's a common practice there and, you know, this was a necessary part at that particular time.
S. O'BRIEN: At the start of the war, I understand that you were decorated for initiative and courage.
Give me a sense of how you think all this is falling out now and what it's done to your career and your life, frankly.
BIRT: Well, that's -- my career is just done. If it goes through the way it is right now, that I will lose my retirement benefits and the entire career that I have served honorably and faithfully to my country will be gone.
My civilian employer has also terminated me for my actions in combat in Iraq.
S. O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of how that's -- how that feels. I mean you've been with the military for 23 years. Obviously, you're laying your life on the line every day when you're out there.
BIRT: Yes, ma'am. It's -- I feel that it's now trying to shortchange what I've given so faithfully for. I do believe now that the public is hearing about it that the honorable thing will be done and this will all be reversed and I can go ahead and complete my military career honorably, along with the rest of my members of my unit.
S. O'BRIEN: Darrell Birt, Army chief warrant officer, after serving five months in prison.
Good luck on your case.
BIRT: Thank you very much.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks for talking to us.
BIRT: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, the latest on that tape said to be from Osama bin Laden.
And Bernard Kerik's attorney will be here to answer some questions about illicit love affairs, shady business connections and unreported gifts. Oh, and also the illegal nanny.
Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(VIDEOTAPE OF SNOWMAN)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: The love child of Poppin' Fresh and Frosty The Snowman, I think, if they ever got together.
S. O'BRIEN: He's such a skinny snowman.
M. O'BRIEN: Actually, it's le Carnival de Quebec.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh.
M. O'BRIEN: Oui. Oui. They're in New York to try to celebrate le Quebec.
S. O'BRIEN: Really? That's nice. That's fun.
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: It is going on.
S. O'BRIEN: A dancing snowman?
CAFFERTY: I missed it.
M. O'BRIEN: The president of the Jack Cafferty Fan Club right out there.
S. O'BRIEN: Look out the window. Come on, Jack.
M. O'BRIEN: OK.
S. O'BRIEN: Hello.
CAFFERTY: How you doing?
As promised, the NFL has come up with yet another way to extract money from their fans. For those who feel they can never get close enough to the action on the field, the league is testing out luxury field boxes that literally put you on the field of play, or at least nine yards from it. These reclining leather seats are heated. There are plasma TVs so you can watch the instant replays. The boxes have been tested at a Minnesota Vikings game and several New England Patriots games.
S. O'BRIEN: That's awesome.
CAFFERTY: In fact, the Patriots are planning to put between 40 and 44 of these things on the field next season. No price tag yet. You can bet they'll be expensive. And there's already reportedly a waiting list for them.
David and Victoria Beckham, the British soccer star and the former posh Spice, have hired a butler for $2,000 a day to unwrap their Christmas presents. The butler originally was scheduled to work the holiday season over at the Osbournes' place, but the Beckhams made him a better offer, apparently, and now will have someone to spend four hours unwrapping gifts for these -- this couple's kids, as well as the rest of the family. Along with the presents, the butler will also be responsible for making sure all cell phones are turned off for the Christmas meal.
S. O'BRIEN: It's very demanding to open all those presents.
CAFFERTY: There ain't enough money in the Federal Reserve Bank downtown to get me to spend Christmas Day in a place like that.
It's not always Yuletide cheer around the holidays, especially when you open a present and find out you've gotten another tie from somebody you don't care about and it's a tie you wouldn't wear to a funeral if you were the only one there.
A Morgan Stanley poll is out showing where the most unwanted gifts rank. At number 10, kitchen equipment. Then comes executive stress toys, followed by power tools, chocolates and slippers. I like chocolates, actually. Number five, the cheesy Christmas sweater. Number four is packaged toiletries, socks, handkerchiefs are next. And the number one most unwanted gift is cheap perfume.
M. O'BRIEN: Executive stress toys. What are they? CAFFERTY: I don't know. Secretaries.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, OK. You know what? So unnecessary. Public flogging for you.
CAFFERTY: I, you know...
S. O'BRIEN: Inappropriate, unnecessary...
CAFFERTY: You ask these questions, I'm, you know...
S. O'BRIEN: All the men and women who serve as assistants, including your own? You should be ashamed of yourself, Mr. Cafferty.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
The music plays and we...
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: ... "Good Morning America."
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, a new low.
CAFFERTY: I want to get a transfer.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's make sure the transcript...
CAFFERTY: How about that CBS show?
M. O'BRIEN: ... is clear on who said that. That's all I want to say.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh.
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program...
CAFFERTY: Does the "Today" show need any help?
S. O'BRIEN: No.
CAFFERTY: I'll go over there.
M. O'BRIEN: First George Bush and John Kerry had to take their lumps, and now Santa Claus gets lampooned on the Internet site, you know, that JibJab thing. And we will roll it out for you just ahead.
Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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