Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
President Bush Meets With Young German Business Leaders
Aired February 23, 2005 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. 8:30 in New York. We've got ourselves a beautiful day, a beautiful morning anyway.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Certainly is. Yesterday, too.
HEMMER: My gosh, felt like spring here, didn't it?
In a moment, the president emphasizing common ground with one of his toughest critics in Europe today. We'll look at his meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Former State Department spokesperson Jamie Rubin with us talking about whether these two leaders can reach any meaningful agreements. And we'll get to that with Jamie in a moment here.
O'BRIEN: Also, a plan to talk about this morning that would basically put air-traffic control towers to bed at midnight in some of the country's smaller airports. It's very controversial for the obvious safety reasons. A report on that's ahead.
HEMMER: Also, check of the headlines here. Heidi Collins back at the desk with her new coffee mug.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I don't have it now this time. You guys have them. I hope I still own it.
O'BRIEN: How are you doing? Good morning.
COLLINS: I'm doing great, thank you.
Now in the news this morning, word this morning the mayor of Los Angeles is urging President Bush to declare a federal disaster for the city. More than eight inches of rain have fallen in the Los Angeles area since Thursday. The storms being blamed for at least nine deaths. Floods, mudslides and sinkholes, as you can see, in the video. Early estimates point to some $10 million worth of damages.
In Santa Maria, California, proceedings set to pick up again today in the Michael Jackson trial. But at the current pace. a jury could be seated soon. Twenty potential jurors were dismissed yesterday, whittling the number down to 221. The process has been delayed twice by a death in the family of Jackson's attorney and the pop star's illness.
And a 14-month-old Afghan boy with a serious heart defect is now heading to the U.S. for a potentially life-saving operation. The U.S. military is flying the baby, his father and a translator to a children's hospital in Indianapolis. Military officials say volunteer surgeons will perform the open-heart surgery. The hospital and a rotary club organization are covering the cost of the procedure. So little to have such an invasive procedure done like that.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Poor kid. Hopefully everything will turn out fine for them.
Thanks, Heidi. Appreciate it.
Well, President Bush continuing his fence mending mission in Germany this morning. Earlier, he spoke at a news conference with the German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. They both said that Iran must not have nuclear arms, but President Bush told reporters that, quote, "diplomacy is just beginning." Former Secretary of State Spokesman Jamie Rubin spoke to me earlier, and I asked him how the president's visit is going over with European leaders.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE RUBIN, FMR. STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: I think the president's trip has been basically good news for Europe and America. There seems to be a new realism on the part of the Bush administration that it's helpful to have European support for American objectives. And frankly, a new realism on the part of the Europeans that, like it or not, they're going to be dealing with George Bush for the next four years.
On Iran, the president is trying to signal that the use of military force is not likely in the near term, while also holding in reserve the possibility that if all these negotiations don't work, if diplomacy doesn't succeed, if even sanctions are imposed and they don't succeed, that that's still possible.
When he says Iran is not Iraq, what he means is that Iraq was subjected to 10 years of international sanctions before ultimately force was used to overthrow Saddam Hussein, while Iran is now only beginning to be subjected to international scrutiny for its violations of its agreements on international nuclear inspections.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk now about Russia, sort of to preview the meeting with President Putin. President Bush has said that Russia needs to renew commitment to democracy. He's also being pushed, frankly, not only the administration is pushing for this, but also some key lawmakers as well, are saying the president needs to be a little harder on Russia. Do you think, in fact, we'll hear that tomorrow?
RUBIN: I think we'll probably hear a little more from President Bush about discussions held in private. And I think one of the problems is that George Bush has given great credence and importance to his personal relationship with Vladimir Putin. From the day several years ago when he said he looked into Putin's soul and that he was a good man, it makes it kind of hard for him to now read him the riot act.
I do think, however, the Bush administration is feeling pressure from members of Congress and others that this is really gone too far with the crackdown on Democratic developments in Russia, with the continuing violence in Chechnya, with the stripping of the assets of a major oil company, the feeling really is that Putin has gone off in the wrong direction. And I think the Bush administration realizes that its policy was off track, and they will try to calibrate it now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Jamie Rubin talking to us.
The president has more public events scheduled today in Germany. You want stay with CNN for continuing coverage of President Bush's European tour -- Bill.
HEMMER: About 25 minutes before the hour. The suspect in the murder of a pregnant woman in Texas and her son is being described as angry and bizarre. Neighbors telling "The Dallas Morning News," that Stephen Barbee would set fire to trees in his own yard, leave the scene and get upset when neighbors called the fire department. Barbee is now in custody in Ft. Worth, and that is where Ed Lavandera picks up the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Late Friday night, Fort Worth investigators say, Stephen Barbee came to Lisa Underwood's home. According to an arrest warrant, the couple that had once been dating started fighting, because, as Barbee told police, he would not leave his wife.
LT. GENE JONES, FORT WORTH POLICE DEPARTMENT: We know that Mr. Barbee and Miss Underwood were at one time romantically involved.
LAVANDERA: The warrant says Barbee is the father of Underwood's unborn child. According to investigators, as the argument escalated, Barbee punched the pregnant woman in the face, and then suffocated her to death. During the scuffle, 7-year-old Jayden walked into the room screaming. Barbee then suffocated and killed the boy.
Investigators say Barbee proceeded to load the bodies into Underwood's SUV and dumped them in a field.
JONES: A makeshift grave has been located in southwest Denton County. We were led to this location by Stephen Barbee after he provided a confession to our investigators.
LAVANDERA: Investigators say Barbee was arrested about 135 miles away in Tyler Tuesday morning. He was secretly taken to the crime scene.
SGT. J.D. THORNTON, FORT WORTH POLICE DEPARTMENT: He was transported back to Fort Worth from Tyler this morning, and before he was booked into the town county jail, he led us to the exact location of the grave.
LAVANDERA: Investigators continued working inside Lisa Underwood's home, using the front driveway to search for fingerprints on doors.
Neighbor James Wilson has known the Underwood family for several years. Their children played together. He's angered by what he calls a senseless murder.
JAMES WILSON, UNDERWOOD NEIGHBOR: If there was ever a time that the justice system needed to work, it'd be now.
LAVANDERA: Lisa Underwood was the co-owner of Boopa's Bagel Deli. Boopa was her son's nickname.
A memorial of flowers and letters grows in front of the store, where Underwood, who was seven months pregnant, was supposed to have enjoyed a baby shower in her honor on Saturday.
(on camera): Stephen Barbee is being held on $2 million bond and is charged with one count of capital murder, which means if he's convicted, he could face the death penalty.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: We are told also police actually stopped Barbee for acting suspiciously on Saturday night. He gave them false information, and then ran away -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: More than three years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the process of identifying remains has been stopped. The New York City medical examiner's office says it has exhausted all DNA technology to make positive identification of the victims. Family members will be notified of the decision. It leaves more than 40 percent of victims' families without remains for burial. The office says that if any new DNA technology emerges, the process can be restarted.
HEMMER: The FAA thinks some airports could do without anyone in the control tower at certain times of the day. It is clearly a cost- cutting plan the agency is now considering. And as expected, it's meeting a fair amount of resistance.
This morning, here's Kathleen Koch on the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maintain at 6,000.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's 4:30 in the morning at Roanoke Virginia Regional Airport. This is just the second flight to land since midnight. The rest of the night, hour after hour, the control tower is quiet. The Federal Aviation Administration says that's a waste of taxpayer dollars.
MARION BLAKEY, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: It doesn't make sense of course to have personnel who are sitting there like Maytag repair men. KOTH: So the FAA is considering closing towers between midnight at and 5:00 a.m. at 48 low-traffic airports in 29 states. Planes could still use the airports between those hours, getting needed weather information and guidance instead from controllers at nearby FAA facilities.
BLAKEY: It simply means that the services going to be handled from some distance away. With all the avionics and technology we have now, that's not a problem.
KOCH: But some in Congress oppose the plan, especially for airports near military bases, like two on the list in Texas.
SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: They do use the runways, and they like having an air-traffic control tower so that if there's something that comes out on the runway or something that's blown out on the runway, they would have someone on the ground that could warn them.
KOCH: Airport managers and controllers insist closing towers in the wee hours of the morning hurts service and safety.
JACQUELINE SCHUCK, ROANOKE REGIONAL AIRPORT: So if somebody gets in trouble at 2:00 in the morning, they'd like to know there are eyes watching them as they try to come in and not somebody a couple hundred miles away.
RUTH MARLIN, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSN.: What could happen is that a plane could crash and nobody's there to help him, that's what could happen.
KOCH (on camera): So far, passenger airlines don't oppose the cuts since few fly into the smaller airports between midnight and 5:00 a.m.
(voice-over): Cargo carriers, though, are hesitant to take on the risk of flying into an airport with an unstaffed tower. The cuts could save the government $5 million a year. The FAA insists it will study each facility before cutting the night shift to make sure safety won't be compromised.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: In addition, the FAA points out that some control towers only operate about 17 hours a day, and there are close to 200 airports that handle commercial traffic that have no control towers at all.
As Kathleen was reporting, President Bush is speaking now in Mainz, Germany with 30 young German leaders. This is a question-and- answer session. We'll listen.
No matter where you're raised no matter your religion, people want to be free. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a good opportunity for me to really listen to what you have to ask and tell me about a lot of things.
I'm interested in economy, the entrepreneurial spirit. I'm interested in attitudes about freedom and peace. I'm interested to know, obviously, what you think about -- answer questions about policies that I've decided.
I obviously know there's a lot of disagreement about some of the decisions I made, and I'm interested in sharing with you why I made the decisions I have made.
I really want to thank you for your time, and I appreciate your willingness to come to speak to two old guys like me and Gerhard.
Isn't that right, Gerhard?
GERHARD SCHROEDER, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY: Older man.
BUSH: Older man.
(LAUGHTER)
But this is a fantastic moment. This is going to be one of the highlights of my trip to Europe. And I can't thank you enough for being here.
Gerhard, you want to say a few things?
OK, we'll start with the questions.
QUESTION: Mr. President, you said in a recent interview with The Washington Times that if people want to get a glimpse of how you think about foreign policy, they should read the "Case for Democracy" by Natan Sharansky.
In this book, as you know, Sharansky suggests the so-called "town square test": Can a person walk into the middle of the town square and express his or her views without fearing arrest or physical harm?
My question for you: Did Sharansky's book have influence on your approach toward Russia?
BUSH: First of all, Sharansky's book confirmed how I was raised and what I believe, and it's essentially this: that deep in everybody's soul -- everybody's soul -- is this deep desire to be free. That's what I believe. No matter where you were raised, no matter your religion, people want to be free.
And that a foreign policy, particularly from a nation that is free, ought to be based upon that thought.
You know, you can't discriminate. Freedom is not a discriminatory thought, at least in the White House; in other words (INAUDIBLE) say, "Certain people should be free but others shouldn't be free." It's a universal thought as far as I'm concerned.
And therefore, our foreign policy is based upon this notion that the world is a better place when people are able to realize that which is embedded in their soul. Because in that book, also, he talks about the idea that free societies are peaceful societies. Democratic societies don't attack each other.
I mean, Europe is a classic example of countries which have embraced values based upon democracy, and it's peaceful.
And, yes, the same principle applies to not only Iraq or Iran or, you know, America or Germany, but also Russia.
And as you know, there's a lot of focus on my meeting with Vladimir Putin tomorrow.
As a matter of fact, Gerhard and I spent a lot of time talking about Russia today. He's got a close relationship with Vladimir on a personal basis. I've got a close relationship with Vladimir on a personal basis.
I expressed some concerns at the European Union yesterday about some of the decisions, such as freedom of the press, that our mutual friend has made. And I look forward to talking to him about his decision-making process.
BUSH: You know, one of the interesting things about being with a chancellor -- or, in Putin's case, a president -- is that we share something: We make decisions. And I like to learn from people how they make decisions.
They say to me, "What's the president like? Give me a job description?" The job description is, decision-maker.
And maybe we can talk a little bit about that later on.
But, yes, it applies to Russia as well.
QUESTION: Concerning Russia, the Iraq crisis has made quite clear to all of us how dependent we are on the oil resources from that region. And for the future, it is certainly necessary for us all to look for strategies to become more independent of these resources.
Does this aspect for you have influence on your relationship to Russia?
BUSH: That's an interesting question.
The foreign policy of our country for years -- I'm stepping back. I'm going to branch out from Russia -- I'll get back to Russia.
You know, for years, there was a sense that we could tolerate tyranny for the sake of energy. And yet beneath the surface of that policy lurked this hatred and feeling of oppression and frustration and hopelessness, which lended itself to an ideology of hatred that ended up manifesting their hatred on America. And let me say something about September the 11th. I think this will help frame the conversation as we go forward.
For some, September the 11th was a passing moment in history. In other words, it was a terrible moment, but it passes. For me and my government and many in the United States, it permanently changed our outlook on the world.
Those two attitudes caused us sometimes to talk past each other. And I plead guilty at times. But as this conversation goes on, I want you to remember that point of view.
As a result of feeling like that my main obligation is now to protect the American people and to confront an ideology of hate, we are no longer -- our primary objective is the spread of freedom.
BUSH: The best way to diversify, at least for my country -- and I don't want to raise a sore subject here -- but diversify away from dependence on foreign sources of energy is for us to take advantage of new technologies and expand safe nuclear power in the United States of America.
To me, that would achieve several objectives: one, it's a renewable source of energy; two, it's a domestic source of energy; and three, it would help us meet our obligations to clean air requirements.
Unfortunately, it's an issue that's hard to get through our Congress. I mean, we are -- there's a lot of people still fearful of nuclear power, and it's a debate I've engaged in, it's a subject I brought up in my State of the Union address, and it's a subject I continue to talk about, because I think it is a way for the United States to be less dependent on foreign sources of energy, which is good for our economy and, frankly, it helps us with foreign policy.
HEMMER: We're listening to the president meeting with 30 young German leaders there in Mainz, Germany. The first question seemed to deal with, or appeared anyway, we missed the beginning of the question, but how the president spelled out what his policy is with regard to spreading freedom across the world, and we touched on that during the inauguration speech in Washington about a month ago.
And the other question went to a topic that he revealed the other day in Europe also about how Europe and the United States looks differently at the events of September 11th, saying at times we talk past each other, I plead guilty on that at times, the words from the president.
With Mainz, Germany today, with the German chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder. Tomorrow, it's on to Bratislava and Slovakia, where he'll meet with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, as the European tour continues overseas.
Here's Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Back in this country, prosecutors in the Tyco trial get tough. They're going after babies in the courtroom. Andy's going to explain. He's "Minding Your Business," up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Andy Serwer's minding our business. He has updates on the trials of two big corporate mutants that we seriously hope wind up in prison for a long time, Bernie Ebbers and Kozlowski.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Big corporate mutants, huh?
CAFFERTY: I believe that captures it.
SERWER: BCMs.
CAFFERTY: A couple of thieving weasels.
SERWER: Let's talk about the market, though, first of all, Jack. Yesterday, a big downer. Higher oil prices, lower dollar, dragged the indexes down. 20 months, the market hasn't been down this much in 20 months. May 2003. Futures up a little bit this morning, so maybe we'll get a bit of recovery.
You know, we have a lot of job hazards here, Jack, at AMERICAN MORNING. One thing we don't have to worry about, at least not so far, is planted babies. Planted babies. This is...
CAFFERTY: Well, Soledad.
SERWER: Well, she hasn't brought them up here yet.
CAFFERTY: The trial of Dennis Kozlowski, the former CEO of Tyco, and his chief financial officer, Mark Swartz, yesterday took a strange turn. And there have been a lot of strange turns in this case. Prosecutors accused the defendants of interacting with babies outside the courtroom to curry favor with the jurors.
HEMMER: Say it ain't so.
SERWER: Yes. There were babies outside the courtroom and big Dennis was going goochy goochy goochy goo as the jurors were filing by, suggesting the babies were planted.
CAFFERTY: Either that or he was seeking someone on his same intellectual level.
SERWER: There's all kinds of stuff going on. I just thought that was really truly amazing.
Now let's go over to the WorldCom trial. Bernie Ebbers over there. Prosecutors trying to paint Big Bernie as a potty-mouthed bully. Can you imagine? A potty-mouthed bully. This guy, they said, dropped the F-bomb constantly and was bullying employees, saying how they were doing a terrible job. And then comes the worst part of it all. He called Scott Sullivan behind his back -- that's the chief financial officer, remember he's been testifying a lot. He called him short. He said he was short. I resent that remark. I resemble that remark.
CAFFERTY: You would.
SERWER: Short people have higher I.Q.s. Napoleon was short.
HEMMER: Fact.
SERWER: They're tooken (sic) the world.
HEMMER: Fact.
CAFFERTY: What did you say about I.Q.s? Tooken over the world?
SERWER: Yes. They did. We're gonna tooken over the world here. You tall people are just going to have to sit back and watch.
CAFFERTY: Is that it?
SERWER: That's it. I'm going to sit here and grow a few more inches.
CAFFERTY: I'm tooken over this he program now and doing "The File."
Wednesday. Time for "Things People Say," starting with this.
"I was a bouncer for nine years. It was all I knew how to do. And my training was to not talk loosely. That's still my thought process. Shut your mouth, watch your back and keep working till your ass falls off." That's Vin Diesel, who's one of Soledad's very favorite people in the world.
O'BRIEN: Yes, he is.
CAFFERTY: Yes, he is. Talking about his work ethic. He was also one of the ones who was outed in that -- in Paris Hilton's little black book that got on the Internet.
SERWER: Oh, everybody. Yes, they were calling me.
CAFFERTY: Yes. Here's another one. "Don't thank God. God's busy working on the tsunami. So leave him alone." Chris Rock, giving advice on Oscar night acceptance speeches.
SERWER: Here, here.
CAFFERTY: And he is so right on.
This one. "The English take the breeding of their horses and dogs more seriously than they do their children." British Princess Michael of Kent in an interview with a German newspaper. No further comment necessary.
"I think facelifts make people either look like burn victims or female impersonators." This is from actress Susan Sarandon, who's 58 years old, making her views on cosmetic surgery known.
SERWER: Is she gorgeous, Jack?
CAFFERTY: The producer wrote all that stuff about she's gorgeous.
O'BRIEN: She is gorgeous.
SERWER: Well, I didn't think Jack was going to say that.
CAFFERTY: I didn't say it. I skipped over that part. Those were the -- those words were planted there, like the babies at the Kozlowski trial, by my producer.
And finally this: "Do not resuscitate." Keeping with our theme of the morning. The words an Australian doctor, Albert Cutter, had tattooed on his chest for his 80th birthday, just in case it ever comes to that.
SERWER: Wow.
O'BRIEN: That's kind of a gloom and doom 80th.
CAFFERTY: Like to finish on a high note.
O'BRIEN: Apparently, yes.
SERWER: That's the theme of the day.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
Well, a San Diego couple learned something about their new house the hard way. Sara and Raphael Lopez's (ph) dog fell into a 40 foot well on Monday. He was stuck there for five hours until rescuers climbed down and pulled him out. They just moved in, they didn't even know they had a well.
HEMMER: Time to sell.
O'BRIEN: Now they know.
SERWER: Lawsuit.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: Check that contract.
O'BRIEN: Oh, look, he's fine now.
SERWER: Maybe there were some biscuits down there.
HEMMER: We'll get to top stories in a moment here as we continue on AMERICAN MORNING. Also Southern California getting drenched by the worst stretch of rain in more than 100 years. How much longer until that area dries out? We'll check it out, top of the hour here, when we continue in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Hills and homes crumbling away in Southern California. Another pounding rain storm hitting at this hour.
And the president's diplomatic challenge of finding common ground with Germany. Did he do it today with a warning to Iran?
And Barry Bonds...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARRY BONDS, BASEBALL PLAYER: I don't know if cheating is going to -- steroids is going to help you in baseball.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Bonds now in a slug fest with the media and trying to put steroids behind him. His own preemptive strike on this AMERICAN MORNING.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 23, 2005 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. 8:30 in New York. We've got ourselves a beautiful day, a beautiful morning anyway.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Certainly is. Yesterday, too.
HEMMER: My gosh, felt like spring here, didn't it?
In a moment, the president emphasizing common ground with one of his toughest critics in Europe today. We'll look at his meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Former State Department spokesperson Jamie Rubin with us talking about whether these two leaders can reach any meaningful agreements. And we'll get to that with Jamie in a moment here.
O'BRIEN: Also, a plan to talk about this morning that would basically put air-traffic control towers to bed at midnight in some of the country's smaller airports. It's very controversial for the obvious safety reasons. A report on that's ahead.
HEMMER: Also, check of the headlines here. Heidi Collins back at the desk with her new coffee mug.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I don't have it now this time. You guys have them. I hope I still own it.
O'BRIEN: How are you doing? Good morning.
COLLINS: I'm doing great, thank you.
Now in the news this morning, word this morning the mayor of Los Angeles is urging President Bush to declare a federal disaster for the city. More than eight inches of rain have fallen in the Los Angeles area since Thursday. The storms being blamed for at least nine deaths. Floods, mudslides and sinkholes, as you can see, in the video. Early estimates point to some $10 million worth of damages.
In Santa Maria, California, proceedings set to pick up again today in the Michael Jackson trial. But at the current pace. a jury could be seated soon. Twenty potential jurors were dismissed yesterday, whittling the number down to 221. The process has been delayed twice by a death in the family of Jackson's attorney and the pop star's illness.
And a 14-month-old Afghan boy with a serious heart defect is now heading to the U.S. for a potentially life-saving operation. The U.S. military is flying the baby, his father and a translator to a children's hospital in Indianapolis. Military officials say volunteer surgeons will perform the open-heart surgery. The hospital and a rotary club organization are covering the cost of the procedure. So little to have such an invasive procedure done like that.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Poor kid. Hopefully everything will turn out fine for them.
Thanks, Heidi. Appreciate it.
Well, President Bush continuing his fence mending mission in Germany this morning. Earlier, he spoke at a news conference with the German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. They both said that Iran must not have nuclear arms, but President Bush told reporters that, quote, "diplomacy is just beginning." Former Secretary of State Spokesman Jamie Rubin spoke to me earlier, and I asked him how the president's visit is going over with European leaders.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE RUBIN, FMR. STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: I think the president's trip has been basically good news for Europe and America. There seems to be a new realism on the part of the Bush administration that it's helpful to have European support for American objectives. And frankly, a new realism on the part of the Europeans that, like it or not, they're going to be dealing with George Bush for the next four years.
On Iran, the president is trying to signal that the use of military force is not likely in the near term, while also holding in reserve the possibility that if all these negotiations don't work, if diplomacy doesn't succeed, if even sanctions are imposed and they don't succeed, that that's still possible.
When he says Iran is not Iraq, what he means is that Iraq was subjected to 10 years of international sanctions before ultimately force was used to overthrow Saddam Hussein, while Iran is now only beginning to be subjected to international scrutiny for its violations of its agreements on international nuclear inspections.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk now about Russia, sort of to preview the meeting with President Putin. President Bush has said that Russia needs to renew commitment to democracy. He's also being pushed, frankly, not only the administration is pushing for this, but also some key lawmakers as well, are saying the president needs to be a little harder on Russia. Do you think, in fact, we'll hear that tomorrow?
RUBIN: I think we'll probably hear a little more from President Bush about discussions held in private. And I think one of the problems is that George Bush has given great credence and importance to his personal relationship with Vladimir Putin. From the day several years ago when he said he looked into Putin's soul and that he was a good man, it makes it kind of hard for him to now read him the riot act.
I do think, however, the Bush administration is feeling pressure from members of Congress and others that this is really gone too far with the crackdown on Democratic developments in Russia, with the continuing violence in Chechnya, with the stripping of the assets of a major oil company, the feeling really is that Putin has gone off in the wrong direction. And I think the Bush administration realizes that its policy was off track, and they will try to calibrate it now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Jamie Rubin talking to us.
The president has more public events scheduled today in Germany. You want stay with CNN for continuing coverage of President Bush's European tour -- Bill.
HEMMER: About 25 minutes before the hour. The suspect in the murder of a pregnant woman in Texas and her son is being described as angry and bizarre. Neighbors telling "The Dallas Morning News," that Stephen Barbee would set fire to trees in his own yard, leave the scene and get upset when neighbors called the fire department. Barbee is now in custody in Ft. Worth, and that is where Ed Lavandera picks up the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Late Friday night, Fort Worth investigators say, Stephen Barbee came to Lisa Underwood's home. According to an arrest warrant, the couple that had once been dating started fighting, because, as Barbee told police, he would not leave his wife.
LT. GENE JONES, FORT WORTH POLICE DEPARTMENT: We know that Mr. Barbee and Miss Underwood were at one time romantically involved.
LAVANDERA: The warrant says Barbee is the father of Underwood's unborn child. According to investigators, as the argument escalated, Barbee punched the pregnant woman in the face, and then suffocated her to death. During the scuffle, 7-year-old Jayden walked into the room screaming. Barbee then suffocated and killed the boy.
Investigators say Barbee proceeded to load the bodies into Underwood's SUV and dumped them in a field.
JONES: A makeshift grave has been located in southwest Denton County. We were led to this location by Stephen Barbee after he provided a confession to our investigators.
LAVANDERA: Investigators say Barbee was arrested about 135 miles away in Tyler Tuesday morning. He was secretly taken to the crime scene.
SGT. J.D. THORNTON, FORT WORTH POLICE DEPARTMENT: He was transported back to Fort Worth from Tyler this morning, and before he was booked into the town county jail, he led us to the exact location of the grave.
LAVANDERA: Investigators continued working inside Lisa Underwood's home, using the front driveway to search for fingerprints on doors.
Neighbor James Wilson has known the Underwood family for several years. Their children played together. He's angered by what he calls a senseless murder.
JAMES WILSON, UNDERWOOD NEIGHBOR: If there was ever a time that the justice system needed to work, it'd be now.
LAVANDERA: Lisa Underwood was the co-owner of Boopa's Bagel Deli. Boopa was her son's nickname.
A memorial of flowers and letters grows in front of the store, where Underwood, who was seven months pregnant, was supposed to have enjoyed a baby shower in her honor on Saturday.
(on camera): Stephen Barbee is being held on $2 million bond and is charged with one count of capital murder, which means if he's convicted, he could face the death penalty.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: We are told also police actually stopped Barbee for acting suspiciously on Saturday night. He gave them false information, and then ran away -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: More than three years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the process of identifying remains has been stopped. The New York City medical examiner's office says it has exhausted all DNA technology to make positive identification of the victims. Family members will be notified of the decision. It leaves more than 40 percent of victims' families without remains for burial. The office says that if any new DNA technology emerges, the process can be restarted.
HEMMER: The FAA thinks some airports could do without anyone in the control tower at certain times of the day. It is clearly a cost- cutting plan the agency is now considering. And as expected, it's meeting a fair amount of resistance.
This morning, here's Kathleen Koch on the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maintain at 6,000.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's 4:30 in the morning at Roanoke Virginia Regional Airport. This is just the second flight to land since midnight. The rest of the night, hour after hour, the control tower is quiet. The Federal Aviation Administration says that's a waste of taxpayer dollars.
MARION BLAKEY, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: It doesn't make sense of course to have personnel who are sitting there like Maytag repair men. KOTH: So the FAA is considering closing towers between midnight at and 5:00 a.m. at 48 low-traffic airports in 29 states. Planes could still use the airports between those hours, getting needed weather information and guidance instead from controllers at nearby FAA facilities.
BLAKEY: It simply means that the services going to be handled from some distance away. With all the avionics and technology we have now, that's not a problem.
KOCH: But some in Congress oppose the plan, especially for airports near military bases, like two on the list in Texas.
SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: They do use the runways, and they like having an air-traffic control tower so that if there's something that comes out on the runway or something that's blown out on the runway, they would have someone on the ground that could warn them.
KOCH: Airport managers and controllers insist closing towers in the wee hours of the morning hurts service and safety.
JACQUELINE SCHUCK, ROANOKE REGIONAL AIRPORT: So if somebody gets in trouble at 2:00 in the morning, they'd like to know there are eyes watching them as they try to come in and not somebody a couple hundred miles away.
RUTH MARLIN, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSN.: What could happen is that a plane could crash and nobody's there to help him, that's what could happen.
KOCH (on camera): So far, passenger airlines don't oppose the cuts since few fly into the smaller airports between midnight and 5:00 a.m.
(voice-over): Cargo carriers, though, are hesitant to take on the risk of flying into an airport with an unstaffed tower. The cuts could save the government $5 million a year. The FAA insists it will study each facility before cutting the night shift to make sure safety won't be compromised.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: In addition, the FAA points out that some control towers only operate about 17 hours a day, and there are close to 200 airports that handle commercial traffic that have no control towers at all.
As Kathleen was reporting, President Bush is speaking now in Mainz, Germany with 30 young German leaders. This is a question-and- answer session. We'll listen.
No matter where you're raised no matter your religion, people want to be free. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a good opportunity for me to really listen to what you have to ask and tell me about a lot of things.
I'm interested in economy, the entrepreneurial spirit. I'm interested in attitudes about freedom and peace. I'm interested to know, obviously, what you think about -- answer questions about policies that I've decided.
I obviously know there's a lot of disagreement about some of the decisions I made, and I'm interested in sharing with you why I made the decisions I have made.
I really want to thank you for your time, and I appreciate your willingness to come to speak to two old guys like me and Gerhard.
Isn't that right, Gerhard?
GERHARD SCHROEDER, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY: Older man.
BUSH: Older man.
(LAUGHTER)
But this is a fantastic moment. This is going to be one of the highlights of my trip to Europe. And I can't thank you enough for being here.
Gerhard, you want to say a few things?
OK, we'll start with the questions.
QUESTION: Mr. President, you said in a recent interview with The Washington Times that if people want to get a glimpse of how you think about foreign policy, they should read the "Case for Democracy" by Natan Sharansky.
In this book, as you know, Sharansky suggests the so-called "town square test": Can a person walk into the middle of the town square and express his or her views without fearing arrest or physical harm?
My question for you: Did Sharansky's book have influence on your approach toward Russia?
BUSH: First of all, Sharansky's book confirmed how I was raised and what I believe, and it's essentially this: that deep in everybody's soul -- everybody's soul -- is this deep desire to be free. That's what I believe. No matter where you were raised, no matter your religion, people want to be free.
And that a foreign policy, particularly from a nation that is free, ought to be based upon that thought.
You know, you can't discriminate. Freedom is not a discriminatory thought, at least in the White House; in other words (INAUDIBLE) say, "Certain people should be free but others shouldn't be free." It's a universal thought as far as I'm concerned.
And therefore, our foreign policy is based upon this notion that the world is a better place when people are able to realize that which is embedded in their soul. Because in that book, also, he talks about the idea that free societies are peaceful societies. Democratic societies don't attack each other.
I mean, Europe is a classic example of countries which have embraced values based upon democracy, and it's peaceful.
And, yes, the same principle applies to not only Iraq or Iran or, you know, America or Germany, but also Russia.
And as you know, there's a lot of focus on my meeting with Vladimir Putin tomorrow.
As a matter of fact, Gerhard and I spent a lot of time talking about Russia today. He's got a close relationship with Vladimir on a personal basis. I've got a close relationship with Vladimir on a personal basis.
I expressed some concerns at the European Union yesterday about some of the decisions, such as freedom of the press, that our mutual friend has made. And I look forward to talking to him about his decision-making process.
BUSH: You know, one of the interesting things about being with a chancellor -- or, in Putin's case, a president -- is that we share something: We make decisions. And I like to learn from people how they make decisions.
They say to me, "What's the president like? Give me a job description?" The job description is, decision-maker.
And maybe we can talk a little bit about that later on.
But, yes, it applies to Russia as well.
QUESTION: Concerning Russia, the Iraq crisis has made quite clear to all of us how dependent we are on the oil resources from that region. And for the future, it is certainly necessary for us all to look for strategies to become more independent of these resources.
Does this aspect for you have influence on your relationship to Russia?
BUSH: That's an interesting question.
The foreign policy of our country for years -- I'm stepping back. I'm going to branch out from Russia -- I'll get back to Russia.
You know, for years, there was a sense that we could tolerate tyranny for the sake of energy. And yet beneath the surface of that policy lurked this hatred and feeling of oppression and frustration and hopelessness, which lended itself to an ideology of hatred that ended up manifesting their hatred on America. And let me say something about September the 11th. I think this will help frame the conversation as we go forward.
For some, September the 11th was a passing moment in history. In other words, it was a terrible moment, but it passes. For me and my government and many in the United States, it permanently changed our outlook on the world.
Those two attitudes caused us sometimes to talk past each other. And I plead guilty at times. But as this conversation goes on, I want you to remember that point of view.
As a result of feeling like that my main obligation is now to protect the American people and to confront an ideology of hate, we are no longer -- our primary objective is the spread of freedom.
BUSH: The best way to diversify, at least for my country -- and I don't want to raise a sore subject here -- but diversify away from dependence on foreign sources of energy is for us to take advantage of new technologies and expand safe nuclear power in the United States of America.
To me, that would achieve several objectives: one, it's a renewable source of energy; two, it's a domestic source of energy; and three, it would help us meet our obligations to clean air requirements.
Unfortunately, it's an issue that's hard to get through our Congress. I mean, we are -- there's a lot of people still fearful of nuclear power, and it's a debate I've engaged in, it's a subject I brought up in my State of the Union address, and it's a subject I continue to talk about, because I think it is a way for the United States to be less dependent on foreign sources of energy, which is good for our economy and, frankly, it helps us with foreign policy.
HEMMER: We're listening to the president meeting with 30 young German leaders there in Mainz, Germany. The first question seemed to deal with, or appeared anyway, we missed the beginning of the question, but how the president spelled out what his policy is with regard to spreading freedom across the world, and we touched on that during the inauguration speech in Washington about a month ago.
And the other question went to a topic that he revealed the other day in Europe also about how Europe and the United States looks differently at the events of September 11th, saying at times we talk past each other, I plead guilty on that at times, the words from the president.
With Mainz, Germany today, with the German chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder. Tomorrow, it's on to Bratislava and Slovakia, where he'll meet with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, as the European tour continues overseas.
Here's Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Back in this country, prosecutors in the Tyco trial get tough. They're going after babies in the courtroom. Andy's going to explain. He's "Minding Your Business," up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Andy Serwer's minding our business. He has updates on the trials of two big corporate mutants that we seriously hope wind up in prison for a long time, Bernie Ebbers and Kozlowski.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Big corporate mutants, huh?
CAFFERTY: I believe that captures it.
SERWER: BCMs.
CAFFERTY: A couple of thieving weasels.
SERWER: Let's talk about the market, though, first of all, Jack. Yesterday, a big downer. Higher oil prices, lower dollar, dragged the indexes down. 20 months, the market hasn't been down this much in 20 months. May 2003. Futures up a little bit this morning, so maybe we'll get a bit of recovery.
You know, we have a lot of job hazards here, Jack, at AMERICAN MORNING. One thing we don't have to worry about, at least not so far, is planted babies. Planted babies. This is...
CAFFERTY: Well, Soledad.
SERWER: Well, she hasn't brought them up here yet.
CAFFERTY: The trial of Dennis Kozlowski, the former CEO of Tyco, and his chief financial officer, Mark Swartz, yesterday took a strange turn. And there have been a lot of strange turns in this case. Prosecutors accused the defendants of interacting with babies outside the courtroom to curry favor with the jurors.
HEMMER: Say it ain't so.
SERWER: Yes. There were babies outside the courtroom and big Dennis was going goochy goochy goochy goo as the jurors were filing by, suggesting the babies were planted.
CAFFERTY: Either that or he was seeking someone on his same intellectual level.
SERWER: There's all kinds of stuff going on. I just thought that was really truly amazing.
Now let's go over to the WorldCom trial. Bernie Ebbers over there. Prosecutors trying to paint Big Bernie as a potty-mouthed bully. Can you imagine? A potty-mouthed bully. This guy, they said, dropped the F-bomb constantly and was bullying employees, saying how they were doing a terrible job. And then comes the worst part of it all. He called Scott Sullivan behind his back -- that's the chief financial officer, remember he's been testifying a lot. He called him short. He said he was short. I resent that remark. I resemble that remark.
CAFFERTY: You would.
SERWER: Short people have higher I.Q.s. Napoleon was short.
HEMMER: Fact.
SERWER: They're tooken (sic) the world.
HEMMER: Fact.
CAFFERTY: What did you say about I.Q.s? Tooken over the world?
SERWER: Yes. They did. We're gonna tooken over the world here. You tall people are just going to have to sit back and watch.
CAFFERTY: Is that it?
SERWER: That's it. I'm going to sit here and grow a few more inches.
CAFFERTY: I'm tooken over this he program now and doing "The File."
Wednesday. Time for "Things People Say," starting with this.
"I was a bouncer for nine years. It was all I knew how to do. And my training was to not talk loosely. That's still my thought process. Shut your mouth, watch your back and keep working till your ass falls off." That's Vin Diesel, who's one of Soledad's very favorite people in the world.
O'BRIEN: Yes, he is.
CAFFERTY: Yes, he is. Talking about his work ethic. He was also one of the ones who was outed in that -- in Paris Hilton's little black book that got on the Internet.
SERWER: Oh, everybody. Yes, they were calling me.
CAFFERTY: Yes. Here's another one. "Don't thank God. God's busy working on the tsunami. So leave him alone." Chris Rock, giving advice on Oscar night acceptance speeches.
SERWER: Here, here.
CAFFERTY: And he is so right on.
This one. "The English take the breeding of their horses and dogs more seriously than they do their children." British Princess Michael of Kent in an interview with a German newspaper. No further comment necessary.
"I think facelifts make people either look like burn victims or female impersonators." This is from actress Susan Sarandon, who's 58 years old, making her views on cosmetic surgery known.
SERWER: Is she gorgeous, Jack?
CAFFERTY: The producer wrote all that stuff about she's gorgeous.
O'BRIEN: She is gorgeous.
SERWER: Well, I didn't think Jack was going to say that.
CAFFERTY: I didn't say it. I skipped over that part. Those were the -- those words were planted there, like the babies at the Kozlowski trial, by my producer.
And finally this: "Do not resuscitate." Keeping with our theme of the morning. The words an Australian doctor, Albert Cutter, had tattooed on his chest for his 80th birthday, just in case it ever comes to that.
SERWER: Wow.
O'BRIEN: That's kind of a gloom and doom 80th.
CAFFERTY: Like to finish on a high note.
O'BRIEN: Apparently, yes.
SERWER: That's the theme of the day.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
Well, a San Diego couple learned something about their new house the hard way. Sara and Raphael Lopez's (ph) dog fell into a 40 foot well on Monday. He was stuck there for five hours until rescuers climbed down and pulled him out. They just moved in, they didn't even know they had a well.
HEMMER: Time to sell.
O'BRIEN: Now they know.
SERWER: Lawsuit.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: Check that contract.
O'BRIEN: Oh, look, he's fine now.
SERWER: Maybe there were some biscuits down there.
HEMMER: We'll get to top stories in a moment here as we continue on AMERICAN MORNING. Also Southern California getting drenched by the worst stretch of rain in more than 100 years. How much longer until that area dries out? We'll check it out, top of the hour here, when we continue in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Hills and homes crumbling away in Southern California. Another pounding rain storm hitting at this hour.
And the president's diplomatic challenge of finding common ground with Germany. Did he do it today with a warning to Iran?
And Barry Bonds...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARRY BONDS, BASEBALL PLAYER: I don't know if cheating is going to -- steroids is going to help you in baseball.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Bonds now in a slug fest with the media and trying to put steroids behind him. His own preemptive strike on this AMERICAN MORNING.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
