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How Tough is Saudi Arabia on Terrorism?; Bush and Putin Talk

Aired February 24, 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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: He apparently came down with a fever last night. This hospitalization comes almost two weeks after the pontiff was cleared of complications from an acute respiratory infection.
NBA star Kobe Bryant getting ready to go on the record for the first time as part of his accuser's lawsuit against him. Tomorrow, Bryant will have to answer questions under oath. The criminal case against him collapsed when the woman decided she would not take part in a trial. Bryant's accuser claims he sexually assaulted her and is suing him for unspecified damages. The civil trial could begin as early as this summer.

In Southern California, a break in the weather, giving people a chance to clean up today after a series of heavy storms. Crews are working to clear at least 20 major roads cut off by flood waters and piles of mud. The downpours pummeled Los Angeles with more than nine inches of rain. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed or damaged.

And a horse in Malibu, California, recovering on stable ground this morning. About 20 rescuers pulled and tugged and pulled and tugged some more yesterday to free the horse after it got stuck in a pool of mud. The horse apparently slid down the hill, but is said to be okay after the ordeal there. He was up there just at the very end.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Poor animal. Glad to see he's all right.

COLLINS: Yes, me too.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Heidi. In fact, let's turn and take a look at the weather this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen was in Saudi Arabia this month, back three weeks ago for first -- what is considered the first international conference on terrorism. Peter, good morning to you down there in D.C.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: What can you tell us about how serious the kingdom is on cracking down with this arrest of Abu Ali?

BERGEN: Well, I think it's part of a larger pattern where they have got pretty serious. Since May 2003, you may remember, they were the first major terrorist attack in Riyadh. There have been 22 attacks since then, 52 attacks have been averted. Something like 130 people have been killed. So the Saudi government, which I think had its sort of head in the sand for many years on this problem, has really done a 180 on this one.

They have arrested up to 800 people. They say that they are going to try about 120 of them. They're in a very different posture and you see these security people -- when is I was in Riyadh, security is very intense. You see glass barriers everywhere. It's -- they really feel under siege and they're trying to go after the people responsible.

HEMMER: One thing you noticed there was this public opinion campaign. What did you see in your travels there?

BERGEN: Well, you know, they're very aggressive now. Suddenly when you go to an ATM, it will print out a -- when you get your money, you also get an anti-terrorism message. When you drive down the streets, every street pole has some sort of picture with a terrorist attack. There are PSAs on television showing the people who have been wounded in these attacks.

And there's really an effort to bring public opinion around. Most importantly, they've got the clerics to say that you know, that terrorism is bad. Even condemning the World Trade Center attack, which at the time, they didn't really say much about. So it's really a comprehensive public opinion campaign, which I think is to some degree working.

HEMMER: The point you make about the World Trade Center attacks, prosecutors going back, this Abu Ali case say he quote, "obtained a religious blessing to conduct the assassination of President Bush from a Saudi cleric." Are some clerics stepping up against terrorism, as you referred to?

BERGEN: I mean, yes, definitely. I mean, the Saudi government says that they -- there were 100,000 clerics in the kingdom, that they have basically fired 2,000 of them, retrained some of those guys. Clearly there are still some clerics who are going to be anti-semitic or be anti-American. This is not going to change overnight. But I think the government has really tried to make an effort to get them to condemn terrorism and get them to condemn also acts of terrorism against Westerners.

HEMMER: Well, 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia. Is there any evidence that this campaign is working or is the evidence more indicative of a show of public opinion campaign?

BERGEN: Well, I think that the evidence will be -- that's a, in the next year or so, we've don't see -- I mean, we've had a lot of attacks in the Saudi kingdom. If those attacks start really dissipating, then I think that you'll see the problem is sort of under control. They've certainly damaged the al Qaeda organization in the kingdom pretty heavily, I think.

HEMMER: Peter, thanks. Peter Bergen down there in D.C. Good to chat with you, as always. All right. Here's Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, in just under half an hour, President Bush is scheduled to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Looking at live pictures, in fact, of President Putin, who has arrived in Bratislava. He, of course, is going to sit down and have meetings at Bratislava Castle along with President Bush. Mr. Bush has made it clear, though, that he's going to bring up Russia's apparent retreat from democracy at these meetings. Just how far, though, will he go in criticizing the Russian president and how might the Russian president respond?

Well Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman is in Hartford, Connecticut, this morning. Nice to see you, Senator. Thanks so much for talking with us. Certainly appreciate it.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: Pleasure to be with you again.

O'BRIEN: We're having a little trouble with your audio, I'm going to ask them to bump it up so I can hear you a little bit better while I start asking...

LIEBERMAN: (inaudible) with my audio.

O'BRIEN: Now I have it. There we go. Much better. Fantastic.

You have been pushing to have the Russians ditched from the Group Eight -- or at least suspended -- if in fact you haven't seen some move back toward democracy.

President Bush though, seems to be ignoring those calls from you and Senator McCain, as well.

What's your response to that?

LIEBERMAN: Well, this resolution that John McCain and I have introduced is really meant to back up President Bush's statement in his inaugural and the State of the Union that American foreign policy has to be based on democracy, rule of law, economic liberalization.

And as he sits down with President Putin, we wanted him to have in his hand a bipartisan resolution.

John McCain and I, Democrats like Evan Bayh and Dick Durbin, Republicans like Saxby Chambliss, Conrad Burns, we're saying to our friends in Russia, we want to be your friends but don't expect us to close our eyes to the things you're doing that are un-democratic -- putting dissidents in jail, taking over media outlets, taking over large parts of the economy.

The G-7 allowed Russia in in 1998 under former President Yeltsin on the promise that they would continue the move toward democracy and rule of law and economic free markets. They haven't done that. And I think it's time for us to talk directly to them and say there are consequences for that kind of behavior.

O'BRIEN: As you well know, there are private meetings which will then be followed by public meetings.

What do you want to hear in the public remarks from President Bush?

LIEBERMAN: Well, first off, I not only agree with President Bush's formulation of democracy and human rights as the center of our foreign policy, but I appreciate that he's been very direct at now applying that to Russia.

It doesn't mean to break our relations. We want to continue to have good relations. But I appreciate that the president has stated his intention to talk directly to Vladimir Putin about his disappointment about some of the anti-democratic moves that Putin has taken. And I'd like him to speak openly not only directly to Putin, but after they come out together.

Again, not to break relations -- we don't want to go back to the Cold War -- but good relations depend on honesty, and honesty requires the president and members of Congress, like John McCain and me and our colleagues, to say to the Russians, don't expect to be in the club of democracies, the G-8 if you're not really a democracy.

O'BRIEN: Is there a risk of, if not going back to the Cold War, moving back in the direction of Cold War relations?

When you consider the degree to which the United States needs Russia, frankly, the degree to which we're signing -- the United States and Russia -- are signing the security agreement, the United States would like to have access to Russian oil, et cetera, et cetera -- the list goes on -- don't you run the risk of fragmenting this important relationship with blunt straight talk?

LIEBERMAN: It's a very important question, Soledad. And I'd say the greatest risk of going back toward a Cold War or something like it with Russia is if we close our eyes and turn away from the reality of what's happened in the last couple of years in Russia, which is the suppression of human rights, the control by the government of a free media.

The Russian people have shown in every poll that they want to be free. They want to have a pro-Western government. And I think that if we turn away from it, that's the greatest danger.

Look, we all believe that democracies don't make war. And the danger of a real Cold War or something worse is if Russia becomes anti-democratic. That's the purpose of our resolution.

I'm very glad that while the president is talking turkey about democracy to Vladimir Putin, at the same time, they're going to sign, apparently, a very important agreement about control of nuclear materials that Russia has not controlled very well, that may well fall into the hands of terrorists.

So we could do both. We can be direct about our disappointments with them but we can work together to protect the world from dangers like nuclear terrorism. And that's the way it ought to be. O'BRIEN: Senator Joe Lieberman watching what is happening in Bratislava today as everyone else will be, as well.

Thanks. Appreciate it.

LIEBERMAN: Thanks, Soledad. Have a good day.

O'BRIEN: Thanks. Likewise.

HEMMER: Let me get Back to the story we talked about earlier. Scientists say they found a toxic ingredient for rocket fuel in breast milk. We'll page Sanjay about what mothers need to know about that.

O'BRIEN: Also, Jamie Foxx is favored to win an Academy Award for "Ray." He's also just one of the reasons for the unprecedented diversity at this year's Oscars. We'll explain just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: A new study has found that a toxic component of rocket fuel has been found in women's breast milk. Researchers say the levels of the component perchlorate were five times greater than in dairy milk. So what does this mean for nursing moms?

We're paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta for more on this research. He's at the CNN Center this morning.

Good morning to you, Sanjay. This is scary stuff, I think.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, really concerning certainly, Soledad. We've been working the story for some time. What exactly is perchlorate, and how much is too much?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice-over): rockets are probably the last thing that come to mind when you think of breast feeding. But new research finds that perchlorate, a toxic part of rocket fuel, is found in breast milk at potentially damaging levels. Turns out people are exposed through runoff water in irrigation of crops. Perchlorate can make it into tap water and growing fruit and vegetables irrigated by contaminated water.

Now a new study by researchers at Texas Tech University looked at 36 women in 18 states. Levels five to eight times higher than those considered safe by the EPA were found in those mothers' breast milk. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently reviewing the paper.

RICHARD WILES, ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP: It's without question that the majority of infants will exceed what EPA considers a safe dose.

GUPTA: Nursing mothers eat perchlorate contaminated foods and pass it through breast milk to their nursing children. Higher levels can affect the thyroid gland and negatively impact brain development. WILES: What you need is a high exposure for a relatively short period of time that can affect brain development and produce I.Q. deficits and in worst cases, even mental retardation.

GUPTA: That's a serious price for nursing babies and their mothers, and it's spurring strong reaction.

SANDRA STEINGRABER, MOTHER & BIOLOGIST: I think that most women see their relationship between their nursing infant and themselves as a one of a kind of sacred communion.

GUPTA: At home there is no real way to control perchlorate levels. You can't wash it off your produce. You can't filter is out of your water with traditional systems, and there are no commercial tests. For now, women like Steingraber are still focusing on the bigger picture.

STEINGRABER: In my mind the answer to this is not to take babies back to formula, which is an inferior food for babies, but rather to get the chemicals out of the environment in the first place and out of women's breasts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: Obviously, lots of strong reactions there, Soledad. Everyone saying, all the experts we talked to, saying breast milk still the best way to nourish your child, although the EPA has to try and clean it this up -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: No question. All right, Sanjay, thanks, appreciate it -- Bill.

HEMMER: In a moment, Soledad, the automaker under fire for its campaign against drunken driving. Andy explains in a moment here, "Minding Your Business," back after this, live in New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: One of the leading carmakers backing the fight against drunk driving, which you wouldn't think would upset anyone. Well, you'd be wrong. It does. With that and a check on Wall Street, Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business." Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning.

Let's talk about yesterday a little bit first. The markets were doing OK. Dow in particular was up -- you can see here, up 62 points. Nasdaq barely budged. Still a couple tech stocks in focus were moving. Apple Computer, we talked about the slick new iPods. That stock was up about 3.4 percent. And TiVo up nearly 18 percent. It's the takeover candidate. And that is the perils of being a stand-alone product tech company. Stock used to be a high flyer, but now people are wondering, well, everyone else is going to get in the game and someone may be buying it, maybe Apple.

This morning, Jack, jobless claims up, durable goods down. That's both bad P.C. news.

CAFFERTY: That's not good news.

SERWER: No. So futures are down. Now in business, like life, it's wise to pick your battles. And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the liquor lobby is not doing a very good job of picking a battle here. The liquor lobby -- and it's a group called the American Beverage Licenses, it's 12,000 bars, taverns, 5,000 liquor stores across the country -- has a new campaign called "MADD at G.M."

They're upset General Motors has been supporting Mothers Against Drunk Driving. And they have a new campaign. There's the Web site right there, saying that -- look at this. They're saying basically because G.M. is supporting MADD, they're going against social drinkers and they're saying that people who work at bars and taverns should maybe think twice about buying G.M. cars.

CAFFERTY: That's just -- they are so far out of line and so dead wrong. You're absolutely right. I mean, booze kills more people in this country every year, directly and indirectly, than probably anything else in this society.

SERWER: I mean, next thing you know, they're going to go against baseball, you know, because they're limiting the number of drinks you can have at games. Baseball is un-American, so says the liquor lobby.

CAFFERTY: And where do the drunk drivers come from? Well, they leave the bars, usually, and they get in their cars and go out and kill somebody. That's where the drunk drivers usually spent the hours getting drunk. Or they go to the liquor store. I mean, it's just nonsense, you know.

SERWER: Well, here we are telling people it's nonsense, so I hope they wise up.

CAFFERTY: Go out and buy a Chevy today.

SERWER: Yes. I agree.

CAFFERTY: All right, time for "The File." Doug Wead, who released those secretly recorded phone calls with President Bush before he was president, now says he's sorry. Might be because the book sales didn't improve very much. He was on this program Monday morning, defending his decision to release these private conversations with his then friend George Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG WEAD, AUTHOR, "THE RAISING OF A PRESIDENT": My publicist said I lost $1 million by delaying the book after the election, where it would have been driven by partisan interests. But I hope it sells. I'm a historian, and he's president and he has to lead, he has to set an example. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CAFFERTY: Yesterday, Wead apologized for the tapes and now he wants to return them to President Bush. In the statement posted on his Web site, Wead said, "I know very well that personal relationships are more important than history."

O'BRIEN: Now.

CAFFERTY: Wonder what -- I'm not going to say that. He might be dead, but he's not finished yet. Gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson's last wish was to have his ashes shot out of a cannon. And his wife and son are working on it.

SERWER: Yee-haw.

CAFFERTY: Owner of a Colorado fireworks company says it's not uncommon for families to scatter the ashes of loved ones across the sky using fireworks. Williams would blast Thompson's ashes from a 12- inch diameter mortar, 800 feet in the sky, and then a second explosion would scatter his remains in a 600-foot-wide blossom of color. Now, that's an exit.

Bad news for teenagers, good news for parents who pay for their car insurance. The Teen on Board computer system is a device that plugs into a vehicle's dashboard and monitors how far and how fast young people are going. The black box emits a loud warning alert when a person is driving at high speeds, performing G-force maneuvers or doesn't have his seat belt buckled. All unsafe driving is recorded in a scoring report that you can download to your home computer.

O'BRIEN: Wow.

CAFFERTY: Got you. With a price tag of 280 bucks, it's cheap. Think of all the money you'll save on speeding tickets, lawyers, court costs, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. That's a great idea.

SERWER: Forget about Big Brother. We'll call that Big Mother.

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: Good thing we're not 16 again, huh? Be on that sucker for sure.

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: That's a good idea, though.

O'BRIEN: It's a great idea. I fully support that.

SERWER: The parents in the group. Well, I agree.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack. Good file. I like that. OK, let's take you back to Bratislava Castle this morning. You're looking at some live pictures. There you go. Awaiting the arrival of Russian president Vladimir Putin, also American president George Bush. They'll be meeting today, private meetings first, and then they'll have a news conference where they will take questions from the media. We're expecting that a little bit later, 11:30 a.m., actually, Eastern time here. We'll bring that to you live on CNN when it happens. Stay with us. A short break now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: A developing story out of Rome. Pope John Paul II suffers a relapse of the flu. He's rushed back to the hospital this morning.

High stakes in Slovakia. President Bush and Russian president Vladimir Putin beginning a very important meeting this hour.

Only five days needed to pick the Michael Jackson jury. Now the choosing of the alternates getting ready for trial on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.

HEMMER: Good morning, everybody. 9:00 here in New York. And now you're looking live at a picture of President Bush, the first lady. And Mrs. Putin and Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, now meeting in the Slovak capital of Bratislava. The two men will then go into meetings for about a period of about two hours, it appears, and then a joint press conference after that, said to hit about 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. This is also considered by many observers to be the critical meeting of this entire five-day tour in Europe.

The president has expressed his concerns about some of the anti- Democratic measures being taken by Vladimir Putin when it comes to freedom of the press in Russia, and also some anti-business measures, as well. That will be on the agenda today. But also, with the disagreements, we expect to have some agreement. Some agreement on nuclear testing and some agreements also on finding a way to keep secure the nuclear plans throughout the country of Russia, again a sore spot right now in the current war on terror.

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 24, 2005 - 08:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: He apparently came down with a fever last night. This hospitalization comes almost two weeks after the pontiff was cleared of complications from an acute respiratory infection.
NBA star Kobe Bryant getting ready to go on the record for the first time as part of his accuser's lawsuit against him. Tomorrow, Bryant will have to answer questions under oath. The criminal case against him collapsed when the woman decided she would not take part in a trial. Bryant's accuser claims he sexually assaulted her and is suing him for unspecified damages. The civil trial could begin as early as this summer.

In Southern California, a break in the weather, giving people a chance to clean up today after a series of heavy storms. Crews are working to clear at least 20 major roads cut off by flood waters and piles of mud. The downpours pummeled Los Angeles with more than nine inches of rain. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed or damaged.

And a horse in Malibu, California, recovering on stable ground this morning. About 20 rescuers pulled and tugged and pulled and tugged some more yesterday to free the horse after it got stuck in a pool of mud. The horse apparently slid down the hill, but is said to be okay after the ordeal there. He was up there just at the very end.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Poor animal. Glad to see he's all right.

COLLINS: Yes, me too.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Heidi. In fact, let's turn and take a look at the weather this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen was in Saudi Arabia this month, back three weeks ago for first -- what is considered the first international conference on terrorism. Peter, good morning to you down there in D.C.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: What can you tell us about how serious the kingdom is on cracking down with this arrest of Abu Ali?

BERGEN: Well, I think it's part of a larger pattern where they have got pretty serious. Since May 2003, you may remember, they were the first major terrorist attack in Riyadh. There have been 22 attacks since then, 52 attacks have been averted. Something like 130 people have been killed. So the Saudi government, which I think had its sort of head in the sand for many years on this problem, has really done a 180 on this one.

They have arrested up to 800 people. They say that they are going to try about 120 of them. They're in a very different posture and you see these security people -- when is I was in Riyadh, security is very intense. You see glass barriers everywhere. It's -- they really feel under siege and they're trying to go after the people responsible.

HEMMER: One thing you noticed there was this public opinion campaign. What did you see in your travels there?

BERGEN: Well, you know, they're very aggressive now. Suddenly when you go to an ATM, it will print out a -- when you get your money, you also get an anti-terrorism message. When you drive down the streets, every street pole has some sort of picture with a terrorist attack. There are PSAs on television showing the people who have been wounded in these attacks.

And there's really an effort to bring public opinion around. Most importantly, they've got the clerics to say that you know, that terrorism is bad. Even condemning the World Trade Center attack, which at the time, they didn't really say much about. So it's really a comprehensive public opinion campaign, which I think is to some degree working.

HEMMER: The point you make about the World Trade Center attacks, prosecutors going back, this Abu Ali case say he quote, "obtained a religious blessing to conduct the assassination of President Bush from a Saudi cleric." Are some clerics stepping up against terrorism, as you referred to?

BERGEN: I mean, yes, definitely. I mean, the Saudi government says that they -- there were 100,000 clerics in the kingdom, that they have basically fired 2,000 of them, retrained some of those guys. Clearly there are still some clerics who are going to be anti-semitic or be anti-American. This is not going to change overnight. But I think the government has really tried to make an effort to get them to condemn terrorism and get them to condemn also acts of terrorism against Westerners.

HEMMER: Well, 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia. Is there any evidence that this campaign is working or is the evidence more indicative of a show of public opinion campaign?

BERGEN: Well, I think that the evidence will be -- that's a, in the next year or so, we've don't see -- I mean, we've had a lot of attacks in the Saudi kingdom. If those attacks start really dissipating, then I think that you'll see the problem is sort of under control. They've certainly damaged the al Qaeda organization in the kingdom pretty heavily, I think.

HEMMER: Peter, thanks. Peter Bergen down there in D.C. Good to chat with you, as always. All right. Here's Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, in just under half an hour, President Bush is scheduled to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Looking at live pictures, in fact, of President Putin, who has arrived in Bratislava. He, of course, is going to sit down and have meetings at Bratislava Castle along with President Bush. Mr. Bush has made it clear, though, that he's going to bring up Russia's apparent retreat from democracy at these meetings. Just how far, though, will he go in criticizing the Russian president and how might the Russian president respond?

Well Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman is in Hartford, Connecticut, this morning. Nice to see you, Senator. Thanks so much for talking with us. Certainly appreciate it.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: Pleasure to be with you again.

O'BRIEN: We're having a little trouble with your audio, I'm going to ask them to bump it up so I can hear you a little bit better while I start asking...

LIEBERMAN: (inaudible) with my audio.

O'BRIEN: Now I have it. There we go. Much better. Fantastic.

You have been pushing to have the Russians ditched from the Group Eight -- or at least suspended -- if in fact you haven't seen some move back toward democracy.

President Bush though, seems to be ignoring those calls from you and Senator McCain, as well.

What's your response to that?

LIEBERMAN: Well, this resolution that John McCain and I have introduced is really meant to back up President Bush's statement in his inaugural and the State of the Union that American foreign policy has to be based on democracy, rule of law, economic liberalization.

And as he sits down with President Putin, we wanted him to have in his hand a bipartisan resolution.

John McCain and I, Democrats like Evan Bayh and Dick Durbin, Republicans like Saxby Chambliss, Conrad Burns, we're saying to our friends in Russia, we want to be your friends but don't expect us to close our eyes to the things you're doing that are un-democratic -- putting dissidents in jail, taking over media outlets, taking over large parts of the economy.

The G-7 allowed Russia in in 1998 under former President Yeltsin on the promise that they would continue the move toward democracy and rule of law and economic free markets. They haven't done that. And I think it's time for us to talk directly to them and say there are consequences for that kind of behavior.

O'BRIEN: As you well know, there are private meetings which will then be followed by public meetings.

What do you want to hear in the public remarks from President Bush?

LIEBERMAN: Well, first off, I not only agree with President Bush's formulation of democracy and human rights as the center of our foreign policy, but I appreciate that he's been very direct at now applying that to Russia.

It doesn't mean to break our relations. We want to continue to have good relations. But I appreciate that the president has stated his intention to talk directly to Vladimir Putin about his disappointment about some of the anti-democratic moves that Putin has taken. And I'd like him to speak openly not only directly to Putin, but after they come out together.

Again, not to break relations -- we don't want to go back to the Cold War -- but good relations depend on honesty, and honesty requires the president and members of Congress, like John McCain and me and our colleagues, to say to the Russians, don't expect to be in the club of democracies, the G-8 if you're not really a democracy.

O'BRIEN: Is there a risk of, if not going back to the Cold War, moving back in the direction of Cold War relations?

When you consider the degree to which the United States needs Russia, frankly, the degree to which we're signing -- the United States and Russia -- are signing the security agreement, the United States would like to have access to Russian oil, et cetera, et cetera -- the list goes on -- don't you run the risk of fragmenting this important relationship with blunt straight talk?

LIEBERMAN: It's a very important question, Soledad. And I'd say the greatest risk of going back toward a Cold War or something like it with Russia is if we close our eyes and turn away from the reality of what's happened in the last couple of years in Russia, which is the suppression of human rights, the control by the government of a free media.

The Russian people have shown in every poll that they want to be free. They want to have a pro-Western government. And I think that if we turn away from it, that's the greatest danger.

Look, we all believe that democracies don't make war. And the danger of a real Cold War or something worse is if Russia becomes anti-democratic. That's the purpose of our resolution.

I'm very glad that while the president is talking turkey about democracy to Vladimir Putin, at the same time, they're going to sign, apparently, a very important agreement about control of nuclear materials that Russia has not controlled very well, that may well fall into the hands of terrorists.

So we could do both. We can be direct about our disappointments with them but we can work together to protect the world from dangers like nuclear terrorism. And that's the way it ought to be. O'BRIEN: Senator Joe Lieberman watching what is happening in Bratislava today as everyone else will be, as well.

Thanks. Appreciate it.

LIEBERMAN: Thanks, Soledad. Have a good day.

O'BRIEN: Thanks. Likewise.

HEMMER: Let me get Back to the story we talked about earlier. Scientists say they found a toxic ingredient for rocket fuel in breast milk. We'll page Sanjay about what mothers need to know about that.

O'BRIEN: Also, Jamie Foxx is favored to win an Academy Award for "Ray." He's also just one of the reasons for the unprecedented diversity at this year's Oscars. We'll explain just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: A new study has found that a toxic component of rocket fuel has been found in women's breast milk. Researchers say the levels of the component perchlorate were five times greater than in dairy milk. So what does this mean for nursing moms?

We're paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta for more on this research. He's at the CNN Center this morning.

Good morning to you, Sanjay. This is scary stuff, I think.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, really concerning certainly, Soledad. We've been working the story for some time. What exactly is perchlorate, and how much is too much?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice-over): rockets are probably the last thing that come to mind when you think of breast feeding. But new research finds that perchlorate, a toxic part of rocket fuel, is found in breast milk at potentially damaging levels. Turns out people are exposed through runoff water in irrigation of crops. Perchlorate can make it into tap water and growing fruit and vegetables irrigated by contaminated water.

Now a new study by researchers at Texas Tech University looked at 36 women in 18 states. Levels five to eight times higher than those considered safe by the EPA were found in those mothers' breast milk. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently reviewing the paper.

RICHARD WILES, ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP: It's without question that the majority of infants will exceed what EPA considers a safe dose.

GUPTA: Nursing mothers eat perchlorate contaminated foods and pass it through breast milk to their nursing children. Higher levels can affect the thyroid gland and negatively impact brain development. WILES: What you need is a high exposure for a relatively short period of time that can affect brain development and produce I.Q. deficits and in worst cases, even mental retardation.

GUPTA: That's a serious price for nursing babies and their mothers, and it's spurring strong reaction.

SANDRA STEINGRABER, MOTHER & BIOLOGIST: I think that most women see their relationship between their nursing infant and themselves as a one of a kind of sacred communion.

GUPTA: At home there is no real way to control perchlorate levels. You can't wash it off your produce. You can't filter is out of your water with traditional systems, and there are no commercial tests. For now, women like Steingraber are still focusing on the bigger picture.

STEINGRABER: In my mind the answer to this is not to take babies back to formula, which is an inferior food for babies, but rather to get the chemicals out of the environment in the first place and out of women's breasts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: Obviously, lots of strong reactions there, Soledad. Everyone saying, all the experts we talked to, saying breast milk still the best way to nourish your child, although the EPA has to try and clean it this up -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: No question. All right, Sanjay, thanks, appreciate it -- Bill.

HEMMER: In a moment, Soledad, the automaker under fire for its campaign against drunken driving. Andy explains in a moment here, "Minding Your Business," back after this, live in New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: One of the leading carmakers backing the fight against drunk driving, which you wouldn't think would upset anyone. Well, you'd be wrong. It does. With that and a check on Wall Street, Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business." Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning.

Let's talk about yesterday a little bit first. The markets were doing OK. Dow in particular was up -- you can see here, up 62 points. Nasdaq barely budged. Still a couple tech stocks in focus were moving. Apple Computer, we talked about the slick new iPods. That stock was up about 3.4 percent. And TiVo up nearly 18 percent. It's the takeover candidate. And that is the perils of being a stand-alone product tech company. Stock used to be a high flyer, but now people are wondering, well, everyone else is going to get in the game and someone may be buying it, maybe Apple.

This morning, Jack, jobless claims up, durable goods down. That's both bad P.C. news.

CAFFERTY: That's not good news.

SERWER: No. So futures are down. Now in business, like life, it's wise to pick your battles. And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the liquor lobby is not doing a very good job of picking a battle here. The liquor lobby -- and it's a group called the American Beverage Licenses, it's 12,000 bars, taverns, 5,000 liquor stores across the country -- has a new campaign called "MADD at G.M."

They're upset General Motors has been supporting Mothers Against Drunk Driving. And they have a new campaign. There's the Web site right there, saying that -- look at this. They're saying basically because G.M. is supporting MADD, they're going against social drinkers and they're saying that people who work at bars and taverns should maybe think twice about buying G.M. cars.

CAFFERTY: That's just -- they are so far out of line and so dead wrong. You're absolutely right. I mean, booze kills more people in this country every year, directly and indirectly, than probably anything else in this society.

SERWER: I mean, next thing you know, they're going to go against baseball, you know, because they're limiting the number of drinks you can have at games. Baseball is un-American, so says the liquor lobby.

CAFFERTY: And where do the drunk drivers come from? Well, they leave the bars, usually, and they get in their cars and go out and kill somebody. That's where the drunk drivers usually spent the hours getting drunk. Or they go to the liquor store. I mean, it's just nonsense, you know.

SERWER: Well, here we are telling people it's nonsense, so I hope they wise up.

CAFFERTY: Go out and buy a Chevy today.

SERWER: Yes. I agree.

CAFFERTY: All right, time for "The File." Doug Wead, who released those secretly recorded phone calls with President Bush before he was president, now says he's sorry. Might be because the book sales didn't improve very much. He was on this program Monday morning, defending his decision to release these private conversations with his then friend George Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG WEAD, AUTHOR, "THE RAISING OF A PRESIDENT": My publicist said I lost $1 million by delaying the book after the election, where it would have been driven by partisan interests. But I hope it sells. I'm a historian, and he's president and he has to lead, he has to set an example. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CAFFERTY: Yesterday, Wead apologized for the tapes and now he wants to return them to President Bush. In the statement posted on his Web site, Wead said, "I know very well that personal relationships are more important than history."

O'BRIEN: Now.

CAFFERTY: Wonder what -- I'm not going to say that. He might be dead, but he's not finished yet. Gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson's last wish was to have his ashes shot out of a cannon. And his wife and son are working on it.

SERWER: Yee-haw.

CAFFERTY: Owner of a Colorado fireworks company says it's not uncommon for families to scatter the ashes of loved ones across the sky using fireworks. Williams would blast Thompson's ashes from a 12- inch diameter mortar, 800 feet in the sky, and then a second explosion would scatter his remains in a 600-foot-wide blossom of color. Now, that's an exit.

Bad news for teenagers, good news for parents who pay for their car insurance. The Teen on Board computer system is a device that plugs into a vehicle's dashboard and monitors how far and how fast young people are going. The black box emits a loud warning alert when a person is driving at high speeds, performing G-force maneuvers or doesn't have his seat belt buckled. All unsafe driving is recorded in a scoring report that you can download to your home computer.

O'BRIEN: Wow.

CAFFERTY: Got you. With a price tag of 280 bucks, it's cheap. Think of all the money you'll save on speeding tickets, lawyers, court costs, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. That's a great idea.

SERWER: Forget about Big Brother. We'll call that Big Mother.

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: Good thing we're not 16 again, huh? Be on that sucker for sure.

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: That's a good idea, though.

O'BRIEN: It's a great idea. I fully support that.

SERWER: The parents in the group. Well, I agree.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack. Good file. I like that. OK, let's take you back to Bratislava Castle this morning. You're looking at some live pictures. There you go. Awaiting the arrival of Russian president Vladimir Putin, also American president George Bush. They'll be meeting today, private meetings first, and then they'll have a news conference where they will take questions from the media. We're expecting that a little bit later, 11:30 a.m., actually, Eastern time here. We'll bring that to you live on CNN when it happens. Stay with us. A short break now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: A developing story out of Rome. Pope John Paul II suffers a relapse of the flu. He's rushed back to the hospital this morning.

High stakes in Slovakia. President Bush and Russian president Vladimir Putin beginning a very important meeting this hour.

Only five days needed to pick the Michael Jackson jury. Now the choosing of the alternates getting ready for trial on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.

HEMMER: Good morning, everybody. 9:00 here in New York. And now you're looking live at a picture of President Bush, the first lady. And Mrs. Putin and Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, now meeting in the Slovak capital of Bratislava. The two men will then go into meetings for about a period of about two hours, it appears, and then a joint press conference after that, said to hit about 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. This is also considered by many observers to be the critical meeting of this entire five-day tour in Europe.

The president has expressed his concerns about some of the anti- Democratic measures being taken by Vladimir Putin when it comes to freedom of the press in Russia, and also some anti-business measures, as well. That will be on the agenda today. But also, with the disagreements, we expect to have some agreement. Some agreement on nuclear testing and some agreements also on finding a way to keep secure the nuclear plans throughout the country of Russia, again a sore spot right now in the current war on terror.

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