Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Terror Threat Down?; Dangerous Deadlock With North Korea
Aired May 02, 2005 - 07:29 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. It's 7:30 here in New York on a Monday morning. Good to have you along with us today.
Some reports say that the number of terrorist threats against America is down. But what about the degree of those threats? And is there a difference? Terrorists may be adapting to the post-9/11 environment, we're told. And we'll talk to a guest about that in a moment here.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, the U.S. and North Korea seem to be playing a dangerous game, each calling the other names while talks to stop building nuclear weapons are seemingly going nowhere. We'll take a look at that this morning as well.
HEMMER: Back to the headlines, though. Carol Costello, first check this morning.
Good morning -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to both of you. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News."
A wave of attacks in Iraq. Four car bombs ripped through separate parts of Baghdad this morning. Firefighters were still putting out the flames from the first blast when a second explosion was heard. A third and fourth attack followed within hours. Police say Iraqi troops were the main targets. At least 11 people were killed in the attacks, dozens more wounded.
In the meantime, Australia's prime minister says his country will not bow to insurgent demands as militants threaten an Australian hostage. Arab television broadcast a video, apparently showing the hostage, Douglas Woods, surrounded by militants. The Australian contractor calls on President Bush and other coalition leaders to withdraw troops from Iraq. Woods has lived in California since 1992.
Private First Class Lynndie England is expected to plead guilty today to lesser charges in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. It's part of a plea agreement that could lessen her prison time from more than 16 years to 11. England is set to appear before a military tribunal at Fort Hood, Texas, later today.
A district attorney in Georgia says he is considering criminal charges against that runaway bride-to-be. Jennifer Wilbanks returned to Atlanta late -- that's her in the towel. She apparently took a bus to Las Vegas and New Mexico, but told police she had been kidnapped. The Duluth city mayor also weighed in on the matter earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR SHIRLEY FANNING-LASSETER, DULUTH, GEORGIA: When we all do wrong, that we must be punished for that in some way. I think that's from a child up to adulthood and senior-hood. But I think for this action, there needs to be some type of reaction, and there needs to be some type of retribution that she should feel to give back to the community for what she has put them through for these many days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I think that means she's in trouble. If charged with reporting a false crime, Wilbanks could spend five years in prison.
And a major pile-up at the Talladega Super Speedway. Take a look at this. It started with a little push by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., at 190 miles per hour these cars are traveling. It turned into 25 cars running into each other on the Alabama NASCAR track, the accident slowing down several drivers, but not Jeff Gordon. He won the Aaron's 499 Nextel cup in overtime.
O'BRIEN: Was everybody OK?
COSTELLO: Everyone was fine.
O'BRIEN: Really?
COSTELLO: There was another crash, too, involving seven cars. Everybody was fine in that crash, too.
HEMMER: All it takes is a little bitty push at that speed, too.
COSTELLO: Because they're so close together.
O'BRIEN: And they're going so fast, yes, 190 mile an hour. Not a good thing. All right, Carol, thanks.
Intelligence sources say terrorist threats against the U.S. are at their lowest since the September 11 attacks. That's according to "The Washington Post." The daily threat assessment on domestic terror is reportedly down 25 percent to 50 percent.
In our "CNN Security Watch," we take a look at whether we're really any safer today.
Clark Kent Ervin is a CNN security analyst, also the former inspector general of homeland security. He is now the director of homeland security initiative at the Aspen Institute.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The first question for you. On Sunday, "The Washington Post" had a report saying that the reports of credible threats against the United States, terror threats, are actually at their lowest levels since September 11. But when you take that into consideration with the report about a week ago, which said that the number of terror attacks actually rose significantly, those two reports completely contradict each other, don't they?
CLARK KENT ERVIN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, they actually don't contradict each other. The one report is about the global incidents of terrorism. That report does show that there's been a dramatic increase, three times more in '04 than '03, and significantly more deaths. The other report is about the chatter, the indications of terrorist activity here in the United States. And according to a wide range of law enforcement and intelligence officials, there appear to be fewer examples of terrorism, planning, surveillance and other kinds of indications of terrorist activity here at home.
That said, it seems to me that now is not the time for complacency. There was a very, very important quotation in that article, where it said that one official said he worried about what's under the radar screen and he also worried about the radar. So, I'm concerned about what we can't detect and also about our ability to detect.
O'BRIEN: So, then when you hear a report that says the amount of chatter is less, is it good news, because it means that, boy, U.S. efforts are really making headway? Or is it bad news, because maybe it just means we're not detecting chatter from the right places?
ERVIN: The fact of the matter that is we really don't know what it means. The only thing we know for sure is that there's less chatter. That could mean, as you suggest, that there's actually less activity. It could also mean, unfortunately, that we're just not able to detect what's going on.
There's no question now that in retrospect, we learned before September 11 that there was a lot of chatter. There was a lot of activity. And since September 11, the threat level has been raised a number of times when the chatter has been increased and preparedness measures have been increased.
So, it may well be that the terrorists know when that we're on high alert, that's the time we're most prepared, and that they should strike when we're least prepared. So, this actually is worrisome news to me.
O'BRIEN: What about all of the efforts to improve intelligence- sharing among all of the various intelligence communities? Are those making headway? Are you proud of where those stand right now?
ERVIN: Well, the report card is mixed on that. There do appear to be some indications that the intelligence community, the law enforcement community are working better between themselves and among themselves.
On the other hand, just a few weeks ago, the Silverman-Robb Commission, which reported on the intelligence failures with regard to the Iraq war and other recent incidents, show that there continue to be problems, that the Department of Homeland Security, the Central Intelligence Agency, the FBI continue not always to cooperate, that the Department of Homeland Security doesn't always share information itself with other federal partners and with local law enforcement.
So, this process of intelligence-sharing is very much a work-in- progress. There is some progress, but there's not as much progress, it seems to me, as there needs to be. And so, I'd be very concerned if there are, in fact, indications of less terrorist activity. We should not conclude from that that we're under any less threat of terrorist attack. Indeed, it's at the times when there's the most calm that it seems to me we should be most vigilant and concerned.
O'BRIEN: A little scary there. Clark Kent Ervin joining us this morning, former inspector general for homeland security, also a CNN security analyst. Nice to see you sir, as always. Thank you.
ERVIN: Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And you want to stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Bill.
HEMMER: It's about 24 minutes now before the hour, Soledad.
This morning, the U.N. starts a month-long review of a 35-year- old nuclear nonproliferation treaty. And all this is coming now on the heels of North Korea's apparent missile tests on Sunday. The White House downplaying the military significance of this test, but it does spotlight the tense relationship between the U.S. and North Korea.
Our senior Asia correspondent is Mike Chinoy. He has visited North Korea more than any other western journalist, currently on assignment in Taiwan.
And, Mike, how important is the test over the weekend?
MIKE CHINOY, CNN SENIOR ASIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, it's an important development. The North Koreans are never easy to deal with, and the Bush administration's frustration with the regime of President Kim Jong Il after this test is becoming increasingly apparent.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHINOY (voice over): So this is what the North Korean nuclear crisis has come to.
Here's President Bush:
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Kim Jong Il is a dangerous person.
CHINOY: Here's North Korea's official media. The president, it said, is a Philistine and a hooligan.
And here's the president's chief of staff:
ANDREW CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Kim Jong Il is not a good leader.
CHINOY: With the new North Korean missile test and fears that underground nuclear tests could follow, Washington and Pyongyang are busy exchanging insults.
JIM WALSH, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Name calling is not a substitute for nonproliferation policy.
CHINOY: But insults seem to be the only game in town now. Diplomacy is going nowhere.
The north refuses to return to six-nation talks in Beijing, unless Washington apologizes for calling Kim Jong Il's regime a tyranny. That's unlikely to happen. And even if the talks resumed, the Bush administration won't bargain, insisting that the north agreed to give up its nukes first. That's not very likely either.
But the other options aren't any better. Squeezing North Korea's failed economy is one idea you hear in Washington, but there's little support in that in Beijing or Seoul. And there's no support in the region for a pre-emptive U.S. military strike, especially as the U.S. doesn't know where Pyongyang is hiding its nukes and the north would almost certainly retaliate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
It's a dangerous deadlock. And while trading insults is certainly better than trading missile fire, it's not bringing a solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis any closer -- Bill.
HEMMER: Mike, you spent an awful lot of time on the ground in North Korea. What happens in that country when U.S. policymakers make these comments against its leader?
CHINOY: The North Koreans treat their leader, Kim Jong Il, like some kind of god. He's literally worshipped all over the country. They organize mass rallies, millions of people to venerate him. So, when the president of the United States and other American officials say bad things about him, that's more than just a normal political insult. It's something the North Koreans see as an attack on the very core of their political system. And I suspect it is going to make them even more difficult to deal with -- Bill.
HEMMER: Mike Chinoy live in Taipei, Taiwan. We'll watch the events from the U.N. starting today and going throughout the month as well -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: It's time to take another look at the weather this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Andy is "Minding Your Business," where a rumored takeover of a big-time luxury retailer. Details in a moment on that.
O'BRIEN: Plus, 90-second revenge. One of the poppers had a little sneak peek at the next "Star Wars" movie, and we got an early review. That's coming up a little later on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. It's time to check in with Jack and the "Question of the Day."
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: You knew it was going to be about this, right?
O'BRIEN: I knew.
CAFFERTY: I mean, you knew yesterday?
O'BRIEN: And do you know what also I knew? I knew where you were going to stand on this.
CAFFERTY: Where do I stand on this?
O'BRIEN: You think this girl should go to the slammer.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: The joint.
CAFFERTY: Lock her up.
It's been a tough couple weeks for the news media. We've been had several times. The finger in the chili. Hoax. The buried treasure boys, had them here live. Hoax. And now, the missing bride, Jennifer Wilbanks, just a case of cold feet. Hoax.
SERWER: Hoax.
CAFFERTY: The media swallowed of all this stuff, hook, line and sinker. We couldn't get enough.
Georgia officials say they may charge Jennifer Wilbanks with a felony if it turns out her disappearance was premeditated. For now, the wedding is still on. Oh, my! You got to be out of your mind.
The question is this: What should happen to Jennifer Wilbanks, the runaway bride?
Bob in Florida writes: "Hold a news conference, look everyone in the eye, come right to the point, apologize for all the confusion, offer to compensate for creating the confusion and acting like a jerk, get married and get on with her life."
Kevin in New Jersey: "She should be fined. How do I teach my young daughter to tell the truth and everything will be fine when a grown-up, 32-year-old woman doesn't know any better? Lying has a price." Robert in San Clemente writes: "We should offer her our understanding and patience. Marriage is an institution that will require both. To him, perhaps, we should extend our sympathy."
Jim in West Virginia writes: "None of your business. It's a private affair. She's not a public figure. So just lay off."
And Wayne in New Jersey writes: "Jack, please leave her alone. It's not illegal for adults to choose to disappear. It's not her fault that the news made such a big to-do about it. Guess it was a slow week."
O'BRIEN: Well, weren't the estimates something like $100,000...
HEMMER: A hundred grand, yes.
O'BRIEN: ... spent on trying to rescue this woman?
SERWER: It's pretty small, the Duluth police department, right?
O'BRIEN: Not to mention, even if you don't count, like, the friends and sending everybody to the brink.
CAFFERTY: Yes. If daddy can afford a wedding with 600 people and 18 dozen bridesmaids...
O'BRIEN: And a $100,000 reward.
SERWER: Then he can reimburse the police department.
CAFFERTY: Then daddy can afford to pay the expenses associated with her disappearance.
HEMMER: One of the guys on the floor thinks he should run away with two of the bridesmaids. Oh, the payback is hell.
Let's get to Andy right now, looking at stocks, and also a big store up for sale, too.
What's happening? Good morning.
SERWER: Yes. Well, the American consumer has carried the economy for years now. People are concerned it's running out of steam. One sector has just been going gangbusters year after year, and that's the high end of the retailing sector. Nothing represents that better than Neiman Marcus. Some people call it "needless markup." Neiman Marcus for sale, apparently being bought by a buyout company for about $5 billion. This company always has high prices, right? The jewel-encrusted Mr. Potato Head. The his and her bowling alley, you know, the Christmas catalog.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Cars for children.
SERWER: Yes, that's right. And so, it looks like this deal is going to happen. Texas Pacific Group also owns J. Crew. So they'll have something at the high end and have something at the low end.
Let's talk about the market. Last week was a good one. The month was bad. We'll get to that later, at least for the Dow. Nasdaq slipped a bit. And this morning, futures are looking pretty good. The price of oil is down below -- or down at $49, I should say.
One stock that will be in focus this morning is AIG. AIG, five years of results they now have to restate, $2.7 billion.
HEMMER: Oh!
SERWER: And the bad news keeps on coming for that company.
HEMMER: Go right back to 2000.
SERWER: That's right.
HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
HEMMER: It turns out the first lady can rip a one-liner. Who knew? At her husband's expense, too. Back in a moment here after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: The song right now in Andy Borowitz's iPod. Another edition of "90-Second Pop" on a Monday starring Belinda Lipscomb, back with us from "TIME" magazine.
How are you? Good morning to you.
BELINDA LIPSCOMB, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Thank you.
HEMMER: Here's Andy Borowitz, borowitizreport.com, still writing jokes for Laura Bush, apparently. And Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly."
Good morning, Jess. Nice to see you.
JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Good morning.
HEMMER: Let's talk about this new hot comic here, the first lady, Laura Bush.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: She kills.
HEMMER: She killed it on Saturday night.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
HEMMER: It was a room of 2,500 people, all over the media, Hollywood, Washington.
A quick sample from Saturday now with the first lady. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: Here's our typical evening: 9:00, Mr. Excitement here is sound asleep. And I'm watching "Desperate Housewives." I mean, if those women on that show think they're desperate, they ought to be with George.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: I am a desperate housewife, she announces to the world. What did you think? You're a comedian.
BOROWITZ: I thought she was great. The material was "A" material. But also, it's just Laura Bush. It's not somebody you expect to make these funny comments. It's like Carrot Top, for example. I mean, she just really cracked me up. But I was looking at them, and, you know, Laura Bush is like beautiful, she's charming, and now she's funny. I'm just looking at him and saying, what does he see in Prince Abdullah? I don't get it. He's got the best in the world.
SHAW: I think she was kind of silent for, like, his entire first term.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
SHAW: So, when she finally opened her mouth, people were like, she's really good.
HEMMER: Well, that was her entree, too. She said, you know, sometimes I just sit up here and you don't think I've got anything to say. Well, that's going to change as of tonight.
LIPSCOMB: You know, we all thought Dick Cheney was the power behind the throne.
SHAW: Exactly. I want to know if Karl Rove was actually writing her jokes.
BOROWITZ: Not some GOP, this sounds like a joke, but a Republican comedy writer was responsible for this, somebody...
HEMMER: I think if you look at eight years in the White House for her, this will be a defining moment. If you look back at her career as the first lady, they will look to that moment.
SHAW: And I loved that Jay Leno asked if she was actually considering running for office when she was on his show. Like, you know, maybe after this.
BOROWITZ: She was actually funny on Leno. She's always funny.
HEMMER: Yes, let's talk about "Star Wars." You're one of the few, the proud, and you've seen it. How is it?
LIPSCOMB: Three words: Does not suck.
BOROWITZ: There you go.
HEMMER: It's cable.
BOROWITZ: There you go.
HEMMER: You can say that.
LIPSCOMB: I think it's a lot better for the "Star Wars" fan than the first two, which were, you know, I think a little too much on the sort of emotional side. There's plenty of action.
HEMMER: What's the plot?
LIPSCOMB: Well, you know the plot, because you know what happens in the first "Star Wars" that we all saw.
BOROWITZ: Doesn't it involve outer space?
LIPSCOMB: Very good. There is a spaceship.
BOROWITZ: I love that outer space stuff, baby.
LIPSCOMB: It's great. It's great aliens. There is some fantastic action. There's great fighting.
BOROWITZ: Shooting? Is there shooting? Do people shoot each other?
LIPSCOMB: I believe there's some shooting. Do not take your 7- year-old to this movie.
HEMMER: Really? Violent?
LIPSCOMB: The fight that puts handsome, you know, Hayden Christensen into a ugly Darth Vader suit is a little gory.
SHAW: Isn't this the love story one? Is this...
LIPSCOMB: No, that was the last one. You know, you...
BOROWITZ: I was thinking that, like, all of the "Star Wars" geeks out there, you could right now auction off a date with you on eBay for, like, $5,000. Just sit and talk about the Sith.
HEMMER: Got some ideas.
LIPSCOMB: Five thousand is too little for a "Star Wars" date.
HEMMER: This movie is out when, by the way?
LIPSCOMB: May 19.
HEMMER: May 19, OK. In the meantime, Jess...
SHAW: Yes.
HEMMER: ... what's going on at the bock office, if anything?
SHAW: Well, nothing much. And this could actually save the box office, because the box office has been down tremendously this year. I mean, down 6 percent. And pretty much there has been no movie that anyone has wanted to go see this year so far. But it's summer. There are big movies coming out. There's the next "Batman" and, of course, "Star Wars."
HEMMER: But what did well this weekend?
SHAW: "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" did surprisingly well and made over...
HEMMER: What's it called?
SHAW: "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
LIPSCOMB: It's a lot like...
SHAW: Geek alert!
BOROWITZ: Right.
LIPSCOMB: It's a lot like hitchhiking. It's very long stretches of boring stuff, and then one or two things happen.
SHAW: Right.
BOROWITZ: OK. I'll tell you what I don't think is going to save the box office. There is a movie coming out in, like, 10 days called "Monster-in-Law" starring J. Lo and Jane Fonda. I think that one is going to have people leaving the country. I think people are going to go, I'm getting a bus ticket to Canada. I'm just hearing that.
HEMMER: Listen, if you look at the top 10, "Amityville Horror" is out there. "Sahara" is out there.
SHAW: Right.
HEMMER: "Kung Fu Hustle." Is any of this worthy?
SHAW: Well, you know, no. But it's also pre-summer. People are sort of, like, getting...
HEMMER: No?
SHAW: No, I mean, "Kung Fu Hustle" is definitely worth it. "Amityville" is hideous. But even a movie like the "XXX" that opened this weekend, that did nothing.
BOROWITZ: Yes, but it didn't have...
SHAW: And that was supposed to do business.
BOROWITZ: But it didn't have Vin Diesel in it, which meant that Soledad would not go. So, that, I think really... HEMMER: So, we saved her 10 bucks.
BOROWITZ: Exactly, exactly.
HEMMER: Listen, we'll leave it there. Thanks. Andy, good luck with Laura Bush helping you out later on Borowitzreport.com.
BOROWITZ: Thanks, Bill. I need the help.
HEMMER: Have a good Monday. Here's Soledad.
O'BRIEN: You scared me, Jessica. I was like, Vin Diesel was in a movie this weekend, and I missed it? I'm going, god! Thanks, guys.
Still to come this morning, a family-friendly version of "The Godfather." A new law lets you edit Hollywood's biggest hits. Hollywood is not so happy. That story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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 May 2, 2005 - 07:29 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. It's 7:30 here in New York on a Monday morning. Good to have you along with us today.
Some reports say that the number of terrorist threats against America is down. But what about the degree of those threats? And is there a difference? Terrorists may be adapting to the post-9/11 environment, we're told. And we'll talk to a guest about that in a moment here.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, the U.S. and North Korea seem to be playing a dangerous game, each calling the other names while talks to stop building nuclear weapons are seemingly going nowhere. We'll take a look at that this morning as well.
HEMMER: Back to the headlines, though. Carol Costello, first check this morning.
Good morning -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to both of you. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News."
A wave of attacks in Iraq. Four car bombs ripped through separate parts of Baghdad this morning. Firefighters were still putting out the flames from the first blast when a second explosion was heard. A third and fourth attack followed within hours. Police say Iraqi troops were the main targets. At least 11 people were killed in the attacks, dozens more wounded.
In the meantime, Australia's prime minister says his country will not bow to insurgent demands as militants threaten an Australian hostage. Arab television broadcast a video, apparently showing the hostage, Douglas Woods, surrounded by militants. The Australian contractor calls on President Bush and other coalition leaders to withdraw troops from Iraq. Woods has lived in California since 1992.
Private First Class Lynndie England is expected to plead guilty today to lesser charges in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. It's part of a plea agreement that could lessen her prison time from more than 16 years to 11. England is set to appear before a military tribunal at Fort Hood, Texas, later today.
A district attorney in Georgia says he is considering criminal charges against that runaway bride-to-be. Jennifer Wilbanks returned to Atlanta late -- that's her in the towel. She apparently took a bus to Las Vegas and New Mexico, but told police she had been kidnapped. The Duluth city mayor also weighed in on the matter earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR SHIRLEY FANNING-LASSETER, DULUTH, GEORGIA: When we all do wrong, that we must be punished for that in some way. I think that's from a child up to adulthood and senior-hood. But I think for this action, there needs to be some type of reaction, and there needs to be some type of retribution that she should feel to give back to the community for what she has put them through for these many days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I think that means she's in trouble. If charged with reporting a false crime, Wilbanks could spend five years in prison.
And a major pile-up at the Talladega Super Speedway. Take a look at this. It started with a little push by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., at 190 miles per hour these cars are traveling. It turned into 25 cars running into each other on the Alabama NASCAR track, the accident slowing down several drivers, but not Jeff Gordon. He won the Aaron's 499 Nextel cup in overtime.
O'BRIEN: Was everybody OK?
COSTELLO: Everyone was fine.
O'BRIEN: Really?
COSTELLO: There was another crash, too, involving seven cars. Everybody was fine in that crash, too.
HEMMER: All it takes is a little bitty push at that speed, too.
COSTELLO: Because they're so close together.
O'BRIEN: And they're going so fast, yes, 190 mile an hour. Not a good thing. All right, Carol, thanks.
Intelligence sources say terrorist threats against the U.S. are at their lowest since the September 11 attacks. That's according to "The Washington Post." The daily threat assessment on domestic terror is reportedly down 25 percent to 50 percent.
In our "CNN Security Watch," we take a look at whether we're really any safer today.
Clark Kent Ervin is a CNN security analyst, also the former inspector general of homeland security. He is now the director of homeland security initiative at the Aspen Institute.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The first question for you. On Sunday, "The Washington Post" had a report saying that the reports of credible threats against the United States, terror threats, are actually at their lowest levels since September 11. But when you take that into consideration with the report about a week ago, which said that the number of terror attacks actually rose significantly, those two reports completely contradict each other, don't they?
CLARK KENT ERVIN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, they actually don't contradict each other. The one report is about the global incidents of terrorism. That report does show that there's been a dramatic increase, three times more in '04 than '03, and significantly more deaths. The other report is about the chatter, the indications of terrorist activity here in the United States. And according to a wide range of law enforcement and intelligence officials, there appear to be fewer examples of terrorism, planning, surveillance and other kinds of indications of terrorist activity here at home.
That said, it seems to me that now is not the time for complacency. There was a very, very important quotation in that article, where it said that one official said he worried about what's under the radar screen and he also worried about the radar. So, I'm concerned about what we can't detect and also about our ability to detect.
O'BRIEN: So, then when you hear a report that says the amount of chatter is less, is it good news, because it means that, boy, U.S. efforts are really making headway? Or is it bad news, because maybe it just means we're not detecting chatter from the right places?
ERVIN: The fact of the matter that is we really don't know what it means. The only thing we know for sure is that there's less chatter. That could mean, as you suggest, that there's actually less activity. It could also mean, unfortunately, that we're just not able to detect what's going on.
There's no question now that in retrospect, we learned before September 11 that there was a lot of chatter. There was a lot of activity. And since September 11, the threat level has been raised a number of times when the chatter has been increased and preparedness measures have been increased.
So, it may well be that the terrorists know when that we're on high alert, that's the time we're most prepared, and that they should strike when we're least prepared. So, this actually is worrisome news to me.
O'BRIEN: What about all of the efforts to improve intelligence- sharing among all of the various intelligence communities? Are those making headway? Are you proud of where those stand right now?
ERVIN: Well, the report card is mixed on that. There do appear to be some indications that the intelligence community, the law enforcement community are working better between themselves and among themselves.
On the other hand, just a few weeks ago, the Silverman-Robb Commission, which reported on the intelligence failures with regard to the Iraq war and other recent incidents, show that there continue to be problems, that the Department of Homeland Security, the Central Intelligence Agency, the FBI continue not always to cooperate, that the Department of Homeland Security doesn't always share information itself with other federal partners and with local law enforcement.
So, this process of intelligence-sharing is very much a work-in- progress. There is some progress, but there's not as much progress, it seems to me, as there needs to be. And so, I'd be very concerned if there are, in fact, indications of less terrorist activity. We should not conclude from that that we're under any less threat of terrorist attack. Indeed, it's at the times when there's the most calm that it seems to me we should be most vigilant and concerned.
O'BRIEN: A little scary there. Clark Kent Ervin joining us this morning, former inspector general for homeland security, also a CNN security analyst. Nice to see you sir, as always. Thank you.
ERVIN: Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And you want to stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Bill.
HEMMER: It's about 24 minutes now before the hour, Soledad.
This morning, the U.N. starts a month-long review of a 35-year- old nuclear nonproliferation treaty. And all this is coming now on the heels of North Korea's apparent missile tests on Sunday. The White House downplaying the military significance of this test, but it does spotlight the tense relationship between the U.S. and North Korea.
Our senior Asia correspondent is Mike Chinoy. He has visited North Korea more than any other western journalist, currently on assignment in Taiwan.
And, Mike, how important is the test over the weekend?
MIKE CHINOY, CNN SENIOR ASIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, it's an important development. The North Koreans are never easy to deal with, and the Bush administration's frustration with the regime of President Kim Jong Il after this test is becoming increasingly apparent.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHINOY (voice over): So this is what the North Korean nuclear crisis has come to.
Here's President Bush:
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Kim Jong Il is a dangerous person.
CHINOY: Here's North Korea's official media. The president, it said, is a Philistine and a hooligan.
And here's the president's chief of staff:
ANDREW CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Kim Jong Il is not a good leader.
CHINOY: With the new North Korean missile test and fears that underground nuclear tests could follow, Washington and Pyongyang are busy exchanging insults.
JIM WALSH, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Name calling is not a substitute for nonproliferation policy.
CHINOY: But insults seem to be the only game in town now. Diplomacy is going nowhere.
The north refuses to return to six-nation talks in Beijing, unless Washington apologizes for calling Kim Jong Il's regime a tyranny. That's unlikely to happen. And even if the talks resumed, the Bush administration won't bargain, insisting that the north agreed to give up its nukes first. That's not very likely either.
But the other options aren't any better. Squeezing North Korea's failed economy is one idea you hear in Washington, but there's little support in that in Beijing or Seoul. And there's no support in the region for a pre-emptive U.S. military strike, especially as the U.S. doesn't know where Pyongyang is hiding its nukes and the north would almost certainly retaliate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
It's a dangerous deadlock. And while trading insults is certainly better than trading missile fire, it's not bringing a solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis any closer -- Bill.
HEMMER: Mike, you spent an awful lot of time on the ground in North Korea. What happens in that country when U.S. policymakers make these comments against its leader?
CHINOY: The North Koreans treat their leader, Kim Jong Il, like some kind of god. He's literally worshipped all over the country. They organize mass rallies, millions of people to venerate him. So, when the president of the United States and other American officials say bad things about him, that's more than just a normal political insult. It's something the North Koreans see as an attack on the very core of their political system. And I suspect it is going to make them even more difficult to deal with -- Bill.
HEMMER: Mike Chinoy live in Taipei, Taiwan. We'll watch the events from the U.N. starting today and going throughout the month as well -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: It's time to take another look at the weather this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Andy is "Minding Your Business," where a rumored takeover of a big-time luxury retailer. Details in a moment on that.
O'BRIEN: Plus, 90-second revenge. One of the poppers had a little sneak peek at the next "Star Wars" movie, and we got an early review. That's coming up a little later on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. It's time to check in with Jack and the "Question of the Day."
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: You knew it was going to be about this, right?
O'BRIEN: I knew.
CAFFERTY: I mean, you knew yesterday?
O'BRIEN: And do you know what also I knew? I knew where you were going to stand on this.
CAFFERTY: Where do I stand on this?
O'BRIEN: You think this girl should go to the slammer.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: The joint.
CAFFERTY: Lock her up.
It's been a tough couple weeks for the news media. We've been had several times. The finger in the chili. Hoax. The buried treasure boys, had them here live. Hoax. And now, the missing bride, Jennifer Wilbanks, just a case of cold feet. Hoax.
SERWER: Hoax.
CAFFERTY: The media swallowed of all this stuff, hook, line and sinker. We couldn't get enough.
Georgia officials say they may charge Jennifer Wilbanks with a felony if it turns out her disappearance was premeditated. For now, the wedding is still on. Oh, my! You got to be out of your mind.
The question is this: What should happen to Jennifer Wilbanks, the runaway bride?
Bob in Florida writes: "Hold a news conference, look everyone in the eye, come right to the point, apologize for all the confusion, offer to compensate for creating the confusion and acting like a jerk, get married and get on with her life."
Kevin in New Jersey: "She should be fined. How do I teach my young daughter to tell the truth and everything will be fine when a grown-up, 32-year-old woman doesn't know any better? Lying has a price." Robert in San Clemente writes: "We should offer her our understanding and patience. Marriage is an institution that will require both. To him, perhaps, we should extend our sympathy."
Jim in West Virginia writes: "None of your business. It's a private affair. She's not a public figure. So just lay off."
And Wayne in New Jersey writes: "Jack, please leave her alone. It's not illegal for adults to choose to disappear. It's not her fault that the news made such a big to-do about it. Guess it was a slow week."
O'BRIEN: Well, weren't the estimates something like $100,000...
HEMMER: A hundred grand, yes.
O'BRIEN: ... spent on trying to rescue this woman?
SERWER: It's pretty small, the Duluth police department, right?
O'BRIEN: Not to mention, even if you don't count, like, the friends and sending everybody to the brink.
CAFFERTY: Yes. If daddy can afford a wedding with 600 people and 18 dozen bridesmaids...
O'BRIEN: And a $100,000 reward.
SERWER: Then he can reimburse the police department.
CAFFERTY: Then daddy can afford to pay the expenses associated with her disappearance.
HEMMER: One of the guys on the floor thinks he should run away with two of the bridesmaids. Oh, the payback is hell.
Let's get to Andy right now, looking at stocks, and also a big store up for sale, too.
What's happening? Good morning.
SERWER: Yes. Well, the American consumer has carried the economy for years now. People are concerned it's running out of steam. One sector has just been going gangbusters year after year, and that's the high end of the retailing sector. Nothing represents that better than Neiman Marcus. Some people call it "needless markup." Neiman Marcus for sale, apparently being bought by a buyout company for about $5 billion. This company always has high prices, right? The jewel-encrusted Mr. Potato Head. The his and her bowling alley, you know, the Christmas catalog.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Cars for children.
SERWER: Yes, that's right. And so, it looks like this deal is going to happen. Texas Pacific Group also owns J. Crew. So they'll have something at the high end and have something at the low end.
Let's talk about the market. Last week was a good one. The month was bad. We'll get to that later, at least for the Dow. Nasdaq slipped a bit. And this morning, futures are looking pretty good. The price of oil is down below -- or down at $49, I should say.
One stock that will be in focus this morning is AIG. AIG, five years of results they now have to restate, $2.7 billion.
HEMMER: Oh!
SERWER: And the bad news keeps on coming for that company.
HEMMER: Go right back to 2000.
SERWER: That's right.
HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
HEMMER: It turns out the first lady can rip a one-liner. Who knew? At her husband's expense, too. Back in a moment here after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: The song right now in Andy Borowitz's iPod. Another edition of "90-Second Pop" on a Monday starring Belinda Lipscomb, back with us from "TIME" magazine.
How are you? Good morning to you.
BELINDA LIPSCOMB, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Thank you.
HEMMER: Here's Andy Borowitz, borowitizreport.com, still writing jokes for Laura Bush, apparently. And Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly."
Good morning, Jess. Nice to see you.
JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Good morning.
HEMMER: Let's talk about this new hot comic here, the first lady, Laura Bush.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: She kills.
HEMMER: She killed it on Saturday night.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
HEMMER: It was a room of 2,500 people, all over the media, Hollywood, Washington.
A quick sample from Saturday now with the first lady. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: Here's our typical evening: 9:00, Mr. Excitement here is sound asleep. And I'm watching "Desperate Housewives." I mean, if those women on that show think they're desperate, they ought to be with George.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: I am a desperate housewife, she announces to the world. What did you think? You're a comedian.
BOROWITZ: I thought she was great. The material was "A" material. But also, it's just Laura Bush. It's not somebody you expect to make these funny comments. It's like Carrot Top, for example. I mean, she just really cracked me up. But I was looking at them, and, you know, Laura Bush is like beautiful, she's charming, and now she's funny. I'm just looking at him and saying, what does he see in Prince Abdullah? I don't get it. He's got the best in the world.
SHAW: I think she was kind of silent for, like, his entire first term.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
SHAW: So, when she finally opened her mouth, people were like, she's really good.
HEMMER: Well, that was her entree, too. She said, you know, sometimes I just sit up here and you don't think I've got anything to say. Well, that's going to change as of tonight.
LIPSCOMB: You know, we all thought Dick Cheney was the power behind the throne.
SHAW: Exactly. I want to know if Karl Rove was actually writing her jokes.
BOROWITZ: Not some GOP, this sounds like a joke, but a Republican comedy writer was responsible for this, somebody...
HEMMER: I think if you look at eight years in the White House for her, this will be a defining moment. If you look back at her career as the first lady, they will look to that moment.
SHAW: And I loved that Jay Leno asked if she was actually considering running for office when she was on his show. Like, you know, maybe after this.
BOROWITZ: She was actually funny on Leno. She's always funny.
HEMMER: Yes, let's talk about "Star Wars." You're one of the few, the proud, and you've seen it. How is it?
LIPSCOMB: Three words: Does not suck.
BOROWITZ: There you go.
HEMMER: It's cable.
BOROWITZ: There you go.
HEMMER: You can say that.
LIPSCOMB: I think it's a lot better for the "Star Wars" fan than the first two, which were, you know, I think a little too much on the sort of emotional side. There's plenty of action.
HEMMER: What's the plot?
LIPSCOMB: Well, you know the plot, because you know what happens in the first "Star Wars" that we all saw.
BOROWITZ: Doesn't it involve outer space?
LIPSCOMB: Very good. There is a spaceship.
BOROWITZ: I love that outer space stuff, baby.
LIPSCOMB: It's great. It's great aliens. There is some fantastic action. There's great fighting.
BOROWITZ: Shooting? Is there shooting? Do people shoot each other?
LIPSCOMB: I believe there's some shooting. Do not take your 7- year-old to this movie.
HEMMER: Really? Violent?
LIPSCOMB: The fight that puts handsome, you know, Hayden Christensen into a ugly Darth Vader suit is a little gory.
SHAW: Isn't this the love story one? Is this...
LIPSCOMB: No, that was the last one. You know, you...
BOROWITZ: I was thinking that, like, all of the "Star Wars" geeks out there, you could right now auction off a date with you on eBay for, like, $5,000. Just sit and talk about the Sith.
HEMMER: Got some ideas.
LIPSCOMB: Five thousand is too little for a "Star Wars" date.
HEMMER: This movie is out when, by the way?
LIPSCOMB: May 19.
HEMMER: May 19, OK. In the meantime, Jess...
SHAW: Yes.
HEMMER: ... what's going on at the bock office, if anything?
SHAW: Well, nothing much. And this could actually save the box office, because the box office has been down tremendously this year. I mean, down 6 percent. And pretty much there has been no movie that anyone has wanted to go see this year so far. But it's summer. There are big movies coming out. There's the next "Batman" and, of course, "Star Wars."
HEMMER: But what did well this weekend?
SHAW: "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" did surprisingly well and made over...
HEMMER: What's it called?
SHAW: "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
LIPSCOMB: It's a lot like...
SHAW: Geek alert!
BOROWITZ: Right.
LIPSCOMB: It's a lot like hitchhiking. It's very long stretches of boring stuff, and then one or two things happen.
SHAW: Right.
BOROWITZ: OK. I'll tell you what I don't think is going to save the box office. There is a movie coming out in, like, 10 days called "Monster-in-Law" starring J. Lo and Jane Fonda. I think that one is going to have people leaving the country. I think people are going to go, I'm getting a bus ticket to Canada. I'm just hearing that.
HEMMER: Listen, if you look at the top 10, "Amityville Horror" is out there. "Sahara" is out there.
SHAW: Right.
HEMMER: "Kung Fu Hustle." Is any of this worthy?
SHAW: Well, you know, no. But it's also pre-summer. People are sort of, like, getting...
HEMMER: No?
SHAW: No, I mean, "Kung Fu Hustle" is definitely worth it. "Amityville" is hideous. But even a movie like the "XXX" that opened this weekend, that did nothing.
BOROWITZ: Yes, but it didn't have...
SHAW: And that was supposed to do business.
BOROWITZ: But it didn't have Vin Diesel in it, which meant that Soledad would not go. So, that, I think really... HEMMER: So, we saved her 10 bucks.
BOROWITZ: Exactly, exactly.
HEMMER: Listen, we'll leave it there. Thanks. Andy, good luck with Laura Bush helping you out later on Borowitzreport.com.
BOROWITZ: Thanks, Bill. I need the help.
HEMMER: Have a good Monday. Here's Soledad.
O'BRIEN: You scared me, Jessica. I was like, Vin Diesel was in a movie this weekend, and I missed it? I'm going, god! Thanks, guys.
Still to come this morning, a family-friendly version of "The Godfather." A new law lets you edit Hollywood's biggest hits. Hollywood is not so happy. That story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
