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American Morning

The West is Burning; Another Deadly Wave of Attacks in Iraq

Aired June 23, 2005 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Miles O'Brien. The West is burning. The first major wildfires of the season. Several homes destroyed. More threatened. Hundreds evacuated. We're live with the latest.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien. No letup in sight. Another deadly wave of attacks in Iraq: Fifteen people killed within 15 minutes in three separate car bombings. A live report from Baghdad is just ahead.

M. O'BRIEN: And the president's top military men facing a showdown over the war in Iraq. Lawmakers pressing for a timetable on getting U.S. troops out, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning. Lot going on this morning.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, sir. There's lots of news to tell you about. Plus, I sat down with the Reverend Billy Graham on Wednesday as he begins what is probably, he says, his last crusade here in the U.S. We'll bring you a little bit of that conversation just ahead this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Looking forward to hearing that.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, you know, much stronger than I thought he would be at 87. Of course he has a history of health problems. I sort of thought he would struggle much more to talk, but he was strong, very with it, could hear what we were talking about. It was great.

M. O'BRIEN: Anxious to hear who his favorite president was. But you have to stay tuned for that.

S. O'BRIEN: That's right.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, we start with the summer wildfire season, now under way out West. At least two big wildfires burning at this hour, one about 20 minutes outside of Palm Springs, California, the other just Outside phoenix, Arizona. The Fire raging in the Tonto National Forest there. Residents in at least 250 homes evacuated this morning. Officials say lightning strikes sparked it. As many as four other wildfires are burning across Arizona.

In Southern California, hundreds of firefighters have been working through the night, battling a huge wildfire that's already charred some 4,500 acres. About a thousand residents in the town of Morongo Valley have been evacuated this morning, at least seven homes destroyed already. Thelma Gutierrez is in Morongo Valley.

Thelma, give us the latest. How are the firefighters doing there?

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

I can tell you that so far the fire is about 10 percent contained. That's what officials have told me. I talked to them a short time ago, and they say that hand crews and also bulldozers have been working all through the night to try to create some kind of a fire line between the fire and several dozen homes and structures that might be in jeopardy right now.

So basically what they do is they cut a ring around the fire. They say that it is possible that by daybreak, if they are able to control it, that this fire may be 20 percent contained.

Now right now, a few dozen homes and structures are at risk. There are 300 fire fighters from all over Southern California who are called in to fight this fire. And so far, it is being called the largest fire in San Bernardino County this year. There were voluntary evacuations in the area. About 1,000 people left the area. The Red Cross has set up a shelter at a lodge nearby, but only about 60 people so far have taken refuge there.

Now this wildfire started yesterday afternoon. It originated with a 911 call to authorities, and apparently a house out here had caught on fire. Officials say they still don't know what caused that fire, but they say that within minutes, this house fire became a wind- driven wildfire that charred some 5,500 acres.

Now this is a very sparsely populated, remote, rural area, and the homes are far apart. They sit on one to three-acre properties, but the winds carried these embers and ignited other structures in the area. And out here you can see that in the distance, about a half mile away, that there are flames out here. The California Department of Forestry says that it is very busy year. They are working every single day on some of the small fires. They say that good news is they don't expect it's going to be a catastrophic year, and that's because we've had record rainfall this year, and they say that the large vegetation out here is saturated and they feel very confident that it will not be a real bad year.

Miles, back to you.

M. O'BRIEN: Thelma, is this an area that is kind of accustomed to these kind of fires this time of year?

GUTIERREZ: The last big fire out here was in 1992, but in the past two weeks, Miles, there has been two fires in addition to this one that have charred many thousands of acres, and so it is an active year. They say the culprit out here is all the grass, and that is carrying all of these wildfires.

M. O'BRIEN: Thelma Gutierrez, thank you very much. In our next half hour we'll talk with a member of California's Forestry Department to find out how bad this year's fire season might be.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Iraq now. Fifteen minutes of terror in a Baghdad neighborhood to tell you about. Fifteen people were killed in three separate car bombings. The attacks happened outside a mosque, a police station, and along the main street in a busy shopping area.

Jennifer Eccleston live for us this morning in Baghdad.

Jennifer, good morning to you. These three follow five previous ones. What details can you tell us about the most recent three?

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Soledad.

Well, four early morning blasts in a busy Karada, the Karada commercial district of Baghdad, left at least, as you said, 15 people dead and 50 people wounded. Now the attacks targeted two Shiite mosques, a police patrol, killing at least three police officers, and another blast took place outside of a public bath house. Also all three of those in -- all four rather in the Karada commercial district, a very busy district.

Now the explosions came just hours after at least 18 people died in five separate blasts in the Shiite district of this city. That happened yesterday evening. There, over 46 people were wounded. Now, the Iraqi police say the attacks are the work of foreign insurgents. They're targeting Shiite areas. They're pitting the majority Shiites against the minority Sunnis, increasing the chance of sectarian violence.

They say the attacks happening -- but the attacks are happening rather despite the ongoing security operation in Baghdad, which is specifically designed to reduce the number of car bombings, and also the number of insurgent attacks. U.S. and Iraqi generals have been claiming great successes in what is called Operation Lightning, which is trying to stem those car bombs, stemming the tide of insurgent attacks here in Baghdad, and it's been going on since May -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Jennifer Eccleston for us this morning in Baghdad. Jennifer, thanks.

Congressional Democrats want to know just how long U.S. troops will stay in Iraq. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is expected to testify about that at a pair of hearings today.

With more on that, Elaine Quijano live for us at the White House this morning.

Elaine, good morning.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Soledad. That's right, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld heading to Capitol Hill against a backdrop of those daily reports of insurgent attacks on Iraqis, as well as coalition forces.

And at the same time, President Bush is facing fall being public support for the Iraq conflict. A recent poll showing just 39 percent of Americans say they favor the war. The White House, though, continues to defend the president's Iraq policy, describing it as vital to national security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: Iraq is a central front in the war on terrorism. Wherever you start stood before the decision to go into Iraq, I think we all recognize the terrorists have made it a central front in the war on terrorism. That's why, as the president said earlier today, we are fighting the terrorists in Iraq so that we don't have to fight them here at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now Democrats contend that the Bush administration is painting too rosy a picture of the situation in Iraq. They argue that the situation on the ground is far more precarious in terms of security than the administration is depicting, but look for Secretary Rumsfeld to continue with the Bush administration's assertion that progress is being made, specifically the Pentagon, pointing to what they say are some 169,000 Iraqi security forces that they say are now trained and equipped -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano for at the White House this morning.

Elaine, thank you -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Eighty-year-old Edgar Ray Killen will be sentenced about four hours from now. The former Ku Klux Klansman and part-time preacher was convicted Tuesday of three counts of manslaughter in the 1964 killings of three civil rights workers.

Ed Lavandera has been following that trial all along. He joins us now from the courthouse in Philadelphia, Mississippi.

Ed, it was kind of a compromised verdict. Is it a foregone conclusion that Killen will go to jail?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That seems to be the general consensus. Actually, The very minimum that he could be sentenced to is three years, because he has a previous felony conviction on his record, dating back to the 1970s. The maximum Killen could receive in this case is up to 60 years. That's a maximum of 20 years per sentence on the verdicts on the three charges of manslaughter that he was convicted of here on Tuesday.

So there are many people here anxiously awaiting this verdict. Over the last couple days we've had a chance to speak with several residents around here in the Philadelphia, Mississippi area, and as you might expect the opinions as to what should happen to Mr. Killen vary greatly depending on who you speak with. There are some people say he should be sent to prison for the rest of his life, but there are also many who say he should be allowed to live out his days freely here in Philadelphia. He's now 80 years old.

When he left the courthouse on Tuesday after the guilty verdict, Mr. Killen appeared a much angrier man, lashing out at news cameras a couple times as he was wheeled out of the courthouse in his wheelchair and into the custody of the sheriff's department.

But here in a few hours, he'll be returning to the courthouse, Miles, to figure out exactly what sentence the judge in this case will be handing down.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, we'll get coverage on that all day long on CNN.

Thank you very much, Ed -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, more details, Miles, are coming out about what just happened to 11-year-old Brennan Hawkins during his four days lost in the Utah mountains. The Cub Scout met the media on Wednesday, and his parents sat down with CNN's Ted Rowlands to talk about the ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOBY HAWKINS, BRENNAN'S FATHER: I couldn't figure out how in the world we could be missing him. Why can't we get any clues? And it just was a very helpless feeling.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Toby and Jody Hawkins say the massive search for their son Brennan was constantly frustrating.

JODY HAWKINS, BRENNAN'S MOTHER: You look out there and see all these people looking for him, but they're not finding anything. And so you knew he was close, but where was he? And why couldn't they find him? It really was difficult.

M. O'BRIEN: As time past, Brennan's mother said she couldn't help but fear the worst.

J. HAWKINS: Skinny as he is and I just didn't think -- I thought by the second night he couldn't have survived out there.

S. O'BRIEN: Brennan's brother and sister, though, were confident they would see their brother again, even after days had passed.

MARIAH HAWKINS, BRENNAN'S SISTER: I was positive that he would not consciously go to the river, because it was -- it had the spring runoff. It was rushing. That's something that he wasn't comfortable with. He wasn't comfortable with unfamiliar situations, and that was definitely not familiar to him.

TAYLOR HAWKINS, BRENNAN'S BROTHER: Through this situation, I just had a peace with me. I knew that we were going to find him, and I knew that we were going to find him alive. S. O'BRIEN: And when they finally did find Brennan, an emotional family reunion.

TAYLOR HAWKINS: When we saw him in the back of that trailer, we just -- you know instant joy, just everybody just grabbed him and was just so in awe that -- of the physical shape that he was in. He looked -- you know for four days for a little kid as skinny as he is to be in that good of condition is unreal.

S. O'BRIEN: Brennan's brother Cameron was asked how things have changed around the house?

CAMERON HAWKINS, BRENNAN'S BROTHER: A lot of cameras. Just a lot of people just coming up and giving us hugs, and the support is amazing.

S. O'BRIEN: Brennan's parents say he's not talking about what happened, and right now they're not pushing for details.

TOBY HAWKINS: We hope we can get him back up there, you know, at a certain point in time when we think that's appropriate, and retrace his steps and try to find out where he went, what he did, you know. Right now we don't know. He hasn't talked about it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Doctors in Utah say that Brennan is in remarkably good shape given the ordeal he's been through. Coming UP in our next hour, we're going talk to a park ranger to get tips on how you can keep your kids safe while you're camping and hiking.

Still to come this morning, my conversation with the Reverend Billy Graham. He reflects on six decades in the ministry as he prepares for what he says could be his final crusade.

M. O'BRIEN: Also, we'll talk to Senator Joe Biden. What does the Democrat say about his intentions to run for the presidency in 2008?

S. O'BRIEN: And our special series on kids and sports, "Surviving the Game." Today, all the benefits of sports off the field. Those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: The Reverend Billy Graham is in New York City for his 417th crusade tomorrow through Sunday at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Reverend Graham said this will be his last crusade in America, and maybe his last ever. I got a chance to sit down with the world-renowned preacher.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: You are 86 years old. REV. BILLY GRAHAM, EVANGELIST: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Your health is not great.

GRAHAM: No.

S. O'BRIEN: Why do you want to do another crusade? And why do you want to do it here?

GRAHAM: Well, I was invited by some churches, and I've been here for many crusades in the past, and I always loved New York, I love the people of New York, and it's a wonderful place to see the whole world, because they're here from every ethnic background you can think of, and over 100 languages used within walking distance of Corona Park at Flushing Meadows.

S. O'BRIEN: Do you think things have changed in New York City since 9/11? Was that part of the interest in coming back?

GRAHAM: Yes. In fact, I think 9/11 is the very beginning of my interest in coming back.

S. O'BRIEN: What's your message for the people of New York?

GRAHAM: The gospel of Christ. I believe that the only answer to people's problems is Christ, and I'm looking forward just to presenting the gospel. I'm going to -- I'm hopeful they stay away from all the hubbub (INAUDIBLE) of our day.

S. O'BRIEN: Why stay away from the hot button issues. It seems to me that politics and religion, especially today, are so intertwined, and many evangelists take on a political stance. So why do you want to avoid it?

GRAHAM: Because when I take and talk about those issues it divides the audience. And I want the audience to divide only on the Cross of Christ, and what Jesus can do for them, and not some other issue. And I found that many people are happy that I'm doing what I'm doing, because in the earlier years of my ministry, I talked all about every subject that was in the news at that time.

S. O'BRIEN: And that was successful, and people loved it.

GRAHAM: Well, it was and it wasn't. But since then, I've spent a lot of time in England, in Scotland, in Wales and with prime ministers and people in that part of the world, and i've learned that I don't have the answers to everything.

S. O'BRIEN: Any places you're sorry you didn't go? Where would you have liked to have gone?

GRAHAM: Well, of course i would like to go to certain countries in Africa. I've been to most of the countries. I've preached in most of them. They had different names in those days, in the '50s and '60s. And I had a lot of friends in Africa, and I saw the head of I guess every country that I went to. S. O'BRIEN: You've mentioned heads of state you've known and, of course, here, you advised and counseled many, many...

GRAHAM: I haven't advised. I've just been a friend.

S. O'BRIEN: Spiritually advised, and spiritually been a friend to, I think it's fair to say, many presidents as well. I think they said virtually everyone since Truman was what I read.

Who did you like the best? Which president did you feel the most connected to?

GRAHAM: Well, I felt disconnected to most of them, because I didn't talk politics with them. I spent a lot of time with Mr. Johnson and a lot of time with Mr. Nixon and Eisenhower. Eisenhower thought I could help him write speeches, but -- so he invited know go with him when he was nominated president.

S. O'BRIEN: There were people who said in the '60s that you should and you could have run for president. Did you ever have political ambitions?

GRAHAM: Oh, no.

S. O'BRIEN: Never? With all the politicians and heads of state that you dealt with, never?

GRAHAM: I certainly would never run.

S. O'BRIEN: Really?

GRAHAM: None. No. They came out with headlines when I was in Houston once. I think it was "The Chronicle," that I was running for president or something like that. And so some people had called and said they'd give me their delegates at the convention, and I forget whether it was Democratic or Republican now. But my wife had seen it on television. She called and said they'll never elect a divorced man. She said...

S. O'BRIEN: That message was clear.

GRAHAM: I never even thought of it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Reverend graham has said NEVILLE: at this is his last crusade in America. He isn't exactly ruling out another crusade in London maybe in the fall, he says. He has to see how the one in New York goes before he makes any commitment.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, we know who's in charge now in the Graham household.

S. O'BRIEN: That would be Mrs. Graham.

M. O'BRIEN: Mrs. Graham. Now as far as the crusade goes, he's going to speak 30, 35 minutes.

S. O'BRIEN: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: And then of course Franklin can step in at any time if need be.

S. O'BRIEN: Right, right. He's going to be standing by to take over if he needs to. But I've got to tell you, I thought he looked really strong and was very much on message.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, I'm sure he draws energy from the crowd.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, no question about that. We should mention that you can see more on the life and influence of Billy Graham. That's on Saturday, 5:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN's "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS."

M. O'BRIEN: Fascinating stuff.

Still to come, a Chinese oil giant -- Chinese oil giant -- tries to trump Chevron's bid to buy Unocal Corporation. Who's going to win this one out. We're "Minding Your Business." That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: All right. You put this one in the "what is the world coming to" department. The Chinese want to take over a major U.S. gas-and-oil company. Andy Serwer is here to explain how this is all going to happen, or not.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, it's a really startling turn of events in the oil patch, with huge implications for relations between China and the U.S., and also huge implications for thousands of U.S. employees and consumers.

Here's the story. A company called the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, which is China's third largest oil company, is making an $18.5 billion bid to take over Unocal, the California oil giant.

And as you can see here, Chinese companies have been interested in buying other companies here in the United States. You remember just recently they were interested in buying Maytag and also Lenovo. The Chinese PC company recently bought IBM's PC business.

But this is an interesting bid, Miles, because it's larger than the other two deals. It's the largest takeover attempt by a Chinese company of a U.S. company, ever.

And also CNOOC's bid would trump Chevron's bid for Unocal. Chevron's been trying to buy Unocal. And what's really fascinating to me, though, is that this bid by CNOOC, they're coming in with a higher bid than Chevron. It's all cash, and they've also promised not layoff U.S. employees or close gas stations in California, something that Chevron has not been able to promise at this point. Also, CNOOC has a very Western orientation and UNOCAL has a lot of reserves in Asia. So this deal might make a lot more sense than Chevron's, but Chevron is going to come back and say, hey, this is a foreign company, it's a Chinese company, and this is not good for American business.

M. O'BRIEN: So the Chevron executives are out buying bigger American flag lapel pins, so they can go to Congress and say, wait a minute, don't let this happen. But you know, the truth is, if it's a better deal, it's a better deal, right?

SERWER: I think that's absolutely right, and it's going to be very interesting to see how Congress responds to this, and, of course is this part of a larger trend, you know, the Chinese companies flexing their muscles, getting bigger and wanting to do more business here in the United States.

M. O'BRIEN: My, how times have changed.

SERWER: That's right.

M. O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer, thank you very much.

SERWER: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: All this week we've told you about the pitfalls that kids face in sports. What about the benefits? We'll take a look in our series "Surviving the Game." Kelly Wallace is here ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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