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CNN Live At Daybreak

President Bush on Iraq; BTK Reign of Terror

Aired June 28, 2005 - 06:30   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner center in New York, this is DAYBREAK, with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us.

Coming up this half-hour, he was calm, he was matter of fact, and he stunned the courtroom with details of his crimes.

And making the case for Iraq, President Bush talks to the troops, but he's aiming his message at you. We'll have a preview.

But first, in the fight for Iraq, we're marking the one-year anniversary today of the U.S. handover of power to the Iraqis. As the country marks its first year of sovereignty, there is more violence today. Among the attacks, a suicide bomber killed an Iraqi National Assembly member, who was also a prominent Shiite tribal leader. It happened just about four hours ago in northern Baghdad. Police say his son and three bodyguards were also killed.

In the meantime, the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll finds 53 percent says it was a mistake to send U.S. troops to Iraq. Forty-six percent say it was not.

Despite the rising violence, President Bush says the United States cannot give up on Iraq, and he's making his case to the nation tonight with a speech at North Carolina's Fort Bragg.

CNN's Sumi Das joins us now from Washington with a preview.

Good morning.

SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, President Bush's address marks the anniversary of the transfer of civilian authority to an Iraqi government, but it also comes at a time when the death toll for the U.S. military in the Iraq war has passed 1,700.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAS (voice over): The White House bills President Bush's primetime address at Fort Bragg in North Carolina as being -- quote -- "very specific about the way forward in Iraq."

Specifics may be much needed. A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll of 1,000 people found 58 percent disapprove of how the president is handling Iraq. Fifty-three percent believe the war was a mistake. Fifty-one percent want the U.S. to set a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. And 53 percent disapprove of the president's overall job performance, the highest number of his administration

Mr. Bush isn't expected to set such a date in his address this evening. In the past, he said doing so would aid the insurgents.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The key to success in Iraq is for the Iraqis to be able and capable of defending their democracy against terrorists.

DAS: Criticism of the Iraq war from both parties is on the rise. During last week's Senate hearings on Iraqi military operations, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the public views the war as -- quote -- "more and more like Vietnam."

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the war is not being lost.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Consider the changes of the past year. A democratically-elected government is in place. And more than eight million Iraqis went to the polls, defying intimidation at home and skepticism here in the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DAS: The White House has not revealed what exactly President Bush will say. But it seems likely that the president will stress how important that it is that the Iraqis meet their deadlines for drafting a constitution, putting that constitution to a vote, and then electing a permanent government.

Live in Washington, I'm Sumi Das -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Sumi.

In the meantime, President Bush's one-time rival is offering his take on what needs to happen in Iraq. In a "New York Times" op-ed, Democratic Senator John Kerry says -- quoting here -- "If Iraqis, particularly Sunnis, who fear being disenfranchised, see electricity flowing, jobs being created, roads and sewers being rebuilt, and a democrat government being formed, the allure of the insurgency will decrease."

Let's open up our DAYBREAK data file on Fort Bragg. That's where the president will speak tonight. It is the home of the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army's Special Operations Command. Soldiers from Fort Bragg are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And since June of 2004, 97 soldiers based in North Carolina have died in those two conflicts. Only California has more war deaths.

We'll bring you live coverage of the president's speech tonight from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. So join us at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.

In Wichita, Kansas, Dennis Rader has admitted to being the man who terrorized his neighbors. Yes, says Rader, I am the BTK killer. Listen as he calmly describes what he did to one victim. We caution you, this is graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS RADER, CONFESSED BTK KILLER: I proceeded to tie her up. She got sick, threw up. I got her a glass of water, comforted her a little bit, and then I went ahead and tied her up, and then put a bag over her head and strangled her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: He sounds so unaffected. I'm joined by forensic psychologist N.G. Berrill of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice here in New York.

Thanks for coming in.

PROF. N.G. BERRILL, FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: Good morning.

COSTELLO: I don't even know if you can make sense of this guy.

BERRILL: Well, we can make a little bit of sense.

COSTELLO: Try. Try for us.

BERRILL: Well, he is in a courtroom now, and he's recalling events that he's not ashamed of, that he doesn't feel bad about. In fact, this is the stuff that makes him, if you will, happy, and this has fueled his fantasies and his internal life for God knows how many years.

So, he has nothing to be ashamed of, according -- you know, I guess from his framework.

COSTELLO: Well, I was struck by his appearance. I mean, his beard is neatly trimmed.

BERRILL: Sure.

COSTELLO: He has a nice suit on, and he's very matter of fact as he describes these terrible deeds.

BERRILL: Well, no conscience. He doesn't feel bad. You know, he's talking about behavior he feels proud of. And I guess also I'd like to add that he's not mentally ill in the sense that people always say, oh, god, this guy must be crazy. He's not a madman. He's composed. He's thinking about his past deeds, and he's recounting them, as I said, without a sense of guilt. So, this is...

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: It's weird, because, as we heard, his previous comment there about how he comforted his victim, and then he turns around and kills his victim. BERRILL: Cat and mouse games. These guys are notorious for pursuing their prey as a hunter might, you know, a deer for example. So, his stories are sort of recalled with kind of a warm fuzziness that we can't relate to, but it doesn't disturb him when he talks about it. These are good memories for him.

COSTELLO: He obviously did plan those. We want to play another comment from him in court. This is what he had to say about his -- I guess his hit kit. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RADER: If you've read much about serial killers, they go through what they call different phases. That's one of the phases they go through as a trolling stage. Basically, you're looking for a victim at that time. And you could be trolling for months or years. But once you lock in on a certain person, you become stalking. And that might be several of them. But you really hone in on that person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: He said to the judge, "If you've read much about serial killers," as if he read a manual on being a successful serial killer.

BERRILL: He's lecturing. He's taking a moment out while he still has some dignity. In other words, rather than subject himself to a trial, he's going to be the expert. He's going to hold court, as it were, in court. And just lecture folks. Lecture the judge in what he did. And, as I said, this is a moment of pride for him. This is not a moment of shame.

COSTELLO: OK. So, he's married to the same woman for more than 30 years. He lives every day in the same house. He has kids. How can he hide this from them?

BERRILL: Well, you know, obviously he disassociates the passion, the venom, the anger, the rage that he reserved for his victims. He sort of parcels it aside. I mean, I suspect that if you look closely underneath the surface, his family might tell you about the moodiness, the ragefulness (ph), quirky behaviors. But it's entirely possible that they were not aware of this preoccupation.

COSTELLO: Well, he took pictures of his victims after they had died. Those must have been hidden somewhere, because the police found them, right?

BERRILL: Well, look, you know, a prideful fellow, a macho guy, you know, he has this space, the basement, the attic, whatever. And, you know, you don't go near, you know, dad's tools, or you don't go near his equipment. And people respect that. That's just the rules of the house.

COSTELLO: Have we learned anything from this? I mean, is there a reason for this guy to stand up in court and describe these heinous crimes in that manner for all the world to see? BERRILL: Well, it lets us know, number one, as I said, that this is not a raving lunatic. This is not a disorganized fellow. This is a fellow who presents as coherent, not ashamed of what he did, taking some pleasure, even sort of this kind of dispassionate pleasure, describing horrible events, and perhaps enjoying, you know, the reaction around the courtroom. This is his moment, you know, in front of the cameras.

COSTELLO: I don't know. I think I could have done without hearing it.

BERRILL: Sure.

COSTELLO: Thanks so much for joining us this morning.

BERRILL: Thank you.

COSTELLO: The family of one of the BTK's victims is speaking out. CNN's Soledad O'Brien joins us now for a look at what's coming on up "AMERICAN MORNING."

Good morning.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning.

You know, I am completely with you on this one. I just thought that was really chilling, that when he stood up there in open court and sort of described gruesome detail after gruesome detail of how he murdered the 10 victims, and the family members are sitting there behind him. He was so cold and so calculating and so chilling. It was just bizarre.

This morning, we are going to talk with a man, whose mother was one of Rader's victims. She was killed back in 1991. And we're going to ask if this guilty plea, and, in fact, if any of this explanation in court, brought any kind of sense of closure to him and his family. Or if he sort of feels like it just reopened all of the old wounds. We're going to talk about that this morning.

Also this morning, we've been talking about that 16-year-old boy. He's recovering now after he was attacked by that shark off the coast of Florida's panhandle, the second attack in three days. We're going to talk this morning to the doctor who performed surgery on the teen. He's got some good news to tell us.

That's ahead this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING." Carol, we start at the top of the hour.

COSTELLO: We'll be there. Thank you, Soledad.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, what has the "Lord of the Rings" director accusing New Line Cinema of fraud? The answer in our "Business Buzz."

And later, can you surf me now? Verizon Wireless is expanding its business. But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's time now for a little "Business Buzz."

A first for Virgin Atlantic Airways. The British airline has launched direct flights to Cuba. The move is expected to boost already growing British tourism to that communist island. Virgin's larger rival, British Airways, stopped flying to Havana three years ago.

Verizon Wireless is expanding broadband high-speed Internet service to 15 more cities. Among areas where it is expanding, Seattle, St. Louis, Cleveland, Long Island, Rochester and Syracuse. The expansion now gives Verizon broadband Internet service in more than 50 markets.

The director and the studio behind "Lord of the Rings" is now involved in a lawsuit.

Carrie Lee is here.

Why?

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Peter Jackson, Carol, is the director of all three "Lord of the Rings" movies. And he's now suing New Line Cinema. This is the studio behind the movies. New Line Cinema, like CNN, is owned by Time Warner.

Well, Jackson is claiming that New Line granted licensing rights for things like books, DVDs and other merchandise to other Time Warner companies without opening the process up to bidding. Well, because Jackson's compensation from the movies was tied to gross revenue, if New Line failed to get the best deal, that would hurt Jackson's take.

So, Jackson reportedly claims he was underpaid by as much as $100 million. So, a lot of money is at stake here.

COSTELLO: Yes.

LEE: We know "Lord of the Rings" successful franchise was a huge box office hit. That's something Hollywood could really use right now. Last week's box office totals were once again disappointing, marking the 18th week in a row that box office revenue was down compared to the year before. This is now the worst slump in at least 20 years.

COSTELLO: Wow!

LEE: Yes.

COSTELLO: We were talking about the "why" yesterday a little bit. LEE: It's interesting. I think this is an industry that's changing. A lot of big screen TVs in the living rooms, keeping people at home. We have DVD piracy of video. Watch what you want when you want. A lot of technology changes. And, you know, a lot of the movies out now are remakes, and that doesn't appeal to everyone.

COSTELLO: Yes. See, that's what I think. The movies just aren't so great now.

LEE: Right.

COSTELLO: There's no real reason to run to the movie theater.

LEE: Right. Three of the 10 out last week were remakes -- "Herbie," "Bewitched," and "The Longest Yard." So, there you go.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Carrie.

LEE: Sure.

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:46 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

President Bush makes a primetime address tonight from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The White House says the president will be specific about the U.S. role in Iraq. CNN plans live coverage.

In money news, oh, we wish we had bought Google shares when the online search engine went public. Last August, it was 85 bucks a share. Well, on Monday, one share would have cost you $304 and change, a whopping 260 percent increase since August.

In culture, after 50 years on broadcast TV, the "Miss America Pageant" is heading to cable. Country Music Television has signed a two-year deal to show the pageant. ABC dropped "Miss America" due to low ratings.

In sports, at Wimbledon, Venus Williams defeats Jill Craybas. Williams faces Mary Pierce in today's quarter finals. Also advancing, defending champ Maria Sharapova, top seed Lindsay Davenport, men's second seed Andy Roddick and the two-time men's defending champ Roger Federer. There were just too many adjectives in that, Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: That's a look at the latest headlines for you this morning.

Still to come, some rare images of a comet, courtesy of the Hubble Telescope. But first, it's time to say happy birthday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Some interesting music for you this morning.

Welcome back, everyone. It is 6:51 Eastern Time. Here is what will be making news today.

A report will be released on the status of detainees in Guantanamo. It's been one year since the Supreme Court ruled that those prisoners could challenge their status. None of those cases have been heard, however.

A former chaplain at the Air Force Academy will be in Washington to meet with House members. Captain Melinda Morton will talk about what she says is a systematic problem of religious intolerance at the academy.

Utah center Andrew Bogut is expected to be the first pick in the NBA draft tonight. The Milwaukee Bucks hold the first pick. They're followed by the Atlanta Hawks and the Portland Trailblazers.

A NASA oversight panel says the space agency has failed to meet all of its goals in preparation for the next shuttle mission. NASA officials and shuttle managers will meet tomorrow and Thursday to review the report and their process. They are then expected to set a date for the next mission. The next launch window is from July 13 through the 31st.

And a couple of pictures for you from the Hubble Telescope this morning. They show the comet Temple 1. What you see on the right is a blast of dust coming from the comet's surface. A space probe called Deep Impact is on a course to slam into the comet -- the comet. I know I can pronounce that word. Anyway, that will happen on July 4. So, there will be some natural fireworks for you.

What is new in the case of Natalee Holloway? Let's check in with CNN's Miles O'Brien for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."

Good morning.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning, Carol. Repeat after me. Comet.

COSTELLO: Comet.

M. O'BRIEN: Comet, yes. Yes. You know, that happens on July 4. That's going to be an interesting mission. It's going to bash in there. Talk about fireworks, but that's not what we're talking about right now.

We're talking about Natalee Holloway. We have spoken to her mother once again this morning. Soledad spoke to her a little while ago. We'll be showing you that interview. She feels now more than four weeks after the disappearance of her daughter, as disc jockey Steve Croes is released, that the investigation is back to square one. She's expressing a great deal of frustration this morning.

Also this morning, an ultraviolet video game to tell you about. It's stirring up quite a bit of controversy. It's called "25 to Life." Have you seen this, Carol, "25 to Life?"

COSTELLO: No.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, you're not a gamer, are you?

COSTELLO: No.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, players -- get this. Players score points by killing cops, and then using civilians as human shields. Now, this is just the kind of thing you want to have in the household, right?

COSTELLO: Yes, it's just the kind of thing I'd like to get for Christmas for my 10-year-old.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Lawmakers would like it banned from stores; so would most parents, this one among them. But does video game violence really lead to real-life violence? That's the question. Of course, everybody says that. But the truth is, it's a little more complicated than that, as it always is, Carol.

That's all ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING."

COSTELLO: We'll be here. Thank you, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Comet. C-O-M-E-T.

COSTELLO: Comet.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

COSTELLO: July 4, collision. Chad, take it away.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's time for a mug. It's time for mug shots this morning.

And your questions from yesterday and the answers. Here they are. What university will soon offer a degree in homeland security? And that's U. Conn., the University of Connecticut. And who is the new leader of the NAACP? And that is Bruce Gordon.

And the winner from Katy, Texas, Hitesh Doshi. The mug is in the mail. Congratulations. Those are the correct answers from Katy, Texas, yesterday.

Now the questions for today. Which two states were immediately impacted by the Supreme Court's decision on displaying Ten Commandments? And name the U.S. military division based at Fort Bragg. The president will be there tonight.

Go to CNN.com/daybreak, and there is a link. Send your answers in.

COSTELLO: Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: When we come back, more headlines and a look at your travel forecast. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Chad has set his Titan Radar. He has the travel forecast ready to go.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: "Now in the News."

President Bush faces a military audience tonight, but his message is for the whole nation. He will defend his Iraq policy in a speech at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Recent polls show support for the war waning.

It's called Operation Forward, and it's aimed at insurgents. U.S. and Iraqi troops have launched another offensive in the western Iraqi province of Anbar. It's their fifth such operation in recent weeks.

The beach at Cape San Blas, Florida, will reopen a few hours from now. That's where a shark attack left a 16-year-old boy in critical condition. There were two attacks off the panhandle coast in the span of three days.

One of the heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune, John Walton, has died in the crash of his ultra-light plane in Wyoming. The 58-year-old Walton was 11th on "Forbes" magazine's 2005 list of the world's richest people. Walton won a Silver Star in Vietnam as a medic with the Army's Green Berets.

From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

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