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American Morning

Missing U.S. Service Members From Chinook helicopter Crash in Afghanistan; Latest Developments in Investigation into Disappearance of Natalee Holloway

Aired July 01, 2005 - 08:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A developing story out of eastern Afghanistan, the region where a U.S. helicopter crashed on Tuesday. Well, now, there are new questions about the whereabouts of another team of U.S. troops unaccounted for in the same dangerous territory.
In Aruba, prosecutors say they can pursue a murder case in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway with or without a body. But they're not even sure a crime has been committed.

Brooke Shields fires back at Tom Cruise, calling his comments about her battle with post-partum depression "a ridiculous rant."

Those stories on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you.

Good to have you with us.

S. O'BRIEN: We're following that developing story about those U.S. troops in Afghanistan this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, we don't know the number of troops missing. I said 16 a moment ago. We're still working on that. That's not being released. There are some operational security issues, new developments on a missing U.S. recon team, though. The unit disappeared in Afghanistan on Tuesday after a U.S. military helicopter bringing reinforcements crashed. The team has not been heard from or seen since.

More now from CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon this morning -- Barbara, it's very sensitive, I know, so just tell us what you can.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a difficult story, indeed, to report, Miles. Of course, it was 16 service members lost, perished on that helicopter that was apparently shot down. But what we do know now, as you say, there is a small special forces military reconnaissance team on the ground that has been unaccounted for, not heard from since that helicopter crash on Tuesday.

What we can explain to you is these were the military servicemen on the ground in a firefight at the time. They called for reinforcements. They are the ones that called for that helicopter to come in and bring them reinforcements and then get them out of the area due to this firefight.

But the helicopter crashed. And when the rescue forces finally got to the helicopter scene, that reconnaissance team was gone.

Now, military officials tell us there is no sign that they were killed, no sign of blood, no sign that they were injured. But they simply have not heard from them. There has been basically communication silence from that team since Tuesday.

So, what are the options? Well, military officials hope that these men, who are highly trained in envision behind enemy lines, are simply doing that, that they have gone to ground, that they are staying silent until they can make their way to safety.

There is also the possibility, they tell us, in this very rugged terrain, that they are continuing their mission, continuing to fight. But officials tell us certainly common sense as the hours go on and they have not heard from this team, there are many, many worries about their fate. It all, of course, Miles, is extremely sensitive, as you say.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

Thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: We're also learning more about who was on board that helicopter that crashed while bringing in reinforcements. Sixteen U.S. troops were killed in the crash. CNN has learned that eight Navy SEALS assigned to units in Norfolk, Virginia and San Diego were part of that group.

Ted Rowlands is live at the Naval Amphibious Base on Coronado, Island in California -- Ted, good morning to you.

What do we know about these Navy SEALS who were on board?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We don't know much specifics about who was on board and who was lost in this mission last night. As commanders here at the base went to bed, they had no comment, saying that they needed 24 hours past the time that family was notified before they would make public the names of those lost. Clearly, though, it's a significant loss to the Navy SEAL program. They are trained both in Norfolk, Virginia and here on the island of Coronado, just off the coast of San Diego.

And to this group, it doesn't matter where they were based, whether it was there or here. It is going to be a significant loss and a loss that was felt about this tight-knit community. And as folks wake up here in Coronado, they will be finding out the grim reality that of those eight members of the Navy SEALS, some of them, indeed, were based here in Coronado.

SEAL stands for Sea, Air and Land. They are one of the world's most elite fighting forces. They make up less than 1 percent of all of the U.S. Navy, but they have a sense of pride with them and the Navy has a sense of pride about its SEAL program. They are one of the world's most elite fighting forces. This is a significant loss to lose eight members of this force. And this is also a sense of pride for the community of Coronado. It's safe to say that this weekend, today, and this, during this 4th of July holiday weekend, those lost will be on the minds of many out here and in Virginia and across the country -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Absolutely. Terrible, terrible news for them.

All right, Ted Rowlands for us this morning.

Ted, thanks.

Time to take a look at some of the other stories that are making headlines this morning with Carol Costello again -- good morning again.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you.

Good morning to all of you.

The number one story on our Web site is about Brooke Shields. Brooke Shields is blasting Tom Cruise for what she calls "a ridiculous rant." The actress responding to criticism from Cruise about taking medication to help deal with her post-partum depression. Cruise has been talking about his skepticism about psychiatry and the use of anti-depressants while promoting his brand new film. In an op-ed piece in the "New York Times," Shields writes this about Tom Cruise's "Today Show" comments. She says: "While Mr. Cruise says that Mr. Lauer and I don't understand the history of psychiatry, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Mr. Cruise has never suffered from post-partum depression." Shields adds that, "Cruise's comments are a disservice to mothers everywhere." And, by the way, this, as I said, is the most popular story on our Web site right now.

The German chancellor, Gerhardt Schroeder, wants new elections. The chancellor lost a confidence vote earlier today. It was part of a plan to allow new national elections this fall. The move could also give his Social Democratic Party more seats in the government and more support for his political agenda.

Final designs for a September 11 memorial in Pennsylvania will go on public display today. The Shanksville memorial will honor the 40 passengers and crew who died on that fateful day. The Flight 93 memorial will be chosen from among five finalists in August.

And a massive wildfire raging in central Arizona has grown to nearly 200,000 acres. It's being called the second largest wildfire in the state's history. So far, it's only 40 percent contained. This is just one of at least 20 active wildfires burning across nearly one million acres in Alaska and the West.

Back to you.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Carol.

Appreciate it. The Dutch ambassador is trying to assure the American public that everything is being done to find Natalee Holloway on the island of Aruba. A message of sympathy and support has been posted on the embassy Web site. No trace of the Alabama teacher has been found -- teenager, I should say -- has been found in a month of searching.

Now, the chief prosecutor is saying she could make a case without recovering a body.

Ruben Trapenberg is a spokesman for the Aruban government.

Mr. Trapenberg, good to have you with us.

RUBEN TRAPENBERG, ARUBA GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: Good morning, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: That appears to be a change based on what we've heard before, that a case could proceed without a body. And just on the face of it, the fact that the prosecutor is speaking is unusual, isn't it?

TRAPENBERG: It is unusual, yes. But I think after much of us requesting that and urging her on to give out more details, not details of the investigation. We do understand that she can't give out those details. But at least procedure and when expressions like that, that it couldn't be processed without a body, she should come out and address that and that's what they have done now.

M. O'BRIEN: We have a brief excerpt of her statement. She said: "There's been so much misinformation in the American press, I'm the lead prosecutor and I want to show that we're not a bunch of cowboys here."

What did she mean by that?

TRAPENBERG: Well, it's just that we get stories from the media. The positive is never reported. It's only the negative. They want to create a division. I know that keeps the news going. The last news again is from Senator Shelby. That has been handled because it -- we have proper rule of law here. It's a peaceful island, nice people and, you know, a number -- it doesn't matter how badly we are painted, we know who we are.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk about the way that the suspects are being handled. We have a piece of tape here which shows two of the suspects being transported. Now, we have been told, and you might have been among those people that have told us, that they're being held separately.

True?

TRAPENBERG: Yes. They're being held separately. But there are occasions when either one or the other are confronted or the three of them could be put in front of each other so that investigators can get more detail.

M. O'BRIEN: OK. But having them together, does that sort of violate rules of procedure and investigation?

TRAPENBERG: No. They -- there is a special reason for doing so, Miles, believe me.

M. O'BRIEN: Can you explain why?

TRAPENBERG: It's part of the investigation, meaning the investigators have their techniques that they use to check the stories, see if they fit. If not, if two guys are put together, it's to find out more what they have to tell each other.

M. O'BRIEN: I see. But they could be squaring their stories, as well, I guess. I mean that's obvious, too.

TRAPENBERG: Well, absolutely. And there is a way to check that out.

M. O'BRIEN: OK.

The prime minister indicating that more Marines, Dutch Marines, might be on the way. We're talking a month into this now. Some would look at that and say why weren't the Marines called in in force much earlier.

TRAPENBERG: They were called much earlier. And, again, after 30 days, I guess a lot of people have forgotten that. They were there in the first few days. The FBI has been here from the beginning. But now people have seemed to have forgotten. And there was an official request for Marines. It's just that some people in the media started asking well, why aren't the Marines? Well, they did their job the first time. There is now a request from EquuSearch to assist them and they are being, you know, the Marines don't have to be flown in. They are on the island constantly.

M. O'BRIEN: Are there specific locations, specific information that the Marines will be acting upon?

TRAPENBERG: That's what they acted upon the first time. They checked out those specific locations. But now they have new requests by the EquuSearch team from Texas and that's who they are working with now.

M. O'BRIEN: Ruben Trapenberg, who is a spokesperson for the Aruban government.

Thanks for your time this morning.

TRAPENBERG: Thank you, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Another look at the weather this morning with Chad Myers at the CNN Center -- hello, Chad.

What are you looking at? CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, Soledad, so far so good across the Northeast. Only one airport delay. That's Philadelphia, ground stop because of fog. They're fogged in in Philly. It's about a quarter mile visibility.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, CNN's Christiane Amanpour live from London about what she saw recently on a trip to Ethiopia. Can the starving people there be saved?

S. O'BRIEN: Also, calls for better warnings about possible psychiatric side effects for patients who are taking drugs to treat ADHD.

M. O'BRIEN: And will voters in California terminate Governor Schwarzenegger? We'll get into his sinking poll numbers with our "Gimme A Minute" panel a little later on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: This weekend, the Live 8 concerts kick off across the globe. Mega concerts in 10 cities, including Philadelphia, Barrie, Ontario, London, Paris, Rome, Edinborough, Berlin, Moscow and Johannesburg, also.

Last night on CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER 360," U-2 lead singer Bono said this year's event is different from the original Live Aid, which focused on fundraising.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "ANDERSON COOPER 360")

BONO, SINGER, U-2: Live Aid 20 years ago was about charity, you know? And we all put our hands in our pockets. This is not about charity. This is about justice. This is about people getting out on the streets, tuning in, being educated about what their tax dollars can achieve in the impoverished continent of Africa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Live 8 leaders want people to pressure leaders who are meeting at the G8 summit next week to increase aid for Africa.

CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, recently spent time in Tigray Province in Ethiopia and she put together a special that will air this Saturday on CNN. It's called "Can We Save Them?"

She's in London this morning -- Christiane, nice to see you.

Thanks for talking with us.

Tell us a little bit about Koraro, which is where you were. The U.N. has called it a test case in the fight against poverty.

What do they mean by that? CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. Jeffrey Sacks, the U.S. economist, is directing this Millennium Project, which is designed to, as they say, attack poverty from every angle, not just the drip, drip of charity aid or humanitarian aid, but to really get people out of the trap that they're in.

We went to Tigray Village, because they've chosen several poor, poor villages in some of the poorest, most isolated countries in the world to see if it can work there, and if it can, they think it can work anywhere.

So, in the village of Koraro in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, we saw children desperate to go to school, but because of poverty, they only have a couple of classrooms. Their school only goes up to the sixth grade and those who want to learn more, for instance, seventh grade, their class is held out of doors under a tree. They simply don't have any other classrooms.

They've managed to scrape together, and the government has helped them bring in a seventh grade teacher, but they have no hope of going on to eighth grade at the moment. The nearest school is a four hour walk away, untenable for these people. There's not even a vehicle in the village.

Furthermore, the U.N.'s goals and the goals of the U.S. and all the other countries who have signed up to and will be a focus of the G8 is to get African children into school, those who are not, into school within the next 10 to 15 years. Right now, the children we saw spend about half a day in school and the rest working, I mean real hard labor, backbreaking work that they do. Again, this is a village that lives on less than a dollar a day per person and it's the kind of poverty that kills.

Everybody, from the oldest to the very youngest, has to work. And as I say, manual labor. So an attempt to stop that for children, who need to go to school and who need a better life.

Also, obviously, they're trying to get not just food, but also water, clean water, to these villages. Where we were in Koraro, women and children come and collect dirty water from rain pits that are being used by animals, they're being used by the people to wash in. And these people have nothing but that. And they also don't have the kind of prevention against disease that this dirty water brings.

So it's a complex web, as they say at the U.N. Millennium Project, of poverty that must be attacked from all sides.

Here's what Erin Trowbridge of the project told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ERIN TROWBRIDGE, MILLENNIUM PROJECT: What a true poverty trap means, what a poverty crisis means is that the ladder is on one side of the room and you're on the other. And until you get there, any little drops of aid do nothing but feed you. They just give you a tiny drop of water. They don't actually change your life. So we bring in all of these elements. We come at the web of poverty from every angle, address the problems. Within five years, this will be a village that won't have extreme poverty.

AMANPOUR: And you're sure of that?

TROWBRIDGE: Positive.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

AMANPOUR: She says she's positive about that because they have tried it in other villages. In Kenya seven months ago, they started their project, and they said by just bringing farmers improved grain, more resistant grain and fertilizer, which many African farmers cannot afford, their yield, their crop yield has tripled. So they believe minimal investments, simple solutions, can work. But it takes a massive commitment to follow it through -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it certainly does.

Christiane's special, we should mention, is on Saturday, 7:00 p.m., right here on CNN.

That's CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, for us this morning.

Christiane, thanks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: In just a moment, news for your health. We'll look at a new government plan to add better warnings to certain medications for children, ADHD children.

Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: In our medical segment, new warnings for drugs to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD.

Elizabeth Cohen is at the CNN Center with details -- Elizabeth, is the FDA listening to Tom Cruise or something?

What's going on?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You might think so, actually. That -- maybe that's what's going on. Actually, what's going on with ADHD, Miles, is that we all know that it's become a very common disorder. If your own child hasn't been diagnosed with it, certainly you know a child who has.

Well, yesterday, an advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration decided to recommend that there be a warning that some children who have taken Concerta, which is an FDA-approved drug for ADD, that it warn that children who have taken this have had suicidal thinking. Now, we're not talking about a lot of children. We're actually talking about very few children. And no one is saying that this drug causes that kind of suicidal thinking.

But this committee said well why not just put it on there and say that it has happened, that some children have had suicidal thoughts while on this drug?

Now, many doctors worry that if that's on the label, that many parents will say that they don't want to give their child this drug and then that child's ADD won't be addressed. Now, those are some very legitimate concerns that the FDA is going to have to take into consideration when they make a final decision about whether or not they're going to make that labeling change -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Elizabeth, is it just Concerta, or are there other drugs they're looking at?

COHEN: Right. There are other drugs that they're looking at. They started with Concerta, but there are many drugs to treat ADD.

Let's go through a list of other drugs that will also be scrutinized by the FDA to see if there should be labeling changes. There are other Ritalin-based drugs, Concerta being one of them. There's also a drug called Adderall and a drug called Strattera. And there have been concerns about those two drugs, in addition, about whether or not they need extra warnings.

M. O'BRIEN: But the common denominator here is they're a kind of Ritalin derivative of some kind.

Now, what about other side effects that might be of concern?

COHEN: Well, actually, I should say that not all of them are Ritalin or Ritalin-based. For example, Strattera is a non-stimulant and that's the way that that works.

M. O'BRIEN: OK.

COHEN: Now, there are some concerns that some of these drugs, for example, cause children to become, as we talked about, suicidal thoughts, that they have -- that the children have visual hallucinations while on these drugs, that these children have psychotic behavior or aggression.

But, Miles, as you can imagine, one of the things that's so difficult to tease out about these drugs is that the children may be having these problems having nothing to do with the drugs. They may be having hallucinations or they may be having aggressive behavior problems because, well, they have ADD. And so it's very difficult to tease out what's because of the child and what's because of the drug that that child is taking.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, and the dilemma facing parents in that situation is if you take the drug away, that might make matters worse. You don't want to take a chance like that. So this is a tough situation for parents.

COHEN: It is a tough situation. Those are tough decisions to make, especially when a doctor says to you, you know what, some children taking this drug have had suicidal thoughts. Well, how do you know that, if the drug caused it or if it didn't? How do you know if your child is going to have the same problem? And your child, you're in a predicament. Your child has a problem. You want to help them.

M. O'BRIEN: Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta at the CNN Center, thank you very much.

COHEN: Thanks.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Still ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, a startling murder confession. A man calls into a popular radio show and says he's ready to pay for his crime after years on the run. We'll have that story ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Get the latest news every morning in your e-mail. Sign up for AMERICAN MORNING "Quick News" at cnn.com/am.

Still to come this morning, more than 100 of the world's top musicians prepare to play all around the world. It's called Live 8 and it's a massive concert to help feed the hungry. We're going to take you live to London for final preparations, when we come back on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

It is just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Did you hear the story about this murder confession?

M. O'BRIEN: It's unbelievable.

S. O'BRIEN: It really is.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: It's very shocking, actually.

M. O'BRIEN: He calls in to a popular radio talk show. Now, he doesn't get on the air, but he wants to -- says he wants to get on the air and he's ready to pay for his crime. Police are now investigating all of that. We'll have the story, we'll talk to the producer who took the call on that show.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, kind of a bizarre story.

First, though, let's get right to the headlines with Carol Costello this morning -- good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

Good morning to all of you.

Now in the news, a developing story out of Afghanistan. The U.S. military is trying to locate a reconnaissance team missing since Tuesday near where a U.S. military helicopter went down. U.S. officials say the helicopter had been called in as reinforcements for that special team on the ground. All 16 crew members on board the helicopter were killed. Military officials say they're using every available asset to find those missing troops.

President Bush is expected to personally congratulate Kuwait today on giving women the right to vote. The president is set to meet with Kuwait's prime minister at the White House. Also on the agenda, the situation in Iraq and the Mideast peace process. That meeting is set to begin in just about three hours.

There are some concerns on how the Natalee Holloway investigation is being handled, with some of the suspects being transported together. Exclusive CNN video shows two of the suspects being handcuffed together.

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