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American Morning

Iraqi Insurgents Appear to be Targeting Diplomats From Muslim Countries; Venus Rising

Aired July 05, 2005 - 09:30   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. 9:30 here in New York. Coming up this morning, insurgents in Iraq target two more top Muslim officials in Baghdad. We've got a live update just ahead this morning.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also ahead, Wimbledon champ Venus Williams. She's once again a rising star in women's tennis, after upsetting Lindsay Davenport this weekend. Ooh! That's my imitation. On the court, unbelievable. She's so strong. She could truly kick my backside, no question, in every way. We'll talk to her live just ahead.

But first, let's check the headlines with Carol Costello -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I agree, she could, not just in tennis.

Good morning, everyone.

Now in the news, President Bush is heading to Europe for tomorrow's G-8 summit. The president first stops in Denmark to thank leaders for their support in Iraq and Afghanistan, and then it's on to Scotland for the summit. The three-day talks will focus on easing poverty in Africa and on climate change.

In the meantime, some protesters have been arrested after clashing with police in Scotland. This happened last night. More demonstrations expected today.

A convicted sex offender is set to appear in court today for the kidnapping of an 8-year-old Idaho girl. Joseph Duncan was arrested on Saturday after a waitress recognized Shasta Groene at a Denny's restaurant.

In the meantime, some new pictures we've been showing you of the little girl. She's seen here at a convenience store with Duncan, just six hours before her rescue. And you see he reads a newspaper. She does not try to escape. And of course investigators are trying to figure out why.

In the meantime, investigators are waiting for a DNA analysis to determine if human remains found in Montana are those of her brother, Dylan.

The parents of Natalee Holloway expected to make a statement within the next half hour. So far they have not spoken out about the release of two suspects in the case. The brothers had been detained for nearly a month. A third suspect could remain in jail another 60 days. Joran Van Der Sloot is said to be considering an appeal. Still no formal charges have been filed.

And Tropical Storm Cindy could hit Louisiana either today or tomorrow. A tropical storm watch has been issued for more than 200 miles along the Louisiana coast, all the way to Florida.

In the meantime, another tropical depression is off in the Caribbean and could become Tropical Storm Dennis by tomorrow. And of course, we'll check in with Chad in a little bit because, of course, because he's tracking those storms.

M. O'BRIEN: The folks at NASA very nervous about this. The shuttle's on the path, supposed to launch a week from tomorrow. So they are watching this one closely.

S. O'BRIEN: And he talks about that cone, where really the area that could be affected is just huge.

Carol, thanks.

COSTELLO: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: Iraqi insurgents appear to be targeting diplomats from Muslim countries. Representatives of Pakistan and Bahrain were fired on today. On Saturday the ambassador of Egypt was kidnapped.

Aneesh Raman is live in Baghdad for us this morning.

Aneesh, good morning to you. Is this some kind of new strategy, do you think?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning. It seems so. Though no claim of responsibility has been made to link these incidents, as you say, two more diplomats from Muslim countries targeted today in Iraq. Let's begin this morning. It's 7:00 a.m. local time when Bahrain's charge d'affairs to Iraq was gunned by men in a pickup truck. He was slightly wounded, taken to a nearby hospital. His aides say he was shot in the hand. Bahrainian officials are telling us he will likely be sent home, their mission here temporarily closed.

Now later in the day, around 2:30 in the afternoon, Pakistan's top envoy here, Muhammad Qian (ph), he was shot at while driving in a three-car convoy. His aides tell us it wasn't an apparent assassination, but an apparent kidnapping. Reports in the past hour that Pakistan will likely send him out of the country. We've also heard that the Pakistani embassy has been sealed off.

Now all of this, as you say, comes just three days after Egypt's top envoy, on the cusp of becoming the first Arab ambassador to Iraq, Ihad Sherif, was kidnapped. No word on his condition. No sign of where he is. But today, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Al Jaafari, his spokesman made it clear that the situation here is so dangerous, especially these top diplomats need to be aware of their security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAITH KUBBA (through translator), IRAQI GOVT. SPOKESMAN: With respect to the abduction of the Egyptian ambassador, it was quite odd to see the ambassador leaving his house with no protection. Everyone in Iraq knows that no senior official should go out without sufficient protection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMAN: Now, the implications of this, Soledad, are serious, especially the diplomatic realm. You'll remember at the end of June, at a conference in Brussels, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice vocalized the need for Arab countries to send ambassadors to Iraq. Days later, Egypt became the first country to do so. Now insurgents raising the stakes -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Aneesh Raman for us in Baghdad this morning. Aneesh, thanks for the update -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: The Pentagon says the bodies of two missing Navy SEALS have been found in Afghanistan. The remains haven't been identified. One serviceman remains missing. The four-person team was reported missing last Tuesday in the Kunar province, northeast of Kabul. So how can soldiers avoid capture behind while enemy lines? Someone who knows firsthand is Scott O'Grady. He's a retired Air Force captain who survived six days in Bosnia in 1995 after his F-16 fighter was shot down. Earlier I asked how soldiers can hide from enemy forces.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAPT. SCOTT O'GRADY (RET.), U.S. AIR FORCE: You want to conceal yourself, conceal your silhouette of your body, try to get some camouflage to be able to hide yourself. But the two things that are also very important is that you want to lay very still and not make very much noise, any noise at all, because motion and noise can draw attention to your location, and that can get you caught.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, and motion and noise is what you need to do if you're trying to signal to a rescue party to come get you. So, did you just wait until nightfall and be very quiet about using radios and that sort of thing?

O'GRADY: Yes, there were certain times where I would not do anything, because the enemy was close by. I could actually see them from my position just a few feet away sometimes. And then there were other times where in the cover of night, where I would be trying to make communication with friendly forces. So, you had to share in the task and to be prudent as to when you could do which of the other, because trying to make communication is of the utmost importance but not to the detriment of giving away your position.

M. O'BRIEN: What is that like to be, you know, camouflaged and that close to somebody who means you harm? O'GRADY: Well, you know, I was armed with a pistol, but I was also heavily outnumbered and outgunned. So, I actually didn't have the thought in my mind to actually even use my pistol until friend forces were on site to rescue me. The United States Marines came and rescued my life. And I'm very thankful to that.

But when they're walking right by you, your heart is pounding. And I was scared. You know, and that's just normal. I mean, anybody that's in combat that says they're not, I kind of question that. But it's also where you are a professional, and you are an American soldier. And we have a code of conduct that you will not give up, you will not surrender of your own free will, and that code of conduct really holds close to our hearts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Scott O'Grady says special-ops troops receive special training and carry more gear and food to deal with situations like this inside enemy territory.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Well, for tennis star Venus Williams, the road back to the top has been more like an obstacle course. Her dramatic Wimbledon victory over Lindsay Davenport was her first Grand Slam Tournament win in four years. The epic final put Venus back in the top 10 rankings in the women's tour. She's in Moscow this morning, where she's going to represent the U.S. in the federation cup this weekend.

Nice to see you, Venus. Thanks for chatting with us. Congratulations to you.

VENUS WILLIAMS, PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: I love the photo shoot, where you're hugging the trophy and you have a smile just as big as anything. So tell me about going in to that game. I mean, a couple of days have passed now. Were you nervous? Did you feel confident?

WILLIAMS: You know, every time I think about it, I still don't know how it happened, and how I'm, you know, sitting here today, and to actually know that I did win that match. I don't know how. I guess it's something my mom always said, just stay in there.

S. O'BRIEN: Your sister, I heard, too, gave you some advice. Is it -- you weren't playing Serena. Is that easier, when not going up against her in the finals, or is it tougher?

WILLIAMS: Well, we both always want to get as far as we can into a tournament. And you know, she had an early exit, and it just was completely unexpected. Everyone was expecting us to have this really huge clash in the fourth round, and it didn't happen. It was a sad day for all of us, because we both have the same coach and the same trainer. So it was tough, but, you know, there was one Williams left, and I was really happy to take it all the way. S. O'BRIEN: I read Serena was e-mailing the one Williams left and giving you a little coaching and a little inspiration. Is that right?

WILLIAMS: Yes. She was e-mailing me before the fourth round, when I played Gravis (ph), who I defeated her, and all the way through the last round, e-mailing me and calling me and telling me to make sure I listened to my mom and to my dad. And she just was so encouraging the whole way. She was very emotional after that last match, too.

S. O'BRIEN: I bet. Your last Grand Slam victory was in 2001. And you've had a tough couple of years with some injuries sprinkled in there --you know, a little bit of struggling there. What do you think you did differently? Because you looked so strong in the match. I mean, just, really, it was incredible, I thought.

WILLIAMS: Well -- I think it's just all hard work. You don't just show up and win. I try to balance it all. I try to work out as hard as I can, and then -- I just keep a balance also with my diet. I even mix some McDonald's in there also. They have a these new salads, you know, that I do too.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, pitching the McDonald's salads. I hear you. I hear you.

WILLIAMS: Just a little of everything.

S. O'BRIEN: You know, I was watching -- a second ago, we were watching you jump up and down, and you're holding the trophy, and you're bouncing up and down because you're so happy. Even Lindsay Davenport said she couldn't believe how you came back. I mean, there was that backhand at one point, where you just -- you know, you -- it was the most remarkable shot, people said, at the end of that game.

WILLIAMS: Oh, my gosh, yes. That was, I think, the match point I had against me. And the whole time I was thinking, oh, my gosh, I can't lose service. If I walk off the court, my mom's going to tell me, you shouldn't have lost serve. So I was thinking, I need to hold.

But it's so funny what's going through your mind, because that wasn't even rational. But at the time, that's what I was thinking.

S. O'BRIEN: I like that as a motivation. My mother's going to yell at me if I lose my serve. Venus, it is so nice to chat with you. Congratulations. We're going to be seeing many, many more great things from you. Thanks for talking with us.

WILLIAMS: Thank you. Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow, she's so great. A lot of fun, isn't she?

M. O'BRIEN: Yeah, she is wonderful. What a smile.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh my Gosh! She bounces around. She holds on to the trophy, bounces up and down. It's just so... M. O'BRIEN: Yeah, and clutching it like, don't take it away from me!

S. O'BRIEN: Yeah, don't come near me.

M. O'BRIEN: I've earned this thing.

S. O'BRIEN: So much fun to watch her play.

M. O'BRIEN: And, you know, a mother as a motivator is a good thing.

S. O'BRIEN: Don't you leave that court without winning your serve!

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Books for teenaged girls. They have come a long way from "The Babysitter's Club" -- is that one you read? "The Babysitter's Club" -- "Sweet Valley High."

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I know those. Those were sore of the nice ones.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, well, it's kind of gone down.

S. O'BRIEN: Way down.

M. O'BRIEN: To say the least. Risque is not even the word. Is it?

S. O'BRIEN: No, it sure isn't. We've got more on that ahead.

Also, a sneak peek at some of the markets most susceptible to a bust in the housing bubble. Andy's "Minding Your Business" as we continue on on American Morning. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Books for teenagers have come a long way, baby, from the days of Nancy Drew. Young adult book sales are up 23 percent in the last five years. And that rise can be credited in part to a new crop of controversial books that seem anything but young. The best-selling "Gossip Girls" series, more Candice Bushnell than Judy Blume, and "Rainbow Party," a new novel for teenage girls is so racy, Barnes & Noble will only sell it online.

So, what's a parent to do? Atoosa Rubenstein, editor-in-chief of "Seventeen" magazine, joins us to talk about the book and the controversy surrounding it. Welcome.

ATOOSA RUBENSTEIN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "SEVENTEEN": Thank you, I think.

COSTELLO: Yes, really. Frankly, this book shocked me, because it's about a party where girls are performing oral sex on boys, and they're wearing different colored lipsticks. I'll leave the rest to the imagination. Do teenagers really buy into this stuff? RUBENSTEIN: I have to tell you, I'm the editor of "Seventeen." I launched another big teen magazine. I've been doing this for a long time. I have never heard of a girl who's actually attended a "rainbow party."

COSTELLO: But the idea of a "rainbow party" does go through teenage circles?

RUBENSTEIN: I think that it's more about the titillation of books like the one that we're talking about. You know, it's more of a fantasy. And frankly, it's a fantasy that adults are feeding into the teen population. The thing is that times have gotten racier with young people. When I was growing up, Judy Blume was racy to me. And this is what's racy to girls today. But it doesn't mean it's what they're actually participating in.

COSTELLO: Well, you're talking about adults' fantasies feeding into the teenage world. This book -- it struck me, this book was written by a man.

RUBENSTEIN: It's a little creepy.

COSTELLO: Yes. It reminds me of that guy who's sitting watching Catholic schoolgirls running out of school and going, whoa, aren't they sexy?

RUBENSTEIN: I mean, I have to tell you, the numbers prove that girls today are actually starting to go toward modesty in their own lives. The number of virgins is up. Fifty-three percent of teens are virgins. The pregnancy rates are down. So there's a lot of good news. But I do think that steamy, sexy headlines like this are what get parents' attention and ratings and viewers and...

COSTELLO: You know, I don't know though. Did you watch the Oprah show where she talked about oral sex among teenagers and how teenagers really don't consider that sex? I mean, where do they get that? Is it Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan?

RUBENSTEIN: No. Oh, gosh, no. Because really when you think about those celebrities, they're not sending overt sexual messages, other than the way they look. But this is the generation of kids who saw the president talk about having had oral sex with somebody. So that --

COSTELLO: So they would connect that?

RUBENSTEIN: Well, that conversation was happening in the middle of their living rooms with their parents.

COSTELLO: But didn't their parents stop and say, look, this is sex?

RUBENSTEIN: Well, that's the important thing. You know, parents are, families are more and more fractured today. We did a survey at "Seventeen" that said that it was 87 percent of our readers would delay sexual relations if they could have open, honest conversations with parents. A lot of parents are afraid of talking about things like this. But, when Paris Hilton, who's one of the biggest stars of America, has a sex video that's out there --

COSTELLO: And she profits from it, and people watch it, and she's more famous than ever.

A final question for you, because I think this is important. If you find your girl, your 14-year-old on the couch reading "Rainbow Party" what do you do? Do you let her read it?

RUBENSTEIN: Oh, absolutely. I think you use it as a talking point. If anything, parents can take books like this or programs like this one, and use it as a talking point so they can then instill their values and not just rely on a novelist to be instilling any values in their children.

COSTELLO: Atoosa Rubenstein, thank you for being with us this morning.

RUBENSTEIN: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: CNN LIVE TODAY is coming up next. Hey, Daryn. Good morning to you.

DARYN KAGAN: Good morning, Soledad. You must be a nervous mother of two daughters hearing --

S. O'BRIEN: I've got some time. Can you believe that?

KAGAN: -- segment like that. My goodness!

We'll give you time. We'll do a little work for you. At the top of the hour, we could learn new information about the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. The missing teen's mother and stepfather are set to talk to reporters minutes from now. Of course, we will bring that live to you from Aruba.

Also, we have emotional fireworks. It's a soldier's surprise. These wives and kids didn't know who was getting off the bus. Husband and dad. Very uplifting. Happened right here in Atlanta yesterday during our Fourth of July festivities. We'll have that uplifting story for you coming up on CNN.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh. That is so nice to see.

KAGAN: They thought they were just --

S. O'BRIEN: They looked so calm, but I think it hadn't hit them yet, that that was dad.

KAGAN: Just listening to Miss America sing a song, and then this bus door opened, and out they came.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, that's so nice.

KAGAN: Good moment, yes. S. O'BRIEN: What a great story. All right, Daryn, we'll look forward to that.

Ahead this morning, if the real estate bubble bursts, some people are going to be hurt worse than others. Andy Serwer's going to tell us which part of the -- stop raising your hand, Miles -- which part of the country is in the greatest danger, on AMERICAN MORNING. Be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: OK. I'm the last person in the bubble. That's not a good place to be. So I'd like to propose henceforth a moratorium on talking about the bubble bursting, Andy Serwer. Can we do that?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" COLUMNIST: No, we can't.

M. O'BRIEN: No, we can't. We got to keep going?

SERWER: People are interested. We give them information here, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: This could hurt. This could hurt.

SERWER: It could. Let's talk about the markets, though, first of all this morning, see how stock trading is going at this hour, down on the big board. And you can see here, off a little bit, a couple points, to seven points down, 10,295. Yes. Checking them below 300 there.

What stocks are moving? Wal-Mart's actually moving to the upside. They reported June sales, they figure, are going to be much higher than expected. That stock's getting up near $50. G.M. should be very active as well this morning. Their June sales flying as they have that new incentive, get the employee price. And that seems to be working very well for them.

I want to talk about the housing bubble. You know, a lot of people have suggested that the housing bubble is just in certain markets, particularly on the coasts. And we'll get to some of those states in the a minute. But a new study by the International Monetary Fund suggests if the housing bubble bursts, it wouldn't just hurt these certain markets, because the coast represents such a huge part of the overall U.S. economy.

All right. Let's go to some of these states and see where prices have appreciated the most. This is over the past year. Interesting here. These are the top three states. So you can see, a very strong California orientation since Nevada and Hawaii, a lot of secondary homes for Californians there. Of course, Las Vegas, Nevada, boosting that state as well. D.C., very strong. Florida, of course. Speculation in the condo markets in Miami very, strong. And then we can see here, Maryland, also part ever the D.C. area, of course. Arizona, some more California stuff there. Virginia, also part of the D.C. area. And then more and more coastal stuff. The IMF says that it's 35 percent of the economy is the top 15 markets, and that this bubble, if it bursts, could be worst than the tech boom and bust, two times as bad. And the reason why they're saying this, one reason, is because one-third of all new jobs created over the past several years have been in the real estate markets. Construction, real estate agents, jobs at Home Depot, home improvement centers. And so, you know, when you lose so many of those jobs, Miles, and when those jobs are no longer being created, say in California and Arizona, Nevada, it's such a big part of the overall economy, that the entire nation could be hurt. Now, that's a worst- case scenario, and I know you're not feeling too good right now.

M. O'BRIEN: A little -- yes.

SERWER: But I've got to tell it like it is.

M. O'BRIEN: Sheepish at this point, yes. But I need to place to live, so what do I do?

SERWER: No, you have to buy. I mean, the important thing here is, don't go speculating in condos in San Diego and Miami right now. If you have to buy a house, you have to buy a house. You know, and that's just the way it is.

M. O'BRIEN: Let the chips fall where they may. Andy Serwer, thank you very much, sir.

SERWER: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, Natalee Holloway's mom and stepfather are speaking with the reporters at the top of the hour. We're going to bring you a live report from Aruba, just ahead.

And tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, your credit score. It affects more than just your bank loans. It can also determine where you live and who employs you. We'll tell you what you need to know. That's tomorrow, 7:00 a.m. Eastern, right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: We're out of time. Let's get right to Daryn Kagan. Daryn, good morning again.

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