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American Morning

Constitution Countdown; Rallying Support; Gaza Pullout

Aired August 22, 2005 - 08:59   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The new deadlines for Iraq's new constitution now just seven hours away. And we're learning of a potentially important development. A key question on Islamic law may be settled, but an overall deal is still far from certain. We've got a live report from Baghdad just ahead.
The final hours of forced evacuation in Gaza as the last Jewish settlement is emptied. We are on the scene for this historic moment in the Middle East.

And protests and counter-protests as demonstrators converge in Crawford, Texas, while the president takes his message off the ranch 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.

S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody.

You know the shot we just showed you of Central Park? That's now the view from our cafeteria. It's kind of nice.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's a nice cafeteria, isn't it? Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it is.

M. O'BRIEN: Worth the price of admission, for sure.

S. O'BRIEN: See? Absolutely.

M. O'BRIEN: And actually, the food is kind of cheap, too. So come on over.

S. O'BRIEN: You should say the food's kind of -- it's good.

M. O'BRIEN: It's good. It's good food. And we're in a new location.

S. O'BRIEN: New set.

M. O'BRIEN: Out with the windows. In the with the walls. And we're doing something different, which is good.

S. O'BRIEN: Mix it up.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Time is running out for negotiations in Iraq's constitution. The negotiators have given themselves a deadline of midnight tonight, Baghdad time. That's 4:00 p.m. Eastern. But there are quite a few issues they have to resolve before then.

Aneesh Raman is live at that convention center in Baghdad, where assembly members are convening today.

Aneesh, there's lots of talk about possible compromise. Is it really happening?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, we're hearing that in the past few hours, an agreement has been reached between the Shia and the Kurds, two main political blocs in the National Assembly, on a draft document of the constitution. Would can presume it would include reference to federalism, to the Kurds keeping an autonomous region in the country's north. We also know that the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, has been involved in this process.

The question now, though, is can they sell this document to the minority Sunnis? They are in the process of doing that right now. If they cannot, if they put a document through that the Shia and the Kurds vote up but that the Sunnis do not like, it is dangerous for two main reasons.

First, politically, the Sunnis have enough votes to reject this constitution in a referendum that would come by mid October. They have a majority of population in three provinces. But the larger issue is that the Sunnis have to be involved in this political process.

The insurgency here is predominantly made up of Sunnis. And it is key, everyone agrees, to bring the Sunnis into the political fray to try and curb the violence that Iraq confronts on a daily basis.

So what we're waiting, Miles, is to see whether the Sunnis come on board with this document -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Of course, Aneesh, the last time they didn't show up at an election. So that -- that's another issue to consider as well.

RAMAN: It is. And they say the reasons they did not was because of security in the areas where they were meant to vote. And they do say that they will be turning out not just for the constitutional referendum to come by mid October, but also for the new elections that will come by mid December, putting in a new government in Iraq.

So everyone is keen to make sure that the Sunnis are not left out, if not for the reason that they didn't show up before, but because they will show up in the future. And they are vital to Iraq feeling that it is one country -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Walk us through the options today. If no compromise is reached, a last-minute deal, whatever, what are the options?

RAMAN: Well, first they could do what they did last week. They could extend this process yet again. That requires amending the law, a three-fourths vote in the National Assembly. They can do that for any number of days, seven days, even a month.

The other option is that a draft of some sort comes forward. We've been talking about the worse case scenario of a draft, one that does not include everyone's views. Maybe a last-minute compromise comes today and a good draft does come forward. The third remains the worst case scenario, nothing happens by midnight, this government dissolves, a new National Assembly is voted in that does this whole process all over again -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Aneesh Raman. Thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: In this country, President Bush is taking a break from his vacation in Crawford, Texas, to drum up support for the war in Iraq. Later today he is speaking to a veterans group in Salt Lake City Utah.

Suzanne Malveaux live at the White House this morning.

Suzanne, good morning to you.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

S. O'BRIEN: What do you expect the president's message is going to be?

MALVEAUX: Well, Soledad, the president essentially is trying to convince the American people that the Iraq war is worth it. He has been out of the public eye now for eight days. And it seems as if the message, the antiwar message has caught on, at least outside the Crawford ranch.

What he is going to do is compare this war with the war World War II, saying, look, it's going to be a long haul here, longer than expected, much sacrifice, but ultimately it's worth it. He is also going to invoke the memories of 9/11. He is going to make the case, saying that those insurgents in Iraq who are attacking Americans essentially share the same ideology as al Qaeda, the terrorists that attacked on 9/11. All of this, of course, a part of a renewed PR offensive to counter the concerns that many Americans have that the Iraq war is not going well.

Now, Mr. Bush has been faced with a growing antiwar protest outside the Crawford ranch started by Cindy Sheehan, the mother who lost her son in the Iraq war. This protest, this camp, has attracted counter-protests. It's also attracted some high-profile supporters.

It's just yesterday that we saw folk singer Joan Baez, who was a force in and of herself for the antiwar movement for the Vietnam War era. She was there, performed a concert to offer her support to the antiwar movement -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Suzanne, then, the president leaves a protest, but heads to one as well, waiting for him in Utah.

MALVEAUX: It's very possible that he will face protester in Salt Lake City as well. He's going to be going before a friendly audience. These are veterans of foreign wars. It's their annual -- their convention that they're having there. Utah a very pro-Bush state, but it's also expected there should be hundreds of those rallying against the war as well -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us this morning.

Suzanne, thanks.

You'll want to stay tuned for the president's speech at the VFW convention in Salt Lake City. CNN's going to have live coverage, and that begins at 1:35 p.m. Eastern Time -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Residents at the Netzarim settlement in Gaza sang, danced and prayed with Israeli soldiers today. The settlers said they would leave without a fight. Netzarim is the last settlement in Gaza to be evacuated.

Matthew Chance watched developments this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very traumatic period for many Israelis now coming to an end. This is the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, the last remaining occupied Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip.

Another 20 communities across this narrow stretch of land just like this have already been evacuated by the Israeli security forces. Many people believed Netzarim would be the first that would be abandoned by the Israeli government and by the Jewish settlers when the time came to withdraw from Gaza, but this seems to have been a deal done with the Israeli defense forces, making Netzarim -- as it is amongst 1.3 million Palestinians are being difficult to defend, the last Jewish settlement.

So a symbolic gesture in a settlement that has always been important symbolically, because it is this isolated place with nearly 500 people, devout Jews here, ideologically committed to living on land that may believe God gave the Jewish people. And so it is a big trauma for these people as they prepare to start new lives elsewhere.

Some of them will be going to the Israeli statement (ph), the majority of people here in Netzarim will be relocating to another settlement, not in Gaza, but in the West Bank, the settlement of Ariel (ph), at least for the time being until they find a more permanent place in which they can continue their lives.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Netzarim, in the Gaza Strip.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Matthew.

Let's check headlines now. Carol Costello here with that.

Good morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News," the U.S. military says American and Afghan forces have killed at least 40 militants in the eastern part of that country in recent weeks. The operation said to be aimed at securing the region ahead of elections next month. At least 14 U.S. soldiers have died in Afghanistan this month alone. Eleven of them in hostile situations.

Confessed serial killer Eric Rudolph is set to be sentenced next hour to life in prison. Rudolph was convicted in several attacks, including the 1996 Olympic park bombing that killed one person and wounded more than 100 others. Last month Rudolph got a life sentence for the 1998 bombing of an Alabama's women's clinic.

Northwest Airlines resumes a weekday schedule today with more than 4,000 of its employees on strike. The airline's mechanics and cleaners walked out on Saturday morning after refusing to approve major pay cuts and layoffs. Northwest says there have been some cancellations, but most of its flights are on time. But the mechanics are predicting things will get worse as the week progresses.

Ali Velshi will have more on this in just a few minutes.

And let's talk about the Rolling Stones, because they're rolling into another world tour. The 62-year-old Mick Jagger strutted his stuff at Fenway Park Sunday night. The group opened the show with the appropriate "Start Me Up" and kept it going on for two hours.

I'm not going to say this. Not bad for grand (ph) rockers, Chad, because they were good. I don't care how old they are.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No. Only two hours, though?

COSTELLO: Pardon?

MYERS: Only two hours, though.

COSTELLO: Well, and -- yes. Some of the tickets cost 450 bucks a piece.

MYERS: Wow. And I'm sure on eBay they were lots more than that.

COSTELLO: I bet so. But 42 concerts in nearly 40 cities, and they'll sell out all of those 40 cities. Not many groups can boast that.

MYERS: No, not many can boast all the things that they can boast about anyway. Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: We'll look forward to that. All right, Chad. Thanks.

MYERS: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, was the FAA spending your money on pricey vacations and luxury cars? A government worker blows the whistle on that.

M. O'BRIEN: And next, a look at what U.S. troops think about Cindy Sheehan's antiwar protest. We'll talk to a Marine and a former Army reservist. They disagree.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: President Bush speaks to veterans in Utah this afternoon. It is part of a new effort to make his case for staying the course in Iraq. The White House says the trip was planned before the Cindy Sheehan protest near the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, began making headlines.

We're going to talk about the protests now with two men who know about this issue. And they know about it firsthand.

Aidan Delgado is a former Army specialist. He returned from Iraq in April of 2004. And Marine Corporal Anthony Gower was wounded by an improvised explosive device in Iraq in July.

Gentlemen, thanks for talking with us.

Mr. Delgado, let's begin with you. The president is now, as we've been talking about, out rallying support for the war in Iraq. How do you think so far he has handled the protesters and protests?

AIDAN DELGADO, FMR. ARMY RESERVIST: Frankly, whatever you think about the Cindy Sheehan protest, I think the president has probably not handled it in the best way, given that if he had met with Cindy Sheehan at the beginning of this vigil, there really wouldn't have been the kind of media attention that she has generated. And his refusal to meet with her has really created much more of the publicity than initially there was.

S. O'BRIEN: You've taken part in her protest. Do you agree with her point? She says the troops should get out of Iraq and they should get out now. Do you agree with that?

DELGADO: I was down there representing the Iraq Veterans Against the War. And the position of the Iraq Veterans Against the War as an organization is that the troops should be withdrawn immediately. I don't know everything that Cindy Sheehan said. I wasn't present for everything. But I agree with her sentiment that this war has been a mistake for America.

S. O'BRIEN: But I'm not sure if your answer is you agree that the troops should be withdrawn right now from Iraq as a former soldier who has spent time there? You personally. Your opinion on this?

DELGADO: I agree. I personally think that our presence there is fomenting terrorism and it's a mistake to be there. I have some questions about how exactly a withdrawal would take place, but I do philosophically agree that we should be withdrawing from Iraq.

S. O'BRIEN: Corporal Gower, we should say philosophically you are on exactly the other side of the fence here. We need to mention that you were severely injured in Iraq just a month ago. Shrapnel hit your arm, an improvised device, as we mentioned. You were awarded the Purple Heart as well.

Give me a sense of why you think this war is worth not only staying in Iraq for, but worth fighting overall.

CPL. ANTHONY GOWER, U.S. MARINE CORPS.: We're fighting for their freedom. And we're doing an excellent job over there. The people over there love us. The kids over there love us. And they like us over there.

You know, we give them security. And, you know, they're outstanding people. You know, they like what we're doing for them. You know, I'm glad to be part of freeing their democracy.

S. O'BRIEN: Fifty-four percent of Americans now say it's a mistake for U.S. troops to be there. Does that number surprise you?

GOWER: No. War is war. And, you know, you're going to have casualties. You know, that's -- and that's life.

But, you know, we've got -- that's our job. That's what we've got to do.

S. O'BRIEN: When you were serving in Iraq, did the protests and those percentage of Americans who think that the war is a mistake, did that bother you...

GOWER: No.

S. O'BRIEN: ... when you're putting your life on the line every single day?

GOWER: No, it doesn't. I volunteered. I signed on the dotted line. And I took the oath. And I knew what my job was when I went in there. So...

S. O'BRIEN: I know you're hope that your arm can be fixed to the degree that you can actually get right back into combat. You met President Bush when you were awarded the Purple Heart. What was not only the ceremony like, but what was he like as he gave you that honor?

GOWER: He's an outstanding commander in chief. I met with him. I looked him straight in the eye, as well as he looked at me in the eye.

And when he issued me the Purple Heart, I could see the care in his eyes. You could see tears actually, you k now, getting ready to come out of his eyes as he was issuing me the Purple Heart. I looked at him and he said, "I would like to thank you for your services in which you have done." And I said, "It's my honor and my pleasure."

And you can see the care in his eyes. And he's an outstanding -- he's an outstanding commander in chief.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get back to Aidan Delgado.

Mr. Delgado, you heard the description just a moment ago from Corporal Gower saying that the Iraqis, from his experience, love American troops and recognize that they're being liberated by American troops. Was that your experience there when you served in Iraq in -- I guess you left in April 2004?

DELGADO: Well, frankly, ma'am, as someone who's lived nearly a decade in Middle East, seven years in Cairo, an additional year in Iraq, and actually able to speak some Arabic, my perception of the Iraqis was that they did not want us there. Initially during the assault they definitely supported us. However, one year of the occupation had soured them against us.

I think the current opinion polls in Iraq is just something like three-quarters of all Iraqis support a U.S. withdrawal, and over half of our own country supports a change in the Iraq war. So I don't know exactly whose will that we would be supporting or enforcing by continuing this war when the majority of our own people don't want it and the majority of the Iraqi people don't want it.

S. O'BRIEN: Corporal Gower, do you think that the president should consider removing -- removing troops from Iraq, mentioned some kind of a timetable, give a vision for when it's going to end?

GOWER: That's not my decision to make. That's why we have one commander in chief to make that decision.

S. O'BRIEN: Marine Corporal Anthony Gower and former Army Specialist Aidan Delgado joining us.

We -- we appreciate your time, gentlemen. We appreciate you illuminating the issue a bit for us. Thanks.

GOWER: Thank you, ma'am.

DELGADO: Thanks.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, it could be a huge waste of taxpayer money. A private contractor allegedly bills the government for big-ticket items like vacations and sports cars. A closer look at this on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Eric Rudolph will be sentenced to life in prison today for three Atlanta bombings, including the deadly 1996 attack in Centennial Olympic Park.

Tony Harris is live outside the federal courthouse in Atlanta this morning.

Tony, good morning to you. Who is expected to speak at the hearing today?

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you mentioned, about 12 of his victims. And good morning to you, Soledad.

As you mentioned, we're just about less than 90 minutes away from the start of the sentencing hearing for confessed serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph. And at that time we are expecting to hear from about a dozen of his Atlanta-area victims, including Fallon Stubbs.

Now, Fallon Stubbs was just 14 years old when one of Eric Rudolph's bombs went off at Centennial Olympic Park. The blast injured her, but it killed her mother, 44-year-old Alice Hawthorne. We have no idea what Fallon Stubbs will say when she gets her opportunity to speak to Rick Rudolph and to the court. But we did, Soledad, get a sense of what the tone of the statement might be last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FALLON STUBBS, MOTHER KILLED IN ATLANTA BOMBING: My main message is not going to be of, you know, of hate, and that I hate you and I feel like you've wronged me. It's just going to be of a positive nature, and to take this experience, learn from this experience, and hopefully you can change who you are to, therefore, influence other people not to take the same road that you have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And Soledad, the hearing is scheduled to get under way at 10:30 a.m. this morning. And at that time, Eric Rudolph will receive two more life sentences. That brings the total of life sentences without the possibility of parole to four. And after the hearing he will be transferred to the federal prison called Super Max in Florence, Colorado -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Tony Harris, outside the Atlanta federal court for us this morning.

Tony, thanks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: A federal employee fears for her job since blowing the whistle on a potential waste of taxpayer dollars. At issue, big- ticket expenses and other irregularities in a contract for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Kathleen Koch reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A leased Porsche Boxer, a trip to Las Vegas, rental property in Australia, just some of the unusual items contracting officer Debra Strite found when she examined expenses submitted by a company hired to design computer software for the Federal Aviation Administration.

DEBRA STRITE, FAA CONTRACTING OFFICER: And I was surprised that this particular contractor wasn't forthcoming with the substantiation that I required to pay these claims.

KOCH: When the contract with Crown Consulting Incorporated was terminated, Strite got another surprise.

STRITE: I was asked to keep the wife of an FAA executive and another individual on the contract. I gave them -- sent an e-mail to my legal counsel, informing them that I thought that there may be a problem with ethics.

KOCH: Strite shared that e-mail with CNN, as well as the one ask that the wife of FAA executive Michael Cirillo remain on the contract. The FAA declined an on-camera interview, saying an inspector general's investigation is under way into both the unusual expenses and whether Cirillo violated ethics rules.

In a statement, a spokesman said, "Mr. Cirillo has a long, unblemished career at the FAA. And it is only fair to reserve judgment until our investigation is complete."

Crown Consulting also refused to speak on camera. In a statement it said the company "... has always sought to follow the policies and practices of the FAA. Once the investigation is complete, Crown believes it will be fully vindicated."

Some say the FAA's dependence on large number of contractors to help do its job makes it vulnerable to financial abuses, as does a special policy that allows the FAA to contract for goods and services more quickly and with less red tape than other federal agencies.

GEORGE DONOHUE, FMR. FAA ASSOC. ADMIN: In the hands of amateurs it can be disastrous.

KOCH (on camera): Now, disastrous in what way? I mean, is -- could it be abuses?

DONOHUE: Can be abused.

KOCH: OK.

DONOHUE: Can be abused.

KOCH: The FAA has ordered a top-to-bottom review of its $1.3 billion in services contracts with small businesses.

(voice over): Debra Strite says she's worried her job at the FAA's Oklahoma City facility could be at risk, but that she's encouraged by dozens of supportive e-mails from co-workers.

STRITE: They're telling me I've done the right thing. They're telling me more people should do this.

KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: In a memo to top managers at the FAA, administrator Marion Blakey said new management procedures would be implemented to safeguard against abuse by contractors. She also says she wants to fundamentally change the culture of how they spend money at the FAA -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: There is much more AMERICAN MORNING still to come.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN (voice over): Ahead on "90-Second Pop," after a controversial finale, the two finalists from "Dancing with the Stars" go toe to toe for a rematch. But this time there's a twist.

Plus, "Six Feet Under" joins the dearly departed. Did viewers get the closure they needed?

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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