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CNN Live At Daybreak

White House Spy?; Battling Insurgents; Afghanistan Mission; Alaska B4UDIE

Aired October 06, 2005 - 05:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Let's get more on the investigation into the alleged theft of classified information from White House computers. Leandro Aragoncillo is said to be cooperating with investigators. And as you're about to hear, it's not like he may have passed sensitive information to terrorists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD FALKENRATH, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Once you get access to the classified Internet system inside the White House, you have access to an incredible amount of information. And so I think our hope is that all he did was reveal information about the Philippines, which is very embarrassing, but not enormously injurious to U.S. national interest, as it would be if he revealed things about military secrets or the war on terror or any number of other things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But the war on terror is being played out in the Philippines, so let's get reaction to the story from Manila.

For that, we turn to reporter Maria Ressa. She's in the Philippine capital this morning.

Good morning -- Maria.

MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: What are people saying over there?

RESSA: You know, surprisingly, there hasn't been a lot of statements made on this. In fact, the press secretary of President Arroyo released one statement. He said -- quote -- "we consider this the business of the U.S. government, and we're not making any further comments."

COSTELLO: Really?

RESSA: Yes.

COSTELLO: Why would the statement be so short? And why wouldn't he go into more detail? RESSA: It's very interesting. This story actually hit the headlines here on September 10 when both Aragoncillo and the other Filipino who he was accused of passing documents to, Michael Aquino, were both arrested.

And at that point the accusation was that Aragoncillo from May to August 15 this year had printed and downloaded about 101 classified documents all relating to the Philippines, 37 of them stamped for classified secret. He had sent them by e-mail to Filipino officials, some standing officials, some former officials.

In fact, one senator, an opposition senator, Panfilo Lacson, actually admitted receiving the information from Aragoncillo. Lacson is the boss, the former supervisor of Michael Aquino, the man who was also charged with Aragoncillo. However, this senator downplayed the information he got as -- in his words -- "shallow information" -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Shallow information, but the alleged spy, Aragoncillo, passed along this information to Mr. Aquino. Mr. Aquino is not a good guy.

RESSA: It's interesting, because that also is up for debate. His status in the Philippines is sketchy. He's been in the United States for a while. In fact, he's an overstaying alien there.

And one of the reasons that Aragoncillo was discovered was that he had come in as a member of the FBI and inquired about the case of Michael Aquino as an overstaying alien. The Immigration Services then alerted the FBI that this FBI analyst had asked and was seen as taking an undue interest in it. That was when surveillance began on Aragoncillo. That led to the e-mail trail and then to the arrest of the two men.

COSTELLO: Interesting. As far -- in the Philippines, I mean, the United States has a good relationship with the Filipino government, right, and the war on terror is being very much fought in the Philippines,...

RESSA: It's...

COSTELLO: ... so there will be no effect to that, Maria, right?

RESSA: Very little effect. In fact, the Philippines government has been one of the staunchest allies of the United States in the war against terrorism. There have been very warm relationships between President Bush and President Arroyo. A little chilling effect when the Philippines pulled its Filipino troops out of Iraq about a year ago when a Filipino had been kidnapped and the Philippines pulled out its troops. But since then, the cooperation between the two governments in the war against terror continues.

COSTELLO: Maria Ressa reporting live for us from the Philippines this morning from Manila.

Thank you, Maria. Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

On to Iraq now, President Bush says Iraq is better prepared to battle the insurgency there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But nevertheless, the Iraqis are showing more and more capability to take the fight to the enemy. And that's how we're going to succeed in helping democracy become established in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Let's see how that view is playing out in Baghdad.

Aneesh Raman is live in the Iraqi capital.

Hello -- Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning.

The U.S. military really pointing to the three offensives ongoing in western Iraq, River Gate, Mountaineer and Iron Fist, as a potential progress of Iraq's security forces. The reason why they are distinguishing these operations from those before is that they are going into these areas, routing out the insurgency and they plan to stay. It is a significant step forward.

They will leave numbers there. And they say Iraqi security forces will remain and gradually increase in number over the weeks and months to come. They will take back this area that has a number of insurgent strongholds and keep stability and security, something the Iraqi civilians living there are in desperate need for. But in terms of success, it is something we'll have to wait and see.

The numbers suggest where we go from here. Five to one, that is the ratio of U.S. military to Iraqi security forces on one operation, Operation River Gate, alone. We're told that just over 190,000 Iraqis are now trained and equipped within the Iraqi security force.

But you'll recall those hearings on Capitol Hill just days ago where the top commander here said the number of independent autonomous Iraqi battalions had gone from three to one. So progress is being made, but only as quickly as the situation on the ground will allow. And that is why any notion of troop withdrawal, any rhetoric of it, is always laced with conditions.

And we have huge variables, Carol, ahead of us, the October 15 vote, the mid-December elections, violence that could take place in and around both of those events, a political friction that seems to be deepening between the Sunnis, the Shi'a and the Kurds. All of that in a very real sense plays in to the Iraqi security situation -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Aneesh Raman live in Baghdad this morning. A little more than five hours from now we'll hear more about those Iraqi forces and how it all relates to U.S. troops and Iraq's growing democracy. CNN will bring you the president's comments at 10:10 Eastern this morning.

One crucial battleground in the war on terror, Afghanistan. NATO commanders are laying the groundwork for a new phase in the operation, and it's a dangerous mission that goes straight to the heart of the Taliban insurgency.

CNN's Nic Robertson has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Flying in to Afghanistan's relatively peaceful central highlands, NATO's top diplomats and commanders come to the most remote outpost with their PRTs, provincial reconstruction or stabilization teams, to get answers on their most pressing question, how to expand NATO forces to the far more dangerous south of the country. In effect, putting NATO troops into their first ever ground combat mission.

JAAP DE HOOP SCHEFFER, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: There's still, unfortunately, combat to do. There is still counterinsurgency necessary against Taliban and other spoilers of the process. But the PRTs, as such, will need more robust rules of engagement.

ROBERTSON: And it's not just the rules of engagement, how and when troops can open fire that need to be changed to meet the new dangers.

GEN. JAMES JONES, SUPREME ALLIED CMDR., EUROPE: We will have to make sure that our intelligence and information gathering is of the highest quality. We will have to make sure that we have quick response forces that are tested and ready.

ROBERTSON: Time to make decisions is running out.

(on camera): Early next year, about 6,000 NATO troops, Canadian first, then British, then Dutch, are expected to begin to replace the U.S. forces in south and eastern Afghanistan, the Taliban heartland. It comes at a time when attacks in the area are up. More than 50 U.S. soldiers have been killed in the last four months. That's far more than the same time last year.

(voice-over): The ambassadors of 20 of NATO's 26 countries are on the fact-finding mission. But getting them to agree on all issues, in particular, easing off so-called national caveats, what each country's soldiers can and cannot do, is likely to be a significant challenge.

SCHEFFER: National caveats are always, should always be at an absolute minimum. And one of my main points is to bring them down considerably. ROBERTSON: While NATO already has more than 9,000 soldiers operating in the relative safety of the north and west, it is stabilizing and securing the south and east that is seen as critical.

HIKEMT CETIN, NATO REP. FOR AFGHANISTAN: If you do not go to Afghanistan, Afghanistan will come to us. Will come to you by terror.

ROBERTSON: Another significant detail also requiring speedy resolution, the precise working relationship between NATO and the U.S.-led hunt for Osama bin Laden.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Chaghcharan, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: So you want to get away and forget about all that's going on in our country right now. Well, Alaska wants you to visit before you die. We will hear about this great northern state and its new, kind of strange, campaign slogan.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday.

Good morning, Jacksonville, Florida.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A fascinating Larry King last night. The hostage in the Atlanta courthouse shooting tells her story and gives thanks to God that her life was spared.

Let's take you "Beyond the Soundbite" this morning, Ashley Smith talking about that moment last March when her life collided with the suspect, Brian Nichols. She gives details from her new book, including how she gave Nichols drugs but didn't use any herself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEY SMITH, AUTHOR, "UNLIKELY ANGEL": He actually asked me if I had any marijuana in the house. He didn't just -- I mean, obviously, we talked a little bit. He -- I don't know why...

LARRY KING, HOST: Still holding a gun on you?

SMITH: Right. And I said no, but, and in the attempt to do everything that he said, the words I have ice just came out of my mouth.

KING: Ice is?

SMITH: Crystal meth.

KING: And you were addicted to that?

SMITH: I was addicted to it.

KING: And still had some? You had stopped taking it but still had some?

SMITH: I still had some for me. I had done some the day before.

KING: Really?

SMITH: And had slept and then started the day on Friday. And so when he got out of the shower, he asked for it.

KING: When he's in the shower, why didn't you run?

SMITH: I was tied up at the time. Right. And as soon as I said I have crystal meth, I thought, wow, I've just, you know, said I have this stuff that makes me crazy, makes me -- I mean it put me into a mental hospital.

KING: But you just used it the day before.

SMITH: It took my health. It made me give custody of my daughter up, but I've offered it to a man that's allegedly killed these people and...

KING: Had he ever taken it?

SMITH: He said that he hadn't. He said he had heard of it. But he said...

KING: So, how did you administer it?

SMITH: But he said that was just -- that was just what he needed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Smith says refusing to take drugs with Nichols was a turning point in her life and that she hasn't taken controlled substances since then.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

President Bush is expected to make what's being called a major speech on terrorism this morning. The White House says the president will explain how the war in Iraq is part of the greater war on al Qaeda.

Katrina will be a popular name on Capitol Hill today. Several Senate and House committees will hold hearings on FEMA and the storm's aftermath. Among those expected to testify, the acting FEMA chief, David Paulison, and the president of St. Bernard Parish in New Orleans.

In money news, package delivery is going to get pricey. FedEx says it will raise its overnight rates about 3 percent in January. Can you guess why? You guessed it, rising gas prices. Analysts say UPS is expected to follow suit. In pop culture, John Lennon's stamp collection goes on display today at the Smithsonian. It's not like a normal collection, though, you see Lennon made handwritten notes and doodles on the stamps.

In sports, hockey is back. All 30 teams were in action last night as they dropped the puck on a new season. The NHL missed all of last season because of a labor dispute.

Are you watching -- Chad?

MYERS: Yawn.

COSTELLO: I knew you'd say that.

MYERS: I'll come back in the second half of the season. I'm boycotting the first half.

Good morning, everybody.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad. Chad, don't go away, because you know it's Charlie Brown's favorite time of year. And we couldn't let a newscast go by in October without showing you a big, great, big, huge pumpkin.

MYERS: The pumpkin patch.

COSTELLO: Yes.

MYERS: You know, actually a lot of people on the East Coast are saying that pumpkins are not going to be very good this year, they're not going to be very large because there just wasn't enough rain at the right time when these pumpkins were on the vine.

COSTELLO: Well apparently that's not affecting things in Utah.

MYERS: Not if you have a hose. You can always hose them.

COSTELLO: That's true. These are Gordon Tanner's giant pumpkins. And they may be too big for even all the "Peanuts" kids to carve up.

MYERS: Wow!

COSTELLO: Gordon Tanner, by the way, is the king at the Utah Giant Pumpkin Growers. Last fall, Chad, he set the Utah state record at 906 pounds.

MYERS: That was an awesome pumpkin.

COSTELLO: Well, this is the one he's got to beat. That's 910 pounds. That's almost half a ton. So we'll see how he does this year.

MYERS: That's a lot of seeds. COSTELLO: It certainly is.

MYERS: Should be able to sell those seeds for something, right? Put those on eBay.

COSTELLO: Why not, everything else is on eBay.

MYERS: I guess.

COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, where is the one place you'd like to visit before you die? If Alaska is it, you are not alone. Up next, a travel expert from Anchorage on what's to see and experience in Alaska before you die.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Time for our e-mail "Question of the Day," Chad. What should be the focus of the U.S. policy? As you know, the president is going to speak later this morning about the war on terrorism, the war in Iraq and how that ties to al Qaeda. But we want to know if you think he should be talking about that or something else this morning?

MYERS: Yes, a lot of folks think he's spread pretty thin here.

Tim (ph) from North Carolina says I think that the looming bird flu pandemic should be his top priority here. It truly scares me to think that our government can't handle the regular flu, much less something of this magnitude.

And from Larry (ph), he says I think we should start talking about what's picked up by an -- why he picked an under-qualified candidate for the Supreme Court. I think he has some explaining to do.

And from Laura (ph) in Denver, Americans should begin to call for a government overhaul and demand that our government officials do their jobs with the highest standards of honesty, integrity and ethics. If we could actually accomplish that, a lot of other issues of concern would be easier to solve.

And Steve (ph) listed them from one to eight, immigration, immigration, immigration, immigration, immigration, immigration, immigration.

COSTELLO: My goodness, well I guess we know where he stands.

MYERS: Exactly. And there are others coming in, Carol, and they do -- they run all over.

Tony (ph) says we continue to try to impose our policies and beliefs on foreign countries that don't agree with them or, for that matter, want them, all in the name of freedom. Our young people are giving their lives on foreign soil and our economy is hemorrhaging. We need our own citizens to get what they need. When will our politicians learn that charity begins at home and our domestic needs come first? COSTELLO: Very eloquently stated.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: And thanks for your e-mails this morning, we always appreciate them.

Let's talk about this now, the great Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, Venice and Rome, all landmark locations that attract millions of tourists. Now some people are hoping that Alaska makes its way on to that list. So folks in Alaska have launched a new billboard campaign to encourage people to see the last frontier before it's too late. You see, see Alaska B4UDIE.

Here to explain it all is Ron Peck of the Alaska Travel Industry Association.

Good morning -- Ron.

RON PECK, ALASKA TRAVEL INDUSTRY ASSOC.: Good morning, Carol. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm fine. So, you know I'm looking at other slogans for states. And in -- you know Virginia is for lovers. And I think that's ranked number one slogan, like, in the whole country. I love New York is another one.

PECK: Right.

COSTELLO: And you have Alaska B4UDIE.

PECK: Well, it's actually not our branding statement. Our branding statement is Alaska beyond your dreams and within your reach. But we are a very marketing focused tourism association and marketing association.

And what we found through 25 years of research and focus groups is literally folks tell us in these focus groups that you know we just have a dream to come to Alaska. It's really going to be our trip of our lifetime. And they often literally said we'd like to go before we die. So our advertising for Bradley Reid came up with the concept. And we said you know a little bit different on the edge, but let's go for it.

COSTELLO: And you wanted it to be edgy. This is sort of the test.

PECK: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. This is sort of a test, though. This lasts only a month, right?

PECK: Yes, we're running the campaign through November. And we are very excited already with the response we've gotten. Literally, last weekend or last week here, excuse me, over the last couple of days, we've had a substantial amount of hits on our Web site talking about it. So we know it's creating interest. And in fact, anecdotally we had someone e-mail back to us and said you know it got us going and we just said let's book that cruise tomorrow. And they literally have. So it's exciting news for us.

COSTELLO: That's great. Ron, Chad has a question for you.

PECK: Sure.

MYERS: Ron, I was kind of thinking that Alaska was, you know, a lifetime away on an airplane and probably a $1,500 ticket. But I just got on Orbitz and I can get from Atlanta to Anchorage next week for $395. I find that extremely inexpensive, compared to what I thought, or my perception would be of this flight. I can hardly get to Dallas for 300 bucks.

PECK: Yes. You know there's -- sometimes there's a bit of a myth about the cost to Alaska. You know we're a little bit farther away from the rest of our contiguous states. But in truth, there is great value out there, not just air miles, but we have good cruise opportunities, great hotel lodging that is not as expensive as some people perceive it.

MYERS: Yes.

PECK: So Alaska is a great place to come and there are great prices out there and that's correct.

COSTELLO: You know what I find fascinating about Alaska, there are so many interesting hikes you can do. And you can do a lot of adventure sports activities out there, right?

PECK: Absolutely. We have known for years people come for three reasons. They come for our mountains, our glaciers and our wildlife and they come for that outdoor adventure experience, to a large degree. And we're seeing folks of all ages come and view wildlife, hike, kayak, go fishing, and it's a great opportunity.

Just early to spring, we had friends come from Seattle. And we literally took a little two-hour drive. And in that timeframe, from Anchorage to Seward, we saw black bear, moose, sheep, whales. It was a great opportunity. So you're absolutely -- but folks come to see our wildlife and experience the outdoors in a variety of ways.

COSTELLO: Well, Ron, thank you for joining us this morning. And the slogan of the morning, Alaska B4UDIE.

PECK: You got it. Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Ron Peck.

Here is a look at what's ahead in the next hour of DAYBREAK. This is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Lisa Drayer of "Women's Health" magazine has some prevention tips for you.

And evidence is undeniable, you've seen the thousands of hurricane flooded cars. We'll have some pointers on how to avoid that so-called great bargain that just came on the market.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: "Entertainment Headlines" for you this morning.

Renee Zellweger is set to star in a Hollywood remake of the Hong Kong horror movie "The Eye." It's the story of a young woman who sees the visions of a dead woman whose corneas she inherited in a transplant.

After 13 years of marriage, singer-songwriter Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds is calling it quits with his wife, Tracey. They have two children and have produced movies and TV shows together. They say they remain best friends and will continue to work together in their companies and various business ventures.

Los Angeles police say contrary to witness reports, a car crash involving actress Lindsay Lohan has nothing to do with the paparazzi. The 19-year-old Lohan and a female passenger were injured when a van made a U-turn in front of her black Mercedes convertible. Her injuries were minor. The van driver might get a ticket.

The next hour of DAYBREAK begins in one minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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