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CNN Live Today
Terror Speech; Former Marine Accused of Spying; Bombings in Iraq
Aired October 06, 2005 - 11:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's check stories "Now in the News."
Firefighters are battling a 6,000-acre wildfire in southern California. Earlier, the blaze had threatened about 100 homes in an area about 60 miles east of Los Angeles. The fires is now 25 percent contained. We'll have a live report in just a short while.
Another attempt to break the political stalemate in Germany. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and conservative challenger Angela Merkel have scheduled more meetings today. Both sides have signed off on a grand coalition but cannot agree on who would lead that coalition. Neither side won enough seats to form a government on their own in the election that took place three weeks ago.
The tour boat that capsized on New York's Lake George may be floated back to the water today. Twenty elderly tourists died when the boat overturned last Sunday. A similar boat became unstable during tests yesterday with only a fraction of the weight it was approved to carry.
And public reports just out say that a probe will be launched investigating doping allegations against Lance Armstrong. The cycling's ruling body has appointed a Dutch attorney to investigate allegations brought forth by a French newspaper. The paper alleges Armstrong tested positive for the hormone EPO during the 1999 Tour de France. Armstrong has strongly denied those allegations.
Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY. I'm Daryn Kagan.
Islamic militants are trying to intimidate the world, and Iraq has become their main staging area. Those are the words sure to be seen as fiery by some. They came less than two hours ago from President Bush.
He's stepping up his defense of the war in Iraq and the global fight against terrorism. And today he continues that argument that the two are connected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some observers also claim that America would be better off by cutting our losses and leaving Iraq now. That's a dangerous solution, refuted with a simple question. Would the United States and other free nations be more safe or less safe with Zarqawi and bin Laden in control of Iraq, its people, and its resources? Having removed a dictator who hated free peoples, we will not stand by as a new set of killers dedicated to the destruction of our own country seizes control of Iraq by violence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Well, within minutes of the president's speech, one leading Democrat was already challenging some of his claims. House Minory Leader Nancy Pelosi had this to say in the last hour...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: The president's statement that Iraq is the central front on the war on terror is a mistake. That simply does -- is not supported by the facts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Pelosi also said that the war in Iraq has made Americans a greater target for terrorists here and abroad.
Let's go ahead and look beyond the president's speech and weigh some of his words.
Joining us with a CNN fact check, our national correspondent, David Ensor, who is in Washington.
David, hello.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, as you've said, this was primarily a detailed and passionate counterattack against the ideology of al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, which the president compared to communism and Stalin. Mr. Bush seldom mentions bin Laden by name or Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al Qaeda leader in Iraq. But he clearly feels now that he must respond to them in very specific terms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Zarqawi has said that Americans are "the most cowardly of god's creatures." But let's be clear. It is cowardice that seeks to kill children and the elderly with car bombs, and cuts the throat of a bound captive, and targets worshipers leaving a mosque.
It is courage that liberated more than 50 million people. It is courage that keeps an untiring vigil against the enemies of a rising democracy. And it is courage in the cause of freedom that once again will destroy the enemies of freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENSOR: White House aides had promised more specifics in this speech about the war on terror. On that front, there was this passage...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Overall, the United States and her partners have disrupted at least 10 serious al Qaeda terrorist plots since September the 11th, including three al Qaeda plots to attack inside the United States. We've stopped at least five more al Qaeda efforts to case targets in the United States or infiltrate operatives into our country.
Because of this steady progress, the enemy is wounded. But the enemy is still capable of global operations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENSOR: We may hear more soon about which disrupted attacks the president was referring to. There's a briefing imminent at the White House. But the speech was more about tying the war on terror to Iraq and opening an ideological counterattack addressed to the world's Muslims -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Well, and does that become a matter of the audience or how you want to interpret that? Because we saw just moments later, the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, saying it doesn't add up to her that way.
ENSOR: Well, that's right. Certainly, there was an American audience and a political component to the president's speech. But an awful lot of it did appear to be addressed to the Muslim world.
And I think the fact that Karen Hughes, the undersecretary of state, has recently been travelling in that part of the world and has been, I'm told, shocked by some of the things that have been said to her, some of that might be behind the tone of the speech, as it addressed so much of the time the arguments within Islam about these terrorists.
KAGAN: David Ensor, live in Washington, D.C. Thank you.
Also on the topic, British Prime Minister Tony Blair turning up the heat on Iran. The British leader has been meeting with Iraqi leader Jalal Talabani. Blair is suggesting that Iranians may be supplying weapons to insurgents in Iraq.
He says weapons used against coalition forces may have come from Iranian elements or Hezbollah, which has a close relationship with Iran. But Mr. Blair says he cannot be certain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: What is clear is that there have been new explosive devices used, not just against British troops, but elsewhere in Iraq. The particular nature of those devices lead us either to Iranian elements or to Hezbollah because they are similar to the devices used by Hezbollah that is funded and supported by Iran. However, we cannot be sure of this at the present time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Iran earlier denied allegations that it was involved on attacks -- in attacks on British soldiers in Iraq. A foreign ministry spokesman says Tehran said that was a lie. And now a story that looks like it comes out of a Tom Clancy thriller. A former Marine who once worked at the White House accused of spying. He is accused of stealing classified information and passing it on to people in the Philippines.
Our national correspondent, Bob Franken, has the latest from Washington.
Bob, hello.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello. And where that investigation goes is what makes it so intriguing, because Leandro Aragoncillo was a member of the United States Marines who was assigned to security detail of the vice presidents' offices during the Gore and Cheney vice presidencies as a security person.
He is now being investigated possibly for downloading classified material from computers, perhaps from the White House, and turning it over to opposition groups in the Philippines. He's a native of the Philippines, although a nationalized U.S. citizen.
He was arrested in September. He...
KAGAN: All right. Bob, I'm just going to jump in here because there appears to be an issue with which microphone they turned up. We'll let Washington figure that out. But right now, we are going to tell our viewers to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the latest on your CNN "Security Watch."
Meanwhile, it has been another devastating day in Iraq. Today, a suicide car bombing near the oil ministry in Baghdad. This attack after yesterday's massive car bombing in Hilla which left 36 people dead.
CNN's Aneesh Raman is in the Iraqi capital and joins us now with the details -- Aneesh.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good afternoon.
President Bush has long said to expect a spike in violence ahead of the October 15 vote. And the attacks certainly here continuing today.
A suicide bomber boarding a minibus of police recruits earlier today in the capital detonating just outside of Iraq's oil ministry. At least 10 people were killed, eight others wounded in that attack.
Elsewhere in the capital, a suicide car bomb detonated as a convoy of American contractors were passing by. That incident left at least eight Iraqi civilians wounded.
And as you mentioned, south of the Iraqi capital, in the town of Hilla, the residents there today grieving for the dead. At least 36 people were killed, 95 others wounded, Daryn, after a suicide bomber entered a Shiite mosque. This, of course, the holy month of Ramadan. But a funeral was taking place in that mosque at the time for someone who had been killed in an explosion just days before. So we are seeing the violence throughout the country as we head towards that critical date of October 15, when Iraqis will go to the polls.
Copies of the constitution being distributed today. Iraqis just starting to read the document they will vote on now, Daryn, in just nine days.
KAGAN: All right. Aneesh Raman, live from Baghdad. Thank you.
Another thing that President Bush's speech did, taking the conversation off of his Supreme Court pick, Harriet Miers. Well, she is heading back to the Hill today. Miers has scheduled key meetings with senators to build support for the nomination. She meets later this afternoon with Senator Sam Brownback. He is one of the Republican lawmakers openly questioning the choice of Miers.
Other Republican leaders, including Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, are, however, endorsing that nomination.
Straight ahead, we're going to check other stories making headlines this hour, including another wildfire in California.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Thelma Gutierrez in Riverside, California, where firefighters are gaining the upper hand on a 6,000-acre fire.
KAGAN: And a medical breakthrough in the fight against cancer. The latest on an experimental vaccine that could mean prevention for millions of women.
We are back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: All right, I think we have figured out what ails the microphones in Washington, D.C. We were talking to Bob Franken about allegations of a spy who had access to working at the White House.
Let's go back to Bob -- Bob.
FRANKEN: He is a retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant Leandro Aragoncillo. He had worked security detail at the White House in the vice president's office for three years. The vice presidencies of both Vice President Gore and Vice President Cheney. He is accused of downloading classified information and turning it over to opposition figures in the Philippines.
Now, there is an investigation going on to determine whether that occurred while he was at the White House, which according to just about everybody we've talked to, would be unprecedented, or if it was after he left the Marine Corps and became an FBI analyst. In any case, he was arrested in September. There is no indictment yet. He is cooperating, we are told, by government officials in the investigation.
We are also told that an associate of his, Michael Aquino, who is identified as a former member of the Philippine Secret Service, is facing indictment that could come as early today or in the very near future. The charge, turning over classified material to foreign nationalists -- foreign nationals.
In this particular case, the materials, according to a variety of sources, were sent to opposition groups in the Philippines, which is in political turmoil right now. Material that was turned over to opponents of the current president, Gloria Arroyo. She is somebody who almost was impeached very recently. According to the government sources we have talked to, the person who is the former Marine is described as somebody who had very strong opinions about the politics in the Philippines.
Now we are told he is cooperating with investigators. We are told that the material can be classified as not really damaging to natural security, except that it contained candid assessments by U.S. officials of Philippine officials, which in many occasions, according to those we've talked to, could be embarrassing -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right. Bob Franken, seeing our way through that story. Thank you for take two. Appreciate it. Thanks, Bob.
Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Let's head off to southern California now. That is where fire crews are making quick progress this morning. They're beating down a wildfire in Riverside County. It earlier was threatening about 100 homes.
Thelma Gutierrez gets us up to speed.
Thelma, hello.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Daryn.
Well, we spoke with fire officials a short time ago, and they tell us that the firefighters are now positioned on the ground in the canyons behind me. They are there putting out some of the hot spots and the hidden fires in the brush there. And while there are no visible flames in this immediate area, fire officials say they are still cautiously optimistic. They say that they believe that the fire is well within a perimeter that they can control, but that all it takes is the winds to kick up, and then suddenly they have a raging brush fire to deal with.
Now, the fire has been very tough for firefighters on the ground. The terrain out here is very steep. It is rugged. And when the flames shoot through the canyons like they did early this morning, the only way to deal with them is with an all-out air attack. And that appears to have begun this morning.
Now, So far, 6,000 acres have burned. This fire is 25 percent contained, though those numbers are likely to change a little bit later on. And the winds thankfully have died down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUNCAN BUSH, RIVERSIDE COUNTY RESIDENT: With the Santa Ana kick- up -- and there's nothing to stop the fires coming through the badlands. You can't fight it on the ground. It's pretty much air fighting only. And once it gets dark that stops.
So -- but the wind was real strong, blowing a lot of embers and stuff. But people pretty much have pretty good dispensable areas. We recently had a fire here about a week ago. So it came real close also.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTIERREZ: Now, the residents here were told early this morning to prepare to evacuate. This is horse country, it's a rural area. And so they began to load up their animals as of last night.
And they say that thankfully, though, the winds did die down, they did not have to leave -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Thelma Gutierrez, live from southern California in Riverside County. Thank you.
Let's talk about the weather on the other side of this country, Tammy, the remnants of the storm, and also the rest of the nation's weather. Meteorologist Rob Marciano at the CNN weather center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: Gauging the relief effort along the Gulf Coast. FEMA's acting director speaks out in Washington today. The latest coming up next. A live picture there.
Also, 'tis the season for sneezing and flu shots. How early should preschoolers get the vaccine? We'll explore that issue just ahead. You might be shocked at a new recommendation that's coming out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: New numbers in, giving us a better idea of how many people lost jobs in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That number rose last week to 363,000. The Labor Department says the total reflects an increase of about 74,000 storm-related claims for unemployment benefits.
Just last hour, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says the devastation has provided his city with an economic opportunity that we'll never see again. Nagin says New Orleans will see $100 billion worth of rebuilding over the next decade, and that all economic classes can benefit. He was joined by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco at a government-sponsored seminar for small businesses.
And state officials now say that both Charity and University hospitals have been left unsalvageable and that they should be torn down. The head of the hospital systems says the aging systems were issued their death warrants by Katrina.
On a related note, FEMA's director says he is going to tear up hundreds of millions of dollars worth of federal contracts because they were awarded with little or no bidding. David Paulison's announcement this morning comes as Congress is taking a closer look at the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.
Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, is in Washington with more on this development.
Jeanne, hello.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.
The tone of this hearing was not confrontational. Senators well aware that David Paulison, the acting director of FEMA, has been on the job only for three weeks. But members continued to raise questions about failures in planning and decision-making that have marked FEMA's response to Katrina and Rita. Senator Susan Collins, for instance, asked why ice ended up in her northern state of Maine, of all places.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: That means that we still have 150 truckloads of ice purchased to assist the Hurricane Katrina victims sitting in cold storage in Portland, Maine. And I'm also told that it costs $800 a day to haul this ice around the country.
None of this ice started in the state of Maine. It was just routed there 1,600 miles away from the victims. This is just really hard to understand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Paulison said FEMA is not going to dump the ice in Maine or anywhere else because hurricane season isn't over yet and it may be needed.
There were a lot of questions from senators about contracts, whether they give enough work to local companies, whether taxpayers are getting their money's worth. Paulison said some of the most controversial deals will get a second look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID PAULISON, ACTING FEMA DIRECTOR: All of those no-bid contracts we are going to go back and re-bid. We are in the process of re-bidding them already. So...
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: So you have started that already?
PAULISON: Yes, sir. We are going to re-bid all of those no-bid contracts. And then they were in the process of starting to do that. And maybe they should have been done sooner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Paulison reiterated his commitment to get the 60,000 hurricane victims still in shelters in some other kind of housing by the middle of this month. Clearly a tall order, one of many facing the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
And those three cruise ships that have been largely empty, though the agency hired them for housing at a cost of $236 million, Paulison says they are now housing federal workers and are almost completely full.
Daryn, back to you.
KAGAN: So no room for the ice on the ships, because at least the ship's aren't being used. Oh, a lot of stuff to cover.
Jeanne, thank you.
MESERVE: You bet.
KAGAN: Yes.
Well, this could be touted as the first effective vaccine for cancer. Up next, Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at a promising development in the battle against cervical cancer.
And drawing the lines between terrorism and Iraq. The president makes another pitch to the American public. We'll take a closer look at his speech just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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