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CNN Live At Daybreak

Subway Threat; Karl Rove To Testify For Fourth Time In CIA Leak Probe; Vietnam Diaries

Aired October 07, 2005 - 06:31   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us. Chad will have your forecast in just a minute.

Also coming up this half-hour, a specific threat in New York City. Extra security is keeping a close eye on the subway. We'll have a live report.

And Karl Rove is going back before the grand jury in the CIA leak case. Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider will join us live to take a look.

But first, "Now in the News."

Ninety minutes ago, this year's Nobel Peace Prize recipient heard about it on CNN. The prize goes to the IAEA -- that's the International Atomic Energy Agency -- and its director, Mohamed ElBaradei. That is not him. They were cited for working to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. ElBaradei's wife told me they cried and they laughed at the same time when they heard the announcement.

At the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, they saw the announcement, too, on CNN. You can see their spokesperson, Melissa Fleming. You'll see her in just a minute. Well, she was jumping for joy. We just don't have that specific -- oh, there she goes. Melissa Fleming talking to me just a short time ago on DAYBREAK, saying that the Nobel Peace Prize will give the IAEA, oh, more power on the world stage.

A mystery is solved in Canada. Health officials say Legionnaire's disease killed 16 residents of a Toronto nursing home this week. Legionnaire's disease is a bacterial illness related to pneumonia. Toronto officials say there is no risk of the disease spreading.

The drug-maker, Merck, says it has come up with a vaccine that has proved 100 percent effective in preventing the most common forms of cervical cancer. The company says it hopes to have the vaccine on the market next year.

To the forecast center and Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: It's time for a CNN "Security Watch." Security beefed up on the New York subway this morning due to what could be an imminent attack. Members of the New York National Guard are on alert now that city officials say it may be a target in the coming days.

Alina Cho is at Penn Station here in New York City with more.

Good morning -- Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning to you.

As you well know, New York's subways have long been considered a possible terrorist target. But this is the first time that there has been such a specific threat against the subways. And that is significant for a variety of reasons, not the least of which four-and- a-half million people ride the city subways on any given workday, and an attack on the system could be devastating.

But early commuters we spoke to today say they are taking this information in stride.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, well, you think twice, you know. Should I take the car? Should I take the train? But either you take the car and you go broke, or you take the train and you just -- you know, you pray. So, it's, like I said, you feel pretty confident. And, you know, there's a lot of professional people around here, a lot of things we don't see.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's nothing you can do. You just hope that nothing happens and say a prayer and let it be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Here at Penn Station this morning we saw a lot of commuters reading about the subway plot, as you see there.

But there's not an increased police presence, at least not that we can see, but that, city officials say, is by design. There is increased manpower here, they say. But many of the police officers are working undercover.

Now, here's what else you can expect if you ride the city subways today: more bag searches. Police officers will be looking specifically at briefcases, luggage and baby carriages. Now, why baby strollers? Well, this threat apparently involved the use of bombs possibly hidden on baby carriages. And law enforcement sources tell CNN that it is possible that 15 to 20 people were involved in this plot.

Now, authorities actually knew of about this plot several days ago, but decided to hold that information so that the U.S. military could carry out what they are calling a highly-classified raid just south of Baghdad. Several people were arrested.

But as to whether this plot or potential attack has been thwarted, that is impossible to know at this early stage. What we can tell you is that New York's senior senator, Charles Schumer, calls New Yorkers a calm breed. And I can tell you as an avid subway rider, Carol, that the subway is still one of the most efficient -- if not the most efficient -- way to get from point A to point B -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And the cheapest as well. Alina Cho reporting live from Penn Station in New York this morning.

Stay tuned to CNN day and night for more news about your security.

President Bush's advisor, Karl Rove, faces another round of questions from a federal grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA agent's name. It will be his fourth time before a grand jury, and some say it's a pretty big risk.

Here to talk about that is our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.

Good morning -- Bill.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Karl Rove agreed to appear before the grand jury. Is it a big risk for him and politically for the president?

SCHNEIDER: Well, of course, it's a risk for him to volunteer information, to testify before the grand jury. But I think the calculation is that's less damaging than the risk of being indicted. If he were to be indicted, it would be a devastating blow to the Bush White House.

COSTELLO: You know, we all hear about Karl Rove. Even the president calls him "The Architect." And it would be quite damaging. But, you know, I've got to say, this investigation -- I mean, you don't hear people talking about it much on the streets. Do you think the American public really much cares about this?

SCHNEIDER: Well, it's a very technical matter about whether there was any kind of conspiracy to reveal the name of an undercover CIA agent. The law is very murky on this point.

But, look, if he were to get indicted, or anyone else in the White House -- the vice president's chief of staff has also testified and been implicated. If any highly-placed person in the White House were to be indicted, it would be an explosive scandal.

I mean, Rove himself has been called not just "The Architect" -- that's what Bush called him -- he's been described as Bush's brain, the real strategic thinker behind Bush's politics, his various victories. He's been with Bush a long time, one of his longest- serving and most trusted advisors who really did put together the strategy that got Bush elected and re-elected. COSTELLO: Well, you see Karl Rove or you saw him out and about, oh, quite a bit. But you don't seem to see him around the president anymore. Is he distancing himself?

SCHNEIDER: That is what people are speculating. There's also the view that he may be preparing to take his son on a trip to see some colleges. We simply don't know.

But we do know that he hasn't been in evidence as much as he was in the past. We know that he is going to testify for a fourth time before the grand jury. We know that the special prosecutor has alerted him that he could be -- he could be indicted if he testifies that he's not immune from an indictment, though he has not been specifically targeted, but is notified that he is likely to be indicted.

All we know is everybody is very scared in the White House about this.

COSTELLO: And not only about that, but Scooter Libby, who is, of course, you know, in the vice president's office. He's kind of implicated in this, too. So, together, that does spell big trouble, doesn't it? Bigger trouble, I should say.

SCHNEIDER: Yes, those are two senior advisors, one to the president, the other to the vice president. One has been more closely involved in politics. Scooter Libby was one of the major thinkers. And he wasn't an architect of anything. He had a lot to do with the planning of international policy, the Iraq war.

So that it could be a very sensational development that could be extraordinarily damaging to a White House that's already reeling from setbacks on a whole number of fronts.

COSTELLO: Well, you know, all of this has been dragging on for two years. So, hopefully it will be over soon, for everyone's sake.

SCHNEIDER: Well, yes. The grand jury goes out of session on October 28. The special prosecutor, Mr. Fitzgerald, is mulling charges right now. And everyone in Washington is just waiting very nervously to see what's going to happen in the next few weeks, because that's when it's likely to happen.

COSTELLO: Bill Schneider, our political analyst, joining us live this morning. Thanks, Bill.

Still ahead, the Vietnam War through the eyes of a North Vietnamese doctor who died on the battlefield.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:43 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning. The Nobel Peace Prize goes to Mohamed ElBaradei and the agency he heads, the International Atomic Energy Agency. They're being recognized for working to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

In money news, Delta Airlines gets a break. A bankruptcy judge approved a nearly $2 billion loan package for the ailing airline. On the news, Delta shares rose 6 cents, to 85 cents a share.

In pop culture, the prince and his new wife are coming. England's Prince Charles and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall have a November 2 dinner date at the White House. The royal couple also will visit New York and San Francisco.

In sports, Super Bowl XXXXIV will be played in Miami. The 2010 championship game was originally slated for New York. But the city's failure to agree on a new stadium canceled those plans.

To the forecast center and Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Vietnam War diaries, the war diaries of a female doctor described love and life in a war zone. We'll introduce you to the U.S. serviceman who held on to her journals for 35 years.

DAYBREAK continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: As we've been telling you, this year's recipient of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize was announced nearly two hours ago. A big celebration in Vienna this morning. You're watching the spokeswoman at the IAEA, Melissa Fleming, as Mohamed ElBaradei's name is announced as the Nobel Peace Prize winner and her organization.

ElBaradei heads the IAEA. That's the International Atomic Energy Agency.

ElBaradei, by the way, is 63 years old. He was born in Egypt. ElBaradei and the agency being recognized for working to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

In the last hour of DAYBREAK, I talked with his wife, Aida.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You know, I'm wondering. It's like, where do you go from here? So, you know, he wins the Nobel Peace Prize, which is incredible. And I know you win a million dollars as well. But where does he go from here with that in hand?

AIDA ELBARADEI, WIFE OF NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: Well, the thing, Carol, is hopefully, you know, that's not going to be the end of the road for what he is trying to do. On the contrary, that's going to sort on shed more light on the importance of working, you know, towards achieving this nuclear nonproliferation. And what it would do for him, it would be for him and the agency and for other people and in institutions who are working for the same cause, I would imagine that it would -- what it would do, it would really strengthen their hands to be able to -- you know, be able to achieve more in this field.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And after that, she had to go, because I suspect they were having a party. Her husband was with her, but they were expecting people. In fact, there was someone at the door, so she had to go.

And as I pointed out, the peace prize winner gets more than a million dollars. But that isn't the biggest prize. That it's awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize.

It is 6:50 Eastern. Here is what will be making news today.

Getting America prepared for the bird flu. At the State Department, there will be international talks. And at the White House, President Bush summons vaccine-makers to address boosting production.

In London today, it observes a three-month anniversary of the July 7 subway bombings. At this hour, some survivors are gathering at Victoria Station, one of the bombing sites.

And the New York subways are the focus of increased secured after a terrorist threat. While New York officials are stepping up patrols, the Homeland Security Department is downplaying the threat's credibility.

It is the story of the Vietnam War, but from a perspective you may never have heard before. At a ceremony at Texas Tech earlier this week, the diaries of a young North Vietnamese doctor were presented to her mother. The diaries were recovered by an American soldier 35 years ago after the doctor was killed on the battlefield. The soldier spent decades trying to find the doctor's family, but could not.

For more on those diaries and the stories they tell, we're joined by Fredrick Whitehurst. He's the former soldier who found them.

Good morning, sir.

FRED WHITEHURST, VET WHO SAVED DIARIES: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So, you went to a battlefield, and it was your job to collect documents and decipher them. And you came across these diaries. Why did you decide to keep them?

WHITEHURST: Well, an interpreter of mine told me when we were, in fact, burning personal papers, and he told me, "Don't burn this, it's already got fire in it."

And so, we read them. And as we read them, it became obvious to me they were from a very beautiful person. And they should be returned to the family and also to the country.

COSTELLO: And you say a beautiful person, but she was North Vietnamese. She was fighting against the Americans. What did you find in those diaries that made her human and beautiful?

WHITEHURST: Well, she wasn't just critical of Americans. She was critical of herself. She was critical of the communist party in some places. She saw the beauty in the forests and the beauty despite the war and the bombs dropping.

And it's just the very deep, deep thoughts that she put down, personal thoughts.

COSTELLO: And she was so young. She was only 27 years old when she was killed. And she was a doctor caring for wounded soldiers.

I want to read an excerpt from her diary. It's dated November 26, 1968. She writes: "It's my birthday today, with enemy gun sounding from all four directions. I am used to this already, carrying the bag and taking the patients to run and hide. After two years on the battlefield, it was nothing."

So, you must have experienced similar things being in Vietnam.

WHITEHURST: Yes, I saw some battle. I did. And not quite, I'm afraid, what she saw, and now quite what the North Vietnamese regulars or the Viet Cong saw. We simply slaughtered them out there, and we fought heavy fire on them all the time.

COSTELLO: You kept these diaries for 35 years. You searched and searched for this woman's family. And finally, they were found. Her mother got to hold the diaries in her hands for the first time. When you saw that picture, what went through your mind? And why was it important for you to return the diaries to her family?

WHITEHURST: It's important to do what's right, ma'am. And what is right is that a mother should know, a family should know the words of their daughter, their child. And a nation should know its heroes. We are hungry for heroes. We are hungry for the thoughts that she writes. And it's right to do that.

COSTELLO: Allow me to read another passage, because I'm sure this had meaning for her mother. This is dated June 20, 1970. "No, I am not a child. I am grown up and already strong in the face of hardships. But at this minute, why do I want so much a mother's hand to care for me, or really the hand of a close friend?"

And, again, that sentiment echoes what so many must have been feeling in Vietnam.

Did we lose Fred? Fred, can you hear me?

WHITEHURST: No, I'm still here, ma'am. I thought...

COSTELLO: You're still here.

WHITEHURST: Yes. And you have asked me a question. I'm afraid I've misinterpreted what you're saying.

COSTELLO: She writes in her diary, "I want so much a mother's hand to care for me."

WHITEHURST: Yes.

COSTELLO: And I think that probably reflects what many wounded soldiers were yearning for and many people lonely in Vietnam were yearning for.

WHITEHURST: Yes, I believe that. I heard one soldier as he died screaming in combat, an American soldier, "Lucy, I'm dying, Lucy, I'm dying," speaking out to his wife. And, you know, over and over and over again, and we were all trapped and pinned down. I saw -- I heard guys like they were little kids doing the same thing. You know, wounded, hurt, crying out for mom, crying out for whatever.

COSTELLO: We have such a bad connection. I'm going to have to let you go. Fred Whitehurst joining us live from North Carolina this morning.

And by the way, those diaries are now being published in Vietnam, and they have become a best seller.

When we come back, more headlines and a look at your travel forecast. You're watching DAYBREAK for a Friday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And we end today by, of course, giving away a mug.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're so out of time. We're only going to give one away. But here are the questions and the winner from yesterday. How much of a signing bonus is Burger King offering prospective employees in New Orleans? That is $6,000. And who is on the cover of the premier issue of "Men's Vogue?" And that's George Clooney, of course.

And the winner from Lithonia, Georgia, Sam Graham. Congratulations, you are the winner of today's mug question. We'll have another question for you on Monday.

COSTELLO: We sure will.

MYERS: Have a great weekend, Carol.

COSTELLO: You, too, Chad. Thanks for joining us this morning. From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Carol. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Beware of backpacks and baby buggies. That's the warning to millions of New York City commuters. This morning's rush hour is now under extra tight security after what city officials are calling a specific terror threat.

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