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Pentagon Will be on Ground in Pakistan Today With Equipment; Blue-Ribbon Panel Will Meet to Consider How to Jumpstart New Orleans Economy
Aired October 10, 2005 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Happy Columbus Day to you. If you're at home, good for you. We're here working in honor of Christopher Columbus today. I'm Miles O'Brien.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello, in for Soledad.
Thank you for joining us this morning. Jumpstarting the badly damaged New Orleans economy. Efforts are now under way. Just ahead we'll talk with a Bring Back New Orleans Committee member.
But first let's check come headlines. Betty Nguyen is at CNN Center in Atlanta with that.
Good morning, Betty.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning, Miles.
And Happy Columbus Day to you. Obviously you're very excited about today.
Now in the news, the White House will provide initial aid of up to $50 million dollars for earthquake assistance in Pakistan. The weekend quake has killed at least 30,000 people all across the region there. Eight helicopters carrying ground equipment and medical aid are also expected to arrive today in the affected area. Much more on the U.S. military efforts. That is just ahead.
Meanwhile, President Bush is heading to Louisiana today for a two-day visit focused on rebuilding efforts after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This will be his eighth trip to the affected areas. The president is having dinner with state and local officials in New Orleans tonight and tomorrow. He and first lady Laura Bush will take place in a Habitat for Humanity building project.
Gas prices have jumped about ten cents a gallon over the past two weeks. Lucky us. The national average is now $2.91 a gallon. The prices are being blamed on damage to refineries from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But experts say a big drop-off in prices could come soon. I say bring it on.
And the longest postgame season in baseball history. The Houston Astros beating the Atlanta Braves in the 18th inning. Yes, you heard it right, 18 innings! The game clocked in at 5:55. Final score, 7-6. The Astros advance to the National League Championship series for a second year in a row. Carol, you got to feel for the Braves. They went 18 innings, and just got to come back next year.
COSTELLO: They were up 6-1, Betty, and then they lost the game in 18! I don't think I'd get out of bed this morning.
Thank you, Betty.
NGUYEN: Sure.
COSTELLO: The Pentagon will be on the ground in Pakistan today with equipment to help search for earthquake survivors, and of course care for the victims. Top commanders will also be there to coordinate a U.S. military presence in Pakistan.
CNN's Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon. Barbara, how extensive is the U.S.'s involvement.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it is just beginning, we are told. And the U.S. military involvement, if the Pakistanis agree, is expected to grow significantly. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld working this problem all weekend, we are told by his top aides. Now the first flight has arrived in Pakistan, unloading food, medicine, blankets we're told, 90,000 pounds of relief equipment.
But let's get quickly to what will happen next. Key point -- Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, overnight has flown into Islamabad with a small team of aides. General Eikenberry now setting up a communications node, we are told, in Pakistan to begin coordinating this U.S. relief effort.
A second top U.S. military commander, Admiral David Nichols, the top Navy commander in the Persian gulf, is expected to head to Pakistan shortly. He will be the long-term commander for the U.S. effort, we are told.
Now we are told by officials so far, eight helicopter flights, a number of cargo flights. But this is expected to grow significantly. The Pakistanis are asking essentially for supplies, food, water, medicine, tents, heavy earth-moving equipment. That is what they say they say they need most urgently. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld telling his commanders to look at U.S. military stocks around the world and get them moving in that direction -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, this is also a sensitive undertaking, isn't it? I mean, humanitarian sense?
STARR: It is the most sensitive mission right now, Carol, for this very particular reason. Of course, while the Pakistani government is a key ally of the U.S. in the global war on terror, there is a very significant radical, violent, fundamentalist Islamic movement in Pakistan. Many people in Pakistan are not disposed in a friendly manner towards the United States. President Musharraf walks a very fine line between his alliance with the United States and that radical movement inside his own country. So as U.S. forces, U.S. troops essentially, may move into Pakistan, one of the key delicate questions that nobody really wants to talk about publicly right now is force protection for those U.S. troops. We are told by top officials that all U.S. military assets will have prudent security measures, and this will be a very delicate matter as they move in. They will work very closely with the Pakistani government on this issue -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Barbara Starr, live at the Pentagon this morning.
O'BRIEN: In New Orleans, about 80,000 companies, nearly all of them small businesses, were damaged or destroyed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Today, a blue-ribbon panel of leaders will meet to consider how to jumpstart the city's economy. A member of the Bring New Orleans Back Commission joins us now, city council president Oliver Thomas. He joins us once again from Baton Rouge.
Mr. Thomas, good to have you back with us.
OLIVER THOMAS, BRING NEW ORLEANS BACK COMMITTEE: Yes, good morning, Miles. How are you doing, man?
O'BRIEN: Very well. Very well.
THOMAS: Good.
O'BRIEN: First of all, I want to talk about briefly, because when last we spoke, viewers will remember you and the mayor weren't communicating so well. What is the mayor having to say about bringing businesses back?
THOMAS: Well, the mayor has been calling every other day, sometimes two or three days in a row.
O'BRIEN: Good.
THOMAS: So that situation has changed. You know, I'm just excited about this committee. Hopefully, we can come with a list or a slate of ideas that can help jumpstart our economy and get our citizens back, really, to our community sooner than late.
O'BRIEN: Well, let's talk about that, because one of the big things that has been a concern, and you hear it repeatedly from the likes of you and people in New Orleans, is that as it comes time to issue the bids and provide the (INAUDIBLE) to fix and rebuild New Orleans that it goes to locals. Is that happening?
THOMAS: Well, let's say that the numbers that came out last week at the business seminar were really not that encouraging. I think one of the numbers was out of all of the total of all of the contracts, only six percent have gone to Louisiana companies.
O'BRIEN: Wait a minute. Say that again. I want to make sure people who are eating their Wheaties right now heard that. Six percent to Louisiana. Why? THOMAS: Well, you know, well, you know, we need the governor, the mayor, local officials, our Louisiana congressional delegation has to fight to make sure that we have maximum participation.
O'BRIEN: But...
THOMAS: It's unacceptable. The president -- yes?
O'BRIEN: Mr. Thomas, these are the same group of leaders who dropped the ball in advance and in the wake of Katrina. How can you expect them to pull it together for this?
THOMAS: Well, you know what was was and what is is, and what is happening right now is the fact that we have a very small percentage represented in these contracts. So we need our congressional delegation to really kind of wrestle with these departments, FEMA, the agencies that are giving out contracts. The president laid out a great plan for recovery. He talked about ending class and economic racism in the region and maximizing participation. These departments and these bureaucratic leaders just need to make sure that they follow that plan. That's not happening right now.
O'BRIEN: Well, that'd be good. What we're seeing is Halliburton. You must love seeing that.
THOMAS: Well, you know, if Halliburton uses Louisiana, they could be Louisiana-Burton. It would make any difference to me. But if they use Louisiana companies and Louisiana residents...
O'BRIEN: You think they will?
THOMAS: You mean to tell me no one from New Orleans knows how to pick up a branch, or cut a tree or sweep a street for $8, or $9 or $10 a hour.
O'BRIEN: And Lord knows, they need the work, they need the work right? It makes a lot of sense.
THOMAS: Look, what's the quickest way to bring your economy back? You engage your local businesses and you put your people to work. Opportunity is going to determine whether people come back to New Orleans, and we can talk all we want, but if the numbers continue to be representative of what's happening now, immigrant workers, migrant workers, people who are not from St. Bernard, not from Jefferson, not from New Orleans, not from this region, then it's going to take longer to recover. You could have a casino district, a bingo district or a keno district, but if you don't put our people to work, we're not going to recover in time.
O'BRIEN: All right, Oliver, you just pointed the finger at the governor, the mayor, the congressional delegation. What are you personally going to do to try to fix this? Because you're part of this whole scene here.
THOMAS: Well, absolutely. But, Miles, we were on the ball. The city council passed resolutions three weeks ago, demanding that the federal government maximize participation and use local companies. But guess what? City council versus Congress, not much stroke. But we're going to do it again. If you watched the last week, I hollered on all of the news stations and interviews, say, look, if they're not going to use our local companies, let's not give them a permit to work in the state, or work in the city or work in the region.
O'BRIEN: There you go, there is your power! Why don't you do that?
THOMAS: I love what -- Jack Stephens is one of my heroes, him and Junior Rodriguez right now.
O'BRIEN: Yes, folks he's talking about the St. Bernard Parish right next door.
THOMAS: That's right. They said if St. Bernard people and St. Bernard businesses people are not part of building St. Bernard Parish, then nobody ought to do it. Well, guess what, that's how you step up.
O'BRIEN: Hold the line.
All right, six percent is not good enough.
THOMAS: Louisiana first. Louisiana first.
O'BRIEN: We're with you. We're with you on this. Absolutely. If there is any pork to be spread around, it should be spread around in Louisiana. I'm with you on it.
Oliver Thomas, thank you, president of the New Orleans city council.
THOMAS: Walk the mile with Miles!
O'BRIEN: He's down there kicking some you know what and taking names for us. All right -- Carol.
COSTELLO: He woke a lot of people up. He's pretty exciting. Good for him.
O'BRIEN: Well, I hope so. That's the idea.
GUPTA: I was reading articles from the company that makes it, saying that at the present capacity, it would take them over ten years to get enough Tamiflu for only 20 percent of the world's population. So we've got to figure this out, and you know, we've got to do it in a hurry here as well -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, we have the mind to do it, so I hope we succeed. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Coming up in the program, Andy "Minding Your Business." He'll us why immigrants are rushing to New Orleans in search of the American Dream. Remember, we were saying just a moment ago, like a homegrown rebuild in New Orleans and in Louisiana. Well, there's a lot of people willing to do the work from outside. We'll explain, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Amtrak back on track. That train they call the City of New Orleans. That's the best...
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: They do not permit you to sing.
O'BRIEN: And once again I have proven that, Andy Serwer. Good to see you.
Amtrak back in the city. That's good. And immigrant workers on their way?
SERWER: Yes, a lot of changes in New Orleans. First of all, back to normal in just another regard in New Orleans. The train they call the City New Orleans, it really exists.
O'BRIEN: I thought it was called the Crescent.
SERWER: That's another train. That comes from the east. This comes from Chicago Way. Returned to New Orleans for the first time on Saturday carrying 29 passengers. You remember the song, there were 15 restless riders. No word on how many sacks of mail, again, if you remember the lyrics of the song.
One, a gentlemen named Marty Robinson got off the train. He's from Paducah, Kentucky, and got down on his knees and promptly proposed to his his girlfriend, Lorraine Talbert (ph), and she accepted, so all -- a million stories like that, but it's good to see things are slowly getting back to normal.
And speaking of getting back to normal, you know, the rebuilding effort down there continues. We told you last week about the tremendous vacuum in terms of workers and finding people to clean up and build up the city. Wages are soaring for day laborers. Filling the vacuum are Hispanic workers. Many of them from Central America and Mexico that flooding into the city, and, you know, just doing the tremendous amount of cleanup, and fixing, and destroying and tearing down and rebuilding, 140,000 homes and all of those businesses...
O'BRIEN: We were just talking about how people in Louisiana and New Orleans would prefer that they do the work themselves,so there is this disconnect here. SERWER: Right.
O'BRIEN: And the other thing that comes to mind is, you remember the Bush administration, the wake of this, what was it, the Davis- Bacon Act...
SERWER: That's true.
O'BRIEN: ... made it possible for them to lower the wages. Just the opposite has occurred.
SERWER: Right, in fact, the economic forces were stronger than any legislation from Washington.
Another interesting thing is, because evacuees are disbursed throughout the country, not able to come back and do these jobs, these Hispanic workers are coming in, doing the jobs, may change the face of the city. And of course, New Orleans has had many layers and levels of immigration over the years, and this may be another layer of immigration into the city which will alter it. It's some very interesting stuff.
O'BRIEN: I'd love to hear what Oliver Thomas, the city council president, thinks about all that. Maybe we'll bring him back and ask him that in a few days or so.
Andy Serwer, always a pleasure.
SERWER: Thank you, sir.
O'BRIEN: And we appreciate your musicality, always.
SERWER: Likewise. Likewise, I think.
O'BRIEN: All right, back to you, Carol.
COSTELLO: But I'm glad it's over.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Carol!
COSTELLO: It's OK.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING -- I'm sorry, Andy -- from the earthquake in South Asia to hurricanes here at home, what's behind all of these natural disasters seemingly happening all at one time? Bill Nye "The Science Guy" joins us live, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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