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American Morning

New Orleans Post-Katrina; Saddam's Victims Observe Trial

Aired October 20, 2005 - 09:35   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about New Orleans post- Katrina and what's going on there. Yesterday we were quite pleased to show you Cafe Du Monde opened and a beignet was had by all, except us. We were hoping to join him, but nobody sent us one. We were hoping to get one. Although they're not so good if they're sent. You've got to be there.
In any case, the city is marching toward recovery, slowly in fits and starts, but on its way, which is a good time to check in with Julia Reed, regular contributor to "Newsweek," "Vogue," longtime resident of New Orleans, and she's our friend in New Orleans. And of course, where she's standing now doesn't look like there's been much improvement. She's near our bureau, and there's still that poor dollhouse behind there with people's stuff there. But nonetheless, Julia, first of all, did you get a beignet.

JULIA REED, "NEWSWEEK": I did get a beignet. And no, you don't want one unless it's about five minutes old, and two more restaurants opened last night, so things are looking up. I mean, civilization is slowly creeping in in the form of good food.

O'BRIEN: Tell us, and that's in New Orleans. That is so important, isn't it, to have those signs of food and frivolity coming back, because that's a big part of what the city's all about.

Let's talk about the Bring New Orleans Back Commission. Tell us about that. Do you think this is a good group of people? Did the mayor do something right here?

REED: I mean, I said, as you know, I haven't always been kind to the mayor...

O'BRIEN: To say the least.

REED: ... on your network. But the one thing I did have praise for all along is the point in this commission and the makeup of the commission, and all these guys are really good guys. I mean, I hate to say it like this, but he's sort of gotten some adult supervision here. I mean, I think he'll have less sort of the weekly crazy pronouncements, that kind of thing. I mean, he had not in fact consulted the commission. The commission hadn't met when he made his gambling announcement. You see that he's completely retracted that. These guys are all good guys. They're incredibly responsible. You know, Scott Cowan is the head of Tulane. He's in charge of the education sort of subcommittee of the commission. He's already, you know, putting together a plan, going on the road to raise about $100 million to -- his mission is to completely revamp the public school system.

If there's a silver lining to the system is that we'll get new schools, because the school system was bankrupt. It was dysfunctional, basically. So he's -- you know, we've got a commitment from Eli Broad, who's an educational philanthropist, to give us move charter schools. So they're going to replace the bankrupt and totally inept public school system with the new charter school system, and he's up and running with that. That's great news.

Tomorrow, Jimmy Reese (ph), who is one of the commissioner who is in charge of infrastructure, he's going to meet with Andy Card and the R&D (ph) director Josh Bolton (ph). They're not saying, just give us some money. They know we've got a bad reputation. They're saying this is what we need based on our 2005 budget. We revamped it with, you know -- to reflect the fact that we've got less population. But this is what we need. This is what we need for garbage pickup, police protection, blah, blah, blah. It's a line-item budget. They're asking for an oversight commission. So I mean, they're being really responsible, and they're finally up and running, and I think you're going see some real leadership, finally, where there has been a void.

And also, the best thing you can say about Nagin is what he said to the congressional committee the day before yesterday. Google me, you will see that I am not a corrupt guy, which you know, it's usually not good news. The best thing about your elected officials is that they're not crooks, but here, it's like cause for celebration. Hey, he's not crooked.

O'BRIEN: It is Louisiana. It is Louisiana, after all. There is a little bit of history on that front. You know, this is the most optimistic I think I've heard you since Katrina.

Are you at a pivot point there, do you think?

What's that?

REED: I said I've been well fed for the last week. So, you know, I'm in a better mood.

O'BRIEN: Well, good.

REED: But I do see -- I mean, the biggest problems are there are no place for workers to live, even Scott Cowan, who I was just saying, the Tulane University president, he needs 2,000 trailers for his teachers and staff members to come back to get his school open in January. He doesn't know where he's going get them. FEMA is unfortunately in charge of that, and so we'll see if we get housing.

But it is a city that's showing signs of recovery, and I do feel like we've got a responsible commission, which is excellent news, and I think it's time to cut Ray Nagin some slack and see where we're going from here.

O'BRIEN: A kinder, gentler Julia Reed this morning.

REED: Not for long. O'BRIEN: A beignet and a couple beers and she's got a big smile on her face. That's all it takes. All right, well, we're glad things are going better. Please, please stay in close contact with us. Julia Reed is a contributing "Newsweek" editor and our best friend in New Orleans. Thanks for being us -- Carol.

COSTELLO: A beignet and a couple of beers?

O'BRIEN: And that's all it takes.

COSTELLO: It's Chickory coffee!

O'BRIEN: Well, I mean, it wasn't at the same moment.

COSTELLO: Oh, OK, I get it. It just sounds funny to me.

O'BRIEN: Going from morning to evening in compressed time.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about the surprising discovery in California in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Pretty amazing. Hikers there came across a body surrounded by ice on Mount Mendel in Kings Canyon National Park and now scientists are looking for clues to the man's identity.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A mystery in the mountains. Rangers chipped away to remove a frozen body, a man who may have been missing for more than 60 years in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. But who is he, and how did he get here?

J.D. SWED, CHIEF PARK RANGER: Good mysteries, we don't solve them overnight like we do on TV, of course.

GUTIERREZ: Two ice climbers made the discovery over the weekend at the foot of a glacier. Rangers say it takes days to reach the spot by foot. The man's skin, blond hair and teeth are all preserved, and it will help determine who he is.

ANNIE ESPERANZA, SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK RANGER: In the ice and snow, the biological processes move really snow, and it's not unlike putting something in your refrigerator or freezer to preserve something.

GUTIERREZ: There are more clues. He's wearing army clothes and the numbers "1984" are visible on his parachute. Rangers believe he's a World War II soldier whose navigational training plane crashed in November 1942. The wreckage was discovered five years later, and so were the bodies of four passengers. But there may have been more.

ESPERANZA: I think it's more the mystery that everyone is intrigued by, the fact that here's this plane that crashed 63 years ago and there's still someone up there. GUTIERREZ: But he's not up there anymore. Last night the man's body, still encased in ice, was flown to Fresno and turned over to the county coroner's office, where officials hope the mystery will be solved.

SWED: Only time and good science will be able to find the links to this.

GUTIERREZ: Helped by clues preserved and frozen in time.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Of course, it would be easy if his dog tags were still there and he still had his wallet and...

O'BRIEN: Well, given how well preserved everything is, there's a good chance of that once things thaw out there, so...

COSTELLO: And you wonder if he has any living family, and where are they?

O'BRIEN: All good questions. We will stay on top of this one.

COSTELLO: Up next in the program, you're going to hear from an Iraqi now living in the United States, an Iraqi Kurd. And he still suffers the effects of one of those chemical attacks inflicted on the Kurds by the Saddam Hussein regime. Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Saddam Hussein's trial is really about the victims. Many watched their persecutor in court yesterday.

Delair Shukri still suffers from injuries caused by Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons. Now he's a U.S. resident. He lives in Michigan. Yesterday I asked him what his thoughts were after seeing Saddam Hussein on trial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DELAIR SHUKRI, FMR. LEADER, KURDISH MILITIA: I am really surprised because he was the most powerful man in the area and nobody thought that he's going come into trial. We were all hoping for him to come into trial and this is the day we were all hoping to see.

O'BRIEN: The trial begins on an incident that is lesser known to the world, an incident that focused on Shias in the wake of an assassination attempt. The gassing of the Kurds are incidents we all know about. Do you wish that the first case was associated with that?

SHUKRI: I really -- that was a big crime for him. I wish we could do that the first trial, but anyway, anyhow he could face his crime, what he did. Even if it's not the first one, he's going get into it.

O'BRIEN: Tell us -- you were there. Tell us what happened. What was it like being there, being attacked that way by your own government?

SHUKRI: We were in northern Iraq and we could see the Iraqi airplane come to that area and bombard the area and we were about 700 to 800 people. And all of us, every single one of us, was injured by chemical. And the chemical weapons he used was mostly mustard gas, and he used cyanide and he used nerve gas, too.

O'BRIEN: As people were dying all around you, try to describe it, if you could.

SHUKRI: OK. When they bombard the area, about -- right away, about 13 of us died right there. And like I said, most of us or all of us was injured by the weapons. And it was really horrible scene or horrible tragedy over there. You have seen all your people, friend, families, being killed in front of you with the chemical weapons.

O'BRIEN: And you have had lasting effects, lasting injuries, as a result?

SHUKRI: All my body first time when they -- when I injured by chemical, the first time I start throwing up, thousands of times in an hour, then my skin start burning, a blister, and the pain. And then after about, say, 12 to 13 hours, my eyes had been blind. We could not see nothing.

O'BRIEN: Wow.

SHUKRI: And still I am -- still I am suffering from breathing, short difficulty breathe, and still I am suffering from itching, my sensitive areas, my underarms, my neck and everything.

O'BRIEN: You know, given what you and your friends and your family members went through, is there any justice that exists on this planet -- can there be justice in that courtroom and if so, what would it be?

SHUKRI: I think the justice for me and my family and my nation, Kurdish nation, all, it's going to be just to death penalty for Saddam Hussein.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much for your time, sir. Delair Shukri is a Kurdish leader who was targeted, victimized by Saddam Hussein.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: "CNN LIVE TODAY" coming up next. Fredricka Whitfield in for Daryn. What are you working on?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR; Hello, good to see you, Carol. A lot coming up this hour.

We're watching Wilma, we're tracking the Category 4 storm. Up to the minute hurricane coverage from Key West, to Cuba and Cancun, Mexico, coming up.

Also, can the road map to Mid-East peace be revived? Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas arrived at the White House a few minutes ago for a meeting with President Bush. They'll talk to reporters about an hour from now, and we'll bring you that live -- Carol.

COSTELLO: We'll be there. Thank you, Fred.

Still ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, now that we know it's the Astros versus the White Sox in the World Series, let the games begin. But it's Saints fans that the Sox fans would have to worry about. Say what? Andy's going to sort it out, just ahead, he's "Minding Your Business."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Okay. So the Astros are heading to the World Series. And that means fans are also heading to a very crowded Houston. With that and a check on Wall Street, Andy is "Minding Your Business" this morning.

I never thought of that, all those people in those hotels in Houston.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, they're crowding us out. We're going down there watching baseball, and we've got the evacuees. Anyway, let's talk about the markets. Actually before that I want to answer a question we had earlier in the program, which is what happens to the winner, the estate, I should say, if you win Powerball and you pass away, does the Powerball go to your heirs, the winnings. And yes it does. It would go to your estate. So not to worry out there in Oregon, or the family of the person in Oregon. You know what I've driving at.

Anyway, let's talk about what's option Wall Street. Yesterday a big day for stocks. Today dancing all over the place, down two points, down one point, maybe we'll get flat if keep that. Flat, look at that. And a lot of stuff going. It's earnings season. Two Atlanta companies looking good this morning. Coca-Cola and UPS both up about two percent.

Now, as Carol mentioned, as you probably know, the Houston Rastros are going -- Rastros. OK, George.

COSTELLO: Just like the Jetsons.

SERWER: Going to the World Series. You can see here, there's the final out, playing the White Sox. That's great stuff. They're going to play two, maybe three games in Houston, starting next week. The problem is hotel rooms very scarce in that city, because of the evacuees. Tens of thousands of evacuees in Houston still in hotel rooms. Apparently, latest count, 43,000 evacuees in 12,000 hotel rooms. Yes, they've got them all packed in. They do say -- and they're expecting 5,000 to 8,000 visitors from Chicago and other places to come see.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes.

SERWER: Now, it's actually even worse than the evacuees, though. The largest convention of the year is going to be in Houston right now. Get this, the quilters. There's a quilter's convention in Houston next week, and that's even worse than the evacuees.

COSTELLO: That's one of the largest conventions?

SERWER: That's the largest convention in Houston.

COSTELLO: Really? I think that's the biggest news of your whole report.

SERWER: I buried the lead, as they say in our business, yes.

COSTELLO: Wow! So actually for Houston fans, you just have to have an extended tailgate party. You can bring a trailer and, like, park out -- or, like, you know...

SERWER: Or you have to invite the Chicagoans to your house.

COSTELLO: Yes, I'm sure that will happen.

M. O'BRIEN: What about those cruise ships? Can't they bring those cruise ships back?

SERWER: That's a problem.

M. O'BRIEN: Bad idea.

SERWER: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

COSTELLO: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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