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CNN Live At Daybreak

Condoleezza Rice's Surprise Visit to Iraq; Investigation into Jordan Hotel Bombings

Aired November 11, 2005 - 06:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A beautiful shot of London this morning. And you just heard the sound of Big Ben chiming to mark the 87th anniversary of the end of World War I. There, we hear it now. And you're seeing a solemn ceremony in London this morning. It's marking the 87th anniversary of the end of World War I. And you see some veterans still living from that great war. Of course, this was the moment peace was declared on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. And as you can see, two minutes of silence following the chiming of Big Ben and then the playing of the bugle.
Of course, it is Veterans Day here in America, as well.

You're watching DAYBREAK now and good morning to you, on a day much of the world pauses to honor soldiers lost on the battlefield.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice makes a surprise visit to Iraq to address U.S. troops and Iraqi citizens. We're live from Baghdad.

Also, from a wedding to too many funerals. It was an unforgettable day for all the wrong reasons.

But first, let's check the other headlines in the news.

In Baghdad this morning, coalition forces raid a house and kill seven suspected terrorists. The U.S. military says the house was used as an operational base for a suicide bomber cell. One of those killed in the operation was wearing an explosives vest.

More demonstrations, these in France, following two weeks of riots. Residents in many poor immigrant neighborhoods are waving white handkerchiefs as a call to end the violence. Police say there was more widespread violence overnight.

House Republican leaders say hold on. They abruptly canceled a planned vote on a budget bill that could but $50 billion in spending. Republican leaders took the action after realizing they didn't have enough votes to pass the bill.

Let's head to the forecast center and say good morning to Bonnie Schneider -- good morning.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, ATS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT) COSTELLO: She is the top diplomat in the United States and her trip was planned as top secret. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on an unannounced visit to Iraq this morning. She met with the U.S. ambassador in Mosul and then she handed on to Baghdad, and that's where we head right now.

Our Baghdad bureau chief, Kevin Flower, he's got more on Condoleezza Rice's trip -- good morning.

KEVIN FLOWER, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.

Under heavy security, the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, arrived in the northern city of Mosul Friday morning. There she met with American and Iraqi officials and now she is in Baghdad, where she is expected to meet with Prime Minister Jaafari, Sunni Arab leaders and other embassy officials.

Now, Rice is stressing the need for national unity and the end to sectarian violence on her visit here. This touching on concerns that divisions between Iraq's major ethnic groups could spill into violence just five weeks ahead of national elections.

Now, her visit also coincides with what has been a bloody month here so far in Iraq. Just today we received word that three U.S. service members were killed in combat operations in Al Anbar Province, this bringing the total American death toll for the military to over 30 for November -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Kevin Flower reporting live from Baghdad this morning.

President Bush will also be on the road this Veterans Day. He'll be making comments about the war on terror during a trip to Pennsylvania. And he's planning to offer his response to Democratic criticism about intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war.

A senior administration official says the president will dispute the latest accusations that the White House misused intelligence to gain support for the war.

The war on terror also on President Bush's agenda, as he met with the president of Yemen. The president told reporters he talked with King Abdullah of Jordan to express his condolences after the suicide bombings that left at least 57 dead and he talked about the ruthless nature of the bombers' actions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The bombings should remind all of us that there is an enemy in this world that is willing to kill innocent people, willing to bomb wedding celebrations in order to advance their cause.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And there is word this morning from the Associated Press that Jordanian authorities have made several arrests in their investigation into those bombings.

Our Hala Gorani is in Amman.

She joins us live with more on the aftermath of this.

Do you know anything about the suspects -- Hala?

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, no, we don't know anything about the suspects. The investigation is ongoing. We do know from U.S. officials -- and this is information we got about 24 hours ago -- that they suspect that two of the suicide bombers were Iraqi. And this would corroborate the kind of eyewitness account we got from one of the suicide bombers at the Day's Inn, who spoke in an accent Arab that would have been an Iraqi accent, according to some of the people who heard him speak before he went out of the hotel, then walked back in and detonated himself.

What we do know and what we can confirm is that there has been one more death associated with the suicide bombings that rocked the Jordanian capital a couple of days ago. And it is a renowned filmmaker based in Hollywood, Syrian-American Mustafa Akkad, who directed movies starring Anthony Quinn in the '70s and in the '80s. Sadly, his daughter, Rima, died in the same explosion at the Grand Hyatt Hotel two days ago.

The Grand Hyatt Hotel was one of the three. The second one was the Day's Inn and the third one is the Radisson SAS, in front of which I am standing, where a suicide bomber exploded himself in the middle of a wedding party.

Now, today is Friday, two days after these suicide bombings and one day after massive demonstrations in the Jordanian capital, where ordinary citizens are saying they do not accept this kind of terrorism and are calling for death to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose organization claimed responsibility for the attacks.

There are also Friday prayers that will end in about an hour from now. And after those, we're also expecting demonstrations.

But from across-the-board, what we're hearing are ordinary citizens and also officials from Jordan and other countries condemning these attacks, saying they will hunt down those who are responsible and bring them to justice -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Hala Gorani reporting live from Amman, Jordan this morning.

Most of those who died in the bombings were attending a wedding at the Radisson Hotel. The bride and groom were just making their entrance when the suicide bomber struck, shattering the celebration and turning joy to grief in an instant.

CNN's Zain Verjee has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ASHRAF AD'AS, GROOM: I was getting married. It was my wedding.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirty-two-year-old Ashraf Ad'As saw the happiest day of his life turn into the worst. He and his bride Nadia had been planning this day since March. They were nearing the finale of their wedding, the traditional Arab ceremony called the zefa (ph). But they never even got the chance to greet the 300 friends and relatives who had come to the Radisson Hotel for the celebration. Surrounded by cheering, singing well-wishers, the bride and groom were just inside the door when the bomb went off.

A. AD'AS (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): The moment the explosion happened, it was immediately after our entrance to the wedding hall. As people were getting into the hall, the explosion happened.

VERJEE: There was chaos and confusion as part of the ceiling collapsed. That gave way to horror, as the deadly results became evident. The fathers and both the bride and the groom were killed, along with 27 other relatives, including many cousins, according to Ad'As. He says 14 close friends also died.

"This," he says, "is not Islam."

Suicide bombings are new to Jordan and the timing and the ferocity of the attack caught everyone off guard.

OSAMA RASHAD AL-SALEH, CAMERAMAN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): The minute the groom was entering the hall, I heard a very loud explosion. It is the first time I had heard this kind of explosion and the first time Jordan has had such a terrorist attack.

VERJEE: The attack sent waves of grief all the way to the West Bank, where relatives of the groom are in traditional mourning, the men in one room, the women in another. Many of the wedding party have roots here, having fled to Jordan during the 1967 War. Decades later, tragedy has once again came to call.

ZIAD AD'AS, GROOM'S UNCLE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): This is a crime, a cowardly act, hurting innocent people who have nothing to do with anything.

VERJEE: The groom spent the day after his wedding burying loved ones killed in the attack. Several of his friends and relatives still remain in hospital. Still, he says it could have been worse, because many of the guests were still making their way into the ballroom when the attackers struck.

Zain Verjee, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COSTELLO: Still to come this hour, the search for the man supposedly behind this, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He's public enemy number one in the war on terror. Can anyone catch him?

Also, President Bush's top adviser was out and about last night. We'll tell you what Karl Rove had to say. And from catnaps to sawing logs, we all sleep in different ways, and so does the animal kingdom. Scientists are studying what Fluffy and Fido's sleeping patterns might mean to you and me.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is official. President Bush has formally sent Judge Samuel Alito's Supreme Court nomination to the Senate. Confirmation hearings on Alito begin on January 9th. Opposition groups say the gloves are about to come off. Senate Democrats want to know more about one appeals case Alito handled that involved several investment companies. Alito had a six figure investment in one of those companies. The eight Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have requested voluminous records on that case.

The president's man, Karl Rove, went preaching to the choir last night, addressing the Federalist Society, a group of conservative lawyers. Rove praised failed Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. He didn't mention why Miers withdrew her nomination.

Rove also vowed his side will win the war of the judiciary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARL ROVE, PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: We welcome a vigorous, open and fair-minded and high-minded debate about the purpose and meaning of the courts in our lives. And we will win that debate. In America, conservatives are winning the battle of ideas on almost every front and few are more important than the battle over our judiciary. The outcome of that debate will shape the course of human events.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Rove did not mention his own legal troubles. He's still under investigation for his role in the CIA leak case.

Your news, money, weather and sports.

It's 6:13 Eastern.

Here's what's all new this morning.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on a surprise visit to Iraq. First stop, Mosul, to urge Iraq's Sunni minority to bridge their differences ahead of next month's elections. Right now she is in Baghdad for meetings with Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and U.S. military officials.

In money news, profits for Dell, the number one PC maker, fall below expectations. Dell says third quarter profits were up 11 percent from last year, but that's about $2 billion below its earlier forecast.

In pop culture, Sean Connery is being honored for his 50-year film career. The American Film Institute is giving its Lifetime Achievement Award to the original James Bond. Past winners include Orson Welles, Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks.

In sports, NASCAR has set a four car limit for teams in its highest division. Rausch Racing's five car team is the only one actually affected by this move. All five of Rausch's cars are among the final 10 in this year's chase for the championship -- Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Yes, Virginia, Wal-Mart does believe in Christmas. They just don't want to advertise it. Carrie Lee will explain in our "Business Buzz," coming up.

But first, good morning, Washington, D.C.

DAYBREAK will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

COSTELLO: Is Wal-Mart the Grinch that stole Christmas?

Carrie Lee joins us now with a look at a group that's unhappy with the company's happy holidays approach.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a really interesting story. Wal-Mart taking a stance for the upcoming holidays and one group not liking it. We're talking about the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. They're calling for a boycott of Wal- Mart.

The group claims Wal-Mart is banning Christmas, in part by encouraging its greeters to say "Happy Holidays" and not "Merry Christmas."

Now, this dispute started after a Wal-Mart employee e-mailed a customer saying Christmas is a combination of traditions from all over the world.

Wal-Mart dismissed that temporary worker, who it said had only been with the company for three weeks. Wal-Mart says his statements were inappropriate and do not reflect the views of the company. It says employees are encouraged, though, to say "Happy Holidays," to include all holidays, such as Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Thanksgiving and New Year's.

What's interesting, Carol, is that Wal-Mart, in the past, we know, has ceded to some of these conservative groups. They don't sell CDs with explicit lyrics. We were talking about this earlier, covering up the covers of "Elle," even "Cosmopolitan" magazine, not selling FHM and other men's magazines.

But here, they're not ceding to this group so, interesting.

COSTELLO: Yes, that's interesting.

LEE: Yes.

COSTELLO: And I wonder what people -- I wish we -- I wish we would have known that earlier, we would have asked our audience what they think of that.

Actually, send us, daybreak@cnn.com, because it just seems such an innocuous thing, because you could say "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Holidays" both.

LEE: Exactly.

COSTELLO: Does it really matter?

LEE: I think it all just comes down to the demographic. Obviously, a lot of different types of people shop at Wal-Mart. The demographic of our country and people's backgrounds is changing, becoming more diverse. So Wal-Mart wants to include everyone and this group doesn't like it. So interesting story.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

LEE: Yes.

COSTELLO: A quick look at the futures?

LEE: Futures looking mixed today. You were talking about oil earlier, to just above $57 a barrel. That's one thing encouraging. And we have the Dow off almost 100 points yesterday. So not such a bad end to the week.

COSTELLO: No, not at all.

Thank you, Carrie.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, Condoleezza Rice appeals to Sunnis during a surprise mission to Iraq.

And the most wanted man in Iraq becomes terrorist number one to his own people. We'll look at the fallout from the hotel bombings in Jordan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello.

COSTELLO: It's a beautiful morning in New York City.

Good morning to you.

Thank you for waking up with us.

We'll have a look at the forecast in just a minute. Also coming up this half hour, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is a surprise visitor in Iraq this morning. We'll have a live report for you.

And more on the Amman attacks. We'll talk to one author about the al Qaeda leader whose organization has claimed responsibility for the terror bombings.

But first, now in the news, in Baghdad, coalition forces raid a house and kill seven suspected terrorists. The U.S. military says the house was used as an operational base for a suicide bomber cell. One of those killed in the operation was wearing an explosives vest.

Today is the first anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat. His successor, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, led a commemoration ceremony at the grave of the man known as the father of Palestine.

And we can't forget today is Veterans Day in this country. Events are planned around the nation, including an observance at Arlington National Cemetery's Tomb of the Unknowns. So if you know a vet, say thank you today.

To the Forecast Center -- good morning, Bonnie Schneider.

SCHNEIDER: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: The U.S. ambassador to Iraq calls Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit there a shot in the arm. The nation's top diplomat arrived in Iraq today on a surprise visit. She's in Baghdad right now for meetings with the prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, as well as with U.S. military and embassy officials. Rice again pledged U.S. support in rebuilding Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Indeed, it is work that is crucial to our own freedoms. In that way, as we help the Iraqi people secure their freedom, we, indeed, secure our own, because if Iraq does not succeed and should Iraq become a place of despair, generations of Americans would also be condemned to fear and to insecurity.

And so our fates and our futures are very much linked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Rice also went on an aerial tour of Iraq and appealed to Sunnis opposed to the U.S. democracy plans to participate in the upcoming elections.

President Bush will use a Veterans Day speech in Pennsylvania to defend his Iraq policy. The president is expected to launch a counterattack on critics who say he manipulated prewar intelligence to justify the war. Before we get to that, let's talk more about Condoleezza Rice's visit to Iraq, though.

We're joined by State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel -- good morning, Andrea.

This was pretty much of a surprise. No one knew she was going to Iraq.

What's the purpose here?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, this is Secretary Rice's second trip to Iraq and for security reasons, they don't like to announce these trips whenever you have a senior unofficial making a visit to Iraq, for obvious reasons.

Secretary Rice wanted to go there because in five weeks Iraqis are going to going to the polls again. There are legislative elections to elect Iraq's permanent government. And so she wanted to travel to the Sunni region of Iraq, which is where a lot of the insurgents and the support for the insurgency is believed to reside.

She met with the provisional governor, who is a member of the minority Sunni party. And, as you know, the Bush administration is really hoping and viewing these upcoming elections as a potential peaceful way to resolve the violence of the last number of years and really to chip away at the support, especially among Sunnis, for the continuing insurgency.

COSTELLO: Andrea Koppel reporting for us live this morning.

A manhunt is still underway right now in Jordan for those behind Wednesday's suicide bomb attacks on Western hotels. The Associated Press is reporting a number of arrests have been made. It comes as another person dies, bringing the death toll to at least 57. Authorities say 95 people are wounded and they remain in the hospital this morning.

In the meantime, thousands of Jordanians rallied last night in Amman, calling for the death of Iraq's al Qaeda leader, Abu Musab al- Zarqawi. His terror group has claimed responsibility for those three hotel bombings.

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