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American Morning

Rice's Surprise Visit; Terror in Jordan; Bush's Terror Policy

Aired November 11, 2005 - 9:01   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: New development this morning in the Jordan terror bombings. Investigators working fast, making numerous arrests, and just hours ago new claims of who exactly carried out the attacks. A live report ahead.
President Bush on this Veterans Day with a major speech. His critics pounding him on Iraq prewar intelligence. He's fighting back today. We're live at the White House with a preview.

And a new warning for millions of women who use a brand of birth control patch. We'll look at some serious health risks on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.

Beautiful morning in New York City. Just a hint of fall. It hasn't been much of a season for fall colors.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: No, it's been very warm. And I think that's kind of messing up the vibrant colors we usually get a chance to see.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

Happy Veterans Day. If you're a veteran, we salute you this morning.

S. O'BRIEN: Absolutely. It's a day to celebrate the sacrifice of the veterans living and dead in the past conflicts.

Let's talk this morning about Condoleezza Rice. She made a surprise visit to Iraq.

Baghdad Bureau Chief Kevin Flower filed this report for us on her visit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN FLOWER, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Under heavy security, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul Friday morning. There she met with Iraqi officials and U.S. military officials, and now is in Baghdad, where she's expected to meet with Prime Minister Jaafari, Sunni Arab leaders, and other embassy officials.

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

Rice spoke to reporters earlier about the importance of continuing the political process for both Iraq and the United States.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: As we hope 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.

FLOWER: Which is a major reason why the Bush administration is pushing Iraqis so hard to become invested in December's elections.

Kevin Flower, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Now, at least a dozen people have been arrested in connection with the bombings in Amman, Jordan, this morning.

Hala Gorani is outside the Radisson hotel, one of the three hotels targeted by those bombers.

Hala, bring us up to date. What do we know about who's been arrested?

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do know that there have been 12 arrests. The deputy prime minister, Marwan Musahser, said that some of the arrests involved Jordanians. But he declined to say the nationalities of other arrested individuals.

U.S. intelligence officials have said that they believe that at least two of the three suicide bombers were Iraqi. So it would make sense for investigators, and we've heard reports of this, to go into Iraqi communities in Jordan and try to find clues there, because analysts are saying that this type of attack was planned within the borders of Jordan, and that somebody must have put these belts together. Somebody must have put these explosives together.

What we also know is that there are security tapes from these hotels that filmed at least part of what led up to the attack and perhaps even the -- a moment in time after the attacks, and that investigators are studying these tapes -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Are we going get a chance to see those tapes ourselves, Hala, you think?

GORANI: Well, we asked the deputy prime minister, and he said that they might be released, but that he could not give a timeline.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. What about King Abdullah? He had some very strong words yesterday. Tell us about that.

GORANI: Absolutely. King Abdullah today visiting a hospital where some of the injured individuals were taken. And he said this to CNN...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING ABDULLAH, JORDAN: I have to tell you that there is tremendous outrage by the Jordanian public that these people have targeted just innocent people. And I can tell you that we Jordanians, we get mad and we get even, and these people will be brought to justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: "We get angry and we get even," strong words, as you said, Miles, there. And meanwhile, as these words are being spoken by the country's monarch, demonstrations continue.

Today is the holy day of the Muslim week, Friday. After Friday prayers, and as Jordanians bury their dead, angry citizens once again saying that this type of terrorism is unacceptable in their country.

Miles, back to you.

M. O'BRIEN: Hala Gorani in Amman. Thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: About three hours from now President Bush is expected to defend intelligence that was used by his administration before the Iraq war.

Andrea Koppel live for us at the White House this morning.

Andrea, good morning. What do we expect to hear from the president?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, in addition to speaking on behalf and complimenting the nation's 25 million veterans, President Bush is going to touch on a theme that has become all too familiar to most Americans, and that is the war on terror.

Administration officials say during his visit to the Tobyhanna Army Depot near Scranton, Pennsylvania, President Bush plans to use a speech as an opportunity to take his administration's critics head on. For the last company of weeks, especially since one of the vice president's chief aides, Scooter Libby, was indicted, the president has seen his poll numbers fall to record lows and has come under fire from Democrats accusing the Bush administration of twisting intelligence in making the case for war in Iraq.

Now, earlier this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, Joint Chiefs chairman Peter Pace defended the administration's invasion of Iraq, saying that it was a war the U.S. had to fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEN. PETER PACE, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: This fight is going to take place some place. Read what our enemy has written. They want to destroy our way of life.

They're not blinking about that. They're looking us straight in the eye, they're writing it to us. We can choose not to believe them, but that would be a foolish choice.

This fight must be fought. And to fight it with our friends and allies around the world wherever it needs to be fought is what we're going to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Now, all of this comes on the same week that Iraq's deputy prime minister, Ahmed Chalabi, who you'll remember was then the head before the war of one of the most prominent Iraqi exile groups, the Iraqi National Congress, and was one of those who passed on intelligence to the Bush administration claiming that Iraq did have WMD, well, Democrats have been yelling and screaming about this all week long, Soledad. Not the fact that Iraq's deputy prime minister would come to Washington, but the fact that somebody who is under investigation, active investigation by the FBI for allegedly passing intelligence to Iran would have a meeting with Secretary of State Rice.

He's going to be meeting with the Treasury secretary, John Snow, next week, with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and perhaps even Vice President Dick Cheney -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Andrea Koppel for us this morning.

Andrea, thanks.

And as we mentioned, President Bush is going to deliver that speech on the war on terror today. It happens at noon Eastern Time. CNN is going to carry that for you live when it happens.

Other stories in the news. Let's get right to Carol Costello for a look at those.

Good morning again.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

More about Iraq. More Iraqi police coming under fire this morning. At least three officers were killed after gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint in Baquba. Two others were wounded in that incident.

And then later, a car bomb detonated targeting an Iraqi police patrol. At least four people were injured in that attack. The new violence coming a day after a suicide bomber blew himself up, killing at least 34 people at a busy restaurant that was a regular stop for Iraqi police.

Another night of rioting in France, but on a much smaller scale. Police say about 460 vehicles were burned on Thursday, the 15th straight night of rioting. The violence has steadily decreased since Wednesday, when French officials imposed curfews and other emergency measures. Police are tightening security in Paris as residents get ready to march to celebrate Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I.

Some signs of life at United Airlines. United is planning to hire 2,000 flight attendants with 700 based at Washington's Dulles Airport. The hiring, along with an expanded international flight schedule, is part of United's restructuring program. The airline, which has operated under bankruptcy protection for almost three years now, is getting ready to emerge from Chapter 11 in February.

And the makers of a possible birth control patch are putting out a warning to four million women who use it.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The FDA approves an updated warning regarding the Ortho Evra patch, specifically saying that in fact it was probably delivering much more estrogen than previously thought, up to 50 to 60 percent higher. The concern specifically is that if you have more estrogen circulating in the blood, that could be putting women at risk of developing blood clots. Those are clots that might develop in the legs, for example, and then travel to the lungs, even to the brain in rare situations, possibly causing death.

There had been some case reports. About four months ago, The Associated Press reported that around 12 to 20 women possibly had been affected by these blood clots. Some of the women had died, in fact, as a result of these blood clots that were subsequently linked to the Ortho Evra patch.

Now we're hearing some of the first warnings specifically warning about the increased circulating estrogen.

You may remember the patch actually became quite popular. Several million women have used it since it first came out a few years ago, mainly because of its ease of use. It's a once-a-week patch. So for women who forgot to -- would forget to take the pill every single day, could actually put this patch on once a week.

We are hearing these warnings now for the first time. It is unclear exactly what it's going to mean for the fate of this patch. It probably, at a minimum, might mean a complete redesign of the patch so it doesn't deliver as much estrogen and doesn't put women at greater risk for blood clots. Or it could mean the demise of the patch altogether. We'll certainly keep you posted as some of those details come in.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: Yes. And Sanjay also says you should check with your doctor.

Let's check the weather. Let's head to Atlanta and check in with Bonnie Schneider.

Good morning, Bonnie.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Bonnie. Thanks.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Bonnie.

S. O'BRIEN: Do we have those pictures?

M. O'BRIEN: Can we take that shot? Can we take a shot?

S. O'BRIEN: Our friend Anderson Cooper.

M. O'BRIEN: Our friend Anderson Cooper...

S. O'BRIEN: Working hard...

M. O'BRIEN: ... with a cameo appearance...

S. O'BRIEN: ... morning and night.

M. O'BRIEN: ... sitting in a hard chair. That's a tough chair there.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: It's the Regis seat.

S. O'BRIEN: Filling in for Regis. Do we have that?

M. O'BRIEN: We don't have that.

S. O'BRIEN: Here, I'll pretend to be Kelly. You pretend to be Anderson.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, I can't believe it? Can you believe it? Oh, unbelievable!

S. O'BRIEN: Anyway, we couldn't hear what he was saying. We're going to try to turn around some tape. He looks good.

M. O'BRIEN: Walking on the street, he says, oh my gosh!

All right.

S. O'BRIEN: We're going to get a clip for you.

M. O'BRIEN: That's terrible Regis by the way.

S. O'BRIEN: Our friend Anderson making his debut as he fills in for Regis this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, we'll get -- oh.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, there we go.

M. O'BRIEN: We have it?

S. O'BRIEN: There he is.

M. O'BRIEN: There he is. There's Regis.

S. O'BRIEN: Sound, please. No sound.

M. O'BRIEN: They're not going do it.

S. O'BRIEN: That's a good strategy, Anderson, nod -- nod and confirm what you say.

Here we go.

KELLY RIPA, HOST, "LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY": And then they get up around six-ish. So I don't know how many hours that is.

ANDERSON COOPER, GUEST HOST, "LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY": Oh, that's...

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, they're talking about...

RIPA: I can't do math. That's why I'm a talk show host.

(LAUGHTER)

COOPER: Well, that is exactly right. There's a new study out. They did this study about children and how much sleep they need.

RIPA: How much do they need?

COOPER: They recommend amounts ranging from 10 to 11 hours a night for very young elementary students.

RIPA: Right.

COOPER: And 8.5 hours for teens...

S. O'BRIEN: Segueing seamlessly from hard news...

M. O'BRIEN: Excellent, excellent work.

S. O'BRIEN: ... talking about children and sleep habits.

You go, Anderson.

M. O'BRIEN: Go, Anderson. S. O'BRIEN: I'm going to watch the whole show a little bit later on our computers.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: I'm going to TiVo that.

M. O'BRIEN: Continue with us for now, please.

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, we're talking about Karl Rove making a speech last night. Does it say anything, the fact that he was making that speech? Does it say anything about his standing in the White House today? An analyst talks about that just ahead.

M. O'BRIEN: I'd say there's a fair amount to be interpreted in the swagger there.

Also, the feds, the state and the New Orleans officials ail investigating those levees failures. Could what you see there have been criminal?

S. O'BRIEN: And a pro athlete's ambitious goal, looking out for the children of fallen U.S. soldiers. We'll talk about his "Extra Effort" ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: For the first time in quite a long time, we've heard from Karl Rove. He was giving a speech yesterday. Also, we're talking a little bit this morning about some of the moves against Supreme Court nominee justice Judge Alito.

Let's get right to CNN's political analyst, Ron Brownstein. He's in our Washington bureau this morning.

Ron, always nice to see you.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to it. Not exactly a surprise that the Federalist Society dinner, he was getting -- Karl Rove, that is -- getting standing ovations at every turn.

What does this signal, the fact that he's out and about?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, the fact of the speech was probably more important than the content of the speech. I think it was sending two signals.

One is that he is not cowering in his office while this investigation goes on. It was a way of raising the flag and showing that he's still active, still involved.

White House officials say he's been intimately involved in the preparation for the State of the Union. This was a way of taking that public.

Secondly, perhaps even more importantly, it was a way of rallying his base. For the first time in the Bush presidency, there are Republicans who are saying that Karl Rove has become a problem for the president even if he's not indicted. And there are those who suggest that he may have to step aside at some point, privately, of course.

I think what Karl Rove was doing here was saying, look, I have friends, too, especially in the conservative movement, and there are going to be a lot of people unhappy if in fact there is pressure on -- on me to leave.

S. O'BRIEN: So rallying his base...

BROWNSTEIN: Rallying his base.

S. O'BRIEN: ... as opposed to rallying the president's base, or the Republican base.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, and, in fact, they are somewhat similar. Rove has been the indispensable link between the president and the conservative movement. And as we have talked about many times, the political strategy of this White House has always depended on tremendous enthusiasm from hard-core conservatives and the core Republican base to generate a big turnout at Election Day.

They really didn't get that this year. And it's another reason why they have to be concerned looking into 2006.

S. O'BRIEN: There's nothing like a lack of an indictment to cheer you up, but there still is, in all seriousness...

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: ... a cloud hanging over Karl Rove. Is that cloud going to be problematic? I mean, do you think at the end of day that he's going to have to go?

BROWNSTEIN: There are definitely people who think that whether or not he is indicted, it may be almost impossible for him to remain. I think the White House will resist that enormously, because as I said, he has been a critical link between policy and politics for this president.

But I think there's no doubt that there's only so long the president can say, "I'm not going to talk about this issue while it's under investigation." Sooner or later he has to give us what he thinks about the fact that through the press secretary, Karl Rove said he was not involved, and as it turns out has now acknowledged talking about Valerie Wilson.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. There is another school of thought, though, that would say, well, listen, if he hasn't been indicted to this point, then he's not going to be indicted and essentially could be read as he's in the clear. BROWNSTEIN: Only the shadow knows. I mean, I don't think -- I don't think we -- I don't think -- I don't think any of us are going to get rich predicting the actions of the special counsel.

S. O'BRIEN: And you'll leave it at that.

Let's turn to talk about Judge Samuel Alito. What's at issue here? Because in some ways the issue seems minor, the implications could be big.

BROWNSTEIN: Talking about the question of his ruling in two cases with companies that were handling some of his investments after saying in 1990 that he would recuse himself in his initial service on the appellate court. The question is whether he basically broke his word to the Senate in 1990. And I think in the larger sense, what you have here is Democrats trying to open up an ethical front in this debate.

I think one thing they are seeing here is some similarities to what developed in the initial political maneuvering over John Roberts, which is that it is difficult to generate resistance to a Supreme Court nominee who is seen as qualified solely on ideological grounds. As time goes by, that fight over Robert Bork looks more like the exception than the rule in 1987. And I think that here you're seeing the need of Democrats to begin to open some other questions if they are going to slow the momentum of this nomination.

S. O'BRIEN: Doesn't it bode poorly for Democrats when you say this is the smoking gun you're coming up with, something over a relatively small investment in Vanguard, which legally, technically, he didn't have to recuse himself from anyway?

BROWNSTEIN: This probably will not be the issue that sinks Samuel Alito if he is, in fact -- look, the reality -- there are two realities here, Soledad, that are very important.

One, the universe of Republican senators who might vote against him is probably as small as three, the two senators from Maine, and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island. That means if he's going to be blocked, probably the only way it can happen is with a filibuster.

And already, as we saw with John Roberts, you are seeing a number of Democrats, Joe Biden, Kent Conrad, saying that they do not see evidence that Alito would precipitate such an extraordinary step, which, of course, has only happened once in a Supreme Court nomination before.

So, the opponents, I think, have to -- are feeling that they have to get out and begin to generate some momentum against this nomination, or what happened with Roberts could happen again. And that is, it becomes essentially almost a fate a compli by the time they have their campaigns up and running.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, we'll see if it's a done deal or if there is any momentum.

Ron Brownstein is a columnist for the "LA Times" and an analyst for us.

Thanks, Ron.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, a story for the crew, the hockey-playing, loving crew. We're going to tell you about someone making the "Extra Effort" for the children of fallen U.S. soldiers.

Mike, listen up.

How he's helping them move on with their lives.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: It is Veterans Day. The place they simply call The Wall, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a gathering place for people to stop and remember sacrifices made for the greater cause of our freedom.

On this Veterans Day, we salute all those who have served, both those who have passed away, who have died, and those who are with us, of course. A salute to them.

We also offer a fitting tribute in this week's "Extra Effort" apropos of the day. An aspiring hockey player who's gone above and beyond for military families in Massachusetts.

CNN's Dan Lothian with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Peter Trovato was a star hockey player on full scholarship at the University of Massachusetts Amherst when he began shooting for a different kind of goal off the ice -- helping the children of fallen soldiers.

PETER TROVATO, FUND-RAISER: It just really kind of clicked. You know, maybe we could do something to honor that, that sacrifice.

LOTHIAN: He had seen the news reports, had imagined the pain of young children in Massachusetts coping with the loss of a parent killed on the battlefield in Afghanistan or Iraq.

TROVATO: I certainly felt that there was a cause here. And I wanted to create something.

I've been keeping this list. This is a list of kids.

LOTHIAN: With a list of names, help from his college professors and local business people, Trovato started the Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund last year and began reaching out to the families. TROVATO: I'll help to fray their college tuition costs. It's up to me in fund-raising to say how much we'll give.

LOTHIAN (on camera): Thirty-seven soldiers from Massachusetts have been killed in Iraq, nine in Afghanistan. By Trovato's count, 23 children stand to benefit from his fund no matter where they currently live, no matter where they want to attend college.

(voice over): Twenty-four-year-old Army Specialist Peter Ens from South Dartmouth was killed when his patrol vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq last year. His 2-year-old son Marcus (ph), and Shannon, his widow, now live in Texas.

SHANNON ENOS, IRAQ WAR WIDOW: Education and going to college and pursuing his dreams was something that was very important to us.

LOTHIAN: College is still a long way off, but for this young mother, any promises of help with tuition will lighten her heavy burden.

ENOS: It gives me peace of mind to know that he will have the opportunities open to him and that nothing will limit him in what he wants to do.

LOTHIAN: Trovato, who now plays for a minor league professional hockey team, has already managed to raise $250,000 through word of mouth and fund-raisers. The first potential recipients are still a couple of years away from entering college, but he's already looking forward to graduation day.

TROVATO: Knowing that you helped them put them there and knowing that their father's sacrifice didn't go unnoticed.

LOTHIAN: Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Attaboy. Good job.

For more information, or if you'd like to participate, make a contribution to the Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund, we invite you to go to MSLFund.org. MSLFfund.org.

Coming up on the program, investigating the levee failures in New Orleans. Was it possible there was criminal activity involved?

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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