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American Morning

A Chilling Confession in Jordan Terror Attacks; Manhunt Under Way After Brutal Double Murder in Quiet Pennsylvania Town

Aired November 14, 2005 - 07:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien. A chilling confession in the Jordan terror attacks. A 35-year-old Iraqi wife says she planned to be a suicide bomber. This morning, what investigators are learning. Could her confession help bring down Al Qaeda?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Miles O'Brien. A manhunt under way after a brutal double murder in a quiet Pennsylvania town. Police are looking for this teenager. They say he could be holding his girlfriend hostage. Did a secret romance lead to murder? A live report ahead.

S. O'BRIEN: And this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God! That's it! Get out of here!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Look at these pictures, and listen to that screaming. Amazing pictures of a late-season twister. More on this this morning.

Plus, a new tropical storm could be on the horizon ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Lots to talk about this morning on all fronts.

M. O'BRIEN: You bet. That would be Tropical Storm Gamma, should it happen.

S. O'BRIEN: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: If it gets upgraded. Right now, it's tropical depression number 27. That tornado tape is amazing. November tornadoes not supposed to happen, as the governor of Iowa said. But there you have it. And the videotape is so astounding. Imagine being there, folks. What would you do? Would you keep rolling, or would you run?

S. O'BRIEN: What's really amazing is, in fact, that the young man who is rolling tape on this really doesn't waiver until a little bit later on in the tape when things start getting a little bit closer. But what remarkable pictures. M. O'BRIEN: And we're going to show you more of this. We're going to show you a big hunk of this. This shot by Jeremiah Nance, and keeps the tape rolling as helps rescue somebody. Meanwhile, we're still trying to digest, I guess, this remarkable confession we saw come out of Jordan of this woman.

S. O'BRIEN: So much said, and still so many things not known about this woman.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Among the questions we have, does she have children? We're going to try to sort this all out this moaning. An Iraqi woman said she tried to blow herself up, but failed. Investigators in Jordan still interrogating her, because she apparently has close ties to the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq. She confessed on TV to be being part of last week's the hotel attacks. Listen as she calmly describes her role in the plot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAJIDA AL-RISHAWI, JORDAN BOMBING SUSPECT (through translator): We had two explosive belts. He put one on me, and he wore the other. Then he taught me how to use it, what to pull, how to use it and how to have control over it. We went into the hotel to carry out the operation in Jordan. We hired a car and went to the hotel on November 9th. We went into the hotel. My husband took a corner and I took another. There was a wedding in the hotel. There were women and children. My husband executed the attack. I tried to detonate, and it failed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: CNN's Jonathan Mann is live now in Amman, Jordan.

And, Jonathan, what do the authorities hope to learn further from this woman as they continue their interrogation?

JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, I'm sure they are curious about her children, if any. We're all kind of curious about that. But Sajida Al-Rishawi may have a great deal to tell them about Al Qaeda in Iraq, and Al Qaeda potentially in Jordan.

Let's start in Iraq where the plot was hatched. All four of the suicide bombers, including the woman who survived, came from Iraq. They came from Anbar province, which is the province where Al Qaeda is at its most powerful and its most deadly. She says she is from Ramadi.

Well, terror runs in her family. Not only was her husband the one who led her to the suicide bombing, not only is he a part of al Qaeda, but her brother is said to be the righthand man of Al Qaeda mastermind Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, was, in the past tense, because he was killed earlier this year.

But this woman married into Al Qaeda. She was related to it by blood, and so she may have some information for the authorities about Al Qaeda in Iraq. The question is, now that it's known that they infiltrated into Jordan, how many other al Qaeda operatives are already in this country. More than a dozen attacks have been tried here in Jordan, but clearly authorities would like to know all they can about who else may be here and what other attacks may be further ahead -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Potentially a lot of information there.

Jonathan, let's talk about the continuing reaction in Amman. You get the sense there is a real backlash against this terror. Does that continue?

MANN: Backlash is the word. You know, suicide bombers and insurgents tend to be, and I hope I'm not being unfair, but Jordanians will tell you, suicide bombers and insurgents tend to be popular here, as long as they're killing Israelis or Americans.

Now, they have quite literally hit the Jordanians where they live, and people are appalled. There have been demonstrations here over the past few days. The last of them last night, attracting hundreds of people to the downtown of this city. People do not like the idea that Amman has become a terror target, that the terrorism that they have sometimes supported in Iraq is now an export product moving across the border.

Literally from commoner to king, people are disgusted. King Abdullah himself said that anyone, and he was singling out the attackers at the Radisson, anyone who would bring his wife to a suicide bomber is the kind of person who would have to be insane.

We also heard strong words from someone else who visited the Radisson. Former President Bill Clinton was here to offer his condolences and had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FMR. PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: These people's political agenda is, if you don't agree with us, you deserve to die. If you're a Muslim, if you're at a funeral, if you're at a wedding, if you're a child or you're an old person, the only test in life for your right to live is your absolute agreement with and support for us. Otherwise, you are subhuman and you deserve to die. That is their position. And every thinking person in the world has to stand against it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: Backlash, Miles, around the world, and especially here in Jordan you can bet there has been a big one.

Back to you.

CNN's Jonathan Mann in Amman, thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Another busy travel week for the president. He leaves in just a little bit for his seven-day trip to Asia. His first stop is a quick layover to speak at Elmendorf Air Force base in Alaska, then it's off to Kyoto, Japan, then to Bassan (ph), in South Korea, then a visit to Beijing in China, then from Beijing he goes to Mongolia, then after Mongolia, it's all the way back home to Washington D.C.

Andrea Koppel is live for us at the White House.

Andrea, Good morning to you.

What does the president hope to accomplish on this trip?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, White House officials perhaps deliberately are setting the bar quite low. They say that the president isn't going there to bring something home that's tangible, the way he did when he went to Latin America just a couple of days ago. And as you know, that was a failed trip. Leaders refused to sign off on that hemisphere-wide trade pact.

But during this trip, President Bush is going to be addressing issues as diverse as North Korean nukes to the potential for a bird flu pandemic. That's in Korea. He's going to be attending the Asian- Pacific Economic Conference, and leaders there expected to talk about a new initiative to respond to the potential for an outbreak of Asian influenza, and the potential for a pandemic there. At least 60 people, all of them in Asia, have died since 2003 from the bird flu.

Now, the most contentious part of the president's trip will happen when he gets to China. It's his third trip there, but it's the first time that he'll meet with China's new president, Hu Jintao. Topping the agenda will be what's expected to be a $200 billion trade deficit between the two countries. For every $1 that Chinese spend in this country, Soledad, Americans, and both citizens and companies, send $6 back to China -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Andrea, domestically, poll numbers are out, and they're not good for the president. They must impact this trip as well internationally, right?

KOPPEL: Well, certainly, President Bush is traveling to Asia at the lowest point in his presidency. We've got a couple of poll numbers for you from "Newsweek" just out. When asked about Mr. Bush's job as president, right now, he's getting 36 percent approving of his job now, 58 percent disapproving. Another question that "Newsweek" asked. During the last three years in office, Mr. Bush, 56 percent saying won't be able to get much done, 36 percent says can be effective. So, Soledad, Mr. Bush is going to have his work cut out for him in Asia.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Andrea Koppel at the White House for us. Andrea, thanks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the Middle East today for what could be new signs of progress there. There's word of a long-awaited deal to let Palestinians move in and out of Gaza freely. Guy Raz is here with the latest on that.

Guy, what's the significance of this border crossing?

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, every step in this often tedious and complex process of negotiating between Israelis and Palestinians can certainly be seen as a breakthrough. What we're talking about is the Rafah border crossing. Now that is the main transit point in and out of the Palestinian Gaza Strip. It borders Egypt. And for the last 38 years, that border crossing has been manned by Israeli troops.

Now when Israel withdrew its soldiers and settlers from Gaza last summer, that crossing point essentially was shutdown and sealed. And since that time, Israeli and Palestinian officials haven't been able to figure out how that border crossing could be reopened.

Now, what we do understand is that in the coming days, perhaps weeks, that border crossing will in fact, be reopened. the Israelis have long said that without proper supervision, it could be used as a transit point for armed militants and weapons smuggling. But for Palestinians, it simply is an issue of sovereignty.

Now what we should expect see happening there in the coming weeks, if, in fact, this agreement is hammered out, is that Egyptian troops would monitor their side of the border as they always have done. On the Palestinian side, we would see a combination of Palestinian security forces, and perhaps international observers, perhaps European observers, monitoring that side of the border with closed-circuit television cameras which would enable Israelis to monitor the border without having a physical presence there.

Now this issue is very important for the Bush administration. The administration essentially saying that the Gaza reopening is key to reviving Gaza's economy, and essentially preventing a new outbreak of violence here in the region -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Guy Raz, thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: A developing story out of Pennsylvania to tell you about this morning. A 14-year-old girl is missing. Her parents were found shot to death. An Amber Alert has now been issued for Kara Beth Borden. Police believe she is kidnapped at gun point by her boyfriend, 18-year-old David Ludwig.

Amy Buckman, from our affiliate WPBI is live for us in Lititz.

Nice to see you, Amy. Good morning.

AMY BUCKMAN, WPBI REPORTER: Good morning, Soledad.

Police here in Warrick Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania are looking for leads. They're trying to track down 14-year-old Kara Beth Borden and 18-year-old David Ludwig. They don't know where they are. They say they could be anywhere in Pennsylvania, or in fact anywhere on the Eastern seaboard of the United States.

Here's what happened. A 9-year-old little boy, Kara Beth's younger brother, went running to a neighbor's house about 8:00 yesterday morning, saying please call 911. I think my dad has been shot. When police went to the house, they found Katherine and Michael Borden, both 50 years old, shot to death. There was an older daughter in the house. She escaped safely, but 14-year-old Kara Beth Borden is missing.

In talking to family and friends police now believe that Kara Beth and David Ludwig, an 18-year-old, had a relationship that Kara's parents did not approve of. The two had met as part of a home- schooling network. Both came from families that home-schooled their children, and apparently had been secretly been seeing each other. Kara Beth had stayed out Saturday night, and when she came home Sunday morning, her parents may have confronted her. David Ludwig then may have violently confronted those parents, and the result is that both of them are dead.

The description of Kara Beth Gordon is that she's about 5'1 tall, around a hundred pounds. She has brown hair with blond highlights. And when she was last seen, she was wearing a black sweatshirt with the word "Pillar" written across the front, along with blue jeans and black sneakers.

David Ludwig is described as about six-feet tall, a white male. And this is the car that they are looking for. They believe that David Ludwig is driving a red Volkswagen Jetta with Pennsylvania plates EHHO994. Anyone with information is asked to call their local police -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: That Amber Alert now out. All right, Amy Buckman, reporting for us from our affiliate WPBI. Amy, thanks for the update on that story -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, here's the video that we've all been talking about this morning. Check this out, a tornado in up-close- and-personal way. This one of those "kids don't try this at home" moments. Very gutsy young man by the name of Jeremiah Nance shot this tape. Let's watch and let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do it now!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boy, look at this.

(EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, (EXPLETIVE DELETED)! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! oh, my God! Hey! (INAUDIBLE) all the way apart.

Oh, my god! That's it! Get out of here! Get the dog!

Grab the dog! Yes, yes, yes. Is there anybody else in there with you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you need help? Yes. Is there anybody else down here? Everybody accounted for?

Oh, my. Natural gas! Oh, my Jesus Lord! Oh, Jesus!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Listen to that wind howling, too. That was Jeremiah Nance rolling that tape, and with a friend there, helping out a woman getting her out of her heavily damaged home, as well as a pet.

Now, these tornadoes which swept through that part of Iowa in Stratford, an elderly woman was killed in Stratford. This is in Woodward as these tornadoes touched down.

S. O'BRIEN: Very unusual to have tornadoes this late in the season.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, the governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack, says, you know, tornadoes in November in Iowa they don't happen. That's not supposed to happen. They've happened. And I guess any time you have severe thunderstorms, this kind of thing can happen. But it's remarkable. It's kind of hard to estimate right there. He's very close to that tornado.

S. O'BRIEN: Looks close to me.

M. O'BRIEN: Supposedly it was an F-2 on the Fujita Scale, which puts you in the "it'll hurt you" scale.

S. O'BRIEN: Really. This videotapes gives such interesting examples of how you the tornado there and you see the leaves being sucked into...

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up in the program, more on that stunning confession from a would-be suicide bomber. If Al Qaeda sent a woman to kill, does this mean a significant change in tactics? Does this represent the feel like they can't circumvent security with men? We'll ask some questions in a minute.

S. O'BRIEN: And then later this morning, are critics of the war in Iraq putting the president on the defensive? One of his advisers. Dan Bartlett will join us live just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: That videotaped confession which came out of Jordan of a woman who was a would-be suicide bomber has many of us talking this morning about what this all means for al Qaeda's tactics and strategy and the implications in the greater war on terrorism.

Joyce Davis is the author of "Martyrs, Innocence, Vengeance and Despair in the Middle East." She joins us now from Vienna, Austria.

Mrs. Davis, good to have you with us.

Give us -- tell us what you think the significance is...

JOYCE DAVIS, AUTHOR, "MARTYRS, INNOCENCE, VENGEANCE AND DESPAIR IN THE MIDDLE EAST": Nice to be with you.

M. O'BRIEN: ... of a woman, a married woman -- we don't know if she's a mother, trying to track that down -- being involved in a suicide bombing attack.

DAVIS: Well, I think this should be a wake-up call to us that there no stereotypes. We have seen not only men, we have seen children, and we have seen women who are mothers. There was the case in a Palestinian woman who was the mother of two small children who carried out a suicide attack.

M. O'BRIEN: So do you think this is reflection of Al Qaeda's inability to get past security checkpoints, for example, with men and using women as a better cover, or is there something else at root here?

DAVIS: No. I think you probably are close to what's going on. As the security defenses become stronger and as we are on the lookout for what we think is a stereotype, they're going to change that. They're going to sending people that they think has a better chance of getting through those defenses. And of course, women, because of the stereotype that women are weak, or that they are unable to carry out such attacks, they have a better chance of getting through.

But this is a warning to us, that we should be on the lookout for all kinds of appearances. And even women who have appeared to be pregnant could be a possible model for this kind of attack.

M. O'BRIEN: You mentioned the stereotypes, and when we talk about these suicide bombers, we talk about so-called jihadist who are seeking what is termed martyrdom, in the religion and the way the religion is conflated, are woman offered the same martyrdom as men?

DAVIS: Well, let's really be clear that Islam, at least from all of the scholars I have spoken to, or most of them, Islam does not sanction any type of suicide, so things stemming from suicide also would not be sanctioned. There is a big stereotype and a myth about people going into heaven to have sex with virgins. All of that is not what's behind this. What's behind this is anger.

The religion does teach, though, that people who are martyred for the right cause and a noble cause, they are, of course, guaranteed a place in heaven. That would be open to men and women. But again, it's if they die in defense of the religion and in following the precepts of Islam. There's many arguments that these type of attacks do not at all adhere to the teachings of Islam.

M. O'BRIEN: Does this in any way tell you that Al Qaeda is perhaps desperate?

DAVIS: Well, it certainly tells me that the defenses are clearly working, that it's very hard, it's much harder now for the typical male to get through. But again, this should be a warning actually to Western agencies, don't be fooled by stereotypes, that it could come as a Middle Eastern-looking man. It could come as a Middle Eastern-looking woman. It could come as a European-looking man or woman. So we should be careful and just be clear that women clearly can carry out these attacks.

M. O'BRIEN: Joyce Davis is the author of "Martyrs, Innocence, Vengeance and Despair in the Middle East." We thank you for your time -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, we're "Minding Your Business." Get ready for another round of big price cuts from car dealers nationwide. Andy has a look at that. That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Are you looking for a new car? A new deal out today. Andy has got details on that. He's "Minding Your Business."

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Soledad.

So what's a company to do if it just lost $1.6 billion in the latest quarter? Cut prices? That's what GM is doing, announcing a new red-tag incentive program on some of the new vehicles out there, actually, most of them; $3,000 or more on cars and light trucks. And what this means is Japanese carmakers are going to have to respond, because that's a lot of money. For instance, the GMC Enjoy SUV will be $4,042 less than its previous sticker price.

And what this means, Soledad, this is all about instead of profitability, obviously, because they're going to be sacrificing here, it's about marketshare. GM's marketshare a year ago, 28.5 percent. It's now down to 25.6 percent. That's a big drop. They need to hang on to that marketshare. Lower prices are going to help them do it, but obviously, they're not going to be making any money yet again.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, if you lost $1.6 bill, I mean, that's not going to help you, on that front.

SERWER: There's going to lose more. I mean, it's just tough to fathom.

S. O'BRIEN: A crazy mass.

SERWER: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thank you.

SERWER: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm doing an impersonation. What am I doing? Uh- huh. Uh-huh. Yes. Tens and 20s.

S. O'BRIEN: Are you robbing a bank?

(CROSSTALK)

M. O'BRIEN: Unmarked, nonsequential, no dye. Yes, that's -- I am playing a bank robber now. We'll tell you the latest on the cell phone bandit. Have police figured out what's up with this? They made an arrest. No cell phone. Could it be her? Among the questions. We'll ringy dingy up a few facts for you in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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