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American Morning

U.S. Accused of Planting Propaganda in Iraqi Press; Interview with Paula Abdul

Aired December 02, 2005 - 09:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Spectacular picture.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I love that shot.

M. O'BRIEN: The Palisades, George Washington Bridge. Gorgeous.

S. O'BRIEN: So beautiful. Oh, look, you're getting the accent already. You've only been here a few months, Miles. We love it, we love it.

Welcome back, everybody. A reminder. We start our day at 6:00 a.m. here on AMERICAN MORNING. We hope that you're going to join us then.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, actually, we start earlier than that.

S. O'BRIEN: Our TV day, Miles, begins at 6:00 a.m.

M. O'BRIEN: We'd like you to start your day with us at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.

S. O'BRIEN: We got lots to get to this morning.

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Pentagon brass being called to Capitol Hill today, called on the carpet, really. Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee want to know about new reports that the military is planting pro-American stories in Iraqi newspapers.

Senior correspondent Jamie McIntyre, live now at the Pentagon with more on that. Good morning, Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

Well, you know, I don't think it's an unwarranted editorial opinion to say the Pentagon's been caught a little flat-footed by this. It's interesting, Senator John Warner, Senate Armed Services Committee, in summoning members of the Pentagon up to answer questions on Capitol Hill today said, quote, "I have no information to confirm or refute these reports."

By the way, puts him in the same position as most of the Pentagon officials we talk to. They say they don't have any information, either. In fact, they're not sure who's going go up to the Hill and what they're going say.

At issue is the charge first reported by the "Los Angeles Times" that the U.S. military was secretly writing stories and then using a Washington firm to translate and then place those stories in Iraqi newspapers, favorable stories written by the U.S. military and paying to have them put in papers.

Now, of course, if that's true, it would undermine the whole credibility of the burgeoning new Iraqi press. And, in fact, former Pentagon spokesperson Ken Bacon told Soledad O'Brien this morning on AMERICAN MORNING that this was just a wrong-headed policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNETH BACON, FMR. PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: The key they have to remember is that they have to protect good information sources. And the press is something we're trying to build up in Iraq as a reliable, free source of information. So to undermine that by paying for stories shoots our own program in the foot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: What's really at issue here, Miles, is the tug-of-war that's going in the Pentagon between what's called information operations, using information -- sometimes true, sometimes not so true -- to try to sway things on the battlefield, as opposed to the official spokespeople who feel that they have to have credibility and have the source of their information labeled.

And that's a tug-of-war that's going here. It's interesting that the Pentagon itself doesn't seem to know the answer to the key questions that they're going have to provide Congress this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, there are all kinds of shades of gray when you get into the whole area of propaganda, obviously. It is a tool that the military uses.

You just came out of a briefing, Jamie. Tell -- what did the general who briefed you say about this?

MCINTYRE: Well, you know, General -- Lieutenant General Dempsey, who is in charge of training the Iraqi forces, basically was giving an update on how many forces -- he was giving an upbeat assessment of the capability of the Iraqi military.

Our producer Mike Mann (ph) asked him about this story, though, and basically, you could see he was a little uncomfortable. He said he doesn't have any information operations officer in his group. But he said, quote, "nobody is more introspective than the U.S. military." He expected that this would be sorted out and something would be said.

I mean, the key question here is they either have to figure out if this really happened and how to correct it -- nobody's defending the practice -- or if for some reason it didn't really happen as reported. But the fact is, it's been three days now and we haven't had a response and it's pretty telling. M. O'BRIEN: Yes, and it's difficult to undo something like this when there is a credibility gap. Jamie McIntyre, keep us posted on this, please.

MCINTYRE: Will do.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Turning to New Orleans now. Residents of the Lower Ninth Ward are being allowed to visit their homes and they are seeing the incredible destruction there.

Jeannette Trask was among those who returned home for the first time and, as you can imagine, it was obviously, very, very difficult. Jeannette joins us this morning in front of her home in the Lower Ninth Ward.

Miss Trask, thank you for being with us. We certainly appreciate it. You know, from the outside, I've got to tell you, the house looks OK. I know you've had a chance to go inside. How bad is it?

JEANNETTE TRASK, NINTH WARD RESIDENT: It's a disaster inside. It really is a disaster. Everything is all tossed and thrown and it's all black.

S. O'BRIEN: Your family's had that house for 80 years. Your grandmother owned it, right, and then your mom owned it and then it passed on to you.

TRASK: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: Were you able to grab anything from the home? I mean, is everything just ruined or is there anything you could grab?

TRASK: The only thing I got out of there was a pitcher that my grandmother used to make lemonade in in the heat of Atlanta. That's it.

S. O'BRIEN: Where was it? I'm looking at a picture of it now, Miss Trask, and it actually -- you know, it looks like it stood up to the storm pretty well.

TRASK: Right. Right. It was laying in a hallway. The pitcher was laying in the hallway.

S. O'BRIEN: What's your plan now? I mean, I know you've got to decide if you're going rebuild, or if you're going to just kind of give up. You've lived in this house since you were six years old.

TRASK: Yes, I really would like to rebuild. I need some help to restore this house. This is a family house. It's been in our family for generations now, and I really don't want to lose it.

S. O'BRIEN: What's the situation insurance wise? do you have any insurance?

TRASK: We -- I didn't have insurance on the house. I had content, but I didn't have any insurance on the house.

S. O'BRIEN: Have you had anybody come by and take a look and tell you whether or not it's even salvageable?

TRASK: No. We were just able to get in yesterday, to actually come back and see the condition of the house.

S. O'BRIEN: How tough was that? I've got to wonder. You've been in the house since you were six years old. When you walked in the front door what was that like? Maybe you didn't go in the front door?

TRASK: I went in one part of the front door, and there are two doors to the house, and I went in one side. I couldn't open the porch door, so I had to go in on the other side.

It was devastating. It was one of the most horrible things that I have ever had to go through, to actually see everything all tumbled, and jumbled and black, it's just devastating.

S. O'BRIEN: It breaks your heart, doesn't it?

Are you angry? I'm sorry. You want to take a minute?

TRASK: I'm hurt. I don't know what to do, where to go. I really need some help. This house, it withstood the storm, the flood. It just needed to be renovated, restored. It's -- please.

S. O'BRIEN: Is anybody helping you? Have you met with anybody from FEMA or any social-services agency?

TRASK: No one. I haven't met with anyone as of yet.

S. O'BRIEN: Do you know how to reach them? Have you tried to reach out to them?

TRASK: I tried to talk to FEMA. I've tried to talk to FEMA.

S. O'BRIEN: What did they say?

TRASK: And they said they're going to be out. You know, they're waiting. They're going to have to come out and see the property first.

S. O'BRIEN: Where are you living right now?

TRASK: I'm staying right now -- I'm over there in Gretna with my daughter.

S. O'BRIEN: I tell you, you know, your story is such a similar story for so many people in the Lower Ninth Ward.

TRASK: It's really sad. It's sad. It's just devastating just to see how everything is so torn up around here. You know, it was a nice neighborhood. Very quiet. You know, now, you know, everything's just thrown all around. This is a disaster. S. O'BRIEN: It is sad.

TRASK: It really is sad.

S. O'BRIEN: Miss Trask, thank you for talking with us. I hope we'll be able to check in with you over the next days and weeks to find out if you're getting the assistance that you need and your neighborhoods need, too.

Thank you. We appreciate it.

TRASK: OK, I wish I could get some help. Thank you very much.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, I hope somebody hears your plea and realizes that there are many people in your exact situation. And there's a lot to be done there.

Miss Trask, thank you for being with us.

TRASK: OK, you're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is going to be in Atlanta tomorrow. About 100,000 people displaced by Hurricane Katrina are in the metro area, and the mayor's holding a town hall meeting. You can see it right there. It's going to be at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College.

We're going to have special coverage of that town hall meeting, and we're going to take a short break right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Well, jobs and layoffs, Dr. Doom is here again. Andy Serwer with more on that.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Thought you were talking about Alan Greenspan. He's doing a little Dr. Doom this morning. The Fed chief, who's slated to step down at the end of January, speaking strongly and candidly this morning about the economy, and especially about entitlements, federal entitlements and how we don't have enough money to pay for them.

Let's go down to the Big Board and see what's happening down there. We're down 16 points on the Dow this morning.

And my mic is on. They were telling me my mic's not on. But I think it is on.

S. O'BRIEN: I hear you just fine, Andy.

SERWER: OK, thank you, I'll just talk louder, or snuggle up with Soledad. I prefer that alternative. Thank you very much. A two-shot they call that, right?

M. O'BRIEN: That's what they call it?

S. O'BRIEN: Something like that.

SERWER: All right, I'm going to just try to muddle through this here.

S. O'BRIEN: More, more.

SERWER: That's fine with me. This is the best show we've ever had, don't you think?

M. O'BRIEN: I'm feeling so left out.

S. O'BRIEN: Well I wonder why. Well, if your mic ever fails.

SERWER: I like to watch, though.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh! Oh! What is wrong with you today?

SERWER: We were having a normal business conversation, and it just slipped right off.

S. O'BRIEN: Where were we? Dow, up.

SERWER: Let's just finish this up. Jobs report in November out this morning, 215,000 jobs created for the month. That's right on target. The unemployment rate holds steady. That's good news. The only bad news this morning is that Ford, according to "The Wall Street Journal," is getting prepared to layoff 7,500 workers, not a good Christmas present there. And five minutes in North America could be shut down. There's your plant closing map, and the stock is down 40 percent over the past year.

And that's it. Whether you can hear me or not, whether I'm snuggling with Soledad, which is my favorite thing to do in the program. I'm done.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.

SERWER: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the best and the worst, and the worst and the worst, which really is the best when you're talking about "American Idol" frankly. We're going to check in with Paula Abdul. She'll tell us about her favorite worst. He may be it, her favorite worst singer, and more just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

S. O'BRIEN: A little blast from the past, a little Paula Abdul.

M. O'BRIEN: Great song. It makes you move. You can't stop.

S. O'BRIEN: It makes you move.

You know, Paula Abdul. Here's a little bit from your resume. Forty million records sold, two number one albums, six number one singles, a Grammy, two Emmys, two People's Choice Awards, three American Music Awards. And so many people know you from "American Idol," which is about to enter its fifth season.

Good morning. It's nice to have you here to talk about that and tons of other stuff, as well.

PAULA ABDUL, ENTERTAINER: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: It's the best and the worst of "American Idol," the DVD collection that's now out there.

ABDUL: And for most, it's the worst that's the favorites.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

ABDUL: Like, you know, go figure.

S. O'BRIEN: Is it the same way when the contestants comes up and perform before you and some of them are good and you see a future for them, and others are just -- I mean, they're so bad that they're impressively bad, they're laughingly bad.

ABDUL: It's the ones who are so bad that they think we're delusional when we say that wasn't very good. And they actually, with all their mights, they go, well, my family told me I was great. My friends told me I was great.

S. O'BRIEN: They're not ringer -- I mean, they're not stuck in there. These are real.

ABDUL: We know when they're just trying to get on television because, well, we fake them out. We'll hit each other under the table and when we're done we'll go, that was fantastic. And they're like, what? Get out!

But this is a -- it's a great, great, collection because you get the best and you get the worst. And then behind the scenes, I interview a lot of the contestants and Carrie and Beau go home and we show that. There's footage of that. And it's a lot of fun.

S. O'BRIEN: There's a lot of extras, too. Is it -- you're so nice to people, even when they're awful. Like, you're never mean, never.

ABDUL: Some of them think -- some of the contestants say Paula was really mean, and that's because they're expecting that, yes...

S. O'BRIEN: This girl, she was so angry. She's like, I'm going to be a star. I don't care what you say.

ABDUL: This guy's funny.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. His Paula Abdul rap was pretty funny.

ABDUL: I was pretty impressed with that one. He was pretty good. But, you know, he was a ringer, we found out.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, really?

M. O'BRIEN: He was?

ABDUL: Yes. Works for a radio station.

M. O'BRIEN: There you go.

Let me ask you this. Because you're the nice judge and, of course, -- you're the ying and the yang is, of course, Simon.

S. O'BRIEN: Mean, evil. Bully.

M. O'BRIEN: And how much of that is put on and how much is that Simon just being a mean guy?

ABDUL: What you see is what you get.

M. O'BRIEN: Really.

ABDUL: He can be mean and he can be charming and everything in between. And there are days when we walk on the opposite sides of the street.

S. O'BRIEN: Really. So do you hate him or do you like him?

ABDUL: It depends on what day it is.

M. O'BRIEN: Really.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles and I have that same kind of thing.

ABDUL: It's a relationship that you can't repeat and I don't wish it upon anyone, to be honest with you.

M. O'BRIEN: And you have to spend so much time with these people. You know, after hour after hour of audition, it must...

ABDUL: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: You get to know them than you want, probably.

ABDUL: It means more therapy session.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, it gives you something to talk about with your therapist, is a good way to look at it.

ABDUL: Yes, I think he's sick about hearing about it.

S. O'BRIEN: Like, let's move past Simon.

Let me ask a question about a big issue that was on for last season, which was Corey Clark, who started who started making the rounds on the talk shows, talking about the relationship he claimed to have with you and the extra coaching that you were giving him. How -- what was that like to deal with that?

ABDUL: Well, you can imagine for me. I mean, I've been in this business for -- God, going on 20 years. I've never had to go through anything like that. So it was -- the best part they can say is all my fans and every contestant from every season came forward.

S. O'BRIEN: You felt supported.

ABDUL: And I felt support like you can't believe. And you know, he had his 15 minutes.

M. O'BRIEN: Now, you came out in -- sort of on the tail end of that, talking about your own personal health and your neurological disorder.

S. O'BRIEN: How is your health?

M. O'BRIEN: How you feeling?

ABDUL: I'm feeling fantastic. And there's no wood, so I'm going...

S. O'BRIEN: That's right. Just knock on metal. There's a little here.

ABDUL: OK. It's been incredible. I mean, when you have your health you have everything. And it's been an incredible time for me. So many wonderful blessings.

S. O'BRIEN: So you're feeling good?

ABDUL: Yes, especially at a time when things aren't great right now in the world and we have so much to be thankful for. I count my blessings every day. My health is good. I'm doing wonderful things for causes that are important to me, for National Eating Disorders Association. I was honored two weeks ago here in New York and it was probably my biggest -- my proudest moment.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, that's great.

ABDUL: Helping millions of people.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, I tell you, you've been actually very much out on the forefront about eating disorders, which I know you struggled with for a long.

ABDUL: And it's something that the entire family needs to stand behind and get help with. It's not something that you can help yourself with.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, it's nice to have you in and to catch up with you. And I got to tell you, this DVD, hysterical. The people who are good, I go right through them. I don't care about those people. I want to hear the bad ones.

ABDUL: Oh, come on! Come on!

S. O'BRIEN: I like the people who are terrible! They're much more interesting.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm with you.

S. O'BRIEN: Paula, nice to have you. Thanks for stopping by. We appreciate it.

ABDUL: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: The best is the worst. You know that.

S. O'BRIEN: Absolutely.

ABDUL: Well, that's funny. You will laugh, definitely.

M. O'BRIEN: Great to have you by.

ABDUL: A short break and we're back in just a moment.

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