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American Morning

Hard-Line Response in Israel; Saddam Hussein On Trial

Aired December 06, 2005 - 06:32   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, it's snowing. It's snowing. It's snowing. That's Columbus Circle. And that is actually kind of treacherous when the weather gets bad, because nobody knows how to merge in the city. Do I sound bitter?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: No taxicab drivers.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: No one knows how to merge in any city. Let's be frank.

S. O'BRIEN: L.A. is not so bad, because they do it a lot. Here?

M. O'BRIEN: Well, here it's...

COSTELLO: When it snows or rain, though, people go crazy anywhere.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: That is true.

S. O'BRIEN: So true. It is so true. Welcome back, everybody.

M. O'BRIEN: Well...

S. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry, what?

M. O'BRIEN: No, no, no, it's OK. (INAUDIBLE) I was just going to make a little comment about driving here. But we've moved on.

S. O'BRIEN: Moving on.

M. O'BRIEN: Please.

S. O'BRIEN: The East Coast is getting its first real snowstorm of the season. It brings us right to Jacqui Jeras. She's at the CNN center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Carol Costello here. Got some more headlines.

COSTELLO: I do indeed. Good morning, everyone. We'll start with this developing story out of Baghdad, a double suicide bombing, two women apparently to blame. The U.S. military says they were wearing suicide vests and walked into a crowded classroom at a police academy in Baghdad and blew themselves up. At least 27 people were killed, 32 hurt. The attack comes just nine days before Iraq is set to hold elections.

Also in Iraq, more chilling testimony in the trial of Saddam Hussein. The former Iraqi leader appearing defiant again this morning, but became silent as the first witness began to speak. A woman known only as "Witness A" testified from behind a blue screen. Her voice was modified. She described through tears how Hussein's men beat her as a teenager and forced her to take off her clothes. The second witness is now on the stand. Much more on the trial throughout AMERICAN MORNING.

In Iran, a military transport plane crashes in a town just south of Tehran. We're going to zoom in on that area. The pilot apparently had technical problems and was trying to head back to its base. There are reports the plane crashed in a residential area and may have actually hit some buildings. We know there were at least 74 people on board the flight. So far no word on if anyone survived.

A case involving military campus recruiting goes before the Supreme Court this morning. The dispute turns on whether the federal government can block funds to colleges that won't let military recruiters on campus. Nearly all universities have policies preventing recruiters who discriminate based on race, gender or sexual orientation. But since the 1993 Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy went into effect, the military says it cannot comply with sexual orientation provisions. We'll keep you posted.

S. O'BRIEN: That's interesting.

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

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Carol.

M. O'BRIEN: In Israel today, a hard line reaction to the latest suicide bombing. The Israeli's target is Islamic Jihad, but their tactics are affecting all Palestinians.

John Vause live in Jerusalem.

John, what has the response been so far?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So far, a fairly muted response by the Israelis, Miles. Travel in and out of the West Bank and Gaza has been stopped for all but humanitarian reasons. And Israeli security forces have begun arresting Palestinians, more than a dozen so far, including the father and the three brothers of the suicide bomber.

Last night, the mother of the suicide bomber was distraught. She was asking in Arabic, who could have brainwashed my son? Who could have made him do this? The family says the young man in his twenties could neither read nor write. He had only been to school for a year or two.

There is also new video today taken by a security camera across the road from the shopping mall. It shows the moment of the blast when this man blew himself up, killing five Israelis and wounding dozens of others.

The Israelis are vowing never to give in to this kind of terrorism. The defense minister saying this country will do whatever it has to do to stop these kinds of attacks.

And, Miles, it's a pretty safe bet that the military response is only just beginning.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, having said that, John, Ariel Sharon is having to walk kind of a fine line on how he responds. Why don't you explain that.

VAUSE: Yes, all of this is against the backdrop of two elections. The Palestinians go to the polls in January, the Israelis in March.

So, for the Israeli prime minister, this is the dance. He has to prove to the Israelis that he is tough on these kinds of acts of terrorism. But if that response is too severe, it could drive the Palestinians to the militant group, Hamas, which has standing candidates in this coming election in January for the very first time. If that happens, that will weaken the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, who is considered a moderate.

So, a very difficult couple of days ahead for Ariel Sharon -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: John Vause in Jerusalem. Thank you very much.

Coming up, now that the trial is in full swing, is Saddam Hussein actually picking up support in the Arab world? We'll take a look at that.

S. O'BRIEN: Plus, rebuilding efforts in New Orleans are just about to get a big boost. Andy tells us how. "Minding Your Business" is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: The Saddam Hussein trial is under way once again today. And yesterday it was really a wild scene in the courtroom as dramatic testimony was finally delivered relating to the alleged crimes in Dujail in 1982, and that Saddam Hussein and his co- defendants responded in angry and sometimes raucous ways.

CNN's Octavia Nasr, who is our senior editor for Arab affairs, watches all of these things for us from the perspective of the Arab street, as it were.

Octavia, good to have you with us.

Let's talk about the judge first. What's the perception in the Arab world about how this judge is doing his job?

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SENIOR ARAB AFFAIRS EDITOR: I have to tell you, this judge is liked in the Arab world. You know, he's described as moderate. He's described as fair and as compassionate. I tell you, they keep looking at him, and they're very surprised he's Kurdish. He has a Kurdish background.

So, they expect him to hate Saddam Hussein and the co-defendants. But instead, they're seeing a very compassionate judge, who is allowing the defendants to basically get what they want and even get their way.

As you mentioned, yesterday they all sort of walked all over the judge, not just the defendants, but the defense team. Even the witness was telling the judge what to do.

This is unheard of in the Arab world. Usually the judge is revered and the courtroom is like a place for prayer. You know, you don't talk unless the judge gives you permission.

So basically he's seen as someone who is doing something very unusual.

Now, his critics are saying he's allowing everybody to walk all over him and he's turning his courtroom into a circus. But there are those who believe that maybe this is a tactic to prove to the world that he is going to be fair, and this trial is going to be fair.

M. O'BRIEN: And that is the tightrope that he walks. That's not an easy one.

Let's talk about Saddam Hussein's performance. In this picture you see right there, he looks rather sedate. But there were several scenes where he was throwing papers around. He was talking about how angry he was about the whole procedure. This is yesterday's stuff. He says, you know, do not interrupt me, son, when one of the witnesses was talking. If you want Saddam Hussein's neck, you can have it. I'm not afraid of execution. Long live Iraq. Long live the Arab state.

He really does know how to speak to a (INAUDIBLE) notion. And I think he's playing to that audience, isn't he?

NASR: Oh, absolutely. And they picked up on it.

You take, for example, the newspaper, "Al-Quds Al-Arabi," which is known for supporting Saddam Hussein in the past and today and, they say, in the future. Here is, for example, one thing that they said in an editorial. They say, He insisted he remains the president of Iraq, and that he doesn't care for his own safety as much as he cares for the dignity of Iraq and its liberation from occupation."

The title of this editorial was "Saddam, Winner For the Third Time," in reference to his third appearance in court. And basically, the article goes on to explain exactly what you said, that he did use every opportunity to speak to the Iraqi public opinion and the Arabic public opinion.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about public opinion. You can gauge it from your perspective just kind of culling through these Web sites. What are you seeing?

NASR: Very interesting reaction. You know, we monitor Al- Arabiya Net usually a news story. People just get in, get online and vent.

Here is, for example, what we picked up this morning. An anonymous person writes, "All of Iraq calls: Saddam is the pride of my country."

Immediately, someone by the name of Free answers, "All of Iraq calls: Saddam is the killer of my children."

In Arabic, I have to say, that children and country rhyme. Not in English unfortunately. But you can give the gist of it.

Then another person calling himself "the son of Baghdad," he says, "Damned is Saddam and his men and his followers and his supporters and his defenders."

Basically you hear many people saying that Saddam Hussein shouldn't even get a defense team. He shouldn't get a fair trial.

And this is, again, what this person named Hamad says. He says: "I wish from the bottom of my heart that the criminal Saddam Hussein doesn't get a fair trial. I want him to taste what it's like to rob people of any chance of fairness, people who used to beg for mercy, let alone a trial and a defense team" -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Octavia, just quickly here, is there any way of gauging and making a generalization about what opinion is right now of Saddam? Is it trending either way?

NASR: You know, most people do not like Saddam Hussein in the Arab world as far as the crimes that he allegedly committed. People do believe that he committed these atrocities or was behind them or supported them or gave orders. But at the end of the day, the intellectuals in the Arab world would like to see a fair trial. For history's sake, they think that this will give a documentation of what really happened during his rule.

M. O'BRIEN: Octavia Nasr, CNN's senior Arab Affairs editor, thanks, as always.

NASR: Any time.

M. O'BRIEN: All right -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Andy is "Minding Your Business" just ahead. What's coming up? ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Soledad, rebuilding New Orleans and Louisiana. Help is coming from an unlikely corner. We'll tell you all about that. Stay tuned to AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: See that jogger there in the shot, the lone jogger running up?

SERWER: Crazy.

M. O'BRIEN: Is he or she on the sidewalk, I hope?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: OK.

S. O'BRIEN: Right along the park, yes.

M. O'BRIEN: OK. Well, not as crazy as they could be.

S. O'BRIEN: It's snowing out. That's pretty crazy.

Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.

Let's get right to our top stories this morning. We've got a lot of news overseas.

Hey, Carol.

COSTELLO: We do. Good morning to all of you.

We start with that double suicide bombing in Baghdad we've been telling you about. We have new pictures just in to CNN. You can see emergency vehicles rushing to the police academy in Baghdad. The U.S. military says two women wearing vests packed with explosives walked into a classroom and blew themselves up. At least 27 people are dead, 32 hurt.

The other breaking news story we're watching, an Iranian military plane crashing in a town just south of Tehran. It apparently struck a 10-story building. We know there were at least 74 people aboard that flight. There are now reports of bodies being pulled from the scene. We'll keep our eye on this story and pass along any new information to you.

It appears Congressman Tom DeLay is losing support back home in his Texas district. A new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll shows 55 percent of registered voters believe the criminal charges against him are true. Thirty-four percent believe they're false, and 49 percent say they would pick a Democrat in 2006. Thirty-six percent say they will support DeLay. DeLay has represented the solidly Republican district since 1984.

The New England Patriots may be having a tough season, but quarterback Tom Brady, he has it all, doesn't he? And he has reason to celebrate this morning. He is "Sports Illustrated's" 2005 sportsman of the year. "Sports I" says the three-time Super Bowl champ was chosen for his outstanding talent and character. Do you know he will not appear in a commercial without some of his fellow players, his offensive line? That's a guy. So there you go. Congratulations, Tom Brady.

Let's head to the forecast center to talk about the cold and flu season with Jacqui.

Good morning.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

It's not good news today. It's becoming a lot more widespread. In fact, I'm kind of feeling closed in. Look at all of that green beginning to move towards the midsection of the nation. Green means that we've got sporadic flu reports in all of those states. So you can see them across much of the Northeast into the Great Lakes. Florida, we're getting reports of the flu, as well as Texas. Much of the upper Midwest was looking good last week. That's all starting to fill in now. Also around the Four Corners into California. Also in Washington State.

So, it is becoming more widespread across the country. But the good news is at least it's just sporadic reports. We're not looking at regional or widespread activity.

And I do have to tell you, I just got a call from my nanny. She's sick. She's got the flu. It's coming. I think Georgia is going to be next.

Back to you guys.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, that's a bummer already.

JERAS: I know.

S. O'BRIEN: It's early in the season for that. All right, Jacqui. Well, we hope she gets better fast for her sake and for your sake, too.

M. O'BRIEN: To recovery in New Orleans now and a plan to build not only houses, but whole neighborhoods.

S. O'BRIEN: It's a great plan.

SERWER: Yes, it is. And it's very intriguing stuff here. KB Homes, which is the nation's fifth largest homebuilder, has announced it will begin to build homes in New Orleans and Louisiana. It's not saying how many it will build, but it's already bought a 3,000 tract of land in Jefferson Parish. And it also will be building a metropolitan New Orleans.

This is the first time any major homebuilder has come into the area since the hurricanes. And, in fact, it's the first time any major homebuilder has ever come to Louisiana, because the economy is bad, the population is shrinking, and because a lot of the land is below sea level.

Of course, we know how many homes were destroyed with the hurricane -- 300,000. And 200,000 of those were destroyed in the New Orleans and Louisiana era -- area -- excuse me.

And KB Homes builds houses that are moderate prices, I guess you could say. The average home is $200,000 that they make. The average home in New Orleans is about $150,000. So, they'll probably be ratcheting more down towards that level.

And they're partnering with the Shaw Group, which is a big contractor down there.

S. O'BRIEN: That is such great news. I think it's wonderful.

M. O'BRIEN: That's good news.

SERWER: Yes, it's a risky move.

M. O'BRIEN: But a bold and good one.

SERWER: I think it is. And they just need new places to build, and it's sort of a serendipitous thing.

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

M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.

SERWER: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: In a moment, a look at the day's top stories, including some more chilling testimony in the trial of Saddam Hussein. One woman describing torture at the hands of Iraqi intelligence officers. We're going to take you live to Baghdad straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: As we head to the top of the hour, it's time for another look at the forecast. Jacqui Jeras has that. She's at the CNN center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

JERAS: More weather coming up with the latest on the storm. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

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