Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
The Stress of War; Interview with Jeff Daniels
Aired December 13, 2005 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Opening bell just rang on Wall Street. Here's a look at some of the numbers. Dow Jones Industrial average opened 10,767, that's a decline of ten points at Monday's close.
Welcome back, everybody, thanks for being with us this morning.
MILES O'BRIEN: We're glad you're here. Reminder, we start at 6:00 a.m. Eastern time most every morning. Matter of fact, every morning. Every morning. So please be with us for that.
(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: The challenges and difficulties facing people who return from Iraq are great. There are -- we told you, of course, the stories time and again of the physical pain that many of them go through, losing limbs and so forth and dealing with terrible injuries. But there's also tremendous emotional and mental anguish that goes along with being in the midst of war, in the midst of all that killing.
AMERICAN MORNING's Kelly Wallace has been looking into this. We call it post-traumatic stress disorder right now. It used to be, what, combat fatigue or shell shock in another era. But there's really growing awareness now, what it is, and that key, I guess, in this whole thing, is recognition of the problem and allowing people in the military to raise their hand and say, yes, I've got a problem.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, growing awareness, Miles. But we talked about this earlier, still a little bit of a stigma. People might be afraid to come forward and say that they have post-traumatic stress disorder. Their families might not be aware of it or what to do about it.
So yesterday, we brought you the story of a soldier who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Tyler Peters. He has been having problems with anger and has had some run-ins with the law. Well, today we wanted to shift our focus a little bit and talk about what Tyler and other men and women like him can do to get the help they need.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice-over): In the small town of Emmetsburg, Iowa, Army National Guard reservist Tyler Peters likes to keep busy. (on camera): How much is that keeping your mind off things?
TYLER PETER, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD RESERVIST: Quite a bit.
WALLACE (voice-over): Spending his days studying auto collision technology is one of the ways he tries to cope with his illness, post- traumatic stress disorder, commonly known as PTSD.
(on camera): How hard has all this been for you?
PETER: Very hard.
WALLACE (voice-over): According to a study published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" last year, as many as 17 percent of the men and women who served in Iraq have shown signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or anxiety. That's a higher rate than the study found for Afghanistan veterans but believed to be lower than what we saw after Vietnam.
Still, many may not be getting help. Fewer than four percent of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan have sought medical treatment for PTSD, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Army captain and psychologist Dr. Bobby Sidell represents one of the military's newest tools to deal with PTSD: therapists like himself going where they have not gone in previous wars, to the front lines. Sidell spent a year in Iraq.
DR. BOBBY SIDELL, ARMY PSYCHOLOGIST: If you can go take care of the issue before it becomes a major problem, it has a lot of carryover effect. Obviously, the soldier's able to carry on with their mission, as well as when they get home they're going to have an easier time transitioning back with their families, and friends and loved ones.
WALLACE: Tyler Peters says he didn't have any access to counselors in Iraq, in part because he was almost always on the road. Instead, about six months after he came home, he went to a V.A. hospital, got medication, and received one-on-one counseling at a vet center like this one here in Des Moines.
Katina Mach is the center's director.
KATINA MACH, DIRECTOR, DES MOINES VETERANS CENTER: It can be a very big problem, especially if it's ignored. I would like to use the example of Vietnam veterans. I'm still seeing Vietnam veterans 25, 30 years later coming through the door that said they've never addressed these issues.
WALLACE: Dr. Steven Hagemoser of the V.A. center is treating vets from Iraq with PTSD.
DR. STEVEN HAGEMOSER, VETERANS MEDICAL CENTER: We don't use the word cheer with our veterans, but we like to let them know the truth that there is life after PTSD.
WALLACE: Dr. Hagemoser tells his patients the stakes couldn't be higher, that left untreated, the high risk behavior of PTSD will only continue. Tyler Peters knows that firsthand.
PETERS: Like I said, with the whole anger thing, God only knows where I'd be, prison, wherever, because I couldn't -- wasn't myself, couldn't control myself. But there's been a lot of things that have kept me going.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And he hopes other veterans from Iraq keep going, as well, by getting help.
And if you want some information for yourself or your family about post-traumatic stress disorder, here are a couple places you can check out. The Department of Veterans Affairs, you can go to the Web site at www.va.gov. Also, the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder at www.ncptsd.org. Important information there, Miles, for people and their families.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, so what do the experts tell you? Is there any way, in the course of their basic training or whatever, they can identify people who might be more susceptible? Or do you have to endure the rigors and the stress and all the things that are associated with combat in order to know who will get it and who won't?
WALLACE: Well, sure. Certainly, it's the stress of combat. But there are some vulnerability factors. If you have a history of mental illness in your family, you have history of abuse or substance abuse, you might be more vulnerable to get post-traumatic stress disorder. They're looking into it. But there's still people who don't have any of those things and still come out of it suffering anxiety, depression, anger, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.
M. O'BRIEN: And the sad fact is they can find this out in the worst of circumstances, right in the middle of a war, quite literally.
WALLACE: Right in the middle. And that's why, you know, they are having some military therapists going to the battlefields to try and treat people while they're there. But again, sometimes it's not until they're home that those symptoms become even more intense.
M. O'BRIEN: Kelly Wallace, thank you very much. Great work.
WALLACE: Thank you, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Miles.
Ahead this morning, a look at how Wall Street is reacting to news that interest rates could be rising. Andy is "Minding Your Business" just ahead.
And we're going to talk live with Golden Globe nominee Jeff Daniels. Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) S. O'BRIEN: "Brokeback Mountain" could be this year's "Million Dollar Baby," the film's already gained critical acclaim. Now the award nominations are rolling in. Just about an hour ago, we heard this year's Golden Globe nominations. "Brokeback Mountain" leading the way with seven nominations, including best drama, best actor for Heath Ledger. The film's director Ang Lee nominated, along with such greats as Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen. The other best drama contenders are "The Constant Gardener," Good Night, Good Luck," "A History of Violence," and "Match Point."
The not-yet-released movie "The Producers" is among the nominees for the best musical or comedy. Others in that category include "Walk the Line," Pride and Prejudice," and this one, "The Squid and the Whale."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA LINNEY, ACTRESS: I wanted to -- I like him. You know that. I just wanted to say -- I don't know. I just wanted to say hello.
JEFF DANIELS, ACTOR: He called me right after. He said, Bernie, I think you can save your marriage. I told him I didn't think there was anything else I could do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels in a film about a couple with a very troubled marriage, and the effect it has on their children. Jeff Daniels got his third best actor nomination for that incredible work in "The Squid and the Whale," and joins us this morning.
Nice to see you. Congratulations.
DANIELS: Thank you so much.
S. O'BRIEN: How are you feeling about it? Excited?
DANIELS: You know, it's a good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I guess.
DANIELS: Yes, beats the alternative.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, really. Were you watching? I mean, do you follow it closely?
DANIELS: No, I wasn't. I should have been, and I wasn't. I was just kind of sitting in my apartment just kind of playing the guitar and the phone rang. It's like, what happened? You were nominated.
S. O'BRIEN: You knew they were coming up, right?
DANIELS: I was aware, but, again, I'd been awake for about 10 minutes, so there was kind of a delayed reaction. But it's wonderful, it's wonderful.
S. O'BRIEN: That's really -- in some ways, I think it was "Newsweek" that said you were one of the top five best actors of the year. I mean, you've been in the business 25 years. You seem very calm about the whole thing. Are you acting, or is it...
DANIELS: No, you kind of have to be. I mean, to be enjoyed, to be enjoyed, but you know, you've been doing this long, for decades, you enjoy the good times and forget the bad. And so this is a good time, so I'll just -- you know, just kind of enjoying the ride.
S. O'BRIEN: The Golden Globe, people look at that and say it's a precursor to the Oscars. You win a Golden Globe, could be a shoo-in for the Oscars.
DANIELS: I'm just glad I'm invited to the party.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, come on, everything else says, I'm just happy to be nominated, Soledad.
DANIELS: No, I said party. I hear it's a good party, the Globes. So you know, It's going to be fun. My wife, Kathleen, and I -- I think she's more for it than I am. OK, I'm going to wear what? It's going to be fun. It's going to be a great time.
S. O'BRIEN: You're not a Hollywood guy. For a guy who's pretty much identified with Hollywood, I mean, you're talking about being in your apartment, and now you're right here. You've got an apartment in New York City, but you really live in Michigan.
DANIELS: Uh-huh.
S. O'BRIEN: And does that keep you out of a lot of roles?
DANIELS: Doesn't make sense.
S. O'BRIEN: Not a lot of big superstar actors in Michigan, got to tell you. No, no, there's you, and then there's...
DANIELS: There's me and governor -- yes, but you know what, it's really -- we did that in 1986, we moved back there because our kid. And we wanted to raise our family in a place that she and I were comfortable, that we were both from, Michigan, and so that's what we chose to do. Career became second. It was a close second, but it was second. And that whatever I lost in opportunities, or money or awards, it was OK, because we wanted to raise the kids there, and that's what we did.
S. O'BRIEN: "Squid and the Whale," it's a story, as I mentioned, about this really troubled marriage. And the guy you play is really -- there's no way to put it nicely. He's very unpleasant. He's nasty. He's mean. People loathe him.
DANIELS: He's got some issues.
S. O'BRIEN: Like a laundry list of issues. He is based on the writer/director's father who I understand came to the set while you were filming this movie. How weird was that?
DANIELS: Well, you know, he was invited, you know -- it wasn't like...
S. O'BRIEN: ... broke in, but...
DANIELS: Dad, get out here. But no, it was -- you know, Noah Baumbach, the writer/director, it was based on Noah's childhood. There are many things in the film that are fiction. But it was based on what happened when his own parents...
S. O'BRIEN: He had you wearing his dad's clothes, right?
DANIELS: There was that.
S. O'BRIEN: Kind of weird.
DANIELS: Yes, well, I like to think that there wasn't enough money for wardrobe, so we just...
S. O'BRIEN: Could be that.
DANIELS: Since we knew there was a closet full of the clothes. But his dad was very nice. His dad, you know, he is a writer, and Noah's mother is a writer, and so they are aware that sometimes when you write, you write the good and the bad, and so they were aware of it. I think that Noah and his dad are in good shape. But yes, this was definitely based on something that Noah had gone through.
S. O'BRIEN: If you win a Golden Globe, where are you going to put it in your house? Do you have like a shelf, a room?
DANIELS: Yes, I have a...
S. O'BRIEN: An altar?
DANIELS: Yes, I'll put it right next to my signed baseball by Al Kaline of the Detroit Tigers, you know, a place of honor.
S. O'BRIEN: I like that. Jeff Daniels, nice to have you. Thanks for coming in and talking to us. And congratulations again. Good luck. We'll root for you on the big day -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: You've got an Al Kaline signed ball?
S. O'BRIEN: That's all you took out of my interview, that he has an Al Kaline signed ball?
M. O'BRIEN: Well, I mean, that's like the highlight in my mind, you know. It's my childhood hero.
How much you want for it?
DANIELS: Ah, well, I've got a couple them, so yes, we can talk.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, we'll talk. All right. But first, let's go to Tony Harris who's in for Daryn Kagan.
Tony, what have you got going?
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Look, I'm in on that bidding as well. I like Al Kaline.
Good morning, everyone.
At the top of the hour, a question for parents, how well do you really know your daughter? A new survey on underage drinking finds a significant gap between what daughters say they do and what mothers think their daughters do. We'll go behind the numbers on this report. And thousands of Americans escaped the wintry weather on luxury cruise ships. Some of them never return home and end up lost at sea. We'll explore that at the top of the hour.
Miles, back to you.
HARRIS: All right, thank you very much, Tony Harris.
Andy will be "Minding Your Business," just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. That and more coming up.
We'll take a break. Back with more in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Earlier this morning, we were telling you about some of the massive housing issues they're having in St. Bernard Parish in New Orleans. And we spoke a little bit earlier to Junior Rodriguez. He is the parish president. Here's what he told us about their housing shortage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: A hundred and ten temporary homes now. How many do you think you need?
HENRY "JUNIOR" RODRIGUEZ, ST. BERNARD PARISH PRESIDENT: Well, we have 26,000 homes in the parish and we're anticipating 40 percent of those people coming back. It adds up to about 12,000 trailers that we -- a minimum of 12,000 trailers we're going to need. But in order to have these trailers, we need to have these interim housing sites, these trailer sites. And, so far, we've only got one and the possibility of another one. That's only 100-something trailers can fit in those sites. We got a serious problem.
S. O'BRIEN: Explain to me the delay. I mean, I've been to St. Bernard Parish. There's plenty of space to put a trailer in. Why aren't they being brought up to speed any faster?
RODRIGUEZ: Well, I wish I could explain the situation to you, because in order for me to explain the situation to you, I'd have to explain FEMA and that's a problem. I don't know who can explain FEMA. Even the FEMA people themselves are dissatisfied with the way the operation's running. It's not the people themselves, it's the whole scheme of things.
We've got a serious situation in St. Bernard Parish. This is the wintertime. It's 106 days later, and we have -- we've got people living in tents, we've got people living in automobiles, we've got people living in barns, we've got people living in their houses in tents. This is the beginning of the winter. This is unacceptable. And we've got FEMA threatening to put people out January 15th. What...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Well, the parish president went on with some words for FEMA, which he clearly thinks has dropped the ball, and also some members of Congress, too, which he says need to be more on top of things.
Here's the response from FEMA. Nicole Andrews (ph) is a FEMA spokesperson and sent us this by e-mail.
"The bottom line," she writes, "St. Bernard Parish has identified 1,000 sites for trailers. Five hundred of them have been installed already. The rest are in the works. In order to place the other 5,500 that St. Bernard ordered on its own, in addition to the 125,000 that FEMA is ready to deliver to the area, parish officials still have to identify places to put them."
Therefore, she is clearly putting the blame straight on the parish's doorstep there. She writes, onward, "It's understandable that the process can be frustrating, given that basic services, including electricity, were just recently restored. While most of the housing stock in St. Bernard was decimated by Katrina, several options exist to ensure that people have a safe and warm place to stay. Today," she continues, "thousands of St. Bernard families are receiving assistance from FEMA as they rebuild their lives."
So a lot of back and forth over where to lay the blame over this housing problem they're clearly experiencing in St. Bernard Parish. This is not the final word on this. We're going to figure out exactly what the housing situation is, not only in St. Bernard Parish, but in a lot of regions that are struggling. So more on this story ahead -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Soledad. Andy Serwer is here. And we're going to hear from Ken Lay today, of Enron fame, or infamy, if you prefer.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" COLUMNIST: That's true. That trial is getting closer. We'll talk about that in one second.
Let's go down to the big board and see how the Dow Jones Industrials is faring. Down three points here. Treading water. The big news will happen at 2:15 Eastern, Miles, when we get word on the Federal Reserve and whether or not it will be raising interest rates. Hint, they very likely will be, to 4.25 percent.
Only 12 shopping days left until Christmas. We know that. But only 35 days until the mother of all corporate corruption trials begins and that is the Enron trial, down in Houston. Ken Lay, of course, seen right here, will be in the crosshairs, along with Jeff Skilling. And today, Miles, as you said, he is going to be giving a speech to Houston executives, laying out his defense essentially, which is unusual, to go public like that.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, it's interesting. Maybe he's borrowing from the Richard Scrushy playbook here. Why don't you tell people about that? He was very public and was acquitted.
SERWER: I think you're absolutely correct there. And you know, this could be a new strategy in these white collar criminal cases where you go and instead of hushing up and not saying anything, as has been traditional, you go and make yourself public, lay yourself out, say, hey, look, I'm an innocent man, and here's why. So it will be interesting to see if this kind of thing would work for Mr. Lay.
M. O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer, thanks very much.
SERWER: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: Back with more in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: About out of time.
S. O'BRIEN: That's it. Let's get right to Tony Harris. He's at the CNN Center. Going to take you through the next couple hours on "CNN LIVE TODAY."
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
