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Iraqis Getting Ready for Parliamentary Elections; President Making His Fourth Speech on Iraq This Morning

Aired December 14, 2005 - 07:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Miles O'Brien. Iraqis getting ready for parliamentary elections. Already a lot of problems to report. A live report ahead on the discovery of thousands of phony ballots.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien. A crucial moment for the president, making his fourth speech on Iraq this morning. Is this his best opportunity to change opinions on the war? We're going to take you live to the White House.

M. O'BRIEN: And former President Ford up and around after a brief hospital stay. We'll update his condition on this AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody.

M. O'BRIEN: Good to have you with us.

President Bush will be out again, once again, fourth in a series of four, trying to change people's opinions about the war in Iraq. That fourth speech comes up later this morning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Suzanne Malveaux at the White House with a preview for us.

Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

It's just four hours away or so. This time it's going to be in Washington at the Woodrow Wilson Center. And of course it is about tying all three of the elements of the U.S. strategy in Iraq together, the political, economic and military fronts.

All of this, of course, a strategy by the White House to try to convince Americans to support the Iraq mission. The White House believes that it is working.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: On the eve of a historic election, the president believes it is an important time to take stock of where we are in Iraq, why we are there, why it is important, what the stakes are, and why we will achieve victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MALVEAUX: And, Miles, already, the White House is taking some optimism, or at least has some confidence in the uptick in poll numbers. The recent "USA Today"/CNN/Gallup poll showing that just one month ago, 54 percent it was a mistake to send U.S. troops to Iraq, now down eight percent to about 48 percent. So they believe that, in fact, the message is getting out, at least Americans are paying attention, that there is a certain credibility issue with the president, and convincing them they are leading it in the right direction -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Perhaps the most memorable thing about the last speech, Suzanne, was the president taking what appeared to be unscripted, unvetted questions. Will that happen again?

MALVEAUX: We don't think it's going to happen again, but we do know that Republican senators Rick Santorum, as well as Arlen Specter, did ask the president, encourage him to take questions again today, because it was received so well on Monday in Philadelphia. They really believe that hitting back, there have been a lot of critics who said he very isolated, that he's in a bubble, that that was a good thing to do.

So far, Press Secretary Scott McClellan saying no plans for that today, but ultimately was a last-minute decision on Monday. It could happen again today.

M. O'BRIEN: Democrats, meanwhile, Suzanne, I guess you can't call it a rebuttal, it would but a "pre-buttal," because they're doing it in advance of the speech. Tell us about that.

MALVEAUX: Well, it's all part of their strategy to get the message out, and essentially to preempt the president here. There is a sense that the president has kind of captured at least the American people's attention, that the poll numbers were dipping down, sinking. At least they've managed to stop that and people are paying attention. That is something the Democrats want to seize the momentum. They know the president has a national forum to do it, so they're going to try to get ahead of the president's speech to get that message out -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thank you very much. We'll have the president's speech on Iraq live on CNN at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Stay tuned for that -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: There are a few potential problems being reported for tomorrow's Iraq election. One of them is this, reports that a truckload of phony ballots was seized near the Iranian border. Aneesh Raman live in Baghdad for us this morning.

Aneesh, good morning.

What are you hearing, and what evidence is there that the truck came from Iran?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning. Multiple police sources are telling us that the vehicle that they found that had thousands of fraudulent ballots for Iraq's election had an Iranian driver, an Iranian license plate. And in conversations with that driver, they also say a number of other vehicles with fake ballots could still be out there. Now this happened in the town of Badra, in Wisser (ph) province. It borders Iran. It happened yesterday in terms of the discovery of this vehicle. U.S. military officials in that area say they are aware of these reports and are investigating.

Iraq's interior ministry, though, today, a senior official coming out this morning, quickly and strongly denying any such report, but it's important to note, Soledad, that for many Iraqis, they view this interior ministry with a bit of suspicion. They think that a large number of those within it have strong ties to Iran.

So again, what they are saying, Iraqi police, multiple Iraqi police sources to us, is that they found this vehicle yesterday, and because of that license plate, because of what they spoke to with the driver, they believe these ballots came in from Iran.

S. O'BRIEN: Outside of suspicion, Aneesh, what's been the reaction on the ground to the reports of this kind of fraud?

RAMAN: Well, within hours, we saw demonstrations taking place in the city of Ramadi, west of the capital. It's the provincial capital of Al Anbar, the Sunni stronghold area. Hundreds of people turning out, saying that they object to any such intrusion by Iran. Also those in Ramadi calling for better security around Sunni polling stations. Security incredibly tight. The country virtually shutdown today. Campaigning ended tomorrow. And security not tight at just the polling station, Soledad, but also for those ballot boxes. Iraqis are weary of anyone tampering with them. So security all the way until they get to the capital.

S. O'BRIEN: Aneesh Raman updating us from Baghdad. Aneesh, thanks. We'll check in with you again.

CNN has got special coverage of this turning point in Iraq on "ANDERSON COOPER 360." It's Live all week, 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

M. O'BRIEN; We are watching for more details on the health of former President Ford this morning. He's back in his own bed after spending most of yesterday in the hospital. Dan Simon is in Rancho Mirage, California.

Dan, we know the former president was in for tests, but beyond that, we don't know too much, do we?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not a whole lot. Details are limited. I did speak to his longtime press aide yesterday, and she said he's 92 years old and he's in pretty good health, but then again, he's 92.

She says he's had a nagging cold, but she said that's not really the reason why he came to the hospital. She said he basically had to come here for some routine tests, he spent the night, and as you said, he's back in his own bed -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Dan, of course, the president is now in his -- is he 90 now?

SIMON: Ninety-two.

O'BRIEN: Ninety-two now. And you know, we understand a 92-year- old man is going to have some health issues, so this is not the first time he's run into a few problems of late?

SIMON: You're right. You know, a couple of years ago, in 2000, he suffered a mild stroke, and that was during the Republican National Convention, and he spent about a week in the hospital, but bounced back quickly. And then in 2003, he was playing golf. He actually still plays golf, and it was hot outside and he had some dizziness, so he was brought here to the hospital, but once again, he bounced back.

According to his representatives, he's maintained an active life style. He still swims regularly, still likes to take to the golf course, and they're hoping for a speedy recovery -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: We are hoping for that as well. Thank you very much, Dan Simon, Rancho Mirage, California, watching to see how the former president is doing -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: After Katrina, levee failures in New Orleans left most of the city underwater. The cause of the failures, though, still unknown. Early tests show construction was flawed, but as CNN's Ed Lavandera reports, it may not really be the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As cameras and engineers armed with measuring tapes waited for steel sheets in the 17th Street Canal levy to be pulled from the ground, the only thing miss wag a drum roll. An Army Corps of Engineer general served as master of ceremony. For weeks, there have been allegations this levee wasn't reinforced as deeply as it was supposed to have been, contributing to massive flooding across New Orleans.

But the initial measuring shows...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This sheet pile (ph) is within the design specifications.

LAVANDERA: This was the first small step to determine how to fix the levee system in time for next hurricane season, but many here say that isn't enough. They want to see a levee system that can withstand a category-five storm, to prevent another Katrina-like catastrophe.

DAN HEALY, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Who would rebuild here with a faulty levee system? They're predicting they had storms for the next five to 20 years. I mean, who's going to rebuild waiting for this to happen next year or the year after.

LAVANDERA: General Robert Crear of the Army Corps of Engineers says more testing is needed to identify the cause of the levee failure and determine how to make it stronger.

GEN. ROBERT CREAR, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: Until someone tells us, it may be a design problem. So if it is a design problem then of course we change the design.

HEALY: Everything is just all over the place, and covered with mud and ruined.

LAVANDERA: Just a few blocks away, Dan Healy shifts through his home looking for anything to salvage. He and his wife have bought a home in Mississippi and aren't planning to move back to New Orleans unless the levees are made stronger.

HEALY: It's like playing Russian roulette. If you don't get it fixed and another storm comes, you're in the same predicament you're in now.

LAVANDERA: This is the dilemma facing New Orleans. Residents and business owners say most people will stay away if the levees aren't just fixed, but also improved. And there are growing concerns in Congress about funding the billions of dollars needed to get the job done.

Dan Healy wonders if people have forgotten what President Bush promised when he came to New Orleans.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every time the people of this land have come back from fire, flood and storm to build anew and to build better than what we had before.

LAVANDERA: Residents say this city can't be built bigger and better until its levees are built deeper and stronger.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: The Army Corps of Engineers is on schedule to get the levees rebuilt by the beginning of the next hurricane season. That starts on June 1st. They're authorized, though, to rebuild only to pre-Katrina strength.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, a crucial crossroads for Iraq. Parliamentary elections amidst constant violence and now truckloads of fake ballots. How to make the vote safe and secure. We'll go live to Baghdad for a closer look.

S. O'BRIEN: Also, the Fed changing interest rates yet again. Andy takes a look at how it's going to affect our wallets, and whether more hikes in fact are on the way.

M. O'BRIEN: And later, I told you not call me here! DirecTV hit in the biggest history in the Do Not Call list. More than $5 million. Could others be next? Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: All right. You are watching, as you hear by the way, her fiance yelling, the cameraman in this case, something that skydivers say almost never happens, a backup chute failing after the main chute fails. This is Shayna Richardson. We're over the skies of Arkansas here. And you can see her down there spinning toward the ground as that backup chute didn't properly unfurl and slow her down like it should.

Now she's traveling right there. I can't even telestrate over it it's going so fast.

She's traveling 50 miles an hour, and down she goes into an asphalt parking lot. So let's just take a look. We have -- using our Google map, I just want to give you a sense what it would be like. This is 10,000 feet above the area there. If you look up on the upper part you can see -- whoa! What's going on there? There we go. That's the airport there. Keep your eyes on there. Let's head on down, Ted Fine. This is -- we don't know if we're simulating 50 miles an hour very well, but this is exactly the location where Shayna went, striking the parking lot face first! Did she live to tell the tale? Why, yes! Why, yes, she did.

There you see it kind of in slow motion version there as she spins down. We're going to hear from her in a little while on AMERICAN MORNING. There you see the actual impact. In the midst of being treated for this, 15 metal plates in all of this, they discover she's pregnant.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: And the baby's OK?

M. O'BRIEN: And the baby's OK. The pregnancy is okay. Will she do it again? Well, she has to deliver the baby first.

SERWER: But nine months from now or so, she actually would do it again?

M. O'BRIEN: Apparently in June --- she's going to have the baby by August -- she'll be skydiving, so...

SERWER: Have you ever been skydiving?

M. O'BRIEN: I haven't. You know, I kind of like -- the notion out of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane just seems kind of odd to me. But you know, I...

SERWER: I kind of like terra firma myself.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, terra firma is a good nice place to be. It's kind of a natural place for us all to be.

All right, anyway, 9:00 Eastern, we're hear from Shayna Richardson. In the meantime, it's hard to follow an act like that, but the Fed is... SERWER: Yes, it's a little more grounded story here.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, grounded, yes.

SERWER: Well, I think one way we can look at it is The end is near, Miles, and we're talking about the Federal Reserve's campaign to raise interest rates be winding down. Yesterday, like clockwork, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates yet again, to 4.25 percent, trying to ensure that the economy doesn't overheat.

There's Alan Greenspan, the architect of the rate hikes.

That does mean, of course, that mortgage rates will be going up, and so will bank loans. But the important point here is that the Fed changed some language in its statement, apparently signaling that we'll only be raising interest rates a few more times. That made interest rates go up, but it also made the stock market go up, because it seemed to be signaling the end of this campaign of rate hikes. You can see here the Dow was up a good bit, 55 points. Nasdaq and S&P 500 up a little bit.

Now, one wrinkle, though, yesterday on the economic front, natural gas continues to soar, up seven percent yesterday, because of the cold weather in the Midwest, which has now moved to the East Coast -- I can tell you that from personal experience -- 25 percent of net gas production in the Gulf of Mexico still off line because of those hurricanes. It just indicates the kind of damage. And right now, natural gas is actually more expensive than oil when you measure it in a heat basis, like BTUs or whatever they do.

M. O'BRIEN: British thermal units, I believe.

SERWER: Well, thank you for that.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Hey, quickly, Alan Greenspan, when is his last official Fed meeting?

SERWER: End of January, one more coming up.

M. O'BRIEN: One more to comer. All right, thank you, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: See you in a bit -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Also coming, hey, looks like the system works. DirecTV hit with $5 million fine for violating the Do Not Call list. We're going to take a closer look at just how the company got busted, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: DirecTV is going to pay a heavy price to settle charges that telemarketers ignored the Do Not Call list to pitch its satellite programming. The penalty $5.3 million. Debra Platt Majoras is the chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission. She's in Washington this morning. It's nice to see you, Mrs. Majoras. Thanks for talking with us.

DEBORAH PLATT MAJORAS, FTC CHAIRMAN: Good morning.

S. O'BRIEN: How did you know that in fact there was a problem here? Did you just start getting high volume of complaints?

MAJORAS: We did in fact get a high volume of complaints, in the thousands from consumers.

S. O'BRIEN: And what were they saying to you?

MAJORAS: What they were saying was that they had registered their phone numbers on the Do Not Call list, but that, nonetheless, they were hearing from what they thought directly was DirectTV asking them to subscribe to their service.

S. O'BRIEN: It turns out it wasn't DirecTV directly, and in fact, when you go to what the company had to say, it was this. This multimillion-dollar penalty drives home you said this simple point, that they're the hook. But this is what they said, "DirecTV wholly supports the national Do Not Call Registry. The majority of complaints the FTC received related the telemarketing calls placed by a small number of former independent retailers who ignored DirecTV policies, prohibiting unauthorized telemarketing."

Do they have a point,. that it kind of wasn't their fault?

MAJORAS: Well, no. Because, yes, it's true that telemarketers that DirecTV had hired were responsible for these violations, but the fact is that businesses need to monitor the telemarketers who they hire and make sure that they're, in fact, taking steps to comply with the Do Not Call Registry, and that is what's required under the law.

S. O'BRIEN: So at the end of the day it was their responsibility?

MAJORAS: It was their responsibility. And they are, in fact, taking on that responsibility on a going-forward basis.

S. O'BRIEN: With this settlement, a huge number, $5.34 million. Why so high when you compare it to, I guess, the previous 17 cases in total came up to just over $800,000?

MAJORAS: Well, because of the huge number of violations. In our complaint database, DirecTV had more complaints this almost any other business in the -- not even two years since the registry has been in effect. It was the large number of violations that made the difference here.

S. O'BRIEN: What's the number-two company in that list of companies that people are complaining about? Are you now targeting that company?

MAJORAS: Well, I'm afraid I can't say that. Can't talk about any possibility for future enforcement, but we will. But we will be on the case and making sure that this registry, which consumers value greatly, is something that they can count on.

S. O'BRIEN: It certainly looks as if the system is working here for consumers.

MAJORAS: Well, we certainly think it is. We -- really and truly most businesses are complying with the Do Not Call Registry. Consumers are thrilled with the compliance rate, as we are. But there are also complaining to us, and making sure that when business does not comply, we enforce the law.

S. O'BRIEN: And when you enforce the law, I mean, it seems like some of the math was done by calculating the days it took between the first consumer complaint and the first settlement discussions, which I guess is really to send a message to other companies that may be considering something similar, ignoring the Do Not Call list?

MAJORAS: Well, that's certainly is true. And the statute says that companies could be responsible for up to $11,000 per violation, so those are peep penalties that Congress has put into place, and we take that into account when we're calculating.

S. O'BRIEN: DirecTV is taking it into account, too, as they do their math. Now you can still sign up for the do not call list?

MAJORAS: Absolutely. We hope you will. Donotcall.gov, it's easy enough. Or 1-888-382-1222.

S. O'BRIEN: FTC chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras joining us this morning. Thank you very much for being with us. Appreciate it -- Miles.

MAJORAS: Thank you for having me.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up, we'll tell you about a Florida community riddled with drugs and crimes. City officials with a bold plan to fix it. So why are so many people who live there passionately against the idea? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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