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American Morning

Vice President Speaks Out About Hunting Mishap; United Nations Human Rights Experts Condemn Guantanamo

Aired February 16, 2006 - 06:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A straight shooter, the VP speaks out about his hunting mishap. Is it enough to silence his critics?
Olympic action. And today, we'll see something we haven't seen before on the program, snowboard cross they call it. It hits the big- time. We're not primetime, but it's good enough for primetime, that's for sure. We're live in -- are we doing Torino or Turin today? Let's do Turin again today. It's Turin week on "American Morning."

And no, this isn't a Hollywood stunt that you're about to see here. You're about to see -- it's the end of a high speed chase. I'm waiting for the stunt. There it is. Oh yes. What led to the police pursuit. There it goes. There it goes. You'll see. We'll tell you about it coming up.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Good morning.

(CROSSTALK)

VERJEE: But they've done a really good job of clearing everything out quickly.

O'BRIEN: They do. They take care of things. You know, it's a million dollars an inch. You want it to happen smoothly. That's what it is. So 26.9 million.

VERJEE: Taking care of things also in the newsroom is Carol Costello. Here she is with the headlines.

Hey again.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you. Tens of thousands of people shouting, "God is great" in southern Pakistan. It's the latest protest against cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. Some 40,000 people on the streets. The rally is mostly peaceful. Police are wielding guns and shields. They're standing by just in case.

Neil Entwistle is expected to plead not guilty to the murders of his wife and baby daughter. He's set to appear in a Massachusetts courtroom later today. Entwistle was returned to the United States on Wednesday after waiving extradition in his native Britain.

More arrests to report in that jailbreak in Chicago. The brother and sister of one of the escapees charged on Wednesday with helping in the break. In the meantime, the jail guard Darin Gater is out on half a million dollars bail. Authorities say Gater admits to helping the six inmates get free to embarrass the candidate running for sheriff. But Gater's lawyers are denying he confessed anything at all. All the escapees back behind bars on Monday.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff just not getting love on Capitol Hill. One day after facing a Senate panel on Katrina, he goes before a House committee, the same committee that blasted the government's response as a national failure, poorly planned and badly coordinated. He's set to arrive at the Capitol in about three hours.

And Saddam Hussein may not have had those weapons of mass destruction, but he apparently had high hopes of getting them. That's based on audiotapes from the 1990s. On the tape, U.S. officials say Hussein talked to aides about rebuilding Iraqi weapons programs and about preventing U.N. inspectors from finding out. Back to you.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Carol. Four days after that hunting accident, Vice President Cheney is finally on the record on what happened on that Texas ranch over the weekend. Cheney said of Harry Whittington, and we quote now, "The image of him falling is something I'll never be able to get out of my mind. I fired, and there' Harry falling. And it was, I have to say, one of the worst days of my life, at that moment."

Is the explanation too little too late? Here's John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The vice president with 30-plus years experience in Washington handled his hunting accident in ways that run afoul of damage control of traditional damage control playbooks. For starters, the initial 20-hour delay in revealing Mr. Cheney accidentally shot a friend, taking the highly unusual step of letting the ranch owner call the local paper instead of a White House announcement violates the gold standard of crisis management.

JOHN PODESTA, PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: Tell it early, tell it all, and tell it yourself. And he broke all of the rules.

ERIC DEZENHALL, FORMER REAGAN STAFFER: This is a public figure, and it has to get out immediately. And if you don't get it out immediately, there will be this feeling that there is malfeasance.

KING: More than three days of silence by the vice president broke another rule.

DEZENHALL: Silence implies guilt. And even if it doesn't really mean guilt, there's a tendency in a democratic society to think that it means that something worse has gone on.

PODESTA: It creates the impression that he's both not only has no remorse but he's sort of almost unfeeling in this. KING: Speaking with one voice is another staple of damage control 101. And this White House was once considered legendary for its communication discipline. But in this case, a mixed message.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I was urging that that information be made available as quickly as possible.

DEZENHALL: The whole idea that there is a battle between the president and the vice president staff. That is an upstairs- downstairs drama.

PODESTA: No one can say no to this vice president. You know, we've seen it in policy matters as well as in a communications matter like this.

KING: To calm a crisis, you have to gain control. Mr. Cheney took charge of that effort by finally telling his story on Wednesday.

DEZENHALL: You pick one reporter. You do one interview. You convey your humanity, and then you sign off and don't address it again.

PODESTA: He would have been better off standing up in front of a microphone doing it in a press pool, letting them ask questions until they got tired of asking questions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That was John king reporting that. As for Harry Whittington, the 78-year-old attorney remains in stable condition in a Corpus Christi hospital this morning. Doctors there plan to give an update on his condition 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. Stay with CNN for an update -- Zain?

VERJEE: Miles, the president's job approval was already down in the week before the vice president's hunting accident. A Harris poll has 40 percent approving of the job President Bush is doing. That's 3 percent down.

Here's what people think the government should be addressing. The war, in quotes, 27 percent, healthcare 20 percent, the economy 15 percent, education, taxes in Iraq.

A damning report out this morning on U.S. operations at Guantanamo Bay. United Nations human rights experts says that torture is carried out there and that the facility should be shut down. CNN's Robin Oakley joins us now live from London.

Robin, what more detail on this report?

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm sorry, Zain. I couldn't fully hear your question there.

VERJEE: Give us more specifics about what the report says.

OAKLEY: Well, basically, the report is saying that U.S. interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay effectively amount to torture in the use of excessive noise, temperature, light, things like that.

They're saying that the U.S. Defense Department should revoke its definition of interrogation techniques which it believes have been drawn up to avoid the accusation of terror, but which in practice amount to that. And they're saying the prisoners should have legal rights and that Guantanamo Bay should be closed down and anybody who can be charged should be charged, otherwise they should be released, Zain

VERJEE: The U.S. is saying that the evidence that this report is based on is quite thin. What is it based on? How do they draw these conclusions?

OAKLEY: Well, it's based on interviews with former detainees and their lawyers. But, of course, the U.S. is saying that's not good enough. But the U.N. reporters were offered the chance, says the U.S., to go to Guantanamo Bay and see the things themselves.

But they said there was no point in them doing that because they weren't going to be allowed access to detainees to question them privately. So there's a complete standoff on that particular question, Zain.

VERJEE: Given the atmosphere in Europe at this point in time and much of the Muslim world also, Robin, what do you make the timing of this report on the heels of the cartoon controversy, on the heels of the new Abu Ghraib pictures that we're seeing?

OAKLEY: Well indeed, those two things you mention, also the pictures that have been widely circulated in the Muslim world of British troops beating up protesters in Iraq. It all adds to the difficulties for the U.S. and those who fought with the U.S. in the war against terror in winning the battle for hearts and minds. And certainly, I think we're going to see an intensification now of the pressure from America's European allies in particular for the closure of Guantanamo Bay.

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, when she was over in the White House lately, said Guantanamo Bay must not be allowed to continue. Even Tony Blair, George W. Bush's strongest ally in Europe, says it's an anomaly which has to come to an end, Zain.

VERJEE: CNN's European political editor Robin Oakley reporting. Thanks, Robin -- Miles?

O'BRIEN: Let's get a check of the forecast. Bonnie Schneider is at the CNN Center with that.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

VERJEE: Well, there was an incredibly wild ending to a police chase in Georgia. We want you to take a look at this video. It's absolutely incredible. You have officers right on the trail of suspects. And the car just suddenly swerves in front of them. It flips over several times. This is happening on Interstate 20 in Douglas County, Georgia.

Police are saying that the driver had stolen the car. You can see how it comes off on the side there. The suspect actually survived the crash. Look at that. And the suspect is now in custody. There were more than a dozen police cars on patrol out there chasing this man.

O'BRIEN: And the police officers are OK?

VERJEE: Yes, the police officers are OK. And the suspect, as I said, is in custody, and was actually arrested at the scene.

O'BRIEN: All right.

Coming up, what would the Olympics be without scandal? Some athletes accused of being dopes. We'll take to you Turin.

VERJEE: Also, it seems calcium may not protect women's bones as much as we thought. It's a little bit confusing. We want to clarify a few things this morning. Should women keep taking calcium and vitamin D supplements? We'll take a look.

O'BRIEN: And as the Mohammed cartoons backlash rages on, another ingredient fanning the flames. New and rather sickening photos, frankly, of abuse by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison. That's ahead on "American Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Drug testing chief Dick Pound says cross-country skiers at the Olympics must be dirty. He's talking about 12 skiers who failed blood tests last week. We want to go to the actual games themselves. Larry Smith joins us now live from Torino. Miles is saying Turin today. And I'm officially saying Torino.

Larry, what can we expect today?

O'BRIEN: We still like each other, though.

VERJEE: We do. We have a long way to go.

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes. Yes. Well, neither one of you are wrong, really. It's either the Italian translation or the English translation.

Let's first talk about Dick Pound and his comments. He is the chief of world anti-doping agency. And what he said was simply that 12 athletes all testing for high levels of hemoglobin right before the games is just too much of a coincidence. And he was telling Reuters that's why he believes that there is doping in these games.

Now, one of the things we'll watch today, there are eight medals in contention, including tonight's men's figure skating. Now, three- time U.S. champion Johnny Weir, he is a part of that. He is sitting right now in second place. But even he can see that Evgeni Plushenko of Russian is so dominant, he says that Plushenko would have to stumble and fall three times for anyone else to win gold. Plushenko, the three-time world champion, going for his first Olympic gold metal, and Weir trying to unseat him and also get his first metal as well.

By the way, the snowboard cross-country. This is a new report to the Torino games. Snowboarding introduced to the Olympic Games at Nagano in 1998. But snowboard cross is a little different. You guys will really enjoy this. Four racers, snowboarders, racing at once, going through various terrains and obstacles, slopes. Contact is often. Crashes often, as well.

However, Zain, I can tell you this. If any athlete is deemed as having some kind of intentional contact with another competitor, they are subject to disqualification. Let's go back to you.

VERJEE: What's been the highlight for you, Larry, being there?

SMITH: The highlight for me has still just been just the people. They have been so friendly and so accommodating. And I'm amazed at how many people certainly want to talk about the U.S. athletes, want to talk about U.S. politics. We find globally, as we travel to the various Olympics, that's always a hot topic.

It's been exciting to talk to a couple of the athletes. Of course, (INAUDIBLE) was on "AMERICAN MORNING" the other day. And we spent some time talking with her as well. It's been a pleasant experience. And the weather so far has been very mild. I'm very happy for that.

VERJEE: OK. All right. Larry, thank you. Glad you're having fun. So are we, actually. Right, Miles?

(CROSSTALK)

VERJEE: Bella, working for CNN in Torino.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": How are you? Good morning. I'm just amazed by your linguistic skills. Both of you doing very well.

O'BRIEN: Thank you. You're easily amazed.

SERWER: Business news coming up. We'll talk about that. What to do about thousands of broken heart devices.

Plus, hotels of the future. Forget about card keys. How about iris scanners? Coming up next on "American Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Good morning. Columbus Circle as the kingdom of daylight dawns upon Manhattan. O'BRIEN: We have Andy Serwer here.

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: That's another pronunciation.

VERJEE: What you got, Serwer?

SERWER: Well, I think we're going to do some other stuff first, right?

O'BRIEN: Yes, we do have headlines.

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: Oh, OK. Well I'm going to talk about some faulty defibrillators. Always a fun word to say. And it's a serious problem. And also hotels of the future.

O'BRIEN: Excellent.

VERJEE: Excellent. Well, let's check in with Carol, though, with the headlines first.

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

The United Nations says it wants Guantanamo Bay shut down. A U.N. report just out this morning says the prison violates international law on human rights and torture. But the U.S. says U.N. investigators never even visited the detention center. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and joint chiefs chair General Peter Pace will likely face questions about Guantanamo when they appear on Capitol Hill today. Of course, we'll keep you posted.

President Bush could speak out today about the vice president's hunting accident and all of the political mudslinging over Katrina. He's set to meet with reporters later today.

And it seems most of you aren't too happy with the way things are going in America. A new CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll shows 59 percent of people asked are angry with the way the country is being run, but more than 65 percent say neither Republicans nor Democrats have a plan to fix what ails the nation.

Interest rates may be going up. The new federal chairman Ben Bernanke delivered his first economic report to Congress on Wednesday. Lawmakers say no major changes in policy from predecessor Alan Greenspan, but Bernanke is easier to understand, at least. Bernanke is set to deliver the Fed's semi-annual policy report this morning. He's set to go before a Senate committee in just about three hours.

And remember Tom Hanks stranded at the airport in the movie "The Terminal"? Well, a contestant at this week's Westminster Dog Show might be reprising the role. The three-year-old whippet broke free from its cage at JFK Airport around noon on Wednesday, and she's still missing. The dog Vivi was supposed to be flying home to California after the show, but apparently she had other things in mind. And she's probably terrified. They're still looking for her, but can't find her. So good luck to them. Bonnie Schneider is at the weather center with the forecast.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

O'BRIEN: The hotel of the future. Andy Serwer checking in.

SERWER: Yes, I'll be checking in there pretty soon. Let's talk about these heart devices, first of all. Defibrillators. They were one of the hottest and most successful parts of the medical device business, but lately, if you're been reading headlines in the business page, problems, problems, problems.

Guidant, St. Jude, Medtronic, the big three in this area, all face lawsuits. Problems with patients. It just goes on and on and on. A new lawsuit today accusing Medtronic, saying that the company knew that the products were faulty two years ago, and they continued to sell them. This is a $10 billion business. These babies cost $20,000 each.

And there are hundreds of thousands of these implanted into patients. 2,000 patients are suing Medtronic. The two sides are meeting today in Minneapolis. Now, St. Jude Medical says -- listen to this -- 26,000 people had units that might fail because of exposure to cosmic rays. Seems to me if you go outside, you might have cosmic rays.

O'BRIEN: You may have a hard time avoiding the cosmic rays.

VERJEE: Where am I traveling on my next vacation in ten years?

SERWER: How about Duluth, Georgia, where they have an e-check-in system, Zain. All kinds of new technology in hotels. It's kind of cool. This is one where you just spit out a boarding pass right in the lobby. There's an iris scanner at a hotel called Nine Zero (ph) in Boston. Forget about a card key. You don't need that. The Mandarin, here in the Time Warner Center remembers your preferences, lights, temperature, and your speed dial.

O'BRIEN: That's creepy.

VERJEE: I think the iris scanning is a little creepy.

SERWER: Everyone is unique that way.

O'BRIEN: I think the razor ribbon and the guard tower, bad idea.

SERWER: I just want free wireless in my hotel room. How about just starting with that? That would be great instead of that dialup stuff. I mean, it's unbelievable.

O'BRIEN: Most of them have high speed, but they gauge you for it. Like they need a little more money from you.

SERWER: Right, exactly. VERJEE: Thanks, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

VERJEE: Coming up, surprising news about calcium supplements. Now, it seems as though they may not help protect bones as well as we had initially thought. Just ahead, we're going to take a look at whether women should keep taking them. That's ahead here on "American Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER UPDATE)

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