Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

A Brazen Attack in Iraq; President Bush Back in New Delhi

Aired March 03, 2006 - 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: Good morning. I'm Miles O'Brien.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello in for Soledad today.

O'BRIEN: A brazen attack in Iraq. Eighteen are dead as Baghdad sees one of its more violent days in a long time.

COSTELLO: President Bush back in New Delhi this morning. He's set to make a major speech on terror in just a few hours. We're live in India.

O'BRIEN: More questions this morning over Katrina confusion and the way the government handled the disaster, or mishandled it. We'll talk live with the former FEMA director, Mike Brown.

COSTELLO: New information now on this fugitive father. His critically ill son waits for any word on his whereabouts.

O'BRIEN: And they're rolling up the red carpet in Hollywood. We'll take you there live on this AMERICAN MORNING.

COSTELLO: President Bush expected to talk terrorism this morning. The speech coming a day after a suicide bomber killed an American diplomat in Karachi, Pakistan. Pakistan is the president's next stop on his itinerary. The comments being made in New Delhi before he leaves for Pakistan, CNN's Elaine Quijano joins us from there.

Elaine, give us a preview.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles.

Well, President Bush is expected to highlight what the United States and India have in common when he delivers his remarks here in New Delhi just a short time from now. And of course one of those areas of common interest is fighting terrorism. Specifically on that front, aides say that the president today will talk about cooperation between India and the U.S. in the areas of bioterrorism, cyberterrorism and aircraft security.

Now meantime, as the president focuses his attention on international diplomacy, on the domestic side, a new poll is showing a slight drop in his overall approval ratings. According to the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, 38 percent of Americans say they approve of the way President Bush is handling his job; 60 percent of Americans saying they disapprove. Nevertheless, today here in India, an effort by the president to reach out to the Indian people, let them know the United States views India as an important and a strategic partner, not just on any one or two issues, but on multiple fronts, trade, investment, agriculture, science and technology.

So, Miles, look for the president to deliver that message when he gives his speech just a short time from now -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Elaine Quijano. AMERICAN MORNING will of course bring you the president's speech live in the next hour, begins at 8:15, or is it 8:00 Eastern time, or thereabouts. As soon as it happens, you'll see it.

As we mentioned, the president travels from New Delhi to Islamabad, Pakistan after today's address. Pakistan's president wants to be seen as a major partner in the war on terror. And certainly any security problems in Pakistan, while President Bush is visiting, would be a huge embarrassment, to say the least, for president Pervez Musharraf.

CNN's senior Asia correspondent Mike Chinoy tells us about security preps for the visit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE CHINOY, CNN SR. ASIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The last time an American president visited Pakistan, he arrived not in Air Force One, but in this small unmarked jet. Bill Clinton's official plane just a decoy, so great was the concern about his security. And that was before September 11th.

Now, with Pakistan a key ally and as Thursday's bombing outside the U.S. consulate in Karachi underscored, a battleground in the war against terror, security concerns surrounding George Bush's visit are even greater.

AFTAB AHMED KHAN SHERAPO, PAKISTANI INTERIOR MINISTER: Naturally, his security is paramount in that sense. Naturally for that we have taken a number of steps and worked along with the -- with his security of people. They have been here, and we've been working with them, and I think whatever was possible and is possible is being done.

CHINOY: In Islamabad, police and soldiers have been deployed to seal off parts of the capital, movement in and out of key areas strictly controlled. The president's movements a closely-guarded secret.

RICHARD FALKENRATH, FMR, NATL. SECURITY COUN. STAFFER: Decoy cars, decoy planes, decoy helicopters. They can change the time of his movements. They can change the location of his movements, and the meetings, and that, I'm sure, will be part of the plan.

CHINOY: Despite the efforts of President Pervez Musharraf, al Qaeda, the Taliban and their allies continue to operate in Pakistan, especially in the rugged region bordering Afghanistan. Mr. Bush is expected to urge Musharraf to do more to curb the jihadis, for whom there is still some residual sympathy among elements in Pakistan's armed forces, especially in military intelligence, just add a long relationship with the Taliban. That's added to American concerns about the president's own safety. In response, the Pakistanis note that President Musharraf, too, has been the target of terrorism.

SHERAPO: The president of Pakistan is also on the hit list.

CHINOY (on camera): And that's precisely the point. Musharraf has, indeed, survived a number of assassination attempts, several originating from within the ranks of the army he heads. Not exactly reassuring for those in charge of keeping President Bush safe.

Mike Chinoy, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Now to that developing story out of Iraq. Despite a daytime ban on private vehicles, attacks near Baghdad leave at least 18 workers dead.

CNN's Aneesh Raman in the Iraqi capital this morning. He joins us live now with more details.

Aneesh, what happened?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol, the attacks took place in the predominantly Shia city of Nahrawan. That's just east of the capital. There last evening, gunmen opened fire on a brick factory, killing at least 18 workers there. They also set parts of the factory on fire, and in that same city, the same gunman attacked a power station, wounding two guards in that incident and cutting off power in the city or Nahrawan.

Now meanwhile, as we mentioned, in the Capitol again, an extraordinary daytime curfew in place. All vehicles have been banned. This prevent attacks on mosques during noon time prayers, but south of the capital in the predominantly Shia city of Basra. There joint prayers were held. Large crowds gathered of Sunnis and Shia gathered to express unity, something that we're hearing virtually every level of the government, as well as religious leaders. This as we have seen almost 500 people killed in sectarian violence since the attack a week ago Wednesday on that sacred Shia mosque.

COSTELLO: You know, something else disturbing that's happening there, that pressure to remove the prime minister, Ibrahim Al Jaafari? What is happening with that?

RAMAN: Yes, it hit a crisis point yesterday. Essentially, the Sunni block, the Kurdish block and the secular politicians telling the Shia governing alliance to change their mind as to who should be prime minister. They had just nominated Ibrahim Al Jaafari. And then Jaafari, yesterday, seemingly in response, canceled a meeting that was set to take place among all political leaders. Right now, the only endgame, as American officials have said, for the situations in Iraq, a unity government, seems to be in jeopardy -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Aneesh Raman reporting live for us from Baghdad this morning. U.S. troops in Iraq are keeping a close eye on the surge of attacks on Iraqi civilians.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more on that for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: As the days of sectarian violence mount, a majority of Americans now think worst times are ahead in Iraq. In the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, nearly two-thirds of those polled say a major civil war in Iraq is likely in the next year. The U.S. military is now counting how many Iraqi civilians are dying. More than 400 in the last week. Officials say the counting is essential for determining what is happening on the ground. It is Iraqi civilians who are in the crosshairs of the sectarian bloodshed since the bombing of the Golden Dome Mosque in Samarra.

MAJ. GEN. RICK LYNCH, U.S. ARMY: We have seen a 55 percent increase in civilian casualties in the last week, because the insurgents are targeting innocent civilians.

STARR: Thursday, gunmen attacked a convoy of a top Sunni politician in Baghdad. He escaped without injury. In a Shia marketplace, a roadside bomb killed four, and wounded 10. And in the Sunni stronghold of Ramadi, insurgents took on U.S. forces. The troops responded with force. The U.S. believes propaganda by the enemy is also playing a role.

LYNCH: He will use every mechanism that he can to take a number of attacks and, somehow, portray to the world, most importantly, to the people of Iraq, that the number of attacks are greater, that the sectarian violence was greater, to create this perception of an unsecure environment.

STARR (on camera): General John Abizaid and General George Casey, the two top commanders in Iraq, are expected to report to Washington next week. They will talk to the Pentagon, Congress and the White House about the next steps in Iraq.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: If you end up in jail in West Palm Beach, Florida -- not you, Chad -- but if you end up in jail there you may be dealt a new hand, so to speak. Inmates are given a special set of playing cards. And when they play poker, they will see unsolved missing persons cases. Sound a little familiar to you? Modeled after that famous deck of cards post-Iraqi invasion. The sheriff figures the criminals are more likely to know something about these unsolved crimes than anyone else.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. JACK STREGNES, PALM BEACH SHERIFF: Their playing cards, and they're going to be in your hand, and in between whatever game you're playing, hopefully, they'll take notice, they'll read the synopsis, and they'll know something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: There's a thousand dollar reward for good tips.

COSTELLO: Now, that, will get 'em, the thousand dollar reward. The kindness of a criminal's heart in the playing cards. I'm not buying that.

O'BRIEN: Maybe getting out early, that would be another thing that would motivate them, but here's the thing, they're doing a lot of wagering behind bars, you think?

COSTELLO: Yes, where are they playing poker? What are they wagering?

O'BRIEN: Match sticks? What are they using? I don't know.

Some possible redemption for Michael Brown. We'll talk to the former FEMA chief about the new FEMA transcripts and tapes that are flying around right now. We'll see why he says it's time for the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to go.

COSTELLO: Also, bombshell testimony rocks the court in the Enron trial. Andy is "Minding Your Business."

O'BRIEN: And later, Hollywood rolls up the red carpet for the Oscars. Who will take home the awards? We'll break down the favorites with our excellent award-picker a little later, Bradley Jacobs. He knows how to do it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The president is in the midst of his trip to Southern Asia. He's in India now. He's going to give an important speech in about 45 minutes, actually an hour from now. We will bring to you live. It's being billed as a very important foreign policy and speech on terrorism. Then he will travel to Pakistan. Risky trip, but an important alliance in the war on terror.

Richard Haass served in the State department during the first Bush term. He is now the president of the Council of Foreign Relations. He joins us here now.

Ambassador Haass, good to have you with us.

AMB. RICHARD HAASS, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Thanks, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the deal that the president and the prime minister of India put together on nuclear nonproliferation. In essence, what it allows, it allows Indians to purchase U.S. uranium on the assumption that there's a separate civilian and military program. There's a lot of concern on Capitol Hill on this.

I just want to listen to -- if we both could Congressman Ed Markey, who calls the whole deal a disaster. Let's listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ED MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: The president today has allowed for the Indian government to write an agreement, which undermines the security, not only of the United States, but of the rest of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: His point is that in allowing more nuclear material to get out there, we are making ourselves less secure. What's the counterpoint to that?

HAASS: Well, with all due respect to the Congressman, that's bad hyperbole, even for Congress. India is a responsible country, it's a democracy, and quite honestly, we do discriminate. The Non- Proliferation Treaty, which the congressman is understandably concerned about, sets up five countries, including the United States, that are allowed to be in the nuclear weapons business. Since then, Israel, Pakistan and India have also been, if you will, de facto accepted. What's important right now, because we can't do anything really about India's nuclear program, is that India works with us in making sure it doesn't spread to countries who are irresponsible, and that's the important part of U.S. policy.

O'BRIEN: What is the message, though, to Iran, let's say, in this sort of deal? does this give them the impression that if they just hold on, hang on, eventually, the world will come around and will accept their nuclear program?

HAASS: I'm sure there are people in Iran who think that. They also look at North Korea, which the world has essentially swallowed. But each country, quite honestly, is a separate case, and no one in Iran should think that, simply because of Iran's record on terrorism, the fact that it is a pariah. It's talked about erasing Israel off the face of the earth.

And I think with the Iranians, you're hearing, not just from us, but from Russians, the Chinese and the Europeans is that they are different and the world is not going to accept their program.

O'BRIEN: Are we entering sort of a new era of mutually assured destruction light or something, where each of these countries feels they have to counter-weight a foe that has nuclear weapons in some way by building up their programs?

HAASS: There's something to that, and that's one of the reasons one wants to keep in this the box. The more countries that get nuclear weapons, in turn, the more countries that are going to want to get nuclear weapons. If North Korea has a clear program, Japan, South Korea, others may want it. If Iran goes ahead, it's not impossible that Saudi Arabia, or Egypt or other countries are going to want it. That's the whole pressure to contain this.

O'BRIEN: That's a frightening prospect when you think about that.

HAASS: It is. That's exactly right, because the possibility for something going wrong. Too many people with too many fingers on triggers, too many decisions, the possibility also of nuclear material getting into the wrong hands, into the hands of terrorists.

What we're seeing is the possibility, is a far greater scope for tragedy here.

O'BRIEN: Hard to get the genie back in the bottle.

HAASS: Exactly right.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk Pakistan for a moment. This is a risky trip that the president is on. We saw that bombing that led to the death of a U.S. diplomat yesterday, clearly meant as a message for the president, but also probably meant as a message to the government of President Pervez Musharraf. Is that government truly a friend of the U.S., or do governments have friends, or do they just have allies and mutual interests?

HAASS: Well, the leadership of Pakistan is truly friendly of the United States. The president, the prime minister of Pakistan, I believe, are. The problem is you almost need to speak about governments in the plural when it comes to Pakistan. You've got elements of the security services, the intelligence, who are not friends of the United States. You've got large parts of the country, particularly in the west, by Afghanistan, which are essentially out of control of the central government.

So the problem with Pakistan is not the intentions of Musharraf or people like him; the problem is he's not in a hundred percent control, and that's the difficulty in dealing with Pakistan.

O'BRIEN: And that is why Osama bin Laden is able to exist in that mountainous kind of lawless region near the border with Afghanistan?

HAASS: That's exactly right. Not just Osama, other people like him. The fact that you've had an insurgency often carried out against India, both in Kashmir, but also more generally, in times, in India itself.

So, yes, Pakistan is -- it's a difficult country in a difficult situation, which causes problem.

O'BRIEN: What does the president need to say today?

HAASS: In India, I think needs to make the case about the India's strategic importance. The fact that the United States has established a new relationship with India really is a big strategic development, one of the important foreign policy accomplishments of this bush presidency. He's also going to point out the fact that India is a democracy, and because it is more open, the 150 Muslims the India -- basically India has the second largest Muslim population in the world -- that you haven't seen the sort of terrorism there that you've seen in other countries. My guess is the president is going to underscore just that, that is there a clear link between political openness and an absence of terrorism. And I think the president is going to talk about U.S./Indian cooperation against terrorism. This is part of the core of this new strategic relationship between the world's two largest democracies.

O'BRIEN: Thank you for your time, sir. Ambassador Richard Haass, with the Council on Foreign Relations, and of course we will carry the president's speech live beginning 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time, a little less than an hour from now -- Carol.

COSTELLO: The Enron trial rocked by stunning testimony. Andy is "Minding Your Business" this morning.

And later, Hollywood gets gussied up for Oscar night. We'll go live to Los Angeles and break down who's got the best shot at going home with the Oscar.

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about golf in space, shall we?

COSTELLO: Oh, sure.

O'BRIEN: Why not? Listen up, Tiger Woods. A cosmonaut is planning to hit a golf ball from a space station. This is a stunt put on by a Canadian golf company. The Russians are looking for a little hard currency.

COSTELLO: How is there a golf club and a golf ball in space at the International Space -- I mean, is that what they...

O'BRIEN: I mean, they send up rockets. There's stuff in the rockets.

COSTELLO: Golf equipment?

O'BRIEN: Apparently this is part of...

COSTELLO: That's what we're paying for?

O'BRIEN: ... part of the manifest.

SERWER: There you go, that's a good question, Carol.

O'BRIEN: Now you remember Allan Shepherd? Remember when he went to the moon. Remember this, famous, he fashioned kind of a sort of six iron.

SERWER: There's a tradition of golf in space.

O'BRIEN: There's a long tradition of golf in space there. There he is, 1971, Apollo 14. He's got that 6 iron.

SERWER: Fore!

O'BRIEN: The first one he duffed. The next one he said it went for miles and miles.

Now believe it or not, engineers have actually analyzed the trajectory of it, and they say it wasn't quite that long.

But any, that being NASA...

SERWER: Eight-hundred-yard drive.

O'BRIEN: Something like that, yes. The cosmonaut is using a specially made six iron as well, perhaps a nod to the great Allen Shepherd. And it's gold plated, too, and a special platform next to the space station. This whole thing, as we say, a stunt for this company.

Tiger now hits the ball about 300 yards. If they can hit it with a spacesuit on well, it will circle the Earth four years and travel two billion miles.

SERWER: Really?

O'BRIEN: NASA has not signed off on this deal yet. Here's the thing. It's kind of tricky. If they duff it, it could end up in the same orbit of the space station and pose a hazard; you know, it could bang into it. That's a problem. And depending on which way it's going, it could pierce a hole in that, so there's some issues to contend with.

COSTELLO: That's a pretty big issue!

SERWER: There's a lot of junk in space, right?

O'BRIEN: There is a lot of junk. So why add to it, you might ask.

SERWER: Well, there's plenty of room out there, too.

O'BRIEN: Wouldn't you feel kind of silly if the space station went down because of a golf ball?

COSTELLO: Yes.

SERWER: That would be like a "Seinfeld" episode.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I'm sure they know what they're doing, though. O'BRIEN: Or not.

All right, former FEMA director Michael Brown will join us live in a moment. Those new FEMA transcripts may offer him a measure of redemption. We'll get his reaction to them. And a follow-up on that fugitive dad who ditched his son instead of donating a live-saving kidney. Beneath contempt, does that work?

COSTELLO: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I think so.

It looks like there's a big development in the case. Susan Candiotti has actually helped generate some clues. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com