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American Morning

Iraq: Three Years Later; Testimony to Resume in Moussaoui Trial

Aired March 20, 2006 - 08:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Welcome.

I'm Soledad O'Brien.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Roberts in for the vacationing Miles O'Brien this week.

O'BRIEN: Nice to have you.

ROBERTS: Good to be here.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

Our top story -- after three years of war in Iraq, debate now over whether or not Iraq is in the middle of a civil war. We're live in Baghdad and at the White House with more on that story.

ROBERTS: Trial and errors -- Zacarias Moussaoui's prosecutors learn if their case is still any good after a government attorney turns the case upside down.

O'BRIEN: The most powerful cyclone to hit Australia in three decades. Now thousands of people may have no homes to go back to.

And they can't catch a break in Texas. Torrential rains follow a week of wildfires. We've got that story for you, as well.

ROBERTS: And the services are getting as thin as the air up at altitude. A growing list of what you don't get when you fly on this AMERICAN MORNING.

O'BRIEN: We begin in Iraq this morning, one day after the three year anniversary of the start of the war. Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi says his country is in a civil war. He told the BBC: "We are, each day, losing an average 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more. If this is not civil war, then god knows what civil war is."

Let's get live right now to CNN's Kathleen Koch.

She's at the White House this morning -- hey, Kathleen, good morning.

What's the administration saying about civil war in Iraq? KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, the theme this week at the White House is accentuate the positive and challenge the negative. So the White House is very strongly disputing claims like Allawi's that Iraq in the throes of a civil war.

The vice president himself, in an interview yesterday on one of the Sunday morning talk shows, insisted that while that may be terrorists' goal, they haven't yet achieved it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Clearly, there is an attempt underway by the terrorists, by Zarqawi and others, to foment civil war. That's been their strategy all along. But my view would be they have reached a stage of desperation, from their standpoint.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, as to problem, his schedule today takes him to Cleveland, Ohio, where he will further press his case for the war in Iraq. And a senior administration official says that the president will cite examples of what is going right there. He will also, we're told, talk about his strategy in Iraq, what's working, what hasn't and what is still evolving.

And, very interestingly, the president has decided he is going to take questions from the audience at Cleveland's City Club, which is a very bold move, Soledad, in this heavily Democratic city.

O'BRIEN: It sure could be.

All right, Kathleen, we'll have to watch and see.

Thanks a lot -- John.

ROBERTS: So, have there been advances in Iraq in the last three years?

Let's ask our CNN senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson.

He's in Baghdad and joins us live from there now -- good morning to you, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Well, there certainly have been political advances, but security is the top concern here for most Iraqis.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Power stations have been built, politicians elected, deselected, reelected, democracy put into action. Around it all, concrete barriers have grown higher, bigger, longer, security tighter. Progress is being fenced in. Innocent Iraqis are being killed by insurgents, sectarian death squads, even accidentally by the U.S. troops who liberated them from Saddam Hussein's tyranny. It is a confusing time.

This father of five, who doesn't want to be identified, explains.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I wish that we'd go back to the old days in regards to security. People didn't have any mental stress. Now we are living in a turbulence. We don't know what could happen tomorrow.

ROBERTSON: I've been invited into his middle class home. They are trying to understand what's happening in Iraq. They have more questions than I do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Do you feel safe as a journalist when you leave your office and try to report the incidents that take place in Baghdad?

ROBERTSON (on camera): But, the answer is no, I can't. I can't go outside and I don't feel safe. And, also, you don't feel safe talking to me either.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): You're right, I don't feel safe talking to you on camera.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): They live in fear of insurgents. But they also live with anger. The sister blames U.S. soldiers for killing her brother.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Of course the situation got worse. We lost many people that are dear to us, one of which is my brother. We are losing many people, paying a high price. And for what?

ROBERTSON: Later, she told me financially the family is now better off.

Billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars financing rebuilding and security projects have helped boost the economy. Earnings are up. But so, too, is the cost of living. Cooking oil, 500 dinars before the war, 15,000 now, up 30 times. And gas for cars up more than tenfold and still in short supply.

"Removing Saddam was good," this factory worker explains. "But now we have explosions, an economic crisis and basic services like electricity and fuel are hurting."

(on camera): Three years ago, this is where I was -- on the roof of the Ministry of Information. After the war, it was looted and burnt out. Now it's still a gutted shell. And just across the road, over here, is where the government supermarket was. It was also looted, burnt out, reduced to rubble. Indeed, this downtown neighborhood of Baghdad looks the worst I've seen it in the 15 years I've been coming to Iraq. (voice-over): Hope of a better future is what Iraqis were dreaming of three years ago. So far, hope is proving only a limited defense against the forces that would drag the country into chaos.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ROBERTSON: And each day, there's a reality check on the situation. The reality check today coming from the government. Thirty-seven hundred families, they say, have been forced out of their homes by the latest round of sectarian violence -- John.

ROBERTS: Boy, difficult to find the good news there sometimes.

Nic Robertson in Baghdad for us this morning.

Nic, thanks very much.

President Bush will continue to push his war strategy in an address today in Cleveland.

CNN will bring you the president's speech live. That's beginning at around 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

He is expected to take questions from the audience.

Let's check on the headlines now.

And Carol Costello joins us from the newsroom -- good morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Thank you.

Good morning to all of you.

This just into us. An amber alert has been issued for a missing Florida boy. Nine-year-old William Hunter is missing from Northport, Florida. Authorities believe he was abducted. They describe the suspect as a white male with gray hair and blue eyes. If you have information, please call police.

Threats of a general strike in France if a tough new jobs law is not overturned. Things got really ugly over the weekend, police using water cannons to keep back the crowds. The prime minister refusing to budge on the issue, though. The law would make it easier for employers to fire young workers. Union leaders are expected to decide their next step today.

Searchers have found the bodies of at least three more victims in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina. Search dogs have been helping with efforts to locate more remains. More than 1,100 deaths in Louisiana have been blamed on that devastating storm.

A man bitten by a tiger lives to tell the tale. Florida authorities say a trucker was transporting a tiger to a county fair. Well, he apparently stuck his arm in the cage and the tiger bit him. The young man's sister adds this, she thinks, Soledad, he was drinking at the time.

O'BRIEN: Huh.

ROBERTS: Surprise...

COSTELLO: A lesson here.

O'BRIEN: You probably don't want to stick your arm in the cage. You probably don't want to be drinking and stick your arm in the cage.

COSTELLO: That's true.

O'BRIEN: But, you know, that's me.

COSTELLO: That's the lesson you learn here.

O'BRIEN: That's right. There's a lesson in there somewhere, Carol.

COSTELLO: Don't drink and stick your arm in a tiger cage.

O'BRIEN: Hmmm, what is it?

Crazy.

All right, Carol, thanks.

A cyclone, a snowstorm, drenching rains -- kind of a mix of severe weather to tell you about this morning. In fact, one of the most powerful cyclones in decades has struck Australia's northeast coast. Storms there are called cyclones. Hurricanes or typhoons, obviously, depending where they are in the world.

Gusts from Cyclone -- which is what it's called down in Australia -- Larry exceeded 180 miles an hour. Power outages are reported, as well as structural damage, as well. Officials report only minor injuries. Mandatory evacuation orders had been issued before the storm hit. Most residents had move to safer areas.

Not much of a break for the Hawaiian Islands. That's where Andy is vacationing. Heavy rains could bring more problems for the island of Kauai. Many reservoirs on the island, in fact, are being drained as a precaution. A dam break on Tuesday swept away two homes. Three bodies have been recovered so far. The latest this weekend, four people are still missing.

Heavy rains, also, in North Texas. There could be some snow, too, to tell you about. Flooding in several cities led to road closings. Flood warnings remain in effect. One woman died when her car was swept off a road into a creek in Dallas. Six inches of rain has fallen since Friday. And Dallas got drenched by five inches of rain just on Sunday alone.

It's not rain but snow that's the big troublemaker in Nebraska. Many schools in the state closed because of the dangerous snowstorm. Today, Colorado could get more than a foot of snow. The Dakotas, parts of Illinois and Indiana, are under winter storm watches.

All that brings us to Chad.

He's our severe weather expert -- and today is your day, my man.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is.

But you know what? I'm curious, Miles is off and you're not.

Does that mean you guys aren't married?

O'BRIEN: No, he's got the kids.

MYERS: Oh, yes?

We get so many of those e-mails and...

O'BRIEN: Well, that sounds, actually, very relaxing for me, doesn't it?

MYERS: That's right.

O'BRIEN: I know. We do, don't we?

MYERS: Yes. Actually, Miles' answer to that is yes, we are married, you two, but not to each other.

O'BRIEN: Exactly.

MYERS: So that's...

O'BRIEN: See?

MYERS: ... you know, anyway, I digress.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: The Moussaoui sentencing trial starts up again today.

Can the prosecution recover from this huge mistake by a government lawyer?

Senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin is going to join us live to talk about that.

ROBERTS: Also, you'll meet a woman who is lucky to be alive this morning, all thanks to her quick wits and her cell phone. She'll talk about her terrifying ordeal with a kidnapper.

O'BRIEN: More and more airline frills are disappearing. That's not telling you anything you don't already know. It means, of course, the tickets cost less. But is all that savings worth it?

Alina Cho takes a look ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The sentencing trial of Zacarias Moussaoui resumes this morning after a week in which the judge dealt prosecutors a big blow, then softened it a little bit.

The quick now, of course, is the government's case strong enough for a death sentence?

CNN senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin is with us this morning -- nice to see you.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Let's get back to Judge Brinkema. She finally agreed to reverse her original position, which was to -- or reverse it, sort of.

TOOBIN: Somewhat.

O'BRIEN: A qualified reversal. She's not going to allow these seven witnesses in question to testify, but she is going to allow something.

TOOBIN: Right.

O'BRIEN: What is it?

TOOBIN: Basically, those seven witnesses were going to testify about what if Zarqawi told -- what if Zarqawi!!! I'm sorry, Moussaoui. What is Moussaoui told the truth when he was interrogated in August? What would the aviation system have done to try to protect the rest of the country and thereby protect us from 9/11?

What she has said is those seven witnesses can't testify and what she originally said was the whole subject matter was off limits.

But what she softened the order was she said, look, if you can find other witnesses not tainted by this lawyer, Carla Martin, who, you know, who gave prior testimony to these witnesses, I'll let you call those other witnesses so the subject matter can be dealt with.

O'BRIEN: So who are they going to call?

TOOBIN: We don't know. And we don't know when because the judge has said they are going to give three -- they have to give three days notice. And it could be later in the week. But that's not a public document, that notice, so we don't know if they've given notice of who they're going to call.

O'BRIEN: Will these others who are not among the seven who were originally going to testify be worth what they can tell them? I mean obviously if they really had valuable insight, they would have been among the original people testifying. TOOBIN: Correct. I mean they're obviously second choices, at best. And the judge also dealt the prosecutors another blow based on the difference between could and would. Because what the judge said is I am not going to allow any witness to testify about what the aviation system would have done if the information from Moussaoui had been correct. I'm only going to allow them to say that the system could have done.

So it's pretty speculative testimony and in a death penalty...

O'BRIEN: Second tier witness can't say should, has to say would?

TOOBIN: Correct. Can't say would, can only say could.

O'BRIEN: Right.

TOOBIN: And, you know, this is a case entirely based on speculation of what the system could or would have done...

O'BRIEN: So what happens to this case, do you think?

TOOBIN: Well, I don't know. You know, the magnitude of the crime is so terrible and people have such awful associations with, you know, thousands of dead. And Moussaoui has admitted that he is in al Qaeda. So you're not going to have a jury that's favorably disposed toward him in any way.

But, it's a very tenuous case when you think about the actual causation of the facts at issue in the case.

So it seems like a weak case in the abstract. But when you look at the specifics of the magnitude of the crime, you never know what a jury is going to do.

O'BRIEN: Carla Martin, the lawyer sort of at the center of the...

TOOBIN: Yes.

O'BRIEN: ... the drama, faces charges now, potentially?

TOOBIN: Well, no, potentially. We don't know. She could face contempt of court charges. She could face witness tampering charges. So far, she has taken the fifth. She has not said what has happened.

O'BRIEN: They want to put her on the stand.

TOOBIN: Well, the judge wants her to explain. Her lawyer has kind of hinted darkly that she was actually doing the bidding of the prosecutors...

O'BRIEN: Not working alone is what I've sort of heard.

TOOBIN: Not working alone, right. And, you know, the defense can't wait to sort of get into that whole mess and see if there are other parts of the case that are tainted. But so far, she's been taking the fifth and we don't know if she'll even appear in court today or how that's going to play out.

O'BRIEN: Yes, that's an interesting story.

TOOBIN: Obviously...

O'BRIEN: I mean, I...

TOOBIN: Why she did what she did is going to be an enduring mystery. And who she spoke to and why she did it is a great mystery to me.

O'BRIEN: Yes, really. I think to a lot of people.

Today, Harry Samit of the FBI is going to be on the stand.

TOOBIN: A key witness in the case. He was actually testifying when this whole thing blew up 10 days ago.

O'BRIEN: Right.

TOOBIN: He is the witness who interviewed Moussaoui, who got the information from him that was not what the prosecution said he should have told them. And you can expect a very heavy duty cross- examination about what precisely he asked him, what he would have done with the information, because one of the big themes of the defense here is that the government was so incompetent that even if they had gotten accurate information, they wouldn't have known what to do with it.

O'BRIEN: Interesting.

We're all going to watch it.

All right, thanks, Jeff.

TOOBIN: OK.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.

You, of course, want to stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- John.

ROBERTS: Thanks, Soledad.

Still to come this morning, a young woman is snatched while leaving a nightclub. Ahead, how quick thinking helped save her from her abductor and the one thing that she says she will never do with her cell phone again.

And flying coach -- it's always been bare bones. But now airlines are cutting into the bone to save even more money. Flying coach -- is it even worth it anymore?

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

FRANK SINATRA: Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away. If you can use some exotic booze, there's a bar in far Bombay.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Ah, remember the days when flying was so luxurious, even in coach? A soft pillow and a meal. These days, tickets are cheaper, but so is the experience. You want more? You're going to have to pay for it.

Get this -- Northwest Airlines recently started charging a $15 fee for certain aisle seats in economy. Pay for that little luxury.

AMERICAN MORNING'S frequent flier, Alina Cho, is with us now with more on this -- Alina, good morning.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, surprising. It angered some people and the airlines...

ROBERTS: A little outrageous, yes.

CHO: That's right. Airlines are cutting back in ways that may surprise you, may anger some people.

You know, we were interested in doing a first person account because, frankly, I travel so much. In fact, on average, I'm on the road about two weeks every month. That's a lot of flying. And the whole experience, start to finish, has changed.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

CHO (voice-over): It starts from the moment I arrive at the airport. I'm greeted not by a person, but by a kiosk. With a simple swipe of my credit card, I have my boarding pass. Self-serve is the key. By cutting back on services, airlines save money. It's a survival tactic at a time of increased fuel costs and increased competition.

The savings are passed on to the customer. Industry analysts say ticket prices are at historic lows. Case in point -- I'm flying coach, one way, New York to Miami, American Airlines. One day advance purchase, total cost? $177.80. That gets me a seat, but not much else.

(on camera): Parfait, carrots, grapes.

(voice-over): There's no free meal ticket. I'm forced to buy my own lunch. And I'm not alone.

The Fletcher family is flying coach, as well. Hoagie Fletcher bought a $7 sandwich. His wife Laurie doesn't mind. Their round-trip tickets cost just $140 apiece.

LAURIE FLETCHER, AIR TRAVELER: I think it's fine. I'd rather save the money on the airfare and bring my own little snack.

CHO: On American, no pillows, either. That saves the airline $700,000 a year.

Frank Pena has worked for American for 18 years.

FRANK PENA, AMERICAN AIRLINES: At first, when it first happened, they were like you don't have any pillows? There are -- there's no this and no that. But now they know what to expect.

CHO: There is food, for a price.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cost is $4 for the snack boxes. That (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to be greatly appreciated.

CHO: I bought the last snack box. American only stocks enough food for 40 percent of the passengers. It's also charging $2 a bag for curbside check-in at certain airports. Some airlines have even cut back on wine selections. Northwest recently started charging $15 for certain aisle seats.

Of the major domestic carriers, only Continental still serves meals in coach and offers pillows. But not everyone flies coach. Luxury travelers can relax at American's Admirals Club instead of waiting with the crowds in the main terminal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.

CHO (on camera): If you're willing to spend the money, you can always sit up here in first class, where you get wider seats, more leg room, a blanket, free headsets and that all important complimentary meal, which we did not get in coach. There are 16 seats in first class on this flight from Miami to New York and every single seat is taken.

(voice-over): And it's only double the price.

Is it worth it?

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CHO: You've go to sleep some time. You know, you can't really tell the difference when you're sleeping, although I was pretty comfortable there.

Now, having said that, the luxury experience is still available in first class. But many travelers tell us that they aren't willing to pay for it. They say that paying double for a free meal, John, simply is not worth it.

ROBERTS: What I'd really like to ask you about is how you got into first class flying on an economy ticket, but...

CHO: Well, we decided we wanted to show you the difference between economy and first class, so we did -- did pay for it.

ROBERTS: But isn't this something that discount airlines have been doing for years?

CHO: They have. You know, this is all about expectations. You know, you know when you buy a ticket on JetBlue as a traveler that it's going to be no frills flying. But these days, the big six airlines, as they call them, you know, the Uniteds, the Americans, the Deltas are cutting back and people are surprised by that. And I think that's part of the reason why it's getting so much attention now.

ROBERTS: It's getting more and more like just getting on a bus...

CHO: You're right.

ROBERTS: ... as opposed to getting on an airplane.

CHO: Absolutely.

ROBERTS: What are...

CHO: A seat and not much else.

ROBERTS: What are the benefits to doing your ticketing online?

CHO: Well, we all know it saves time. You can do it whenever you want. But there's actually a cost benefit to this. And I was surprised by this. When you -- when you call and ticket by phone, it's a $10 extra charge. And then when you do it at the airport, they charge you $15 more. So there really are real benefits. And the airlines say that what that allows them to do is divert their workers so that they can deal with more complicated issues...

ROBERTS: Right.

CHO: ... like, you know, baggage losses and upgrades, things that need real people.

ROBERTS: Yes, and we all know how well they do dealing with those things, as well.

CHO: Yes.

ROBERTS: The one thing I like about online ticketing is that you can get your boarding pass a day in advance.

CHO: That's right. You can...

ROBERTS: And a seat assignment, too.

CHO: You can do everything at home and there's a real benefit to that. And the airlines certainly like that.

ROBERTS: Yes, well, this is the new reality that we're going to have to get used to.

CHO: That's right.

ROBERTS: Alina Cho, thanks very much.

CHO: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Gosh, the two of you are so down on flying, man.

Thanks, guys.

Another headache for FEMA to tell you about this morning. We'll tell you why the agency is now trying to take back millions of dollars they gave out in hurricane relief.

And in the final chapter of "The Da Vinci Code" trial that's unfolding in a London courtroom, we'll find out if this verdict is going to impact the movie version of the best-selling book. That story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got spring fever. I've got spring fever. I've got spring fever.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: You know we don't have spring fever, even though it's the first day of spring. It is cold in New York.

ROBERTS: Yes, I know it.

O'BRIEN: It is snowing in the Plains.

ROBERTS: That's -- that photo actually belies the reality of it. It's 33 degrees in Central Park.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it looks beautiful.

ROBERTS: It looks nice, but it isn't.

O'BRIEN: It's snowing. Some people who were commuting in this morning from north were -- saw a little snow this morning.

So, no, we don't have spring fever at all.

ROBERTS: That's the thing that you can always count on is that spring is going to come later and later every year.

O'BRIEN: Yes, absolutely.

Good morning.

Welcome back, everybody. Miles has gotten a little vacation in, so John Roberts is helping us out this morning.

ROBERTS: Good morning to you.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for helping us.

We appreciate it.

Ahead, talking about a -- you're talking to a woman who has had a horrifying ordeal.

ROBERTS: Oh, an incredibly compelling story. This young woman was coming out of a bar in Houston and there she is. It's Jessica Bulkley. And she's going to be talking with us this morning.

As she was about to get into her car, a man came up, accosted her, stuffed her in the trunk of her car, drove around for 45 minutes. She didn't know if she was going to live through the ordeal. But, thankfully, she did. We'll tell you how she got through it.

O'BRIEN: Yes, pretty smart moves, I thought, on her part. We'll talk about that a little bit later.

(NEWSBREAK)

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about a sad anniversary. Throughout the three years since the start of the war in Iraq, there have been steadily increasing cries to put a stop to the war. It might seem that that kind of sentiment is only a resent phenomenon when it comes to war and public opinion, but history actually tells us otherwise.

Senior analyst Jeff Greenfield joins us with a lesson many Americans maybe have forgotten.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: This is true. I mean, the public's discontent, as you just mentioned, over Iraq has been going from almost the start, from the moment U.S. forces entered Baghdad. Much of it is rooted in bad news -- looting, disorder, the rise of a violent insurgency -- and most dramatically, a steadily rising cost in American blood and treasure. But, it's also rooted in a long-standing fact about the United States. When it comes to war, we just are not a patient people.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREENFIELD: The Civil War, costliest of all in American lives, was not fought with a unified North. Draft riots killed at least 119 people in New York in 1863, and Abe Lincoln feared he'd lose the 1864 election to peace candidate George McClellan, the army general Lincoln had dismissed. Only a string of union victories saved Lincoln's presidency.

For America, World War I only lasted about a year and a half, but that was enough to turn the country toward isolationism after the armistice. The Senate rejected President Woodrow Wilson's plea for membership in the League of Nations, and Warren Harding won the presidency in 1920 with a pledge of normalcy.

World War II is remembered as the great exception, a country united in a great cause, especially after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. But less than a year later, Democrats took a real drubbing in the mid-term elections, and all during the war, there was real discontent over housing, rationing and the very length and cost of the war.

A year and a half after Korea exploded into war, Republicans took the White House with a slogan: "Korea, corruption, and communism." President Truman's opponents demanded to know why we weren't going all out to win that war.

And discontent over Vietnam, from doves opposed to the conflict and from hawks demanding win or get out tactics, helped drive President Johnson into retirement in 1968.

And in Iraq, the sheer speed of the military victory -- Saddam was ousted in less than a month -- led to what can charitably be dubbed premature declarations of a greater victory.

Indeed, the very gap between battlefield triumph and post-war stability has, in large measure, fueled public discontent, as has the pattern of good news -- Saddam sons killed, Saddam captured, the constitution ratified, a parliament elected -- overtaken by bad news: more killings, more sectarian violence, more tens of billions of American dollars.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GREENFIELD: Now, three years ago, it was the supporters of the war who were mocking the pessimists. And from a strictly military judgment, the pessimists were wrong. Unhappily, when it came to judging how tough it would be to deal with Iraq after the fall of Hussein, the pessimists so far appeared to be more realistic than the optimists, and that, Soledad, has only fed this traditional impatience I've talked about.

O'BRIEN: What does history tell us when it comes to how impatient the American people are? And when you factor in the math of bad polls numbers for a president, about what could happen three months down the road?

GREENFIELD: Well, if -- again, if you look at Korea, if you look at Vietnam, if you look at the post world war I story people tend to take it out on the party in power. The exception -- and it's always the great exception -- was World War II, because everybody was in it.

O'BRIEN: The bombing of Pearl Harbor had a ton...

GREENFIELD: Had a tremendous effect because we were directly attacked, and everyone was drafted. And even there into 1942, as I mentioned, the Democrats took a hit a year after Pearl Harbor. But in that one, people seemed to be willing to see it through. Remember, in '44, we'd already had D-Day. It was clear the war was coming to an end. So this impatience tends to have political consequences. Whether this changes in a post-9/11 war, which in my view has changed a lot of the traditional political rules we used to rely on -- as really good journalists say, Soledad, only time will tell.

O'BRIEN: I was going to say we'll wait and see -- is my version of that. Jeff Greenfield, thank you.

John.

ROBERTS: Thanks, Soledad. Wait until you hear this next story. She was kidnapped, locked in the trunk of her car and driven around the better part of an hour, not knowing if she was going to live or die. The suspect is still at large, but the victim, Jessica Bulkley is alive and well, thanks to some quick thinking and her cell phone.

Jessica joins us now this morning from Houston to share this terrifying story. Jessica, thanks for being with us.

Let me just set this scene here a little bit, if I could, move the story along. You're coming out of a club called the Proletariat in Houston early on Thursday morning, you're about to get into your car, you've got your keys out, ready to get in. What happened then?

JESSICA BULKLEY, ESCAPED FROM TRUNK OF CAR: I was about a foot away from my door when I just looked -- took that final look over my shoulder and saw this guy running straight at me, full speed, knife in hand. And I threw my keys and my purse down at him, and he just wasn't happy with that.

ROBERTS: A knife in hand as he came at you. What was going through your mind right then?

BULKLEY: Just to get out of the situation and give him what he wants. I assumed he was wanting money, and so I just tried to give it to him.

ROBERTS: And you discovered that money wasn't what he wanted. He wanted you?

BULKLEY: Yes.

ROBERTS: What happened then?

BULKLEY: He tried to get me in the trunk of the car and at first I resisted, hoping to just buy time, maybe someone would show up. But he just wasn't going to take that an answer, so I ended up in the trunk of my own car at that point.

ROBERTS: So he eventually stuffed you in the trunk of your own car. You're 5'10", obviously you were pretty cramped back in there. And he started driving around Houston. What was going through your mind about it? I mean, were you not panicking? How did you stay calm?

BULKLEY: Actually, I wasn't panicking. I just knew once I got in that trunk, that some way there was a way out of it, and I was going to find it. ROBERTS: And where did you -- you found it in your pocket, correct?

BULKLEY: Yes. I had had my cell phone in my pocket, which was rare. Usually I kept it in my purse. But this time, lucky me, I didn't!

ROBERTS: So you flipped open the cell phone, and you punched 911?

BULKLEY: And I got on with emergency dispatch and told them right away where I was, that I was in the trunk of my car. And that just sent them moving to find me.

ROBERTS: But you had no idea where you were, though.

BULKLEY: No.

ROBERTS: You knew that you were in the trunk of your car, but in terms of location in Houston, you had no idea?

BULKLEY: No, I knew where I left from, but that was the only information I could give him.

ROBERTS: Now, the abductor is driving around. He is maybe six feet away from you in the car. Did he hear you talking to 911 at all?

BULKLEY: He heard me whispering. He was yelling at me, and me and him were interacting and communicating. But he heard me whispering and he asked me if I was praying. And so that kind of gave me an excuse to be whispering, and so I told him yes, so I could stay on the phone.

ROBERTS: And how did he react to that? Did he get outraged? Did he calm down a little bit?

BULKLEY: It seemed to discourage him from his original intent, but it did affect him some way. It was very noticeable.

ROBERTS: Was he threatening you while he was driving you around?

BULKLEY: Yes. Very much so.

ROBERTS: Did you think, at any time, I'm never going to get out of this?

BULKLEY: Possibly. I tried not to think that, because that would only deter me from getting out of that.

ROBERTS: So a couple of times you had to hang up with 911, didn't you?

BULKLEY: Yes. I hung up with them once. I had called them twice.

ROBERTS: So how did they eventually find you? Because you didn't have one of these cell phones that's got the GPS locator on it, so how did you talk them into your location?

BULKLEY: They were able to triangulate me between the phone towers and get a small perimeter. A local news helicopter helped find me, and he eventually stopped the car not too far away from where we had began.

ROBERTS: He stopped the car, he got out. What did you do then?

BULKLEY: I stayed right where I was for a quite a little bit and -- just waiting and listening and seeing if it was possibly safe for me to get back on the phone again.

ROBERTS: And the 911 operator after you got back on the phone told you how to get out of the trunk with the emergency latch?

BULKLEY: Uh-huh.

ROBERTS: And then what happened?

BULKLEY: Actually I was kind of scared to open that trunk. I didn't know where I was at. I didn't know if he was still there, really, or if anybody else was there. And so they had to talk me out of the trunk, and that's when I just opened the trunk and ran to my nearest intersection and the helicopter found me there.

ROBERTS: It was a police helicopter, put its light on you. And this fellow is still at large. I mean, you've got to be a little bit nervous that he could still be out there somewhere. What's the one that you're going to take away from this experience?

BULKLEY: Just my wits about me all the time, always aware, and very, very careful.

ROBERTS: Always make sure you've got your cell phone with you on your person.

BULKLEY: On your person. That is the trick.

ROBERTS: Wow, what an amazing story. We're so glad that you came through it all right, although I'm sure you still got to be a little worried. Next time you go out to your car late at night, you're going to be more than looking over your shoulder.

BULKLEY: Oh, yes.

ROBERTS: Jessica Bulkley, thanks very much for being with us. We really appreciate it.

BULKLEY: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Really appreciate it -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: It could be several weeks before the verdict is in, but "The Da Vinci Code" is wrapping up today with a final word from the attorney who claim that Dan Brown stole their ideas to produce his blockbuster novel. Paula Newton has our report from London this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This trial is wrapping up today, and at times it's been rather tedious. At other times, has unfolded like a thriller. The most crucial moments came when Dan Brown himself took the stand. That lasted about three days, and he steadfastly defended his research, defended his book, saying that he didn't plagiarize anyone. The judge now has to go through a lot of material to try to weigh if there was any kind of copyright infringement.

At stake here, millions of dollars in profit and royalties, and perhaps the release,the England release, of the movie by Tom Hanks, that should be coming out sometime in May. But at this point, Dan Brown seemed to take a keen interest in this court case, because he really felt that his credibility was on the line. He has a book coming out, hopefully later this year, and he wanted to make sure that any settlements did not really take any liberty in saying, look, Dan Brown did copy, that's why he settled, so they decided to go to court.

Right now the court fees are in excess of $3 million already. But it also has to be noted that at the same time all of the publicity surrounding this court case has meant that book sales, of not just "The Da Vinci Code," but "The Holy Blood, the Holy Grail" have increased.

Paula Newton, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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O'BRIEN: This morning, we've got a new series. What kind of toll a lack of sleep is taking on your body. It's called "Sleepless in America." That's ahead.

Stay with us.

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ROBERTS: Still to come, another sign of new life in New Orleans. We'll show you how Hollywood is helping this city get back on track.

And later on, our new series, "Sleepless in America." If you're not getting enough sleep, just wait until you hear what that is doing to your body. Stay with us.

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O'BRIEN: Seems like science fiction, but could it soon be science fact? What if you could beam your own image to another location or attend a meeting in person, but not actually be there? Well, the reality may not be quite so far away.

Our own Miles O'Brien with another installment of "Welcome to the Future."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do get to work from home, but then I wind up having to leave for days at a time. I work in a virtual company. Sure, it's cool that I'm always talking to my co-workers on the computer and being able to just shoot instant messages out, but, at the same, there's something lacking about that.

To be able to effectively communicate, you need to be able to see people's reactions. So it would be wonderful if I could just spin my chair around and suddenly be seeing everybody that I'm trying to communicate with. And so if I could do that without traveling, then that would be fantastic.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): So what if Phillip (ph) could beam himself to a meeting instead of having to travel to it? Is this the future, or has Phillip seen one too many movies?

(voice-over): Hollywood has taken the hologram out of this word, like this scene from "Star Wars Episode III." But how close is this to reality?

MICHAEL KLUG, COFOUNDER, ZEBRA IMAGING: The vision of "Star Wars" is something that can be achieved, but the means by which to achieve it will be -- will not be what's represented in the movies.

M. O'BRIEN: MIT grant and cofounder of Zebra Imaging, Michael Klug has mastered art of creating these larger-than-life holographic images. Boiled down, they are three-dimensional pictures projected with a pair of lasers. But Klug says interacting with these 3-D figures still presents a challenge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hologram is not something that can occupy space without having some piece of film somewhere between your eye and the holographic image.

M. O'BRIEN: However, Klug believes we could still see a version of holographic virtual meetings come to life within the next decade.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once we get those basic technologies out and demonstrated, the sky is the limit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: A look at the top stories straight ahead this morning. We're going to take you live to Baghdad for a the look at the Iraq war three years later.

And a powerful cyclone, packing winds of 180 miles an hour, slams into Australia. Thousands of people are feared homeless.

First it was wildfires. Now it's severe flooding in Texas. We've got a live report ahead.

Andrea Yates' new trial begins today. She, of course, is the Texas mother accused of drowning her five children.

And our week-long special series "Sleepless in America." Today, how not getting enough sleep could be deadly. All of those stories, all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

We're back in a moment.

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