Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Immigration Summit in Mexico; American Hostage Jill Carroll Released After Nearly Three Months of Captivity; Beating the Clock

Aired March 30, 2006 - 09:00   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 and welcome to AMERICAN MORNING.
I'm Miles O'Brien in New York.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien, reporting live from Washington, D.C., this morning.

Good morning, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you.

Incredible news out of Baghdad this morning we're happy to tell you about. American hostage Jill Carroll finally released after nearly three months in captivity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL CARROLL, JOURNALIST: It was difficult because I didn't know what would happen to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Her family obviously relieved this morning, saying their hearts are full. And now they are just waiting to be reunited.

Also this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDY MCCLOY, SAGO MINE SURVIVOR: I would just like to thank everybody for their thoughts and prayers. I believe that's it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: That's it, but that's enough for us. A quick word of thanks from Randy McCloy this morning, the sole survivor of the Sago Mine disaster on his way home with a few words to reporters. A little sidestep for somebody in the crowd there. It was a good moment.

And we are watching some severe storms brewing in the Midwest. Chad a busy guy this morning. We're going to be checking in with him. You'll want to stay tuned if you live around Omaha or Lincoln or Des Moines or Kansas City. Free at last. American journalist Jill Carroll, 28 years old, is free. She is safe and sound and headed to the warm embrace of her family after three months in captivity in Iraq, describing the way she was treated as, relatively speaking, good.

How's the Bush administration reacting to all this?

CNN White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano is with the president in Cancun, Mexico.

Do we have a statement yet?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No statement from this end, Miles. But the Bush administration obviously expressing relief this morning at the news of Jill Carroll's release.

That first official reaction not coming from here in Cancun where the president is, but rather from Berlin, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Here's what she had to say earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: ... take the privilege also, Minister, to note the great delight and great relief of the United States, the people of the United States, and I'm sure the people of the world at the release today of Jill Carroll, the journalist who has been held in captivity in Iraq. This is something that people have across the world worked for and prayed for, and I think we're all very pleased and happy to hear of her release.

Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Berlin, meeting with world leaders to talk about Iran, taking time there to comment on the release of Jill Carroll.

Now, meantime, here in Cancun, President Bush later today will sit down with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, and, of course, front and center the issue of immigration. Now, this is an agenda item, of course, that has gotten a lot of attention. The debate in Washington over this issue certainly boiling over.

President Bush himself yesterday making clear even before he arrived here in Cancun that he believes that a guest worker program must be part of any kind of immigration reform. So that is going to be on the agenda today -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano in Cancun.

Thank you very much.

Jill Carroll's father, Jim, released a statement this morning, and we're going to share some of it with you.

"We're thrilled and relieved," he said, "that Jill has been released unharmed. We want to thank the many thousands of people who gave their support and prayers for Jill. We want to especially thank the people at the 'Christian Science Monitor' who did work to keep Jill's image alive in Iraq."

And Soledad, you've got to hand it to this family, they did a great job saying the right thing at the right time, I think.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, the pressure on this family to do exactly that, Miles, was just incredible, because, of course, the stakes so incredibly high.

Our Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson has been following all the latest developments right from Baghdad this morning.

Nic, good morning again.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, just in the last few minutes we've heard from the U.S. ambassador here, Zalmay Khalilzad, tell us what he knew about Jill's release. He said he found out about four hours ago, which is about when we began to hear Jill might be released. And he said that he got the news from an Iraqi politician, from a Sunni Iraqi politician who told him that Jill was safe with him.

And, of course, a little after that we saw Jill appearing on Iraqi television, giving an interview. And one of the things that she wanted to stress was the fact that she hadn't been treated badly. She had been treated well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: All I can say right now is that I'm just happy to be free. I was treated very well. That's important people know that, that I was not harmed.

They never said they would hit me. Never threatened me in any way. And I was -- and I'm happy to be free and I want to be with my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now, she said she didn't really know where she was being held. She was kept in a smallish room, able to use a shower and a bathroom. The room had a frosted window.

She said during the almost three months of captivity she saw television once, read a newspaper once, but didn't really know what was going on in the outside world. But I think what we're seeing emerge here today, listening to what Ambassador Khalilzad said earlier, is that Iraqis played a very -- Iraqi politicians, Sunni politicians played a very important role, at least in the final stages of Jill's release -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Nic Robertson for us this morning monitoring the story from Baghdad.

Nic, thanks.

Jackie Spinner is a "Washington Post" reporter, also a friend of Jill Carroll's. We spoke to her many times. She found out several hours ago that her friend has been released, says she can't wait to give her a big hug.

Let's get right to Jackie Spinner this morning.

Hey, Jackie. Nice to see you again.

JACKIE SPINNER, "WASHINGTON POST": Nice to see you, too.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, how are you feeling? How are you doing?

SPINNER: Well, I'm sort of in that weird place of disbelief, but also elation. And I think that when I see her in person I'm going to believe it's really true.

S. O'BRIEN: How does she look to you? I mean, obviously you have seen the pictures coming in from APTN. Overall, what would you say your initial impression is?

SPINNER: She looks so composed. I mean, this is a woman who has been through such a horrendous ordeal. And look at her message. It's the same message that she's been delivering as a balanced reporter.

She wants people to know that she wasn't treated badly. She's still looking for sympathy for the people who held her captive. And I think that says -- speaks volumes about Jill and her mission in Iraq.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. I thought that was so interesting that she said it not once, not even twice, but several times. "It's important that people know that I was never threatened, that I was not mistreated." It does, it really -- I think you're right, it speaks volumes about who she is and that passion.

Are you surprised to see how sort of calm and in control she is?

SPINNER: I'm not surprised. I mean, look at this woman. She was so gutsy.

She went to Iraq without the backing of any major news organization because she simply wanted to tell the story of the Iraqi people. And she stayed long after other foreign correspondents left the country because of the dangers.

This is a woman who is in love with Iraq and in love with the story. And I'm not surprised at all.

S. O'BRIEN: At the same time, her mom has expressed concerns about what she's heard in the descriptions, being in a room with a single window that's fogged over, and curtains, as well, and, you know, a tiny space. It's going -- it's going to be a long road for her, you have to imagine.

SPINNER: I have to. I mean, I have never been in her situation, but I -- you know, Jill is really resilient. You know, it's probably going to take her some time to work through this, but this is a woman of tremendous courage.

Obviously she did something right to get herself out of this situation, starting from the fair reporting that she did during her many months in Iraq. I have no doubt that her probably single biggest fear is she is not going to be able to stay in Iraq to report the story.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, my goodness. Her mother, I'm sure, doesn't even want to consider that.

I have to imagine as a friend you're just completely relieved. As a journalist you must have a list of questions for Jill Carroll.

What would one of your questions be? What do you want to know from her?

SPINNER: How did you do it? How did you survive? What kind of connection did you make with your captors? You know, and what -- who did you think about most?

I'm sure it was her family. If I could sit down and interview her, which I will never do because I'm her friend, as you said, I have a million questions for her. I hope she writes a book.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, we all do. We all do.

Jackie Spinner, "Washington Post" reporter.

Jackie, always nice to talk to you. Thanks.

SPINNER: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get back to Miles in New York.

M. O'BRIEN: Bad weather across the middle part of the nation.

Severe weather expert Chad Myers at CNN Center. Busy morning for him -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'll use all my expertise today if I can here.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Chad.

Still to come on the program, more on the breaking news out of Iraq. American hostage Jill Carroll released about three months after being kidnapped. We'll bring you up to date on where things stand on that story.

Also, the president heads south of the border. Big summit on Immigration. CNN's own Lou Dobbs is there live, of course. He will tell us what's at stake.

And later, worried that your -- your -- I don't know, something about your biological clock. I don't really understand what I'm reading here.

Is your biological clock ticking? Maybe so. We'll tell you about that in just a little bit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Immigration reform remains on the front burner north and south of the border today. In Washington, Congress will continue to discuss what can and should be done to fix what are widely called broken borders. Certainly our next guest calls them that.

Lou Dobbs joining us. He's in Cancun, there for the summit and there talking about a subject near and dear to his heart.

Lou, good to have you with us.

LOU DOBBS, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Good to be with you, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: I want to talk about the summit, but I'm first of all curious -- you've been so vocal about this for so long, really leading the charge in many respects on this. What's the reaction among people you run into there in Mexico about your statements about it?

DOBBS: Well, as you know, Miles, and as all of your viewers know, Cancun is a resort city. So there are probably more tourists here than citizens of Cancun. But from both quarters, an incredibly warm response.

Truthfully, I didn't really expect much different from the folks here. The Mexican people, as you know, are a wonderful people. They're hardworking, they're terrific.

My issues -- and I think most people in Mexico understand this. My issues in terms of what is happening right now in Washington, what is happening on our borders, is a failure of the United States government, its policies and its refusal to enforce laws. And to preserve law for the benefit of working men and women who are U.S. citizens, and that's 280 million people.

You know, we watch these people come across the border. They're looking for a better life, without question. But those estimated as high as 20 million illegal aliens in the United States now, and the Senate Judiciary Committee wanting to give them amnesty, that has a tremendous impact on our working men and women and our middle class, and I, frankly, see those folks, all of us, as the foundation of this economy. The elite sitting in Washington without taking a vote, ignoring polls of the popular will in sentiment, to me is a terrible, terrible development in American governance.

M. O'BRIEN: I think no matter which side of the debate you're on, the fact that it's taking this long to even have a serious discussion about it is amazing. Here's the thing, the House...

DOBBS: It is.

M. O'BRIEN: ... the House -- you've got both sides of the spectrum here. You've got the House, which basically has a very tough piece of legislation in mind, would make it a criminal offense to even help out someone who is in the country illegally.

DOBBS: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: And then you have the Senate with a more moderate tone, which would essentially offer up an amnesty program. You work hard, it takes 11 years. Pay your back taxes. Suddenly, you become a citizen.

Let's listen to what Ted Kennedy had to say about that and I want to see what -- how you respond.

DOBBS: Sure. Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Every individual that wants to follow that course is going to pay a penalty, and every individual is going to go to the back of the line and have to earn their way through. It will take them 11 years to become citizens. And during that period of time they are going to have to work hard, pay their taxes, play by the rules.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: When you put it that way, that seems like a reasonable statement. Work hard, no favoritism. We're all immigrants at one time or another in this country.

What do you say to that?

DOBBS: Well, I say that it's amnesty no matter how -- how you put lipstick on that particular pig. It is amnesty. It is still a -- buying an American citizenship. And it's entirely inappropriate and puts the priority in the wrong place.

You said it's remarkable that it's taken this long to have a debate on illegal immigration. It's remarkable that the United States government is not enforcing its laws at either the border or internally within the United States on immigration.

We have all sorts of programs. We have visa programs, at least four programs which would allow employers to bring legally workers into the country. Right now there's no need for this.

The second part of it is that four and a half years after September 11, Miles, my god, we still have three million people crossing our borders illegally every year. Homeland security is an absolute sham. And our courts are still bringing in cargo without inspection. We are tolerating, the working men and women of this country and middle class families, are tolerating a vulnerability that is to me the result of an absolutely dereliction of duty on the part of the United States Congress.

First, they are there to represent the American people. And secondly, they're there to protect us. Neither the president nor either house of the United States Congress is fulfilling its duties.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. But the security issue I think is an issue we all can kind of come to terms with. You know, the fact that we have porous borders is one thing. But let's talk about this for a minute.

If those 11 or 12 or whatever the number is of illegally in the United States immigrants stop working tomorrow, the country would come to a standstill, wouldn't it? I mean, you've got to be realistic about that, right?

DOBBS: As a matter of fact, I don't believe it would. There's some businesses that would come to a standstill, but I assure you the United States -- its economy would not. The contribution of illegal immigration to the economy you can judge in fractions of 1 percent of our total GDP.

Miles, one of the things that frustrates me as a journalist, I'm sure you as well, is the misinformation that has been pedaled, because you have such vociferous special interests, whether they be the ethnocentric social activists involved in this debate because primarily these illegal aliens are Hispanic, primarily they come from Mexico, and you have business spewing out this nonsense. Corporate America, as you know, dominates this political system of ours right now as it has never in our history.

There is no countervailing influence. The only countervailing influence, Miles, is truth. And the American people are not stupid. They are not going to be fooled again. And they are not going -- in my judgment, middle class America can't afford to tolerate this -- this level of both outright deception on the part of those lobbying for amnesty and for retaining borders that leave the American people absolutely vulnerable.

I think Congress and this president have a great deal to answer for.

M. O'BRIEN: Lou Dobbs, thank you for your time, sir. I know you've got a busy day ahead.

DOBBS: Thank you for talking. M. O'BRIEN: And that's just a little bit of a taste of what you will see if you tune in tonight, 6:00 p.m. Eastern. Lou with a special "Broken Borders" version of "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT," 6:00 Eastern, live from Cancun, Mexico.

A little after this program, about 15 minutes afterward, we're going to be taking some e-mails for you.

By the way, Pipeline, which is a fantastic service, it's a free day for Pipeline. Go to cnn.com/pipeline. Check it out today. No charge to those of you who drop in. And should you drop in, you'll be able to see me on my Miles cam from my office.

About 15 minutes after this program we'll be reading your e- mails. And so now is the time to send them to us. The e-mail location is not actually listed on the screen. That is at -- Oh, yes, it is at the top there. Send your e-mails to am@cnn.com.

And about 10:15 Eastern Time we'll start answering those questions for you live on Pipeline for the big doughnut.

Back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: In this morning's "House Call," that ticking sound you're hearing might just be your biological clock. Knowing about fertility is a huge issue for millions of women. And a British company now says it has a solution.

Paula Newton has a look for us this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For every woman ever told you can't have it all, there are millions still trying. And Georgina Wickenden is one of them. She has a great family, a 1-year- old son, and a thriving pool business in England.

At 34, it seems a cruel irony that just as her career picks up so does her biological clock.

GEORGINA WICKENDEN, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: Most women want to have children, most women want to have a career. If you're going to decide between the two and get the best out of life, then you need some tools to make you -- to help you decide what you're going to do.

NEWTON: One of those tools, a new fertility test developed in Britain. The Plan Ahead test measures your ovarian reserve, literally how many eggs a woman has. Its results are valid for two years.

DR. BILL LEDGER, INVENTOR, "PLAN AHEAD": And what the test can do is give early warning to people whose biological clock might be ticking quicker or possibly reassurance to people whose biological clock is going along at a slower rate. WICKENDEN: It's not going to answer all questions about fertility. And they never did promise me that that would be the case. But at least now I know that my ovarian reserve is OK.

NEWTON: It's the kind of reassurance women are willing to pay for. The mail order test costs about $320. When you receive the kit, you take a simple blood test, mail it in, a lab measures three hormone levels, and then in a matter of weeks...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is my result.

NEWTON: Dominique Edwards (ph) had the answer she was looking for, an above-average egg count.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is one of the biggest advancement since the pill. Sort of the unknown. You don't know if you can or not. And the test, the Plan Ahead test takes all the guesswork out of it, really.

NEWTON (on camera): Predictably, the idea of all this has really taken off, but it's also opened up a minefield of ethical questions.

(voice over): Dr. Patricia Mcshane is a practicing fertility specialist in the U.S. who worries some women will be falsely reassured.

DR. PATRICIA MCSHANE, FERTILITY SPECIALIST: I would be very reluctant for people to just try to rely upon this as a predictor of their fertility.

LEDGER: It is better to know the truth and have an understanding of what your own body's biology is doing than live on in blissful ignorance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good afternoon, (INAUDIBLE).

NEWTON: The Plan Ahead test could be available in the U.S. as early as this year. Its inventors hope it will, in fact, lower the rate of infertility by telling women exactly when their biological clock is about to stop.

Paula Newton, CNN, Chippenham, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: We've got much more on this morning's breaking news in just a moment. American hostage Jill Carroll released after almost three months in captivity. We're going to take you live to her father's home in North Carolina for reaction.

Plus, a very big day for the only survivor of the Sago Mine disaster. Randy McCloy speaks for the first time publicly since that accident.

Those stories are ahead. 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