Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

New Message From Osama bin Laden; Life or Death for Zacarias Moussaoui?

Aired April 24, 2006 - 07:00   ET

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

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: I'm Nic Robertson in London. A new message from Osama bin Laden. What does it mean? And is he any closer to capture?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The president of Iran holding a rare news conference shortly. He'll answer questions about his country's nuclear ambitions, we hope. And we are there live with the latest.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Life or death for Zacarias Moussaoui? I'm Jeanne Meserve outside the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, where a jury begins deliberating that question today.

SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sumi Das in Hammond, Indiana, where drivers gets a small break at the filling station. With average gas prices nearing $3 a gallon, it's enough to draw drivers from miles away.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And then there were two. Now the New Orleans mayoral race begins in earnest. We've got details on this AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. I'm Miles O'Brien.

Welcome back, Soledad. Good to have you here.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much. It was a nice vacation. Perfect weather almost every single day.

M. O'BRIEN: Missed you.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you. Fun to be back.

I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Let's get right to it. Some new threats to tell you about from an old foe. The White House saying the intelligence community believes that Osama bin Laden's voice is on that audio tape that's being aired on Arab television. The tape threatening the U.S. and the West.

Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is live for us in London this morning.

Hey, Nic, good morning.

ROBERTSON: Hey, Soledad. Good morning to you.

Well, so far, Al Jazeera has only aired some small portions of that audio message from Osama bin Laden, but the dominant message, at least as far as the United States is concerned, he now says that he holds U.S. citizens responsible for the war in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): First broadcast on Arabic language channel Al Jazeera, Osama bin Laden's latest audio message ratchets up his anger at Americans. Unlike recent messages, he now says he holds American and Western citizens not just their governments, responsible for conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.

OSAMA BIN LADEN (through translator): Any war is the joint responsibility of the people and the government. While war continues, people renew their allegiance to the rulers and politicians, and continue to send their sons to our countries to fight us. They continue their financial and moral support while our countries are burned, our homes are bombed and our people are killed.

ROBERTSON: Just three months ago, in his last message, bin Laden directed his comments to the people of America, offering a truce if their troops got out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bin Laden's latest verbal offensive also attempts to rally Muslim support for al Qaeda's main message, that Muslims are under attack from the West. The al Qaeda leader claims U.S. opposition to the newly elected Hamas government proves his point.

After silence in 2005, the new audio tape is bin Laden's second message this year. Last year, he left all the talking to his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Now, he praises Zawahiri's analysis.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: It seem that is bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri are quoting each other, but from the media, so the implication is they may not actually be together, but they're listening to each other through the medium of these audio tapes.

ROBERTSON: Bin Laden also attempts to rally support for al Qaeda in Africa. He warns Muslims to prepare for a long fight in Sudan against what he calls crusaders and plunderers. His aim, he says, not to defend the Sudanese government, but Islam.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: Now bin Laden doesn't offer any explicit threats, but the last time he offered a truce to Europeans back in April 2004, ultimately, 15 months later, that was followed up by the attack on the London transit system last summer, and that killed 52 people -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Let me as you a question, Nic, about Pakistan, and Pakistan's reaction to this tape. Obviously, as you well know, many people believe that bin Laden's hiding in Pakistan. So what are they saying?

ROBERTSON: Well, just a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to the spokesperson for the Pakistan army, and he said as far as he was concerned, they don't think that Osama bin Laden is inside Pakistan, that they are conducing operations and strengthening their efforts along the border in their tribal regions, but they think that bin Laden may be in Afghanistan.

Indeed, he thinks at the moment that the campaign that the Pakistanis are fighting should help flush him out. Just last week, the Pakistanis say, they managed to catch and kill a senior al Qaeda support figure -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Nic Robertson for us this morning. Nic, thanks.

Bush administration reaction now to the new tape. Let's get right to CNN's Ed Henry. He's live at the White House for us.

Hey, Ed. Good morning.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

President Bush has not seen nor heard from Osama bin Laden in over a year, the waning days of the 2004 presidential campaign when a bin Laden video surfaced on the weekend before election day. The president, who spent the weekend on a West Coast swing, was briefed early yesterday morning in California on this latest tape, and White House spokesman Scott McClellan confirmed that U.S. intelligence officials believe that, in fact, the tape is authentic, and McClellan said, this shows quote, "The al Qaeda leadership is on the run and under a lot of pressure. We are advancing, they are on the run, and we won't let up. We will prevail. And it's important to use all tools at our disposal.

Democrats, though, firing back, that why is it that bin Laden is still issuing these tapes nearly five years after 9/11 -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, that's an excellent question. The president, we know, is in California, part of a four-day trip to the west coast. What exactly is he doing there?

HENRY: Well, today, before he heads back to Washington, he's going to be stopping in Irvine, California to give a speech on immigration reform. He's trying to jumpstart his guest worker program, stalled on Capitol Hill right now. He still sees his Republican party split over he issue what to do with the nearly 12 million illegal immigrants already here. The president also last night was in Rancho Mirage, made a surprise stop at the home of Gerald Ford, a member of the former president's club, a club the president will be joining soon and hopefully for him, not too soon. He is hoping to get the agenda back on track before then -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Ed Henry for us at the White House. Ed, thanks as always.

You want to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: In just about an hour, we may learn Iran's next move in a game of nuclear brinkmanship. Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is holding just his second ever news conference with international journalists.

CNN's Aneesh Raman is one of the few American journalist in the country. He's the phone right now from Tehran.

Aneesh, give us a preview.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Miles, good morning.

We're actually in the room where the press conference will be held, awaiting the arrival of President Ahmadinejad. Amid rising tensions with the West, he is keen, it seems, to really get his view out there. It is because this entire nuclear standoff pivots on one question: Does the world trust Iran? That has been complicated by fiery statements he has made before, but at the core, Iranian officials remind us that from the start they have maintained they are pursuing a peaceful civilian nuclear program, despite Western concerns, especially from the U.S., that if Iran has a nuclear program on Iranian soil, it could lead eventually to Iran having a nuclear weapon. Iran has denied that throughout, and said that without add any hard evidence, it is its right to pursue a civilian nuclear program.

Friday, of course, is the deadline for when Iran must decide whether it will suspend its uranium enrichment. We expect to hear from the president today on that issue. But no indication that Iran will suspend its uranium enrichment any time soon -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Aneesh, do you have a sense of what the average Iranian is hearing about this? Is this subject a big source of discussion? Does it lead all the newscasts there?

RAMAN: Well, we've got as good a sense, as we perhaps could get, that given we're CNN and out on the streets, identifiably Western press. We've spoke to a number of Iranians throughout the capital since we got in early yesterday morning. There is no heightened sense of concern out on the streets about the standout. They think the politics will play out for sometime. Many of them do support though Iran's right to have a civilian nuclear program, not really because of the defiance against the West, which we hear in the rhetoric of Iran's president, but more so because of economics. This is a country in desperate need of economic development. Seventy percent of Iran is under the age of 25, many of them educated with no jobs. Unemployment is conservatively at about 12 percent, and they have been told by their government a nuclear program, a civilian program, will help the economy, and they buy into that, and is what we have heard today -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Aneesh Raman in Tehran, will keep us posted as the news conference begins. Thank you very much -- Soledad.

RAMAN: Talks going on in Iraq today to build an unity government. They're being led by Jawad al-Maliki, who was named Iraqi prime minister designate this weekend.

Just a few minutes ago, I asked the U.S. ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, about the first and difficult steps for the new prime minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMB. TO IRAQ: Iraq is going through a difficult period. It's doing state building, and nation building, and fighting an insurgency and terror all at the same time.

But what he needs to do is to set up some clear priorities, two or three, achieve those goals, then embrace more objectives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: You can see my full interview with Ambassador Khalilzad. It's coming up at 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time right here on AMERICAN MORNING -- Miles..

M. O'BRIEN: Let's take a look at the latest rising gas prices here in the U.S., if we must. The latest Lundberg Survey shows the average price for regular unleaded is now $2.91 a gallon. That's up about a quarter in the last two weeks, and that means an $80 fill up for Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Eighty-eight.

M. O'BRIEN: Eighty-eight dollars I'm sorry. That has led some people to stray from the big cities to smaller towns, where sometimes you can find lower gas prices. Of course there's little bit of irony traveling several miles to save a few pennies on gas, but we can go into that later.

One of the places people are driving to get cheap gas in Hammond, Indiana, just outside of Chicago, and that's where CNN's Sumi Das is this morning.

Good morning, Sumi.

DAS: Good morning to you, Miles.

And yes, gas is a little bit cheaper here, but not much. No one is really escaping the pain at the pump. It's not just a reality of a major city. Hammond, Indiana is not tiny, but it's not a major metropolis either, population of about 83,000. Take a look at the prices of gas here, $2.89 for self-serve regular, $3.07 for premium. That's just a few cents below national averages. As you mentioned, $2.91 for self-serve regular according to the Lundberg Survey. That's the recent national average.

Let's talk about the places where they're spending more than that. Several states where they're paying more than $3 a gallon as are D.C., Illinois, Nevada, Wisconsin and California.

And to give you a sense of the range across the country, in San Diego they're paying $3.12 for self-serve regular. And in Boise, Idaho, they've got the relative bargain price of $2.54.

In Chicago, which is about 23 miles away from here in Indiana, they're paying $3 a gallon for self-serve regular. But that difference, that 11 cent difference is enough to get people in their cars and make the drive down here. And really, according to the manager who I spoke to here at this station, most of the customers are from Chicago. And as prices have climbed over the past weeks, they really didn't mind the drive. I've heard that business really picked up, essentially from Thursday onward -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. That's a 50-mile round trip. That's about three gallons in the Yukon XL. I don't know if that work works for me.

All right, Sumi Das, thank you very much.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come, should he live or should he die? closing arguments in the Zacarias Moussaoui trial. We're live at the courthouse.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello. One of the Muslim actors in United 93 barred from the United States. Tell you why in three minutes.

S. O'BRIEN: And it's going to be a runoff. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu face off in the city's mayoral election. Who's got the edge? We're going to take a look just ahead, as we continue right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Here's a good reason to get up earlier. Us. AMERICAN MORNING begins 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Start your day with all the latest news from around the U.S. and the world, and for that matter the galaxy. We have your business travel forecast, too, and headlines from wall street. AMERICAN MORNING every weekday at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Later today, the fate of al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui will be in the hands of the jury who's going to decide if he lives or if he dies. First, though, some closing arguments.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve is live at the courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia.

Hey, Jeanne, good morning.

MESERVE: Good morning, Soledad.

This is the last day the lawyer have a chance to influence the outcome of this trial. They will summarize and crystallize their arguments based on the evidence they've already laid out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE (voice-over): It has been a harrowing two weeks of testimony and exhibits.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DOI: I'm going to die, aren't I?

OPERATOR: No, no, no, no, no, no.

DOI: I am going to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: 911 calls. The flight 93 cockpit voice recorder, which captured the struggle between passengers and hijackers. The searing, often tearful, recollections of 9/11 survivors and families of those who did not survive. The prosecution used all of these on top of Zacarias Moussaoui's own testimony.

PETE WHITE, FMR. PROSECUTOR: The key to the government's case so far has been Moussaoui's own admission that he was part of the plot and that he was one of the people who was going to fly planes into buildings on September 11, 2001.

MESERVE: Moussaoui testified that Richard Reid, the so-called shoe bomber, was part of that plot, but the government conceded during the trial that there was no evidence that was true. The defense tried to use Moussaoui's exaggeration to bolster the testimony of two mental health experts, who said Moussaoui is a paranoid schizophrenic.

WHITE: The psychiatric testimony that they put on can be very powerful. They had very credible and very authoritative sources that testified for them, regarding Moussaoui's psychiatric state.

MESERVE: The defense put on the stand 9/11 family members who do not support the death penalty, though they could not say that explicitly in court. Alice Hoagland, who lost her son on flight 93, was one.

ALICE HOAGLAND, 9/11 FAMILY MEMBER: We are all part of the human family. None of us is beyond redemption.

MESERVE: The prosecution and the defense will each have about an hour to summarize their cases, and then it's up to the jury to decide whether Zacarias Moussaoui should die, or spend the rest of his life in prison -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Jeanne Meserve for us this morning. Jeanne, thank you. We'll all continue to watch it, obviously -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, he plays a terrorist in the new film about 9/11 United 93, but Lewis Alsamari says that's not why he's been denied a visa to enter the U.S. He thinks it has to do with the days in the army. Carol Costello live in the newsroom with an explanation.

Hello, Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, it might have something to do with it, because he served in the Iraqi army. You know, the premiere is due to take place right here in New York City and Lewis Alsamari desperately wanted to be here. He lives in Britain right now. He's a U.S. citizen there. Let's take a look at the role in the movie, because it was quite intense.

He does play one of the hijackers. He figures the United States turned him down because he once served in the Iraqi army. Of course he said he was forced to under Saddam Hussein. He escaped in the early '90s, and he was granted asylum in Britain.

As I said, he's very disappointed. He has not seen the movie yet, and wants to, because making this film was intensely emotional.

During the film, the actors playing the hijackers were segregated from the actors playing the passengers, and this created some hard feelings between the two.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIAN CLEMENSON, ACTOR: For two weeks, I could not treat them as human beings, even when we were off the set. I -- there was a wall between us that I didn't want to bridge. And it just took, you know, eventually you have to see them as people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Eventually. But only after the movie wrapped up. Another actor who played one of the hijackers is quoted in "USA Today," and this is what he said to say about playing a hijacker in the movie.

He said "There'd be times when you'd be introduced to someone as a hijacker. You shake a 'hijacker's' hand somewhat differently. It's a very uncomfortable thing."

As for Alsamari, he is still trying, but unless he's granted a visa very soon, he will not be here for the movie premier in New York tomorrow.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, so let me get this straight, Carol. He's a British citizen. He can't come in, but how is he able to get here to film the movie in the first place?

COSTELLO: Interesting you should ask that question. He was granted a one-day visa one day before the filming began. The filming took place here in New York City. When the movie wrapped up, he went immediately back to Britain. But they say that he applied for this visa too late, and the United States didn't know he was coming to the premier. So that's why he is being denied access.

M. O'BRIEN: Wow. So he filmed all of that in one day? COSTELLO: Well, over the course of a few days, not just one day. He got his visa one day before filming began.

M. O'BRIEN: I understand. Interesting. So it could be that he'll get this visa right at the last minute in this case, potentially.

COSTELLO: Potentially.

All right, Carol, thank you very much. And Lewis Alsamari will be the guest tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360," obviously via satellite. That's at 10:00 eastern time. We invite you to tune in for that -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: We're talking rising gas prices. Any relief in sight? Maybe, maybe. Big maybe, though. Andy has got some good news, a little bit, from OPEC. He's "Minding Your Business" coming up next.

And from whistle stops to commuter stops. (INAUDIBLE) suburbs. Here comes the exurbs, commuter towns cropping up way beyond the suburbs. We're going to look at the impact it's having on all these rural areas. That story's ahead.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKET REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin may have had the edge in the primary, the question is, can he win the runoff? Some say he'll the underdog. Of course they said he wouldn't be at the top of the tote board after the elections over the weekend. Anyway, we'll get into that.

Then tension and frustrations are running high in Nepal. Activists say the biggest rally is yet to come. We are live in Kathmandu.

Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(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