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Rumsfeld and Rice in Iraq; More and More Mass Transit Riders

Aired April 26, 2006 - 07:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Rumsfeld and Rice in Iraq, they're making unannounced trips, in Baghdad right now to show support for the new government.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Bob Franken in Silver Spring, Maryland, where more and more mass transit riders are trying to avoid the gas pump. That's coming up.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And a poltergeist on the poop deck? Could be if you believe in the paranormal. Gather 'round kids, we have a mystical ghost story to tell you on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Also Mark Felt, Deep Throat, was on with "LARRY KING LIVE" last night.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow.

M. O'BRIEN: We're going to have a little excerpt or two for you. It was a fascinating conversation.

Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

First, though, two key members of the Bush administration are in Baghdad right now. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Their visit unannounced, and meant to show support for the new prime minister. Secretary Rumsfeld said at a news conference, this is a sovereign count and they are making impressive progress. He also talked about U.S. troop reductions.

Let's go right to CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

Hey, Jamie, good morning to you.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld has been waiting to go at the dispatch of President Bush to Iraq, along with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. They're just waiting for the formation of the new government. Once the prime minister-designate was selected over the weekend, the trip was a go. And again, as you said, unannounced for security reasons. No advance word that Rumsfeld and Rice were going to show up. As you said, they're meeting with top U.S. commanders, including General George Casey, who you see here, greeting Rumsfeld at the Baghdad Airport. One of the major topics of discussion, of course, is how soon the United States can withdraw troops from Iraq. General Casey says he's on his general timeline. He predicted in the past significant troop reductions this year, assuming the Iraqi forces are able to step up to the job. And today, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said he believes they are up to the task.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECY.: They are increasing their capabilities every day, just as we predicted they would, and those naysayers and critics, who constantly tried to undermine and denigrate the quality of those forces were just plain, flat wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Now Rumsfeld's visit also coincides with an increase in the number of U.S. fatalities in Iraq. In fact, the casualties, now over 60 this month, are on track to be one of the deadliest months for U.S. forces in quite sometime -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: You talked about the timing, what about the timing on the front, where Secretary Rumsfeld clearly under fire back here at home?

MCINTYRE: Yes, it's interesting, he was asked in Iraq about the calls for his resignation at home and whether this might be his last trip to Iraq as defense secretary, would be his 12th trip? He smiled, and said, no, it won't be his last trip.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting. Jamie McIntyre for us this morning at the Pentagon. Jamie, thanks.

Some breaking news to get to out of Egypt this morning. Explosions otherwise of a base housing, a multinational peacekeeping force in the Sinai Peninsula. We're getting some new details right now. Apparently two suicide bombers set off those blasts. According to a spokesman for Egypt's government, though, only the bomber had been killed. There are no other injuries to report.

Today's attack, obviously, coming just two days after three back- to-back bombing in Dahab -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: U.S. intelligence efforts combing through the latest rantings from a terrorist. This time it is the purported head of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Unmasked, brandishing an AK-47 in the desert, he expressed hatred for the U.S. in a message on an Islamic Web site. The message coming two days after an audio tape from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has been looking at this tape.

Nic, it's a brazen tape, no mask, just out there in the middle of the desert, almost like he wants to be caught.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Certainly he's showing that he really feels pretty comfortable about his security. I mean, just over a year ago, there was a picture of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi that the U.S. military got their hands on. That was released, so he knows his image is out there. He knows people know what he looks like right now.

But what he's trying is paint a softer image of himself. He says he's now part of a Mujahadeen council.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABU MUSAB AL-ZARQAWI, AL QAEDA IN IRAQ LEADER (through translator): I bring you the good news of establishing the Mujahadeen Shura (ph) Council in Iraq. That will be the nucleus of establishing an Islamic state, where the word of god is the highest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now intelligence officials in the region say he's forming this council as a sort of way to give himself legitimacy in Iraq, because he has really upset a lot of people there with some of his bloody acts in the past -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Nic, I don't know if we should connect these dots or not. This comes two days after bin Laden released his audio tape. We know Iraq -- al Qaeda, I should say, in Iraq is kind of a franchise operation. Is this a coincidence?

ROBERTSON: I think really what Zarqawi is doing here is playing to local issues in Iraq. If you think about it, he says on the tape that he made this tape on Friday. Well, on Saturday, the Iraqi parliamentarians agreed for the first time on a new prime minister. That's hoped to diffuse some of the tensions in the country. Zarqawi is completely against that, and message is all about that; the new government will be a stooge of the United States. Any Sunnis, the community he's appealing to, that join it, they are traitors to the Sunni people. So really, this seems to be a local message against the government, against spreading jihad and support for himself -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, besides Zarqawi unmasked, his gun, firing weapons and the statements he made, there's some missiles depicted on there. Tell us about those and how concerning they might be.

ROBERTSON: He says there are two missiles. The first one, he says, they call the Qaeda-1 (ph) missile. It can go 25 miles, he says, and it can carry about 22 pounds of explosives. We don't know if that's true or not. Certainly he has had hands-on weapons that have brought down aircraft, or at least jihadis in Iraq have been able to bring down aircraft with missiles. This one, we don't know what it can do. He says there's another missile. They call it the Kurd's (ph) missile. That missile, he says, they've still working on, but when they got it right, he says, it will be able to penetrate armored plating, presumably he means on U.S. military vehicles -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Let me get this straight, though -- are they actually making these missiles, or are they buying them from somebody?

ROBERTSON: He's saying they're making them. He's saying these are things that we're creating, that our people are putting together.

You know, what he's trying to do here is win support for his cause, for his aims, for fomenting violence in the country. He's trying to show people that they're making progress. You know, in this message, he even says to people, you might have fought in a jihad before, you might have given up, but you need to come back to the fight. He's trying to build support here -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Interesting. Nic Robertson, thank you very much.

In the next hour, we'll talk about this video with a former Air Force intelligence officer who has some spent time in Iraq and Afghanistan. He's now a senior defense analyst with a big thinktank, and we'll get his insights on all of this -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: We are getting word that Fox News analyst Tony Snow is saying yes to the White House press secretary job. We're expecting the official announcement sometime in the next few hours.

Let's get right to Elaine Quijano. She's live at the White House for us.

Elaine, good morning to you.

Any details on just how it happened?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

Well, we know of some negotiations, according to three Republicans sources who tell CNN, that Tony Snow actually wanted assurances from Josh Bolten that, in fact, he would not be sitting on the sidelines when it comes to policy debates within the White House. Instead he wanted to be an active participant. These sources telling CNN that he got those assurances, and also insuring that he will have significant say when it comes to hiring within the White House press and communication operations.

Now two sources say that Snow, in fact, had lunch with President Bush to discuss his role. Snow was said to be focusing on family, finances and health issues in making his decision, according to sources familiar with his deliberations. He was, of course, diagnosed with colon cancer last year, and is awaiting medical clearance from his doctors. But now we are anticipating an announcement this morning.

And of course we should mention as well that Tony Snow has worked in the White House before. The Fox News anchor served as the director of speechwriting for President Bush's father, George H.W. Bush -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: You know, when you look at some the comments, though, Elaine, that he has made about President Bush in the recent past, this could be kind of a tough gig, because he's got to go support these policies now.

QUIJANO: Well, it's interesting to note, that was in fact Tony Snow's job as a columnist and a commentator, to offer up sometimes very pointed opinions of the Bush administration. But if anything, it may allow the White House to perhaps better anticipate arguments and criticisms, and perhaps develop more effective arguments against them -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting point.

Elaine Quijano at the White House for us this morning. Elaine, thanks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's check the gas gauge now, if we must, the average price her gallon now $2.92. That's about the same as it was yesterday, for those of you keeping score. This time last year it was $2.21 a gallon. Hawaii currently has the highest prices on average, $3.24. Hard for them to drive across state lines to get cheaper gas, too.

With gas prices high, more Americans are turning to public transportation. At least we have some anecdotal thoughts on that.

AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken joins us from Silver Spring, Maryland, a metro station there, where the general sense is more people are riding the metro.

Good morning Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATL. CORRESPONDENT: We are in a "no gas pump" zone here, Miles. And it's more than anecdotal. We're getting now reports from mass transit systems around the country that they're seeing spikes in Ridership, up 10 percent here in Dallas and Ft. Lauderdale, and in Washington, they had three of their biggest non- event days in the last week or so attributed to the rise in gas prices. More and more people are beginning to take the metro, which is kind of amusing to those who have been doing it for quite sometime like Rob Jordan.

Rob, you've been a metro rider for quite sometime. Have you noticed an increase?

ROB JORDAN, SILVER SPRING, MD. RESIDENT: Yes, I've noticed increased ridership. We have more people standing on the trains these days and less seats available.

FRANKEN: Does anybody say it's because he's trying to avoid paying for the gasoline?

JORDAN: I would suspect so. Between gas and the cost of parking, especially down in D.C. it's a pretty expensive venture.

FRANKEN: Well, I understand that you also are making some adjustments to avoid paying for gasoline?

JORDAN: That's right. I have converted my mountain bike into kind of a grocery-getter. I've got a milk crate mounted on to the back, so I can throw grocery bags in there, and just to avoid driving, you know, all the little errands that you run throughout the day.

FRANKEN: So perhaps mass transit is one of the answers, or using your bicycle for getting groceries. I guess the answer is that people are going to have to find some way to cope -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: So, Bob, how do you get to work?

FRANKEN: How do I get to work?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

FRANKEN: Well, I'm thinking of hitchhiking.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm just kidding. You're not a metro guy yet, right.

FRANKEN: You know, I would be, but that brings up an interesting issue. The problem is that mass transit has not always been in such favor when it comes to policy-making in this country. The Highway Lobby has oftentimes discouraged that. So the public transit is not always as convenient and available as it should be. In other words, people are now captives to their car and those high-rising gas prices.

M. O'BRIEN: So you're trapped in your car, aren't you?

FRANKEN: I am. And of course we work such ridiculous hours here.

O'BRIEN: Ah, yes, yes, note to boss. All right, thank you very much, Bob Franken.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, a CNN exclusive. Mark Felt, the man who was known only as "Deep Throat" talks to CNN's Larry King. Felt finally explained why he revealed his secrets 30 years after Watergate.

M. O'BRIEN: Also, gas prices high, an election looms, and voters are angry. You can bet politicians are at least paying lip service to reigning in prices, but will their ideas work? Andy has been crunching some numbers.

S. O'BRIEN: And then later is this ship in Connecticut, is it haunted? We're going to go ghost-busting this morning. That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in a moment.

Thank you for the sound effect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES) S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, a CNN exclusive the man who was once known only as "Deep Throat" talks to Larry King. Mark Felt explains why he waited almost 30 years before he revealed his identity.

And then 20 years ago today after the world's worst-ever nuclear disaster. We're going to take you back to Chernobyl for a special look at the nuclear no-man's lands. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: "Deep Throat," it is the title of an X-rated movie, but it became emblematic of the Watergate investigation. It was the codename given to a crucial source for "The Washington Post" stories that ultimately lead to the downfall of Richard Nixon. For years, we wondered who Deep Throat was. Now we no. And now we know Mark Felt a lot more because he was talking last night to Larry King.

Carol Costello is in the newsroom with some highlights.

Hello, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and good morning, everyone.

Mark Felt is 92 years old, he suffers from dementia, still he sounded pretty good, said he enjoyed being Deep Throat. He enjoyed keeping that secret for 33 years. As for why he did it, why talked to those reporters, some people felt he did it because President Nixon didn't appoint him FBI director. He said it had nothing to do with that; in fact, he had no idea he, in part, would bring a president down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Mark Felt, the once secret source known as Deep Throat, in his only TV interview told CNN's Larry King he doesn't regret his role in bringing the Watergate scandal to light.

MARK FELT, SECRET WATERGATE SOURCE: I tried to go along with whatever I thought was correct, and 100 accurate, but if that happened to bring somebody in on the side, that was just effects of the facts.

COSTELLO: Felt was once second in command of the FBI. As Deep Throat, he gave information to "Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, setting in motion the events that would ultimately bring down the Nixon presidency.

Just last year, after three decades of silence and endless speculation about the true identity of Deep Throat, felt's family confirmed his secret.

Asked about the timing of revealing Washington's best-kept secret...

FELT: Because with politics moving the way they did, I had no choice really but to come out and put everything on the line. COSTELLO: Now 92, Mark Felt's health and memory are failing, but his daughter said, deep down he hasn't really changed.

JOAN FELT, MARK FELT'S DAUGHTER: In the core of his being, his -- the qualities, the heroic qualities, that he animated back in 1972, they're still in tact.

COSTELLO: Mark Felt has now written a memoir, coauthored by his family's attorney and adviser. It's called "A G-Man's Life: The FBI, Being Deep Throat, and the Struggle for Honor in Washington."

Ben Bradlee, "The Washington Post" executive editor in the Watergate era, called Felt a bona fide hero.

BEN BRADLEE, FMR. EXEC. EDITOR, "WASHINGTON POST": He's going to be remembered as the man who made the truth emerge.

COSTELLO: Felt's assessment of his place in history is this...

FELT: I would like to be remembered as a government employee who did his best to help everybody. I would like a reputation of trying to help people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: He looks so mild-mannered now, but those who new him in the Watergate era, including Ben Bradlee, called him one tough SOB. Time has taken its toll. The memoir is on the bookstands. Actually you can get it on amazon.com right now.

M. O'BRIEN: You know, it's interesting, Carol, because when Mark Felt came out and it admitted that he was Deep Throat, a lot of people said, you know, what he did was treasonous. It's an interesting debate as to whether he did the right thing.

COSTELLO: He doesn't feel that way. He said he did it for the good of the country, and he's proud of what he did. He doesn't think it's treason at all. And he was a very loyal FBI man. That's what he calls himself.

M. O'BRIEN: Carol Costello in the newsroom. Thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: One of the suspects in the Duke rape case appears in court. This time, though, it's on assault charges in another case. We're going to a look at why the folks who know him say he's innocent.

And today marks the 20th anniversary of the world's worst-ever nuclear disaster, Chernobyl. We'll take you inside the disaster zone just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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