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American Morning
Reports Say Zarqawi Narrowly Escaped Capture; Giuliani Does Iowa; Interview With Keith Urban
Aired May 02, 2006 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(NEWSBREAK)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look around the world right now. U.S. forces, their latest battle now has them expecting some insurgent attacks, and Iran's reaction to the threat of sanctions over its nuclear program. Take a look.
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ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Aneesh Raman in Tehran. As the U.N. decides what to do about Iran's nuclear program, officials here are refusing to back down, saying they will not suspend the country's nuclear program and that the only thing really on the table is allowing snap inspection by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, and that only if the matter isn't referred to the U.N. Security Council.
Meantime, Iran's foreign minister, in a newspaper interview, has said, "Russia and China have officially told Iran that they will not support sanctions or any military action against the country. Iran essentially waiting to see what, if anything, the U.N. Security Council does. It has warned that if any action is taken by the Security Council, it will cease all ties with the IAEA.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Arwa Damon, embedded with U.S. forces, standing right now at the downtown police station in Kanbanisa (ph), just southwest of Baqubah. Now, U.S. commanders here say that they are expecting a significant attack from insurgents due to operations that happened over the last few days, in which they detained dozens. They say that the insurgents operating around this area need to re-establish their credibility with the local Iraqi people, who are increasingly reporting insurgent activity, according to the U.S. military commanders, to both American and Iraqi security forces.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: That was Arwa Damon reporting for us, and Aneesh Raman right before then.
The U.S. might have missed another chance to get Abu al Zarqawi. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is live for us this morning.
Hey, Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad. That is the question -- was he even there? About two weeks ago, U.S. special forces conducted quite a raid in a town called Yusifiyah. That's about 20 miles south of Baghdad. They went to a location based on intelligence that there were loyalists there, that his network was operating in the area. They got to this location and quite a nasty firefight broke out. Five insurgents were killed, five captured.
And the question on the table now is was Zarqawi nearby? There is some not confirmed information, not verified information, that he might have been in the region. But U.S. forces, of course, say they can't really say that they just missed him, because they didn't know that he was there,
But nonetheless, another raid in the same location several days later, the same thing. Very stiff opposition. So now a lot of focus this area, wondering who might be there and what exactly is going on in that town -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a question about Abu Musab al Zarqawi, which I just mangled a moment ago. Why is he so hard to catch? Is it support of the local people, they're hiding him? Is it because he just is so tapped in to what's happening and where the U.S. troops are that he's able to avoid them and stay a step ahead of them? What's going on?
STARR: One of the questions might be whether his safety net is going to run out one of these days. He has been very well-shielded by the Sunni insurgency out in Al Anbar Province, it is believed. But now, as the violence shifts more to sectarian violence, Shia versus Sunni, is that safety network essentially evaporating? That's one of the key questions. U.S. intelligence is looking closely at that videotape that emerged several days ago, looking at it frame by frame to see who's in it, where it might have been shot, whether any new clues are emerging about Zarqawi's whereabouts.
S. O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us this morning. Barbara, thank you, as always. Appreciate it.
Miles?
M. O'BRIEN: His honor, the long-time New York mayor, is not in Brooklyn anymore, nor is he in Kansas. But he is next door. Rudy Giuliani is reconortering (ph) the hawkeye state with an eagle eye on a possible run for the Oval Office.
CNN senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley is -- this is her first live shot of the election season from Iowa, right? It's good to see you, Candy.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Is it true?
M. O'BRIEN: Let the games begin.
CROWLEY: I have done one from New Hampshire.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, OK. CROWLEY: Absolutely.
M. O'BRIEN: Good, good. How are...
CROWLEY: And they have...
M. O'BRIEN: You go ahead.
CROWLEY: Sorry. I was going say the games have long since begun. But we haven't seen Rudy Giuliani in Iowa since the president's re-election, when Giuliani came through here to campaign for the president. But when you have the mayor of New York, who says he wants to get back into public office, showing up in Iowa, which as you know is host to the first presidential caucuses, it pretty much sends a signal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUDY GIULIANI, FMR. NEW YORK MAYOR: Welcome to Iowa.
CROWLEY: Can a big-city mayor find happiness in the byways and bergs of Middle America? That's what he's trying to find out.
GIULIANI: My effort this year will be to help Republicans get elected. And then, you know, quite honestly, also, as part of it, saying to myself, does it look like I have a chance in 2008? And make that decision after the 2006 election.
CROWLEY: It has been almost five years since Rudy Giuliani plowed his way through the dust and chaos of 9/11 to become a national hero, America's mayor.
REP. JIM NUSSLE (R), IOWA GOV. CANDIDATE: He's as what they say now a superstar within our party.
CROWLEY: He is quite the draw in Iowa in places like Des Moines and Davenport, turning out the crowds, talking up the candidates, courting the faithful for future reference.
GIULIANI: George W. Bush will be considered historically a great president. And does it -- and I think a lot of things are going happen in the next couple of years that help to support that.
CROWLEY: If you could run for president on buzz, his honor would be printing up bumper stickers.
RAY HOFFMAN, IOWA GOP CHAIRMAN: Initially, the first few visits, I'm sure that 9/11 is the reason to come to see him, to meet him. And if then they're going to want to find out, they're going to ask him questions. And there will probably be some hard questions.
CROWLEY: Like can a pro-abortion rights, pro-gay rights, pro-gun licensing, twice-divorced candidate survive the party's conservative primary voters? Perhaps a change of subject.
GIULIANI: The major thing that we organize around as Republicans is a -- a government that puts more reliance on people than government.
CROWLEY: The signal could not be more clear. If Giuliani runs, he will have to fundamentally change the dialogue within the Republican party. He will be a tough sell in '08, but Giuliani is a tough customer who, as mayor, cut crime and taxes and stared into the face of terrorism. Many a presidential campaign has begun on less.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Current political thought is that if Republicans get their clocks cleaned in 2006, this improves the chances of Giuliani becoming the party's nominee in 2008. The idea is, the worst Republicans do this year, the more likely they are to look off the beaten path for someone to put them back on track -- Miles?
M. O'BRIEN: Candy, of course, at this stage of the game, what candidate do is to look at other potential candidates and see who may or may not be putting their hat in the ring. Giuliani is looking toward Senator McCain, as I understand it. Tell us about that.
CROWLEY: Well, first of all, the two are friends. And he was asked about that, saying does it make a difference what John McCain does? And we -- everybody obviously widely expects that John McCain will jump into this race.
And Giuliani said, you know, I haven't actually really thought about it. John McCain is my hero. He'll be my hero whether he runs or I run. But, you know, it's tough, but, you know ,politics is like love and war, friendship aside. Plenty of friends have run against one another in primaries and kissed and made up by the time the general election came along.
But of particular interest to Giuliani is McCain because they are also stylistically very similar candidates, and they may draw from the same pool -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. And I guess it would be too far down the road to think about potentially a Giuliani versus Hillary Clinton in the final round go-round there. That -- it's something to think about if you're in the political world anyhow. Wouldn't that be interesting?
CROWLEY: Absolutely. It would be fun.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it would. That's what keeps you in Iowa.
Candy Crowley, thank you very much, senior political correspondent. Candy Crowley, who is part of the best team in politics on television.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to Daryn Kagan with a look at what she's working on this morning. DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.
He did the time, but not the crime. Now he's out and he's better. He says he's not bitter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody put you in the room with a million doors, and there's only one door that you could open and they blindfold you. And over the years, you've got to keep on trying to find these doors blindfolded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: I'll fill you in on Drew Whitley's story, his positive outlook is an inspiration.
And a little geography quiz, where in the world is Iraq? Well, their generation is fighting the war, but most college-aged kids can't find Iraq on the map. LIVE TODAY goes back to school when we get started at the top of the hour.
For now, back to you.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Daryn, thank you. We'll check you out then.
Ahead this morning on "AM Pop," country music superstar Keith Urban. Why is an Aussie and a country sing to boot so passionate about the Big Easy? We'll talk to him ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: As you well know, New Orleans already welcomed people back for Mardi Gras. Now they're hoping that people will come back for Jazz Fest. This year, featured performers are Fats Domino; also Jimmy Buffett and Keith Urban.
Keith Urban is in Nashville this morning, and he joins us. Nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.
KEITH URBAN, COUNTRY MUSIC SINGER: My pleasure. Nice to be here.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you. How you doing?
URBAN: I'm doing good. I'm doing really good.
S. O'BRIEN: Tell me about your connection to Jazz Fest. I've read about the time that you've spent in New Orleans and how important New Orleans is to you, and I'm curious about that.
URBAN: Yes. We've played down there a few times in the last handful of years, but I've never played Jazz Fest before. So this will be a first for us. But I went down to New Orleans with some of my mates a couple of weeks back to see firsthand some of the relief efforts and the rebuilding. And it was a combination of feelings, because there's a lot of work that's been done, but there's a tremendous amount to still be done. So I'm glad that we can go down and get some love going in the air down there.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, gosh, you know, they certainly need it. Why have you been so vocal? Because you've been encouraging people to really come down, take part in Jazz Fest? I know that's part of the reason we're talking. Why are you so vocal about that?
URBAN: Well, New Orleans just has such a magnificent musical history that it's imperative that the music still maintains a big part of that town. And Jazz Fest, in itself -- I think this is something like the 36th year -- the 36th year that this is in place. So it's important that it stays healthy and alive. And hopefully, we're going to get over 100,000 people down there this year. It's...
S. O'BRIEN: That will help.
URBAN: And that's a lot of Mardi Gras beads.
S. O'BRIEN: It sure is. Yes, you know, a number of musicians I've spoken to actually have said a similar thing. Because, of course, you think New Orleans, you think food and you think music. Are you concerned, too, that if they can't really rebuild the city and its musicians really don't come back, then you lose a really important piece of the city?
URBAN: Oh, no doubt about it. And I think a lot of the work that guys like The Edge are doing in getting instruments back into these guys' hands is fantastic.
S. O'BRIEN: CMT Awards, you won video of the year. You performed your hit. You brought in the gospel choir, which I thought was really cool.
URBAN: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: You brought in the gospel choirs, ones that have been displaced from Hurricane Katrina. What was that like?
URBAN: Amazing. It's an amazing group of people, and I was so glad that the feeling of having them around you -- you know, when you're singing, it's just -- there's nothing like it. was quite jubilant. Quite -- like jubilation feeling.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Oh, gosh, and man, could they sing! I tell you.
URBAN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Listen, I'm curious to know -- you know, my dad's an Aussie. He grew up into Toowoomba in Queensland.
URBAN: Oh, wow. S. O'BRIEN: I know. And usually, Australians say, oh, there's nothing there. Why would anybody be from there?
URBAN: I've got friends in Toowoomba.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, really? Oh, good! That's the -- you're the first Australian who said that. I'm curious to know why you've embraced the heritage, really, of New Orleans as an Australian. You know, and you're sort of like an adopted American now, kind of.
URBAN: Well, I don't know about that. I've been in Nashville a long time, and I think just the South in general, it's where it's all from. I mean, all of it. Jazz, gospel, blues, rock 'n' roll. I mean -- and the origins of country, all of it, are all here in the South. So New Orleans plays a big, big role in that.
S. O'BRIEN: Going to ask you a personal question. I know you hate personal questions, but I'm going to ask you anyway. All the tabloids say you're getting married to Nicole Kidman soon. I haven't gotten my invitation, in case you're wondering. It just hasn't arrived. But I'm -- can you give us any dirt on that, anything you want to share?
URBAN: Well, no, I can -- all I can say is that we're very happy. So if that means anything to anyone, then there it is.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, I hope that's just you're very happy and not code word for the wedding's on Saturday, June 15th or something. Keith Urban, nice to see you.
URBAN: Nice to see you, too.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks for talking with us. I think it's a great thing what you're doing in New Orleans and I know people there really, really, appreciate it.
URBAN: Thank you very much, nice to talk to you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: That's all the time we have for this edition of AMERICAN MORNING. Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center with more.\
S. O'BRIEN: Hey, Daryn, good morning.
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