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American Morning

Guantanamo Conditions; Terror Plot; Betting on a Storm; Drilling Mars

Aired June 12, 2006 - 07:30   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening this morning, insurgents kill six people in Baghdad. The six oil ministry workers were killed when a roadside bomb destroyed their bus. A separate car bomb attack in Tal Afar killed four people and wounded 42 others.
An autopsy is finished on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The results will be released in just about 30 minutes. The military wants to know exactly how al-Zarqawi died after a witness surfaced saying he saw the al Qaeda leader injured and being put into an ambulance.

And Tropical Storm Alberto is bearing down on Florida. The hurricane season's first named storm could cause up to eight foot storm surges along Florida's west coast.

Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us on this Monday morning.

Let's do a CNN fact check now. You probably heard about this over the weekend. Three detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Prison in Cuba committed suicide. And this is renewing calls this morning to shut down that facility. Guantanamo, you'll recall, opened in early 2002 on the heels of 9/11. Many of the al Qaeda-linked terror suspects held there without any charges or any path toward justice, much less freedom. CNN's Barbara Starr is now live from the Pentagon for us just to give us a little fact check and remind us all about Guantanamo.

Barbara, good morning.

First of all, let's talk about the detainees that have been held there that are currently held at Guantanamo.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, good morning to you.

The detainees, there have been a very significantly large number of them, about 760 detainees captured on the battlefield according to the U.S. military, mainly in Afghanistan, have been sent to Guantanamo Bay over the years -- 759, 760 or so. But a good number of them, of course, have now been sent back to their home countries for further detention. So right now there are about 460 detainees being held there, about 10 of them charged under the U.S. military tribunal process. Who are the three that committed suicide? Two Saudis, one Yemeni. Over the weekend, the U.S. military identified them and said that one of the men indeed was a relatively mid to high level al Qaeda operative that had been connected to Abu Sabada (ph). One of them captured a couple of years ago in an uprising in northern Afghanistan in which a CIA operative was killed. So the Pentagon's view is that these men are terrorists and that they will continue to be held until their cases are disposed of.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: Well, you know, we've heard a lot about the hunger strikes there, Barbara. Tell us about suicide attempts. These are the first successful suicides. Tell us about how many suicide attempts there have been over the years there?

STARR: Right. That has been, in fact, an ongoing issue, of course, at Guantanamo Bay. These are the first three to have been successful. But there have been hunger strikes, there have been suicide attempts. Look at the numbers. There have been more than 40 suicide attempts since 2002. More than 130 detainees involved in hunger strikes over 2005, 89 - 90 or so in the past year of 2006. Now what has been very controversial is these hunger strikes because the military then engages very bluntly in force feeding of the detainees, saying that they have a humanitarian obligation to keep them alive and so they do force feed them.

As for these suicide attempts and the three that have been successful now, Miles, expect to see a good deal more being said in the international community. Word is coming now that the international committee of the Red Cross hopes to make a visit to Guantanamo Bay as soon as this week. And the military here in the Pentagon is sticking by its statement that this was not an act of desperation by desperate men who felt they had no way out of this prison, but that this was an act of war by terrorists who were determined to kill themselves.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: All right. So what is the legal status of the detainees there? I know the Supreme Court is about to weigh in yet again on this case. Where do they stand?

STARR: This is what President Bush has had to say quite a good deal about lately, that this is a legal limbo in the administration's view. They say that they would like to dispose of these cases and not be the permanent jailer for these people. But the Supreme Court is supposed to rule on the legality of this very complex military tribunal process. And the Pentagon and the administration's legal position is that until that case is resolved, they really can't proceed with these tribunals, with these commissions.

But let's be very clear, the administration has also said in the past that if -- no matter what process takes place with these tribunals, that some of these people could be held indefinitely. Some of them, they say, could be held forever. Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you very much.

In our 9:00 Eastern hour, we're going to talk to a former Army chaplain who served at Guantanamo and knows first-hand what goes on in the prison.

Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: CNN "Security Watch" for you now.

More than a dozen terror suspects are expected back in an Ontario courtroom today. They're accused of planning attacks on parliament and the Canadian prime minister. Let's get right to CNN's Jeanne Meserve. She's at the courthouse in Branson (ph), Ontario, this morning.

Hey, Jeanne, good morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

As you can see, people behind me already lining up hoping to get a seat in the courtroom. More than a week after these terror arrests, this is still a top story here in Canada.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE, (voice over): The scene at the courthouse is expected to be even more chaotic than it was last week when most of the 17 terror suspects made an appearance. At that hearing, the lawyer for suspect Steven Chand dropped a bombshell.

GARY BATASAR, ATTORNEY FOR STEVEN CHAND: My client's alleged to have been part of a plot to blow up parliament buildings in Canada, storm the CBC, take over the CBC, as well as, among other things, behead the prime minister.

MESERVE: Authorities allege the group took delivery of three tons of ammonium nitrate, the fertilizer that, fashioned into a bomb, devastated the Murah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

MIKE MCDONNELL, ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE: This group posed a real and serious threat. It had the capacity and intent to carry out these acts.

MIKE COTE, ONTARIO RESIDENT: They had a little small camp fire right in front of me here.

MESERVE: Mike Cote reported the men to police when he came across them last winter in what is now being called a training camp.

COTE: There was a lot of surveillance going on at the time, so you knew that somebody was keeping track of what was going on here. MESERVE: In fact, officials say, the investigation of the Canadian suspects had been going on for two years. U.S. officials say some members of the group visited chat rooms frequented by Islamic militants and had contact with two Americans being held on terrorism charges. One source says a tip from Canadian law enforcement led to the American's arrest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: This could be a routine court appearance or it could be something quite different. One of the defense attorneys said last week that he expects to drop another bombshell but he wouldn't give any hint as to what that might be.

Soledad, back to you.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right, Jeanne Meserve for us this morning. Jeanne, thanks.

And remember, you want to stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: Alberto is gaining strength, but Chad says it will not strengthen into a hurricane. You can take that as gospel. The first tropical storm of the season is barreling down on western Florida. It could make landfall later today. No evacuations have been ordered.

Let's get the forecast now and go to Chad who -- Chad, by the way, I was wondering, when was the earliest named storm ever?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, like in March.

MILES O'BRIEN: Oh, really?

MYERS: Oh, yes, like March 22nd. Yes.

MILES O'BRIEN: That's amazing. So this is not even close to being a record.

MYERS: No, no. No, not even close. And last year we actually had two tropical storms in June. We had Brett and whatever the first one was. Was it Alex maybe before that. Maybe that was the year before. That was the first time ever, though, that there was ever two tropical storms in a June. So there you go.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MILES O'BRIEN: You know these days you can bet on just about anything. Here's more proof of it. There's an Internet site out there that will give you an opportunity to bet on hurricanes. In other words, you could potentially cash in on other people's misery. CNN's National Correspondent Susan Candiotti live now from Clearwater Beach, Florida, where Alberto is headed. Good morning, Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

Yes, so far the wind and rain are generally light here. But, of course, things will change. And the coast guard is advising boaters to stay out of the water. They had about two dozen rescues yesterday. Usually they have far fewer than that.

And as you said, generally you think you've seen it all during a hurricane season, but now something different. People who are laying bets on how bad things will be.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: In a world where you can find somewhere to gamble 24 hours a day, a casino or online where you can place a bet on just about anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Texas Rangers minus 183.

CANDIOTTI: Maybe it should come as no surprise to learn you can now bet on the potential of killer storms. That's right. Some Internet gambling sites offer odds on whether a category three, four, or five hurricane will hit Florida this year. Or asked more broadly to wager on how many hurricanes will sail through the Atlantic. Is it tantalizing or tasteless?

JOSE DUARTE, WAGERWEB MARKETING DIRECTOR: We're not hoping for any disasters, we're just giving our customers another option to entertain themselves.

CANDIOTTI: And make money. Beth Chris and Wagerweb run offshore online sites featuring offbeat stakes. Both are run out of Costa Rica where online gaming is licensed and attracts overseas gamblers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's over 21 storms.

CANDIOTTI: Online better Dan Leach has more than $1,300 riding on the season and he hopes to cash in.

DAN LEACH, BETTOR: I'd be happy if all these storms were in the middle of the ocean and didn't harm a person. That being said though, I mean, I'm a guy that looks for value out there. And whether it's hurricanes or a corporate trial or a basketball game, I'm looking for the value out there.

CANDIOTTI: At the Hard Rock Casino in south Florida where action is limited primarily to slots, gamblers said why not?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to get the statistics on it, just like any good gambler, but if the statistics were favorable, I'd bet.

CANDIOTTI: And what if someone said it's tasteless to bet on disaster.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's probably tasteless to bet on anything.

CANDIOTTI: So betting on storms is popular with gamblers. But what if you were a hurricane victim? Would you ne feel differently about plunking down money to place a wager on the chance of disaster?

A good place to go for that disaster, Katrina ravaged New Orleans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they'd lived through this type of disaster, you wouldn't make fun of that and, you know, go ahead and try to make money off of these poor people who have nothing.

CANDIOTTI: Those who run online gaming deny they're profiting on someone's misery.

DUARTE: It's a matter of public interest. You know, it draws attention. It makes people talk about it.

CANDIOTTI: They are talking and they're betting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: And, by the way, last year the crew and I were in Pensacola Beach for the very first named storm of 2005. That was tropical storm Arlene. Now, Miles, what are the odds that we'd also be covering the first named storm of 2006? You know how last season turned out.

MILES O'BRIEN: It's a surefire bet, I think.

Hey, what does the National Hurricane Center say about all this? Have they weighed in at all?

CANDIOTTI: Yes. We talked to Max Mayfield. He's not thrilled with the idea, to put it politely. He says he doesn't want to get involved. He's got more serious things to worry about.

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, he does. He has his hands full. Susan Candiotti in Clearwater, thank you very much.

Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Kind of a new definition of distasteful. I mean . . .

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, there's an ick (ph) factor there big time.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes.

Ahead this morning, America's eye in the sky on the war in terror, the predator. We're going to take a closer look at its role as a flyer assassin. We'll find out why it's drawing fire from critics.

MILES O'BRIEN: Also ahead, the Mars Rover still going. The energizer bunnies of space exploration still sending down scientific information. We're going to take you to a little place in an odd location where they make the drill that has really unveiled some secrets of Mars. Stay with us.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Then later this morning, a major milestone for a fixture in the Senate. Senator Robert Bird (ph), the longest serving senator in U.S. history, talks to CNN about his greatest achievements and his most regrettable mistakes. Stay with us. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: The traffic, once again, is heavy on Mars. Rover's Spirit and Opportunity still at it, working well into their third year on the red planet, helping unlock some secrets of Mars. They are controlled by engineers, you know about this, at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. But you may not know also by some folks in a seventh floor office just a few blocks away from where I stand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, (voice over): What do Mars and Manhattan have in common? Feel free to insert a joke here, but it is no laughing matter on the seventh floor of this old office building on 34th Street. Here in a city known for finance, fashion, and the media, you will find a little company more concerned with the flow of traffic on Mars than the West Side Highway.

MILES O'BRIEN: So what you have here is kind of a modern day miracle on 34th Street?

STEVE GOREVAN, CO-FOUNDER, HONEYBEE ROBOTICS: Well, you now, I never thought about it in those terms, but I have to sometimes pinch myself.

MILES O'BRIEN: Steve Gorevan is co-founder of Honeybee Robotics. The drill on this operation is the drill. The busy bees here designed and built the so-called rock abrasion tool, or RAT, used by Martian rovers Spirit and Opportunity, to literally uncover some secrets of the red planet.

GOREVAN: I was so worried about the tool just functioning, surviving the cruise and the landing.

MILES O'BRIEN: Gorevan is a die hard New Yorker, so you'd expect him to be a little neurotic. But in this case, he had some solid reasons for angst. Mars is the Bermuda Triangle of the solar system. Only half the spacecraft launched there arrive alive.

GOREVAN: Well, I'm supposed to say that I was happiest when my children were born. But when those images came down and it scrolled on the screen and I saw the circle that indicated we had not only a grind, but a beautiful grind, it was the happiest single moment of my life.

MILES O'BRIEN: That was just the beginning of the cheering for some amazing plucky rovers. So far they have traveled 9 1/4 miles, captured more than 156,000 images, and most important here on 34th Street, successfully drilled on Mars rocks 43 times, 41 more than guarantees. All the data led to a big scientific splash. Proof this cold, dry place was once warm and wet and thus a cushy birth for microscopic living things. It was a long, wild ride from the day chief scientist Steve Skwiers (ph) faxed Gorevan his back of the napkin idea for a drill on Mars.

STEVE SQUIRES: This is the robotic arm. Here's the APSX.

MILES O'BRIEN: Honeybee is not resting on its drill tailings. Matter of fact, they are hard at work on some sophisticated tools stated for Mars missions in 2007 and 2009. And they're working on ways to drill deeper and deeper in the future.

GOREVAN: The holy grail is to find and develop a drill that could go 100 meters or so that where water in a liquid phase on Mars might exist.

MILES O'BRIEN: They say life in New York can be a grind, but here that's a compliment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN: Coming up in our next hour, we're going to talk to Steve Skwiers (ph), who you saw there briefly in the piece, the principle investigator for the Mars exploration Rover project. He's a pretty happy guy given this incredible scientific run. He's also a little bit tired. He didn't expect to be working on this project quite so long.

Andy is "Minding Your Business."

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

The ultimate shopping smack down. It's Wal-Mart versus a haute French retailer.

Plus, legal rulings are forever, so are diamonds, and so is an amazing story in the bling business. We'll tell you about that next coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer is more than just a business guy. He's a business guy with consumer news too because he cares about you.

Right, Andy?

SERWER: That's true. I really do, Miles. We care about everyone. We care about French luxury retailers and Wal-Mart today. They're in a little bit of a battle. This is pretty interesting, I think. LVMH, which is the largest purveyor of luxury goods in the world. That's Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, for all of you out there. And they make a lot of upscale stuff like Fendi bags. Well as it turns out, Wal-Mart is apparently carrying Fendi bags at its Sam's Club and LVMH says that those bags are counterfeit. And they may have a point because a regular Fendi bag, for instance -- now my Fendi bag here, for instance.

MILES O'BRIEN: You have a real Fendi bag?

SERWER: Yes, I have a Fendi bag. Yes, it was given to me as a gift. And I actually have used this as a base playing softball. Then people were mortified. Apparently it's worth a lot.

Soledad, this is a good bag, right?

MILES O'BRIEN: Let me see that bag.

SERWER: This bag -- so anyway the bags at . . .

MILES O'BRIEN: How does that work?

SERWER: Well, the bags at Wal-Mart are selling for $295. A real Fendi bag costs for $925.

MILES O'BRIEN: $925 for that?

SERWER: No comment from Wal-Mart.

MILES O'BRIEN: Wow. Wow.

SERWER: In other high-end retailer news, Dee Beers, the diamond company, in the news. A judge in New York City has ruled that one Marvin Rosenblatt cannot have a store and a company called De Beers Diamond Syndicate because it sounds, well, not a little bit like De Beers the diamond company, it sounds exactly like it. What is he thinking?

MILES O'BRIEN: If you're going to rip them off, go all the way, right?

SERWER: I mean it would be like opening up a hamburger chain calling it McDonald's hamburger syndicate.

MILES O'BRIEN: Something coincidental there maybe.

SERWER: Exactly.

Hey, and coming up, we have a really wild and crazy story about - - it starts with a can of Coke. And if you put something in it, it will explode. And it's great stuff. You want to stay tuned for that coming up.

MILES O'BRIEN: Kids don't try this at home.

SERWER: No.

MILES O'BRIEN: We're going to say that right now because Andy does care about you.

SERWER: Yes. How does (ph) viral video on the web. You'll see.

MILES O'BRIEN: OK. All right. What do Mentos and Coke create. Back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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