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American Morning

President Bush Back at the White House From His Surprise Trip to Iraq; FEMA Fraud

Aired June 14, 2006 - 08:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Let's begin with President Bush who's back at the White House this morning back early this morning in fact from his surprise trip to Iraq. His firsthand impressions of Iraq's new leaders could influence the strategy his own advisers are working on right now. The trip a total surprise to all but a few.

CNN's John King was one of the few. He was onboard Air Force One for the ride.

Hey, John, good morning to you.

JOHN KING, CNN NATL. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

You note the president is back, and we had Dan Bartlett on the last hour. And I think he summed it up just about right, the president wanted to get a sense of this new Iraqi government, because, a, No. 1, this is a major, the major, foreign policy initiative of the Bush presidency, and it has not been a success as of yet, and there are many who doubt whether the war was worth it to begin with. So the president trying to get a firsthand look at the new Iraqi leadership.

And he told us on the flight on Air Force One on the way back, he found the new prime minister, Mr. Maliki, very impressive. He also said -- he essentially put the question to them, can you put all the bitterness behind, the Sunni, the Shia, the Kurds? Can you put it behind and can you all work together? He says he comes away with a good impression that this unity government will finally provide stability, try to improve the security situation after the fits and starts we have seen with the previous government.

So, Soledad, the president calls this trip a success. He says he's optimistic, but the conditions on the ground, of course, will determine whether or not he is right or not, and of course the conditions will also determine the political climate back home, because this election year right now is soured very much by public worries, doubts and opposition to Iraq.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, everybody's watching what's happening on the ground. Let me ask you a couple questions, John, about how this all came about, lots of secrecy. I mean, what a surprise when we started getting word that the president was actually in Baghdad. How did you find out? I mean, how did they come to you? Were you sworn to secrecy? How do it work? KING: I got a quick e-mail from Dan Bartlett on Sunday afternoon, asking if I it was reachable, then I got a quick cell phone call on a very nice afternoon. I was relaxing. And he asked in I could come meet with him. I met with him, and he had his deputy, the White House Communications Director Nicole Wallace, with him and said the president is going to Baghdad, we need to assemble a travel pool, but we need to do so under the utmost of secrecy; we want you to do it, because we know you know the drill, but nobody will notice you're missing. I don't have a real job anymore, Soledad. I left the White House beat a little more than a year ago. And their position was that I knew how the travel pool works, I know the secret service, I know the security drills, I know their routines, but no one would notice me missing if I didn't show up for work.

S. O'BRIEN: We'd notice it after a couple of days, John. Come on, man.

KING: Maybe.

S. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a question, what did you tell your family? Because actually they would notice you missing probably right away.

KING: I have two children. I have a son who is 12 and a daughter who is nine, and I told them that I had to go on a very sensitive trip and that I couldn't tell them about it, and my 9-year- old girl looked at me right away, and said, daddy, you're going to Iraq, and she was not all that happy about it, to tell the truth.

S. O'BRIEN: Besting political analyst everywhere probably there.

So overall, give me a sense, when you got on the ground, was it scary? I mean, some of the descriptions I heard earlier, sprinting into choppers, and no matter what kind of a clamp-down there is, it's so dangerous there, as we know from our colleagues who have been injured. What was that like to be there?

KING: It's a very tense situation. And you make the salient point, our colleagues on the ground and certainly the troops on the ground, and for that matter, the Iraqi people are under a great deal more pressure, more risk more threat of danger than we were for six hours on the ground in Iraq, but they'd give you flak jackets on the way in, Air Force One lands in a hurry, a huge drop for a 747 onto the ground. You run to the helicopters. There are three armed personnel on each one looking out the window with machine guns moving at everything they see on the ground, and you're flying low, and the helicopters rock a bit. So sure, it's tense. And you are told that this is an unsafe environment. So sure, it's tense. There were no incidents on our trip, and we had more security than I could every describe to you. But of course you are tense, given everything you hear about the situation in Iraq, and knowing that just a few feet away is the president of the United States. And if the terrorists or somebody wants to kill him knows he's there, he's a pretty ripe target.

S. O'BRIEN: What was it like to make the trip home? KING: The trip home, of course, was more relaxing once you get out.

S. O'BRIEN: I bet.

KING: As we were leaving the temporary U.S. embassy. There was a radio report of gunfire in the area, and I know nothing about it. We couldn't get answers. The White House people didn't know anything about it. But we heard it. It was put over the radio, so the Secret Service an the military personnel would know about it. It's a quick motorcade, a very quick helicopter ride, because everyone knew we were on the ground, and they were worried about leaving, because it had been announced to the world that the president of the United States was in the Green Zone. Air Force took off like that. You don't see a 747 go up in the air that often. All the lights were out. We weren't allowed to turn anything on. Takeoff was completely in the dark. But once we got up, they turned the lights on, and the president called us up for about a 35-minute conversation. So it was a much more relaxing trip home, shall we say.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I bet it was. Chief national correspondent John King, of course he is part of the best political team on TV. Thanks, John.

KING: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Fascinating description really.

In Baghdad today, thousands of demonstrators protesting the president's visit. Followers of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr were shouting anti-American slogans. About 2,000 people the crowds are estimated, that size. They tried to burn the American flag, too. They want a timetable for multinational forces to withdraw from Iraq. Iraqi forces fanned out across Baghdad today. They're part of what's being called some 70,000 troops involved in Operation Advancing Forward Together. That's the name. It's a massive crackdown. They're trying to root out insurgents. Checkpoints have been set up. There's a curfew from 9:00 to 6:00 a.m. -- Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Talk about adding insult to injury. Your hard-earned tax money, a billion dollars of it, meant out to help out some fellow citizens in great need after last year's hurricanes, ended up paying for things like strippers, pornography, and even a sex-change operation.

Full details to be spelled out on Capitol Hill this morning.

Our homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has some details to share with us this morning.

Good morning, Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

Here's just one item from this audit of Hurricane Katrina and Rita disaster relief. One individual used 13 different Social Security numbers to file damage claims on 13 different addresses. And got $139,000 of assistance.

Not only were 12 of the Social Security numbers not his own, records show this person had absolutely no history at any of the property involved. That makes your blood boil. There is a lot more.

As Miles mentioned, an estimated $1 billion in improper and fraudulent payments according to the Government Accountability Office, because FEMA did not validate the identity and addresses of people applying for help.

Some other examples. Millions were paid to prison inmates who registered as displaced persons. Over $20,000 went to one inmate who listed a post office box as damaged property.

Other people registered cemeteries and nonexistent addresses as damaged.

FEMA also provided rental assistance to people who were in hotel rooms for which FEMA was footing the bill. In one instance, an individual received more than $23,000 in rental assistance and simultaneously was paid $8,000 to stay in a $100-a-night Hawaiian hotel.

Debit cards provided by FEMA paid for an all-inclusive one-week vacation in the Dominican Republic, a divorce lawyer, erotic adult products, strippers, and five New Orleans Saints season tickets. Your taxpayer dollars at work -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Wonderful, wonderful. I'm sure a lot of people just about spit out their coffee when they heard all of this. What is FEMA saying about all of this?

KING: FEMA is saying it's trying to recover the money. So far, it's recovered about $16.8 million, a small part of that $1 billion in frauds that they the GAO found. They also say that they have revamped the system, they think they've addressed this, and they're ready for the hurricane season which has, of course, now begun.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it says, Jeanne Meserve, thank you very much.

(NEWSBREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: This word just in to CNN: We're expecting to hear from President Bush this morning. We're being told that at 9:40 a.m. at the Rose Garden the president will make an announcement and take some questions we assume. It's unclear exactly what the topic's going to be, although we assume that he'll be talking a little bit about his quick trip that he made to Baghdad, big surprise. We're expecting to get that at 9:40, is that right, 9:40 this morning?

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, that security crack-down in Baghdad: Iraqi forces shouldering most of the load. We'll look at whether it is a turning point.

S. O'BRIEN: Also, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wears a helmet on the field, of course -- wasn't wearing one, though, when he wrecked his motorcycle. Should athletes be held to a higher standard as role models? We'll take a look at that question.

M. O'BRIEN: And your Social Security number, your signature, bank account numbers -- everything you need if you're an ID thief -- all there on the Internet, posted by the government. You'll meet a woman -- right there -- who's trying to stop it.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: A much-touted security crackdown under way in Baghdad as we speak. Relatively quiet day, perhaps as a result, but still a car bombing to report and a large anti-American rally. The question is, is this crackdown, as it continues, going to be effective and in general, how effective are the Iraqi forces at this stage?

Major General John Batiste, former division commander in Iraq -- he is with us now from Rochester, New York. And he was last with us back in April when he called for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

General, good to have you back this morning.

MAJ. GEN. JOHN BATISTE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Miles, good morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about this 70,000 -- that's the number that has been, at least, stated -- 70,000 mostly Iraqi Security Forces on the street with this security crackdown. How effective do you think this is likely to be?

BATISTE: Well, we'll see. I think it's definitely premature to call this a turning point in what's happening in Iraq.

M. O'BRIEN: There's been a lot of people who have used that term, `turning point,' though, when you couple you this with some other events: the death of Zarqawi, the government being in place with key security ministers -- the Defense minister, the Interior minister, and National Security. It's certainly a pivot point, potentially, right?

BATISTE: You know, Miles, Zarqawi was but a cog in an incredibly complex insurgency, an insurgency that didn't have to happen. Donald Rumsfeld planned to take us to war -- and it was his plan, make no mistake about it -- took us to war back in April of 2003, with insufficient numbers and capability on the ground, which allowed this insurgency to take root and grow and grow and grow to where it is today. We need to hold that man accountable for his absolutely bad decision-making, his bad judgment. Before we can move forward, we need to do that.

M. O'BRIEN: So you're still -- you haven't changed your statement that you would like to see Rumsfeld step down immediately?

BATISTE: No, not at all. Miles, let's be clear: I'm a lifelong Republican. I left the military so I could speak out. I turned down a promotion to three stars. I turned my back on an incredible career, an institution I loved. I had to do that -- the most gut-wrenching decision of my life -- to speak out on behalf of our great country, our incredible military and their terrific families.

Donald Rumsfeld's decision-making and bad judgment got us to where we are today. It didn't need to be that way, and there needs to be accountability. The congressional oversight committees need to step up and be part of the solution. They have responsibilities -- have had responsibilities since this thing started, going on our fourth year.

M. O'BRIEN: There is -- you wrote an op-ed piece this past weekend, where you basically laid blame for the alleged atrocities by Marines at Haditha -- 24 civilians killed, an investigation ongoing there -- but nevertheless, you laid blame for that right on the doorstep of Secretary Rumsfeld. Is that a bit of a stretch?

BATISTE: Not at all. There's one leader in an organization responsible for what happens or what fails to happen. That was his plan -- his plan alone that took us to war. He browbeat the military to get it to where it was. Insufficient troops on the ground by a factor of over 3.

You know, General Barry McCaffrey just wrote a great assessment. He walked the ground in Iraq. The assessment is dated the 25th of April. Three quick conclusions: one, we've got the best military in the world -- awe-inspiring, the words he used; two, it will take at least two to five years to get the Iraqi army to the point where it can do it alone -- it's still underresourced; three, it will take the police up to ten years to get it to the point where it can do it alone. We need to read that assessment and pay attention and go back to the root cause, and that is, a terrible plan, terrible judgment, that got us to where we are.

We need to move forward, we need to hold people accountable, and then we need to complete what we started in Iraq.

M. O'BRIEN: I want to get one final thought from you. Since you spoke out in April, you've been joined by other retired generals who have called for Rumsfeld's ouster. In response to that, you've kicked up a lot of criticism, as you might suspect. I just want to read a little quote from a piece that Charles Krauthammer, the conservative columnist, wrote in the "Washington Post" April 24th -- not long after you spoke with us. It says this: "We have been" -- "We have had discontented officers in every war and every period of our history, but they rarely coalesce into factions. That happens in places like Saddam's Iraq, Pinochet's Chile, or your run-of-the-mill banana republic. That kind of dissident party within the military is alien to America. It is precisely this kind of division that our tradition of military deference to democratically-elected civilian superiors was meant to prevent." How do you respond to that? M. O'BRIEN: Again, Miles, I left the army -- I turned my back on an institution I loved so I could speak out. I turned down promotion and incredible opportunity. I had to do that. I did this for my country, and I did it for our great military, their terrific families. They deserve someone to speak in their behalf.

I may have hung up my uniform, but I in no way abrogated my rights as an American citizen to continue speaking out, and I intend to do just that.

M. O'BRIEN: Major General John Batiste, thanks for being with us.

BATISTE: Thanks, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: The Internet has made it pretty easy for identity theft, but now we're learning that it may be even easier than we thought for them to get your personal and private information.

CNN investigative correspondent Grew Griffin joins us with some pretty disturbing details on this.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, you know, we've been reporting about lost payroll records, the computer disks at the Veterans Administration.

S. O'BRIEN: Almost every day.

GRIFFIN: Almost every day. That pales in comparison to what we found the government is actually giving away on government Web sites. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN (voice-over): What this woman knows about you or more accurately could know about you is frightening.

B.J. OSTERGREN, "THE VIRGINIA WATCHDOG": Yes it is so easy, so quick. And let me show you.

GRIFFIN: B.J. Ostergren, also known as The Virginia Watchdog, is infuriated about how easy it is for her to find your name, Social Security number, date of birth and even your signature.

OSTERGREN: Look. Here is a Bank of America loan number.

GRIFFIN: Anything anyone would need to steal your identity right online, and put there by the government.

OSTERGREN: This is another divorce I printed out this morning. The father was in the Air Force and there is his Social Security number. LAWRENCE (on camera): He would die if he knew this.

OSTERGREN: They have no clue.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): How did it happen? Ostergren says there was a big push in the last decade to push the access of government records into the 21st century. A paperless society, everything accessible at your finger tips via the Internet, including government records, historically kept inside courthouses, inside clerks' offices, behind government counters. Now many of those government records across the country can all be accessed by B.J. Ostergren, right here in the crowded office of her rural Virginia home.

OSTERGREN: But are they public records? Yes, they're public. But there is a huge difference from driving to the courthouse and looking at it right here. Would I drive there to look at this and go through the records? No. Would I have driven to Miami-Dade to get Jeb Bush's? No.

GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: This meeting was a very productive one.

GRIFFIN: Did she say Jeb Bush? Yes, the president's brother. To prove her point she has gone on celebrity style identity hunts. The governor of Florida's Social Security number posted along with other Floridians.

OSTERGREN: I sat right at this very computer and got that record off the Florida Web site.

GRIFFIN: Jeb bush has since had his Social blacked out, but plenty of records in Florida are still there for the taking.

OSTERGREN: Let's see. Here is Brevard County.

GRIFFIN: With information like your Social Security number your signature, even your date of birth, a thief can pretend he's you. And it could cost you dearly.

OSTERGREN: You can get bank loans, you could get fake paper, you could come into this country using this man's information. You could have -- look, document fraud is a big thing. Mortgage fraud is a huge thing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: And whether you're a politician, a celebrity, an average citizen, the information is out there for the taking. Just take a look, Soledad. This is a half-hour of searching. These are all Social Security numbers, bank loans, on private citizens that have no idea that this information was accessible to anyone.

S. O'BRIEN: So obviously if you're the president's brother you can call up and somehow get your Social blacked out, but what's' everybody else supposed to do? I mean, it seems like people wouldn't necessarily even know that their court documents are online somewhere. GRIFFIN: This was done, according to these recorders associations across the country, before they thought about it. They put all this stuff online. And now as the former president of the Recorders Association, from Texas, has said, hey, this horse has left the gate, and there's really very little you can do about it, unless you're going to spend millions and millions of dollars and spend hundreds of dollars going in, blacking out Social Security numbers and then reingesting them. Just not feasible.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow, that's some scary stuff. Drew Griffin, thanks. Very disturbing.

This aired first on "PAULA ZAHN NOW" we should mention.

Also coming up on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," tonight we've all done it. We've eaten so much you really literally cannot move off your chair. Imagine if you did it all the time, and if in fact, once you started eating, you couldn't stop. It's called Binge Eating Disorder, and there's evidence now that it might be hereditary. Deb Feyerick has an investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lisa, in black, and her younger sister Jean (ph), in green, were normal teenagers, not thin, but certainly not fat. They say even as little girls they were keenly aware of food, and wanting it more than their friends did.

(on camera): So your mother was telling you should stay away from certain foods. And what effect did that have on you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just wanted it more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just wanted more.

FEYERICK: So cookies?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, cookies, cakes.

FEYERICK: Chocolate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yep.

FEYERICK: Any chips, or was it mostly the sweets?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it was not a salty...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, we're not salty. Some people are.

FEYERICK (voice-over): A new study finds Binge Eating Disorder has less to do with a person's metabolism than it does a chemical imbalance in the brain, that may also cause depression, impulse control, and mood disorders. Both Lisa and Jean say they suffer from anxiety, and that for years food was their way of dealing with stress and anger. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We call it the good girls drug. It's the good girls drug. It's your way of coping.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: You can catch all of Deb's report tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," Deborah Feyerick's reporting. That's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, the NFL star Ben Roethlisberger was warned to wear a helmet before his motorcycle wreck on Monday. He didn't listen. A look at an athlete's responsibility as a role model, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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