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American Morning

Suicide Bomber Strikes in Pakistan; Al Qaeda Releases Bin Laden Video with 9/11 Hijackers; Mayor Nagin Marks 100 Days of New Term in New Orleans; ABC 9/11 Film Sparks Controversy

Aired September 08, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Several Afghans were killed and hurt, as well. The Taliban has claimed responsibility. CNN's Anderson Cooper arrived in Kabul just before the attack and there has been a briefing with an update. What can you tell us, Anderson?
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, the blast shattered Kabul's early morning calm. It was a grisly scene, I got there about an hour or so after the blast occurred. There were bits of steel and metal lying in the street. Bits of pieces of human flesh lying on the street as well. The actual vehicle was completely destroyed, the suicide vehicle.

What we know -- we do know, as you said, two U.S. soldiers were killed, one U.S. soldier was wounded. As many as 10 Afghans died and 27 were wounded according to Afghan government officials. Intelligence sources we have been talking to today say this is just another example of the resurgence of the Taliban and their adoption Soledad of al Qaeda style tactics. You know here in Afghanistan suicide attacks used to be very rare. In 2001 there was only one suicide attack.

Now this year alone, there have been some 70 attacks. In fact, this was the second attack in Kabul and Soledad, sources we talked to today say they believe, intelligence sources believe there is another cell right now in Kabul with a suicide vehicle, a vehicle laden with explosives that is moving around Kabul trying to find a target of opportunity. They are going after coalition forces, after U.S. forces but as we saw today it is often Afghan civilians who are paying the biggest price. Soledad?

S. O'BRIEN: So they say that there is another vehicle. How are they tracking this? What are they doing to prevent any kind of explosions, certainly against U.S. forces but also against the Afghanistan people?

COOPER: Well the intelligence source we talked to today pointed out that is the problem. They knew about this vehicle today that detonated. They knew that there was some vehicle in town but that wasn't good enough. They didn't have a location. They didn't have a description of the vehicle. They have had instances in the past, according to intelligence sources, where they have even had a license plate but have been unable to find the vehicle. So it is not easy even here in Kabul, a relatively small city, to find a vehicle. They are not clear if the vehicle is actually sort of trolling around all day long. That seems unlikely because there are a lot of police on the ground but they think there are spotters on the ground looking for coalition vehicles. Looking for places where they park. Looking for places where they travel on a regular basis that they can send that vehicle to. Obviously people are very much on alert with the anniversary of 9/11 coming up on Monday.

S. O'BRIEN: Yeah I would imagine. All right Anderson Cooper reporting for us. Anderson's in Afghanistan to mark the fifth anniversary of those 9/11 attacks. "AC 360" airs weeknights at 10:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.

White House announced just a few minutes ago that President Bush is going to deliver a prime time address to the nation on Monday night for the fifth anniversary of 9/11. The oval office address will begin at 9:00 p.m. eastern. It's expected to last about 15 minutes.

Muslim pilgrims targeted in western India this morning. A pair of explosions in Malaga killed at least 22 people, wounded a couple dozen others. The blast occurred in about 200 miles from the site of the train bombings back in July. Those attacks left 186 people dead.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A sinister commemoration of the fifth anniversary of 9/11. A 5-year-old tape never seen before showing Osama bin Laden mingling with the 9/11 hijackers at an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. CNN's Kelli Arena joining us from Washington with more. Kelli?

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Miles, this isn't the first time that al Qaeda has released a tape around the September 11 anniversary. And counterterrorism officials are not surprised to see this one. Interestingly, though, it doesn't have any new message on it. Just very chilling video of the group allegedly planning the September 11 attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (voice-over): It's as if the 9/11 hijackers have come back to taunt us from the grave. An al Qaeda videotape allegedly showing the planning of the September 11th attacks just released on the Arab network Al Jazeera. Osama bin Laden asks supporters to pray for the hijackers and their deadly mission.

OSAMA BIN LADEN: And I strongly advise you to increase your prayers for them and beseech Allah the exalted in your prayer to grant them success.

ARENA: Hamsi Al Gamdi and Wail Al Shihri speak before their suicide attacks with video of the results eerily superimposed behind them.

WAIL AL SHIHRI, 9/11 HIJACKER: If struggle and jihad is not mandatory now, then when is it mandatory.

ARENA: Al Shihri was on American Airlines flight 11, Al Gamdi was on United Airlines flight 175, the planes that hit the twin towers. Nine eleven planner Ramzi Binalshibh is seen with Osama bin Laden, the first time the men are shown together. Binalshibh is still alive, living now in a wire mesh cage at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay where he was just transferred from a secret CIA prison.

PAT D'AMURO, CHAIRMAN, GIULIANI SECURITY & SAFETY: The reason for this tape coming out now is to show that al Qaeda feels they can be victorious against the United States by going back to the events of 9/11. And try to recruit additional individuals to enter the jihad against the United States.

ARENA: Some suggest a more ominous reason. Al Qaeda tapes and messages have been coming fast and furious lately. The last release just this weekend. Leading some to speculate an attack could be imminent.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: In the past we have seen attacks follow the release of a message or a tape. But officials insist that there isn't any intelligence to support that this time around. More than anything, as you heard from Pat D'Amuro in my report, this is seen very much as a recruiting tool, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Well it could be the reason we're seeing all these tapes is that all that al Qaeda can do right now is release tapes.

ARENA: Well that's true. We haven't seen an attack on U.S. soil since September 11th. But look, I spoke to the FBI director Robert Mueller yesterday. He said you know this remains a very lethal enemy, weakened but still very lethal and they still have an ability to recruit. They still have an ability to get people to the U.S. to pull off attacks. So, you know, he's not counting them out.

M. O'BRIEN: Kelli Arena in Washington. Thank you. Soledad?

S. O'BRIEN: A rash of attacks in Baghdad has left at least 11 people dead. One of the attacks was a roadside bomb that blew up in central Baghdad. Three people were killed. Six injured including three police officers. Police today are also reporting finding 14 bodies scattered around the capita and all those bodies showing signs of torture. Also in Iraq a dire warning for Americans on an Arab television network. It comes from a man described as the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq and he's calling on those followers to kill Americans. CNN's Michael Holmes has details for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a chilling message from the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq urging his followers to kill at least one American in the next two weeks using a sniper rifle, explosive or in his words, whatever the battle may require. That's according to an audiotape aired on Thursday on Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera identifying the man on the tape as Abu Hamsa Al Mujar. A pseudonym adopted by Abu Ayab Al Masri, an Egyptian militant believed to be an expert at making car bombs and the man who took over from Abu Musab al Zarqawi who was killed by the Americans in June. Part of the tape says this, do not let your souls or your enemies rest until each one of you kills one American within a period that does not exceed 15 days with a sniper's gunshot or (INAUDIBLE) device or Molotov cocktail or suicide car bomb. Whatever the battle may require. We said, a chilling message there from the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. A man who is still the subject of an intense man hunt. Michael Holmes, CNN, Baghdad.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: In Florida the crew of the space shuttle "Atlantis" strapped up and wondering which way they are headed in the next few hours. A fuel gauge flunked an important test earlier. It may force launch managers to drain the space shuttle's fuel tanks and try again tomorrow. CNN's Daniel Sieberg is live at the Cape where we are now working on I guess problem number four, right, Daniel?

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: That's right, if you're keeping score at home it is problem number four. That followed a lightning strike at the pad, tropical storm Ernesto and a problem with the fuel cells, that doesn't seem to be popping up today. What they are concerned with is an eco-sensor or an engine cutoff sensor which essentially tells them if and when the massive external fuel tank, the liquid hydrogen tank and the liquid oxygen tank are empty. Want to give you some live pictures first of all. NASA is essentially working two parallel paths at this point. The crew of "Atlantis" is now on board shuttle "Atlantis" on launch pad 39b. They are strapped in, going through the process of getting their visor closed, the closeout crew is in there assisting them with some final preparations. They have been going through what's called com checks making sure their headsets work correctly, they can communicate. Going through a lot of the final steps, the hatch is expected to close at about 9:35 this morning. So that is proceeding as planned.

On the other hand, we're hearing about this problem with the eco-sensor or the engine cutoff sensor. Just to give you an idea of what we're talking about. There are four of them located at the base of the external fuel tank. They are basically down there to let the shuttle know when it is empty. So today when they were tanking very early this morning, filling it up, they decided to test it and so while it was filling they sent a signal to it essentially to fool it, make it think it was dry or empty but it came back reading that there was something in there. Now that's a problem because if there's actually fuel in there and it's coming back dry, it could be shutting off the engine. Or the other way around, the engine could be running while it's dry.

So there are four of them. There are sort of some built in redundancy. They are considering whether to go with three of four of them working or whether to stand down, de-tank, essentially empty the tank and come back and try all of this again tomorrow. So they'll have to scrub for basically about 24 hours and try all of this again tomorrow. So there is a mission management team briefing or meeting going on at this hour to decide what to do. The launch scheduled for 11:41 this morning. So about two and a half hours from now. A lot to be decided, Miles. We're awaiting official word on that but what we have been hearing all morning is there is a likelihood that they would at least have to delay until tomorrow.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Daniel Sieberg. They're all strapped up, all inside, and we are waiting for the word from that mission management team. Thank you very much. If the count continues, you of course can watch it right here on CNN. It's scheduled for 11:41 eastern time this morning. That launch window is about five minutes in duration. So if that's going to happen today, that's when you'll see it. So stay tuned. Soledad?

S. O'BRIEN: Happening in America this morning, a disturbing story to tell you about out of Milwaukee. Police say as many as 20 men are now accused of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl at this house that you're seeing in pictures there. Turns out the girl was born HIV positive, so now those men may be infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

In Columbus, Ohio, three teens under arrest for allegedly beating a man to death. The attack was caught by a surveillance camera. Police say 43-year-old Terry Ward died from head injuries when he fell during the attack.

In Chicago, a 79-year-old grandmother charged with robbing a bank. Authorities said she walked up to the teller asked for $30,000 and then pulled what looked like a toy gun from her purse. The woman is reportedly behind in the rent, the FBI says if she is convicted she will be the oldest bank robber in Chicago history.

In New York, an unprecedented settlement in the works with James Frey, the author of "A Million Little Pieces." Under the proposed settlement readers can get their money back. You have to prove you bought the book, sign a sworn statement saying that you thought it was a memoir. Frey was criticized for passing off the made-up events as real in his book.

Paris Hilton says her DUI arrest has been blown out of proportion. She told a radio call in show that she wasn't drunk, she was hungry. She was in a hurry to get a burger. She got pulled over. Ok, that doesn't match the police report.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come in the program a real mystery in Colorado. A young marine is missing in the woods or so the story goes. Police now believe he wanted to disappear.

And a new layer in airport security. They might be pushing a broom or checking your bag. Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Police in Boulder, Colorado are a little angry and a little embarrassed after spending a lot of time and money looking for a young man supposedly injured and lost in the woods, but apparently just staging his own disappearance. They arrested his friend Steve Powers for falsely reporting his disappearance. Joining us now from Boulder, Colorado, is Commander Phil West with the Boulder Sheriff's Department. Commander, good to have you with us. Now what made you suspicious of this story initially? CMDR. PHIL WEST, BOULDER SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: There were a lot of inconsistencies in Mr. Powers' narrative regarding a few of the circumstances that led to the disappearance.

M. O'BRIEN: Can you give us some specifics?

WEST: Mostly his time frame was way off. One of the things that he said was that he had spent four hours essentially holding Lance's head while he was unconscious after a fall and we just didn't feel that that was plausible. Who is going to wait around for four hours when your friend is perhaps bleeding to death.

M. O'BRIEN: At the scene where Lance Herring supposedly fell, injured his head, I assume there was some blood, some forensic evidence there. Have you checked that out to see if in face he was injured?

WEST: Well we did find some blood. It did test positive for human blood. At this point it's at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. They are doing a DNA analysis for us so we can hopefully determine whose blood it is.

M. O'BRIEN: Now Lance Herring is a marine and according to your investigation and your soft position is he just didn't want to return to Iraq. Was there anybody who heard him talk like he didn't want to go back?

WEST: Well we should probably qualify that. The information about him not wanting to go back to Iraq comes from Steve Powers. Mr. Powers has been lying to us persistently and consistently so I wouldn't give that a whole lot of credence at this point.

M. O'BRIEN: So, but, is it your supposition, police operating under the assumption that that is his motivation for staging a disappearance?

WEST: Only in so far as that's what Mr. Powers has told us. Lance had discussed absenting himself previously but he had talked about doing it after he had finished his stint in the marines. Whether he just took this opportunity or not and for what motive we're not certain.

M. O'BRIEN: Have you ruled out foul play here? Have you ruled out Mr. Powers as a suspect of foul play?

WEST: Not absolutely. We think that's a remote chance but there's still that bit of doubt in our mind because as I said, Mr. Powers has not been completely truthful with us.

M. O'BRIEN: How are you pursuing that line of thinking?

WEST: Well, in our interview with Mr. Powers the other evening he gave us a number of clues and bits of information we're working to corroborate those independently and to locate some other witnesses that perhaps can give us some other idea as to where Lance might be. M. O'BRIEN: What about Mr. Herring's family, Lance Herring's family, have they indicated that he was dissatisfied and unwilling to return to Iraq? In other words, does Powers' story check out with them?

WEST: Not at all. Mr. Herring, Lance's dad, paints a completely different picture of his son.

M. O'BRIEN: And what are their thoughts about this whole thing being characterized as their own son staging a disappearance when it could be something else?

WEST: Well, I think they are certainly stunned by the turn of events for several days they were convinced that Lance was lying injured somewhere in the mountains and then to discover that this is a staged disappearance has just shocked them.

M. O'BRIEN: But you can't say that for certain because the only person who says it's a staged disappearance is Mr. Powers who you say has lied to you repeatedly?

WEST: That's correct.

M. O'BRIEN: So are you pursuing all avenues here I guess is the question?

WEST: Yes, we are. Initially this investigation was very broad in that we didn't know where Lance was. Whether this was a staged event or whether it was an actual hiking accident. Now that we've narrowed it down with Mr. Powers with our interview with Mr. Powers it's giving us some direction, but we still have to consider a number of different alternatives. One of which is that Mr. Powers may have been involved with some criminal intent in Lance's disappearance.

M. O'BRIEN: Ok. A lot to consider here. Quite a mystery. Good luck trying to solve that one. Commander Phil West is with the Boulder Sheriff's Department.

WEST: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Appreciate your time. Soledad?

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, radio talk show host Bill Bennett checks in with us. His hot topic for the hour is the drama over that ABC docudrama about 9/11.

And Mayor Ray Nagin's reelection promise, a hundred days later is New Orleans any better off? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Here's a look at what Americans are talking about today. CNN contributor Bill Bennett is the host of "Morning in America." Good morning Bill, nice to see you. Long time no see, man.

BILL BENNETT, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I know, I know, a little vacation, a little tiny vacation. Thank Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Everyone has a vacation. What's everybody talking about this morning?

BENNETT: Well, we started talking about the two videos, hums of the new successor to Zarqawi pleading for help over there which we think is interesting and then the bin Laden one, but then the phones got flooded because I said I thought the Clintons had a point about this ABC miniseries.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, "The Path to 9/11".

BENNETT: Right, my audience pretty dramatically disagreed with me.

S. O'BRIEN: Really, well tell me both sides. First, what's your side on that?

BENNETT: Well, maybe having been a cabinet member you know you have some heightened concern about being quoted accurately and correctly. Look, "The Path to 9/11" is strewn with a lot of problems and I think there were problems in the Clinton administration. But that's no reason to falsify the record, falsify conversations by either the president or his leading people and you know it just shouldn't happen. Conservatives have to be consistent Soledad, when the Reagan's that show about the Reagan's, CBS show came out, had all sorts of distortions and misstatements. Conservatives went crazy and had it relegated somewhere, I don't know, it never appeared on CBS. And so I think they should be consistent. And when ABC comes out and has conversations taking place among cabinet members on recent history, on matters that are still before us, I think they should correct those inaccuracies.

S. O'BRIEN: I guess those are matters too that you could go to a record and see if indeed it's true or false. So what's the most compelling argument on the other side that you heard from your listeners this morning?

BENNETT: Well the drift from the listeners is look, there was neglect on the part of the Clinton administration as was said, you know, by this guy Lawrence Wright in his book. They were at war with us, we weren't at war with them. We missed some opportunities. But if you want to make the case against the Clinton administration on this regard, make it on the basis of facts not on made-up things. And it is fair enough to say, too, if people are going to be looking for accuracy in these kinds of presentations then people should be looking at "Fahrenheit 451," you know the Michael Moore movie, as well. But I'm going to defend them on grounds that they shouldn't put words in the mouths of cabinet members that were never said. And if you have been there you know how seriously you take that sort of thing. I had comments about Noriega, I had comments about Pablo Escobar, you know when I was in the drug czar position, I wouldn't want people distorting that. And I think its right to ask for that.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about what your listeners are saying about the new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq and what you put as sort of a plea for help to have his followers kill one American apiece in Iraq. How are they taking that?

BENNETT: Well it's very interesting because we have this -- the whole debate is roiling here in the United States about Iraq, should we be in Iraq, and so on. How are we doing? A lot of people would have it that we're getting our brains beat out. Nevertheless, almost every time we get some communication from the people we're fighting in Iraq, or they put out some video or they put out some statement, they are begging for help and saying you know as he says in this tape our enemy is united, his enemy is the United States and the allied forces, our enemy is united and we desperately need help. So that suggests to me and to the audience that we're doing some things right over there. We're certainly putting it to these guys and they think they're in the fight of their lives.

S. O'BRIEN: Bill Bennett, nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us this morning.

BENNETT: Thanks, nice to be back, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Nice to have you back. Miles?

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up in the program, keeping you safe at the airport and why the janitor may be looking for trouble while pushing a broom. We'll explain.

Plus this --

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And a few months ago Mayor Ray Nagin at the start of his second term unveiled his hundred day plan to reenergize this city. Well today marks the hundredth day. Just how is it working? I'll have that story when AMERICAN MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(INSERT 0900)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Time to check some headlines.

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Today marks the hundred day point since Mayor Ray Nagin in New Orleans was re-elected. The mayor promised he would get an awful lot done in that time, so now report card time.

Sean Callebs is here with this aspect. Hello, Sean.

CALLEBS: Hey, Miles, indeed. You kind of have to back up a little bit to put that in context, as well. Because people here are fed up with the slow progress of recovery of the city. In the spring, things were dragging on because a lot of people said, well, who is going to be the next mayor? Then after the reelection, Mayor Nagin came out and he trumpeted this 100-day plan. We're going to cut down on crime, improve housing, get rid of debris. Well, today marks that anniversary, the 100 days, and a lot of people are disappointed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: Today is a new beginning.

CALLEBS (voice-over): After a hard fought reelection, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin in June promised things would soon get better for weary residents. He announced an ambitious 100-day plan, to be overseen by movers and shakers in New Orleans, to tackle the city's biggest problems.

NAGIN: And we'll examine everything, from implementing improved methods for crime fighting, debris removal, garage collection and accelerated and short-term and long-term housing.

CALLEBS: But many in still horribly devastated neighborhoods, like Lisa Grillot, are giving up on promises as Nagin's first 100 days of this term draw to a close.

LISA GRILLOT, LAKEVIEW RESIDENT: I don't see that any politician can do anything in particular for anybody. If a person doesn't do it themselves, it's not going to get done.

CALLEBS: The mayor's office didn't return CNN's repeated calls, but critics say the city has no plan on how to rebuild in badly flooded areas, and has developed no way to bring hundreds of thousands who flood Katrina back to the city they called home.

It's not just citizens voicing their disappointment. Businesses, like owners of the Savvy Gourmet, say they can't wait for city hall. They're risking their own money with no assurance that people will come back.

PETER MENGE, CO-OWNER, SAVVY GOURMET: It feels kind of like the wild, wild West. It's just -- you're just kind of trying to make it happen, you're trying to carve out your own thing. And there isn't -- there's just very little topdown leadership.

CALLEBS: There are positives the mayor can point to. New Orleans is ridding itself of mounds of debris, and trash pickup has resumed in many areas. But rebuilding remains the key stumbling block. The president of city council says he understands citizen angst.

OLIVER THOMAS, CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT: I think what people seem to be saying they're getting now is mixed messages about what to expect, what not to expect, what we can do, what we can't do. And I think it's real frustrating to people not knowing when we say something if it's really going to happen or not.

GRILLOT: I'm not going to wait. I'm not waiting. I'm not waiting for someone to help me. I'm not waiting for the road home money. I'm not waiting. I'm not waiting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLEBS: Here in the Lakeview area, the people that are here staying in FEMA trailers like the one you see behind me. Many people feel after getting hammered by Katrina, they've been let down time and time again by all forms of government, and don't really expect to hear Mayor Nagin here, talking about his plan today. He's up in D.C., Miles. He is scheduled to meet with the black caucus at a conference there.

M. O'BRIEN: Perhaps a little bit of symbolism might be gathered from that. One of the issues and the real issue which seems to be the huge stumbling block issue is the decision on whether to shrink the footprint of the city. And no one seems to want to address that. Because once that decision is made, you know, this part is coming back, this part is not, a lot of things follow from that.

CALLEBS: You know, seemingly, they would. But the big frustration -- there is no plan that has been spelled out by city hall, by the mayor, how they would like to put this city back together. You know all the areas, the Lower Ninth, New Orleans East, here in Lakeview. People are waiting for that. And once that happens, just mounds of federal money is supposed to begin pouring in here. You're supposed to see a whole bevy of construction activity. But in the interim, a lot of stuff like this, debris lying around, demolished homes and people just shrugging their shoulders, saying, what next?

M. O'BRIEN: Sean Callebs in New Orleans, thank you very much.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: A CNN "Security Watch" now. How do you tell a nervous flyer from a dangerous passenger? A pilot program in Miami plans to teach thousands of civilian airport employees who and what to lookout for when they're targeting potential terrorists.

We'll get now from CNN's national correspondent, Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When he completes his training, this man will be among those on the look-out for a potential terrorist at Miami International Airport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An attack is coming, and we have to work under that premise.

CANDIOTTI: Miami's airport becomes the first in the United States to train its civilian employees in the war on terror, from smart card agents to skycaps.

They'll be taught to look for odd behavior. The fancy term for it, behavior pattern recognition, already employed by law enforcement at several U.S. airports. Rafi Ron, well known for once heading security at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, developed the technique.

(on camera): Now, how do you encourage, for example, employees like these to -- they know they, too, can play a role?

RAFI RON, NEW AGE SECURITY: Well, first of all, by giving them the facts.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): What are the facts? Ron insists this is not racial profiling, focusing, for example, on Arab men. He says it means looking for abnormal behavior in anyone. To protect the program's integrity, officials won't discuss specifics.

RON: When we see something that is out of the ordinary, when we see something that could be a security risk, we need to respond to that.

CANDIOTTI: The ACLU has challenged the method in Boston. In Florida, it's wait and see. The ACLU asks, for example, which nervous-looking college-aid students will be stopped. Only those that fit an ethnic profile?

SGT. KEVIN DOUGHERTY, MIAMI-DADE POLICE: We can stop every Lithuanian male between a certain age group, if you could tell who was Lithuanian or not, but we don't do that. What we're looking for the way they are behaving when they are inside the airport.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): So the more eyes, the better?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Correct.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Officer Ana Paz, armed with a German- made semiautomatic, says she's happy she'll have many more eyes helping her scan about 85,000 passengers who use Miami's airport daily.

OFFICER ANA PAZ, MIAMI-DADE POLICE: If you were to walk into your office and find something out of place, or find somebody out of place that doesn't work there, wouldn't you know?

CANDIOTTI: That's the idea. It will take time to train all 35,000 employees, some in greater depth than others, from checking out benign looking grandfathers to mothers with baby strollers, an added responsibility for employees, for travelers another layer of security.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: You want to stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Coming up in the program, fact or fiction, former President Bill Clinton takes aim at ABC's unfinished 9/11 docudrama. Will the network give in? Plus, a special program for single mothers on the water. For a chance to compete and more importantly to learn.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: An ABC docudrama on 9/11 has Bill Clinton and some of his former staffers seeing red, and apparently has ABC going back into the edit room, according to "The Washington Post" this morning. The film depicts the events leading up to 9/11. It's supposedly true to the 9/11 Commission report, but apparently the producers took a little creative license.

Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bill Clinton's former national security team, taking ABC to task over the network's dramatic miniseries "The Path to 9/11".

A letter sent from Clinton's attorney and his former aide, Bruce Lindsay, to Robert Iger, CEO of ABC's parent company, the Walt Disney Corporation, reads, quote, "ABC has gotten it terribly wrong. It is unconscionable to mislead the American public about one of the most horrendous tragedies our country has ever known."

Former Clinton aides say although they have not seen the film ABC should revise or remove part of it before it airs next week.

Among the proposed scenes upsetting them -- a portrayal of a 1998 CIA-led operation in Afghanistan. In the scene CIA operatives have Osama bin Laden cornered and are poised to capture or kill him until national security adviser Samuel Berger refuses to give the go-ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: We're ready to load the package. Repeat, do we have clearance to load the package?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Stand by.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Our officers are in place, sir. They're in danger.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I understand that, Patricia, but I don't have that authority.

TODD: Berger, other top Clinton national security aides and members of the 9/11 Commission say none of that ever happened.

TIM ROEMER, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: There were plans, not an operation in place. Secondly, Osama bin Laden was never in somebody's sights. Thirdly, on page 114 of our report we say George Tenet took responsibility for pulling the plug on that particular Turnak (ph) Farms operation. TODD: In his own letter to Robert Eiger, Bueger writes, the scene, quote, "flagrantly misrepresents my personal actions." It's unclear at this point whether this scene or a different version will be in the final cut. ABC representatives did not specifically respond to our questions, but in a statement ABC Entertainment says, "'The Path to 9/11' is not a documentary of the events leading to 9/11. It is a dramatization, drawn from a variety of sources, including the 9/11 Commission report, other published materials and personal interviews. As such, for dramatic and narrative purposes the movie contains fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue and time compression. No one has seen the final version of the film because the editing process is not yet complete."

Still, observers say ABC is taking a chance by using the real names of the key players.

HOWARD KURTZ, "THE WASHINGTON POST": A lot of people watching that are going to think this is reality, when in fact it is just Oliver Stone-type fiction.

TODD: Another controversy, ABC enlisting 9/11 Commission chairman Tom Kean, a Republicans, as an unpaid consultant with a production title. Kean tells CNN he had seen the script, and informed ABC the scene depicting Berger hanging up the phone on a CIA agent who had Osama bin Laden in his sights was inaccurate. Kean says ABC responded that it would revisit the scene.

(on camera): Kean tells me he believes the writers and producers did their best to depict everyone fairly, and he urges president Clinton and his former aides to watch the movie. It is, in his words, "an effective piece of work. ABC did not consult a Democratic member of the 9/11 Commission for this film.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: President Clinton has not seen the ABC docudrama. He, too, is concerned about its accuracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FMR. PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: I think they ought to tell truth, particularly if they're going to claim it's based on a 9/11 Commission report. They shouldn't have scenes which are directly contradicted by the factual findings from the 9/11 Commission. That's all, I just want people to tell the truth, and not to pretend its something it's not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: "Path to 9/11" set to air in two parts. It begins on Sunday -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: "CNN NEWSROOM" just a few minutes away. Tony Harris is at the CNN Center with a little preview. Good morning.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad. Good to see you.

Well, coming up in the "CNN NEWSROOM," here we are hours before launch and another part goes on the blink. Will this new development mean a new delay for Shuttle Atlantis.

The FBI add this is man to its notorious 10 most wanted list, accused of killing a New York State trooper, and still on the run.

And generation 9/11, a couple's whose son was born the very hour the attacks began. You're in the "NEWSROOM" at the top of the hour.

Soledad, back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Tony, thanks a lot.

Up next, "Andy is Minding Your Business."

And we'll check in with him in just a minute. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: For teenage mothers, the struggles can seem to never end. This morning, we tell you about a unique program that'S helping a group of young moms find new direction in their lives.

Here's Dan Lothian with our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANU VYAVAHARKAR, SOCIAL WORKER: Ready? Up! Walk it out to me slowly.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anu Vyavaharkar is guiding these young single mothers...

VYAVAHARKAR: Watch the door! Let's bring it in slow.

LOTHIAN: ... on a special journey...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ready to row? Row.

LOTHIAN: ... using rowing to help stabilize and even improve their young lives.

VYAVAHARKAR: But I think with dedication and perseverance and kind of not giving up -- I think that's part of the sport, and I think that definitely translates to their lives.

LOTHIAN: Vyavaharkar is a social worker at Children's Hospital in Boston, where a young parents group includes the rowing team Proud Mamas.

VYAVAHARKAR: It's a really difficult, competitive sport, challenging for all of us to learn it and to be part after team.

LOTHIAN: Dr. Joanne Cox, medical director of the hospital's primary care center, says rowing's ultimate team concept is good medicine.

DR. JOANNE COX, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, BOSTON: We have young women who weren't in school, sort of drifting. And we were really concerned that they would simply have another baby. And this program gave them organization. And in fact, they didn't have another baby and they're still in school.

VYAVAHARKAR: Really watch that person in front of you.

LOTHIAN: As coxswain on the boat, Vyavaharkar helps these young mothers stay on course by keeping them rowing to the same beat.

VYAVAHARKAR: Nice! Last one really hard! Ten.

LOTHIAN: India Terry has a 3-year-old son.

INDIA TERRY, PROUD MAMAS MEMBER: Just to be out here on the water, to be with a group of moms that experience the same things I experience.

LOTHIAN: Madeline Urbina has a 21-month-old son.

MADELINE URBINA, PROUD MAMAS: And it helps me keep on track. And it's -- you know, it's a team. And life is the same way.

VYAVAHARKAR: How you guys feeling?

LOTHIAN: Vyavaharkar and the girls practice twice a week and race other teams of young mothers, exercising their bodies and their minds.

VYAVAHARKAR: Yay!

LOTHIAN: Dan Lothian, CNN...

VYAVAHARKAR: Good job, guys! Good job!

LOTHIAN: ... Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: The Proud Mamas lost their competition this year. I like that name. Madeline Urbina says she's ready to come back next season -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: We wish them well.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

M. O'BRIEN: Back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) M. O'BRIEN: A reminder for you. Monday, as you, of course, know, is the fifth anniversary of 9/11, the terror attacks. CNN will have coverage all throughout the day. Soledad and I will be here with a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. Our coverage begins at 6:00 Eastern. We're going to take you through it, minute by minute, that horrible morning.

That's all from here on AMERICAN MORNING.

"CNN NEWSROOM" with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins is next.

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