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American Morning

Still Inspecting Atlantis; Baby Abby Found; New Comments From Pope Benedict

Aired September 20, 2006 - 08:59   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody.
I'm Soledad O'Brien.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien.

The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis still in space, still inspecting their craft. And the more they look, the more mysterious things they see.

In the last hour, NASA tells us they found another three unidentified objects near the shuttle. The big worry: what, if any of these objects, five in all now, are part of the shuttle's heat shield?

Our technology correspondent, Daniel Sieberg, live now from the Cape -- Daniel.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

You can say the plot has thickened a little bit. Let's give people sort of a rundown of what we've been talking about here with some of this debris.

It started very early yesterday morning, about 2:45 a.m. Eastern Time, when some flight controllers on the ground noticed the first object or piece of debris. It's tough to tell from looking at it the size and how far away it is, but that was the first piece that set people off in looking for other objects.

Several hours later, one of the astronauts on board shuttle Atlantis, Dan Burbank, looked out the window and noticed another object. NASA has said they believe that this could possibly be a plastic bag or something else that they noticed. That was about noontime yesterday.

And then this morning, just about an hour and a half ago or so, Commander Brent Jett remarked on the latest object or piece of debris. And let's listen in now on what he was saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRENT JETT, ASTRONAUT: Now there are -- there are three objects. The one you see, you see two rings right there. They are the ones we had the late tallyho on. The one down at the bottom, that was the one we initially saw that appeared to be foil. So we've got, like, two rings and then a piece of foil. The piece of foil seems to be further in front with the -- with the (INAUDIBLE). It seems to be further in front of the other two. And the other two seem to be about the same equidistant from both us and the (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIEBERG: So, they're continuing their inspections -- they're continuing their inspections, Miles, and, of course, this concern is if any of these objects had hit the protective heat shield. At this point, though, NASA is pretty optimistic that they're going to be OK for a landing attempt tomorrow.

M. O'BRIEN: So far the inspections of the heat shield have shown everything is OK, right?

SIEBERG: Yes. They are continuing with this extended robotic arm to see if there is anything on these heat shield tiles that could be a problem. But at this point, they are not seeing anything that's causing any alarm.

So this mystery may never be solved as to what all of these objects were. But the key is, of course, whether the shuttle is safe to land.

The earliest opportunity would be 6:21 Eastern Time tomorrow morning. They would then have another opportunity at 7:57 out here at Kennedy Space Center.

M. O'BRIEN: Daniel Sieberg at the Cape.

Thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: New developments to get to in the Baby Abby story. She's been found safe and sound, and the suspected kidnapper is expected to be charged today. But more importantly, take a look at this.

New pictures of the little baby heading home. There she is. Oh. You can certainly hear her. She's in that carrier there. One of her grandmothers whisking her right by.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has been on this story for us in Union, Missouri.

Hey, Ed. Good morning.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

A beautiful picture, indeed. Imagine this, though. Yesterday afternoon, around 4:00 yesterday afternoon, authorities say they had found discarded in a wooded area some of Baby Abby's clothing. They started to suspect and fear the worst in this case, and just -- and then, just a few minutes after they had made that discovery, the sheriff says they had gotten the call that she was OK. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice over): Twelve-day-old Abigale Woods is back with her mother this morning. Doctors say she's in very good health. The family is thanking everyone for their help and their prayers through this ordeal.

SHEILA WOODS, BABY ABBY'S GRANDMOTHER: Just thanks, everybody, for praying for my granddaughter to come home. And thank god that she did and she's safe.

RUTH BURLAGE, BABY ABBY'S GREAT-GRANDMOTHER: I want to thank everybody that's helped my family and prayed for all of us and all their prayers. It helped. It helped.

LAVANDERA: Shannon Beck, the suspect in the kidnapping, is now in custody. She's expected to be in court later this morning. Police say Beck suffered a full-term miscarriage on the same day as the kidnapping and allegedly took Baby Abby to pass off as her own.

The rouse was uncovered by Beck's sister-in-law, who noticed a birthmark on the baby's head. It had been covered with makeup. But as soon as that makeup was wiped away, Dorothy Torres (ph) noticed the same mark police had highlighted in their pleas for help.

SHERIFF GARY TOELKE, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI: All the leads that we had were good leads, but it just took one out of the ordinary that helped. And getting the information out obviously was extremely important. It worked, and we had a happy outcome because of it.

LAVANDERA: All this played out just a few miles from Baby Abby's home. The same home where her mother's throat was slit just five days earlier. But now a happy homecoming.

BURLAGE: My heart just burst open. I am just so happy and overwhelmed. It's fantastic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: Authorities here say they will continue looking into Shannon Beck's story as to what motivated her, they say, to abduct Baby Abby. And they say that they expect to file charges of kidnapping, assault and burglary against her -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Gosh, it's nice to know that this case, this horrible case, has really resolved well.

Thanks, Ed -- Miles.

LAVANDERA: Sure.

M. O'BRIEN: The pope once again trying to make peace with Muslims infuriated by his remarks about Muslims. In his weekly audience at the Vatican, Pope Benedict expressed respect for Islam, said he was misunderstood, but offered no formal apology.

CNN's Alessio Vinci with more from Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This morning at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI did not offer that outright apology that some of the Muslim leaders were waiting for in the Middle East. Again, as you said, the pope said that his words were simply misunderstood.

He also said that the theme of it his lecture, that controversial lecture when he made those remarks about Islam, was not Islam, but rather the relationship between faith and reason, and that in no way what he said about Islam expressed his own conviction over that religion. If anything, the pope added this morning -- said he hoped that these words would constitute an encouragement to open a dialogue over the role of religion, any religion, for that matter, in the modern world.

POPE BENEDICT XVI (through translator): This quote unfortunately was able to perhaps be misunderstood. For the attentive reader of my words, it would be clear that I did not in any way wish to make my own the negative words which were pronounced by the medieval emperor in this dialogue, and that his contained polemic did not express my personal convictions.

VINCI: The Vatican has taken unusual steps in trying to quell this controversy. This is the fourth time that the Vatican over the last week has come back on this issue. Twice Vatican officials last week -- on Sunday the pope offered an apology for the reaction that these words have caused, and again this morning during the general audience.

Even Sunday's apology appeared translated in Arabic on the front page of the Vatican official newspaper, and the Vatican has instructed its nuncios, or its ambassadors in Muslim countries, to meet with both religious and political leaders to explain exactly the pope's words. Those words, by the way, were also translated into Arabic and made available, not just to the Arabic press here in Rome, but also to those embassies in the Middle East.

But one question the Vatican has not answered yet is if the pope does not want to be associated with those comments, then why did he actually use them? And one thing that I've asked the top official here, on inter-religious dialogue at the Vatican, he basically had no comment. He said, "It is important to look towards the future and not towards the past."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: That's a good question, though.

That's Alessio Vinci for us this morning.

President Bush is talking about a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff with Iran. He's talking directly to the Iranian people, not their president. And in response, the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had only some pretty harsh words in his speech at the U.N.

CNN's Aneesh Raman is here in person.

Good morning. Nice to see you.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nice to see you.

Iran this morning continues to defy the international community, continuing its nuclear program, and its president yesterday at the U.N. showed no sign of backing down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His Excellency, Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad...

RAMAN (voice over): Perhaps no speech at the U.N. was more anticipated than that of Iran's president. And that's exactly how he wanted it.

This week, gracing the cover of "TIME" magazine, fresh from a meeting of like-minded leaders in Havana, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the talk of reporters from around the world. Just last year, fresh from his surprise electoral victory, he was relatively unknown. No longer.

PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): Rejection of domination and aggression, defense of the oppressed, and longing for peace constitute the legitimate demand of the peoples of the world. Particularly, the new generations and the spirited youth who aspire to a world free from decadence, aggression and injustice.

RAMAN: But there was more than one Iranian view this day. Outside the U.N., a few hours earlier, a few hundred danced in protest of Ahmadinejad and speaking, they said, on behalf of those in Iran who cannot, called for Ahmadinejad and the regime he represents to step aside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His time is up and it's time the Iranians take over the destiny of their own country.

RAMAN: A notion U.S. President Bush was eager to emphasize. In his remarks to the U.N., he spoke not to Iran's government but directly to its people.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You deserve an opportunity to determine your own future, an economy that rewards your intelligence and your talents, and a society that allows you to fulfill your tremendous potential. The greatest obstacle to this future is that your rulers have chosen to deny you liberty and to use your nation's resources to fund terrorism and fuel extremism and pursue nuclear weapons.

RAMAN: Iran's government has, of course, denied they are pursuing a nuclear weapon. But what is undeniable that economic reform promised by Iran's president on the campaign trail a year ago has, for the most part, not been delivered.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAMAN: Now, U.S. officials say progress is being made. They are in unison with the EU. The key countries right now are Russia and China, convincing them that dialogue -- that the course is essentially run on dialogue, it is time for action.

But, Soledad, Iran really capitalizes on the fact that the U.N. is slow to take action, and it is hoping that the long ter calls for dialogue, the less likely there will be sanctions.

S. O'BRIEN: So you spent a lot of time in Iran. When you listen to President Ahmadinejad's speech -- rather, President Bush's speech to the people of Iran, which really was his focus, how do you think the people of Iran react to that kind of speech from the president of the United States?

RAMAN: Well, it will be interesting there to see first how it is translated and how it is put on Iranian television. Often words are parsed and they don't get the full picture within Iran.

There is a lot of anger against the U.S. administration because of Iraq. But it was interesting. President Bush mentioned economic prosperity as a potential for Iran's people. That is what they've wanted all along.

They elected Ahmadinejad to get their economy up and running, to decrease inflation, decrease unemployment.

S. O'BRIEN: Haven't seen it yet over a year.

RAMAN: Haven't seen it yet at all. And they don't really care about the nuclear issue because they don't have a choice. They have to follow this government wherever it takes them.

So their president pursuing international clout. The people just want economic reform. The big question will be, if he doesn't deliver it, does he get re-election, Ahmadinejad? And that is the only force that could rein him in.

S. O'BRIEN: That's interesting. All right. Aneesh Raman, thanks. Appreciate it.

A horrific crime we've been telling you about all morning. It happened in a suburb of Denver. A woman was killed and then dragged for more than a mile. Apparently, she had been tied to the back of a car.

There was a rope around her neck. She was so disfigured they couldn't really recognize her by her face. Police this morning are looking for suspects, looking for a motive, too.

Let's get right to Jim Hooley. He's with our affiliate KMGH in Denver this morning.

Good morning, Jim.

JIM HOOLEY, REPORTER, KMGH: Good morning, Soledad.

The body of this woman was found off a small road just off I-25, the big interstate coming out of Denver in Douglas County, on Monday morning. And as you said, they have not been able to identify the woman as of yet because her face was so disfigured, her body so mangled because she was dragged for some one-mile distance behind a vehicle, a car or a truck on Monday morning. And now investigators say that they do believe that the woman was alive when the whole thing started on Monday morning, very early in the morning.

Yesterday a makeshift memorial was put up at the site where the body was found. It's a very simple gesture, a simple cross and an angel put in place there. No one knows who erected the memorial because, as we said, people here don't even know who the victim is. But someone feels that the woman deserves some kind of tribute.

Now, once again, they have no idea I.D. on the victim as of yet. Her face was so mangled that they've not been able to come up with an identification. So they investigators here in Douglas County are using dental records and fingerprints, trying to come up with some kind of I.D.

And also this morning we understand investigators are holding three people. They've held them overnight, and they are talking to those three people. They say they are witnesses at this point in time. They may know something about the murder and how it happened, but they say they are not suspects in this case.

No arrests so far in this very horrific crime in Douglas County south of Denver.

Soledad, back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Jim. Let me ask you a couple of questions. This is -- this is really, I think, breathtaking.

First, tell me a little bit about this suburb of Denver where this happened. I mean, nice suburb, dangerous suburb? What do you know about it?

HOOLEY: You know, it's a very nice suburb. In fact, just a couple of years ago, Soledad, this was one of the wealthiest suburbs listed in all of the United States. A very high annual income.

People here do very well. It's a very white collar community. Not used to something like this happening overnight on the streets here.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. And a second question for you.

Any clues? I know you say the police think that -- that she was alive when she was tied apparently to the vehicle. Anything found by the body? Any indication of what -- what may have happened?

HOOLEY: This is very interesting, Soledad. They did find one picture. It was a picture of a man and woman. They found that picture next to the body or nearby the body on Monday morning. Investigators here in Douglas County have put that picture out, they have published that picture. They say the woman in the photo, they don't believe it is the actual victim herself. But they have put that picture out to the public, and they've gotten some leads, some clues from that.

But again, no arrests so far in Douglas County.

S. O'BRIEN: Gosh, what a horrific, horrific crime.

Jim Hooley is with our affiliate KMGH.

Jim, thanks for the update. Appreciate it.

HOOLEY: OK.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, on the trail of the E. coli outbreak. An exclusive look inside the government's nerve center as they track a deadly bacteria.

And later, a story we first told you about yesterday. A man accused of being a terrorist is deported and tortured for 10 months. But he's innocent. We'll hear from him ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Earlier this month we heard a call from al Qaeda's top man in Iraq to target U.S. forces there. And this morning, we're learning that is exactly what's been happening. At a briefing this morning in Baghdad, Major General William Caldwell says attacks on U.S. troops are up and so are brutal attacks on civilians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: This past week there was a spike in execution-style murders in Baghdad. Many bodies found had clear signs of being bound, tortured and executed. We believe death squads and other legal armed groups are responsible for this type of violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: General Caldwell says U.S. forces expect the violence will increase during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Iraq's leaders are in New York today for the U.N. General Assembly. Many of the meetings are focusing on how to stabilize the growing violence in that country. Last week alone more than 200 bodies were found in and around Baghdad.

The Iraqi deputy prime minister is Barham Salih. He joins us this morning. It's nice to see you, sir. Thanks for talking with us.

BARHAM SALIH, IRAQI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Thank you for having me.

S. O'BRIEN: If you look at the numbers, last week alone 227 bodies recovered. The Baghdad death toll for the month of August is well over 1,500 people killed.

At what point do you say, yes, this is a civil war?

SALIH: Well, I have said this before. I mean, I don't want to get into a debate about having (ph) a definition of what we have in Iraq, whether it is a civil war or not. The reality, we are deal with a grave situation. Too many innocent people are dying, and this is an unacceptable situation, and that is why Iraqi leaders from across the political divide are coming together to discuss this situation. And we have imposed upon ourselves a tough timetable to enact legislation and measures in order to stem the rising tide of sectarian violence.

S. O'BRIEN: What's that -- what's that timetable?

SALIH: We are talking, for example, a range of policy and economic issues that will see us to conclude the timetable by March next year. We will be enacting laws dealing with militias, the illegal armed groups by October, we hope.

We are working on an oil law which we hope will be done before long. We are working on a number of other issues, including reform of the de-Baathification commission which has been a controversial issue. Basically, these are all elements of Prime Minister Maliki's national reconciliation plan.

I'm not one of those who would say things are easy in Iraq. They are tough. But while we are focused on solving the problems, one should not lose sight of the important progress that has taken place.

We are trying to build a decent government, a functioning democracy in the heart of the Islamic Middle East. And we are burdened by the crosscurrents of the regional issues, various regional issues, including international terrorism. You, the United States, the developed democracy, the superpower, have difficulty dealing with this lethal threat of al Qaeda.

What (INAUDIBLE) democracy, Iraq? That is trying to make it happen in the midst of this (INAUDIBLE). So I hope that people will understand the difficulties that we are dealing with, not to underestimate the challenge that we have. But we are committed to making it happen because we have no option but to succeed.

S. O'BRIEN: You're also burdened with this increasing sectarian violence.

SALIH: True.

S. O'BRIEN: Now, it's been said to people in the United States by our leadership, when the Iraqis stand up, the U.S. troops will be able to stand down and then go home. And that's, of course, something that many Americans are focused on. But here's what General Abizaid had to say just yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: It's a world recognized fact that the police forces have been infiltrated by militia interests that have the interests of their militia above that of the state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: If the police have been infiltrated, how is -- what is the solution to that?

SALIH: Well, I mean, we don't deal with perfect situations.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, but that's a -- that's a far from perfect...

SALIH: No, no, I'm not saying -- I'm not belittling the problem, for example, with the police. And I think we have a very, very serious problem with the police service in Iraq, and the government is committed to reforming that. But we are doing this thing. And this is what I try to get across.

We're not an island in the Pacific. We are surrounded by a tough neighborhood. And we are laden with so many problems of the region as well. We are committed to reforming the police service. If we do not reform the police service, the state will become part of the problem as a -- as opposed to becoming a solution. We're mindful of that.

S. O'BRIEN: But how do you -- I guess when you say reforming the police service, if there is infiltration of the police, how do you fix that problem? And until that's fixed, obviously you have troops who won't be heading home.

SALIH: We fix it -- I mean, let me put it in American context. Police services in New York and in Chicago and others are known to have had problems, and there are legal and measures that could be taken and will be taken in the case of Iraq.

Parliament -- we have a lively parliament, by the way, in Iraq. And this is something that is often not reported in this part of the world, that we have a parliament that is looking at these issues.

I'm not saying this will be easy, because there are competing interests that will dictate the way that the police services and the military is involved. There are heavy serious political debates about these matters. But we are about to do it, but it takes some time. And this is not -- there are no quick fixes. There are no magic silver bullets that can do the job.

Again, we are dealing with a legacy of 35 years of tyranny from Saddam Hussein. We're dealing with a tough neighborhood. We're dealing with a society that has been tormented, traumatized by tyranny, and also by the sectarian strife.

So the important thing to note is that two years ago, when we assumed sovereignty, Iraq did have minimal forces. Today we have nearly 300,000 military and police. Admittedly, the police have serious problems. By the end of this year, half of Iraqi provinces will be under Iraqi security control.

Am I telling you that the police and the military will be a perfect solution to this? Absolutely not. We will...

S. O'BRIEN: But still 140,000 U.S. troops are there.

We're out of time. And we can -- I appreciate you coming in and talking to us...

SALIH: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: ... and taking time out of your busy schedule over at the U.N. to illuminate some of the -- the big problems and the progress, too.

SALIH: Thank you for having me.

S. O'BRIEN: We certainly appreciate it.

Iraq's deputy prime minister is Barham Salih.

Thank you -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, U.S. car makers are cutting jobs and closing plants. So why are they still stuck in reverse when it comes to profits?

AMERICAN MORNING'S Ali Velshi will take a look at that.

And later, some speeches at the U.N. Who won the war of words between President Bush and Iran's President Ahmadinejad?

We'll take a closer look ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Federal health officials still trying to locate the source of contaminated spinach.

Our senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, got an exclusive look inside the Centers for Disease Control nerve center where investigators are tracking the current E. coli outbreak. Sanjay is here with that.

It's kind of like CSI Atlanta, I guess

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. It's a real sort of investigation going on here trying to pinpoint this down.

As everyone knows now, they are not really much closer in terms of actually figuring it out. The number of cases increasing, 132 now, including one confirmed case in Colorado.

How does this work? That was the question we wanted to try and figure out. These are true disease detectives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: If there's a mission control for handling the E. coli outbreak, this is it. You're getting a unique look at DEOC, the Directors Emergency Operations Center of the CDC.

Over here you can see all sorts of different screens. They are monitoring avian flu. They're monitoring the weather. But right now, front and center, the E. coli outbreak. It is very difficult to figure out exactly from where the E. coli started.

A lot of people ask exactly how does the investigation take place. I want to show you.

We're in some of the back hallways of the CDC. Here, people are actually on the phone calling some of the patients who have become sick with the E. coli infection, asking them about their dietary habits, asking them about their symptoms. In this room over here, they are taking all that information, trying to compile it and figure out where this outbreak stands.

DR. PATRICIA GRIFFIN, CENTS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: We ask people about everything they ate in the week before they got sick because it's important to know for sure what's causing the illnesses.

GUPTA: It sounds like it's impossible, because, I mean, I can't remember what I had for dinner last night. How do figure -- ask people what they've eaten for an entire week? It's very hard.

GRIFFIN: Right. You figure it out by interviewing all the people that you can and asking them detailed questions. And when they can't remember exactly what they ate, you say, "Well, considering your habits, what did you probably eat?"

GUPTA: If someone has eaten spinach over the last week and they are hearing all this coverage and hearing you talk now, what is your message to them?

GRIFFIN: They should relax. If they have spinach in the refrigerator, they should throw it away. And if they do develop diarrhea, they should get that spinach package out of the trash and contact their local health department and see their doctor.

GUPTA: When can I eat spinach again?

GRIFFIN: That's a great question. The more specific that we can get about where the contamination occurred, you know, the better it will be. And that's what we're working towards. But...

GUPTA: But definitely no spinach now?

GRIFFIN: Absolutely not. Please don't eat raw spinach now. GUPTA: Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

GRIFFIN: Thanks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: Now, what's become very clear as well is the scope of the investigation actually seems to be broadening. I mean, they were talking about just fresh bagged spinach. Then they said all spinach, then they said spinach that's also mixed with other salad.

Normally, you narrow down something. But it is broadening for the time being. And really -- it's hard to figure out when this thing is going to come to a close.

M. O'BRIEN: They probably will, though, won't they eventually?

GUPTA: I think they will. I mean, they always have. And remember, there's been 350 E. coli outbreaks over 20 years. This is one of the largest ones and one that's affected the most states. But I think they'll figure it out.

M. O'BRIEN: And as far as the number of people actually going to the hospital, unusually high numbers in this case.

GUPTA: Yes. You know, that's one thing that really has been striking and made more apparent, is this is a really bad strain of E. coli.

You know, E. coli can live harmlessly in your gut. This particular strain has caused complications of kidney failure in 18 people out of the 132. That's a very high percentage.

Also, 50 percent of the people who are getting this are being hospitalized. It's not just a few days of not feeling well. It's actually going to the hospital.

M. O'BRIEN: So I could have E. coli in my gut right now? Really?

GUPTA: You probably do, in fact.

M. O'BRIEN: I better get that checked. Really?

All right, Sanjay Gupta. Thank you very much. A fascinating look at inside the CDC.

GUPTA: We'll keep on top of it.

M. O'BRIEN: They do good work there -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks, guys.

Coming up this morning, going to give you an update on a story we told you about yesterday, that Canadian man wrongly accused of being a terrorist. He says he was tortured and he's going to share his story just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien. President Bush seems to be sending a signal that he's going to broaden the diplomatic option on Iran. Hard to pick up all of that in all the tough talk we heard at the U.N. yesterday.

White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has a look.

Good morning to you, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Of course, it was really interesting. Yesterday was really all about political theater. And, you know, whether or not these two leaders doing this kabuki dance would actually meet. Neither one of them wanted to see each other.

S. O'BRIEN: That was not going to happen. I mean, they have enough people between them...

MALVEAUX: There was no way that was going to happen.

S. O'BRIEN: No way.

MALVEAUX: Although Bush and Clinton met with each other, you know, kind of bumped into each other in the hallway.

But you know, there was the public persona here, President Busy saying getting tough on economic sanctions, pushing forward. But privately what's happening, and that's the really more interesting part of this story, Europeans have been talking with the Iranians for some time now, and they feel like they're getting closer and closer to this negotiating process. And nobody, really, very few people have the stomach for the economic sanctions that Bush is talking about. The Russians aren't on board. The Chinese aren't on board. Neither are the French. And the administration is aware of that, they know they have no choice but to simply wait it out.

S. O'BRIEN: So when President Bush in his remarks really addresses them to the Iranian people, he's basically sending a message that if Ahmadinejad doesn't watch out, his people's own frustration with them economically is what might bring them down.

MALVEAUX: Oh, certainly. And the president was smart in his strategy in his speech. He exploited that, because he mentioned two things. First of all, he talked directly to the Iranian people, but secondly, he said he talked about the state of the economy. I know you're frustrated with the economy. That's the one thing the Iranian people turn to Ahmadinejad say, you are giving us nuclear power, we're proud of that, but at the same time, we've got to feed our families.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, that's an interesting strategy.

At the end of the day, though, what we heard from Ahmadinejad was equal rhetoric. Very harsh, very attacking. The president, did he listen in on that speech or not?

MALVEAUX: No, no. He was actually at a reception. The White House officials, of course, were listening to every word. I was BlackBerrying them while the speech was going on. Is the president watching? Is he listening? He was at a reception, but he's gotten -- he's been briefed on the speech itself. They are really trying to play it down. They didn't want it to seem like it was an equal stage, or even being really kind of I guess outstaged or upstaged by Ahmadinejad. But you know, their listening to what he has to say. And what's more important is the Europeans are listening to what Ahmadinejad had say. A lot of posturing happened yesterday.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, there's two tracks. I mean, what we see and then what's going on behind the scenes, which I guess is what diplomacy is all about.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a quick question about the Palestinian Authority President Abbas. The president is going to be meeting with him to kind of get back on track with what's going on there. What do you expect out of that meeting?

MALVEAUX: Well, you know, the two are going to meet. It's going to be an important meeting. But the reason why he's doing this, he's recommitting himself, is really because all of the people, the leaders that he is looking for support when it comes to Iraq, when it comes to Iran, are saying, look, Mr. President, this is not about extremists causing instability in the Middle East; this is about this unresolved conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. Deal with this first or at least deal with it at the same time. Then we'll talk about giving you aid or giving you help in these other areas.

That's at the root and that is what the extremists exploit, and that kind of gets the whole ball rolling.

Suzanne Malveaux in person for us, even though she's the White House correspondent.

Nice to see you here in New York. We like that.

MALVEAUX: It's a pleasure. Thanks, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Suzanne.

President Bush is going to get his chance to respond to President Ahmadinejad's speech tonight in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Wolf Blitzer interviews the president. You're going to see that at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: The largely faceless, nameless debate over how suspected terrorists are treated by the U.S. is taking you on a new dimension embodied in one man's terrifying tale. Yesterday we told you about Maher Arar, arrested in September of 2002 at Kennedy Airport in New York and whisked away on a government-chartered jet to Jordan and then Syria, where he was tortured and held for 10 months. Canadian authorities first put him on a watchlist after he was seen talking to shady characters. But now they say it was all a big mistake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTICE DENNIS O'CONNOR, CANADIAN COMMISSION CHAIRMAN: There is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Arar has committed any offense, or that his activities constitute a threat to the security of Canada.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Maher Arar joins us now from Ottawa to talk a little bit more about his ordeal.

Mr. Arar, good to have you with us.

MAHER ARAR, TORTURED IN SYRIAN PRISON: Good morning.

M. O'BRIEN: What exactly happened to you inside that Syrian prison?

ARAR: Well, I was beaten with a cable on multiple occasions. I was abused psychologically from time to time, and I was asked questions that would be of interest mostly to the Canadian RCMP police and the Canadian security agencies, and possibly to American agencies.

M. O'BRIEN: And these questions, these are questions you didn't have the answer to. How did you respond? Did you start just trying to answer them any way you could?

HARAR: Well, I tried my best to answer them, you know, since I had nothing to the hide. But the Syrians, they basically beat first and asked second...

ARAR: ... to answer them, you know, since I have nothing to hide. But the Syrians, they basically beat first and ask second -- ask questions second. And that's what they did to me.

In fact, on the third day, to my surprise, they wanted me to confess that I had been to a training camp in Afghanistan, which at the end of that day, I falsely confessed to try to stop the beating. The beating did not stop. But the -- you know, it decreased in intensity after that false confession.

M. O'BRIEN: Did you think you'd get out of it alive? ARAR: No, it's -- you know, the beating I went through, just beyond human imagination. The cell they put me in, the size -- it was the size of a grave, three feet wide, six feet long and seven feet high. It was dark, it was filthy. I couldn't even imagine that they would put me in such place. And I couldn't imagine that human beings would treat other human beings in that way.

M. O'BRIEN: You mentioned the RCMP, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Do you blame them largely for this, for putting you on that watchlist?

ARAR: Well, the findings of the inquiry report clearly state that it is likely that the Americans based their decision to send me to Syria on this false information. Well, this is not to absolve the American officials who took the decision from any responsibility. At the end of the day, they are the ones who took the decision to send me to a country that they themselves acknowledge practices torture on detainees.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's listen to what the attorney general had to say about this yesterday, then we'll talk a little bit more about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Mr. Arar was deported under our immigration laws. We were not responsible for his removal to Syria. I'm not aware that he was tortured, and I haven't read the commission report.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: You were deported. You are a Syrian national, correct?

ARAR: I am Syrian national and Canadian national, correct.

M. O'BRIEN: So the U.S. had a choice. They could have deported you back to Canada or could have deported you to Syria, right?

ARAR: Well...

M. O'BRIEN: So, in that sense, weren't they doing what they would normally do in the course of any deportation?

ARAR: Well, I think he is not stating the facts, all the facts. The fact that I was traveling on a Canadian passport made a big difference. The fact that I complained that I didn't want to go to Syria and in fact, I complained to them about torture and that I would be tortured there. And to my surprise, they told me, we do not really care, we're going to send you to Syria. And that -- we have evidence of that. It's American -- official American documents talking about that.

I sought protection against torture using the convention against torture. The American officials do not dispute this fact. So but they ended up sending me to Syria against my will. In fact, there is two questions that I answered. It was a written document. In that document it says, which country do you want to be removed to? I said Canada. And they say, do you have any objection to go to that country? I say no.

M. O'BRIEN: Mr. Arar, what happened to you, I think most people would agree, is tragic and inexcusable. But in the war on terror, mistakes might be made. And I know -- I don't know how you can address that after you've been -- endured what you've endured. But how would you address that?

ARAR: Well, I think, you know, my story, basically, it speaks about basic human rights abuses that happen after 9/11. You know, due process in my case was not followed at all. I asked to have full access to my lawyer. I was not afforded that. In fact, for the full week, they did not allow me to call my wife and my children -- my family to tell them about what was happening. And I asked them to see a judge. They did not allow me to see a judge.

And I don't think this was a simple mistake. This was a deliberate, deliberate attempt to send me to Syria to extract information under torture. Now what I would like the U.S. government to do is to accept the findings of the inquiry and to clear my name. That's what I'm asking them to do at the minimum.

M. O'BRIEN: Maher Arar, thank you very much for being with us. We'll keep you -- keep our viewers posted on your progress on that front. Thank you.

ARAR: My pleasure.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad?

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, as the Christmas shopping season approaches, here's the question on every parent's mind. What's bigger than Tickle Me Elmo? Turns out Elmo is bigger than ever. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: In "A.M. Pop" this morning, if you think it's too early to start thinking about this year's hot Christmas toy, well, think again. This year's big hit, it turns out, might just be an old favorite.

CNN's Jeanne Moos has the grand unveiling.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's Tickle Me Elmo, and there are those who are tickled by Elmo. Elmo fans lined up for the launch of TMX...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The X is for extreme.

MOOS: What's extreme was the hype, the countdown clock, the drummed up mysteries. Only 50 or so toy industry people supposedly knew what this tenth anniversary Elmo could do.

DIANE SAWYER, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA": Who is that? It is...

MOOS: Elmo, unveiled on morning TV, transported by Brinks truck over to "The View."

"ELMO": Elmo, K?

ROSIE O'DONNELL, "THE VIEW": No!

MOOS: Every audience member got one, but what can the new Elmo do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let us in! We need one or four!

MOOS: Every year, Elmo performs a new feat. It was hard to top Chicken Dance Elmo from 2002.

Outside Toys R Us, a kid yanked at the door, less than tickled about waiting for Elmo. And when at last they let folks in...

CROWD: Elmo! Elmo!

MOOS: ... Elmo not only had the last laugh, but fall on the floor laughs. And after he falls, he gets up off the ground and laughs again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a robot. That's practically alive.

MOOS: At 40 bucks per Elmo, folks loaded up.

(on camera): Only one?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've get more, baby. You don't worry about that.

MOOS (voice-over): And all that knee slapping will make you want to slap him.

"ELMO": Give Elmo a break, please.

MOOS (on camera): Give us a break, please!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no, not the Elmo!

MOOS: I'm sorry.

(voice-over): It's worse on the Internet, where someone actually torched Elmo.

Elmo is not the only new red talking toy.

(MUSIC)

MOOS: Nothing super about these powers. Elmo, Kaode (ph), Spiderman. If infectious laughter doesn't get you... (on camera): Can I tickle you?

(voice-over): ... infectious tickling might.

This guy bought a TMX Elmo to add to his collection.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I get my bungee cord?

MOOS (on camera): Yes, but where's Elmo's helmet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He doesn't need one.

MOOS (voice-over): At least this back seat driver stays mum.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: We've got one right here. How do you turn it on.

M. O'BRIEN: You didn't tickle him.

S. O'BRIEN: That's cute.

M. O'BRIEN: Fall over, Elmo.

S. O'BRIEN: That's pretty darn funny. OK.

M. O'BRIEN: That laugh.

S. O'BRIEN: I like this. I'd take this home.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Get out of here, yes.

M. O'BRIEN: It's a tough act to follow. They say in showbiz you should never follow up Elmo. There you go.

Tony, what you got?

S. O'BRIEN: Hey, Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, yes, so bring me in. Way to go.

Good morning, everyone.

Stay informed in the "CNN NEWSROOM." President Bush tries to breathe new life into Middle East peace. He's meeting this hour with the Palestinian president. NATO commanders pleading for more troops in Afghanistan. So far, just one country steps up. My live conversation with NATO's civilian boss.

And the Missouri newborn safe in mom's arms this morning. The baby's birthmark gives away the accused kidnapper. Join Heidi Collins and me in the NEWSROOM. We get started at the top of that hour.

Where is that Elmo? M. O'BRIEN: Don't sit on Elmo that way. Poor Elmo.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

Andy Serwer is up next with business news.

S. O'BRIEN: What do you got?

SERWER: I do think Elmo has got a crush on you, Soledad, I really do.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, because I'm spending millions of dollars on Elmo.

SERWER: All right, Elmo, OK.

Shaquille O'Neal is big on the basketball court, and he's big in movies...

S. O'BRIEN: Sorry. Sorry.

SERWER: And you'll never guess what his latest field of endeavor is. We'll tell you about that, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

S. O'BRIEN: When we come in just a moment, we'll have a look at our top stories, including Baby Abby found, and President Bush versus President Ahmadinejad. We're back in just a moment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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