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American Morning
Missing U.S. Soldier; War and Politics; War Strategy; Same Sex Marriage; Laura Bush Speaks; Minding Your Business
Aired October 26, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The oceans, the mountains, the eagles and doves. None greater than thee, oh Lord. None greater than thee, oh Lord.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: News personality Jane Pauley is suing "The New York Times." Pauley claims she was led to believe she was giving an interview for an article about mental health when she was actually featured in an advertising supplement. A spokesperson for "The New York Times" says the case doesn't have merit. Jane Pauley made her fight against bipolar disorder public in 2004.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Liftoff of the Delta 2 rocket with stereo
S. O'BRIEN: Success for NASA as they launched twin satellites last night. The mission, to study huge eruptions in the sun that cause the Northern Lights.
For more on these stories, log on to our website at cnn.com.
The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. It's Thursday, October 26th. I'm Miles O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Lots happening. Let's get right to the news wall.
Three suspects in custody in connection with the apparent kidnapping of an American soldier in Baghdad. That happened on Monday. There is still no word on the whereabouts of that soldier.
M. O'BRIEN: Also, President Bush admits he's not satisfied with the progress of the war in Iraq. He also says the United States will not have unlimited patience.
S. O'BRIEN: In just a couple of hours, the president is expected to sign a bill that would authorize 700 miles of fencing along the U.S./Mexico border.
M. O'BRIEN: In a narrow four to three decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court says same-sex couples are entitled to the rights and benefits of marriage.
Let's get to the weather now. Chad Myers is watching a blizzard in the making in Colorado. Good morning, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: This morning, three suspects are in custody over that missing U.S. soldier in Iraq. We've got coverage this morning from John Roberts. He's in Baghdad for us. Kathleen Koch is at the White House. Barbara Starr's at the Pentagon. Let's begin with John Roberts.
Good morning, John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
Those three suspects were arrested early yesterday morning as part of a joint operation between U.S. and Iraqi forces. They went into Sadr City, which is that Mehdi militia stronghold northeast of Baghdad, very early in the morning. The purpose of that raid was two- fold. One was to target a Mehdi militia commander who they believe was a leader of these death squads that have been responsible for so much of the sectarian violence in and around Baghdad and now spreading throughout much of the rest of the country as well.
A fierce two-hour firefight erupted. Ten suspected members of the Mehdi militia were killed. After that part of the operation was complete, the forces moved further into Sadr City, targeting a mosque where it's believed three people who may be involved with the suspected kidnapping of this Army specialist who went missing on Monday, were hiding.
They went into the mosque, led by Iraqi forces. The U.S. was acting as advisers at that point. They captured three people. They have now taken them out. They're in custody and being held for questioning.
We've contacted the U.S. military today to find out what the status of those detainees is, to find out if they have gleamed any potential information about the whereabouts of the suspected kidnapped soldier. So far, though, the Army playing things very close to the vest. Not a lot of information coming out about that.
But we can tell you that major parts of Baghdad are closed off, cordoned off by the Iraqi military, the Iraqi police and the U.S. military as they are conducting car-to-car searches as the cars come through and in and out of those neighborhoods to make sure that one of them might not be carrying this soldier. As well, they have been conducting house-to-house searches and they're looking through all of the neighborhoods in Baghdad. They are urgently looking for this fellow who has been missing since Monday. Whereabouts at this point, status, at this point, unknown.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: John Roberts in Baghdad for us this morning.
Thanks, John. The war in Iraq is weighing down Republican candidates. President Bush admitting mistakes in the war, but saying the U.S. is winning. CNN's Kathleen Koch live at the White House for us this morning.
Hey, Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
And apparently the administration believes that using the slogan "stay the course" for such a long time when it comes to Iraq is one of those mistakes. The president again making the course correction himself a few weeks ago, abandoning that slogan. But it wasn't until Monday when counselor the President Dan Bartlett said that that was never the strategy in Iraq. That it really got reporters' attention.
Basically what it comes down to is the Democrats have begun using that slogan as a political weapon, using it as evidence that the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq was rigid and inflexible. So at the press conference yesterday, just as in speeches now on the road, the president has completely abandoned the slogan, now referring to his policy as flexible and dynamic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On the military side, our commanders on the ground are constantly adjusting our tactics to stay ahead of our enemies. We're refining our training strategy for the Iraqi security forces so we can help more of those forces take the lead in the fight and provide them better equipment and fire power to be successful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: And the president was also asked about the statement by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on those timetables that was announced -- they were announced on Tuesday. Maliki insisting "the Americans have the right to reviewer view their policies but do not believe in a timetable and no one will impose one on us." And President Bush responded that Maliki was correct. The United States would not impose any mandates on Iraq. It's a sovereign government. He suggested perhaps there had been some miss communication between U.S. and Iraqi officials.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Kathleen, what's the strategy behind all of this? The president talking very bluntly about Iraq at a time when many GOP candidates are sort of running a little bit on that issue. Why?
KOCH: Soledad, it's really the Bush administration acknowledging the obvious and that for many Americans, Iraq is just an issue that's so important to them. And with the midterm elections approaching, it's going to be a big factor in their votes.
And so the president really yesterday was trying to get out there and show them that he understands. He gets it. He understands their frustration. He said, you know, he's not satisfied with the progress in Iraq either.
Now, at the same time, he said he still believes the U.S. is winning. He still has confidence in Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. So clearly some mixed messages at that press conference yesterday.
S. O'BRIEN: Kathleen Koch at the White House for us.
Kathleen, thanks.
KOCH: You bet.
S. O'BRIEN: And even as the president was admitting mistakes, he's giving his full support, as Kathleen just reported, to the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and also the Pentagon's war strategy. CNN's Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon for us this morning.
Good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
Well, you know, at all these press conferences from all these podiums, a lot of talk about flexibility and adaptation of strategy. But for the soldier on the ground, has anything really changed?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR, (voice over): The president and his generals are on the same page.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And that is why we're taking new steps to help secure Baghdad and constantly adjusting our tactics across the country to meet the changing threat.
GEN. GEORGE CASEY, CMDR., MULTINATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ: I can tell you that we have continuously adapted to stay ahead of the enemy.
GEN. PETER PACE, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Every part of the security equation is being reviewed by General Casey, by General Abizaid, and by the Joint Chiefs.
STARR: But for the troops, what is new? Still on deadly patrols caught between Shia and Sunni violence. Are there new tactics that might make a difference?
CASEY: And we have also increased our targeting efforts against death squads to match our efforts against al Qaeda.
STARR: An Iraqi army raid in Sadr City Wednesday did target a death squad commander. U.S. troops still had to provide backup. The generals' only hint at what they say are changes to come.
PACE: We talk about clearing, protecting and building, but we haven't said exactly how we're going to do that.
CASEY: But I think you can expect us to continue to hold on to the focus areas with the Iraqi security forces.
STARR: But was the president signaling a personnel change? There was perhaps a lukewarm response when asked about Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's running the war and the Pentagon.
BUSH: And I'm satisfied of how he's done all his jobs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: So, Soledad, it's a little hard at this point to figure out where these tactical changes are really going to happen. Now Pentagon sources say still one decision to possibly be made is whether to send more U.S. troops to Iraq. The president says he will do that if that's what the generals ask for. They haven't done that yet.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us this morning.
Thanks, Barbara.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Also at the Pentagon, bean counters finding some big trouble with some big Iraq contractors. Five companies, including a Halliburton subsidiary, billing the taxpayers for over $62 million in administrative costs. That is more than twice the amount they spent on the projects they were hired to do in Iraq two years ago.
The U.N. Security Council may finally be ready to punish Iran for pushing on with its nuclear program. Several European countries proposing a ban on the sale of technology to Iran, also recommended freezing the assets of officials involved with Iran's nuclear weapons program -- and they claim, of course, it's not a weapons program -- as well as restricting their travel.
On to North Korea and that crisis. The top nuclear envoy to the north, Christopher Hill, says the U.S. is ready to talk directly to Pyongyang. A stipulation, though, only if the North returns to those six-party talks. Meanwhile, South Korea now says it thinks North Korea has enough plutonium to make as many as seven nuclear bombs.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles, the new poll numbers out on the power of the presidency. The survey was conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation. Here are the results.
Thirty-nine percent of people asked say the Bush administration's gone too far in restricting civil liberties to fight terrorism. Thirty-four percent say it's about right and 25 percent say the administration hasn't gone far enough. Asked if President Bush has more power than any other U.S. president, 65 percent say no, 33 percent say yes. And if you break down the third who say yes, 25 percent of them say it's bad for the country, 7 percent say it's good that President Bush has more power than any other U.S. president.
Hot-button issue that's sure to get hotter, yesterday New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that gay couples have the same rights as straight couples. The ruling comes as Americans in eight states prepare to go to the polls to vote on the issue of same-sex marriage. It's, of course, a big issue for many conservative voters. Our faith and values correspondent Delia Gallagher is with us with more on that.
Good morning to you.
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about what happened here. It was, some people say, a victory for gays and gay rights, and yet not a full victory because it now has been sent back to the legislature.
GALLAGHER: Exactly. One of the interesting things about this debate is what to call it. And that is essentially what the supreme court has not decided. And that's the big question because for the gay and lesbian community, it is important to them that this union be called marriage. And, of course, for the opponents of that, marriage is something which is defined differently. It's defined as between a man and a woman. So what the supreme court has done is kicked it back to the legislature and say their rights have to be the same, but you can decide whether you put those rights under the same marriage statutes or whether you have to create new statutes, i.e. a civil union, to accommodate that.
S. O'BRIEN: And they have 18 months to do it. Why do that so important? I mean, why do semantics matter in this case?
GALLAGHER: Well, because the gay and lesbian community says that until -- even if you grant them all the same rights, until you call it marriage, it's a sort of separate but equal rights. In fact, they use that kind of analogy from the civil rights movement. They say the name is important, it does mean something. And equally the other side says, yes, the definition is important, the name is important and the definition should be that marriage is between a man and a woman. This is the debate that's raging throughout the country and has been for the past few years. And it's very important how you define something.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about what the fallout has been. The conservative reaction -- and I think we've got some. Let's pop it up on the screen if we can this morning because, obviously, not only are conservatives not thrilled with the action, there also potentially could be mobilized -- do we have that you guys? Can we put this up on the screen? Yes, there it is. "As in Massachusetts and Vermont, the New Jersey Supreme Court has acted as a super- legislature, imposing their will on the people of New Jersey. The legislature should ignore this" and they basically say the "ruling and follow the lead of 20 other states that have already passed marriage amendments." So that's coming from the Family Research Council. GALLAGHER: Right. Because here's the main thing. Conservative groups do not like it when courts make decisions that they feel the people should be making, the legislature. You've seen this in the abortion debate, for example. So when a court makes a decision that it should be this way, the conservative groups say, well why are you taking that decision out of the hands of the people, because when it is in the hands of the people in 20 other states they vote for a definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. So that's essentially what that statement is saying and what a lot of conservative groups are reacting to this morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Delia Gallagher, our faith and values correspondent.
Delia, thanks.
GALLAGHER: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Happening in America this morning.
In Vermont, the man who's now charged with the murder of a young college student. The prosecutors say Brian Rooney killed the University of Vermont student earlier this month. He was charged yesterday. DNA evidence was found on the victim's body and it allegedly matched Rooney.
In Arizona, a former congressman is at a facility in Tucson undergoing alcohol treatment, rehab treatment, this morning. It's the first time his lawyers revealed where Mark Foley is being treated. He's been at the Sierra Tucson Treatment Center since October 1st after his resignation because of the inappropriate e-mails he sent to former congressional pages.
And a blizzard warning today for Colorado. Chad's been talking about this all morning. State officials are bracing for power outages and big problems on the roads from heavy snow that's expected. Up to a foot of snow could fall in southern Colorado with about five inches expected in Denver. Winds could be up to 40 miles an hour.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: More to come on the stories we're following for you this morning.
Five U.S. troops are killed in western Iraq, bringing October's death toll now to 96.
Plus, First Lady Laura Bush has some choice words for Bob Woodward whose recent book slammed her husband. It's an interview you'll see only here on CNN. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Some of the stories we're following for you this morning.
The U.S. military is detaining three suspects in Iraq. They've been questioned about the apparent kidnapping of an American soldier.
And President Bush is signing a new immigration bill today. It's going to create that 700-mile-long fence along the Mexican border.
It is 17 minutes past the hour. Let's check in with Chad for a traveler's forecast.
Good morning, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: The war in Iraq may be weighing heavily on the president and his party, but it hasn't put a ding in the first lady's popularity. Laura Bush is first in popularity among the president's inner circle. A 68 percent approval rating in the most recent CNN poll. That's followed by Condoleezza Rice at 57 percent. The president at 46 percent. And Dick Cheney, the vice president, at 37 percent. Donald Rumsfeld, 35 percent.
So, perhaps no surprise, Laura Bush is working hard on the hustings, trying to help Republican hold on to power. Our White House correspondent, Ed Henry, sat down with the first lady and it's an interview you'll see here on CNN only. Ed joins us now from Washington with more.
Good morning, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
As you noted, those poll ratings, it's easy to see why Mrs. Bush is treated like a rock star by Republican crowds. She's criss- crossing the country right now in the final two weeks of this campaign. I spent the day with her yesterday, as you noted, in Minnesota, Indiana. She was campaigning in some key House and Senate races.
She's popular because she kind of smooths out some of the rougher edges of the administration, which Republican strategists think that may help with female and independent voters. And I could see how poised, how gracious she was on the stump.
But I also saw the tougher side of the first lady. I saw that in the interview. She bristled when I asked her about the notion that she's far more campaigning than her husband because he is so popular right now, as you noted. She insisted he's very active on the campaign trail.
And then she responded sharply when I pressed her on the claim in Bob Woodward's recent book, "State of Denial," that the first lady thought Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was a drag on her husband and she wanted the secretary out. These are her first public comments on that book.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: And Andy Card also went on television and said that's not true. And let me just say the one thing about that book. Those quotes of mine were in quotes and the author didn't call me and fact check and it just didn't happen.
HENRY: You wanted Rumsfeld out.
BUSH: Are you just trying to continue to give the quotes that I said I didn't say?
HENRY: OK. Well, without any quotes, just in general, the book claims that you wanted to push Rumsfeld out.
BUSH: No. Absolutely not. That is absolutely not true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: She denied the overall thrust of the book as well, that the President had not leveled with the American people about the difficulty in the war in Iraq. She said he has been very firm from the beginning, dating back to 9/11 about how long an arduous this struggle is going to be. And what I learned very quickly is that the first lady is not just out there stumping for candidates in these final days, she's stumping for her husband and his legacy as well.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Ed Henry in Washington, thank you very much.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Some of the stories we're following for you this morning.
There's a new study that shows that CAT scans can detect lung cancer at its earliest and most curable stages.
And home shopping mogul Barry Diller is named the highest paid executive in America. Guess how much money he made? We'll tell you straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Some of the top stories we are following for you this morning.
Five more American servicemen dead in Iraq. The U.S. death toll this month alone now stands at 96.
And New Jersey's supreme court rules same-sex couples have the same rights as straight, married ones.
S. O'BRIEN: Business news this morning.
Just guess who is making $300 million a year. Ranking as the number one top paid executive. Andy Serwer can tell us.
Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Soledad.
Is that me? No.
S. O'BRIEN: It's you, Andy.
SERWER: No. You know, and I didn't even get the memo yet.
M. O'BRIEN: I don't think you can get up early for $300 million, but that's, you know.
SERWER: Yes, we are talking about New York media mogul Barry Diller. A story in "The New York Times" today. Adding up his compensation and it checks in at $295 million last year. So rounding up a little bit. I mean, but what's $5 million when you're making that.
S. O'BRIEN: Five among friends.
SERWER: And there's Mr. Diller. He's the CEO of IAC/InterActive, that Internet company. I just love how these numbers work. His base salary, a mere $726,000. So $294.3 million of that was stock options. There we go again. And, you know, exercising those stock options. And some people might be a little ticked off, some shareholders, because, after all, IAC stock was down 7.7 percent in 2005.
S. O'BRIEN: Do they make a lot of money at that company?
SERWER: Yes, it does OK. They've spun off expedia.com, the travel website. He also got some goodies there, too. And "The New York Times" estimated, if you include those in his compensation package, you get up to $469 million. But who's counting. Diller says that he's proud of his record at the company and it's grown tremendously under his leadership.
M. O'BRIEN: But is anyone worth that much money?
SERWER: I think that's the question. I mean, when is enough, enough. And if you make $50 million, that's a tremendous amount of money. And how do you go from $50 million to $400 million? I mean, what's the justification for that?
S. O'BRIEN: And you said the stock is down?
SERWER: And the stock is down a little bit from the previous year.
Another mogul we want to talk about this morning is Jack Welch, who is the former CEO of GE, of course. The reports that he is interested in becoming a newspaper baron. He and an advertising executive from Boston may be interested in buying "The Boston Globe." I can just see the editorials. Mr. Welch is a very opinionated guy.
M. O'BRIEN: You can imagine. He likes to share his opinions, too, doesn't he.
SERWER: He sure does. And "The Globe," you may remember, was bought by "The New York Times" in 1993 for $1.1 billion. "The Globe" today is valued at half that. And that's because, of course, the Internet has eroded the newspaper business in this country tremendously. And the reports are that the paper is for sale. So we'll have to see.
M. O'BRIEN: The "Times" are selling a lot of assets, aren't they?
SERWER: Yes. Well, it's tough to juggle the assets to make yourself more valuable with the Internet. It's trying to figure that out.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. What's next?
SERWER: Tupperware is art.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Tupperware.
SERWER: That's what we're going to be talking about in the next business segment.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. We will definitely stay tuned for that.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks, Andy.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you.
SERWER: OK. You're welcome.
M. O'BRIEN: Some of the stories we're following for you this morning.
President Bush acknowledges he is not satisfied with the situation in Iraq.
Plus, stopping a silent killer. CAT scans can detect lung cancer at its earliest and most curable stages. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.
Let's get right to the news wall. Some of the stories we're following for you this morning.
S. O'BRIEN: President Bush says he's not satisfied with the progress of the war in Iraq. He also says the U.S. will not have unlimited patience.
M. O'BRIEN: A possible break in the disappearance of a U.S. soldier on Monday. Three suspects now in custody. Still no word on the whereabouts of the soldier or whether he was, in fact, kidnapped.
S. O'BRIEN: Just about two hours from now, President Bush is expected to sign a bill authorizing 700 miles of fencing along the U.S./Mexico border.
It's just about half past the hour. Let's get a first check of the weather with Chad.
Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(NEWSBREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Twelve days to the election. We're looking at the power of the presidency. A new CNN poll out this morning, we asked some people if they think the president does in fact have too much power. And like so many issues in this country, shows a lot of division among the electorates.
CNN's John King is here with a preview of what's going on tonight in our "Broken Government" series.
Good morning, John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. NATL. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles.
It's a fascinating subject. Many say, post-9/11, this president has crossed, stretched some say trampled the Constitution in his pursuit of the war on terrorism. The president says whatever it takes. Some say he has busted the balance of power, if you will, the constitutional lines. The president, of course, says no. It's one of the issues we're exploring as we look at the "Broken Government."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): He began on a very different course, a governor with a famous name who conveyed more west Texas than Washington. Compassionate conservative was his label of choice. Kinder, gentler, his promised worldview. A crisp September morning suddenly changed from gorgeous to gruesome. He whispered words in a Florida school room, transformed a presidency and a president.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: Our grief has turned to anger, and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.
KING: Islamabad,Pakistan, an edgy place in the weeks after September 11th. Moazzam Begg among the newcomers arriving from neighboring Afghanistan after the bombs started falling. He thought he had escaped, until a midnight knock at the door introduced him to the most expansive display of presidential power in American history -- no search warrant, no arrest warrant; enemy combatant was his designation. MOAZZAM BEGG, FMR. DETAINEE: Dragged across the floor, thrown onto the ground. Our clothes were ripped off with knives, with several soldiers sitting on top of us. We were being kicked, punched, beaten, sworn at, spat at. Dogs were barking around us. We were photographed naked, and then dragged naked and shivering into interrogation rooms where the first questioning began.
KING: The president obsessed with preventing another attack, and convinced people like Begg were the key.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first question was really, what do we do with these guys. It wasn't that they came to us and said, we want to do something; give us a justification for it. They honestly didn't know what the right thing to do was.
KING (on camera): What happens if somebody says I'm torturing these people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What people really want to know is how much flexibility does a president have even to make those kinds of choices.
KING (voice-over): Mr. Bush argues the results justify the extraordinary steps.
BUSH: There can be a legal about whether or not they have the authority to do this. I'm absolutely convinced they do.
KING: Moazzam Begg says the president who jailed him in the name of keeping America safe will some day learn his lesson.
BEGG: Once you take this road and once you go down this road, you're actually make the world a much less safe place, because if that's what the Americans are going to do around the world, then they must accept repercussions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Well, he makes an interesting point, but it's very difficult in a time of war when people feel threatened to strike that balance. We've seen it all throughout history, Japanese detention camps in World War II. These kinds of things inevitably happens; the pendulum swings.
KING: It does, and you seeing the pendulum swing back a little bit now. The Supreme Court ruling, saying the president has gone too far. Congress getting involved. Leading Republicans like John McCain on the detainee issue saying, hey, we write the laws; we have a role in this debate, too. It is a fascinating subject.
Dick Cheney has wanted to do this, Miles, exert more executive power. It has nothing to do with 9/11, in his view. He was Jerry Ford's chief of staff after Watergate when they took power from the presidency. So it's a very fascinating subject.
M. O'BRIEN: So when we talk about presidential power, we need to talk about the vice president's role in this. There is -- it is a function of that. And this is something, as you say, that long predates 9/11.
KING: It does predate 9/11 in Cheney's case. He came to office saying, look, after Watergate, they stripped away the prerogatives of the presidency; I think that's wring. He argued this when he was in Congress, when Reagan had the problems with Iran Contra. Cheney argued then when he was in the house, saying, look, Congress has no role; the president controls foreign policy. This president has said he believes he will withstand the test of history, but he has lost some big court cases. And I think Congress is beginning to push back, and the person who will pay the biggest price, if you will, if there is a price to be paid for this, will probably be the next president.
M. O'BRIEN: It'll be interesting to see how that all plays out. Now Moazzam Begg, the person we saw there, who made those allegations, where is he now? What's he doing? What's his status?
KING: This is the paradox of Mr. Bush's "whatever it takes" approach. Mr. Begg is now back in Birmingham. He says he did nothing wrong. He says he's not a terrorist. But to this day, the CIA and the FBI say that they believe the confession he signed in custody is true. And in that confession, he said he trained at al Qaeda camps. He said he knew a whole bunch of al Qaeda operatives, including the shoe bomber, Richard Reid, Abu Zubaydah, a big 9/11 planner. What Begg says is, no, they coerced me, they tortured me, they made me sign that. The CIA says, no, he's a threat to the United States. He was released, one of the few people released when Tony Blair was coming under so much pressure back home in Britain because of the controversy about Abu Ghraib, about Gitmo. He was released. The CIA objected to his release. The president did it as a favor to Tony Blair.
M. O'BRIEN: So he remains under a cloud of suspicion essentially then?
KING: He certainly does. Now the CIA says he's not the kind of guy who's going to get on a plane and fly it into a building, but he's one of the type that supports people. He raises money. He's a sympathizer. So they say he's a threat. And we do not that he's still under the watchful eye of U.S. and British intelligence people.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, John King, fascinating, just a little glimpse of what you'll see if you tune in tonight. John will have much more tonight, special hour devoted to this whole issue of executive power, presidential power. It's part of our week-long "Broken Government" series. Hope you've been catching these pieces. They've been great. Watch the best political team on television, and the show tonight is called "Power Play," 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Major development this morning to tell you about in diagnosing lung cancer. There's a new study out, and it says that CT scans can detect lung cancer at very early treatable stages.
CNN's Judy Fortin has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JUDY FORTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A brisk walk is a gift for 66-year-old Thelma Brussel, a former two-pack-a-day smoker who was afraid her lung cancer diagnosis was a death sentence.
THELMA BRUSSEL, LUNG CANCER SURVIVOR: I am alive, and there are so many people who are not.
FORTIN: Five years ago her doctor insisted on a CT scan, knowing she'd been smoking 50 years. Sure enough, it detected a malignant tumor, which she promptly had removed.
BRUSSEL: I am considered surgically cured.
FORTIN: The recent deaths of Peter Jennings, a smoker, and Dana Reeve, who was not, remind us most aren't so lucky. Six of 10 people diagnosed with lung cancer die within a year, chiefly because they don't know they have it until it's too late.
DR. CLAUDIA HENSCHKE, RADIOLOGIST: Usually when a cancer's diagnosed, based on symptoms, it's a late-stage cancer.
FORTIN: Compelling new research gives hope for surviving lung cancer. "A New England Journal of Medicine" study finds using annual CT screening, lung cancer can be detected at its earliest stage, when it's most curable, in 85 percent of patients. And when caught early and treated promptly, 92 percent of stage one lung cancer patients survive a decade or longer.
HENSCHKE: This essentially turns lung cancer from being a highly deadly disease, where essentially 95 percent of people who develop lung cancer ultimately die of it, to it being a curable disease.
FORTIN: So will your doctor start prescribing an annual CT scan for you if you smoke? not yet. The American Cancer Society says the study shows promise. But before ruling on its effectiveness and making recommendations, it will require results from ongoing trials. Questions remain about false positives, findings on CT scans that appear to be lung cancer but aren't, exposing a patient to unnecessary and sometimes dangerous procedures, and cost effectiveness. A CT scan costs hundreds of dollars, and often is not covered by insurance.
DR. DAVID JOHNSON, VANDERBILT CANCER INST.: This is not a test that should be recommended routinely to patients with a smoking history. It remains an individual decision for an individual patient and his or her physician.
FORTIN: Brussels believes smokers should be screened.
BRUSSELS: I would not be alive today. It's that simple.
FORTIN: Judy Fortin, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Basic advice from the American Cancer Society, they suggest that if you're at risk for lung cancer, you should talk to your doctor about getting tested and be sure to choose somebody who's got lots of CT scan experience if you decide to go ahead with the testing. A federal advisory paneling is recommending vaccinations for shingles for anybody who's over the age of 60. Shingles, you may know, is a painful rash that's caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. It can cause scarring. It can cause nerve damage, a vaccine for shingles was approved just last May -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, a huge problem for some New Orleans residents trying to start their lives over.
Susan Roesgen is there -- Susan.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, you're going to see why 14 months after the hurricane, for hundreds of people, this health care clinic is their only hope. I'll take you inside.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Susan. See you in a minute.
Plus, Madonna has some explaining to do. She defends her plans to adopt a little boy. Who does she do it with? Who else, Oprah. That's ahead.
And let's not forget, it is Thursday, folks, which means it is Miles-cam day. Send me questions at CNN.com. We'll be answering them 10:00 a.m. Eastern on the Pipeline product. One of the things you might want to ask about. This past weekend, I was out at X-Prize cup, space for the rest of us. Have any questions about whether you'll be able to buy a ticket to ride or maybe get a chance to ride one of those rocket packs, or who knows, maybe a hotel on the moon. Dream big, folks, and I'll come up with the cold hard reality for you at 10:00 Eastern on Pipeline.
Stay with us.
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(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: It has been more than a year since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. The tragedy for many survivors is that basic health care is now beyond their means.
CNN's Susan Roesgen is live for us in New Orleans this morning.
Hey, Susan, good morning.
ROESGEN: Good morning, Soledad.
It's incredible to believe, this clinic that I'm at this morning in New Orleans east, a part of New Orleans that was hit very hard, will open for patients in about an hour. And already, people who are waiting to get in here will fit every patient waiting room. They'll be crowding this hallway, hundreds of people, all the patients whose names on these medical charts and have no place else to go. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN (voice-over): More than a year ago, they had houses, jobs and health insurance. Now they line up by the hundreds to see the doctor and nurse at one of the few outpatient clinics in New Orleans, one of the very few where the health care is free.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's probably a good part of that numbness.
ROESGEN: Nurse Dorothy says many of the patients are people she calls newly made poor. Solidly middle class before Katrina, now they're like schoolteacher Darlene Hutchison, learning what it's like to have to ask for help.
DARLENE HUTCHISON, CLINIC PATIENT: At first it was a little hard. But I understood, I needed to come -- rise above that, and understand that what was the primary objective was to get the family taken care of.
ROESGEN: Since Katrina, the state of Louisiana estimates that about 125,000 people in the New Orleans area alone don't have health insurance. Even if they did, in some areas, fewer than a third of the doctors have come back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll keep you here and get your sugar down.
ROESGEN: Dr. Dale Betterton, Dorothy's husband, is the clinic's only full-time doctor, seeing patients who've gone months without medicine.
DR. DALE BETTERTON, CLINIC DOCTOR: In the real world, a patient like this would go to the emergency room, be at least observed, probably admitted overnight to a hospital, and that's not feasible, and really not possible in New Orleans at this time.
ROESGEN: The clinic is funded by a religious charity called Operation Blessing and the Salvation Army. But it needs more doctors and more resources.
DOROTHY DAVISON, NURSE: No vaccine, no flu vaccine.
ROESGEN: The state health department said it wouldn't spare the vaccine.
DAVISON: This could happen anywhere in the United States and I think that's what America's missing, is we'd like to think that if we do everything right, this won't happen to us. I'm sorry, folks, you're wrong, because most of our patients did everything right.
ROESGEN: More than a year after Katrina, some are still trying to heal a broken city.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: The doctor and nurse, the husband and wife team that you saw in that story, are retired from private practice, Soledad, and they do a lot of volunteer work in Haiti and Kenya. And what I think is so telling about this situation is they say those patients in Haiti and Kenya are really no worse off than the patients they're seeing right now in New Orleans.
S. O'BRIEN: A couple of questions for you, Susan, if so much money was raised from the disaster relief funds that were set up, why is it not making it to clinics like the one where you're standing today? And when we've been doing reports on how there's so much flu vaccine out, it's a great year, everybody should get the flu vaccine, how come a clinic like this one can't get access to it?
ROESGEN: Well, it's really an incredible story, Soledad. When you talk about federal disaster relief, that money is specifically earmarked for things like debris removal, not for health care. That's something that I didn't realize until I did this story.
Then you've got the city health department here in New Orleans that's really strapped, really suffering for resources, just trying to staff and supply its own city clinics. And the state health department is trying to allocate also limited resources. That flu vaccine we're told will go to nursing homes and other places first, not to this privately funded clinic. And yet, Dorothy Davison says, look, we need it just as much as anybody else, maybe more. In fact, also, Soledad, they need a mobile mammogram machine. They've had 400 women here, 400, and some say that they need a mammogram; they haven't had one since before the storm, and they have no way to get one.
S. O'BRIEN: That is just a shame. Susan Roesgen for us this morning. Thanks, Susan, for that report.
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M. O'BRIEN: Well, she's defending herself, and get this, surprise, surprise, blaming the media. Yesterday Madonna appeared on Oprah Winfrey to defend her attempt to adopt a motherless boy from Africa.
Sibila Vargas picks up the story from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MADONNA: I think if everybody went there, they'd want to bring one of those children home with them and give them a better life. And I say to those people, shame on you for discouraging other people from wanting to do the same thing.
(APPLAUSE)
OPRAH WINFREY: Madonna, thank you.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Madonna, on "Oprah," confronting the deluge of criticism that has come from the adoption of an African boy, including accusations by some human rights groups that she used her celebrity to speed up the process.
MADONNA: If only my wealth and position could have made things go faster, I assure you, it doesn't matter who you are or how much money you have, nothing goes fast in Africa.
VARGAS: Also slowing things down, recent reports that the boy's father, Yohane Banda, was not aware that the adoption was prominent.
YOHANE BANDA, CHILD'S FATHER (through translator): When we agreed with madonna that she wants to take care of the child, there wasn't any arrangement that she was going to have him as her own forever.
VARGAS: Madonna this simply isn't so.
MADONNA: No, I do not believe that is true. I sat in that room, I looked into that man's eyes. I believe that the press is manipulating this information out of him. I believe at this point in time that he's been terrorized by the media.
VARGAS (on camera): Banda now tells time magazine that he will not contest the adoption, good news for Madonna who is perhaps one step closer to her original goal.
MADONNA: I wanted to go into a third world country, I wasn't sure where, and give a life to a child who otherwise might not have one.
WINFREY: I say God bless you for that.
VARGAS: Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Madonna has to ask herself, why did it go so smoothly for Angelina Jolie, who I think has been embraced and beloved by the press for her adoption, but she says she wants to adopt many more kids. And why has Madonna really kind of hit obstacle after obstacle after obstacle, more than, did the press mess it up or not?
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
S. O'BRIEN: Some of the stories we're working on for you as well this morning day four of our special series, "Prescription Iraq." Today we talk to Senator Carl Levin about his plan for a phased withdrawal.
Back in a moment.
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