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American Morning
The Fight For Iraq; Kerry's Apology; China/Africa Summit; Whooping Cough Outbreak; Voting For Dollars; Minding Your Business
Aired November 02, 2006 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: One of the biggest American contractors in Iraq is getting out. The company perhaps paid $2 billion. The question is, is the rebuilding of Iraq also a casualty of war?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, now he's sorry. Senator John Kerry apologizes for what he calls misinterpreted words about American troops. Republicans respond to that this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: And a health alert at a children's hospital. Doctors are trying to contain an outbreak of whooping cough. Those stories and more ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning, everybody. It is Thursday, November 2nd. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's begin in Iraq this morning. Here's what's new.
The Pentagon is reporting the first U.S. military death in the month of November. A soldier killed in a roadside bombing.
And as of today, Bechtel is done with Iraq. The giant contractor is not renewing contracts to build power and water and communications systems. There have been some concerns, of course, about just how much has been accomplished because of that declining security situation in Iraq.
And Iraqi forces getting a failing grade from the U.S. military journal which reports that Iraq troops run from danger and sometimes use excessive force. Let's get more on that story from CNN's Aneesh Raman in Baghdad for us.
Hey, Aneesh, good morning.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Soledad.
It is a very frank assessment by a U.S. lieutenant colonel who advised an Iraqi army brigade for a year. A year that just ended this past June. In it, Lieutenant Colonel Karl Grunow cites a number of examples that are disturbing in terms of the training of Iraqi forces. Instances where Iraqi soldiers used all their ammunition in response to a single sniper shot. Other instances where they went, in his words, on a rampage after one of their colleagues was killed. He sites numbers as well. A 20 percent drop, he says, in the strength of units after payday because these soldiers are then going home. Some of them, he says, are running from danger. Others not showing up for the difficult training exercises.
And within this assessment, as well, he talks about eroding trust between the senior military commanders on the ground and their civilian counterparts back in Washington. In summation, though, perhaps the most critical point he says, "U.S. presence in Iraq is absolutely essential to prevent catastrophic collapse of the government and civil war." The point really of this article, one would assume, is to raise these questions, to try and get a change on the ground. The biggest issue that he says they are confronting is changing the mind-set of the Iraqi soldiers who, of course, under Saddam Hussein, those that were in there below the level that weren't allowed to join now, it was all uniformed support for any command. They now have to foster a sense of allegiance in what they're doing.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this question about Bechtel. Their contract's up. I mean they're pretty much wrapping up their work. How much of a role did the continuing violence have their decision to not come back or stay in Iraq?
RAMAN: Well, they're not saying anything definitive. And they're saying essentially the contract time ran up and that was it. That they aren't pulling out. But, of course, they lost 52 employees. They were all subcontracted Iraqis that were working. Mainly Iraqis working for them.
They suffered huge setbacks in a number of their projects. Just one example -- and keep in mind, $2.3 billion was put aside of the $18.4 by Congress for Bechtel. You'll remember the first lady, she had a pet cause, a state-of-the-art children's hospital that was to be built in Basra, was to be completed, by the way, by the end of last year. Initial cost $50 million. It was stalled over the summer. The cost now is being estimated at $98 million. The big reason is security.
We have heard from the U.S. Corps of Engineers that some of these projects budgeted 10 percent for security. It ended up costing them 40 percent. So lost in all of this talk of violence is the fact that reconstruction is at a standstill at best in certain areas and is literally falling apart. Other areas, though, where it is relatively more stable, they are pushing forward.
S. O'BRIEN: Right. And the contracts are up, so their work is wrapped. Aneesh Raman for us in Baghdad.
Thanks, Aneesh.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: This morning, Democrats are demanding an apology from a Republican leader in Congress who blamed the Iraq War on the generals in charge. Majority Leader John Boehner says Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is not to blame for the problems in Iraq. Boehner told Wolf Blitzer the generals on the ground are responsible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOEHNER, (R) MAJORITY LEADER: A lot of people want to blame what's happening in Iraq on Donald Rumsfeld. But when you look at the transformation that our military has been through, it's nothing short of remarkable. And I think there's only one person in America who could have brought about that transformation and that's Donald Rumsfeld. You have to understand that the generals who have been in charge of the Pentagon have been very resistant to change. It's the younger generals who understand this new force structure that we need to be to have the military of the 21st century. And so I think Rumsfeld is the right guy for the job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid says Boehner ought to be ashamed. Reid says Boehner is blaming our troops for failures in Iraq. For his part, President Bush says Rumsfeld is doing a fantastic job.
The president also saying troop levels in Iraq will remain the same. He says the generals on the ground have not asked for more troops. He says the 144,000 strong force there now is something they can live with.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Senator John Kerry says he didn't mean it the way it sounded and he's sorry for that. He's apologizing for what he's calling a botched joke. Now Democrats hope that that will be the final word on the subject. Sumi Das has the very latest for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): A 180 from John Kerry. After initially refusing to apologize for a fouled-up joke that some took as disparaging to U.S. troops, the senator issued this written statement.
"I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended."
Yet even as he said he was sorry, Kerry faulted Republicans, saying they would rather talk about anything than what he called their failed security policy. The White House says the apology, while late, was the right thing to do. But the Bush administration wasn't ready to forgive and forget.
At a Montana campaign event, Vice President Cheney took his own swipe at Kerry. DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Of course, Senator Kerry said he was just making a joke and he botched it up. I guess we didn't get that nuance. Actually, he was for the joke before he was against it.
DAS: Kerry has bowed out of several campaign events. An effort, Democrats say, to avoid sidetracking the party's election efforts and allow candidates to stay on message.
BOB CASEY JR., (D) PENNSYLVANIA SENATE CANDIDATE: This is a guy who said he made a mistake delivering a line. He didn't make a mistake like this president did and like Rick Santorum did by failing to ask the tough questions about Iraq. We should start talking about their failures on Iraq.
DAS: One Democratic official has said he'd be surprised if Kerry was welcome on the campaign trail, especially in any significant races.
In Washington, I'm Sumi Das.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning.
In North Carolina, police believe they've found the body of John Woodring, the man wanted in the September murder of his estranged wife in a domestic violence center. Police are waiting for autopsy results to see if the body found on the houseboat is, in fact, Woodring's.
In New York this morning, families of 9/11 victims will rally at Ground Zero to demand a federal investigation into the search for the remains of their loved ones. More than 200 pieces of bone and other remains have been found in the last couple of weeks, more than five years after the 9/11 attacks.
In Mexico, two men being held in the shooting death of an American journalist. Thirty-six-year-old Bradley Will was killed during street protests following the leftist takeover of the city of Oaxaca. The men were detained after residents pointed them out as Will's killers.
Meanwhile, Mexican police are expanding their control of Oaxaca. At least eight people have died during five months of protests there.
At the United Nations, a compromise. Venezuela and Guatemala backing off of their quest for a Security Council seat. Instead, they've agreed to nominate Panama. The General Assembly had been deadlocked on who would get the seat. The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, charging the United States was trying to strong-arm countries into voting for Guatemala.
And more at the U.N. A senior official and a Miami businessman are under arrest, charged in a scheme involving more than $50 million in U.N. contracts. Sanjaya Bahel is accused of using his influence to help Nishan Kohli get millions in U.N. contracts. In return, officials say, Kohli gave Bahel and his family a midtown Manhattan apartment for little or no rent. Each man faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
S. O'BRIEN: More than 40 heads of state are leaving Africa. They're going to be in Beijing by the end of the week. Why are they heading east? CNN's Hugh Riminton is live for us in Beijing this morning to explain.
Good morning to you, Hugh.
HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
If you go to Africa today, you knock on the door of a few presidential palaces, chances are you'll find no one at home. Nearly every leader in Africa is right here in Beijing. So many leaders, in fact, the Chinese have had to put in place the traffic restrictions they were saving up for next year's Olympics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RIMINTON, (voice over): Mastery of Chinese has given Mohamat Adam a seat at the fastest growing table in world trade. When he came from Cameroon on a Chinese scholarship, he was as ignorant of his hosts as they were of him. Everyone assumed he'd come from a mud hut. He was expecting kung-fu fighting.
MOHAMAT ADAM, AFRICAN BUSINESS CONSULTANT: So I was really, really surprised that China was really modern and it was completely different from the idea we had of China.
RIMINTON: Adam now runs an African trade consultancy, looking to expand his business across China's powerhouse industrial cities. Taking his piece of a dam burst of trade that now runs to $50 billion a year. Trade that's helping Africa achieve its fastest rates of growth in decades.
ADAM: Business is good and it's growing.
RIMINTON: Heads of state or senior officials from 48 of Africa's 53 nations are in Beijing. It's the biggest summit in Chinese history. Among honored guests, respected African leaders and reformers. But also notorious despots like Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, a man barred from travel to the United States and Europe. He's under sanctions for abuses of democracy, but China has given him military aide and a multimillion dollar mansion. Then there's Omar al Bashir of Sudan, accused of genocide in Darfur, recently listed by human rights groups as the worst dictator on earth. But increasingly, an energy provider to China and always welcome here. But some say the west is in no position to complain.
ADAMA GAYE, CHINA-AFRICA ANALYST: Then the Cold War, descend western nations. They were very happy with dictators as long as they were with them.
RIMINTON: China is looking for many things from Africa -- influence, political friends, future markets. But more than anything, raw materials. Not least of these, the oil to power the millions of vehicles that now crowd into the streets of every Chinese city.
For some of these leaders, China is the only major nation willing to make a fuss over it. And Beijing is unapologetic about tightening those ties.
LIU JIANCHAO, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY, (through translator): It's not only a benefit to China and Africa, but to many nations. I do not see anything embarrassing about this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIMINTON: Now does this matter to the United States? You bet it does. China is going into Africa without taking any moral positions. It doesn't care about democracy or human rights and it will deal with absolutely everyone. America might find that ugly, but it's giving China the inside track to billions of dollars of business.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Hugh Riminton's in Beijing for us this morning.
Thanks, Hugh.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program.
Officials at one U.S. hospital trying to stop the spread of a highly contagious disease. We'll have a live report for you.
And can wine fight off the health risks of obesity? Oh, we sure hope so. We'll look at a new study ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Some of today's top stories.
U.S. forces confirm they have killed a leader of al Qaeda in Iraq in a bombing west of Baghdad.
And Iranian television saying the country just test-fired several misses. Part of a military drill. It said one of those missiles was capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: A look at some health news now. We begin with a whooping cough outbreak. A young patient, 15 workers at Boston's Children's Hospital are now being treated. Sixty other children and staff members are being tested. Let's get right to Steve Lacy. He's with our affiliate WCBB this morning.
Good morning, Steve.
STEVE LACY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Yes, as you mentioned, whooping cough is relatively common among health care workers. In addition to the 50 workers here at Children's Hospital in Boston who have currently been diagnosed, another 60 are currently being tested. They will not be allowed to return to work until they have completed a five-day antibiotic regimen.
Now this outbreak is being traced to a 19-month-old who was admitted to the hospital in late September with a fever and a cough. It turns out, he did have whooping cough. He was successfully treated and released.
Now, as a precaution, and as a result of this outbreak, officials here at Children's Hospital have sent about 1,000 letters to patients warning them of that and anyone who may have been exposed. Although they say they are being very cautious and it is quite likely the vast majority of people that received those letters were not exposed.
Now as for precaution, how to protect yourself from whooping cough, we are all vaccinated as infants, but that vaccine loses effectiveness after about twelve years. So health officials are saying enough people are not getting booster shots like they should. If they would, we likely would not be seeing outbreaks like the one here at Children's Hospital in Boston.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Steve Lacy with our affiliate WCBB in front of Children's Hospital in Boston.
Thank you, Steve.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Excellent news meanwhile if you happen to be a fat, alcoholic mouse. Huge amounts of red wine -- we're talking about 100 glasses a day -- helped obese mice live a longer, healthier life, despite a high fat diet. The study came from Harvard, so it must be true. A compound in red wine appears to lower the rate of diabetes, liver problems and other obesity related illnesses, at least for the fat mice. As for us, well you can conduct your own study.
S. O'BRIEN: A hundred glasses a day?
M. O'BRIEN: Conduct your own study.
Stick around. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will join us next hour to tell us all about this stuff and whether this is great news for us maybe.
S. O'BRIEN: Don't extrapolate yet.
M. O'BRIEN: No, I'm not going to extrapolate just yet. At least not until after the show.
It's time now to check the weather. Quarter after the hour. Chad Myers is looking at it for us.
Hello, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Stories we're watching for you this morning.
The makers of a popular birth control patch get slapped with a lawsuit. Andy will tell us why in "Minding Your Business."
And voting for dollars? We'll look at one state's controversial proposal to turn Election Day into a million dollar sweepstakes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Top stories for you now.
The Israeli military kills two more Palestinians. The second day of raids on Gaza. Israel says it is targeting militants launching rockets into its country.
And the search is on for an American and a Brit in Nigeria. Gunmen raided the oil ship they were working on overnight and abducted them.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Here's a pretty unique idea to get more voters to the polls. Maybe you could win a million dollars. AMERICAN MORNING's Chris Lawrence has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): In the game show version, contestants had to answer multiple questions to win the money. Mark Osterloh only has one.
MARK OSTERLOH, VOTER REWARD INITIATIVE: Are you a registered voter?
LAWRENCE: Osterloh wants to take some of the Arizona lottery's unclaimed prize money, and in every general election, award a million bucks to one lucky voter.
I know the goal is to get more people to vote. But is this the way to do it?
OSTERLOH: Do you have a better way?
LAWRENCE: Arizona already offers early voting by mail. But the state still ranks near the bottom of eligible voter turnout. If the Voter Reward Act passes and turnout increases, Osterloh says dozens of states could follow suit.
OSTERLOH: That could have a dramatic impact in who will have control of Congress of the United States and who the next president of the United States is.
LAWRENCE: Critics say it reduces voting to nothing more than a glorified scratch and win game.
BARNEY BRENNER, OPPOSES INITIATIVE: You've had people literally die to achieve and defend the right to vote in this country. And if that's not enough incentive for people to show up and be heard in the political process, it doesn't really seem appropriate to try to bribe them.
LAWRENCE: Barney Brenner says Arizona needs voters who've studied political platforms, not show up for a Powerball prize.
OSTERLOH: You're talking about an informed voter, right?
LAWRENCE: Right.
OSTERLOH: OK. Well, to be an informed voter, first you've got to be a voter.
LAWRENCE: Some would say first you have to be informed.
OSTERLOH: Well, let me say this. If you're not going to vote in an election, why would you study the issues and candidates?
LAWRENCE: Even if it passes, the act is sure to be challenged in court. And federal law prohibits exchanging money for votes.
JACK CHIN, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA LAW SCHOOL: Even if it's a general payment made to a lot of people to get out the vote, still prohibited by the statute.
LAWRENCE: Osterloh thinks it won't apply if the state offers every voter an equal chance at the million. He says one will hit the jackpot, but the entire electorate wins.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Tucson.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Mark Osterloh's proposal is certainly well intentioned, if nothing else. Arizona ranked 40th in eligible voter turnout in the 2004 presidential election. That's pretty low.
M. O'BRIEN: Hmm?
S. O'BRIEN: That's pretty low.
M. O'BRIEN: It's low.
S. O'BRIEN: Maybe a million dollars would help.
M. O'BRIEN: Why not. Why not throw in a little contest. Let's all join in.
All right. Some serious allegations in a lawsuit against a maker of a birth control patch. Andy Serwer's here with that.
Hello, Andy. ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
Yes, litigation in America. More than 40 women have sued the maker of a birth control patch -- the brand is Ortho Evra claiming that it produced serious health effects, including blood clots. One of these women, the lawsuit says, died from these blood clots. The Ortho Evra patch is made by Ortho McNeil, which is owned by Johnson & Johnson, and also McKesson. The companies have no comment at this time. This product was approved in 2001 and is pretty widely used.
M. O'BRIEN: So we're going to watch that one. That's one to watch for sure.
SERWER: Absolutely.
Other business news to tell you about. Auto sales -- this is some positive stuff for Detroit -- soared in the month of October.
M. O'BRIEN: Excuse me. I'm sorry, did you just say positive stuff for Detroit?
SERWER: That's a news flash.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry, I've got to get the wax out of my ears.
SERWER: A news flash. Look at them celebrating there behind those windows at General Motors.
General Motors, in fact, did particularly well, up 17 percent. SUVs and trucks up 33 percent. And guess why?
M. O'BRIEN: Gas prices.
SERWER: Gas prices went down. It's amazing.
M. O'BRIEN: You know, I -- really. Gas prices go down and you say, OK, I'm going to go buy a Mustang. I'm going to go buy that fancy Mustang right there.
SERWER: It's amazing how responsive people are to this thing. But you've got to remember how far and how quickly gas prices fell. I mean it was a huge drop and people said that's money in my pocket and now I'll take that money out of my pocket and buy an SUV. People literally make those kinds of decisions.
Now, if gas prices go back up next month, they may be regretting that a little bit. 1.2 million vehicles sold in October. That's up 6.1 percent over 2005. October, which is kind of a weak month.
And, finally, let's talk about stocks. A little bit more give back in the month of November. Dow is down about 50 points. You can see here, the Nasdaq down more on a percentage basis, 32. Some weak economic conditions. And, you know, after October come the hangover perhaps a little bit for investors, but futures are up this morning.
So, Soledad, I'm giving you, on the one hand, you know how I do this, too, on the other hand a little bit here this morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I recognize that from 50 paces, Andy.
SERWER: You've seen that. That's right.
S. O'BRIEN: I've seen that movie.
M. O'BRIEN: We're just scratching our heads in the middle going, what did he say?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I don't know.
M. O'BRIEN: What's next?
SERWER: Next we're going to be talking with -- this is an amazing story about a boss who was stealing his employees' identity. How about that? Having your boss stealing identity theft on his own employees.
S. O'BRIEN: Not here, right?
M. O'BRIEN: Wow. Wow.
SERWER: Not a whole lot to steal from this hombre, but go ahead.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Andy.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow, that's crazy.
M. O'BRIEN: And to think I thought they just could fire you.
SERWER: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Wikipedia, the on-line encyclopedia, is helping the U.S. intelligence committee. The director of the National Intelligence has set up an internal website called Intellipedia. Analysts from 16 intelligence agencies can share information on the site from everything from North Korea to bird flu. You do need a special security clearance to logon. I'm sure there will be some hackers working on that one trying to get into that deal even as we speak.
Once a hideout for Osama bin Laden, now a tourist hot spot? Local leaders are banking on the notoriety of Tora Bora, Afghanistan. Spending millions to build hotels and restaurants around the caves where bin Laden hid in 2001. Most of the caves are still badly damaged from heavy U.S. bombings. I guess that's the proper patina, though, right? Only three small caves are intact. Those would be the five-star rooms, I guess.
SERWER: That's crazy.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's crazy stuff.
And chalk this up to the who knew column. North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-il is one of the biggest NBA fans. Wonder how he feels about that new ball he brought in?
SERWER: Yes, that's just what I was thinking.
M. O'BRIEN: He reportedly has regulation courts at all of his palaces. He's got game. Kim Jong-il's got game and video of every game that Michael Jordan ever played. Kim's a bit of a night owl we're told, so he catches most of the live games on satellite during the middle of the night. The NBA season tipped off on Tuesday. I wonder if he has a Nielsen meter. Is he . . .
SERWER: We're learning more about that guy. Remember, he like Hennessy (ph).
S. O'BRIEN: And you bet everyone around him is like, oh, great shot, fearless leader.
SERWER: Yes, right. Yes. A lot of clapping when he's taking the court.
S. O'BRIEN: You're the best.
M. O'BRIEN: Excellent shot.
SERWER: Yes, right.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow, you're good at basketball.
M. O'BRIEN: Air balls get a big -- great, great air ball, fearless leader.
SERWER: That's right.
S. O'BRIEN: Some of the news stories we're following for you this morning.
Senator John Kerry says he's story for his so-called botched joke. We're going to bring you reaction from the White House this morning.
And we'll meet a Republican candidate who's using a risky strategy to distance himself from the president.
Those stories all ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: One of the biggest American contractors is leaving Iraq. Just like many soldiers, it's coming home, well aware of what it means to be a casualty of war.
S. O'BRIEN: And the senator says he's sorry. John Kerry apologizing to U.S. troops for his joke that went wrong. We'll tell you what the White House is saying this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: And on alert at a children's hospital. Right now doctors trying to contain an outbreak of whooping cough. Those stories and more just ahead.
Good morning to you, Thursday, November 2nd.
I'm Miles O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Let's begin in Iraq this morning. Here's what's new.
The Pentagon reporting the first U.S. military death in the month of November. A soldier was killed in a roadside bombing.
And Iraqi forces are getting a failing grade from the U.S. military journal which reports that the Iraqi troops run from danger and sometimes use excessive force.
As of today, Bechtel is done with Iraq. The giant contractor's contracts to build power and water and communications systems have run out. Security's been a huge problem for the company in Iraq. Also, security a big roadblock to reconstruction.
CNN's Aneesh Raman in Baghdad with more for us.
Good morning, Aneesh.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Bechtel, that engineering giant based out of California, as you say, leaving Iraq. The contract was up, it wasn't renewed. And they learned perhaps more than others that reconstruction here is without a doubt risky business.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAMAN (voice over): For contractors in Iraq, any day could return into this...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God damn! IED on the left side. Two IEDs.
RAMAN: ... the chaotic scenes of an insurgent ambush. This video from last year shows an American truck driver being shot at. The man filming survived, three of his colleagues did not.
It is for private companies the human cost of rebuilding Iraq. A cost one of the biggest Bechtel knows all too well.
In the past three years, Bechtel had two government contracts worth $2.3 billion, completing, the company says, 97 of the 99 projects it was tasked with. But Bechtel, like many other contractors here, has seen a good number of those projects, ranging from electricity to water plants, sabotaged by insurgents, crippled by lack of security, and has seen 52 of its employees, mainly Iraqi subcontractors, killed.
LT. GEN. CARL STROCK, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: We are facing a battle as we build these projects, and so they are not as efficient as you might find a construction project in Memphis, Tennessee. People are actually shooting at you, they're intimidating. The workers we have working for us.
RAMAN: In 2003, the U.S. Congress budgeted $18.4 billion to reconstruct Iraq. The lieutenant general says most of the project's budgeted 10 percent for security. And while in some parts they are using less than that, elsewhere security is costing 40 percent. Factor in spiraling sectarian violence...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just killed him.
RAMAN: ... and rebuilding Iraq is these days more difficult than ever.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAMAN: And Soledad, here's just one example that Bechtel dealt with -- inability at some level to plan and execute these projects. A state-of-the-art children's hospital was to be built last year in Basra, a pet project of the first lady, estimated to cost $50 million. It was supposed to be done by December. It stalled over the summer. The cost now estimated at $98 million because of newfound security concerns -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, Aneesh, what happens to all the money, then? The money that was, you know, allocated for reconstruction. Who gets it?
RAMAN: Well, we've got that $18.4 billion that was approved by the U.S. Congress. That had to be either spent or allocated by September of this year.
Now, what that means for Iraq here on in is that the U.S. and other foreign governments will invest, the money will come here, and ultimate oversight, one would assume, will now lie with Iraqi ministries, many of whom are still trying to get their acts together. So reconstruction mixed in with the violence. They're trying to build this country, but dealing, of course, with those phenomenal security concerns.
S. O'BRIEN: A big, big problem there.
Aneesh Raman for us in Baghdad.
Thank you, Aneesh -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Senator John Kerry trying to douse the political firestorm ignited over his comments on Iraq. He's apologizing and staying out of the campaign spotlight.
In a written apology that he released last night, Kerry says this: "I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member or American who was offended." A White House spokesman says Kerry's apology came late, but it was the right thing to do.
The latest CNN poll released on Wednesday shows Iraq at the top of the list of your concerns as we head to the elections, and the closer we get to Election Day, the more distance some Republican candidates are putting between themselves and their commander in chief.
CNN's Ted Rowlands with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dave Reichert is doing his best to make it very clear to voters in the state of Washington that he's not President Bush.
REP. DAVE REICHERT (R), WASHINGTON: I agree with the president on some things. I don't agree with the president on a lot of things.
ROWLANDS: Reichert may be trying to distance himself from the White House, but his opponent is making it difficult.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The real Reichert, he's just like George Bush.
REICHERT: I look at the ads everyday. I mean I -- everybody sees the president and I walking off of Air Force One and waving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He supports Bush nearly 90 percent of the time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's nice to meet you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very nice to meet you.
ROWLANDS: Darcy Burner is Reichert's opponent. She's a 35- year-old Democrat with no real political experience, trying to win in a district that's voted Republican since it was formed. Her strategy, like some Democrats this election, is to tie her opponent to the president.
DARCY BURNER (D), WASHINGTON CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Well the question this election is whether we continue on the course George Bush has taken this country or whether we change course.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And oppose the president on (INAUDIBLE), stem cell research, and cuts to children's hospital.
ROWLANDS: Reichert may be running away from Bush on the campaign trail, but he's relying on the White House for support. Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, even the president have all appeared with Reichert at private fundraisers.
REICHERT: Well we had him out earlier in the year and we actually raised more money in this district than any other district he visited this campaign season.
ROWLANDS: Joel Connelly covers politics for the "Seattle-Post Intelligencer". He says Reichert is in a strange position of getting financial help from the White House so he can turn around and tell voters that he doesn't always agree with President Bush.
JOEL CONNELLY, "SEATTLE-POST INTELLIGENCER": All the top administration officials coming in to raise money for advertising, which stresses the independence of the congressman from the administration.
ROWLANDS (on camera): The race here in Washington State is basically a dead heat, and both national parties have poured a lot of resources and money into this race. Because it's on the West Coast, in the Pacific Time Zone, on election night it will be one of the final races to be decided. And depending on what happens around the country, all eyes could easily be focused on Washington State and the 8th Congressional District.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: That was CNN's Ted Rowlands.
A poll in October 24th to October 26th by an independent research firm had Burner leading 49 percent to 47 percent. But that's probably within the margin of error -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning in North Carolina, police believe they have found the body of John Woodring. He, of course, is the man who was wanted in the September murder of his estranged wife at a domestic violence center. Police are waiting for autopsy results to see if a body which was found on a houseboat actually is Woodring's.
In New York this morning, families of 9/11 victims will rally at Ground Zero demanding a federal investigation into the search for remains of their loved ones. More than 200 pieces of bone and other remains have been found over just the last two weeks. That's of course more than five years after the 9/11 attacks.
In Mexico, two men are being held in the shooting of an American journalist. His name is Bradley Will. He was killed during street protests. And that protest following the leftist takeover of the city of Oaxaca. The men were detained after residents pointed them out as Will's killers. At least eight people have died during five months of protests there.
At the U.N., a compromise. Venezuela and Guatemala are backing off of their quest for a Security Council seat. Instead, they've agreed to nominate Panama. The General Assembly had been deadlocked on just who would get the seat, with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez charging the U.S. was trying to strong-arm countries into voting for Guatemala.
And more at the U.N., this time a scandal. A senior U.N. official and a Miami businessman are under arrest. They're charged in a scheme that involves more than $50 million in U.N. contracts.
One of them allegedly used his influence to help the other get millions in U.N. contracts, then in return got an apartment in Midtown Manhattan for little or no rent. Both men now face up to 10 years in prison if they're convicted -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Stories we're following this morning.
China talks about a timetable for negotiations on North Korea's nuclear program.
Plus, South Africa reacts to the death of the man who led in the apartheid era.
More on that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Welcome back to the program. Let's take a look at the news grid, see some of the feeds that we are tracking here at CNN.
Incoming 85, take a look at that, Brad.
That's the White House. And the president is prepared to embark on a big election swing. He's going to be stumping for votes, ultimately making his way to Crawford, Texas, to vote on Election Day, then making his way back to the White House.
We're going to be talking to White House Press secretary Tony Snow in just a little bit, ask him about the political mood of the country and the war in Iraq, as well.
Next door, incoming 86 there, that's Children's Hospital in Boston. Cases of whooping cough there, and doctors there trying to contain an outbreak there. We'll keep you posted on that.
Incoming 16, that's Baghdad. That is where Aneesh Raman was just a few moments ago. That's our bureau there. We're going to be hearing a weekly briefing from the general there in -- who offers up briefings to reporters in just a little while. That begins at 7:00 Eastern. We'll be monitoring that.
And there's New York City today. Rainy, cold, it's not a very pretty morning here in the Northeast. It's 47 degrees -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Here's a look now at stories that CNN correspondents around the world are covering today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paula Hancocks in London.
The British government is facing harsh criticism on its policy on torture. The Human Rights Watch says that Tony Blair is undermining Britain's opposition to torture in a misguided attempt to combat terrorism. It denounces the government's attempts to deport individuals into countries which it says they could face torture. The foreign office says it denounces this report and does not condone torture.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jeff Koinange in Johannesburg.
He was one of the most hard-line rulers during apartheid South Africa. P.W. Botha instituted some of the most stringent laws in the mid 1980s, including a state of emergency that led to the arrest and detention of tens of thousands of black Africans. He's also the man who refused to unconditionally release Nelson Mandela from prison in the late 1980s.
P.W. Botha dead at 90, and with him goes a period many South Africans would probably prefer to forget.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOHN JIE-AE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sohn Jie-ae in Seoul.
South Korea's vice foreign minister says the six-party talks to resolve North Korea's nuclear issue will be held after a summit of Asia-Pacific countries to be held in Vietnam from November 18th to 19th. And Seoul's Yonhap News says the countries that will be facing North Korea across the negotiating table are considering meeting prior to the talks to coordinate strategy to get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: For more on these or any of our top stories, log on to our Web site at CNN.com.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's check the weather. Chad Myers watching that for us this morning.
Hello, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Miles.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Here's a look at some stories we're following for you this morning.
Yet another runway mishap. We'll tell you why a plane was forced to belly flop in Florida.
And a U.S. soldier goes AWOL again, in spite of a deal with the Army to come back. We have his explanation straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: News for travelers this morning, beginning with a belly flop landing at Ft. Lauderdale Airport. Sparks flew as a charter jet skidded down the runway after a problem with its landing gear. Rescuers sprayed the plane with foam to make sure there was no fire. The skid damaged some of the runway, as well.
Ten passengers, two crew members all walked away. A little shaken, alive. A good story to tell, at least.
In Kentucky, that airport runway -- remember the tragedy -- back open this morning. Runway 26, the one used by that Comair plane that crashed in August, 49 people died, only the first officer survived, that runway was not long enough for that jet to get off the ground. The runway has been remarked to better warn larger aircraft, as you can see there.
And the final word on another plane crash this morning. It happened last year just outside New York City at the Teterboro, New Jersey, airport.
A jet overran a runway, skidded on to the highway. You might remember that if you're a faithful viewer of our program. Fourteen people injured there.
It turns out the flight crew did not properly distribute weight in the jet. Too much weight forward, making it impossible for it to become airborne in time. And investigators also say the pilot didn't have enough experience in that type of aircraft -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Happening "In America" this morning, in Kentucky, Army Private Kyle Snyder is AWOL again, just five days after he returned from Canada. That's where he ran, rather than return to Iraq.
Well, Snyder told The Associated Press he changed his mind about returning after the Army told him he'd have to rejoin his unit in Iraq. His lawyer made a deal with the Army. Snyder says going back to Iraq wasn't part of that deal.
In North Carolina, damage from a fire so severe that this Greensboro High School is going to be closed for the year. Nobody was hurt, but school officials are worried that the building isn't structurally safe enough for students and teachers to return.
In Reno, Nevada, a woman is under arrest. She's charged with starting a fire in an historic hotel that killed six people.
Her name is Valerie Moore (ph). She's a cook in a casino. She's now charged with six counts of murder and arson in the fire that gutted the Mizpah Hotel, which is on the list of national historic places. For an earlier crime, she was serving two life sentences and got out on parole.
The road to recovery still painfully slow for a man who just a couple of weeks ago didn't know his name or even where he was. Jeff Ingram showed up in Denver unable to remember much of anything. Went on national TV, he was recognized by his fiancee. They were reunited. Sadly, though, his fiancee says he still can't remember his past.
In Florida, the stars and stripes may be red-flagged for "The Donald". Donald Trump's 80-foot flag pole outside his seaside club in Palm Beach too big according to town rules. Yes, twice the size of what's allowed without a special permit. You can only have a 40-foot- size flagpole.
M. O'BRIEN: It seems a little unpatriotic.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, he just needs to get a permit. And if he doesn't get a permit, he's going to face fines of $250 a day, which I think "The Donald" can afford.
M. O'BRIEN: Chump change. Chump change, absolutely.
S. O'BRIEN: In Oklahoma, some college students are hoping to save lives with cupcakes and cookies. The students think that soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan need better body armors.
They're holding bake sales around Oklahoma City They're hoping to cook up enough cash to buy the top-of-the-line equipment to protect soldiers. Then they're going to ship it overseas.
M. O'BRIEN: Top stories are straight ahead.
Plus, we're "Minding Your Business". Talk about your bad boss. Do you think you've got a bad boss? Andy Serwer may have one that takes -- takes the cake, and takes your identity, too.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: So you think you've got a bad boss? You think you've got a bad boss? Wait until you hear what Andy Serwer has to say about bad bosses.
This could be the absolute (INAUDIBLE).
ANDY SERWER, MANAGING EDITOR, "FORTUNE": This guy is a bad man, according to the feds. The ultimate boss from hell. I don't think there's any other way to put this.
A gentleman named Terrance Chalk, 44 years old, has been indicted in New York State. He is the CEO of a company called Compulinx Managed Services in White Plains, along with his nephew, one Damon Chalk (ph). And they are accused, basically, of stealing from their employees.
He was...
S. O'BRIEN: What do they make? What do they...
S. O'BRIEN: It's a technology company. It's unclear exactly what they do. But the point here, Soledad, is that these -- these two gentlemen are accused of using the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of employees to secure bank loans. And prosecutors said that this guy also ran up $100,000 in credit card charges using the names of his employees.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow.
M. O'BRIEN: So these employees...
SERWER: Mr. Chalk has pleaded not guilty, by the way.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. And so these employees find out by getting turned down for credit or checking their credit and seeing all this stuff on there and trying to figure out where it all came from.
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Fifty thousand dollar bill...
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: Wow.
SERWER: You know, and he got a lot of awards as the businessman of the year and stuff up there in Westchester. And it is interesting. I mean, there's so many questions.
Was he a generous boss? Did he give a lot of raises? Probably give them a raise and then he'll take it back or steal it back from them.
S. O'BRIEN: Taketh away.
SERWER: It just seemed like all kinds of issues. It will be interesting to follow up on this.
S. O'BRIEN: Sure I'll give you a $40,000 raise.
SERWER: Want to talk a little bit about junk mail. And, you know, we thought junk mail was going to go the way of the buggy whip, I guess. But it hasn't.
In fact, it is a bigger business than ever. And we thought because of spam and because of telemarketers, but, in fact, 114 billion pieces of junk mail were sent last year. Up 15 percent from five years ago.
M. O'BRIEN: Man. Those poor letter carriers. Jeez.
SERWER: Last year junk mail exceeded first class mail for the first time ever. And some people actually prefer junk mail to spam and to telemarketers. And I think that that's probably right.
S. O'BRIEN: I would agree with that.
SERWER: Given the choice between those three things, I'd rather get junk.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, certainly it's -- telemarketers are the worst, you know, because that's intrusive. But, I mean, think that the trees that die.
S. O'BRIEN: And the landfills.
M. O'BRIEN: And the landfills and all the issues.
SERWER: It's a wasteful process, isn't it?
M. O'BRIEN: It is. It is.
What's next?
SERWER: Next, we're going to talk about Wal-Mart. And they are taking attendance in terms of their employees. New rules about how you come to work and when, and what you have to tell your boss.
M. O'BRIEN: So, "Bueller, Bueller, Bueller," that kind of stuff?
SERWER: That kind of stuff.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
SERWER: We haven't talked about that in a while.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Andy. See you in a bit.
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.
Here's a look at some of the top stories on CNN.com this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN (voice over): Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist William Styron is dead, the author of "Sophie's Choice" and the controversial "The Confessions of Nat Turner." Styron died at the age of 81 of pneumonia.
A little legal trouble for conservative writer Ann Coulter. The Palm Beach County, Florida, election chief says Coulter is refusing to cooperate in an ongoing investigation into whether she voted in the wrong precinct on purpose during a local election last February. The case likely goes to prosecutors now.
The Winter Haven, Florida, police chief is out of a job. Paul Goward says he was forced to quit after offending some of his officers. Goward sent a memo to his overweight force titled "Are you a Jelly Belly?" and listed 10 reasons to lose weight. That brought anonymous complaints about Goward's abrasive management style.
For more on these stories, you can log on to our Web site at CNN.com. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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