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American Morning

U.S. Military F-16CG Crashes 20 Miles Northwest of Baghdad; The Next Move in Iraq; Pope's Trip to Turkey; Police Shooting Protest

Aired November 27, 2006 - 08:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's a look at some of the top stories on CNN.com this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN (voice over): The Hollywood box office numbers are in, and a tap-dancing penguin takes the top spot for a second week in a row. "Happy Feet" raked in $51.6 million from Wednesday to Sunday. "Casino Royale" in second place. And the new Denzel Washington thriller "Deja Vu" in third place.

Michael Richards was a guest on the Reverend Jesse Jackson's nationally syndicated radio show over the weekend, apologizing for his racist rant. Richards told Jackson he doesn't consider himself a racist. He says the tirade was fueled by anger, not bigotry. Richards also said he has never used language like that before and would like to meet the two men to whom he vented his anger.

And hundreds of holiday shoppers were evacuated from a Wal-Mart in Maine this weekend after two homemade acid bombs exploded. It happened in Skowhegan, Maine, about 50 miles east of Bangor. Approximately eight people were treated for minor injuries. Two 15- year-old boys have been charged with criminal use of explosives.

For more on these stories, log on to our Web site at CNN.com.

The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

This just into CNN. We're getting word that a United States Air Force F-16 which was engaged in support of the coalition ground combat operations has crashed outside of Baghdad today. It happened around 1:35 p.m. Baghdad time. One pilot on board, we're told.

Let's get right to Jamie McIntyre. He's live at the Pentagon for us.

Jamie, good morning to you.

The Anbar Province, I understand, is where this happened. Do we know details?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Not many. We just know that the plane crashed. We don't know if it was the result of hostile fire or a mechanical malfunction.

The plane was an F-16CG, which is one of the electronic jamming versions of the F-16. It would be very unusual for one of these planes to be shot down, however. They fly at a pretty safe height and you need pretty sophisticated weaponry to do that.

So, if you were guessing, it's more likely that a mechanical function may have occurred. If that's the case, the pilot would likely have ejected from the plane. But the U.S. military is not confirming the status of the pilot at this time, presumably because if he had ejected they would want to try to rescue him or her. There are also women flying these aircraft over the skies of Iraq.

Again, very unusual for an F-16 to go down. In fact, during the 10 years, more than 10 years the U.S. patrolled the no-fly zones in the north and the south, they never had a single plane crash over Iraq -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Word we have is that one pilot was on board. I mean, I guess they could have ejected but did not, is my reading of that. Do you have any more details of who exactly was on board? Would it be standard to have one pilot? Any more information on that front?

MCINTYRE: Yes, the F-16 is a single-seat plane, with the exception of a couple of training versions. So it's -- there would be one pilot on board.

And again, the reason they might not say if the pilot ejected is they may be trying to conduct a rescue or recovery operation. And given the fact that's hostile territory, it's not something they'd want to advertise.

S. O'BRIEN: I got it. All right.

Let me ask you about the Iraq Study Group. Many people are looking to that group to come up with an answer about what to do -- to do next in Iraq as the violence continues, et cetera.

What are we hearing so far about what they think is the right step forward in Iraq?

MCINTYRE: Well, you know, there's high expectations among almost everybody, and I say almost everybody because you see some low expectations here at the Pentagon. The thinking here is that if there was an easy fix, smart people at the Pentagon would have already come up with it.

The idea is you're -- you're hearing talking about engaging Iran and Syria to help quell the violence. Perhaps some sort of phased withdrawal or timetable for U.S. troops are all things that have been talked about before, and they have obvious downsides as well.

So, the commission, the Iraq Study Group, will be debating these proposals. They have a draft, apparently, that they're considering at this point. But the problem is there has to be a consensus of these 10 members, and the Pentagon, privately people are saying that they don't have a lot of confidence that a policy drafted by consensus from 10 different people is necessarily going to be the best exit strategy -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: That will be interesting, because, as you say, expectations are certainly very high to get some word from this group. We'll wait and see.

Jamie McIntyre for us at the Pentagon.

Thanks, Jamie -- Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush embarking this morning on a high-stakes diplomatic mission aimed at turning the tide in Iraq, leaving Washington just a short time ago from the former soviet republics of Estonia and Latvia and a two-day NATO summit. After that, he is slated to meet with the Iraqi prime minister in Jordan, despite threats that summit could prompt a huge rift in the Baghdad government.

AMERICAN MORNING'S Bob Franken in Washington.

Jordan's King Abdullah is warning the Middle East, is looking right now, Bob, at possibly three civil wars at once, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestinian territories. And he says that Iraq is right in the middle of all this as a triggering point.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is one of the triggering points. As a matter of fact, he says that if he had to prioritize the crises, he would probably put the Palestinian question at the top, and then Lebanon, perhaps, under that, and then Iraq probably running a close third. But it's really dancing on the head of a pin.

The fact is they're all interrelated. The truth of the matter is, is that the United States right now is trying to figure some way to honorably end its involvement in Iraq. The question is, will it be able to, how long will it take?

This is all, of course, is also interrelated to what's going on in Washington with the Iraq Study Group and the very difficult choices that the Iraqi Study Group has to make, if there are any that are really that new. That is a burning question. The president is looking for ideas from the Mideast and help from the Mideast.

M. O'BRIEN: A lot of reports that the Iraq Study Group will suggest the U.S. directly engage Iran and Syria. A lot of diplomacy going on right now.

We see the president on his trip. Vice President Cheney was in Saudi Arabia. The secretary of state on her way to the region. That's what we know about.

Is it possible there's a back channel line of communication already under way between Iran and Syria and the U.S.? FRANKEN: Probably certain. Much of diplomacy, if not most of diplomacy, is conducted behind the scenes. The United States, of course, has taken public positions which would make it extremely difficult to engage in public cooperation with either Syria or Iran, but both of those countries also have an interest in a more stable Iraq, at least stable enough so they can do whatever it is they want to do.

But the United States at this moment is operating on the premises that "My enemy's enemy is my friend." It's that kind of Machiavellian operation that is the way things usually work in the Mideast.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much.

Bob Franken in Washington.

New details on the pope's trip to Turkey this morning. We're hearing that the Turkish prime minister will, in fact, meet with the pope.

Alessio Vinci joining us with details.

That's a significant development, isn't it, Alessio?

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is indeed. The prime minister of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, was among the most vociferous critics of the pope after he made those comments back in September in Germany linking Islam with violence. And he had indicated that he was not going to meet the pope, primarily because he had to travel to Riga, in Latvia, to join the other world leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush, for a NATO summit.

But he also came under increased pressure, especially from intellectuals in Turkey, that for the prime minister not to meet the visiting pope would have been a snub, and, of course, would have put Turkey in a bad light, considering the fact that Turkey is also trying to join the European Union. And therefore, the prime minister here also leads the conservative pro-Islamic party here, is certainly a good indication that at least the trip of the pope, while controversial, of course, will begin on the right foot.

Now, all this, of course, while tens of thousands protested in Istanbul yesterday on Sunday for the -- against the upcoming trip of the pope. Now, a number far less big than originally anticipated.

Organizers hoped that hundreds of thousands, perhaps even a million people would show up. Istanbul is home to about 14 million Turks, most of them Muslims. Well, it turned out that only a few thousand showed up. And that is also another indication that perhaps while the vast majority of Turks are still offended by the pope's remarks, they have accepted his partial regret and are also giving him an opportunity with this trip to mend fences -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Alessio, these huge crowds that are going to turn out, is it anticipated that it will be largely friendly crowds? VINCI: Well, to be honest with you, I do not believe there will be large crowds meeting with the pope. There are no, if you want, big outdoor events both in Ankara and Istanbul.

There will be an open-air mass in Efasis (ph), but that is the only sort of open-air event that the pope will have. And there, of course, there are several thousand people expected. But that is a place, a (INAUDIBLE) sanctuary there, where people usually do converge, and there will be a friendly crowd. As far as the pope's movement in town, we don't expect the tens of thousands that we usually see when the pope travels to a country.

M. O'BRIEN: Alessio Vinci in Rome.

Thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: In Massachusetts, some of the families forced out by that explosion and fire in Danvers last week are back home. Inspectors declared six houses near the blast safe enough to live in. More inspections are set for today. The chemical explosion and fire damaged or destroyed about 70 buildings.

In Oregon, a search is under way for a family of six that went to cut down a Christmas tree on Saturday and did not return. The group includes a father, his girlfriend, and four children, aged 4 to 14, from Hood River County. They were last seen in a gray Toyota Tundra with signs on it that said Pacific Communications.

A ground search is called off for two young brothers missing since Wednesday from the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota. Tristan White and Avery Stately were last seen playing in the yard of their Red Lake home. The FBI is offering a $20,000 reward for any information leading to the boys' return.

In Atlanta, investigators are reviewing the death of a 92-year- old woman who was killed during a drug raid on her home. Police say they found a small amount of marijuana in her house.

Listen.

We had a little difficulty with that clip there, but that's the update on that story there -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Outrage in New York City this morning. A bridegroom-to-be is dead, two of his friends in the hospital after plain-clothes cops fired a barrage of 50 shots outside a strip club early Saturday morning. And now the police commissioner is a target for some community leaders calling for his ouster.

Mary Snow joining us live from police headquarters in Manhattan with the latest.

Good morning, Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles. And one city council member is leading that call for Commissioner Kelly's resignation. But the Reverend Al Sharpton, who was with the families over the weekend, held a vigil yesterday, said that what he really wants at this point is a full investigation.

The police say they don't know exactly what happened, because the five officers who were involved in this shooting are being questioned by the Queens district attorney, and until that questioning is complete, the police are not able to interview the five officers. But what the police do know, what they have said publicly is that there had been suspicion that one of the men may have had a gun. But after a search, no weapons were recovered.

And earlier this morning, the Reverend Al Sharpton repeated his call for a full investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. AL SHARPTON, EARLIER ON AMERICAN MORNING: The policy has to be addressed and a real criminal investigation on what made the police shoot in the first place. You can't say, I thought he had a gun, I heard somebody say something. You cannot have the use of deadly force based on the imagination of a single police officer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Now, Police commissioner Ray Kelly held a news conference Saturday night saying that there had been an undercover unit outside the strip club where the three men had been. He said that strip club had been under surveillance and that an undercover officer approached the men's car and was struck, and that's when trouble began.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAYMOND KELLY, NYPD COMMISSIONER: The driver put the car into forward and rammed the police minivan a second time. Five officers fired a total of 50 rounds at the Altima. The driver, Sean Bell, was struck twice in the right arm and neck. He was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: And the 23-year-old man who was killed, Sean Bell, was to be married on Saturday, killed just hours before the wedding. His two friends are currently still in the hospital. They received multiple gunshot wounds.

Later this morning the mayor and police commissioner plan on meeting with community leaders -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Mary Snow in New York.

Thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Michael Richards is apologizing again for his racist rant at a Los Angeles comedy club. He took his apology to the Reverend Jesse Jackson's nationally syndicated radio show over the weekend. Richards says his words were fueled by anger, not bigotry. The Reverend Jackson called him on his use of some offensive language.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: I asked him the source of the rage and had anybody attacked him, molested him, or robbed or raped him. He said no. So what's the basis of the racism (ph)?

Why is your layer of ice so thin when you were heckled? He was not sure whether the heckler was, in fact, black or white, as a matter of fact. So you go from that to the excessive use of profanity, repetitious use of the word "Nigger," a idea about somebody lynching from a tree, that's pretty, pretty pathological. That is pretty sick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Well, Reverend Jackson says he hopes Richards' words and apology can shine a light on cultural isolation in the entertainment industry. And that it might be a chance to turn a minus into a plus, as he put it.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, here's a plus for us. Chad Myers right beside us.

Good to have you here.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I found an empty seat on an airplane and I decided to get on.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, a piece of history goes up in Tampa's Ybor City. The latest on the search for the cause.

Also, that poisoned former spy named some names before he died. We'll tell you where the investigation is this morning.

And then there's this: together again. A Holocaust survivor and her rescue. There's an emotional embrace. Their reunion after more than 60 years apart, ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP) O

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Here's what we're looking at for you this morning.

A developing story. An American F-16 fighter jet has crashed in Iraq. It happened just outside of Baghdad. One pilot on board is reported. No word, though, on the status of that pilot.

And President Bush is on his way to Latvia right now. He's going to stop there to meet NATO leaders before he heads on to the Middle East. His goal is to find a way to stem the violence in Iraq.

Seventeen minutes past the hour. If you're about to head out the door, first let's get a check of the traveler's forecast for you.

Chad has got there. He's here in person.

Hey, Chad.

Good morning.

MYERS: Thanks, Soledad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: The war in Iraq passes a significant milestone today. U.S. troops have now fought more days in Iraq than they did in all of World War II.

There were 1,347 days of combat for Americans in World War II. That's from December 7, 1941, until August 15, 1945.

The Iraq war began on March 20, 2003. Today is the 1,348th day of fighting.

The president hoping to turn the tide in Iraq, winging his way to a tense summit with the Iraqi prime minister. But the Shiite powerbroker who controls the Mehdi militia says he will pull his faction out of the government if that meeting goes on.

So, could the meeting, in fact, do more harm than good?

Rajiv Chandrasekaran is the assistant managing editor of "The Washington Post." He is the author of "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone." He joins us from Washington.

Rajiv, good to have you back with us on the program.

RAJIV CHANDRASEKARAN, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Good morning, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Muqtada al-Sadr's threat to quit the government if the summit goes on. What should we make of that?

CHANDRASEKARAN: Well, Muqtada's made a lot of threats, some of which he's followed through on, some of which he hasn't. I would imagine there will be a lot of behind-the-scenes back-room negotiating going on between Prime Minister al-Maliki's people and Muqtada al- Sadr's political bloc, which represents a significant bloc for Maliki in the government in an effort to try to find a face-saving solution to this.

It's worth noting, Miles, that yesterday, when three prominent Iraqi political leaders, including the president and the prime minister, got together in a show of support calling for a halt to the violence and calling for a political solution to try to help end the civil strife there, Muqtada al-Sadr, the most important player in all of this, was notably absent.

M. O'BRIEN: That's not a good sign. So, if, in fact, his faction were to pull out of the Iraqi government, what would that -- what would be left of the Iraqi government?

CHANDRASEKARAN: Well, this would be the beginning of the end of the al-Maliki government. Maliki's government needs the support of Muqtada's coalition or Muqtada's bloc for its support.

It would -- it would no longer have the sort of majority it needs in parliament to continue governing. So you'd get to a real political crisis, and essentially be forced to form a new government.

If we go back to early this year, we know how -- just how difficult, how arduous it is to form a government there. We could be talking about months of political infighting, bickering and stalemate.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's look at your sister publication, "Newsweek." This week, the cover, "The Most Dangerous Man in Iraq," Muqtada al- Sadr, and just a brief excerpt from this. And it comes from Paul Bremer, who was the U.S. point person early on there in Iraq.

"I first wanted to go after him" -- referring to al-Sadr -- "when he had probably fewer than 200 followers. I couldn't make it happen," he says.

This is, you know, years ago now. If the U.S. had done that for whatever reason and was able to arrest him, Muqtada al-Sadr, early on, what would have happened? Would that have been a key thing that should have been done?

CHANDRASEKARAN: Of course. Had the United States made a move against Sadr in the early months after toppling Saddam Hussein's government, you likely would not have had the sort of problem you have from him. You would have -- you clearly would have gotten him out of the picture.

Now, certainly you could have had some other cleric that would have risen in his place to command support among the young disaffected Shiite majority in the country. But it's also worth noting that Bremer's comments there -- and I read that "Newsweek" article, Miles, and I reported on some of the stuff in my book. When Bremer says he was going -- wanted to go after Sadr, Sadr clearly had more than 200 followers than. And Bremer's most direct moves against Sadr came in the spring of 2004, and by then, Sadr's group really had thousands of people under his control.

Yes, he did express some desire -- this is Bremer -- expressed some desire to go after al-Sadr in the summer of 2003, just a few months after the liberation of Iraq. But there was no real coherent American civilian plan, and the military was not on board with that.

M. O'BRIEN: Rajiv Chandrasekaran, thank you very much for your time, as always.

CHANDRASEKARAN: Good to talk to you.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad -- all right.

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, the post-Thanksgiving travel rush. We'll take a look at how the long journey home went for millions of Americans.

And a Honolulu police officer is dead after crashing while leading a presidential motorcade. Reaction from the White House is straight ahead this morning.

Plus, new information on that mysterious poisoning death of a former Russian spy.

AMERICAN MORNING returns in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: That's what it looked like in Atlanta and Boston and in Philadelphia. They ate, they're heading home now. Americans are coming back from their Thanksgiving holidays.

Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff is at New York's LaGuardia airport with more on the trip home.

How is it looking this morning, Allan?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

It's been looking pretty busy here at LaGuardia. Lots of people extending their Thanksgiving trips and going home this morning. It's been busy since 5:00 this morning. But would you believe everything here running on time?

And earlier this morning, some of the flights arriving were even arriving early. That's not the case anymore. A few flights now just slightly delayed.

The main travel problems that we seem to have had over the weekend really were in the Northwest, that terrible snow that we had in Washington State on I-90 driving through the Cascades. A very long haul, tough traveling through that snow.

Also, in California, Interstate 80, traveling from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe, a tough ride over there. San Francisco's airport had delays averaging about 45 minutes yesterday.

But overall across the country, not all that bad, considering just how treacherous Thanksgiving travel can be -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, a little silver lining there.

Allan Chernoff for us this morning.

Thanks, Allan -- Miles.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, the investigation into that mysterious poisoning death of a former Russian spy. Named some names before he died. We'll take a look at what he said.

Also this morning, a lawsuit involving the deadly collapse this summer at Boston's Big Dig. Tell you who might have to pay up.

And a little bit of history goes up in flames. Authorities look for the cause behind a five-alarm fire in Florida. Those stories and much more ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: An accident turns into tragedy. A Honolulu motorcycle officer is now dead following a crash that happened while he was escorting the president's motorcade.

M. O'BRIEN: New developments in the mysterious death of a former Russian spy. A closer look at the possible suspects and the possible murder weapon.

S. O'BRIEN: And a tearful bond. A Holocaust survivor reunited with the woman who hid her from the Nazis. Those stories and much more on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Monday, November 27th. Hope you had a great weekend. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us this morning.

A day of mourning in Hawaii and at the White House. A Honolulu police officer hurt while escorting the president's motorcade last week has died. Officer Steve Favella suffered internal injuries. He died yesterday. CNN's Kathleen Koch live from the White House with more. Kathleen, good morning.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, this is a very sad story. Of course, certainly accidents can happen, even when you're traveling in a presidential motorcade, and this accident happened early Tuesday morning. 30-year-old officer Steve Favella was escorting the presidential motorcade. he and two other motorcycle officers, their motorcycles crashed.

Apparently it had been raining that morning and some of the roads there at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii were very, very slick. Favella as you mentioned suffered internal injuries. He had been hospitalized since Tuesday at the Queens Medical Center in Hawaii, and he did die there Sunday.

The White House last night put out a statement saying, quote, "We send our condolences to his wife Barbara, his entire family and his fellow law enforcement officers. We pray that God will comfort them and their friends and loved ones will sustain them in this difficult time."

It's important to point out that members of the White House medical team, including an ambulance, split off from the presidential motorcade when the accident occurred on Tuesday. Did absolutely everything they could to treat officer Favella -- treat he and the other officers. The other officers were treated and released. They did not have serious injuries. Favella was an eight-year veteran of the Honolulu police department. He's survived by his wife and four children -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Sad story. Kathleen Koch at the White House. Thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: New developments on a story we've been following for you extensively, the mysterious poisoning death of a former Russian spy. CNN's Paula Newton has the very latest on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): His doctors called it chemical torture. And in the hours before his death, former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko bared the scars of it. His organs failing, his body surrendering. But not his mind.

Until the last, he fingered the Kremlin, a charge echoed by his father.

ALEXANDER LITVINENKO'S FATHER (through translator): "This regime is a mortal danger to the world. He fought this regime, he understood it, and this regime got him."

NEWTON: What actually got him, investigators say, is a rare radioactive element called Polonium-210. And now trying to figure out when and how he was poisoned is turning into a sensational whodunit. His friends say the Polonium should be like a fingerprint for police; it implicates Russian intelligence executing the government's orders.

ALEX GOLDFARB, VICTIM'S FRIEND: We know that the Russian regime has evolved into a kind of authoritarian dictatorship by now, with no checks and balances.

NEWTON: Russian President Vladimir Putin denies any and all involvement.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I hope that British authorities would not contribute to instigation of political scandals. It has nothing to do with reality.

NEWTON: It's now up to Scotland Yard to sort all of this out. Investigators are combing through Litvinenko's north London home, the sushi restaurant where he had lunch on November 1st, and the hotel where earlier that same day when he met with two Russian men.

All the sites are now contaminated with radiation and authorities are asking people who may have been affected to come forward.

JILL MEARA, BRITISH HEALTH PROTECTION AGENCY: Because we can analyze for it, and this is potentially a serious incident as a whole, we are pleased to offer this reassurance to people.

NEWTON: But police remain challenged by this bizarre murder that now threatens to strain relations between Britain and Russia.

NEWTON (on camera): As a former secret agent, Litvinenko made plenty of enemies. He had been one of Putin's harshest critics in recent years. But in truth, there may have been many with the means and the motive to silence him.

Paula Newton, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Well, if anybody would know what the KGB could be, it's Olek Kalugin, he is a former chief of counter-intelligence for the KGB. he's in Washington, D.C. this morning. Nice to see you sir, thanks for talking with us. We should mention you're an American citizen living outside of D.C. now. Poisoning by Polonium. How unusual would this be, even for the KGB. Is it possible? Does it strike you as a mode the KGB would indeed do?

OLEG KALUGIN, FORMER KGB COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE CHIEF: Well, KGB uses different ways to eliminate people -- different poisons. The one they used now against Mr. Litvinenko, something which I never heard of. But, that does not mean they don't work more for -- other ways to eliminate people. This is a criminal regime, and Mr. Putin had personal reasons to get rid of Mr. Litvinenko. So the substance they use, I say, may differ, but the ultimate result is the same. They remove physically the enemies of Putin's regime.

S. O'BRIEN: So when you -- Litvinenko before his death said that it had all -- you know, it was sort of a classic case or had all the fingerprints, essentially, of the KGB. You would agree with that. Are you saying that the president, Vladimir Putin would even be knowledgeable of something like this?

KALUGIN: I'm pretty sure that he is knowledgeable. Mr. Litvinenko never hided his disdain and contempt for President Putin. In fact, in his first book written in Moscow and translated into English, as a matter of fact, "Blowing up Russia," Mr. Litvinenko said that Mr. Putin's elevation to power was thanks to a major plot to bomb apartment buildings and that allowed Putin to ride a wave of indignation become president. Mr. Litvinenko exposed the plot by the FSB to put their man in charge of Russia.

Now Mr. Litvinenko in his daily -- I mean, sorry, weekly reports to the Chechen press, and I used to read them regularly, he actually was very vicious about President Putin. He would blame him personally for many things. He never showed any respect. In fact, he brought in his articles some nasty personal things about Putin's character and behavior.

S. O'BRIEN: But did all of that add up to a dire threat that Mr. Litvinenko posed to the Russian president and the administration as a whole? I mean, some people described him as more of a gadfly. As you say, personal attacks, consistent attacks, regular reports, but was he so dangerous?

KALUGIN: Well, since Mr. Putin took over as chief of the Russian Security Services in 1998, there were a number of deaths attributed to the Russian Security Services. Some people were poisoned. For instance, Yuri Scheckachefin (ph), a top editor of the Russian liberal newspaper, he died under circumstances similar to that of Mr. Litvinenko. The Ukrainian president, current president, Mr. Yushchenko, was also poisoned, and the substance used against him was obviously manufactured by the Russian KGB laboratories.

So Mr. Putin may look benign on the service, but he's a former KGB guy of the old Soviet school, and the regime he has now been nurturing reminds me of the old Soviet days, not the worst type of Soviet days, but obviously very much in line with the practices of the Soviet KGB.

S. O'BRIEN: We're out of time, sir, but I'm curious, are you fearful for your own safety?

KALUGIN: Well, I've always been aware of potential threats, and I have been taking measures. I received anonymous calls. I received anonymous letters with threats. I would deliver all these messages to the U.S. law enforcement authorities, and that's the way I protect myself, and I'm also going public. This is another way to feel safer in this world.

S. O'BRIEN: Oleg Kalugin is the former chief of counterintelligence for the KGB. Thanks for talking with us this morning -- Miles.

KALUGIN: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, protesters hold up traffic near the U.S./Mexico border, but this demonstration had nothing to do with immigration. We'll explain ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: "CNN NEWSROOM" just moments away. Tony Harris is at the CNN Center. Tony, why don't you come on up and spend a week up with us, too?

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I've got to tell you something, Rob Marciano seems awfully comfortable down here. He's moved a recliner into (INAUDIBLE). You might want to rethink in plan.

S. O'BRIEN: Barca lounger in there, yes.

HARRIS: Good morning, everyone.

We've got these stories on the "NEWSROOM" rundown for you this morning. Protest ahead of Pope Benedict's trip to Turkey. We preview his first papal visit to a Muslim country.

Curfew lifted in Baghdad after a brutal week. Now Iraq's president heading for talks with his counterpart in Iran.

And disgrace under pressure. Atlanta QB Michael Vick -- did you see this? -- yes, waves off the hometown crowd with an obscene gesture.

Heidi Collins is with me in the "NEWSROOM." We get started at the top of the hour, right here on CNN.

M. O'BRIEN: He was telling them they were No. 1.

HARRIS: No. 1, yes -- they didn't play like it, that's for sure.

M. O'BRIEN: That's a tough loss, yes.

HARRIS: Straight ahead, together again after more than 60 years apart, the joyful reunion between a Holocaust survivor and a woman who helped save her from the Nazis. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Stories of heroism keep coming in from that war that ended long ago. Over the weekend, two women, one a Catholic, one a Jew, reunited after sixty years apart and after a courageous move to save a life. CNN's John Zarrella with their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lea Ingel looks through the pictures.

LEA INGEL, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: This is Gertrude?

ZARRELLA (on camera): Yes, that's Gertrude.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): There are only a few. There are far more memories, memories of the Lithuania Catholic family that took her in for almost a year -- sheltering Lea from the Nazis.

INGEL: They sheltered me. There was almost nothing to eat there, but they shared it with me, and I appreciate it.

ZARRELLA: And memories of the matriarch of that family. Elana Invanuski (ph), who hid Lea in the woods one night when the Germans were searching homes for Jews. Later Elana wrote a poem for Lea about that night.

INGEL: Like a little bird all by yourself alone on a dark night in a field shaking, you cling to the gray earth.

ZARRELLA: After the war, Lea moved to the United States with her husband who also hid at the Invanuski (ph) home and never saw the family again until Friday afternoon at JFK airport in New York. For the first time in more than 60 years, Lea is reunited with Elana's daughter -- Gertrude. The embrace is long. Neither wanted to let go. They had been so very long apart. Gertrude was 13, Lea 21 when she hid in the Invanuski home. They became like sisters.

"I'm so happy, Gertrude says, I will remember this moment for the rest of my life. I love Lea."

ZARRELLA: The reunion was made possible by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, which, once a year, brings together a survivor and a rescuer. STAN STEINREICH, JEWISH FOUNDATION FOR THE RIGHTEOUS: This may in fact be our last reunion, again, because of the age and the infirmness of some of the survivors and rescuers that still exist

ZARRELLA: Both Lea and Gertrude wish the reunion could have come sooner. But Gertrude never had the money to come here. She still lives in the same small farm house where Lea hid. And Lea could never go back.

INGEL: I didn't want to go to Lithuania. I lost my whole family there and friends and so many people that I know, and I couldn't go there anymore.

ZARRELLA: Now both are complete, a bond never broken, is strengthened by tears and a loving embrace.

John Zarella, CNN, Tamarac, Florida.

M. O'BRIEN: Their reunion continues tomorrow night at the Waldorf Astoria here in New York. The pair will be honored by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous for the film telling their story. What a story is is.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow, what a remarkable story. It's amazing.

M. O'BRIEN: Anyway, matters of faith, tolerance, and differences will dominate our coverage over the next couple of days. Anderson Cooper reports live from Turkey for the Pope's visit. Special coverage begins 10:00 eastern. And join us tomorrow morning, 6:00 a.m. eastern for a network-wide look at the meeting of Muslims and Christians -- we're calling it "When Faiths Collide." That's all day tomorrow on CNN.

S. O'BRIEN: And here's a quick look at what "CNN NEWSROOM" is working on for the top of the hour.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM, President Bush on the road for critical meetings in Europe and the Middle East. Afghanistan and Iraq, his focus.

A bachelor party's tragic ending. A frenzy of police bullets leaves the groom dead. And New York investigators trying to figure out what happened.

And Americans back on the job today. Cyber Monday means less work and a lot of point-and-click holiday shopping. CNN NEWSROOM, 9:00 eastern, 6:00 on the West Coast.

M. O'BRIEN: That's all from here on this AMERICAN MORNING. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.

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