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American Morning
U.S. Considers Actions in Pakistan; Security Questions Raised at Phoenix Airport; CNN/YouTube Debate
Aired July 23, 2007 - 06:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Warning shot.
FRAN TOWNSEND, HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: No question that we will use any instrument at our disposal to deal with the problem of Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri in al Qaeda.
ROBERTS: Tough new talk from the U.S. government. And this morning, a tough new question. Will America's take its fight against al Qaeda into Pakistan?
Putting the "you" back in politics. Inside tonight's CNN/YouTube debate.
You ask...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What obligation do we have for the people of Iraq?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What will you do to help save the endangered animals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would you do to help the kids receive their high school diploma?
ROBERTS: ... they answer.
A revolution in presidential politics on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And it is debate night. Our countdown now only just 12 hours away.
Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
It's Monday, the 23rd of July. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
I'm excited to see which 50 made the cut, because there was a lot of great YouTube submissions.
ROBERTS: More than 2,000 of them, so a lot of whittling down there. CHETRY: All right.
Well, we begin with a new development in the war on terror. The White House says it's keeping open the possibility of a military strike against al Qaeda targets inside of Pakistan. Nothing is off the table, according to Bush's -- President Bush's homeland security adviser.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOWNSEND: No question that we will use any instrument at our disposal to deal with the problem of Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri in al Qaeda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, CNN's Ed Henry is live at the White House.
And refresh our collective memories, ed. Is this the first time that they have actually talked about using or at least the possibility of using military force inside of Pakistan?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Kiran.
No. They have hinted at this, they've said it in recent days, but yesterday, it was much clearer and more direct. And what's going on here is the White House is very much on the defensive after this new national intelligence estimate coming out last week saying that Pakistan has become a safe harbor for al Qaeda. That puts the White House on the defensive because it gives Democrats ammunition in their charge that the White House was diverted, their attention and their resources, away from Osama bin Laden and towards the war in Iraq -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. You know, and, Ed, some of the other questions.
The U.S. considers Pakistan an ally in the war on terror. We've talked about this before, yet many have been sharply critical of the way that Pervez Musharraf, the president of Pakistan, has been handling this situation, especially as it relates to the extremists and the growing volatility in the country.
So how do the -- how do you square the two?
HENRY: You're right, President Bush is walking a tight rope here on one hand. He does over and over call President Musharraf a key ally in the war on terror, but everybody knows it was this deal that Musharraf himself cut with tribal leaders 10 months ago that really opened the door. It was sort of this hands-off approach that enabled these extremists to crop up and help al Qaeda rebuild and reconstitute, and that's why you're seeing now the White House trying to push back and push Musharraf along, though they're careful to say they're not talking about U.S. ground troops in Pakistan. Of course, you've got 158,000 U.S. ground troops already in Iraq, thousands more in neighboring Afghanistan. So it's not even like the U.S. has the ground troops. But what they're talking about would be targeted air strikes -- Kiran.
CHETRY: It was also interesting that Fran Townsend sort of alluded to that. I mean, when she was asked about whether there would be a special ops or some sort of operation taking place, and she said, you know, just because these things aren't publicly discussed doesn't mean they may happen or aren't already happening.
HENRY: That's right. There's a lot going on that we don't know about, that is classified at this point. But also, interesting that Pakistani officials, though they're a key ally, as President Bush calls them, they're not happy about all this talk about the U.S. going within its borders. They would rather have the Pakistani army deal with this themselves.
The final point to make, as well, is the U.S. can't push President Musharraf too hard. If his government falls and an extremist takes over, all of a sudden, that extremist would get their hands on Pakistan's nuclear weapons. That's a nightmare scenario for the U.S. -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, it really is. Pervez Musharraf under a lot of pressure as well within his country.
Ed Henry at the White House for us.
Thanks.
HENRY: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Serious security questions are being raised today at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
Our CNN affiliate KNXV 15 discovered a nearly five-hour time frame overnight where TSA agents went away from their security checkpoints and dozens made it past that checkpoint. Their bags unchecked.
Hidden camera captured a flight attendant flash a badge, breeze by with three suitcases. A floor cleaner was pushed by without any inspection. Even a guy with his bicycle showed just his I.D. and was able to ride through with a milk crate with a package inside it on the back never checked.
The airport is responding to the charges.
Alina Cho is watching this story for us. She's in our newsroom this morning.
What are you finding out, Alina?
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we have literally just gotten off the phone with a spokeswoman for Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. Her name is Deb Ostreiker (ph). Ostreiker (ph) tells us that, indeed, security guards, not the TSA, staff one of its checkpoints overnight.
Now, this is a checkpoint that gives workers access to the concourse during the overnight hours when there are no flights taking off. And it has done so in accordance with the airport's TSA-approved security program. This is in accordance, again, with the TSA.
Now, basically, according to Ostreiker (ph), workers are able to show their I.D. and get by security during the overnight hours to gain access to the concourse so they can do things like open up restaurants for passengers or vacuum the floors. But what our affiliate, KNXV, found is that while the workers showed their badges, their bags were not checked, which is different from normal working hours when the TSA is mounting the post.
Now, this is from their hidden camera report. Ostreiker (ph) says this is the safest way for those workers to get to the concourse to do their work. She says there is an investigation under way, and as soon as she gets to work this morning, she and her security team will be meeting to review that hidden camera tape from KNXV.
But John, the big question is, is this going on at airports across the country? We certainly are looking into that. We've got a call into the TSA and we are waiting for a response -- John.
ROBERTS: All right. Look forward to hearing what that response is.
Alina Cho for us this morning.
Alina, thanks.
CHETRY: Well, we're counting down to a revolution in presidential politics. It's the CNN/YouTube debate, and it's less than 12 hours away now. The Democrats for president will take the stage at the Citadel in South Carolina and face questions that you, the viewers, have posted on YouTube.
Here is one of the possibilities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. It's "The Resident" here in Brooklyn, New York.
No matter what side of the issue you believe in, the global climate crisis definitely needs to be addressed. So I'd like to know what tangible, concrete efforts we'd see from your administration regarding this issue if you're to be elected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: CNN's John King will be at tonight's debate. He joins us live from Charleston right now.
It's very interesting. They got more than 2,500 submissions and they whittled it down to 50.
Do you have any idea which ones they picked, John?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I do not, Kiran. They won't tell us the specific questions because they don't want the candidates to know.
Actually, up to more than 3,000 by the deadline of midnight last night to submit a question on YouTube. It's quite a fascinating debate.
We are revolutionizing American politics because technology is revolutionizing American politics. So what better way to take advantage of that than to ask people around the country, use your Web camera, use a digital camera, use whatever means you can, upload a question on to YouTube. And we are sorting through them.
Maybe 40 or 50 will get asked in the two-hour debate tonight of the eight Democratic presidential candidates here. We'll do this again with the Republicans in September.
It is a way to bring the campaign as close as possible to the people, and we expect because of that more personal answers from the candidates, because they're not answering a question from a journalist. They're answering a question from an everyday citizen, a potential voter in the country, and the questions, Kiran, run the gamut.
They go from the war in Iraq, to health care, to gay rights, the economy, Social Security. So it is quite a mix of questions from a remarkable mix of people from around the country. And in fact, many come in from Americans living around the world.
So, we're very excited. And as you said, fewer than 12 hours away from the beginning.
CHETRY: I know you've been to a lot of these. What are -- what are you looking for? Or what do you think may stand out as different than some of the other more traditional debates we've seen so far?
KING: Well, in part, because of the use of technology, these -- the candidates will be, in essence, face to face with the questions. So it's much easier to dodge a question from a journalist, because politicians are trained to do that, simply. So we do expect more direct, more personal answers. We do expect a much more array of topics.
Most of the early debates have been dominated by the Iraq war. We expect to cover a much broader array of issues.
And we have to look, of course -- Senator Hillary Clinton is the frontrunner in the Democratic field. We saw a bit of this in our debate back in New Hampshire, where the other candidates, specifically Barack Obama and John Edwards, who are closest to her in the polls, tried to take more and more of a shot at her to try to chip away at that early lead. I would expect that dynamic as well tonight, not only from the number two and the three in our polling, but some of the other candidates as well, trying to bring the frontrunner back to earth a little bit if they can.
CHETRY: All right, John King -- sorry, did not mean to get that wrong.
All right. I'll see you tonight. And we won't miss the main event, of course, starting at 7:00 Eastern, live.
And here's another compliment. You guys were both so handsome. Of course I can tell you two apart.
It's going to be online on CNN, your home for politics, tonight, beginning at 7:00 Eastern.
By the way, after the debate we still want to hear from you. So please, send us your post-debate reactions, opinions and thoughts by going to CNN.com and clicking on the I-Report link.
So, as John said, now up to 3,000 submissions for them to choose from.
ROBERTS: It's pretty incredible.
New this morning in the U.K., extreme summer flooding in parts of England and Wales. Meteorologists say many areas were hit with more than a month's worth of rain in just a few hours. Towns and villages are under water at this hour. Hundreds of thousands of people have no drinking water, and major rivers are on the verge of breaking through their banks.
British prime minister Gordon Brown held an emergency cabinet meeting earlier this morning.
Several rivers in Texas are either at flood stage or are expected to reach that level some time today. Seventeen inches of rain fell in some areas over the weekend. Flooding stranded an Amtrak train. Boats, fire trucks and helicopters were all used to rescue hundreds of residents. More rain is expected to hit the area today and again tomorrow.
And a massive wildfire burning about 90 miles south of Salt Lake City is threatening several communities this morning. More than 200 people have been forced form their homes. It's just one of dozens of large wildfires burning right now in the West.
Some 15,000 firefighters are on the ground trying to contain those blazes. Crews are hoping that rain will provide some relief today.
CHETRY: Well, it's time now for a look at some of the other important stories we're following for you on this AMERICAN MORNING with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents. And we're talking once again about extreme weather.
A mountain community is under a mountain of mud this morning. Our Rob Marciano is live near Alpine, Colorado, where people are dealing with a lot of property damage, among other things.
What is the situation out there this morning, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Kiran, not only mud, but rocks, trees, just a mountainside of landscape coming -- crashing down on this town about a mile up the hill from right where we stand. We can't get in there right now.
Residents really haven't been allowed to go back in there. Saturday night they were evacuated, 125 or so residents and campers. Thirty-one homes, we're told, are damaged.
Listen to some reaction from one resident who lives there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And our driveway alone, we probably have two and a half, maybe three feet of mud that came down with rocks and twigs. And whole trees came down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: An awful thought.
This is very steep and rugged terrain right at the base of Mount Princeton, over 14,000 feet high. The National Weather Service describes that area in the chalky bluffs as being flashy, meaning that the soil is susceptible to seeing flashfloods and mudslides like we saw there.
There's a lot of streams that come down these canyons like the one you see behind me, trying to get that snowmelt and that rainwater off the hill. Residents will likely be able to go back, at least check out their homes later on today. Whether they get back to clean up and start the rebuilding process has yet to be seen.
Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: Wow. What a mess and a long road ahead for those folks.
Rob Marciano, thank you.
Well, the death of Tammy Faye Messner nearly a decade after she was diagnosed with colon cancer is putting a new emphasis on catching the illness early. And a colonoscopy is probably your best bet.
Just this weekend, the test detected some possible problem spots in President Bush.
CNN's Elizabeth Cohen is working this story for us and has more.
Hi, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.
As you said, so important to have colonoscopies. People really need to talk to their doctor about when they should get theirs.
President Bush, as you said, had his on Saturday morning. And doctors found five very small polyps and removed them. Those polyps are being examined under the microscope to see if they contain cancer. Tests will be back in a day or two from now.
Now, the reason why it's very important to have colonoscopies is that if you catch these polyps in the beginning when they are very small, you catch them before they become cancerous. President Bush's polyps were less than one centimeter. His doctors said it's extremely unlikely that they have cancer.
This is not the first time President Bush has had polyps. He had some before he became president -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.
United Airlines announces today that it will install new flatbed business class seats in its airplanes.
Ali Velshi is here with more on that.
This is probably the best news for you, right? For international travel.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, unbelievable. I love traveling internationally. And there is a big difference between being flat and sort of flat.
A lot of airlines, U.S.-based carriers internationally have got sort of flat seats. United Airlines says it's going to be the first U.S.-based carrier to have fully flat seats, 180 degrees. This is on international business class, not domestic business class.
Transatlantic, there are lots of other airline options that already do that. So in a day when it's hard to get bookings and seats and things are expensive, this is going to be key.
Now, United is doing this. Delta, we're going to expect a word from them about what their renovations on some of their planes is going to be. American is expected to do that as well.
Continental and Northwest right now have 170-degree inclines, and 176-degree inclines, as opposed to 180. Anybody who's ever traveled on anything that's not 180, it might as well be an L shape, because it's either 180 or it's not.
So, we're going to see this from Continental. You saw the pictures of it. It will be 97 planes, and in typical fashion, more electronic gadgetry, too. You can plug your iPod in and watch on a big screen.
CHETRY: Are you serious --175 and 180 a big difference?
VELSHI: Absolutely. Because when you're not 180, you start to slide. CHETRY: I think you're like "The Princess and the Pea," but we'll find out more.
Ali Velshi, thank you.
VELSHI: OK.
ROBERTS: Which one is he, though?
A freak inland waterspout tops your "Quick Hits". It happened in Florida.
Witnesses say it wind from zero wind to what had to be hurricane strength in just a matter of minutes. Power was knocked out, businesses were damaged. Two streets in a popular pier had to be shut down.
And more than half of the mobile homes in Florida do not have insurance. Insurance rates have shot up in Florida, especially for older mobile homes that don't have wind protection required since Hurricane Andrew came along back in 1992.
A strong warning aimed at al Qaeda. Could it lead the U.S. military to a new fight inside Pakistan?
We'll get some answers next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning.
The U.S. and Iran will hold high-level talks tomorrow about security in Iraq. Iraq's leaders are the ones that requested these talks, and the two sides met in May without making any progress.
CNN State Department Correspondent Zain Verjee is live in Washington now with details on how this will go.
Hi, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.
Well, there is only going to be one topic of discussion, and that is going to be Iraq's security. This is going to be the second time direct talks are going to be held. The last talks were held back in May on the 28th.
The U.S. basically accuses Iran of training and arming Shia militants in Iraq that kill U.S. troops and are fueling the sectarian violence. The U.S. has told Iran they've just got to stop it.
State Department officials have said that there really has been no change in Iran's behavior. They say that this round of talks is going to be another opportunity to tell Iran again and directly that it's got to stop interfering in Iraq. They hope, Kiran, that this time there are going to be results. As you well know, the U.S. and Iran don't have formal diplomatic relations since 1980, so any direct contact like this is always going to be significant -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes. Just curious. How are -- they're going to sit at a table, you know, and with a straight face, talk about the situation in Iraq and how Iran can help make it better, when our U.S. military says they have proof that Iran is supplying weapons that are killing Iraqis and American troops.
VERJEE: Well, Iran has denied that and they, the last time, proposed a plan on how to cooperate with Iraq and with the United States. So they say, too, that this is an opportunity on their part to talk face to face with the United States and we'll see what happens. The U.S. is under a significant amount of pressure to show results on the ground in Iraq, and they need Iran to be able to deliver that. And we'll see what happens.
Zain Verjee for us in Washington.
Thank you.
ROBERTS: And back to the tough talk on Pakistan that we're hearing this morning. We just spoke with Ed Henry about this. Homeland security adviser Fran Townsend said yesterday that the U.S. is taking no option off the table, including direct U.S. attacks on suspected al Qaeda hideouts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRAN TOWNSEND, HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: Just because we don't speak about things publicly doesn't mean we're not doing many of the things you're talking about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Could the United States be considering such attacks, or is it already engaging in them?
Robert Grenier is the former chief of counterterrorism at the CIA. He was also CIA station chief in Islamabad at the time of the September 11th attacks. Currently managing director at the investigation and security firm of Kroll.
He joins me now from our Washington bureau.
Bob, DNI -- the director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, also said over the weekend that he had no doubt that Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan.
Does all of this up the stakes here?
ROBERT GRENIER, FMR. CIA COUNTERTERRORISM DIRECTOR: Well, I think that to some degree it does. I mean, everyone is feeling the pressure right now. We have an NIE which says that al Qaeda is stronger now than it was a year ago, and of course the question for the administration is, what are you doing about it? And then the same question by inference is being posed to the Pakistanis.
ROBERTS: So, there has been stepped-up military action on the part of the Pakistan in those tribal areas in the last few days. And as we know, General Peter Pace, when he was in the region last week, offered U.S. military assistance.
How deeply involved are we going to get? How deeply involved might we be right now?
GRENIER: Well, you know, we're talking a little bit apples and oranges here. In the context of tactical operations against defined targets, many things are possible. And, of course, some of the spokespeople over the weekend were saying that there is very close cooperation between the Americans and the Pakistanis, and, of course, there is.
But what the Pakistanis are concerned about is the possibility that the Americans may try to increase the operational tempo, or, worse yet, try to occupy space across the line in Pakistan. And that would have disastrous consequences politically.
ROBERTS: In fact, Kurshid Kasuri, who is the foreign minister of Pakistan, was on "LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER" yesterday. Here is what he said in response to what Fran Townsend had been talking about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KURSHID KASURI, PAKISTANI FOREIGN MINISTER: You talk of going after targets. You will lose the battle for hearts and mind. It is much better to rely on Pakistan army. Pakistan army can do the job much better, and the result will be that there will be far -- far less collateral deaths.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, is that just for domestic consumption or does he really have a point there?
GRENIER: Well, I think it's a combination of the two. But I think there is a fundamental point there. If we're talking about occupying space, denying safe haven to al Qaeda, really only the Pakistani army can do that on a continuing basis.
ROBERTS: You know, could -- could the U.S. ever go in there and dig al Qaeda out of those tribal regions? I've been there. And, I mean, it's just mountainous, it's remote. There are still some warlords there in some places.
Could they go in and clean out al Qaeda, or is this just a quagmire in the making?
GRENIER: It would just be a quagmire in the making. Again, it's always possible to strike defined targets to take out a terrorist leader, a small group of terrorists whose position is known at a given point in time. But if you're talking about going in and rooting out al Qaeda on a permanent basis, you're talking about a quagmire, and I just don't think that U.S. forces are sufficient to the task right now.
ROBERTS: All right.
Bob Grenier for us from Kroll Security.
Bob, thanks very much. Good to see you.
GRENIER: Good to see you. Thank you.
CHETRY: The death of the last king of Afghanistan topping our "Quick Hits" now.
Mohammed Zahir Shah was 92. He ruled for 40 years until a palace coup back in 1973. He came out of exile in 2002, and he had been ill and confined to a wheelchair for several years. The official announcement did not give a cause of death.
Police in Thailand are looking for the organizers of a violent weekend protest. One hundred people were injured protesting the leadership since Thailand's prime minister was thrown out in a coup last year. Thailand's 18th coup in 75 years.
Well, there is a new demand today from the Taliban, what they want in exchange for the release of close to two dozen hossages from South Korea.
We'll have the latest from Afghanistan coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up to 27 minutes after the hour now.
And "On Our Radar" is morning, there is just so much extreme weather around the world. Not just the country. Literally an international washout.
We've got heavy rain expected in the Northeast within hours. Plus, new flooding fears as storms move through waterlogged England, out to about 50 miles west of London. This is what the scene is.
CHETRY: Yes. In fact, a water purification plant flooded out there. There's hundreds of thousands without drinking water. We're going to show you some new pictures. Also some from China as well.
ROBERTS: Yes. If you think this is bad, take a look at this. We just missed it there, but it looks like the Colorado rapids -- Colorado River rapids there. That's just floodwaters in China.
We're going to get the latest extreme weather forecast coming up from Rob Marciano, who is in Alpine, Colorado, right now, which really got hit hard over the weekend.
CHETRY: They absolutely did. They may let people back in to assess some of the damage, but they may not be able to because of weather. How about this -- you have a daughter. She had a Barbie doll, I'm sure, or several.
ROBERTS: A long, long, long time ago.
CHETRY: Right. And the cool thing back then, or even when I was young, was to have maybe a Corvette or, you know, a cool outfit, maybe another Ken doll. But, no, no, no. The YouTube generation's Barbie accessory, there it is.
We're going to explain what the heck -- does that it even look like a doll anymore? We're going to explain what that does coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: Those stories just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: There is a beautiful picture today coming to us courtesy of KMOV.
ROBERTS: Hopefully things are a little bit better inside that Arch today than they were over the weekend.
CHETRY: They had a lot of trouble in St. Louis over the weekend. Almost 300 people, including a lot of young children and elderly, were trapped in the darkness and heat when a cable malfunctioned on that Arch. It happened around 8 o'clock at night, 8:45 at night. It took three hours before they were able to finally get people down. It was not pleasant. No one seriously hurt, but no food, no restrooms and no water.
ROBERTS: Reminiscent of that cable car incident in New York City but that lasted 12 or 15 hours. Remember?
CHETRY: Yeah.
ROBERTS: Remember, the Roosevelt Island tram?
CHETRY: Which is, you know, the weirdest thing is that tram goes over the Queensborough Bridge and takes you over to Roosevelt Island from Manhattan. It looks like it's fun. So, you know, there are some tourists who just ride that, just to get a neat view of Manhattan.
ROBERTS: Not until you get stuck.
Hey, good morning. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It is Monday, 23rd of July. I'm John Roberts along with Kiran Chetry.
CHETRY: New this morning: America and Iran will be meeting face- to-face, at least officials for both countries to talk about security in Iraq. Ambassadors from both nations will be meeting tomorrow in Baghdad. The U.S. charges Iran is arming anti-American militants in Iraq. They are going to be talking about ways to improve the security situation. Little progress was made the last time they came to the table. Perhaps thing things will be different this time around.
The Pentagon is getting ready to scrap, by the way, $100s of millions of surplus military supplies, everything from combat boots to aircraft parts. The decision is partly aimed at keeping old equipment away from countries like Iran. Until now, surplus gear was often sold to private companies and they put it right back on the market.
Taliban kidnappers threatening to kill 23 mostly female South Korean hostages. They say that the deadline is 10:30 this morning. The South Koreans are all members of a church group. They were on a relief mission in Afghanistan when they were taken hostage last Wednesday. The kidnappers are demanding that South Korea withdrawal its 200 troops from Afghanistan in exchange for the hostage release.
A massive wildfire burning about 90 miles south of Salt Lake City is threatening several communities this morning. More than 200 people have been forced from their homes. It's one of dozens of large wildfires that are burning right now in the western part of our nation. Some 15,000 firefighters are on the ground trying to contain those fires. Crews are hoping that some rain today will provide some relief.
ROBERTS: It certainly was rain in Colorado but it didn't provide relief to anyone; more extreme weather there. A powerful summer storm triggered massive landslides. One homeowner says piles of mud, rocks and logs nearly swept their home away. Our Rob Marciano is live there, in Alpine, Colorado. Which is right hard against the front range there. He joins us.
Rob, what's it looking like where you are?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The sun now just beginning to come up shedding light on some of these mountains. Very dramatic pictures. We're just downstream from Alpine. Not letting us go into that area because -- well, one, the residents haven't been able to go in there either. It's not quite safe.
But you get an idea of when the water tries to rush down these canyons, I mean, it's flowing downhill in a hurry. We're very close to the Continental Divide and this water is trying to get to the Gulf of Mexico as quickly as it can.
Snow melts, and also, this time of year, we get these thunderstorms that develop in the afternoon and they can dump a whole lot of rain, in a hurry, in one place. The soil in this area is very susceptible to flash flooding and mudslides. And that is what we saw in this area Saturday night. As you mentioned, over 120 people have been evacuated; 31 homes have been severely damaged. Mud piling into living rooms and kitchens and burying cars, in some cases, six and eight feet deep.
I should mention, John, that around the world, flash flooding and mud slides claim thousands of lives every year. We're very lucky in this scenario that nobody was killed or even injured -- John.
ROBERTS: Very fortunate. Rob Marciano for us in Alpine, Colorado with the latest on the landslides and flooding there. Rob, thanks very much.
CHETRY: Several rivers in Texas are either at flood stage or expected to reach that level sometime today; 17 inches of rain fell in some areas over the weekend. Flooding stranded one Amtrak train. Also a Boy Scout group that was camping in the Guadalupe River had to make a quick get-away.
The National Weather Service says a small tornado also touched down there yesterday. There you see some of the rescue crews pulling people from the water where they were stuck. More rain is expected to hit the area tomorrow and today.
A lot of rain overseas. Storms expected to batter much of China again. These are the amazing pictures that John was talking about before. It really does look like rapids. Emergency crews say that dikes are in danger of being breached by a swollen river. More than a 100 people have died in floods and landslides across the country and 1,000s of people have been forced out of their homes.
In Bangladesh, at least 15 people killed in floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains over the past three days. Emergency crews say nearly 500,000 people stranded right now, there, in their homes.
The U.K. also dealing with extreme flooding this morning, some dramatic rescues taking place. Hundreds of people plucked from their homes. The Royal Air Force taking part in what is believed to be the biggest ever peace-time rescue operation. Villages across the country are under water and hundreds of thousands without drinking water. And it looks like things could be getting worse. ITN's Lucy Manning is live in Gloucester this morning with an update for us -- Lucy.
LUCY MANNING, ITN CORRESPONDENT: You join us in the dock are of Gloucester. Really the key point, because behind me here is the River Severn and that is expected sometime this afternoon to burst its banks. And, at the moment, we're expecting around five meter tide to come up here to join this river.
And where I'm standing, the police have only let us here for a very short period of time. All around this area is expected to be covered by flood waters, which will then go up into the town center. And Gloucester really has its problems even before these massive flood waters come in, because they got a problem with electricity and with tap water because the electricity station and the water plant have been consumed with flood waters already.
The army have been there trying to sort out the situation. And the streets of Gloucester are marked by tankers handing out water and a 100,000 bottles of water being handed out at supermarkets.
But all eyes, really on the River Severn, sometime this afternoon they are expecting it to burst its banks and the water to come flooding up the city of Gloucester.
CHETRY: That certainly would make that tough situation a lot worse. We'll keep an eye on that. Lucy Manning, live in Gloucester for us, this morning. Thank you. ROBERTS: The White House is raising the possibility of military action in Pakistan. Saying nothing is off the table in the fight against Al Qaeda. CNN's Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon.
When they talk about military action, Barbara, what might that entail and could it possibly involve U.S. ground troops?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, not likely to involve U.S. ground troops, but clearly, the military is thinking about it.
We traveled last week to Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany with General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The crisis in Pakistan was front and center during that trip. Listen for just a moment what General Pace had to say to some troops that -- and families -- that asked him about that country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. PETER PACE, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: We're working real hard with President Musharraf, offering to work as closely, with intel, and with the connetic (ph) effects, as he is comfortable working with us. And we're working through that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: General Pace putting it out there, John, right on the table, offering Musharraf intelligence -- and connectics (ph). What does he mean by connectics (ph)? Well, not troops on the ground, most likely unmanned drones with hell-fire missiles. If they can find targets in Pakistan, Al Qaeda targets, and go after them; the possibility of artillery support launched from inside Afghanistan, or perhaps even manned aircraft, fighters dropping bombs, all of that a possibility.
But General Pace is very clear, he says no troops on the ground.
ROBERTS: Barbara, why is the White House, why is the Pentagon ramping things up at this point?
STARR: Well, you know, they have. We've watched this. They've been pressuring Musharraf for some months now to crack down on the Al Qaeda safe haven. Musharraf's agreement with the tribal leaders there has not worked. As intelligence assessment in the Unite States show, it has become a significant problem.
So, a lot of pressure on the Bush administration on Musharraf to do something. He is launching a new military offensive in that region. The U.S. is watching it closely. They believe Musharraf will send about another 20,000 troops of his own military force into that area to augment the 80,000 he already has there. But the key question is will it be enough? Will the Pakistani army really crack down this time, John?
ROBERTS: Of course, Mike McCullen (ph) the director of National Intelligence saying over the weekend it is his firm belief Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan which, Barbara, I guess could ratchet things up further.
Barbara Starr for us this morning, at the Pentagon. Barbara, thanks.
CHETRY: We're going to show you what certainly looked like a serious security breach at one of the busiest airports in this country. What hidden cameras found at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and what the airport is saying about it, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A simmering fight over immigration in Connecticut tops your "Quick Hits" now. Starting tomorrow the city of New Haven will offer I.D. cards to undocumented immigrants, allowing them to use city services like libraries and open bank accounts. Critics say that program could trigger a flood of illegal immigration.
A new domestic partnership law rolls out in the State of Washington today. It gives gay couples some of the same rights as married ones, including the right to visit a partner in the hospital, and inherit a partner's property without a will.
Official apology form the nation's passport mess. It comes from Assistant Secretary of State Maura Hardy, she's taking the blame for the backlog of the U.S. passport applications. She says she regrets the problems it has caused for Americans traveling abroad this summer and hopes to get the wait times back to normal six weeks by the 30th of September.
CHETRY: There are some serious security questions being raised today at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, after hidden cameras, from our affiliate KNXV, show workers able to just flash their I.D. badges and get by security without having their bags checked during overnight hours. Security experts say this is a disaster waiting to happen.
Joining us now, Larry Wansley; he's the former head of security for American Airlines and he took part in the undercover investigation.
Larry, thanks so much for being with us.
LARRY WANSLEY, SECURITY INVESTIGATOR: Good morning. You're quite welcome.
CHETRY: We are going to hope to have this video a little bit later in the show. Right now it has not been cleared. One of the things I want to ask you about is it appears to show about a four and a half hour period, on the overnight, where the belts -- you know, the security X-ray machines are simply stopped. And people flashing their badges can get waived through. In fact, in one of the bits of video we have, it's a flight attendant with three bags getting waved through. Is this just something that happens every day at airports around the country?
WANSLEY: Well, in this particular case -- and I had the opportunity to view quite a bit of video. And spent a lot of time collecting video. It seemed to be just over the top in terms of the laxness of it. There is a tremendous amount of confidence placed upon the airport I.D. and the background checks and in today's world, it simply is a situation that is not enough.
CHETRY: In fact, this -- when this was brought to the attention of the TSA and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, this was their response. I'd like to break it down for us. It says, "All security-badged employees have undergone a background check required by the TSA, and have been cleared to access secure areas throughout the airport."
So they're not saying this is a breach.
WANSLEY: Well, I think they're placing a lot of faith and confidence in the fact that these people have airport I.D.s and have gone through the background check. But think about this: Since 9/11, hundreds of airline and airport employees, people that have access to secured areas of airports have been arrested, arrested for things -- for incidents such as terrorism, conspiracy, terrorism -- I can't even speak this morning! It's a little early -- terrorism conspiracy, of bombing plots, narco-terrorism, thefts. I'm talking about petty theft. I'm talking about thefts in the millions of dollars. Over a dozen airports in the U.S. were part of a massive roundup of employees, people that had I.D.s that were fraudulent.
CHETRY: You bring up a good point by saying that. If they are saying they are relying on a background check and employee I.D. and that's enough. What seems to be happening here? This is bags upon bags were allowed through without having to go through the security check. What makes it any different, in terms of the time of day? They are they're turned off on the overnight but you have to go through security checks during the day, what is the difference?
WANSLEY: Well, what I found to be quite striking is the fact that at midnight, everything shut down and it shifted over to private security operation. The TSA was not in operation. Their checkpoint was absolutely shut down. TSA does a great job and for a four and a half hour period there was a virtual back door that was wide open to anyone that would want to get something through, because the checks were not that well done.
CHETRY: That's still what I don't understand is that they're not saying this was a breach. In the statement, they're saying that they were cleared to access secure areas because of their background check, and the security badges. Why do pilots and flight attendants and everybody else have to go through airport security during the day? When any of us are flying we see them getting their bags screened.
WANSLEY: Well, the interesting thing is at 4:30 when TSA takes over, those very people that had gone through freely earlier, then had to go through the TSA process. That's the situation that is simply unclear. There was a mad rush before 4:30 of people -- there was a virtual parade of people, that wanted to get in under the wire, so to speak, before 4:30 when the TSA came on board. That tells me that when TSA is doing the operation, they're very, very effective. When they're not, there is an opportunity for people to go through without much checking at all, and we all know, as I mentioned before, arrest of people that have had access, that cleared background checks have taken place continually since 9/11.
CHETRY: Right. It's clear something is not right here. It's also unclear this morning whether or not this happens in airports around the country. But this is what the hidden video caught and you happen to see much of it. Larry Wansley, former head of security for American Airlines, thanks for being with us.
WANSLEY: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Turning the pages of presidential politics. The countdown begins to the first ever debate where you get to ask the questions. Clips from our CNN YouTube debate coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Live pictures this morning of the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, which will be the scene in just about 11 hours of tonight's groundbreaking CNN/YouTube debate. Eight Democratic candidates will share the stage for the first-ever YouTube debate. That's coming your way at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
The YouTube debate reminds us how the world of web video is redefining politics as usual. No longer can campaigns fully control their candidates message and people are waiting to see if tonight's debate will provide many more so-called YouTube moments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you all for standing. I thought you were leaving!
ROBERTS: (voice over): Some jokes work.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Slept like a baby after I lost to President Bush. I sleep for two hours, wake up and cry, sleep for two hours --
ROBERTS: And some jokes don't.
MCCAIN: That old Beach Boys song, "Bomb-Iran"? Bomb, bomb, bomb --
ROBERTS: There are the sentences that could have been phrased better.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Do I have a son here, any sons here?
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And what in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men? ROBERTS: And the songs that could have been sung better.
CLINTON: For the land of the free --
ROBERTS: Some videos are all about shaking a candidate's hand. Some folks probably wished they didn't have to.
Some of the best material is made by supporters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I got a crush on Obama --
ROBERTS: Like this video from "Obama Girl". This guy titles his a case for Joe Biden.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe Biden is a decent soul.
ROBERTS: Though he seems to change his tune in mid song.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He ain't the sharpest tool in the shed, maybe he should try for VP instead.
ROBERTS: There are videos poking fun at candidates.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (SINGING): Such a pretty face, such a pretty dress, such a pretty smile!
ROBERTS: And the stories that continue to "dog" them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SINGING: My name is Shamus, I am Mitt Romney's dog. He put me in a box and strapped me to the roof. He drove down the highway --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Did we ever get to the bottom of that one?
ROBERTS: You know, that's the story where supposedly Mitt Romney, years ago, was taking a family trip and no room the dog --
CHETRY: That cracks you up -- but he is not laughing.
ROBERTS: No room for the dog inside the car, so he put the dog in the carrier on the roof. The dog had a couple of digestive problems!
CHETRY: He might have been scared out of his mind.
ROBERTS: Well, didn't say how the digestive problems happened but apparently had -- (LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: They stopped and he hosed him down. And put him back in.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: That's it!
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: But, wait. What was the end result? The last thing that Mitt said was that the dog loved being on top and often scrambled to the top of the van?
(LAUGTHER)
CHETRY: I finally know how to get to John. This is one thing that makes him cry, it's so funny to him.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: It all gets under way, by the way, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, live, interactive and on only on TV, it's online. It's only on CNN, though, your home for politics.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes.
After the debate we want to hear from you. Send us your post- debate reactions and opinions and thoughts!
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: By clicking on to cnn.com, the iReport link.
ROBERTS: Thank you.
CHETRY: And John will be -- if we can get him to stop laughing in South Carolina tomorrow to see how the YouTube debate will unfold.
ROBERTS: Sorry. I hadn't seen that video. It took me by surprise!
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: This could possibly be the way the candidates react when they see some of the YouTube questions.
ROBERTS: I can only imagine.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Don't forget, by the way, the Republican candidates get to answer your questions in the second CNN/YouTube debate. That, by the way, is set for September 17.
ROBERTS: All right. Zen now. That's going to be the Zen moment.
CHETRY: The next thing we're talking about is Barbie Dolls.
ROBERTS: "Daily Show" is going to love that one.
Barbie goes high-tech with a new accessory, some unusual features and a new ad campaign. The details next on AMERICAN MORNING. You got to stop laughing, too!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, there's a new doll hitting retail shelves this week. It is familiar in a lot of ways. It is Barbie, but this one's actually smaller and less shapely than her standard namesake. She also functions as mp3 music player, when her feet are plugged into the iPod-esque docking station; she comes alive. She unlocks pages of games and virtual shops and online chatting functions on the Barbiegirls.com website.
ROBERTS: Barbie goes high tech.
CHETRY: She does. One minute before the top of the hour. And wow, things have certainly changed since you collected Barbie.
No, sorry, it's Ali!
ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: They have become generally less shapely. You know that right? A few years ago they decided that -- people did these studies and said that if you took the original Barbie and grew her.
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: The proportions would be like --
CHETRY: Would be like 36-18-32.
VELSHI: Uncanny. So they have made Barbie in greater proportion -- more normal portion. Enough about Barbie.
Today we have negotiations starting -- actually, a pretty important story -- between the auto workers in Detroit and the union, the United Auto Workers. The contract for all three automakers expires on September 14th.
You'll remember, in history, these have been big deals sometimes leading to strikes. At this point, the parties involved kind of know what the problem is. The problem is that American cars, American-made cars, cost $1,200 to $1,500 more than non-American made competitors, because of the health care that they are paying for laid off workers.
This will be the big issue. We will be following this, obviously, for the next month or so. But the negotiations formally get underway today in Detroit.
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