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FBI continues investigation into Fort Hood shooter; Congressman Peter Hoekstra says Fort Hood shooting may be Act of Terrorism;

Aired November 10, 2009 - 07:00   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and thanks very much for joining us on the Most News in the Morning on this Tuesday, the 10th of November I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us.

Here are the top stories we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.

First this morning, questions mount over the suspected Fort Hood shooters possible links to radical Islam overseas. New information shows that the suspect reached out to the same cleric who preached to two of the 9/11 hijackers. U.S. intelligence officials knew this, so why was he not stopped? We're live at Fort Hood.

ROBERTS: Wind blown rain lashing parts of the Gulf Coast this morning as tropical storm Ida nears landfall. Some areas could get as much as eight inches of rain and it could be flooding far in land. Our Rob Marciano is there on the panhandle tracking the storm this morning.

CHETRY: Plus the week -- this is the week that we're looking at the future of the Republican at our special series, "GOP, The Next Chapter."

And today it is Sarah Palin. A huge number of Republicans love her, a lot on the left love to hate her. A look at the former VP candidate one week before her book "Going Rogue" hits bookstores.

ROBERTS: But we begin this morning with the Fort Hood shooting spree and new developments in this fast moving investigation. The FBI says the suspect, Major Nidal Malik Hasan acted alone. And while lone wolves are hard to track and harder to stop, the feds were on to Hasan.

They knew that he reached out to a radical Muslim cleric, a man who is calling Hasan a hero. These developments come as Fort Hood prepares for today's memorial service, which will be attended by President Obama and the first lady.

Our David Mattingly is live in Fort Hood, Texas, reporting on all the latest developments. Good morning, David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. A great deal of activity on post before dawn this morning, a lot of preparation going on for today's events, expected to be very emotional and attended by many, many people here on post.

It is a very big component in the healing process that the army is now actively engaged in with not just the soldiers but the soldiers' families and the people who live here in the community. They are trying leave no stone unturned to make sure anyone who has any sort of emotional needs from this, that those needs are addressed.

Now, while this is going on, Major Nidal Hasan remains hospitalized in San Antonio. He's under guard, he conscious, he's talking, but he's not talking to investigators.

Instead, he did speak briefly to attorneys, one military defense attorney and one civilian attorney who has been hired by his family, that attorney reportedly already raising the question of whether or not Major Hasan will be able to get a fair trial at Fort Hood.

Of course, that's a bit premature. He has not been charged yet, and that is one of many questions that will have to be answered as this case goes forward.

Now, the questions as to what the FBI knew about him and when have been answered. The FBI releasing a statement saying they were watching him back in December because of communications he was having with a radical imam formally of Virginia now believed to be living in Yemen.

But at that time they reached a conclusion after several months of looking at these communications. According to the statement, they said that Major Hasan was not involved in terrorist activities or terrorist planning.

They reached that decision because they said it was consistent with research he was doing because he was an army psychiatrist, he was an officer in good standing. There was nothing in his communications that indicated he might be violent or was planning to hurt anyone or expressing any ideas that would send up any kind of red flags.

So after looking at this for months, they decided everything was OK, no red flags, no problems.

Now, after the attack here on Thursday that left so many people dead and wounded, the FBI is still saying that based on what their investigation is turning up now, there is no, this is from their report, there is no information to indicate Major Hasan had any co- conspirators or was part of a broader terrorist plot.

In fact, the investigators are not calling this an act of terrorism. In fact, John, they have yet to say if they have been able to determine any motive for these shootings.

ROBERTS: David Mattingly at Fort Hood this morning. David, thanks so much. And this morning "The Washington Post" reports Major Hasan warned a room full of senior army physicians about the dangers of waging war in Muslim lands. At a Walter Reed lecture back in 2007, Hasan said, quote, "It's getting harder and harder for Muslims in the service to morally justify being in a military that seems constantly engaged against fellow Muslims," adding "The Department of Defense should allow Muslim soldiers the option to be released as conscientious objectors to increase troop morale and decrease adverse events."

And army spokesperson said they were unaware of the presentation.

And coming up in about ten minutes-time we're going to talk with Congressman Peter Hoekstra. He's the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. He calls the mass shooting at Fort Hood a terrorist attack.

And CNN's special live coverage of the memorial at Fort Hood begins today at 1:30 eastern. You can see it live on CNN, CNN.com, or on your iPhone if you have the new CNN app.

CHETRY: Also new this morning, poll numbers released just one hour ago show Americans are losing faith in the government's ability to stop swine flu. The CNN Opinion Research Corporation survey says just 11 percent of people are "very confident" the government can prevent an epidemic. And only about half the country has any confidence at all.

The poll was taken after promises were broken that the H1N1 vaccine would be widely available last month.

ROBERTS: Guess who is coming to lunch today -- Bill Clinton. Senate Democrats have been asked by their majority leader not to miss their weekly luncheon today because the former president will make a presentation on health care reform.

He is expected to caution and their careers could be on the line come Election Day if they do not get a measure passed.

CHETRY: New York City police are trying to figure out who sent envelopes containing a suspicious white powder to the French, Austrian, and Uzbek consulates in Manhattan. Police say that one of the envelopes contained a note that made a reference to Al Qaeda.

Test results on one of the samples were negative for anthrax or any other dangerous substance.

We'll it's no longer a hurricane but tropical storm Ida is still a big, rainy, windy mess. States of emergency are in effect right now in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

(WEATHER BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, here is the video of the day. This is unbelievable. This woman got so lucky, you wouldn't believe it. She's trying to put out a cigarette, and a little tipsy there, and falls off the platform. She fell right into the path of an oncoming train. You see the onlookers frantically trying to let the conductor know.

He actually is able to make an emergency stop just inches from the women right there on the track. Police say she was drunk and also say it was amazing that she didn't get run over or hit the third rain which carries 600 volts of electricity.

ROBERTS: So lucky. Wow.

CHETRY: It's so amazing. These people are on the side of the subway platform.

ROBERTS: It's amazing that the operator actually saw them trying to flag them down. And look at this. Just in the nick of time. She is there, and she would have been hit by something and just goes to the front of the train and crawls out from underneath -- my goodness.

CHETRY: Still up next, we'll speak with Congressman Peter Hoekstra. He thinks that the attack that happened at Fort Hood is terrorism. We're going to talk to him more about what clues they're looking for and also how this will play out politically speaking. A lot of questions unanswered this morning.

It's nine minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 11 minutes past the hour right now.

Coming up, Sarah Palin's new book is out next week. She was a major player on Election Day last week, and now she's back on Twitter. Our Candy Crowley has an in-depth look at the former Alaska governor straight ahead here on "A.M." -- John.

ROBERTS: The investigation into the attack on Fort Hood taking place in private, but it's pretty clear that investigators are delving into the suspect, Major Nidal Malik Hasan's history and connections, looking for potential ties to terrorism.

Joining me now live from Detroit is Michigan Congressman Peter Hoekstra. He's the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, and he is calling for the FBI and the CIA to preserve all of the documents, all the information they have in regard to this case, and is looking for a full briefing, as well before the House Intelligence Committee.

Congressman, good to talk to you this morning. Let me ask you at the top here, how would you characterize the act that was perpetrated last Thursday at Fort Hood?

REP. PETER HOEKSTRA, (R-MI) RANKING MEMBER, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I think there is a lot of evidence that we're starting to see come out that, you know, I would tend to characterize this as an act of terrorism.

It's not directly by forces overseas and it doesn't have to be a conspiracy or a group activity. This is probably what I think will develop into one of the most dangerous forms of terrorism, someone who might have become radicalized through the Internet and has decided to act on their own without any consultation with any others.

ROBERTS: Would you put this in the realm of an Oklahoma City bombing?

HOEKSTRA: No, I think, I'm not sure that I would go in that direction, because I think, you know, it is a strategy of radical jihadists overseas to put in place the framework to radicalize people around the country.

If you go back to some of the blogs and these types of things, you can read that Awlaki, the cleric in Yemen, you know, it was part of his strategy to try to identify people in the U.S. military and incite them to attack their fellow soldiers. There's a lot been written about that.

ROBERTS: So, you think unlike timothy McVeigh, you think he did have some at least influence from the outside?

HOEKSTRA: I think it's very clear he has influence from the outside. That is a strategy. We had a hearing on this in the intelligence committee three years ago. The extensive use of the Internet, websites and these types of things, by radical jihadists overseas to influence behavior and thinking in other parts of the world.

ROBERTS: Now, President Obama has asked people to be very cautious here and to not jump to conclusions. By saying that you believe this is an act of terror, are you jumping to a conclusion?

HOEKSTRA: Like I said, very clear, I believe, and I think that has to be investigated further, but I think with the signs and the information that we've seen, we have to be very open to that being a possibility.

Obviously there's a lot of information that we still need to collect. That's what we'll do in the intelligence committee, we will peel back the layers, get as much information. Obviously, this individual has been under the observation of the FBI at least for a period of time in the last year.

We just need to go back, get all the information, and then make a conclusion.

HOEKSTRA: The FBI was pretty clear in a statement last night, saying, quote, "At this point there is no information to indicate Major Nidal Malik Hasan had any co-conspirators or was part of a broader terrorist plot."

But I seem to take from what you're saying here that it doesn't need to be a broader terrorist plot for it to be an act of terrorism. But the FBI took a look at those communications that you mentioned between Major Hasan and Anwar Al Awlaki, the former imam at the mosque in Falls Church, Virginia. They took those communications after examining them to be benign. What is your opinion of that assessment?

HOEKSTRA: Well, I have not had an opportunity to review the content of those e-mails or those communications. But I think you also have to take a look at, you know, the larger context. What are some of the things that Hasan -- that he had said at meetings that he may have put on his computer? Obviously, we don't know everything that the FBI may have found on his computers, on his neighbors' computers. Those are the things that we'll take a look at over the coming weeks.

ROBERTS: Did you believe, Congressman, that there were red flags in this case that were missed?

HOEKSTRA: Well, again, it's always very, very easy to go back in hindsight and look at decisions that could or should have been made. You know, I tend to believe that the people who are looking at this issue are looking at it very seriously. We'll have to take a look at the scope of the work, how they're making these decisions.

But, John, I just think it indicates the uniqueness of the threat that we face today, how we're going to have to maybe change our decision parameters and how we deal with these threats and identify these threats in the future so that we can prevent them from happening again in the future. This is a very, very hard problem.

ROBERTS: Now, just on the intelligence front here, you have asked, as we said at the top here, the FBI and the CIA to hold on to any information that they might have regarding Major Hasan. Do you think they know more than they have shared with you so far?

HOEKSTRA: Well, I know that when we pinned that letter on Saturday, I had asked the intelligence community on Friday for a briefing. I talked to them again on Saturday and Sunday, or Saturday a couple of times and they refused to give, you know, me as the ranking member on the intelligence committee any information and any briefing. I thought that was inappropriate. It's their responsibility to keep us fully informed and currently informed meaning on a timely basis. I didn't think that they were doing that.

And again what we saw this week is a lot of the information came out in the press on Sunday and on Monday before they've ever taken the time to brief Congress. I think that's just fundamentally wrong.

ROBERTS: And there was a briefing of the so-called "gang of eight" of which you are a member last evening, but you weren't there. Correct?

HOEKSTRA: That's right. I'm back in Michigan. The briefing took place in Washington. It's again why I wanted to have the briefing over the weekend. We were in Washington. I knew we wouldn't be in session this week. It will probably be next week sometime before most of us in the House have an opportunity to get the detailed briefing that they're now prepared to give us. ROBERTS: All right. Congressman Peter Hoekstra joining us this morning. Congressman, thanks so much. We'll continue to stay on top of the story.

HOEKSTRA: Thank you, John.

ROBERTS: Really appreciate your time, sir.

Seventeen minutes now after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. The beltway sniper, John Allen Muhammad, is scheduled to die tonight by lethal injection. Coming up in 20 minutes, we're talking to former D.C. Metro police chief Charles Ramsey who was there trying to stop these random and ruthless attacks from happening, these attacks that terrorized a community for months.

Meantime, 20 minutes past the hour right now and our Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business." She's here to talk a little bit more about banks.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: How many credit card solicitations do you think you get in your mailbox every year?

ROBERTS: Let me think.

CHETRY: A hundred.

ROBERTS: Thirty-six.

ROMANS: I told him already. Thirty-six, I mean, now, this is sort of the trap or the problem for some of the consumers. Because for years you've been getting all these solicitations, you've been hooked on credit cards and now because the economy is going south and there are new rules coming into play, the credit card companies are saying, wait a minute, this business is changing and we're going to start reeling in all of that credit. And it's making a lot of angry and it's not going away and you're still -- you're still telling us this is a problem.

Here's what senior loan officers at the banks told the fed confirming what we have all felt. That yes, the banks are slashing credit limits. They are raising interest rates. They are raising our annual fees and they're requiring a higher minimum credit score to get a card. They are actually shrinking the number of cards that are out there. Why? Because a record number of their credit cards are simply not being paid. They're going into default.

People are in big trouble out there and that means the credit card industry is completely changing how it does business. And there are new rules coming into effect next year, of course, that are going to make it harder for the credit card industry to make money off of you and so they are ahead of those rules making some changes that are a little bit painful. I think what you're going to see, we talked about this many times is that as we head into next year, even if you are a good customer, half of these credit card issuers and banks saying they're cutting your credit limit. A very small minority of banks say that they are actually going to extend the grace period for their prime borrowers, their good customers. If you're a very good customer, you could see your grace period expand, but for the most part, you're still getting squeezed out there and these, you know, these recent -- these recent surveys of bank loan officers has confirmed that.

CHETRY: Thirty-six solicitations, just throw them all in the garbage.

ROMANS: Thirty-six -- this is the trap. This is the part that makes people so crazy that they try to get your business for so long and now they're saying, you know what? We don't want your business.

It's just -- I don't know.

CHETRY: It's a double-edged sword.

ROMANS: It really is. It really is.

CHETRY: Christine, thanks.

ROMANS: Sure.

ROBERTS: Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" this morning.

And coming up next, the GOP, the next chapter. What is the future of the Republican Party? Is it Sarah Palin? Candy Crowley will tell us, coming up next.

It's twenty-two-and-a-half minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty- five minutes past the hour now.

Former vice presidential candidate and new author Sarah Palin is back on Twitter when the Republican quit as Alaska governor back in July. She told fans that they could keep up with her with tweets. Until now, though, she was using Facebook instead, sounding off on recent elections and health care debate. She hasn't left any tweets on the new account yet, which is SarahPalinUSA.

ROBERTS: We first profiled the president's inner circle. Now, all this week, we're taking a look at the future of the Republican Party in our in-depth series, "GOP, the Next Chapter."

Today, it' Sarah Palin with her new book "Going Rogue" hitting shelves in exactly one week's time. Will she be a contender in 2012? Our Candy Crowley is giving it her best educated guess.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran and John. A little political trivia. Not since 1920 has there been a failed vice presidential nominee who would later go on to be elected president. Also true not since, well, since forever, has the political world seen a failed vice presidential candidate quite like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY (voice-over): She was a high voltage candidate.

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKAN GOVERNOR: I think I'm going to have to cast my vote for the maverick.

CROWLEY: Lighting a fire in the grassroots of Republican land. Fresh, folksy, fierce.

PALIN: I guess a small town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except if you have actual responsibilities.

CROWLEY: Sarah Palin remains, of course, the most recognizable name in the Republican Party, a headline magnet.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Political ticker, Sarah Palin apparently is trying to re-launch a controversy she started over, the so-called death panel.

CROWLEY: She had a loyal following in the GOP, critics or supporters love to hate and a way with words.

PALIN: You betcha. It's drill, baby, drill.

CROWLEY: Just over a year after the defeat of the Republican ticket, the Republican number two is Amazon's number one in nonfiction presales. Writer of books, giver of speeches, user of politics on an unusually active Facebook account and robo caller on behalf of a conservative group in this year's Virginia governor's race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKAN GOVERNOR (via telephone): Virginia, hello, this is Sarah Palin calling to urge you to go to the polls Tuesday and vote to share our principles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll found 85 percent of Republicans say Palin agrees with them on their most important issues. But here's the rub, only 49 percent of independents feel that way.

It's a telling measure of her political reach and its limits that the Republicans who won governor seats in Virginia and New Jersey this year politely rejected Palin's offers to campaign for them. Both Republican governors-elect owe their victories to huge majorities of independent votes.

Her clout is inside the party. In a New York congressional race, she helped push a Republican Party candidate out of the way for a more conservative candidate. That battle won, Palin lost the war. The split made way for a Democratic victory.

BILL OWENS, NEW YORK CONGRESSMAN-ELECT: Thank you very much.

CROWLEY: These days Palin is doing selected interviews, Oprah et al, to promote her book. Look for news and a best seller from a GOP mover and shaker, a politician fueled by celebrity. Lucrative, but not necessarily good.

DAVID FRUM, FMR. SPEECHWRITER FOR PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH: Americans tend not to elect celebrities. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the exception, but more often than not people want something in their political leaders that is more steady, stable and predictable.

CROWLEY: Fans and critics inevitably point to this moment as Palin's biggest political problem. The vice presidential candidate criticized for her thin resume quit as governor of Alaska with about a year and a half left in her first term.

PALIN: Only dead fish go with the flow.

CROWLEY: It's the kind of rogueness that made her a household name but in the end, may make Palin a player who helped shake the party rather than leave it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: Of half a dozen Republican consultants I spoke with, including four who supported the Palin nomination all see her as playing a part in rebuilding the party, none thought she would be the next presidential nominee and only two thought she would even run -- Kiran and John.

ROBERTS: Candy Crowley this morning with that profile. Candy, thanks so much.

Tomorrow we take a look at South Dakota's junior senator, John Thune. He unseated Tom Daschle back in 2004 and is now the fourth most powerful Republican in the Senate. That's tomorrow in our special series, "GOO, the Next Chapter."

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHETRY: Yes, breaking news in to CNN right now. A deadly car bombing in Pakistan. It happened in a congested intersection just outside of Peshawar. Officials say at least 15 people were killed, dozens of others wounded.

For more, let's bring in our Reza Sayah. He's live in Islamabad with more details -- Reza.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, this is another deadly militant attack in northwest Pakistan, according to a senior police official. 15 people were killed in this car bomb. At least 30 people injured, this car bomb exploding in a very busy market in a major square in Charsadda district in northwest Pakistan.

To tell you about Charsadda district. This is a place that is wedged into a very dangerous location, just south of this district in northwest Pakistan is Peshawar, the capital of the northwest frontier province and a city that has seen a string of deadly attacks over the past couple months and to the left of this region is Pakistan's tribal region along the Afghan border, a strong hold of the Taliban and a place where militant activity has been on the rise in the past few months and to the north of this region is the Malakan (ph) division.

This where the Swat Valley is located. The Swat Valley, of course, a former Taliban stronghold. The Pakistani Army pushed the Taliban out over the summer, but you still have a lot of militant activity there. And because Charsadda's proximity to these locations, it has been an easy target for militant attacks and looks like another one happening today. Kiran.

CHETRY: Reza Sayah for us in Islamabad. Thank you.

ROBERTS: The alleged gunman in the Ft. Hood shootings is now talking. He will soon face questioning by investigators but this morning, it's the Feds who are facing some difficult questions. They knew that Hasan reached out to a radical Muslim cleric yet, apparently, no one acted. Why?

Our investigative correspondent Drew Griffin live in Washington this morning. Drew, what are you learning about all this?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT: John, the FBI is confirming they did begin an investigation of Major Nidal Hasan. Last December when they found out that this U.S. Army major was communicating with somebody the FBI was already looking into.

Though the FBI won't say who that was, the Army says their major was in contact with this radical Islamic cleric thought to be in hiding in Yemen and most definitely linked to radical Islamic ideology. As many as 10 to 20 communications took place. But in the end, here's what they determined. That the conversations were somehow consistent with the Army major's work as a psychiatrist.

In other words, the terror investigators thought Nidal Hasan was doing research for his work with soldiers. So that investigation just ended. While they won't name names, it turns out Nidal Hasan may have been in contact with the same radical cleric eight years ago right here in suburban Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN (voice-over): It was inside this suburban Washington mosque that Nidal Hasan may have first heard radical anti-American views. It is a mosque identified in this, the "9/11 Commission" report on the attacks of the morning of September 11th, 2001.

Now, eight years on, the FBI is looking at whose paths may have crossed here at the () Islamic Center. It was in early 2001 a cleric named Anwar Al Awlaki, a U.S. citizen arrived at the mosque. He had already been the subject of several terrorism investigations, but was never arrested or charged.

By April of that year, the 9/11 Commission reports two of the 9/11 hijackers were attending services here and just weeks later, Nidal Hasan chose to hold his mother's funeral services at this same mosque. There is no evidence that Nidal Hasan attended the mosque regularly at that time, nor that he ever met with or was influenced by the cleric Al Awlaki who left the United States a year later.

Now, Awlaki is thought to be in Yemen where he is on the most wanted terrorist list. Awlaki has applauded the Ft. Hood attacks on his website, calling Nidal Hasan a hero. The mosque authorities denounce both the attacks on Ft. Hood and their former imam and they dismissed any link between Hasan and the 9/11 plotters.

SHAKER ELSAYED, IMAM: To say that he was here when they were here as if they converged on a place, which is not the case. We know better now.

GRIFFIN: Meanwhile, in Texas, authorities are trying to track down six people. Hasan Nidal had dinner with, the very night before the shootings. This man was there, a local imam who said the gathering was for a fellow worshipper about to make a pilgrimage. Hasan was not the focus, but he is now. And all six names of the diners have been turned over to the FBI.

SAYED AHMED ALI, IMAM: On Wednesday night, there was a party dinner. I think six, seven people are invited. In that party Nidal also there. So, he asked me who and he gave me the names and I gave the names to the FBI.

GRIFFIN: The FBI is also pouring over Nidal Hasan's computers, computers he used or had contact with trying to find out if the accused killer visited extreme jihadist websites or even tried to make contact with dedicated dare groups.

FRANK CILLUFFO, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: It's, obviously, very troubling to think that a mass murderer has attended some of our events.

GRIFFIN: Frank Cilluffo met Nidal Hasan here at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.., where Cilluffo heads the Homeland Security Institute. It turns out Hasan was a frequent attendee at counter-terrorism conferences here including this one in January, where Hasan is seen sitting in the second row in uniform taking notes and attracting little attention.

CILLUFFO: You are going to have folks that aren't necessarily on anyone's radar screens who are coming up with their ideas on their own and then acting on some of those ideas. So there is no conspiracy. There is no where to pull the thread on the investigative chain. So, clearly, that is a concern.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: The FBI says as of right now they have no co- conspirators and no part of a larger terror plot here, just one guy. And John, one federal law enforcement source says it's still a possibility that we're dealing with a disgruntled worker who may have visited radical Islamic websites and may have said some outrageous things but got no direction or guidance from anyone except himself.

ROBERTS: What is really surprising, as well, Drew, is the normal behavior that he exhibited in the 24 hours prior to the shooting, going out to this dinner on the Wednesday night and then if the fellow who owns a store there in Killeen is accurate, he went to that store at 6:30 in the morning for a little bit of breakfast and then carried out that shooting rampage.

GRIFFIN: Absolutely true and when we hear from other sides, you know, other conferences he's been to, or classes where he's been to, he said some outrageous things, but then the very same day he's acting normally at the George Washington Institute. He shows up in his Army uniform and doesn't stand out in the crowd. He just seems to be very interested in what's going on. So he was operating well within the norms of American society, which is very troubling to investigators.

ROBERTS: Yes. Great job of following the trail there. Drew Griffin for us this morning. Drew, thanks so much. Thirty-seven-and- a-half minutes now after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Montgomery county has been traumatized by five killings in less than 16 hours.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "AC 360": Word of another shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone is so mean spirited that they shot a child. Now, all of our victims have been innocent, have been defenseless, but now we're stepping over the line.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: That was a look back that 23 days of terror the Washington, D.C., area places in Maryland and Virginia when John Allen Muhammad and his teen accomplice Lee Malvo went on a shooting spree back in 2002. They didn't show any mercy. Killing the young, the old, white and Hispanic. Ten people in all. Prosecutors said that the two felt more and more invincible and invisible after every random attack.

Well now, today, Muhammad is scheduled to die by lethal injection. Joining us from Philadelphia is police commissioner Charles Ramsey. He was the chief of D.C. Metro Police during that shooting spree and as you know, you probably got very little sleep during that time and I still remember how terrified everyone was and how hard it was for investigators, as you guys were trying to get to the bottom of this.

So as we get close to the hour where John Allen Muhammad will be executed, what are you feeling today?

CHARLES RAMSEY, COMMISSIONER, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: Well, it's bringing something to closure. I think the punishment is appropriate. I think that, you know, Mr. Muhammad certainly, the kinds of crimes that he committed, the fear that he instilled upon everybody who is associated with that, they lived in the region and across the country, for that matter. Certainly, I'm glad that we were able to apprehend him, but he certainly deserves to die tonight.

CHETRY: Apparently, it is going to happen unless Virginia Governor Tim Kaine gives him either a stay, or delays or commutes the sentence and there are some who say that perhaps he shouldn't be put to death. What is your reaction to that? Do you think this execution is very likely to take place tonight?

RAMSEY: Well, I mean, first of all, I disagree with him. I think if anybody should receive the death penalty, it's John Allen Muhammad. So I feel absolutely no regrets about that, whatsoever. In fact, if I was there, I'd push a button.

CHETRY: Well, a number of victims were killed or wounded as we know by Muhammad and his accomplice, Malvo, as they were driving across the country before reaching the Washington area. You know, some investigators have linked them perhaps to some of these earlier shootings but they've never stood trial for them. Evidence hard to come by. Do you feel confident that this investigation is closed completely?

RAMSEY: Well, I mean, there may be more homicides that they're responsible for, but we know for a fact that they're responsible for the 10 homicides in the Washington, D.C. area and the 13 shootings in total. This was a very, very vicious crime. I have been a policeman 40 years and this was the most intense period I ever experienced during that 40-year period.

CHETRY: Understandably so. My family hails from that area and I remember just the confusion, the fear. You know, a lot of criticism actually (INAUDIBLE) at your department in the days during this investigation. Earlier, they were chasing tips that apparently led to no where. People thought they were looking for two Caucasians in a white van.

RAMSEY: Right.

CHETRY: As it turns out, they were looking for two African- Americans in a blue car. Do you feel confident that everything was done the best way that it could be done in terms of finally tracking them down?

RAMSEY: Yes. There's no question about that. I mean, with the different shooting scenes, we had witnesses. They said it was a white van and they described people and when you look around, white vans are the most common color that you have on the roadway and people were simply mistaken. But the evidence did lead us eventually to John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo. We have the right two people. We have the car in custody. We have the weapon in custody, ballistic evidence. We've got everything that was needed in order to get a conviction.

CHETRY: I remember you wrote a book after this and as you said before, if you were there, you would push the button yourself and this is one of the most horrific and terrifying crimes that we've seen in a very long time. Were there any lessons learned as a result of what happened to better protect us in the future?

RAMSEY: Well, that was Charles Moose that wrote the book. I didn't write anything on this particular case, but there are always lessons learned and one thing was the way in which this group came together as a task force. Local, state and federal. I looked back on that. It was very, very important that we form that task force as early as we did. And I think that sort of activity can be replicated elsewhere and probably already has been in other cases. So that was a lesson, the importance of communication between the various agencies.

CHETRY: There are also, you read about Charles Moose, I'm sorry about that. Law enforcement authorities who assisted in this investigation along with several family members of the victims and, in some cases, Muhammad, some of John Allen Muhammad's family plan to attend this execution tonight. He will be given the chance to speak. Are you interested in what he may say tonight?

RAMSEY: No, not at all. You know, really, at 9:00, you know, whatever happens happens, but I'm not interested.

CHETRY: All right. Well, it was great to talk to you this morning. Now, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey who oversaw the DC Sniper investigation. Thanks for being with us this morning.

RAMSEY: Thank you.

CHETRY: John Allen Muhammad, by the way, is scheduled to be executed, as we said, 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Victims' families will join Larry King tonight live from the prison where they will witness his final moments.

It's 46 minutes past the hour.

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ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Three American hikers have been in an Iranian prison since the 31st of July when they accidentally crossed the border from Kurdistan in Iraq. They're accused of espionage, and charged in Iran, it could result into death penalty.

Here's Jill Dougherty with the latest for us.

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JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a video shot just days before they were arrested at Iran's border, the three American hikers look like anything but spies.

Held for more than 100 days, now apparently accused of espionage. Once again, Americans appear to be bargaining chips for Iran even as the Obama administration tries to engage with Tehran to stop its nuclear program.

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We believe strongly that there is no evidence to support any charge whatsoever and we would renew our request on behalf of these three young people and their families that the Iranian government exercise compassion and release them so they can return home.

DOUGHERTY: But beyond asking for compassion, the US has virtually no leverage. Washington has no diplomatic relations with Iran. The hikers have been visited in a Tehran prison twice by a Swiss diplomat.

In a statement Monday, the families admit the hikers "apparently strayed into Iran by accident," but say "the allegation that our loved ones may have been engaged in espionage is untrue." The families are trying to use public pressure, a website and rallies for Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal across the US and in eight countries.

Monday, Iran's president insisted the Americans broke the law by crossing the border but said he had no opinion on any charges of espionage. The mother of one of the hikers says...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's way too long and we're anxious to get them home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOUGHERTY: Now, no one either in the United States or Iran is making a direct link between the hikers' case and negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, but they are playing out at the same time. And by the way, john, the State Department still hasn't received official confirmation from Iran that the hikers are being formally charged, but it says if those reports are true, it would be outrageous, and for the families, devastating.

ROBERTS: A long way from where President Ahmadinejad just a couple of months ago asked for maximum leniency from the courts.

Jill Dougherty there in Washington for us this morning. Jill, thanks.

CHETRY: Yes, and what changed?

Coming up in the next hour, we're going to be talking with hiker Josh Fattal's brother, Alex. He's going to be joining us live at 8:10 Eastern time about what the family would like to say to the Iranian government if given the chance.

ROBERTS: Also, new information on the accused Fort Hood shooter, his possible ties to extremist Islam and a cleric who preached to two of the 9/11 hijackers. We're live at Fort Hood this morning. CHETRY: We're also live on the Gulf Coast as tropical storm Ida makes landfall. It's a slow, wet mess and so late in the season we could be looking at close to a foot of rain in some areas. Our Rob Marciano is there.

All right. Those stories and much more coming up at the top of the hour.

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ROBERTS: Five minutes to the top of the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

Don't tell the Democrats, but steering the health care bill through the House may have been the easy part.

CHETRY: Yes, because the legislation is still facing huge hurdles in the Senate, and as Dana Bash reports, the clock is ticking.

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DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hours after House Democrats narrowly passed health care, presidential pressure for the next thorny step.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now it falls on the United States Senate to take the baton and bring this effort to the finish line on behalf of the American people.

BASH: And an abashedly clear White House deadline.

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president wants to sign health care before the end of the year.

BASH: That deadline demand is risky, since the earliest Senate Democrats would start debate is the week before Thanksgiving, and it could continue through mid-December. House and Senate Democrats would then only have two to three weeks to iron out big differences to pass both chambers again by year's end.

And huge issues still divide Democrats. First the public option. It passed the House, but Senate Democrats still don't have 60 votes needed to pass it. Next, taxes. House Democrats paid for much of their health care overhaul by taxing the wealthiest Americans, a nonstarter in the Senate, which instead taxes high-cost insurance plans.

Then, there's the wrenching issue of abortion.

REP. MARCY KAPTUR (D), OHIO: No federal funds authorized under this act may be used to pay for any abortion.

BASH: To secure the votes of anti-abortion Democrats, House Democratic leaders passed a health care bill that prohibits abortion coverage in a government-run plan and in private plans that accept anyone using government subsidies to buy insurance coverage. In the Senate, anti-abortion Democrat Ben Nelson tells CNN he would vote against health care without those restrictions.

SEN. BEN NELSON (D), NEBRASKA: That there's public money going to fund abortions, I can't - I can't support it, period, no matter what else is in it.

BASH: But abortion rights Democrats, including many of the 17 Senate women may object.

PENNY LEE, FORMER SENATE DEMOCRATIC AIDE: Some of them, just a rubber stamp and say, oh, because the House dictated it, we're going to accept it. I think it's going to be tough for some of them to swallow that.

BASH (on camera): Yet many ardent supporters of abortion rights did just that. They voted for the House bill anyway. But now, more than 40 House Democrats signed a letter vowing to block a health care bill from going to the president's desk unless abortion restrictions are eased.

Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ROBERTS: If it ever makes it through the Senate, it's going to be an interesting conference on that bill.

CHETRY: Absolutely.

ROBERTS: No question.

New details about the alleged Fort Hood shooter. Our top stories coming your way in 90 seconds. Stay with us.

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