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President Obama Visits Asia; 9/11 Mastermind and Four Other Alleged Terrorists to be Tried in New York; NASA Discovers Water on the Moon
Aired November 14, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN center here in Atlanta, Georgia, this is the CNN NEWSROOM for Saturday, November 14th. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks for starting your day with us.
HOLMES: And we need to start in Pakistan, another deadly day, another deadly blast, 11 dead in a car bomb after yesterday's blast that killed 17. We'll be live with a report on why this area is getting hit so hard and what it means for U.S. troops on the ground.
NGUYEN: And we are just two days away. Sarah Palin's interview with Oprah Winfrey on Monday, and then the book that goes on sale on Tuesday. But you don't have to wait. We have a few preview clips for you today.
But first, four countries, nine days. President Obama arrived in Singapore this morning. It is the second leg of his tour through Asia, and it started in Japan, goes through China, then South Korea. Our Andrew Stevens tells us what the president is hoping to accomplish.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: U.S. President Barack Obama arrived here in Singapore about 8:00 p.m. local time after a six-hour flight from Tokyo. That Tokyo leg of his nine-day Asia trip included a broad speech about U.S. reengagement in the affairs, particularly the economic affairs of the Asia Pacific region.
His first official duty here in Singapore, a cultural event. He and the 20 other leaders of the APEC economies had an evening of entertainment. But tomorrow, Sunday, the hard work begins.
He'll be meeting for a final communique to look at global trade, APEC's position in it. They will also be looking at the state of the global economy and whether or not to start winding back on those global stimulus packages. We're expecting APEC leaders to agree to no premature withdrawal of those stimulus packages.
During the course of his other meetings tomorrow, he'll be having a first for a U.S. president -- meeting with leaders of the ten ASEAN countries, which include Myanmar, the prime minister of Myanmar expected to attend that meeting. Mr. Obama will also be meeting the Russian leader, Dmitry Medvedev, high on the agenda there, Iran's nuclear ambitions.
All in all a full day for the U.S. president. And APEC wouldn't be complete without the annual parade of the specific shirts which the leaders are given by the host countries. They were given out on Saturday evening. This is what they look like. They're actually a blend of Chinese, Indian, and Malay styles, quite stylish, too. The APEC leaders Saturday night before they get down to business Sunday.
Andrew Stevens, CNN, Singapore.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Let's give you a little bit more about the APEC meeting, or Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, as it's called. Leaders from 21 countries which border the Pacific Ocean meet annually to discuss regional economic development.
And a few of the countries attending this year include the U.S., of course, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. APEC began back in 1989.
HOLMES: President Obama is urging Congress to slow down on Fort Hood. He says lawmakers should not look into intelligence failures until police and military officials complete their work on the shooting.
The president has already ordered his own intelligence review of Major Nidal Hasan, the accused gunman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The purpose of this review is clear. We must compile every pieces of information that was known about the gunman, and we must learn what was done with that information.
Once we have those facts, we must act upon them. If there was a failure to take appropriate action before the shootings, there must be accountability.
Beyond that, and most importantly, we must quickly and thoroughly evaluate and address any flaws in the system so that we can prevent a similar breach from happening again.
Our government must be able to act swiftly and surely when it has threatening information. And our troops must have the security that they deserve.
I know there will also be inquiries by Congress, and there should. But all of us should resist the temptation to turn this tragic event into the political theater that sometimes dominates the discussion here in Washington. The stakes are far too high.
Of all the responsibilities of the presidency, the one that I weigh most heavily is my duty as commander in chief to our splendid servicemen and women.
Their character and bravery were on full display in that processing center in Fort Hood when so many scrambled under fire to help their wounded comrades. And their great dignity and decency has been on display in the days since as the Fort Hood community has rallied together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And as many as eight of the 13 Fort Hood victims will be laid to rest this afternoon.
Reaction is mixed of the government's plans to try and put Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, plus four others in the civilian courtroom in New York. A lot of people did welcome this announcement, however.
NGUYEN: Yes, but others are angry, in fact, disappointed. Our Susan Candiotti spoke with three people who lost family members on 9/11.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eight years of waiting is eight years too long for retired firefighter Jim Riches. He wants the alleged 9/11 conspirators tried in New York. The attack killed his son, a fellow firefighter.
JIM RICHES, FATHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: I just want to get this moving, you know, justice delayed is justice denied.
CANDIOTTI: Riches is one of a handful civilians who got a close- up look at suspected terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others in a Guantanamo courtroom last January. That's what KSM told a military judge he was the mastermind of 9/11.
"We don't care about capital punishment or a life sentence," he said. "We are doing jihad for the cause of god."
RICHES: They call for jihad against America, they were proud of what they did. And here I am sitting there, the man that murdered my son is standing there saying he's proud he killed my son.
CANDIOTTI: But another relative who met us at the World Trade Center site says bringing the terror suspects back to the scene of the crime will bring unbearable pain. He lost his son in the attack.
LEE IELPI, FATHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: To bring it back here for me, my feelings, it's tasteless, it's insensitive, and those scars which have never been healed are just going to be opened again. So I am not comfortable one iota with this call.
CANDIOTTI: Kristen Breitweiser, who helped push the independent 9/11 commission, says New York is ready. She plans to attend the trial as often as she can.
KRISTEN BREITWEISER, WIDOW OF 9/11 VICTIM: I think New Yorkers are certainly more than capable of handling it.
And I think, again, it speaks to the very heart of who we are not only as New Yorkers but as American citizens. You know, if a crime is committed on our soil, you are going to be given a trial, you will be given access to an attorney, you will be innocent until proven guilty.
CANDIOTTI: Some worry about massive security needs, with worldwide focus on five accused terrorists a few blocks from ground zero.
RAY KELLY, NYPD COMMISSIONER: We are certainly prepared for any eventuality. We handle a lot of high-profile events here. We had the flying sheikhs trial here, other high-profile trials and events. That's what we do. So I think we're in excellent shape to handle it.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): We also asked the families, what about worries the evidence will hold up? They say the Justice Department has assured them it will. A judge and jury will decide.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. So, we are hearing from you today. A lot of people want to weigh in on this, and some not happy with the decision to try the 9/11 suspects in a civilian court in New York.
So what do you think? Let us know. Reach out to us on Facebook, also on Twitter. You can also go to our blog, CNN.com/betty or CNN.com/tj. We'll be reading your responses a little bit later in the show. But we do want to hear from you today.
In the meantime, you have to check this out, a scary incident in South Carolina last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SCREAMING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Yes. You heard it right there, "Oh, my god." You'll see the bricks from this collapsed wall on the ground and other students on the ground.
What happened was exactly that. A stadium wall collapsed during a high school football game. Two dozen teenagers were hurt, some of them taken to the hospital, but we're being told that none of them has life-threatening injuries.
Police, though, say the students were leaning against the wall while news crews filmed them. That's why we have this video of it. But they fell some six feet. From that story to this one -- no connection whatsoever, but very interesting nonetheless. Little trinkets, if you will, sometimes they're a little bit more than just trinkets, from Bernie Madoff's shattered empire on the auction block today.
HOLMES: This is happening right now in New York, happening at the Sheridan hotel in Manhattan. It was supposed to get under way about ten minutes from now. So his stuff is now being sold.
NGUYEN: All kinds of stuff, too, folks. We're talking jewelry, of course, a watch, a Rolex watch that Madoff wore. Looks like lots of pearls there. More than just one watch, apparently. Diamonds once dangled from Ruth Madoff's ears, they are on the auction block. Even a sticky notepad with Madoff's name on it. You saw that one right there.
HOLMES: A lot of things are fairly tiny little trinkets, like a key chain with his initials on it, things like that.
But about 200 items up for bid expected to bring in about $500,000. That's going to help repay -- that's a very small fraction, of course, but at least some money for the victims who lost in his Ponzi scheme.
You talked about the earrings. Those are worth about $21,000. There's a closer look at those.
NGUYEN: There's a Rolex watch worth I think is worth some $87,000. Yes, $87,500.
But, you know, not everything in this auction are big-ticket items. There were some boogey boards with Madoff's name written on them. This is really interesting. It's a New York Mets team jacket with "Madoff" on the back. They expect to get $720 from it. But I don't know. Would you want to be wearing that around New York City?
HOLMES: Nobody's going to walk around -- it's a Mets' jacket, nobody wants it anyway.
NGUYEN: Oh, T.J., you might be in a little trouble.
HOLMES: I'm teasing, Mets fans. You have a great little ball club up there, OK?
NGUYEN: "Little ball club." You just keep digging deeper and deeper.
All right, enough of the Madoff stuff. But nonetheless, it is up for auction today.
Meantime, this is really interesting. NASA has found water on the moon, and it could lead to a new wave of interest in space exploration.
HOLMES: Yes. I was talking about this earlier, and I didn't really understand it fully. NGUYEN: We're trying to understand it.
HOLMES: We're trying to. We have actually a NASA is going to be coming on and talking to guy will be coming on and talking to us and breaking this down for us.
NGUYEN: Schooling us in what this means. Does it mean there's life up there? Does it mean there will be an international hub on the moon?
HOLMES: That's the key thing, they want to be able to see if they can sustain human life.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: That's the key. So we're going to let them explain it to us.
Also Sarah Palin, you're going to see a whole lot more of her in the coming weeks.
NGUYEN: Yes, sir.
HOLMES: She is naming names and placing some blame. She's going rogue just like the title of the book promises.
NGUYEN: And are you celebrating domino day out there? Oh, come on. I'm sure you are, right? Well, we're going to take you to a place that is knocking them down in style.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: These are the fife men who are now slated to go on trial, suspected of planning the September 11th attacks. That trial is set for a Manhattan federal courtroom. It will take place just blocks away from ground zero.
Among the defendants, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of 9/11.
Let's get a closer look at Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. According to a transcript from a military tribunal back in March of '07, he said he was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z. He also claims he personally beheaded American journalist Daniel Pearl.
He has also claimed responsibility for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a litany of other crimes. He was born in Kuwait but educated right here in the U.S., a 1986 graduate of North Carolina A&T State University.
We are happy that we do have CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen to break a lot of this down for us this morning. Peter, good morning to you.
I want you to first let our viewers listen to some of the first reaction we got to these trials happening in the U.S. from President Obama who was over in Japan. Let's take a quick listen to what the president had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I'm absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice. The American people will insist on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, the most, Peter, "The most exacting demands of justice." What is this supposed to look like here? Is this supposed to look like a fair trial, or is this supposed to just look like we're going through the motions to get these guys to the electric chair?
PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: T.J., I think it'll be a fair trial. I mean, it's being held in a courthouse that has actually tried quite a number of major terrorism cases, the U.S. embassy cases, for instance, in Africa in 1998, where more than 200 people were killed. An Al Qaeda plot was tried in the same courtroom, and the people who were convicted in that plot are all serving life sentences without parole in Florence, Colorado the super max security, which makes Guantanamo look like a Sunday picnic.
So the -- you know, I think this is long overdue. This could have happened several years ago. These people will -- the military tribunal system has been a complete failure basically. There's only been three convictions out of Guantanamo in the eight years it's been open.
And federal terrorism trials have a very, very high rate of success, of appropriately convicting people involved in major terrorist activities and putting them away or executing them.
HOLMES: You say appropriate acquittal. And there was one sound bite of a father of someone who died in the piece we had leading up to you, where he essentially said they'll get a fair trial and then we'll execute them.
And I know you talked about the military tribunals haven't had a lot of success, so this is the best option. But still, how do we go into it -- for the world that's going to be watching this, to go into it thinking there's going to be anyone sitting on any jury who is going to be giving these guys a fair shake?
BERGEN: Well, you know, we have trials in the United States all the time where people are -- you know, have committed very, very serious crimes that are very well-known to the juror -- to the juries and, you know, this is obviously on a very large scale the same kind of thing.
But one thing I would say T.J., is not only did Khalid Sheikh Mohammed admit in a military tribunal setting that he was responsible for 9/11, he also gave a very extensive interview to Al Jazeera long before he was captured, in which he explained how he led the plot, how he was in charge of the hijackers, how they communicated. He gave every detail of the plot. So the reason this case is going forward is it's very low-hanging fruit. You don't even haven't to get into the waterboarding or anything else. He's freely volunteered this long before he was captured.
HOLMES: Waterboarding, you don't think will be a part of it, trying to throw out those confessions at least since he was water boarded some 183 times?
BERGEN: Yes, it'll come up. But as far as the 9/11 plot, he's already admitted that he gave these very extensive interviews to an Al Jazeera reporter in Pakistan in which he admitted the whole thing.
HOLMES: All right. I got to let you go. If you can, do this for me quickly. How do you secure this place? Every activist and idiot and sympathizer and terrorist, everybody is going to know exactly where these guys will be at exactly what time. How do you secure this trial?
BERGEN: Again, Foley Square in downtown Manhattan has been the scene of major terrorist trials before. And your police department is probably one of the most effective police department in the world on these sorts of issues.
HOLMES: They have done it before, you're right. Peter Bergen, CNN analyst. We appreciate you, as always. It's good to have you here on a Saturday with us. Thank you so much.
BERGEN: Thank you, T.J.
NGUYEN: Let's get you some top stories right now.
A sixth member of a Missouri family is in custody this morning charged in a child sex abuse case that goes back decades. Daryl Moeller faces two counts of rape.
Now six people claimed they were abused by the family in the '80s and '90s, and most of the alleged victims are relatives of the Moellers who are now adults.
Well, U.S. troops in Afghanistan are being told roll up your sleeves, soldier. The military has begun giving H1N1 flu vaccines to troops overseas. Among the first to be vaccinated are those at Kandahar air base. Tens of thousands of vaccine doses have been sent to Afghanistan, Iraq, and South Korea.
Well, NASA's small crash in space could become a giant splash for mankind. How? Well, scientists say last month's mission that included intentionally slamming a satellite into the lunar surface helped them find water on the moon.
Scientists aren't exactly sure how it got there, but they found several two-gallon buckets of water, dozens of them, in fact, and they say it could lead to the development of a lunar space station.
Exactly how does all this work? Well, we are going to bring in a NASA specialist to talk about it live in our next half hour. So don't miss it.
HOLMES: We've got questions.
NGUYEN: We're trying to figure all of this out.
HOLMES: Lots of questions about what it mean.
A little water up there on the moon, too much water here on earth in some places. A lot of wind, all this happening in the northeast because of the remnants of tropical storm Ida.
NGUYEN: Yes, and we're going to see if any relief is in sight when we check the forecast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Great video you might want to stick around for.
NGUYEN: You have been talking about this video all morning long.
HOLMES: I have because it was sold to me by Joe, one of our writers here, and then once he sold it to me, I did.
NGUYEN: Look at that.
HOLMES: This is a domino world record. Just take it in for a second here, folks.
NGUYEN: Oh, that's so cool.
HOLMES: This is a live television broadcast happening at the time. These are all dominos.
NGUYEN: That is the neatest thing. How do they get these different objects to move like that? Wow. Yes, nearly 4.5 million dominos sent tumbling.
HOLMES: I love it.
NGUYEN: You've got aircraft, all kinds of stuff going on.
This display meant to show each continent, that's why we're seeing all of this. The previous world record was 4.3 million dominos set back in November of last year. But, again, nearly 4.5 million used in this one.
HOLMES: And again, it takes them really weeks to set all that stuff up.
NGUYEN: To choreograph it, you know, and all the engineers making sure that everything goes off.
HOLMES: "Engineers," that's funny.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: You would think it would take a little bit, right?
HOLMES: Of course, but my question is always, what if you accidentally bump one over while you're sitting it up? You have to start over? But congratulations, the record held.
Next week we'll talk about Sarah Palin a lot. We've been talking about her a lot this week. But it's all about her new book. Will that help or hurt her political ambitions, whatever they may be? We'll look at the early reaction to "Going Rogue."
NGUYEN: And it must have seen a good idea at the time, a cash for grades fundraiser approved by the school's principal. Well, there's fallout.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
, the suspected mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, plus four others in the civilian courtroom in New York. A lot of people did welcome this announcement, however.
NGUYEN: Yes, but others are angry, in fact, disappointed. Our Susan Candiotti spoke with three people who lost family members on 9/11.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Eight years of waiting is eight years too long for retired firefighter Jim Riches. He wants the alleged 9/11 conspirators tried in New York. The attack killed his son, a fellow firefighter.
JIM RICHES, FATHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: I just want to get this moving, you know, justice delayed is justice denied.
CANDIOTTI: Riches is one of a handful civilians who got a close- up look at suspected terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others in a Guantanamo courtroom last January. That's what KSM told a military judge he was the mastermind of 9/11.
"We don't care about capital punishment or a life sentence," he said. "We are doing jihad for the cause of god."
RICHES: They call for jihad against America, they were proud of what they did. And here I am sitting there, the man that murdered my son is standing there saying he's proud he killed my son.
CANDIOTTI: But another relative who met us at the World Trade Center site says bringing the terror suspects back to the scene of the crime will bring unbearable pain. He lost his son in the attack.
LEE IELPI, FATHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: To bring it back here for me, my feelings, it's tasteless, it's insensitive, and those scars which have never been healed are just going to be opened again. So I am not comfortable one iota with this call.
CANDIOTTI: Kristen Breitweiser, who helped push the independent 9/11 commission, says New York is ready. She plans to attend the trial as often as she can.
KRISTEN BREITWEISER, WIDOW OF 9/11 VICTIM: I think New Yorkers are certainly more than capable of handling it.
And I think, again, it speaks to the very heart of who we are not only as New Yorkers but as American citizens. You know, if a crime is committed on our soil, you are going to be given a trial, you will be given access to an attorney, you will be innocent until proven guilty.
CANDIOTTI: Some worry about massive security needs, with worldwide focus on five accused terrorists a few blocks from ground zero.
RAY KELLY, NYPD COMMISSIONER: We are certainly prepared for any eventuality. We handle a lot of high-profile events here. We had the flying sheikhs trial here, other high-profile trials and events. That's what we do. So I think we're in excellent shape to handle it.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): We also asked the families, what about worries the evidence will hold up? They say the Justice Department has assured them it will. A judge and jury will decide.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. So, we are hearing from you today. A lot of people want to weigh in on this, and some not happy with the decision to try the 9/11 suspects in a civilian court in New York.
So what do you think? Let us know. Reach out to us on Facebook, also on Twitter. You can also go to our blog, CNN.com/betty or CNN.com/tj. We'll be reading your responses a little bit later in the show. But we do want to hear from you today.
In the meantime, you have to check this out, a scary incident in South Carolina last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SCREAMING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Yes. You heard it right there, "Oh, my god." You'll see the bricks from this collapsed wall on the ground and other students on the ground.
What happened was exactly that. A stadium wall collapsed during a high school football game. Two dozen teenagers were hurt, some of them taken to the hospital, but we're being told that none of them has life-threatening injuries.
Police, though, say the students were leaning against the wall while news crews filmed them. That's why we have this video of it. But they fell some six feet.
From that story to this one -- no connection whatsoever, but very interesting nonetheless. Little trinkets, if you will, sometimes they're a little bit more than just trinkets, from Bernie Madoff's shattered empire on the auction block today.
HOLMES: This is happening right now in New York, happening at the Sheridan hotel in Manhattan. It was supposed to get under way about ten minutes from now. So his stuff is now being sold.
NGUYEN: All kinds of stuff, too, folks. We're talking jewelry, of course, a watch, a Rolex watch that Madoff wore. Looks like lots of pearls there. More than just one watch, apparently. Diamonds once dangled from Ruth Madoff's ears, they are on the auction block. Even a sticky notepad with Madoff's name on it. You saw that one right there.
HOLMES: A lot of things are fairly tiny little trinkets, like a key chain with his initials on it, things like that.
But about 200 items up for bid expected to bring in about $500,000. That's going to help repay -- that's a very small fraction, of course, but at least some money for the victims who lost in his Ponzi scheme.
You talked about the earrings. Those are worth about $21,000. There's a closer look at those.
NGUYEN: There's a Rolex watch worth I think is worth some $87,000. Yes, $87,500.
But, you know, not everything in this auction are big-ticket items. There were some boogey boards with Madoff's name written on them. This is really interesting. It's a New York Mets team jacket with "Madoff" on the back. They expect to get $720 from it. But I don't know. Would you want to be wearing that around New York City?
HOLMES: Nobody's going to walk around -- it's a Mets' jacket, nobody wants it anyway.
NGUYEN: Oh, T.J., you might be in a little trouble.
HOLMES: I'm teasing, Mets fans. You have a great little ball club up there, OK?
NGUYEN: "Little ball club." You just keep digging deeper and deeper.
All right, enough of the Madoff stuff. But nonetheless, it is up for auction today.
Meantime, this is really interesting. NASA has found water on the moon, and it could lead to a new wave of interest in space exploration.
HOLMES: Yes. I was talking about this earlier, and I didn't really understand it fully.
NGUYEN: We're trying to understand it.
HOLMES: We're trying to. We have actually a NASA is going to be coming on and talking to guy will be coming on and talking to us and breaking this down for us.
NGUYEN: Schooling us in what this means. Does it mean there's life up there? Does it mean there will be an international hub on the moon?
HOLMES: That's the key thing, they want to be able to see if they can sustain human life.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: That's the key. So we're going to let them explain it to us.
Also Sarah Palin, you're going to see a whole lot more of her in the coming weeks.
NGUYEN: Yes, sir.
HOLMES: She is naming names and placing some blame. She's going rogue just like the title of the book promises.
NGUYEN: And are you celebrating domino day out there? Oh, come on. I'm sure you are, right? Well, we're going to take you to a place that is knocking them down in style.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: These are the five men who are now slated to go on trial, suspected of planning the September 11th attacks. That trial is set for a Manhattan federal courtroom. It will take place just blocks away from ground zero.
Among the defendants, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of 9/11.
Let's get a closer look at Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. According to a transcript from a military tribunal back in March of '07, he said he was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z. He also claims he personally beheaded American journalist Daniel Pearl.
He has also claimed responsibility for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a litany of other crimes. He was born in Kuwait but educated right here in the U.S., a 1986 graduate of North Carolina A&T State University.
We are happy that we do have CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen to break a lot of this down for us this morning. Peter, good morning to you.
I want you to first let our viewers listen to some of the first reaction we got to these trials happening in the U.S. from President Obama who was over in Japan. Let's take a quick listen to what the president had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I'm absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice. The American people will insist on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, the most, Peter, "The most exacting demands of justice." What is this supposed to look like here? Is this supposed to look like a fair trial, or is this supposed to just look like we're going through the motions to get these guys to the electric chair?
PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: T.J., I think it'll be a fair trial. I mean, it's being held in a courthouse that has actually tried quite a number of major terrorism cases, the U.S. embassy cases, for instance, in Africa in 1998, where more than 200 people were killed. An Al Qaeda plot was tried in the same courtroom, and the people who were convicted in that plot are all serving life sentences without parole in Florence, Colorado the super max security, which makes Guantanamo look like a Sunday picnic.
So the -- you know, I think this is long overdue. This could have happened several years ago. These people will -- the military tribunal system has been a complete failure basically. There's only been three convictions out of Guantanamo in the eight years it's been open.
And federal terrorism trials have a very, very high rate of success, of appropriately convicting people involved in major terrorist activities and putting them away or executing them.
HOLMES: You say appropriate acquittal. And there was one sound bite of a father of someone who died in the piece we had leading up to you, where he essentially said they'll get a fair trial and then we'll execute them.
And I know you talked about the military tribunals haven't had a lot of success, so this is the best option. But still, how do we go into it -- for the world that's going to be watching this, to go into it thinking there's going to be anyone sitting on any jury who is going to be giving these guys a fair shake?
BERGEN: Well, you know, we have trials in the United States all the time where people are -- you know, have committed very, very serious crimes that are very well-known to the juror -- to the juries and, you know, this is obviously on a very large scale the same kind of thing.
But one thing I would say T.J., is not only did Khalid Sheikh Mohammed admit in a military tribunal setting that he was responsible for 9/11, he also gave a very extensive interview to Al Jazeera long before he was captured, in which he explained how he led the plot, how he was in charge of the hijackers, how they communicated. He gave every detail of the plot.
So the reason this case is going forward is it's very low-hanging fruit. You don't even haven't to get into the waterboarding or anything else. He's freely volunteered this long before he was captured.
HOLMES: Waterboarding, you don't think will be a part of it, trying to throw out those confessions at least since he was water boarded some 183 times?
BERGEN: Yes, it'll come up. But as far as the 9/11 plot, he's already admitted that he gave these very extensive interviews to an Al Jazeera reporter in Pakistan in which he admitted the whole thing.
HOLMES: All right. I got to let you go. If you can, do this for me quickly. How do you secure this place? Every activist and idiot and sympathizer and terrorist, everybody is going to know exactly where these guys will be at exactly what time. How do you secure this trial?
BERGEN: Again, Foley Square in downtown Manhattan has been the scene of major terrorist trials before. And your police department is probably one of the most effective police department in the world on these sorts of issues.
HOLMES: They have done it before, you're right. Peter Bergen, CNN analyst. We appreciate you, as always. It's good to have you here on a Saturday with us. Thank you so much.
BERGEN: Thank you, T.J.
NGUYEN: Let's get you some top stories right now.
A sixth member of a Missouri family is in custody this morning charged in a child sex abuse case that goes back decades. Daryl Moeller faces two counts of rape.
Now six people claimed they were abused by the family in the '80s and '90s, and most of the alleged victims are relatives of the Moellers who are now adults.
Well, U.S. troops in Afghanistan are being told roll up your sleeves, soldier. The military has begun giving H1N1 flu vaccines to troops overseas. Among the first to be vaccinated are those at Kandahar air base. Tens of thousands of vaccine doses have been sent to Afghanistan, Iraq, and South Korea.
Well, NASA's small crash in space could become a giant splash for mankind. How? Well, scientists say last month's mission that included intentionally slamming a satellite into the lunar surface helped them find water on the moon. Scientists aren't exactly sure how it got there, but they found several two-gallon buckets of water, dozens of them, in fact, and they say it could lead to the development of a lunar space station.
Exactly how does all this work? Well, we are going to bring in a NASA specialist to talk about it live in our next half hour. So don't miss it.
HOLMES: We've got questions.
NGUYEN: We're trying to figure all of this out.
HOLMES: Lots of questions about what it mean.
A little water up there on the moon, too much water here on earth in some places. A lot of wind, all this happening in the northeast because of the remnants of tropical storm Ida.
NGUYEN: Yes, and we're going to see if any relief is in sight when we check the forecast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Great video you might want to stick around for.
NGUYEN: You have been talking about this video all morning long.
HOLMES: I have because it was sold to me by Joe, one of our writers here, and then once he sold it to me, I did.
NGUYEN: Look at that.
HOLMES: This is a domino world record. Just take it in for a second here, folks.
NGUYEN: Oh, that's so cool.
HOLMES: This is a live television broadcast happening at the time. These are all dominos.
NGUYEN: That is the neatest thing. How do they get these different objects to move like that? Wow. Yes, nearly 4.5 million dominos sent tumbling.
HOLMES: I love it.
NGUYEN: You've got aircraft, all kinds of stuff going on.
This display meant to show each continent, that's why we're seeing all of this. The previous world record was 4.3 million dominos set back in November of last year. But, again, nearly 4.5 million used in this one.
HOLMES: And again, it takes them really weeks to set all that stuff up.
NGUYEN: To choreograph it, you know, and all the engineers making sure that everything goes off.
HOLMES: "Engineers," that's funny.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: You would think it would take a little bit, right?
HOLMES: Of course, but my question is always, what if you accidentally bump one over while you're sitting it up? You have to start over? But congratulations, the record held.
Next week we'll talk about Sarah Palin a lot. We've been talking about her a lot this week. But it's all about her new book. Will that help or hurt her political ambitions, whatever they may be? We'll look at the early reaction to "Going Rogue."
NGUYEN: And it must have seen a good idea at the time, a cash for grades fundraiser approved by the school's principal. Well, there's fallout.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Welcome back to this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. A story here we're getting out of Pakistan, 11 people killed in another suicide car bombing there.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: It happened in Peshawar, just a day after another deadly blast there. And our Reza Sayah is stand big for us live for us in the capital of Islamabad. Reza, why is Peshawar getting hit so hard?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Peshawar is located in a very vulnerable and dangerous position. This is the gateway to the notorious tribal region in Pakistan. This is the home of the Taliban, widely believed to be a safe haven for Al Qaeda.
And as extremism militancy has increased in this region along the Afghan border, it has also seeped into the city of Peshawar. It is simply an easy target for militants and it has been over the past couple of months. It's really been devastated by militant attacks over the past couple of months.
Another one today, this one a suicide car-bombing targeting a police check post at one of the main entry points into the city of Peshawar. Police say a suicide car bomber tried to get through the check post. It was stopped. That's when he blew himself and his car up. There were 11 people killed, at least 26 people injured.
Most of the time when we'd see attacks on police checkpoints, most of the victims are police officers. In this case, one police officer was killed, but among the victims, three women and three children. This is the second day in a row we've seen a suicide car bombing in Peshawar. Of course yesterday a massive suicide truck bomb targeted the headquarters of Pakistan's main intelligence agency. At least ten people killed there.
And today Taliban commander Kari Hossein told CNN that the Taliban was responsible for that attack. Betty, T.J., no one has claimed responsibility for this attack today, but it certainly bears the hallmarks of another Taliban attack.
HOLMES: But Reza, I thought the whole point the Pakistan army has been launching an offensive, being aggressive and going after the Taliban, but still we haven't seemed to have seen a decrease in some of these attacks.
SAYAH: No, we haven't. And this certainly shows the capability of the Taliban, that they're still able to carry out these attack. We were in south Waziristan a couple weeks ago, T.J., on a military tour of the territory that they have captured.
And one of the things that stand out is the military said, look, even if we win in south Waziristan, don't expect these suicide attacks to simply stop.
And that really illustrates the widespread problem of militancy in this country. The Taliban and militants are simply not just limbed to south Waziristan. They're all over the tribal region, even in the heartland with sleeper cells.
So, again, just because they're making some progress in south Waziristan, they say don't expect these suicide attacks to stop, which makes it a tough challenge for the public here.
HOLMES: All right, our Reza Sayah for us this morning. Reza, we appreciate you, as always.
NGUYEN: And we've been asking you this morning, talking about the story and the fact that five 9/11 terror suspects have been moved to New York. They're going to be tried in New York City in a civilian court. And there's been, you know, some criticism of that.
HOLMES: A lot of people not too comfortable with that. They don't deserve to be on American soil, they don't deserve to have access to the American prison system, the legal system. But others say we don't have a good military tribunal system set up either.
So we've been asking for your comments this morning. We're hearing from you.
NGUYEN: Yes, let's go to my Facebook page. Chris Butler says this, "I'm originally from New York City and was there during 9/11. There is no other place to try these men for murder and terrorism. New York City is ready to handle this."
And Dawnita below says "Where else would be a better place to try them? Where they did damage in the states. The president should have tried these terrorists rather than holding them eternally at Gitmo."
So a lot of you weighing in with some very strong opinions on whether they should be tried in the U.S. in civilian court. And we do appreciate those of course.
And we'll have more questions for you tomorrow, and so I do want you to weigh in. So thank you for what you've been able to send us today so far.
HOLMES: I'm going to turn now to talk about Sarah Palin in her own words. Readers can get her own words. You can expect a lot this Tuesday when the former vice presidential candidate releases her book "Going Rogue."
We do have an excerpt, one about that ill-fated interview with CBS News anchor Katie Couric.
NGUYEN: Yes, and here it is.
"I really didn't have a say in which press I was going to talk to. But for some reason Nicole seemed compelled to get me on the Katie bandwagon. "Katie really likes you" she said to me one day. "She's a working mom and admires you as a working mom."
So, that's a quote from Sarah Palin's new book "Going Rogue."
HOLMES: All right, and CNN's deputy political director and friend of our show here on Saturday and Sunday morning is with us here in Atlanta for a change. Good to have you here with us.
NGUYEN: Paul.
HOLMES: What can we expect from this book? Is this supposed to, I don't know, go back, essentially or is it going to be looking forward?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: A lot of looking back. It takes a look at her life and her big experiences from childhood straight through when she stepped down as Alaskan governor just a couple months ago.
That excerpt you just read, that was looking back to last year's campaign. Nicole was Nicole Wallace, a top McCain advisor and spokeswoman who was with Sarah Palin during those times.
And Nicole Wallace, we reached out to her at CNN, and she is definitely taking issue with that point of view from the excerpt you just heard.
But we all knew that Sarah Palin wasn't crazy about the McCain campaign, how they were treating her and how they were putting her out there, and that's why she said she went rogue in the first place, right? And she also didn't like the media. So we'll get a lot of that it seems in this book.
NGUYEN: So it seems like this is kind of an opportunity for her to set the record straight in her own words on what exactly went down.
STEINHAUSER: A year later this is her take on what happened last year in the presidential campaign and why things didn't go the way maybe they should have.
NGUYEN: Do you think this is -- there's quite a media blitz on this. She's speaking with Oprah, that's already taped, but that's going to be airing on Monday. She's got this tour across the U.S. And the book comes out on Tuesday, already a bestseller. You can't even buy it just yet.
For someone who may have some political aspirations to become president in the future, is this a good way to get your message out?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, it is. A lot of people who have run for president, we've seen this in the past, have written books prior to jumping in.
We don't know if she wants to run for president for the Republican nomination in 2012, but this does get her, first of all, in the spotlight. It also gives her a lot of money. She'll make a lot of money most likely off of this book, but it gets her in the spotlight and of course we're all talking about her.
HOLMES: In this book tour, a lot of people are going to be scratching their heads about why where she's going, why she's going there.
NGUYEN: Smaller cities, right?
HOLMES: Yes. How strategic is she being about these cities she's picking?
STEINHAUSER: Interesting. It starts off on Wednesday in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We remember last year the McCain campaign running not doing so well in the polls there, dropped out of Michigan. And Sarah Palin didn't like that at the time. She made a little fuss on that.
So it's interesting the book tour starts there. She'll be in Iowa and we also learned she's going to be in Dallas and soon after she'll go to Fort Hood and visit with people in Fort Hood. We all know what happened there.
HOLMES: We all know what happened there. All right, Sarah Palin -- it continues. It continues. Good to have you here in Atlanta with us for a change.
STEINHAUSER: Great to be here.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Paul.
Up next, travel tricks that T.J. can help you avoid -- flight delays, which you've had plenty of lately.
HOLMES: I have some issues. If anybody's followed me on Twitter, please don't hold that stuff against me. I was going through it, OK? I was going through something.
Also, we're going to have another check of the morning stops. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Checking our top stories right now.
President Obama in Singapore this morning. He's attending a summit for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC as it's called. It's the latest stop on his nine-day, four-nation tour through Asia.
Now in Japan yesterday he called himself America's first Pacific president. China and South Korea also on his schedule.
It's been nearly a week since the House passed the health care reform bill, and Republicans say some of their best ideas were ignored. Illinois Congressman Mark Kirk lays out two of the major ones in this week's GOP address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARK KIRK, (R) ILLINOIS: We can lower health care costs and provide coverage for Americans who lack insurance by enacting key reforms that already help thousands of families in many states.
First we can start lowering costs by reining in lawsuits in America. We are the most litigious country on earth. Lawsuit reforms can save billions in health care costs alone.
In New Jersey, without lawsuit reform, it cost $5,500 per patient to provide insurance. In California, with some of the strongest lawsuit reforms, insurance costs half as much as it does in New Jersey.
Congress should enhance the effective reforms of many states by enacting lawsuit reforms for our entire country.
Second, Congress should grant the right of each American to buy coverage from any state in the union, especially if you find a plan that has a lower cost or is more flexible for your family or your small business.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, the Senate has been moving slower on health care reform, and it could decide whether to send the debate to the floor this week.
HOLMES: How many of us would have taken this deal in school? You get $20 -- you give your school $20 and you're going to get 20 test points back. Of course you would have taken that deal.
It started as a good idea. It actually happened, though, for a school fundraiser in North Carolina at a middle school there. Sounded like a great idea, people getting involved in it at the school, until a local newspaper got a hold of it and called this "cash for grades." And now the principal has taken an early retirement.
There's a whole lot more to get to on this one. I can't wait to bring in Dr. Steve Perry, CNN education contributor. What is the problem with 20 bucks to go towards your school? You get a few extra points, everybody's happy, Steve.
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: Uh, everything.
HOLMES: Everything is wrong?
PERRY: The fact that we're talking about telling a child that they can improve their grade by giving them any amount of money shows them that we're not valuing education for what it's worth. Sometimes even good-intended parents and professionals can make really bad decisions, and this is a really bad decision.
HOLMES: OK, but for our viewers, put this in perspective. It's $20, you get 20 points, you can ten for one test, ten for another test. In a grand scheme of things it's not going to change your grade that much, but you're saying that's not the point.
PERRY: Who knows what it's going to do to a grade? It doesn't matter if it is or isn't going to do that much to a grade. But it is, it's sending the wrong message. It's sending the wrong message to children that if you have money, then you can improve your status.
What are we teaching our children? This is an opportunity for us to give kudos to the people who are at the state who said enough is enough, stop right here. You all have made a bad decision. Let's turn this thing back and give all these people back their money.
PERRY: Steve, don't we know as well -- I know it's 20 bucks. Maybe some students don't have it, I get you there. But, you know, don't some schools -- you're not necessarily always getting extra credit, students earn extra credit all the time not necessarily doing something related to schoolwork?
Sometimes it's volunteering after school, something as simple as cleaning up the classroom afterwards. They give them for other things.
PERRY: Extra credit like this would be the kind of credit you need for the bank. In a school, the kind of extra credit you need has to tie to the curriculum. What is it in the curriculum that says that giving money makes you a better student?
What we need to do is we need look at how this is connected to what is happening in the classroom. If it's not, then you don't do it. It doesn't matter if the extra credit is volunteering or giving money. The bottom line here is here is a principal and a group of parents who may have been well-intended but clearly misinformed and misdirected.
HOLMES: So would you say we should do away with some of those other things like volunteering that aren't tied to the curriculum? Would you be against those as well? PERRY: I think often school districts say you have to do a certain amount of hours. But children don't understand why they're doing the hours and it doesn't in fact connect to the curriculum and they therefore don't learn anything. You're just pushing kids out there, telling them to volunteer at a soup kitchen or paint a wall or something that's otherwise disconnected from the academic experience.
One of the many reasons schools are failing is because we're not focusing on the very important issues here, which are making sure children can read, write, and compute. This is not about reading, writing, and computing. It's about simply about a quick fix to an issue they seem to have with fundraising.
HOLMES: And do you think the principal should have lost her job over this?
PERRY: No.
HOLMES: No?
PERRY: I think -- I think that the principal should have been talked to. But she seems to have responded to what the parents said. She seems to have taken the parents and gone with it.
Now, I believe that even as principals what we have to do is look at the decision in its totality. Sometimes our parents want to do activities at our school, and I say no. That doesn't really make sense. It's inconsistent with who we are as a school. If you want to do that, do that outside of the auspices of what we do here.
Should she have lost her job? No.
HOLMES: She took an early retirement, I should say.
PERRY: It sounds like she didn't lose her job, she took a retirement.
HOLMES: She took a retirement, but again, it might be just a testament to how desperate some schools are to try to raise some cash these days.
Steve Perry, whose students up there in Connecticut, certainly, are not paying for any grades, your teachers are not for sale.
PERRY: No, sir.
HOLMES: We appreciate you as always. Thank you for being here.
PERRY: Thank you, brother. You take it easy.
NGUYEN: Up next, NASA is moon struck because it finally found water on the moon.
HOLMES: What does that mean exactly moving forward? We'll talk live with one of the scientists. He's coming up right after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right, so it seemed like a crazy science fiction experiment last month when NASA intentionally slammed a satellite into the moon's surface.
HOLMES: Yes. It was a $79 million mission and seems to have paid off. Scientists confirm they have found water.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: So Anthony Colaprete, he joins us on the phone. He's a principal investigator on the mission. It there $79 million worth of water up there?
ANTHONY COLAPRETE, SCIENTIST: There's probably a lot more than that when it's all rolled up, yes.
HOLMES: A lot more. So, how much is there and how significant is the find?
COLAPRETE: Well, in the little hole we made, we're still analyzing the data here, but we definitely have verification that there was water and the little bit of area we looked we have more than 25 gallons worth just in the dirt on earth.
NGUYEN: Wow. That's quite a bit. What does that mean, though? What could that lead to?
COLAPRETE: Well, it could lead to several things. For us in NASA it can be a very valuable resource. And when you asked was it $79 million worth of water, it costs about $10,000 just to lift a pound of anything off the earth. And then if you actually want to land that pound of anything anywhere else like mars or the moon it costs another $10,000 or more.
So any kind of resource you can take advantage of off of the earth's surface could really enable future missions and actually bring cost was down.
Also from a scientific standpoint, there was water, but there was a whole lot more there, too. It really looks like these craters on the -- at the poles of the moon are harboring ancient secrets of past meteors, asteroids, comets, and whatnot. So they're really a time capsule of events that have taken place.
NGUYEN: Could it lead to life up there or a space lab up there?
COLAPRETE: Certainly it could. And that is something that's being considered by the administration right now, reevaluating which direction NASA will go. This is some data that can be used in that process, evaluating where NASA will go in the next couple decades.
NGUYEN: That is pretty exciting.
Thanks so much for helping us break it down and understand what it means when he say NASA has found water on the moon. Anthony Colaprete, thank you for spending a little tie with us.
HOLMES: Exactly. We go from man making small steps to big splashes, I guess, now, on the moon. It's fun, fascinating stuff.
NGUYEN: It really is. And what they can discover from just a little bit of something.
HOLMES: A little something, glad we got him on this morning.
Also coming up, we'll some of the week's most powerful and emotional images of the week's veterans. We'll talk with the woman who helped tell their stories.
NGUYEN: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: OK, we are less than two week ace way from revealing our CNN hero of the year. And we've received more than 9,000 nominations.
HOLMES: Yes, we'll have an independent blue-ribbon panel selecting the top ten for us. We'd like to introduce you to one of those with a little help from singer-songwriter Jewel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEWEL, SINGER/SONGWRITER: Hi, I'm Jewel. Two years ago I had the honor of serving on the blue ribbon panel that helped select the top ten CNN heroes of 2007.
As founder of Project Clean Water which works to improve the quality of life for millions of people by helping to provide clean water around the world, I'm thrilled to help CNN introduce one of this year's top ten honorees.
Now, more than ever, the world needs heroes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I live on the street.
JORGE MUNOZ, CNN HERO: When you're hungry, you're hungry. That's it. Four years ago, I see those guys standing there like they're desperate. They need to eat.
My name is Jorge Munoz, and eery night I bring food to the hungry in Queens, New York. I'm born in Columbia. I'm a school bus driver. When I come back around 5:15, my second job starts.
It's a family project seven days a week. I go to the same corners every night around 9:30. They're waiting for me. I help anyone who needs to eat, just line up.
The best part is when you see their smile. I want them to eat every night. For me it's easy. Compared with them, I'm rich.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very good. Tired, but good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
