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American Morning

Man in Thailand Confesses to JonBenet Ramsey Death; Military Recruiters Criticized for High Pressure Tactics; Lebanese Refugees Head Home

Aired August 17, 2006 - 08:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to the program. I'm Miles O'Brien.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Carol Costello, in for Soledad.

O'BRIEN: A stunning turn in a decade-old mystery. A 41-year-old school teacher, an American, John Mark Karr, arrested in Thailand. He admits he had a role in the death of JonBenet Ramsey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: We're from the Associated Press, can you give us a brief statement, please?

QUESTION: Are you innocent?

JOHN MARK KARR, SUSPECT: I loved JonBenet, and she died accidentally.

QUESTION: Are you an innocent man? Are you an innocent man?

KARR: No.

QUESTION: What happened?

KARR: Um, her death was an accident.

QUESTION: So you were in the basement?

KARR: Yes.

QUESTION: Can you tell us about your connection to the Ramsey family?

KARR: Um, no comment.

QUESTION: How did you get into the basement?

KARR: No comment.

QUESTION: And how do you feel now? How are you being treated?

KARR: Um, I'm being treated OK.

QUESTION: How well had you known JonBenet?

KARR: No comment on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena in Washington. She's been working on this.

Kelli, it's interesting, he admitted he -- he said it was an accident, but essentially he admitted he killed JonBenet Ramsey. But then when asked how do you know the Ramseys, he said no comment.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right.

O'BRIEN: Interesting way of deciding what to talk about and what not to talk about.

ARENA: Mm-hmm.

O'BRIEN: Do we know anything about links between Karr and the Ramseys?

ARENA: No, Miles. Yesterday, JonBenet's dad was asked whether or not he knew Karr. He said no. His lawyer was also asked whether the Ramseys knew about Karr. He said look, I don't want to go there, I'm not going to make any statement one way or the other. So we really do not know what brought these two individuals together. But Miles, I mean, I've seen that video several times now, and it's still -- it's just -- it's fascinating to watch him.

O'BRIEN: And it makes your blood run cold.

ARENA: Yes!

O'BRIEN: It's just unbelievable. Do we know -- he's described as quite a traveler, rather itinerant. He's coming in and out of Thailand, Malaysia. But do we know about his whereabouts, more importantly, relevant to this case, in day after Christmas, 1996?

ARENA: Well, according to his ex-wife, she says that they were living in Alabama at the time, that she says she spent much of the holiday season with him. That seems to match the documents that we were able to dig up in terms of, you know, trying to track down his addresses. You know, we had his name, his date of birth, so on. That's what we know, you know. How he got from spending the holidays with his ex-wife to being with JonBenet when she died, hopefully we'll get some answers today.

O'BRIEN: Well, and we should point out to people -- let's remind them that JonBenet Ramsey was, as 6-year-olds go, relatively famous in certain circles...

ARENA: Sure.

O'BRIEN: ... in beauty pageants. So it's possible there was some sort of connection that way. What's interesting about this -- we're starting to see some threads here. There's a report in the "Denver Post," which I'm sure you've seen this morning, that he was actually having a correspondence with a journalism professor at the University of Colorado who was doing documentaries on JonBenet. And over time, became an interest to an obsession to something very troubling, or something along those lines.

ARENA: Right. Well, both his ex-wife and his brother say that he was sort of this would-be author that had this obsession with crimes against children. We were told last night by several law enforcement officials that he had contacted, repeatedly contacted, someone in Boulder, Colorado, who eventually went to authorities. And today, as you said, it does look like it was this journalism professor, as quoted by the "Denver Post" this morning.

It all sort of fits together. That is exactly what we were told last night. So, you know, obviously, his emails -- and we were told as well that the email chain was very important in this investigation. So obviously, the emails got a little more interesting and you know, scary, as they went on, that made this person, you know, go to law enforcement and say hey, something's very bizarre here.

O'BRIEN: And the Associated Press reporting this morning that he actually wrote letters to Patsy Ramsey, which apparently she reportedly read before she passed away. The profiler I talked to just a little while ago sounds it sounds like BTK to him.

ARENA: Right, well, you know, we heard a lot of that in talking to investigators. And, you know, I'll tell you, the one thing that I've been told repeatedly is that -- you know, because you hear this after ten years and you say, where did this guy come from? And, you know, this is just amazing. And you say, you know something? You know, somebody who's holding a secret like that for so long will eventually break. They'll eventually do something and become so obsessed with it, that they'll eventually let somebody know or lead investigators right to them. In this case, at least, it seems to be what happened.

O'BRIEN: And perhaps most troubling as this goes on, are there other crimes?

ARENA: Exactly. This guy was a teacher, you know, he -- a father of three boys. I mean, obviously around other children. So, yes. I mean, that is always the fear whenever you do any of those stories, Miles. It just makes you sick.

O'BRIEN: Indeed. Kelli Arena in Washington, thank you.

ARENA: You're welcome.

(NEWSBREAK)

O'BRIEN: The Israelis are moving out of southern Lebanon. Lebanese troops are heading in, and hundreds of thousands of refugees of the month-long war are traveling a rocky, cratered road back home. That is, if there is a home at all waiting for them. There are a lot of people with a lot of pressing needs. And fortunately, there are people like David Holdridge, there to help. He is the Middle East program director for Mercy Corps. He joins us from Beirut.

Mr. Holdridge, good to have you with us. If you could just give us the 35,000-foot overview of where the problems are and how many people are in jeopardy.

DAVID HOLDRIDGE, MERCY CORPS: Well, you know, we had about a quarter of the population of Lebanon move up from south of Beirut and move up to the hills east of Beirut and north of there. And now we're seeing in a very short time the same number of people move back to the south, and it's overwhelming. I was up in the hills yesterday, where we had worked for about four weeks trying to give sustenance and protection to these displaced people, and it's empty.

It's just like someone -- as if someone had pulled the plug up there, and these sleepy little villages are once again sleepy little villages. The roads going south are another story. It's bumper-to- bumper. It's often over secondary roads. It's going up into orchards or down into creeks, into creek beds, to get around places where the Israeli Air Force hit, get around craters. Then getting back home. It's very, very situation depending upon where they're going.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Holdridge, as you've been talking, we've been seeing just crushing pictures, literally and figuratively, of people walking through the rubble of what was once their homes. Do you have any do at this point how many people are homeless and what can be done to give them some immediate shelter and provide for them?

HOLDRIDGE: Well, overall, I mean, it's estimated by NGOs like Mercy Corps, working with UNHCR, there's between 10,000 and 15,000 houses that are not habitable now. And if you think in terms of about six to eight persons per house, that gives you a rough idea of how many people are there that need the basics -- food, water, and in some cases tents. We were right next to Kiam (ph), a town where we used to work on develop projects until about five weeks ago. And I asked my buddy there when we were looking at it, you know, can we put this back together again? It's clearly no. I mean, that town will be bulldozed over and a new town will have to be built in its place.

O'BRIEN: Wow. Let me ask you a question -- can I ask -- Mr. Holdridge, I'm about to run out of time. I do have to ask you one more question, if I could. I apologize for interrupting you. The question of Hezbollah. Hezbollah is -- depending on how you look at it -- is a military operation, a political party, or if you're the United States and Israel, a terrorist organization. In order for you to get aide to these people, do you have to work with Hezbollah, and do you have any qualms about doing that?

HOLDRIDGE: No, don't have to work with Hezbollah. We should know what Hezbollah's doing. Beyond the other aspects of Hezbollah, they're also a social movement. They're fast off the ground and they're providing assistance to people in South Lebanon. We should know what we're doing so that we're not redundant, but there's so much work down there for all parties that are addressing these needs, that we've got more than enough work for us to do, particularly in those areas where we used to work in Napitee (ph) and Margeyun (ph). O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much for that explanation. David Holdridge, who is the Middle East program director of Mercy Corps. And before you get away, I want to make sure everybody here knows how you can help out not just Mercy Corps, but other worthy causes. Mercy Corps can be reached at 888-256-1900. UNICEF, another good one, 800-4UNICEF. And then of course the International Red Cross. We invite you go to their Web site, which is www.icrc.org. And one way or another, you can help out in this growing humanitarian crisis in Southern Lebanon -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Still come, the stunning confession in the killing of JonBenet Ramsey. We'll talk to JonBenet's aunt to find out how the family's dealing with the news.

O'BRIEN: Plus, the military struggling to fill its ranks, but did it cross the line to do that? Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: These days, Uncle Sam really wants you. But some recruits are crying uncle over recruiters using high-pressure tactics. We recruited AMERICAN MORNING's Dan Lothian to find out what it's like to convince young men and women to serve their country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sergeant Mark Wood is searching for the Army's next soldier.

SGT. MARK WOOD, U.S. ARMY RECRUITER: Hi, Matt. My name is Sergeant Wood. I'm with the Army.

LOTHIAN: He tracks down college student Matt Osward (ph) in a suburb south of Boston.

WOOD: See if you'd like to sit down and maybe learn about it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't right now. I'm packing for a trip.

LOTHIAN: The 18-year-old says he respects the Army, but doesn't appear ready to make a move. Sergeant Wood promises to stay in touch.

WOOD: Matt, I'm going to give you a call soon.

LOTHIAN: He spreads his message on the street and on the phone.

WOOD: United States Army Sergeant Wood. How are you doing?

LOTHIAN: But his pitch isn't always welcomed.

WOOD: It's challenging, because you talk to so many people, and you do get told no a lot.

LOTHIAN: Going to war is one reason. Potential recruits know it's no longer just a possibility, it's a virtual certainty. (on camera): But recruiters also face another challenge, convincing parents who are reminded on almost a daily basis what the decision to sign up could mean to their family.

WOOD: Obviously, parents are protective of their child, your children, and there is a sense of hesitation.

LOTHIAN: The U.S. military has been struggling to meet its goals. Now a GAO report finds an increase in wrongdoing among recruiters from 2004 to 2005. Determined to find ways to succeed in a challenging recruiting environment, the report says, some recruiters reportedly have resorted to overly aggressive tactics, such as coercion and harassment.

In response, the Defense Department agreed that even one incident of recruiter wrongdoing can erode public confidence in DoD's recruiting process.

Sergeant Wood, who promotes the benefits of the Army on telephone poles and inside local schools, says being open and honest, even about war, is the only approach.

WOOD: We tell them the truth. There's no way to hide it. There's no way that we want to hide it.

LOTHIAN: Twenty-three-year-old Argenis Mendez just signed up for the Army, undeterred by the process of going to war.

ARGENIS MENDEZ, U.S. ARMY RECRUIT: We don't hope for it, but that's the way it goes. So backing down, if I would have been afraid about the war, I would never have been signing up for it.

LOTHIAN: Just what recruiters are looking for as they search for the next person to sign up.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Quincy, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Coming up, we're "Minding Your Business." Should Starbucks be called Starbugs? Seems the coffee chain is getting a bad rap with some of its employees in one major city. Ooh, it ain't a pretty story. We'll explain.

And breaking the glass ceiling at Avon. Find out why the Avon Lady is slowly giving way to the Avon guy. That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: There it is. That's the Miles cam, sans Miles. I'm Miles. I'm here, not there. That's my office. Could be a little neater, I must confess. In any case, it is Miles Cam day. It's been on a little hiatus while I took a little break, sat by the lake.

But now's your opportunity to release that pent-up demand for emails. Send the emails now, am@CNN.com. Ask me about anything you'd like. Carol's hair seems to be a topic this morning.

COSTELLO: It's a hot topic this morning.

O'BRIEN: More seriously, news coverage. Perhaps you want to ask a question about JonBenet Ramsey and the way we've covered that story over the past ten years. We'll take all comers. Am@CNN.com is the place for emails. 10:30 on Pipeline, CNN.com/pipeline, is where you get the answers on the Miles Cam.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

O'BRIEN: A look at the top stories after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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