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Taliban Claims Responsibility For CIA Deaths; Work vs. Health and Family

Aired January 01, 2010 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Making news right now on your national conversation: Who would let a suicide bomber in to kill seven Americans? A contractor? There's new information.

SEN. JOHN ENSIGN (R), NEVADA: I'm not going to answer your questions. You can ask it all the ways you want to ask it, but I'm not going to answer your questions.

SANCHEZ: Sometimes, it's what politicians don't say that makes news. John Ensign, the interview already going viral on the blogs.

DICK VERMEIL, FORMER NFL HEAD COACH: I thank Lamar, Norma, you people.

SANCHEZ: It is a crying shame that too many of us can't figure out how to balance career, health and family.

SHELLEY MEYER, WIFE OF URBAN MEYER: Urban, Urban, Urban, wake up. Urban.

SANCHEZ: Urban Meyer, meet the man who knows your story too well. Dick Vermeil joins me live.

VERMEIL: We have got so many more years to share.

SANCHEZ: They are cramming in these days to watch the national conversation, where my access becomes your access for the first day of 2010. Let's do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is the next generation of news. This is not a conversation. It's certainly not a speech. It's us talking together, and it's your turn to get involved.

Quickly, let's try and get to some news that came into the newsroom just a little while ago, new details from a horrible suicide bombing that happened a little while ago. This is in Pakistan. I want you to take a look at the wreckage. This is some of the video that we have been getting in. That's what's left of a car that exploded in the middle of a crowd watching a volleyball game on New Year's Day, a volleyball game. It was way up in the northwest part of Pakistan. Police are saying the car was a bomb and the driver killed himself, as well as about 75 other people -- 75 people dead, we're being told. Don't know who did it, but police say that that town was a hub for militant activity until recently.

Again, this is information we learned just as we were getting ready to go on air. So we're going to continue to follow this and if there's any new information on this, we will bring it to you immediately.

Now, look at that. That's something that you won't see very often, flags flying at half staff at Langley, Virginia, the headquarters of the CIA. That's in tribute to the seven Americans, all of them CIA officers, killed by a suicide bomber two days ago in Afghanistan.

A group has now claimed responsibility. No surprise, it's the Taliban. Here's another non-surprise. A CIA official told us today that they fully intend to go after whoever ordered that suicide attack. So many things are wrong with the details of this awful story. It's got us all thinking. The bomber supposedly got past armed guards, walked into a secured base. Come on.

He got close enough to the CIA officers to kill them? I know you're thinking, how did he get in there, right? I have got a lot of questions to ask as well about this.

And the guy who wrote this book is just the man to answer some of those questions. Gary Berntsen wrote "The Practical Guide to Human Intelligence, Counterterrorism and National Leadership."

He's also a former CIA guy and has spent plenty of time in Afghanistan.

Gary, good to see you again, man.

GARY BERNTSEN, AUTHOR, "HUMAN INTELLIGENCE, COUNTERTERRORISM AND NATIONAL LEADERSHIP: A PRACTICAL GUIDE": Hello, Rick.

SANCHEZ: You know, what bothers me and I think bother a lot of Americans is that somebody -- it's looking like -- you tell me -- it looks like somebody let this terrorist in to kill Americans. And I want to know who did that. Do we know? Do we have a good sense or a guess?

BERNTSEN: Well, let me say this, that first off that it's the business of CIA officers, case officers who are in theater in dangerous places to spot, assess, develop and recruit and run sources.

And in the conduct of that, they have contact with dangerous people. You don't want to be recruiting choir boys. You're recruiting people that have contact with militant organizations.

SANCHEZ: That makes sense, right.

BERNTSEN: And by the very nature of their context, they're dangerous.

Now, the senior officer on ground in a country, a chief of station or the chief of base in that particular place, is the person that has the final word on how that person is handled and how the person is accessed and whether the person is searched and all...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Who is that again? Give me that. You said it, but you said it so -- who is the person who has the final say on who comes in and who goes out?

(CROSSTALK)

BERNTSEN: Well, the final say, of course, there would have been the senior agency officer, the chief of that base who sadly lost their life at that facility. That was one of the people that was killed.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Gary, let me ask you this question. This is what would really make me angry if it turns out to be the case, because I think many Americans are starting to get a little tired of hearing about these contractors, non-CIA, non-uniformed soldiers who are over there doing some really important jobs for our country, but oftentimes I'm not quite sure who they answer to.

Is it possible that the person who screwed this up was a contractor?

BERNTSEN: Well, what I would say is this, is that it's very likely that -- well, if you want to address the issue of contractors, let me say this. People who are frequently contractors are either former officers or former military officers...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

BERNTSEN: ... that are themselves highly skilled. Somebody clearly made a mistake. They didn't search this guy before they brought him in. They let him get inside the base before they decided to do the search, exposing this individual to a larger number of group.

Look, as a case officer, when you go face to face with any source, you're at risk. You have to assess this person. You have to decide whether you can trust this person. You have to decide in your interactions you should have checked him out before you met him. You're making decisions all the time.

Enemy intelligence services and terrorist organizations run doubles back at us and they run doubles at us to kill us. And in this particular case, they succeeded. Let me say this also.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Please. BERNTSEN: Right now, lots of other cases are being run successfully against really dangerous cases. The handling of hostiles requires real specific skills. And, sadly, in this case, they failed to practice those skills successfully.

SANCHEZ: They obviously did. Just the idea alone of somebody with a bomb wrapped or tied to them who could go into a place and kill people is frightening, to say the very least. The idea that someone actually let him go in there is beyond frightening. It's very frustrating.

Gary, thanks, as usual, for being with us. We appreciate your time.

BERNTSEN: Pleasure, Rick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Things were so bad that earlier in the year, the Mexican president had to call in the military to help protect the city. For a short time, there was a lull in the violence, but it quickly returned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The number of murders in Juarez, Mexico, last year set an astonishing record, even for that city. Well, you're not going to believe what's going on across the U.S. border today as we get information, not about a Mexican, but an American who has been taken and killed in Mexico. We will bring it to you.

Also, Senator John Ensign in the hot seat, confronted on his ethics, my interview with him already gone viral. Boy, that was fast. I want to you take another look at something from that interview. And I promise, there was no ambush involved.

Also, don't forget the other way that we can participate in this national conversation. Just call us. In the United States, the number is 1-877-742-5751.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Let me tell you something. You haven't heard the last of this one. This came across this morning. Are you ready for this? The federal government, the feds have now joined in an investigation into two professional basketball players, NBA players, who reportedly drew guns in their team's locker room against each other.

Here are the players, Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton. Both play for the Washington Wizards, which is ironic, because the Wizards were called the Bullets before they changed their name to the Wizards for, well, PR reasons.

"The New York Post" is reporting that Arenas drew first after Crittenton claimed Arenas had welched (ph) on a gambling debt. Mind you, this is all happening in an NBA locker room on Christmas Eve. According to published reports, Arenas supposedly pulled his piece. Then Crittenton drew his.

Arenas denies pulling a gun, but you have got the NBA investigating, the D.C. Police Department investigating, and now the U.S. attorney's office is investigating.

Let me -- let me read you a quote. This is unprecedented is what it says, unprecedented in the history of sports. That is from Billy Hunter. He's executive director of the NBA Players Association. Unprecedented is the word that he keeps using. He's right. As I said, we have not heard the last of this story.

In fact, I'm now keeping a list which I'm going to divulge every day of what newsmakers are tweeting and what you're tweeting, so my access becomes your access every single day.

First up in response to the Wizards story we just reported, here's Eric Stangel. Who is Eric Stangel? He's the head comedy writer and producer of "The Late Show With David Letterman." This gives you a sense of what you might be hearing today on the "David Letterman" show.

He writes this: "Two Wizards draw guns in locker room over gambling dispute. Geez, I hope this doesn't hurt the NBA's squeaky- clean image."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARE: There's so much violence that occurs here in Juarez that the world just does not hear about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Well, you're going to be hearing about it. And you're going to see it as well, a day in the life in Juarez, Mexico, more than 2,600 people killed in that U.S. border city last year, and we're going to tell you why it matters today.

And Urban Meyer can learn a thing or two from Dick Vermeil, maybe as much as anyone else. Maybe we can all learn a thing or two from Dick Vermeil. He's going to join me live. And he knows about balancing that drive to succeed with your health and your family, Rick Sanchez. It's an issue that affects all of us, doesn't it?

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Happy new year. I'm Rick Sanchez.

"The Los Angeles Times" writes today about Bobby Salcedo, who is a born and raised Angeleno. Like my parents, his parents were immigrants who pushed him to get education. Bobby did especially well, student body president in high school, master's degree in college, teacher of history and economics, assistant principal, eventually becomes a school board member in El Monte, California.

Earlier this week, while visiting his wife's family in Mexico, he was murdered. While eating in a restaurant, gunmen burst in. They told everybody to hit the floor. And then they took Bobby Salcedo and four other men and they left. All five bodies turned up yesterday morning.

What makes this news is that Bobby is an American. Usually, violence in Mexico is restricted to Mexicans, many, many, many Mexicans -- 2,636 people were killed this past year alone in Juarez.

CNN's Michael Ware takes us on a tour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WARE (voice-over): This footage is difficult to watch, these anguished cries impossible to forget, relatives entering this building seeking the bodies of their loved ones executed by a Mexican drug cartel.

You're witnessing the pain of the Mexican border town of Juarez. The front line in the war on drugs, and this a crime scene I just had to see for myself.

(on camera): There's so much violence that occurs here in Juarez that the world just does not hear about.

And, now, it's disconcerting to see this fresh paint here on these walls as an old woman makes her home in this building, for, just two months ago, this literally was a corridor of blood.

This building had been a drug rehabilitation center. And one of the major cartels suspected that its rivals were recruiting foot soldiers from among the patients. So, they came in this door and down this corridor, moving from room to room to room, executing everyone they found.

While they're now trying to build a home, this is where 17 people died in yet another day of Juarez violence.

(voice-over): Within two days of this attack, the death toll rose even higher, when two survivors died in hospital.

And there is no discrimination to the slaughter. Under these clothes lies a 7-year-old American boy, his father the target, but the hit man chose not to let the child live.

On this day, we're in Juarez to see the horrors for ourselves. It's just before dusk as I approach a fresh crime scene.

(on camera): In Juarez, 1,600 people died from drug-related violence last year. This year, the total's already well over 2,000. And today's total is already at 12.

The man in that car was hit by cartel gunmen, riddled with eight bullets. His passenger tried to flee, but only made it that far. (voice-over): This was yet another afternoon of killing in Juarez, with a night of murder yet to follow.

(on camera): It's only 9: 00. We're now going and joining this police patrol. Since the killings this afternoon that we saw, there's already been another homicide, bringing today's total to 13.

(voice-over): Every night, joint patrols like this one between local and federal police and Mexican soldiers crisscross the city, trying desperately to stem the flow of blood.

(on camera): Things were so bad that, earlier in the year, the Mexican president had to call in the military to help protect the city. For a short time, there was a lull in the violence, but it quickly returned. And now it's worse than it's ever been before.

(voice-over): By now, it's close to 10: 00 p. m. , and the reports of violence are streaming in over the police radio.

(on camera): The patrollers just received another call on the radio. there's some kind of incident. But those lights there, that's America. It's the U.S. border. This reminds you just how close this war on drugs is being fought to American soil.

(voice-over): But, before the night is over, there is even more carnage to come, all this in our one afternoon and evening visit to this deadly city.

(on camera): This time, it's almost too much to bear. It's just after 11: 00. And where you see those policemen gathered at that door, there's just been four more slayings, this time all women.

The early reports are that a gunman walked in that door and executed all of them, one of them a 12-year-old girl, another one 14, and, in a gut-wrenching irony, all of this done with the American border crossing just here, 80 yards away.

There can be no more pertinent reminder of the Mexican blood that's being spilt in this war for the right to supply America's demand for illicit drugs.

Michael Ware, CNN, Juarez, Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ENSIGN: I'm not going to answer your questions. You can ask it all the ways you want to ask it, but I'm not going to answer your questions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Senator Ensign stepped into the hot seat, and I did what I was supposed to do, so why are some blogs calling this an ambush interview? You're going to hear it for yourself and I will let you decide.

Also, this popular and successful ex-football coach knows something about family and healthy living. If you work under pressure, you will want to hear what Dick Vermeil has to say. That's his son right there, by the way. And that's the point he's trying to make. Stay with me. I'm going to be right back. I'm looking forward to this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

I want to set the record straight on something. Several political blogs have characterized my interview with Senator John Ensign as an ambush. That's the word I read a couple of times.

Not true. Senator Ensign was made aware that no subject, no subject was off the table when he sat down for the interview with me New Year's Eve, nothing off the table, including this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Senator Ensign, you see, is embroiled in a scandal that involves much more than sex and cheating. He's admitted he had an affair with his best friend's wife. That's Cynthia Hampton, his campaign treasurer, who just happened to be the wife of his Senate staffer Doug Hampton, the tall guy in the picture.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I should mention that Hampton is now a former friend and former staffer.

Senator Ensign is a family values conservative, who, by the way, voted to impeach President Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Even so, his affair is his business. It's ugly, but, look, that's his business, not ours.

Here's what is not just his business. It's not just his business when the Justice Department is involved and the Senate Ethics Committee is involved, both looking into whether Senator Ensign helped get Doug Hampton lobbying gigs and then did favors for Hampton's clients. That's his mistress's husband we're talking about.

Was the senator trying to get his mistress' husband out of the way, and was he willing to violate rules to do so? That's what I wanted to know. Why? Because it's my job to ask tough questions. Simple as that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I know this is a very difficult thing for you. And I appreciate you being on here and doing this interview and I know you have always been as much as you can be an upright guy.

But you are under, it seems to me that you're under an -- well, let me ask the question. Are you under an investigation right now by the Senate Ethics Committee and/or the Justice Department?

ENSIGN: Well, you know, we -- I will let those folks speak for themselves. You know, Rick, I have been dealing with health care reform. My state has over 12 percent unemployment rate, we have two wars going on, these latest terrorist attacks. There are so many other bigger issues. I have commented all I needed to comment on those kinds of things. I was elected to do a job as a senator.

SANCHEZ: Well, but hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, I have got to stop you there, because if there is a possibility -- here let me show the viewers what we're talking about. This is a picture of you and Doug Hampton. This is from The New York Times Web site right here.

And the question has to be asked, Senator, did you help him to get a job because you felt bad for him or because you had been sleeping with his wife and you wanted to get him out of the way?

ENSIGN: Listen, Rick, I have commented all I was going to comment on that. And I -- you know, we told you when we were going to come on here that I'm going to be focused on health care, I'm going to be focused on the economy. My state is hurting right now as badly as any state in the country. And I'm focused on doing everything I can to help Nevada.

SANCHEZ: But here is the problem with that, and I understand that.

ENSIGN: And that's what I'm going to focus on.

SANCHEZ: No...

ENSIGN: So I am not going to answer your question. You can it all of the ways you want to ask it, but I'm not going to answer your question.

SANCHEZ: But here is the problem. There is a law that says that someone who is an aide for a senator like yourself has to wait one year before they start lobbying. There is reason to believe, Senator -- in fact, a lot of reason to believe here that Doug Hampton, who was your aide, was lobbying within that one year.

If that is the case, sir, that is an illegality, and something that you own an explanation to your constituents about if you had any involvement in either that lobbying or helping him get those lobbying gigs.

ENSIGN: Right. Rick, that -- first of all, that is his problem, that is not my problem. But at the same time I'm not going to answer any of the questions, because I am focused on doing my job right now. All of that stuff will take care of itself over time. We have said we will cooperate with any investigations, and -- but at this moment, I'm just going to focus on being the best senator that I can be for my state.

SANCHEZ: By the way, you just said though that that was his problem and not your problem, but doesn't it become your problem if you arranged meetings for him to A, get those jobs, and then, B, set up meetings after he had the lobbying jobs with people that he would be lobbying? Wouldn't that -- wouldn't that kind of link you somehow to this?

ENSIGN: Rick, I know you want to get into this, and I have told you before that I have spoken all I need to speak on this. And everything will take care of itself over time. I have -- no question, I have made statements in the past that I will fully cooperate, have in the past, and will continue to cooperate with any investigations that go on.

But I really need to just focus on doing my job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Once again, for the record, it's illegal for former aides to take jobs as lobbyists within a year, because there could be conflicts of interest, obviously enough.

Both the Senate Ethics Committee and Justice are, according to credible information, investigating this. That is why I asked those questions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VERMEIL: So many more years to share.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Remember those emotional retirement announcements from popular NFL coach Dick Vermeil a few years back? I wonder what he would say to Florida's Urban Meyer about balancing work with health and family life. I'm going to ask him. We have got him live.

Hey, I could probably use a little advice on that myself, coach, so I'm looking forward to talking to you.

Dick Vermeil -- when I come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)