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Deadliest Month for U.S. Troops in Afghanistan; Military Leak Investigation; Troops Die, Insurers Profit

Aired July 30, 2010 - 12:00   ET

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

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Drew Griffin.

Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen. It usually does.

Here are some of the top stories we're tracking for you right now.

Recharging America's auto industry. The president expected to make live comments. He is in Detroit. We're going to bring those comments to you when they happen.

Fraud investigation. New York's attorney general saying the insurance industry preying on grieving military families.

We're online right now, and we are too.

Josh Levs following the top stories trending on the Internet.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can stay home and send a robot to work. It's the robot that actually goes to your cubicle or wherever you work. Getting a ton of traffic now on CNN.com.

And only a few days left to nominate a hero, a CNN Hero for 2010. All the details on this at CNNHeroes.com -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Boy, if the robot works, the inventor is my hero.

Let's get started with our lead story, though, the rising U.S. death toll in Afghanistan.

Three more American soldiers died, two different explosions, bringing this month's death toll alone to 63. That makes this the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since this war began almost nine years ago.

Let's get to CNN's Atia Abawi in Kabul.

Atia, what should we glean from this terrible number, that the death toll now in this particular month is the highest it's been in nine years?

ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Drew, before we get to that, I want to actually update you. It's actually been six U.S. service members killed today. A NATO press release came out just about an hour ago stating three ISAF service members were killed, and then ISAF did confirm that they were also Americans.

Five out of the six Americans were killed in three separate IED explosions, improvised explosive devices, and one by small arms fire within the insurgency. And all in southern Afghanistan.

Now, going back to your question, what we can actually associate with this rise in number is, unfortunately, this was grimly predicted last year when the new strategy was put into place, President Obama's strategy calling for a troop surge. And also, a new tactical directive put in by the NATO command here in Afghanistan, mainly to protect civilian lives, because it was those loss of civilian lives that had been losing the war when it comes to the Afghan people. And NATO knew that they needed to bring back that support if they're going to have any success in Afghanistan, because no war has been won in the country without the support of the Afghan people.

Unfortunately, when you do bring more service members into a country, that does increase the fighting. And, of course, we've got to go back to these IEDs, these improvised explosive devices, the number one choice for the insurgency here in Afghanistan, because it's so effective. Over 80 percent of all NATO forces killed in the country are because of these roadside bombs -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: Atia, it's kind of like watching the economy for signs of any kind of recovery. And it can be interpreted any which way.

You said the heart of the matter is, are the Afghan people with or not with the current government and the United States? And I'm going to ask you that flatly here. Nine years later, six soldiers killed now this month.

Where are we heading?

ABAWI: Well, that's the big question. And it really does depend on who you talk to.

We talk about being here for nine years, but we have to remember that large gap where Afghanistan became the forgotten war, where all the attention, including the media attention -- we went, as well. We went to Iraq, and Afghanistan was forgotten.

People didn't pay attention to the Afghan government. People didn't pay attention to the guys on the ground here.

I remember seeing an interview from one soldier a few years back, at the height of the Iraq War, and he was here in Afghanistan, and he was fighting a tough fight. And I remember him saying that he wishes he was in Iraq, because even if he died in Iraq, at least people would care where he was. And when you talk to the diplomats, when you talk to the NATO command here, when you talk to the guys on the ground, they'll tell you that the real focus on Afghanistan, the real fight, really only began about a year ago.

GRIFFIN: Atia, thanks for that. You're there, we're here. We're asking questions. We'll stay on it. Thank you so much for keeping us updated on this situation, Afghanistan. Turning now to the military leak investigation. The 22-year-old Army private suspected of disclosing classified reports from the war in Afghanistan is behind bars at a Marine Corps brig in Virginia.

Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr has that report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Private 1st Class Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old military intelligence analyst suspected in this case, has now been moved from a military detention facility in Kuwait, a U.S. military facility, to the U.S. Marine Corps brig at Quantico, Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C. This is a signal he is likely to remain in military confinement for some time as the military justice proceeding moves forward.

Right now, an Article 32 investigation, the equivalent, if you will, of a grand jury proceeding in the civilian world. Manning could potentially face a full courts-martial proceeding.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates saying there are severe consequences of this massive leak of classified information. Although it's old and relatively low-level classified, he believes it gives the Taliban a roadmap to U.S. military tactics in the field. But it was Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who had the most severe words.

ADM. MIKE MULLEN, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: And I think we always need to be mindful of the unknown potential for damage in any particular document that we handle. Mr. Assange can say whatever he likes about the greater good he thinks he and his source are doing, but the truth is, they might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or that of an Afghan family.

STARR: The investigation has now clearly moved beyond the U.S. military. Gates has called in FBI Director Robert Mueller. They are looking for any potential accomplices or other suspects in the civilian world. The FBI will take that on.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: And we're going to have more on this story in just a few minutes. I'm going to talk to the former Internet hacker who tipped off the Pentagon about Bradley Manning. More on that in a little while.

Another story, though, that is really upsetting. New York's attorney general accusing the life insurance industry of ripping off grieving military families in his state. He says millions of dollars that should be going to those families, instead going to interest- bearing accounts for the insurance industry.

CNN Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff joins us from New York.

Allan, say it isn't so. I mean, it's hard to believe this even could happen.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Drew, let's put this in perspective.

We're actually looking here at a dispute over standard operating procedure in the life insurance industry. The New York attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, is saying it appears and he is investigating this issue of whether or not life insurance companies are actually withholding payments from families of those who have died serving our country.

Let's look at what he said himself. "The insurance industry appears to be hoarding millions that belong to military families whose loved ones have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country."

Now, what is Cuomo talking about with regard to hoarding? Well, Prudential Financial is the precise life insurance company that has a contract with the military. In fact, they have been dealing with the military for more than four decades on this very issue.

And what they do when somebody does die during service, the heirs will receive letters, they'll receive a packet of information. And in that packet, there will be a notification that says you can receive a lump sum.

Let's have a look at that graphic. You'll see the letter there.

It also says you can receive a personal interest-bearing account giving you full access to your money. You may write out one check for the entire amount and close the account.

So it's clear there in the letter. But, of course, when somebody dies in the family, well, it's not a time that so many people want to analyze letters like this, go through so many documents. It can be confusing.

What I'm saying is, is that Prudential, rather than simply writing out a big lump sum check, will establish this account. It's called an alliance account. The money will be there and it will earn only one half of one percent interest.

Meanwhile, while the money is there, Prudential is free to actually use it for its own investments. And clearly, a company like Prudential can earn much more than one half of one percent.

Now, Prudential says this is a very secure, conservative option. Nobody is being told you have to keep the money there. You have full access. You can move it elsewhere to get a higher interest rate.

However, the VA did receive a complaint from one woman who lost her son. The VA says this is the very first complaint that they have received of 10,000 families using this kind of an account, but it is taking it very seriously. And Prudential executives are meeting with the VA today to discuss this very issue.

GRIFFIN: You said it was standard operating procedure. So I guess that would apply to just about anybody with a life insurance policy. Correct?

CHERNOFF: It applies to you, it applies to me. These are the simple facts.

The insurance industry makes lots and lots of money by trying to hold on to as much money as they possibly can. When we die, they will tell our heirs, you know what? We can hold on to that money for a little bit. If you want it, you can have it, but we can also give it to you over a span of years.

And in doing so, the insurance industry will be able to keep that money and invest it, as well. So they have a benefit to holding on to the money, but they're not forcing anyone -- Drew.

GRIFFIN: I've got to be skeptical about it. Standard operating procedure, it just might not be the right thing to do. But thanks, Allan, for explaining that. And now we've informed our viewers that they have this option to look for.

All right. Thanks.

Allan Chernoff in New York.

Well, President Obama minutes away from giving a speech to auto workers in Detroit. He's also going to get a look at the next generation in electric cars.

We'll have that live for you. You can see they're getting ready there.

First, though, our "Random Moment" is 90 seconds away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: It has been more than three weeks since LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat, and there are still enough furious fans in Cleveland to make today's "Random Moment."

Check out this guy at the Indians/Yankees game Wednesday night. He came to the game wearing a Miami Heat LeBron James jersey. He was greeted with loud boos and other things, too.

Hundreds of fans started heckling him. He inspired so much anger, that security actually ejected him from the stadium, saying they were protecting him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: We're talking about life after the oil leak. BP's incoming CEO, Bob Dudley, laying out the future of his company's cleanup and relief operations all along the Gulf Coast. He is in little Biloxi, Mississippi, today.

Among other things, he says BP is setting up a $100 million fund to support oil workers who don't have jobs because of the Obama administration moratorium right now on deepwater drilling.

Another key concern for the coast, getting the claim checks in the mail sooner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB DUDLEY, COO, BP: We have been asked by the White House to transfer the claims process to an independent facility, which will happen sometime before the end of August. But we need to get this moving as fast as we can. We have written about 80,000 checks, more than a quarter of a billion dollars. Realize it's not perfect and there is more to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: The outgoing chief executive, Tony Hayward, defending his leadership now in the aftermath of the disaster. His first interview he gave to "The Wall Street Journal." Hayward tells The Journal that, "I became a villain for doing the right thing. But I understand that people find it easier to vilify an individual more than a company."

Tony Hayward.

Getting back to the military leak investigation, a key informant in that case is a former Internet hacker. His name is Adrian Lamo. He tipped off authorities about the 22-year-old Army intelligence analyst suspected of being the source of the WikiLeaks documents. He joins me now live from Sacramento, California.

Adrian, thanks for joining us to talk about this. I know that you have been under a lot of stress lately.

Why don't you explain to our viewers, number one, how you were in contact with Manning. And number two, why you basically turned him in.

ADRIAN LAMO, FMR. INTERNET HACKER: Well, thank you for having me.

And my contact with Manning was, as Bob Dylan would put it, a simple twist of fate. I had posted a message on Twitter encouraging individuals who had downloaded my documentary illegally to donate money to WikiLeaks. At the time, I believed that they were a legitimate organization. And it was that particular post that caused --

GRIFFIN: Adrian -- excuse me, Adrian. We have to break in right now. We're getting to the president. He's making a speech in Detroit.

Let's take a listen right now at the auto plant.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is good -- it's good to be back. Good to be back.

(APPLAUSE)

First of all, give it up -- give it up to Leah for that wonderful introduction.

(APPLAUSE)

We've got -- we've got some special guests here that I want to acknowledge, first of all, your secretary of transportation, who has helped to make sure that we are guiding this process of - of rebuilding the American auto industry and is doing an outstanding job, from Peoria, Illinois, Secretary Ray LaHood. Give him a big round of applause.

(APPLAUSE)

Because of a funeral, she couldn't be here, but I want everybody to big -- give a huge round of applause to one of the best governors in very tough times that -- that -- that exists anywhere in the country, Jennifer Granholm. She's doing a great job.

(APPLAUSE)

Your outstanding new mayor and, close to my heart, NBA Hall-of- Famer, Dave Bing is in the house.

(APPLAUSE)

Two of the hardest-working senators anywhere -- and they are always thinking about Michigan and Michigan manufacturing, making stuff right here in the United States of America -- Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow.

(APPLAUSE)

Outstanding member of Congress, Representative Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick.

(APPLAUSE)

UAW President Bob King is in the house.

(APPLAUSE)

And Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne.

(APPLAUSE)

Sergio is modest. He doesn't stand up. But he's doing a great job.

So I just had a tour of this outstanding plant with Sergio and Pat Walsh, your plant manager, a General Holiefield. Now, that's a name right there, General Holiefield, vice president of the UAW.Cynthia Holland, your local UAW president.

(APPLAUSE) And it was great to see the work that you're doing and the cars that you're building, especially when you consider the fact that, just over a year ago, the future here seemed very much in doubt.

Now, before -- before I make my remarks, I've got to disclose, I'm a little biased here because the first new car that I ever bought was a Grand Cherokee...

(APPLAUSE)

... first new car. Up until that point, I had some old beat-up used car. You know, that -- they were not state of the art. And I still remember walking into that showroom and -- and driving out with that new car, it had that new car smell, and everything worked.

(LAUGHTER)

I wasn't used to that. Had all these -- everything was electronic. And I had -- all my -- I had to roll up my windows up until that point. So -- so I've got some good memories of that car.

But I've got to tell you, when I sat in this car, this is a better car. This is a state-of-the-art car. This is a world-class car right here.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, I want everybody to think about where we were. We were in the midst, when I took office, of a deep and painful recession that cost our economy about 8 million jobs -- 8 million jobs -- and took a terrible toll on communities like this one. Our economy was shrinking about 6 percent per quarter.

Now, this morning we learned that our economy grew by 2.4 percent in the second quarter of the year, so that means it's now been growing again for one full year. Our economy is growing again instead of shrinking.

(APPLAUSE)

And that's a welcome sign compared to where we were. But we've got to keep on increasing that rate of growth and keep adding jobs so we can keep moving forward. And that's especially important for places like this.

In the 12 months before I took office, the American auto industry lost hundreds of thousands of jobs. Sales plunged 40 percent. Think about that. The industry looked like it was going over a cliff.

And as the financial crisis and the vicious recession collided with an industry that for too long had avoided hard choices and hadn't fully adapted to changing times, we finally reached the point where two of the big three, Chrysler and G.M., were on the brink of liquidation.

And that left us with very few choices. One choice, one option was to keep the practice of giving billions of dollars of taxpayer money to the auto industry but not really forcing any accountability or change. So you just keep on kicking the tough problems down the road, year after year, and hopefully seeing if you can get more and more money out of Washington.

A second option was to do nothing and risk allowing two of the big three to disintegrate, and that could have meant the end of an industry that like no other industry represents so much of what makes up the American spirit. This industry's been the source of deep pride for generations of American workers whose imaginations led to some of the finest cars the world has ever known and whose sweat builds a middle class that has held up the dreams of millions of our people.

I just met one of your co-workers on a line. He's third generation working at Chrysler. His grandfather worked at Chrysler. His father worked at Chrysler. Now he's on the line at Chrysler. And that could have all vanished.

Now, the worst thing about it is that, if we had done nothing, not only were your jobs gone, but supplier jobs were gone, and dealership jobs were gone, and the communities that depend on them would have been wiped out. And, by the way, when you talk to the CEO of Ford, he'll tell you that that wouldn't have been good for Ford, either, because a lot of those suppliers that they depend on might have gone out of business.

Independent estimates suggest that more than 1 million jobs could have been lost if Chrysler and G.M. had liquidated. And in the middle of a deep recession, that would have been a brutal, irreversible shock, not just to Detroit, not just to the Midwest, but to our entire economy.

So I refused to let that happen. And we came up with a third way. What we said was, if you're willing to take the tough and painful steps necessary to make yourselves more competitive, if you're willing to pull together -- workers, management, suppliers, dealers, everybody -- to remake yourself for changing times, then we'll standby you and we'll invest in your future.

Our strategy was to get this company and this industry back onits feet, taking a hands-off approach, saying, "You guys know the business. We don't. We're going to give you a chance, but we do knowyou've got to change."

Now, not surprisingly, a lot of folks were skeptical. You remember last year. A lot of folks were saying, "Well, this is stupid. We shouldn't be helping them."

And I understand that. Look, this was a hard decision. I didn't want government to get into the auto business. I've got enough to do.

(LAUGHTER)

And the politics of it weren't good. You know, your delegation was supportive, but Debbie and Carl and Carolyn and others, they'll tell you, there were a lot of folks in Washington who said it couldn't be done.

But I believed that if each of us were willing to work and sacrifice in the short term -- workers, management, creditors, shareholders, retirees, communities -- it could mark a new beginning for a great American industry. And if we could summon that sense of teamwork and common purpose, we could once again see the best cars in the world designed, engineered, forged, and built right here in Detroit, right here in the Midwest, right here in the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

So I place that faith in you and all of America's auto workers. And you've vindicated that belief. The fact that we're standing in this magnificent factory today is a testament to the decisions we made and the sacrifices that you and countless stakeholders across this industry and this country were willing to make.

So today this industry is growing stronger. It's creating new jobs. It's manufacturing the fuel-efficient cars and trucks that will carry us towards an energy-independent future. You are proving the naysayers wrong, all of you.

(APPLAUSE)

They thought it would be impossible for your company to make the kind of changes necessary to restore fiscal discipline and move towards viability. Today, for the first time since 2004, all three U.S. automakers are operating at a profit, first time in six years.

(APPLAUSE)

Last year, sales plummeted and manufacturers and suppliers across the country were forced to idle plants and furlough workers. Today, Chrysler is responding to more demand than anticipated by keeping this plant and others running through the usual summer shutdown.

And the same goes for G.M.'s plants. Sales have rebounded across the supply chain. Plants that wouldn't exist without the sacrifices made across this industry are running at nearly full capacity.

Last year, many thought this industry would keep losing jobs as it had for the better part of the past decade. Today, U.S. automakers have added 55,000 jobs since last June, the strongest job growth in more than 10 years in the auto industry.

(APPLAUSE)

This plant just hired a new shift of 1,100 workers last week.

(APPLAUSE)

I met one of your co-workers on -- on the line. He said, "Thank you, Mr. President. I needed to get out of the house."

(LAUGHTER) I said, "I know. Your wife really felt that way. I'm sure you were driving her crazy."

The Dundee Chrysler plant will begin production of an American- made advanced technology fuel-efficient engine this December.

(APPLAUSE)

The Sterling Heights Chrysler plant that was scheduled to close after 2012 will stay open and add a second shift of 900 workers next year.

(APPLAUSE)

And when -- when -- when a plant thrives, that doesn't just affect the new workers. That affects the entire community.

Now, it also helped that we took steps to stimulate demand, steps like Cash for Clunkers, which said if you traded your old car in for anew, more fuel-efficient model, you'd get a rebate. That program was good for automakers, it was good for consumers, but you know what? It was also good for the environment. It was more successful than we ever imagined, and it saved at least 100,000 jobs, giving dealerships sales numbers they hadn't had in years and communities an economic boost they wouldn't have otherwise seen.

So there's no doubt that the auto industry is growing strong. But, look, the hard truth is, this industry lost a lot of jobs in recent years. Some of those jobs aren't coming back, partly because automakers have become so much more efficient than they used to be. This -- this is a lean, mean operation.

And so there are people who've still lost their jobs, haven't been hired back, and it wasn't their fault. Mistakes were made in managing the company that weren't theirs.

So that's why we still have also got to make targeted investments to encourage new private-sector manufacturing growth. We've got to encourage clean energy. That's why we're taking steps to help communities revitalize and redevelop old shuttered auto facilities, preparing them for new industries and new jobs and new opportunities.

I'll give you an example. Those -- those investments that we're making are helping to create an entire new advanced battery industry take root right here in Michigan. That industry was producing only 2percent of the world's advanced batteries last year, but by 2015, we expect to produce 40 percent of the advanced batteries that go into our cars.

(APPLAUSE)

And we're going to do it right here in Michigan, all across the Midwest. Investments like those mean jobs for American workers to do what they've always done: build great products and sell them around the world. So the bottom line is this: We've got a long way to go, but we're beginning to see some of these tough decisions pay off. We are moving forward.

I want you to remember, though, if some folks had their way, none of this would have been happening. Just want to point that out, right? I mean, this -- this -- this -- this plant -- this plant and your jobs might not exist.

There were leaders of the "Just Say No" crowd in Washington. They were saying, oh, standing by the auto industry would guarantee failure. One of them called it "the worst investment you could possibly make."

(BOOING)

They said -- they said we should just walk away and let those jobs go.

(BOOING)

I wish they were standing here today.

(APPLAUSE)

I wish they could see what I'm seeing in this plant and talk to the workers who are here, taking pride in building a world-class vehicle. I don't think they'd be willing to look you in the eye and say that you were a bad investment. They might just come around if they were standing here and admit that, by standing by a great American industry and the good people who work for it, that we did the right thing.

It's hard for them to say that, you know. They don't like admitting when I do the right thing. But they might have had to admit it.

And I want all of you to know, I will bet on the American worker any day of the week.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, when World War II hit Pearl Harbor, we didn't throw up our arms and say, "Boy, this -- this is tough. I don't know what we're going to do." We rolled up our sleeves. We got to work.

And it was workers just like you, right here in Detroit, who built an arsenal of democracy that propelled America to victory. It's workers like you that built this country into the greatest economic power the world has ever known. It was workers like you that manufactured a miracle that was uniquely American.

We faced down impossible odds. We can rise to meet any challenge.

When I was thinking about what to say today, an extraordinary story was brought to my attention. I don't know if -- if they're here, but I think some of you must know. Fourteen of your fellow employees at the plant won the lottery.

(APPLAUSE)

Where are they? That's -- a couple of them right there?

(APPLAUSE)

You know -- lunch is on them, by the way.

(LAUGHTER)

Now, the first assumption people might make is, you know, after you win the lottery, you just kick back and you retire. Nobody -- nobody faults folks for that. This is tough work.

But most of them, they just want to keep on working. And I -- I-- is -- is William Shanteau here? He's not? Well, he -- he was one of the guys who bought one of the -- he bought the winning ticket, right? Turns out, he -- he used some of the winnings to buy his wife one of the Jeep Grand Cherokees that you build right here.

(APPLAUSE)

He called it a "sweet ride." And he's going to pay for new American flags for his hometown, because he loves his country.

(APPLAUSE)

And he's going to keep coming to work, because he loves this plant and he loves these workers.

So don't bet against the American worker. Don't bet against the American people. We've got more work to do. It's going to take sometime to get back to where we need to be. But I have confidence in the American worker. I have confidence in you. I have confidence in this economy. We are coming back.

Thank you, everybody. Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

GRIFFIN: There's the president talking to auto workers, Chrysler workers, in Detroit. Sounding a lot like he was on the campaign trail there, talking to a -- well, (INAUDIBLE) a non-bipartisan crowd.

And the federal government has pumped a lot of money into the auto industry. Has it really been worth it? Has the money saved those jobs the president was talking about? We've got a fact check for you coming up. And just ahead, I will finish the conversation we briefly began with Adrian Lamo, the hacker who turned in the American soldier who released classified documents to the Internet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) GRIFFIN: Well, before the president started talking, we were talking about the military leak investigation. A key informant in that case is a former Internet hacker. His name is Adrian Lamo. He tipped off authorities -- and there he is -- about the 22-year-old Army intelligence analyst suspected of being the source of the WikiLeaks documents. And he joins me live from Sacramento, California.

Adrian, thanks for your patience. You know when the president talks, well, we listen.

But let's get back to your story.

LAMO: It's not a problem. Always happy to make time for the president.

GRIFFIN: Let me get back to your story. I asked you a two-part question. You answered the first part. But the second part of that question was, why did you basically turn in this guy, Manning, to authorities? Were you trying to actually prevent these documents from being released?

LAMO: In an ideal world, I would have liked to have seen these documents interdicted before they were released. My belief that --

GRIFFIN: Did you give the Pentagon the opportunity to do that?

LAMO: Yes, I did. I made them aware that this leak was -- had taken place, and that more were likely to take place. And they -- I'm not privy to what kinds of efforts they made to interdict the documents, but they were able to apprehend the alleged leaker in order to prevent more documents from being released.

GRIFFIN: You --

LAMO: And to answer the second part of your question, why did I do it? Quite simply put, because I did not believe that any individual or small group of individuals could vet these documents to a degree sufficient to be able to say without any sort of doubt that they would not result in loss of human life. And the chairman of the Joint Chiefs has come out and said that the founder of WikiLeaks may very well have blood on his hands. The president of Afghanistan has expressed his outrage. I believe that that has been vindicated in the past couple of days.

GRIFFIN: Adrian, let me ask you about Bradley Manning and what you know about him from the I guess electronic conversations you may have had with him. Did you try to express to him just how dangerous this might have been?

LAMO: I expressed to him that it could be very well considered espionage. And he respectfully disagreed. Espionage is not one of the charges that's on the table right now. And I'm grateful for that because Mr. Manning is a well-meaning young man. He has a sense of social responsibility. Perhaps not a sense of personal responsibility. But the thing about it is that nothing that I could say would prevent the release of these documents, because they had been leaked prior to my interactions with Bradley Manning.

GRIFFIN: And did you -- were you given specific documents or were you just told from Manning about these documents?

LAMO: Although I was not and am not in possession of the Afghan war logs or of the diplomatic cables, Bradley Manning did leak to me information related to ongoing classified counter intelligence operations, which based on my interaction with the United States' Army and defense authorities, were considered highly sensitive.

GRIFFIN: Yes. You had mentioned to a reporter that in discussions with Manning he told you he was about to be discharged for what was determined to be an adjustment disorder. Can you elaborate on that and whether or not the military may have been on to him as he was contacting you?

LAMO: Actually, as of right now, the military is denying that he was pending discharge. It may have been his impression, but that impression may not have been accurate.

GRIFFIN: Did he feel that eyes were on him? Did he feel that he was being looked at, at the time?

LAMO: I don't believe that's the case. In fact, he had approached the local national security agency operative at forward operating base Hammer (ph), where he was stationed, and inquired of them whether or not they had detected any suspicious traffic. And the answer to that was, no, at which point they went back to watching a movie.

So I think he felt that he was fairly safe. The most severe disciplinary action, which he was facing, was a reduction in rank from specialist to private as a result of striking a fellow soldier. And I bring that up not to be prejudicial, but to clear up the discrepancy between stories that are referred to him as a specialist and ones which have referred to him as a private.

GRIFFIN: All right. Adrian Lamo joining us from Sacramento, California.

Thank you for your comments and especially for your patience. Thank you, Adrian.

A few moments ago, we did hear from President Obama talking about the comeback of the U.S. auto industry. We've got a fact check now on whether it's actually putting Americans back to work.

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GRIFFIN: Welcome back. I want to point out cnnmoney.com. You know, it's a matter of numbers. Recovery spin wars. White House versus business community on many different fronts today. We've got a growth rate in the GDP that some say is good, some say is bad, not (INAUDIBLE), not (INAUDIBLE). You can read all about it on money.com.

Wall Street, eh, not much trading today, but take a look, it's down right now 11 points. Friday, summer, hot, nobody really wants to trade stocks, do they, Poppy Harlow? But we did hear from the president and he's thinking everybody wants to buy a Chrysler and a GM car.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes. Talk --

GRIFFIN: He is really, really talking like, you know, this is a campaign promise fulfilled. He saved the auto industry. All is good in Detroit. Workers back on the line.

HARLOW: Right.

GRIFFIN: True?

HARLOW: As far as all is good in Detroit, certainly not the case. But better than a year ago when you look at the auto industry.

I mean, Drew, you watched that live as the president delivered those remarks, as did I. When a pep rally for the president, saying time and time again, I will bet on the American worker any day in front of 1,500 Chrysler workers. You see him there getting out of one of their new Jeep Grand Cherokees.

But you know, it's interesting, this is the fifth trip the president has made to Michigan since he took office. The fifth trip. So he's made a big focus there. You look at the White House blog here and it talks about the American auto industry being a comeback story. So this is the Obama administration touting what a success this has been.

We took a look at the numbers. You heard the president say in his remarks, the year before he took office, auto sales were down 40 percent. Indeed they were. But let me show you this. When you look at how successful GM and Chrysler, that were helped through their bankruptcy by the government, GM sales were up 11 percent in the last year. That is good. Even better news for Chrysler. Sales up 35 percent.

And, of course, the big focus one when will the taxpayer get paid back, Drew. Taxpayer support, $85 billion into these two companies. And in terms of jobs, the administration saying, look, 1.1 million jobs could have been lost if the administration hadn't step in, Drew.

GRIFFIN: Yes, you know, and something that I haven't heard from, you know, this White House in a while is that old jobs saved or created that we heard from the stimulus.

HARLOW: Yes.

GRIFFIN: Have there been jobs certainly saved or created that you could point to?

HARLOW: There have been. So the White House said this, we checked in with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 55,000 U.S. auto worker jobs added in the last year. Take a listen to what the president said on the jobs front just a few minutes ago.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The worst thing about it is that if we had had done nothing, not only were your jobs gone, but supplier jobs were gone, and dealership jobs were gone, and the communities that depend on them would have been wiped out. And by the way, when you talk to the CEO of Ford, he'll tell you that that wouldn't have been good for Ford either because a lot of those suppliers that they depend on might have gone out of business. Independent estimates suggest that more than 1 million jobs could have been lost if Chrysler and GM had liquidated.

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HARLOW: That number questioned by some. What we can show you here is two graphics that are important when it comes to GM and Chrysler. GM has actually shed -- well, there you see the jobless rate in Michigan, extremely high. The second highest in the nation.

But let's pull up the GM numbers for you, folks. GM has shed 10,000 jobs in the last year. So that's not one of the companies that has added jobs. Chrysler has, though. Take a look at the Chrysler numbers. Chrysler has added 3,500 jobs in the last year since emerging from bankruptcy. So some good news on the Chrysler front, 2,100 dealership jobs, though, Drew, have been lost.

And I did get off the phone this morning with one of the top executives at one of those companies, one of the former top execs, and he said -- it was interesting to hear him say, he said, look, don't declare victory too soon. It looks like the administration may be declaring victory too soon on this one. We'll follow it for you on CNN Money.

Drew.

GRIFFIN: Yes. Yes, Poppy, thanks a lot. I mean I was thank that same thing because, you know, we're not -- nowhere near out of the woods yet.

HARLOW: No.

GRIFFIN: And we're still talking about a possible double dip or whatever.

HARLOW: Yes.

GRIFFIN: And so we'll see how this works out.

Poppy, thanks for guiding us through all of that.

And coming up, I want to tell you about fires in southern California. They are burning right now. We're going to take a look at that. And because of smoke from the wildfires, there's a lot of damage being done out there as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) GRIFFIN: We're tracking "What's Hot" on the Internet. It looks like Ellen DeGeneres voted off of "Idol." And if she wants to call anybody about it, she's going to have a really big cell phone, is that, right, Ines Ferre? You're tracking all this from New York.

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we sure are. This is one of our top stories on cnn.com. We're talking about cell phones. Now, Drew, remember the movie "Wall Street." Here's a clip of its sequel when Gordon Gekko, Michael Douglas, gets out of jail. Take a listen.

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MICHAEL DOUGLAS, ACTOR, "WALL STREET": Maybe I was in prison too long.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, ACTOR, "WALL STREET": One watch, and one mobile phone.

DOUGLAS: Sometimes it's the only place to stick --

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FERRE: So that's how big the mobile phone was back then. Well, now they're -- you know, they became thinner and thinner over time. Well, now they're getting a little bit bigger again. They're getting a little bit wider. And here you can see this video on YouTube. It's called "Dell Streak Versus Jeans," and this is someone who's showing how big his Dell Streak phone is. And so it's one of those things that the tendency is now for them to be bigger phones.

And that's it, Drew.

GRIFFIN: All right, Ines, I actually had one of those big suckers, man, back in the day.

FERRE: Oh, you did?

GRIFFIN: Oh, yes, it was cool.

Anyway, we'll be right back after the break.

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GRIFFIN: The CNN NEWSROOM rolls right along now with Ali Velshi.

Ali.