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CNN Live At Daybreak
Look at President Bush's Recent Tougher Tone; Concorde Preparing for Takeoff
Aired November 07, 2001 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Mike makes his mark at the polls as New York elects a mayor at a crucial time for the city's future. U.S. war planes make their mark in northern Afghanistan while Northern Alliance commanders make headway near a key city.
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UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: He didn't just save her life, but he gave her life.
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KAGAN: And the heroics of a New York firefighter extend way beyond ground zero.
Good morning to you. It is Wednesday, November 7, 2001. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan. Leon Harris is on assignment, but we will be hearing from the big guy in just a little bit. Thanks for joining us this morning.
We're going to go ahead and start with the latest news developments. President Bush says that threats from Osama bin Laden to use weapons of mass destruction should be taken seriously. But Mr. Bush adds there's no evidence that bin Laden or his terrorist group have those weapons. Northern Alliance commanders claim to have taken some areas south of the key city of Mazir-i-Sharif. The Northern Alliance also claims that 400 Taliban soldiers have defected. Those claims cannot be independently verified. Even though Northern Alliance forces are moving closer to Mazir-i-Sharif, their commanders concede it could be weeks before that strategic city is taken.
And Pentagon officials are denying Pakistani reports of a U.S. helicopter crash in that country on Sunday night. Officials say the U.S. Central Command has rigid procedures to pass on information about that type of incident within an hour.
New Yorkers have elected a political novice to lead the city's recovery from the September 11 attacks. Billionaire Republican Michael Bloomberg defeated Democrat Mark Green in one of New York's closest mayoral races in recent history. Bloomberg reportedly spent $50 million of his own fortune on the campaign and he was actually trailing badly in the polls as late as two weeks ago. He was helped, though, by a recent endorsement from incumbent Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani was prevented from running because of term limits.
In other election news, Democrats did better in other off year elections. CNN projects that Jim McGreevey will defeat Republican Bret Schundler to become New Jersey's next governor. McGreevey narrowly lost the governor's race four years ago.
And 1996 U.S. Senate race loser is to become Virginia's next governor. The Associated Press saying that Democrat Mark Warner beat Republican Mark Earley.
Checking some of the other races for mayor, Shirley Franklin must maintain at least the 51 percent of the vote that she has right now to avoid a runoff in Atlanta.
In Cincinnati, race riots erupted this year after a white policeman shot an African-American teen and it looks like white incumbent Mayor Charlie Luken defeated black challenger Curtis Fuller.
In Cleveland, the mayor elect, Jane Campbell, would be that city's first woman leader. In Miami, Mayor Joe Carollo lost his reelection bid. But Boston incumbent Thomas Menino easily won the race there.
And turning now to America's war on terrorism. Coalition building dominating the White House schedule today. President Bush is set to meet with the deputy prime minister of Kuwait early this afternoon in the Oval Office. Less than an hour later, the president will meet with the foreign minister of Morocco. Those meetings will be capped off with a visit from Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Our senior White House correspondent John King reports on the president's recent tougher tone and keeping the focus on the fight.
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JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shoulder to shoulder with a key ally in the war on terrorism and blunt talk for those who may be wavering.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Over time it's going to be important for nations to know they will be held accountable for inactivity.
KING: It was a day of coalition building and escalating rhetoric, the president himself giving voice for the first time to the long held CIA view that Osama bin Laden wants to acquire chemical, biological and perhaps even nuclear weapons.
BUSH: And that's why we're going to keep relentlessness military pressure on him in Afghanistan. And that's why we must prevail. That's why we must win.
KING: Targeting front line Taliban forces is now a major priority and Mr. Bush says harboring terrorists is just one reason Afghanistan needs a new government. BUSH: Children are forbidden to fly kites or sing songs or build snowmen. A girl of seven is beaten for wearing white shoes. Our enemies have brought only misery and terror to the people of Afghanistan and now they're trying to export that terror throughout the world.
KING: This speech was via satellite to an anti-terrorism conference in Poland, the tougher talk part of a deliberate strategy shift as the military campaign enters its fifth week.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Stop the violence! Stop the war!
KING: There have been scattered protests across Europe, where polls show rising skepticism and some Arab leaders want a pause in the bombing during this month's holy period of Ramadan.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And it's at this point in time that we need to steady people. We need to say look, let's go back and go through the argument again as to why it's happening, why we have to do this, why we have to see it through.
KING: Prime Minister Blair is one of a half dozen leaders due at the White House before a Saturday Bush address to the United Nations General Assembly.
(on camera): And as this diplomatic push unfolds, the White House also is claiming significant new progress on the financial front of the war on terrorism. CNN has learned the president on Wednesday will announce the administration has identified two financial networks it views as significant sources of support for bin Laden's al Qaeda network and that it is taking steps here in the United States and overseas to shut them down.
John King, CNN, the White House.
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KAGAN: Checking in now on CNN's LARRY KING LIVE, where British Prime Minister Tony Blair appeared last night, Blair saying that people may need to be reminded why the U.S. and its allies are bombing Afghanistan.
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BLAIR: People want very quick results and people are obviously concerned because there is no easy way of fighting a war and taking military action. There's no way that you engage in conflict without difficult and harmful things happening and it's at this point in time that we need to steady people. We need to say look, let's go back and go through the argument again as to why it's happening, why we have to do this, why we have to see it through and why we have to see through what is happening in Afghanistan, not just for the peace of mind of our own citizens, but to free people in Afghanistan from one of the most wretched and despised and oppressive regimes anywhere in the world.
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KAGAN: Blair also says the European leaders that he's met with are determined to stand with the U.S. against terrorism for as long as it takes.
Six minutes, almost seven minutes past the hour. Right now, we want to take a step backwards, go back to election 2001. As we mentioned, New York City going to have a new mayor in Michael Bloomberg. Other winners and losers from last night, let's listen in to what some of them had to say.
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MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), NEW YORK, MAYOR ELECT: But tonight is not about Republicans or Democrats, it's about New Yorkers.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: USA! USA! USA! USA!
BLOOMBERG: This is our victory, a victory for a vision and our faith in the future of the greatest city in the world.
MARK GREEN (D), NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: When a campaign adviser last month told me that no candidate in America had ever won an election being outspent by $45 million, I thought we beat the odds. We did good. Michael Bloomberg did a lot better and I congratulate him and we all should.
MARK WARNER (D), VIRGINIA GOVERNOR-ELECT: But now the Virginia, the people of Virginia have spoken. They've said they want a new approach for our Commonwealth and tonight, tonight I'm here to tell you I'm ready for the challenge.
UNIDENTIFIED CANDIDATE: But in these times more than ever, it's critical to show the world that our democratic process works and that when the votes have been counted and the result determined, we move forward as a free people and as one Virginia.
SHIRLEY FRANKLIN, ATLANTA MAYORAL CANDIDATE: The citizens of Atlanta are ready for a new mayor to start working on the tough problems that face us, whether it's budget issues or whether it's environmental issues. So I look forward to getting started as soon as possible.
ROBB PITTS, ATLANTA MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I've always predicted that there would be a runoff. Three strong candidates, you do the math, it suggests a runoff and that's right where we are now.
CHARLIE LUKEN (D), CINCINNATI MAYOR: I'm grateful to the voters for the vindication. I am, I congratulate Curtis Fuller. He ran a good strong race and his supporters obviously have a lot of work to do in this city and part of that work is bringing people of different races together.
CURTIS FULLER (D), CINCINNATI MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Clearly the priority now is healing the racial divide. We cannot walk away from that. And that is why I've said to Charlie that he has my full support. I encourage everyone who voted for me to get behind him.
JIM MCGREEVEY (D), NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR-ELECT: But from the horror of ground zero, we found common ground and as with any challenge to this great nation of America, we will rise more united, more powerful than ever.
BRET SCHUNDLER (R), NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: Whether you win or lose, it doesn't change the joy in life. The joy in life is just being able to have the chance to try to build a better world.
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KAGAN: And we go from U.S. elections to Europe. The Concorde has been grounded for the last 15 months, but it's been retooled following a crash in July of last year. It's preparing for takeoff this hour.
And who's on board? None other than our own Richard Quest. He is on the flight and he is joining us by phone now.
Richard, getting ready to head here to the States.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed. I'm now on board British Airways Flight 001, speed bird 001, as the call sign will be as we head across the Atlantic. The new retooled, reengineered and modified Concorde with its leather seats, its blue lights that will tell us when we've gone through the speed of sound.
Concorde has had a $17 million, about a $28 million, $30 million refit. Not only the cosmetics that I can see in the cabin where I am now, the dark leather seats, but also, of course, the Kevlar lining that will keep the plane and the fuel tanks, that will keep any rupture and will keep a catastrophe from happening, the new tires that have been specially designed for the high speeds at which Concorde operates and the strengthened wiring.
There are a couple of other things to note, which I have to unfortunately bring to your attention at this early hour. Our lunch that we will be consuming on our way to New York, it's going to be beluga caviar, scrambled eggs. We could have the sea bass that could always be -- there is also an order, if you're feeling lively, the lobster salad. It will all have to be eaten with plastic knives and forks, the new regulations that have been imposed since September 11.
Concorde from London takes off in just around 20 minutes time.
KAGAN: Richard, before we let you go, really sorry to hear you're going to have to eat the caviar there with the plastic cutlery. That obviously has to do with the new security regulations because the world has changed a lot, especially the world of aviation, since the Concorde crash a year ago July.
Any other safety concerns or adjustments in terms of security that you noticed before boarding today?
QUEST: Yes, indeed. There's no doubt that, I mean, the invited guests on board this plane have been treated like any other travelers would have. The security in London's Heathrow Airport is much, much tighter than it has been in the past. Before you board the plane, having shown our tickets, having shown our passports for the second or third time, we were finally subjected to a search of our luggage, our hand luggage, and the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) both the United States and the U.K. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the Concorde has returned from the horrible crash of 15 months ago in which 113 died. We look to British Airways (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for the aviation industry.
Concorde was a profitable plane and it means once again that even at times of huge financial losses, Concorde is once again showing the way.
KAGAN: Very good, Richard Quest joining us from on board the Concorde. We wish you safe passage, our friend, as you head over here to the States.
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