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Live From...
New Spy Strategies to Prevent Terror?; Drought Devastates Midwest
Aired August 17, 2005 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, Spain's defense minister says Tuesday's helicopter crash in Afghanistan appears to have been an accident, but hostile fire has not been ruled out. The crash killed 17 Spanish soldiers, part of a NATO force working to keep the peace ahead of next month's scheduled elections.
More than 100 bombs exploded today across Bangladesh, an apparent attempt by Islamic militants to spread chaos and fear. Two people were reported killed and more than 100 injured. Most of the bombs went off near government buildings.
Firefighters in Hawaii say a brush fire that has scorched more than 2,800 acres since Sunday is now mostly contained. The blaze outside Honolulu has shut down nearby schools and for a time, the thick smoke closed a nearby highway.
On the CNN "Security Watch," a former member of a Pentagon intelligence unit called Able Danger speaks out. He says he tried to warn the FBI about Al Qaeda operatives in the U.S. before September 11. Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Shaffer says he tried to meet with FBI officials to tell them what he knew. But he says military lawyers blocked the meetings. Shaffer also questions why the findings of the Able Danger unit were not included in the final report of the 9/11 Terror Commission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. COL. ANTHONY SHAFFER, ARMY INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: I was tasked by the Navy to look at bringing back some of the aspects regarding the technology of the Able Danger capability earlier this year. Through our research and coordination with Congress, with Congressman Curt Weldon, we came to find that the information we provided to the 9/11 Commission had never got to the commissioners.
Subsequent to that being discovered, Congressman Weldon and his staff did additional research, and we came to find that there was a significant amount of information that was totally deleted or not provided to the actual commissioners.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well, leaders of the 9/11 Commission have said they did not have enough information on the Able Danger claims to consider them to be, quote, "historically significant."
Before September 11, the U.S. intelligence leaned heavily on technology, especially satellite. But some experts say the war on terrorism requires more than just eyes in the sky. They want a renewed emphasis on human spies.
CNN national security correspondent David Ensor has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Spy satellites peering down on the Soviet Union were terrific assets for U.S. intelligence during the Cold war but they have proved much less useful against Al Qaeda terrorists and Iraqi insurgents.
Now, John Negroponte, the nation's director of national intelligence, must decide whether to endorse plans for about $40 billion worth of new surveillance satellites. Many intelligence professionals expect him instead to make cuts, spend more on unmanned aerial vehicles like the Global Hawk and on old-fashioned human spies on the ground, now a top priority for the U.S. government.
LAWRENCE WILKERSON, FMR. POWELL CHIEF OF STAFF: What did satellites tell us about Iraq? Nothing that was true that I can see. And I've been there.
ENSOR: Lawrence Wilkerson was Colin Powell's right-hand man when he was secretary of state.
WILKERSON: What happened in Afghanistan was so effective. CIA people walking around with briefcases full of money. Well, $40 billion is a lot of money. Let's fill some briefcases, let's go buy some people.
ENSOR: Even a small percentage of that money would buy a lot of people.
JOHN PIKE, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: That's a lot of bribery and spies to increase our human intelligence capabilities. That would be relevant to fighting terrorism in a way that reconnaissance satellites simply couldn't be.
ENSOR: But the decision is difficult. The new spy satellites could give the nation remarkable new capabilities.
KEITH HALL, FMR. DIR., NATL. RECON. OFFICE: There'll be more imagery available from them, all done on a smaller-sized satellite.
ENSOR: One type known as Future Imagery Architecture would make extraordinarily crisp digital pictures of ever smaller objects on earth and add still better radar for gazing through clouds and to see what's happening at night.
Another highly classified type known to outside experts as the Misty Follow-On project would, they say, deploy tiny satellites, the size of a large TV or a small refrigerator.
PIKE: This new satellite would be so small and so stealthy, it would simply blend into the space debris and there'll be no way to tell it from the other 10,000 pieces of space junk.
ENSOR: Why would that help? In any future war, the enemy would not know how to blind U.S. intelligence.
PIKE: The concern that the intelligence community would have would be that if we got into a war with, say, China, they would be able to shoot down our non-stealthy spy satellite and basically put our eyes out.
ENSOR: At a recent hearing, Negroponte's deputy promised he'll make a choice by the end of September.
(on camera): If Negroponte decides to cut billions for spy satellites and spend more on lower-tech intelligence as many observers expect, the stage could be set for a battle with the Pentagon and its congressional allies who want to see all the satellite surveillance capability that they can get.
(voice-over): It would be a key test, too, of whether the president trusts John Negroponte on intelligence matters or whether he really prefers the Pentagon's Donald Rumsfeld. David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
You can also track terror-related stories on the Web. Log on to CNN.com/trackingterror.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a memorial service this week for a lynching that took place here in Georgia 90 years ago. And there was a trial earlier this summer for the murder of three civil rights workers in Mississippi, more than four decades after the fact.
They're reminders that America's history of terrorism didn't begin in Oklahoma City or at 9/11. And that's the topic, this week, of my online column, "Tracking Terror."
If you find yourself in Washington between now and Labor Day, you can see some of this history on display at an exhibit called "The Enemy Within" at the International Spy Museum.
From the Klan on the extreme right to the weather underground on the far left, there are vivid reminders in this exhibit of how America has reacted and overreacted to terrorist attacks. Is it true, as the museum's director says, that one man's patriot is another man's terrorist? What do you think? Log on to CNN.com/tracking terror and send us your e-mail response.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Stunning developments in the disappearance of a wealthy California couple. A former child actor and his wife now ordered to stand trial for the couple's murder.
Devastating drought while some parts of the country seem to be under water. The Midwest is dangerously dry. How it could affect you. Straight ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A devastating drought is tightening its stranglehold on the Midwest and the consequences could be disastrous, particularly for farmers.
CNN'S Christine Romans talked to one farmer in Illinois who has plenty to lose.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Steve Pitstick farms 2,200 acres of corn and soybeans in central Illinois.
STEVE PITSTICK, ILLINOIS FARMER: I've been doing this for 30 years, and this is as bad as I've ever seen it. just doesn't -- this is what we fear.
ROMANS: What every farmer fears -- a drought so bad, 74,000 farmers like Steve will lose at least 30 percent of their corn crop. It's bone dry out west. But the worst of this devastating drought is spreading from central Texas up the Mississippi Valley, gripping Missouri and Illinois, and reaching all the way to the upper peninsula of Michigan.
And it's only getting worse. Here in Illinois, a stretch of 100- degree days is baking the corn in the fields, and what the sun doesn't bake, insects will finish off.
PITSTICK: There should be about 500 kernels on this cob. And it looks to be somewhere, 40 to 50 maybe.
ROMANS: The silver lining, last year's crop was record. Silos are stuffed with carryover crop. Yet moving that corn will be a challenge. Mississippi and Ohio River levels are low. Barges are already backed up, furious dredging underway to deepen river channels.
PITSTICK: Every generation has their story they want to tell their grandkids. And I think this is going to be my story to tell my grandkids. We thought '88 was bad and then '05 came.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And that was Christine Romans reporting.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: A real life murder plot with a true Hollywood twist. A former child actor and his wife forced to stand trial for the murder for a wealthy California couple. LIVE FROM is on the case next. Typecast as a terrorist on the big screen, torn between his work and his heritage in real life. Meet an actor facing a unique conflict of interest, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, this just in. The president has said no promise on U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq. Well, now, orders of more troops that will be heading into Iraq. Apparently deployment orders have been given to 700 parachute infantry troops from the 82nd Airborne Division out of Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. CNN is confirming that it may happen within the next 30 days or so.
Sensational murder cases are nothing new in California, but Hollywood couldn't have come up with a more bizarre story than the disappearance and apparent killing of a former body-builder and his wife. Now, the case has taken another dramatic turn.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Find out next on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!
WHITFIELD: A former actor on the TV series "Power Rangers" ordered to stand trial on murder charges in the killing of a wealthy California couple. Skylar Deleon's alleged accomplices: his wife Jennifer, a member of the Krypt (ph) street gang by the name of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and former jailer Alonso Machain. In the words of a deputy district attorney, the killing of 57-year-old Thomas Hawks and his 47-year wife Jackie, quote, "is as cold-blooded as it gets."
The motive, according to prosecutors, to steal the Hawks' luxury yacht called "Well-Deserved." Officials say Skylar Deleon was the brains behind the alleged plot and that former jailer Machain admitted he agreed to take part after promised several million dollars. The Hawks disappeared last November 15th. That's the day, officials say, Deleon, Machain and Kennedy joined the Hawks for a ride on the "Well- Deserved" on the pretense of buying the boat.
Once at sea, officials say, the Hawks were overpowered with stun guns, handcuffed, their mouths and eyes duct-taped. Told if they cooperated they would live, the Hawks signed power of attorney documents. As soon as that was done, prosecutors charged the Hawks were tied to the boat's 66-pound anchor.
Police say Machain told them at that point, Tom Hawks kicked Deleon in the groin, knocking him to the ground. Deleon got up smiling, according to Machain, and then pitched the anchor overboard. Machain is quoted as saying that when the couple hit the water, they were quote, "struggling very hard." The Hawks' son says he's very confident his parents' killers will be punished.
RYAN HAWKS, SON OF VICTIMS: You know, it's rough and it's -- I don't know how any can prepare for something like this or I don't think anyone should ever bear this pain or these thoughts, you know, going through my head right now. I just want justice to prevail.
WHITFIELD: Lawyers for the defendants deny the charges.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Three of the suspects in this case, the Deleons and Kennedy, are scheduled to be arraigned in two weeks. Machain will be tried separately.
Another actor is facing his own battle with Hollywood. Sayed Badreya is Arab and typically typecast as terrorist. Now, he's trying to shake his bad guy image. But as CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas explains, it's proving to be a very difficult balancing act.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sayed Badreya loves his adopted country...
SAYED BADREYA, ACTOR: America. I love America.
VARGAS: ... his children...
BADREYA: I'm lucky, very lucky.
VARGAS: ... and the Duke.
BADREYA: I watch John Wayne when I grow up.
VARGAS: The Egyptian-born actor is a big fan of the USA. But on screen, he couldn't be more anti-American. Because of his Arabic looks, Hollywood most often casts him in the role of a terrorist. That's him in "The Insider" and "True Lies."
He's a Muslim hijacker in "Executive Decision." He's played terrorists so often it made an impression on his young daughter.
BADREYA: The teacher asked my daughter, "what your father do for a living?" and, you know, he asked all the kids and someone said, my father is a doctor, my father is an engineer. And he came to Jolie (ph) and she said, "my father hijack airplane." On the movie I am in, I'm having a gun, I'm hijacking an airplane.
VARGAS: With terrorism constantly in the news, Hollywood's villains of the moment are Arabs.
But well before terrorism became a national concern, Hollywood depicted Arabs negatively. Consider "Raiders of the Lost Ark" or "The Sheikh" from the silent era.
BADREYA: Is it work. Nobody will hire me.
VARGAS: Badreya says he doesn't mind playing terrorists but he would like to improve the image of Arabs by playing some good guys, too. He's developing a feature film called "American East" which he says will offer a more balanced view of Arab-Americans. Badreya recently starred in a student film by an Iraqi-American director playing the kind of three-dimensional Arab character rarely seen in Hollywood films.
BADREYA: So here I don't have to say, I kill you, in the name of God. I get real emotion, I cry, a big Arabic man, you know. This is good.
VARGAS: He worked on that film for free. But to feed his family and to bankroll movies that would improve the image of Arab-Americans, Badreya needs a paying job. That may mean playing another Arab terrorist in a Hollywood movie, something he knows would harm the image of people like him.
VARGAS (on camera): Do you ever feel like you're sort of, you know, selling your soul to the devil?
BADREYA: All the time. All the time. But you know something, to make my movie, I can deal with the devil. To tell my story, I can deal with the devil. I can lie and manipulate the devil as he does it to me. That's life. That's America.
VARGAS: Sybila Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Let's check in now with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. He's standing by in Washington to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour in the "Situation Room" -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Hi, Fredricka. Thanks very much. Flashpoint Gaza. Protesters, some of them burning down their own houses while others refusing to leave. We'll take you to Gaza live for the latest.
Also illegal immigration. A state of emergency declared in two states. But will that do anything to solve the overall problem? Lou Dobbs and Univision anchor Jorge Ramos join us live. They'll talk about it.
Plus, terror behind bars. Were prison gang members trying to organize terrorist attacks in southern California? We'll have the latest on the FBI's investigation.
And the NCAAP bans Indian names from teams playing in post-season games. Bob Costas will be my special guest. He weighs in on mascot politics and a lot more. All that coming up here in ""THE SITUATION ROOM"."
Fredricka, back to you.
WHIFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Wolf. We'll be watching.
And, of course, we want to bring you some live pictures now of a breaking story out of north Fort Worth, Texas. Actually, these are taped pictures. You're looking at a gas tanker and it's kind of tilted on its side there and this after it's already spilled something like 3,000 gallons of fuel. It happened at a Texaco gas station near the corner of East Long (ph) and Decatur Avenue. The areas around it have been evacuated. But as of yet, no reports of injuries or no indication of how long the cleanup might take place there in north Fort Worth, Texas.
More LIVE FROM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A Maryland teenager is getting some much-deserved praise for his big heart and even bigger idea to help children in Iraq. Thirteen-year-old Colin Valentine (ph) convinced his friends to give him their baseball and softball gear to send to the kids in Iraq. He collected bats, helmets and gloves and even got a business to ship all of the equipment to Iraq for free.
Well, from America's favorite pastime to now saying good-bye to some favorite beverages. Susan Lisovicz joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with more on that. What's that all about, Susan?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sugar and caffeine is what it's all about, Fredricka. You can almost hear all the parents saying, it's about time. Coke, Pepsi and other soft drink makers are teaming up to limit soda sales in schools. Under pressure from parents and health experts, the companies agreed to stop selling carbonated soft drinks in elementary schools. And full calorie sodas are also banned from middle schools during classroom hours although diet soda is OK.
But they only apply to new contracts not existing ones meaning it will take several years for the guidelines to take effect -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. And what's this about Wal-Mart getting into the spirits?
LISOVICZ: Yes, Wal-Mart is going to be serving something a lot stronger than soft drinks, Fred. The "Wall Street Journal" reporting that Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, is wrapping up sales of hard liquor, one area in which the retailer has, up until now, limited offerings. Some say the move could present an image issue for the company that has become a moral arbiter.
In the past, Wal-Mart has banned risque magazines and CDs with controversial lyrics in its stores. Wal-Mart says it already sells liquor where local ordinances allow it to do so and it's not planning any new marketing blitz to promote alcohol sales.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
WHITFIELD: For LIVE FROM, I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Now, it's time for Wolf Blitzer. He's live in "THE SITUATION ROOM."`
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