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Belgian Woman Identified as Iraq Bomber; The Changing Face of International Terrorism; Remembering Rosa Parks

Aired December 01, 2005 - 14:30   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, if it's true, it's a first, both for the war in Iraq and for the international war against terrorism. Police in Brussels tell CNN they believe a Belgian woman killed herself and tried to kill American troops in Iraq. European officials are dealing with a never before seen source of terrorism.
ITN's Jane Dodge reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE DODGE, ITN REPORTER (voice-over): Dawn raids in four cities across Belgium, the culmination of an intense investigation involving intelligence agencies throughout Europe, including MI-6. Two-hundred Belgian police officers were involved in this morning's operation.

More than a dozen people were arrested, two Moroccans, on Tunisian, but the majority of them are Belgian. Police believe they've broken a network of people sending volunteer fighters to Iraq.

GLENN AUDENAERT, BELGIAN JUDICIARY CHIEF: Fourteen people were arrested and are now being heard by the judge and we seized a number of documents and objects that corroborate out thesis that effectively there was a terrorist organization present in our territory.

DODGE: Today's arrests were connected to the death of a Belgian female suicide bomber in Iraq last month. She blew herself up in an attack on an American Army convoy south of Baghdad. It's understood her husband, who was with her, was shot dead by the Americans during the attack.

What do we know about her? Well, she was born in Belgium in 1967, a Belgian citizen with no foreign roots. She married a radical Muslim, originally from Morocco. Police believe it was he who converted her to Islam and they say it was her husband who organized a trip to Iraq via Turkey. She blew herself up on November the 9th. It's reported her passport was found on her body.

DANIEL BERNARD, BELGIAN FEDERAL PROSECUTOR (through translator): We were presented in Belgium with a structure of support and volunteers who wished to go and fight in Iraq. The death of the Belgian, which has made the foreign and national press, describes the exact context.

DODGE: Police in Belgium have told Channel 4 News they believe the Internet played a vital role in this case. They say those involved met each other through extreme Islamic Web sites. They've confirmed MI-6 have been helping them on this issue and on the background of the suicide bomber.

A large amount of material thought to include computers and documents have been seized in Belgium. Meanwhile, in France, a 15th, a Tunisian who is believed to have known the husband of the suicide bomber and who, it's believed, had contact with one of the other 14 suspects has also been arrested.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the face of the international terrorist is ever- changing and that's nothing new. But if European officials are correct, a Belgian citizen born and raised, the woman we were talking about, is the first Western woman to carry out a suicide bombing in Iraq.

This has a deep impact on the global fight against terrorism. Eric Margolis is a journalist and author who writes extensively about extremism and, Eric, what do you think being the first case, is this a trend that we have not known about or that we just haven't talked about or do you think this is a unique experience?

ERIC MARGOLIS, TERRORISM ANALYST: I think it is a trend. There are more and more women involved in combat operations in Iraq and who have acted as suicide bombers as we saw recently in Amman, Jordan, for example.

This is regarding in extremist Islamic circles as female liberation, that women are standing beside the men and fighting. It's a disturbing trend because it shows that the numbers of people willing to attack U.S. and allied forces are growing.

PHILLIPS: So, these other Europeans, not Arabs, that have gone into this fight in Iraq are -- do you see the U.S. and the European police truly concerned about this and taking action or investigating it more and developing more intelligence?

MARGOLIS: They are. They are concerned, but they should have been concerned a long time ago. Most of these people are based in around Charleroi in southern Belgium, are of North African descent even though they're Belgian citizens.

And what we're seeing here is the tip of the iceberg of a very large pan-European operation of what I call Salafist Islamic groups, very militant, very dangerous Islamic groups from North Africa that are not part of al Qaeda, although they're like-minded.

These are the people who staged the Madrid and Casablanca bombings and the assassination of the North Alliance Afghan leader, Ahmed Shah Massoud. They're very strong in France and Belgium and the Netherlands and they are a major source of terrorists and anti- American fighters.

PHILLIPS: Talk to me more about Charleroi.

MARGOLIS: Charleroi is surrounded by the Belgian gold mining area in Flanders and it's a very economically distressed area. It is home of much of the crime in Belgium. It's almost a Dodge City of Europe and it's here that many immigrant groups, but particularly poor Muslims who are brought in to work in the mines and the steel industry in southern Belgium, are located.

And they form tightly knit communities and link with their fellows across the border in France's northern industrial zone to spread this Salafist movement through northern Europe.

PHILLIPS: So, talking about this area and then and how it's an industrial town and then talking about the Salafists -- am I saying that right? Salafists?

MARGOLIS: Salafists, yes.

PHILLIPS: Salafists, OK. Now, the Salafists are extreme radical Islamists, right? So you have the combination of this extremist group and then those from this area that, obviously, don't see light at the end of the tunnel, if you want to think about a future or job or the way that they're living. So, is it low income, desperate people joining forces with this extremist group or is it two separate issues?

MARGOLIS: Well, these -- most of these European Muslims are treated as second and third class citizens as we saw recently in France' riots. So you have got that sociological basis. But this is primarily motivated by politics. These are young, idealistic, radical Muslims who are enraged at the United States and its allies for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and are determined to go and punish the U.S.

You know, Iraq has become a magnet for all sorts of extremists in the Middle East, just the way Afghanistan was when I was covering it in the 1980s. This was is what Spain was to the 1930s, Afghanistan and now Iraq are becoming for the Muslim world.

PHILLIPS: So, was this female suicide bomber a member of this Salafist cell in her hometown?

MARGOLIS: Apparently. Her mother said she was brainwashed, but she sounds more to me like he was an active combatant. There had been a few other French-born Frenchmen who have also joined these Islamic groups. Again, it's an ideology and it reminds me a bit of the Americans, middle class people who joined the Black Panthers back in the '60s. You know, they're committed radicals.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. What about the bombings that you were talking about or the activity in the '50s that began in Algeria? Do you see sort of a historical tie here as well?

MARGOLIS: Yes, I certainly do. What happened was that all of this is coming from Algeria. In 1991, the only really truly free election ever held in the Muslim world was held there by the Algerian military. The Islamists, democratic Islamists, won a landslide victory. The Army came in and arrested them all, shut down the election, civil war erupted. A hundred or 150,000 people have been killed since 1991. Utter, brutal civil war. And these groups Salafist groups went into Morocco and Tunisia and all over North Africa and then spilled into Europe. And they are the radical outpouring of this Algerian civil war. We're supporting the government's side in it, which is another reason why these Islamists hate us so much.

PHILLIPS: Well, that was my next question, is, does the U.S. policy, should it be focused more on Algeria and what type of support -- that was my question -- is the U.S. a part of when it comes to the government there?

MARGOLIS: Definitely, Kyra. We have neglected events in Algeria. And because it's an oil-producing country, we tended to favor the military, the brutal military junta that's ruled Algeria now for a long time. And we're giving them arms and intelligence support and trying to oppress the democratic and Islamic radical forces who are trying to overthrow the government. So, we've put ourselves on the wrong side of this argument immediately and we've gained ourselves a lot of enemies where we need not done so.

PHILLIPS: There we hear the O word again, oil. Eric Margolis, always appreciate your insight. Thank you.

MARGOLIS: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: Well, we are continuing to monitor a developing story in Ft. Worth, Texas, a shooting at a military base. Fredricka Whitfield working the story for us. She'll have the details coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Fredricka Whitfield working two stories for us in the newsroom right now. Fred, what do you got?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, two stories. One in Texas in Ft. Worth at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, where shooting took place there.

And then out of Sarasota, Florida, a circuit court there, the judge is giving instructions to the jury as they now consider whether to impose life or death to 39-year-old Joseph Smith. You're looking at the mother of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia, who was killed back in 2004, February of 2004, as she's listening, as well, to the court's instructions.

The judge has let them know that while their recommendations weigh very heavily, it doesn't have to be a unanimous decision. And he also underscored that under rare circumstances does he render decision other than what is being recommended by the court. So, momentarily, the jury will be charged with the crimes to consider for Joseph Smith and then they will go into deliberations.

Meantime out of Ft. Worth now. We know of, reportedly, the shooting to take place. Three, reportedly, people have been wounded. We're getting some information out of the air station there that this shooting may have taken place in or near the control tower there. One person is in custody.

We don't know, however, the circumstances of the shooting. But, of course, when we get them, we'll be able to pass them along to you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll stay on both those stories. We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, if you heard the news about Heidi Fleiss and her planned male brothel and wondered what the heck would that look like, well, HBO to the rescue. The cable channel, owned by CNN's parent company, plans a multi-part documentary on Heidi's stud farm. Starting from groundbreaking in Reul (ph), Nevada, hiring the talent the challenges involved in the start-up business. Fleiss gained notoriety, as you know, as the Hollywood madam of a Southern California prostitution ring.

Celebrities and cable TV joined to do their part on World AIDS Day in effort to help children in Africa. Plus, Oprah, Dave, Dave, Oprah -- a meeting 16 years in the making -- and an early look at Oscar.

Brooke Anderson, live from L.A. with all the entertainment news. Hi, Brooke.

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Yes, the fight against AIDS has become a top priority for many Hollywood celebrities. They're using their star power to promote AIDS awareness and prevention. Matthew Broderick, Rosario Dawson, Jimmy Fallon and Idina Menzel featured in a series of public service announcements. Those announcements are called weapons of mass instruction.

In each spot, the celebrities discuss the weapons they use in the fight against HIV and AIDS. They are mind, heart and voice. The PSAs begin airing today, which is World AIDS Day, as you mentioned. This is a year-long initiative from the AIDS action organization Cable Positive.

Alicia Keys is using her voice for this cause, hoping to save the lives of children through song. Keys and rocker Bono have teamed up on the emotional song "Don't Give Up Africa." All the proceeds will go to Keep A Child Alive, which provides medicine to families infected with AIDS and the HIV virus. The song will be available on iTunes starting Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, TALK SHOW HOST: I'm flustered, I'm nervous, I don't know what to -- I mean, it's like all of a sudden the president comes to your house for dinner. It's that crazy. What am going to say to Oprah?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: I'm sure he'll think of something, right? Oprah Winfrey is on "Late Night with David Letterman" tonight. It's been 16 years since Oprah appeared on Dave's show, but finally, the queen of daytime has agreed to make her return.

The two television titans have had a somewhat rocky relationship over the past decade and a half. Oprah told "Time" magazine in 2003, "I've done the show twice. Both times, I was sort of like the butt of his jokes. I felt completely uncomfortable sitting in that chair and I vowed I would never, ever put myself in that position again." But she is tonight.

Oprah's visit coincides with the opening of "The Color Purple" on Broadway. Kyra, she is a producer of that highly anticipated Broadway musical.

PHILLIPS: Brooke, thanks.

Well, on this day 50 years ago, a black woman in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to give up her seat on a city bus. At the time, nobody knew what that would lead to. Remembering a civil rights milestone, when CNN's LIVE FROM returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It was 50 years ago today that Rosa Parks refused to give her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a white man. Parks died several weeks ago at the age of 92, but her act of defiance is being remembered across the country today, as one of the civil rights movements' most important milestones.

Hundreds of children gathered at the spot where Parks was arrested for violating Alabama's Jim Crow laws and marched to the state capital. In Michigan, where Parks spent her later years, a federal building and part of an interstate highway were renamed after Parks.

And in Washington, President Bush signed a bill authorizing a statue of Parks in the U.S. Capitol Statuary Hall. The president said that by refusing to give in, Rosa Parks called America back to its founding promise of equality and justice. And an exhibit on Rosa Parks titled "Mother of Civil Rights" will run through December 15th at the National Archives.

Washington, D.C.'s, Metro Transit Agency is honoring Rosa Parks, dedicating this to her. The antique bus was dedicated. It was built in 1957, just two years after her dramatic act of defiance aboard a similar bus in Alabama. Rosa Parks has a symbolic seat on New York buses today. The seat behind the driver is being left empty in her memory. Other transit agencies across the country are offering similar tributes. In Atlanta, the words, "Thank you, Rosa Parks," are being flashed on bus destination signs.

Kids at one Connecticut school don't like a new rule, but you probably won't hear them expressing themselves by using profanity: the rule to keep kids from cussing. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: An eighth grade student took matters into his own hands when he saw a hidden video camera in the ceiling of the boy's bathroom. He removed it. For his initiative, Mack Champion was suspended five days by the principal at Jasper County Middle School in Monticello, Georgia. What the boy considered a privacy violation, the school considers security. A local law enforcement official says cameras in public school restrooms are illegal. The boy's mother says there must be a better way.

Also in Georgia, at a suburban Atlanta high school, officials gave a student a Breathalyzer test after another student said he had been drinking and using drugs. As it turns out, the accusation was false, a prank, matter of fact. The kid's mom, not happy. She says it came as news to her that the school can use a Breathalyzer without parental consent. As for the story telling tattle tale, no punishment.

How about this one? Students at a school in Hartford, Connecticut, are pretty bummed out that the city has slapped a ban on cussing. Especially when it's aimed at teachers.

Here's Chris Velardi of CNN affiliate WTNH.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS VELARDI, REPORTER (voice-over): It took a little longer for students to get into Hartford's Bulkeley High School this morning because first, they had to be checked by security guards with handheld metal detectors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess they're trying to make it better place, but I don't think it's really worth it.

VELARDI: The tighter security comes on the heels of a new policy, banning students from cursing. The rules are aimed specifically at students who swear at teachers and administrators.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of students think it's not fair and I say that the consequences are very severe. I don't kind of like that.

VELARDI: Very severe, indeed. City police officers assigned to the school are issuing tickets to students caught cussing. The fine, $103.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A kid may drop out of school, try to get the money to pay for that ticket and there's going to be a lot of kids out of schools.

VELARDI: School officials hope the cursing crackdown will return a level of respect to the halls of the high school. But at least one student says some teachers are taking it too far.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have to give respect first, and we'll give it back. And most of these kids here, we don't get respect from teachers.

VELARDI: As for the tighter security at the doors, some students are glad to see it. Others think it's more hassle than helpful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually respect that one, because many students do come with knives, guns and stuff like that. So, I actually know why they're doing that.

VELARDI: Does it make you feel safer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sort of, Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So I don't think it's safer for me. Even though I know what the idea is for, but I don't like that. I don't like it. I feel like I'm in prison.

VELARDI (on camera): And that student says she wants to start a petition drive to try to stop all of this. The cursing crack crackdown is a joint effort between the Hartford Public Schools and Hartford Police Department. It's up to the principal at each high school to put it in place. It is in place here at Bulkeley, it's in place at Hartford Public, but not, at least not yet, at Weaver.

In Hartford, I'm Chris Velardi, News Channel 8.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Shots ring out at the Naval Air Station in Ft. Worth, Texas. We know that three people are hurt, but other details are still developing. Fredricka Whitfield following the story in the newsroom right now. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, well we know that the three people reportedly have been wounded, and we also are being told that one person is in custody there at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in west Ft. Worth. You're looking at a live shot right now provided by WFAA. And outside the gate of the Air Reserve Station is Yolanda Walker, who's with WFAA and she has just spoken with authorities there. And Yolanda, do we know at this juncture whether those wounded and the suspected shooter are civilians, or otherwise?

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