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The War of Words; Hair-raising Journey into Ramadi; Louisiana Governor Testifying on Capitol Hill

Aired December 14, 2005 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's the top of the hour and we're talking about the president's address today. It concluded a series of four speeches aimed at boosting support for the administration's policies in Iraq.
CNN's Elaine Quijano is at the White House.

Elaine, do administration officials think they have accomplished their goal?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it's s ort of a long-term plan, as you know. The administration trying to turn around some poll numbers, particularly on the issue of Iraq, but also looking closely at the issue of when U.S. troops will come home.

Bush administration officials understand full well that that issue continues to weigh heavily on the American people, that the daily reports of bombings and casualties are something that Americans see on their TV screens. And so the administration, as we know, in recent weeks really trying to come out, not just President Bush himself, but other administration officials as well, trying to lay out for the American people what exactly the U.S. strategy for winning in Iraq is, and to let people know there is, in fact, a plan to do that.

But the early signs, if you will, as indicated by some recent polls, show that the president's overall approval numbers on the issue of Iraq are going up slightly. But again, still, many Americans, according to the latest CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll, showing that most Americans don't feel that the administration has a plan necessarily to win in Iraq -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Elaine Quijano live from the White House.

Thanks so much, Elaine.

As she mentioned -- she was talking about Iraq. We want to talk about a vehicle now known as "Rolling Death" in Iraq. That road is called IED Alley, and this could, of course, only be in that country.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson takes a hair-raising journey in the volatile city of Ramadi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're rolling out of a base now. It's just after 7:00 in the morning. I've got my helmet on, I've got my protective glasses so if there is a blast, I don't get fragments in my eyes. I've got my eardrum protectors so if there is a blast, my eardrums don't get blown out.

We're rolling out of the base, heading out into Ramadi. Here we go.

We've got Brandon over here driving, Dan over here on the radio coms. And this vehicle is known as "Rolling Death" because it doesn't have a big gun on the roof.

But that's OK. We're going to be lucky. Once we get to those tank trucks there -- that's it -- we're right on the open road.

It's early morning, and it's one of the worst times for roadside bombs. This city has more roadside bombs along this route than about any other city in Iraq right now.

It's deadly. It certainly can be, anyway.

IED Alley, it's got a ring to it. If you've got the ringing in your ears, you've been hit.

OK. Well, that's about the shortest ride we can do from one base to another. And to do this, they've had to get completely fully armored up, get a convoy together, and that's to travel. And you just saw it, a couple a hundred yards across a bridge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: From fears and frustration in Iraq to the failures and frustrations and future needs here in the United States, we're talking about Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco. She was talking candidly on Capitol Hill about the fallout from Hurricane Katrina.

Blanco told Congress today that there would not even be a hearing had the city's levees not failed. And because of this, Congress has an obligation to help rebuild New Orleans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO (D), LOUISIANA: If Congress fails to help, our people will have no money to rebuild. This is the situation: hard-working Americans who did everything right have lost their homes. They're being denied insurance coverage and end up on top of all that with ruined credit ratings through no fault of their own.

I'm asking you not to forget them. It's all because the levees failed.

I'm also asking you to at least prevent foreclosures and bankruptcies resulting from the storms from appearing against credit ratings. In my book, it's the humane thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, CNN's Andrea Koppel has been listening to the testimony.

And Andrea, there seems to be more of a political undertone to this hearing compared to others. You hear the governor talking about the levees failing. You know, a lot of people blamed her and other leaders for what went wrong in Katrina and not getting those levees fixed years ago.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. In particular, going into today's hearing, some of the governors' aides had told me that she was really bracing for a lot of tough questioning, primarily because this is an entirely Republican committee. And Governor Blanco is a Democrat, and during the Katrina fallout, in the days immediately after the hurricane struck, you'll remember President Bush appealed to Governor Blanco to yield control of the Louisiana National Guard to the U.S. military. She refused.

Now, on the eve of this hearing today, some of the aides to the chairman, Tom Davis, Republican of Virginia, released some e-mails to the media. And these e-mails, Kyra, could have been quite embarrassing.

I mean, some of them had to do with her aides talking about how the governor looked, what she should wear, whether she should look more John Wayne than a weak woman.

There were also some e-mails that had to do with aides talking about how she needed to be in the state of Louisiana because the president was coming and she needed to meet with Mayor Ray Nagin, the mayor of Louisiana -- the mayor of New Orleans before President Bush did. So there was this undercurrent going into today's hearing, and there had been some extremely tough questions by the Republicans of the governor.

PHILLIPS: Now, what do you know about this subpoena that exists to subpoena more records from the White House regarding what happened during Katrina?

KOPPEL: Going into today's hearing, one of the Democratic congressmen who is an observer on today's -- on the select committee looking into the Katrina disaster, Charlie Melancon of Louisiana, put a subpoena forward saying, look, the governor of Louisiana has released 100,000 pages of documents earlier this month. The White House has released some documents, but not the most important ones, not the e-mails that show the president's aides communicating with one another, and not the e-mails from the Pentagon that would be critical to looking at this -- this disaster and saying, what can we learn from it?

So, Charlie Melancon put forward a motion to subpoena the documents from the White House, from the Pentagon, and from the states of Mississippi and Alabama. The chair of the committee, not surprisingly, Tom Davis, said that is not going to happen right now. But the Pentagon may happen. So, you know, that's what led into today's hearing -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Andrea Koppel, thanks. Well, FEMA says that it will comply with a court order to extend hotel stays for thousands of hurricane evacuees. The embattled agency says it will foot the bill for evacuees until February 7. This applies to Hurricane Katrina victims living in all states.

A FEMA representative notes that about 40,000 families displaced by Katrina are still living in hotels.

And if you're heading to New Orleans, you may want to check out the city's newest attraction: the Hurricane Katrina disaster tour. Come January 4, Gray Lines in New Orleans will offer the Hurricane Katrina tour, America's worst catastrophe. It will give people a first-hand look at the widespread devastation.

Gray Lines says that the idea grew out of frustration over the government's slow response to rebuilding. About 10 percent of the $35 ticket prices will go toward Katrina relief groups.

A harmless pastime or a dangerous addiction? Coming up on LIVE FROM, online gambling. You could be -- it's more of a risk than you probably realize. We're going to talk about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, I don't have a lot of information here for you, but I'll try and give it to you as it's coming across the wire. It's a debate that we're going to have in just a little bit about the Patriot Act.

We're just being told that the House voted 251-174 to approve a House-Senate compromise that would modify and make permanent most of the Patriot Act's 16 expiring provisions. Don't know all 16 expiring provisions, but I can tell you that we're going to talk about a number of those parts within the Patriot Act with Bob Barr, former congressman, and Cliff May. We're going to talk about, you know, business records.

You'll remember after 9/11 the Patriot Act went through, and there were a lot of new decisions that were made with regard to information and what kind of -- information the government can get on you if they think you're a threat to national security, things like roving wiretaps, business records, the sneak and peek, which, of course, is where authorities can come in and check out possibly your property without you knowing and telling you later.

So we're going to debate, of course, the Patriot Act and try and make clear which parts will be -- or this compromise that was made that would modify and make permanent, you know, which 16 provisions we're talking about. We'll try to hammer that out and have more information for you once we get the debate going.

Well, he's the kind of kid that you'd peg as most likely to succeed. Prep school grad, sophomore class president at Yale (ph) University, a son of a minister, but now Greg Hogan (ph) has a date with a D.A. for allegedly pulling a stickup at a Pennsylvania bank. Authorities say that Hogan, age 19, handed a note to a teller at a Wachovia bank saying that he had a gun and wanted money. Police say he got away with close to $3,000. The finance and accounting major was later picked up at his fraternity house and charged with robbery, theft by unlawful taking, and receiving stolen property.

Well, Greg Hogan's (ph) lawyer says that his young client got in trouble because of online gambling. He reportedly started playing as a way to blow off steam, and his hobby became an addiction.

Sadly, there's a lot of people that are locked in that same trap.

Keith Whyte is with the National Council on Problem Gambling, and he joins us now to talk a little bit more about this.

Keith, according to what you say is the profile of someone who is addicted to online gambling, this young man fit the profile.

KEITH WHYTE, COUNCIL ON PROBLEM GAMBLING: Well, unfortunately he does. We know that 20 percent of males between the ages of 14 and 22 are gambling on the Internet in the past month. We know that you're more likely to be a gambler, and a problem gambler, if you're male, if you're in college, if you're a member of a fraternity. You know, and if you're often a high achieving -- you know, sort of someone who likes to take a lot of risks.

So unfortunately, he does fit the profile, but there's a lot of college students that do.

PHILLIPS: Well, how did this get so popular? And how, you know, males 18 to 22, member of a frat, student athlete, highly functional, achievement-oriented, I mean, how did this -- how did these young men get connected to online gambling and how did it all begin?

WHYTE: Well, it's important to know that this -- this has always been a risk profile for gambling problems in that, in fact, for the last 30 or 40 years, that's been consistent. You know, previously they were getting involved with sports gambling, most frequently.

Now what we're seeing with the accessibility of particularly poker, but all forms of gambling through the Internet, 24 hours a day, it's unregulated, it's anonymous, you know, we're seeing these kids that are rapidly going online in huge numbers. About three million in the past year are playing -- are gambling on the Internet monthly.

We also -- I think a big factor is the glamorization, the irresponsible glamorization of poker in the broadcast media.

PHILLIPS: Now, you're saying it's unregulated and anonymous. But obviously you've been doing a lot of research on this. Do you know where a lot of these are being started and where the money is coming from?

WHYTE: Well, we frankly don't know. And I think that should be a real big concern for people who are putting their money and, in often cases, their credit cards, their financial history online with people that they don't even know. And, quite frankly, they may not even be people.

One of the biggest fads right now in the industry are poker- playing robots, you know, computer programs that develop strategy based on, you know, the number of hands that they've played. And so you might not even be playing against real people. I mean, it's a wild, wild west out there, and there's very little responsible conduct.

PHILLIPS: But people are getting paid, right? People are getting daily payments if, indeed, they're winning. If they get on the right site, I guess it's working for them.

WHYTE: Apparently they are. Some sites may very much be like a Ponzi scheme, where they pay off and they pay off until more and more people join, and then they fold up.

But by and large, you know, our concern is that we are not equipping parents and teachers or kids with the right information to really learn what kind of problems are out there with gambling, especially online gambling. And more importantly, what the solutions are if you do have a gambling problem. You know, to try and prevent the problem before it starts.

PHILLIPS: And we'll get to that in a minute, because I know you've got a Web site. Before we do that, the unregulated part of things and trying to get the -- you know, the certain individual, that profile. Not to go after online gambling. But going after the online gambling, a lot of task forces have been created, I know, within a number of police departments to go after online gambling.

Do you think it's aggressive enough? Is it working? Is it getting more popular? Are you seeing more Web sites or less?

WHYTE: Well, right now we think there's at least 2,000 Internet gambling Web sites.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

WHYTE: Basically, the police we talk to consider this a victimless crime in that if they are going after anything at all, it's the providers of these gambling services, which is the traditional way we've enforced gambling. So even if -- even if these task forces are trying to go after the bookies, if you will, they're all located off shore. And it's difficult, if not impossible, to conceive of how they're going to police individual behavior on the Internet, especially when people are gambling at sites that are not located in the United States or regulated by the United States.

PHILLIPS: Now, tell me if this is a silly question, but you think of gambling, you know, back in the day, still now, you know, you deal with your bookie. And if you don't pay up, well, a lot of things could happen from getting beaten up to death, even, we've seen a number of times.

But for something like this, say you don't pay out, are you -- I mean, are there individuals that are actually getting physically hurt? Or is it, since it's just something that is usually done by credit card, right, they're just going into debt? I mean, what's the difference between the two with regard to the threat to the person that's doing the gambling?

WHYTE: Well, from our perspective, from the perspective of helping problem gamblers, the most important consequences are to the individual. And as we see in this case, where the individual felt compelled to rob a bank to help pay his debts, whether or not it's the incredible high rate of suicidal behavior among pathological gamblers, they have gambling debt twice their average annual income when they seek treatment. You know, enormous rates of depression and a co- occurrence of other substance abuse problems.

You know, so for us, getting beaten up by a bookie or a loan shark is probably one of the least likely and least threatening consequences. We see this in its end stages. Pathological gambling is a life-threatening behavior, not from externally, but internally.

The shame, the stigma that these individuals feel often leads them to do rash acts: bank robbery, you know, enough to and including self-destruction. So we think the threat from an addicted gambler is to himself or herself.

PHILLIPS: Point made. Keith, and as we wrap up, the Web site, www.ncpgambling.org. And that stands for National Council on Problem Gambling.

WHYTE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Keith, thanks for your time.

WHYTE: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Well, a drama playing on and off the big screen. "Brokeback Mountain" is winning rave and -- raving reviews and award nominations that could be sparking a culture war. We're going to take a closer look when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, a rock legend adds another award to his resume and joins a very elite group. No, not people who can play "Stairway to Heaven." It's better than that.

Led-Zeppelin's Jimmy Page now an officer of the British empire. Page was presented the OBE today at Buckingham Palace. But the honor isn't for his musical talent, even though the queen may be a major Zep head for all we know. But Page and his wife run a children's charity.

Not sure if we can call him "Sir Jimmy" or not. The details are all terribly British.

Well, the great American western is crossing a new frontier. "Brokeback Mountain" breaking old boundaries. But are Americans ready for a serious movie about love between gay cowboys?

Ready or not, here's Sibila Vargas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): John Wayne's 1939 classic "Stagecoach" is part of a beloved cinematic tradition: the gun-slinging, horse-riding western. But there's a new film breaking the unspoken rules of this classic American genre.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN": You know, it could be like this, just like this always.

VARGAS: The cowboys in "Brokeback Mountain" don't shoot at each other, they embrace each other. In fact, the film shows the two men in a decades-long love affair, complete with intense love scenes.

JAKE GYLLENHAAL, ACTOR, "BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN": I just sort of -- I fell in love with the story. I thought it was a beautiful love story, whether or not it was about two guys or it was about a guy and a girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Best motion picture drama, "Brokeback Mountain." Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain," Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain."

VARGAS: Now the film is nominated for seven Golden Globes, more than any other movie. It's already won accolades from several major critic associations, and during last week's limited release in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, "Brokeback" earned more than $500,000, earning it the highest per screen average of any live action film in history.

ANG LEE, DIRECTOR, "BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN": It's the kind of movie that is sinking with the audience, and they have to process it afterwards. The movie has a magic.

VARGAS: Of course, not everyone is feeling the magic of the gay themes in "Brokeback Mountain."

TOM O'NEIL, THEENVELOPE.COM: A lot of conservative groups are going to be gunning for this western because it challenges the core American values in this very American western film that redefines what we should think about these social issues.

VARGAS: Stephen Bennett, a self-proclaimed former gay man and host of "Straight Talk" radio is concerned.

STEPHEN BENNETT, STRAIGHT TALK RADIO: "Brokeback Mountain" has taken the level of marketing homosexuality to America another step further. Basically, what they're trying to do is trying to sell it. And that's what we believe.

They're basically trying to normalize it, saying that gay is OK. And again, as someone who has come out of the homosexual lifestyle, I can tell you, I'm a survivor of "Brokeback Mountain." I've lived "Brokeback Mountain," and I've overcome it.

VARGAS: Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation disagrees.

NEIL GIULIANO, GLAAD PRESIDENT: I didn't get the memo about the agenda. We have an Academy Award-winning director who is telling a compelling, moving love story that happens to be about two men. And anyone who wants to attack that or criticize that, I think that's really telling us a little more about their own level of intolerance than it does about any particular agenda. It's a wonderful love story that everyone is really going to be moved by.

VARGAS: In the end, "Brokeback's" fate, like all movies, will be determined by its audience.

Sibila Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: More heat for big tobacco's new advertising campaign, raising some eyebrows.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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