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New War Strategy; Brain Drain in Iraq; Passenger Ship Sinks

Aired February 03, 2006 - 13:59   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: At the top of the hour right now, how do you fight 21st century wars? The Pentagon's answer is a more agile force, better trained against terrorists.
Here with the battle plan, Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the Pentagon has just finished a very lengthy briefing unveiling what it calls its quadrennial defense review. What this is really about is trying to transform the military since the war in Afghanistan, since the wary in Iraq, less reliance on those traditional weapons like tanks and aircraft, more reliance on intelligence and information.

I think we have a little bit of that briefing to bring to you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN HENRY, DEFENSE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: On the conventional end, we will be ready to defeat an enemy at a time, place and manner of our choosing. We will be able to do those major campaigns and continue to have an ability to do two major campaigns nearly simultaneously. But rather than as in the '01 force planning contract, both of those being conventional campaigns, one of those may in fact be a prolonged irregular campaign.

While we are doing that, we will selectively be able to enhance our deterrence anywhere of our choosing around the globe. But that deterrence will not be a one size fits all massive retaliation that we've built up over the last 50 years, but it will also be augmented by an ability to deter rogue powers and also terrorists and their networks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So Kyra, a lot of words, a lot of what they call Pentagon speak around here.

What does all of this mean? Well, what this new report says, what this new review does is lay out a road map for the future, if you will. And it emphasizes a lot of new areas for the military.

Topping the list, more emphasis on Special Operations Forces. That group of troops, they will increase their numbers by about 15 percent. Those are the commando forces that do much of the work in the global war on terror. There will be a 33 percent increase in civil affairs and psychological operations. These are the troops that do this very specialized work, everything from humanitarian relief to information operations campaigns.

So again, a lot of emphasis on intelligence, unconventional warfare, and a bit of a cut in some of those traditional areas that the Pentagon operates in -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr live from the Pentagon.

Thanks, Barbara.

Well, it's nighttime in Safaga, Egypt, right now, a busy port, now the hub of a desperate rescue mission. Hundreds of people still unaccounted for after the unexplained sinking of this crowded ferry in middle of the Red Sea.

So far, 263 people have made it to the shore alive, we're told, rescued from a scattering of lifeboats. About 100 bodies have been pulled from the choppy waters. The Egyptian ferry vanished from radar screen shortly after setting sail from the Saudi port of Dubah. No distress signal, no collision.

Now on the phone with us, Mohamed Loutfy Mansour. He's the transportation minister. He's coming to us out of Safaga.

Minister Mansour, what can you tell us about the continued rescue effort? Do you believe there are more people that could still be alive?

Mr. Mansour, can you hear me? Mr. Mansour? Are you able to hear me now?

We've got him on a cell phone. So we'll try and get connected -- OK, we'll try and get connected with the transportation minister to get an update on that rescue effort going on right now after that ferry sank in the Red Sea.

Meanwhile, we are going to talk about two other countries ready to help with the rescues. The U.S. Navy offered to send aircraft to help pick up survivors, and the British offered the warship HMS Bulwark. Egyptians say thanks but no thanks to both.

Your tax dollars will pay for the new plan and much more, $440 billion tax dollars, to be precise. That's the figure to look for when President Bush's new budget comes out on Monday.

It is about five percent more than the Pentagon got last year, but it still doesn't cover the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Add another $120 billion, give or take, for those.

President Bush wants to raise the stakes with a few more chips. Mr. Bush toured a computer chip factory outside Albuquerque today, saying America needs to set up math -- or -- yes, set up math and science education to stay competitive. He also took time to brag about the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've got a strong economy. Today you are going to see that in January we added 193,000 new jobs; 81,000 new jobs, extra jobs were added as a result of upgrading the November and December numbers. And we've got steady growth, and that's important. We want our people working.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the jobless rate fell last month to a four and a half year low, 4.7 percent.

Only three days into February, a sixth U.S. GI killed in Iraq. The latest is a soldier killed by a roadside bomb just north of Baghdad. The U.S. military death toll now stands at 2,248 since war in Iraq began.

Many of Iraq's best and brightest are finding better and brighter opportunities elsewhere, almost anywhere else.

CNN's Michael Holmes spoke to some who are staying, at least for now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You wouldn't think being a pharmacist would be considered a dangerous profession, risking your life. But this is Iraq.

ANMAR AL DABBAGH, PHARMACIST: Less than a month ago, the husband of one of my colleagues here was kidnapped because she's a pharmacist. She had to pay a ransom. I don't want to expose my family to this risk.

HOLMES: And so Anmar is leaving his country, and he's not the only one.

DABBAGH: About half the people I know in my profession have left the country, some of them for good, all because of the situation in Iraq.

HOLMES: That situation includes criminal kidnaps for ransom, but also more sinister insurgent-related killings, threats and intimidation.

(on camera): Academics, scientists, professionals. There are no precise statistics, but it's thought that thousands have fled this country, fearing kidnapping or death. And, of course, those who are most financially able to leave are those that Iraq can least afford to lose, the brains of this country.

MAHMOUD OTHMAN, IRAQI POLITICIAN: It's quite a dangerous problem. And it's very dangerous socially from the point of view of education or building the country. And I think this is one of the very serious problems.

HOLMES: Prominent Kurdish politician Mahmoud Othman believes it is an insurgent tactic to drive out Iraq's best and brightest to weaken the country.

OTHMAN: They want to drain down the country. It is very, very dangerous. Any government should give big priority to the issue of how to deal with it.

HOLMES: Dr. Al Harith Abdul Hamid is one of his country's best- known psychiatrists. He is staying put for now. Colleagues, however, have left in droves.

AL HARITH ABDUL HAMID, PSYCHIATRIST: Definitely, doctors in particular, physicians, hundreds of good, and the famous and the most intelligent physicians, they had to leave the country.

HOLMES: After the Americans invaded, many here hoped exiles, talented people, would return. They did. Some of them. But now that trickle has reversed, and professionals say it is a flood.

Dr. Hamid has considered joining the exodus, but he's staying for the patients.

HAMID: One of my patients threatened me with suicide. You know? And he said, well, I'll commit suicide if you leave the country. This affect me quite a lot. I think about it. I dream about it.

DABBAGH (through translator): Although we used to live under political tension with Saddam, it was safe enough to stay in the pharmacy until midnight. Now we close at 6:00, before dark.

HOLMES: And so Anmar Al Dabbagh is packing his bags.

DABBAGH: I will decide to leave Iraq, leave the troubles in Iraq. And I work, I will need to sleep safely.

HOLMES: Michael Holmes, CNN Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: We want to get back to Safaga, Egypt, right now, where a story we have been following since early this morning. And it happened at a busy port.

There you see in Dubah, where a ferry was taking off with about 1,400 people when word came about that it sank, and there were rescue boats that were dispatched. So far, we're told only 78 people have made it to the shore alive as this rescue effort is continuing right now. In addition, about 100 bodies we're told have been pulled from the choppy waters there.

On the phone with us now -- I think we have a good connection -- transportation Minister Mohamed Loutfy Mansour.

Mr. Mansour, can you hear me OK? MOHAMED LOUTFY MANSOUR, EGYPT TRANSPORTATION MINISTER: Yes, I can.

PHILLIPS: Can you tell me, are there anymore survivors than the 78 that we have been talking about on CNN?

MANSOUR: Yes, the numbers are increasing now. They have gone up to 263 survivors that have been picked up by rescue vessels. And we're continuing the rescuing operation.

It is nighttime here, and nightfall, but we are continuing the rescuing operation. And the numbers are up to 263 so far.

PHILLIPS: So, Mr. Mansour, I understand that the U.S. Navy, in addition to the British navy, have offered resources to help in the rescue effort, but they have been turned down. Do you not need their services?

MANSOUR: Who has turned them down? I'm not aware that -- that they have been turned down.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. OK. We had a report on just a few minutes ago that the British and the U.S. Navy have offered help but have received no's. I will pursue that. Maybe our producers can do that and we can check on the script that we ran just a little while ago.

But you have not been contacted about that?

MANSOUR: No, I have not.

PHILLIPS: OK.

MANSOUR: What I have -- what I have in front -- what we know now is that there are -- the Egyptian navy is doing the rescue operation, and so is the Saudi Arabian government has sent a couple of vessels to assist in the rescue operation. And this is -- this is the information that I have.

PHILLIPS: Are you actually picking people up out of the rescue boats via helicopter?

MANSOUR: Yes.

PHILLIPS: That's what you're doing?

MANSOUR: Yes, there has been helicopters, and we're picking the people up on rescue -- on rescue vessels.

PHILLIPS: And did this ferry completely sink into the Red Sea?

MANSOUR: Yes, it has.

PHILLIPS: Do you know what happened in addition to the weather? Did anything go wrong on board? MANSOUR: No, not -- we do not know as of this point, but definitely there will be an investigation to try to determine the reason for the sinking of the vessel.

PHILLIPS: Do you know if it had a collision of any -- did it collide?

MANSOUR: No, it has not.

PHILLIPS: No collisions?

MANSOUR: We are not aware -- we are not aware that it has had a collision.

PHILLIPS: So how many people -- tell me if I have my numbers right. You're saying about 263 survivors so far, that rescue operation still going forward.

MANSOUR: Yes, that's correct.

PHILLIPS: And about 100 fatalities at this point?

MANSOUR: The fatalities that I'm aware of are three so far. The bodies that have been picked up are three. This is the number that I have. But the ones that have been rescued and are on rescue -- rescue boats are 263, 263.

PHILLIPS: And do you -- is the number still correct that there were about 1,400 people on this ferry?

MANSOUR: Yes. Yes, there were 1,400 people on this ferry. That's correct.

PHILLIPS: Do you think you'll still be able to make an efficient rescue of hundreds of more?

MANSOUR: Well, we're trying our best, and we're -- you know, the rescue operation was handled by the navy. And like I said, Saudi Arabia is helping. And I've heard also that the few vessels in the area are also assisting.

PHILLIPS: Mohamed Mansour, the transportation minister there in Safaga, Egypt.

Sir, I thank you for your time.

MANSOUR: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: We're going to stay on this story.

The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: No speedy trial for Scooter Libby. Dick Cheney's former chief of staff learned today he'll go on trial next January 8, as in 2007.

Libby's accused of perjury and obstructing the probe of a government leak that outed a CIA operative.

CNN's Chief National Correspondent John King is marking his calendar.

John, why such a long date?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, you know, Washington is a very political town. So there are some saying, aha, this is some sort of secret plan to delay this trial past the midterm elections. But Judge Reggie Walton (ph) in the courthouse, he's a by-the-book kind of guy. He says he need that time because of the complicated legal issues involved.

The two sides are fighting over how many journalists will be subpoenaed to testify, will they have to turn over their notes and their e-mails. They are also fighting over some of the government's most secretive records, including the president's daily briefs. Scooter Libby's defense team says it needs that.

Now, the White House has tried to keep that document from Congress, tried to keep it from the 9/11 commission. It might now face the question of whether it will give it up to help the vice president's former top aide and closer friend in his legal defense.

So there will be months and months of legal wrangling. Many of the judge's decisions could be appealed up to higher courts. So they believe that will take the spring, the summer and into the fall. And they hope to have jury selection, as you noted, starting January 8 next year

PHILLIPS: Now, what's the deal with Libby's handwriting complicating things for the prosecution?

KING: Your handwriting is perfect, I'm sure, Kyra, but...

PHILLIPS: Far from it, John, believe me.

KING: The prosecutors have a number of notes Mr. Libby took at White House meetings. And they say those notes prove false his statements to the FBI and his statements to the grand jury about when he learned about Valerie Plame. She, of course, is the CIA operative who is the wife of ambassador Joe Wilson, an administration critic.

The prosecution has those notes, and the defense wants them. One of the things the prosecution says that it can't understand many of them because they are in Libby's scribble. They tried to reach a deal in court today. And they say they are working on a deal in which Mr. Libby himself will sit down both with the prosecution and the defense, try to translate his notes.

That was one of the light moments in court today. He got a pretty good laugh out of that. PHILLIPS: Well, of course I'm thinking, you know, how some law enforcement officials do the handwriting analysis. I wonder if they will be able to deem anything from that, if indeed they decide to go that way. That's a sidebar, John. Sorry.

The investigation into who else was involved in the leak of Valerie Plame's name, it's still going on, right? Still lingering?

KING: It is still going on. And of course Karl Rove, the president's deputy chief of staff, and his top political operative is still under the spotlight, if you will.

Karl Rove has told friends and associates he believes he is in the clear. He believes he will ultimately be in the clear because of information given to the prosecutor. But there is another grand jury in place, special prosecutor Pat Fitzgerald in court for the Libby proceedings today, but is still gathering evidence, still trying to find out more.

So this investigation continues. And so as Mr. Libby's trial goes forward and the evidentiary hearings go forward over the next couple of months, we still have the open question, is Mr. Fitzgerald looking to charge anybody else? We don't know.

PHILLIPS: All right. I'm being told to ask you about a special copy machine?

KING: A special copying machine because one of the issues here is these records -- some of the records the defense wants are highly classified. So they have to go into the courthouse here to see them.

They can't take them with them. They can't take notes. And for the six attorneys to look at them, they want to be able to share and look at them all at once to save time. So they need to copy those highly-classified records.

They can't do that with a normal copying machine because those machines have a memory built into them. So you would have memory, a disk, or some sort of file that copy classified records.

So they have to get through the government, from the FBI, from the CIA, from somebody a highly-sensitive copying machine. They are trying to get one. They say hopefully in the next couple of weeks they will. That might speed the process a little bit

PHILLIPS: So you can't out a covert copy machine, is that the deal?

KING: I'm going to take it with me right over to the bureau when we're done.

PHILLIPS: Yes. John King, thanks a lot.

Well, sounds of panic from a grisly attack, they are captured on a 911 recording from Wednesday night's rampage. Police call it a hate crime in a gay bar in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The weapons, a hatchet and a gun. The horror obvious.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

OPERATOR: 911, New Bedford Emergency.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need an ambulance.

OPERATOR: You need an ambulance? What's the problem?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

OPERATOR: What is the problem?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Someone's been shot.

OPERATOR: Somebody's been shot?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody's been shot. You have to get here now.

OPERATOR: Who's been shot? How many people?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know who it is.

OPERATOR: Ma'am, calm down. We already have people on the way. How many people?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think just one.

OPERATOR: Just one person?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need to get here, please.

OPERATOR: One male shot?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please get here.

OPERATOR: Ma'am?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes?

OPERATOR: Who shot him?

(END AUDIO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, the suspect still remains at large. Police warn he is armed and should be considered very dangerous. CNN's Deborah Feyerick spoke with the bartender and police.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was just before midnight at the Puzzles lounge, a small crowded bar, when a man in a black-hooded sweatshirt walked in.

PHILLIP, BARTENDER: He had asked me whether or not this was a gay bar, and I had confirmed with him at that time that, yes, it was a gay bar.

FEYERICK: The bartender, who asked we call him Philip, showed CNN where the man he considered suspicious entered and approached two men in the back of the bar.

(on camera): The bartender says the suspect downed two drinks pretty quickly, and then he came here, sat on one of these stools just next to the popcorn machine. Two men were playing pool at this pool table when one of them turned his back. That's when the bartender says the suspect pulled out a hatchet and began hitting him.

(voice over): Police say 18-year-old Jacob Robida then struck a second man in the face with a hatchet. He dropped it only when a customer tackled him. Then he pulled out the gun

CAPT. RICHARD SPIRLET, NEW BEDFORD POLICE: One individual was shot in the back and another individual was shot in the chest.

FEYERICK: They are in critical condition. A third man was also shot, but treated and released. The district attorney is still investigating whether the shooter knew any of his victims.

PAUL WALSH, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Whether it was personal, we don't know. Whether it was just sexual orientation, we don't know that either

FEYERICK: Robida lives with his mother in a modest home on a quiet street. Upstairs neighbor Laura DeCosta has known Jacob Robida since he was a child.

LAURA DECOSTA, NEIGHBOR: He keeps to himself, and he has a room with all swastikas on his walls and all that. You know? And he belongs to -- he belongs to that clique there, you know? He doesn't like anybody.

FEYERICK: On a personal Web site, myspace.com, Robida is seen with a swastika tattoo. Another shows him holding a pistol. There's also a picture of a large machine gun. Police have not said what kind of gun was used in the attack.

Finally, there is text that reads, "Pass the axe and get your hands bloody, baby."

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New Bedford, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Ashes to ashes, arson to arson. A half-dozen churches burned overnight in central Alabama, three of them to the ground. A deputy sheriff says the arsonists acted, in his words, as fast as they could drive from one location to the next. White churches and black churches were targeted alike. Most were Baptist.

Still to come, anger in the Muslim world. It is not fading. It is getting louder and closer to boiling over. The cartoon storm when LIVE FROM continues. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's go straight to Jacqui Jeras in the weather center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: From Middle East to Deep South, King Abdullah of Jordan is in Oxford, Mississippi, this hour an his way to the Gulf Coast. He is due to speak shortly at Ole Miss in his first public appearance since arriving in the U.S. to meet with President Bush. Later today he will be in New Orleans for a first-hand look at the damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck not feeling the love in Hong Kong, or maybe it's too much love.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)