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Bolton Battle; Suspect in Italy Plans to Fight Extradition to Britain; Death of King Fahd

Aired August 01, 2005 - 11:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at what's happening "Now in the News."
President Bush sidesteps the Senate to appoint John Bolton as U.N. ambassador. Bolton's nomination was stalled by lawmakers who oppose the nomination, but the president says the post is too important to leave the Vatican any longer -- leave it vacant any longer. He used his constitutional authority to appoint Bolton while Congress is in recess.

The Saudi king who forged close ties with the U.S. during his reign has died. Burial is set for tomorrow for King Fahd. He had ruled in name only since suffering a stroke 10 years ago. His successor, the former Crown Prince Abdullah, has been in charge of the kingdom since that time

Officials say a suspect arrested in the failed London transit bombings used a false identity to seek refugee status in Britain. The man is identified who's Hamdi Adus Isaac is in custody in Rome. We'll go live to Rome and London for more on the investigation in just a few minutes.

Two Shuttle Discovery astronauts take a walk outside to replace a broken part on the International Space station. And NASA is pondering whether to attempt a repair on the shuttle itself. Material that is protruding from two gaps between Discovery's ceramic tiles could cause temperature increases during reentry. Details in a live report at the half-hour.

Good morning, and welcome to CNN LIVE TODAY. Let's check out some time around the world -- 5:00 p.m. in Rome, Italy: 6:00 p.m. in Khartoum, Sudan; and 7:00 p.m. in Baghdad.

From CNN Center in Atlanta, good morning, once again. I'm Daryn Kagan.

First, an August blockbuster. President Bush bypassed the Senate this morning on John Bolton. Last hour you saw live here he made Bolton the top American diplomat at the United Nations. He used a constitutional provision called the recess appointment to make that happen.

Our National Correspondent Bob Franken is at the White House this morning to tell us how that all works.

Bob, good morning. BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the way it works is, while the Senate has an advise and consent responsibility in the Constitution, it provides in Article II -- we'll have a little civics lesson here -- that when the Senate is not in session, when Congress is not in session, in recess, a recess appointment can be made. So after five months of lack of success in getting Bolton confirmed before the U.S. Senate, the president took his first opportunity to do it.

This recess appointment goes into effect immediately. Lasts, however, only until 2007, not the end of the president's term.

The president is anticipating, correctly, that there are going to be Democrats who say this undermines his credibility. And he was ready with his response to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm sending Ambassador Bolton to New York with my complete confidence. Ambassador Bolton believes passionately in the goals of the United Nations charter to advance peace and liberty and human rights. His mission is now to help the U.N. reform itself to renew its founding promises for the 21st century.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: The question now is, does this mean this whole political debate is over with? And the answer is, political debates are never over with.

Senator Edward Kennedy was as scathing as many of the other Democrats when he called the recess appointment a "devious maneuver that evades the constitutional requirement of Senate consent and only further darkens the cloud over Mr. Bolton's credibility at the U.N."

And, of course, as we've discussed, Daryn, the Constitution provides for the recess appointment, the one that the president made today -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Bob, big day at the White House. Thank you for that.

Well, let's take a look at John Bolton and his career in Washington, dating to the early days of the Reagan administration. State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel takes a look at the rise of John Bolton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Bolton has been downright demonized by Democrats.

SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: And I think Mr. Bolton needs anger management

SEN. PAUL SARBANES (D), MARYLAND: Bolton has a reputation for being abusive.

SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: I'm concerned it will be more like sending a bull into a china shop.

KOPPEL: But just who is the man behind the mustache?

JOE COBLE, FMR. BOLTON CLASSMATE: He was pleasant, he was always laughing. John was a very energetic, very active, very intelligent, very participatory person in the class.

KOPPEL: Joe Coble knew Bolton before the mustache, before peach fuzz even, when they were both enrolled in Maryland's prestigious McDonough School in the mid-1960s, then an all-boys military academy.

For the brilliant son of a Baltimore city firefighter who devoured books at the public library, a full scholarship to McDonough was Bolton's ticket to a white collar job. His senior yearbook said it all, "Future: foreign service officer."

COBLE: From the first week I met him, he was talking about national issues and public policy issues. And it was his milk. It's what he did.

BARRY GOLDWATER: Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.

KOPPEL: Bolton led the Students for Barry Goldwater campaign for president in 1964 as a high school sophomore. His passion for Republican politics influenced by his parents.

As associate editor of the school's newspaper, he took on the hottest issues of his time. By his senior year, one editor at the paper wrote that Bolton had "attacked his duties with the fervor of a political fanatic."

COBLE: All of us had political interest. I mean, everybody in the class would talk about it. But what made John unique was that he was very deeply involved in the Republican way of thinking.

KOPPEL: A core belief which seemed to grow more profound during the tumultuous years of the Vietnam War, when Bolton was enrolled at Yale University and Yale Law School.

THOMAS BOYD, FMR. BOLTON COLLEAGUE.: It's a perfect example of an individual who started with modest means and became a very successful lawyer, very talented lawyer.

KOPPEL: Thomas Boyd served as Bolton's deputy at the Justice Department during the Reagan years and considers Bolton a friend.

BOYD: The Republican Party, at least, in his view, I suspect, is a party that encourages individual mobility. And rewards it. And I think he identifies with that.

KOPPEL: Boyd says the Bolton he knew set high standards, but was never a boy. BOYD: You had to have your argument together. And if you didn't, he wouldn't lose his temper. At least I never saw any of that, but rather you wouldn't be invited back to engage in another discussion.

KOPPEL: A workaholic known to send e-mails at 4:00 a.m., Bolton's blue collar roots and hard-working parents taught him to strive for perfection. His recess appointment to the United Nations, where he'll only serve for 18 months, a bittersweet victory.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: By the way, just for the record, John Bolton is the most high-profile appointment made by the president while Congress is in recess. He has, though, made 105 other recess appointments. Among them, appointments to the Defense Base Closure Commission, two federal appeals courts, and the appointment of a Labor Department solicitor.

To London now. Police are on alert and much of the city is on edge. Large numbers of uniformed officers and marksmen are reported in the capital amid a newspaper warning that another team of suicide bombers is planning a third attack.

The British government has no official comment on that claim, but authorities are more openly discussing and dissecting the growing number of people under arrest in the investigation. That includes all four of the alleged would-be bombers in the failed attacks on July 21.

We are learning more about the suspect arrested in Rome in connection with the failed London bombings. CNN's Jennifer Eccleston is following that part of the story. And she joins us live now from Rome.

Jennifer, hello.

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Well, that's right, the Rome's chief anti-terrorism officer, Carlo De Stefano, today providing further details about the Friday arrest of Hussain Osman, a suspected London bomber whom Italian police call Hamdi Adus Isaac. And that's the name that appears on his Ethiopian birth certificate.

Now, police officials here said the name Osman was an alias that he adopted while he was in the United Kingdom. And the police are saying that some 2,000 non-EU citizens have been questioned in Italy in relation to the investigation, and some of them were subsequently arrested.

They also talked about the cell phone that tracked Isaac's movements here from the United Kingdom. And they say it proved that he had contact with members of the east African immigrant community across Italy, including two of his brothers who live here who are now both under arrest. The police chief also confirmed that family and friends helped the suspect make his way from London to Rome. And they're looking at the possibility that Isaac and his family could have been part of an east African criminal network in Italy. But for now, it doesn't appear that he or his family had direct -- were directly related to the wider terrorist network in this country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLO DE STEFANO, ANTI-TERRORISM POLICE CHIEF (through translator): We have to realize that we are confronted here with the facts which have to do with what seems to us to be more like an impromptu or informal group, rather than some kind of well-organized terrorist network.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ECCLESTON: Meantime, Daryn, the suspect continues to be questioned at a Rome prison. We are still awaiting a judge's decision about whether or not there's enough evidence for extradition to the United Kingdom.

We know that Isaac's lawyer said her client will fight extradition. Antonietta Sonnessa also confirmed that Isaac told investigators he was indeed involved in that July 21 failed attack on the London transport system, but he said the strike was meant to grab attention and not meant to kill -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Jennifer Eccleston, live from Rome. Jennifer, thank you.

The attacks on the transit stem and the threat of more violence has London commuters on edge. Our Kelly Wallace looks at how some are coping with that heightened anxiety.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL MARKS, DIRECTOR, SPYMASTER: Puts it straight over one's head. Puts these elastic bands around the neck. And you are now safe for 15 minutes.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pocket- sized gas masks. Michael Marks says they have been flying off the shelves at his security gear shop. Nearly 800 sold in the last week since the July 21 botched bombings.

MARKS: They're basically coming and saying, "What can we do? What can we carry? What can we give to our children to give them some security so that we won't worry so much?"

WALLACE: Sales of survival kits like this one, which include a mask, whistle and flashlight, are up 150 percent since the first attacks, with several thousand sold, a company spokesman said. And Dave Butler says he's starting to pick up interest in the mask he sells, which he and his wife carry everywhere.

DAVE BUTLER, SECURITY CONSULTANT: The mask that I carry is actually good against chemical, biological, radiological dust. So it's good against all of the three major threat hazards that we currently could expect terrorists to use.

WALLACE: The new normal in London -- perhaps -- because out on the street, it's hard to find anyone who actually purchased a new mask or a survival kit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Survival kit? No. What's a survival kit?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a mask. A gas mask, protecting you from dust. A couple of...

WALLACE: When we explained, she adds...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think if there's a problem down there, you might need more than a swab, so, you know, I don't need to carry a swab on me, I'm fine.

WALLACE: Still, there are constant reminders that things have changed. Police out in full force during rush hour. Cynical spoofs like this one, warning people on the underground, known as the Tube, not to run on concourses, especially if they are carrying a backpack, wearing a big coat or looking a bit foreign. Cartoonists renaming stops along the Tube, "Terror," "Panic," "Fear," and "Doom."

And as Londoners go about their business, something else is different. They now check each other out on the lookout for anything suspicious.

(on camera): Do you find yourself looking around a bit more?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe a bit more vigilant. And sort of if someone was to leave a bag down or something like that, you'd be more sort of aware of it. But not really. Just get on with it.

WALLACE: Kelly Wallace, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Still ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY, we're going to have more on the life and death of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, including a look at his close relationship with the U.S. Details just ahead.

You've worked really hard, and now you need a relaxing vacation. But where are you going to go? We're going to look at the top spots for your next getaway coming up.

And tips on what it takes to live a longer and better life. That's just ahead in our "Daily Dose" of health news.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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KAGAN: Let's check in on the weather. Is it steamy enough for you where you are? Jacqui Jeras is here.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: On to other world news. The people of Sudan have endured years of civil war and unspeakable violence, but now there is no bloodshed this morning. And there are new concerns about the nation's peace process. It has to do with a helicopter crash and questions about that crash.

Details just ahead.

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KAGAN: To Saudi Arabia now. World leaders are sending condolences after the death of Saudi King Fahd. Our David Ensor reports on the monarch's rich legacy and his close ties to Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His name said it all, Fahd bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, one of nearly four dozen sons of the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. Fahd was the fifth to rule a desert kingdom delicately balanced between the strong traditions of the past and the necessary transition to the future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the shuttle has cleared the tower.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope to see you soon.

ENSOR: Fahd was both ruler of 24 million people in a deeply conservative society and custodian of the two most holy shrines of Islam. In later years, the man once known as a playboy prince preferred the latter title.

In 22 years on the throne, Fahd's control of a quarter of the world's petroleum reserves made him both a billionaire and a powerful player on the world political stage. He shared an American president's desire to fight communism by secretly funding the anticommunist contras of Nicaragua and the Mujahideen of Afghanistan against the Soviets.

RONALD REAGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITES STATES: And I expressed pleasure that he was doing that.

ENSOR: During the nearly decade long Iran-Iraq War, King Fahd allowed American planes to monitor the battlefields while siding with his brother Arabs in Baghdad.

But Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait changed all that by threatening Saudi security. The United States asked the king to let a multinational military force base itself in Saudi Arabia to force Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically he wanted to make sure that we wouldn't turnaround and run if the going got tough. That was his fundamental concern.

ENSOR: It was, by all accounts, a difficult decision, but he eventually invited the troops in.

KING FAHD, SAUDI ARABIA: For a temporary period, only as would leave Saudi Arabia when the Saudi government feels that is necessary.

ENSOR: Hours after the shooting started in January 1991, Saddam Hussein was denouncing his neighbor by radio.

SADDAM HUSSEIN, IRAQI LEADER (through translator): King Fahd will rot in hell. He is a treacherous criminal King Fahd.

ENSOR: The short war that followed left physical, social and economic scars on Fahd's kingdom. The cost of the coalition and swings in the selling price of the country's principal export forced a king, who had once cried publicly over balancing the budget, to cut back public spending because there wasn't enough income.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That caused serious strains both in the world as a whole and dramatic changes in the internal situation within Saudi Arabia. I think that was the primary economic problem he had.

ENSOR: King Fahd suffered a stroke in 1995, leaving him mostly inactive, but he still received selected visitors.

In the last years of Fahd's reign, the Kingdom's close relationship with the United States has been tested. The fact that 15 of the 19 terrorists on September 11, 2001 were Saudis, as was their leader, Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, raised questions in Washington about how much of an ally Saudi Arabia really was. But the Kingdom suffered its own attacks by al Qaeda and tightened up its security efforts against the fundamentalist terror group.

In March of 2002, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney met briefly with King Fahd and other leaders from the region to drum up support for a possible offensive against Iraq. The attempt at forging a coalition was not successful. After the war, the king ordered $80 million in emergency assistance to be given to Iraq.

Throughout his later years following his stroke, Fahd suffered from a number of other physical ailments, including diabetes and arthritis. With his death, the throne passes to Fahd's half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, yet another son of Abdul Aziz al-Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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