Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Deadline for New Iraq Constitution Nears; Letter from Hussein in Newspapers; President To Rally More Support For Iraq War; Antiwar Demonstration Grows Near Bush Ranch

Aired August 22, 2005 - 10:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Eric Rudolph has a sentencing hearing at the bottom of the hour for his second deadly bombing. Rudolph will be sentenced to life in prison without parole for the Atlanta Olympic Park bombing in 1996. He received the same sentence last month for a bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, at a women's clinic there.
A preliminary report is just out concern that plane that crashed into a Greek mountain. The reports says the Cypriot airliner lost cabin pressure and ran out of fuel. One-hundred-and-twenty-one people were killed in the August 14th crash.

Northwest Airlines is flying a week day (ph) schedule for the first time since its mechanics went on strike. The mechanics walked off the job on Saturday. No new talks are scheduled. The airline is asking for pay cuts and layoffs to help it stay out of bankruptcy court.

And Harvard scientists are discussing a potential breakthrough in stem cell research this morning. The scientists say they have found a way to fuse adult stem cells with embryonic stem cells. The Harvard team says the discovery could one day lead to creating stem cells without having to destroy human embryos.

Good morning to you on this Monday morning. I'm Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

To Iraq first off this hour. A deadline is looming and so is another potential set back in that country's struggle for democracy. Leaders of Iraq's three main factions have less than six hours to hammer out a draft constitution. So far, they can't even agree on whether that's the goal they want to reach and whether it's within reach. Let's get the latest from Baghdad and CNN's Aneesh Raman.

Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning.

This could very well be another late night. We understand that a draft constitution is in the works. The question is, whether it will enjoy the support of all three major groups, the Sunnis, the Shia and the Kurds. We understand earlier today the Shia and the Kurds, who have a majority of seats in this national assembly, essentially agreed on a draft constitution among themselves. They are now in the process of trying to sell that draft to the Sunnis. The I major issue, Daryn, remains that of federalism. The Kurds, of course, want a powerful, autonomous region in the north. The had that under Saddam. They want nothing less under the new Iraq. The Sunnis, by and large, want this entire conversation sidelined and dealt with by a new government that would come into power at the end of the year.

Now leaving the Sunnis out, if a draft comes forward that only enjoys support of the Shia and Kurds, it's dangerous really for two reasons. First, politically, the Sunnis have enough votes to reject this constitution in a referendum that would come by mid October. But also, of course, the violence here, the insurgency, is something made up predominantly of Sunnis and it is thought that reaching out and really involving them in the political process is essential to getting this country toward stability. That is something we've heard often from all parties involved.

So now, just hours to go, Daryn, we're waiting to see whether a draft emerges and whether it does, in fact, enjoy support from all groups involved.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Is even the option out there of extending the deadline like they did this time last week?

RAMAN: They could. They still have all three options ahead of them. They can revamp the law yet again, extend for any number of days. That will raise serious questions about whether this government can find compromise. They extended already once. If they do it again, is that going to be enough? They could also put a draft, as we mentioned, of some sort to the national assembly.

And the worse case scenario remains, that if nothing happens by midnight tonight, now just six hours away, this government would be dissolved. New elections would take place and a new national assembly would come and try to do this whole thing all over again.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Aneesh, have they even got to the point of where they might print a potential draft of the constitution?

RAMAN: Well, first it has to be really agreed upon by the groups. If they decide, the Shia and the Kurds, if they're going to go ahead with this, if they have enough votes to pass this document, they will put it through and then that will be made public, we hope, within a matter of days. The question will be then whether they can sell that document to the Sunni population. If they can not, that same population has within its power the ability to reject this in a referendum.

KAGAN: Aneesh Raman live from Baghdad. Thank you. We'll be checking back with you on the progress of those talks.

Meanwhile, also from Baghdad, a letter from imprisoned former leader Saddam Hussein. Two Jordanian newspapers have publish a letter in which the former dictator says he is ready to die for the Arab cause. For some perspective, let's turn to Octavia Nasr, our senior editor of Arab affairs.

A letter from Saddam Hussein. This is not somebody we're used to hearing from.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. And it sounds a bit naive, he's sending a letter to a friend. But when you read that letter, as you said, I mean, there he's calling for people to follow in his footsteps and sacrifice themselves for their cause and their country.

And one important thing, Daryn, that not many people are paying attention to here. This letter was not released through those newspapers first. It was released, as a matter of fact, at a conference of the Baath party in Jordan. The Baath party has been dismantled since the fall of Baghdad in 2003. This is their first conference in Jordan. They had representation from Iraq and Syria. And this is where that letter is read. So it had such an impact there.

This was a conference that's bringing in people, supporters and sympathizers of the Baath party. And, of course, there were complaints from the Iraqi government that some support is coming from Jordan: money, arms and insurgents.

KAGAN: Yes, and let's talk about the audience here. So one audience of this political party meeting in Jordan. But what about the general Iraqi people?

NASR: The general Iraqi people, what we're getting from monitoring Web sites and listening to Arab media to get their reaction, is that this is poetry, this is just arabic style Saddam Hussein at his best.

There you're looking at a Web site. This is Alatavia (ph) Web site. Basically they posted the story and then they let people go in and comment. People are venting. I mean, you hear things there, these are the answers, some in English, most of them in Arabic, but basically calling Saddam Hussein a coward.

This one in particular, for example, they went after him saying, you who surrendered to the Americans, you're calling now on people to sacrifice themselves? You who let the armies of the world come to the Arabian gulf, you're now talking about heroism and nationalism. Basically people are not buying too much into it. But you still have those that say, God bless Saddam Hussein. He's a golden leader. They don't come like him anymore and stuff like that.

KAGAN: What about just even the idea of Saddam Hussein being able to get a letter like this out?

NASR: And this is the most interesting part of the story we believe. Saddam Hussein is in jail. He's allowed visits by the Red Cross. The last time we heard from him was last year, in 2004, June of 2004, a letter sent to his daughter. A very short letter. Basically most of the letter was wiped out by the censors. The parts that were left were just, you know, how he's feeling. And basically the letter says this should be family news only.

So this one is an exception. The ICRC made an exception and delivered a letter to a friend, not to a family member. But you have to ask the question, how can a letter like this go out? It has nothing about his emotion. It has a lot to do with him calling on people for action. Calling them to basically sacrifice themselves. I mean, at a time when Iraq is going through the turmoil that it's going through. You know, suicide bombers and what have you. And also the rest of the region, same thing. For Saddam Hussein to be able to get such a message out is a big question mark, of course.

KAGAN: Still a lot of questions to answer there. Octavia Nasr, thank you.

Right now let's check the time. It is seven minutes past the hour. President Bush is launching a new offensive to rally support for that war in Iraq. A few hours from now he'll speak to a veterans group in the first of two speeches scheduled this week. Our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux takes a closer look at that.

Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

Well, President Bush is on his way to Salt Lake City, Utah. That is where he is meeting. He'll be speaking before the Veterans of Foreign Wars, their national convention. Obviously, a friendly audience.

The most important audience, however, perhaps, is the American public. President Bush is trying to convince the American people that the Iraq War is worth it. What he will do is layout a case comparing the Iraq War with World War II, saying that it is going to be a long haul, that it is worth the sacrifice because it is a noble cause. He will also invoke the memories of 9/11 as well, saying that he is making the case here that those who attacked, the insurgents attacking Americans in Iraq, share the same ideology as al Qaeda who attacked Americans on September 11th.

All of this, of course, part of a renewed effort to convince Americans that ultimately it is worth the sacrifice. This comes at a time when he faces his growing anti-war protest outside the Crawford ranch led by Cindy Sheehan, the mother who lost her son. It also comes at a time when there is a growing concern, a growing chorus of Republican lawmaker whose say that they are worried about how things are going in Iraq as well. Vietnam Vet Senator Chuck Hagel from yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK HAGEL, ) NEBRASKA: Well, there are very few comparisons now. There are some similarities. And the longer we stay in Iraq, the more similarities will occur because you get bogged down in an area where you are losing your people. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Senator Chuck Hagel comparing the Iraq War with the Vietnam War. There was another person making that comparison yesterday. This person on the anti-war side demonstrating outside, of course, the Crawford ranch with Camp Casey and that was a folk singer, Joan Baez, a force in and of herself during the Vietnam War era anti- war protester. She lending her support as well.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Suzanne Malveaux live at the White House. Thank you.

And you can join us in just over three hours from now. President Bush will make his case for the Iraq War. He'll be at the VFW Convention in Salt Lake City, as Suzanne was mentioning. That is scheduled for 1:35 Eastern. CNN does plan to carry that live.

Well, President Bush is going on the road today to rally support for the Iraq War. Nowhere is the anti-war movement more unified than outside his Texas ranch where he has spent most of the last month. Our Ed Lavandera is in Crawford with more on that.

Ed, good morning.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

Well, even though Cindy Sheehan is not here in Crawford, several hundreds of her supporters remain behind. Just a few moments ago we saw the helicopters taking off from President Bush's ranch. That they're taking him to Air Force One. So he'll be leaving Crawford here shortly. But all of these protesters, several hundred strong, saying that even though Bush isn't here and Sheehan isn't here, they vow to remain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA, (voice over): Big tent on the country landscape looked like a scene from an old time religious revival. But inside, the message looked and sounded like a an old time war protest.

Just a few feet away from the security checkpoint that leads towards President Bush's ranch, several hundred protesters gathered to hear folk singer and Vietnam war protester Joan Baez. They were hoping Bush could hear the music.

ED MANNING, ANTIWAR PROTESTER: Maybe the wind was blowing in that direction and it carried it to him.

LAVANDERA: Even though Cindy Sheehan left the protest site last week because her mother suffered a stroke, demonstrators have spread out over three campsites in Crawford. There's the Peace House along the main road in town. Closer to Bush's ranch, there's Camp Casey, named after Sheehan's son who was killed in Iraq. And under the big tent, protesters listened to music, eat and lash out against the war. They vow to stay as long as the president is on vacation here, even if Cindy Sheehan does not return.

LYNN RODRIGUEZ, ANTIWAR PROTESTER: It's bigger than Cindy now. It's bigger than all of us. And it has not changed. I haven't noticed a single change. We're here and we're strong.

GARY QUALLS, WAR SUPPORTER: I have informed you publicly to never use my son's name for your unjust and political agendas.

LAVANDERA: Gary Qualls has mobilized an opposing camp of his own called Fort Qualls, named after his son, Marine Lance Corporal Lewis Qualls, who was killed in the battle for Fallujah. Angry that Cindy Sheehan supporters placed his son's name on a cross at a protest memorial, Gary Qualls took the cross and made it the centerpiece of Fort Qualls. Supporters of the war gather here now to protest the protesters.

QUALLS: We must all remember our hero and all of those that have gone before us and from now on never disrespect their names like what's being done at the Sheehan camp.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: As for Cindy Sheehan, she remain in Southern California with her family, helping her mother recover from the stroke. And her supporters here say that it could be mid week at the earliest when Cindy Sheehan returns here to Crawford, but that she does hope to plan to return here and continue on this protest.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Ed, thank you.

It is a chance for the family members of his victims to have their final word. Still to come, Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph comes face to face with people whose lives he's changed forever.

Plus, kicked out from their settlement and now they have no place to call home. We're going to follow an Israeli family as the family searches for a new place to live.

Also, filling up a Mercedes with grease? How one man has decided to get around the high gas prices.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Here's something you might have missed over the weekend. The shuttle Discovery is back at the Kennedy Space Center after a cross-country piggyback trip. Discovery hitched a ride on a modified Boeing 747, making the last leg of its journey from Louisiana yesterday. Weather conditions forced Discovery to return to Earth at Edwards Air Force Base in California earlier this month.

Jackie, the weather added a million dollars on to the cost of the shuttle expedition.

(WEATHER REPORT) KAGAN: On to sports now. It is too early to say why a professional football player died just moments after a pre-season game. Thomas Herrion collapsed near his locker just after playing the final, decisive minutes in his team's loss on Saturday night. Herrion was struggling to make the San Francisco 49ers final roster. The 23- year-old rookie stood 6'3". He weighed more than 300 pounds. He's remembered for loving the game and loving to laugh.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANICE HERRION, THOMAS HERRION'S MOTHER: He was a joy. He lit up a room when he walked in. His teachers would say, oh, this boy just cracks me up. He had a teacher once who said, now, son, if you don't make it in nothing else, be a comic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The coroner's office in Denver where the game was played said toxicology tests my well reveal the cause of death. Those results could be several weeks away.

It's been days since the initial Gaza evacuations. While many families packed up and moved on. You're going to find out why some still don't have a new place to call home.

Plus, experts say it can make or break a marriage, money, coming up. Talking finances with new couples.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and check out the latest numbers on Wall Street, which has been open about 52 minutes. The Dow is doing well. You can see it is up 68 points. And the Nasdaq also looking good, up 14 points for the day so far.

So young couples have a lot to talk about. One thing, though, they should put near the top of their list is finances. Gerri Willis is off this week so "Money" magazine Cybele Weisser has today's "Top Five Tips" on good money habits for couples. This can be a tough one.

Hi, Cybele.

CYBELE WEISSER, "MONEY" MAGAZINE: Hi, Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's start by talking values. People see money in very different ways.

WEISSER: Absolutely. This is our number one tip. You know, we all have kind of unspoken assumptions about how we think the other person should be managing money. We need to get that out into the open, discuss it. The problem is, these assumptions tend to remain unspoken.

You know, they also can come up at the worse possible times. When somebody is thinking about buying something expensive or when you're sitting down to pay a big stack of bills. Find a neutral time and place to have this discussion. And if you're having trouble getting it off the ground, there's nothing wrong with calling on a third party, a financial planner or a counselor. Somebody impartial who can maybe give you suggestion in addition to getting the discussion going.

KAGAN: And as part of that discussion, you might want to talk about what kind of goals you have moving forward.

WEISSER: Yes. Absolutely. Articulated goals can really provide great motivation for saving. So, you know, there's nothing wrong with having a Caribbean vacation as one of you're goals. But we also suggest getting into some heavier financial lifting. Think about when you want to buy your first home, what your retirement plans are, how would you like to be invested. And then write these goals down that way they really feel real.

KAGAN: The dreaded budget discussion.

WEISSER: Yes. This is one of the hardest things for new couples, particularly if they're young, is to stick to a budget. But racking up credit card debt is so dangerous to a relationship later on. You know, once you're paying some bills together, we suggest opening a joint bank account. It doesn't mean you have to complete merge your finances but it's a great way to track your spending and your saving habits. That's a, you know, really a good suggestion.

KAGAN: Let's talk about a good saving habit, automate it.

WEISSER: Yes. You know, just about every bank, brokerage, retirement account will let you do automatic deposits. And really that's one of the ways you can get very easily into a habit of saving.

KAGAN: And, finally, if retirement might seem like a zillion years away, it's never to soon to start thinking about it.

WEISSER: Absolutely. Sign up for that 401(k). Start contributing at least as much as your company match. If you start saving $100 a month at age 23, you can have three times the amount that you would if you started saving a decade later. It's really amazing, that power.

KAGAN: All great tips. Cybele Weisser from "Money" magazine, thank you. I think we're going to see you later in the week.

WEISSER: Yes. I hope so. Thank you, Daryn.

KAGAN: Oh, OK. Oh, yes, the invitation is extended. Not to worry. We will see you. Thank you.

OK. Well, we are talking energy just ahead. Before you toss out your used cooking grease, you might want to put it to another use. A look at how grease from the kitchen is keeping one man on the road.

Plus, victims of the Olympic Park bombing face home-grown terrorist Eric Rudolph. Find out what they plan to tell him in a federal courtroom today. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

KAGAN: And this breaking news comes out of Baghdad where there does appear to be progress on efforts to create a new Iraqi constitution. Our Aneesh Raman standing by with that.

Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning.

We're hearing from a member of Iraq's constitutional committee that a draft constitution of some sort will go forward today to the national assembly. We do know, however, that meetings are still taking place up until this late minute. The office of the president says that they are still trying to negotiate key issues and it is unclear exactly what kind of draft may emerge.

Now, all day we've been reporting that a deal had been reached between the two main political groups, the Shia and the Kurds. And essentially what was taking place during the course of the day is that they were trying to sell that document to the minority Sunni population. The key issue in all of these talks, federalism. How powerful will autonomous regions be, specifically in the north where the Kurds have had autonomy under Saddam and want it kept in the new Iraq.

Early drafts of what could be the draft constitution suggests federalism is in there. That raises questions about whether the Sunnis will buy into this. They, of course, have the power to reject this document in a referendum that would come by mid October. But government officials have said they will try, if a document comes out today, to educate and encourage and interact with the Sunni population to prevent that from happening.

But again, to recap, we are hearing that a draft constitution of some sort will come forward today from a member of Iraq's constitutional committee. But as is Iraqi politics, we're hearing also that they are still working out the details on what could emerge as that draft constitution.

Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Aneesh Raman live in Baghdad.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com