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CNN Live Today
Iran Responds to U.N. Demand Concerning Nuclear Program; U.K. Terror Suspects; Ramsey Murder Case
Aired August 22, 2006 - 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: Welcome to the second hour of CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
I'm Daryn Kagan.
We are following a number of developing stories this hour. Here is what we know.
This hour, John Karr is due in a Los Angeles courtroom. What he says there could whisk him away to Colorado for the next step in the JonBenet Ramsey case.
Just days ahead of a deadline, Iran responds to a U.N. demand concerning its nuclear program. A live report from the Iranian capital is straight ahead.
Also, "In the Footsteps of Osama bin Laden". What you didn't know about the world's most wanted man.
And now for the latest on Iran.
Just days before the deadline, Iran responds to U.N. demands that it stop enriching uranium. Iranian media says the message was delivered to Western envoys a short time ago.
Our Aneesh Raman is in Tehran. By the way, the only U.S. television network reporter now in the Iranian capital.
Aneesh, what are you hearing?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning.
Just a short time ago, Iran giving its official response in writing, handed to countries who have presented Iran with an incentives package to get it to stop its nuclear program. Iran's chief nuclear negotiator essentially saying Iran has no intention of suspending its nuclear program but was mindful to create the impression, at least, that Iran is eager to find diplomatic resolution to all this.
Iran is now saying it is ready for new, strong negotiations to start over its nuclear program and is presenting a new formula. What that is, we don't know yet. Iranians who are on the streets where I stand are likely not even to see this response until the papers come out tomorrow. Where we go from here, though, timeline-wise, the U.N. deadline comes at the end of the month. That is an important date to watch. After that is when the U.N. might take action.
But something that could throw this all into a loop is, next week, a press conference set to take place, a rare one by Iran's president for foreign and domestic journalists. He could further clarify or change this response. So we'll have to wait and see.
All of this, though, Daryn, comes amid a moment that Iran sees itself as a rising power in the region.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAMAN (voice over): These images broadcast on Iranian TV send a simple message: If any military force tries to enter Iranian air space, this is what will happen. It was the latest in a series of war games launched across the country set to last five weeks and set to showcase what Iran calls its new defensive military doctrine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We have designed and manufactured systems that can make Iran's air territory insecure for enemies in different magnitudes.
RAMAN: On display to Iranian TV cameras and nobody else, a readiness for war. A readiness to protect nuclear sites against a potential strike by the West.
To reinforce the message of defiance, a TV appearance by the country's top official, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. He announced Iran would continue to pursue nuclear energy despite a U.N. deadline to stop by the end of the month.
Combined with these scenes, it's all men the to reinforce this is a government intent on pursuing a nuclear program and ready to defend against any military attack to prevent that. But do Iranians feel the same way?
At one of Iran's war memorials, a solemn arch reminds of a brutal past of the eight-year battle between Iran and Iraq. We came to see if people were worried that their country's pursuit of a nuclear program could lead to an international conflict. Nobody here questioned the government's claim that its program is strictly for producing energy. It's their right, they say, whatever the consequences.
"It is useless," Ali told us, "to worry about an attack when a basic need of the people like nuclear energy is being threatened. We will pursue that right against everything."
"People who believe in god," said Gorbani (ph), "are not afraid of sanctions or attacks by the United States."
Not afraid. And as Iran's military proclaimed, ready for whatever may come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAMAN: And, Daryn, what have Iranians been saying so far about today's news? Well, really not much.
You can see behind me we're at a main market area in northern Tehran. Families are out. In the further distance, you can see a mosque.
People are out celebrating a very auspicious Muslim holiday. Today is by Muslim faith the day the prophet was given his mission by god. Very few of them have come up to talk to us about the news, very few of them are aware, perhaps resigned to the fact that they matter little in terms of the government's actions as it pursues this nuclear policy but, as well, a sense that they have pride in this program, they should firmly stand behind the government, and then essentially wait to see what comes next -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Aneesh Raman, live for us from Tehran, Iran.
Thank you.
There are new developments in the alleged airline terror plot. Eleven suspects in the case appeared in court in London today. Eight have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and preparing acts of terrorism. All were remanded until a second court appearance next month.
Three suspects charged with lesser crimes also appeared before a judge. Eleven other suspects in custody have not been charged.
A mountain of evidence, and prosecutors are far from getting on top of it all. The latest on the alleged plot to blow up airliners.
Here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If the plot targeting U.S. airlines had succeeded, it's likely no one on board any of the 10 planes would have survived. Those thousands of potential deaths were reflected in the charges filed against eight of the suspects in custody.
SUSAN HEMMING, COUNTER-TERRORISM PROSECUTOR: Those individuals are being charged with conspiracy to murder and the new offense of preparing acts of terrorism.
FEYERICK: Chief prosecutor for counterterrorism, Susan Hemming, announced the charges saying the eight plans to smuggle, build, then detonate a bomb on board each of the planes.
A source close to investigators tells CNN it appears the younger members of the terror cell were picked to be the suicide bombers.
Three other suspects, one of them a woman, face terror related charges like not alerting authorities. So far, the investigation has produced suspects in Britain and in Pakistan, but it's nowhere near complete.
PETER CLARKE, DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER: The scale is immense. Inquiries will span the globe.
FEYERICK: British authorities usually do not disclose evidence for fear of undermining potential trials, but after a botched anti- terror raid in June and deep skepticism in Britain's Muslim community, authorities from Scotland Yard made clear they had their evidence. It includes so-called martyrdom tapes, key video and audio surveillance recordings, even bomb building materials.
CLARKE: There are chemicals, including hydrogen peroxide, electrical components, documents, and other items.
FEYERICK: Scotland Yard antiterrorism chief Peter Clarke says sorting through the evidence will take months, in part because there's so much of it.
CLARKE: We've found more than 400 computers, 200 mobile telephones and 8,000 items of removable storage media such as memory sticks, CDs, and DVDs.
FEYERICK: Publicly, authorities have not tied any evidence to any particular individual.
(on camera): Intelligence experts say by revealing some evidence, Scotland Yard was sending a message: the net will be wide and anyone possibly involved in the plot, no matter what country, had better beware.
Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And you can see more of Deborah's pieces on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," weeknights, 8:00 Eastern, only on CNN.
More developments for you now in the crash of that Russian passenger plane. The aircraft was carrying more than 170 people when it went down in eastern Ukraine. That was almost four hours ago.
Ukrainian emergency officials say 20 minutes into the flight the pilot reported a fire on board and heavy turbulence. The pilot tried to make an emergency landing, but the landing gear wouldn't work. We're told that's when the pilot tried a belly landing.
The plane is a Russian-made TU-154. Weathercasters reported thunder storms and lightning in that area.
More details when they come in here to us at CNN, the most trusted name in news.
Here in the U.S., a dramatic shootout. It happened at a Georgia courthouse.
Jackson County authorities say a prisoner grabbed a deputy's gun, shot the deputy, then tried to make a getaway in the sheriff's van. Authorities say the inmate was shot by four other deputies. He later died.
The wounded deputy is in the hospital. He is said to be in good condition this morning.
An update on the story you saw unfold live here on CNN. A two- day manhunt comes to an end.
An escaped Virginia inmate is in custody this morning. Charles Morva was found hiding near the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg. The school was shut down while police searched the area. Morva is accused of killing a hospital security guard and a sheriff's deputy. He's facing capital murder charges.
JonBenet Ramsey's suspect, John Karr, he could be bound very soon for Colorado. It depends what happens a little bit later today in a California courtroom.
We'll tell you more about that ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Criminal hearing in the JonBenet Ramsey case. Suspect John Mark Karr is due in court shortly. Look for live coverage right here on CNN.
Today's court date will probably result in Karr's extradition to Colorado. He will have traveled a long distance to get there, as CNN's Susan Candiotti takes a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When murder suspect John Karr arrives in Boulder, this will be his home. But where exactly he will be put inside the Boulder County jail has yet to be decided.
COMMANDER DWIGHT HILL, BOULDER, COLORADO, SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Mental health would have to evaluate him, and medical would have to evaluate him.
CANDIOTTI: One thing is known. He will be issued a standard orange jumpsuit worn by all inmates. Thai authorities say Karr requested a shirt and tie to wear, so he would look like a teacher when he headed to the states, apparently a man keenly aware of his image, an image he may have wanted to change.
Karr was undergoing treatment at a clinic in Thailand to remove facial hair. "The Denver Post" quotes his doctor as saying, "The reason he wanted to do hair removal was because he wanted to do a sex change."
CNN has not yet confirmed Karr's intent at the clinic.
JOHN MARK KARR, SUSPECT: I loved JonBenet, and she died accidentally.
CANDIOTTI: Before Karr stunned the world with his claim he was with JonBenet Ramsey when she died, he was hopscotching the world as a teacher of young children, not only in Thailand, but in a remote, poor rural area of Honduras.
In 1994, one school found him on the Internet and took him on as a volunteer. He lasted only three weeks.
"He was very difficult," she says. "He didn't like the school rules. He was a problem. And that's why we decided to fire him."
From there, Karr found work teaching second-graders for eight months, a loner on his own time, but the school's director called him strict and said he helped the children a great deal. Why Karr left Honduras is unclear.
His resume boasts of teaching and caring for children in Costa Rica and Germany. At the time, he was on the run from the law, skipping out on a court appearance on a misdemeanor child pornography case in 2001. What he never ran away from, say those who knew him, was his unexplained obsession with JonBenet Ramsey's murder.
But what do police know that led to his arrest? Was it in part what a U.S. law enforcement official told CNN, that he knew specific details about the little girl's body, known only to the medical examiner and investigators?
BOB GRANT, FORMER ADAMS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: So, I hope they have got evidence. I hope they have got something more than, this guy, who is obviously a wing nut, sitting, you know, in a -- in a Thai press conference, saying, "I was with her when she died."
CANDIOTTI: Susan Candiotti, CNN, Boulder, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And if John Karr's confession hasn't raised enough questions for you, then take a look at this. This is just plain freaky.
Several years ago, a psychic did this sketch of her vision of JonBenet Ramsey's killer. Do you see any resemblance there?
John and Patsy Ramsey once posted this picture on their Web site.
Well, even with that, don't rush to judgment. That's the advice from the Ramsey family attorney, as well as the college professor who put authorities on Karr's trail. Both men appeared last night on "LARRY KING LIVE". They urged the media and the public to let justice take its course.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL TRACEY, UNIV. OF COLORADO PROFESSOR: I don't know why -- why we as a society both fixate on these kinds of cases and then feel in order to sell papers, in order to sell -- to put ratings on programs, that we feel totally willy-nilly, we can trash people's rights, we can trash their character, we can trash who they are, and it's like a game, it's like a sport -- it's like a blood sport. And I think that's wrong. That is not how the system's supposed to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: So then there's the job of defending John Mark Karr. What will his lawyers have on their checklist?
Our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, takes a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST (voice-over): The first thing John Mark Karr's attorney will want to do is tell his client to stop talking.
KARR: I was with JonBenet when she died. Her death was -- was an accident.
TOOBIN: While Karr's words can be used against him, they can also be explained as coming from a man who is deeply disturbed. But then they're Karr's background, which could make him a likely suspect.
He was married twice to very young women and arrested in 2001 for possession of child pornography. He had a deep, even obsessive, interest in the Ramsey case. But none of that is enough to establish that he's a killer.
Where, the defense will ask, is the physical evidence tying him to the crime, DNA, fingerprints, or a handwriting match on the ransom note? And where's the proof he was ever in Boulder, much less on the night of the murder? And how did he find his way around the sprawling Ramsey home?
No answer, says the defense, no conviction.
But if there is something they can physically play Karr at the crime scene, like a DNA match, the defense will become a very different story. A good defense attorney will then probably start to explore an insanity defense. That's always a long shot, but if the prosecution does turn out to have strong evidence, it might be the only recourse.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Jeff Toobin lends his legal analysis to "PAULA ZAHN NOW," weeknights at 8:00 Eastern, only here on CNN.
Also want to remind you that CNN does plan live coverage of John Karr's extradition hearing. Court is scheduled to begin at 11:30 Eastern. We will monitor those proceedings.
Tracking a terrorist. We're going to take you "In the Footsteps of Osama bin Laden," only on CNN, the most trusted name in news. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Looking at pictures from Los Angeles, we expect within the next few minutes court proceedings to begin in Los Angeles. John Mark Karr, the suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey case, he is in Los Angeles facing an extradition hearing. And if he waives his right, he will be headed back to Colorado to face murder charges.
We're following movements as they take place in Los Angeles.
He is the most wanted man in the world, but a decade ago Osama bin Laden was not on the public's radar. Then came his declaration of war.
A closer look from our upcoming "CNN PRESENTS" special, "In the Footsteps of bin Laden".
Here's Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The mountains of Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden would feel most at home, the place he came to when he was in trouble, safe behind these walls.
(on camera): By 1996, Osama bin Laden was a man on the run. Stripped of his Saudi citizenship and banished from Sudan, he came to this now destroyed compound in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. It was from here that he would galvanize his followers by declaring war on America. He had a chilling message, and he delivered it to CNN in his first-ever television interview.
PETER ARNETT, FMR. CNN CORRESPONDENT: My name is Peter Arnett. I met bin Laden as a CNN correspondent in Afghanistan in March 1997. While bin Laden was not well-known to the American public or to the world, within the news media there was quite a lot of competition for that interview.
AMANPOUR: Spearheading CNN's effort was then producer Peter Bergen. He negotiated for months with bin Laden contacts in London.
PETER BERGEN, FMR. CNN PRODUCER: And then we basically got the green light. About a month later I got a call saying, "The man in Kuwait wants to see you," which was the code for, "Go to Jalalabad, see bin Laden."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. bin Laden, you have declared a jihad against the United States. Can you tell us why? .
OSAMA BIN LADEN, AL QAEDA LEADER (through translator): We declared jihad on America because the U.S. government is unjust.
BERGEN: Basically, he was declaring war against the United States for the first time to Western reporters. That was the message.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Well, that then producer is now CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen. He has followed bin Laden's trail since that first meeting. His latest book is, "The Osama bin Laden I know." Tomorrow night's "CNN PRESENTS" documentary is partially based on that book.
And Peter joins me from Washington this morning.
Peter, good morning.
BERGEN: Good morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: I'd like to go back to that moment, almost 10 years ago when you did that interview with Osama bin Laden. What strikes you the most thinking back on that day?
BERGEN: Well, it's a long time ago now, and a lot of water has flown under our collective bridges. You know, he declared war on the United States in the course of that interview. And for a while there, for about a year, I was somewhat skeptical.
I thought, you know, this guy seems serious, he seems intelligent. The people around him seemed very well motivated. But I was somewhat skeptical, how do you actually attack the United States from Afghanistan? And my skepticism really changed when the two U.S. embassies in Africa were attacked by al Qaeda.
KAGAN: That was '98, I think.
BERGEN: It was, indeed. It was August the 7th, '98. And, you know, to blow up two U.S. embassies within nine minutes of each other is pretty difficult. And it demonstrated that these guys could operate thousands of miles from their base in Afghanistan, that they could do -- you know, blowing up one U.S. embassy is hard. To blow up two simultaneously is not twice as hard, it's 10 times as hard.
So, from that point on, you know, it became clear that anybody who was paying attention that these guys were a force to be reckoned with.
KAGAN: And also, some early footprints of what is part of the al Qaeda calling card, and that is simultaneous attacks.
BERGEN: Indeed, yes. It was simultaneous attacks. It was intended to kill a lot of Americans.
It actually ended up killing mostly Kenyans and Tanzanians. Still, it killed 212 people, both of these attacks.
So, you know, it also had demonstrated that they had no qualms about killing as many civilians as possible, which really was -- previous terrorist groups have tended to not want to create as many body bags as possible. Al Qaeda took it to a new level.
KAGAN: Which is one of surprising things about al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, how they're able to make that sale within the Muslim world.
But rather than spend time on that, I'd like to know, what are some of the other surprising things about Osama bin Laden that you think people need to know and some of the things they'll learn in the special tomorrow night?
BERGEN: Well, you know, I mean, certainly they'll learn more about bin Laden as a young man, as a teenager, as a boy, an area which really not many people have investigated. We went to Saudi Arabia, we talked to his childhood buddies, we talked to his university friends.
KAGAN: He was a shy kid you describe him as?
BERGEN: Yes, retiring, monosyllabic, very polite, hyper religious. Not somebody you -- really no indication of somebody who is going to develop into a terrorist leader.
The one kind of clue that the documentary, I think, rather well points out, is that bin Laden seemed to get involved in sort of survivalist activity. He started going out into the desert with very little food and started, you know, riding out into the desert with friends, and sort of almost having this sort of paramilitary approach, even when he was a civilian, living this very hard life.
And I think that seemed to be -- although he wasn't planning for the future, it certainly has helped him in that kind of experience of living very rough, even as somebody who is a university student. It seems like he was sort of preparing himself for something larger. And, of course, the biggest thing that changed him was fighting the Soviets directly in the Afghan war during the '80s.
You know, there are little anecdotes which I think are very telling in the documentary. Bin Laden had a daughter after 9/11. And he named her Sophia (ph). Why did he name her Sophia (ph)? Because Sophia (ph) was apparently somebody who lived during the time of the Prophet Mohammed who killed a Jew. And I think that, you know, gives you a sense of this sort of rabid anti-Semitism of this guy.
KAGAN: Quickly, if you were able to score a second interview today, what would be the one question you would really want to ask him?
BERGEN: I would ask him, you know, where in the Koran does it allow you to kill innocent civilians? I mean, the Koran is rather explicit about the protections afforded to civilians, even in times of holy war. I think he'd have a tough time answering that.
KAGAN: It would be interesting indeed.
Peter, thank you.
BERGEN: Thank you, Daryn.
KAGAN: Peter Bergen, part of our special tomorrow night on "CNN PRESENTS," "In the Footsteps of bin Laden," 9:00 p.m. Eastern, and you're only going to see it right here on CNN. It is a guessing game no longer. Iran responds to U.N. demands that it stop its uranium enrichment. The latest on the nuclear fallout. That's coming up.
Also, any minute now, John Mark Karr scheduled to appear in a courtroom in Los Angeles. Will he fight extradition back to Colorado?
We're monitoring that situation in downtown L.A. straight ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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