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Miami Airport Closed; Battle Of Baghdad; Kidnapped Journalists; Eye On Iran; Katrina: One Year Later

Aired August 24, 2006 - 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: There are several big stories on tap this hour on CNN LIVE TODAY, including a new ruling on a controversial contraceptive. Getting the morning-after pill without a prescription. Who can and who can't.
Plus, a 10-year-old girl missing for eight years is found in Austria. Her amazing story.

A the military decision to call Marines back to active duty has put a lot of stress on their families. Our guest will provide a firsthand look.

But before we get to all of that, we have breaking news out of Miami and our Carol Lin has that.

Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Part of Miami-Dade International Airport is closed, Daryn, this morning, and the bomb squad is on the way after a suspicious package or bag was detected according to the Associated Press. So what's happening now is that concourses F and G are closed after part of the baggage claim area closed. A suspicious package. They're saying there was some kind of weird odor coming from this bag. So apparently this bag was passed through the x-ray machine, determined to be suspicious.

We're going to let you know as soon as we know what's happing. We're trying to get some interviews on the scene. But departing flights are taking off but they're dealing with this situation right now. Concourses F and G closed, just in case you're heading to the airport right now.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Something doesn't smell right in Miami.

LIN: Nope. Afraid not.

KAGAN: All right. We'll be checking on that. Carol, thank you.

We have big medical news unfolding this hour. The FDA is now allowing over-the-counter sales of the so-called morning-after pill. That's according to the company that manufactures the drug. Barr Pharmaceuticals announced this morning that women over 18 can purchase Plan B without a prescription. Younger girls will still need one. The so-called morning-after pill lowers the risk of pregnancy when a woman takes it within 72 hours of unprotected sex. The company says it hopes to begin sales of the drug by the end of next year. And as this story develops, we'll have much more ahead in this hour.

But first to Iraq. Bombs in cars. Bombs in mini vans. It's business as usual in Baghdad as attacks kill at least four people in the Iraqi capital today. Another 18 were wounded. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq warned the country is teetering on civil war. He points to a sharp increase in deadly attacks over the past six months. Zalmay Khalilzad detailed his sobering assessment in a "Wall Street Journal" op ed piece.

It is the battle of Baghdad. U.S. and Iraqi forces trying to pull Iraq from the brink of civil war. Is that strategy working or is it too late? Our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): When it comes to what's been dubbed the battle of Baghdad, the Pentagon claims the new infusion of 12,000 additional forces, including several thousand U.S. troops, is turning the tide.

GEN. MICHAEL BARBERO, JOINT STAFF DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Over the last five weeks, the number of incidents of sectarian violence have dropped steadily. Over the last three weeks, the number of attacks on infrastructure have dropped.

MCINTYRE: But the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, writing in "The Wall Street Journal," cites a 10 percent jump last month in the already high number of violent incidents in Baghdad. And notes of the 2,100 Iraqi deaths there in July, 77 percent were due to sectarian violence. A trend he calls especially troubling. Still, in a radio interview this week, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld continues to argue it's not a civil war yet.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: In terms of, could it go into a civil war? Of course. And that's a possibility. But the people who look at it contend that they're not in it and the government of Iraq says they're not in a civil war.

KEN POLLACK, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: There is no question that Iraq is in a state of civil war. Right now it's in a state of low level or maybe moderate level civil war. But the trend lines are very bad.

MCINTYRE: Ken Pollack is co-author of a lengthy opinion piece splashed over a pull page of Sunday's "Washington Post." It argues the only thing standing between Iraq and a descent into total devastation is 135,000 U.S. troops. And even they are merely slowing the fall.

POLLACK: The problem for the United States is that so far we've not been willing to do what would be necessary to pull Iraq out of that downward spiral. And, in fact, it may be too late to even consider doing so. MCINTYRE: The Pentagon says 90 percent of the sectarian violence is in a 30-mile radius around Baghdad, and that 82 percent of violent attacks are confined to four of Iraq's 18 provinces. But are the U.S. and Iraqi government forces winning the battle of Baghdad? The general briefing at the Pentagon said he is cautiously optimistic, but admitted its too soon to tell.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: You can see more of Jamie's work on "Lou Dobbs Tonight," weeknights at 6:00 Eastern on CNN.

You may have heard that thousands of U.S. Marine reservists will be called back to active duty next year. They'll come from the individual ready reserve, or the IRR. So what exactly is that? Well, these are Marines that are basically out of the service. They fulfilled their four years of active duty, but they are still on standby for four years. About 59,000 Marine reservists are in the ready reserves. The Marine Corps says it will not call up those who just entered the reserves or those about to get out. Later this hour, I'll have a chance to talk with a military wife. She tell me how this reactivation may be affecting the Marine's families.

Pushing for peace. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is getting ready to visit several Middle Eastern countries. The focus, implementing the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. But first he'll go to Brussels tomorrow, trying to nail down commitments from European Union leaders. They've promised to send troops to southern Lebanon.

No negotiations. That's the word from both New Zealand and the U.S. That follows the kidnapping of its citizens Fox journalist Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig. They were abducted in Gaza 10 days ago. Our Chris Lawrence joins us live. He is in Jerusalem with the latest on that.

Chris, hello.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, there is an intense effort underway to both find and free those two kidnapped journalists. And at least now authorities have something to go on. A written statement from the kidnappers in Arabic and the videotape that shows Fox News correspondent Steve Centanni and photographer Olaf Wiig. They appear to be in fairly good condition. They say they're being fed and clothed.

Again, these are experienced journalist whose had a lot of experience covering the Middle East. And they were kidnapped at gunpoint back on August 14th. Just a few hours ago I spoke with the American counsel general and he told me that they are going to be getting some additional help in the next few days. People from Washington will be arriving who have experience dealing with hostage situations. He said until yesterday he had never heard of the kidnappers group, the Holy Jihad Brigade. And I asked him about their demands. That by Saturday the United States release Muslim prisoners in American jails.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our position, of course, is that we don't make concessions to kidnappers. We don't intend to do that. But, at this point, we're still just working all of the angles. I've been in touch with President Abbas and I met with him and he's cooperating with us, as are his security forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Just a few hours ago, Olaf Wiig's wife, Anita McNaught, she met with Palestinian officials in Gaza. The Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, condemned the kidnapping. And Anita McNaught had a direct message for the people who have kidnapped her husband.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANITA MCNAUGHT, OLAF WIIG'S WIFE: It was a source of great relief and comfort to me, and to Olaf and Steve's family and friends, to see that our men are being well looked after by you, the kidnappers, and we trust that you will continue to care for them until their release.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: And again, the counsel general says they are working very closely with Palestinian security forces. Many people in Gaza have condemned this kidnapping.

Daryn.

KAGAN: And, Chris, what more are we learning about this group? That when they first revealed their name, a lot of people went "who"?

LAWRENCE: Yes, not a lot. Almost to a group, everyone we speak with say they never heard of this group until yesterday. Until this videotape and until this written statement was put out. There's been some speculation that perhaps it is a very small cell, a renegade cell, so to speak. But some say it does call into question the amount of control that Hamas exerts over the area in Gaza. If Hamas is called off all kidnappings and is the power, the party in power, and this kidnapping takes place against their will, some say it does call into question Hamas' true power and authority and really points to some of the chaos that is existed in Gaza over the past few months and really throughout the year.

KAGAN: Chris Lawrence live from Jerusalem. Thank you.

Want to get back now to Miami, Florida, where there's news of a suspicious package at Miami International. Carol is following that.

LIN: That's right, Daryn.

Somebody at baggage claim detected a bag that had some kind of a suspicious odor. A smelly bag. And so, as a precaution, according to the Associated Press, Miami International closing concourses F through G just as a precaution. The bomb squad apparently is on the way to examine this bag. Apparently after the smell was detected, the bag was passed through the x-ray machine and it was, for whatever reasons, the screeners there saw something. It was determined to be suspicious. So the airport is dealing with that situation right now.

That is what we know. Part of the baggage claim area also closed off because of this -- oh, you know what. We just got an update here. The bag has been cleared, Daryn. So we'll update travelers on what the situation is at the airport as soon as we know.

KAGAN: All right. Good news there. Resolved situation in Miami, Florida. Thank you.

More on Iran just ahead, making a counteroffer on its nuclear program. Will it be enough to hold off sanctions to that country. A live report with your Aneesh Raman from Tehran.

Also, she vanished eight years ago as a 10-year-old. Now it's believed she has been found. You're going to hear the horror story that she's telling police on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Iran takes a gamble. It runs the risk of sanctions in the coming week. The U.N. offered incentive for Iran to go nuke free. But the U.S. and others say that Iran's response falls short. So what's the Iranian strategy here? Our Aneesh Raman is working the story in Iran. By the way, he is the only U.S. television reporter now in the capital of Tehran.

Aneesh, hello.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning.

The sense we get here is what Iran is trying to do is keep sanctions at bay without having to suspend its nuclear program. Now how does it do that? Iran faces a deadline at the end of the month to stop its nuclear program. It is showing no inclination that it will do that.

Instead, they called for new talk, they called for a new round of negotiations. That was meant for Russia and China. Two key Iranian allies whose sit on the U.N. Security Council. They have both responded favorably to that call by Iran. And when the talk of sanction comes in early September with the U.S. undoubtedly pushing for swift sanctions on Iran, Russia and China could push that back -- they have veto power -- and say, look, Iran is willing to talk.

It says everything can be on the table if we start new negotiations. And that U.N. Security Council then will have to decide whether as a block it wants to imposition sanctions or wants to continue talks. But Iran is taking a gamble knowing that finding unanimity at that U.N. Security Council is incredibly difficult.

Daryn.

KAGAN: So the strategy appears to be to get the different members of the Security Council to play against each other. The two that you mentioned, France and Russia, what do they have in common with Iran and why would they support?

RAMAN: Well, both Russia and China see Iran as it sees itself, as a rising power in the region. It didn't happen overnight. Keep in mind that Iraq under Saddam Hussein and Afghanistan under the Taliban were balancing acts to Iran's government.

Both of those have gone and neither of those countries has a very strong, stable government. So Iran has stood up much stronger than it was in the past. It has an arm in Lebanon against Israel with Hezbollah. It has an arm in Iraq with the Shia militias that are there. And its connections with them and the Shia government.

So Iran wants to be treated with respect. It feels the U.S. is ignoring it with no diplomat relations. And Russia and China see that. And, also, Iran sits on an oil reserve. Iran has regional influence and both of those countries looking to expand their influence, looking to use.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Aneesh Raman live from Tehran, Iran. Thank you.

After the mistakes that were made in Iraq, are U.S. spies skiddish to sound the alarm on Iran? "The New York Times" reporting some policymakers are accusing the nation's spy agencies of holding back. Some of the concerns are echoed in a new House Intelligence Committee report. It portrays Iran as a strategic threat. "The Times" says some administration officials and Republican lawmakers want the intelligence community to issue more ominous warnings. But a former CIA director is quoted as saying, spy agencies are apparently being appropriately cautious. It's believed that Iran won't be able to produce a nuclear weapon for at least four years.

A deadly raid in Afghanistan today. The military says seven suspected al Qaeda fighters were killed after coalition forces swooped down on a compound. A child also died in that attack. It happened in the eastern province of Kunar. Afghan officials deny the dead were terrorists. They claim they were innocent civilians. Coalition forces say they arrested four people and recovered munitions.

KAGAN: Here in the U.S., what does a Hollywood producer have to do with John Karr's defense in the JonBenet Ramsey case? Plenty according to Karr's family. Karr's relatives have offered the book and film rights to their story to producer Larry Garrison. Garrisons says he will help them hire a high-profile attorney to defend Karr.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY GARRISON, PRODUCER: They asked me to come in and to stop the spin from the press. They asked me to come in and procure a top criminal attorney for them. They asked me to come in and to make sure that the world knows that they love their brother, that they're behind him 100 percent in spite of anything that has been said and anything that has been done. This is a family that they're victims right now and they -- if any money is made off of this project, it will go to John Mark Karr's sons for their college education.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: This is Karr's fifth day in a Los Angeles jail. We still don't know when he'll be transferred to Colorado to face charges in the Ramsey killing.

When war keeps call back. Marine reservists get ready for another tour in Iraq. I'll speak with a military wife who knows the drill only all too well. See the interview on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Markets have been open not quite an hour. Let's see how they're doing. You can see the Dow is up nicely. It's up 18 points. The Nasdaq is moving up as well. It is up six points.

We're following what's been happening at Miami International Airport. Carol Lin has the latest on that.

Carol.

LIN: Yes, Daryn, we're still getting questions about the situation. So this is what CNN knows. The all-clear signal has been given at Miami International Airport. Mark Henderson, the airport spokesperson, said that a suspicious bag has been cleared. It was a false alarm. There was no danger.

This all started earlier today when the baggage area was shut down at the airport and terminals F and G were temporarily closed. TSA workers had noticed a suspicious odor coming from a checked bag. This is from the Miami Dade Police spokesperson.

Now Miami Dade sent a bomb squad. They examined the bag. They didn't find anything wrong with it. So all clear has been given. It has not affected any flights or passenger traffic. So that is the definitive word. All clear at the Miami International Airport.

KAGAN: All right. Thank you.

It was a year ago this week, if you can believe that. A new tropical storm blew to life. Katrina wasn't yet a hurricane but already forecasters knew it could be one for the history books. Ahead of next week's coverage of the Katrina anniversary, let's take some time to rewind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A look at the weather for the day ahead. Chad Myers is at the CNN Center with the latest. Your talking about the tropical depression, now a tropical storm. CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Correct. Yes, Tropical Storm Katrina was tropical depression number 12. But now has gained enough strength to get a name. Depressions don't get names, they just get numbers. But now its has a name. The 11th named storm of the year. So we're well on our way.

Here you go. From Nassau, right on back to Miami. This's where the storm is going. Gathering strength. This is very warm water here. This is premium gas in this storm right now because the warmer the water is, the stronger the storm gets and the quicker it gets that way. So by late Thursday night, into Friday morning, overnight Friday morning, that's when we're probably going to see landfall. But certainly south Florida in the teeth of this storm. Then it gets into the Gulf of Mexico. Then it turns to the right and possibly somewhere along the Gulf Coast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Is it live or is it Memorex? Now we have Chad live.

Chad, when you look at that tape . . .

MYERS: Yes, it's a little freaky.

KAGAN: Does it seem like 10 years ago?

MYERS: Yes. It's a little freaky to see that the middle line -- and rarely sometimes it's on the left, sometimes it's on the right -- but the mild line and the most logical line was still right through New Orleans and that was still four days out before it got to New Orleans from there.

KAGAN: Incredible.

MYERS: And people forget, Daryn, that Katrina hit Florida. Six people died in Florida as it hit as a hurricane the first time. And the second landfall was actually up in New Orleans.

KAGAN: That's right. Yes, no, I didn't forget that part. But, you're right, a lot of people do forget that part. That we're looking at the keys and that southern, that southwestern tip, right?

MYERS: Yes, exactly. And Hallandale Beach. And the deal is here, Hurricane Andrew -- Hurricane Andrew's 14th anniversary today.

KAGAN: Today?

MYERS: Today. Hit Florida and then turned and then only missed New Orleans by 100 miles. And isn't that so eerily similar to the path that the storm -- OK, 50 miles one way or the other. But that's kind of freaky.

KAGAN: Right. Well and even you bring up Andrew. I think that's an interesting point. Because we've been, you know, hah (ph) about his year's hurricane season, nothing has shown up. But Andrew, the A, the first big storm of that season. It only takes one. MYERS: Can you imagine? That was the twelfth depression and the eleventh storm last year and this was the first storm of 1992.

KAGAN: Incredible.

MYERS: Really is.

KAGAN: We'll check back with you.

Actually, before you go, I want you to stick around to see what these numbers look like.

MYERS: OK.

KAGAN: OK. It's almost a year after Katrina hit, as we were saying. And what are people thinking about the recovery? We did a nationwide poll by Opinion Research Corporation to shed some light. Fifty-six percent of Americans feel the government isn't doing enough to rebuild the Gulf Coast. About a third think it is. And 10 percent think Washington is doing way too much.

I guess it depends on how much you think you're paying and where you live.

MYERS: The devastation for so many miles was total that to be able to come up and fix any one place, I don't know how they're doing it as good as they're doing it some places, you know?

KAGAN: The weather news today is about Debby.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Controversial contraceptive make as big break through. The so-called morning-after pill goes over-the-counter. There are exceptions. Not everyone will be able to get it without a prescription. We'll have details on that ahead.

Also, tough talking president of Venezuela looking to make a big oil deal in China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that Chavez creates problems for the Chinese because he is such a -- he shoots from the lip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Controversial leader and the politics of oil. The ripple effect could be felt right here in the U.S., ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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