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American Morning
Clarke to Testify Before 9/11 Commission Today
Aired March 24, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush, "weak on terrorism, obsessed with Iraq."
Today, the man who made that claim, Richard Clarke, testifies during day two of the 9/11 hearings.
And, Kobe Bryant facing his accuser today for the first time since they met last summer. Right or wrong, she must now explain her sexual past.
And the little globs of stone on Mars that have scientists thrilled to no end on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, 7:00 in New York. Welcome to Wednesday.
Also this hour, John King with us from the White House talking this morning to the president's chief of staff Andrew Card, getting White House reaction to hearings of 9/11 from yesterday that continue yet again today.
Also Card's reaction to the comments by the former terrorism adviser Richard Clarke today.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning the guy you want on your side when you're watching your money, David Bach. He is back today with 90- second tips. This morning something we know a little bit about, hidden fees.
You know they're in there; they're lurking in all your bills, so how do you overweigh (ph) them? We're going to take a look at that.
HEMMER: And he knows.
O'BRIEN: He does.
HEMMER: Jack Cafferty, good morning to you on a Wednesday.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Let's see now.
Kobe Bryant is accused of rape, and yet it's the alleged victim who is going to be forced to testify in a closed court hearing today about her sexual history, despite the fact that the state where the alleged crime occurred has a rape shield law.
We'll take a look in a few minutes.
HEMMER: We're going to talk to a former prosecutor; she's going to say it could be an absolute grilling today, so we'll get to it. Jack thanks.
Top stories starting off the morning now. The State Department issuing a worldwide advisory, warning Americans overseas of growing threats from terrorist groups like Hamas and al Qaeda.
An advisory coming as the U.S. Embassy and Consulate General Office in United Arab Emirates closed today. A statement from the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi says the closings followed an undisclosed but, quote, "specific threat" there. They may reopen on Saturday.
More on this as we move throughout the morning here.
Also the White House is going on the offensive against former counter-terrorism adviser Richard Clarke.
The administration yesterday releasing a letter, a letter of resignation, written by Clarke last year. In it, Clarke praises what he calls President Bush's "courage and determination" after 9/11.
In a new book, Clarke accuses the president of not taking the al Qaeda threat seriously. Richard Clarke due to testify later this afternoon before that 9/11 Commission on Capitol Hill.
The Pledge of Allegiance makes its way to the Supreme Court today. That case involving an atheist who is against his daughter saying the words "under God" at school. A federal appeals court had ruled to stop the Pledge, but a ban has been on hold pending the Supreme Court decision. Much more on this, also, throughout our program today.
The E.U. -- the European Union -- issuing a record fine against Microsoft. The E.U. found that the software giant was guilty of abusing its dominant market position, and ordered the company to pay $613 million in fines.
Microsoft must also reveal details of its Windows software code within 120 days. The company is expected to appeal that decision. Christine Romans is with us in for Andy Serwer. She has more on that in a moment.
Also, from way out in space, turns out the Mars Rover mission could be a day at the beach, and quite literally.
NASA scientists believe Opportunity is parked on what was once the shoreline of a salty sea. More evidence that Mars could have supported life in the past. The chief Mars scientist from NASA is our guest also a bit later this hour.
Up to date now at 7:03 in New York.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: The 9/11 Commission hears more testimony today. Former White House adviser Richard Clarke will be in the hot seat after accusing President Bush of failures in the war on terror.
Yesterday key members of the Bush and Clinton administrations were grilled about missed opportunities to kill Osama bin Laden. CNN's Barbara Starr joins us from the Pentagon this morning with more.
Barbara good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad. Well, indeed, some of the toughest questions going right to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): The Bush administration argued it simply never had precise information about Osama bin Laden's location, especially in the months before 9/11.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I know of no actionable intelligence since January 20 that would have allowed the U.S. to capture or kill bin Laden.
STARR: Rumsfeld argued there was no support for an immediate invasion of Afghanistan to get al Qaeda before 9/11, and that, instead, the focus was on developing a broader effort beyond firing off Cruise missiles.
SLADE GORTON, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: What made you think that we had the luxury even of seven months before we could make that -- yet -- any kind of response?
STARR: But the commission revealed details about three missions to kill bin Laden that were considered by the Clinton administration.
December 1998, a strike is called off when bin Laden disappears.
February 1999, bin Laden is at a hunting camp, but a strike is stopped because others might be killed.
May 1999, bin Laden's location is reported over five nights. The CIA says the information is not good enough.
Some officials called these lost opportunities in the Clinton years to get bin Laden. Rumsfeld insisted 9/11 could not have been prevented by the Bush administration.
RUMSFELD: Killing bin Laden would not have removed al Qaeda's sanctuary in Afghanistan. Moreover, the sleeper cells that flew the aircraft into the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon were already in the United States months before the attack.
(END VIDEOTAPE) STARR: But, Soledad, a human dimension to the hearing yesterday. In that hearing room along with these high-powered officials, many family members -- all eight hours of testimony, sitting there holding up pictures of the family members that they lost on 9/11.
And they broke into applause twice when some of the commissioners were criticizing Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, for exerting executive privilege and could not agree to come testify in public.
So, still a very human dimension to all of this -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes, one would imagine a very emotional day for them.
Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon for us this morning. Barbara thanks.
President Bush joined his senior staff yesterday in denying that his administration could have prevented 9/11.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: George Tenet briefed me on a regular basis about the terrorist threats to the United States of America. And had my administration had any information that terrorists were going to attack New York City on September 11 we would have acted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: So, in the wake of testimony and looking forward to today's hearings, we are looking to what the 9/11 Commission members expect.
Earlier this morning, I spoke with the chairman and vice-chairman of the panel, former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean, and former congressman Lee Hamilton of Indiana, and I asked Governor Kean what he thinks is to blame for the failures that led to the 9/11 attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THOMAS KEAN, CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: Well, there's no question that we didn't have intelligence to really determine that there were -- they didn't want to take a chance that they weren't sure that they could get their target, so when they wanted to get Osama they -- they wanted to be so sure that they never even tried, they called off three or four different missions where they thought they had him sighted, but they never really went ahead.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, Governor Kean, Secretary Albright, and also Secretary Cohen as well said that there was no real support for invading Afghanistan, and also no real support for taking steps against something that was not a clear terrorist threat yet.
KEAN: No, and we've got to look at the time now. I mean, now we feel very differently, post 9/11, but in those days, you know, if you'd gone to the United States Congress and said guess what, we're going to invade Afghanistan, they would have thrown up their hands.
But, what we're talking about wasn't an invasion, they were talking about specifically targeting Osama bin Laden, spotting him, hitting him with a Cruise missile, sending in some people to take him out and capture him and bring him back for trial.
Those are the kinds of operations that we're talking about at that point.
O'BRIEN: Vice-chairman Hamilton, Richard Clarke is expected to testify this afternoon, and he's already spoken to the Commission in private.
What do you want to hear from him today in public that's different from what you already know?
LEE HAMILTON, VICE CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: I think it's very important for the Commission not only to hear from these witnesses privately but also in public, because the public needs to understand these events just like we in the Commission do.
Richard Clarke will be a very important witness. He was the chief counter-terrorism official throughout the Clinton administration.
He's one of the holdovers into the Bush administration. It's apparent from reading his book and the media that he has some very decided opinions, but we want to hear them.
He's a professional, he's a serious man, and he's got a lot of experience. So the Commission will listen to him very carefully. But obviously we've had evidence and testimony on the other side, as well, and we'll have to put all of that into balance.
O'BRIEN: Governor Kean, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told you that the 9/11 attacks would have happened anyway, even if Osama bin Laden had been successfully taken out. If he had been killed.
The 9/11 attacks would have occurred anyway. Do you disagree with that?
KEAN: Well I -- he was talking about a certain time frame; he was talking about the time since the time Bush came into office and at that point the -- a lot of the people already implanted in the United States, the plot had been going for three or four years, it was well underway and probably would have occurred anyway.
The question is, could we have gotten and taken out Osama bin Laden two or three years earlier? And if we'd done that, then the story might have been different.
O'BRIEN: Vice-Chairman Hamilton, we heard Bob Kerrey yesterday ask why the White House did not have better intelligence on al Qaeda, and I want to play you a small chunk of what he had to say during the hearings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB KERREY, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: I keep hearing the excuse we didn't have actionable intelligence. Well, what the hell does that say to al Qaeda?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: You'll be talking to George Tenet today. What's the answer to that question -- and I guess maybe an even more important question is how do you fix that problem?
HAMILTON: Well, it's very easy to see in retrospect that we could have taken some steps that we did not take. The problem the policy maker confronts is a little different. And that is you do not want to use force casually.
The use of force has consequences and not all of those consequences can be foreseen. So I think myself that the policymakers are correct when they say you have to be very, very cautious with the use of force.
Now that doesn't mean you never use force. But it does mean that you want to be reasonably sure that you can hit your target, you want to be reasonably sure that you're not going to cause a lot of innocent lives to be lost because that can create a terrific backlash...
O'BRIEN: You said yesterday you're disappointed that Condoleezza Rice will not be making public statements. You've already interviewed her for four hours. Apparently she's said she's willing to come back for more. What do you want to hear in public that she hasn't already told you in private?
KEAN: Well, it's a question of doctrine of presidential privilege and precedent and all of that.
National Security Advisers don't testify before bodies. Henry Kissinger didn't, a number of other National Security Advisers haven't, either, and so the White House has told her that she'd be setting a precedent, and so we didn't get her in public.
It's too bad because she was a wonderful witness in private, and I think the public would have been very enlightened to hear it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That was 9/11 Commission chairman Thomas Kean and also the vice-chairman Lee Hamilton earlier this morning.
AMERICAN MORNING will cover today's new hearings live beginning with the testimony of CIA Director George Tenet. That takes place at approximately 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
HEMMER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) from Madrid, Spain world leaders remembering those killed in that devastating March 11th terror attacks. Secretary of State Colin Powell attending the memorial service in Madrid. 190 people were killed when bombs tore through commuter trains during morning rush hour. Later, 14 people are under arrest in connection with those blasts, and that original number of 190 has eclipsed more than 200 now. 202 as a result of the injuries sustained. A live picture again from the cathedral in Madrid.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, how is the White House responding to charges it didn't do enough to stop al Qaeda? We're going to take you live to John King at the White House.
Also talk about his interview with the Chief of Staff Andrew Card.
HEMMER: Kobe Bryant's accuser comes face to face with the NBA Star today. What will Bryant's lawyers ask her about her own sexual past?
O'BRIEN: And more evidence today that Mars could have supported life. We're going to talk with NASA's chief Mars scientist about the latest discoveries on the red planet.
Those stories are all ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Kobe Bryant comes face to face with his accuser today inside of a closed courtroom in Colorado for the first time since last June.
Defense attorneys will question a 19-year-old accuser about her own sexual past today.
The hearing is designed to determine whether or not the information should be introduced at Bryant's trial. Linda Fairstein is a former sex crimes prosecutor and a best-selling author. Her latest work is called "The Kills" and she is back with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back to you.
LINDA FAIRSTEIN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Good to be here.
HEMMER: You say this will be a grilling today.
FAIRSTEIN: It will be a grilling.
HEMMER: By Kobe Bryant's attorneys. How tough?
FAIRSTEIN: That's right, not about the facts of the case. Quite tough. The prosecution has conceded and we could say rape shield law in talking about her sexual history with two individuals in particular. They've agreed that two are relevant to this case.
One being the bellman who she originally said as reported was just a friend, and now we understand that was a sexual partner.
And the other the ex-boyfriend whose DNA profile appears to be part of the evidence she...
HEMMER: So those are the two issues they're trying to get to the heart at. I have heard -- I don't know if you've heard of this or not -- other legal analysts say this is actually a good thing for the accuser because she's going to learn today how tough Pamela Mackey, Kobe Bryant's attorney, can be.
FAIRSTEIN: Well if she's been living in a cave, and had no idea how tough it was going to be and doesn't listen to TV and the newspapers she'd have a good idea.
I mean, Mackey and Haddon, Kobe's lawyers, are terrific, terrific lawyers.
This is an unpleasant circumstance under the best, that you are asked questions about your sexual history in front of the man you are accusing of sexual assault, and supposedly the defense is going to go more far-ranging than the two men I've just talked about who's history may actually...
HEMMER: Are they allowed to do that? Will the judge give them that leeway?
FAIRSTEIN: In the hearing. These hearings -- I mean, the whole point of the rape shield law was to protect the victim at a trial. And in 99 percent of the cases tried in this country since the '70s when these laws went into effect, they've protected really well.
So the fact that there may be questions asked about other sexual partners, the judge will probably rule that most of it is not relevant. And had it not been a high-profile case and were there not be leaks, we'd never know that information.
So it should protect her about the other...
HEMMER: OK, help me understand this, then. Under the Colorado rape shield law, the judge is going to determine what's relevant and what is not.
FAIRSTEIN: That's right.
HEMMER: How do you determine what's relevant? Is it 15 hours before or after the incident? Is it a week after the incident? One month?
FAIRSTEIN: It's a good question. There are two individuals; the boyfriend and the bellman are probably more relevant because they have to do with her credibility.
HEMMER: And they were there that night.
FAIRSTEIN: They were there that night, perhaps, and she first said that she told the bellman who was just a friend -- now we learn there may have been -- there was -- a sexual relationship. That may skew why she told him or why he was looking for her at that hour of the night and what she had to say when she came out of Kobe Bryant's room.
Somebody she had sex with if she did two months before, four months before, I would expect the judge to say can't go there, not relevant, can't be added.
HEMMER: In the short time we have left can I push you a little bit on this? You think this case was over charged? On behalf of the prosecutors?
FAIRSTEIN: I think this case was not examined carefully from the beginning and I think the stakes are so serious. That people's lives, both his and hers, are at stake and that you don't make these kind of charges unless you know what the facts are.
To find out as we did several months after the allegations that a second mans DNA was brought to the hospital not by the defense -- by the...
HEMMER: You're suggesting this may never go to trial.
FAIRSTEIN: I'm suggesting that a good hard look at it before anybody's exposed to a trial would have been a smart thing.
HEMMER: Thanks, Linda. Linda Fairstein.
More now across the room and Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes, same topic for the Cafferty Files and the question of the day. Hello.
CAFFERTY: How you doing? I'm not sure where I come down on this whole thing. This hearing of Kobe Bryant thing.
My guess is that if it was Harold from the local auto body repair shop, we wouldn't be having this closed hearing into the woman's sexual past, but because it's Kobe Bryant and the potential amount of money that's at stake probably is a factor someplace.
And I don't really understand. You have a rape shield law or you don't. The Colorado law is that these victims are not required to do this stuff, so why is there an exception in this woman's case?
If she had sex with somebody else, what is that -- I don't understand what that has to do with whether or not Kobe Bryant may have raped her. I just don't get the connection there.
And to have -- for this woman to have to sit in the courtroom and look at Bryant and his -- and his phalanx of lawyers and go though the most intimate details of her private life to me -- to me -- seems a bit unfair to her.
But then I'm not a lawyer. You guys decide; you're not lawyers either but we want to know what you think. Should Kobe Bryant's accuser be forced to talk about her sexual history in court? Am@cnn.com is the address but I really do believe that if it was Joe Blow off the streets of Nowhere, Colorado that none of this would be happening.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I think that's a fair assessment. All right Jack thanks.
Still to come this morning, a new warning about Medicare. It could be headed for financial intensive care. We're going to take a look at the latest concerns coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Medicare is getting yet another wakeup call so will lawmakers listen this time around?
Christine Romans is here. She's in for Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business." Sorry for mangling your name.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: That's all right. Well, Medicare.
This is the bad news. Medicare is going to go broke, right. In about fifteen years and this is a problem, a real problem, for a lot of different reasons but because something has got to be done and something has got to be done very quickly to fix this.
Take a look. 2019, that's not very far from now. This is when it's expected to be insolvent. Social Security 2042. This is from the trustees for Medicare and for Social Security. Rising medical costs, shrinking revenue and of course hundreds of million dollars -- millions of dollars more in a drug benefit.
At the same time that there's this warning about the Medicare system going broke, you've got an interesting report in "The Wall Street Journal" today. Consumer groups very concerned about drug prices that have soared.
This summer, in June, some 40 million Americans are going to be eligible for this drug discount card we've heard so much about. Thirty dollars you'll pay, you'll get ten percent to 25 percent off some drugs but look -- the drugs have already rallied so much.
Celebrex, Lipitor, Zoloft, Prevacid. One consumer group saying this is like going to a department store and the department store before the sale markes everything up 40 percent and then gives you a 20 percent discount.
You're paying that...
O'BRIEN: You're not saving money.
ROMANS: Absolutely, and it's a problem for seniors who are paying a lot of money for drugs.
O'BRIEN: Wow, so depressing. Bad news.
How about the market, have you got any -- and not only the market, and not only the market let's talk about Microsoft and that kind of impact it had on the market.
ROMANS: Right, well, Microsoft you found out about this big record sign from $615 million fine for Microsoft. The European Union saying it's abusing its monopoly power. Microsoft says it will appeal.
Microsoft keep in mind has $52 billion -- $52 billion in the bank. So $615 is a drop in the bucket but we'll see if it has any impact on Wall Street today. The stock market yesterday down for the fourth day in a row.
The market is in the midst of a correction. The Nasdaq is down about 11 percent from its peak, so watch that.
You know on the Medicare story, I don't want to sound too depressing about it because you know we can always hope that Washington will come up with some sort of solution like wealthier seniors might have to have fewer benefits or maybe some group can have to raise taxes.
But it is a real wake up call that when you're doing your own personal finances, you've got to really try to make sure you're going to take care of yourself in the future.
HEMMER: Seniors vote, too.
ROMANS: They do vote.
HEMMER: Which might be impetus alone for Washington to get on it.
ROMANS: They most certainly do vote. And there's a lot of them out there.
O'BRIEN: Right.
HEMMER: Great to have you.
O'BRIEN: All right, thanks.
ROMANS: Thanks.
HEMMER: In a moment here White House chief of staff Andy Card responding to criticism of the White House, the Bush administration did not do enough to stop al Qaeda. We will look back on the hearings from yesterday and also more critical testimony today.
Back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired March 24, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush, "weak on terrorism, obsessed with Iraq."
Today, the man who made that claim, Richard Clarke, testifies during day two of the 9/11 hearings.
And, Kobe Bryant facing his accuser today for the first time since they met last summer. Right or wrong, she must now explain her sexual past.
And the little globs of stone on Mars that have scientists thrilled to no end on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, 7:00 in New York. Welcome to Wednesday.
Also this hour, John King with us from the White House talking this morning to the president's chief of staff Andrew Card, getting White House reaction to hearings of 9/11 from yesterday that continue yet again today.
Also Card's reaction to the comments by the former terrorism adviser Richard Clarke today.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning the guy you want on your side when you're watching your money, David Bach. He is back today with 90- second tips. This morning something we know a little bit about, hidden fees.
You know they're in there; they're lurking in all your bills, so how do you overweigh (ph) them? We're going to take a look at that.
HEMMER: And he knows.
O'BRIEN: He does.
HEMMER: Jack Cafferty, good morning to you on a Wednesday.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Let's see now.
Kobe Bryant is accused of rape, and yet it's the alleged victim who is going to be forced to testify in a closed court hearing today about her sexual history, despite the fact that the state where the alleged crime occurred has a rape shield law.
We'll take a look in a few minutes.
HEMMER: We're going to talk to a former prosecutor; she's going to say it could be an absolute grilling today, so we'll get to it. Jack thanks.
Top stories starting off the morning now. The State Department issuing a worldwide advisory, warning Americans overseas of growing threats from terrorist groups like Hamas and al Qaeda.
An advisory coming as the U.S. Embassy and Consulate General Office in United Arab Emirates closed today. A statement from the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi says the closings followed an undisclosed but, quote, "specific threat" there. They may reopen on Saturday.
More on this as we move throughout the morning here.
Also the White House is going on the offensive against former counter-terrorism adviser Richard Clarke.
The administration yesterday releasing a letter, a letter of resignation, written by Clarke last year. In it, Clarke praises what he calls President Bush's "courage and determination" after 9/11.
In a new book, Clarke accuses the president of not taking the al Qaeda threat seriously. Richard Clarke due to testify later this afternoon before that 9/11 Commission on Capitol Hill.
The Pledge of Allegiance makes its way to the Supreme Court today. That case involving an atheist who is against his daughter saying the words "under God" at school. A federal appeals court had ruled to stop the Pledge, but a ban has been on hold pending the Supreme Court decision. Much more on this, also, throughout our program today.
The E.U. -- the European Union -- issuing a record fine against Microsoft. The E.U. found that the software giant was guilty of abusing its dominant market position, and ordered the company to pay $613 million in fines.
Microsoft must also reveal details of its Windows software code within 120 days. The company is expected to appeal that decision. Christine Romans is with us in for Andy Serwer. She has more on that in a moment.
Also, from way out in space, turns out the Mars Rover mission could be a day at the beach, and quite literally.
NASA scientists believe Opportunity is parked on what was once the shoreline of a salty sea. More evidence that Mars could have supported life in the past. The chief Mars scientist from NASA is our guest also a bit later this hour.
Up to date now at 7:03 in New York.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: The 9/11 Commission hears more testimony today. Former White House adviser Richard Clarke will be in the hot seat after accusing President Bush of failures in the war on terror.
Yesterday key members of the Bush and Clinton administrations were grilled about missed opportunities to kill Osama bin Laden. CNN's Barbara Starr joins us from the Pentagon this morning with more.
Barbara good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad. Well, indeed, some of the toughest questions going right to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): The Bush administration argued it simply never had precise information about Osama bin Laden's location, especially in the months before 9/11.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I know of no actionable intelligence since January 20 that would have allowed the U.S. to capture or kill bin Laden.
STARR: Rumsfeld argued there was no support for an immediate invasion of Afghanistan to get al Qaeda before 9/11, and that, instead, the focus was on developing a broader effort beyond firing off Cruise missiles.
SLADE GORTON, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: What made you think that we had the luxury even of seven months before we could make that -- yet -- any kind of response?
STARR: But the commission revealed details about three missions to kill bin Laden that were considered by the Clinton administration.
December 1998, a strike is called off when bin Laden disappears.
February 1999, bin Laden is at a hunting camp, but a strike is stopped because others might be killed.
May 1999, bin Laden's location is reported over five nights. The CIA says the information is not good enough.
Some officials called these lost opportunities in the Clinton years to get bin Laden. Rumsfeld insisted 9/11 could not have been prevented by the Bush administration.
RUMSFELD: Killing bin Laden would not have removed al Qaeda's sanctuary in Afghanistan. Moreover, the sleeper cells that flew the aircraft into the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon were already in the United States months before the attack.
(END VIDEOTAPE) STARR: But, Soledad, a human dimension to the hearing yesterday. In that hearing room along with these high-powered officials, many family members -- all eight hours of testimony, sitting there holding up pictures of the family members that they lost on 9/11.
And they broke into applause twice when some of the commissioners were criticizing Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, for exerting executive privilege and could not agree to come testify in public.
So, still a very human dimension to all of this -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes, one would imagine a very emotional day for them.
Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon for us this morning. Barbara thanks.
President Bush joined his senior staff yesterday in denying that his administration could have prevented 9/11.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: George Tenet briefed me on a regular basis about the terrorist threats to the United States of America. And had my administration had any information that terrorists were going to attack New York City on September 11 we would have acted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: So, in the wake of testimony and looking forward to today's hearings, we are looking to what the 9/11 Commission members expect.
Earlier this morning, I spoke with the chairman and vice-chairman of the panel, former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean, and former congressman Lee Hamilton of Indiana, and I asked Governor Kean what he thinks is to blame for the failures that led to the 9/11 attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THOMAS KEAN, CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: Well, there's no question that we didn't have intelligence to really determine that there were -- they didn't want to take a chance that they weren't sure that they could get their target, so when they wanted to get Osama they -- they wanted to be so sure that they never even tried, they called off three or four different missions where they thought they had him sighted, but they never really went ahead.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, Governor Kean, Secretary Albright, and also Secretary Cohen as well said that there was no real support for invading Afghanistan, and also no real support for taking steps against something that was not a clear terrorist threat yet.
KEAN: No, and we've got to look at the time now. I mean, now we feel very differently, post 9/11, but in those days, you know, if you'd gone to the United States Congress and said guess what, we're going to invade Afghanistan, they would have thrown up their hands.
But, what we're talking about wasn't an invasion, they were talking about specifically targeting Osama bin Laden, spotting him, hitting him with a Cruise missile, sending in some people to take him out and capture him and bring him back for trial.
Those are the kinds of operations that we're talking about at that point.
O'BRIEN: Vice-chairman Hamilton, Richard Clarke is expected to testify this afternoon, and he's already spoken to the Commission in private.
What do you want to hear from him today in public that's different from what you already know?
LEE HAMILTON, VICE CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: I think it's very important for the Commission not only to hear from these witnesses privately but also in public, because the public needs to understand these events just like we in the Commission do.
Richard Clarke will be a very important witness. He was the chief counter-terrorism official throughout the Clinton administration.
He's one of the holdovers into the Bush administration. It's apparent from reading his book and the media that he has some very decided opinions, but we want to hear them.
He's a professional, he's a serious man, and he's got a lot of experience. So the Commission will listen to him very carefully. But obviously we've had evidence and testimony on the other side, as well, and we'll have to put all of that into balance.
O'BRIEN: Governor Kean, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told you that the 9/11 attacks would have happened anyway, even if Osama bin Laden had been successfully taken out. If he had been killed.
The 9/11 attacks would have occurred anyway. Do you disagree with that?
KEAN: Well I -- he was talking about a certain time frame; he was talking about the time since the time Bush came into office and at that point the -- a lot of the people already implanted in the United States, the plot had been going for three or four years, it was well underway and probably would have occurred anyway.
The question is, could we have gotten and taken out Osama bin Laden two or three years earlier? And if we'd done that, then the story might have been different.
O'BRIEN: Vice-Chairman Hamilton, we heard Bob Kerrey yesterday ask why the White House did not have better intelligence on al Qaeda, and I want to play you a small chunk of what he had to say during the hearings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB KERREY, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: I keep hearing the excuse we didn't have actionable intelligence. Well, what the hell does that say to al Qaeda?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: You'll be talking to George Tenet today. What's the answer to that question -- and I guess maybe an even more important question is how do you fix that problem?
HAMILTON: Well, it's very easy to see in retrospect that we could have taken some steps that we did not take. The problem the policy maker confronts is a little different. And that is you do not want to use force casually.
The use of force has consequences and not all of those consequences can be foreseen. So I think myself that the policymakers are correct when they say you have to be very, very cautious with the use of force.
Now that doesn't mean you never use force. But it does mean that you want to be reasonably sure that you can hit your target, you want to be reasonably sure that you're not going to cause a lot of innocent lives to be lost because that can create a terrific backlash...
O'BRIEN: You said yesterday you're disappointed that Condoleezza Rice will not be making public statements. You've already interviewed her for four hours. Apparently she's said she's willing to come back for more. What do you want to hear in public that she hasn't already told you in private?
KEAN: Well, it's a question of doctrine of presidential privilege and precedent and all of that.
National Security Advisers don't testify before bodies. Henry Kissinger didn't, a number of other National Security Advisers haven't, either, and so the White House has told her that she'd be setting a precedent, and so we didn't get her in public.
It's too bad because she was a wonderful witness in private, and I think the public would have been very enlightened to hear it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That was 9/11 Commission chairman Thomas Kean and also the vice-chairman Lee Hamilton earlier this morning.
AMERICAN MORNING will cover today's new hearings live beginning with the testimony of CIA Director George Tenet. That takes place at approximately 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
HEMMER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) from Madrid, Spain world leaders remembering those killed in that devastating March 11th terror attacks. Secretary of State Colin Powell attending the memorial service in Madrid. 190 people were killed when bombs tore through commuter trains during morning rush hour. Later, 14 people are under arrest in connection with those blasts, and that original number of 190 has eclipsed more than 200 now. 202 as a result of the injuries sustained. A live picture again from the cathedral in Madrid.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, how is the White House responding to charges it didn't do enough to stop al Qaeda? We're going to take you live to John King at the White House.
Also talk about his interview with the Chief of Staff Andrew Card.
HEMMER: Kobe Bryant's accuser comes face to face with the NBA Star today. What will Bryant's lawyers ask her about her own sexual past?
O'BRIEN: And more evidence today that Mars could have supported life. We're going to talk with NASA's chief Mars scientist about the latest discoveries on the red planet.
Those stories are all ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Kobe Bryant comes face to face with his accuser today inside of a closed courtroom in Colorado for the first time since last June.
Defense attorneys will question a 19-year-old accuser about her own sexual past today.
The hearing is designed to determine whether or not the information should be introduced at Bryant's trial. Linda Fairstein is a former sex crimes prosecutor and a best-selling author. Her latest work is called "The Kills" and she is back with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back to you.
LINDA FAIRSTEIN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Good to be here.
HEMMER: You say this will be a grilling today.
FAIRSTEIN: It will be a grilling.
HEMMER: By Kobe Bryant's attorneys. How tough?
FAIRSTEIN: That's right, not about the facts of the case. Quite tough. The prosecution has conceded and we could say rape shield law in talking about her sexual history with two individuals in particular. They've agreed that two are relevant to this case.
One being the bellman who she originally said as reported was just a friend, and now we understand that was a sexual partner.
And the other the ex-boyfriend whose DNA profile appears to be part of the evidence she...
HEMMER: So those are the two issues they're trying to get to the heart at. I have heard -- I don't know if you've heard of this or not -- other legal analysts say this is actually a good thing for the accuser because she's going to learn today how tough Pamela Mackey, Kobe Bryant's attorney, can be.
FAIRSTEIN: Well if she's been living in a cave, and had no idea how tough it was going to be and doesn't listen to TV and the newspapers she'd have a good idea.
I mean, Mackey and Haddon, Kobe's lawyers, are terrific, terrific lawyers.
This is an unpleasant circumstance under the best, that you are asked questions about your sexual history in front of the man you are accusing of sexual assault, and supposedly the defense is going to go more far-ranging than the two men I've just talked about who's history may actually...
HEMMER: Are they allowed to do that? Will the judge give them that leeway?
FAIRSTEIN: In the hearing. These hearings -- I mean, the whole point of the rape shield law was to protect the victim at a trial. And in 99 percent of the cases tried in this country since the '70s when these laws went into effect, they've protected really well.
So the fact that there may be questions asked about other sexual partners, the judge will probably rule that most of it is not relevant. And had it not been a high-profile case and were there not be leaks, we'd never know that information.
So it should protect her about the other...
HEMMER: OK, help me understand this, then. Under the Colorado rape shield law, the judge is going to determine what's relevant and what is not.
FAIRSTEIN: That's right.
HEMMER: How do you determine what's relevant? Is it 15 hours before or after the incident? Is it a week after the incident? One month?
FAIRSTEIN: It's a good question. There are two individuals; the boyfriend and the bellman are probably more relevant because they have to do with her credibility.
HEMMER: And they were there that night.
FAIRSTEIN: They were there that night, perhaps, and she first said that she told the bellman who was just a friend -- now we learn there may have been -- there was -- a sexual relationship. That may skew why she told him or why he was looking for her at that hour of the night and what she had to say when she came out of Kobe Bryant's room.
Somebody she had sex with if she did two months before, four months before, I would expect the judge to say can't go there, not relevant, can't be added.
HEMMER: In the short time we have left can I push you a little bit on this? You think this case was over charged? On behalf of the prosecutors?
FAIRSTEIN: I think this case was not examined carefully from the beginning and I think the stakes are so serious. That people's lives, both his and hers, are at stake and that you don't make these kind of charges unless you know what the facts are.
To find out as we did several months after the allegations that a second mans DNA was brought to the hospital not by the defense -- by the...
HEMMER: You're suggesting this may never go to trial.
FAIRSTEIN: I'm suggesting that a good hard look at it before anybody's exposed to a trial would have been a smart thing.
HEMMER: Thanks, Linda. Linda Fairstein.
More now across the room and Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes, same topic for the Cafferty Files and the question of the day. Hello.
CAFFERTY: How you doing? I'm not sure where I come down on this whole thing. This hearing of Kobe Bryant thing.
My guess is that if it was Harold from the local auto body repair shop, we wouldn't be having this closed hearing into the woman's sexual past, but because it's Kobe Bryant and the potential amount of money that's at stake probably is a factor someplace.
And I don't really understand. You have a rape shield law or you don't. The Colorado law is that these victims are not required to do this stuff, so why is there an exception in this woman's case?
If she had sex with somebody else, what is that -- I don't understand what that has to do with whether or not Kobe Bryant may have raped her. I just don't get the connection there.
And to have -- for this woman to have to sit in the courtroom and look at Bryant and his -- and his phalanx of lawyers and go though the most intimate details of her private life to me -- to me -- seems a bit unfair to her.
But then I'm not a lawyer. You guys decide; you're not lawyers either but we want to know what you think. Should Kobe Bryant's accuser be forced to talk about her sexual history in court? Am@cnn.com is the address but I really do believe that if it was Joe Blow off the streets of Nowhere, Colorado that none of this would be happening.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I think that's a fair assessment. All right Jack thanks.
Still to come this morning, a new warning about Medicare. It could be headed for financial intensive care. We're going to take a look at the latest concerns coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Medicare is getting yet another wakeup call so will lawmakers listen this time around?
Christine Romans is here. She's in for Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business." Sorry for mangling your name.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: That's all right. Well, Medicare.
This is the bad news. Medicare is going to go broke, right. In about fifteen years and this is a problem, a real problem, for a lot of different reasons but because something has got to be done and something has got to be done very quickly to fix this.
Take a look. 2019, that's not very far from now. This is when it's expected to be insolvent. Social Security 2042. This is from the trustees for Medicare and for Social Security. Rising medical costs, shrinking revenue and of course hundreds of million dollars -- millions of dollars more in a drug benefit.
At the same time that there's this warning about the Medicare system going broke, you've got an interesting report in "The Wall Street Journal" today. Consumer groups very concerned about drug prices that have soared.
This summer, in June, some 40 million Americans are going to be eligible for this drug discount card we've heard so much about. Thirty dollars you'll pay, you'll get ten percent to 25 percent off some drugs but look -- the drugs have already rallied so much.
Celebrex, Lipitor, Zoloft, Prevacid. One consumer group saying this is like going to a department store and the department store before the sale markes everything up 40 percent and then gives you a 20 percent discount.
You're paying that...
O'BRIEN: You're not saving money.
ROMANS: Absolutely, and it's a problem for seniors who are paying a lot of money for drugs.
O'BRIEN: Wow, so depressing. Bad news.
How about the market, have you got any -- and not only the market, and not only the market let's talk about Microsoft and that kind of impact it had on the market.
ROMANS: Right, well, Microsoft you found out about this big record sign from $615 million fine for Microsoft. The European Union saying it's abusing its monopoly power. Microsoft says it will appeal.
Microsoft keep in mind has $52 billion -- $52 billion in the bank. So $615 is a drop in the bucket but we'll see if it has any impact on Wall Street today. The stock market yesterday down for the fourth day in a row.
The market is in the midst of a correction. The Nasdaq is down about 11 percent from its peak, so watch that.
You know on the Medicare story, I don't want to sound too depressing about it because you know we can always hope that Washington will come up with some sort of solution like wealthier seniors might have to have fewer benefits or maybe some group can have to raise taxes.
But it is a real wake up call that when you're doing your own personal finances, you've got to really try to make sure you're going to take care of yourself in the future.
HEMMER: Seniors vote, too.
ROMANS: They do vote.
HEMMER: Which might be impetus alone for Washington to get on it.
ROMANS: They most certainly do vote. And there's a lot of them out there.
O'BRIEN: Right.
HEMMER: Great to have you.
O'BRIEN: All right, thanks.
ROMANS: Thanks.
HEMMER: In a moment here White House chief of staff Andy Card responding to criticism of the White House, the Bush administration did not do enough to stop al Qaeda. We will look back on the hearings from yesterday and also more critical testimony today.
Back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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