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American Morning
President Bush Pressed by Reporters About Iraq, War on Terror; Interview with 9/11 Commission Member Tim Roemer
Aired April 14, 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No way we should see dead people on their television screens. I don't. It's a tough time for the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: War in Iraq dominates the president's news conference, acknowledging difficult times but not mistakes.
The heads of the CIA and the FBI back under the 9/11 microscope. CIA director George Tenet is the first witness this morning.
And the 5-year-old girl who for more than a week stayed by the side of her dead mother after a terrible car wreck. Her remarkable story of survival 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: And good morning. A lot of news today on this Wednesday morning.
Also this morning Tim Roemer, one of the members of the 9/11 Commission, with us live today.
Were there contradictions in yesterday's testimony regarding the attorney general's interest in terrorism pre-9/11?
We'll talk about that. Also talk about what he expects to hear today as those hearings continue in Washington.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, on a much lighter note, our personal money coach David Bach is back with us, and he is talking about the shocking lack of knowledge on the part of many children when it comes to managing money.
Actually some adults, too. He's got some really good ideas, actually, on how to fix the problem; we're going to talk with him.
HEMMER: And David knows. Jack's up in a minute, too, with a great e-mail question, too -- stay tuned for that.
First, our top stories now. Top of the hour. Four more Marines are dead in Iraq. They died in fighting in the Western Anbar province. That includes the city of Fallujah. Meanwhile, Halliburton says it cannot confirm whether or not four bodies found in Iraq are those of its employees missing since an ambush last week.
The bodies found yesterday have not been identified, and U.S. troops building up around the town of Najaf, they are said to be on the lookout for the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr, who has led an uprising in Iraq. Today an envoy appointed by the cleric has brought a set of peace proposals to U.S. officials.
Russia is offering to evacuate about 816 contractors in Iraq. That decision follows the kidnapping of eight employees of a Russian power company earlier in the week. All of them later released. The evacuation is not mandatory; it will be left up to the individual companies to decide whether or not they want to get their workers out of the country.
In this country in Wisconsin a memorial service later tonight for a 20-year-old National Guard member who was serving in Iraq with her two sisters. Michelle Witmer was killed in an attack last week. Her sisters are now home deciding whether or not to return to the battlefield. They say they have conflicting loyalties to their family and to their fellow soldiers in Iraq.
There are new claims of child abuse against the pop star Michael Jackson. Los Angeles police are investigating those allegations. The statement from police says they were contacted by the L.A. County's district attorney's office to look into abuse claims from the 1980s. One of Jackson's lawyers says he expects the claims will be proven false.
A grand jury currently hearing a separate child molestation case against Michael Jackson.
Also in California, a remarkable story of survival today. Five- year-old Ruby Bustamante now in stable condition after a deadly car- crash stranding her in a ravine for ten days.
Yesterday highway workers found the girl who had been living off of uncooked noodles and Gatorade. Workers also found the body of her mother who had been killed in that crash. Frank Buckley is near that scene. We'll talk to Frank a bit later this morning here.
O'BRIEN: Both of those stories -- poor little girl said she just said she wanted water was the only thing she said so far. Comes from a big family; five brothers and sisters to help her get through this. Pretty shocking.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: In his first primetime news conference of the year, President Bush was pressed by reporters about Iraq and the war on terror. He vowed to stay the course in Iraq and said he believes the nation will stand with him. Suzanne Malveaux is live for us this morning at the White House. Suzanne, good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Well, President Bush laid out his case to the American people saying that the U.S. will stay the course in Iraq despite the recent violence. He said that he supports an increase in U.S. troops that also they are sticking by that June 30 deadline to transfer power to the Iraqi people and he also said that the war was justified.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: See, I happen to believe that we'll find out the truth on the weapons. That's why we set up the independent commission. I look forward to hearing the truth about exactly where they are. They could still be there; they could be hidden like the 50 tons of mustard gas in a turkey farm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: President Bush was also asked about the events prior to September 11. He did not recall as he was asked whether or not he had made any mistakes prior to September 11 -- he said he could not recall one mistake, although he did say that the United States was not on a war footing despite the fact that al Qaeda was on a war footing.
The president also refused to apologize to the families of the 9/11 victims saying that Osama bin Laden was responsible for those attacks -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us this morning. Suzanne, thanks.
Well, President Bush made a very personal statement last night as he talked about his commitment to the war in Iraq and the fight on terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I feel strongly about what we're doing. I feel strongly that the course this administration is taking will make American more secure. And the world more free. And therefore the world more peaceful. It's a conviction that's deep in my soul.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: More now on the president's news conference. CNN's political analyst Ron Brownstein is also with "The Los Angeles Times" and joins us this morning.
Nice to see you, Ron, as always. Let's get right to it.
Give me a sense of how you think the president did last night. Rate it for me. RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I don't think he did very well and I didn't really talk to anyone in response to the press conference who thought he did.
Look, the president was very forceful and eloquent in underscoring his personal commitment to succeeding in Iraq and in making the case for why he believes it is important that we succeed in Iraq. But, the American people I don't think are questioning whether it is important to succeed in Iraq.
The problem he faces is that people doubt whether he has a plan to succeed in Iraq and on that front he really offered nothing new last night, and as a result I think even some supporters of the war that I spoke with are concerned that he did little to allay the concerns that have been growing in polls as they see the news cascading across the TV every day.
O'BRIEN: There seem to be two lines of questioning; one line, as you mentioned, Iraq and the other about 9/11. And as you have said, you felt he dodged both -- many questions in both of those sort of categories. Give me some specific examples of where you think the president did not answer fully the question that was put to him.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, one thing that's interesting. Well, actually, first of all, on the 9/11 side he was asked Sunday morning in Fort Hood, Texas what he did in response to the August 6 briefing from the CIA in 2001 and my colleague Ed Chen effectively asked him the same question yesterday.
Both times he didn't really answer. There was testimony before the Commission yesterday that no one in the White House asked the FBI for a follow-up briefing after the president received that information on August 6 which talked about the ongoing FBI investigations, but the president did not directly again did not directly address his actions.
On the Iraq front, I think the big question was what if any -- what are we going to do on June 30 and on that front President Bush said very similarly to what Paul Bremer said on Sunday wait and see. He was asked who he will be turning over power to and he said in essence that is something that Mr. Brahimi the U.N. special envoy is resolving which seemed a kind of passive response for someone who is emphasizing his resolve to succeed.
O'BRIEN: Well -- what you criticize as lack of detail, or maybe lack of resolve, those who support the president would say actually what he showed in that press conference last night was solid resolve. Was staying the course sort of...
BROWNSTEIN: Oh, no, no question about the resolve. I mean, I have no question about the resolve, Soledad.
I mean, there's no question that the president -- look, the president's most attractive characteristic to those who support him is his determination, is his resolve and that was the card he was playing last night. He could not have been clearer that he wants to, as Suzanne Malveaux said, stay the course. The question I think he faces is with voters who are less committed, less ideologically committed to him or to the war is at what point does determination do you look determined -- at what point do you cross from looking determined to looking dogmatic?
And I think the question he faces now is whether he is being too straight ahead and not adjusting enough to what are very difficult circumstances. That will be the debate -- that was the argument John Kerry immediately raised in his response, he talked about the president stubbornly clinging to his policies and I think you're going to -- that's the debate you're going t hear as the weeks unfold.
O'BRIEN: All right, Ron Brownstein for us this morning. Nice to see you as always, thanks so much for joining us.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
HEMMER: With that a backdrop, Jack Cafferty, good morning, "Question of the Day."
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's pretty lame. I'm looking forward to "The Daily Show." I want to see what "The Daily Show" does with that thing last night.
The president spent most of the news conference answering, or in some cases not answering, or dodging, questions about Iraq, terrorism and September 11.
But traditionally when it comes to elections history suggests people decide who to vote for based on economic issues. So the question this morning is this: if the election were held today, what issue would be most important to you in deciding who you're going to vote for for the next president?
HEMMER: We're going to take the calls too. Thank you Jack.
CAFFERTY: Sure.
HEMMER: In a moment here CIA and FBI officials under tough questioning on Capitol Hill. Did the Commission learn anything new? At this point we'll talk to a member of that panel in a moment here live down in D.C.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning new allegations of child abuse against Michael Jackson. Are more legal troubles ahead for the pop star? We'll take a look at that.
HEMMER: Also say hey to number 661. Now on the record books. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: CIA Director George Tenet has told the 9/11 Commission privately that, quote, "The system was blinking red." Tenet testifies publicly that later today the Commission has been highly critical. So far the FBI and the CIA Clinton-era FBI director Louis Freeh defending his position yesterday during those hearings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOUIS FREEH, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: September 11, had we had the right sources overseas or in the United States could have been prevented. We did not have those sources.
We did not have that telephone call; we didn't have that e-mail intercept that could have done the job. You get that by having sources and you get sources by good investigations. You also prevent terrorism in that regard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: That was part of what Freeh had to say yesterday. Former Indiana Congressman today Tim Roemer a member of that Commission back with us live in our D.C. Bureau.
Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Good morning to you.
TIM ROEMER, 9/11 COMMISSIONER: Great to be here, Bill.
HEMMER: A bit of a tit for tat yesterday. Thomas Picard the acting head of the FBI going against the attorney general John Ashcroft.
Your Commission has concluded that Picard initially briefed the attorney general regarding these threats. After two such briefings the attorney general told him he did not want to hear this information any more a short time later John Ashcroft says that is not the case. Can your Commission determine who was telling the truth here?
ROEMER: I don't know that that's our job, Bill. We've got a big job and that is to try to get the FBI and the CIA who have huge structural and systemic problems and deficiencies and we need to work with the Congress and the president of the United States to get this changed.
We're working off a 1947 National Security Act that is about 56 years old that told the FBI kind of in effect and the CIA you've got a Cold War warrior, the CIA, to fight against the Soviet Union and the FBI since the fifties is really been fighting against the Mafia how do we change these two organizations and give them the right kind of skills and analysts and translation capabilities, break down the wall that separates them from communicating, get some sharing information and not treating each other as rivals so that we can concentrate on this new jihadists treat coming at us right and left.
HEMMER: Sir, try and explain this for us. Janet Reno criticized the FBI yesterday -- I think at one point she said the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing. Two-thirds of the analysts in the field were not qualified to analyze information -- the agents not even aware of terror chatter out there, this is the summer of 2001. What explains that?
ROEMER: Bill, we're still trying to look at what does explain this. A lot of these FBI people, Louis Freeh who is a good person, Tom Picard who is a good person, had been trying to fight the good fight and reform these organizations since way back in the Clinton administration and they haven't been able to do that. They haven't been able to connect the dots.
They have not been able to share the information. They've been not able to recruit the right kinds of translators. They have not been able to recruit the right kind of analysts that write the analytical product that helps you understand this evolving threat rather than just putting you know kind of briefings together day by day to show you what might be happening that very minute.
HEMMER: So there are a lot of people out there who are trying to apply blame here, some people accepting responsibility, offering apologies, others a bit more begrudgingly on that matter. Whatever the case, whatever the facts of 31 months ago, what has changed within the FBI, within the CIA today. You can tell Americans that indeed the system works better now than it did on September 10.
ROEMER: Well, we're trying to look at what does work better, certainly there are some things in the Patriot Act that have allowed some of this wall to come down and facilitate better communication and some sharing although it's not quite there yet, Bill. We don't have enough translators and Arabic speakers. We've got a long way to go with the analysts.
Yesterday I think the president said something positive. He said he wants to work with the 9/11 Commission on the kind of reforms that we'll recommend. If we're going to get the systemic and structural changes in these two organizations that are so badly broken, if we're going to get the United States Congress to work with us to get this huge bureaucratic change, I hope the president will personally engage in this battle and help us get this change with the American people that we desperately need.
HEMMER: Finally, George Tenet goes today, Robert Mueller goes in the afternoon. Your one question for these gentlemen is what?
ROEMER: Well, I certainly with Mr. Tenet it will probably be you said that you declared war on al Qaeda back as early as 1998; how did you manage that war footing? How did you change things in the CIA structurally to show that we were at war with al Qaeda? I'm not sure that the evidence is there for that.
With the FBI, it's going to be a similar question that I asked to Mr. Freeh yesterday -- we had an active informant with the FBI talking to two of the hijackers, two of the 19 hijackers prior to 9/11 for several months -- Louis Freeh said yesterday if we would have had informants that we developed the right kinds of information, if we recruited the right assets, maybe we could have prevented 9/11.
Why didn't this active informant get us that kind of information? That seems to me to be a plausible way to have at least deflected parts of 9/11.
HEMMER: We'll be watching almost two hours away this morning before you start again. Tim Roemer thanks again for your time there in D.C.
ROEMER: Great to be with you.
HEMMER: Live coverage starts again later this morning 9:30 a.m. Eastern time is when the expected hearing begins for George Tenet as I mentioned. Robert Mueller will then go in the afternoon.
Let's get a break here in a moment. Andy Serwer is back here. Viagra not cheap but it can be free if you qualify. Only Andy knows this. Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Canadian Internet drug companies are getting blocked trying to sell to the U.S. They are taking their pitch elsewhere.
Plus, free Viagra for frequent users. With a look at that plus a market preview Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" this morning. Let's get to the Canadian problem here. What's going on?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: OK, we'll talk about free Viagra also, right?
O'BRIEN: I know as much as you want to talk about that first...
SERWER: OK, most people know of course that Canadian pharmacies have increasingly been supplying hundreds and thousands of Americans with cheaper prescription drugs up to 50 percent cheaper.
Now what's been happening is that U.S. drug companies not to happy about this have been cutting off supplies. Big companies like Eli Lily and Pfizer. That's been creating shortages; up to four weeks wait for people in the U.S. who are trying to buy these drugs.
Guess what? The Canadian pharmacies companies like Canadian Meds, Crosswater Pharmacy.com, a lot of them in Manitoba by the way, I didn't realize that -- are fighting back by getting supplies of drugs from Europe.
They're setting up links on their websites to pharmacies in the U.K. especially in Ireland and possibly even New Zealand and this is another part of this battle Soledad. We're going to see how the U.S. regulators respond to that.
The drugs in Europe by the way pretty much the same price as the drugs in Canada so basically what's going on is that we're subsidizing the rest of the world and it's really starting to catch up with these drug companies.
O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and try to work against that subsidizing. Viagra?
SERWER: Viagra.
O'BRIEN: Good news if you use a lot of Viagra.
SERWER: That's right if you use a lot. Pfizer, which makes Viagra, taking a page out of the airlines book it seems, kind of a frequent flyer program. If you will. If you buy six doses of Viagra, you get the seventh one free. I've never heard about a drug company doing this with a prescription medicine before I guess it's OK to do.
O'BRIEN: Doses or prescriptions?
SERWER: Well, it's -- say it's the same thing -- one pill is one dose. Costs about $10 a pill. Of course, this company has been besieged by competitors like Levitra and Cialis so a much more competitive market these days.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. What if other drug companies will follow suit on that?
SERWER: They may, they very well may. Yes.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the markets.
SERWER: Yes, yesterday a big retreat on Wall Street, Soledad and it's an interesting thing that happened, it's actually we had too much good news. Look at this. Right across the board.
HEMMER: Too much good news?
SERWER: Too much good news. Let me explain what happened -- you talk about the really great retail sales in March, those figures that came out -- and people on Wall Street said wow things are so good the Fed may have to raise interest rates this summer. So that's what sent stocks down.
Futures lower this month. Too much good news. You thought you couldn't have that, right?
O'BRIEN: Yes, I did, but not now.
SERWER: OK.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Check in with you later.
HEMMER: Let's get a break here in a moment. More claims of child abuse against Michael Jackson now under investigation in California. The Jackson camp responding to this ahead here in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Good morning, welcome back everybody. It is almost half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
We're getting back to the 9/11 hearings in just a few moments. Talking with the man with a unique perspective. Ted Olson, a Solicitor General who, as you well know, lost his wife on 9/11. We're going to talk to him, find out if he thinks the administration made some mistakes.
HEMMER: Also this hour "90-Second Tips" coming your way. David Bach, a guy who knows just about everything about managing money. Telling us about youngsters who may be heading for a life of financial difficulties. How do you spot the problem, first, and then how do you solve it?
Meet with David Bach this half hour as well.
O'BRIEN: Always has good advice this morning as always. Let's get to our top stories first though and we begin in Iraq this morning where four bodies found near Baghdad have yet to be positively identified. The bodies were found yesterday in a shallow grave near the scene of a convoy attack last week.
Two U.S. soldiers and several U.S. contractors have been missing since that attack.
Meanwhile, U.S. led forces are building up outside the holy city of Najaf. They are said to be on the lookout for wanted Muslim cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr.
Today President Bush will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to discuss Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank. President Bush is backing the plan, but he wants it tied to the establishment of a Palestinian state by next year. Prime Minister Sharon meanwhile is hoping Mr. Bush will signal approval for Israel's plans to retain parts of the West Bank.
Vice-President Dick Cheney says the U.S. relationship with China is in good shape though there is still some tension concerning Taiwan. Vice-President Cheney met with China's leaders today, including the Chinese president.
Senior U.S. officials say Cheney presented new information on North Korea's nuclear program in an attempt to push Beijing to be more aggressive in getting that program dismantled.
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Aired April 14, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No way we should see dead people on their television screens. I don't. It's a tough time for the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: War in Iraq dominates the president's news conference, acknowledging difficult times but not mistakes.
The heads of the CIA and the FBI back under the 9/11 microscope. CIA director George Tenet is the first witness this morning.
And the 5-year-old girl who for more than a week stayed by the side of her dead mother after a terrible car wreck. Her remarkable story of survival 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: And good morning. A lot of news today on this Wednesday morning.
Also this morning Tim Roemer, one of the members of the 9/11 Commission, with us live today.
Were there contradictions in yesterday's testimony regarding the attorney general's interest in terrorism pre-9/11?
We'll talk about that. Also talk about what he expects to hear today as those hearings continue in Washington.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, on a much lighter note, our personal money coach David Bach is back with us, and he is talking about the shocking lack of knowledge on the part of many children when it comes to managing money.
Actually some adults, too. He's got some really good ideas, actually, on how to fix the problem; we're going to talk with him.
HEMMER: And David knows. Jack's up in a minute, too, with a great e-mail question, too -- stay tuned for that.
First, our top stories now. Top of the hour. Four more Marines are dead in Iraq. They died in fighting in the Western Anbar province. That includes the city of Fallujah. Meanwhile, Halliburton says it cannot confirm whether or not four bodies found in Iraq are those of its employees missing since an ambush last week.
The bodies found yesterday have not been identified, and U.S. troops building up around the town of Najaf, they are said to be on the lookout for the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr, who has led an uprising in Iraq. Today an envoy appointed by the cleric has brought a set of peace proposals to U.S. officials.
Russia is offering to evacuate about 816 contractors in Iraq. That decision follows the kidnapping of eight employees of a Russian power company earlier in the week. All of them later released. The evacuation is not mandatory; it will be left up to the individual companies to decide whether or not they want to get their workers out of the country.
In this country in Wisconsin a memorial service later tonight for a 20-year-old National Guard member who was serving in Iraq with her two sisters. Michelle Witmer was killed in an attack last week. Her sisters are now home deciding whether or not to return to the battlefield. They say they have conflicting loyalties to their family and to their fellow soldiers in Iraq.
There are new claims of child abuse against the pop star Michael Jackson. Los Angeles police are investigating those allegations. The statement from police says they were contacted by the L.A. County's district attorney's office to look into abuse claims from the 1980s. One of Jackson's lawyers says he expects the claims will be proven false.
A grand jury currently hearing a separate child molestation case against Michael Jackson.
Also in California, a remarkable story of survival today. Five- year-old Ruby Bustamante now in stable condition after a deadly car- crash stranding her in a ravine for ten days.
Yesterday highway workers found the girl who had been living off of uncooked noodles and Gatorade. Workers also found the body of her mother who had been killed in that crash. Frank Buckley is near that scene. We'll talk to Frank a bit later this morning here.
O'BRIEN: Both of those stories -- poor little girl said she just said she wanted water was the only thing she said so far. Comes from a big family; five brothers and sisters to help her get through this. Pretty shocking.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: In his first primetime news conference of the year, President Bush was pressed by reporters about Iraq and the war on terror. He vowed to stay the course in Iraq and said he believes the nation will stand with him. Suzanne Malveaux is live for us this morning at the White House. Suzanne, good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Well, President Bush laid out his case to the American people saying that the U.S. will stay the course in Iraq despite the recent violence. He said that he supports an increase in U.S. troops that also they are sticking by that June 30 deadline to transfer power to the Iraqi people and he also said that the war was justified.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: See, I happen to believe that we'll find out the truth on the weapons. That's why we set up the independent commission. I look forward to hearing the truth about exactly where they are. They could still be there; they could be hidden like the 50 tons of mustard gas in a turkey farm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: President Bush was also asked about the events prior to September 11. He did not recall as he was asked whether or not he had made any mistakes prior to September 11 -- he said he could not recall one mistake, although he did say that the United States was not on a war footing despite the fact that al Qaeda was on a war footing.
The president also refused to apologize to the families of the 9/11 victims saying that Osama bin Laden was responsible for those attacks -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us this morning. Suzanne, thanks.
Well, President Bush made a very personal statement last night as he talked about his commitment to the war in Iraq and the fight on terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I feel strongly about what we're doing. I feel strongly that the course this administration is taking will make American more secure. And the world more free. And therefore the world more peaceful. It's a conviction that's deep in my soul.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: More now on the president's news conference. CNN's political analyst Ron Brownstein is also with "The Los Angeles Times" and joins us this morning.
Nice to see you, Ron, as always. Let's get right to it.
Give me a sense of how you think the president did last night. Rate it for me. RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I don't think he did very well and I didn't really talk to anyone in response to the press conference who thought he did.
Look, the president was very forceful and eloquent in underscoring his personal commitment to succeeding in Iraq and in making the case for why he believes it is important that we succeed in Iraq. But, the American people I don't think are questioning whether it is important to succeed in Iraq.
The problem he faces is that people doubt whether he has a plan to succeed in Iraq and on that front he really offered nothing new last night, and as a result I think even some supporters of the war that I spoke with are concerned that he did little to allay the concerns that have been growing in polls as they see the news cascading across the TV every day.
O'BRIEN: There seem to be two lines of questioning; one line, as you mentioned, Iraq and the other about 9/11. And as you have said, you felt he dodged both -- many questions in both of those sort of categories. Give me some specific examples of where you think the president did not answer fully the question that was put to him.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, one thing that's interesting. Well, actually, first of all, on the 9/11 side he was asked Sunday morning in Fort Hood, Texas what he did in response to the August 6 briefing from the CIA in 2001 and my colleague Ed Chen effectively asked him the same question yesterday.
Both times he didn't really answer. There was testimony before the Commission yesterday that no one in the White House asked the FBI for a follow-up briefing after the president received that information on August 6 which talked about the ongoing FBI investigations, but the president did not directly again did not directly address his actions.
On the Iraq front, I think the big question was what if any -- what are we going to do on June 30 and on that front President Bush said very similarly to what Paul Bremer said on Sunday wait and see. He was asked who he will be turning over power to and he said in essence that is something that Mr. Brahimi the U.N. special envoy is resolving which seemed a kind of passive response for someone who is emphasizing his resolve to succeed.
O'BRIEN: Well -- what you criticize as lack of detail, or maybe lack of resolve, those who support the president would say actually what he showed in that press conference last night was solid resolve. Was staying the course sort of...
BROWNSTEIN: Oh, no, no question about the resolve. I mean, I have no question about the resolve, Soledad.
I mean, there's no question that the president -- look, the president's most attractive characteristic to those who support him is his determination, is his resolve and that was the card he was playing last night. He could not have been clearer that he wants to, as Suzanne Malveaux said, stay the course. The question I think he faces is with voters who are less committed, less ideologically committed to him or to the war is at what point does determination do you look determined -- at what point do you cross from looking determined to looking dogmatic?
And I think the question he faces now is whether he is being too straight ahead and not adjusting enough to what are very difficult circumstances. That will be the debate -- that was the argument John Kerry immediately raised in his response, he talked about the president stubbornly clinging to his policies and I think you're going to -- that's the debate you're going t hear as the weeks unfold.
O'BRIEN: All right, Ron Brownstein for us this morning. Nice to see you as always, thanks so much for joining us.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
HEMMER: With that a backdrop, Jack Cafferty, good morning, "Question of the Day."
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's pretty lame. I'm looking forward to "The Daily Show." I want to see what "The Daily Show" does with that thing last night.
The president spent most of the news conference answering, or in some cases not answering, or dodging, questions about Iraq, terrorism and September 11.
But traditionally when it comes to elections history suggests people decide who to vote for based on economic issues. So the question this morning is this: if the election were held today, what issue would be most important to you in deciding who you're going to vote for for the next president?
HEMMER: We're going to take the calls too. Thank you Jack.
CAFFERTY: Sure.
HEMMER: In a moment here CIA and FBI officials under tough questioning on Capitol Hill. Did the Commission learn anything new? At this point we'll talk to a member of that panel in a moment here live down in D.C.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning new allegations of child abuse against Michael Jackson. Are more legal troubles ahead for the pop star? We'll take a look at that.
HEMMER: Also say hey to number 661. Now on the record books. Back in a moment.
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HEMMER: CIA Director George Tenet has told the 9/11 Commission privately that, quote, "The system was blinking red." Tenet testifies publicly that later today the Commission has been highly critical. So far the FBI and the CIA Clinton-era FBI director Louis Freeh defending his position yesterday during those hearings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOUIS FREEH, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: September 11, had we had the right sources overseas or in the United States could have been prevented. We did not have those sources.
We did not have that telephone call; we didn't have that e-mail intercept that could have done the job. You get that by having sources and you get sources by good investigations. You also prevent terrorism in that regard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: That was part of what Freeh had to say yesterday. Former Indiana Congressman today Tim Roemer a member of that Commission back with us live in our D.C. Bureau.
Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Good morning to you.
TIM ROEMER, 9/11 COMMISSIONER: Great to be here, Bill.
HEMMER: A bit of a tit for tat yesterday. Thomas Picard the acting head of the FBI going against the attorney general John Ashcroft.
Your Commission has concluded that Picard initially briefed the attorney general regarding these threats. After two such briefings the attorney general told him he did not want to hear this information any more a short time later John Ashcroft says that is not the case. Can your Commission determine who was telling the truth here?
ROEMER: I don't know that that's our job, Bill. We've got a big job and that is to try to get the FBI and the CIA who have huge structural and systemic problems and deficiencies and we need to work with the Congress and the president of the United States to get this changed.
We're working off a 1947 National Security Act that is about 56 years old that told the FBI kind of in effect and the CIA you've got a Cold War warrior, the CIA, to fight against the Soviet Union and the FBI since the fifties is really been fighting against the Mafia how do we change these two organizations and give them the right kind of skills and analysts and translation capabilities, break down the wall that separates them from communicating, get some sharing information and not treating each other as rivals so that we can concentrate on this new jihadists treat coming at us right and left.
HEMMER: Sir, try and explain this for us. Janet Reno criticized the FBI yesterday -- I think at one point she said the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing. Two-thirds of the analysts in the field were not qualified to analyze information -- the agents not even aware of terror chatter out there, this is the summer of 2001. What explains that?
ROEMER: Bill, we're still trying to look at what does explain this. A lot of these FBI people, Louis Freeh who is a good person, Tom Picard who is a good person, had been trying to fight the good fight and reform these organizations since way back in the Clinton administration and they haven't been able to do that. They haven't been able to connect the dots.
They have not been able to share the information. They've been not able to recruit the right kinds of translators. They have not been able to recruit the right kind of analysts that write the analytical product that helps you understand this evolving threat rather than just putting you know kind of briefings together day by day to show you what might be happening that very minute.
HEMMER: So there are a lot of people out there who are trying to apply blame here, some people accepting responsibility, offering apologies, others a bit more begrudgingly on that matter. Whatever the case, whatever the facts of 31 months ago, what has changed within the FBI, within the CIA today. You can tell Americans that indeed the system works better now than it did on September 10.
ROEMER: Well, we're trying to look at what does work better, certainly there are some things in the Patriot Act that have allowed some of this wall to come down and facilitate better communication and some sharing although it's not quite there yet, Bill. We don't have enough translators and Arabic speakers. We've got a long way to go with the analysts.
Yesterday I think the president said something positive. He said he wants to work with the 9/11 Commission on the kind of reforms that we'll recommend. If we're going to get the systemic and structural changes in these two organizations that are so badly broken, if we're going to get the United States Congress to work with us to get this huge bureaucratic change, I hope the president will personally engage in this battle and help us get this change with the American people that we desperately need.
HEMMER: Finally, George Tenet goes today, Robert Mueller goes in the afternoon. Your one question for these gentlemen is what?
ROEMER: Well, I certainly with Mr. Tenet it will probably be you said that you declared war on al Qaeda back as early as 1998; how did you manage that war footing? How did you change things in the CIA structurally to show that we were at war with al Qaeda? I'm not sure that the evidence is there for that.
With the FBI, it's going to be a similar question that I asked to Mr. Freeh yesterday -- we had an active informant with the FBI talking to two of the hijackers, two of the 19 hijackers prior to 9/11 for several months -- Louis Freeh said yesterday if we would have had informants that we developed the right kinds of information, if we recruited the right assets, maybe we could have prevented 9/11.
Why didn't this active informant get us that kind of information? That seems to me to be a plausible way to have at least deflected parts of 9/11.
HEMMER: We'll be watching almost two hours away this morning before you start again. Tim Roemer thanks again for your time there in D.C.
ROEMER: Great to be with you.
HEMMER: Live coverage starts again later this morning 9:30 a.m. Eastern time is when the expected hearing begins for George Tenet as I mentioned. Robert Mueller will then go in the afternoon.
Let's get a break here in a moment. Andy Serwer is back here. Viagra not cheap but it can be free if you qualify. Only Andy knows this. Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
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O'BRIEN: Canadian Internet drug companies are getting blocked trying to sell to the U.S. They are taking their pitch elsewhere.
Plus, free Viagra for frequent users. With a look at that plus a market preview Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" this morning. Let's get to the Canadian problem here. What's going on?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: OK, we'll talk about free Viagra also, right?
O'BRIEN: I know as much as you want to talk about that first...
SERWER: OK, most people know of course that Canadian pharmacies have increasingly been supplying hundreds and thousands of Americans with cheaper prescription drugs up to 50 percent cheaper.
Now what's been happening is that U.S. drug companies not to happy about this have been cutting off supplies. Big companies like Eli Lily and Pfizer. That's been creating shortages; up to four weeks wait for people in the U.S. who are trying to buy these drugs.
Guess what? The Canadian pharmacies companies like Canadian Meds, Crosswater Pharmacy.com, a lot of them in Manitoba by the way, I didn't realize that -- are fighting back by getting supplies of drugs from Europe.
They're setting up links on their websites to pharmacies in the U.K. especially in Ireland and possibly even New Zealand and this is another part of this battle Soledad. We're going to see how the U.S. regulators respond to that.
The drugs in Europe by the way pretty much the same price as the drugs in Canada so basically what's going on is that we're subsidizing the rest of the world and it's really starting to catch up with these drug companies.
O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and try to work against that subsidizing. Viagra?
SERWER: Viagra.
O'BRIEN: Good news if you use a lot of Viagra.
SERWER: That's right if you use a lot. Pfizer, which makes Viagra, taking a page out of the airlines book it seems, kind of a frequent flyer program. If you will. If you buy six doses of Viagra, you get the seventh one free. I've never heard about a drug company doing this with a prescription medicine before I guess it's OK to do.
O'BRIEN: Doses or prescriptions?
SERWER: Well, it's -- say it's the same thing -- one pill is one dose. Costs about $10 a pill. Of course, this company has been besieged by competitors like Levitra and Cialis so a much more competitive market these days.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. What if other drug companies will follow suit on that?
SERWER: They may, they very well may. Yes.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the markets.
SERWER: Yes, yesterday a big retreat on Wall Street, Soledad and it's an interesting thing that happened, it's actually we had too much good news. Look at this. Right across the board.
HEMMER: Too much good news?
SERWER: Too much good news. Let me explain what happened -- you talk about the really great retail sales in March, those figures that came out -- and people on Wall Street said wow things are so good the Fed may have to raise interest rates this summer. So that's what sent stocks down.
Futures lower this month. Too much good news. You thought you couldn't have that, right?
O'BRIEN: Yes, I did, but not now.
SERWER: OK.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Check in with you later.
HEMMER: Let's get a break here in a moment. More claims of child abuse against Michael Jackson now under investigation in California. The Jackson camp responding to this ahead here in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.
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O'BRIEN: Good morning, welcome back everybody. It is almost half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
We're getting back to the 9/11 hearings in just a few moments. Talking with the man with a unique perspective. Ted Olson, a Solicitor General who, as you well know, lost his wife on 9/11. We're going to talk to him, find out if he thinks the administration made some mistakes.
HEMMER: Also this hour "90-Second Tips" coming your way. David Bach, a guy who knows just about everything about managing money. Telling us about youngsters who may be heading for a life of financial difficulties. How do you spot the problem, first, and then how do you solve it?
Meet with David Bach this half hour as well.
O'BRIEN: Always has good advice this morning as always. Let's get to our top stories first though and we begin in Iraq this morning where four bodies found near Baghdad have yet to be positively identified. The bodies were found yesterday in a shallow grave near the scene of a convoy attack last week.
Two U.S. soldiers and several U.S. contractors have been missing since that attack.
Meanwhile, U.S. led forces are building up outside the holy city of Najaf. They are said to be on the lookout for wanted Muslim cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr.
Today President Bush will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to discuss Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank. President Bush is backing the plan, but he wants it tied to the establishment of a Palestinian state by next year. Prime Minister Sharon meanwhile is hoping Mr. Bush will signal approval for Israel's plans to retain parts of the West Bank.
Vice-President Dick Cheney says the U.S. relationship with China is in good shape though there is still some tension concerning Taiwan. Vice-President Cheney met with China's leaders today, including the Chinese president.
Senior U.S. officials say Cheney presented new information on North Korea's nuclear program in an attempt to push Beijing to be more aggressive in getting that program dismantled.
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