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Tamil Tiger Rebels Open Up Sri Lankan Civil War Area to Incoming Aid; Osama Bin Laden Still Huge Terror Threat in 2005
Aired December 31, 2004 - 08:30 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.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: We welcome you back. It's just half past the hour on AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Rick Sanchez in for Bill Hemmer.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: And I'm Heidi Collins in for Soledad. The total death toll in the tsunami disaster is now more than 135,000. Here's the latest. Of the total dead, nearly 80,000 are in Indonesia. More than 41,000 are dead in Sri Lanka, and in India, at least 10,000 are dead. Officials say the death toll of tourists could reach into the thousands.
A U.S. military team has arrived in Sri Lanka to distribute clean water, but aid officials say the devastated terrain is making it very difficult to reach them. And in addition to the $500 million in aid already pledged, the U.N. says it will send out an appeal for more in the new year.
SANCHEZ: Interestingly enough, many of the hardest hit areas of Sri Lanka are under the control of rebels who have been fighting in a civil war against the government. Casualty numbers from the rebel controlled northern area now stands at 14,000, with at least 500,000 displaced.
The rebel group has started allowing outsiders to visit the area. Among the first are NGO aid workers who are going into the area. CNN's Stan Grant is joining us now from Mullativu and Sri Lanka with the very latest on this.
Stan, what is the situation regarding the aid, the rebels and the after effects of the tsunami?
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rick, let me start, first of all, with the rebels. You are right in correctly identifying that this is not just a disaster zone. It's also a war zone and has been a war zone now for nearly 30 years. The Tamil Tiger Rebels have waged a civil war with Sri Lankan forces, and they've established, very much, a de facto state here and are used to dealing with this type of tragedy.
In the town of Mullativu where I am at the moment, this town itself has been knocked down and rebuilt several times. It has experienced death, big casualties in the past, as a result of the war. And on the weekend again, it was hard hit.
This time, there is a sense, I suppose, that it is not about separatism. It's not about politics, and it's not about the rebels. It's about trying to deal with the situation facing the people as a result of the tsunami. And the Tamils have been very quick to move on this issue.
I've spent the most of the day with the Tamils. They very quickly shut down this region. Much of the area here is contaminated. The water is contaminated. The air is contaminated. You need inoculations to come into this region, and they've begun to cremate the bodies, the thousands of bodies that you identified there, around 14,000 people who have been killed. The Tamil Tigers tell me another 5,000 to 6,000 are missing, also expected to be added to their death total. And they are cremating those bodies as they find them.
Just a personal point today, we saw the cremation of three little children aged between 1 and 3 who were huddled together where they died on the weekend. And we saw them loaded up on the funeral pile and cremated - Rick.
SANCHEZ: Let me ask you this question, Stan. It's a question I'm going to be asking of our military analyst when he joins us a little bit later as well. But how do you think some of those rebels are going to react to western forces, U.S. soldiers in particular, who are going there to help? Will they be welcomed, though, or will they be seen in another light?
GRANT: Well, all aid agencies, all outside groups need to go through the Tamil authorities. Indeed, when we came here today, we had to go through a checkpoint. We had to register. We had to go and see the Tamil media organization to bring us out here today. And it's the same for relief groups and anyone coming in to assist. They must go through what's called the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization.
Now, in the past, it's been difficult to establish harmonious relationships, although the aid groups I've spoken to today have all told me that they are trying very deeply - trying to develop a good relationship and are succeeding. They are starting to get aid through.
But remember, it's difficult to get here. This is a rebel-held area. The roads in many places are impassible. And much of the area, too, Rick, is also laced with land mines. We couldn't go more than 200 or 300 meters today without signs telling us to stick to the main road, stay off the side roads, because the area has been heavily mined.
So everything that goes through here must go through the Tamils - Rick.
SANCHEZ: It's interesting, yes. Thanks so much for setting that scene for us, and interesting part of the story - CNN's Stan Grant joining us from Mullativu there in Sri Lanka.
Heidi, over to you.
COLLINS: Another story of survival now. Yris Bilia' family was blissfully vacationing in Phuket, Thailand when the tsunamis hit. Yris is pregnant with twins, and they have a 5-year-old and a 1-1/2- year-old. She felt a little tremor in the hotel that day. Little did she know what would happen next. Yris Bilia joins us now with more on her story.
So you were in a hotel room. You were packing. You had no idea what was going on outside your hotel room. All of a sudden, a security guard comes, knocks on the door, tries to tell you something, and you say, no, no, no, I have to pack. What did he say?
YRIS BILIA, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: They're very polite, the Thai people, and some of them don't speak English very well. So he was gesturing with his hands, and he was like madam, madam, that I have to leave. And I didn't realize what was going on, but he was pointing, so I looked through the terrace and I was able to see the waves coming in.
But we were totally ignorant. We didn't know that the tremors were an earthquake and the waves are a tsunami. We thought it's high tide, so I kept on packing.
COLLINS: Right, you kept on packing. Eventually, you and your husband ended up going to at least a hill that you found.
BILIA: Yes.
COLLINS: And you were above the water now. You said there were several people there.
(CROSSTALK)
BILIA: Oh, there were about 150, 200 people scattered all over the area, and we were all waiting, had no idea what was going on, debating if we should call our families and let them know that we're OK. But then we said why worry them with the high tide, and then we realized, once someone called, that actually they know more than we do, and they are freaking out because they are so worried about us. So then everybody called to let them know that we're OK.
COLLINS: And I think we're looking at some video here that your husband may have shot.
BILIA: Right.
COLLINS: And again, as you said, you were just thinking this was a high tide.
BILIA: Yes. Actually, when I left, I asked the front desk man, is this a usual thing in Thailand? An he told me it's an earthquake in Sumatra and this is...
COLLINS: Oh my goodness. So you were taken to another hotel by bus. You actually described that scene like something out of "Titanic." Why? What happened?
BILIA: Yes, because around 4:30, they called us to come down. They said they cannot assure us tat it is safe, but they invited us back to the hotel. Their announcement was that they will transfer us to a different hotel, and there was no transportation at that point, except for the hotel bus that could contain about 40 or 50 people.
COLLINS: That' it?
BILIA: So you can imagine 400 people trying to get on the bus and, you know, shoving each other and fighting over - I was holding my 1-1/2-year-old to try to give her to my husband, and my tummy was squished, and I was telling them I'm pregnant, you know, watch out.
COLLINS: Right.
BILIA: So it was not a pretty sight.
COLLINS: And we should mention, too, your 5-year-old daughter, May (ph), you know, she's five, and she saw a lot of this, even though you guys kind of got out before things got too crazy. What has she said about it? Has there been any effect on her?
BILIA: When we were up on the hill, she started crying, and said she was worried about our lives, if we're going to be OK. That was one thing. And then lately, she's saying that she's having nightmares. But in general, I think the best way to realize how she was feeling about the whole thing is she had a traveling journal that her teacher gave her, and one of the pages, you know...
COLLINS: And here it is now.
BILIA: Exactly. So the first page - you know, she's young, so she write phonetically, but in general, the blue part on the left is the waves gushing in, and the rectangle next to it is the hotel. And she writes that this is tsunami - this is the hotel that was flooded by the tsunami. And then she drew this funny hill and us on top of it.
COLLINS: Wow.
BILIA: And so it's - you know, I'm sure it's going to stay forever.
COLLINS: Yes, yes. Well, we appreciate your story very much.
BILIA: Sure. Thank you.
COLLINS: And we're glad you guys are OK.
BILIA: Thank you.
COLLINS: Good luck with the twins.
BILIA: Thank you.
COLLINS: You can logon to CNN.com for the very latest information on the tsunami disaster. There are many more first-hand accounts from survivors, information on relief efforts. You can also go there to learn what you can do to help the victims of the tragedy.
SANCHEZ: And let's get another check of the headlines now with Daryn Kagan. She's following things for us over at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
Daryn, what have you got?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, now in the news, Secretary of State Colin Powell is in New York today to discuss the tsunami relief efforts with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. Powell is then heading to Asia on Sunday. He'll meet with regional leaders and international organizations to assess the need for additional aid. Powell is expected to be accompanied by Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
A settlement in a fraud case involving the country's largest provider of medical rehab services - the Justice Department says HEALTHSOUTH Corporation has agreed to pay $325 million. The money is to settle claims that the company overcharged Medicare and other government health programs.
And in sports, the on-again-off-again deal for the New York Yankees to get Arizona pitcher Randy Johnson looks like it's back on. There are reports the Yankees and Diamondbacks have worked out the details for the possible trade. New York has been trying to get Johnson since last summer. The agreement still has to be put in writing. Everybody has to pass a physical, still some things to do. It could be finalized, though, as early as today or early next week.
And Happy New Year. It is 2005 down under. Sydney started the New Year celebrations within the half hour, fireworks going off over the opera house there. Festivities are expected to go on all night. And, of course, we invite you to stay tuned to CNN for our special New Year's Eve coverage with Anderson Cooper. It will be live from Time's Square, starting tonight at 11:00 Eastern.
And, Heidi, I'm sure with these hours, you have huge, huge, big plans for this New Year's Eve.
COLLINS: I do, as always, kicking it up on the new year.
KAGAN: All right, well, you have a good time.
COLLINS: OK. You, too. Happy New Year, Daryn.
SANCHEZ: Control yourself.
COLLINS: The nation's west, though, is taking a beating from another in a series of fierce winter storms. California's latest bad weather, coming just two days after rescue crews had to rescue motorists stranded by flash floods. Already today, some spots are reporting up to three feet of snow, and in the mountains, four to seven feet is expected through New Year's weekend.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Well, it's New Year's Eve, and it's time for many of us to look not only at the past, but to the future as well. Troops in Iraq, for example, they have their hopes for 2005. But one soldier has an extremely personal wish. COLLINS: Also, another year passes and the world's most infamous terrorist is still a free man. You will be more outraged to know where the hunt for him actually stands. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: For this week's "On Terror's Trail," we go to Washington where the FBI and Department of Homeland Security sent a new intelligence bulletin this week to the nation's police agencies. It outlined new details about al Qaeda surveillance inside the United States.
An al Qaeda operative, known as Al-Britani, is believed to have cased particular U.S. financial institutions for 9/11 planner Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. When we looked back on the year in the global war on terror Monday, CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen called the Britani capture the most significant terrorist arrest of 2004.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: I think most significant was the guy who went by the alias al-Britani, who was arresting in England in the summer of this year. He was casing financial institutions, as you may remember, in New Jersey and New York back before 9/11. He may also have had a plan to attack Heathrow Airport. His arrest was - he was somebody who was actively planning terrorist attacks, and I think his arrest was quite significant.
COLLINS: Peter, we also know, as we have been reporting, that terrorists struck both western and allied targets. In your mind, what is the most significant hit from the terrorists this year?
BERGEN: Well, the single most significant hit, both from a strategic point of view and also from in terms of a death toll, was the attack on Madrid back on March 11, 191 people killed as they went to work. It also changed the course of the Spanish election. It was a strategic success for al Qaeda. The Spanish electorate chose a party that was willing to withdraw its troops from Iraq, and that was a result of this Madrid attack.
COLLINS: Those images are still so upsetting to look at. More than three years since 9/11 now, as we all know, where are the allied forces in the hunt for Osama bin Laden?
BERGEN: I think they're back at zero, square one really. Bin Laden appears to have - his location is a mystery. That's according to General Barno, who's leader of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The Pakistanis are saying that they are withdrawing a certain number of people from the hunt, along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. They're even saying that bin Laden isn't in Pakistan. So, clearly, he couldn't have disappeared into thin air, but it seems that the hunt is sort of stymied at this point, Heidi.
COLLINS: What do they need to do, in your mind, in order to get closer to tracking him down? BERGEN: Well, I mean two approaches. One, of course, is the chain of custody of these videotapes and audio tapes that he keeps releasing. In fact, we're getting more tapes from him rather than less. If you could trace the chain of custody back, you would find him.
Also, it seems to me that his immediate family can't all have disappeared. He has four wives and 20 kids, many of whom are probably still in Afghanistan. If you could find them, that might be a way of eventually finding him.
COLLINS: All right, well, which new developments in 2005 will you be keeping an eye on, as far as all of this is concerned?
BERGEN: From a strategic point of view, attacks on oil installations in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Bin Laden has sort of made that official policy in his most recent statement. We have seen a lot of attacks on these oil installations in the last year. I anticipate that to continue. We are going to pay slightly higher prices as a result of these attacks, both on oil installations and also on foreign workers in Saudi Arabia.
I think also that we're going - a very significant development is the fact that Zarqawi, the leader of the Iraqi terrorist insurgent has now actually become a member of al Qaeda. He signed an oath of allegiance, as it were, to bin Laden within the last several months. I think that's quite significant. I think also there will be more attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets. We've seen that in the past year with the attack on a Hilton Hotel in Egypt.
And finally, I think what happens in Europe is really very important about what happens with al Qaeda. We've got a situation where, as we saw with the arrest of al-Britani this summer, that there are a number of people in Europe still planning terrorist attacks inside the United States. Historically, it's been people coming from Europe into the United States, whether the 9/11 plot or somebody like al-Britani who was planning to do, where you're really seeing the problems. So I think what happens in Europe is really very important to what happens in 2005.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: This week, that FBI bulletin we mentioned revealed a high level of sophistication among al Qaeda surveillance operatives. It shows that terrorists likely want to use people with experience living in the United States to help choose their potential targets.
SANCHEZ: The beginning of this new year has a different meaning for American troops that are stationed in Iraq. Violence is expected to climb before next month's election. One officer has a newborn son waiting for him at home. He obviously can't wait to meet him.
Chris Lawrence is embedded with the soldier's unit in Ramadi, and has that soldier's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The new year is sure to find Lieutenant Michael Penney right where the old one leaves off, on his feet, in the street, trying to find insurgents in Ramadi.
1ST LT. MICHAEL PENNEY, 1ST BATTALION 503rd INFANTRY: Yes, he's got a store out here on the road. How could he not see?
LAWRENCE: Lieutenant Penny has one wish for 2005, to meet his newborn son for the first time.
PENNEY: I'm excited to be able to get home one day and be able to hold him and be a dad, for sure.
LAWRENCE: The lieutenant tries to tell himself, think about what's in front of you, not your wife and son.
PENNEY: You can't help it. You know, one day, you know, most of us are going to be going back home.
LAWRENCE: Most, but not all, and that's the reality of making plans while you're fighting in Iraq.
PENNEY: I know our battalion's had quite a few casualties.
LAWRENCE (on camera): Even a simple patrol like this one is dangerous here in Ramadi because the insurgents are watching and learning from every move the soldiers make.
(voice-over): And the American troops know the insurgents' tactics will keep changing. They've already learned to lay traps as soldiers exit an area and save their fire for vehicles with lighter armor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they have their own little method where they'll shoot an RPG at you and then open up with the AKs.
LAWRENCE: Lieutenant Penney gave up a civilian career as a retail buyer and joined the Army after the attacks on September 11. Now he's hoping his deployment won't make him a stranger to his own son.
PENNEY: I have a fear that he - you know, is he going to know - he's won't know who I am. It's going to be like, who's this guy?
LAWRENCE: The lieutenant hopes to answer that question in person, sometime in the new year. With the 503rd Infantry, Chris Lawrence, CNN, Ramadi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: We should tell you what we are hearing from the military. They stress that the city of Ramadi is one of the most dangerous that U.S. forces patrol, due to its residents' strong support of the insurgents they have.
COLLINS: The tsunami disaster literally wiped some towns and villages off the face of the earth. Nowhere is that more obvious than in Banda Aceh. A stunning perspective on a devastation - next hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Time now to check in with Toure once again and the "Question of the Day": 2004, what was it for you?
TOURE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As the last grains of 2004 sift away, to me, it's clear this was the year of the shadenfroida (ph), the enjoyment of another's down fall. It was the year we loved to laugh at each other.
Republicans laughed at Democrats after the election. Red Sox fans laughed at Yankee fans, and many of us felt no guilt while enjoying the figurative falls of Martha, Kobe, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Bernie Kerik and the little fall of Fidel Castro. It was the year the mighty fell and the rest of us enjoyed the show.
But what do you think? Our question is, what made 2004 unforgettable? Picking for quality, we've got quality control in full effect.
Chad from Cincinnati, Ohio: What made 2004 most unforgettable was the progress that was made for equal rights for gays, not gay rights, he says, which is interesting because there was a lot of struggle toward that, but I don't know if a lot of progress was made. But that's the way Chad sees it.
Frank from Dyersburg, Tennessee: 2004 will surely go into the books as the year of hyperbole and inflated rhetoric. Where are all those folks who vowed to leave the U.S. forever if President Bush was re-elected? And, of course, you can't leave the country. That's what it's all about. Your guy doesn't get elected, but you stay and you make the best of it.
SANCHEZ: And you get a nice house in Hollywood out on the hills of Beverly Hills, right?
TOURE: If you are Rick Sanchez, you do.
SANCHEZ: No.
COLLINS: Thank you, Toure.
TOURE: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Well, despite the devastation from the tsunamis and the pictures that we've been showing you, there are stories reminding us of the good that still lives in so many people. Dr. Gupta shares the story of a father, for example. A father and daughter team, citizens of the world, returning home to save lives - that story on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: On the left, Banda Aceh six months ago; on the right, Banda Aceh today. Ahead: the disaster coming into focus. Now, help is streaming in.
The first U.S. aid arriving to tsunami victims - ahead, the White House ready to lead the relief effort.
And at home, security in the skies - another incident of a laser beam in a cockpit. Homeland Security is looking for a connection, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
COLLINS: Good morning to you, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez. Bill and Soledad have the morning off.
COLLINS: Six days after disaster struck in Southeast Asia, thousands more are dead, and the threat of disease is growing now for survivors. Here's what we know at this point. The total death toll now stands at more than 135,000. More than half of those are in Indonesia alone.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 31, 2004 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: We welcome you back. It's just half past the hour on AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Rick Sanchez in for Bill Hemmer.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: And I'm Heidi Collins in for Soledad. The total death toll in the tsunami disaster is now more than 135,000. Here's the latest. Of the total dead, nearly 80,000 are in Indonesia. More than 41,000 are dead in Sri Lanka, and in India, at least 10,000 are dead. Officials say the death toll of tourists could reach into the thousands.
A U.S. military team has arrived in Sri Lanka to distribute clean water, but aid officials say the devastated terrain is making it very difficult to reach them. And in addition to the $500 million in aid already pledged, the U.N. says it will send out an appeal for more in the new year.
SANCHEZ: Interestingly enough, many of the hardest hit areas of Sri Lanka are under the control of rebels who have been fighting in a civil war against the government. Casualty numbers from the rebel controlled northern area now stands at 14,000, with at least 500,000 displaced.
The rebel group has started allowing outsiders to visit the area. Among the first are NGO aid workers who are going into the area. CNN's Stan Grant is joining us now from Mullativu and Sri Lanka with the very latest on this.
Stan, what is the situation regarding the aid, the rebels and the after effects of the tsunami?
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rick, let me start, first of all, with the rebels. You are right in correctly identifying that this is not just a disaster zone. It's also a war zone and has been a war zone now for nearly 30 years. The Tamil Tiger Rebels have waged a civil war with Sri Lankan forces, and they've established, very much, a de facto state here and are used to dealing with this type of tragedy.
In the town of Mullativu where I am at the moment, this town itself has been knocked down and rebuilt several times. It has experienced death, big casualties in the past, as a result of the war. And on the weekend again, it was hard hit.
This time, there is a sense, I suppose, that it is not about separatism. It's not about politics, and it's not about the rebels. It's about trying to deal with the situation facing the people as a result of the tsunami. And the Tamils have been very quick to move on this issue.
I've spent the most of the day with the Tamils. They very quickly shut down this region. Much of the area here is contaminated. The water is contaminated. The air is contaminated. You need inoculations to come into this region, and they've begun to cremate the bodies, the thousands of bodies that you identified there, around 14,000 people who have been killed. The Tamil Tigers tell me another 5,000 to 6,000 are missing, also expected to be added to their death total. And they are cremating those bodies as they find them.
Just a personal point today, we saw the cremation of three little children aged between 1 and 3 who were huddled together where they died on the weekend. And we saw them loaded up on the funeral pile and cremated - Rick.
SANCHEZ: Let me ask you this question, Stan. It's a question I'm going to be asking of our military analyst when he joins us a little bit later as well. But how do you think some of those rebels are going to react to western forces, U.S. soldiers in particular, who are going there to help? Will they be welcomed, though, or will they be seen in another light?
GRANT: Well, all aid agencies, all outside groups need to go through the Tamil authorities. Indeed, when we came here today, we had to go through a checkpoint. We had to register. We had to go and see the Tamil media organization to bring us out here today. And it's the same for relief groups and anyone coming in to assist. They must go through what's called the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization.
Now, in the past, it's been difficult to establish harmonious relationships, although the aid groups I've spoken to today have all told me that they are trying very deeply - trying to develop a good relationship and are succeeding. They are starting to get aid through.
But remember, it's difficult to get here. This is a rebel-held area. The roads in many places are impassible. And much of the area, too, Rick, is also laced with land mines. We couldn't go more than 200 or 300 meters today without signs telling us to stick to the main road, stay off the side roads, because the area has been heavily mined.
So everything that goes through here must go through the Tamils - Rick.
SANCHEZ: It's interesting, yes. Thanks so much for setting that scene for us, and interesting part of the story - CNN's Stan Grant joining us from Mullativu there in Sri Lanka.
Heidi, over to you.
COLLINS: Another story of survival now. Yris Bilia' family was blissfully vacationing in Phuket, Thailand when the tsunamis hit. Yris is pregnant with twins, and they have a 5-year-old and a 1-1/2- year-old. She felt a little tremor in the hotel that day. Little did she know what would happen next. Yris Bilia joins us now with more on her story.
So you were in a hotel room. You were packing. You had no idea what was going on outside your hotel room. All of a sudden, a security guard comes, knocks on the door, tries to tell you something, and you say, no, no, no, I have to pack. What did he say?
YRIS BILIA, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: They're very polite, the Thai people, and some of them don't speak English very well. So he was gesturing with his hands, and he was like madam, madam, that I have to leave. And I didn't realize what was going on, but he was pointing, so I looked through the terrace and I was able to see the waves coming in.
But we were totally ignorant. We didn't know that the tremors were an earthquake and the waves are a tsunami. We thought it's high tide, so I kept on packing.
COLLINS: Right, you kept on packing. Eventually, you and your husband ended up going to at least a hill that you found.
BILIA: Yes.
COLLINS: And you were above the water now. You said there were several people there.
(CROSSTALK)
BILIA: Oh, there were about 150, 200 people scattered all over the area, and we were all waiting, had no idea what was going on, debating if we should call our families and let them know that we're OK. But then we said why worry them with the high tide, and then we realized, once someone called, that actually they know more than we do, and they are freaking out because they are so worried about us. So then everybody called to let them know that we're OK.
COLLINS: And I think we're looking at some video here that your husband may have shot.
BILIA: Right.
COLLINS: And again, as you said, you were just thinking this was a high tide.
BILIA: Yes. Actually, when I left, I asked the front desk man, is this a usual thing in Thailand? An he told me it's an earthquake in Sumatra and this is...
COLLINS: Oh my goodness. So you were taken to another hotel by bus. You actually described that scene like something out of "Titanic." Why? What happened?
BILIA: Yes, because around 4:30, they called us to come down. They said they cannot assure us tat it is safe, but they invited us back to the hotel. Their announcement was that they will transfer us to a different hotel, and there was no transportation at that point, except for the hotel bus that could contain about 40 or 50 people.
COLLINS: That' it?
BILIA: So you can imagine 400 people trying to get on the bus and, you know, shoving each other and fighting over - I was holding my 1-1/2-year-old to try to give her to my husband, and my tummy was squished, and I was telling them I'm pregnant, you know, watch out.
COLLINS: Right.
BILIA: So it was not a pretty sight.
COLLINS: And we should mention, too, your 5-year-old daughter, May (ph), you know, she's five, and she saw a lot of this, even though you guys kind of got out before things got too crazy. What has she said about it? Has there been any effect on her?
BILIA: When we were up on the hill, she started crying, and said she was worried about our lives, if we're going to be OK. That was one thing. And then lately, she's saying that she's having nightmares. But in general, I think the best way to realize how she was feeling about the whole thing is she had a traveling journal that her teacher gave her, and one of the pages, you know...
COLLINS: And here it is now.
BILIA: Exactly. So the first page - you know, she's young, so she write phonetically, but in general, the blue part on the left is the waves gushing in, and the rectangle next to it is the hotel. And she writes that this is tsunami - this is the hotel that was flooded by the tsunami. And then she drew this funny hill and us on top of it.
COLLINS: Wow.
BILIA: And so it's - you know, I'm sure it's going to stay forever.
COLLINS: Yes, yes. Well, we appreciate your story very much.
BILIA: Sure. Thank you.
COLLINS: And we're glad you guys are OK.
BILIA: Thank you.
COLLINS: Good luck with the twins.
BILIA: Thank you.
COLLINS: You can logon to CNN.com for the very latest information on the tsunami disaster. There are many more first-hand accounts from survivors, information on relief efforts. You can also go there to learn what you can do to help the victims of the tragedy.
SANCHEZ: And let's get another check of the headlines now with Daryn Kagan. She's following things for us over at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
Daryn, what have you got?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, now in the news, Secretary of State Colin Powell is in New York today to discuss the tsunami relief efforts with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. Powell is then heading to Asia on Sunday. He'll meet with regional leaders and international organizations to assess the need for additional aid. Powell is expected to be accompanied by Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
A settlement in a fraud case involving the country's largest provider of medical rehab services - the Justice Department says HEALTHSOUTH Corporation has agreed to pay $325 million. The money is to settle claims that the company overcharged Medicare and other government health programs.
And in sports, the on-again-off-again deal for the New York Yankees to get Arizona pitcher Randy Johnson looks like it's back on. There are reports the Yankees and Diamondbacks have worked out the details for the possible trade. New York has been trying to get Johnson since last summer. The agreement still has to be put in writing. Everybody has to pass a physical, still some things to do. It could be finalized, though, as early as today or early next week.
And Happy New Year. It is 2005 down under. Sydney started the New Year celebrations within the half hour, fireworks going off over the opera house there. Festivities are expected to go on all night. And, of course, we invite you to stay tuned to CNN for our special New Year's Eve coverage with Anderson Cooper. It will be live from Time's Square, starting tonight at 11:00 Eastern.
And, Heidi, I'm sure with these hours, you have huge, huge, big plans for this New Year's Eve.
COLLINS: I do, as always, kicking it up on the new year.
KAGAN: All right, well, you have a good time.
COLLINS: OK. You, too. Happy New Year, Daryn.
SANCHEZ: Control yourself.
COLLINS: The nation's west, though, is taking a beating from another in a series of fierce winter storms. California's latest bad weather, coming just two days after rescue crews had to rescue motorists stranded by flash floods. Already today, some spots are reporting up to three feet of snow, and in the mountains, four to seven feet is expected through New Year's weekend.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Well, it's New Year's Eve, and it's time for many of us to look not only at the past, but to the future as well. Troops in Iraq, for example, they have their hopes for 2005. But one soldier has an extremely personal wish. COLLINS: Also, another year passes and the world's most infamous terrorist is still a free man. You will be more outraged to know where the hunt for him actually stands. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: For this week's "On Terror's Trail," we go to Washington where the FBI and Department of Homeland Security sent a new intelligence bulletin this week to the nation's police agencies. It outlined new details about al Qaeda surveillance inside the United States.
An al Qaeda operative, known as Al-Britani, is believed to have cased particular U.S. financial institutions for 9/11 planner Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. When we looked back on the year in the global war on terror Monday, CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen called the Britani capture the most significant terrorist arrest of 2004.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: I think most significant was the guy who went by the alias al-Britani, who was arresting in England in the summer of this year. He was casing financial institutions, as you may remember, in New Jersey and New York back before 9/11. He may also have had a plan to attack Heathrow Airport. His arrest was - he was somebody who was actively planning terrorist attacks, and I think his arrest was quite significant.
COLLINS: Peter, we also know, as we have been reporting, that terrorists struck both western and allied targets. In your mind, what is the most significant hit from the terrorists this year?
BERGEN: Well, the single most significant hit, both from a strategic point of view and also from in terms of a death toll, was the attack on Madrid back on March 11, 191 people killed as they went to work. It also changed the course of the Spanish election. It was a strategic success for al Qaeda. The Spanish electorate chose a party that was willing to withdraw its troops from Iraq, and that was a result of this Madrid attack.
COLLINS: Those images are still so upsetting to look at. More than three years since 9/11 now, as we all know, where are the allied forces in the hunt for Osama bin Laden?
BERGEN: I think they're back at zero, square one really. Bin Laden appears to have - his location is a mystery. That's according to General Barno, who's leader of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The Pakistanis are saying that they are withdrawing a certain number of people from the hunt, along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. They're even saying that bin Laden isn't in Pakistan. So, clearly, he couldn't have disappeared into thin air, but it seems that the hunt is sort of stymied at this point, Heidi.
COLLINS: What do they need to do, in your mind, in order to get closer to tracking him down? BERGEN: Well, I mean two approaches. One, of course, is the chain of custody of these videotapes and audio tapes that he keeps releasing. In fact, we're getting more tapes from him rather than less. If you could trace the chain of custody back, you would find him.
Also, it seems to me that his immediate family can't all have disappeared. He has four wives and 20 kids, many of whom are probably still in Afghanistan. If you could find them, that might be a way of eventually finding him.
COLLINS: All right, well, which new developments in 2005 will you be keeping an eye on, as far as all of this is concerned?
BERGEN: From a strategic point of view, attacks on oil installations in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Bin Laden has sort of made that official policy in his most recent statement. We have seen a lot of attacks on these oil installations in the last year. I anticipate that to continue. We are going to pay slightly higher prices as a result of these attacks, both on oil installations and also on foreign workers in Saudi Arabia.
I think also that we're going - a very significant development is the fact that Zarqawi, the leader of the Iraqi terrorist insurgent has now actually become a member of al Qaeda. He signed an oath of allegiance, as it were, to bin Laden within the last several months. I think that's quite significant. I think also there will be more attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets. We've seen that in the past year with the attack on a Hilton Hotel in Egypt.
And finally, I think what happens in Europe is really very important about what happens with al Qaeda. We've got a situation where, as we saw with the arrest of al-Britani this summer, that there are a number of people in Europe still planning terrorist attacks inside the United States. Historically, it's been people coming from Europe into the United States, whether the 9/11 plot or somebody like al-Britani who was planning to do, where you're really seeing the problems. So I think what happens in Europe is really very important to what happens in 2005.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: This week, that FBI bulletin we mentioned revealed a high level of sophistication among al Qaeda surveillance operatives. It shows that terrorists likely want to use people with experience living in the United States to help choose their potential targets.
SANCHEZ: The beginning of this new year has a different meaning for American troops that are stationed in Iraq. Violence is expected to climb before next month's election. One officer has a newborn son waiting for him at home. He obviously can't wait to meet him.
Chris Lawrence is embedded with the soldier's unit in Ramadi, and has that soldier's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The new year is sure to find Lieutenant Michael Penney right where the old one leaves off, on his feet, in the street, trying to find insurgents in Ramadi.
1ST LT. MICHAEL PENNEY, 1ST BATTALION 503rd INFANTRY: Yes, he's got a store out here on the road. How could he not see?
LAWRENCE: Lieutenant Penny has one wish for 2005, to meet his newborn son for the first time.
PENNEY: I'm excited to be able to get home one day and be able to hold him and be a dad, for sure.
LAWRENCE: The lieutenant tries to tell himself, think about what's in front of you, not your wife and son.
PENNEY: You can't help it. You know, one day, you know, most of us are going to be going back home.
LAWRENCE: Most, but not all, and that's the reality of making plans while you're fighting in Iraq.
PENNEY: I know our battalion's had quite a few casualties.
LAWRENCE (on camera): Even a simple patrol like this one is dangerous here in Ramadi because the insurgents are watching and learning from every move the soldiers make.
(voice-over): And the American troops know the insurgents' tactics will keep changing. They've already learned to lay traps as soldiers exit an area and save their fire for vehicles with lighter armor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they have their own little method where they'll shoot an RPG at you and then open up with the AKs.
LAWRENCE: Lieutenant Penney gave up a civilian career as a retail buyer and joined the Army after the attacks on September 11. Now he's hoping his deployment won't make him a stranger to his own son.
PENNEY: I have a fear that he - you know, is he going to know - he's won't know who I am. It's going to be like, who's this guy?
LAWRENCE: The lieutenant hopes to answer that question in person, sometime in the new year. With the 503rd Infantry, Chris Lawrence, CNN, Ramadi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: We should tell you what we are hearing from the military. They stress that the city of Ramadi is one of the most dangerous that U.S. forces patrol, due to its residents' strong support of the insurgents they have.
COLLINS: The tsunami disaster literally wiped some towns and villages off the face of the earth. Nowhere is that more obvious than in Banda Aceh. A stunning perspective on a devastation - next hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Time now to check in with Toure once again and the "Question of the Day": 2004, what was it for you?
TOURE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As the last grains of 2004 sift away, to me, it's clear this was the year of the shadenfroida (ph), the enjoyment of another's down fall. It was the year we loved to laugh at each other.
Republicans laughed at Democrats after the election. Red Sox fans laughed at Yankee fans, and many of us felt no guilt while enjoying the figurative falls of Martha, Kobe, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Bernie Kerik and the little fall of Fidel Castro. It was the year the mighty fell and the rest of us enjoyed the show.
But what do you think? Our question is, what made 2004 unforgettable? Picking for quality, we've got quality control in full effect.
Chad from Cincinnati, Ohio: What made 2004 most unforgettable was the progress that was made for equal rights for gays, not gay rights, he says, which is interesting because there was a lot of struggle toward that, but I don't know if a lot of progress was made. But that's the way Chad sees it.
Frank from Dyersburg, Tennessee: 2004 will surely go into the books as the year of hyperbole and inflated rhetoric. Where are all those folks who vowed to leave the U.S. forever if President Bush was re-elected? And, of course, you can't leave the country. That's what it's all about. Your guy doesn't get elected, but you stay and you make the best of it.
SANCHEZ: And you get a nice house in Hollywood out on the hills of Beverly Hills, right?
TOURE: If you are Rick Sanchez, you do.
SANCHEZ: No.
COLLINS: Thank you, Toure.
TOURE: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Well, despite the devastation from the tsunamis and the pictures that we've been showing you, there are stories reminding us of the good that still lives in so many people. Dr. Gupta shares the story of a father, for example. A father and daughter team, citizens of the world, returning home to save lives - that story on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: On the left, Banda Aceh six months ago; on the right, Banda Aceh today. Ahead: the disaster coming into focus. Now, help is streaming in.
The first U.S. aid arriving to tsunami victims - ahead, the White House ready to lead the relief effort.
And at home, security in the skies - another incident of a laser beam in a cockpit. Homeland Security is looking for a connection, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
COLLINS: Good morning to you, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez. Bill and Soledad have the morning off.
COLLINS: Six days after disaster struck in Southeast Asia, thousands more are dead, and the threat of disease is growing now for survivors. Here's what we know at this point. The total death toll now stands at more than 135,000. More than half of those are in Indonesia alone.
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