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Can President Reverse Falling Public Support?; In Afghanistan, U.S. Forces Move to Secure Site of Chinook Helicopter Crash

Aired June 29, 2005 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Miles O'Brien.
President Bush and his primetime speech on Iraq, saying the U.S. must stay its course.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America will not leave before the job is done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Can the president reverse falling public support? Democrats say his policy is adrift. A live report from the White House ahead.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien.

In Afghanistan, U.S. forces move in to secure the site of a Chinook helicopter crash. Seventeen Americans are missing in the rugged mountains there. The Taliban is claiming responsibility. We've got the latest live from the Pentagon.

M. O'BRIEN: And the second named storm of the hurricane season, Tropical Storm Bret, poised to make landfall, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning to you.

S. O'BRIEN: Lots of developments in fact, in that crash of that U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan that we want to get to this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: That's where we're going to begin. Rescuers have surrounded that crash site, but there's no word on the fate of the 17 service members on board. The Taliban claims to have shot the chopper down in a rugged mountainous region in the eastern part of the country near the Pakistan border.

Barbara Starr, live at the Pentagon this morning for us. Good morning, Barbara. What do we know about those onboard that helicopter?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles.

No word on the status of those 17 service members that were on that Chinook helicopter. Overnight the U.S. military is now confirming that they do believe that helicopter was brought down by hostile fire in the remote eastern mountains of Afghanistan near Asadabad. This is extremely rough territory, 7,000-foot peaks. It is the beginning of the Hindu Kush Mountain chain.

Now what officials are saying the reason they believe it was brought down by hostile fire, one of the key indicators, there was another Chinook flying with the helicopter at the time, like the one you see here. They do fly in pairs, and apparently that helicopter, that second helicopter, reported indications of enemy fire.

U.S. forces have moved into the region. What we are told is on the ground they have security the site, that they are keeping any insurgents away from it, that they are trying to secure the site, but it is not clear yet whether they have able to recover any remains, whether they have found any survivors. At this point, we are told there is no indication of survivors, but they are continuing to look -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, President Bush says he will not change course in Iraq. In his primetime speech last night, the president insisted that U.S. troops will stay in Iraq as long as they're needed, and that victory in Iraq is vital to the war on terror.

Suzanne Malveaux is live for us this morning at the White House.

Suzanne, good morning to you. Give us an assessment of this president's speech last night. Message get out, do you think?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Senior aides certainly hope it does, but it had been nearly six months since the president went before the American people to lay out his vision concerning Iraq. And some aides concede that was much too long, that that, in fact, was the mistake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): With polls showing the majority of Americans believe it was a mistake to go to war in Iraq, President Bush tried to strike a balance between projecting realism and resolve.

BUSH: Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying, and the suffering is real.

MALVEAUX: But the president argued the U.S. mission in Iraq is worth it.

BUSH: We fight today, because terrorists want to attack our country and kill our citizens, and Iraq is where they're making their stand.

MALVEAUX: In his 30-minute address, Mr. Bush took on his critics, rejecting setting a timetable to bring U.S. troops home.

BUSH: It would send the wrong message to the enemy, who would know that all they have to do is wait us out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the military what never mixed on the messages. You know, a lot of that is what you see on TV, but at our level, it doesn't really affect us. We have our job to do and we do it, and the plan that he laid out, we'll carry out the mission.

MALVEAUX: And dismissing the suggestion more U.S. troops were needed.

BUSH: Sending more Americans would undermine our strategy of encouraging Iraqis to take the lead in this fight.

MALVEAUX: On six occasions in his speech, the president invoked the memories of September 11th, to support his argument that the war in Iraq is linked to that fateful day.

BUSH: The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September the 11th, if we abandon the Iraqi people to a man like Zarqawi, and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like Bin Laden. For the sake of our nation's security, this will not happen on my watch.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Now part of the White House strategy is to emphasize two tracks, a military track and a political one, essentially to make the case that there is progress that is being made on the ground, that Americans aren't necessarily seeing on television -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us this morning. Suzanne, thanks.

Well, gauging public reaction now to the president's speech. CNN, "USA Today" and Gallup-polled speech watchers -- we should point out those are folks who already agree with the president and more likely to watch him speak, well, last night's audience was 50 percent Republican, 23 percent Democratic and 27 percent independent; 46 of speech watchers say they had a very positive overall reaction, 28 percent reported somewhat positive; 24 percent had a negative reaction.

The president convinced some speech watchers that the U.S. is winning the war in Iraq. Before last night, 44 percent felt the U.S. was winning. Afterward 54 percent thought so.

And 63 percent of speech watchers now believed that President Bush has a clear plan for Iraq Only 56 percent thought so before the speech.

M. O'BRIEN: So what is the reaction overseas to the president's speech? For that, we check in with two of our correspondents. We have European political editor Robin Oakley in London, and Jennifer Eccleston in Baghdad.

We begin with Jennifer. Jennifer, this speech would have been aired in the wee hours in Baghdad. Were people watching? JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. Well, the excerpts from the speech have been played on Iraqi Radio and across satellite television channels this morning, but as you mentioned, because it took place at 4:00 a.m. local time, most Iraqis didn't hear it, or see it, nor did they read about it in their newspapers, because it missed the deadline for printing.

But for those who did listen, the impact of President Bush's speech is framed around whether his message directly impacts their lives. That is, did it signal an end to the hardships of day-to-day living here, and did it shed light on tackling the violence and tackling the insurgency? A sampling of Iraqis this morning, however, says no, it did not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD OTHMAN, KURDISH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT (through translator): I don't think this will change anything from Iraq's internal problems, such as water shortage, electricity outages, bad services and other aspects of life. Iraqis pay no heed to such a speech. They pay attention to their internal affairs.

AHMAD AL-JABIRI, IRAQI CITIZEN (through translator): President Bush's speech that the Americans will not withdraw from Iraq was made under feeble pretext. This is a violation of Iraqis' dignity. The Iraqis are able to run their country, particularly after elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ECCLESTON: And as you heard there, another contentious issue, the timeframe for withdrawal of U.S. troops. Now even before that speech, most Iraqis talk of the frustration, of the humiliation of occupation, especially as many people believe here that the presence of U.S. troops actually adds to the level of danger, adds to the level of violence on the ground.

But there is an acceptance of the reality, that Iraqi forces are still not fully capable of defending their people, and until they are, the U.S. and coalition forces will remain on Iraqi soil.

So basically, the Iraqis share the same concerns, the same questions as the American public. When will the Iraqi security forces be able to stand up for their people so that U.S. forces can go home -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Jennifer Eccleston in Baghdad.

Let's see if the questions are the same in London. The war obviously a touchy subject there. Robin Oakley joining from us London right now.

What is the reaction there, Robin?

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.

Well, the same problem of course, a speech made in the early hours of the morning as far as Britain is concerned, and the days when European politicians stayed up to the early to listen to President George Bush I think are probably past.

What we're hearing from officials, really, is no surprise in the speech, in that they would have expected him to say that the U.S. will stay in Iraq until the job is finished.

We've seen some reaction on the Web sites, of course, although it was not really in time for much, but the very latest editions of the morning newspapers here. It's only made page 12 in "The Daily Telegraph" and page 23 in "The Independent." But basically, a reaction picking on the way in which the president linked the issues of worldwide terrorism and the insurgency in Iraq.

Obviously, people have noted that he's doing quite well in the polls at home in terms of tackling terror, sort of 55 to 40 in favor, but the polls swinging against him on the war in Iraq and the insurgency, something like 58-40. So no surprise that he's concentrated on linking those two issues, and that's not really a linkage that is bought into across the capitals of Europe -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Robin Oakley in London, thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, now let's get to the latest in the Natalee Holloway case. Aruba's prime minister is asking the Netherlands to send in a new group of Dutch marines to go aid in the search for the missing student.

Chris Lawrence is live in Palm Beach, Aruba this morning. Chris, good morning to you.

Give us a sense of anything happening overnight.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now it's more watching and waiting, waiting, again, for those Dutch marines. We know there are a couple hundred here on the island, based here. We've actually seen them out working. They've come out and helped, as requested, but any help they can get is certainly appreciated.

As we head in now, we're into the fifth week of the search for Natalee Holloway. Volunteer searchers from Texas has been here for the past five days. They've got search dogs. They've got sonar equipment. They've been out working. But even if the company's founder admits, if any physical evidence is out there, it is deteriorating more and more every day.

Natalee Holloway's mother is happy for their help, but she is completely fed up with the investigation, and when the father of one of the primary suspects was released from jail over the weekend, she hit rock bottom. She said she feels almost like the investigation has gone back to square one, and she wants some hard answers from the Aruban government about where, exactly, this investigation is going.

Right now, three suspects are still in custody, Joran Van Der Sloot, and two brothers, Deepak and Satish Kalpoe. We expect there to be a hearing early next week where prosecutor also have to prove where they should be detained up to 60 more days, but because that's a longer period of time, the burden of proof is greater, and some of the men's attorneys are telling us they are optimistic the prosecutors can't meet that burden of proof. They're optimistic that their clients could be set free -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Chris Lawrence for us in Aruba this morning. Chris, thanks.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, a cautionary tale for teens and their parents. Careful how you AIM, boys and girls. The teenage girl receives a chilling message online from a friend. The friend said it was just a prank, but authorities are not laughing. It's a story you'll see only here on CNN.

S. O'BRIEN: Also the president's speech on Iraq, no timetable for withdrawal. So how is it going to play on Wall Street today?

M. O'BRIEN: And Senator John McCain will join us live. He'll tell us what the president must do to shore up support for the war. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: President Bush says he is not budging in his plan for Iraq. But can he convince the American people? Republican Senator John McCain live from the Capitol for us this morning. Nice to see you, senator. Thanks for talking with us.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Thank you, Soledad, and congratulations.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, thank you very much.

What did you think of the speech last night?

MCCAIN: I thought it was excellent. I thought the president laid out the case, I think, in very eloquent fashion, and it was a necessary speech at this time.

S. O'BRIEN: The president, as you well know, asked rhetorically what I think what many Americans had been asking as well, which is essentially this, is it worth it? Let's listen first to what the president to had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying, and the suffering is real. Amid all this violence, I know Americans asked a question, is the sacrifice worth it? It is worth it. And it is vital to the future of the security of our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP) S. O'BRIEN: What are the risks, do you think, if the U.S. does not win in Iraq? I mean, the president seems to be saying our own security is very much at stake.

MCCAIN: Well, first of all, the first risk of failure would be a setback for the process of democracy in the Middle East. It would also give great encouragement to the radical Islamic extremists that are certainly present in many parts of the Middle East. Then a U.S. failure would eventually lead to terrorism coming to the United States.

When we left Vietnam, Soledad, they didn't want to follow us. This is an international war. People like Zarqawi, people like these terrorists that are pour pouring into Iraq from all over the Middle East, they would use Iraq as a base for further export of terror into the United States and throughout the world.

There's a great deal at stake here, but if we win, then you will see greater progress in democracy and freedom in the Middle East, a part of the world that's very vital to us, as long they're dependent on oil.

S. O'BRIEN: The president in a speech linked 9/11 and the war in Iraq many times, half a dozen times, and this morning, Representative Hayes of North Carolina said on CNN that -- I'm quoting here -- "The evidence is clear that Iraq was essentially involved in 9/11." And he said that legislators like yourself have access to information that we don't have, that in his mind apparently convinced him of this. Have you seen evidence, in fact, that Iraq and Saddam Hussein were involved in 9/11? Is he right?

MCCAIN: I haven't seen compelling evidence of that. I do believe that the sanctions were eroding, and if Saddam Hussein would have remained in power, he would have continued to attempt to acquire and use weapons of mass destruction. I don't think there's any doubt that he's been involved in some very bad activities, but I hadn't -- the point is now, if we fail in Iraq and the terrorists are there now, then clearly, there would be all kinds of international terrorist connections.

S. O'BRIEN: Do you think the president's speech changed the minds of Americans? And you can see by the poll numbers that support for the war is eroding. Do you think the speech was enough to turn that around?

MCCAIN: I think it was an important speech, and I think the president did an outstanding job of laying out the situation as it exists.

I think we need some success on the ground. I think that this training and equipping of the Iraqi military, as he pointed out, is the key to success. It has got to show us some benefits. We've made a lot of mistakes in this conflict, and mistakes happen in wars. That's why we try to avoid them, but overall, I think the president made an excellent speech. I think he needed to make the speech, and I'm glad that about 58 percent of the American people, according to a poll yesterday, are not ready to leave Iraq.

S. O'BRIEN: The president said he doesn't see the need for more troops. He says the generals tell him that, and that's why he made that decision, that, in fact, it would get in the way of helping the Iraqi military bolster its own forces. Do you agree with that, or do you think there should be more troops?

MCCAIN: I've thought for a long, long time, since the very beginning, that we needed more troops, and one of the reasons why we've experienced many of the difficulties we have is we didn't have enough boots on the ground, and we still do, but there's also a very big strain on the active duty Army and Marine that we have, plus Guard and Reserves. I can't fight that fight much -- forever, Soledad, but what I do believe, we've got one of our best army generals, General Petraeus, in charge of the training and equipping of the Iraqi military. They have shown progress. They are working side by side with American military forces in many places in Iraq, and I believe that we can, and will and must succeed.

S. O'BRIEN: Senator John McCain on Capitol Hill this morning. It's nice to see you, senator. Thanks for talking with us.

MCCAIN: Thank you, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up in our next hour, we're going to talk with Democratic Senator Russ Feingold. He's called for a timetable to withdraw to U.S. troops from Iraq -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Not guilty. A federal jury has acquitted Richard Scrushy of all charges in connection with a multibillion-dollar earnings over statement. The former Healthsouth CEO, the first major figure charged with violating the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The 2002 law requires executives to swear to the accuracy of their company's financial statements. After 21 days of deliberations and a two-year trial, Scrushy says he couldn't have gotten through it alone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD SCRUSHY, FMR. HEALTHSOUTH CEO: I want to give, first of all, all the glory to the God, because if it had not been for the strength that he gave my wife and I and my family, I can promise you under two years of torture, literally, and the battles we went through, we couldn't have survived. And it was God, and he gave us the strength, and we thank him for that, and we give him all the glory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Jurors said they thought the government's witnesses lacked credibility, but many observers believe Scrushy's Christian cable television show and local church service might have swayed that jury.

Coming up in our next hour, we'll talk to a local radio talk show host about the verdict in Scrushy's hometown of Birmingham. Also ahead, a story you'll see only on CNN, a startling online message sends one teenager and her mother to police, and one of the classmates to jail. A look at what happens when a prank goes a little too far.

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Whenever the president speaks, it causes ripples all throughout the economy. Andy Serwer is watching that for us today.

Good morning, Andy.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Miles.

Whether or not you support the war in Iraq, one thing is certain, the cost of the conflict has been increasing. Now $200 billion this country has spent on the war in Iraq. And last night, President Bush said there will be no timetable for withdrawal. That also means there will be no end to the spending for this war, and that has some economists and some businesspeople concerned. How do you have tax cuts, social programs, and address the budget deficit if you continue to spend billions of dollars like that? And of course, this leaves aside the terrible human cost of the conflict, 1,700 Americans killed.

Just to drill down into the numbers a little bit, yesterday a report was released from the Veterans Administration, talking about a budget shortfall there, $2.6 billion shortfall for the year 2006, unanticipated. Why is that? Because there are many more veterans seeking medical attention. In 2002, the estimate was only 23,000 who would be needing medical care. Now it's 100,000, in fact, that need medical care this year.

M. O'BRIEN: And it's the very least, of course, we owe these brave people who were out there on the front lines.

What about the defense sector, though? With all of this spending on the military, are there any good plays in that sector?

SERWER: Well, certainly that is a part of the economy that is benefiting from this. However, if you talk to economists, they will tell you that this is not the way that an economy is -- needs to grow, is by simply these companies, the defense contractors, doing well. You want to have a broad-based expansion.

And basically, Miles, what this all comes down to is what the president said himself last night. Is it worth the sacrifice? Is it worth it in dollar terms and in human terms? And that's the question we all need to answer.

M. O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer, thank you very much -- Soledad.

SERWER: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, some "90-Second Pop," we'll be talking about Tom Cruise once again, but enough about Katie and Scientology. Tom Cruise's new movie is finally here. So is "War of the Worlds" a winner? A look at that is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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