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Tropical Storm Katrina Closes in on South Florida; More Americans Heading to Iraq

Aired August 25, 2005 - 07:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien. Tropical Storm Katrina closes in on South Florida. Less than 100 miles off the coast right now. She's gaining strength and is expected to become a hurricane soon. We're tracking the storm straight ahead.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello in for Miles. More Americans heading to Iraq, 1,500 members of the 82th Airborne to help keep the peace during voting on that proposed constitution. And now a third deadline in 10 days for that very constitution, just hours away. We are live in Baghdad.

O'BRIEN: And the survivors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSHELYN VIVAS, CRASH SURVIVOR: Now I really trust that, I still believe that God still exists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: All six members of a Brooklyn family among 58 people to survive a plane crash in the Peruvian jungle. Their story on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Miles has the day -- he gets a lot of vacation.

COSTELLO: He put in a lot of time with that space shuttle thing.

O'BRIEN: He did, and he's moving his family today officially to New York. So he's got the day off.

COSTELLO: And that's much harder than covering the space shuttle.

O'BRIEN: He might as well be at work actually, the truth is.

COSTELLO: Good morning to you. South Florida getting ready for its first hurricane of the year.

O'BRIEN: And in fact, that's where we're beginning this morning. Hurricane -- rather Katrina is what it's called. It's coming. South Florida is getting ready. A hurricane warning is now in effect from Vero Beach to Florida City. That's 170-mile stretch along Florida's Atlantic Coast. Katrina is still a tropical storm. She's expected, though, to gain strength over the next 24 hours or so. Right now that storm is moving through the Bahamas, about 100 miles east of Florida.

Let's get right to Susan Candiotti. She's live in Hollywood, which is just north of Miami.

Susan, good morning to you. What do the current conditions look like?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, it's balmy right now. We're getting an occasionally stray shower every now and again, but most people aren't bothering to even wear their rain gear. We're just trying to stay dry for a while. But morning joggers are up, bicyclists are out, and we're next to the ocean now.

Now that the sun has come up, we can show you a little bit of these piles of sand. They've been spending a lot of money trying to rebuild this beach this summer. And when the high winds come through, there is concern that some of that work is going to be lost.

Now just off to the side, you see the ocean, which is, indeed, calm. And as you're looking at that, we can tell you that preparations are under way. In Broward and Palm Beach County, for example, they are beginning to evacuate the barrier islands in just about an hour from now. And shelters will begin to open early this afternoon in some areas. Schools are closed today in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. And government offices are closed in Broward County. They are remaining open for the time being in Miami-Dade county.

Now before the rain hits and strong winds begin to roll in, in earnest, people are making it out to the stores to stock up on essentials, water, bottled water, batteries, flashlights, nonperishable food items, and in fact some gas stations are reported to be running dry. People in South Florida are, of course, very used to these hurricane warnings, and they are paying strict attention to them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERTO SODDU, NORTH MIAMI RESIDENT: Experience, yes, I'm taking it seriously. I'm just missing a couple windows, so I have hurricane shutters on the rest of the windows, but I'm missing two. So I'm getting ahead of the game here, trying to, you know, be ahead of everybody else. You know, it's coming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now South Florida water managers are also well aware that Katrina is coming. They have been lowering the water level in canals throughout this area to prepare for the six to twelve to twenty inches of rain that is being predicted over the next few days.

And so we are also mindful that it is the 13th year anniversary of Andrew was, of course, yesterday. Of course, Katrina is nowhere near predicted to be a category five storm as Andrew was, only a minimal number-one hurricane. Nevertheless, we are expecting a ton of rain.

Back to you.

O'BRIEN: All right, Susan Candiotti for us.

Susan, obviously we'll continue to check in with you throughout the morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: It is deadline day again in Iraq. Negotiators only have a few more hours to persuade Sunni lawmakers to go along with the draft constitution.

Aneesh Raman is live at the convention center in Baghdad.

Aneesh, any sign of a breakthrough?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning.

No sign yet as that deadline for compromise now looms just hours away. The Shia-Kurd coalition Still in talks with the Sunni minority on this draft constitution, specifically that main sticking point of federalism. The Sunnis have said they don't want it in the document at all. The Kurds, of course, want nothing less. We're expecting a vote today. The Shia-Kurd coalition have the majority to pass this document if need be. But again, the old adage of Iraqi politics is that anything can happen, and it usually does at the eleventh hour.

But if they put this document through without Sunni support, Carol, it raises the very serious possibility that this constitution could be rejected in the national referendum to come this fall. The Sunnis have the votes to do that. If that occurs, this entire government dissolves, this whole process starts again. That is what the Shia-Kurd coalition is actively trying to avoid -- Carol.

COSTELLO: The other problem in Iraq, kind of strange, clashes between rival Shite groups? The broke out Wednesday in Najaf. What's the latest on that?

RAMAN: Exactly. The southern holy city of Najaf, followers of Shia cleric Muqtada Al Sadr in clashes with demonstrators there. At least five people killed, 10 others wounded. Buildings essentially destroyed. It sparked similar clashes in other Shia provinces. And as you point out, it is not the usual sectarian violence we see in Iraq, Sunnis against Shia. Instead, it is internal among the Shia community, two rival factions. Muqtada Al Sadr today calling for calm and for the violence to stop -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Aneesh Raman, live in Baghdad this morning.

The Pentagon says it's going to send 1,500 more troops to Iraq in September, as to help provide a temporary boost in security for the next round of public voting in the fall. Elaine Quijano is at the White House this morning.

Elaine, this is the third time U.S. troop levels have been increased during political milestones in Iraq. Why this time?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Carol. Ensuring that those political milestones actually take place in a relatively safe environment is critical for the bush administration. We should mention that those additional troops, members of the 82nd Airborne Division out of Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, set to deploy next month to help secure the country. But with public support of the Iraq war continuing to fall, the White House knows Americans are looking for benchmarks, for signs of progress in Iraq.

And, in fact, yesterday the president delivered a speech for the second time in a week aimed at boosting support for his Iraq policy. Mr. Bush said the establishment of a constitution in Iraq will be a, quote, "landmark event" in the history of Iraq and of the Middle East. And he thanked both members of the U.S. military and their families.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A time of war is a time of sacrifice, and a heavy burden falls on our military families. They miss you and they worry about you. By standing behind you, they're standing up for America. The families are standing for America, and America appreciates the service, and the sacrifice of the military families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, the president also spent about three hours meeting with the families of 19 U.S. troops killed in the war on terror, about 68 family members total. We should also member mention that first lady Laura Bush was there at the meetings as well. The president back at his Texas ranch today, where anti-war demonstrations continue -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Elaine Quijano, live in Washington this morning.

O'BRIEN: Cindy Sheehan is back at her camp outside of President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas this morning.

Her protest has reinvigorated the debate on troop withdrawal from Iraq.

Ed Lavandera is live in Crawford, Texas for us this morning.

Ed, good morning to you.

Do we expect that we're going to hear from Cindy Sheehan today?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do, Soledad, and not only is Cindy Sheehan back here in Crawford, here at this campsite, just a short distance away from President Bush's ranch, but President Bush is also back in Crawford this morning, and both sides are showing no signs of backing down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The cheering and jeering says it all. Cindy Sheehan left Crawford last week, as the central figure in the protests that have taken over Crawford, Texas. She returned part hero, part villain. After a six-day absence because of her mother's illness, Sheehan say she's back to accomplish her mission, meet with President Bush and demand that American troops be brought home.

CINDY SHEEHAN, WAR PROTESTER: This is where I belong, so until August 31st, like I told the president.

LAVANDERA: The friction in Crawford is sizzling. President Bush supporters have set up competing camps. They lined the country road leading to the president's ranch, reminding Sheehan as she drove by, this is Bush country. For several days, Cindy Sheehan's protest sites were quiet, but her return has re-energized fellow anti-war activists. Under the big tent, supporters put up a banner-sized painting of Sheehan's son. And for a moment politics and protest seemed to vanish. This was about a mother grieving the loss of her son.

Sheehan has only met a few of the people who have camped here for days to support her cause. Some take her picture. Others try to make her laugh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what this is here? this is the Jedi camp. Because if that ain't the evil empire, I don't know what is.

LAVANDERA: The debate has escalated, each side seeing the other as evil and anti-American.

Supporters of President Bush are caravanning from California to Texas. They clashed with anti-war protesters along the way in Phoenix Wednesday. They're coming to Crawford, because they say Cindy Sheehan does not speak for them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's outrageous that a mother would protest her son's death like she's doing. She's completely off base.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: And that caravan of Bush supporters is making its way from Arizona to Texas, and expected to be sometime toward the beginning of this weekend -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: I guess escalating the debate even further.

Ed Lavandera for us this morning. Ed, thanks -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Recommendations to close Air Force bases around the country are expected today by a nine-member federal commission.

On Wednesday the panel recommenced closing 16 Army and Navy bases in 11 states based on proposals by the Pentagon. Ed Henry live on Capitol Hill to run down the winners and losers.

Hello, Ed. ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

That's right, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld insists that not an ounce of politics is being played in this process, but when you take a close look at those winners and losers political dynamics are fascinating. One big winner, Connecticut. The submarine base at New London will stay open. That will mean that it's saved about 15,000 jobs, including maybe the job of Republican Congressman Rob Simmons, a politician the White House wanted to protected. It's also a big victory for Senator Joe Lieberman, a big democratic ally of this White House, and he was elated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: Oh, great for the state. I mean, great for America, but this would have been a terrible blow to our state economically, and thousands of jobs all around the southeast of the state, so we're home, thank God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Another big winner is Maine, home to two moderate Republican senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, who are key swing votes on President Bush's entire legislative agenda. They found out yesterday that the Portsmouth Naval Station will stay open.

On the other hand, a big loser, Mississippi, where Senator Trent Lott, a Republican, found out that the Pascagoula Shipyard will be closed. Very interesting, because this very week, Trent Lott is on a book tour promoting his memoirs, in which he takes a big shot at President Bush, and claims that the White House played a big role in Lott being forced out as majority leader a couple of years back. Is this political payback? Hard to prove, but it is very interesting when you take a look at the loser in this case.

Now all eyes today will turn to Air Force bases, which will be on the chopping block with the Base Closure Commission, and the big political hot potato will be Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. The big issue here is the White House is taking heavy fire, again, from a Republican, Senator John Thune, who knocked off Democrat Tom Daschle in South Dakota last year. During that campaign, Republicans insisted if Thune won, Ellsworth would be saved, because of his close ties to President Bush. Now that Ellsworth, it looks like it's going to be closed unless the closing commission intervenes today, John Thune is furious. He feels betrayed by this White House. He's lobbying very hard to get it saved. It's going to be interesting to see whether or not the commission caves -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And you mentioned Senator Trent Lott. We're going to be talking to him in the coming hours on AMERICAN MORNING.

Ed Henry, live on Capitol Hill. Thank you. Flight recorders from a plane crash in Peru have been recovered and are on their way to Washington to be analyzed. The trans-airline flight -- TANS Airline flight went down in the jungle on Tuesday, just two miles short of the run way. It was headed to Pucallpa from Lima, Peru. Airline officials said 57 of the 98 people onboard survived. Among them were six people from one family in New York. They described their miraculous escape from the fiery crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABRIEL VIVAS, CRASH SURVIVOR: If I was almost in the front or the middle, I don't know, it was some fire somewhere over here in the front of me. But in back of me, there was no fire, so we got time to walk to the back of the plane and jump out of the plane.

J. VIVAS: To me, I -- it was like a shocking present. Like, I was so scared, but at least I came through. And if this present gave me, like, a lot of bravery now, to me, like to worship actually to God, like, I now really trust that, and I still believe that God still exists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: The family was in Peru to celebrate Joshelyn's 15th birthday. She was traveling with her father, her two sisters, an aunt and an uncle.

COSTELLO: Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, a huge catch for American customs. A look at how they turned away an apparent suicide bomber without even knowing he was a potential terrorist.

O'BRIEN: Also a nanny accused of shaking a baby so hard it caused brain damage. We're going to talk to a little girl's parents this morning.

COSTELLO: And more from Iraq. Is the security situation there getting worse? We'll talk to a U.S. general on the ground. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The latest round of insurgent attacks in Iraq targeting civilians, killing a dozen people in the last 48 hours. Five Iraqis were killed, eight wounded this morning during a shootout at a cafe. And seven family members were killed in Baghdad on Wednesday after insurgents raided a home in a western neighborhood.

Brigadier General John Basilica of the 256th Brigade Combat Team joins us from Baghdad.

Nice to see you, general. Thank you for talking with us.

BRIG. GEN. JOHN BASILICA JR., U.S. ARMY: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: The last 48 hours, I think it's fair to say, have been absolutely brutal as far as violence goes within Baghdad, outside of Baghdad as well. How do you, in the short term, improve security, not only for U.S. troops, but Iraqi civilians as well?

BASILICA: Well, I think there's a very comprehensive security plan that's in place right now, and I think that the evidence bears that out, that there's been many, many days of relative calm, and what this enemy has got to do is he can only sustain a few attacks at one time, and he tries to take all the resources that he can muster at one time for -- and to try to have one type of spectacular attack. And this was, again, the case that took place in the last 24 hours. They were...

O'BRIEN: So you're saying that the violence we are seeing now and we've seen in the last 48 hours is actually an indication of how well things are going?

BASILICA: I would tell you if you look at the days preceding it, that's absolutely correct. They've got security in terms of the Iraqi police, in terms of the Iraqi army and, of course, their partners -- that's us, the coalition forces, that are assisting them. And we have gone just about an entire week where the number of attacks have been well below the average preceding this attack. This one that we're talking about also had success that was part of it.

There were losses, as far as the Iraqi police were concerned, but there were some of my men that were able to respond, also killed a number of attackers and, in fact, captured their cars that had a lot more rockets and bombs in them, and then disrupted the remainder of the attack. So I think that's a clear indication of the type of effectiveness that we are having.

O'BRIEN: Have the Iraq...

BASILICA: It's regrettable that there were...

O'BRIEN: I'm sorry.

BASILICA: I'm sorry. It is regrettable that were some casualties and that there were some collateral damage with innocent civilians, and I think that's just an indication of the cowardice of the terrorists that we're dealing with.

O'BRIEN: Forgive me for my interruption there. I want to know your perspective on the Iraqi army units you've been fighting with. Have you been impressed by their training levels? Do they need a lot more work? Obviously, it's critical to bring them up to speed or U.S. troops are not going to come home any time soon.

BASILICA: I can speak to that question very well, because I have been here almost a year and we've been working with two Iraqi brigades, the first two that actually controlled their own battle space. And they have made remarkable progress in less than a year. I can think back to the time that I arrived here last November and what they're capable of doing today is -- just represents tremendous progress.

O'BRIEN: When you hear, though, that 1,500 more U.S. troops are going to be sent in to help out with the constitutional vote next month, should Americans back at home read that as, OK, well, the troops -- the Iraqi army units, obviously, cannot fully protect themselves yet? BASILICA: No, I should -- they should not assume that at all. In terms of exactly what we did the last time to achieve success in the January elections, the same number of soldiers were sent from the same unit, as a matter of fact, as the security plan was put into place. That security plan included Iraqi police, which had the inner cordon. It included Iraqi army forces, which had an outer cordon, and then it also included the U.S., which was in a regional support basis.

Baghdad is an extremely large city. It does take a fair amount of forces in order to be able to have the type of presence that we're looking for that particular event. So, no, it's no different and it is not something that should be construed as going backwards by any means.

O'BRIEN: Brigadier General John Basilica of the 256th Brigade Combat Team. Nice to see you, General, thank you very much for your time.

BASILICA: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: And still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, mechanical problems on two Northwest Airlines flights are raising eyebrows. Are they connected to the mechanic strike now into day five? Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Problems on two Northwest planes Wednesday as the airline's mechanics remain out on strike. Ali Velshi in for Andy. He's "Minding Your Business" this morning.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Minding Northwest's business.

COSTELLO: Minding -- yes, a lot of people are.

VELSHI: You know, of course, though, we're not following the strike. We're not devoted to following all the diversions and things that happen at an airline, so we don't really know how much of this is unusual and how much isn't. But a couple things happening at Northwest. And given the current hostile environment there, we pay attention to it.

First one is at Baltimore/Washington International Airport. A plane that was going to go Minneapolis/St. Paul found with two -- the nose gear on the 757, the two front tires, deflated. Not flat, deflated.

COSTELLO: So the plane wasn't going to take off. It was just sitting there...

VELSHI: Wasn't going to take off.

COSTELLO: It was just sitting there.

VELSHI: It was in a holding cell, didn't have anybody on it. So police are investigating. Northwest is saying no knowledge of whether it was deliberate or not and whether it's tied to the strike or not. But, obviously, this is the kind of stuff we have to keep an eye on.

COSTELLO: Yes, well, there was another incident, too, that people are -- I mean, you know, like you said, everything becomes suspect because a strike is ongoing, but it doesn't really mean anything.

VELSHI: No, the second one is a little bit more serious on a mechanical basis. Passengers on a flight from Minneapolis to Bozeman, Montana, heard some flapping noises and things like that. The captain came on and said they had a bit of an issue, so they landed the flight in Billings, Montana. Turned out to be a hydraulics issue.

You know, we don't know, but one would be inclined to think that if somebody were going to do something, if it were mischievous and it involved taking air out of the tires, that's one thing, knowing a plane's not going to take off without that being fixed. I'd be very surprised if it's in people's interests to start fooling around with planes. There are lots of these kind of problems in any newsroom on a regular basis. We'll hear about a plane coming in with some kind of mechanical problems.

COSTELLO: I've run out to the airport many times for no apparent reason.

VELSHI: Exactly, yes.

COSTELLO: Ali Velshi, thanks.

Back to you -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, Texas, protesting the war in Iraq. Now the White House, though, has enlisted support from a military mom of its own. Is that a smart move? We'll take a look, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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