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American Morning

Trial Resumes Without Saddam Hussein; Bush Trying to Recapture Political Debate Over Iraq War; Mending Their Message

Aired December 07, 2005 - 09:02   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Saddam Hussein, a no-show in court today. But can the court really proceed without him? We're going to take you live to Baghdad for some answers to that question ahead.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Miles O'Brien.

President Bush tries hard to sell Iraq again. But is the plan working? We'll go live to the White House.

S. O'BRIEN: And bitter cold is taking a grip on the West. Just how low can the temperatures go? A live look at the severe weather ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Good to have you with us this morning.

Yet another drama to tell you about in the Saddam Hussein trial. This time, the leading player has decided to stay off stage. Saddam Hussein a no-show. He's boycotting the courtroom. After hours of trying to figure out what to do, the trial will go on without him.

Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson live in Baghdad.

Nic, the trial goes on, Saddam Hussein remains in his detention cell. And he can't hear a thing. He's just going to be filled in later, correct?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We don't know. The judge has said that -- we don't know if he's watching this on TV or what's going to happen. But the judge has said that the defendant who was missing, without even mentioning Saddam by name, yes, he would be informed of everything that goes on in the court -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Nic, it's such a dramatic turn of events, and you get the sense that there is this power struggle going on in the courtroom. Saddam Hussein almost hearkening back to his dictatorial days. You have the sense that he feels as if he's still running the country.

ROBERTSON: He does. When he comes into the court, his co- defendants all stand up, the defense team all stand up like he was president. And that's what's in his mind. And this is what it's all been about, a power struggle with the chief judge, Rizgar Amin, and that's the way it's been going. And it seems that the judge has come out ahead so far in this one -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: And yesterday, late in the day, you know, I can't think of a better term than he just had a complete conniption at the end there, calling it unjust, throwing papers around, and then ultimately complaining about how he's worn the same set of clothes for three days. This -- these kind of -- I'm curious what the Iraqi people think when they see Saddam Hussein in this light.

ROBERTSON: You know, I think the judge has been trying to give him more time to speak out in court to let people see exactly what he's really like, that at times he has these outbursts and other times it's sort of rambling, going nowhere, that he doesn't really have a legal focus or control in the courtroom. So I think the judge has been kind of letting him hang himself, if you will.

But the situation is, people are so divided, Miles. I think you've got the two camps, the hang him, kill him now, and the camp that believes the trial is unjust. And I don't think people are moving between those two camps, although they may get more polarized, more angry and bitter about it -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: You know, one final thought here. We were talking to one of our legal experts on this, Michael Scharf, just a little while ago, actually had advised the tribunal. He said a very important thing happened yesterday aside from all the theatrics.

Saddam Hussein in his megalomania said, I was in control in -- at Dujail when this all occurred, and I -- in a sense he basically admitted some very key points which the prosecution was hoping to get on record by insisting that he was the boss.

ROBERTSON: That seems to be what the judge is doing by giving him this rope, giving him the time to talk, and it was the same thing with his half-brother, Barzan Hasan al-Tikriti, actually placing himself in Dujail where all - where these events happened. So both of them, the judge giving them time to hang themselves, and maybe they're doing it right in front of the court there -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: It's really, really -- it's fascinating. And it's, I guess, in many respects, not surprising given all that we know about Saddam Hussein.

Nic Robertson in Baghdad.

Thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: President Bush takes another stab at selling his blueprint for victory from Iraq. That brings us right to Elaine Quijano. She's at the White House for us this morning.

Elaine, good morning. Apparently the president's going to give a list of things that have gone well, the successes in Iraq. What's on this list?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Soledad. Last week the topic was security. This week the president's going to talk about Iraq's economy, as well as reconstruction efforts.

Now, that include the infrastructure. Things like schools, hospitals, electricity and water.

Now, in just a couple of hours, Mr. Bush will -- or just a couple of hours from now, Mr. Bush will deliver his speech before the Council on Foreign Relations. Expect him to lay out specific examples of progress in Iraqi cities like Mosul and Najaf. And once again, the president is expected to say that the United States has had to adapt its approach. This time, of course, he'll be talking about the economy and reconstruction efforts.

Now, this speech, of course, is the second in a series of speeches the president will give in the run-up to Iraq's elections next week. The goal here really is to try to convince Americans that the administration does have a strategy for winning in Iraq and that that strategy is working.

Now, yesterday, President Bush was asked about criticism this week from Democrat Howard Dean about the idea that the U.S. would win in Iraq is just plain wrong. That criticism coming from Howard Dean this week.

Here is how President Bush responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And of course there will be some pessimists and some people playing politics with the issue. But by far, the vast majority of people in this country stand squarely with the men and women who wear the nation's uniform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: As for what's next, after the president's speech today, White House officials say the president will once again talk about Iraq on Monday. That time, Soledad, focusing on the political progress that the administration says exists in Iraq -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano at the White House for us.

Elaine, thank you.

And we're going to have live coverage of the president's speech this morning. It's set to begin at 10:45 a.m. Eastern Time. We'll bring that to you live.

M. O'BRIEN: There's a big powwow under way right now on Capitol Hill. Democrats trying to work out what they should say about pulling troops out of Iraq. The party seems to be of many voices on this. But that is, after all, a Democratic tradition.

Ed Henry is on Capitol Hill with more.

What was it Will Rogers said, I don't belong to any organized party, I'm a Democrat? Or something to that effect. ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right. And it appears right now Democrats are practically all over the map. That's why they are having that big meeting that you mentioned right now in the Capitol as we speak. That's because after weeks of being on the offense, beating up on the president over the issue of Iraq, Democrats now find themselves on the defensive a bit.

They're trying -- they have a wide swathe of opinion about how quickly to pull out U.S. troops. You have House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who's leading this meeting right now as we speak, who says we need a quick pullout of U.S. troops. Her number two, Steny Hoyer, of Maryland, yesterday reiterated he thinks that's a really bad idea.

Then you have the fact that yesterday Vice President Cheney tried to drive an ever deeper wedge within the Democratic Party by citing the example of Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman, who has said that all progress in Iraq could be lost if we pull U.S. troops out too quickly. And then Lieberman himself really drove that wedge a bit more by chiding some of his fellow Democrats, saying it's time to tamp down the attacks on the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: It's time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that he will be the commander in chief for three more critical years, and that in matters of war we undermine presidential credibility at our nation's peril.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Democrats thrown a bit more on the defensive yesterday by Howard Dean's comments. You heard Elaine mentioning there Dean basically suggesting he does not think the U.S. can win the war in Iraq.

We saw Democratic leaders up here like Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid trying to distance himself from those comments, saying he does believe that the U.S. can win the war in Iraq, but a lot is riding on what the president says today in moving forward -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Ed Henry on Capitol Hill.

Thanks very much.

Let's check some headlines now with Carol Costello.

Good morning to you.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Miles.

Good morning to all of you.

More questions today on Capitol Hill about the response to Hurricane Katrina. On Tuesday, a House committee heard from survivors in New Orleans heart-wrenching testimony. The same panel set to hear next hour from state officials in Mississippi.

The topic today's agenda, food and water. Lawmakers want to know why supplies took six days to arrive.

The mayor of Spokane, Washington, is out. Mayor James West was recalled by 65 percent of the voters on Tuesday. He had allegedly offered jobs and perks to young men he met in a gay chat room. West admits to having relationships with the young men, but denies doing anything illegal. No criminal charges have been filed.

Legendary Hawaiian singer Don Ho is recovering from heart surgery in Thailand and is becoming something of a medical pioneer. You see him here the way he was about 20 years ago. That's how we remember him best.

Well, he's 75 now. He underwent an experimental stem cell procedure which has not been approved in the United States. He suffered from heart problems for about a year, and he has a pacemaker. Ho is in intensive care, but his vital signs are said to be strong.

And short tempers in the NBA. Here's the long and short of it.

Some NBA players are steaming over having to pay fines for the length of their shorts. It's all part of this new dress code in the NBA.

This is -- this is the one inch rule. Pants can't come down lower than one inch above the knee. Actually, the shorts can't be below your knee. They have to be above your knee.

Team executives and players have no idea who's making these inspections. I mean, is it the referee? Is it Spike Lee?

M. O'BRIEN: Spike Lee?

COSTELLO: I don't know. The teams blame Reebok, which actually supplied the uniforms. So far, the New York Nicks Stefon Marberi and Nate Robertson (sic) have been -- Nate Robinson, rather, have been fined $10,000. And, of course, if you want me to be PC, the reason that the NBA commissioner doesn't want them to wear such long shorts is because he wants them to look like urban to attract...

S. O'BRIEN: These black people.

COSTELLO: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... to attract more suburban fans.

S. O'BRIEN: White people. Yes, interesting. Interesting.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Weird, but interesting.

M. O'BRIEN: I mean, if they go a little lower they'll be capri pants, and then they'll look like suburban... S. O'BRIEN: Housewives.

M. O'BRIEN: So it just depends on where you go. Tell them to go lower.

(LAUGHTER)

M. O'BRIEN: Anyway...

S. O'BRIEN: That's very funny.

M. O'BRIEN: ... just a thought.

S. O'BRIEN: Carol, thank you.

COSTELLO: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk weather. We've been talking about it all morning. Lows in the Rocky Mountains. The coldest spot in the country this morning, in fact, is West Yellowstone, Montana, 42 below zero. That's the real temperature.

We're not even counting the wind chill. Forty-two below zero without the wind chill.

In Colorado, the coldest spot near Steamboat Springs, 18 below. Denver, 8 below right now.

Let's get right to Denver. Jim Huey is with our affiliate KMGH.

Jim, good morning. Cold even for Colorado. Used to cold there, but this is really cold, right?

JIM HOOLEY, REPORTER, KMGH: You bet, Soledad. But, you know, I've got about four or five layers on. I've got to tell you that, along with the long johns.

But I will tell you this, I saw a crazy guy go by on a bicycle here just a couple of minutes ago. It's Colorado. What can I say?

Take a look at the highways out here. This is I-25, the big route heading into downtown Denver. Right now it's pretty clean, but slushy in some parts. Icy and snow-covered, too.

CDOT, the Colorado Department of Transportation, is using a product called Ice Slicer right now. That works when temperatures get below zero degrees. So they're trying to keep it open, but they're doing the best they can.

It's been just a crazy week weather-wise here in Colorado. On Monday, take a look at the pictures that we have from Monday. Really high winds, gusts of up to 100 miles per hour. Cars were blown off the roads, trucks were turned over, airplanes turned over.

And we like to use those big cargo boxes on top of our vehicles here to put skis in and things. They were literally ripped off the tops of cars.

Look at this. It's been snowing up in the high country for the past week. And this is the kind of snow we have, Soledad. Again, it is so cold that there's no moisture in this snow whatsoever.

We call it champagne powder. But if you left your champagne out today by the hot tub, even that would freeze. That's how cold it is here.

Back to you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Champagne powder, no champagne, please. It will freeze. Jim Hooley of affiliate KMGH reporting for us this morning.

Thanks, Jim.

Any relief ahead? Let's get right to Jacqui Jeras. She's at the CNN Center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up a little later, governments around the world are building up their arsenals to fight bird flu. But what can you do to protect yourself? You know, is the government really there to help you? Let's keep that in mind. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will give us a "House Call" on this.

S. O'BRIEN: And then, next, more on the story we brought you yesterday, that grim discovery of bodies in New Orleans missed in the official house-to-house searches. We're going to check in with the state coroner, ask what went wrong.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Live pictures now. This comes from our affiliate WTTG out of Washington. And this is in Baltimore.

The waters of Baltimore Harbor, the Patapsco River beneath. That Francis Scott Key Bridge. You can see traffic has come to a standstill, and I believe there is a person there who is trapped. Is that correct?

S. O'BRIEN: Apparently a worker has fallen from the construction scaffolding on that bridge. The bridge was undergoing some kind of work. He fell, and now they've got helicopters standing by to bring this worker to the hospital. I guess underneath you can see it looks as if that's a tarp.

M. O'BRIEN: There's some barges. Yes, there's a tarp and there's some barges. But I still haven't been able to identify where he is specifically. Let's see if they'll zoom and give us some guidance on what...

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. We have not been able to really see it yet, where he is. Apparently, though, he's still on the bridge, and they're trying to figure out how to get him down and get him on to some of these emergency vehicles or into the plane itself to get him out of town, get him to the hospital as soon as possible.

Thirty-one degrees this morning there. And so, if he...

M. O'BRIEN: Brrr. I think -- and I think maybe, through that broken up signal, you've got to bear in mind this helicopter is based in Washington. So he's a long way away from his receiving site for that microwave signal. So it's difficult to -- you know, I'm just trying to see if we can see him in there. It's difficult to see.

S. O'BRIEN: The picture is going in and out. We'll update you on what happens.

This is, again, a construction worker apparently injured on the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Thirty-one degree temperatures there this morning. It is cold.

Hopefully they'll be age to get him out of there, or her out of there as soon as possible and get him to the hospital.

Turning now to what's been happening in the three months after Hurricane Katrina, really the painful process of recovering bodies not over yet. Two bodies found in a house in New Orleans Monday, 263 bodies still not identified.

Joining us this morning is Dr. Louis Cataldie. He is Louisiana's emergency medical response director.

Nice to talk to you. Thank you for being with us, doctor. Appreciate your time.

DR. LOUIS CATALDIE, LOUISIANA EMERGENCY MED. RESPONSE DIRECTOR: Good morning.

S. O'BRIEN: When you hear stories as we've heard in the last week, three people found, the bodies found since Sunday of last week, are you surprised? I mean, it's a grisly discovery, obviously, for family members who think the homes had been searched and checked and cleared. They get there and they've not been, and there is the body of a loved one in the living room or in the kitchen or in a bedroom, that then they have to red flag for your office.

Are you surprised by that at all?

CATALDIE: Unfortunately, I'm not surprised. And unfortunately, I think it's going to continue.

We've recovered over 22 bodies in November, and I've actually been out to the field and talked to people when they've been there and found their loved ones. I believe it's a direct reflection of the limitations on the initial search criteria.

S. O'BRIEN: Meaning the search criteria didn't go far enough and wasn't -- the protocols weren't clear enough? Is that what you're saying?

CATALDIE: Well, I think the protocols may have been clear enough. We had many different agencies searching out there. But if the water level wasn't a certain height, you could not use an intrusive or forced entry.

Subsequently, I think when folks go back into houses where the water level wasn't as high as it needed to be for a forced entry based on those criteria, they indeed may find deceased loved ones. It's a horrible situation.

S. O'BRIEN: That is a horrible situation. Here's what Colonel Terry Ebbert, who's director of homeland security for the city of New Orleans, here's what he had to say about that protocol. Let's listen.

Oh, I'm sorry. Here -- "There was a protocol," he said, "established for single homes. If the water was not at a height for people to have drowned, we did not make a forcible entry. If the homes did not meet the protocol of five feet of water in a single family home, they were not forcibly entered."

What do you make of this sort of five foot mark being the level? There are certainly people who could drown, especially if they're elderly, in a lot less than five feet of water.

CATALDIE: Oh, especially the elderly, especially people who have a diminished ability to wander, walk about, if they're in a wheelchair or if they're in a walker or if they have any type of disability. Of course those are the criteria that were set, and certainly those were the criteria that the search teams had to live with.

S. O'BRIEN: You know what I find strange about this whole thing and maybe upsetting, too, is that no one seems to step up and take responsibility for it. I mean, he's basically saying it wasn't our fault. We picked five feet, and if it was under five feet, well, we're not going to search it.

Do you have that same frustration of nobody coming forward and saying here's where mistakes were made?

CATALDIE: You know, I try to -- I've been through that process of trying to find out who did what or where it lies, and I'm sure it will all come out. Right now I've got to focus on keeping my team together and making the identities of these bodies that we're getting. And we're continuing to get folks who are totally unknown to us.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about that. DNA testing, FEMA's now agreed to pay 90 percent. I know there was a big hubaloo about that. And finally they agreed to pay the money.

So how long is it going to take to start and finish that DNA testing for these 263 bodies?

CATALDIE: Well, I'm not totally relying on DNA. We were able to make three matches yesterday. We've got 60,000 dental records, albeit they're all melded together because they were waterlogged. So we strip them apart and try to look at them and try to decipher anything we can. And indeed, we did make three identifications yesterday from medical records.

So we haven't stopped. The DNA process hopefully will begin today. Ideally, I've got certainly people that are more probable to give us a positive result.

I've got two situations which I've got families, whole families who drowned in their houses in New Orleans. And I'm sure that we can tie those together relatively rapidly. At least that's what my experts are telling me.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, we'll continue to check in with you.

Dr. Louis Cataldie, he is Louisiana's emergency medical response director. Such grisly news consistently coming out of the area.

Thank you for talking with us and updating us.

CATALDIE: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, we've learned the lesson how many times that in the wake of Katrina, you can't count on the government to help you out in a crisis. Same goes probably for the bird flu.

So what if you need to take matters into your own hands? Maybe you should think about taking matters into your own hands.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta with a "House Call" on that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Congress is taking the bird flu threat seriously. A hearing begins less than an hour from now.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta has some advice about how we should view the threat and what we can do about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A year ago, the mention of bird flu would not spark fears among most of us. But that's changed over the past months.

As the media reports about the deadly H5N1 virus increase, and as the virus spreads, infecting birds from China to Romania, the big fear, of course, is that this virus could spark a worldwide epidemic if the virus changes and becomes easily transmitted from person to person. This hasn't happened yet.

So far, just over 130 people have been infected worldwide. So it's scary. But what can you do? (on camera): Remember, bird flu is still a very rare disease. And it's hard to get. You have to come in close contact with an infected bird.

That's why your best protection probably isn't Tamiflu. Nor is it one of those special masks.

It's washing your hands. And often. Soap and water will do. And if that's not available, one of those alcohol-based sanitizers will work as well.

You may also be wondering if it's safe to eat chicken. The answer is yes, as long as you cook it. Use a meat thermometer. Even if there is virus, cooking a chicken to 158 degrees Fahrenheit is enough to get rid of all the virus.

The H5N1 virus is only in Asia and in parts of Europe. It's simply not here in the United States. Not in birds, not in humans.

Now, if you have been in a country where the virus exists, and you've had contact with birds, and within a week you develop a fever and a cough, tell your doctor about where you've been.

(voice over): They'll tell you if there's reason for concern.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: And be sure to watch Sanjay's special, Killer Flu A Breath Away."

It's a scary title, isn't it?

This is coming on Sunday, December 11. That's this Sunday upcoming, 10:00 p.m. Eastern time right here on CNN.

Coming up, a lot of people think winning the lottery will solve all their problems, right? So why does hitting the jackpot turn in to a hard-luck story for so many people?

We'll take a look ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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