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American Morning
Major Tension at a Meeting on Security for Iraqi Elections; Stress of War
Aired December 12, 2005 - 06:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: More charges of prison abuse in Iraq. Why are fingers pointed at the Iraqi government? We've got details just ahead.
Plus, Iraq on the agenda for President Bush. We're going to take a look at part three of his policy push.
And did Delta Airlines escape a strike? A possible deal could rescue that airliner and salvage your travel plans, too.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning on a Monday. It's good to have you back. You had a little break there.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much. Yes, a couple days off. It was very nice. And they're gone like that, you know?
M. O'BRIEN: Just like that.
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody.
Let's get a check of the weather this morning at half past the hour. It's cold. We know that.
Bonnie, how else is it looking the country?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's certainly looking cold in many locations, but also a little snowy as well.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
S. O'BRIEN: Low 70s is cold for Miami.
SCHNEIDER: It is.
M. O'BRIEN: It's all relative.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Bonnie.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Bonnie.
Let's some headlines in. Carol, good morning again. CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Actually, we have some developing news to tell you about out of Iraq. Major tension at a meeting between General George Casey, the U.S. commanding general in Iraq, and Iraqi tribal leaders over security surrounding the election. As you know, parliamentary elections take place officially on December 15, but patients (ph) and other personnel are voting today.
Well, let's hear about this scuffle. Nic Robertson was in the briefing in Ramadi.
Nic, what happened?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, this was a meeting that was intended to expand Iraq's army, build it into the Sunni-dominated al-Anbar, west of Iraq, an area where there really is the most violence in the country at the moment.
General Casey (INAUDIBLE) Iraq's defense minister to Ramadi to meet with the leaders from this province. They put forward a proposal that would have Sunnis in a Sunni army, a division of the Iraq's army in al-Anbar Province. Essentially as soon as the defense minister heard that, he shot the idea down.
This comes at a very tense time when the goodwill of the political and religious leaders here in al-Anbar, in Ramadi, is needed to help get the voters to turn out in the elections later this week. This does seem to be a major snub for expanding Iraq's army into this region and bringing civility to the whole of Iraq -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, Nic, when we say "scuffle," we don't mean physically, we just mean verbal scuffling.
ROBERTSON: It was a verbal scuffle. The language got very sharp. The translator was struggling to keep up.
And General George Casey told the journalists who were in the room that it was time to leave; that the opening remarks had been concluded, and it was time to leave. The impression, however, was one that the meeting was not going according to plan. And certainly there were acrimonious words being exchanged between both sides -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes. What this means for December 15 we don't know. But I know you'll keep following the story. Nic Robertson live in Ramadi this morning.
In the meantime, President Bush is trying to boost support for Iraq. The president is set to give major address in Philadelphia this morning. The president wants to draw a comparison between Iraqi and U.S. democracies. CNN will have live coverage of the president's speech starting at 11:15 a.m. Eastern. And, of course, we'll bring it to you live.
British officials say a series of explosion north of London do not seem to be terror-related. The blasts lit up the sky, sparking a massive fire. It's apparently the largest explosion of its kind on Europe since World War II. At least 43 people were hurt. The fire is expected to burn itself out later today.
Australia's prime minister, John Howard, is calling for ethnic and religious tolerance in the wake of these riots in Sydney. Take a look. Police say they took place in some beachside suburbs, where drunken white youths -- young people -- allegedly attacked people who looked Middle Eastern. At least 31 people were hurt in these riots.
His supporters are hoping for a last-minute deal. Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the Nobel Prize nominated author, is set to be executed in less than 24 hours. But California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger could step in and grant him clemency. The governor calls the decision -- quote -- "a very heavy responsibility."
And you can breathe a little easier if you're planning to fly Delta for the holidays. The pilots union is not planning to strike, at least not this month. The bankrupt airline has reached a tentative deal with the pilots union. They've agreed to a 15 percent pay cut. The union has to give the final OK by the end of the month. But we're expecting they will do that.
Back to you -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Carol.
Back now to the war in Iraq and the implications for those who serve there. You know, in another era they used to call it "battle fatigue" or "shell shock." These days we call it "post-traumatic stress disorder." We became familiar with the term in the wake of the Vietnam War. And, of course, in the wake of Iraq and people returning from Iraq, it is a very real concern.
CNN's Kelly Wallace has a special look at this in a series for us.
Good morning, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
In fact, you know, post-traumatic stress disorder didn't even really become a term, a commonly-used term until the 1980s.
According to a study published last year, about 1 in 6 men and women will show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder after returning home from Iraq. And for some, the disorder can be so severe their lives start spinning out of control. And that's just what happened to the man you are about to meet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice over): Twenty-two-year-old Tyler Peters thinks about how Iraq changed him just about every day as he drives along Iowa's countryside on his way to college, and thinks about it every time he looks at the ribbons, two of them inside his truck for two friends killed in combat. TYLER PETERS, SUFFERS POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS: I can't sit here and tell you about it, because no matter what I told you, you would never understand the concept of somebody getting killed, unless you were there with them.
WALLACE (on camera): How often do those images come back in your head?
T. PETERS: Quite often. The smell of blood. Quite often.
WALLACE (voice over): Ron Peters says his son was a Boy Scout, a good kid who never got in trouble with the law. But last year, shortly after the Army National Guard Reservist returned from Iraq, there were reasons for concern. Tyler withdrew from family, couldn't hold down a job, and couldn't control his anger. It took a toll on everyone.
RON PETERS, TYLER PETER'S FATHER: It's hard on the family. And it's just not Tyler. You know, I've been thinking about this, all of the families. You've got lots of families. You know, if we can help just one.
WALLACE: And that is why Tyler wanted to share his story, a difficult story to tell. Last September, he was charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend and spent 30 days in jail for violating a restraining order. Just about two weeks ago, he was arrested again; this time for hitting his current girlfriend. He says he blacked out both times.
T. PETERS: I remember points of it, and that's it, until I stopped. And then it's just, like, you think to yourself, 'Why did I just do that,' you know?
WALLACE: After Tyler's first brush with the law, his dad wasn't sure where to turn. Then came a call from a Vietnam veteran who had heard of Tyler's troubles.
T. PETERS: He knew it was nothing to mess around with. You'd better get going. And he said, you know, the sooner the better. Let's get moving now.
WALLACE: Tyler ultimately went to a veterans' hospital and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. With counseling, medication and support from his family and his current girlfriend, he says he's working hard to manage his illness.
T. PETERS: But if you have people standing beside you and pushing you along to go get help and to stay with you, you should be all right.
WALLACE: The Peters hope that other families learn from theirs that post-traumatic stress disorder is real.
(on camera): What do you want people to understand based on your experience? T. PETERS: That American veterans returning from Iraq, Afghanistan -- wherever they are -- are not crazy. They need help. Don't push them away. Don't shun them. Don't call them crazy, whacked. Be supportive of them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And Tyler also told me he's planning to get more counseling to deal with PTSD, and says he's committed to staying on his medication, because, Miles, he says he went off his medication for a few days a couple of weeks ago and that, he believes, is part of what contributed to that incident with his current girlfriend.
M. O'BRIEN: Pretty courageous for him to speak out, number one. Number two, I think it's worth pointing here, this is acharacteristic (ph) for him. He wasn't in any way violent beforehand, was he?
WALLACE: Not at all. And very courageous because it's not a flattering story to be telling to a national audience. No, that's the thing. He didn't have problems with anger. No problems with the law. His father describes him as, you know, an average Midwestern kid, a Boy Scout, lots of friends, a passion for cars, kind of an everyday kid with everyday concerns. And that's why it's been so traumatic for the family, because it's a big difference since he's come home from Iraq.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm sure there are a lot of other families out there watching this, wondering if maybe their, you know, loved one, one way or another, may be having similar symptoms. What should they be looking for?
WALLACE: And that's why we wanted to do it, because if one family could be watching and saying here's what I think is happening to our family.
What people should do is if there are symptoms like problems with sleeping, problems with anger, withdrawing from family and friends, not wanting to go to a job, anger problems, just behavioral issues that seem to be lasting for a long time, have a lot of frequency and are intense, they should consider there might be a problem. They should try to go to a veterans' medical center in their area and look for other resources.
M. O'BRIEN: Don't delay it. Don't put it off. When in doubt, go check.
Now, what about tomorrow? What do you have?
WALLACE: Tomorrow we want to, you know, talk a little more of when in doubt, go check. Where you can go, what you can do to get some help, and also some interesting new things the military is doing to try to deal with it on the battlefield, not waiting until men and women come home from Iraq.
M. O'BRIEN: Interesting. Kelly Wallace, see you tomorrow. Thank you very much. WALLACE: All right, thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: For more information about post-traumatic stress disorder, you can go to the Department of Veterans Affairs' Web site at www.va.gov, or the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder -- stay with me on this one -- ncptsd.org -- November, Charlie, Papa, Tango, Sierra, Delta.org -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Miles, thanks.
Ahead this morning, Andy is "Minding Your Business."
What are you looking at?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Soledad, we're talking Hollywood news here, an American beauty of a deal. We'll tell you about that coming up AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: It's 45 minutes past the hour. Let's get right to an update of your news stories this morning. Carol has that.
Good morning again.
COSTELLO: Good morning, Soledad. And good morning to all of you.
President Bush wants to shore up more support on Iraq. Just about four-and-a-half hours from now, he will make the third of four speeches in recent days that are aimed at convincing Americans -- that is you -- that the United States must stay the course in Iraq. His speech is planned for 11:15 a.m. Eastern, and we'll bring it to you live.
A deadline has passed in Iraq for four Westerners being held hostage there. The four Christian peace workers were taken last month by an Islamic militant group. The group had threatened to kill the men on Saturday if all Iraqi prisoners were not released. There has been no communication from the group since Saturday. An American is among the hostages.
In a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, a car bomb kills at least four people. Officials tell CNN a journalist, who was also a member of Lebanon's parliament, was killed in the attack. He had been a critic of Syria. The bombing follows several others targeting people seen as rejecting Syrian influence in Lebanon.
Pope Benedict says don't buy that iPod, XBox or tie for your loved one this Christmas. Stop! All of the materialism in our lives may be taking the spirit out of Christmas. He told a crowd Sunday in St. Peters Square -- and I'm quoting here -- "This time of year unfortunately suffers from a sort of commercial pollution that threatens to alter its real spirit."
And where do you go after you've been in the Miss USA contest? Is there anything else? Well, how about reality television? Danni Boatwright beat out Stephenie LaGrossa to be the last person standing in CBS' "Survivor Guatemala." Boatwright is a former Miss USA contestant from Kansas. And this morning, she is riding around in a new car. She's also $1 million richer. In case you're keeping track, it was the 11th "Survivor" series.
So, Bonnie, now you know.
SCHNEIDER: Thank you. I was wondering what they did after that.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Paramount dreams, the impossible dream.
S. O'BRIEN: I think you're supposed to sing that part.
SERWER: No.
S. O'BRIEN: Dream. Come on!
M. O'BRIEN: It would be a paramount idea for me not to sing.
SERWER: Oh.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: All right.
M. O'BRIEN: Hey.
S. O'BRIEN: Andy is "Minding Your Business." Good morning.
SERWER: Hey, good morning to you.
"Star Trek" meet "American Beauty." A deal has been struck in Hollywood. Paramount Pictures is buying DreamWorks' live action film studio for $1.6 billion. Paramount made "Star Trek." "American Beauty" comes from DreamWorks.
DreamWorks, of course, is the baby of David Geffen and Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg. And they have that animation studio. There are the big three right there. Spielberg stays on at the company, so does Geffen.
It's kind of hard to understand exactly how this deal works, because they're going to sell off the film library, which includes "American Beauty" and "Gladiator." I guess the $1.6 billion is for keeping Spielberg and Geffen involved in the process. Also, they're going to distribute those animated pictures like "Shrek." So that's how that deal works.
S. O'BRIEN: What happens to Katzenberg?
SERWER: We don't really know. He'll just be doing his own thing. I wouldn't worry about him too much.
M. O'BRIEN: A pretty talented guy.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: Yes, he'll -- well, he's going to be running the animation company, the company that makes "Shrek."
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, right, right.
SERWER: That's what he's going to be doing. And they stole this company away, Paramount did, from NBC Universal. Remember? They were in negotiations there.
I want to talk about the markets a little bit. A little bit more slipping actually last week as far as the averages go you can see here. Sorry about that. I'm not responsible, though, actually.
And one stock that's going to be moving this morning, though...
M. O'BRIEN: I thought you were.
SERWER: No, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: I thought that was your...
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: No, not my bailiwick.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
SERWER: Unless it goes up.
Disney is going to be on the move. Why? The lion, the witch and the ka-ching. "The Chronicles of Narnia," $67 million over the weekend, the second biggest grossing film in December. And the real big news here is, there are six more of these books to be made into films for Disney. So you can see they really look like they have a franchise, like "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter," the marketing and all of that stuff.
S. O'BRIEN: It's all about franchise.
SERWER: That's right.
S. O'BRIEN: It really is.
SERWER: And it's a big thing. So...
M. O'BRIEN: But they didn't film them all at once like "The Lord of the Rings" do.
SERWER: No.
M. O'BRIEN: I mean, these will be subsequent.
SERWER: And, you know, there's no guarantee they will. But I'm sure they're looking to do it.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Sign everybody up now.
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thank you.
SERWER: You're welcome.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.
Coming up, good news for President Bush. For the first time in a long time, his approval numbers are actually up. What is behind the boost? We'll take a closer look ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Check out our Web site, CNN.com, anytime you like, even while you're watching us. You can simulcast or, you know -- what do you do? Multitask, that's it. Simulcast, multitask.
Some of the top stories you're interested in this morning. Our top news story, Tookie Williams, who without clemency or some kind of other intervention -- really, it's up to clemency at this point from Arnold Schwarzenegger -- faces execution at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time tomorrow. In other words, tonight, 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time or thereabouts. So, it just depends on what Arnold Schwarzenegger will say. We will be watching that story all throughout the day. And obviously you are as well.
Then there is something about films that I haven't focused on. Something about the top films.
S. O'BRIEN: The top films of the year.
M. O'BRIEN: The top films of 2005.
S. O'BRIEN: It's the end of the year, and every end of the year they tend to kind of wrap up the best movies of the year.
M. O'BRIEN: Some film institute came out with a list of films.
COSTELLO: We'll see. And (INAUDIBLE) never have time to see movies.
M. O'BRIEN: It's another list of films. All right.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: But, no, "King Kong" is probably tops on the list, because the reviews for that film are incredible.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: Everyone loves it and says it's the greatest thing since...
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: People are going ape over it.
COSTELLO: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk about the other story you're interested in this morning -- we haven't told you too much about it this morning yet -- is Southwest Airlines. The pilots are reporting to the National Transportation and Safety Board investigators that the thrust reversers did not deploy in a timely way on that 737 that went off the runway at Midway.
And this is an interesting point. I've done a little research on this. And there is a known problem with the 737 and the thrust reverser deployment on a wet runway. And I'm told what can happen is if the pilot does too smooth a landing, too smooth...
COSTELLO: Come on.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, because there's -- it has a certain amount of computer logic built in. When the wheels start spinning, and the gear is compressed, that's when all of these automatic, you know, thrust reversers and spoilers begin. If you do it too smoothly, especially on a slick runway where the wheels wouldn't spin necessarily, it might not have kicked in.
COSTELLO: See, I thought it might have been frozen because of the weather, but maybe not so.
M. O'BRIEN: No, not frozen.
COSTELLO: Is that possible?
M. O'BRIEN: No, no, because, you know, it's -- no. That would be unlikely. But in this case, it's possible that it did...
S. O'BRIEN: It's sort of scary that it's a problem that's known. I mean, that always worries me when...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: ... after the fact they say, oh, yes, we knew about this problem.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, by the way. By the way.
S. O'BRIEN: The thrust reversers...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: ... you know, to slow the 737 down. That's confusing.
COSTELLO: Yes. S. O'BRIEN: Hey, have you guys seen this Web site? Have you visited happynews.com?
M. O'BRIEN: No, but we should.
S. O'BRIEN: The creator...
M. O'BRIEN: We should.
S. O'BRIEN: What's with the (INAUDIBLE)?
COSTELLO: Why do you bring that up?
S. O'BRIEN: Why? You don't like happynews.com?
COSTELLO: No, because people always say they want happy news, but I really don't believe them.
S. O'BRIEN: It looks like such a different reaction (INAUDIBLE) happy news. Look, Michelle Kwan is on the cover of happynews.com.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, we rest our case. Who wants to...
(CROSSTALK)
S. O'BRIEN: She is a lovely young...
M. O'BRIEN: Just kidding.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, wow! Mocking the happy news. Here is why people don't like the news.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE) attitude. There are some interesting stories as well about U.S. troops who rescued some cheetahs in Ethiopia.
COSTELLO: That's cool.
S. O'BRIEN: Apparently the founder says he feels that the world needs a refuge from all of the unpleasantness served up daily and for people who would like to see only happy news. Happynews.com is their choice.
M. O'BRIEN: What are U.S. troops...
S. O'BRIEN: No need to mock me.
M. O'BRIEN: What are U.S. troops going into Ethiopia rescuing cheetahs for?
S. O'BRIEN: I guess you'll have to go to happynews.com.
M. O'BRIEN: They couldn't get into New Orleans after Katrina, and we rescued cheetahs in Ethiopia? S. O'BRIEN: Whoa! Whoa!
COSTELLO: Whoa!
S. O'BRIEN: OK! Hi.
M. O'BRIEN: Just a thought.
S. O'BRIEN: A lot of hostility to the happy news.
M. O'BRIEN: It's kind of an angry Monday.
S. O'BRIEN: Really? They have 100,000 people, they say.
COSTELLO: Now, I'm going to go there right now, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: I appreciate the little bit of love I'm getting here. Wow!
The forecast, we're going to check on that. Not such happy news from the forecast. But that's right after the break. Stay with us.
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