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Why Has Control of Several Major American Ports Been Given to Country With Ties to Terror?

Aired February 20, 2006 - 08:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Welcome, everybody.

I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Miles is on a little vacation. But Rob Marciano has been helping us out this morning and we surely appreciate it.

Thank you.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Nice to be here.

What did Miles do to upset somebody? It used to be catered here, nice -- toast is all you get here.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

MARCIANO: I've eaten better on hurricanes.

O'BRIEN: I shared my toast and your wine.

OK, hi.

MARCIANO: I appreciate it.

O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

MARCIANO: I was about to pass that.

Thank you.

O'BRIEN: We've got lots to get to this morning.

We're actually talking about serious security questions. Why has control of several major American ports been given to a country with ties to terror?

We're going to take you live to the White House for that this morning.

MARCIANO: And a spark of hope in a desperate search. Rescuers are still trying to get hundreds of schoolchildren buried beneath tons of mud. We've got the latest on this developing story.

O'BRIEN: Winter weather really taking hold. Temperatures, as many of you know, on the outside, you've certainly felt it dropping from coast-to-coast. Is it going to last? When does it get better? we'll tell you that, coming up.

MARCIANO: And bags on the run -- you'd be surprised how much luggage is being lost every year. But where is it going and when is it going to get back to you, and how do you handle it if there's a bigger problem, if like they've lost it completely? we're going to talk about that.

O'BRIEN: Plus, one winning ticket in the record Powerball lottery. The question remains -- who won? It might be a guy who called in and said he thinks he's the winner. We're going to talk about that.

All of those stories, in fact, ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Welcome back, everybody.

We begin with a CNN Security Watch this morning.

Many people wondering why the security of some of America's biggest ports is now being handled through a country that has been linked to terror and why the Bush administration is supporting the deal.

Let's get right to CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.

She's at the White House for us this morning -- hey, Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Soledad.

The bottom line here is members of Congress just do not trust the United Arab Emirates. They say that this is a bad deal because essentially that it's a risk to national security. It is a company that is owned by that country and it's going to be taking over the operations of six ports, American ports in New York City; Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia; Baltimore, Maryland; Miami, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers say that this is not a good idea because the 9/11 Commission essentially linked this country to terrorism in two ways. They say that one of the hijackers drew money from bank accounts in that country to fund the operations. And then secondly, they say that one of the hijackers, Marwan al-Shehhi, was from that particular country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SAXBY CHAMBLISS (R-GA), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I think that Congress is due some explanation about this. It's suspicious on its face, but is it the right decision? It's difficult to say.

REP. JANE HARMAN, (D-CF), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Well, I think the intelligence committees need classified briefings ASAP and this decision should be suspended until Congress can carefully review it. I would hope the administration would want to hold off until they had Congress on their side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Well, so far, Soledad, they don't have Congress on their side. But we did hear from the Homeland Security Department, Secretary Michael Chertoff, who talked with Wolf Blitzer on "LATE EDITION" yesterday, simply saying that, look, there is a process in place to figure out whether or not companies like this are actually a risk to national security, through the Treasury Department, through the FBI. They say that this company is clear, they are competent and it's not a risk.

Essentially, though, members of Congress are asking for hearings and a possible investigation some time next week -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House for us this morning.

Suzanne, thank you very much.

And, of course, a reminder -- you can watch CNN's "LATE EDITION" Sunday mornings at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time with Wolf Blitzer.

Ahead in about 10 minutes, we're going to talk with former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge about this very issue, the port security issue.

You want to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Soledad, hard to believe, but for some people it's actually warmer in their refrigerator, and maybe, in some cases, the freezer, than it is outside their front door.

A deep freeze has much of the nation just shivering and some without power.

Live now to CNN senior correspondent Allan Chernoff here in New York, who has been out in the cold all morning long.

At least you can get a hot cup of coffee on the streets of New York -- Allan, how are you holding up?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That we do have. Plenty of coffee, plenty of cocoa, Rob.

We are missing you out here in the cold weather. Hopefully you'll be joining us some time soon.

But anyway, it seems many people don't want to be out. First of all, normally on a Monday morning, you would see a long line of people waiting for those taxi cabs freezing out here in the cold. But, of course, today a holiday so a lot of people fortunate they don't have to wait for the taxis. Also, there's somebody handing out a new flavor of soda a block away from here. He's just shoving those sodas out. He wants to get out of the cold very quickly. So, certainly, people trying to stay inside, stay warm this morning here in New York.

Now, of course, around the country, it is far more serious than right here in New York, where the temperature right now 23 degrees.

We had winds in northern New York State of up to 77 miles an hour during the weekend in the Rochester area. More than 300,000 people without power at one point. The power has now been restored around Rochester. But Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls, those areas near Albany, they had power lines down; trees down, as well. And right now this morning we still have more than 30,000 people without power in those areas.

Shelters are open for people who do need to find a warm place to be. There's certainly a very serious situation, life-threatening, in some examples, as well.

So this morning, at least here in New York, the sun coming out, getting a little warmer, but hopefully the power will be getting back on in Upstate New York -- back to you.

MARCIANO: All right, Allan.

Yes, hurricane force winds on top of that cold. At least today the winds have calmed down. I see your hat is not flying off. So a little bit more comfortable.

CHERNOFF: Exactly.

MARCIANO: Thanks, Allan.

All right, let's check in with Bonnie Schneider.

She's down at the CNN Center at the Weather Center.

They did a little redesigning down there the last time I checked. It looks a little nicer in the Weather Center.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, ATS METEOROLOGIST: You couldn't find your way around? Oh, we cleaned up, Rob.

MARCIANO: It looks good.

SCHNEIDER: Yes.

MARCIANO: It's still cold out there, for once.

SCHNEIDER: Yes. That's true, you know? And it's still cold in Atlanta, too.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: Let's go to Carol Costello, who's got a news update. We go from weather to news.

And there's other news besides weather, so tell us what's going on -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there is.

Good morning, Rob.

Good morning to all of you.

The death toll could be devastating after a massive landslide in the southern Philippines. Rescue teams are out in full force today and there are reports that some tapping has been heard at a site where a school once stood. But it's still not clear what that means. About 1,800 people lived in the village affected by the landslide.

Sixty-five coal miners remain trapped after a gas explosion. Rescue workers are at the Mexican mine trying to reach them. It's not clear if the miners have access to fresh air and so far no contact has been made with them. The explosion happened early Sunday.

It has been a deadly day in Iraq. A suicide bombing on a minibus in Baghdad has left at least 10 people dead. And in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, at least three people were killed when a bomb exploded inside of a restaurant. Iraqi police apparently often go to this restaurant.

Well, a Hamas-led Palestinian government is taking shape in the Middle East. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is heading to the region later today and she is expected to stand strong against Hamas and also push for the isolation of Iran. Some of the leaders she'll meet with are expected to urge the United States to soften its stance on Hamas. Secretary Rice is expected to be in Egypt by tomorrow.

And will the American ice dancing dry spell come to an end? We will find out soon.

After a series of spills on Sunday, the American team could walk away with the medal. They jumped from sixth to second place after two couples in front of them fell. That was the theme of the night. They could end a 30-year drought for the U.S. when they skate tonight in the free dance. And, oh, I can hear the ratings rising already, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Wow!

Those were just brutal falls, weren't they?

COSTELLO: Oh, they were.

O'BRIEN: I mean we're looking at pictures of the American team, Agosto and Belbin. But everybody, I mean, they would just practically take each other out. You know, one goes down and wham! COSTELLO: You know, if you think about it, practically every sport in the with Winter Olympics, you just watch and wait for someone to fall.

O'BRIEN: Oh, it's awful.

COSTELLO: Skiing, speed skating...

O'BRIEN: That's why I'm not an Olympian, Carol.

COSTELLO: Me, too.

O'BRIEN: No, but the American couple, they did great. They looked great. They smiled through the whole thing. They did a really nice performance. So good for them. Maybe they're positioned to win the gold.

Let's talk about this ticket, the single ticket, this lucky ticket that was sold in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Just a few minutes ago, a lottery official told us that he thinks he knows who the winner might be. We already know the guy is rich, because the jackpot was $365 million.

CNN's Jonathan Freed is live at the very store where that golden ticket was sold -- hey, Jonathan, good morning again.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

I can tell you that what happened is this person lives in Colorado. We do not know who this person is yet. And, again, they only suspect that this person may be the holder of the winning ticket.

He had been watching the coverage, recognized the store, thought to himself, hey, wait a minute, I was there. I bought a ticket. I'd better check my numbers. And he actually called the store here.

And that's when Tom Johnson with the Nebraska lottery had a conversation with him.

And here's what Tom had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM JOHNSON, NEBRASKA LOTTERY SPOKESMAN: We think we may have just spoken to the person who has that one winning ticket. They called the store just a few moments ago. We think we may have the winner and we're going to call back very shortly and hopefully talk with the person then kind of map things out for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREED: Now, the grand total is $365 million. When you break that down after taxes, it comes out to about $124 million. And if you take the payout -- that's if you take it in one lump sum. But if you take the payout over a 30-year period, the first installment would be just a mere $6.5 million -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Oh, is that it? Oh, then, whew.

FREED: That's it.

O'BRIEN: I'm so glad I didn't win, Jon.

I mean what a waste.

FREED: You would have to learn to live. You would have to learn to live on $6.5 million for the first year.

O'BRIEN: Yes, that would be horrible over 30 years.

FREED: Yes.

O'BRIEN: All right, well, we'll see if that person comes forward. Colorado, interesting, huh?

Interesting.

FREED: We'll see.

We'll see.

They suspect that may be the guy. But we'll see what happens.

O'BRIEN: All right, thanks, Jonathan.

Ahead this morning, we're going to talk about the flip side -- what some people say could be the flip side of gender equality. More and more girls getting more violent. What's behind the trend? We're going to talk to this author of a new book. The book is called "See Jane Hit." Interesting book.

MARCIANO: See? It's not just men who have anger management issues.

McDonald's is sued over its French fries.

Easy.

O'BRIEN: So sorry.

MARCIANO: Don't make me get up.

O'BRIEN: Carry on.

Carry on.

MARCIANO: We're going to talk about French fries. There are some serious health risks goon and McDonald's is being sued because some people have allergies. We'll talk about that.

O'BRIEN: And then, of course, more on the controversy over this deal that would outsource U.S. port security. Is it going to make our country, our nation, less safe? We're going to talk to the former Homeland Security chief, Tom Ridge. He's joining us coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Several members of Congress are questioning a deal that gives a Middle Eastern nation management of six major U.S. ports. Among the defenders of the deal, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

Tom Ridge was the nation's first Homeland Security secretary.

He joins us this morning live from Washington, D.C. to talk about this controversy.

Nice to see you, sir, as always.

TOM RIDGE, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Soledad, good morning.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for being with us.

Good morning to you.

As you well know -- but I'll bring everybody else up to speed -- the deal would give control to this -- of six major U.S. ports to this company that's based out of Dubai. And we now know that three of the 19 hijackers -- and, again, I'm not telling you anything you don't know -- came from the UAE.

Do you think this is a good plan?

RIDGE: Well, I think the anxiety and concern that has been expressed by congressmen and senators and elsewhere is legitimate. The optics, at this point, don't look very good.

But I also sat in on that similar process when we reviewed some other potential sales that could have an impact on American security and I do think that at some point in time, you have to say to yourself would Secretaries Rumsfeld and Snow and Chertoff and Rice compromise American security? I don't think so.

The bottom line is I think we need a little bit more transparency here. There are some legitimate concerns about who would be in charge of hiring and firing, security measures, added technology in these ports, that we'll need to upgrade our security.

So I think it's very appropriate for the administration to go to the Hill and explain why they think they have not compromised security. And, in fact, as they have announced, that it will actually enhance and improve security.

It's tough to see that right now just on the -- on the surface.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I do...

RIDGE: It's very difficult to see that.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I think there's certainly been a sort of a gut level response of oh my goodness, I can't believe this, that a lot of the lawmakers, certainly, we've heard from over the last couple of days have been responding to.

RIDGE: Right.

O'BRIEN: Lawmakers including Chuck Schumer.

I'm sure you heard what he had to say.

Let's play a little bit.

He calls it an accident basically waiting to happen.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: Outsourcing the operations of our largest ports to a country with long involvement in terrorism is a homeland security accident waiting to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Do you think that the senator is overstating it, overplaying it?

RIDGE: Well, until there is more information available to Senator Schumer -- I know Congressman Peter King expressed a concern about the hiring and firing policies. He didn't see any restrictions or modifications to the agreement. And I think these are legitimate concerns raised publicly and therefore there is a responsibility on the administration to come forth and demonstrate in a meaningful way that they have not compromised port security.

I suspect they can do that, but obviously they're going to have to do it to respond to the legitimate concerns of members of both parties on the Hill.

O'BRIEN: Let's take a moment and talk about this report that came out of the House of Representatives, the Katrina report of February 15th. The Department of Homeland Security -- as we mentioned, you used to head that -- really, I think was -- came under fire, it's fair to say. And here's a little bit of what they had to say about Secretary Chertoff, if we can put that up.

"The secretary of Homeland Security became the president's principal disaster adviser, responsible for enabling the president to effectively utilize his authority. Secretary Chertoff executed these responsibilities late, ineffectively or not at all."

Would you agree with that assessment? RIDGE: Well, I think it's pretty unfair to lay the responsibility strictly on the secretary, although, admirably, he has taken it upon himself to accept total responsibility.

What was pretty clear throughout this entire event was that there was not the coordination and the communication you needed between the federal government, the state government and the local government. And I suspect if the secretary and others in the department had it to do all over again, they might have instituted or initiated the national response plan earlier. They may have put Thad Allen in earlier. There are a lot of things that if they had to -- and the opportunity to redo it would certainly take that opportunity and change things.

But I think, more importantly, he's also committed to making significant changes in the future based upon lessons learned. And I think you have to give him an opportunity to do that.

O'BRIEN: Yes, there's certainly been -- I mean I think everybody would agree with you that there is so much blame to go around on this one that, you know, it's hard to just stick it on one person.

At the same time, there are many people who said very early on FEMA should not be under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security.

Do you agree with that?

RIDGE: Oh, not at all. I think Secretary Chertoff is correct and those on the Hill who want to keep FEMA within the Department should be supported.

Look, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is the premier response and recovery agency in the world. It didn't look like it after Katrina, but the point in fact is, is that this was the largest and most significant natural disaster in America's history. And if you didn't have an emergency management response unit within the Department of Homeland Security, you would create one. And you don't need to have two similar agencies in the federal government.

So I suspect that there are some lessons learned, and there are practices that will be changed in FEMA in the future. But for all intents and purposes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is exactly where it belongs. It has the response and recovery capability not only after a natural disaster, but after accidents and after terrorist events. And it should remain within the Department of Homeland Security.

O'BRIEN: Former Governor Tom Ridge.

Also the former Homeland Security secretary, of course.

Nice to talk to you, as always.

Thanks for being with us.

RIDGE: Soledad, nice to chat with you.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

RIDGE: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Rob.

MARCIANO: Soledad, coming up, the airlines lost 10,000 bags a day last year. We'll show you how to make sure you don't lose your stuff.

Plus, why are more and more girls becoming violent? We'll talk to the author of a new book, "See Jane Hit." We'll talk about that alarming trend coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: You often hear about violence in the news, things like muggings or stabbings or drive-by shootings. Ten years ago, 10 boys were arrested for assault to every girl arrested. Well, now those numbers are four to one.

James Garbarino's book explains what has changed.

The book is called "See Jane Hit."

He joins us this morning.

Nice to see you.

Thanks for talking with us.

JAMES GARBARINO, "SEE JANE HIT": Good morning.

O'BRIEN: On the cover is this sort of tough looking little girl who looks very, very angry. And you're talking about anger and violence in girls. The research supports what you're saying, which is more girls are more violent.

Why?

GARBARINO: Well, you know if you look at the research, you find that girls and boys in the first months and years in life are about equally aggressive. Traditionally, girls have given it up more than boys. And what we're seeing is girls are holding onto it more and behaving more like boys in respect to hitting, roughhousing and, in the worst cases, turning into violence.

O'BRIEN: Did that surprise you?

And what do you think is causing it, the root cause of it?

GARBARINO: Well, it didn't surprise me because I've worked in the area of violence for a long time and it was sort of sitting there in front of us. I think what's happening is that the culture used to send very consistent, homogeneous messages to girls -- girls don't hit. And they got the message and they diverted their aggression into verbal aggression, relational aggression or they swallowed it inside.

By age 12, girls are as angry as boys. They have as many aggressive fantasies as boys. But it was suppressed. It was held in.

But now, with the culture giving this message girls do hit, all over the place, whether it's TV or movies or music -- and so that aggression is being released in a new way.

O'BRIEN: So are you saying that partly it's that the stigma has disappeared from girls being aggressive? Or is it that girls do more aggressive things, even from childhood, including sports and other ways in which they are sort of encouraged to be aggressive?

GARBARINO: Well, the...

O'BRIEN: In positive ways, you would think.

GARBARINO: Well, the stigma has been erased and the positive experiences of aggression have increased. I mean, you think about sports. A generation ago, there were 32 boys playing high school sports for every one girl. Now it's almost equal. So girls who are inclined to aggressive behavior are given new opportunities that are very positive. And that's basically a very good thing -- releasing girls from the sort of oppression of the past.

O'BRIEN: So the solution, then, to keep girls from being aggressive in the bad ways, certainly, isn't keeping them out of sports, obviously.

GARBARINO: Right. Right.

No, it's teaching them the way we've taught boys, how to learn the ropes of aggression, how to keep it under control, how to channel it, how to make sure you don't cross the line into hurtful aggression. And, of course, for troubled kids, kids who are abused, kids who are victimized, that's an even bigger problem and that's where the real violence takes place.

O'BRIEN: Why do you think aggression in women, especially on TV shows -- I mean the aggressive women are always in these sexy cat suits with high heels and lots of makeup. I mean aggression is very heavily tied to -- to sexuality, overt sexuality.

Why is that?

GARBARINO: Well, you know, in the culture as a whole, sex and power have gone together for a long time. For males, a lot of the most sexy figures are these very aggressive figures. And girls are sort of catching up. And the power that they're getting from sex used to be indirect and now much more you see it in a very overt, aggressive, even violent way. And that's true in a lot of the very popular movies and television programs and music videos. O'BRIEN: I've got two girls, two daughters. And they're a little, you know, they can be certainly very aggressive. But they're little.

If I want to, as a parent, sort of teach my daughters sort of good aggression and to stay away from bad aggression, I know you've got some tips. And I want to kind of throw them out there.

First, you say limit media images. And I guess that's talking about the sexuality part of it and what they see on TV and women and aggression, right?

GARBARINO: That's right. Think of it as sort of a toxic influence and the more you can keep it out of your home, the better off you are. It gives you more control over what they think.

O'BRIEN: What do you mean by keeping lessons gender neutral, though?

I don't -- I don't know what that means.

GARBARINO: Well, in the past you might have said well I don't need to address this with my daughter because girls are this, girls are that, whereas boys will be boys.

Now you need to have the same lessons for boys and girls about aggression. You need to teach them the ropes, teach them the limits.

O'BRIEN: And sport school programs?

GARBARINO: Sport school programs are a big part of it because when you play competitive sports, there's always the risk you'll become more aggressive to the point of violence. So coaches have long known they need to teach character education for boys in sports, and the same is now true for girls.

O'BRIEN: Yes, no question about that.

Thank you very much.

The book is a fascinating read, I think, for anybody who's got daughters, certainly. And I'm sure sons, too.

James Gara -- Gara -- Garbarino -- as I mangle your name.

GARBARINO: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Nice to have you.

Thank you for talking with us this morning.

GARBARINO: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Rob.

MARCIANO: Soledad, coming up, legal troubles for McDonald's. The fast food chain gets sued over ingredients in its French fries. We'll look at the possible risks for people with food allergies.

Plus, the first post-Katrina Mardi Gras kicks off in New Orleans. Some of the sights and sounds ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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