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American Morning

"Operation Swarmer"; Relief in Sight

Aired March 17, 2006 - 07:00   ET

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

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Chad, thanks.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

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

A massive attack at the heart of the Iraqi's insurgency, U.S. troops in the biggest air assault since the beginning of the war three years ago. We are live in Baghdad.

Some dramatic video, a chain-reaction crash involving a tour bus filled with children and their parents. No one killed, but we'll tell you about this technology that captured it all.

S. O'BRIEN: Some devastating losses to tell you about in those Texas wildfires, more than a million acres burned, 10,000 farm animals and 11 people killed. We'll have updates on that story.

And then there's this,...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the gentleman on my left started screaming, saying his head was hurting and he was hot and he couldn't breathe and he was like panting (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: A drug trial goes horribly wrong. Now participants are wondering if helping science is worth the risk.

Those stories are all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

M. O'BRIEN: It is now the second day of that big offensive north of Baghdad. The U.S., along with Iraqi troops, trying to crack down on the insurgency about 75 miles north of the capital city. Much of this effort is about symbolism, as much as anything else, showing that U.S. and Iraqi troops can, in fact, deploy effectively together.

Let's turn now to the Pentagon and hear what they are saying about it there.

CNN's Barbara Starr joins us from the Pentagon. Barbara, much has been said about the fact that Iraqi troops are a part of this operation. As a matter of fact, I've heard a lot of the military folks saying there the U.S. is really just supporting this effort. Is that really true?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is a joint effort, Miles. By all accounts, the operation kicked off yesterday because it was Iraqi intelligence that learned there were suspected insurgents in this area. A 10-square mile area now U.S. and Iraqi troops continuing to move through. A second day of operations.

It's about half-and-half, actually, 1,500 troops evenly split. Iraqi troops are, by all accounts, leading the way on the ground, because of course they have more familiarity with the area, they know when they see people there whether they are locals, whether they are outsiders. They can talk to the local people, they can understand accents and see things and understand things that U.S. troops may not be able to see.

But make no mistake, as an air assault operation, they were brought in by the 101st Airborne Division on those 50 or so helicopters. The 101st U.S. military planning the operation, along with the Iraqis, and bringing them to this location.

It is a chance, certainly, to showcase Iraqi military capabilities, Miles. But at the end of the day, this is another operation in three years of a very long, hard slog through Iraq. And there would be a lot of questions, of course, whether at the end of the day this will fundamentally change anything on the ground in the security situation in Iraq?

The sectarian violence continues. There are other troops, Iraqi and U.S. troops, of course, moving into Baghdad, reinforcing there, trying to get a handle on the violence in the capital city. So it all goes on -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: A lot of cynics would say, would question the timing of all of this. A lot of conversation leading up to this about the possibility of Iraq being on the cusp of civil war. Now the three- year anniversary of the invasion coming up Sunday, is there much of that kind of talk going around at the Pentagon right now?

STARR: Well just to take you a little bit behind the scenes here, yesterday, the actual announcement of this operation caught the top leadership here by surprise. By all accounts, they saw it on TV and saw a press release and that's how they learned of it.

Now you can look at it two ways, from the standpoint of the troops in Iraq, it was just another operation. They didn't have to get it cleared here. They didn't have to get approval. It was planned and executed in Iraq, so, to them, perhaps, it was just another operation.

Here in Washington, the timing was certainly noticed. A lot of people questioning why it was billed as the largest air assault since the war began three years ago this week. Still a lot to be sorted out on exactly where military intersected politics on this one -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Barbara Starr.

Let's head across the Potomac River. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House for us this morning.

Suzanne, Barbara seems to indicate that high-level brass at the Pentagon sort of found out about this after it was under way. What did the White House know and when did it know it?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well sure, Miles, I mean, this is really interesting, because it certainly comes at a time when the White House and this president is engaged in a very aggressive PR campaign to try to win the support of the American people. As you mentioned, the third anniversary of the Iraq war coming up very close.

And what the White House is insisting is that they are roundly rejecting the notion that this was some sort of coordinated effort with this public relations campaign. They say that this was a decision that was made by commanders on the ground, it was not something that the president signed off ahead of time here. So a lot of questions about the timing as well on this end, but they insist that this was not a coordinated effort here.

The American people are not so convinced. And they've got really kind of a tough sell here when it comes to the Iraq war. These are the latest polls. Just yesterday, a CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup Poll, when asked how are things going for the United States in Iraq? In January, 46 percent said it was going well, 53 percent said poorly. Take a look at the numbers now, you're talking about 38 percent say well, 60 percent say poorly.

When asked about Iraq's future, 55 percent believe it will break out in civil war, 40 percent believe that there is going to be a stable government.

Now Monday, Miles, that is when we expect to see the president full force again out in this PR campaign. He's going to be traveling to Cleveland, Ohio. That is where he's going to be talking about the political progress, the hope of a stable government in Iraq -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux on the North Lawn of the White House, thank you.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

M. O'BRIEN: General Richard Myers, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be joining us very shortly. We'll ask him what the Pentagon, what the military hopes to accomplish with this latest operation and ask him what he thinks about the status of the war some three years after the invasion, about 15 minutes from now -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Have you seen this videotape on New York's Long Island? A three-vehicle crash really snarled the morning's commute for thousands of people. It happened on Wednesday. Take a look, because you're going to see it happen. You're watching the dashboard camera on a school charter bus carrying parents of a school chorus. Watch, listen, too.

OK, you can see they're coming up. Suddenly, the tractor trailer flies across the highway, slams into the bus. There is this technology on the bus that can capture and there's a camera, obviously. Under that tractor trailer is a guy driving an Audi and his car is trapped right underneath. Imagine this would be incredibly frightening. Eight parents on the bus were injured, along with the driver in that car.

The vehicle, the tractor trailer apparently overweight by 16,000 pounds.

The good news is that none of the injuries were life threatening, although some people taken to the hospital and treated and some remain there.

You're seeing more of these dashboard cameras. In the 9:00 hour, we're going to talk to the CEO of the company that makes this technology, ask if he thinks that these cameras could in any way prevent accidents like the one you saw.

Relief is in sight for the fire-weary Texas panhandle. The winds that pushed the devastating wildfires across the landscape, they are finally starting to ease. The damage, though, has been done. Lives and livestock lost, nearly a million acres scorched, businesses just destroyed.

Let's get to CNN's Ed Lavandera. He's got the latest for us from Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Residents of the Texas panhandle are finally hearing the word they've been praying for all week, rain. Forecasters say several days of rain are expected this weekend to help the hundreds of firefighters who are still working to put out hot spots. Eight hundred and fifty thousand acres of land have burned here since last Sunday.

Texas Governor Rick Perry toured the area on Thursday. And he says he's requesting federal assistance to help out the people who have been affected by the fire, especially those in the cattle industry. Officials here estimate as many as 10,000 head of cattle were killed by the fire, threatening to put many of these people out of business.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Gray County, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Also happening across the country this morning, emergency inspections under way in Hawaii. The state authorizing dam inspectors to go on to private property on the island of Kauai to check the safety of earthen dams. This comes as search teams continue to look for five people missing after a private dam failed on Tuesday. Two people died in that dam break.

In Alabama, a federal judge released those three college students accused of setting fires on $50,000 bond. But the students are not going anywhere, because they are arrests warrants issued by the state and so they will remain in custody for now.

Also in Alabama, state lawmakers are about to pardon hundreds of segregation-era lawbreakers. Among those, the late Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks. The Alabama House already has approved the measure. If passed by the full legislature, the bill will be called, appropriately, the Rosa Parks Act -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: That would be a nice thing to do in her memory.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, about time, about time.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, and about time, too.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get to the forecast now. Chad Myers is at the CNN Center. He's got the latest for us.

Hey, -- Chad.

MYERS: Hi, Soledad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Back to you guys.

S. O'BRIEN: And some good news, you're right.

M. O'BRIEN: No delays.

S. O'BRIEN: He's right.

M. O'BRIEN: You are telling us no one is delayed right now?

MYERS: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: I love it when you say that.

MYERS: Due to weather.

M. O'BRIEN: You know there's somebody sitting in a terminal now going,...

S. O'BRIEN: Due to weather he usually adds.

M. O'BRIEN: ... Chad Myers, I am delayed.

MYERS: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, still to come on the program, the very latest on "Operation Swarmer." And the question why this launch, this effort now? General Richard Myers, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will join us.

S. O'BRIEN: Then we're going to have results of a new SUV crash test. Find out which SUVs got top marks and which ones did not.

M. O'BRIEN: And later, to celebrate our Irish lineage here on the all O'Brien morning program,...

S. O'BRIEN: My god, he looks just like you.

M. O'BRIEN: That's A. Miles O'Brien. A. Miles O'Brien. His first name is A. We'll see how he feels -- his middle name is Miles. His father is Miles. Anyway, we'll tell you about our connections ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Our Nic Robertson embedded with U.S. troops in that military operation around Samarra tells us that more than half a dozen weapons caches have been found buried on farmlands in the area. Thirty-three people, he reports, have been detained.

Joining us this morning to talk about "Operation Swarmer" from Washington, D.C., General Richard Myers, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Sir, nice to see you, thanks for talking with us. We sure appreciate it.

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, FMR. JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Soledad, appreciate it here, too.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about what's been accomplished in the couple of days that this operation has been under way. It started with 1,500 troops. I understand it's now down to about 900, half of which are U.S. Is that right?

R. MYERS: I think that's my understanding about half U.S., half Iraqi troops, right.

S. O'BRIEN: What's been accomplished so far?

R. MYERS: Well I think the reason they would do an air assault in the first place is the element of surprise. So obviously they had some intelligence in an area that has traditionally been one of the toughest areas in Iraq. And they obviously had some intelligence that they could react to and they wanted to do it in a way that would hopefully have the element of surprise on the side of the Iraqi troops and the U.S. troops.

And I've not seen the -- I've just started to hear some of the reports myself about what they found. But obviously they had probably had pretty good intelligence or they wouldn't have mounted such a large-scale operation.

S. O'BRIEN: You used to head the Joint Chiefs, as we mentioned. You were succeeded by General Peter Pace. How involved are you this day, these days in the briefings and any strategy?

R. MYERS: Well I'm not at all, really. I'm on the -- I -- you know in the military once you retire and you pass the flag, that's it. And so I'm an interested citizen at this point. I mean, I'll have -- I'll be sitting on the defense policy board and some other things, but in day-to-day operations, I don't have access to all those mound -- that mound of information that I used to get on a daily basis.

S. O'BRIEN: So we'll call you a well-informed interested citizen, sir. Let's talk a little bit about Samarra. I understand it's about 1,500 residents. What percentage do they believe are made up of these insurgents?

R. MYERS: Well you know in an insurgency it's always hard to tell, because you know you could be a shopkeeper by day and an insurgent by night. And I think the feeling is though that the majority of people in Iraq want a new life. They want the same thing for their children and their grandchildren that we want.

It's a few that can intimidate that can keep a population hostage, if you will, and places that happens are in the place where this air assault went in. That's one of the key places out west of Baghdad as well if you remember the Falluja area and so forth where intimidation plays an enormous role in keeping the population suppressed.

S. O'BRIEN: Well we've certainly seen an increase in sectarian violence. Condoleezza Rice has said we have to stop saying that the Iraqis want to devolve into civil war. The president said it could be that -- it looks -- I'm trying to think of -- I'm sorry, Adnan Pachachi, the oldest member of the Parliament has said that we've got to prove that it's not civil war. The ambassador has said it could eventually be civil war. Where do you stand on this? I mean are we seeing sectarian violence become civil war in Iraq?

R. MYERS: Well I don't think we've seen that happen yet. Obviously sectarian violence is up. But at the same time, we saw the Parliament sit yesterday as they were -- had to do by their Constitution. And they made their deadline. They sat.

And what we need to see is a lot more political progress. Because of the three things that have to happen, political progress, economic progress, progress on the security front, political progress is the one that's going to be I think the key to Iraq's future. And so I think there will continue to be some sectarian violence.

One of the things that we could take heart in is how the Iraqi forces that we've been training very hard, it started back in June of '04, how they've responded to this. And they have responded, for the most part, very, very well and very strongly. Shia forces protecting Sunni mosques. So there's good news in this sectarian violence in that the forces that are supposed to protect the population are working fairly well. Now I would say with the exception of the police who still need some training and a lot of work, but the Army has performed well. The Iraqi Army has performed well.

S. O'BRIEN: The third anniversary of the start of the war approaches fast. Looking back, what would you have done differently?

R. MYERS: Well there's you know one of the things in the miltiary we do I think fairly well is we look back after any major event and we do a lessons learned trying to capture ways to do it better and to plan better for the future. So, Soledad, there are so many things that with hindsight that...

S. O'BRIEN: All right, give me your top three, sir, what's on the top three of the things you would have done differently?

R. MYERS: No, I don't think I'm going to go there. I think we are on the third anniversary, and what I would say is if you look at the progress that has been made in three years from major combat now to a Parliament sitting and a Constitution that's been approved by the people, people who voted over 10 million who had -- who risked their lives to go to the polls, I mean there's been some significant progress. It has not been without cost. But in my view the cost is well worth it.

S. O'BRIEN: General Richard Myers is the retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Nice to see you, sir, thanks for talking with us this morning.

R. MYERS: Thanks, Soledad, thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Appreciate it -- Miles.

R. MYERS: Bye.

M. O'BRIEN: It's important to note that this operation comes three years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Ahead, we'll talk to two authors who say the insurgency could have been prevented.

And it was supposed to be the routine trial of a new drug, but it ended with horrifying results. Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: An investment fund controlled by financier George Soros. I like to consider myself a financier in training.

S. O'BRIEN: Consider away.

M. O'BRIEN: Financier Miles O'Brien.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What are you financing?

M. O'BRIEN: Well...

WILLIS: Lunch for the kids.

M. O'BRIEN: ... lunch, yes, that's about it.

S. O'BRIEN: Pretty much and their college tuition and that's about it.

WILLIS: Perhaps.

M. O'BRIEN: Suffice it to say I'm not buying DreamWorks library like George Soros is.

WILLIS: You don't have that extra $900 million, OK.

M. O'BRIEN: No, I don't have that kind of jack, yes.

WILLIS: Well it's George Soros, and you know him, he's the financier and speculator, also a supporter of liberal causes who is buying the DreamWorks film library. That's about 59 films. Paramount bought DreamWorks and is now selling the film library. The company was criticized for paying too much. They paid $1.6 billion. And movies from DreamWorks include "Munich," "Matchpoint."

You know I have to tell you, this is an interesting deal. There isn't a whole lot of detail out on Soros' plans for owning this. But I guess the good news is for Paramount that they'll be able to collect distribution fees.

So they've been under the gun because they spent a lot of money for this. And now not only will they get possibly as much as $900 million, they'll also get a steady stream of income as well.

M. O'BRIEN: So...

S. O'BRIEN: Like the back end, I guess they call it. So they'll...

M. O'BRIEN: Right.

WILLIS: The back end.

S. O'BRIEN: They might make some of that money back.

WILLIS: The back end. That's right.

M. O'BRIEN: So if he owns the library, he still has to pay them somehow.

S. O'BRIEN: Or maybe they get a percentage.

WILLIS: There's a distribution fee.

M. O'BRIEN: It still comes with it. Got you.

WILLIS: They're still doing work getting the films out, so they get a little extra money.

M. O'BRIEN: I understand.

WILLIS: The markets today looking higher. You know good news, we're all going to retire someday, right, because the S&P 500 and the Dow hitting four-and-a-half year highs. That's good news for investors. Good news for anybody who wants to retire anytime soon.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, I was thinking about tomorrow, so good, good. Yes, then I can become a financier full time.

S. O'BRIEN: Maybe not tomorrow.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Probably can't do both those things at once would be my guess.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

WILLIS: It's good to have ambition.

M. O'BRIEN: It's what I thought.

S. O'BRIEN: Even if you're completely diluted.

M. O'BRIEN: Diluted I am.

WILLIS: I wasn't going to say that.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. All right, Gerri Willis, thank you very much.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Gerri.

Ahead this morning, we are talking about Slobodan Milosevic. Believe it or not, there are some toxicology reports out. We're going to look into whether or not the former Yugoslav president was poisoned.

M. O'BRIEN: And there are some new ratings out on sport utility vehicles. A lot of people buy these cars. And this has nothing to do with that. That's actually another story about a drug trial that went awry. But when it comes to sport utility vehicles, you buy a big car hoping it's going to be safer, not necessarily so. We'll give you the full story on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: New ratings out on those sport utility vehicles. Seven earning top scores in crash tests by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA as they call it there. They are the 2006 Ford Explorer, the Honda Pilot, the Hyundai Tucson, the Mercedes Benz M-L-Class, the Nissan Murano and the Subaru B-Nine Tribeca. The 2007 Fore Explorer Sport Trac also made the list, as did the 2006 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. Still to come on the program, U.S. troops battling an entrenched insurgency. Isn't how it was supposed to be three years after the war began. Authors of a new book look at when and where the trouble began for the U.S.

Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: It is a beautiful morning on Columbus Circle and probably elsewhere in environments in the...

S. O'BRIEN: One can speculate even outside that little block area.

M. O'BRIEN: Maybe the tri-state is having a beautiful morning, we might say. We'll go that far.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: But beyond that we don't know.

S. O'BRIEN: And Chad can confirm that for us this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, absolutely.

S. O'BRIEN: Lots to get to this morning. We're going to be talking a little bit about the authors of a new book. We just talked to General Richard Myers, the former Joint Chiefs Chair. The authors of a new book are really take a closer look I think about what you...

M. O'BRIEN: Just so happens I have it, "Cobra II." And it's very interesting because it shows how many missteps were made. It was very interesting when you asked the general about mistakes made, and he said there's so many.

S. O'BRIEN: So many but I don't want to go into what they were.

M. O'BRIEN: But he didn't want to go into it. Well these guys went into it and we'll talk to them and we'll put that in context as well. Sorry about that, I didn't know you were taking a close-up. But we'll put that in context as well with what's going on right now as we speak in Iraq north of Baghdad. And that's coming up in just a little bit.

S. O'BRIEN: Before that, though, let's get to Carol. She's got an update on the top stories this morning from the newsroom.

Hey, -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And good morning to all of you. There's been another shooting at a Denny's restaurant in central California. There are reports at least one person has been killed, another is hurt. We don't have information on the shooter, but of course we're working to get the details for you. The shooting just coming days after a lunchtime murder and suicide at another Denny's in the state. A man opened fire, killing tow men and wounding a couple before turning the gun on himself. Still no word of a motive in that shooting.

Bad news from the world

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