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American Morning

Looking at the Future of the CIA; Fake Guns; Apple vs. Apple; Mission: "Accomplished"

Aired May 08, 2006 - 07:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: San Francisco's Barry Bonds just one home run behind Babe Ruth on the all-time homer list. Bonds hit dinger number 713 last night in Philly, deep, upper deck, right field. Not bad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: They still lost.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, you know, details, details.

S. O'BRIEN: There is that.

M. O'BRIEN: There is that.

Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

As we've been reporting all morning, Air Force General Michael Hayden's going to be the president's pick this morning to take over as the CIA chief. The official announcement is going to come a little bit later. The prospect of a career military officer leading the civilian agency already stirring things up in Congress. Let's get right to CNN's Congressional Correspondent Andrea Koppel. She's live on Capitol Hill for us.

Hey, Andrea, good morning. What's the fallout been?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well so far the reaction up here has been mixed. You've had some Republicans like John McCain who've given Hayden a thumb's up. You've also had key Democrats like Dianne Feinstein of California who's also a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee also giving her blessing to Hayden.

But what's raised eyebrows among many was the bombshell that Congressman Peter Hoekstra of Michigan dropping yesterday. Hoekstra said that he came out actually opposing the nomination, saying that he felt that to put a general in charge is going to send the wrong signal. Now it's significant because Hoekstra is the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, a position that he took over when Porter Goss resigned to head over to the CIA. Now the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Jane Harmon of California, also echoed those concerns, as did Senator Saxby Chambliss, who's a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JANE HARMAN, (D) INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: The goal now is to transition the CIA into our premier spy agency. I am for doing that. That's not a skill set that Mike Hayden brings. Plus he brings the military background. Plus there's the issue of his independence. So the Senate has got to be tough and fair in these confirmation hearings or we may make a mistake.

REP. SAXBY CHAMBLISS, (R) INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I, too, have a little bit of concern, frankly, about military personnel running the CIA. It is a civilian agency. It operates differently from the way that the defense intelligence agency operates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Now among other key concerns we've heard echoed are the fact that Hayden was the one who developed that NSA surveillance program, the highly controversial program, and that he was also the one who was sent out to do spin control after "The New York Times" broke the story in December. So the perception, Soledad, is that he is perhaps too close to the White House and too close to President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

S. O'BRIEN: Could very much make for a very tough hearing. Andrea Koppel for us on Capitol Hill. Andrea, thanks.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Andrea mentioned Congressman Peter Hoekstra. He joins us now from his office in Holland, Michigan. He is the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Congressman Hoekstra, good to have you with us.

REP. PETER HOEKSTRA, (R) CHAIRMAN, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Well, thank you. Good morning.

M. O'BRIEN: There's certainly been military people who have run the CIA in the past. What's your concern here?

HOEKSTRA: Well, I think you need to go back to the Intelligence Reform Bill that we passed about 18 months ago in December of 2004. There were two issues that we were very, very concerned about, that we continue to be very concerned about. And that is the relationship of the intelligence community to the Department of Defense, and it is also the growth of the director of National Intelligence. His office.

And I think this appointment sends the wrong signal in both of these areas. It signals that we are not that concerned about having an independent intelligence community, independent of the Department of Defense. And the second thing I believe that it starts to send a signal is that the director of National Intelligence is going to become more of an operational office rather than an executive office.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, you know, it sounds like a lot of bureaucratic turf war kind of stuff to the average person listening to all of this. Help us understand why this is important for, you know, people who are concerned about their personal security.

HOEKSTRA: Well, very simply, military intelligence is focused on helping our troops in wartime. It is a short term objective, helping the soldier in the streets of Baghdad or in the hills of Afghanistan, giving them the intelligence to find and kill the enemy and keep our troops safe. The intelligence community needs to provide different kinds of information for those of us who are making public policy. The plans and intentions -- you know, what is Iran really thinking? What's North Korea really thinking? And we need to get it in an unvarnished way through a civilian, not through a military, lens.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Well, General Hayden is a pretty smart guy and, as a matter of fact, some people would say he's probably one of the most gifted intelligence operatives of all, whether military or civilian. You don't think he can adapt to the civilian agency?

HOEKSTRA: Oh, it sends the wrong signal. I'm not sure he can adapt. He is a distinguished tin guy but he spent a career in the military. There are, I'm sure, talented people with civilian backgrounds that we don't even have to have the debate about whether a military person should or should not be heading the CIA. This debate should be focused on creating a strong CIA, creating a strong, independent intelligence community and we're going to spend the next three or four months going through confirmation hearings in the Senate, talking about whether a military person can or cannot or should or should not head the CIA, and we're going to be talking about the terrorist surveillance program. Exactly the wrong things to be talking about at this critical moment.

M. O'BRIEN: It seems as if, in spite of all the talk, post 9/1, the commission reports, seems as if for all the billions we spend on intelligence in this country, it's still a big, fat mess.

HOEKSTRA: Well, I mean, this is why -- going back to the Intelligence Reform Bill, 18 months ago we had agreement between the House and the Senate, between Republicans and Democrats, between the Congress and the president on the direction that we all wanted to go and do -- all wanted to take in intelligence reform. We had agreement. We passed a major overhaul bill and now, 18 months later, I think the White House is renegotiating the parameters of that agreement.

And so rather than continuing the road that we were going down on what we all agreed need to happen in the intelligence reform, we're now going back and I think we're renegotiating some of those aspects. And I'm not sure where the White House is headed and I am concerned because, you're absolutely right, we need to rebuild the intelligence community. We need a strong intelligence community to get there. We need a shared vision. We had it and now we are losing it.

M. O'BRIEN: Is the intelligence apparatus dysfunctional? Are we just as unsafe as we were pre-9/11?

HOEKSTRA: Oh, I don't think we're as unsafe. I think we've made major strides. We continue to make progress. But at the same time, al Qaeda's adapting. We still don't have an intelligence community that is as entrepreneurial, that has as flat of a structure. Meaning that, you know, people at the lower levels can make decisions or that is as quick as al Qaeda. That's where we need to get to. We need a lot -- we have a lot of work we still need to do.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, let's get on it, shall we?

HOEKSTRA: Absolutely. Let's focus on the issue that is are important.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra, thanks for being with us from your office in Holland, Michigan.

HOEKSTRA: Hey, great. Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, the Pentagon is taking recruiting to some new heights. Passengers on some United Airlines flights are now being shown a 13-minute long videotape called "Today's Military." That's between standard in-flight programming. Five different military jobs are profiled in the videotape. A military source says the Pentagon is paying United about $36,000 for that service.

At 37 minutes past the hour, it's time to check the weather once again with Chad.

Hey, Chad, good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Police in Denver say a suspect who was killed in a confrontation with officers this weekend was carrying a fake gun. Police say he stole a car and when they found the car, surrounded it. They say the suspect pointed a fake handgun at them. Then they shot and killed him.

This tragic case is just the latest example of the growing danger of authentic-looking fake guns. Here's AMERICAN MORNING's Dan Lothian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): At this police department west of Boston, Lieutenant Paul Shastany not only worries about real weapon.

LT. PAUL SHASTANY, FRAMINGHAM POLICE: This is a real Rouger 9mm semi-automatic handgun.

LOTHIAN: But also toys, like the airsoft pellet gun that have become very popular with teens and even some adults.

SHASTANY: This is a replica beretta airsoft gun.

LOTHIAN: Everything from handguns to assault weapons.

SHASTANY: If you're going to let children use these, make sure that they're adequately prepared to handle these that they're supervised when they use them.

LOTHIAN: Police fear more deadly accidents, like what happened to a Florida eighth grader. The boy was shot and killed in January by police who thought he was pointing a real weapon.

SHASTANY: And the consequences for a police officer shooting a youth with a plastic airsoft gun can be awful, devastating to the police officer, to the family, and we do not want to see that happen.

LOTHIAN: The problem is, these toys look extremely real, right down to the clip that holds the plastic pellets. So here's the test. Which gun is real? Which one isn't? If you don't know the answer, don't feel bad because even police officer who know so much about so many different weapons would have a tough time answering that question unless they had a chance to inspect the gun up close.

SHASTANY: And at that point then you can determine what it is. But a police officer on the street at 2:00 in the morning from four feet away can't determine the difference.

LOTHIAN: But what makes these guns potentially dangerous is also what appeals to teens, like Tom Woodward, a high school senior and police department intern.

TOM WOODWARD, POLICE DEPARTMENT INTERN: Kids want to have guns that look real. It's a new way to play cops and robbers.

LOTHIAN: Federal law requires that the tip of these toy guns be painted bright orange, but sometimes, like this weapon seized by Framingham police, they are repainted black. One of the biggest retailers of the guns warns on its website "mistaken identification of an airsoft gun may result in the accidental death of the user." And that it "must never be taken to a area in which a police officer or another person may interpret the airsoft as a real gun." Woodward says he follows those rules.

WOODWARD: We play in my backyard. We can play back there without people seeing.

LOTHIAN: That's exactly what police want to hear as they try to make sure the use of fake guns doesn't lead to real accidents.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Framingham, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, a look at what's happening business-wise. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" just after this short break. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Andy Serwer's "Minding Our Business" this morning.

When's moving the markets today? Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

A lot of economic news this week. There's a Fed meeting on Wednesday. And a lot of questions to be answered.

Now, the real question, though, is, how is the economy doing? And to a large extent, that depends on who you ask. There are a lot of sign that the economy is doing well.

Last Friday, the president was in the Rose Garden talking up a lot of the upside to the economy at this point. Pointing out that the economy's growing fast, the unemployment rate is low, the stock market is at a six-year high. So those are the good signs. The negative signs -- maybe people on the other side of the aisle are very quick to point to these -- are gas prices are high, health care costs continue to go up and the trade and budget deficits continue to grow.

Now both sides are valid. Both of these points -- all of the points are true. So the question is, is this a Goldilocks economy where things are not too hot, not too cold, which was a very good scenario because it means we're growing fast but not fast enough to make inflation become a problem. That's a possibly.

The other possibility that some economists are suggesting is that we have a bifurcated economy, which means that people -- some people are doing very well and some people aren't doing well. Wealthy people doing just fine, not feeling the impact of high gasoline. Lower people -- people on lower income segments not doing as well. Auto workers, for instance, obviously, in a tough position.

And all this is the sort of evidence that Fed Chief Ben Bernanke has to weigh when he makes the decision on Wednesday, along with the other Fed officials, as to whether or not they need to raise interest rates. And the thinking is that they will because they're more concerned about the economy overheating at this point.

S. O'BRIEN: Right. That's what I was going to ask you, if there was a guess on which way it's going to go.

SERWER: I think that's what's going to happen. The language is important and how many more rate hikes to come. Those are the real issues here.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, we'll watch it, thank you.

SERWER: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Soledad. The worm has turned in a London courtroom. And as expected, Apple wins. Well, actually, that was guaranteed in this case. But which Apple, the computer maker or the record company were the big questions? CNN's Jim Boulden is at the high court in London.

Jim, tell us about the decision.

JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, the judge here told us a few hours ago that Apple Corps, the record label of The Beatles, has lost. He has thrown their lawsuit out. He says that Apple Computer and its iTune service is not a music company. It doesn't not own music, it only distributes music and that's OK under an very uneasy truce the two Apples came to back in 1991 when they split up how each can uses the Apple name and the Apple logo. So Apple Computers and Steve Jobs has worn this. The Beatles have lost it.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. So let me ask you this. How much money does Apple Corps stand to lose through all of this?

BOULDEN: Well, Apple Computer has already said that it's some $3 million it spent on this -- defending this lawsuit. And that was just in January before the suit actually even took place in this courthouse starting on March 29th. So we could see Apple Corps losing between maybe $3 to $4 million in the expenses for the other side.

We talked to the lawyer a few hours ago for Apple Corps and he said it was worth it because they really feel their trademark, their core business, that of course is music, and they feel that has been clearly violated by Apple Computer. So they thought it was worth taking this case. It's the third time, by the way, remember, that Apple Corps, the record label, has sued Apple Computers over the use of the Apple name.

M. O'BRIEN: So what are the chances we're ever going to see Beatles songs on iTunes?

BOULDEN: Well, that is a very good question. We did hear a little hint earlier in this case from Apple Corps. They kind of hinted that they are digitally remastering, going back to the original recordings of The Beatles and they're getting ready to do that and to digitize all that music so that it could legally be downloaded one day. We don't know whether that will be on iTunes. That could be an interesting part of this if it does actually get on iTunes or maybe they'll have a separate service, Miles. We'll have to see.

M. O'BRIEN: That would, in fact, be the worm turning.

All right, Jim Boulden in London, thank you very much.

You can call him "Big Daddy" for real. Adam Sandler now has bundle of joy. "People" magazine says Sandler's wife, Jackie, gave birth to a little girl over the weekend. It's their first. No name released. Sandler, of course, "Saturday Night Live" veteran and has moved into feature films like "Big Daddy" and "The Wedding Singer."

S. O'BRIEN: Here's some bad news. M. O'BRIEN: Oh.

S. O'BRIEN: You ready?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: It's going to cost you more to fly this summer.

M. O'BRIEN: I guess I could have guessed that one.

S. O'BRIEN: Here's some good news. You can still find some good dealings.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, really?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. We've got a summer series, a special series, called "Surviving Summer Travel." We're going to talk about that just ahead this morning.

Plus, "M: I III" finally hit the big screen. Did you see it?

M. O'BRIEN: No.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, a lot of people did. The big star, of course, is Tom Cruise. Was it mission accomplished at the box office? We'll let you know how they did. How they raked it in over the weekend.

M. O'BRIEN: Does he have any lines? I mean all he does is just kind of run around here.

S. O'BRIEN: We haven't really heard him say anything.

M. O'BRIEN: No, I don't think he has to.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, looks like he got run over by a car there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Wow, that's a lot of action. A big weekend for Tom Cruise and "Mission: Impossible III." The film's first weekend didn't quite match number two at the box office. So what was to blame. CNN Entertainment Correspondent Sibila Vargas has a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Call it mission accomplished. Tom Cruise's new flick brought in an estimated $48 million in its opening weekend. Answering the key question on many minds, can the 43-year-old actor still carry a movie?

MICHAEL FLEEMAN, PEOPLE MAGAZINE: Right now, as we sit here, Tom Cruise is the most bankable star in the world. If you put Tom Cruise in an action movie, it can't fail.

VARGAS: But while "M: I III" enjoyed one of the biggest box office openings of the year so far, it fell just short of industry expectations and far behind the numbers generated by last year's "War of the Worlds" and "Mission: Impossible II."

FLEEMAN: Any time you're up to the third movie, the second sequel, that's going to be a problem.

VARGAS: Just as he did for last year's "War of the Worlds," Cruise went on a whirlwind worldwide promotional tour.

FLEEMAN: This is the kind of publicity with him globe trotting, the staged events with the fire truck and the motorcycle, him leaping on the car and, you know, climbing the scaffolding. This is the kind of stuff you don't see as much in Hollywood anymore because studios don't want to spend the money.

VARGAS: For the past year, Cruise's biggest problem has been managing his personal image. His relationship with Katie Holmes, his public rants against the use of anti-depressants, his very vocal support of Scientology, and the hype surrounding the recent birth of his daughter's Suri. But none of that seemed to matter this past weekend.

FLEEMAN: Once the action starts, whether people think Tom Cruise is crazy or not is going to have no impact on the success of this movie.

VARGAS: Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: The second "Mission: Impossible" movie had the best opening weekend with $57 million taken in. The first two films combined grossed more than a billion dollars worldwide. In other words, a very profitable franchise.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, what other franchise would a $48 million take be kind of disappointing?

S. O'BRIEN: I know. It's like, oh, $48 million, bummer. And in first place.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, geez, only $48. Yes. Not enough. Not enough.

All right, in a moment, top stories, including the president's pick to head the CIA.

Snow day at the White House. Press Secretary Tony Snow takes to the briefing room for the first time today.

Iran's president sends President Bush a letter. He proposed some solutions to the fragile situation in the world without mentioning the nuclear standoff.

The FBI adds a polygamist to it's top 10 most wanted.

And a dangerous situation in Florida. Massive wild fires there. Hundreds evacuated. Major highways closed. We'll get you up-to-date on that. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Word this morning that President Bush is nominating Air Force General Michael Hayden to be CIA chief. Already the choice is controversial.

M. O'BRIEN: A noted polygamist church leader is now on the FBI's 10 most wanted list. He's wanted for multiple marriages.

Florida firefighters battling a fast moving wildfire this morning. At least 1,000 evacuees now waiting for any word on the fate of their homes.

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