Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Scenes of Chaos and Determination From Hundreds of Thousands of Displaced Lebanese; Iraq-Iran-Hezbollah Link?

Aired August 15, 2006 - 08:59   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A harrowing journey back home. Thousands of refugees streaming back into Lebanon, and a rocky road ahead for them.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: What role does Iran play in the unrest in the Middle East?

I'm Barbara Starr. I'll have that story coming up.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Uncle Sam is securing the skies and the border, but what about your wallet?

I'm Joe Johns. I'll have that coming up.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And stop using that Dell laptop immediately. Check your battery. It could burst into flames.

A history-making recall on this AMERICAN MORNING.

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

COSTELLO: And I'm Carol Costello, in for Soledad.

O'BRIEN: The Middle East cease-fire strained but holding for 32 hours now. While Israeli troops pull out of southern Lebanon, thousands of displaced Lebanese trying to return home. But it's not easy. Bridges across the Litani River were destroyed by Israel, and many roads are pockmarked with bombs -- bomb craters, I should say.

CNN's Brent Sadler is in the region. He joins us on the phone with more -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Miles.

Extraordinary scenes of chaos and determination by hundreds of thousands of Lebanese displaced by the past one-month-plus of fighting. Roads from Beirut to the south of the country are choked. Journeys that should normally take about an hour are taking in some cases 10 times that amount of time.

Roads, as you say, difficult to pass. Bridges blasted. So people are using bypasses and detours and getting stuck into all sorts of problems.

There's also an unexploded ordnance problem. I have seen parts of cluster bombs, unexploded shells on some of these roads. Despite warnings not to go home prematurely, people are pushing ahead.

In one extraordinary scene on the Litani River itself people there are trying to forge (ph) a shallow section of the stream and getting into even more trouble. I saw one woman using her shoes, bailing out water as the level of the water rose inside the car and the car sinking in the riverbed.

Also, women holding infants to walk through the stream with the rocks tumbling underneath their feet. Nearly slipping over.

Really chaotic desperate scenes here. And this is just going on, getting bigger hour by hour -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Well, Brent, this has the possibility -- it sounds like what is happening -- of sort of escalating into a real refugee crisis in the making. Is there -- are there enough sort of -- there isn't much on the ground to help these people out, is there?

SADLER: Well, there isn't. There's no institutional organization that's come into place here. Obviously, the fighting zones have only just been calm the last 48 hours. It doesn't feel very safe down there.

I can tell you, I was driving along villages slam bang next to the Israeli border, where those tanks and infantry units blasted in a few days ago. And I have seen Red Cross workers recovering bodies that have been decomposing for the past couple of weeks of civilians that were caught in the fighting. But this mass movement, this stampede of people, is creating tremendous blockages on the ground.

Many of the people bearing the flags of Hezbollah and pictures of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader, with the logo that they've now adopted saying that this was a "divine victory," quoting Hezbollah there. And people just are not paying any attention to what the authorities are saying, to ease up, slow down, take it -- take it more practical, if you like, wait a few days before you move.

They are just heading south and discovering in many cases their homes are gone, their livelihoods are gone. So there's a support network, extended families. Hezbollah also helping out.

And I think what is a concern here from what I have seen, Miles, is that certainly some areas where no Israelis, no Hezbollah, and there's a very great concern that there could be a vacuum developing before Lebanese army forces can be put in position alongside those international peacekeepers. So, this huge civilian movement of people, I think, is going to complicate things even more -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Brent Sadler, who is in Lebanon, thank you very much.

Israel's foreign minister leaving today for the United Nations to discuss further measures to implement that cease-fire. At the same time, the Israeli officials warning other Middle Eastern nations not to interfere with the Lebanese government at this time.

Let's go now to Paula Hancocks, who is live in Jerusalem -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, that's right, Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, is on her way to New York, and she's also been talking this Tuesday. She's up on the northern border between Israel and Lebanon, and she has been saying that Syria should not involve itself in the Lebanese government affairs.

She's saying that they should not intervene, that they should not believe that they can control politics there through Hezbollah militia or any other kind of militia. She said that things have changed. And she is saying that the Lebanese government is moving on and is moving on without Syria.

Now, she knows that she has this resolution behind her as she is saying this. She will be talking to Kofi Annan in New York over the next couple of days, exactly how to implement this resolution, the logistics and the technicalities of how this will work out on the ground.

Now, we've also been seeing troops moving out of southern Lebanon Monday evening, and also throughout today. We're seeing many of them leaving. Of course, many of them staying until they can see U.N. forces and Lebanese troops on the ground and they can hand over to them.

Now Brent was saying there are many unexploded ordnance and unexploded devices in southern Lebanon itself. Now, we understand from a U.N. spokesman that there is a U.N. force there at the moment trying to explode those unexploded devices and trying to clear landmines, as well, which is clearly a worry for many of those people going back to their homes, or where the homes were, if there are any exploded devices around -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Paula Hancocks in Jerusalem.

Thank you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: As you well know, the Mideast crisis is heightening the tension between the United States and Iran. The U.S. is accusing Iran of supporting Hezbollah, while Tehran says the U.S. is sending arms to Israel.

CNN's Aneesh Raman, who is the only U.S. network reporter in Iran right now, has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For every Hezbollah rocket fired on northern Israel comes an allegation that it came from Iran and now the head of the country's Supreme National Security Council, in an exclusive interview with CNN, responds.

(on camera): Is Iran at all arming Hezbollah?

ALI LARIJANI, IRANIAN NATL. SECURITY COUNCIL (through translator): Hezbollah does not need Iranian weapons. You can find anything on the market. The type of weapons Hezbollah uses are not that hard to find. And by the way, the Americans haven't admitted that they're supplying Israel with weapons.

RAMAN (voice-over): It seems the Iranian strategy, for every question about their actions, comes a response that challenges the United States. When asked about comments made by the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, that Iran is festering civil unrest there, Larijani said it was the opposite.

LARIJANI (through translator): Yes, they want civil war. This is not an analysis. We have information. The same ambassador you just mentioned had a meeting not long ago with terrorist groups inside Iraq. He asked for three things: one, to aim their guns away from the U.S. forces; two, to aim their guns at the Iraqi Shias; and three, to aim their weapons at Iran.

RAMAN: A startling accusation he says came from Sunni insurgents. Interesting because Iran is a Shia nation. In Iran, there is no doubt this day that Hezbollah won the war, that Iran is now in a stronger regional position, and they feel the U.S. must respect that.

LARIJANI (through translator): I think the Americans are wise enough not to entangle themselves with Iran. They're still struggling in Iraq. What did they gain in Lebanon? Can anyone claim that Israel has won in Lebanon? Why should the U.S. act unwisely? We're prepared for all the eventualities.

RAMAN: Including the August 31st deadline set by the United Nations for Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment. Larijani says there are no plans to do that, leaving Iran on a collision course with the West.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Tehran

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Let's take you to Iran right now. These are live pictures from Ardabil, Iran. The Iranian president speaking right now to a huge crowd of people.

At times he is very impassioned. He's very critical of the United States in this speech, as might be expected, and also of the U.N. Security Council.

We're continuing to monitor this speech. We'll pass along what more he has to say.

You know, while Iran keeps pointing the finger at the United States, President Bush is blaming Iran for its part in the Israel- Hezbollah fighting. He's also warning Iran against meddling in Iraq, where he says Iran is backing insurgents.

With more on the U.S. perspective, let's go to the Pentagon and CNN's Barbara Starr.

Hello, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.

Well, the U.S. perspective is that Iran is meddling very much on both fronts, both in Iraq and with Hezbollah and the fighting in Lebanon. Now, even though Iran denies it, U.S. intelligence sources tell CNN there have been several Iranian shipments trying to resupply arms to Hezbollah inside Lebanon.

As recently as a couple of weeks ago, our sources tell us, Iran had two civilian passenger 747s fly from Tehran to Damascus, and in the cargo hold of those two passenger planes, in the cargo hold there was ammunition and rockets for resupplying Hezbollah inside Lebanon. And just a little while ago one of your guests on AMERICAN MORNING, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt spoke about the U.S. military perspective on Iran's involvement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, CENTCOM DEPUTY DIRECTOR: It is clear that Iran is a state sponsor of terror. The recent activities in southern Lebanon, the recent uprising of Hezbollah, the linkages back to Iran are clear and convincing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Clear and convincing. Clear and convincing in the view of the U.S. military, in the view of the U.S. intelligence community, Carol, that Iranian weapons are being shipped and have been shipped into Syria, and then probably trucked in over land into southern Lebanon. And to make this peace agreement work, it is going to be critical to stop that arms flow, but it will be very difficult -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So, Barbara, you know Aneesh Raman was just interviewing an Iranian official who said, hey, it's easy to get these kinds of weapons anywhere in the world. So, is he lying? Or, in part, is he telling the truth?

STARR: Well, consider this. Let's talk about the other front, if you will, Iraq.

U.S. military sources say that there has been a flow of Iranian weapons into Iraq. Now, as recently as yesterday, the top military -- U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad said they were still finding weapons inside Iraq that clearly had Iranian-manufactured markings on them. Can you say that the central government in Tehran authorized those shipments? Was it done on the side by some groups?

General George Casey has been very clear in the past, the top U.S. commander. He says that there is evidence that Iran is shipping weapons into Iraq. This morning, General Kimmitt saying clear and convincing links, in his mind, that they are shipping them into Lebanon -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Barbara Starr, live at the Pentagon.

Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Happening "In America" this morning, Mary Winkler, the Tennessee minister's wife accused of murdering her husband, could be released from jail as early as today. Winkler has a bond hearing later this morning. She's been in jail since March 23rd, the day after her husband was found dead.

The New Jersey Turnpike up and running again this morning after a horrific scene yesterday afternoon. About four miles from the George Washington Bridge, which is -- spans across the upper parts of Manhattan and New Jersey, a semi loaded with bricks could not stop as it approached slower-moving traffic. It plowed into a car, flipped over on to another.

Four were killed, including a 2-year-old girl. Four others hospitalized.

Well, do you really want to hurt me? Maybe he was humming that as he was doing this.

Look closely. Beneath all the sun glasses and the garb there, that's Boy George. Boy George. No makeup there. No long hair, all that stuff.

The singer, whose real name is George O'Dowd, completing the first day of community service in New York City yesterday. And, of course, he got swarmed as he was sweeping up there. Boy George was sentenced to spend five days picking up trash for falsely reporting a burglary back in March.

And severe weather leaving thousands without power in Oklahoma. About 5,000 homes in the dark last night. Storms ripping through the central part of the state.

The rain was needed, bringing a little bit of short-term relief from this terrible heat wave. But we're told those triple-digit numbers will be back next week.

Who tells us that? Why, the one and only Chad Myers, of course.

Hello, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, of course that's right.

Good morning, Miles.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Still to come, all those tapes from al Qaeda leaders. Did the latest one carry a secret message to blow up jetliners? O'BRIEN: Also, the Department of Homeland Security wasting your money, and now the blame game is in full bloom. We'll tell you why.

COSTELLO: Oh, they're good at that, aren't they?

O'BRIEN: Yes, they are.

COSTELLO: And one computer maker recalls millions of batteries because they can overheat and turn your laptop into toast. And maybe you, too. We'll tell you which ones are affected.

That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: CNN "Security Watch" now.

The agency charged with making us safer after the 9/11 attacks not being very secure with your money.

CNN's Joe Johns live in Washington with more.

Hello, Joe.

JOHNS: Miles, it's the federal agency that's supposed to keep you safe, safe from terrorism, from natural disasters, and virtually everything in between. But when it comes to financial accountability, the Department of Homeland Security has a long way to go.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice over): You would think America's security watchdogs would be better than just about anybody else at watching how your taxpayer dollars are spent. But you'd be wrong. And, in fact, this is not only about saving money, it's about saving lives.

DAVID HEYMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: If money is spent efficiently, effectively to the right priorities, we're safer, we're more secure. If it's spent with waste, fraud and abuse, we're helping the terrorists.

JOHNS: The Department of Homeland Security has been slammed again and again for failed financial controls. Now a new report prepared for Congress says DHS contracts worth more than $34 billion had significant waste or abuse or were poorly managed: hundreds of millions for radiation detectors that can't distinction between weapons-grade nuclear material and cat litter; border surveillance cameras that don't work in cold or hot weather; spending on luxury hotels, long distance calls; even payments for elevator operators at a fancy hotel in Manhattan. Plus, government credit card abuse, charges for iPods, training at golf and tennis resorts, the purchase of beer brewing equipment.

(on camera): Then there are the costs that keep on costing. The government spent $1.3 billion on airport baggage screening machines that require the baggage to be taken from the conveyor belt to the machine and all the way back to the conveyor belt.

(voice over): The report called this inefficient, but the Government Accountability Office estimates it will cost an additional $3 billion to $5 billion to upgrade to more efficient machines.

We asked the Department of Homeland Security for an interview. No one got back to us. But only a few weeks ago, a DHS officer told the House Government Reform Committee the department doesn't have enough staff people to actually follow how contractors are spending the money.

ELAINE DUKE, DHS CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER: We need more. We have an increase coming in the current '07 budget of about 200 additional, and we are working towards needing even more over time.

JOHNS: But it's not just DHS. Analysts say Congress itself is the root of the problem.

VERONIQUE DE RUGY, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INST.: Right now Congress is all worked up about absolutely everything and wants a lot of money to go everywhere. And there's very little thinking across the board about which are the important threat we should be thinking about.

JOHNS: De Rugy and others say the major problem is that the money isn't being spent according to which areas are subject to the greatest danger. And experts say it could be years before DHS heals itself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: The analysts say there is a little bit of good news. With all the investigations and audits, the Department of Homeland Security knows it has a problem and is taking steps to try to fix it. Of course, that does mean hiring top-notch aggressive contracting officers, who can be hard to find -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: It sure is maddening, isn't it, Joe?

JOHNS: Well, it's an amazing thing, you know? And it goes around and around in circles. But then DHS is a new agency, relatively, and they still have time to get it right.

O'BRIEN: All right. That's the half-full way of looking at it.

Joe Johns.

Thanks you very much.

Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Carol.

COSTELLO: We all still have time to get it right, don't we?

O'BRIEN: Yes, that's true.

COSTELLO: Coming up, a possible case of bird flu in the United States. But, is it a cause for alarm? We'll take a look in "House Call".

And, no, women and men aren't really from different planets. Their brains are just wired differently. At least that's what one author says. We'll hear from the author of the book "The Female Brain.

That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In this morning's "House Call," on the lookout for bird flu. Federal health officials may have found it in Michigan, but it is not the virulent strain that has killed at least 138 people worldwide.

Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us from the CNN Center in Atlanta to explain the difference.

Good morning.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Carol, everyone is worried about whether or not bird flu is going to get to the United States. What happened in Michigan is that these two swans were found to have not the kind of bird flu that we all hear so much about that's killed about 138 people worldwide, but a more tame version, one that is actually not lethal. The birds, in fact, might get sick, but they usually don't die. And again, it was two swans found in Michigan. The first time in some 20 years that they found even the more benign form in any birds in the U.S.

So you might wonder, well, why does anyone care if this is such a benign form of bird flu? And the reason why is this benign form could mutate into the more lethal kind. That is a possibility.

So authorities are keeping watch not just in Michigan, but all over the country. They are constantly checking birds to check for any form of bird flu -- Carol.

COSTELLO: But still, if it doesn't mutate, they are doing more than watching, right?

COHEN: Well, they are watching. And obviously if they find these birds, these birds are taken out of the -- are killed, actually, I guess would be the right word for it. So, yes, they are doing much more than watching.

COSTELLO: Well, what do the experts really think? I mean, do they think it might mutate? Is there a good chance? I mean, is there a good chance we'll find the bad kind of bird flu in the United States?

COHEN: It's unknown whether it would mutate because there hasn't been so much of this. So it's a little bit hard to tell whether or not it would mutate. But if you ask most bird flu experts, do you think that bird flu will come to U.S. birds at some point in the future? And they really say, you know what? Probably yes.

Birds fly around the country. We've seen over the past few years it's gone from one country to another to another. So there's really no reason to think that those birds won't come to the United States.

The challenge is, by the time it comes here, A, will there be a vaccine? And, B, it's important to remember that this is mostly at this point a problem for the poultry industry and also for bird handlers. The disease, even in its most lethal form, does not tend to travel from person to person.

So, right now, bird flu is something that is usually confined to birds and to people who handle them.

COSTELLO: Elizabeth Cohen live from Atlanta.

Thanks.

COHEN: Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, top stories, including a closer look at the most recent al Qaeda tape. Could this be some sort of secret call to arms for terrorists encoded some way?

Plus, laptop batteries overheating and bursting into flames. We've got a huge recall to tell you about. If you've got a Dell, you should stay tuned to AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello, in for Soledad this morning.

O'BRIEN: We've got some headlines to share with you.

Alina Cho is in the newsroom. She's watching them for you.

Hello, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Miles.

And good morning to you.

Day two of a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, but so far it appears to be holding. Israeli forces are now retreating from southern Lebanon, and plans are being made to hand over captured territory to the Lebanese army. That could be in place by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, thousands of refugees are flooding back into southern Lebanon. You're looking at live pictures now from the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The health of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has apparently taken a turn for the worse. A hospital news release says Sharon now has pneumonia in both lungs. And a brain scan shows he is worsening. He was transferred to the intensive care unit of a Jerusalem hospital nearly three weeks ago. The 78-year-old has been in a coma since suffering a massive stroke in January.

Roadblocks have been set up all around Gaza City in an attempt to find two kidnapped journalists. An American reporter for Fox News and his cameraman from New Zealand were taken by masked Palestinian gunmen. They were abducted during an ambush yesterday.

President Bush is getting an update on U.S. security efforts this morning. The president will be briefed by the National and Homeland Security Councils shortly. He will then meet with his counterterrorism team in Virginia. They will likely discuss the failed terror plot uncovered in London last week.

Mr. Bush is scheduled to make a statement around 11:45 a.m. Eastern Time.

A Tennessee minister's wife, charged with murdering her husband, could get out of jail as early as today. Mary Winkler has a bond hearing this morning. Winkler has been behind bars since late March, after she was accused of murdering her husband. If she makes bail, she will live with a court-appointed guardian until her trial in October.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is dealing yet with another Katrina trailer fiasco. The front door locks on up to 110,000 units may have to be changed. FEMA learned the keys to one trailer can open as many as 50 others, prompting major security concerns.

And if you own a Dell laptop computer, listen up: there's a recall you should know about. Dell is calling back more than 4 million notebook batteries because they can overheat and catch fire. A Virginia man who took these photos says it happened to him -- to a Dell computer at his company last month. The man says all of a sudden the laptop started popping and cracking and then, well, it burst into flames.

The suspect: lithium batteries which power the models Latitude, Inspiron, Precision and XPS mobile workstation notebooks shipped between April 1, 2004, and July 18 of this year. To find out if your computer is affected, call the toll free number, which is 1-866-342- 0011 or you can log on to the website at www.dellbatteryprogram.com.

That's a look at the news at this hour. Time for a check on the forecast, and Chad Myers is at the CNN Center with that. Hey, Chad, good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Maybe summer's breaking, a little bit here. Seems like it. Back to you guys.

COSTELLO: I hope not, though. I'm not ready.

MYERS: Kids are back to school. It's all good. Come on. COSTELLO: Who cares about the kids. No, I'm just kidding.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, man. You are heartless.

COSTELLO: I wanted to see the reaction from everyone.

M. O'BRIEN: Going to kick the puppy later.

COSTELLO: Oh, I would never kick the puppy.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

COSTELLO: All right, moving along to serious topics right now.

Could taped messages from two of the world's most wanted terrorists be a call to arms for terror cells and other al Qaeda sympathizers? Octavia Nasr is CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs. She is live at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

This is fascinating. Before we begin, though, I want to show our viewers an example of a recent tape from Ayman al Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's number two. This is the most recent tape that surfaced. And before you look at this videotape, pay attention to the background and to exactly what he says. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYMAN AL ZAWAHIRI, OSAMA BIN LADEN LIEUTENANT (Through translator): All the world is an open field for us. As they attack us everywhere, we will attack them everywhere. As they ganged up on us to wage war on us, our nation will fight them and wage war on them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So Octavia, is there a message behind his message?

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR, ARAB AFFAIRS: Some experts say there is. Some experts are looking at this video in retrospect and saying, Look, why do we see the World Trade Center in flames behind him? Why are we seeing the masterminds of 9/11? They are saying that now, looking at it in retrospect, in light of the possible -- of the alleged plot that was foiled in London, they say that perhaps this was a message for sleeper cells to move, to start the attack or perhaps start organizing.

COSTELLO: So is there any way for American experts to figure this stuff out -- if indeed it is true?

NASR: It is the hardest thing to do. We know history tells us that al Qaeda does what it says and it says what it does. We know that in those messages there are hidden secret messages to their troops, to their affiliates and followers. In retrospect it's easier to dissect these details and analyze them, but at that time -- I mean, you remember we were talking about this tape when it came out. We were talking about the studio-like atmosphere. We were talking about the lighting, we were talking about the background. We also talked about some expert who believe that this tape was made for the 9/11 anniversary and perhaps Zawahiri took advantage of the situation in Lebanon and decided to include that in his tape.

Now we know that that is not necessarily true, because he released already two tapes with this background and no mention of 9/11 at this point.

COSTELLO: So let's say these are secrets. It's hard to believe they are secret symbols and that some al Qaeda operative out there can look at this and understand what exactly he is supposed to do.

NASR: Perhaps not necessarily understand exactly what he is supposed to do, but the very famous bin Laden message years ago before the Africa/U.S. embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya, there was an interview that bin Laden gave ABC at the time, where he was sitting in front of a map. In the background there was a map of the world. No one paid much attention to that, except after the bombings, people went back and looked at that map and he was sitting right next to Africa.

So history tells us that indeed they send out messages that we analysts might not understand. But if you are a sleeper cell or if you are an al Qaeda follower, you might be getting some kind of clues from these tapes. Also a message from bin Laden not long ago, after the Pakistan earthquake, he called on all Muslims to help. But of course, this could have double meanings here. Some experts now, again in retrospect, in light of this alleged plot that was foiled, they are saying perhaps he was calling on his supporters to go into Pakistan, he was probably sending in a message saying this is a good time to pose as aid workers and get into the country for training or for instructions.

COSTELLO: Or to send money to aid organizations that are used for other more nefarious things.

The last question has to be, why do we show these tapes on television, knowing this is possible?

NASR: You know, this is news. What we do is news. This is a debate that goes in every newsroom. What you show, what you do not show. Obviously CNN is not a conduit for al Qaeda. We are not al Qaeda's first choice. They send the tapes to Al Jazeera. They also post them on the Internet. The Internet remains the medium of choice for al Qaeda because on the Internet they post the entire message, no editing, no censorship. Also it is easier for the supporters to download the video or audio and transmit it, send it all over the world very easily and without being tracked down.

CNN is probably the third -- and other networks, of course, we're at the third level of getting those tapes. We get them either like I said from Al Jazeera or the Internet. Of course, we do not run the entire tape. We're talking about 30 minutes, 40 minutes, sometimes over an hour of propaganda for al Qaeda. We only run the newsworthy parts of the speech, if any. If CNN doesn't find any newsworthy elements, we certainly do not run this kind of stuff.

COSTELLO: Octavia Nasr, CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs. Thanks.

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program: Killers with Karma? The few, the proud, the enlightened? Alina Cho introduces us to some Marines with a mantra.

COSTELLO: Wow! Amazing.

And you might think men are from mars and women are from Venus. You've heard that, right? But one author said we really are wired differently, on everything from sex to how much we worry. The author of the book "The Female Brain" just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We've all heard that men and women are from different planets, but why do they see the world so differently? The author of a new book says, well, we're just wired that way. The book is called "The Female Brain," and Dr. Louann Brizendine is here to tell us why.

Nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us this morning.

DR. LOUANN BRIZENDINE, AUTHOR, "THE FEMALE BRAIN": Hi. Thanks for having me.

S. O'BRIEN: Biologically, you say, women and men are not equal, and yet of course socially there's this fight, this struggle to be equal in a lot of ways. And you say that sets us all up for a lot of failure, why?

BRIZENDINE: It certainly does, because I think as a generation, and my generation, if you had different brains or you had different attitudes towards things, that means that men and women couldn't demand equal pay for equal work. I think so it became politically not correct to say that there's any differences in our brains.

S. O'BRIEN: But big differences, you say.

BRIZENDINE: Big differences because the male brain and the female brain have different brain circuits, and you're born that way. At about eight weeks gestation, those the tiny testicles in the male fetus go up and marinate the brain and change it actually from the female form to the male form, giving it double the amount of sexual pursuit cells in that part of the brain and more of the aggression center in the brain.

S. O'BRIEN: I want you to explain to me the scientific basis for the issues. Women like to talk. Men are silent. Women like to gab, gab, gab, Why?

BRIZENDINE: Individuals are different. All of us have some husbands who talk more than others. However, on average, the female talks a lot more, and she starts talking a huge amount more at the teen girl stage. Girls just love that stuff. S. O'BRIEN: That's not a socialization thing. That's a wiring thing?

BRIZENDINE: It's a wiring thing, interesting. It's not necessarily -- I mean, it's social as well, but these things feed on each other.

S. O'BRIEN: Why is our brain wired that way?

BRIZENDINE: Well, I they think that females genetically have for five million years, we have been in close social settings with each other, exchanged lots of information, take care of kids together. We don't so much anymore. I mean, we're isolated in our little family unites, but we used to be in groups with lots of other females all the time.

S. O'BRIEN: Men think about sex much more than women.

BRIZENDINE: They have twice as many cells in their brain for sexual pursuit, and the testosterone is what runs the circuits, and they have between 10 and 100 times more testosterone.

S. O'BRIEN: Biological basis for wanting to be hugged.

BRIZENDINE: Lots of the research that's come up in the last couple of years shows that A 20-second hug -- and that's actually a time.

S. O'BRIEN: That is a long time. That's a nice hug.

BRIZENDINE: A 20-second actually releases oxytosin (ph) in the female's brain. So the message to guys is, if you really want to get a response out of them, you've got to linger a little. That 20-second hug releases their bonding hormone,

S. O'BRIEN: Men and women remember things differently. This is so true.

BRIZENDINE: They remember emotional things differently. If there's some kind of emotional event, the female brain -- because we have a larger hippocampus (ph) -- not hippopotamus; it's hippocampus, the little part of brain that's larger than males, tags those little memories for emotional events, like you'll remember the smell where you were sitting, what you were wearing, all the details, what the waiter was doing when you had emotional conversation.

S. O'BRIEN: Women worry more?

BRIZENDINE: We have a worry-wart center in our brain up about in here called the anterior singular (ph) cortex, and it actually tracks, we think, tracks every little detail of infants (ph), so the female brain is hyper alert to tracking all of the needs and emotional events and worrying about them.

S. O'BRIEN: Women in the 50s ask for divorce more often than men. I thought that was a really shocking statistics. BRIZENDINE: The government statics statistics show that actually 65 percent of the divorces over age 50 are filed by the women, not the men, which is the opposite of what you'd expect.

S. O'BRIEN: Exactly the opposite of what you'd expect.

BRIZENDINE: But you know, once we're done, we're done. I mean, you're finished care taking, and...

S. O'BRIEN: All about you.

BRIZENDINE: The hormones are basically reduced in all the circuits as well at that stage, and you can go on and do what you want to do, not taking care of everybody else's needs.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting. The book is called "The Female Brain." I love this cover, by the way, all the wiring here.

Louann Brizendine, M.D., joining us this morning. So nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us. We appreciate it.

BRIZENDINE: Thanks for having me. Bye-bye.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: So I think I understand how to handle women now.

COSTELLO: Wrong.

M. O'BRIEN: Never would make any pretense of that.

Daryn Kagan if I could give you a 20-minute hug, I'd do it right now.

COSTELLO: Twenty minutes?

O'BRIEN: Twenty seconds, yes.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'll take any. All takers. Thank you, Miles.

Coming up at the top of the hour, we're going to talk about what's happening in the Middle East, 34 days of war. Where does Israel stand on it? What did it gain on the battlefield? And will Hezbollah profit from its P.R. spin? Perceptions in the Middle East. We'll talk about that.

We also expect to hear from President Bush this morning after a briefing on the terror front. And are you nervous about flying? The carry-on rules have a lot of people frazzled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP).

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gel deodorant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sorry. MOOS: Jell-o.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

MOOS: Lip gloss.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

MOOS: Knitting needles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

MOOS (on camera): Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really?

MOOS: Mascara.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MOOS: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: So you have your topics, and then you have Jeanne Moos explain the topics. That's a whole different deal and a special treat, and we're going to have that coming up at the top of the hour. For now, Miles, back to you.

O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Daryn Kagan. We'll be watching that.

Still to come on the program, America's warriors on a mission to find peace, and improve their flexibility, too. Yoga for marines, really? that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com