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CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK

Latest on Iraqi Hostage Situation; Possible Release of Iraqi Scientist 'Dr. Germ'

Aired September 22, 2004 - 06:00   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Yet another car bomb in Iraq. New violence on the streets as an American family waits for a hostage's remains.
It is Wednesday, September 22.

This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you.

From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Now in the news, another deadly day in Baghdad. At least seven are dead, nearly 50 injured, after a car bomb goes off near a police recruiting site. In the meantime, there is word of a deadly raid in a tense Baghdad neighborhood. An Iraqi official says U.S. and Iraqi forces killed four insurgents and arrested nearly 30 others in the raid in Sadr City.

Hostage Jack Hensley would have celebrated his 49th birthday today. Instead, his family is facing reports that Iraqi insurgents have killed him. U.S. and Iraqi officials say a headless body was found in Baghdad, but no confirmation yet that it's Hensley.

On Capitol Hill, the Senate is ready to vote today on the nomination of Florida Congressman Porter Goss to head the CIA. Senators will first debate it for six hours, though.

If you thought you heard the last of the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident, oh, think again. The SEC will issue a final ruling on it today. Some CBS stations are facing some big record-setting fines -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Are we done with that story yet?

COSTELLO: Not yet. Almost.

MYERS: That was -- we're going to get a new Super Bowl before that Super Bowl story actually goes away.

COSTELLO: I know.

MYERS: Enough!

COSTELLO: All right.

MYERS: Carol, good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Militants in Iraq say they slaughtered American Jack Hensley. He would be the second American hostage killed in as many days. And now a British citizen still in custody could be next.

CNN's Skip Loescher joins us live in Washington with the latest on the hostage situation -- good morning.

SKIP LOESCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, a good morning to you.

Another American family is grieving today. Their loved one, working as a private contractor in Iraq, apparently executed by his kidnappers.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

LOESCHER (voice-over): For the family of American Jack Hensley, the news couldn't have been worse.

JAKE HALEY, FAMILY SPOKESMAN: The world has lost an exceptional individual.

LOESCHER: An Islamic Web site says his kidnappers executed Hensley. Today would have been his 49th birthday.

HALEY: Jack is the friend that everybody wants to have. He's always there for you.

LOESCHER: Outside the Hensley's Atlanta area home, neighbors and others held a candlelight vigil to show their support for the family. Hensley would have been the second American to be brutally killed this week. The beheading of Eugene Armstrong, shown on the same Islamic Web site that announced Hensley's murder.

Iraq's interim prime minister calls the killings barbaric.

AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQ'S INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: I would like to pay my condolences, really, to the people who lost their lives in defending five years of freedom and democracy.

LOESCHER: Briton Kenneth Bigley, kidnapped with the two Americans last week, also faces a death threat. A group loyal to wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claims credit for the killings. They're demanding the release of all women now in Iraqi prisons. The U.S. says there aren't any, but admits to holding two high level females at an undisclosed location -- one of them, a woman nicknamed "Dr. Germ" for her work developing biological weapons for Saddam Hussein's regime.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LOESCHER: An Iraqi official says the two women could be released on bail as early as today. A U.S. official says the matter is still under review. We're live in Washington.

I'm Skip Loescher.

Carol -- back to you.

COSTELLO: We're going to talk more about that right now.

Skip Loescher, thanks, from Washington.

That female prisoner is an Iraqi scientist known as "Dr. Germ." Iraqi officials say they plan to release her on bail. But U.S. officials say they're still reviewing her case.

Just who is "Dr. Germ?"

Well, her real name is Rihab Taha. She got the nickname "Dr. Germ" because she's the former head of an Iraqi biological weapons program. She's married to Iraq's former oil minister, Amir Muhammad Rashid, and she was schooled in Britain in the late 1970s.

So, now we know who. But why? Why release her now?

Live to Hong Kong and "Time" magazine's Michael Elliott.

Good morning.

MICHAEL ELLIOT, "TIME" MAGAZINE EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Hi, Carol.

How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm fine.

You know, the U.S. military says it's not a done deal. The Iraqi Council of Ministers says she'll be released on bail.

Which will it be, do you think?

ELLIOTT: I really don't think we know. I've been following this, as your reporters have, in the last few hours. And it's -- it doesn't seem at all clear which way this is going to go. She is, of course, one of the most well known Iraqi detainees imaginable. As you said in your introduction just now, she was trained in Britain. It was the British tabloids who gave her this name, "Dr. Germ." And she was widely regarded as being a central figure in the Iraqi biological weapons program.

So she's been regarded as a pretty high value detainee, quite honestly. And it's unclear, as we speak, exactly what her fate will be.

COSTELLO: Well, the timing of this, I mean why release her now, after terrorists who are beheading Americans demand that women prisoners be freed?

ELLIOTT: Well, I think what this does is just kind of put into incredibly stark relief the tragic dilemma that is at the heart of hostage taking. Here you have these completely innocent people. And, of course, one should say, you know, here we are two minutes into this conversation without saying that our hearts, of course, go out to the families and friends of all those who have been held hostage and killed.

But here you have these completely innocent people who are held hostage, who are threatened. You have these demands by their hostage takers. And as we have seen over many years, and not just in Iraq, but in Lebanon and in many other places, governments of decent people find it extraordinarily difficult to make that tragic choice of letting innocent people die.

COSTELLO: Oh, well, you know, getting back to the timing, if I'm the family of these two Americans that were just beheaded, I would say if you were going to release her on bail, why didn't you do it on Saturday?

ELLIOTT: Well, they might well say that. Of course, there's -- as your reporter just said -- there is one other hostage whose fate we still don't know, what's happened to him. I mean that's the Briton, Kenneth Bigley.

In fact, there are hostages from all sorts of countries being held in Iraq at the moment. One Web site that I was tracking earlier today reckoned that there are about two dozen hostages unaccounted for throughout Iraq. So this is -- what we're seeing is an epidemic of hostage taking that's really been running since the spring, if you go back, if you go back to April. And it's something that is placing all sorts of governments -- Danish, Korean, Filipino, British, American -- in this absolutely impossible position of not, of course, wanting to give in to the demands of the hostage takers; but, on the other hand, doing all that they possibly can to protect the lives of their citizens.

COSTELLO: "Time" magazine's Michael Elliott joining us live from Hong Kong for some analysis this morning.

Thank you, Michael.

Be sure to join us for a special look at the strategy for Iraq. That's on the special Iraq edition of "NEWSNIGHT." That, of course, airs at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, a region in turmoil. We'll hear from the Arab voice on the latest deadly attacks and the hostage situation in Iraq.

Plus, what needs to be fixed under the hood of your ride? Cars, drivers and the right to repair.

And we'll tell you about the diet that could add years to your life no matter when you start.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.

It is 6:12 Eastern.

Here's what's all new this morning.

At least 10 militants were killed during classes with U.S. forces in the Sadr City area of Baghdad. The fighting broke out after U.S. and Iraqi forces detained several of Muqtada al-Sadr's closest aides.

NASA has extended funding for the Mars rover mission for another six months. The Rovers Spirit and Opportunity completed their primary mission in April, but they haven't worn out yet.

In money news, a bit less of a holly jolly season may be ahead for retailers. The National Retail Federation says it's expecting a smaller jump in sales this holiday season as compared to last year. Higher interest rates and energy costs are to blame.

In culture, many big names have signed on for an all star tribute concert to remember Ray Charles. Stevie Wonder, Usher and Elton John are among the stars who have agreed to take part in the October 8 show in Los Angeles.

In sports, Jason Giambi is back. He hit his first homerun since June and it helped the Yankees keep their distance in the American League East Division. The Yankees lead the Red Sox now by four and a half games. And what's happened to the Sox -- Chad.

MYERS: Well, they were making a run. I don't know. We'll see. Obviously four and a half games is not enough. There's still a magic number there, but it's a ways off yet.

Good morning, everybody.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

We are just getting word of breaking news out of Tikrit in Iraq. Jane Arraf embedded with troops there. She says a U.S. soldier has been killed by a roadside bomb. One U.S. soldier has been killed. When we get more information, of course, we'll pass it along to you.

Two Americans reportedly murdered in two days in Iraq and there are threats a British hostage will be next. We want to examine this issue from the Arab perspective this morning.

As is usual on Wednesday, our senior Arab affairs editor, Octavia Nasr, is here -- good morning.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you.

COSTELLO: You know, you provided us a quote from an Islamic Web site, the same Web site in which these beheadings are graphically displayed. And I want to read it for our viewers now.

It says on this Web site: "The British hostage will face the same fate unless the British government does what's necessary to free him. The Muslim blood is not water. And the honor of Muslim women won't go to waste. Bush, eat your heart out. And, Blair, may you cry with tears of blood."

Decipher this for us. What does this mean?

NASR: Well, this is the statement that was released yesterday, along with an announcement that the second American hostage was killed. Basically, it's a statement announcing that the British hostage now faces the same fate unless the demands of this group are met. And their demands are for all Muslim women held in Iraqi prisons to be freed.

Now, this morning there is a rumor circulating around that perhaps a top Iraqi official who is -- a female official who is held in Iraqi prison -- here you're looking at her. She is nicknamed "Dr. Germ" and she's, of course, she belongs to the former Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein.

There is rumor that she will be released and that's raising a lot of questions on American media.

COSTELLO: Well, we're all trying to get into why. Why may they release this woman prisoner at this particular time? Everyone's been saying oh, we're going to release her on bail, this was in the plan the whole time, but that's really hard to believe.

NASR: Well, hard to believe or not, the Arab media are not buying it. And they still didn't come out of the shock of the news, because, as you know, two Americans were beheaded in the process and they're saying why now? If she was going to be released and if her release is going to secure the release of the British hostage, why, then, wasn't she released two days ago so that two American lives could have been saved?

So this question of why is on the mind of everybody. But Arab media and Arab analysts are pushing it one step further and saying the timing is not good. To answer the demands of terrorists is not good and to answer them two days later is a big tragedy.

COSTELLO: Does the Arab media think the pressure is coming from another place, not within the United States, per se, but pressure from another country on the United States and that's pushing this forward?

NASR: Well, again, you go back to that statement that you read in the beginning. It says -- it's very, you know, the devil is in the details in most cases. Here it says that the British hostage will face the same fate unless the British government does what's necessary to free him. So there is a clear message there to the British government -- do what's necessary to free him.

And what does that mean? They don't even mention their demand again, which is to free all female prisoners kept in Iraqi jails. They say the British government needs to do what's necessary to free him. A very interesting twist and the Arab experts are definitely going to be talking about this all day long today.

COSTELLO: Yes. And you'll have more for us later on CNN, I'm sure.

NASR: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: Octavia, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

NASR: You bet.

COSTELLO: Coming up, the right to repair. How much say should you have when it comes to fixing your car?

And on the campaign trail, will all this business about National Guard documents help or hurt the candidates?

This is DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Are you tired of having to wait at the car dealership to get your car repaired? Well, a bill being discussed in Congress today could give you more options of where you go to get your car fixed.

For the details, let's head live to Washington and CNN Radio's Dick Uliano.

This is really, I never even thought of it, this but his really interesting -- Dick.

DICK ULIANO, CNN RADIO CORRESPONDENT: It is an interesting subject, Carol. When you consider that cars today on the road made in the late 1990s and sooner contain something like 50 microprocessor. They're highly computerized. And cars today require expensive diagnostic equipment to fix them when they break down.

Now, you may have had the experience of pulling into a garage if your engine light comes on and says "check engine light," and the neighborhood garages say you'll have to bring the car back to the dealer, because we don't have the computer codes to repair this car.

And that's what the Right To Repair Bill is all about, according to supporters. This would force the auto makers to release these computer codes and provide them to parts makers and mechanics so that the people -- and do-it-yourselfers, too, Carol -- guys and women who like to fix their cars in the driveway, can continue to do that.

COSTELLO: I like the way you were politically correct there, Dick, in the end there.

ULIANO: Yes, I'm careful.

COSTELLO: Oh, I know. You know, I'll be honest, I let my husband fix the cars. But that's interesting. I mean a lot of car makers must be coming out against this.

ULIANO: Yes, they are. And the car makers maintain that these computer codes and this information are available to mechanics. They say the other information that they're keeping away is proprietary information, that they don't want the parts makers like Napa and the Auto Zone to have because they want the rights to make those parts.

So that's really what the dispute is. Parts makers and independent mechanics, they want more information about the computers on these cars. And the car makers say they are providing enough information.

COSTELLO: So this bill is going to hit Congress.

And when might we know an outcome?

ULIANO: Well, it's going to have a House hearing this afternoon before a consumer group. And, by the way, the AAA backs the bill. And the supporters say it's a consumer backed bill. And while the House holds a hearing on it today, supporters are Republicans and Democrats alike. So it could come before the full Congress, who knows, maybe some time later this year or early next.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Dick Uliano from CNN Radio, joining DAYBREAK this morning.

Thank you.

Coming up in the next half hour of DAYBREAK, a nation holds onto hope for the third and only surviving Western hostage in Iraq. A live report out of London on what the British are doing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A violent start to the day in Baghdad's Sadr City. A live report from the Iraqi capital in six minutes.

It is Wednesday, September 22.

This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you.

From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Now in the news, a little more than four hours ago, a car bomb goes off in Baghdad, killing at least seven people near a police recruit center. At least 47 others were wounded. A second car bomb was found and safely detonated.

A group loyal to terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi says Ken Bigley of Liverpool, England will be killed unless authorities release all female prisoners in Iraq. The group says it slaughtered American Jack Hensley on Tuesday. We'll talk to our Robin Oakley in just a few minutes about the last surviving hostage of the three men who were recently kidnapped.

Back here in the States at the murder trial of Scott Peterson, the lead detective says he had several reasons to believe Laci Peterson's body had been dumped by her husband in San Francisco Bay.

A terrible scene in Haiti. The death toll from flooding caused by tropical storm Jeanne rises to 700 and officials expect to find even more bodies. Tens of thousands of people are now homeless.

To the forecast center now and Chad -- good morning.

MYERS: Jeanne may make -- it may be making a turn to the right, Carol, all the way around; in fact, actually making a loop. I'll have that for you here at the end of my show here.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: Here is Jeanne, a category one storm. It was expected to turn left into Florida. That was on Friday. That didn't happen. It turned right instead. But now it's continuing to turn right and making a big loop out here in the Atlantic Ocean, even getting stronger, all the way to a category two out here, although there may be some shear. And by the time it does approach the U.S. coast, approach -- I didn't say hit -- still approach the U.S. coast, it's actually down to a category one.

This thing is still a long way out there, Carol. And when they do loop-de-loops like this, that means that there are very few steering currents out there and they could go either way. They could go left or right. So keep watching.

COSTELLO: Well, let's hope it makes that right hand turn.

MYERS: Yes, and keeps going, all the way out to sea.

COSTELLO: Yes.

Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: In Iraq this morning, the hostage crisis deepens and new violence breaks out. Insurgents claim to have killed a second American hostage and they're marking a British hostage for death unless they get their demand that female Iraqi prisoners be released.

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