[Miles O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning to you, Thursday, February 15th. I'm Miles O'Brien.
[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Soledad O'Brien. Thanks for begin with us. Let's begin with the war on terror this morning. The president's getting ready to make a speech about Afghanistan. We're expecting it at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. That's just in about two hours from now. But, of course, it's the questions about Iran that are dogging the president. CNN's Ed Henry has been asking some of those tough questions. He's at the White House this morning. Hey, Ed. Good morning.
[Ed Henry, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Good morning, Soledad. That's right. The president will be delivering this speech this morning about the war on terror to a conservative think tank. The focus will be about where Afghanistan is headed. Of course, a war that the U.S. thought had been won, but now the Taliban has had a resurgence. But you're right, at yesterday's press conference it was really the president on the defensive about Iran. He declared for the first time that he's certain that Iranian forces are behind these deadly roadside bombs that are going into Iraq killing and maiming U.S. troops there. But the president pulled back on an earlier assertion by the U.S. government that the "highest levels" of the Iranian government were behind these bombs. The president bristled when I asked that given the botched intelligence in the lead-up to the war in Iraq, should Americans be concerned now about the intelligence in Iran?
[Henry:] What assurances can you give the American people that the intelligence this time will be accurate?
[George W. Bush, President Of The United States:] Ed, we know they're there. We know they're provided by the Quds force. We know the Quds force is a part of the Iranian government. I don't think we know who picked up the phone and said to the Quds force go do this. But we know it's a vital part of the Iranian government. What matters is, is that we're responding. The idea that somehow we're manufacturing the idea that the Iranians are providing IEDs is preposterous, Ed.
[Henry:] Now, the president also chafed at any suggestion that he's trying to build a case for war with Iran here. Now, what's new this morning is that we're learning from the Pentagon, Barbara Starr reporting that General Peter Pace will be briefing reporters later today in the afternoon. We're told that all this confusion was caused by an anonymous intelligence briefer from the U.S. military this past weekend who went a little far in saying that the highest levels of the Iranian government were behind all these roadside bombings. But that certainly makes you wonder, why didn't the U.S. government have all their ducks in a row when they presented this information and why hasn't the White House clarified it in recent days Soledad.
[S. O'brien:] Ed Henry is at the White House for us this morning. Thanks, Ed.
[Henry:] Thank you.
[S. O'brien:] We're going to have more on the president's war on terror. We're taking that speech live. We're expecting it at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time right here on CNN Miles.
[M. O'brien:] An awful lot of tension in Europe this morning. All eyes on a courtroom in Madrid, where the trial begins for the 29 men accused in the commuter train bombings there three years ago. A hundred and ninety-one were killed, 2,000 others hurt in the so-called 311 attacks11. Paula Newton is there Paula.
[Paula Newton, Cnn Correspondent:] And good morning, Miles. I'm in front of the courthouse where the victims' families and some of the victims themselves continue to pour out after a lunch time break. Miles, they are already looking pretty drained. What happened this morning quite dramatic. The first alleged ring leader was up and he says he refuses to give any testimony. This is really unnerving for the people in that courtroom. They want to get to the bottom of this. They want answers. And still, it's been almost three years and they don't have what they're looking for.
[Newton:] Two years, 11 months and four days later, the sirens dissolved into silence. The silence turned to rage. But now there are just questions and that unsettling thought amongst Spaniards that somehow the terrorists got the better of them, chocked up a victory.
[Gustavo De Aristegui, Lawmaker And Author, "jihad In Spain":] Of course it was I mean, in their eyes, it was the biggest blow they have ever given as Islamist terrorists.
[Newton:] It wasn't just the remote-controlled slaughter or all the fear and anxiety that it bred. Three days after the bombings, Spaniards voted out the government that sent troops to Iraq and voted in a government that withdrew those troops. Later, 29 suspects were rounded up and are now facing trial. Among them, a handful of alleged ring leaders like Moroccan immigrant Jim Alzugum. Judicial inquiries in Spain have suggested he is linked to al Qaeda. But the community where he prayed is waiting for solid proof. Muslim leaders claim whatever happened, it was not nurtured in their mosques or by the Moroccan community.
[Saif Ben Abdanour, Islamic Cultural Center:] Still, nobody knows why this happened. We all know that a small cell was responsible for the carnage. Men are before a judge now, and we in this community don't feel implicated.
[Newton:] Al Qaeda, though, is implicated. In a martyrdom video by one suspect, it is singled out as a source of inspiration. But did it provide more than that? Seven suspects blew themselves up in a standoff with police in the Madrid suburb of Leganes. They will never face a trial or any of the questions about al Qaeda. Even so, the key question remains, how much influence did al Qaeda have among Spain's Muslim immigrants? Spaniards are hoping to learn more from the trial. It's a crucial question as the country's North African immigrant population grows and al Qaeda's influence in North Africa, especially Morocco and Algeria, grows, too. You know, Miles, as the families of the victims and some of the victims themselves come out of court for their lunchtime break, you know, they've described what it was like to see those suspects behind the bulletproof glass. Some describe being completely overwhelmed. Nonetheless, they are sitting there, they're trying to get the answers. And on Wednesday, yesterday, the victims' families from 911 sent a letter of support saying, "We understand what you're going through. We hope you get the answers you're looking for" Miles.
[M. O'brien:] Paula Newton in Madrid. Thank you Soledad.
[S. O'brien:] Well, the House is closing in on an Iraq war resolution this morning. The floor is going to be open for debate again today and could vote tomorrow on a 97-word resolution against the president's troop buildup. CNN's Andrea Koppel is live for us. She's on Capitol Hill. Good morning, Andrea.
[Andrea Koppel, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] Good morning, Soledad. Well, once things get under way in a couple of hours here, Democrats plan to kick things off with a group of freshmen Democrats who will be saying things like they're going to focus on the costs of war and the importance of supporting the troops, saying things like, we were just out on the campaign trail, we spoke to people who were always talking about Iraq. We want to make sure there are funds there for troops. We also want to emphasize that we understand where they are coming from. Now, across the aisle, Republicans are going to feature a group of GOP war veterans. This is something the Democrats did earlier this week. They're going to focus on Sam Johnson, Republican of Texas. He and his colleagues will continue to hammer away at the theme that we have heard this week. And that is that this Democratic resolution is nothing more than trying to cut the first step towards cutting funds for the war. We heard from Republicans yesterday, even as the president spoke at the White House. They were breaking with the president over this issue.
[Rep. Ric Keller , Florida:] Interjecting more American troops into the crosshairs of an Iraqi civil war is simply not the right approach.
[Rep. Jim Ramstad , Minnesota:] It's time for a surge in diplomacy, not a surge in troops to mend a broken country.
[Koppel:] Still, most Republicans agreed with Mr. Bush.
[Rep. Michael Rogers , Alabama:] What disturbs me most, Mr. Speaker, about this resolution is its clear purpose is to divide those of us in this chamber
[Koppel:] The president, were he to allow this mostly symbolic resolution, could turn into a slippery slope and leave Congress to cut off funding for the troops.
[Bush:] Our troops are counting on their elected leaders in Washington, D.C., to provide them with the support they need to do their mission.
[Koppel:] Even those Republicans opposed to the president's plan said that would be going too far.
[Rep. Michael Castle , Delaware:] Protecting American soldiers must continue to be our greatest priority. And I will oppose any attempts to cut off funding for our troops who are serving in harm's way.
[Koppel:] Now, as you noted, Soledad, this resolution is expected to pass tomorrow. The question, however, is just how many Republicans are going to cross over and support this resolution Soledad.
[S. O'brien:] Andrea Koppel on Capitol Hill for us this morning. Thank you, Andrea Miles. Another day, another unfortunate comment. This time it was from the former NBA star Tim Hardaway. Hardaway played guard for the Miami Heat and he was talking with a Miami radio station on Wednesday, asked to comment about another NBA player who came out of the closet that he was gay last week. And that's when Hardaway said this...
[Tim Hardaway, Fmr. Miami Heat Star:] Well, you know you know, I hate gay people. So, you know, I let it be known. I don't like gay people. I don't like to be around gay people. I don't you know, I am I'm homophobic. I don't like it. There shouldn't be
[S. O'brien:] Well, it only took a couple hours before we heard the apology. Hardaway put a call into a Miami TV station, WSVN, and said he was sorry, he shouldn't have ever said anything. Here's what he said.
[Hardaway:] Yes, I do. I regret it and I'm sorry. You know, I shouldn't have said anything like that. I shouldn't have said that, you know, I hate gay people or anything like that. It's just that I don't condone, you know, it being in the locker room. And that was my mistake, and, you know, that's it, that's all I have to say. And I'm sorry. I didn't mean to have an uproar, and that was just my mistake and my bad and I'm sorry.
[S. O'brien:] Kind of a world of difference between "I hate gay people" and "I don't condone homosexuality." Anyway, the player who came out last week, John Amaechi, says he has had some mixed reactions ever since he made his announcement. He is the first NBA player to say he was gay. He actually said, very interestingly, that he thought that at least what Hardaway was saying was honest. That there's so many people who say things and they're not being honest. He said, you know, if there's any value in it, at least he was being honest.
[M. O'brien:] And to be fair, he did say also that he got a good reaction generally from NBA players. As he said they were by and large, they were open-minded about it.
[S. O'brien:] Yes. And he said, also, especially Mark Cuban, too, a big note of support as well.
[M. O'brien:] Another story people are talking about this morning, those long flights to nowhere. And passengers seeing red over JetBlue. Thanks to yesterday's bad weather in New York City, the airline had planes full of passengers waiting on tarmacs at Kennedy airport for up to eight hours. And take a look at some of the cell phone pictures taken from inside the planes. The toilets were backed up. They were running out of water and food. You can imagine how this was going. I'm sure the kids were delighted. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, I spoke to one of the hostages I mean passengers. At least he's home.
[Wallace Turbeville, Stuck In Plane For 8 Hours:] Well, at first it was the implication was sometime soon. But very soon after that we sort of banded together with the crew because they didn't know what was going on either. And then later, when people got even more frustrated, the crew got more defensive. But for the most part, it was just, "We don't know. Nobody will tell us." And the crew was making telephone calls to friends in the organization trying to find out what was going on.
[M. O'brien:] JetBlue has issued the following statement: "JetBlue apologizes to customers who were impacted by the ice storm...specifically at John F. Kennedy. This resulted in unacceptable delays for our customers. JetBlue will be issuing a full refund and a free round-trip flight to customers delayed onboard any aircraft in excess of three hours." So if you did 2:59, you're out of luck. Sorry about that.
[S. O'brien:] Yes, that's right.
[M. O'brien:] All right, Soledad.
[S. O'brien:] Well, Kate Hanni is a woman who was on a flight just like one of those flights. She is now off to Washington, D.C., to do something about it. Six weeks ago, she was trapped on a plane, stuck on the tarmac in San Francisco for about eight hours. You can see there she is smiling in that shot. That was kind of early on in her eight-hour ordeal, well before she knew just how long it was going to be that she would be stuck on that plane. Well, now she's pushing Congress for a passenger bill of rights. Here's some of her proposals. She says airlines need to refund 150 percent of the ticket price if they have a problem like this. They need to notify passengers within 10 minutes of diversions and cancellations. She wants the planes to return to the gate after three hours. She also says they need to provide food and water and sanitary facilities, access to medical attention. There were some people who had to pay $4 for the meal on board the JetBlue flight. They were allowed to get food, but they had to buy it after six or seven or eight hours.
[M. O'brien:] Ooh, that's twisting the knife, yes. Yes.
[S. O'brien:] And finally, she says they need to respond to complaints within 24 hours and resolve them altogether within two weeks. You know, you go, girl. I hear you, sister. I think she's exactly right.
[M. O'brien:] I would add one more thing. Open up the bar.
[S. O'brien:] Yes. Well, duh.
[M. O'brien:] They didn't do that. All right. That could be bad, too.
[S. O'brien:] Yes. Actually, it might be a really bad idea.
[M. O'brien:] Coming up, words and their meanings. We're going to listen to a phrase the president said six different times in his news conference and get some insight about what he was trying to say in other words. Plus, if you're packing your kids' lunch right now, we want you to hang on. There's a new health warning about peanut butter. It could have salmonella in it. And guess who has the germier desk, men or women? Who do you think? Women are probably clean, right?
[S. O'brien:] Yes.
[M. O'brien:] The most news in the morning right here on CNN.