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CNN Live At Daybreak

Military Rapes: Hearing Today

Aired February 25, 2004 - 06:13   ET

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


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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Some high level Pentagon officials will be on Capitol Hill today facing questioning about how the military deals with reports of sexual assault within the ranks.
Live to D.C. now and our Washington producer Paul Courson.

And these are some serious allegations coming out of Iraq, right?

PAUL COURSON, CNN D.C. MORNING PRODUCER: Well Iraq and Afghanistan where female support service members have reported they are victims of sexual assault.

The hearings today on Capitol Hill are with the Senate Armed Services Panel who will be looking into military law enforcement and whether enough victim services are being provided over there.

This is different than the story you might remember a few weeks ago, Carol, where the Air Force Academy, some students there reported some sexual misconduct among one another. But Colorado seems to be where a lot of the reports are coming through. Senator Wayne Allard, for example, his home state where the Air Force Academy is located, and the "Denver Post" has been carrying a lot of the allegations of the victims.

COSTELLO: Specifically, I just want to get into more specifics for our viewers so they understand what the issue is, but U.S. military personnel, female personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan are accusing fellow soldiers of rape. Do we -- do we...

COURSON: Right, within the ranks.

COSTELLO: Within the ranks. Do we know how many cases there have been?

COURSON: The "Denver Post" has reported as many as 60 cases have come in. And the issue here that the Senate panel will be looking into today is whether those women had enough support while they were still in the theater over there, while in Afghanistan or while in Iraq, to handle their complaints from a law enforcement perspective, as well as to provide psychological counseling for the results of sexual trauma.

COSTELLO: And the Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will be part of this Senate subcommittee meeting too?

COURSON: Secretary Rumsfeld is having a separate campaign to improve victim advocacy and to improve the investigative process. He won't be testifying today on the Hill. We'll have Undersecretary David Chu who is the personnel expert at the Department of Defense. He will be testifying today and facing the questions from lawmakers as to whether enough is being done.

COSTELLO: All right. We'll have another update tomorrow.

Paul Courson live from D.C. this morning.

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







Aired February 25, 2004 - 06:13   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Some high level Pentagon officials will be on Capitol Hill today facing questioning about how the military deals with reports of sexual assault within the ranks.
Live to D.C. now and our Washington producer Paul Courson.

And these are some serious allegations coming out of Iraq, right?

PAUL COURSON, CNN D.C. MORNING PRODUCER: Well Iraq and Afghanistan where female support service members have reported they are victims of sexual assault.

The hearings today on Capitol Hill are with the Senate Armed Services Panel who will be looking into military law enforcement and whether enough victim services are being provided over there.

This is different than the story you might remember a few weeks ago, Carol, where the Air Force Academy, some students there reported some sexual misconduct among one another. But Colorado seems to be where a lot of the reports are coming through. Senator Wayne Allard, for example, his home state where the Air Force Academy is located, and the "Denver Post" has been carrying a lot of the allegations of the victims.

COSTELLO: Specifically, I just want to get into more specifics for our viewers so they understand what the issue is, but U.S. military personnel, female personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan are accusing fellow soldiers of rape. Do we -- do we...

COURSON: Right, within the ranks.

COSTELLO: Within the ranks. Do we know how many cases there have been?

COURSON: The "Denver Post" has reported as many as 60 cases have come in. And the issue here that the Senate panel will be looking into today is whether those women had enough support while they were still in the theater over there, while in Afghanistan or while in Iraq, to handle their complaints from a law enforcement perspective, as well as to provide psychological counseling for the results of sexual trauma.

COSTELLO: And the Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will be part of this Senate subcommittee meeting too?

COURSON: Secretary Rumsfeld is having a separate campaign to improve victim advocacy and to improve the investigative process. He won't be testifying today on the Hill. We'll have Undersecretary David Chu who is the personnel expert at the Department of Defense. He will be testifying today and facing the questions from lawmakers as to whether enough is being done.

COSTELLO: All right. We'll have another update tomorrow.

Paul Courson live from D.C. this morning.

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