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CNN Live Today
Operation Vigilant Resolve; President Bush Speaks on Jobs and the Economy
Aired April 05, 2004 - 10:00 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.
DARYN KAGAN, HOST: Good morning. From CNN headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan. And here's a look at what is happening at this hour.
U.S. Marines locked down the volatile Iraqi city of Fallujah. Operation Vigilant Resolve comes in response to last week's ambush and brutal killing of four U.S. civilian contractors. The Marines have surrounded the city on all sides. Coalition officials say, at least, one Marine and seven Iraqis were killed in the firefights this morning in Fallujah. A soldier injured in an attack on his convoy in Mosul on Sunday has also died.
There's violence in the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City as well. At least eight U.S. troops died in clashes with supporters of a radical Muslim cleric. The arrest of the cleric's deputy set off the violent protest over the weekend. An Iraqi government official says that arrest is part of an investigation into a rival cleric's death a year ago.
Secretary of State Colin Powell heads to Haiti today to meet with the country's new leader. He'll urge them not to give government positions to rebels who helped route President Jean Bertrand Aristide, if they are criminals or human rights violators. He also plans to meet with leaders of the U.S.-led multinational force in Haiti.
And a surprise in the skies; a new airline quality study finds that low cost airlines may be offering better customer service than their higher priced counterparts. Alaska Airlines, Southwest, America West and U.S. Airways round out the top five.
Let's take a look at what we're watching live this hour. President Bush is in Charlotte, North Carolina. That's where he'll announce plans for a new job training initiative. The president wants to revamp federal funded training programs in order to double the number of people trained for jobs each year. The continued focus on putting people to work comes days after a positive report showed more than 300,000 jobs were created last month.
We're going to begin in Iraq. That is where the military is mounting a strong response to the recent round of violence; it's called Operation Vigilant Resolve. The U.S.-led coalition is cracking down on Fallujah, hoping to restore law and order days after the gruesome ambush of four American. One Marine is dead following fierce fight this morning.
For the latest, we turn to Walter Rodgers live in Baghdad with more -- Walter.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn. The Marines went back into Fallujah this morning; they are tracking down the murderers of those four American civilian contractors, ambushed and then mutilated in Fallujah last week. Pictures, which of course, shocked much of the world. The Marines went into the city about 4:00 this morning or the beginning of the operation was at that hour. Helicopters fired rockets, targeting a few specified targets in the city. Then Marines went into the city with some force, warning the people of the city to essentially stay at home. Schools and markets were closed. Fallujah was essentially locked down. Roads in and out of the city completely sealed.
In Baghdad, there was fighting of a different nature. Indeed, the fighting -- vicious fighting from the weekend between Shiite Muslims and the U.S. Army spilled over into Baghdad itself. And spilled over into the new week. The U.S. Army lost eight soldiers in that fighting in the Sadr City area over the weekend. This morning, even a day after the weekend, a U.S. Army Apache helicopter was seen over the city firing rockets into Baghdad. Very surrealistic a year after this war was supposed to be over.
One of the targets was the office of cleric Moqtada al Sadr; he is a fiery Muslim Shiite cleric. He is the one who has rallied his own private illegal militia against U.S. forces. They were the ones who clashed with U.S. troops, not only in Baghdad, but in other cities around this country. It does not bode well for the U.S. Army, which thought it had stabilized this. The Shiites were the last people they expected they would have to battle. Most of the trouble had come from the Sunnis before, but this time is the Shiites and the private arm of one particularly fiery cleric -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Walter Rodgers in Baghdad.
Let's talk about the military angle now. The virtual wall around Fallujah is apart of a plan to establish order, before Iraq begins self-rule at the end of June. Brigadier General retired David Grange, a CNN military analyst, says the coalition crackdown is part of a two- part strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN ANALYST: Because you have on one hand, you're being very hard. You're being very hard in going after the people that committed atrocities or other known criminals, or insurgence, to either capture and jail them or kill them. And on the other hand, you're trying to continue to win the support of the people through humanitarian aid, and working on the infrastructure and other means like. And they're conflicting; and so psychological operations come into play here. Use of information, use of the locals. It's very difficult, but that's normally the type of operation that you have to conduct in a situation like this.
KAGAN: Let's talk about the other hot spots there and these are some of the Shiite population centers, like Sadr City, like Najaf. U.S. military forces have tended to stay out of the middle of these populations -- out of these population centers because they are so volatile. And yet, we saw as things rose up over the weekend, things lost control very quickly.
GRANGE: It happens very fast and it's spontaneous. And what you have is you have a few people that incite the locals, and it just then like a snowball. It starts to build very quickly and if the forces aren't ready, then it spins out of control.
I would say in this situation, where the U.S. depended on the -- and the other coalition forces on the Shiites cooperating with the transition to Iraqi governance, there are some people that don't want that. And so this was, I think, maybe a bit of a surprise. And I would not rule out any foreign influence like from Iran or other states, that may be feeding this frenzy with a few of the hard-core clerics that are against U.S. occupation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, says the operation is not a change in strategy and not a departure from the plan to hand over authority to the Iraqis.
On the political front today, President Bush is minutes away from making a speech on one of his key election issues. And that is jobs.
There is another topic, though, that has people talking today. Whether a photograph helped change the president's mind about allowing Condoleezza Rice to testify publicly and under oath before the 9/11 Commission.
Our Suzanne Malveaux is standing by in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I believe talking jobs first off the top.
Suzanne, good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONENT: Well, good morning, Daryn. President Bush is going to speak momentarily here in Charlotte, North Carolina. A really important speech, he's going to be talking about his new jobs training initiative. Important because of North Carolina has gone through an incredible transition in its economy, from a selling tobacco and producing tobacco, to high-end technology.
Currently, the federal government provides $4 billion to state and locally run training and grant programs. But Mr. Bush's program is outlined; it would streamline and consolidate programs to squeeze out about $300 million in savings. He would use those savings, plus about $250 million in existing funds, to double the number of those who receive job training from 200,000 to 400,000 people within a year or so.
Now, his opponent, Senator Kerry, says that he believes this is just another example of President Bush borrowing and spending policy. And he thinks it's going to cost the taxpayers trillions of dollars -- Daryn. KAGAN: And then on the other point here. Condoleezza Rice, who will testify in just a few days before the 9/11 Commission, Suzanne, is there a possibility that this photo from the 1940s helped change the mind of President Bush?
MALVEAUX: Well, it certainly is quite a possibility. A part of the big picture here and a lot of speculation over the weekend about the significance of this. What we learned was that the commission used a 1945 photo from "The New York Times" that showed Dr. Rice's counterpart back then, testifying before a congressional committee on Pearl Harbor. They faxed that photo and that article to the White House counsel making a case saying that this undermines your executive privilege argument. That there is no precedent in having someone like Dr. Rice comes forward.
As you know, President Bush announced the next day that they would actually be reversing themselves. I spoke with White House officials. They say, well, they took a lot of things into consideration. But that certainly was a very interesting element over the weekend -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Suzanne Malveaux in North Carolina, we'll hear from the president later.
Also in this program, we note for you, Condoleezza Rice testifies publicly and under oath before the 9/11 Commission. That happens on Thursday morning. We'll bring that to you live starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.
Also, the verdict in the case of a Texas mother, this news is ahead. Accused of bludgeoning two of her young sons to death. We'll tell you what the jury decided. Details just ahead.
And later, how these women turned their personal tragedy into a public crusade. We'll tell you about the role they are playing in the 9/11 investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: In Paris, several suspected terrorists with alleged links to al Qaeda are in custody today, after a series of raids by French authorities. The raids covered two Paris suburbs. The suspects are being held in connection with the deadly, terrorist attack in Morocco that killed 33 people last year.
Which brings us to the topic of Spain. Police there have arrested two more people in connection with the March 11 bombings of Madrid commuter trains.
For the latest, we turn to CNN's Al Goodman, who is in Madrid.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Spain began the Easter holiday week this Monday, which is supposed to be a nice relaxing spring break, as a nation instead that is under threat and is a nation that is on alert.
Now, Spain is under threat because the interior minister said Sunday, after the five suspected terrorists blew themselves up in an apartment on Saturday night south of Madrid in a suburb, that they had been planning more attacks. And the police found more explosives after they found those bodies. So they figured there were more attacks being planned.
In addition, a leading newspaper, "ABC" here in Madrid, received a threatening fax; a handwritten note in Arabic over the weekend that they have shown to police. They say this came from a group, linked to al Qaeda, threatening more attacks if Spain did not pull its troops out of Iraq and out of Afghanistan.
That constitutes the threat. And you can see it, for instance, in the lead editorial in the largest circulation newspaper, "El Pais" on Monday, saying that what Al Qaeda wants to do is keep not just Spain, but all of the western countries on what it called, "a state of constant anxiety." So it says the citizens in Spain as well as citizens of other western democracies are now in the same boat.
All of this has led to a nation on alert. Security has been stepped up and train stations and bus stations, even at shopping centers, there are spot checks of passengers and their baggage at the public transport centers. Police very much alert, especially on the bullet train line from Madrid to Seville, that was the object of a bomb last Friday that police diffused before it could blow up the train. Now there is 24-hour vigilance on that rail line as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And back here in the U.S., we've been talking a lot about the 9/11 Commission hearings in Washington. But behind the investigation into the tragedy are some everyday women whose personal anguish moved them to activism.
Here now is CNN's Alina Cho.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Spend a few minutes with the Jersey girls and you may think these women are lifelong friends. They are not.
MINDY KLEINBERG, 9/11 WIDOW: You know what? You have homework.
CHO: The four mothers never knew each other before September 11, but when all of them lost their husbands that day...
KLEINBERG: We wanted to know how could this have happened? How could we live here and have been taken over by 19 terrorists from another country?
PATTY CASAZZA, 9/11 WIDOW: For us, there will be no peace until we have the answers to all of our questions. CHO: So Patty Casazza and Mindy Kleinberg joined with Kristen Breitweiser and Lori Van Auken to form a group of 9/11 families hoping for answers.
LORI VAN AUKEN, 9/11 WIDOW: Nine/11, for us, was a colossal failure. A failure of defense, security.
CHO: And change.
KLEINBERG: We don't want to have another attack. We don't want anybody to walk in our shoes.
CHO: So these women did something about it. And pushed hard for the creation of a 9/11 Commission.
THOMAS KEANE, CHMN., 911 COMMISSION: They're influential in everything. Really, they're there, they work when we need something, they're on the spot.
CHO: That means staging a walkout when Richard Armitage testified instead of National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice during the hearings. Rice will now go before the commission this week.
(on camera): But the women's activism in an election year have made them a target of Republican attacks. Republicans who say they are being used by the Democrats to go after President Bush.
(voice-over): The women took issue with the president's use of 9/11 images in his ads.
KRISTEN BREITWEISER, 9/11 WIDOW: I know certain people have called Ground Zero quote/unquote, "the perfect backdrop." It's hell on earth for me.
CHO: And then there are lighter moments.
VAN AUKEN: We knew the Congress was split between the Senate and the House. But I didn't know which one had more, you know, members. And now I know.
CHO: They've learned a lot.
BREITWEISER: We certainly succeeded.
CHO: But say they'll never stop searching for answers.
Alina Cho, CNN, East Brunswick, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And we go live now to Charlotte, North Carolina. President Bush speaking on jobs and the economy.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thanks a lot for the warm welcome. I tried to visit last February.
(LAUGHTER)
That's when your fine Mayor and Police Chief Stevens told me that they didn't think the presidential motorcade would be an ideal way to plow the streets.
(LAUGHTER)
The weather is beautiful today. Thanks for the warm welcome. It is great to be here in the great state of North Carolina, and such a vibrant part of your state, the great city of Charlotte.
(APPLAUSE)
I'm here to talk about an important subject, which is our economy and how we make sure people are properly trained for the jobs of the 21st century. It's an important stop on my way to throwing out that first pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals. I've been loosening up over the weekend.
(LAUGHTER)
My wing isn't what it used to be. But opening day of baseball season is a pretty special day for a guy like me who loves the game. I'm looking forward to getting there with the good folks of St. Louis, but I'm particularly interested in coming here to Central Piedmont Community College, for this reason: This place of higher learning is doing a fabulous job of helping men and women seek new opportunities.
This is such a hopeful campus. It's a place where the future is brighter for people who come here. And I want to thank you for the hospitality. I want to thank the faculty for their dedication. I want to thank the staff for putting up with me and the entourage. I met with some business leaders earlier who were touting the virtues of Piedmont Community College's ability to use their ideas, and incorporate their ideas into a curriculum so that the training programs train people for jobs which actually exist. And that's an important part...
(APPLAUSE)
... and that's an important part of making sure our economy, which is the strongest in the world today, remains the strongest in the world.
(APPLAUSE)
I want to thank Tony. He is an innovative leader. He was right, Mother is still the boss of the family.
(LAUGHTER)
Except Laura is the boss of my family.
(LAUGHTER)
By the way, I don't know if you know this, but Tony married a school librarian. Beth is a school librarian. We both married above ourselves.
(LAUGHTER)
I appreciate so very much Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, who's traveling with me today.
(APPLAUSE)
She's a very capable member of my Cabinet. Her job is to make sure that the training programs in place enable people at the local level to succeed. That's what I'm going to talk about a little bit today, about how to make sure that the monies we're spending actually fulfill their mission.
I appreciate so very much two members from the United States Congress who have joined us. First, Congressman Richard Burr from North Carolina is with us -- Richard.
(APPLAUSE)
Richard is a good friend of mine. I appreciate him coming today.
I also appreciate the Congressman from this district. Congressman Robin Hayes is with us, as well.
(APPLAUSE)
We came down on Air Force One; we spent more time talking about fishing and hunting than we did anything else.
(LAUGHTER)
Those were the good old days.
(APPLAUSE)
I appreciate my friend, Mayor Pat McCrory, who's with us, the Mayor of this great city. He's done such a fine job for Charlotte. Thank you for coming, Mayor.
(APPLAUSE)
I thank all the students who are here. I hope after the speech you leave with a hopeful -- a sense of hope about the future of this country. I mean, you have -- you're entering into an economy that is just so fantastic and exciting. And I just wish you all the best as you realize your dreams.
I met Laura Spencer today when I landed at the airport there. Where are you, Laura? There she is. Laura, thanks for coming. Laura -- you probably never heard of her before, but she is soldier in the army of compassion. She's a person who volunteers here at Central Piedmont in the Adult Basic Literacy Education program. She's a person who takes time out of her life to try to help somebody else. The reason I herald people like Laura is because the true strength of the country lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens. We're strong because we're militarily strong, and I'll keep it that way. We're strong because we're wealthy. But we're really strong because we've got people from all walks of life who are willing to love a neighbor just like they'd like to be loved themselves.
(APPLAUSE)
If you want to serve your community and your nation, find somebody to help. Mentor a child; care for somebody who's lonely; feed the hungry; find shelter for the homeless, and you'll be doing a vital service to the future of our country.
Laura, I'm proud of you. Thank you for the example and thank you for what you do.
(APPLAUSE)
America's economy is getting stronger. I am optimistic about our future, not only because of what I see today, but because of what I know we have overcome. Let me just review right quick the economic history of the last couple of years. First, when I came to office, the country was headed into a recession. That means we were going backwards. That means it's hard to find work if you're somebody who is looking for work. It means it's hard to make payroll if you're a small business owner. It is a negative period. Fortunately, we cut taxes which made this recession the shallowest -- one of the shallowest in American economic history.
(APPLAUSE)
As we were beginning to recover from the recession, the enemy hit us. September the 11th, 2001 marked a new day in American history. It was a sad day. It was a different -- we entered a different period on that day. It's a day in which we realized oceans could no longer protect us from enemies which hate what we stand for. These cold- blooded killers came and attacked us because they hate freedom. They can't stand the things that we love here in America. And it hurt us. It hurt us economically. Our economy lost nearly one million jobs in the three months after we were attacked.
It changed how we must view foreign policy. Before the attack, we could see a threat that might be emerging overseas and we could pick and choose whether or not we wanted to deal with it or not. Now when we see threats, we recognize that those emerging threats must be dealt with in order to protect ourselves. It changed the attitude of those of us involved with the most solemn duty of protecting the American people. On that day, I vowed that I would bring to justice those who inflicted harm on America. We're on the offensive. We will stay on the offensive until this scourge to civilization is removed.
(APPLAUSE)
It is important to stay on the offensive, using all our resources to bring these people to justice, because al Qaeda is wounded, but not broken. They're still dangerous. We take them seriously, because I'm convinced they still like to inflict harm on America, or Americans. It's also that day, right after that day, I announced a doctrine that said, if you harbor a terrorist or feed a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist. It's very important for the American President to speak clearly and mean what he says. I meant what I said. The Taliban found out that I mean what I say. Afghanistan is now free of one of the most barbaric regimes in the history of mankind. And the al Qaeda no longer has a safe haven in Afghanistan.
(APPLAUSE)
America refused to be intimidated by killers. And so we began to recover, and then we had another challenge we had to overcome; we discovered that some of our corporate citizens behaved irresponsibly. They didn't tell the truth to their shareholders or their employees. That shook our confidence. I worked with Congress, members of both parties, to pass tough new law. And the message is now clear: We will not tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of America. It was a challenge we overcame.
(APPLAUSE)
As I mentioned, September the 11th, 2001 taught a lesson that said when we see a threat, that the country must take threats seriously before they fully materialize. That was one of the changes that was necessary in order to protect this country. I looked at the information on Iraq and -- the intelligence -- and saw a threat. The United States Congress looked at the same intelligence and it saw a threat. My predecessor and the previous Congress looked at the same intelligence and made regime change in Iraq the policy of our government. In other words, it saw a threat, as well. The United Nations Security Council looked at the intelligence and it saw a threat.
And so I had a choice to make, after Saddam Hussein refused once again to disarm. That was, I went to the United Nations Security Council; I said, we all see a threat, let's do something about it, finally. And they agreed. They passed a resolution unanimously that said, disarm, get rid of your weapons programs, or face serious consequences. That was the message that the members of the United Nations Security Council said, loud and clear.
Saddam Hussein once again defied the demands of the world. And so I had a choice: Do I take the word of a madman, do I trust a person who had used weapons of mass destruction on his own people, plus people in the neighborhood, or do I take the steps necessary to defend the country. Given that choice, I will defend America every time.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you.
We're still being challenged in Iraq, and the reason why is a free Iraq will be a major defeat in the cause of terror. Terrorists can't stand freedom. They hate free societies. And yet, we know that free societies will be peaceful societies. We also believe that freedom is the Almighty's gift to every person in this world. It's one of the values that we hold dear. These killers don't have values. They want to shake our will. So we've got tough action in Iraq.
But we will stay the course. We will do what is right. We will make sure that a free Iraq emerges, not only for our own security, but for the sake of free peoples everywhere. A free Iraq will change the Middle East. A free Iraq will make the world more peaceful. A free Iraq will make America more secure. We will not be shaken by thugs and terrorists.
(APPLAUSE)
The march to war was a difficult period for our economy. Marching to war is not positive. When you look on your TV screen, and it says, "America is marching to war," and if you're somebody who is thinking about expanding your business, you may decide not to, in the face of such a negative thought. And so the final hurdle we had to overcome the last three years was the march to war. We're now marching to peace. But think what our economy has been through: a recession, an attack, corporate scandals, and a march to war. And yet we've overcome them all.
A lot of it has to do with the fact that this country is great, and the people in this country are strong, the entrepreneurial spirit is vibrant. We've got the best workers in the world. Plus, I happen to think tax relief helped a lot.
(APPLAUSE)
We based our decisions on this idea: that if a person has more money in their pocket -- more of their own money in their pocket, by the way, they're likely to demand an additional good or a service. And when they demand an additional good or a service, somebody is likely to produce the good or a service. And when somebody produces the good or a service, somebody is more likely to keep their job, and/or find a new job.
Also, a major part of the tax relief was some good policy that said, if you have a child, we want to help you raise your children. We've increased the child credit. We said that we want to encourage marriage in America, not discourage marriage, so we lessened the effects of the marriage penalty in the tax code. We understood the important role of small business in hiring people. As a matter of fact, it's estimated that 70 percent of all new jobs are created by small businesses in America. So a key ingredient of the tax relief plan was to encourage small businesses.
If you're a small business, you're likely to be a sole proprietorship or a sub-chapter S corporation. Those are legal words for this: It says you pay tax at the individual income tax rate. So when you reduce individual income taxes, you're really reducing taxes on small businesses, as well. Plus, we created some incentives for investment. And it's paying off. It's paying off.
The entrepreneurial spirit is strong. One way to make sure to keep it strong is to say to our farmers and ranchers and small businesses that when you -- after you built your business, you can leave it to whomever you want without the federal government getting in the way. We've got the death tax on the way to extinction. We need to make sure it's extinct forever, for the sake of...
(APPLAUSE)
KAGAN: We've been listening into President Bush as he speaks jobs in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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Aired April 5, 2004 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, HOST: Good morning. From CNN headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan. And here's a look at what is happening at this hour.
U.S. Marines locked down the volatile Iraqi city of Fallujah. Operation Vigilant Resolve comes in response to last week's ambush and brutal killing of four U.S. civilian contractors. The Marines have surrounded the city on all sides. Coalition officials say, at least, one Marine and seven Iraqis were killed in the firefights this morning in Fallujah. A soldier injured in an attack on his convoy in Mosul on Sunday has also died.
There's violence in the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City as well. At least eight U.S. troops died in clashes with supporters of a radical Muslim cleric. The arrest of the cleric's deputy set off the violent protest over the weekend. An Iraqi government official says that arrest is part of an investigation into a rival cleric's death a year ago.
Secretary of State Colin Powell heads to Haiti today to meet with the country's new leader. He'll urge them not to give government positions to rebels who helped route President Jean Bertrand Aristide, if they are criminals or human rights violators. He also plans to meet with leaders of the U.S.-led multinational force in Haiti.
And a surprise in the skies; a new airline quality study finds that low cost airlines may be offering better customer service than their higher priced counterparts. Alaska Airlines, Southwest, America West and U.S. Airways round out the top five.
Let's take a look at what we're watching live this hour. President Bush is in Charlotte, North Carolina. That's where he'll announce plans for a new job training initiative. The president wants to revamp federal funded training programs in order to double the number of people trained for jobs each year. The continued focus on putting people to work comes days after a positive report showed more than 300,000 jobs were created last month.
We're going to begin in Iraq. That is where the military is mounting a strong response to the recent round of violence; it's called Operation Vigilant Resolve. The U.S.-led coalition is cracking down on Fallujah, hoping to restore law and order days after the gruesome ambush of four American. One Marine is dead following fierce fight this morning.
For the latest, we turn to Walter Rodgers live in Baghdad with more -- Walter.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn. The Marines went back into Fallujah this morning; they are tracking down the murderers of those four American civilian contractors, ambushed and then mutilated in Fallujah last week. Pictures, which of course, shocked much of the world. The Marines went into the city about 4:00 this morning or the beginning of the operation was at that hour. Helicopters fired rockets, targeting a few specified targets in the city. Then Marines went into the city with some force, warning the people of the city to essentially stay at home. Schools and markets were closed. Fallujah was essentially locked down. Roads in and out of the city completely sealed.
In Baghdad, there was fighting of a different nature. Indeed, the fighting -- vicious fighting from the weekend between Shiite Muslims and the U.S. Army spilled over into Baghdad itself. And spilled over into the new week. The U.S. Army lost eight soldiers in that fighting in the Sadr City area over the weekend. This morning, even a day after the weekend, a U.S. Army Apache helicopter was seen over the city firing rockets into Baghdad. Very surrealistic a year after this war was supposed to be over.
One of the targets was the office of cleric Moqtada al Sadr; he is a fiery Muslim Shiite cleric. He is the one who has rallied his own private illegal militia against U.S. forces. They were the ones who clashed with U.S. troops, not only in Baghdad, but in other cities around this country. It does not bode well for the U.S. Army, which thought it had stabilized this. The Shiites were the last people they expected they would have to battle. Most of the trouble had come from the Sunnis before, but this time is the Shiites and the private arm of one particularly fiery cleric -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Walter Rodgers in Baghdad.
Let's talk about the military angle now. The virtual wall around Fallujah is apart of a plan to establish order, before Iraq begins self-rule at the end of June. Brigadier General retired David Grange, a CNN military analyst, says the coalition crackdown is part of a two- part strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN ANALYST: Because you have on one hand, you're being very hard. You're being very hard in going after the people that committed atrocities or other known criminals, or insurgence, to either capture and jail them or kill them. And on the other hand, you're trying to continue to win the support of the people through humanitarian aid, and working on the infrastructure and other means like. And they're conflicting; and so psychological operations come into play here. Use of information, use of the locals. It's very difficult, but that's normally the type of operation that you have to conduct in a situation like this.
KAGAN: Let's talk about the other hot spots there and these are some of the Shiite population centers, like Sadr City, like Najaf. U.S. military forces have tended to stay out of the middle of these populations -- out of these population centers because they are so volatile. And yet, we saw as things rose up over the weekend, things lost control very quickly.
GRANGE: It happens very fast and it's spontaneous. And what you have is you have a few people that incite the locals, and it just then like a snowball. It starts to build very quickly and if the forces aren't ready, then it spins out of control.
I would say in this situation, where the U.S. depended on the -- and the other coalition forces on the Shiites cooperating with the transition to Iraqi governance, there are some people that don't want that. And so this was, I think, maybe a bit of a surprise. And I would not rule out any foreign influence like from Iran or other states, that may be feeding this frenzy with a few of the hard-core clerics that are against U.S. occupation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, says the operation is not a change in strategy and not a departure from the plan to hand over authority to the Iraqis.
On the political front today, President Bush is minutes away from making a speech on one of his key election issues. And that is jobs.
There is another topic, though, that has people talking today. Whether a photograph helped change the president's mind about allowing Condoleezza Rice to testify publicly and under oath before the 9/11 Commission.
Our Suzanne Malveaux is standing by in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I believe talking jobs first off the top.
Suzanne, good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONENT: Well, good morning, Daryn. President Bush is going to speak momentarily here in Charlotte, North Carolina. A really important speech, he's going to be talking about his new jobs training initiative. Important because of North Carolina has gone through an incredible transition in its economy, from a selling tobacco and producing tobacco, to high-end technology.
Currently, the federal government provides $4 billion to state and locally run training and grant programs. But Mr. Bush's program is outlined; it would streamline and consolidate programs to squeeze out about $300 million in savings. He would use those savings, plus about $250 million in existing funds, to double the number of those who receive job training from 200,000 to 400,000 people within a year or so.
Now, his opponent, Senator Kerry, says that he believes this is just another example of President Bush borrowing and spending policy. And he thinks it's going to cost the taxpayers trillions of dollars -- Daryn. KAGAN: And then on the other point here. Condoleezza Rice, who will testify in just a few days before the 9/11 Commission, Suzanne, is there a possibility that this photo from the 1940s helped change the mind of President Bush?
MALVEAUX: Well, it certainly is quite a possibility. A part of the big picture here and a lot of speculation over the weekend about the significance of this. What we learned was that the commission used a 1945 photo from "The New York Times" that showed Dr. Rice's counterpart back then, testifying before a congressional committee on Pearl Harbor. They faxed that photo and that article to the White House counsel making a case saying that this undermines your executive privilege argument. That there is no precedent in having someone like Dr. Rice comes forward.
As you know, President Bush announced the next day that they would actually be reversing themselves. I spoke with White House officials. They say, well, they took a lot of things into consideration. But that certainly was a very interesting element over the weekend -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Suzanne Malveaux in North Carolina, we'll hear from the president later.
Also in this program, we note for you, Condoleezza Rice testifies publicly and under oath before the 9/11 Commission. That happens on Thursday morning. We'll bring that to you live starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.
Also, the verdict in the case of a Texas mother, this news is ahead. Accused of bludgeoning two of her young sons to death. We'll tell you what the jury decided. Details just ahead.
And later, how these women turned their personal tragedy into a public crusade. We'll tell you about the role they are playing in the 9/11 investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: In Paris, several suspected terrorists with alleged links to al Qaeda are in custody today, after a series of raids by French authorities. The raids covered two Paris suburbs. The suspects are being held in connection with the deadly, terrorist attack in Morocco that killed 33 people last year.
Which brings us to the topic of Spain. Police there have arrested two more people in connection with the March 11 bombings of Madrid commuter trains.
For the latest, we turn to CNN's Al Goodman, who is in Madrid.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Spain began the Easter holiday week this Monday, which is supposed to be a nice relaxing spring break, as a nation instead that is under threat and is a nation that is on alert.
Now, Spain is under threat because the interior minister said Sunday, after the five suspected terrorists blew themselves up in an apartment on Saturday night south of Madrid in a suburb, that they had been planning more attacks. And the police found more explosives after they found those bodies. So they figured there were more attacks being planned.
In addition, a leading newspaper, "ABC" here in Madrid, received a threatening fax; a handwritten note in Arabic over the weekend that they have shown to police. They say this came from a group, linked to al Qaeda, threatening more attacks if Spain did not pull its troops out of Iraq and out of Afghanistan.
That constitutes the threat. And you can see it, for instance, in the lead editorial in the largest circulation newspaper, "El Pais" on Monday, saying that what Al Qaeda wants to do is keep not just Spain, but all of the western countries on what it called, "a state of constant anxiety." So it says the citizens in Spain as well as citizens of other western democracies are now in the same boat.
All of this has led to a nation on alert. Security has been stepped up and train stations and bus stations, even at shopping centers, there are spot checks of passengers and their baggage at the public transport centers. Police very much alert, especially on the bullet train line from Madrid to Seville, that was the object of a bomb last Friday that police diffused before it could blow up the train. Now there is 24-hour vigilance on that rail line as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And back here in the U.S., we've been talking a lot about the 9/11 Commission hearings in Washington. But behind the investigation into the tragedy are some everyday women whose personal anguish moved them to activism.
Here now is CNN's Alina Cho.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Spend a few minutes with the Jersey girls and you may think these women are lifelong friends. They are not.
MINDY KLEINBERG, 9/11 WIDOW: You know what? You have homework.
CHO: The four mothers never knew each other before September 11, but when all of them lost their husbands that day...
KLEINBERG: We wanted to know how could this have happened? How could we live here and have been taken over by 19 terrorists from another country?
PATTY CASAZZA, 9/11 WIDOW: For us, there will be no peace until we have the answers to all of our questions. CHO: So Patty Casazza and Mindy Kleinberg joined with Kristen Breitweiser and Lori Van Auken to form a group of 9/11 families hoping for answers.
LORI VAN AUKEN, 9/11 WIDOW: Nine/11, for us, was a colossal failure. A failure of defense, security.
CHO: And change.
KLEINBERG: We don't want to have another attack. We don't want anybody to walk in our shoes.
CHO: So these women did something about it. And pushed hard for the creation of a 9/11 Commission.
THOMAS KEANE, CHMN., 911 COMMISSION: They're influential in everything. Really, they're there, they work when we need something, they're on the spot.
CHO: That means staging a walkout when Richard Armitage testified instead of National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice during the hearings. Rice will now go before the commission this week.
(on camera): But the women's activism in an election year have made them a target of Republican attacks. Republicans who say they are being used by the Democrats to go after President Bush.
(voice-over): The women took issue with the president's use of 9/11 images in his ads.
KRISTEN BREITWEISER, 9/11 WIDOW: I know certain people have called Ground Zero quote/unquote, "the perfect backdrop." It's hell on earth for me.
CHO: And then there are lighter moments.
VAN AUKEN: We knew the Congress was split between the Senate and the House. But I didn't know which one had more, you know, members. And now I know.
CHO: They've learned a lot.
BREITWEISER: We certainly succeeded.
CHO: But say they'll never stop searching for answers.
Alina Cho, CNN, East Brunswick, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And we go live now to Charlotte, North Carolina. President Bush speaking on jobs and the economy.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thanks a lot for the warm welcome. I tried to visit last February.
(LAUGHTER)
That's when your fine Mayor and Police Chief Stevens told me that they didn't think the presidential motorcade would be an ideal way to plow the streets.
(LAUGHTER)
The weather is beautiful today. Thanks for the warm welcome. It is great to be here in the great state of North Carolina, and such a vibrant part of your state, the great city of Charlotte.
(APPLAUSE)
I'm here to talk about an important subject, which is our economy and how we make sure people are properly trained for the jobs of the 21st century. It's an important stop on my way to throwing out that first pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals. I've been loosening up over the weekend.
(LAUGHTER)
My wing isn't what it used to be. But opening day of baseball season is a pretty special day for a guy like me who loves the game. I'm looking forward to getting there with the good folks of St. Louis, but I'm particularly interested in coming here to Central Piedmont Community College, for this reason: This place of higher learning is doing a fabulous job of helping men and women seek new opportunities.
This is such a hopeful campus. It's a place where the future is brighter for people who come here. And I want to thank you for the hospitality. I want to thank the faculty for their dedication. I want to thank the staff for putting up with me and the entourage. I met with some business leaders earlier who were touting the virtues of Piedmont Community College's ability to use their ideas, and incorporate their ideas into a curriculum so that the training programs train people for jobs which actually exist. And that's an important part...
(APPLAUSE)
... and that's an important part of making sure our economy, which is the strongest in the world today, remains the strongest in the world.
(APPLAUSE)
I want to thank Tony. He is an innovative leader. He was right, Mother is still the boss of the family.
(LAUGHTER)
Except Laura is the boss of my family.
(LAUGHTER)
By the way, I don't know if you know this, but Tony married a school librarian. Beth is a school librarian. We both married above ourselves.
(LAUGHTER)
I appreciate so very much Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, who's traveling with me today.
(APPLAUSE)
She's a very capable member of my Cabinet. Her job is to make sure that the training programs in place enable people at the local level to succeed. That's what I'm going to talk about a little bit today, about how to make sure that the monies we're spending actually fulfill their mission.
I appreciate so very much two members from the United States Congress who have joined us. First, Congressman Richard Burr from North Carolina is with us -- Richard.
(APPLAUSE)
Richard is a good friend of mine. I appreciate him coming today.
I also appreciate the Congressman from this district. Congressman Robin Hayes is with us, as well.
(APPLAUSE)
We came down on Air Force One; we spent more time talking about fishing and hunting than we did anything else.
(LAUGHTER)
Those were the good old days.
(APPLAUSE)
I appreciate my friend, Mayor Pat McCrory, who's with us, the Mayor of this great city. He's done such a fine job for Charlotte. Thank you for coming, Mayor.
(APPLAUSE)
I thank all the students who are here. I hope after the speech you leave with a hopeful -- a sense of hope about the future of this country. I mean, you have -- you're entering into an economy that is just so fantastic and exciting. And I just wish you all the best as you realize your dreams.
I met Laura Spencer today when I landed at the airport there. Where are you, Laura? There she is. Laura, thanks for coming. Laura -- you probably never heard of her before, but she is soldier in the army of compassion. She's a person who volunteers here at Central Piedmont in the Adult Basic Literacy Education program. She's a person who takes time out of her life to try to help somebody else. The reason I herald people like Laura is because the true strength of the country lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens. We're strong because we're militarily strong, and I'll keep it that way. We're strong because we're wealthy. But we're really strong because we've got people from all walks of life who are willing to love a neighbor just like they'd like to be loved themselves.
(APPLAUSE)
If you want to serve your community and your nation, find somebody to help. Mentor a child; care for somebody who's lonely; feed the hungry; find shelter for the homeless, and you'll be doing a vital service to the future of our country.
Laura, I'm proud of you. Thank you for the example and thank you for what you do.
(APPLAUSE)
America's economy is getting stronger. I am optimistic about our future, not only because of what I see today, but because of what I know we have overcome. Let me just review right quick the economic history of the last couple of years. First, when I came to office, the country was headed into a recession. That means we were going backwards. That means it's hard to find work if you're somebody who is looking for work. It means it's hard to make payroll if you're a small business owner. It is a negative period. Fortunately, we cut taxes which made this recession the shallowest -- one of the shallowest in American economic history.
(APPLAUSE)
As we were beginning to recover from the recession, the enemy hit us. September the 11th, 2001 marked a new day in American history. It was a sad day. It was a different -- we entered a different period on that day. It's a day in which we realized oceans could no longer protect us from enemies which hate what we stand for. These cold- blooded killers came and attacked us because they hate freedom. They can't stand the things that we love here in America. And it hurt us. It hurt us economically. Our economy lost nearly one million jobs in the three months after we were attacked.
It changed how we must view foreign policy. Before the attack, we could see a threat that might be emerging overseas and we could pick and choose whether or not we wanted to deal with it or not. Now when we see threats, we recognize that those emerging threats must be dealt with in order to protect ourselves. It changed the attitude of those of us involved with the most solemn duty of protecting the American people. On that day, I vowed that I would bring to justice those who inflicted harm on America. We're on the offensive. We will stay on the offensive until this scourge to civilization is removed.
(APPLAUSE)
It is important to stay on the offensive, using all our resources to bring these people to justice, because al Qaeda is wounded, but not broken. They're still dangerous. We take them seriously, because I'm convinced they still like to inflict harm on America, or Americans. It's also that day, right after that day, I announced a doctrine that said, if you harbor a terrorist or feed a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist. It's very important for the American President to speak clearly and mean what he says. I meant what I said. The Taliban found out that I mean what I say. Afghanistan is now free of one of the most barbaric regimes in the history of mankind. And the al Qaeda no longer has a safe haven in Afghanistan.
(APPLAUSE)
America refused to be intimidated by killers. And so we began to recover, and then we had another challenge we had to overcome; we discovered that some of our corporate citizens behaved irresponsibly. They didn't tell the truth to their shareholders or their employees. That shook our confidence. I worked with Congress, members of both parties, to pass tough new law. And the message is now clear: We will not tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of America. It was a challenge we overcame.
(APPLAUSE)
As I mentioned, September the 11th, 2001 taught a lesson that said when we see a threat, that the country must take threats seriously before they fully materialize. That was one of the changes that was necessary in order to protect this country. I looked at the information on Iraq and -- the intelligence -- and saw a threat. The United States Congress looked at the same intelligence and it saw a threat. My predecessor and the previous Congress looked at the same intelligence and made regime change in Iraq the policy of our government. In other words, it saw a threat, as well. The United Nations Security Council looked at the intelligence and it saw a threat.
And so I had a choice to make, after Saddam Hussein refused once again to disarm. That was, I went to the United Nations Security Council; I said, we all see a threat, let's do something about it, finally. And they agreed. They passed a resolution unanimously that said, disarm, get rid of your weapons programs, or face serious consequences. That was the message that the members of the United Nations Security Council said, loud and clear.
Saddam Hussein once again defied the demands of the world. And so I had a choice: Do I take the word of a madman, do I trust a person who had used weapons of mass destruction on his own people, plus people in the neighborhood, or do I take the steps necessary to defend the country. Given that choice, I will defend America every time.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you.
We're still being challenged in Iraq, and the reason why is a free Iraq will be a major defeat in the cause of terror. Terrorists can't stand freedom. They hate free societies. And yet, we know that free societies will be peaceful societies. We also believe that freedom is the Almighty's gift to every person in this world. It's one of the values that we hold dear. These killers don't have values. They want to shake our will. So we've got tough action in Iraq.
But we will stay the course. We will do what is right. We will make sure that a free Iraq emerges, not only for our own security, but for the sake of free peoples everywhere. A free Iraq will change the Middle East. A free Iraq will make the world more peaceful. A free Iraq will make America more secure. We will not be shaken by thugs and terrorists.
(APPLAUSE)
The march to war was a difficult period for our economy. Marching to war is not positive. When you look on your TV screen, and it says, "America is marching to war," and if you're somebody who is thinking about expanding your business, you may decide not to, in the face of such a negative thought. And so the final hurdle we had to overcome the last three years was the march to war. We're now marching to peace. But think what our economy has been through: a recession, an attack, corporate scandals, and a march to war. And yet we've overcome them all.
A lot of it has to do with the fact that this country is great, and the people in this country are strong, the entrepreneurial spirit is vibrant. We've got the best workers in the world. Plus, I happen to think tax relief helped a lot.
(APPLAUSE)
We based our decisions on this idea: that if a person has more money in their pocket -- more of their own money in their pocket, by the way, they're likely to demand an additional good or a service. And when they demand an additional good or a service, somebody is likely to produce the good or a service. And when somebody produces the good or a service, somebody is more likely to keep their job, and/or find a new job.
Also, a major part of the tax relief was some good policy that said, if you have a child, we want to help you raise your children. We've increased the child credit. We said that we want to encourage marriage in America, not discourage marriage, so we lessened the effects of the marriage penalty in the tax code. We understood the important role of small business in hiring people. As a matter of fact, it's estimated that 70 percent of all new jobs are created by small businesses in America. So a key ingredient of the tax relief plan was to encourage small businesses.
If you're a small business, you're likely to be a sole proprietorship or a sub-chapter S corporation. Those are legal words for this: It says you pay tax at the individual income tax rate. So when you reduce individual income taxes, you're really reducing taxes on small businesses, as well. Plus, we created some incentives for investment. And it's paying off. It's paying off.
The entrepreneurial spirit is strong. One way to make sure to keep it strong is to say to our farmers and ranchers and small businesses that when you -- after you built your business, you can leave it to whomever you want without the federal government getting in the way. We've got the death tax on the way to extinction. We need to make sure it's extinct forever, for the sake of...
(APPLAUSE)
KAGAN: We've been listening into President Bush as he speaks jobs in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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