Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Coalition Forces Staging Fierce Response to Chorus of Conflicts

Aired April 06, 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 we begin this hour in Iraq. The anti-American cleric, who has been inciting violence, says he has taken refuge in a Shiia holy site. Muqtada al Sadr is calling for a general strike and demands coalition pullback from populated areas.

Twenty-one members of the U.S. coalition in Iraq have been killed in the past 72 hours. The latest being a U.S. soldier who died overnight. The clash is from Baghdad to Fallujah also killed dozens of Iraqis. Despite the rising death toll, civilian administrator Paul Bremer said this morning there is no question that the U.S. has control over the country, according to Bremer.

Back to the United States now, where portions of south Texas are bracing for even more heavy rain. The death toll from the flood- related accidents rose by five yesterday, due to a crash near the Texas town of Pecos. Across the border, at least, 31 people have died in flood-related deaths in one Mexican border city alone.

The American Civil Liberties Union is taking aim at a controversial security measure spawned by the 9/11 attacks. The group says it will file a class action lawsuit challenging a so-called, "No- Fly" list that prevents certain people from boarding commercial airlines. The ACLU says those on the list are unfairly stigmatized and interrogated.

We're going to get started right away. Begin the hour in Iraq, where coalition forces are staging a fierce response to a chorus of conflicts. You have battles in Fallujah and Baghdad, Sadr City, which have left dozens of Iraqis dead. It has been a bloody three days of combat.

Our Jim Clancy is live in Baghdad with the latest -- Jim.

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good afternoon to you from Baghdad. Certainly this a very critical juncture of the U.S. as it moves ahead with the occupation. Remember counting down, 90 days to turn over sovereignty, now fighting on two fronts.

First, the Shiite Muslim cleric, the young man named Muqtada al Sadr issuing a ultimatum to U.S. forces saying his uprising, that has caused a lot of casualties in the last 48 hours, his uprising is going to continue until and unless U.S. pulls its troops out of populated areas and releases all prisoners. Now, it's not clear if he really expects the U.S. to comply with those demands. More likely, he is pushing in the eyes of some senior U.S. military people, pushing his case forward, trying to see what the response will be from Iraqis themselves.

This is a dangerous situation; scores of Iraqis have been killed. Supporters of him, members of his militia -- a self-style -- it's called the al Mehdi Army but it's really his private militia. Some 600 members are well trained but thousands of others could be brought in there. It cost U.S. lives, four U.S. soldiers died here. Three died in Baghdad overnight in attacks; rocket-propelled grenades mostly in the capital.

Meantime, in Sadr City, it was the Iraqis that suffered casualties. Dozens of dead, more than a hundred wounded, no U.S. casualties reported there in that fighting as they tried to overtake some police stations.

In Fallujah, we have a different scene. That is where U.S. Marines have encircled the city. Very methodically shutting down the roads, warning residents to stay indoors. Methodically going about, trying to get at those people who may have been responsible for the killing of four U.S. civilian security contractors last Wednesday, their bodies -- charred bodies dragged through the streets of Fallujah. The U.S. said that wasn't going to stand. They've gone in to get them; they're doing it in a very methodical way.

We had a report of four Marines killed overnight in Anbar Province, but now we understand from our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, U.S. Marine officials there saying that those were killed in a roadside bomb, not inside Fallujah.

So we have a developing battlefield on several fronts. Paul Bremer weighing in and saying Muqtada al Sadr is really trying to intimidate, to force his will, and force his way onto the stage in politics in Iraq right now. And he said using a gun, that simply won't work.

Back to you.

KAGAN: Jim Clancy in Baghdad.

We'll be hearing from Barbara Starr in just a moment. We want to get to the Paul Bremer sound that you were talking about. The civilian administrator in Iraq, he appeared on "AMERICAN MORNING" earlier today. This is what he had to say about Muqtada al Sadr.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BREMER, IRAQI CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: This is a guy who has a fundamentally inappropriate view of the new Iraq. He believes that in the new Iraq, like in the old Iraq, power should be to the guy who has got the guns. And that's an unacceptable vision for Iraq. He's also guilty, or at least he's accused, by an Iraqi judge of orchestrating a terrible bloody, heinous murder of one of the most respected religious leaders in Iraq back in April.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: And now let's get the latest from the Pentagon. The warrant for al Sadr's arrest leaves many wondering about the Pentagon strategy for getting him.

Let's bring Barbara Starr in for that and other news from Iraq.

Good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Daryn. This is now the key question, when and how will the U.S. military go after al Sadr, and execute that arrest warrant and take him into custody. Officials here saying it will be a very delicate matter; that they will move very precisely. And they may indeed move quite slowly on this matter because what they don't want to do is incite further violence. Their concern right now is as his supporters grow in the street, if the U.S. military makes a move, takes him into custody, this could simply raise his profile with his militia. With people who might otherwise not be loyal to him and be against the coalition, that it might bring them into Muqtada al Sadr's camp.

And of course, if indeed he remains holed up, if you will, in a holy site, in a mosque, the U.S. military extremely unlikely, very unlikely to go after him inside a holy site and arrest him there. So, at the moment, it's a bit of a standoff. The U.S. military wanting to make sure it doesn't make any untoward moves that could raise his profile further and cause even further violence.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, we will be back with you later in the morning.

Looking more about Pentagon strategy here and the call, potentially to bring more troops into the Iraq, where are those troops going to come from? For that, let's go ahead and bring in Major General retired Donald Shepperd joining us this morning.

General, good morning. Thanks for being with us.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET), U.S. AIR FORCE: Morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: We heard from General John Abizaid yesterday saying he's wants the option, if needed, to bring more military troops into Iraq. Where are those troops going to come from -- General?

SHEPPERD: Well, they're going to come from three areas. One is you're going to re-deploy troops that are already in another country. Another is you might slow down the rotation of troops back home. We're going from 130,000 down to about 105; 110,000 was the plan. You slow that rotation down. And then others you return from other U.S. Army forces around the world, Daryn. So they can come from many places, but some of them will be people that have just recently been in Iraq, because the forces are already stretched thin.

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and look at this conflict that continues just to escalate. There was the front, dealing with Fallujah and with the Sunnis, now the Shiites in an uprising of their own. How do you battle both and how do you keep this from becoming a civil war -- General?

SHEPPERD: Yes, you try not to let it become a civil war and spin out of control. The delicate line that we are walking is right now; we're in a conflict with Muqtada al Sadr forces, if you will. You want to keep from having that develop into a Sunni -- a Shiia civil war between the Shiia themselves, the supporters of Sistani and al Sadr. And you also want to prevent it from developing into a conflict, where the Shiias unite against the U.S. and coalition forces in that country. It's a very fine line to walk, particularly when you've got Fallujah going on -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And finally, I want to talk about this June 30 date, when the political sovereignty will be turned over to the Iraqi people. But this is not when the U.S. military is going to pick up and go home.

SHEPPERD: No, it isn't. The U.S. military is going to stay, there's no question about that, probably in the neighborhood of a few to several years. They're going to be necessary to go out of the cities and maintain cantonment areas, to be called upon to provide security for the developing security forces of the Iraqis. No question about that.

Now, you learn to listen carefully in Washington. The president before was saying the 30 June date is in viable. Yesterday, he said it's firm; that is a change in the voice. There's been calls by Senator Lugar and others to adjust that date; the Iraqis are not ready to take over. My suspicion is the date will hold and it will be hand over, but the U.S. forces will be behind the scenes ready to support the new government -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, let me ask you this. If Iraq is as dangerous as it is right now for the U.S. military, with the Coalition Provisional Authority in charge, how dangerous is it going to be when those people give up control?

SHEPPERD: Well, it's going to be dangerous for the U.S. forces no matter when we're there. In my opinion, we'll be shot at as long as we're there and we'll be shot at on the boats leaving. It's always going to be a dangerous place for us.

But the key to security in Iraq is not U.S. forces providing security. It is allowing the Iraqis to take over their own security and training the forces, their police force, the civil defense corps, the border guards, the army, the Facility Protection Service. Training those people to take over and as soon as possible and then leaving as soon as possible. Security will get better when Iraqis provide their own security.

KAGAN: Well, but just real quickly, you saw what happened in Sadr City over the weekend. There were Iraqi police in charge and as soon as things got heated up, they got out of dodge.

SHEPPERD: Yes, indeed. And that's going to happen, there's no question about it. You've got to train them. You've got to equip them. And it's going to take some time for this to happen. Also, this is a splinter group. This is a struggle within the Shiia community. This not a widespread following and you have got to be careful not to turn it into that with our rhetoric and our actions -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Major General Don Shepperd from Tucson, Arizona. General, thanks for your time this morning.

SHEPPERD: Pleasure.

KAGAN: There are no shortage of critics of the war in Iraq. One of them has a stinging new critique of the president's performance as commander-in-chief. In a blistering election year attack yesterday, Senator Edward Kennedy said, quote, "Iraq is George Bush's Vietnam." And that the president has now, quote, "created the largest credibility gap since Richard Nixon."

The liberal Senator, a supporter of John Kerry's presidential bid, explained what he sees as similarities between the two wars. He was on "LARRY KING" last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We didn't understand what we were getting ourselves into in Vietnam. We didn't understand what we were doing in Iraq. We had misrepresentations about what we were able to do militarily in Vietnam. I think we are finding that out in Iraq as well. That is basically the similarity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Kennedy's comments drew a strong response from Senator Mitch McDonald of Kentucky.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R) KENTUCKY: Well, today the Senator has mounted another vicious attack on the president. By leveling claims so outrageous so completely outrageous, that I'm not going to repeat them here on the Senate floor. Although they are being carried on television across the world, presumably even in Baghdad, where those who are fighting Americans in the street can view them!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Public opinion about the war in Iraq is virtually unchanged since last month. The new poll by the Pew Research Center says 57 percent of Americans polled believe use of military force in Iraq was the right decision. That is up from 55 percent, while 35 percent of those polled say no. That's down from 39 percent from mid March. The poll has a sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points.

A tearful apology follows a terrible accident and police are looking for the driver in a hit and run accident.

And the president talks jobs in his travels around the country. Later, we are celebrating the Pink Panther's 40 anniversary. Robert Wagner joins us to talk Pink on DVD.

This is CNN "LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: To Florida now. A woman that police are investigating in a deadly hit and run accident has apologized, without admitting that she was responsible.

CNN's Susan Candiotti has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER PORTER, HIT-AND-RUN DRIVER: I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Five days after a fatal hit and run, Jennifer Porter sat before cameras. Her eyes fixed on a brief written statement and apologized to the victim's mother.

PORTER: I wish there was more that I could say to ease your pain. I know there is nothing I can do to bring your two precious sons back, Bryant and Duronte (ph).

CANDIOTTI: As her family watched, Porter and her attorney chose their words carefully. Neither technically acknowledged she was the driver of a car that struck and killed two of four young brothers who were crossing a Tampa street last Wednesday. Neither would discuss what happened or why the 28-year-old grade school dance teacher left the scene without stopping.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one knows how he or she will react in the face of what Jennifer was faced with. Frightened beyond imagination...

CANDIOTTI: At a weekend vigil, victims Bryant Wilkins, 13 and his 3-year-old brother, Duronte, were remembered. Their 8-year-old sister who has spoken with police and 2-year-old brother survived their injuries. Police say they are still looking for a van with possible witnesses. They say another car might also be involved in the hit and run. Porter's family contacted the lawyer two days after the accident and he called police. Before Porter came forward, the victims' mother spoke publicly.

MALISSA WILKINS, VICTIM'S MOTHER: Whoever hit my babies, I know you're probably scared and I hold no hatred toward nobody.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Police have not made any arrests. They say they're still collecting evidence from Porter's car and interviewing witnesses. Porter's attorney said she is cooperating with authorities, but won't explain how. So far, he's not allowing her to speak with police because as he puts it, she's dealing with some "tough issues.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Screening for potential terrorists, are some people being unfairly targeted. We'll tell you about a new lawsuit against the government.

And it's been 10 years since Kurt Cobain died. If you can believe that. There are still lingering question about how he died. We'll take a look at that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Nirvana's Kurt Cobain has been dead for10 years now, but the questions surrounding how he died are still being asked.

Our Sibila Vargas shows us a new book that may fuel the controversy even more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He captivated the music world with "Spells Like Team Spirit," and 10 years after his death, Kurt Cobain's impact is still being felt today. The Seattle native and his band Nirvana released only three studio albums, but critics say their music impacted a generation.

CARYN GANZ, ASST. EDITOR, "SPIN" MAGAZINE: Nothing would be the same without the Nirvana. It irreparably changed everything about radio of that era and you can still hear the effects today.

VARGAS: As Cobain's fame soared, his personal life was plagued by heroin use and his fascination with suicide. On April 5, 1994, Cobain left his wife, Courtney Love, his daughter Frances and the music world behind. At his Seattle home, police say the 27-year-old rocker injected himself with a massive dose of heroin, put a shotgun in his mouth and fired. Even though authorities ruled his death a suicide, speculation continues to surface surrounding Cobain's death.

(on camera): And now a new book claims to have evidence to support a conspiracy theory. It suggests that Cobain was killed and that Courtney Love's behavior following his death was suspicious.

(voice-over): But many fans suspect the author's motive, not Love's.

GANZ: It definitely seems like an opportunistic time for this second book to come out. And especially with Courtney Love in the dire straits that she is in right now.

VARGAS: Ten years later, the controversy and Cobain's music live on.

Sibila Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KAGAN: Coming up on CNN's LIVE TODAY, the president heads to Arkansas. Will his message about jobs hit home with a community hit hard by unemployment?

And later...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SCREAMING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: He moved like no other. We have actor Robert Wagner joining us. Can you believe it's the 40-anniversary of the Pink Panther movies? You're going to be able to get them on DVD. Robert Wagner was in the original Pink Panther; he'll be with us in just a bit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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


Aired April 6, 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 we begin this hour in Iraq. The anti-American cleric, who has been inciting violence, says he has taken refuge in a Shiia holy site. Muqtada al Sadr is calling for a general strike and demands coalition pullback from populated areas.

Twenty-one members of the U.S. coalition in Iraq have been killed in the past 72 hours. The latest being a U.S. soldier who died overnight. The clash is from Baghdad to Fallujah also killed dozens of Iraqis. Despite the rising death toll, civilian administrator Paul Bremer said this morning there is no question that the U.S. has control over the country, according to Bremer.

Back to the United States now, where portions of south Texas are bracing for even more heavy rain. The death toll from the flood- related accidents rose by five yesterday, due to a crash near the Texas town of Pecos. Across the border, at least, 31 people have died in flood-related deaths in one Mexican border city alone.

The American Civil Liberties Union is taking aim at a controversial security measure spawned by the 9/11 attacks. The group says it will file a class action lawsuit challenging a so-called, "No- Fly" list that prevents certain people from boarding commercial airlines. The ACLU says those on the list are unfairly stigmatized and interrogated.

We're going to get started right away. Begin the hour in Iraq, where coalition forces are staging a fierce response to a chorus of conflicts. You have battles in Fallujah and Baghdad, Sadr City, which have left dozens of Iraqis dead. It has been a bloody three days of combat.

Our Jim Clancy is live in Baghdad with the latest -- Jim.

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good afternoon to you from Baghdad. Certainly this a very critical juncture of the U.S. as it moves ahead with the occupation. Remember counting down, 90 days to turn over sovereignty, now fighting on two fronts.

First, the Shiite Muslim cleric, the young man named Muqtada al Sadr issuing a ultimatum to U.S. forces saying his uprising, that has caused a lot of casualties in the last 48 hours, his uprising is going to continue until and unless U.S. pulls its troops out of populated areas and releases all prisoners. Now, it's not clear if he really expects the U.S. to comply with those demands. More likely, he is pushing in the eyes of some senior U.S. military people, pushing his case forward, trying to see what the response will be from Iraqis themselves.

This is a dangerous situation; scores of Iraqis have been killed. Supporters of him, members of his militia -- a self-style -- it's called the al Mehdi Army but it's really his private militia. Some 600 members are well trained but thousands of others could be brought in there. It cost U.S. lives, four U.S. soldiers died here. Three died in Baghdad overnight in attacks; rocket-propelled grenades mostly in the capital.

Meantime, in Sadr City, it was the Iraqis that suffered casualties. Dozens of dead, more than a hundred wounded, no U.S. casualties reported there in that fighting as they tried to overtake some police stations.

In Fallujah, we have a different scene. That is where U.S. Marines have encircled the city. Very methodically shutting down the roads, warning residents to stay indoors. Methodically going about, trying to get at those people who may have been responsible for the killing of four U.S. civilian security contractors last Wednesday, their bodies -- charred bodies dragged through the streets of Fallujah. The U.S. said that wasn't going to stand. They've gone in to get them; they're doing it in a very methodical way.

We had a report of four Marines killed overnight in Anbar Province, but now we understand from our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, U.S. Marine officials there saying that those were killed in a roadside bomb, not inside Fallujah.

So we have a developing battlefield on several fronts. Paul Bremer weighing in and saying Muqtada al Sadr is really trying to intimidate, to force his will, and force his way onto the stage in politics in Iraq right now. And he said using a gun, that simply won't work.

Back to you.

KAGAN: Jim Clancy in Baghdad.

We'll be hearing from Barbara Starr in just a moment. We want to get to the Paul Bremer sound that you were talking about. The civilian administrator in Iraq, he appeared on "AMERICAN MORNING" earlier today. This is what he had to say about Muqtada al Sadr.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BREMER, IRAQI CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: This is a guy who has a fundamentally inappropriate view of the new Iraq. He believes that in the new Iraq, like in the old Iraq, power should be to the guy who has got the guns. And that's an unacceptable vision for Iraq. He's also guilty, or at least he's accused, by an Iraqi judge of orchestrating a terrible bloody, heinous murder of one of the most respected religious leaders in Iraq back in April.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: And now let's get the latest from the Pentagon. The warrant for al Sadr's arrest leaves many wondering about the Pentagon strategy for getting him.

Let's bring Barbara Starr in for that and other news from Iraq.

Good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Daryn. This is now the key question, when and how will the U.S. military go after al Sadr, and execute that arrest warrant and take him into custody. Officials here saying it will be a very delicate matter; that they will move very precisely. And they may indeed move quite slowly on this matter because what they don't want to do is incite further violence. Their concern right now is as his supporters grow in the street, if the U.S. military makes a move, takes him into custody, this could simply raise his profile with his militia. With people who might otherwise not be loyal to him and be against the coalition, that it might bring them into Muqtada al Sadr's camp.

And of course, if indeed he remains holed up, if you will, in a holy site, in a mosque, the U.S. military extremely unlikely, very unlikely to go after him inside a holy site and arrest him there. So, at the moment, it's a bit of a standoff. The U.S. military wanting to make sure it doesn't make any untoward moves that could raise his profile further and cause even further violence.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, we will be back with you later in the morning.

Looking more about Pentagon strategy here and the call, potentially to bring more troops into the Iraq, where are those troops going to come from? For that, let's go ahead and bring in Major General retired Donald Shepperd joining us this morning.

General, good morning. Thanks for being with us.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET), U.S. AIR FORCE: Morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: We heard from General John Abizaid yesterday saying he's wants the option, if needed, to bring more military troops into Iraq. Where are those troops going to come from -- General?

SHEPPERD: Well, they're going to come from three areas. One is you're going to re-deploy troops that are already in another country. Another is you might slow down the rotation of troops back home. We're going from 130,000 down to about 105; 110,000 was the plan. You slow that rotation down. And then others you return from other U.S. Army forces around the world, Daryn. So they can come from many places, but some of them will be people that have just recently been in Iraq, because the forces are already stretched thin.

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and look at this conflict that continues just to escalate. There was the front, dealing with Fallujah and with the Sunnis, now the Shiites in an uprising of their own. How do you battle both and how do you keep this from becoming a civil war -- General?

SHEPPERD: Yes, you try not to let it become a civil war and spin out of control. The delicate line that we are walking is right now; we're in a conflict with Muqtada al Sadr forces, if you will. You want to keep from having that develop into a Sunni -- a Shiia civil war between the Shiia themselves, the supporters of Sistani and al Sadr. And you also want to prevent it from developing into a conflict, where the Shiias unite against the U.S. and coalition forces in that country. It's a very fine line to walk, particularly when you've got Fallujah going on -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And finally, I want to talk about this June 30 date, when the political sovereignty will be turned over to the Iraqi people. But this is not when the U.S. military is going to pick up and go home.

SHEPPERD: No, it isn't. The U.S. military is going to stay, there's no question about that, probably in the neighborhood of a few to several years. They're going to be necessary to go out of the cities and maintain cantonment areas, to be called upon to provide security for the developing security forces of the Iraqis. No question about that.

Now, you learn to listen carefully in Washington. The president before was saying the 30 June date is in viable. Yesterday, he said it's firm; that is a change in the voice. There's been calls by Senator Lugar and others to adjust that date; the Iraqis are not ready to take over. My suspicion is the date will hold and it will be hand over, but the U.S. forces will be behind the scenes ready to support the new government -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, let me ask you this. If Iraq is as dangerous as it is right now for the U.S. military, with the Coalition Provisional Authority in charge, how dangerous is it going to be when those people give up control?

SHEPPERD: Well, it's going to be dangerous for the U.S. forces no matter when we're there. In my opinion, we'll be shot at as long as we're there and we'll be shot at on the boats leaving. It's always going to be a dangerous place for us.

But the key to security in Iraq is not U.S. forces providing security. It is allowing the Iraqis to take over their own security and training the forces, their police force, the civil defense corps, the border guards, the army, the Facility Protection Service. Training those people to take over and as soon as possible and then leaving as soon as possible. Security will get better when Iraqis provide their own security.

KAGAN: Well, but just real quickly, you saw what happened in Sadr City over the weekend. There were Iraqi police in charge and as soon as things got heated up, they got out of dodge.

SHEPPERD: Yes, indeed. And that's going to happen, there's no question about it. You've got to train them. You've got to equip them. And it's going to take some time for this to happen. Also, this is a splinter group. This is a struggle within the Shiia community. This not a widespread following and you have got to be careful not to turn it into that with our rhetoric and our actions -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Major General Don Shepperd from Tucson, Arizona. General, thanks for your time this morning.

SHEPPERD: Pleasure.

KAGAN: There are no shortage of critics of the war in Iraq. One of them has a stinging new critique of the president's performance as commander-in-chief. In a blistering election year attack yesterday, Senator Edward Kennedy said, quote, "Iraq is George Bush's Vietnam." And that the president has now, quote, "created the largest credibility gap since Richard Nixon."

The liberal Senator, a supporter of John Kerry's presidential bid, explained what he sees as similarities between the two wars. He was on "LARRY KING" last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We didn't understand what we were getting ourselves into in Vietnam. We didn't understand what we were doing in Iraq. We had misrepresentations about what we were able to do militarily in Vietnam. I think we are finding that out in Iraq as well. That is basically the similarity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Kennedy's comments drew a strong response from Senator Mitch McDonald of Kentucky.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R) KENTUCKY: Well, today the Senator has mounted another vicious attack on the president. By leveling claims so outrageous so completely outrageous, that I'm not going to repeat them here on the Senate floor. Although they are being carried on television across the world, presumably even in Baghdad, where those who are fighting Americans in the street can view them!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Public opinion about the war in Iraq is virtually unchanged since last month. The new poll by the Pew Research Center says 57 percent of Americans polled believe use of military force in Iraq was the right decision. That is up from 55 percent, while 35 percent of those polled say no. That's down from 39 percent from mid March. The poll has a sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points.

A tearful apology follows a terrible accident and police are looking for the driver in a hit and run accident.

And the president talks jobs in his travels around the country. Later, we are celebrating the Pink Panther's 40 anniversary. Robert Wagner joins us to talk Pink on DVD.

This is CNN "LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: To Florida now. A woman that police are investigating in a deadly hit and run accident has apologized, without admitting that she was responsible.

CNN's Susan Candiotti has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER PORTER, HIT-AND-RUN DRIVER: I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Five days after a fatal hit and run, Jennifer Porter sat before cameras. Her eyes fixed on a brief written statement and apologized to the victim's mother.

PORTER: I wish there was more that I could say to ease your pain. I know there is nothing I can do to bring your two precious sons back, Bryant and Duronte (ph).

CANDIOTTI: As her family watched, Porter and her attorney chose their words carefully. Neither technically acknowledged she was the driver of a car that struck and killed two of four young brothers who were crossing a Tampa street last Wednesday. Neither would discuss what happened or why the 28-year-old grade school dance teacher left the scene without stopping.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one knows how he or she will react in the face of what Jennifer was faced with. Frightened beyond imagination...

CANDIOTTI: At a weekend vigil, victims Bryant Wilkins, 13 and his 3-year-old brother, Duronte, were remembered. Their 8-year-old sister who has spoken with police and 2-year-old brother survived their injuries. Police say they are still looking for a van with possible witnesses. They say another car might also be involved in the hit and run. Porter's family contacted the lawyer two days after the accident and he called police. Before Porter came forward, the victims' mother spoke publicly.

MALISSA WILKINS, VICTIM'S MOTHER: Whoever hit my babies, I know you're probably scared and I hold no hatred toward nobody.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Police have not made any arrests. They say they're still collecting evidence from Porter's car and interviewing witnesses. Porter's attorney said she is cooperating with authorities, but won't explain how. So far, he's not allowing her to speak with police because as he puts it, she's dealing with some "tough issues.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Screening for potential terrorists, are some people being unfairly targeted. We'll tell you about a new lawsuit against the government.

And it's been 10 years since Kurt Cobain died. If you can believe that. There are still lingering question about how he died. We'll take a look at that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Nirvana's Kurt Cobain has been dead for10 years now, but the questions surrounding how he died are still being asked.

Our Sibila Vargas shows us a new book that may fuel the controversy even more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He captivated the music world with "Spells Like Team Spirit," and 10 years after his death, Kurt Cobain's impact is still being felt today. The Seattle native and his band Nirvana released only three studio albums, but critics say their music impacted a generation.

CARYN GANZ, ASST. EDITOR, "SPIN" MAGAZINE: Nothing would be the same without the Nirvana. It irreparably changed everything about radio of that era and you can still hear the effects today.

VARGAS: As Cobain's fame soared, his personal life was plagued by heroin use and his fascination with suicide. On April 5, 1994, Cobain left his wife, Courtney Love, his daughter Frances and the music world behind. At his Seattle home, police say the 27-year-old rocker injected himself with a massive dose of heroin, put a shotgun in his mouth and fired. Even though authorities ruled his death a suicide, speculation continues to surface surrounding Cobain's death.

(on camera): And now a new book claims to have evidence to support a conspiracy theory. It suggests that Cobain was killed and that Courtney Love's behavior following his death was suspicious.

(voice-over): But many fans suspect the author's motive, not Love's.

GANZ: It definitely seems like an opportunistic time for this second book to come out. And especially with Courtney Love in the dire straits that she is in right now.

VARGAS: Ten years later, the controversy and Cobain's music live on.

Sibila Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KAGAN: Coming up on CNN's LIVE TODAY, the president heads to Arkansas. Will his message about jobs hit home with a community hit hard by unemployment?

And later...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SCREAMING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: He moved like no other. We have actor Robert Wagner joining us. Can you believe it's the 40-anniversary of the Pink Panther movies? You're going to be able to get them on DVD. Robert Wagner was in the original Pink Panther; he'll be with us in just a bit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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