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American Morning
The President Goes to the Pentagon; A New and Bloody Battle for Control of Sadr City
Aired May 10, 2004 - 07:00 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: How to handle the worst of the Iraqi abuse photos. The President goes to the Pentagon this morning. What's his message for the secretary of defense?
Also, support at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Yellow shirts and yellow ribbons back home for the first soldier to stand trial for abusing Iraqis.
And the fight goes on. A new and bloody battle for control of Sadr City on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. Starting another week we welcome back our friend Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, thank you.
HEMMER: ... here at AMERICAN MORNING. Missed you last week.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: Look great and refreshed.
O'BRIEN: You see my new bracelet? My daughter made this.
HEMMER: Oh, wonderful.
O'BRIEN: It's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: Sophie.
O'BRIEN: Sophia. Thank you. Little clay and beads and pipe cleaner.
HEMMER: Have a good mother's day?
O'BRIEN: I had a great mother's day. HEMMER: Excellent.
O'BRIEN: Really nice.
HEMMER: Well, welcome back here.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
HEMMER: In a few moments here on AMERICAN MORNING we'll talk to the parents of Army staff sergeant Ivan "Chip" Frederick, seen here sitting on an Iraqi prisoner.
He's another of the service members facing court marshal in the current scandal.
What he told his family about the prison -- and was he just following orders from higher up?
We'll get to those topics in a moment.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider joins us, giving us the political score card for President Bush and Senator John Kerry.
Lots has been made, of course, of the candidates clear differences. The questions now -- are they really much closer than they seem?
HEMMER: We'll get to that in a second here.
Jack Cafferty here on a Monday -- good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. John Kerry, Democrat, Catholic, wants to be president. Could be a problem. We'll take a look.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. Let's get to our top stories this morning.
We begin in Iraq, of course, where coalition forces now stepping up operations against radical cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr.
Soldiers destroyed Al-Sadr's headquarters in Baghdad overnight. Some 19 insurgents were killed in a series of clashes with U.S. soldiers and along with the newly organized Iraqi civil defense corps, a small contingent of coalition forces entered Fallujah.
Military officials say the corps may have better luck persuading insurgents there to disarm.
Police in the Philippines say today's voting day has been largely peaceful and quiet, a change from the month leading up to the national elections, when some 100 people were killed or injured.
Incumbent president Gloria Arroyo has been in a tight race with her main challenger, film star Fernando Poe. Official results are due out next month, but early tallies are expected just within hours.
NBA star Kobe Bryant expected to enter a plea of not guilty at his arraignment this week. Prosecutors have accused Bryant of sexually assaulting a hotel employee in Colorado last June.
A three-day hearing begins today whether defense lawyers will be allowed to use the accusers sexual history against her at trial will also be examined this week.
A long career of making people laugh has ended for comedian and actor Alan King. He died of lung cancer yesterday right here in New York City.
King gained fame, of course, with his humorous observations on suburbia and married life. King also appeared regularly on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and the "Tonight Show," and was a fixture on stage and in movies.
Alan King was 76 years old.
Weather now: lots of damage as storms rumbled through Minnesota. The severe weather spawned tornadoes and funnel clouds. Winds of over 70 miles an hour uprooted trees in some areas, leaving thousands of folks without power, but fortunately there were no reports of any serious injuries.
HEMMER: It's amazing when you see that videotape and no injuries. Amazing stuff.
O'BRIEN: It is pretty shocking.
HEMMER: We're off and running on a Monday.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: President Bush crossing the Potomac River today for a visit to the Pentagon. Mr. Bush will receive a briefing there on what's happening in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the military has announced that Spec. Jeremy Sivits will be the first soldier to face a court martial in connection with the abuse.
Spec. Sivits will be tried May 19 in Baghdad on charges of mistreating detainees.
At the Pentagon today and Barbara Starr. Good morning there.
BARBARA STARR, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
Well, President Bush expected to arrive here at the Pentagon about 10:20 Eastern time this morning. He will receive a briefing on Iraq, a briefing that was scheduled before the prisoner abuse scandal erupted but, of course, that is going to be topic number one.
This will be a classic Washington photo op for the president.
After the meeting is over he is expected to come out, make a statement. He may appear with the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Expected to voice his very strong support for Don Rumsfeld to stay in the job as secretary of defense, but the undercurrent here is that it is Secretary Rumsfeld who is now deciding whether he feels he can continue to be effective in the job.
Meanwhile, as you say, May 19 Spec. Jeremy Sivits will go on trial facing court martial in Baghdad. The accusations against him: maltreatment of prisoners; conspiracy; dereliction of duty.
The first of several soldiers expected to face legal proceedings in this prison abuse scandal, and the word is that his court marital proceeding may be open to the public, televised, so that the Arab world will be able to see U.S. military justice -- Bill.
HEMMER: You mentioned Secretary Rumsfeld. Do we hear much about Gen. Richard Myers in this debate, Barbara?
STARR: Very interesting question, Bill.
So far, not so much. Except today that may change. The independent newspaper "The Army Times," very influential with its military audience, but independent, is going to run an editorial today that is equally critical of Chairman Myers as well as Secretary Rumsfeld -- the real first harsh criticism against Gen. Myers.
That editorial will say, quote, "This was a failure that ran straight to the top. Accountability here is essential, even if that means relieving the top leaders from duty in a time of war."
The first real public criticism against Gen. Myers.
HEMMER: Barbara Starr from the Pentagon this morning -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well Bill, Spec. Sivits has been charged with maltreatment of prisoners, conspiracy to maltreat prisoners, and dereliction of duty for not preventing the maltreatment of prisoners.
But in Sivits' Pennsylvania hometown, support for him remains strong.
Alina Cho has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's our girl.
ALINA CHO, CNN: Mike Sleegle says he stands behind Spec. Jeremy Sivits 100 percent.
MIKE SLEEGLE, RESIDENT: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). They drug our kids through the streets, behind Jeeps, they burnt them, they hung them from a bridge and why are we held higher standards than they are? We're at war.
CHO: Daughter Heather went to the prom with him. She says Sivits was so proud of being a soldier; he wore his uniform to the dance.
HEATHER SLEEGLE, RESIDENT: Oh, he told me ahead of time that he was going to wear his uniform.
CHO: And you said?
HEATHER SLEEGLE: I said that was fine with me.
CHO: Because?
HEATHER SLEEGLE: Because all guys look good in uniforms.
CHO: This small Pennsylvania town openly shows its support for the truth, which most of the support these days going to Jeremy Sivits.
Sivits will stand trial in Baghdad on May 19, a world away.
MIKE SLEEGLE, RESIDENT: The boy's a good boy.
CHO: Both Sivits' mother and father told CNN commenting on the case right now would only hurt their son.
The community says it could do without all of this attention and says the prison scandal in Iraqi is hitting a bit too close to home.
Alina Cho, CNN, southwestern Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: One of the other soldiers recommended to face court marital is staff sergeant Ivan "Chip" Frederick.
He was the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer at the Abu Ghraib Prison, and he has been corresponding with his parents by e- mail.
Ivan "Red" Frederick and Jo Ann Frederick join us this morning from Clarksburg, West Virginia.
Good morning to both of you, and thanks for being with us. I certainly appreciate it.
JO ANN FREDERICK, MOTHER OF ACCUSED SOLDIER: Good morning.
IVAN "RED" FREDERICK, FATHER OF ACCUSED SOLDIER: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: What has Chip told you about some of these photographs that we have seen -- and as I'm sure for you, as everyone else, they are incredibly disturbing -- shocking, I think is a fair word to use?
What has he said to you about the photos that he is in?
"RED" FREDERICK: I don't think that he is --not in any of those photos -- and I don't know whether he was present when those was taken or not, but the photo that shows him sitting on this Iraqi prisoner is the one that he relates to me as Houdini.
That was hard to control, and at the times they would try to put him in leg irons and handcuffs because he would defecate and rub it on his mattress, rub it all over his self, throw it at other prisoners -- others soldiers.
And he was an escape artist because he said he broke out of about seven different handcuffs and leg chains and every time he asked for some help, it was go back and do the best you can do and try to see what you can figure out to control this man.
As a last resort, I think the picture shows that they had cut a hole in a mattress, wrapped his wrists, put body chain around him, chained -- handcuffed him to this chain and put a stretcher on each side of him with leather restraints around that and they said within minutes he was out of it and gone from an escape.
And he had asked for a mental evaluation...
O'BRIEN: Mr. Frederick, I'm going to interrupt you here for a second -- forgive me, sir, but so -- your son has said that essentially that this prisoner deserved this treatment because of his behavior, is that what he's basically said to you?
"RED" FREDERICK: No, he -- it was a situation where he had to try to control this prisoner and with only eight people trying to take care of 800 prisoners, he took up a lot of time, and every time he asked for help, he didn't get it, and the battalion told him you know go back and see what you can come up with to control this man.
O'BRIEN: I know that Chip e-mailed you with some of his concerns about some of the treatment of the prisoners.
Was he worried; did he express to you concern about some of the things that everybody was doing there that were not right?
"RED" FREDERICK: Yes, he did when he first went there he told them he wasn't qualified for this job; he asked for the rules and regulations and they told him there is none you'll have to do the best you can.
And every time he brought up the subject about abuse or something, they would tell him, you know, the MI is in here and the civilian contractors and the battalion commanders are running this place, and you do what they tell you.
O'BRIEN: So did he complain to anybody higher up or did he -- he sort of feel like this was a gray area; he was getting a command and so he had to follow the command? JO ANN FREDERICK: No, he always complained to higher ups. To his commanders.
O'BRIEN: To his commanders. The military intelligencer officers?
JO ANN FREDERICK: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Or the commanders on the other side?
JO ANN FREDERICK: Commanders.
O'BRIEN: So...
JO ANN FREDERICK: That was my understanding.
O'BRIEN: But I guess it sounds like he's -- even though he complained and didn't feel that what he was doing was right, he continued his involvement in all of this and of course -- did he know that you can -- an unlawful command from a commanding officer does not have to be followed by a soldier?
FREDERICK: That is one thing they teach you when basic training is -- if a senior officer gives you a command you will do it or you're subject to court martial or you may wish you had of.
O'BRIEN: There's a report that your son...
JO ANN FREDERICK: I think...
O'BRIEN: I'm sorry -- go ahead.
JO ANN FREDERICK: I think what they're not understanding here is he was not the interrogator.
The softening up was one thing and that does not necessarily mean that he was not involved in the abuse, that's where the unidentified men took them to another different section of the prison and that's where the interrogation took place and obviously most of the abuse.
O'BRIEN: As you well know, your son now faces court marital. Have they given you a date when his trial could start?
JO ANN FREDERICK: No, we don't know that right now.
O'BRIEN: Mr. and Mrs. Frederick, thank you for being with us this morning, appreciate it.
JO ANN FREDERICK: Thank you.
HEMMER: About fourteen minutes now past the hour.
Former first lady Nancy Reagan -- an emotional call to take politics out of stem cell research.
Mrs. Reagan addressed the star-studded crowd at a fund raising dinner Saturday night in Beverly Hills.
Stem cell research could help to cure many devastating diseases such as Alzheimer's. The disease afflicts her husband, the former president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY REAGAN: Ronnie's long journey has finally taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him. We can't share the wonderful memories of our 52 years together and I think that's probably the hardest part.
And because of this I'm determined to do what I can to save other families from this pain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Again, from this weekend, Nancy Reagan.
This is the last picture of President Reagan since his Alzheimer's has progressed. It was taken on his birthday back in 2000.
Mrs. Reagan is one of the first conservative public figures to go against President Bush's restrictions on stem cell research.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning -- are President Bush and Senator John Kerry closer on the issues than many people realize?
We're going to take you live to Washington for a closer look at that question.
HEMMER: Also this week, Kobe Bryant gets ready to enter a plea in court. To Eagle, Colorado -- the latest there in a moment.
O'BRIEN: And the "Survivor All Stars" ends with a big twist.
Our "90-Second Pop" panelists will give you their twist on all of that ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Now to the campaign 2004 presidential campaign -- last week's Gallup poll showed President Bush and Senator Kerry in a statistical dead heat with likely voters, but are the two actually closer on the key issues than they say they are?
When it comes to getting votes in November will it be the policy or cultural agendas that matter most?
All questions for our senior analyst Bill Schneider with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Bill good morning to you, live in D.C. today.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POL. ANALYST: Good morning, Bill. HEMMER: Want to put up on our screen here for our viewers some of these bigger issues that these two candidates generally agree on.
And they are significant, too. Tax cuts, the war in Iraq, education, the deficit and policies that deal directly with the Middle East.
Why are they so similar on some of the biggest issues out there in this campaign?
SCHNEIDER: Well they're competing for votes in the center. Look, you -- this sounds like a campaign, a battle of the extremes the way they attack each other.
But the fact is both candidates are fairly similar. They differ in details and they shout about those details, but, for instance, on tax cuts: Kerry wants to keep Bush's tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans.
It's just the top two percent -- the wealthiest two percent that he wants to get rid of for the tax cuts.
The war in Iraq -- Kerry wants to internationalize the war and President Bush has been moving to that position.
Education -- Kerry voted for the "no child left behind" bill, now makes some complaints about it being inadequately funded, but Bush is moving toward meeting some of those complaints that Kerry has registered.
Both of them claim they're going to cut the deficit in half within the next five years; and there's really no difference between them at all on the Middle East and Israel.
So really what you've got despite all the shouting is a battle between two fairly centrist candidates.
HEMMER: So they generally disagree on a few main topics, too -- on the screen again Bill: health care, abortion, gay marriage and the death penalty. Does the election break on some of these issues?
SCHNEIDER: Well, it does. And that's what's interesting.
Health care is the biggest single difference between them. Kerry has an ambitious plan to cover 27 million Americans, but it's very costly and Bush's charging that he'll have to raise taxes in order to pay for it.
On the cultural issues like abortion, the gay marriage amendment, they both oppose gay marriage, but only President Bush supports an amendment to prohibit it.
The death penalty, which Kerry opposes except for terrorists. Those cultural issues are making an enormous difference. That's what's dividing the country. If this is a battle between two centrists, why is the country so polarized? For the same reason it was divided under President Clinton.
President Clinton's policies were centrist policies. Balancing the budget, welfare reform, free trade -- Republicans loved those things. He stole them from the Republicans.
So why was the country torn apart? Because of Clinton's values, because of his personal behavior, because he came from the cultural values of the '60s and that just drives Republicans nuts. The same way Bush's values drive Democrats crazy.
HEMMER: Some of these swing states -- 17 battleground states now being looked at so closely -- I found this poll in Ohio fascinating. They talked to 3300 people. The difference between John Kerry and George Bush was 34 votes.
Out of 3400 people. If you throw Ralph Nader into our argument today, where do you come down then?
SCHNEIDER: You come to Ralph Nader having an awful lot of clout because if Kerry is a centrist, a lot of liberals are saying wait a minute, why didn't we nominate Howard Dean, why do we have a candidate who's so close to George Bush on the issues and he's not running as strongly as we expected him to?
Here's Bush in trouble on the 9/11 Commission hearings, the war in Iraq is blowing up in his face, and yet Kerry can't beat him?
So you have some liberals saying maybe we should consider not voting for Kerry -- either pushing him aside as some left newspapers have suggested, or perhaps even voting for Ralph Nader. And if they get angry enough over Iraq they might do just that because Ralph Nader is the only real anti-war candidate.
HEMMER: Well the point is well taken. The move to the middle on behalf of the two main candidates at this point.
Bill, thanks -- Bill Schneider down there in D.C. -- good to have you as always.
O'BRIEN: And picking up on that, let's talk to Jack about the "Question of the Day" -- good morning.
CAFFERTY: How you doing? John Kerry is a Democrat; he's also a Catholic.
And if you want to be President of the United States you have to support the democratic position on abortion which is the Democratic Party is pro-choice.
But if you're a Catholic and you want to go to communion the Church says wait a minute, we are adamantly opposed to abortion and you're not entitled to the sacrament if in fact you're advocating something outside Church law. Abortion is actually becoming a litmus test for some Catholic politicians. There are bishops in the country going so far as to refuse communion to Democrats who openly support a woman's right to have an abortion.
Regardless, Senator Kerry took communion yesterday at a Mother's Day mass in Pittsburgh and refused to answer any questions about our question after church was over.
The question is this: should John Kerry be able to support abortion rights and still receive communion? E-mail us at am@cnn.com and we shall discuss it.
HEMMER: Well that's an intriguing issue today.
CAFFERTY: Well, it goes back, I mean, Mario Cuomo faced the same thing when he was governor of New York and the governor of New Jersey is on the horns of the same dilemma, the bishops are saying we're not going to administer communion if you continue to support abortion rights.
It's a -- you know -- a sticky...
HEMMER: Twenty-five percent of the electorate in 2000, Roman Catholics in America. A big part of the voting block yet again in 2004. Thanks Jack.
In a moment here the first court martial for a soldier accused in the prisoner abuse scandal will be an unusual one.
We'll describe what we're hearing out of Baghdad in a moment.
Also, gasoline prices have jumped ten cents higher. Is that it for the summer? Or will it get even worse? Andy checks in after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Gas prices keep hitting record highs plus U.S. Airways may have a bummer of a summer if workers have their way and Southwest Airlines is moving in on its turf is not helping at all.
Andy Serwer's "Minding Your Business" explaining all of that this morning -- good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you.
O'BRIEN: What do you want to start with?
SERWER: Let's start with oil. Financial markets rather unsettled this morning, Soledad. Higher oil prices to blame. We're looking at $40 a barrel in worldwide markets; we're feeling the pinch here at home, of course.
At the pump, gas prices now at -- well you see $2.23 for some of that stuff -- but nationwide we're looking at $1.89. As Bill Hemmer said earlier "streaking."
You might even see $1.93 as a national average, just a little point of information here. We used the AAA survey here which is 60,000 gas stations versus the Lindbergh, which is gets you $1.93, which is fewer gas stations.
Of course, collateral damage going through the economy with these higher prices, U.S. -- American Airlines actually just raising its prices for customers -- ticket prices by $4 roundtrip, so that's the kind of activity you see when this happens.
O'BRIEN: And then bad activity from U.S. Airways.
SERWER: That's right; U.S. Airways filing with the government and saying that its going to be looking at bankruptcy if it cannot reduce costs by 25 percent and this would be the second time because it filed for bankruptcy in August of 2002.
Higher fuel prices to blame there, Soledad and also Southwest Airlines coming into Philadelphia as of yesterday, which is a huge market for U.S. Air; it's one of their hubs.
This is going to be a real death battle for U.S. Air. I mean, this is a lot of industry experts say this is it. If they can't fend off Southwest, they could be in real, real trouble here.
O'BRIEN: All right, Andy thanks. Next time we talk we'll talk a little bit about the markets.
SERWER: OK. We'll do that.
HEMMER: In a moment here, love and money as the latest edition of "Survivor" comes to a dramatic close last night. That and a weekend at the movies with "90-Second Pop." We continue here in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired May 10, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: How to handle the worst of the Iraqi abuse photos. The President goes to the Pentagon this morning. What's his message for the secretary of defense?
Also, support at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Yellow shirts and yellow ribbons back home for the first soldier to stand trial for abusing Iraqis.
And the fight goes on. A new and bloody battle for control of Sadr City on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. Starting another week we welcome back our friend Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, thank you.
HEMMER: ... here at AMERICAN MORNING. Missed you last week.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: Look great and refreshed.
O'BRIEN: You see my new bracelet? My daughter made this.
HEMMER: Oh, wonderful.
O'BRIEN: It's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: Sophie.
O'BRIEN: Sophia. Thank you. Little clay and beads and pipe cleaner.
HEMMER: Have a good mother's day?
O'BRIEN: I had a great mother's day. HEMMER: Excellent.
O'BRIEN: Really nice.
HEMMER: Well, welcome back here.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
HEMMER: In a few moments here on AMERICAN MORNING we'll talk to the parents of Army staff sergeant Ivan "Chip" Frederick, seen here sitting on an Iraqi prisoner.
He's another of the service members facing court marshal in the current scandal.
What he told his family about the prison -- and was he just following orders from higher up?
We'll get to those topics in a moment.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider joins us, giving us the political score card for President Bush and Senator John Kerry.
Lots has been made, of course, of the candidates clear differences. The questions now -- are they really much closer than they seem?
HEMMER: We'll get to that in a second here.
Jack Cafferty here on a Monday -- good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. John Kerry, Democrat, Catholic, wants to be president. Could be a problem. We'll take a look.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. Let's get to our top stories this morning.
We begin in Iraq, of course, where coalition forces now stepping up operations against radical cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr.
Soldiers destroyed Al-Sadr's headquarters in Baghdad overnight. Some 19 insurgents were killed in a series of clashes with U.S. soldiers and along with the newly organized Iraqi civil defense corps, a small contingent of coalition forces entered Fallujah.
Military officials say the corps may have better luck persuading insurgents there to disarm.
Police in the Philippines say today's voting day has been largely peaceful and quiet, a change from the month leading up to the national elections, when some 100 people were killed or injured.
Incumbent president Gloria Arroyo has been in a tight race with her main challenger, film star Fernando Poe. Official results are due out next month, but early tallies are expected just within hours.
NBA star Kobe Bryant expected to enter a plea of not guilty at his arraignment this week. Prosecutors have accused Bryant of sexually assaulting a hotel employee in Colorado last June.
A three-day hearing begins today whether defense lawyers will be allowed to use the accusers sexual history against her at trial will also be examined this week.
A long career of making people laugh has ended for comedian and actor Alan King. He died of lung cancer yesterday right here in New York City.
King gained fame, of course, with his humorous observations on suburbia and married life. King also appeared regularly on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and the "Tonight Show," and was a fixture on stage and in movies.
Alan King was 76 years old.
Weather now: lots of damage as storms rumbled through Minnesota. The severe weather spawned tornadoes and funnel clouds. Winds of over 70 miles an hour uprooted trees in some areas, leaving thousands of folks without power, but fortunately there were no reports of any serious injuries.
HEMMER: It's amazing when you see that videotape and no injuries. Amazing stuff.
O'BRIEN: It is pretty shocking.
HEMMER: We're off and running on a Monday.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: President Bush crossing the Potomac River today for a visit to the Pentagon. Mr. Bush will receive a briefing there on what's happening in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the military has announced that Spec. Jeremy Sivits will be the first soldier to face a court martial in connection with the abuse.
Spec. Sivits will be tried May 19 in Baghdad on charges of mistreating detainees.
At the Pentagon today and Barbara Starr. Good morning there.
BARBARA STARR, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
Well, President Bush expected to arrive here at the Pentagon about 10:20 Eastern time this morning. He will receive a briefing on Iraq, a briefing that was scheduled before the prisoner abuse scandal erupted but, of course, that is going to be topic number one.
This will be a classic Washington photo op for the president.
After the meeting is over he is expected to come out, make a statement. He may appear with the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Expected to voice his very strong support for Don Rumsfeld to stay in the job as secretary of defense, but the undercurrent here is that it is Secretary Rumsfeld who is now deciding whether he feels he can continue to be effective in the job.
Meanwhile, as you say, May 19 Spec. Jeremy Sivits will go on trial facing court martial in Baghdad. The accusations against him: maltreatment of prisoners; conspiracy; dereliction of duty.
The first of several soldiers expected to face legal proceedings in this prison abuse scandal, and the word is that his court marital proceeding may be open to the public, televised, so that the Arab world will be able to see U.S. military justice -- Bill.
HEMMER: You mentioned Secretary Rumsfeld. Do we hear much about Gen. Richard Myers in this debate, Barbara?
STARR: Very interesting question, Bill.
So far, not so much. Except today that may change. The independent newspaper "The Army Times," very influential with its military audience, but independent, is going to run an editorial today that is equally critical of Chairman Myers as well as Secretary Rumsfeld -- the real first harsh criticism against Gen. Myers.
That editorial will say, quote, "This was a failure that ran straight to the top. Accountability here is essential, even if that means relieving the top leaders from duty in a time of war."
The first real public criticism against Gen. Myers.
HEMMER: Barbara Starr from the Pentagon this morning -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well Bill, Spec. Sivits has been charged with maltreatment of prisoners, conspiracy to maltreat prisoners, and dereliction of duty for not preventing the maltreatment of prisoners.
But in Sivits' Pennsylvania hometown, support for him remains strong.
Alina Cho has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's our girl.
ALINA CHO, CNN: Mike Sleegle says he stands behind Spec. Jeremy Sivits 100 percent.
MIKE SLEEGLE, RESIDENT: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). They drug our kids through the streets, behind Jeeps, they burnt them, they hung them from a bridge and why are we held higher standards than they are? We're at war.
CHO: Daughter Heather went to the prom with him. She says Sivits was so proud of being a soldier; he wore his uniform to the dance.
HEATHER SLEEGLE, RESIDENT: Oh, he told me ahead of time that he was going to wear his uniform.
CHO: And you said?
HEATHER SLEEGLE: I said that was fine with me.
CHO: Because?
HEATHER SLEEGLE: Because all guys look good in uniforms.
CHO: This small Pennsylvania town openly shows its support for the truth, which most of the support these days going to Jeremy Sivits.
Sivits will stand trial in Baghdad on May 19, a world away.
MIKE SLEEGLE, RESIDENT: The boy's a good boy.
CHO: Both Sivits' mother and father told CNN commenting on the case right now would only hurt their son.
The community says it could do without all of this attention and says the prison scandal in Iraqi is hitting a bit too close to home.
Alina Cho, CNN, southwestern Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: One of the other soldiers recommended to face court marital is staff sergeant Ivan "Chip" Frederick.
He was the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer at the Abu Ghraib Prison, and he has been corresponding with his parents by e- mail.
Ivan "Red" Frederick and Jo Ann Frederick join us this morning from Clarksburg, West Virginia.
Good morning to both of you, and thanks for being with us. I certainly appreciate it.
JO ANN FREDERICK, MOTHER OF ACCUSED SOLDIER: Good morning.
IVAN "RED" FREDERICK, FATHER OF ACCUSED SOLDIER: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: What has Chip told you about some of these photographs that we have seen -- and as I'm sure for you, as everyone else, they are incredibly disturbing -- shocking, I think is a fair word to use?
What has he said to you about the photos that he is in?
"RED" FREDERICK: I don't think that he is --not in any of those photos -- and I don't know whether he was present when those was taken or not, but the photo that shows him sitting on this Iraqi prisoner is the one that he relates to me as Houdini.
That was hard to control, and at the times they would try to put him in leg irons and handcuffs because he would defecate and rub it on his mattress, rub it all over his self, throw it at other prisoners -- others soldiers.
And he was an escape artist because he said he broke out of about seven different handcuffs and leg chains and every time he asked for some help, it was go back and do the best you can do and try to see what you can figure out to control this man.
As a last resort, I think the picture shows that they had cut a hole in a mattress, wrapped his wrists, put body chain around him, chained -- handcuffed him to this chain and put a stretcher on each side of him with leather restraints around that and they said within minutes he was out of it and gone from an escape.
And he had asked for a mental evaluation...
O'BRIEN: Mr. Frederick, I'm going to interrupt you here for a second -- forgive me, sir, but so -- your son has said that essentially that this prisoner deserved this treatment because of his behavior, is that what he's basically said to you?
"RED" FREDERICK: No, he -- it was a situation where he had to try to control this prisoner and with only eight people trying to take care of 800 prisoners, he took up a lot of time, and every time he asked for help, he didn't get it, and the battalion told him you know go back and see what you can come up with to control this man.
O'BRIEN: I know that Chip e-mailed you with some of his concerns about some of the treatment of the prisoners.
Was he worried; did he express to you concern about some of the things that everybody was doing there that were not right?
"RED" FREDERICK: Yes, he did when he first went there he told them he wasn't qualified for this job; he asked for the rules and regulations and they told him there is none you'll have to do the best you can.
And every time he brought up the subject about abuse or something, they would tell him, you know, the MI is in here and the civilian contractors and the battalion commanders are running this place, and you do what they tell you.
O'BRIEN: So did he complain to anybody higher up or did he -- he sort of feel like this was a gray area; he was getting a command and so he had to follow the command? JO ANN FREDERICK: No, he always complained to higher ups. To his commanders.
O'BRIEN: To his commanders. The military intelligencer officers?
JO ANN FREDERICK: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Or the commanders on the other side?
JO ANN FREDERICK: Commanders.
O'BRIEN: So...
JO ANN FREDERICK: That was my understanding.
O'BRIEN: But I guess it sounds like he's -- even though he complained and didn't feel that what he was doing was right, he continued his involvement in all of this and of course -- did he know that you can -- an unlawful command from a commanding officer does not have to be followed by a soldier?
FREDERICK: That is one thing they teach you when basic training is -- if a senior officer gives you a command you will do it or you're subject to court martial or you may wish you had of.
O'BRIEN: There's a report that your son...
JO ANN FREDERICK: I think...
O'BRIEN: I'm sorry -- go ahead.
JO ANN FREDERICK: I think what they're not understanding here is he was not the interrogator.
The softening up was one thing and that does not necessarily mean that he was not involved in the abuse, that's where the unidentified men took them to another different section of the prison and that's where the interrogation took place and obviously most of the abuse.
O'BRIEN: As you well know, your son now faces court marital. Have they given you a date when his trial could start?
JO ANN FREDERICK: No, we don't know that right now.
O'BRIEN: Mr. and Mrs. Frederick, thank you for being with us this morning, appreciate it.
JO ANN FREDERICK: Thank you.
HEMMER: About fourteen minutes now past the hour.
Former first lady Nancy Reagan -- an emotional call to take politics out of stem cell research.
Mrs. Reagan addressed the star-studded crowd at a fund raising dinner Saturday night in Beverly Hills.
Stem cell research could help to cure many devastating diseases such as Alzheimer's. The disease afflicts her husband, the former president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY REAGAN: Ronnie's long journey has finally taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him. We can't share the wonderful memories of our 52 years together and I think that's probably the hardest part.
And because of this I'm determined to do what I can to save other families from this pain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Again, from this weekend, Nancy Reagan.
This is the last picture of President Reagan since his Alzheimer's has progressed. It was taken on his birthday back in 2000.
Mrs. Reagan is one of the first conservative public figures to go against President Bush's restrictions on stem cell research.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning -- are President Bush and Senator John Kerry closer on the issues than many people realize?
We're going to take you live to Washington for a closer look at that question.
HEMMER: Also this week, Kobe Bryant gets ready to enter a plea in court. To Eagle, Colorado -- the latest there in a moment.
O'BRIEN: And the "Survivor All Stars" ends with a big twist.
Our "90-Second Pop" panelists will give you their twist on all of that ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Now to the campaign 2004 presidential campaign -- last week's Gallup poll showed President Bush and Senator Kerry in a statistical dead heat with likely voters, but are the two actually closer on the key issues than they say they are?
When it comes to getting votes in November will it be the policy or cultural agendas that matter most?
All questions for our senior analyst Bill Schneider with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Bill good morning to you, live in D.C. today.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POL. ANALYST: Good morning, Bill. HEMMER: Want to put up on our screen here for our viewers some of these bigger issues that these two candidates generally agree on.
And they are significant, too. Tax cuts, the war in Iraq, education, the deficit and policies that deal directly with the Middle East.
Why are they so similar on some of the biggest issues out there in this campaign?
SCHNEIDER: Well they're competing for votes in the center. Look, you -- this sounds like a campaign, a battle of the extremes the way they attack each other.
But the fact is both candidates are fairly similar. They differ in details and they shout about those details, but, for instance, on tax cuts: Kerry wants to keep Bush's tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans.
It's just the top two percent -- the wealthiest two percent that he wants to get rid of for the tax cuts.
The war in Iraq -- Kerry wants to internationalize the war and President Bush has been moving to that position.
Education -- Kerry voted for the "no child left behind" bill, now makes some complaints about it being inadequately funded, but Bush is moving toward meeting some of those complaints that Kerry has registered.
Both of them claim they're going to cut the deficit in half within the next five years; and there's really no difference between them at all on the Middle East and Israel.
So really what you've got despite all the shouting is a battle between two fairly centrist candidates.
HEMMER: So they generally disagree on a few main topics, too -- on the screen again Bill: health care, abortion, gay marriage and the death penalty. Does the election break on some of these issues?
SCHNEIDER: Well, it does. And that's what's interesting.
Health care is the biggest single difference between them. Kerry has an ambitious plan to cover 27 million Americans, but it's very costly and Bush's charging that he'll have to raise taxes in order to pay for it.
On the cultural issues like abortion, the gay marriage amendment, they both oppose gay marriage, but only President Bush supports an amendment to prohibit it.
The death penalty, which Kerry opposes except for terrorists. Those cultural issues are making an enormous difference. That's what's dividing the country. If this is a battle between two centrists, why is the country so polarized? For the same reason it was divided under President Clinton.
President Clinton's policies were centrist policies. Balancing the budget, welfare reform, free trade -- Republicans loved those things. He stole them from the Republicans.
So why was the country torn apart? Because of Clinton's values, because of his personal behavior, because he came from the cultural values of the '60s and that just drives Republicans nuts. The same way Bush's values drive Democrats crazy.
HEMMER: Some of these swing states -- 17 battleground states now being looked at so closely -- I found this poll in Ohio fascinating. They talked to 3300 people. The difference between John Kerry and George Bush was 34 votes.
Out of 3400 people. If you throw Ralph Nader into our argument today, where do you come down then?
SCHNEIDER: You come to Ralph Nader having an awful lot of clout because if Kerry is a centrist, a lot of liberals are saying wait a minute, why didn't we nominate Howard Dean, why do we have a candidate who's so close to George Bush on the issues and he's not running as strongly as we expected him to?
Here's Bush in trouble on the 9/11 Commission hearings, the war in Iraq is blowing up in his face, and yet Kerry can't beat him?
So you have some liberals saying maybe we should consider not voting for Kerry -- either pushing him aside as some left newspapers have suggested, or perhaps even voting for Ralph Nader. And if they get angry enough over Iraq they might do just that because Ralph Nader is the only real anti-war candidate.
HEMMER: Well the point is well taken. The move to the middle on behalf of the two main candidates at this point.
Bill, thanks -- Bill Schneider down there in D.C. -- good to have you as always.
O'BRIEN: And picking up on that, let's talk to Jack about the "Question of the Day" -- good morning.
CAFFERTY: How you doing? John Kerry is a Democrat; he's also a Catholic.
And if you want to be President of the United States you have to support the democratic position on abortion which is the Democratic Party is pro-choice.
But if you're a Catholic and you want to go to communion the Church says wait a minute, we are adamantly opposed to abortion and you're not entitled to the sacrament if in fact you're advocating something outside Church law. Abortion is actually becoming a litmus test for some Catholic politicians. There are bishops in the country going so far as to refuse communion to Democrats who openly support a woman's right to have an abortion.
Regardless, Senator Kerry took communion yesterday at a Mother's Day mass in Pittsburgh and refused to answer any questions about our question after church was over.
The question is this: should John Kerry be able to support abortion rights and still receive communion? E-mail us at am@cnn.com and we shall discuss it.
HEMMER: Well that's an intriguing issue today.
CAFFERTY: Well, it goes back, I mean, Mario Cuomo faced the same thing when he was governor of New York and the governor of New Jersey is on the horns of the same dilemma, the bishops are saying we're not going to administer communion if you continue to support abortion rights.
It's a -- you know -- a sticky...
HEMMER: Twenty-five percent of the electorate in 2000, Roman Catholics in America. A big part of the voting block yet again in 2004. Thanks Jack.
In a moment here the first court martial for a soldier accused in the prisoner abuse scandal will be an unusual one.
We'll describe what we're hearing out of Baghdad in a moment.
Also, gasoline prices have jumped ten cents higher. Is that it for the summer? Or will it get even worse? Andy checks in after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Gas prices keep hitting record highs plus U.S. Airways may have a bummer of a summer if workers have their way and Southwest Airlines is moving in on its turf is not helping at all.
Andy Serwer's "Minding Your Business" explaining all of that this morning -- good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you.
O'BRIEN: What do you want to start with?
SERWER: Let's start with oil. Financial markets rather unsettled this morning, Soledad. Higher oil prices to blame. We're looking at $40 a barrel in worldwide markets; we're feeling the pinch here at home, of course.
At the pump, gas prices now at -- well you see $2.23 for some of that stuff -- but nationwide we're looking at $1.89. As Bill Hemmer said earlier "streaking."
You might even see $1.93 as a national average, just a little point of information here. We used the AAA survey here which is 60,000 gas stations versus the Lindbergh, which is gets you $1.93, which is fewer gas stations.
Of course, collateral damage going through the economy with these higher prices, U.S. -- American Airlines actually just raising its prices for customers -- ticket prices by $4 roundtrip, so that's the kind of activity you see when this happens.
O'BRIEN: And then bad activity from U.S. Airways.
SERWER: That's right; U.S. Airways filing with the government and saying that its going to be looking at bankruptcy if it cannot reduce costs by 25 percent and this would be the second time because it filed for bankruptcy in August of 2002.
Higher fuel prices to blame there, Soledad and also Southwest Airlines coming into Philadelphia as of yesterday, which is a huge market for U.S. Air; it's one of their hubs.
This is going to be a real death battle for U.S. Air. I mean, this is a lot of industry experts say this is it. If they can't fend off Southwest, they could be in real, real trouble here.
O'BRIEN: All right, Andy thanks. Next time we talk we'll talk a little bit about the markets.
SERWER: OK. We'll do that.
HEMMER: In a moment here, love and money as the latest edition of "Survivor" comes to a dramatic close last night. That and a weekend at the movies with "90-Second Pop." We continue here in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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