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American Morning
Middle East Violence; Prisoner Abuse Scandal
Aired May 20, 2004 - 07:31 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: That guy is jogging already. Look at him. You go.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: One way to get to work. Only in New York. You go, guy!
It's 7:31 here in New York City. Welcome back, everybody, to AMERICAN MORNING.
A few moments, we'll update you on the escalating violence in the Middle East. Israel receiving worldwide condemnation yesterday after the attack in Gaza. Today, there is even more violence and more Palestinian casualties. We'll get to that in a moment. Matthew Chance is working the story in Gaza.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the Pentagon disputing claims that 40 members of an Iraqi wedding party were killed by U.S. airstrikes in western Iraq. In just a few minutes, we'll talk to retired General Don Shepperd about that; also take a look at what it's going to take for the Pentagon to prove its case.
Before we get to that, though, let's get right to our top stories this morning.
In Baghdad today, U.S. military personnel and Iraqi police surrounding the compound of the Iraqi National Congress. They also raided the nearby home of Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmed Chalabi. Chalabi's nephew claims that forces entered his uncle's home and threatened Chalabi. Witnesses say Iraqi civilians are being held inside the compound by Iraqi police and the U.S. military. Chalabi, a one-time Pentagon favorite, appears to be losing favor with U.S. officials and has been openly critical of U.S. handover plans in Iraq.
The verdict is in for a Palestinian man who was charged with overseeing attacks that killed over two dozen Israelis. An Israeli court has convicted Marwan Barghouti, said to be the West Bank leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction. He was captured in Ramallah over two years ago. He's been accused of planning terror attacks and dispatching militants to carry them out.
President Bush says he is concerned about the spike in gas prices across the country. The president is calling on Congress to pass his energy plan, but he says he has no plans to take some Democrats' advice and tap into the emergency oil reserves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will not play politics with the strategic petroleum reserve. That petroleum reserve is in place in case of major disruptions of energy supplies to the United States. The idea of emptying the strategic petroleum reserve plays -- would put America in a dangerous position in the war on terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The Energy Department says gas is more than $2 a gallon nationwide.
And in sports, the Minnesota Timberwolves win and are off to the Western Conference finals. Kevin Garnett validates his MVP award and scores 32 points, 21 rebounds and 5 blocks. The Timberwolves beat the Sacramento Kings 83-80 in game seven of their semifinal series. Minnesota hosts the L.A. Lakers in game one of the conference finals on Friday night.
HEMMER: And just because you were wondering earlier today...
O'BRIEN: Right.
HEMMER: ... the Nets and Pistons, game seven tonight in Detroit.
O'BRIEN: I'm so glad you filled me in on that, because now I have purpose in my life. Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: I know. I'll be here for you tomorrow, too, with an update on a final score.
O'BRIEN: You watch the games for me and tell me what happens, that will be really helpful.
(WEATHER BREAK)
HEMMER: From the Middle East, despite international condemnation, Israeli forces are continuing a military operation in the Palestinian Gaza Strip. At least eight Palestinians have been killed in violence today. All of that following yesterday's missile attack at a Rafah refugee camp, which killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded scores of others.
For an update on what's happening today, live to Gaza City and Matthew Chance with more -- Matthew.
Matthew, Bill Hemmer, CNN, New York. If you can hear me, if we can establish it, go ahead. What's happening, the latest today -- Matthew?
All right, our apologies. Clearly having a bit of a difficulty there. Now let's try it.
Matthew -- go ahead.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (AUDIO GAP) criticisms, the Israeli forces are not just continuing their operations in the south of the Gaza Strip, but actually apparently stepping them up. We've heard from Israeli defense officials that more than 1,000 Israeli troops have now been deployed in the Rafah refugee camp in the south of the Gaza Strip, where they are conducting raids against militants and armed smugglers.
There have been ferocious clashes as well with tanks and helicopters gunships in action. At least eight Palestinians over the course of the last 12 hours or so have been killed, according to the hospital officials we've spoken to down in Rafah. That brings to more than 40 the number of Palestinians that have been killed in the past three days of this military operation; 10 of them, of course, when Israeli forces opened fire during a protest by Palestinian demonstrators near to the Rafah refugee camp.
There's a great deal of concern as well about the humanitarian situation apart from the bloodshed. A number of Palestinian houses, dozens of them, have been demolished by Israeli forces there as well. Many hundreds of people made homeless at that.
Israel, though, despite the criticism, showing no sign at this stage to bring to a rapid end what has been one of its bloodiest and most intensive operations in the Gaza Strip for years.
Back to you.
HEMMER: All right, Matthew, thanks. Matthew Chance live there in Gaza City -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Top Army officers are defending their handling of the Iraqi prison scandal and contend that the behavior of rogue American troops at the Abu Ghraib prison was not systematic. Yesterday, General John Abizaid, the chief of U.S. forces in the Middle East, told a Senate committee that -- quote -- "very specific changes had been recommended."
Barbara Starr is live for us at the Pentagon this morning with more.
Barbara -- good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPENDENT: Well, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of U.S. forces inside Iraq, he also testified, and he also said that he holds himself accountable for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LT. GEN. RICARDO SANCHEZ, U.S. ARMY: I accept responsibility for what happened at Abu Ghraib, and I accept as a solemn obligation the responsibility to ensure that it does not happen again.
STARR (voice over): But questions for General John Abizaid, the senior commander.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did it happen so long and so deep and we not know?
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, U.S. ARMY: Well, I think there are failures in people doing their duty, there are failures in systems, and we should have known and we should have uncovered it and taken action before it got to the point that it got to.
STARR: Sanchez insisted his order last year for military intelligence to take some responsibility for prison operations did not involve the Pentagon and was not an order to soften up the detainees for interrogation through violence and sexual humiliation.
Major General Geoffrey Miller, the new head of detainee operations, denied his recommendations for using military police to set the conditions for interrogation encouraged coercion of detainees.
A report last November from the International Committee of the Red Cross containing abuse allegations was never seen at the highest levels.
ABIZAID: We've got a problem there that's got to be fixed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: And, Soledad, what about the war? Well, General Abizaid told the Senate panel he expects the violence to grow and even continue after June 30. He said it is now vital to name those Iraqi leaders for transition, and he said it might be April of next year before the Iraqi security forces will be ready to provide law and order -- Soledad.
Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us this morning. Barbara, thanks -- Bill.
HEMMER: The International Committee of the Red Cross voicing concerns about what it calls an excessive use of force by U.S. troops in Iraq. The complaint comes amid confusion about an incident near the Iraqi/Syrian border. Iraqis say U.S. forces fired on a wedding celebration in a small village. A coalition official says as many as 40 are dead, but that the attack was on an insurgent safe house and not a wedding party.
Let's try for some answers this morning. CNN's military analyst, retired Air Force Major General Don Shepperd, our guest in D.C.
Don -- good morning to you.
What do you make of this?
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Bill, this was not a mistake. This was an intentional attack. Somebody on the ground had to give the approval for this attack, reportedly by air power, probably from helicopters, as we know now.
Basically, this is based usually on intelligence, watching that safe house for a long time. The reports are that fire came from the village. It was returned, backed off, and then air power was applied. Clearly, the United States would not have done this if they had known that a bunch of women and children were in here. So a lot of confusion here, but, again, it was not a mistake. It was an intentional strike.
HEMMER: Some of these body bags clearly indicating that some of these children were very young, who have lost their lives as a result of it. If you go back to July of 2002, a lot of talk yesterday, Don, about what happened in Afghanistan, another celebratory wedding party, firing guns into the air.
As a military man, as an Air Force guy, how do you differentiate when it comes to life and death and making decisions and firing missiles into a crowd like this?
SHEPPERD: You can't from the air, Bill. Somebody on the ground has to tell you to shoot, has to tell you that it's hostile. You simply cannot tell what you are shooting at. Celebratory gunfire has been banned in Iraq since last year. It's widely disregarded. It's the way the Iraqis display their emotions, and much in this area is done with celebratory gunfire. I don't think that's what caused this. I think that U.S. troops advancing on the village were basically fired upon, and that's what set this off.
HEMMER: Don, let's talk about the hearings today. General John Abizaid before that committee in the Senate saying that he expects more violence after the handover, after the 30th of June, and maybe more troops are needed. That was the suggestion anyway.
What is your take on the force strength now going into the summer when we reach this critical stage, 41 days and counting?
SHEPPERD: Well, there's one man that knows how many forces he needs over there, and that's General Abizaid, that knows what missions he's been assigned and knows what he has to do. It's been made clear by the president, the secretary of defense, that General Abizaid will get the troops he needs.
I agree with him that it's going to be very dangerous. We're not providing the security. We are basically setting up the conditions that allow the Iraqis to take over while we're training them. They are simply not ready. They are not ready on the 30th of June. It's going to be some time, and we're going to be there awhile, to be decided how long and negotiated with the new government, Bill.
HEMMER: The other thing he talked about was the Red Cross. I'm quoting him now: "This system is broken," referring to how the Red Cross is handled by the U.S. military.
How is this relationship today? Does the U.S. want the Red Cross? Would it rather give it a bit of a stiff arm to keep it away from operations in Iraq?
SHEPPERD: No, it really wants it now. The cooperation with the Red Cross has been there through every conflict. It's always a little bit of a rocky road. And they have one view, and the U.S. has the views of others about how to detain and interrogate prisoners. But clearly, because of the way this is unfolding, the United States needs the involvement of the Red Cross. It needs the endorsement of the way it's handling prisoners and will probably proceed in that direction.
HEMMER: Major General Don Shepperd, retired Air Force. Thanks, Don. Good to see you again.
SHEPPERD: Pleasure.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, do you know when your financial birthdays are? We're going to explain why they are actually crucial to your life.
HEMMER: Also, how you recognize them in a moment. Good advice, too.
Also, there is one airline that will give you free tickets if you behave. Andy has that right after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: So far in our "90-Second Tip" series, we've looked at specific ways on how to improve your financial life. But today, we're looking at the bigger picture.
David Bach is our resident personal finance contributor. And his latest best-seller is "The Automatic Millionaire." David is here with some 90-second tips on financial must-dos as you go through your life.
Nice to see you. This is great advice.
DAVID BACH, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE CONTRIBUTOR: Good to see you.
O'BRIEN: You are right. Usually we target very specific topics, but today we're looking at somebody's entire life. And you say, let's start with young, meaning teenagers to 20.
BACH: Right.
O'BRIEN: You say forget about living on a budget, but you actually want to pay yourself first automatically, meaning savings.
BACH: This is the true secret to building wealth over your lifetime.
O'BRIEN: Save, save, save.
BACH: Save, save, save. But when people are in their 40s or 50s, they always say, oh, if only I had started sooner, if only I had known this, David, 20 years ago. So, kids, 20-year-olds, listen to your parents. When you get your first job, you want to pay yourself first.
So, when you get that first job and they tell you about this thing called a 401(k) plan, you want to actually open up the paperwork and sign up for it. So that one hour a day of your income goes directly into that 401k plan. If you work for someone that doesn't have a plan, then you need to go open up an IRA account. But it's pay yourself first, one hour a day of your income.
If people in their 20s did this, they would be multimillionaires. You could literally have $3 million in savings by the time you retired if you start in your 20s.
O'BRIEN: When you're not young anymore, you're going into your 30s and 40s -- well, that's still young. What am I saying?
BACH: Absolutely! Let's not pick on ourselves yet.
O'BRIEN: Wait a minute, I'm between my 30s and 40s. You say get your financial house in order. What do you mean by that? What are the absolute must-dos that we should all be taking care of right now?
BACH: When you're in your 30s and your 40s, usually at this point of your life you start to get married and you may have kids. So, what do you need to do? No. 1, you need a will. This is very important. And people in their 30s a lot of times are not thinking about dying, but you need a will, a legal document.
O'BRIEN: Even if you don't have kids?
BACH: I really think you do, because one of the things you want in your will is what's called a living health will, which says if you get sick, how do you want to be taken care of in the hospital? Do you want to be taken care of where they keep you alive if you are brain dead? These are things that you put in a written document, then your family knows what to do.
Now, if you have children or you have a spouse, you need to have life insurance. Again, a lot of people don't do this in their 30s or 40s, but these are very important.
And the third thing is, you need your financial documents in one area in your household, so that if anything were to happen to you, your wife or your husband knows where to go and find all your financial information in one easy to find location.
O'BRIEN: Really good advice. Fifties and 60s. But by the time you are in your 50s and 60s, it's really too late to start thinking about retirement. I mean, you should be planning this already.
BACH: Well, let's not depress 70-something million Americans here.
O'BRIEN: Sorry.
BACH: Now, in your 50s, this is really the time to stop thinking about it and really get serious. So, obviously you can go out and get software programs like Quicken or Microsoft Money and run a retirement plan scenario for yourself.
But also, I recommend you get a professional financial adviser, that you sit down 5 to 10 years before you are about to retire, you run a financial plan. You look at how much money do I need? Here's what we think we're going to spend. And will our money last our lifetime? And then when you reach that age also, when you start reaching this age of retirement now where you hit your 60s, that's where you really need to start thinking through, even practicing retirement before you get to retirement.
O'BRIEN: OK, I'm going to practice retirement, just not go into work.
BACH: That's what people would love to do today.
O'BRIEN: That's not what you mean.
BACH: Here's what I mean. When you say -- people always say you can retire off 70 percent of your income. And I say to people, really? How do you know? Let's find out if you can actually live off of 70 percent of your income. So, let's have you for six months live off of what you are telling the retirement planner that you said you could live off of. Most people find out they can't live off of 70 percent of their income, and most people when they want to retire, the first thing they want to do is travel. Or they want to do all these kinds of things like buy a new car or fix up their house or buy a second home.
So, I recommend practicing retirement for six months to see if you can live off what you believe you can live off.
O'BRIEN: You can hear David Bach's nationally-syndicated radio show Saturday afternoons on Sirius Satellite radio. And, of course he joins us right here on AMERICAN MORNING every week with tips on how to improve your financial life.
Did you know he's got four books on the best-seller list at one time right now.
HEMMER: Yes. He's kicking it.
O'BRIEN: He's doing all right. You go, David.
HEMMER: In a moment here, some air passengers will soon be paying more as air fares soar. Andy knows why, ahead in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right. Welcome back, everybody.
Fuel prices driving some airfares up. Be warned now and keep your cool. One airline is giving away tickets if you are nice.
Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business." I don't know how (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" Magazine: Hey, Bill. It would be nice to get an airline ticket, huh?
HEMMER: Good morning. How are you, Mr. Serwer?
SERWER: Hi.
HEMMER: Can I get you anything? Coffee? Donuts?
O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) so far it's been really good.
SERWER: We're going to talk about this, this morning. Jack wants to fly free and be nice, OK?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I'd rather pay.
SERWER: OK.
HEMMER: Nice.
SERWER: All right, let's talk about the airline industry. First of all, all of the problems. Just when it looked like this business was stabilizing, wham, higher fuel costs. Some analysts say that now we're going to lose $3 billion to $5 billion in this business this year. Unbelievable.
So, what are the airlines doing? Raising prices.
Let's check it out. The majors, $20 a fare each way. This is just over the past couple of days. It's the second biggest cost in this business. A penny fuel higher, $180 million in costs. Air fuel has gone up 34 percent since April. And this is real, real trouble.
What else are the airlines doing? Well, Song, which is the low- cost carrier owned by Delta, has this novel program that Jack Cafferty likes so much, which is, if you are nice, really nice, Jack, they are going to give out free tickets.
O'BRIEN: I'd fly free all the time, wouldn't it?
SERWER: Yes. Hi, I've got some chocolates, some roses for the stewardesses. Hi, Bill. Can I put your bag up? That's terrific.
Ok, here's how it works. They've got 4,000 tickets they're going to give away in June. Each flight attendant has four or five of them to give away. And, of course you're going to able to fly on Song only to their cities and only in those peak months of September and October. September and October, yes.
O'BRIEN: It's free, I like it.
SERWER: So, there's always a little catch. But, hey!
HEMMER: You know, I think you are doing a terrific job today, by the way.
SERWER: So are you.
O'BRIEN: Both of you. You are out of time, but I mean that with no disrespect intended whatever.
SERWER: Oh, well. OK, all right. O'BRIEN: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Thanks, Soledad.
CAFFERTY: It's my turn.
SERWER: Hi, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Get off.
O'BRIEN: Jack, you look great today.
CAFFERTY: I don't want...
SERWER: Hi, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Like I said, I'd rather pay.
So, what is John Kerry going to do with Ralph Nader? The two of them had a meeting yesterday. A lot of people think that Nader cost Al Gore the White House back in 2000. The two of them met. Nader didn't quit. Kerry didn't ask him to. They said they were going to continue to talk. The senator, though, thinks that if you vote for Nader, you're probably, in a way, voting to keep Bush in office. And, you know, I think he's probably right on that.
But our question is: What should John Kerry do about Ralph Nader?
John in Dubuque, Iowa: "John Kerry should handle this in the same way he usually does. Make a decision based on what he thinks will be accepted by the people around him today, and then change his mind tomorrow when the audience changes?"
Ann in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts: "Nader is an honorable, altruistic man, whose contributions to this country are incalculable. However, his candidacy is a serious threat to America's future. John Kerry should consider offering Ralph Nader the position of secretary of the interior if he agrees to withdraw from the race."
And Pete in Plymouth, Massachusetts says: "John should bring Ralph home to Massachusetts and marry him."
SERWER: Is it true that Karl Rove is Ralph Nader's campaign manager? That's not true, is it?
CAFFERTY: No, I don't think, no.
O'BRIEN: I don't -- no.
SERWER: No.
CAFFERTY: Only rumor.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thank you. You look really good today.
CAFFERTY: Get your hand off my leg.
SERWER: Oh!
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani answered questions before the 9/11 Commission yesterday. He's going to join us in just a few minutes to answer a few more questions. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
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 May 20, 2004 - 07:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: That guy is jogging already. Look at him. You go.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: One way to get to work. Only in New York. You go, guy!
It's 7:31 here in New York City. Welcome back, everybody, to AMERICAN MORNING.
A few moments, we'll update you on the escalating violence in the Middle East. Israel receiving worldwide condemnation yesterday after the attack in Gaza. Today, there is even more violence and more Palestinian casualties. We'll get to that in a moment. Matthew Chance is working the story in Gaza.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the Pentagon disputing claims that 40 members of an Iraqi wedding party were killed by U.S. airstrikes in western Iraq. In just a few minutes, we'll talk to retired General Don Shepperd about that; also take a look at what it's going to take for the Pentagon to prove its case.
Before we get to that, though, let's get right to our top stories this morning.
In Baghdad today, U.S. military personnel and Iraqi police surrounding the compound of the Iraqi National Congress. They also raided the nearby home of Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmed Chalabi. Chalabi's nephew claims that forces entered his uncle's home and threatened Chalabi. Witnesses say Iraqi civilians are being held inside the compound by Iraqi police and the U.S. military. Chalabi, a one-time Pentagon favorite, appears to be losing favor with U.S. officials and has been openly critical of U.S. handover plans in Iraq.
The verdict is in for a Palestinian man who was charged with overseeing attacks that killed over two dozen Israelis. An Israeli court has convicted Marwan Barghouti, said to be the West Bank leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction. He was captured in Ramallah over two years ago. He's been accused of planning terror attacks and dispatching militants to carry them out.
President Bush says he is concerned about the spike in gas prices across the country. The president is calling on Congress to pass his energy plan, but he says he has no plans to take some Democrats' advice and tap into the emergency oil reserves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will not play politics with the strategic petroleum reserve. That petroleum reserve is in place in case of major disruptions of energy supplies to the United States. The idea of emptying the strategic petroleum reserve plays -- would put America in a dangerous position in the war on terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The Energy Department says gas is more than $2 a gallon nationwide.
And in sports, the Minnesota Timberwolves win and are off to the Western Conference finals. Kevin Garnett validates his MVP award and scores 32 points, 21 rebounds and 5 blocks. The Timberwolves beat the Sacramento Kings 83-80 in game seven of their semifinal series. Minnesota hosts the L.A. Lakers in game one of the conference finals on Friday night.
HEMMER: And just because you were wondering earlier today...
O'BRIEN: Right.
HEMMER: ... the Nets and Pistons, game seven tonight in Detroit.
O'BRIEN: I'm so glad you filled me in on that, because now I have purpose in my life. Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: I know. I'll be here for you tomorrow, too, with an update on a final score.
O'BRIEN: You watch the games for me and tell me what happens, that will be really helpful.
(WEATHER BREAK)
HEMMER: From the Middle East, despite international condemnation, Israeli forces are continuing a military operation in the Palestinian Gaza Strip. At least eight Palestinians have been killed in violence today. All of that following yesterday's missile attack at a Rafah refugee camp, which killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded scores of others.
For an update on what's happening today, live to Gaza City and Matthew Chance with more -- Matthew.
Matthew, Bill Hemmer, CNN, New York. If you can hear me, if we can establish it, go ahead. What's happening, the latest today -- Matthew?
All right, our apologies. Clearly having a bit of a difficulty there. Now let's try it.
Matthew -- go ahead.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (AUDIO GAP) criticisms, the Israeli forces are not just continuing their operations in the south of the Gaza Strip, but actually apparently stepping them up. We've heard from Israeli defense officials that more than 1,000 Israeli troops have now been deployed in the Rafah refugee camp in the south of the Gaza Strip, where they are conducting raids against militants and armed smugglers.
There have been ferocious clashes as well with tanks and helicopters gunships in action. At least eight Palestinians over the course of the last 12 hours or so have been killed, according to the hospital officials we've spoken to down in Rafah. That brings to more than 40 the number of Palestinians that have been killed in the past three days of this military operation; 10 of them, of course, when Israeli forces opened fire during a protest by Palestinian demonstrators near to the Rafah refugee camp.
There's a great deal of concern as well about the humanitarian situation apart from the bloodshed. A number of Palestinian houses, dozens of them, have been demolished by Israeli forces there as well. Many hundreds of people made homeless at that.
Israel, though, despite the criticism, showing no sign at this stage to bring to a rapid end what has been one of its bloodiest and most intensive operations in the Gaza Strip for years.
Back to you.
HEMMER: All right, Matthew, thanks. Matthew Chance live there in Gaza City -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Top Army officers are defending their handling of the Iraqi prison scandal and contend that the behavior of rogue American troops at the Abu Ghraib prison was not systematic. Yesterday, General John Abizaid, the chief of U.S. forces in the Middle East, told a Senate committee that -- quote -- "very specific changes had been recommended."
Barbara Starr is live for us at the Pentagon this morning with more.
Barbara -- good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPENDENT: Well, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of U.S. forces inside Iraq, he also testified, and he also said that he holds himself accountable for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LT. GEN. RICARDO SANCHEZ, U.S. ARMY: I accept responsibility for what happened at Abu Ghraib, and I accept as a solemn obligation the responsibility to ensure that it does not happen again.
STARR (voice over): But questions for General John Abizaid, the senior commander.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did it happen so long and so deep and we not know?
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, U.S. ARMY: Well, I think there are failures in people doing their duty, there are failures in systems, and we should have known and we should have uncovered it and taken action before it got to the point that it got to.
STARR: Sanchez insisted his order last year for military intelligence to take some responsibility for prison operations did not involve the Pentagon and was not an order to soften up the detainees for interrogation through violence and sexual humiliation.
Major General Geoffrey Miller, the new head of detainee operations, denied his recommendations for using military police to set the conditions for interrogation encouraged coercion of detainees.
A report last November from the International Committee of the Red Cross containing abuse allegations was never seen at the highest levels.
ABIZAID: We've got a problem there that's got to be fixed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: And, Soledad, what about the war? Well, General Abizaid told the Senate panel he expects the violence to grow and even continue after June 30. He said it is now vital to name those Iraqi leaders for transition, and he said it might be April of next year before the Iraqi security forces will be ready to provide law and order -- Soledad.
Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us this morning. Barbara, thanks -- Bill.
HEMMER: The International Committee of the Red Cross voicing concerns about what it calls an excessive use of force by U.S. troops in Iraq. The complaint comes amid confusion about an incident near the Iraqi/Syrian border. Iraqis say U.S. forces fired on a wedding celebration in a small village. A coalition official says as many as 40 are dead, but that the attack was on an insurgent safe house and not a wedding party.
Let's try for some answers this morning. CNN's military analyst, retired Air Force Major General Don Shepperd, our guest in D.C.
Don -- good morning to you.
What do you make of this?
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Bill, this was not a mistake. This was an intentional attack. Somebody on the ground had to give the approval for this attack, reportedly by air power, probably from helicopters, as we know now.
Basically, this is based usually on intelligence, watching that safe house for a long time. The reports are that fire came from the village. It was returned, backed off, and then air power was applied. Clearly, the United States would not have done this if they had known that a bunch of women and children were in here. So a lot of confusion here, but, again, it was not a mistake. It was an intentional strike.
HEMMER: Some of these body bags clearly indicating that some of these children were very young, who have lost their lives as a result of it. If you go back to July of 2002, a lot of talk yesterday, Don, about what happened in Afghanistan, another celebratory wedding party, firing guns into the air.
As a military man, as an Air Force guy, how do you differentiate when it comes to life and death and making decisions and firing missiles into a crowd like this?
SHEPPERD: You can't from the air, Bill. Somebody on the ground has to tell you to shoot, has to tell you that it's hostile. You simply cannot tell what you are shooting at. Celebratory gunfire has been banned in Iraq since last year. It's widely disregarded. It's the way the Iraqis display their emotions, and much in this area is done with celebratory gunfire. I don't think that's what caused this. I think that U.S. troops advancing on the village were basically fired upon, and that's what set this off.
HEMMER: Don, let's talk about the hearings today. General John Abizaid before that committee in the Senate saying that he expects more violence after the handover, after the 30th of June, and maybe more troops are needed. That was the suggestion anyway.
What is your take on the force strength now going into the summer when we reach this critical stage, 41 days and counting?
SHEPPERD: Well, there's one man that knows how many forces he needs over there, and that's General Abizaid, that knows what missions he's been assigned and knows what he has to do. It's been made clear by the president, the secretary of defense, that General Abizaid will get the troops he needs.
I agree with him that it's going to be very dangerous. We're not providing the security. We are basically setting up the conditions that allow the Iraqis to take over while we're training them. They are simply not ready. They are not ready on the 30th of June. It's going to be some time, and we're going to be there awhile, to be decided how long and negotiated with the new government, Bill.
HEMMER: The other thing he talked about was the Red Cross. I'm quoting him now: "This system is broken," referring to how the Red Cross is handled by the U.S. military.
How is this relationship today? Does the U.S. want the Red Cross? Would it rather give it a bit of a stiff arm to keep it away from operations in Iraq?
SHEPPERD: No, it really wants it now. The cooperation with the Red Cross has been there through every conflict. It's always a little bit of a rocky road. And they have one view, and the U.S. has the views of others about how to detain and interrogate prisoners. But clearly, because of the way this is unfolding, the United States needs the involvement of the Red Cross. It needs the endorsement of the way it's handling prisoners and will probably proceed in that direction.
HEMMER: Major General Don Shepperd, retired Air Force. Thanks, Don. Good to see you again.
SHEPPERD: Pleasure.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, do you know when your financial birthdays are? We're going to explain why they are actually crucial to your life.
HEMMER: Also, how you recognize them in a moment. Good advice, too.
Also, there is one airline that will give you free tickets if you behave. Andy has that right after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: So far in our "90-Second Tip" series, we've looked at specific ways on how to improve your financial life. But today, we're looking at the bigger picture.
David Bach is our resident personal finance contributor. And his latest best-seller is "The Automatic Millionaire." David is here with some 90-second tips on financial must-dos as you go through your life.
Nice to see you. This is great advice.
DAVID BACH, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE CONTRIBUTOR: Good to see you.
O'BRIEN: You are right. Usually we target very specific topics, but today we're looking at somebody's entire life. And you say, let's start with young, meaning teenagers to 20.
BACH: Right.
O'BRIEN: You say forget about living on a budget, but you actually want to pay yourself first automatically, meaning savings.
BACH: This is the true secret to building wealth over your lifetime.
O'BRIEN: Save, save, save.
BACH: Save, save, save. But when people are in their 40s or 50s, they always say, oh, if only I had started sooner, if only I had known this, David, 20 years ago. So, kids, 20-year-olds, listen to your parents. When you get your first job, you want to pay yourself first.
So, when you get that first job and they tell you about this thing called a 401(k) plan, you want to actually open up the paperwork and sign up for it. So that one hour a day of your income goes directly into that 401k plan. If you work for someone that doesn't have a plan, then you need to go open up an IRA account. But it's pay yourself first, one hour a day of your income.
If people in their 20s did this, they would be multimillionaires. You could literally have $3 million in savings by the time you retired if you start in your 20s.
O'BRIEN: When you're not young anymore, you're going into your 30s and 40s -- well, that's still young. What am I saying?
BACH: Absolutely! Let's not pick on ourselves yet.
O'BRIEN: Wait a minute, I'm between my 30s and 40s. You say get your financial house in order. What do you mean by that? What are the absolute must-dos that we should all be taking care of right now?
BACH: When you're in your 30s and your 40s, usually at this point of your life you start to get married and you may have kids. So, what do you need to do? No. 1, you need a will. This is very important. And people in their 30s a lot of times are not thinking about dying, but you need a will, a legal document.
O'BRIEN: Even if you don't have kids?
BACH: I really think you do, because one of the things you want in your will is what's called a living health will, which says if you get sick, how do you want to be taken care of in the hospital? Do you want to be taken care of where they keep you alive if you are brain dead? These are things that you put in a written document, then your family knows what to do.
Now, if you have children or you have a spouse, you need to have life insurance. Again, a lot of people don't do this in their 30s or 40s, but these are very important.
And the third thing is, you need your financial documents in one area in your household, so that if anything were to happen to you, your wife or your husband knows where to go and find all your financial information in one easy to find location.
O'BRIEN: Really good advice. Fifties and 60s. But by the time you are in your 50s and 60s, it's really too late to start thinking about retirement. I mean, you should be planning this already.
BACH: Well, let's not depress 70-something million Americans here.
O'BRIEN: Sorry.
BACH: Now, in your 50s, this is really the time to stop thinking about it and really get serious. So, obviously you can go out and get software programs like Quicken or Microsoft Money and run a retirement plan scenario for yourself.
But also, I recommend you get a professional financial adviser, that you sit down 5 to 10 years before you are about to retire, you run a financial plan. You look at how much money do I need? Here's what we think we're going to spend. And will our money last our lifetime? And then when you reach that age also, when you start reaching this age of retirement now where you hit your 60s, that's where you really need to start thinking through, even practicing retirement before you get to retirement.
O'BRIEN: OK, I'm going to practice retirement, just not go into work.
BACH: That's what people would love to do today.
O'BRIEN: That's not what you mean.
BACH: Here's what I mean. When you say -- people always say you can retire off 70 percent of your income. And I say to people, really? How do you know? Let's find out if you can actually live off of 70 percent of your income. So, let's have you for six months live off of what you are telling the retirement planner that you said you could live off of. Most people find out they can't live off of 70 percent of their income, and most people when they want to retire, the first thing they want to do is travel. Or they want to do all these kinds of things like buy a new car or fix up their house or buy a second home.
So, I recommend practicing retirement for six months to see if you can live off what you believe you can live off.
O'BRIEN: You can hear David Bach's nationally-syndicated radio show Saturday afternoons on Sirius Satellite radio. And, of course he joins us right here on AMERICAN MORNING every week with tips on how to improve your financial life.
Did you know he's got four books on the best-seller list at one time right now.
HEMMER: Yes. He's kicking it.
O'BRIEN: He's doing all right. You go, David.
HEMMER: In a moment here, some air passengers will soon be paying more as air fares soar. Andy knows why, ahead in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right. Welcome back, everybody.
Fuel prices driving some airfares up. Be warned now and keep your cool. One airline is giving away tickets if you are nice.
Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business." I don't know how (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" Magazine: Hey, Bill. It would be nice to get an airline ticket, huh?
HEMMER: Good morning. How are you, Mr. Serwer?
SERWER: Hi.
HEMMER: Can I get you anything? Coffee? Donuts?
O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) so far it's been really good.
SERWER: We're going to talk about this, this morning. Jack wants to fly free and be nice, OK?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I'd rather pay.
SERWER: OK.
HEMMER: Nice.
SERWER: All right, let's talk about the airline industry. First of all, all of the problems. Just when it looked like this business was stabilizing, wham, higher fuel costs. Some analysts say that now we're going to lose $3 billion to $5 billion in this business this year. Unbelievable.
So, what are the airlines doing? Raising prices.
Let's check it out. The majors, $20 a fare each way. This is just over the past couple of days. It's the second biggest cost in this business. A penny fuel higher, $180 million in costs. Air fuel has gone up 34 percent since April. And this is real, real trouble.
What else are the airlines doing? Well, Song, which is the low- cost carrier owned by Delta, has this novel program that Jack Cafferty likes so much, which is, if you are nice, really nice, Jack, they are going to give out free tickets.
O'BRIEN: I'd fly free all the time, wouldn't it?
SERWER: Yes. Hi, I've got some chocolates, some roses for the stewardesses. Hi, Bill. Can I put your bag up? That's terrific.
Ok, here's how it works. They've got 4,000 tickets they're going to give away in June. Each flight attendant has four or five of them to give away. And, of course you're going to able to fly on Song only to their cities and only in those peak months of September and October. September and October, yes.
O'BRIEN: It's free, I like it.
SERWER: So, there's always a little catch. But, hey!
HEMMER: You know, I think you are doing a terrific job today, by the way.
SERWER: So are you.
O'BRIEN: Both of you. You are out of time, but I mean that with no disrespect intended whatever.
SERWER: Oh, well. OK, all right. O'BRIEN: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Thanks, Soledad.
CAFFERTY: It's my turn.
SERWER: Hi, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Get off.
O'BRIEN: Jack, you look great today.
CAFFERTY: I don't want...
SERWER: Hi, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Like I said, I'd rather pay.
So, what is John Kerry going to do with Ralph Nader? The two of them had a meeting yesterday. A lot of people think that Nader cost Al Gore the White House back in 2000. The two of them met. Nader didn't quit. Kerry didn't ask him to. They said they were going to continue to talk. The senator, though, thinks that if you vote for Nader, you're probably, in a way, voting to keep Bush in office. And, you know, I think he's probably right on that.
But our question is: What should John Kerry do about Ralph Nader?
John in Dubuque, Iowa: "John Kerry should handle this in the same way he usually does. Make a decision based on what he thinks will be accepted by the people around him today, and then change his mind tomorrow when the audience changes?"
Ann in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts: "Nader is an honorable, altruistic man, whose contributions to this country are incalculable. However, his candidacy is a serious threat to America's future. John Kerry should consider offering Ralph Nader the position of secretary of the interior if he agrees to withdraw from the race."
And Pete in Plymouth, Massachusetts says: "John should bring Ralph home to Massachusetts and marry him."
SERWER: Is it true that Karl Rove is Ralph Nader's campaign manager? That's not true, is it?
CAFFERTY: No, I don't think, no.
O'BRIEN: I don't -- no.
SERWER: No.
CAFFERTY: Only rumor.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thank you. You look really good today.
CAFFERTY: Get your hand off my leg.
SERWER: Oh!
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani answered questions before the 9/11 Commission yesterday. He's going to join us in just a few minutes to answer a few more questions. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
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