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CNN Live At Daybreak
British Detainees; Countdown to Handover; Fog of War; Dill Moment?
Aired June 23, 2004 - 05:30 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.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Is this man threatening to assassinate Iraq's interim prime minister?
It is Wednesday, June 23. This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Here are the latest headlines for you right now.
More memos on the treatment of detainees, the White House released a memo in which President Bush ordered the military to abide by the Geneva Conventions when dealing with detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The Justice Department had advised that the rules did not apply to al Qaeda detainees.
In China, multinational talks get under way today on North Korea's nuclear program. The fixation discussions are aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
In money news, is it really from Tiffany's? The luxury jeweler is suing eBay over the suspected sales of counterfeit jewelry. Tiffany officials cite a study which found 73 percent of Tiffany jewelry sold on eBay is fake.
In culture, a source close to Mary-Kate Olsen tells CNN the actress has an eating disorder. Mary-Kate is the one on the right. A spokesman for the twins says she entered a treatment facility for what he calls a health-related issue.
In sports, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have extended their franchise record winning streak to 12 games with a win over the Toronto Blue Jays. It's also the longest streak in the Majors since June of last year. And the Devil Rays really stunk last year, so good for them.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Did you see that beaming off that guy?
COSTELLO: That was bad.
MYERS: Right off his mask. You know -- you know what, the umpires are never happy when that happens.
COSTELLO: Well.
MYERS: Can you blame them?
COSTELLO: No.
MYERS: But oh man, that just hurts. And they -- he just like he looked at that guy like I'm just going -- don't ever try that again.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Now for an update on those British sailors and Marines being held in Iran. Iranian media reports the group could be released today. That comes after yesterday's threat of prosecution.
CNN's Matthew Chance live in London with the latest for us.
Why the change of heart in Iran -- Matthew?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well it seems to be, Carol, that some kind of decisions have been taken at the highest level to get this matter over and done with. It was the Iranian Foreign Minister himself, Kamal Kharrazi, who issued the order, apparently, according to Iranian state media, to have these eight British service personnel released.
After, Iranian state media again reporting that an official Iranian inquiry had found that the eight had indeed entered Iranian territorial waters by mistake but as the British Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry had been insisting all along.
There has been a great deal of intensive diplomacy between Britain and Iran over the past few days. The British officials are not yet commenting on whether they are expecting some kind of positive development like this, but there was a great deal of concern here, of course, when those crew members, after their boat was seized on Monday morning, were paraded on Iranian television. On one occasion actually blindfolded. Another occasion saw two of those crew members reading out prepared statements apparently apologizing for entering Iranian waters illegally.
There were a great deal of mixed signals coming out of Iran about what would happen to the eight. At one point they were talking in Iran about prosecuting the service personnel. That seems much less likely now if this release goes ahead. That will cause a great deal of relief here in Britain. But of course British officials saying they are taking nothing for granted until such time as these eight are back on British soil -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Matthew Chance bringing us up to date live from London this morning. Thank you. The world is hearing from former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in the form of a letter and by way of attorney. One of Saddam's lawyers in the United States this week claiming American troops are abusing the deposed leader. But in a letter to his family, Saddam writes his spirit and his morale high. They're high.
A Red Cross report indicates Saddam was in good health and slightly wounded one month after he was captured. His attorney insists why would the deposed leader be slightly wounded if he was not being abused.
You can hear more about what Mohammad Rashdan has to say in just a few hours. He will be a guest on "AMERICAN MORNING" and that will happen in the 8:00 Eastern hour.
Want to talk more about this audio tape from an alleged terrorist that's airing on a -- on a -- on a terrorist Web site that has aired very chilling messages before.
Want to bring in David Clinch our senior international editor to talk more about that.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, good morning, Carol.
We're talking about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. This man that the U.S. and the coalition in Iraq says is leading or leading at least a part of the insurgency going on in Iraq.
Our monitoring, as we do every day, of Web sites in the region that have aired tapes and video from his group in the past, today one of those sites is airing an audiotape, which our experts say is his voice. But I am stressing again, the CIA and others have not had a chance, that we know of yet, to authenticate this.
His voice listing again, as we said earlier, the targets of his group. He says attacks on coalition troops will continue, attacks on Iraqi security forces, anybody working for the Iraqi interim government. But most interestingly and most specifically, he makes a threat to kill the interim prime minister of Iraq, Iyad Allawi.
Now it's interesting, not only because he threatens to kill Allawi, but because he says we, his group, killed the interim -- the head of the Iraqi Governing Council a few months ago, Izzedine Salim. And he says to Allawi, again, we don't know for sure this is Zarqawi saying this, but a man claiming to Zarqawi saying directly to the interim prime minister we will kill you in that same way.
COSTELLO: Well interesting, I know we don't even know if al- Zarqawi did all of these things.
CLINCH: No, we don't. I mean the U.S. government has blamed him for the beheading of Nicholas Berg. They blamed him for the killing of Izzedine Salim. They say they have evidence.
COSTELLO: And he is accused of beheading the South Korean hostage.
CLINCH: Well, not exactly yet.
What we know is that a group claiming to be working for him is saying they beheaded the South Korean. So in the subtle differences that the U.S. government has not, at this point, said that they believe Zarqawi.
But interestingly, late last night after the South Korean was killed and that was confirmed, we saw an airstrike in Fallujah, as we did a few days ago, on a house, which the U.S. government, the coalition in Baghdad says is linked to Zarqawi. Nobody, at this point, saying Zarqawi was there. They are just saying that they believe his group is operating out of Fallujah.
COSTELLO: Well what was in the house?
CLINCH: Well they are saying it was a safe house linked to his group. Previously we know that when they hit what they said was a safe house, huge explosions followed. The U.S. government said that arms were being stored there. After that we saw the house destroyed and people killed but nobody ever was able to say whether Zarqawi was there. Again, we're seeing video today from Fallujah, house destroyed. Not clear yet whether Zarqawi or any of his group were there.
COSTELLO: And no word yet from Allawi, the interim prime minister?
CLINCH: Well, no. Interim -- I do read on some of the wires that his office is basically issuing a statement already saying that these threats and threats like this will do nothing to stop the handover, which is only a week away, and will do nothing to stop the interim government doing its job until the elections happen in the early part of next year.
COSTELLO: I know you're going to have more for us in the 6:00 hour.
CLINCH: Yes, following this story all day.
COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, David, we appreciate it.
President Bush is spending the morning in Philadelphia to talk about HIV and AIDS. White House officials say the president will announce he's including Vietnam in his $15 billion plan to help fight the disease.
Also on today's agenda, a private fund raiser in Philly. And then later the president will honor Medal of Freedom recipients at a White House ceremony.
Senator John Kerry is also focusing on health care at a fund raiser in San Francisco this afternoon. He cut campaigning short yesterday to be in Washington to vote on a bill that would fund health care benefits for veterans, but Republican leaders postponed the vote. Kerry calls the delay politics at its silliest.
Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader isn't making too many friends with members of the Congressional Black Caucus. A meeting between Nader and the legislators turned into a shouting match. Nader had made it clear he is not dropping out of the presidential race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: Mr. Nader, you have a right to run, but we have not heard a reason to run. It became abundantly clear to us that this is about Ralph Nader and we were sorely disappointed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Nader told caucus members he believes he will actually help get John Kerry elected by drawing votes from conservatives upset with George Bush.
The front lines of war like you have never seen them before. This is such a powerful story. What happens when the worst nightmare becomes reality? Coming up, combat soldiers race against time to save the life of a 12-year-old boy.
This is DAYBREAK for Wednesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: He may have been only 13 years old, but Mattie Stepanek had a kind of talent and wisdom rarely seen and he will be missed. Mattie died yesterday from a rare form of muscular dystrophy. The child poet was a frequent guest on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST: And you want to be a poet?
MATTIE STEPANEK, 12-YEAR-OLD POET, HAS INCURABLE DISEASE: Yes.
KING: Does that mean -- you are a poet already, but do you want to be, in adulthood?
M. STEPANEK: I want to be a peacemaker. And I want to spread peace through public speaking and my poetry. And I believe that there are three easy choices to peace. And we have to choose them, and stick to them. We have to choose to make peace an attitude, we have to want it, and make it something that truly matters inside of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He was something else. Mattie wrote five poetry books in his short life, one of them made "The New York Times" best seller list.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:43 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
Good news for eight British sailors and Marines, Iran says they are going to be let go after it was proven they mistakenly crossed into Iranian waters. Iran has been detaining -- Iran has been detaining the men since Monday.
New this morning, a roadside bomb kills a woman and child in central Baghdad. Iraqi police say at least two other people were wounded. The bomb was planted near a hospital.
In money news, try, try again. United Airlines is filing a new application for a federal loan guarantee after it was denied last week, only this time the airline reportedly cut its request by $500 million.
In culture, the traveling rock 'n' roll festival Lollapalooza is no more. The festival is being canceled due to poor ticket sales. Founder Perry Farrell says he will regroup and hopefully relaunch sometime in the future.
In sports, last week Matt Bush was the San Diego Padres first round draft pick. Well now the team has suspended the 18-year-old shortstop indefinitely after he was arrested for allegedly biting a bouncer at a Peoria, Arizona bar. That will always get you in trouble -- Chad.
MYERS: Allegedly.
COSTELLO: Allegedly.
MYERS: Right, we always have to put that in front of everything, don't we?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you.
In the fog of war it is tough to know who is the enemy.
CNN's Ryan Chilcote saw this firsthand as an embedded reporter. He was accompanying a platoon of soldiers on a weeklong mission in Afghanistan's volatile border province of Paktika. The soldiers were providing security for the province's new governor as he toured the region. This is a powerful story. And just a head's up, the report includes some disturbing images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their convoy had been attacked during the past week by people in civilian clothes who set off roadside bombs then slipped away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bravo Company.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe from the lob and from...
CHILCOTE: Today, the scouts are out in front, entering a region where no American soldier has ever gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then we are headed down into an area that we knew was known it was going to be hairy.
CHILCOTE: In the distance, they spot what appears to be a man running away. They pursue on foot through a mine field and fire warning shots. The figure in the distance doesn't stop running. There's more firing, taking aim this time.
And the scouts catch up, only to encounter a combat soldier's nightmare. The target turns out to be a 12-year-old boy. The boy's name is Azizullah. He'd been helping his father tend their cattle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's hit.
CHILCOTE: Inside the bag he's carrying, that they thought was suspicious, nothing more than a bottle of water and a stick.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, quit filming. Stop filming.
CHILCOTE (on camera): Two soldiers, including the soldier who shot him and CNN's security adviser, Alan Trappe, got to work on Azizullah keeping him alive for more than two hours before the helicopters arrived. Azizullah's father distraught and convinced his son wouldn't make it, pleaded with the soldiers to let him take his boy home to die.
(voice-over): But the soldiers didn't give up, and neither did Azizullah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The kid held on, asked for his family and stuff. But he wasn't crying a lot. He was working with us, you know, telling us what hurt and what didn't hurt. And that really helps out a lot.
CHILCOTE: Finally, the choppers arrived. Azizullah is whisked away. It is the last time these soldiers will see him. They don't know if he will make it or not. The soldier who pulled the trigger declined to be interviewed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know him pretty well, and you know, this is -- has messed him up pretty good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, he didn't know he was a boy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... establish a perimeter here...
CHILCOTE: The whole unit is stunned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...I think we're too spread out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like we all got kicked in the gut. It's going to take a little bit to get over. All of us that saw it happen are going to see it happen every single day for the rest of our lives, you know? It's -- you've got to live with that.
CHILCOTE: The Army is investigating. While the investigation is underway, we're not reporting the soldier's name. Lieutenant Chris Morrison (ph) is his platoon leader.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every day my soldiers are put in life and death situations and forced to make life or death decisions. And it's not easy. And they'd be foolish to think that every decision comes out the right way.
CHILCOTE: Nearly two weeks after it all went wrong, Azizullah's father arrived in the Afghan capital to see his son in an American field hospital. It was his first time in Kabul, and it had taken intervention by the provincial governor and the help of some Americans to get him here.
Because of this, the father said, my son is injured, my cattle went missing, and my wife has gone crazy. Azizullah's father says his wife will not leave the place where the boy was shot. She rolls on the ground and pleads with Allah to bring her first-born son home, he says. Their livestock all ran away during the shooting. Gone with them, says Azizullah's father, their livelihood.
We asked the Army if there would be any compensation for Azizullah's family. No, we were told. We do not pay compensation for events occurring during combat operations, ever. Twice during their short visit, Azizullah pulled his oxygen mask away and told his father, I want to go home. Doctors say it will be at least a month before Azizullah can leave the hospital.
Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Paktika Province, Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: For more on this story of little Azizullah and the photo essay of Ryan Chilcote's assignment in Afghanistan, log on to our Web site. The address, CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: We have to talk about the Bill Clinton book one more time because already as many as 100,000 copies of the former president's new book have been sold. That's a Barnes & Noble estimate, and that is a record debut for a nonfiction book.
President Clinton, of course, is making the rounds. He took aim at the media and former Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr in this BBC News interview. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the reasons he got away with it is because people like you only ask people like me the questions. You gave him a complete free ride. Any abuse they wanted to do, they indicted all these little people from Arkansas. What did you care about them? They are not famous. Who cares if their lives were trampled? Who cares that their children were humiliated? Who cares if Starr sends FBI agents to their school and rip them out of their school to humiliate them, try to force their parents to lie about me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Don't miss Bill Clinton's first prime time interview. That airs tomorrow on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." The ex-pres will also take your phone calls. That's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
As you know, Bill Clinton is usually pretty articulate, but something he said during the official unveiling of his presidential portrait at the White House may have left him, well, in a pickle.
And that's prompted our Jeanne Moos to seek out the meaning of a mystery metaphor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For a guy who often finds himself in a pickle, he picked a dilly of a metaphor.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Made me feel like I was a pickle stepping into history.
MOOS: The audience on hand for his portrait unveiling chuckled, but at what?
CLINTON: Made me feel like I was a pickle stepping into history.
MOOS: Was it a joke?
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": I don't get that at all.
JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not sure he knew what he meant.
MOOS: What is a pickle, stepping into history? A real head scratcher. I don't get it, either. The mystery continued, from Web sites to a column in "The New York Times."
Some theorized it's a baseball term.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pickle is when you're caught between two bases.
MOOS: Clinton's the pickle in the middle between the two Bush presidencies.
With a giant pickle as a prop...
(on camera) Get its good side.
MOOS (voice-over): ... we looked for answers.
(on camera) Depends on what the definition of a pickle is. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A pickle -- is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sour. A sour part of history, it's Clinton.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe it was a folksy Arkansas...
MOOS (voice-over): Sorry, folks in Arkansas never heard of it, even the industry group Pickle Packers International didn't have a clue: "With all the innuendo about what a pickle might refer to, we won't go there."
But others did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He meant his (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
MOOS: No!
This guy figured Bill Clinton was speaking the mind of his audience.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as they see him, that's what they think about.
MOOS (on camera): Pickle?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Monica.
MOOS: Maybe it's his subconscious.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there any reference to that in his book? To pickles in general?
MOOS: No. Check the index.
(voice-over) Nothing under "P," but a Clinton spokesperson suggests that when you pickle something, it's a means of preservation. Hence the former president felt like he was being pickled with his portrait.
STEWART: As a matter of fact, if I remember correctly, your pickle's already stepped into history.
MOOS: We wouldn't touch that one with a ten-foot fork.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: A pickle stepping into history.
MYERS: I don't get it.
COSTELLO: I don't either. Even after that story, I don't get it.
Got milk or does milk have you? Coming up, why something that's supposed to be good for you is causing a whole lot of problems.
Stay tuned, this is DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: New threats heard on tape this morning. They may be straight from one of the most sought after terrorists in Iraq.
It is Wednesday, June 23. This is DAYBREAK.
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 June 23, 2004 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Is this man threatening to assassinate Iraq's interim prime minister?
It is Wednesday, June 23. This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Here are the latest headlines for you right now.
More memos on the treatment of detainees, the White House released a memo in which President Bush ordered the military to abide by the Geneva Conventions when dealing with detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The Justice Department had advised that the rules did not apply to al Qaeda detainees.
In China, multinational talks get under way today on North Korea's nuclear program. The fixation discussions are aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
In money news, is it really from Tiffany's? The luxury jeweler is suing eBay over the suspected sales of counterfeit jewelry. Tiffany officials cite a study which found 73 percent of Tiffany jewelry sold on eBay is fake.
In culture, a source close to Mary-Kate Olsen tells CNN the actress has an eating disorder. Mary-Kate is the one on the right. A spokesman for the twins says she entered a treatment facility for what he calls a health-related issue.
In sports, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have extended their franchise record winning streak to 12 games with a win over the Toronto Blue Jays. It's also the longest streak in the Majors since June of last year. And the Devil Rays really stunk last year, so good for them.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Did you see that beaming off that guy?
COSTELLO: That was bad.
MYERS: Right off his mask. You know -- you know what, the umpires are never happy when that happens.
COSTELLO: Well.
MYERS: Can you blame them?
COSTELLO: No.
MYERS: But oh man, that just hurts. And they -- he just like he looked at that guy like I'm just going -- don't ever try that again.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Now for an update on those British sailors and Marines being held in Iran. Iranian media reports the group could be released today. That comes after yesterday's threat of prosecution.
CNN's Matthew Chance live in London with the latest for us.
Why the change of heart in Iran -- Matthew?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well it seems to be, Carol, that some kind of decisions have been taken at the highest level to get this matter over and done with. It was the Iranian Foreign Minister himself, Kamal Kharrazi, who issued the order, apparently, according to Iranian state media, to have these eight British service personnel released.
After, Iranian state media again reporting that an official Iranian inquiry had found that the eight had indeed entered Iranian territorial waters by mistake but as the British Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry had been insisting all along.
There has been a great deal of intensive diplomacy between Britain and Iran over the past few days. The British officials are not yet commenting on whether they are expecting some kind of positive development like this, but there was a great deal of concern here, of course, when those crew members, after their boat was seized on Monday morning, were paraded on Iranian television. On one occasion actually blindfolded. Another occasion saw two of those crew members reading out prepared statements apparently apologizing for entering Iranian waters illegally.
There were a great deal of mixed signals coming out of Iran about what would happen to the eight. At one point they were talking in Iran about prosecuting the service personnel. That seems much less likely now if this release goes ahead. That will cause a great deal of relief here in Britain. But of course British officials saying they are taking nothing for granted until such time as these eight are back on British soil -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Matthew Chance bringing us up to date live from London this morning. Thank you. The world is hearing from former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in the form of a letter and by way of attorney. One of Saddam's lawyers in the United States this week claiming American troops are abusing the deposed leader. But in a letter to his family, Saddam writes his spirit and his morale high. They're high.
A Red Cross report indicates Saddam was in good health and slightly wounded one month after he was captured. His attorney insists why would the deposed leader be slightly wounded if he was not being abused.
You can hear more about what Mohammad Rashdan has to say in just a few hours. He will be a guest on "AMERICAN MORNING" and that will happen in the 8:00 Eastern hour.
Want to talk more about this audio tape from an alleged terrorist that's airing on a -- on a -- on a terrorist Web site that has aired very chilling messages before.
Want to bring in David Clinch our senior international editor to talk more about that.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, good morning, Carol.
We're talking about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. This man that the U.S. and the coalition in Iraq says is leading or leading at least a part of the insurgency going on in Iraq.
Our monitoring, as we do every day, of Web sites in the region that have aired tapes and video from his group in the past, today one of those sites is airing an audiotape, which our experts say is his voice. But I am stressing again, the CIA and others have not had a chance, that we know of yet, to authenticate this.
His voice listing again, as we said earlier, the targets of his group. He says attacks on coalition troops will continue, attacks on Iraqi security forces, anybody working for the Iraqi interim government. But most interestingly and most specifically, he makes a threat to kill the interim prime minister of Iraq, Iyad Allawi.
Now it's interesting, not only because he threatens to kill Allawi, but because he says we, his group, killed the interim -- the head of the Iraqi Governing Council a few months ago, Izzedine Salim. And he says to Allawi, again, we don't know for sure this is Zarqawi saying this, but a man claiming to Zarqawi saying directly to the interim prime minister we will kill you in that same way.
COSTELLO: Well interesting, I know we don't even know if al- Zarqawi did all of these things.
CLINCH: No, we don't. I mean the U.S. government has blamed him for the beheading of Nicholas Berg. They blamed him for the killing of Izzedine Salim. They say they have evidence.
COSTELLO: And he is accused of beheading the South Korean hostage.
CLINCH: Well, not exactly yet.
What we know is that a group claiming to be working for him is saying they beheaded the South Korean. So in the subtle differences that the U.S. government has not, at this point, said that they believe Zarqawi.
But interestingly, late last night after the South Korean was killed and that was confirmed, we saw an airstrike in Fallujah, as we did a few days ago, on a house, which the U.S. government, the coalition in Baghdad says is linked to Zarqawi. Nobody, at this point, saying Zarqawi was there. They are just saying that they believe his group is operating out of Fallujah.
COSTELLO: Well what was in the house?
CLINCH: Well they are saying it was a safe house linked to his group. Previously we know that when they hit what they said was a safe house, huge explosions followed. The U.S. government said that arms were being stored there. After that we saw the house destroyed and people killed but nobody ever was able to say whether Zarqawi was there. Again, we're seeing video today from Fallujah, house destroyed. Not clear yet whether Zarqawi or any of his group were there.
COSTELLO: And no word yet from Allawi, the interim prime minister?
CLINCH: Well, no. Interim -- I do read on some of the wires that his office is basically issuing a statement already saying that these threats and threats like this will do nothing to stop the handover, which is only a week away, and will do nothing to stop the interim government doing its job until the elections happen in the early part of next year.
COSTELLO: I know you're going to have more for us in the 6:00 hour.
CLINCH: Yes, following this story all day.
COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, David, we appreciate it.
President Bush is spending the morning in Philadelphia to talk about HIV and AIDS. White House officials say the president will announce he's including Vietnam in his $15 billion plan to help fight the disease.
Also on today's agenda, a private fund raiser in Philly. And then later the president will honor Medal of Freedom recipients at a White House ceremony.
Senator John Kerry is also focusing on health care at a fund raiser in San Francisco this afternoon. He cut campaigning short yesterday to be in Washington to vote on a bill that would fund health care benefits for veterans, but Republican leaders postponed the vote. Kerry calls the delay politics at its silliest.
Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader isn't making too many friends with members of the Congressional Black Caucus. A meeting between Nader and the legislators turned into a shouting match. Nader had made it clear he is not dropping out of the presidential race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: Mr. Nader, you have a right to run, but we have not heard a reason to run. It became abundantly clear to us that this is about Ralph Nader and we were sorely disappointed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Nader told caucus members he believes he will actually help get John Kerry elected by drawing votes from conservatives upset with George Bush.
The front lines of war like you have never seen them before. This is such a powerful story. What happens when the worst nightmare becomes reality? Coming up, combat soldiers race against time to save the life of a 12-year-old boy.
This is DAYBREAK for Wednesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: He may have been only 13 years old, but Mattie Stepanek had a kind of talent and wisdom rarely seen and he will be missed. Mattie died yesterday from a rare form of muscular dystrophy. The child poet was a frequent guest on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST: And you want to be a poet?
MATTIE STEPANEK, 12-YEAR-OLD POET, HAS INCURABLE DISEASE: Yes.
KING: Does that mean -- you are a poet already, but do you want to be, in adulthood?
M. STEPANEK: I want to be a peacemaker. And I want to spread peace through public speaking and my poetry. And I believe that there are three easy choices to peace. And we have to choose them, and stick to them. We have to choose to make peace an attitude, we have to want it, and make it something that truly matters inside of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He was something else. Mattie wrote five poetry books in his short life, one of them made "The New York Times" best seller list.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:43 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
Good news for eight British sailors and Marines, Iran says they are going to be let go after it was proven they mistakenly crossed into Iranian waters. Iran has been detaining -- Iran has been detaining the men since Monday.
New this morning, a roadside bomb kills a woman and child in central Baghdad. Iraqi police say at least two other people were wounded. The bomb was planted near a hospital.
In money news, try, try again. United Airlines is filing a new application for a federal loan guarantee after it was denied last week, only this time the airline reportedly cut its request by $500 million.
In culture, the traveling rock 'n' roll festival Lollapalooza is no more. The festival is being canceled due to poor ticket sales. Founder Perry Farrell says he will regroup and hopefully relaunch sometime in the future.
In sports, last week Matt Bush was the San Diego Padres first round draft pick. Well now the team has suspended the 18-year-old shortstop indefinitely after he was arrested for allegedly biting a bouncer at a Peoria, Arizona bar. That will always get you in trouble -- Chad.
MYERS: Allegedly.
COSTELLO: Allegedly.
MYERS: Right, we always have to put that in front of everything, don't we?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you.
In the fog of war it is tough to know who is the enemy.
CNN's Ryan Chilcote saw this firsthand as an embedded reporter. He was accompanying a platoon of soldiers on a weeklong mission in Afghanistan's volatile border province of Paktika. The soldiers were providing security for the province's new governor as he toured the region. This is a powerful story. And just a head's up, the report includes some disturbing images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their convoy had been attacked during the past week by people in civilian clothes who set off roadside bombs then slipped away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bravo Company.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe from the lob and from...
CHILCOTE: Today, the scouts are out in front, entering a region where no American soldier has ever gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then we are headed down into an area that we knew was known it was going to be hairy.
CHILCOTE: In the distance, they spot what appears to be a man running away. They pursue on foot through a mine field and fire warning shots. The figure in the distance doesn't stop running. There's more firing, taking aim this time.
And the scouts catch up, only to encounter a combat soldier's nightmare. The target turns out to be a 12-year-old boy. The boy's name is Azizullah. He'd been helping his father tend their cattle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's hit.
CHILCOTE: Inside the bag he's carrying, that they thought was suspicious, nothing more than a bottle of water and a stick.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, quit filming. Stop filming.
CHILCOTE (on camera): Two soldiers, including the soldier who shot him and CNN's security adviser, Alan Trappe, got to work on Azizullah keeping him alive for more than two hours before the helicopters arrived. Azizullah's father distraught and convinced his son wouldn't make it, pleaded with the soldiers to let him take his boy home to die.
(voice-over): But the soldiers didn't give up, and neither did Azizullah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The kid held on, asked for his family and stuff. But he wasn't crying a lot. He was working with us, you know, telling us what hurt and what didn't hurt. And that really helps out a lot.
CHILCOTE: Finally, the choppers arrived. Azizullah is whisked away. It is the last time these soldiers will see him. They don't know if he will make it or not. The soldier who pulled the trigger declined to be interviewed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know him pretty well, and you know, this is -- has messed him up pretty good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, he didn't know he was a boy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... establish a perimeter here...
CHILCOTE: The whole unit is stunned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...I think we're too spread out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like we all got kicked in the gut. It's going to take a little bit to get over. All of us that saw it happen are going to see it happen every single day for the rest of our lives, you know? It's -- you've got to live with that.
CHILCOTE: The Army is investigating. While the investigation is underway, we're not reporting the soldier's name. Lieutenant Chris Morrison (ph) is his platoon leader.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every day my soldiers are put in life and death situations and forced to make life or death decisions. And it's not easy. And they'd be foolish to think that every decision comes out the right way.
CHILCOTE: Nearly two weeks after it all went wrong, Azizullah's father arrived in the Afghan capital to see his son in an American field hospital. It was his first time in Kabul, and it had taken intervention by the provincial governor and the help of some Americans to get him here.
Because of this, the father said, my son is injured, my cattle went missing, and my wife has gone crazy. Azizullah's father says his wife will not leave the place where the boy was shot. She rolls on the ground and pleads with Allah to bring her first-born son home, he says. Their livestock all ran away during the shooting. Gone with them, says Azizullah's father, their livelihood.
We asked the Army if there would be any compensation for Azizullah's family. No, we were told. We do not pay compensation for events occurring during combat operations, ever. Twice during their short visit, Azizullah pulled his oxygen mask away and told his father, I want to go home. Doctors say it will be at least a month before Azizullah can leave the hospital.
Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Paktika Province, Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: For more on this story of little Azizullah and the photo essay of Ryan Chilcote's assignment in Afghanistan, log on to our Web site. The address, CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: We have to talk about the Bill Clinton book one more time because already as many as 100,000 copies of the former president's new book have been sold. That's a Barnes & Noble estimate, and that is a record debut for a nonfiction book.
President Clinton, of course, is making the rounds. He took aim at the media and former Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr in this BBC News interview. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the reasons he got away with it is because people like you only ask people like me the questions. You gave him a complete free ride. Any abuse they wanted to do, they indicted all these little people from Arkansas. What did you care about them? They are not famous. Who cares if their lives were trampled? Who cares that their children were humiliated? Who cares if Starr sends FBI agents to their school and rip them out of their school to humiliate them, try to force their parents to lie about me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Don't miss Bill Clinton's first prime time interview. That airs tomorrow on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." The ex-pres will also take your phone calls. That's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
As you know, Bill Clinton is usually pretty articulate, but something he said during the official unveiling of his presidential portrait at the White House may have left him, well, in a pickle.
And that's prompted our Jeanne Moos to seek out the meaning of a mystery metaphor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For a guy who often finds himself in a pickle, he picked a dilly of a metaphor.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Made me feel like I was a pickle stepping into history.
MOOS: The audience on hand for his portrait unveiling chuckled, but at what?
CLINTON: Made me feel like I was a pickle stepping into history.
MOOS: Was it a joke?
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": I don't get that at all.
JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not sure he knew what he meant.
MOOS: What is a pickle, stepping into history? A real head scratcher. I don't get it, either. The mystery continued, from Web sites to a column in "The New York Times."
Some theorized it's a baseball term.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pickle is when you're caught between two bases.
MOOS: Clinton's the pickle in the middle between the two Bush presidencies.
With a giant pickle as a prop...
(on camera) Get its good side.
MOOS (voice-over): ... we looked for answers.
(on camera) Depends on what the definition of a pickle is. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A pickle -- is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sour. A sour part of history, it's Clinton.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe it was a folksy Arkansas...
MOOS (voice-over): Sorry, folks in Arkansas never heard of it, even the industry group Pickle Packers International didn't have a clue: "With all the innuendo about what a pickle might refer to, we won't go there."
But others did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He meant his (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
MOOS: No!
This guy figured Bill Clinton was speaking the mind of his audience.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as they see him, that's what they think about.
MOOS (on camera): Pickle?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Monica.
MOOS: Maybe it's his subconscious.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there any reference to that in his book? To pickles in general?
MOOS: No. Check the index.
(voice-over) Nothing under "P," but a Clinton spokesperson suggests that when you pickle something, it's a means of preservation. Hence the former president felt like he was being pickled with his portrait.
STEWART: As a matter of fact, if I remember correctly, your pickle's already stepped into history.
MOOS: We wouldn't touch that one with a ten-foot fork.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: A pickle stepping into history.
MYERS: I don't get it.
COSTELLO: I don't either. Even after that story, I don't get it.
Got milk or does milk have you? Coming up, why something that's supposed to be good for you is causing a whole lot of problems.
Stay tuned, this is DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: New threats heard on tape this morning. They may be straight from one of the most sought after terrorists in Iraq.
It is Wednesday, June 23. This is DAYBREAK.
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