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American Morning

Legal Custody of Saddam Hussein to be Transferred Tomorrow; Militant Group Allows Turks to Leave Iraq

Aired June 29, 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: The past meets the future in Iraq. Saddam Hussein is being transferred out of U.S. legal custody into the hands of the Iraqis.
A breakthrough in just the last few hours for three Turkish hostages held in Iraq, while in America two communities are in fear, waiting to learn the fate of a U.S. serviceman still missing.

And on the verge of a great moment of discovery. The spacecraft that could unlock the secrets of Saturn is about to arrive at the ringed planet.

Those stories all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome, everybody. It's 7:00 here in New York. Good morning to you. Good to you have along with us today.

President Bush any moment now will deliver a speech at a university in Istanbul, Turkey starting in a few moments. We'll get there live in a moment. He's expected to talk about the new government in Iraq and the potential for democratic reform in other Muslim countries. We'll go there in a moment.

Also, we'll look at some interesting poll results to see how Americans right now are judging the handover, granted it is early. We'll have a bit of a snapshot for you in a moment today.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, we're talking about some domestic stories as well. More intriguing developments in the Scott Peterson trial as defense attorney Mark Geragos kept hammering away at a police detective yesterday. He got him to admit that there were other leads in that case that were not followed up on, and at least that is the defense's position. We're going to tell you a little bit more about that testimony.

HEMMER: All right. As we await the president, Jack Cafferty, good morning to you, President Cafferty.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. That whole idea of democracy in the Middle East...

HEMMER: Yes. CAFFERTY: ... if the seeds that have been planted in Iraq can take root and grow, that would probably make leaders of some of the other Middle Eastern countries very nervous. And we're going to take a look at the prospects of this idea of freedom spreading across that part of the world a bit later.

HEMMER: All right, Jack, thanks for that.

Let's get to Iraq straightaway this morning. Several developments already to talk about today.

Iraq now in its first full day of sovereignty since Saddam Hussein's fall from power about 15 months ago, and one of the developments actually involves the former Iraqi leader himself.

And Brent Sadler is watching that story live in Baghdad. That's where we begin -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Yes, developing news here from the Iraqi capital. A short time ago, the prime minister of the new interim government, it was handed over sovereignty yesterday, Ayad Allawi held a press conference referring to what happens next for the ousted president, Saddam Hussein. Remember, he was captured last December and hasn't been seen since then.

Well, we should be seeing him pretty soon. Where? In a courthouse here in Baghdad the day after tomorrow. He's expected to be handed over to Iraqi legal control tomorrow.

This is what Ayad Allawi had to say about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Has formally requested the transfer of the most notorious and high-profile detainees to Iraqi legal custody so Saddam Hussein, along with up to 11 other high-value detainees, will be transferred to the legal custody of Iraq tomorrow, and will be charged before an Iraqi investigative judge on the following day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SADLER: And not just Saddam Hussein, up to 11 other of his top lieutenants from the ousted regime. Legal custody tomorrow, charges brought the next day in front of an Iraqi judge. And what will happen is that charges will be read. Saddam Hussein, when a trial tribunal comes into effect, can defend himself or he can have an Iraqi legal team defending him. If he can't afford to pay for it himself, says Prime Minister Allawi, then the Iraqi government will pay for Saddam Hussein's own defense -- Bill.

HEMMER: Brent, we're going to go to Turkey in a moment here, but there is news for the Turkish people. Three hostages released. What's the information we have on that? SADLER: Well, the latest we have from here -- remember, three Turkish hostages were under threat of being beheaded today unless the Turkish government did something about the way it conducts business in Iraq. Well, we understand that the hostages have been freed. Those three men have been set free, and that they are on their way home.

They apparently, after their release, contacted their own government to give them that very encouraging news; this, after the kidnappers said they were responding to the demonstrations, mass demonstrations, in Istanbul, Turkey, against the presence of George W. Bush, at the NATO summit there, and also in response to -- quote -- "their Muslim brothers in Turkey." So, those three hostages on their way home, it seems -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thank you for that, Brent. Brent Sadler, again, reporting from Baghdad.

And again, we're moments away from President Bush's speech this morning at the NATO summit.

We want to get to Soledad for more on that now -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: In fact, let's take you right to senior White House correspondent John King, who is in Istanbul this morning. He's traveling with the president.

Good morning to you -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

This will be an interesting speech. We're just moments away from hearing the president deliver this speech here in Istanbul. When he does how, he will be standing in the shadow of a gorgeous mosque. And the president will use that backdrop to take on any of his critics who say that perhaps democracy cannot flourish in predominantly Muslim society.

Now, Mr. Bush is delivering this speech at the close of the NATO summit. He secured some diplomatic progress here at the NATO summit, a commitment from the NATO allies to help train Iraqi security forces. Mr. Bush would have hoped for a bigger commitment of NATO troops on the ground, but that was not going to happen. So, he settled for this compromise.

And the president making his case at the NATO summit, and he will be making it soon in a public speech here in Turkey, that it is time not only to support the new Iraqi government -- and Mr. Bush will call on NATO and others to do that in the days and months ahead -- but also to use the Iraqi government as an example in the Middle East, and to use this government here in Turkey, a predominantly Muslim society with a flourishing democracy, to use it as an example as well.

Mr. Bush will make the case in this speech. The White House has released a transcript in advance, the prepared remarks. He will say, I believe that freedom is the future of the Middle East, because I believe that freedom is the future of all humanity.

And even though this new Iraqi government is just 24-30 hours old, Soledad, Mr. Bush will already make a case that it is an example around the region and putting some governments in this region on hold. The president will say the rise of Iraqi democracy is bringing hope to reformers across the Middle East and sending a very different message to Tehran and Damascus. So, a direct challenge to Iran and Syria there from the president of the United States in a speech he will deliver in just a few moments here before heading back home from the NATO summit and other travels overseas -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: In effect, John, while we wait for that speech to begin, I want to ask a couple of questions. You know, it seems that the president, to some degree, is making the stakes even higher. If he's going to point to an example of successful democracy in Iraq, it really has to be successful in the very end, doesn't it? That's a huge obstacle to get to that point.

KING: It is, and the president is taking a risk here. By turning over sovereignty to the new Iraqi government, doing so two days ahead of schedule, yet still leaving 138,000 American troops on ground, Mr. Bush has the risk in Iraq. Those troops are still on the ground, but the United States now has less political control over what happens in Iraq.

So, the president is making quite a gamble here and putting quite a bit of faith in this new interim Iraqi government. That is one of the reasons he will say that it is critical that not only the United States but that the entire international community come to the aid of this new government as it faces the challenges, principally the security challenge, but also economic challenges and political challenges in the weeks and months ahead.

Mr. Bush knows he is taking a risk on the world stage. And, of course, Soledad, we're just a few months from the re-election, that re-election choice back home in the United States. So, it's a big political risk for the president as well.

O'BRIEN: No question. Our senior White House correspondent, John King, traveling with the president, who, as we mentioned, is expected to speak in just a few moments from now. Thanks, John. We're going to bring that to you live, that speech, as soon as the president begins -- Bill.

HEMMER: In the meantime, back in this country now, the news on the hostage front is not so positive for two Americans in Iraq. There is a report out there saying Army Specialist Matt Maupin, who has been missing since early April, has been killed by his captors, and Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun's life has been threatened if the U.S. does not release all of its prisoners in Iraq.

Let's start with two stories on both of these fronts. Keith Oppenheim is watching the Maupin story in Batavia, Ohio, east of Cincinnati. Kimberly Osias, West Jordan, Utah, where the Marine makes their home there.

Keith -- let's start with you Ohio. Good morning.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

And what an emotionally tough morning it is for the Maupin family, who live on this street.

Yesterday they got word from Army officials about the existence of a videotape, which shows what appears to be an execution of a hostage being shot in the head. That tape was aired in part, not the execution itself, on the Al-Jazeera Arab- language network, which said it got information from a group of militants who claimed to have killed Specialist Matt Maupin.

But an Army spokesperson told the media and emphasized that there's no clear indication that the person on that tape is Matt Maupin, and they don't know at this point if Matt Maupin is dead.

Yesterday outside the home there was a lot of activity of Army personnel going in and outside, essentially protecting the family. But they said that the family is maintaining hopes that Matt Maupin is alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. WILLIE HARRIS, ARMY SPOKESMAN: Their spirits are high. They're still praying that Matt will come home safely, and that remains unchanged. Until they are told by the proper authorities, then they continue to pray and expect him home safely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPENHEIM: U.S. Army officials say that the Department of Defense has experts that are reviewing that videotape to see if they can confirm the identity of Matt Maupin on the tape. Matt Maupin is a 20-year-old Army Reservist who was attacked, when his fuel convoy was attacked back on April 9 just outside of Baghdad.

Bill -- back to you.

HEMMER: Keith, thanks for that.

Let's go straight over to Utah and Kimberly for the update there.

Good morning.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Bill.

Well, the family of Wassef Ali Hassoun is pleading for his life this morning, pleading and praying; this, after an Iraqi militant insurgent group calling themselves Islamic Response has threatened to behead the man if the U.S. coalition does not release all Iraqi prisoners.

Now, no deadline has been set for that yet. However it was just on Sunday when Hassoun appeared on the Arab network television Al- Jazeera. Clearly, he was blindfolded with a thick blindfold, appearing underneath his captor, who apparently is wielding a very large sword. The video also displays Hassoun's active military badge.

Hassoun, of Lebanese descent, is a 24-year-old Marine corporal with the 1st Expeditionary Unit. That unit is based out of Fort Pendleton, although Hassoun was serving in Fallujah, we are told, on his second tour of duty. He as last seen by his unit on June 19 and that is the last that the military has any kind of record of him.

Just last night, a family spokesperson asked for his very quick release.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAREK NOSSUM, HASSOUN FAMILY SPOKESMAN (through translator): In the name of Allah, the merciful and the compassionate, we appreciate and thank everyone from the local and national community for their outpour of support. Again, we ask all of the people of the world to join us in our prayers for Wassef's safe release and the safe release of all of the hostages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: We move away from these stories to bring the president at the podium now live in Istanbul, Turkey.

Clearly, that is the wrong microphone. That is the Arabic translation. We're searching for the English translation on this AMERICAN MORNING.

In the meantime, Jeff Greenfield is here along with us.

The point of today's speech is to drive home yet again one of the main philosophies this president believes: Bring democracy to the Arab world and do it by way of Iraq initially.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: That's what the words are going to say. I think the whole point of this speech also is to put George Bush back squarely back on the international stage. I think the White House sees the unilateralism that a lot of people saw in the invasion of Iraq, the kind of we don't need the old Europe, we'll go it alone if we have to, now is seen as a political liability. And I think the whole last month has been that effort.

HEMMER: Let's listen now.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you all very much.

Distinguished guests, the rector of this fine university, ladies and gentlemen, Laura and I are grateful for the warm and gracious hospitality that we've received these past three days in the Republic of Turkey. I'm honored to visit this beautiful country where two continents meet, a nation that upholds great tradition and faces the future with confidence.

America is honored to call Turkey an ally and a friend.

Many Americans trace their heritage to Turkey. The Turks have contributed greatly to our national life, including most recently a lot of baskets for the Detroit Pistons for Mehmet Okur. I know you're proud of this son of your country and there's a lot of people in Detroit really grateful for his talents.

I'm grateful to my friend, the prime minister for his leadership and his hospitality.

I also want to thank my friend the president, President Sezer for his hospital.

These men and your country have hosted members of NATO in a historic time in our alliance. For most of its history, NATO existed to deter aggression from a powerful army at the heart of Europe.

In this century, NATO looks outward to new threats that gather in secret and bring sudden violence to peaceful cities.

We face terrorist networks that rejoice when parents bury their murdered children, or rejoice when bound men plead for mercy.

We face outlaw regimes that give aid and shelter to these killers and seek weapons of mass murder.

We face the challenges of corruption and poverty and disease, which throw whole nations into chaos and despair.

These are the conditions in which terrorism can survive.

Some on both sides of the Atlantic have questioned whether the NATO alliance still has a great purpose. To find that purpose, they only need to open their eyes. The dangers are in plain sight.

The only question is whether we will confront them or look away and pay a terrible cost.

Over the last few years, NATO has made its decision. Our alliance is restructuring to a post-threat that has risen beyond the borders of Europe.

NATO is providing security in Afghanistan.

NATO has agreed to help train the security forces of a sovereign Iraq, which is a great advantage and crucial success for the Iraqi people.

And in Istanbul we have dedicated ourselves to the advance of reform in the broader Middle East, because all people deserve a just government and because terror is not the tool of the free. Through decades of the Cold War, our great alliance of liberty never failed in its duties, and we are rising to our duties once again.

The Turkish people understand the terrorists, because you have seen their work, even in the last few weeks. You have heard the sirens and witnessed the carnage and mourned the dead.

After the murders of Muslims, Christians and Jews in Istanbul last November, a resident of this city said of the terrorists, "They don't have any religion. They are friends of evil."

In one of the attacks, a Muslim woman lost her son Ahmet, her daughter-in-law Berta, and her unborn grandchild.

This is what she said: "Today, I am saying goodbye to my son. Tomorrow, I'm saying farewell to my Berta. I don't know what the killers wanted from my kids. Were they jealous of their happiness?"

The Turkish people have grieved, but your nation is showing how terrorist violence will be overcome -- with courage and with a firm resolve to defend your just and tolerant society.

This land has always been important for its geography here at the meeting place of Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Now Turkey has assumed even greater historical importance, because of your character as a nation.

Turkey is a strong secular democracy, a majority Muslim society and a close ally of free nations.

Your country, with 150 years of democratic and social reform, stands as a model to others and as Europe's bridge to the wider world. Your success is vital to a future of progress and peace in Europe and in the broader Middle East, and the Republic of Turkey can depend on the support and friendship of the United States of America.

For decades, my country has supported greater unity in Europe to secure liberty, to build prosperity and to remove sources of conflict on this continent.

Now the European Union is considering the admission of Turkey, and you are moving rapidly to meet the criteria for membership.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk had a vision of Turkey as a strong nation among other European nations. That dream can be realized by this generation of Turks.

America believes that as a European power, Turkey belongs in the European Union.

Your membership would also be a crucial advance in relations between the Muslim world and the West, because you are part of both.

Including Turkey in the E.U. would prove that Europe is not the exclusive club of a single religion; it would expose the clash of civilizations as a passing myth of history.

Fifteen years ago, an artificial line that divided Europe drawn at Yalta was erased, and now this continent has the opportunity to erase another artificial division by including Turkey in the future of Europe.

Turkey has found its place in the community of democracies by living out its own principles.

Muslims are called to seek justice, fairness to all, care for the stranger, compassion for those in need.

And you have learned that democracy is the surest way to build a society of justice; the best way to prevent corruption and abuse of power is to hold rulers accountable; the best way to ensure fairness to all is to establish the rule of law; the best way to honor human dignity is to protect human rights.

Turkey has found what nations of every culture and every region have found: If justice is the goal, then democracy is the answer.

In some parts of the world, especially in the Middle East, there is a wariness toward democracy, often based on misunderstanding.

Some people in Muslim cultures identify democracy with the worst of Western popular culture and want no part of it, and I assure them, when I speak about the blessings of liberty, coarse videos and crass commercialism are not what I have in mind.

There is nothing incompatible between democratic values and high standards of decency. For the sake of their families and their culture, citizens of a free society have every right to strive peacefully for a moral society.

Democratic values also do not require citizens to abandon their faith.

No democracy can allow religious people to impose their own view of perfection on others, because this invites cruelty and arrogance that are foreign to every faith.

And all people in a democracy have the right to their own religious beliefs.

But all democracies are made stronger when religious people teach and demonstrate upright conduct -- family commitment, respect for the law and compassion for the weak.

Democratic societies should welcome, not fear, the participation of the faithful.

In addition, democracy does not involve automatic agreement with other democracies. Free governments have a reputation for independence, which Turkey has certainly earned. And that is the way democracy works. We deal honestly with each other, we make our own decisions, and yet in the end, the disagreements of the moment are far outweighed by the ideals we share.

Because representative governments reflect their people, every democracy has its own structure, traditions and opinions.

There are, however, certain commitments of free government that do not change from place to place. The promise of democracy is fulfilled in freedom of speech, the rule of law, limits on the power of the state, economic freedom, respect for women and religious tolerance.

These are the values that honor the dignity of every life and set free the creative energies that lead to progress.

Achieving these commitments of democracy can require decades of effort and reform.

In my own country it took generations to throw off slavery, racial segregation and other practices that violated our ideals.

So we do not expect that other societies can be transformed in a day.

But however long the journey, there is only one destination worth striving for, and that is a society of self-rule and freedom.

Democracy leads to justice within a nation, and the advance of democracy leads to greater security among nations.

The reason is clear: Free peoples do not live in endless stagnation, and seethe in resentment, and lash out in envy, rage and violence. Free peoples do not cling to every grievance of the past; they build and live for the future.

This is the experience of countries in the NATO alliance.

Bitterness and hostility once divided France and Germany, Germany and Poland, Romania and Hungary. But as these nations grew in liberty, ancient disputes and hatreds have been left to history, and because the people of Europe now live in hope, Europe no longer produces armed ideologies that threaten the peace of the world.

Freedom in Europe has brought peace to Europe, and now freedom can bring peace to the broader Middle East.

I believe that freedom is the future of the Middle East, because I believe that freedom is the future of all humanity.

And the historic achievement of democracy in the broader Middle East will be a victory shared by all. Millions who now live in oppression and want will finally have a chance to provide for their families and lead hopeful lives. Nations in the region will have greater stability because governments will have greater legitimacy. And nations like Turkey and America will be safer, because a hopeful Middle East will no longer produce ideologies and movements that seek to kill our citizens.

This transformation is one of the great and difficult tasks of history. And by our own patience and hard effort, and with confidence in the peoples of the Middle East, we will finish the work that history has given us.

Democracy, by definition, must be chosen and defended by the people themselves.

The future of freedom in the Islamic world will be determined by the citizens of Islamic nations, not by outsiders. And for citizens of the broader Middle East, the alternatives could not be more clear.

One alternative is a political doctrine of tyranny, suicide and murder that goes against the standards of justice found in Islam and every other great religion. The other alternative is a society of justice, where men and women live peacefully and build better lives for themselves and their children.

This is the true cause of the people of the Middle East, and that cause can never be served by the murder of the innocent.

The struggle between political extremism and civilized values is unfolding in many places.

We see the struggle in Iraq, where killers are attempting to undermine and intimidate a free government.

We see the struggle in Iran, where tired, discredited autocrats are trying to hold back the democratic will of a rising generation.

We see that struggle in Turkey, where the PKK has abandoned its cease-fire with the Turkish people and resumed violence.

We see it in the Holy Land, where terrorist murderers are setting back the good cause of the Palestinian people who deserve a reformed, peaceful and democratic state of their own.

The terrorists are ruthless and resourceful -- they will not prevail.

Already more than half of the world's Muslims live under democratically-constituted governments, from Indonesia to West Africa, from Europe to North America.

And the ideal of democracy is also powerful and popular in the Middle East.

Surveys in Arab nations reveal broad support for representative government and individual liberty.

We are seeing reform in Kuwait and Qatar, Bahrain and Yemen, Jordan and Morocco. We are seeing men and women of conscience and courage step forward to advocate democracy and justice in the broader Middle East. As we found in the Soviet Union, and behind the Iron Curtain, this kind of moral conviction was more powerful than vast armies and prison walls and the will of dictators. And this kind of moral conviction is also more powerful than the whips of the Taliban, the police state of Saddam Hussein, or the cruel designs of terrorists.

The way ahead is long and difficult, yet people of conscience go forward with hope.

The rule of fear did not survive in Europe; the rule of free peoples will come to the Middle East.

Leaders throughout that region, including some friends of the United States, must recognize the direction of the events of the day.

Any nation that compromises with violent extremists only emboldens them and invites future violence. Suppressing dissent only increases radicalism. The long-term stability of any government depends on being open to change and responsive to citizens.

By learning these lessons, Turkey has become a great and stable democracy, and America shares your hope that other nations will take this path.

Western nations, including my own, want to be helpful in the democratic progress of the Middle East, yet we know there are suspicions rooted in centuries of conflict and colonialism.

And in the last 60 years, many in the West have added to this distrust by excusing tyranny in the region, hoping to purchase stability at the price of liberty. But it did not serve the people of the Middle East to betray their hope of freedom.

It has not made Western nations more secure to ignore the cycle of dictatorship and extremism. Instead we have seen the malice grow deeper and the violence spread until both have appeared on the streets of our own cities.

Some types of hatred will never be appeased; they must be opposed and discredited and defeated by a hopeful alternative, and that alternative is freedom.

Reformers in the broader Middle East are working to build freer and more prosperous societies, and America and Turkey, the G-8, the E.U. and NATO have now agreed to support them.

Many nations are helping the people of Afghanistan to secure a free government.

And NATO now leads a military operation in Afghanistan in the first action by the alliance outside of Europe.

In Iraq, a broad coalition, including the military forces of many NATO countries, is helping the people of that country to build a decent and democratic government after decades of corrupt oppression. And NATO is providing support to a Polish-led division. The government of Iraq has now taken a crucial step forward.

In a nation that suffered for decades under tyranny, we have witnessed the transfer of sovereignty and the beginning of self- government.

In just 15 months, the Iraqi people have left behind one of the worst regimes in the Middle East and their country is becoming the world's newest democracy.

The world has seen a great event in the history of Iraq, in the history of the Middle East and in the history of liberty.

The rise of Iraqi democracy is bringing hope to reformers across the Middle East and sending a very different message to Tehran and Damascus.

A free and sovereign Iraq is a decisive defeat for extremists and terrorists, because their hateful ideology will lose its appeal in a free, and tolerant, and successful country.

The terrorists are doing everything they can to undermine Iraqi democracy by attacking all who stand for order and justice and by committing terrible crimes to break the will of free nations. These terrorists have the ability to cause suffering and grief, but they do not have the power to alter the outcome in Iraq.

The civilized world will keep its resolve. The leaders of Iraq are strong and determined, and the people of Iraq will live in freedom.

Iraq still faces hard challenges in the days and months ahead.

Iraq's leaders are eager to assume responsibility for their own security, and that is our wish as well.

So this week at our summit, NATO agreed to provide assistance in training Iraqi security forces. I am grateful to Turkey and our other NATO allies for helping our friends in Iraq to build a nation that governs itself and defends itself.

Our efforts to promote reform and democracy in the Middle East are moving forward.

At the NATO summit, we approved the Istanbul Cooperative Initiative, offering to work together with nations of the broader Middle East to fight terrorism, to control their borders and to aid victims of disaster.

We are thankful for the important role that Turkey is playing as a democratic partner in the broader Middle East initiative.

For all our efforts to succeed, however, more is needed than plans and policies.

We must strengthen the ties of trust and goodwill between ourselves and the peoples of the Middle East, and trust and goodwill come more easily when men and women clear their minds and their hearts of suspicion and prejudice and unreasoned fear.

When some in my country speak in an ill-informed and insulting manner about the Muslim faith, their words are heard abroad and do great harm to our cause in the Middle East. When some in the Muslim world incite hatred and murder with conspiracy theories and propaganda, their words are also heard by a generation of young Muslims who need truth and hope, not lies and anger. All such talk, in America or in the Middle East, is dangerous and reckless and unworthy of any religious tradition.

Whatever our cultural differences may be, there should be respect and peace in the House of Abraham.

The Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk has said that, "The finest view of Istanbul is not from the shores of Europe or from the shores of Asia, but from a bridge that unites them and lets you see both." His work has been a bridge between cultures, and so is the Republic of Turkey.

The people of this land understand, as that great writer has observed, that, "What is important is not a clash of parties, civilizations, cultures, East and West. What is important," he says, "is to realize that other peoples in other continents and civilizations are exactly like you."

Ladies and gentlemen, in their need for hope, in their desire for peace, in their right to freedom, the peoples of the Middle East are exactly like you and like me. Their birthright of freedom has been denied for too long. We will do all in our power to help them find the blessings of liberty.

Thank you for your hospitality.

May God bless Turkey. May God continue to bless the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The president hitting on the themes of the day: democracy, reform, the country of Turkey. At one point saying terror is not the tool of the free. If justice is the goal, then democracy is the answer. And several times pointed to the country of Turkey for its secular democracy, as being the example, the model for the Middle East.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: He was really pointing to Iraq as well and the steps taken in the last 24-48 hours as a potential role model for the rest of the Middle East as well.

Jeff Greenfield joins us.

Let's talk a little bit about this speech. First of all, who was the audience is? Because it was a long speech, and it covered a lot of ground. GREENFIELD: Right. And I think there were a series of discreet messages in here. There was, to use the Russian cliche we sometimes do, nothing new here. The argument that democracy is a way to stability has been a theme of this administration for a couple of years.

But I thought there were some specific messages to different audiences. To the Turks, you'll remember, the dust-up over whether or not the United States could use Turkish soil to invade Iraq. The Turkish government said no. So, there were a lot of nice words about Turkey -- secular democracy, you were the first modern Muslim nation, we want you in the European Union.

To the Saudis in Egyptians, what he talked about the United States and the West making, in effect, deals with the devil, sacrificing freedom for stability, and we can't do that anymore, and nations in the region have to hear their own people. That's to the Saudis.

There was also a message to certain Christian leaders in the United States. When the president said, some in my country have made ill-informed and insulting comments about the Muslim faith and those words are heard, I think he was talking about folks like the Reverend Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son, who has attacked -- used very tough words about the Muslim faith. And that was a way of saying, I think, to the Muslims, look, we in the United States respect your faith. Don't take the words of some of these leaders as official policies.

So, a lot of different messages going on here.

O'BRIEN: And, of course, a little bit making news, talking about really saying Turkey deserves membership in the EU, which certainly will have its own.

GREENFIELD: The role of Turkey over the next several months, which is not one that the United States necessarily focuses on, is really critical. Not only are they, were they, the first nation of Muslims to move into the modern world under Ataturk, and they've had a stable secular democracy, they were the victims of terror in that bombing some months ago.

But also, the Turks are looking at the Kurds, who are a powerful force in Iraq, who have been very eager to establish autonomy. And for the Turks that's seen as a threat because of the different ethnic and tribal battle.

So, the president was making nice, as my people would say about the Turks, for a lot of different reasons.

HEMMER: Turkey has the death penalty, something that is not recognized in the EU, and that has been the rub for so many years right now as far as acceptance goes.

Thank you, Jeff.

The president continues his tour there in Turkey. The speech is over.

O'BRIEN: Still to come on this AMERICAN MORNING, though, a major airline takes one last shot at government help to try to climb out of the red. Andy Serwer is going to stop by and take a look at that.

HEMMER: Also in a moment, after two decades, a return to Saturn, believe it or not. But it may not be the planet itself that scientists are most interested. Look towards the moon here. Back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: It's coming up on 46 minutes past the hour. It's time to take a look at some of the other stories that are making news today with Betty Nguyen.

Good morning to you -- Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.

We begin with Iraq's first full day under new leadership being marred by violence in Baghdad. The military is saying a roadside bomb went off near a U.S. military convoy in the eastern part of the city. Three U.S. Marines were killed, two others wounded in that attack. We'll have more on this developing story throughout the show.

The transfer of power of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is set to take place tomorrow. The new Iraqi government will take over legal custody of Hussein, along with as many as 11 other key officials from his regime. Iraq's prime minister made that announcement today. However, the prisoners will remain in coalition military custody.

The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte, begins his new duties today. Ambassador Negroponte arriving in Baghdad yesterday hours after the handover of power to Iraq's new government. Negroponte will now oversee what will probably be the largest U.S. embassy overseas.

Turning to sports news now, at Wimbledon, Andy Roddick, the only American left standing, well, he advances to the men's quarterfinals after defeating German Alexander Popp yesterday. Meanwhile, American Lindsay Davenport advancing to the final eight. She'll go against Croatian Karolina Sprem after beating Russia's Vera Zvonareva in straight sets yesterday.

And finally, talk about a big catch. An Arkansas man reeling in a giant fish measuring four feet in length and weighing in at a whopping 65 pounds. It was caught using, of all things, chicken liver on a 15-pound line. Even though it's not a record, it's still a pretty big fish. I'd say the size of a small child -- Bill.

HEMMER: Pretty ugly.

O'BRIEN: Sixty five pounds.

NGUYEN: Yikes! HEMMER: Thank you, Betty.

Another milestone in space exploration. Tomorrow, NASA's Cassini spacecraft enters Saturn's orbit, starting a four-year study of the planet's seven rings and its 31 moons, a lot to study there. Cassini knows its way around the solar system. It traveled more than two billion miles since being launched about seven years ago in 1997.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson is director of the Hayden planetarium here in New York City. His new book, "The Sky is not the Limit," is just out in paperback. And a bit earlier today, I talked to him about why Saturn is his favorite planet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON, DIRECTOR, HAYDEN PLANETARIUM: Its sheer beauty, first of all. It's got that ring system like no other planet. And one of my favorite things as kid was noting that any scoop of it would -- an average scoop of it would float on water. So Saturn...

HEMMER: It's that light?

TYSON: Saturn is the only planet whose density is less than water. So, instead of a rubber ducky in the tub, I always wanted a little rubber Saturn.

HEMMER: Could a spacecraft pass through this planet?

TYSON: Well, it's mostly gaseous. So, it would plunge down to a depth where we'd get crushed by the atmospheric pressures. But Jupiter is also gaseous. A big gaseous point you could plunge through to significant depths.

HEMMER: You mentioned being a boy. We have a picture of a young Neal at the age of 12. It held a fascination for you at a very young age.

TYSON: Yes.

HEMMER: What are we looking at in this picture?

TYSON: I'm in a camp in the Mojave Desert in southern California. It's a camp for nerd kids who knew they wanted to look up to the universe.

HEMMER: You said it, not me.

Listen, Cassini is going to pass by the way of Phoebe, one of the 31 moons on Saturn. What do you hope to learn or gain from that?

TYSON: Well, we already had a close encounter with Phoebe. Phoebe is one of 30-some odd moons. Well, there we go. And one of the most remarkable features of Phoebe is that there are areas that are very light and areas that are very dark. And that juxtaposition is uncommon among moons. And Phoebe, we think, is some mixture of dirt and ice. The ice being the reflective part, and other minerals being the dark part. And we think it might be a wayward comet that got captured. It's in orbit in the opposite direction from the other moons of Saturn.

HEMMER: Is that so?

TYSON: Yes.

HEMMER: This is a strange place, I'm telling you.

TYSON: I know! In fact, you know, you go to these gorgeous planets and you find out that their moons are where the action is. You know, I mean...

HEMMER: Is that so?

TYSON: Yes.

HEMMER: Well, what about one of the moons called Titan?

TYSON: Titan...

HEMMER: Someone said that this is perhaps the most fascinating thing in the entire solar system. That's a heck of a thing to say.

TYSON: I'd have to agree. And of all the 31 moons that Saturn has, it's the one where the Huygens probe will be dropped down in. It's going to descend December 25, take a little while to get there, plunge into the atmosphere of Titan. Titan has an atmosphere. It's the only moon that has a significant atmosphere of all of the moons in the solar system. But not only that, we think there are these exotic things like ice volcanoes and lakes of liquid methane. I mean, it's just an exotic place with organic chemistry going on.

HEMMER: How as a scientist could you take this information and use it to either teach or to learn more?

TYSON: Oh, what you do is you say first the universe is always a little more exotic than you first imagined. Second, Titan becomes a prime place to look for the basic ingredients for life and whether life might have formed there at all. There are heating sources related to the gravity of Saturn that sort of keep things a little warmer than they otherwise would be.

HEMMER: We're getting deeper and deeper, aren't we?

TYSON: I know. So, the search for life is always the object of one's affection.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Neal DeGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden planetarium here in New York. His book is out, "The Sky is not the Limit," in paperback just now -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, it's three strikes and you're out for United Airlines. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" this morning. He's going to stop by to explain. That's ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, it's another round of Fed-watching, and United Airlines gets more bad news. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Hi, Andy. Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you.

Let's start with the markets yesterday. We started off very well because of the news of the Iraqi turnover boosting stocks. But later in the day caught up with the reports from General Motors that sales might not be quite what were anticipated for the month of June. So, you can see here, we slipped across the board.

The big news today, of course, though, is going to be the Fed meeting, and this is something that impacts all Americans, because we have a two-day FOMC meeting -- Federal Open Market Committee meeting. At the end of it, at 2:15 tomorrow, it is very, very likely that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. Implications for everyone across the board, credit cards, savings rates. We'll be talking about that as the week progresses, I'm sure.

Now let's talk a little bit about United Airlines.

O'BRIEN: Going back to the well again and again and again.

SERWER: Yes, indeed. And the third time was not a charm. The Fed said, you know what? You can't keep asking us for federal loan guarantees. We're simply not handing them out. This was the third time, and they now have to go it alone. They're probably going to be looking for $2 billion to stay afloat and to get out of bankruptcy.

"Wall Street Journal" reporting also this morning that Delta Airlines may be moving a step closer to bankruptcy. So just continued problems there.

O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: We're going to continue to check in with you this morning.

SERWER: OK.

O'BRIEN: Bill.

HEMMER: With the president's speech earlier, we haven't had a chance to say good morning yet to Chad Myers.

(WEATHER BREAK) In a moment here, was it a split decision from the Supreme Court regarding the Bush administration's handling of the war on terror? A lawyer right now defending one man held in a brig in South Carolina, his thoughts in a moment about the legal proceedings next, after this.

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Aired June 29, 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: The past meets the future in Iraq. Saddam Hussein is being transferred out of U.S. legal custody into the hands of the Iraqis.
A breakthrough in just the last few hours for three Turkish hostages held in Iraq, while in America two communities are in fear, waiting to learn the fate of a U.S. serviceman still missing.

And on the verge of a great moment of discovery. The spacecraft that could unlock the secrets of Saturn is about to arrive at the ringed planet.

Those stories all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome, everybody. It's 7:00 here in New York. Good morning to you. Good to you have along with us today.

President Bush any moment now will deliver a speech at a university in Istanbul, Turkey starting in a few moments. We'll get there live in a moment. He's expected to talk about the new government in Iraq and the potential for democratic reform in other Muslim countries. We'll go there in a moment.

Also, we'll look at some interesting poll results to see how Americans right now are judging the handover, granted it is early. We'll have a bit of a snapshot for you in a moment today.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, we're talking about some domestic stories as well. More intriguing developments in the Scott Peterson trial as defense attorney Mark Geragos kept hammering away at a police detective yesterday. He got him to admit that there were other leads in that case that were not followed up on, and at least that is the defense's position. We're going to tell you a little bit more about that testimony.

HEMMER: All right. As we await the president, Jack Cafferty, good morning to you, President Cafferty.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. That whole idea of democracy in the Middle East...

HEMMER: Yes. CAFFERTY: ... if the seeds that have been planted in Iraq can take root and grow, that would probably make leaders of some of the other Middle Eastern countries very nervous. And we're going to take a look at the prospects of this idea of freedom spreading across that part of the world a bit later.

HEMMER: All right, Jack, thanks for that.

Let's get to Iraq straightaway this morning. Several developments already to talk about today.

Iraq now in its first full day of sovereignty since Saddam Hussein's fall from power about 15 months ago, and one of the developments actually involves the former Iraqi leader himself.

And Brent Sadler is watching that story live in Baghdad. That's where we begin -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Yes, developing news here from the Iraqi capital. A short time ago, the prime minister of the new interim government, it was handed over sovereignty yesterday, Ayad Allawi held a press conference referring to what happens next for the ousted president, Saddam Hussein. Remember, he was captured last December and hasn't been seen since then.

Well, we should be seeing him pretty soon. Where? In a courthouse here in Baghdad the day after tomorrow. He's expected to be handed over to Iraqi legal control tomorrow.

This is what Ayad Allawi had to say about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Has formally requested the transfer of the most notorious and high-profile detainees to Iraqi legal custody so Saddam Hussein, along with up to 11 other high-value detainees, will be transferred to the legal custody of Iraq tomorrow, and will be charged before an Iraqi investigative judge on the following day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SADLER: And not just Saddam Hussein, up to 11 other of his top lieutenants from the ousted regime. Legal custody tomorrow, charges brought the next day in front of an Iraqi judge. And what will happen is that charges will be read. Saddam Hussein, when a trial tribunal comes into effect, can defend himself or he can have an Iraqi legal team defending him. If he can't afford to pay for it himself, says Prime Minister Allawi, then the Iraqi government will pay for Saddam Hussein's own defense -- Bill.

HEMMER: Brent, we're going to go to Turkey in a moment here, but there is news for the Turkish people. Three hostages released. What's the information we have on that? SADLER: Well, the latest we have from here -- remember, three Turkish hostages were under threat of being beheaded today unless the Turkish government did something about the way it conducts business in Iraq. Well, we understand that the hostages have been freed. Those three men have been set free, and that they are on their way home.

They apparently, after their release, contacted their own government to give them that very encouraging news; this, after the kidnappers said they were responding to the demonstrations, mass demonstrations, in Istanbul, Turkey, against the presence of George W. Bush, at the NATO summit there, and also in response to -- quote -- "their Muslim brothers in Turkey." So, those three hostages on their way home, it seems -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thank you for that, Brent. Brent Sadler, again, reporting from Baghdad.

And again, we're moments away from President Bush's speech this morning at the NATO summit.

We want to get to Soledad for more on that now -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: In fact, let's take you right to senior White House correspondent John King, who is in Istanbul this morning. He's traveling with the president.

Good morning to you -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

This will be an interesting speech. We're just moments away from hearing the president deliver this speech here in Istanbul. When he does how, he will be standing in the shadow of a gorgeous mosque. And the president will use that backdrop to take on any of his critics who say that perhaps democracy cannot flourish in predominantly Muslim society.

Now, Mr. Bush is delivering this speech at the close of the NATO summit. He secured some diplomatic progress here at the NATO summit, a commitment from the NATO allies to help train Iraqi security forces. Mr. Bush would have hoped for a bigger commitment of NATO troops on the ground, but that was not going to happen. So, he settled for this compromise.

And the president making his case at the NATO summit, and he will be making it soon in a public speech here in Turkey, that it is time not only to support the new Iraqi government -- and Mr. Bush will call on NATO and others to do that in the days and months ahead -- but also to use the Iraqi government as an example in the Middle East, and to use this government here in Turkey, a predominantly Muslim society with a flourishing democracy, to use it as an example as well.

Mr. Bush will make the case in this speech. The White House has released a transcript in advance, the prepared remarks. He will say, I believe that freedom is the future of the Middle East, because I believe that freedom is the future of all humanity.

And even though this new Iraqi government is just 24-30 hours old, Soledad, Mr. Bush will already make a case that it is an example around the region and putting some governments in this region on hold. The president will say the rise of Iraqi democracy is bringing hope to reformers across the Middle East and sending a very different message to Tehran and Damascus. So, a direct challenge to Iran and Syria there from the president of the United States in a speech he will deliver in just a few moments here before heading back home from the NATO summit and other travels overseas -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: In effect, John, while we wait for that speech to begin, I want to ask a couple of questions. You know, it seems that the president, to some degree, is making the stakes even higher. If he's going to point to an example of successful democracy in Iraq, it really has to be successful in the very end, doesn't it? That's a huge obstacle to get to that point.

KING: It is, and the president is taking a risk here. By turning over sovereignty to the new Iraqi government, doing so two days ahead of schedule, yet still leaving 138,000 American troops on ground, Mr. Bush has the risk in Iraq. Those troops are still on the ground, but the United States now has less political control over what happens in Iraq.

So, the president is making quite a gamble here and putting quite a bit of faith in this new interim Iraqi government. That is one of the reasons he will say that it is critical that not only the United States but that the entire international community come to the aid of this new government as it faces the challenges, principally the security challenge, but also economic challenges and political challenges in the weeks and months ahead.

Mr. Bush knows he is taking a risk on the world stage. And, of course, Soledad, we're just a few months from the re-election, that re-election choice back home in the United States. So, it's a big political risk for the president as well.

O'BRIEN: No question. Our senior White House correspondent, John King, traveling with the president, who, as we mentioned, is expected to speak in just a few moments from now. Thanks, John. We're going to bring that to you live, that speech, as soon as the president begins -- Bill.

HEMMER: In the meantime, back in this country now, the news on the hostage front is not so positive for two Americans in Iraq. There is a report out there saying Army Specialist Matt Maupin, who has been missing since early April, has been killed by his captors, and Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun's life has been threatened if the U.S. does not release all of its prisoners in Iraq.

Let's start with two stories on both of these fronts. Keith Oppenheim is watching the Maupin story in Batavia, Ohio, east of Cincinnati. Kimberly Osias, West Jordan, Utah, where the Marine makes their home there.

Keith -- let's start with you Ohio. Good morning.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

And what an emotionally tough morning it is for the Maupin family, who live on this street.

Yesterday they got word from Army officials about the existence of a videotape, which shows what appears to be an execution of a hostage being shot in the head. That tape was aired in part, not the execution itself, on the Al-Jazeera Arab- language network, which said it got information from a group of militants who claimed to have killed Specialist Matt Maupin.

But an Army spokesperson told the media and emphasized that there's no clear indication that the person on that tape is Matt Maupin, and they don't know at this point if Matt Maupin is dead.

Yesterday outside the home there was a lot of activity of Army personnel going in and outside, essentially protecting the family. But they said that the family is maintaining hopes that Matt Maupin is alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. WILLIE HARRIS, ARMY SPOKESMAN: Their spirits are high. They're still praying that Matt will come home safely, and that remains unchanged. Until they are told by the proper authorities, then they continue to pray and expect him home safely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPENHEIM: U.S. Army officials say that the Department of Defense has experts that are reviewing that videotape to see if they can confirm the identity of Matt Maupin on the tape. Matt Maupin is a 20-year-old Army Reservist who was attacked, when his fuel convoy was attacked back on April 9 just outside of Baghdad.

Bill -- back to you.

HEMMER: Keith, thanks for that.

Let's go straight over to Utah and Kimberly for the update there.

Good morning.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Bill.

Well, the family of Wassef Ali Hassoun is pleading for his life this morning, pleading and praying; this, after an Iraqi militant insurgent group calling themselves Islamic Response has threatened to behead the man if the U.S. coalition does not release all Iraqi prisoners.

Now, no deadline has been set for that yet. However it was just on Sunday when Hassoun appeared on the Arab network television Al- Jazeera. Clearly, he was blindfolded with a thick blindfold, appearing underneath his captor, who apparently is wielding a very large sword. The video also displays Hassoun's active military badge.

Hassoun, of Lebanese descent, is a 24-year-old Marine corporal with the 1st Expeditionary Unit. That unit is based out of Fort Pendleton, although Hassoun was serving in Fallujah, we are told, on his second tour of duty. He as last seen by his unit on June 19 and that is the last that the military has any kind of record of him.

Just last night, a family spokesperson asked for his very quick release.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAREK NOSSUM, HASSOUN FAMILY SPOKESMAN (through translator): In the name of Allah, the merciful and the compassionate, we appreciate and thank everyone from the local and national community for their outpour of support. Again, we ask all of the people of the world to join us in our prayers for Wassef's safe release and the safe release of all of the hostages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: We move away from these stories to bring the president at the podium now live in Istanbul, Turkey.

Clearly, that is the wrong microphone. That is the Arabic translation. We're searching for the English translation on this AMERICAN MORNING.

In the meantime, Jeff Greenfield is here along with us.

The point of today's speech is to drive home yet again one of the main philosophies this president believes: Bring democracy to the Arab world and do it by way of Iraq initially.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: That's what the words are going to say. I think the whole point of this speech also is to put George Bush back squarely back on the international stage. I think the White House sees the unilateralism that a lot of people saw in the invasion of Iraq, the kind of we don't need the old Europe, we'll go it alone if we have to, now is seen as a political liability. And I think the whole last month has been that effort.

HEMMER: Let's listen now.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you all very much.

Distinguished guests, the rector of this fine university, ladies and gentlemen, Laura and I are grateful for the warm and gracious hospitality that we've received these past three days in the Republic of Turkey. I'm honored to visit this beautiful country where two continents meet, a nation that upholds great tradition and faces the future with confidence.

America is honored to call Turkey an ally and a friend.

Many Americans trace their heritage to Turkey. The Turks have contributed greatly to our national life, including most recently a lot of baskets for the Detroit Pistons for Mehmet Okur. I know you're proud of this son of your country and there's a lot of people in Detroit really grateful for his talents.

I'm grateful to my friend, the prime minister for his leadership and his hospitality.

I also want to thank my friend the president, President Sezer for his hospital.

These men and your country have hosted members of NATO in a historic time in our alliance. For most of its history, NATO existed to deter aggression from a powerful army at the heart of Europe.

In this century, NATO looks outward to new threats that gather in secret and bring sudden violence to peaceful cities.

We face terrorist networks that rejoice when parents bury their murdered children, or rejoice when bound men plead for mercy.

We face outlaw regimes that give aid and shelter to these killers and seek weapons of mass murder.

We face the challenges of corruption and poverty and disease, which throw whole nations into chaos and despair.

These are the conditions in which terrorism can survive.

Some on both sides of the Atlantic have questioned whether the NATO alliance still has a great purpose. To find that purpose, they only need to open their eyes. The dangers are in plain sight.

The only question is whether we will confront them or look away and pay a terrible cost.

Over the last few years, NATO has made its decision. Our alliance is restructuring to a post-threat that has risen beyond the borders of Europe.

NATO is providing security in Afghanistan.

NATO has agreed to help train the security forces of a sovereign Iraq, which is a great advantage and crucial success for the Iraqi people.

And in Istanbul we have dedicated ourselves to the advance of reform in the broader Middle East, because all people deserve a just government and because terror is not the tool of the free. Through decades of the Cold War, our great alliance of liberty never failed in its duties, and we are rising to our duties once again.

The Turkish people understand the terrorists, because you have seen their work, even in the last few weeks. You have heard the sirens and witnessed the carnage and mourned the dead.

After the murders of Muslims, Christians and Jews in Istanbul last November, a resident of this city said of the terrorists, "They don't have any religion. They are friends of evil."

In one of the attacks, a Muslim woman lost her son Ahmet, her daughter-in-law Berta, and her unborn grandchild.

This is what she said: "Today, I am saying goodbye to my son. Tomorrow, I'm saying farewell to my Berta. I don't know what the killers wanted from my kids. Were they jealous of their happiness?"

The Turkish people have grieved, but your nation is showing how terrorist violence will be overcome -- with courage and with a firm resolve to defend your just and tolerant society.

This land has always been important for its geography here at the meeting place of Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Now Turkey has assumed even greater historical importance, because of your character as a nation.

Turkey is a strong secular democracy, a majority Muslim society and a close ally of free nations.

Your country, with 150 years of democratic and social reform, stands as a model to others and as Europe's bridge to the wider world. Your success is vital to a future of progress and peace in Europe and in the broader Middle East, and the Republic of Turkey can depend on the support and friendship of the United States of America.

For decades, my country has supported greater unity in Europe to secure liberty, to build prosperity and to remove sources of conflict on this continent.

Now the European Union is considering the admission of Turkey, and you are moving rapidly to meet the criteria for membership.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk had a vision of Turkey as a strong nation among other European nations. That dream can be realized by this generation of Turks.

America believes that as a European power, Turkey belongs in the European Union.

Your membership would also be a crucial advance in relations between the Muslim world and the West, because you are part of both.

Including Turkey in the E.U. would prove that Europe is not the exclusive club of a single religion; it would expose the clash of civilizations as a passing myth of history.

Fifteen years ago, an artificial line that divided Europe drawn at Yalta was erased, and now this continent has the opportunity to erase another artificial division by including Turkey in the future of Europe.

Turkey has found its place in the community of democracies by living out its own principles.

Muslims are called to seek justice, fairness to all, care for the stranger, compassion for those in need.

And you have learned that democracy is the surest way to build a society of justice; the best way to prevent corruption and abuse of power is to hold rulers accountable; the best way to ensure fairness to all is to establish the rule of law; the best way to honor human dignity is to protect human rights.

Turkey has found what nations of every culture and every region have found: If justice is the goal, then democracy is the answer.

In some parts of the world, especially in the Middle East, there is a wariness toward democracy, often based on misunderstanding.

Some people in Muslim cultures identify democracy with the worst of Western popular culture and want no part of it, and I assure them, when I speak about the blessings of liberty, coarse videos and crass commercialism are not what I have in mind.

There is nothing incompatible between democratic values and high standards of decency. For the sake of their families and their culture, citizens of a free society have every right to strive peacefully for a moral society.

Democratic values also do not require citizens to abandon their faith.

No democracy can allow religious people to impose their own view of perfection on others, because this invites cruelty and arrogance that are foreign to every faith.

And all people in a democracy have the right to their own religious beliefs.

But all democracies are made stronger when religious people teach and demonstrate upright conduct -- family commitment, respect for the law and compassion for the weak.

Democratic societies should welcome, not fear, the participation of the faithful.

In addition, democracy does not involve automatic agreement with other democracies. Free governments have a reputation for independence, which Turkey has certainly earned. And that is the way democracy works. We deal honestly with each other, we make our own decisions, and yet in the end, the disagreements of the moment are far outweighed by the ideals we share.

Because representative governments reflect their people, every democracy has its own structure, traditions and opinions.

There are, however, certain commitments of free government that do not change from place to place. The promise of democracy is fulfilled in freedom of speech, the rule of law, limits on the power of the state, economic freedom, respect for women and religious tolerance.

These are the values that honor the dignity of every life and set free the creative energies that lead to progress.

Achieving these commitments of democracy can require decades of effort and reform.

In my own country it took generations to throw off slavery, racial segregation and other practices that violated our ideals.

So we do not expect that other societies can be transformed in a day.

But however long the journey, there is only one destination worth striving for, and that is a society of self-rule and freedom.

Democracy leads to justice within a nation, and the advance of democracy leads to greater security among nations.

The reason is clear: Free peoples do not live in endless stagnation, and seethe in resentment, and lash out in envy, rage and violence. Free peoples do not cling to every grievance of the past; they build and live for the future.

This is the experience of countries in the NATO alliance.

Bitterness and hostility once divided France and Germany, Germany and Poland, Romania and Hungary. But as these nations grew in liberty, ancient disputes and hatreds have been left to history, and because the people of Europe now live in hope, Europe no longer produces armed ideologies that threaten the peace of the world.

Freedom in Europe has brought peace to Europe, and now freedom can bring peace to the broader Middle East.

I believe that freedom is the future of the Middle East, because I believe that freedom is the future of all humanity.

And the historic achievement of democracy in the broader Middle East will be a victory shared by all. Millions who now live in oppression and want will finally have a chance to provide for their families and lead hopeful lives. Nations in the region will have greater stability because governments will have greater legitimacy. And nations like Turkey and America will be safer, because a hopeful Middle East will no longer produce ideologies and movements that seek to kill our citizens.

This transformation is one of the great and difficult tasks of history. And by our own patience and hard effort, and with confidence in the peoples of the Middle East, we will finish the work that history has given us.

Democracy, by definition, must be chosen and defended by the people themselves.

The future of freedom in the Islamic world will be determined by the citizens of Islamic nations, not by outsiders. And for citizens of the broader Middle East, the alternatives could not be more clear.

One alternative is a political doctrine of tyranny, suicide and murder that goes against the standards of justice found in Islam and every other great religion. The other alternative is a society of justice, where men and women live peacefully and build better lives for themselves and their children.

This is the true cause of the people of the Middle East, and that cause can never be served by the murder of the innocent.

The struggle between political extremism and civilized values is unfolding in many places.

We see the struggle in Iraq, where killers are attempting to undermine and intimidate a free government.

We see the struggle in Iran, where tired, discredited autocrats are trying to hold back the democratic will of a rising generation.

We see that struggle in Turkey, where the PKK has abandoned its cease-fire with the Turkish people and resumed violence.

We see it in the Holy Land, where terrorist murderers are setting back the good cause of the Palestinian people who deserve a reformed, peaceful and democratic state of their own.

The terrorists are ruthless and resourceful -- they will not prevail.

Already more than half of the world's Muslims live under democratically-constituted governments, from Indonesia to West Africa, from Europe to North America.

And the ideal of democracy is also powerful and popular in the Middle East.

Surveys in Arab nations reveal broad support for representative government and individual liberty.

We are seeing reform in Kuwait and Qatar, Bahrain and Yemen, Jordan and Morocco. We are seeing men and women of conscience and courage step forward to advocate democracy and justice in the broader Middle East. As we found in the Soviet Union, and behind the Iron Curtain, this kind of moral conviction was more powerful than vast armies and prison walls and the will of dictators. And this kind of moral conviction is also more powerful than the whips of the Taliban, the police state of Saddam Hussein, or the cruel designs of terrorists.

The way ahead is long and difficult, yet people of conscience go forward with hope.

The rule of fear did not survive in Europe; the rule of free peoples will come to the Middle East.

Leaders throughout that region, including some friends of the United States, must recognize the direction of the events of the day.

Any nation that compromises with violent extremists only emboldens them and invites future violence. Suppressing dissent only increases radicalism. The long-term stability of any government depends on being open to change and responsive to citizens.

By learning these lessons, Turkey has become a great and stable democracy, and America shares your hope that other nations will take this path.

Western nations, including my own, want to be helpful in the democratic progress of the Middle East, yet we know there are suspicions rooted in centuries of conflict and colonialism.

And in the last 60 years, many in the West have added to this distrust by excusing tyranny in the region, hoping to purchase stability at the price of liberty. But it did not serve the people of the Middle East to betray their hope of freedom.

It has not made Western nations more secure to ignore the cycle of dictatorship and extremism. Instead we have seen the malice grow deeper and the violence spread until both have appeared on the streets of our own cities.

Some types of hatred will never be appeased; they must be opposed and discredited and defeated by a hopeful alternative, and that alternative is freedom.

Reformers in the broader Middle East are working to build freer and more prosperous societies, and America and Turkey, the G-8, the E.U. and NATO have now agreed to support them.

Many nations are helping the people of Afghanistan to secure a free government.

And NATO now leads a military operation in Afghanistan in the first action by the alliance outside of Europe.

In Iraq, a broad coalition, including the military forces of many NATO countries, is helping the people of that country to build a decent and democratic government after decades of corrupt oppression. And NATO is providing support to a Polish-led division. The government of Iraq has now taken a crucial step forward.

In a nation that suffered for decades under tyranny, we have witnessed the transfer of sovereignty and the beginning of self- government.

In just 15 months, the Iraqi people have left behind one of the worst regimes in the Middle East and their country is becoming the world's newest democracy.

The world has seen a great event in the history of Iraq, in the history of the Middle East and in the history of liberty.

The rise of Iraqi democracy is bringing hope to reformers across the Middle East and sending a very different message to Tehran and Damascus.

A free and sovereign Iraq is a decisive defeat for extremists and terrorists, because their hateful ideology will lose its appeal in a free, and tolerant, and successful country.

The terrorists are doing everything they can to undermine Iraqi democracy by attacking all who stand for order and justice and by committing terrible crimes to break the will of free nations. These terrorists have the ability to cause suffering and grief, but they do not have the power to alter the outcome in Iraq.

The civilized world will keep its resolve. The leaders of Iraq are strong and determined, and the people of Iraq will live in freedom.

Iraq still faces hard challenges in the days and months ahead.

Iraq's leaders are eager to assume responsibility for their own security, and that is our wish as well.

So this week at our summit, NATO agreed to provide assistance in training Iraqi security forces. I am grateful to Turkey and our other NATO allies for helping our friends in Iraq to build a nation that governs itself and defends itself.

Our efforts to promote reform and democracy in the Middle East are moving forward.

At the NATO summit, we approved the Istanbul Cooperative Initiative, offering to work together with nations of the broader Middle East to fight terrorism, to control their borders and to aid victims of disaster.

We are thankful for the important role that Turkey is playing as a democratic partner in the broader Middle East initiative.

For all our efforts to succeed, however, more is needed than plans and policies.

We must strengthen the ties of trust and goodwill between ourselves and the peoples of the Middle East, and trust and goodwill come more easily when men and women clear their minds and their hearts of suspicion and prejudice and unreasoned fear.

When some in my country speak in an ill-informed and insulting manner about the Muslim faith, their words are heard abroad and do great harm to our cause in the Middle East. When some in the Muslim world incite hatred and murder with conspiracy theories and propaganda, their words are also heard by a generation of young Muslims who need truth and hope, not lies and anger. All such talk, in America or in the Middle East, is dangerous and reckless and unworthy of any religious tradition.

Whatever our cultural differences may be, there should be respect and peace in the House of Abraham.

The Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk has said that, "The finest view of Istanbul is not from the shores of Europe or from the shores of Asia, but from a bridge that unites them and lets you see both." His work has been a bridge between cultures, and so is the Republic of Turkey.

The people of this land understand, as that great writer has observed, that, "What is important is not a clash of parties, civilizations, cultures, East and West. What is important," he says, "is to realize that other peoples in other continents and civilizations are exactly like you."

Ladies and gentlemen, in their need for hope, in their desire for peace, in their right to freedom, the peoples of the Middle East are exactly like you and like me. Their birthright of freedom has been denied for too long. We will do all in our power to help them find the blessings of liberty.

Thank you for your hospitality.

May God bless Turkey. May God continue to bless the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The president hitting on the themes of the day: democracy, reform, the country of Turkey. At one point saying terror is not the tool of the free. If justice is the goal, then democracy is the answer. And several times pointed to the country of Turkey for its secular democracy, as being the example, the model for the Middle East.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: He was really pointing to Iraq as well and the steps taken in the last 24-48 hours as a potential role model for the rest of the Middle East as well.

Jeff Greenfield joins us.

Let's talk a little bit about this speech. First of all, who was the audience is? Because it was a long speech, and it covered a lot of ground. GREENFIELD: Right. And I think there were a series of discreet messages in here. There was, to use the Russian cliche we sometimes do, nothing new here. The argument that democracy is a way to stability has been a theme of this administration for a couple of years.

But I thought there were some specific messages to different audiences. To the Turks, you'll remember, the dust-up over whether or not the United States could use Turkish soil to invade Iraq. The Turkish government said no. So, there were a lot of nice words about Turkey -- secular democracy, you were the first modern Muslim nation, we want you in the European Union.

To the Saudis in Egyptians, what he talked about the United States and the West making, in effect, deals with the devil, sacrificing freedom for stability, and we can't do that anymore, and nations in the region have to hear their own people. That's to the Saudis.

There was also a message to certain Christian leaders in the United States. When the president said, some in my country have made ill-informed and insulting comments about the Muslim faith and those words are heard, I think he was talking about folks like the Reverend Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son, who has attacked -- used very tough words about the Muslim faith. And that was a way of saying, I think, to the Muslims, look, we in the United States respect your faith. Don't take the words of some of these leaders as official policies.

So, a lot of different messages going on here.

O'BRIEN: And, of course, a little bit making news, talking about really saying Turkey deserves membership in the EU, which certainly will have its own.

GREENFIELD: The role of Turkey over the next several months, which is not one that the United States necessarily focuses on, is really critical. Not only are they, were they, the first nation of Muslims to move into the modern world under Ataturk, and they've had a stable secular democracy, they were the victims of terror in that bombing some months ago.

But also, the Turks are looking at the Kurds, who are a powerful force in Iraq, who have been very eager to establish autonomy. And for the Turks that's seen as a threat because of the different ethnic and tribal battle.

So, the president was making nice, as my people would say about the Turks, for a lot of different reasons.

HEMMER: Turkey has the death penalty, something that is not recognized in the EU, and that has been the rub for so many years right now as far as acceptance goes.

Thank you, Jeff.

The president continues his tour there in Turkey. The speech is over.

O'BRIEN: Still to come on this AMERICAN MORNING, though, a major airline takes one last shot at government help to try to climb out of the red. Andy Serwer is going to stop by and take a look at that.

HEMMER: Also in a moment, after two decades, a return to Saturn, believe it or not. But it may not be the planet itself that scientists are most interested. Look towards the moon here. Back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: It's coming up on 46 minutes past the hour. It's time to take a look at some of the other stories that are making news today with Betty Nguyen.

Good morning to you -- Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.

We begin with Iraq's first full day under new leadership being marred by violence in Baghdad. The military is saying a roadside bomb went off near a U.S. military convoy in the eastern part of the city. Three U.S. Marines were killed, two others wounded in that attack. We'll have more on this developing story throughout the show.

The transfer of power of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is set to take place tomorrow. The new Iraqi government will take over legal custody of Hussein, along with as many as 11 other key officials from his regime. Iraq's prime minister made that announcement today. However, the prisoners will remain in coalition military custody.

The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte, begins his new duties today. Ambassador Negroponte arriving in Baghdad yesterday hours after the handover of power to Iraq's new government. Negroponte will now oversee what will probably be the largest U.S. embassy overseas.

Turning to sports news now, at Wimbledon, Andy Roddick, the only American left standing, well, he advances to the men's quarterfinals after defeating German Alexander Popp yesterday. Meanwhile, American Lindsay Davenport advancing to the final eight. She'll go against Croatian Karolina Sprem after beating Russia's Vera Zvonareva in straight sets yesterday.

And finally, talk about a big catch. An Arkansas man reeling in a giant fish measuring four feet in length and weighing in at a whopping 65 pounds. It was caught using, of all things, chicken liver on a 15-pound line. Even though it's not a record, it's still a pretty big fish. I'd say the size of a small child -- Bill.

HEMMER: Pretty ugly.

O'BRIEN: Sixty five pounds.

NGUYEN: Yikes! HEMMER: Thank you, Betty.

Another milestone in space exploration. Tomorrow, NASA's Cassini spacecraft enters Saturn's orbit, starting a four-year study of the planet's seven rings and its 31 moons, a lot to study there. Cassini knows its way around the solar system. It traveled more than two billion miles since being launched about seven years ago in 1997.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson is director of the Hayden planetarium here in New York City. His new book, "The Sky is not the Limit," is just out in paperback. And a bit earlier today, I talked to him about why Saturn is his favorite planet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON, DIRECTOR, HAYDEN PLANETARIUM: Its sheer beauty, first of all. It's got that ring system like no other planet. And one of my favorite things as kid was noting that any scoop of it would -- an average scoop of it would float on water. So Saturn...

HEMMER: It's that light?

TYSON: Saturn is the only planet whose density is less than water. So, instead of a rubber ducky in the tub, I always wanted a little rubber Saturn.

HEMMER: Could a spacecraft pass through this planet?

TYSON: Well, it's mostly gaseous. So, it would plunge down to a depth where we'd get crushed by the atmospheric pressures. But Jupiter is also gaseous. A big gaseous point you could plunge through to significant depths.

HEMMER: You mentioned being a boy. We have a picture of a young Neal at the age of 12. It held a fascination for you at a very young age.

TYSON: Yes.

HEMMER: What are we looking at in this picture?

TYSON: I'm in a camp in the Mojave Desert in southern California. It's a camp for nerd kids who knew they wanted to look up to the universe.

HEMMER: You said it, not me.

Listen, Cassini is going to pass by the way of Phoebe, one of the 31 moons on Saturn. What do you hope to learn or gain from that?

TYSON: Well, we already had a close encounter with Phoebe. Phoebe is one of 30-some odd moons. Well, there we go. And one of the most remarkable features of Phoebe is that there are areas that are very light and areas that are very dark. And that juxtaposition is uncommon among moons. And Phoebe, we think, is some mixture of dirt and ice. The ice being the reflective part, and other minerals being the dark part. And we think it might be a wayward comet that got captured. It's in orbit in the opposite direction from the other moons of Saturn.

HEMMER: Is that so?

TYSON: Yes.

HEMMER: This is a strange place, I'm telling you.

TYSON: I know! In fact, you know, you go to these gorgeous planets and you find out that their moons are where the action is. You know, I mean...

HEMMER: Is that so?

TYSON: Yes.

HEMMER: Well, what about one of the moons called Titan?

TYSON: Titan...

HEMMER: Someone said that this is perhaps the most fascinating thing in the entire solar system. That's a heck of a thing to say.

TYSON: I'd have to agree. And of all the 31 moons that Saturn has, it's the one where the Huygens probe will be dropped down in. It's going to descend December 25, take a little while to get there, plunge into the atmosphere of Titan. Titan has an atmosphere. It's the only moon that has a significant atmosphere of all of the moons in the solar system. But not only that, we think there are these exotic things like ice volcanoes and lakes of liquid methane. I mean, it's just an exotic place with organic chemistry going on.

HEMMER: How as a scientist could you take this information and use it to either teach or to learn more?

TYSON: Oh, what you do is you say first the universe is always a little more exotic than you first imagined. Second, Titan becomes a prime place to look for the basic ingredients for life and whether life might have formed there at all. There are heating sources related to the gravity of Saturn that sort of keep things a little warmer than they otherwise would be.

HEMMER: We're getting deeper and deeper, aren't we?

TYSON: I know. So, the search for life is always the object of one's affection.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Neal DeGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden planetarium here in New York. His book is out, "The Sky is not the Limit," in paperback just now -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, it's three strikes and you're out for United Airlines. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" this morning. He's going to stop by to explain. That's ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, it's another round of Fed-watching, and United Airlines gets more bad news. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Hi, Andy. Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you.

Let's start with the markets yesterday. We started off very well because of the news of the Iraqi turnover boosting stocks. But later in the day caught up with the reports from General Motors that sales might not be quite what were anticipated for the month of June. So, you can see here, we slipped across the board.

The big news today, of course, though, is going to be the Fed meeting, and this is something that impacts all Americans, because we have a two-day FOMC meeting -- Federal Open Market Committee meeting. At the end of it, at 2:15 tomorrow, it is very, very likely that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. Implications for everyone across the board, credit cards, savings rates. We'll be talking about that as the week progresses, I'm sure.

Now let's talk a little bit about United Airlines.

O'BRIEN: Going back to the well again and again and again.

SERWER: Yes, indeed. And the third time was not a charm. The Fed said, you know what? You can't keep asking us for federal loan guarantees. We're simply not handing them out. This was the third time, and they now have to go it alone. They're probably going to be looking for $2 billion to stay afloat and to get out of bankruptcy.

"Wall Street Journal" reporting also this morning that Delta Airlines may be moving a step closer to bankruptcy. So just continued problems there.

O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: We're going to continue to check in with you this morning.

SERWER: OK.

O'BRIEN: Bill.

HEMMER: With the president's speech earlier, we haven't had a chance to say good morning yet to Chad Myers.

(WEATHER BREAK) In a moment here, was it a split decision from the Supreme Court regarding the Bush administration's handling of the war on terror? A lawyer right now defending one man held in a brig in South Carolina, his thoughts in a moment about the legal proceedings next, after this.

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