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CNN Live Sunday

Micah Garen, Translator Set Free; 90,000 Still Without Power In Florida

Aired August 22, 2004 - 18:00   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.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN LIVE SUNDAY: I'm Carol Lin. CNN LIVE SUNDAY is just ahead, but first a quick look at what's happening in the news.
They are free: French-American journalist Micah Garen and his Iraqi translator were released by their Iraqi captors in Nasiriyah today. Garen said he was treated well in captivity, and thanked an aide to Muqtada al-Sadr for helping to arrange his release.

A-week-and-a-half later, hundreds of utility workers are still trying to restore power for some 90,000 residents in Florida. When Hurricane Charley first hit, nearly 1 million were left in the dark.

And in Oslo, Norway, an astonishing art heist in broad daylight. Masked gunmen got away with two priceless paintings by Edvard Munch. The paintings include "The Scream" which is one of the most recognizable pieces of artwork in the world.

Hello. I'm Carol Lin. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Ahead, terror hearing for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Our Susan Candiotti is there, and will give us our first look at who we'll see, and what to expect.

Also a controversial move by the state of Louisiana. Gastric bypass surgery for some employees paid for with taxpayer dollars. We're going to take a look at the issue. The pros, the cons, and talk to the people in the study.

But we are starting with the dramatic story of a French-American journalist who is finally free. Micah Garen and his Iraqi translator were both released by their captors in Southern Iraq today. CNN's John Vause is following this developing story from Baghdad. He joins me now live with details. John?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: hello, Carol, how are you? Micah Garen was held for about nine days by a group called the Martyrs Brigade. They had threatened to kill him if the U.S. and the Iraqi government did not end their military operations in Najaf. Now, a number of news organizations and the group Reporters Without Borders directly contacted Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric, held up inside the Imam Ali mosque, making a direct appeal to them to intervene.

About four days ago, a senior aide close to Muqtada al-Sadr began negotiations with this group, and this is not the first time that Muqtada al-Sadr has become involved. He has publicly condemned these type of kidnappings. He has described them as non-Islamic. And about two weeks ago, another aide managed to win the release of a freelance British journalist, James Brandon. He was snatched from his hotel room in Basra, held at gunpoint for several hours, and then released unharmed.

Micah Garen is working as a freelance journalist. He is making a documentary here in Iraq about the loss of Iraq's antiquities. Now, he was in Nasiriyah, the busy marketplace when he was taken, along with his Iraqi translator. The word we are receiving now is that he says he's in good health, and that he was in fact treated well by his kidnappers. Carol?

LIN: John, was part of the problem, when he was in this marketplace, he was taking some photographs with a very small camera. And that may have led to the kidnappers believing that he was a spy?

VAUSE: Yes. The details of exactly surrounding his kidnapping are not apparent. He has made some statements to the "Associated Press" along those lines, that he was taking photographs there. And that may have give people the wrong impression, but it's still unclear yet. We understand that Micah Garen is still somewhere in the country.

He will obviously be handed over to the U.S. authorities sometime in the next few hours. Then we hope to hear more from him. He has been interviewed on Al-Jazeera. He has spoken to them. We're now hoping to get some more details about the reasons for, what he believes may have led to him being taken hostage, Carol.

LIN: Very good. Thanks very much, John Vause in Baghdad. In fact, in just a few moments we're going to go live to New York where Garen's Manhattan neighbors are reacting to his release today.

In the meantime, we're going to the city of Najaf, near the Imam Ali Mosque. Fighting has been sporadic all day. Just a short while ago, U.S. airplanes were seen pounding Mehdi army militia positions again. A spokesman for radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr says several people were killed or wounded while Iraq's ministry of health says 49 Iraqis were killed in the fighting in the last day or so.

Now in the Dyala Province, Northeast the Baghdad, a car bomb targets the town's deputy governor. Two of his bodyguards were killed, and seven people were wounded including the deputy governor himself.

And in the Al Anbar Province west of Baghdad, authorities say four marines were killed in separate incidents this weekend. The U.S. military says three marines were killed in combat and a fourth was killed in a vehicle accident.

In the meantime, four terror suspects charged with conspiracy are going before some kind of military commission on Tuesday. Our Susan Candiotti is at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay. These were hard fought-for rights Susan, to have hearings on these cases?

SUSAN CADIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, because the eyes of the world are on these military commissions. One spokesman called the tension here "palpable." On Tuesday morning, the first of four detainees charged with alleged war crimes, after being captured in Afghanistan, will face a military commission ordered by President Bush. Today we got a look at the courtroom that will be used, where the proceedings will take place. No video or audio recordings will be allowed, and, for example, an artist is forbidden to sketch recognizable faces in the courtroom. That includes the prosecutors, the members of the military commission, even the defendants.

Now, of the roughly 600 so-called enemy combatants here at Guantanamo, only 15 are called eligible for trial, and the only four charged are accused of conspiring to attack civilians. Three of them are accused of being bodyguards for Osama bin Laden. One is accused of the attempted murder of coalition forces. The four face a maximum of life, if convicted. Now, the U.S. cites national security reasons for trial by military commissions, as opposed to using a courts martial or even civilian courts. The Defense Department insists the rights of the accused will be fully protected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN MCGARVEY, U.S. NAVY: They can cross-examine each government witness as well as put on their own witnesses. They have the ability to offer evidence in addition to witnesses. And you'll see they can challenge the members. With respect to that, they are presumed innocent. The standard is they must be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: However, in an unusual twist, even the military defense attorneys appointed by the government to represent the accused are questioning the process. So are civil rights and human rights organizations. They are claiming that, because there is no independent civilian process, among other reasons, that the trials will not be fair.

Now, we can tell you that if any of the defendants are found not guilty, it doesn't mean they'll have a ticket to freedom. Because they have been labeled enemy combatants, theoretically they can be held here indefinitely until someone declares the war on terror is over. Carol?

LIN: Thank you, Susan. Susan Candiotti. We'll be following those cases down in Guantanamo Bay.

I want to move on now. The 9/11 Commission is still putting out new information, but this time on its web site. One report has details of how Saudi nationals, including Osama bin Laden's family members were able to leave the U.S. in the days after the attacks, while commercial planes remained grounded. But the commission concludes that the White House did not necessarily authorize those flights.

The report says, "President Bush and Vice President Cheney told the commission that they did not speak with Saudi government officials about the flights before their departure". The president says he didn't know about them until he read about it in a newspaper. Now, these new reports also focus on how the 19 hijackers got into the country. Pictures of their visas and other official documents that weren't released before are on the web site.

The commission says ringleader Mohammed Atta and most of the other hijackers violated immigration laws to get into the U.S. It adds up to more information about terrorist financing also about the hijackers that was not in the commission's final report back in July. The hijackers got money from wire transfers and travelers checks. They also used credit or debit cards from overseas bank accounts.

The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee doesn't want the work or the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission forgotten.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PAT ROBERTS, (R) INTELLIGENCE CMTE.: My worry is that if the administration comes out and does not go far enough in regards to the 9/11 Commission and the families, or for that matter with my friends across the aisle, and then they simply introduce a bill that encapsulates the recommendations of the 9/1 Commission, that's not a bill. It's a good list of recommendations. It's not a bill. Then we'll fuss about it. And then campaign will take over, and we won't get anything done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Senator Roberts outlined his ideas for a key recommendation of the commission today about a new national intelligence director. He wants the intel (ph) director to have broad authority over the agencies, including the budget. Right now the Pentagon handles about 80 percent of that budget.


Aired August 22, 2004 - 18:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN LIVE SUNDAY: I'm Carol Lin. CNN LIVE SUNDAY is just ahead, but first a quick look at what's happening in the news.
They are free: French-American journalist Micah Garen and his Iraqi translator were released by their Iraqi captors in Nasiriyah today. Garen said he was treated well in captivity, and thanked an aide to Muqtada al-Sadr for helping to arrange his release.

A-week-and-a-half later, hundreds of utility workers are still trying to restore power for some 90,000 residents in Florida. When Hurricane Charley first hit, nearly 1 million were left in the dark.

And in Oslo, Norway, an astonishing art heist in broad daylight. Masked gunmen got away with two priceless paintings by Edvard Munch. The paintings include "The Scream" which is one of the most recognizable pieces of artwork in the world.

Hello. I'm Carol Lin. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Ahead, terror hearing for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Our Susan Candiotti is there, and will give us our first look at who we'll see, and what to expect.

Also a controversial move by the state of Louisiana. Gastric bypass surgery for some employees paid for with taxpayer dollars. We're going to take a look at the issue. The pros, the cons, and talk to the people in the study.

But we are starting with the dramatic story of a French-American journalist who is finally free. Micah Garen and his Iraqi translator were both released by their captors in Southern Iraq today. CNN's John Vause is following this developing story from Baghdad. He joins me now live with details. John?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: hello, Carol, how are you? Micah Garen was held for about nine days by a group called the Martyrs Brigade. They had threatened to kill him if the U.S. and the Iraqi government did not end their military operations in Najaf. Now, a number of news organizations and the group Reporters Without Borders directly contacted Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric, held up inside the Imam Ali mosque, making a direct appeal to them to intervene.

About four days ago, a senior aide close to Muqtada al-Sadr began negotiations with this group, and this is not the first time that Muqtada al-Sadr has become involved. He has publicly condemned these type of kidnappings. He has described them as non-Islamic. And about two weeks ago, another aide managed to win the release of a freelance British journalist, James Brandon. He was snatched from his hotel room in Basra, held at gunpoint for several hours, and then released unharmed.

Micah Garen is working as a freelance journalist. He is making a documentary here in Iraq about the loss of Iraq's antiquities. Now, he was in Nasiriyah, the busy marketplace when he was taken, along with his Iraqi translator. The word we are receiving now is that he says he's in good health, and that he was in fact treated well by his kidnappers. Carol?

LIN: John, was part of the problem, when he was in this marketplace, he was taking some photographs with a very small camera. And that may have led to the kidnappers believing that he was a spy?

VAUSE: Yes. The details of exactly surrounding his kidnapping are not apparent. He has made some statements to the "Associated Press" along those lines, that he was taking photographs there. And that may have give people the wrong impression, but it's still unclear yet. We understand that Micah Garen is still somewhere in the country.

He will obviously be handed over to the U.S. authorities sometime in the next few hours. Then we hope to hear more from him. He has been interviewed on Al-Jazeera. He has spoken to them. We're now hoping to get some more details about the reasons for, what he believes may have led to him being taken hostage, Carol.

LIN: Very good. Thanks very much, John Vause in Baghdad. In fact, in just a few moments we're going to go live to New York where Garen's Manhattan neighbors are reacting to his release today.

In the meantime, we're going to the city of Najaf, near the Imam Ali Mosque. Fighting has been sporadic all day. Just a short while ago, U.S. airplanes were seen pounding Mehdi army militia positions again. A spokesman for radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr says several people were killed or wounded while Iraq's ministry of health says 49 Iraqis were killed in the fighting in the last day or so.

Now in the Dyala Province, Northeast the Baghdad, a car bomb targets the town's deputy governor. Two of his bodyguards were killed, and seven people were wounded including the deputy governor himself.

And in the Al Anbar Province west of Baghdad, authorities say four marines were killed in separate incidents this weekend. The U.S. military says three marines were killed in combat and a fourth was killed in a vehicle accident.

In the meantime, four terror suspects charged with conspiracy are going before some kind of military commission on Tuesday. Our Susan Candiotti is at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay. These were hard fought-for rights Susan, to have hearings on these cases?

SUSAN CADIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, because the eyes of the world are on these military commissions. One spokesman called the tension here "palpable." On Tuesday morning, the first of four detainees charged with alleged war crimes, after being captured in Afghanistan, will face a military commission ordered by President Bush. Today we got a look at the courtroom that will be used, where the proceedings will take place. No video or audio recordings will be allowed, and, for example, an artist is forbidden to sketch recognizable faces in the courtroom. That includes the prosecutors, the members of the military commission, even the defendants.

Now, of the roughly 600 so-called enemy combatants here at Guantanamo, only 15 are called eligible for trial, and the only four charged are accused of conspiring to attack civilians. Three of them are accused of being bodyguards for Osama bin Laden. One is accused of the attempted murder of coalition forces. The four face a maximum of life, if convicted. Now, the U.S. cites national security reasons for trial by military commissions, as opposed to using a courts martial or even civilian courts. The Defense Department insists the rights of the accused will be fully protected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN MCGARVEY, U.S. NAVY: They can cross-examine each government witness as well as put on their own witnesses. They have the ability to offer evidence in addition to witnesses. And you'll see they can challenge the members. With respect to that, they are presumed innocent. The standard is they must be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: However, in an unusual twist, even the military defense attorneys appointed by the government to represent the accused are questioning the process. So are civil rights and human rights organizations. They are claiming that, because there is no independent civilian process, among other reasons, that the trials will not be fair.

Now, we can tell you that if any of the defendants are found not guilty, it doesn't mean they'll have a ticket to freedom. Because they have been labeled enemy combatants, theoretically they can be held here indefinitely until someone declares the war on terror is over. Carol?

LIN: Thank you, Susan. Susan Candiotti. We'll be following those cases down in Guantanamo Bay.

I want to move on now. The 9/11 Commission is still putting out new information, but this time on its web site. One report has details of how Saudi nationals, including Osama bin Laden's family members were able to leave the U.S. in the days after the attacks, while commercial planes remained grounded. But the commission concludes that the White House did not necessarily authorize those flights.

The report says, "President Bush and Vice President Cheney told the commission that they did not speak with Saudi government officials about the flights before their departure". The president says he didn't know about them until he read about it in a newspaper. Now, these new reports also focus on how the 19 hijackers got into the country. Pictures of their visas and other official documents that weren't released before are on the web site.

The commission says ringleader Mohammed Atta and most of the other hijackers violated immigration laws to get into the U.S. It adds up to more information about terrorist financing also about the hijackers that was not in the commission's final report back in July. The hijackers got money from wire transfers and travelers checks. They also used credit or debit cards from overseas bank accounts.

The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee doesn't want the work or the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission forgotten.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PAT ROBERTS, (R) INTELLIGENCE CMTE.: My worry is that if the administration comes out and does not go far enough in regards to the 9/11 Commission and the families, or for that matter with my friends across the aisle, and then they simply introduce a bill that encapsulates the recommendations of the 9/1 Commission, that's not a bill. It's a good list of recommendations. It's not a bill. Then we'll fuss about it. And then campaign will take over, and we won't get anything done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Senator Roberts outlined his ideas for a key recommendation of the commission today about a new national intelligence director. He wants the intel (ph) director to have broad authority over the agencies, including the budget. Right now the Pentagon handles about 80 percent of that budget.