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CNN LIVE SATURDAY
America Remembers 9/11; Hurricane Ivan Now Category 5;
Aired September 11, 2004 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: CNN LIVE SATURDAY Is straight ahead, but first, a quick look at what's happening now in the news. Hurricane Ivan is strengthening again. It's now a category 5 with sustained winds of 165 miles per hour. It's responsible for seven deaths in Jamaica and is now headed to the Cayman Islands and Western Cuba.
Iran has until November to come clean about its nuclear program. Europe's major powers issued the deadline today. They prepared a draft resolution for the International Atomic Agency. They called for Iran to resolve concerns over whether it's secretly trying to make nuclear weapons.
In Jakarta, Indonesia, security cameras captured this week's bomb blast that killed nine people. Indonesian police played the videotape to reporters today. It shows a van approaching the Australian embassy and then exploding.
Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Carol Lin this evening. It is Saturday, September 11th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: David Angellini Sr. (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: David Lawrence Angel (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Laura Angie Letta (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rosa Maria Feliciano (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Today, we remember the victims three years after the event that forever changed America and we look toward the future. We'll have complete coverage throughout the hour.
But first, the latest on Hurricane Ivan. The National Hurricane Center has upgraded the storm to a category 5 hurricane. Forecasters say the storm is now headed for the Cayman Islands and Cuba. You're looking at the damage Ivan caused as it hit Jamaica. The eye of the storm passed just south of the island. And meteorologist Brad Huffines is tracking the storm and brings us the very latest -- Brad.
BRAD HUFFINES, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Fredricka, we're watching this storm right now as it's moving away from Jamaica. A closer look at the hurricane, a very dangerous category 5 hurricane as you mentioned earlier, continues now to skirt past Jamaica. Most of Jamaica really did get off on the good side of this storm because it didn't pass directly over the storm -- over the island. But right now the Cayman Islands are what looks to be up next.
But let me show you why the forecast track has been changing. Let's show you a viper. I'm going to use the viper as a tool. High pressure is sitting off shore from Florida and because of the high pressure ridge, the winds that blow around the high pressure area like that, the storm is doing what we call riding the ridge. There's Ivan. And Ivan continues to move around the ridge. Now if the ridge continues in place, it looks like the storm will move up this way, which is the National Hurricane Center forecast. However, if this high pressure ridge continues to build, like this -- continues to go further and further west and further and further west like that, the storm could even go further west and potentially impact just about anywhere in the Gulf of Mexico.
So let me show you this forecast track now, as we look back at the forecast for Ivan as Ivan continues to move toward the Cayman Islands, the forecast track continues now to show this storm moving west, northwest. It's a very powerful category 5 hurricane and the storm will then continue to move up across possibly Western Cuba or even further west. If it does shoot for this gap between the Yucatan and Cuba, it could spell some very dangerous conditions for virtually anywhere in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the latest 5-day forecast track from the National Hurricane Center still expecting the landfall to cross the western panhandle of Florida. But again, this forecast track could be anywhere in what we call this cone of uncertainty. So if you live anywhere across the eastern gulf, watch this storm. And in fact, Fredricka, if you live anywhere across the gulf coast, this storm is worth watching as well, not just along the shoreline but inland because as we showed with the last Hurricane Frances, some flooding rains can occur once the storm moves inland. A very dangerous storm and we'll keep watching it here on CNN.
WHITFIELD: So Brad, it looks like Ivan picked up strength primarily because the eye remained over water, warm waters I imagine right off the coast of Jamaica.
HUFFINES: That's exactly what happens. The hurricane -- the middle of the storm follows the warmest path of the warmest water usually as well as following those -- the edges of those high pressure ridges like that. So as long as Ivan is over warm water, it will maintain a very strong category 4 or 5 strength. And that's why we're concerned about it shooting that gap. If it stays over water and moves into the Gulf of Mexico, then the storm could be -- will continue to be a very -- a problem maker for the southeastern United States, anywhere along the gulf shore. So those folks that anywhere from basically Key West all the way around the gulf coast need watch this storm very carefully because this forecast could change dramatically.
WHITFIELD: All right, Brad Huffines, thanks so much.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dearest and lovely son, Kenneth P. Allera Arivilo (ph). We deeply miss you.
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WHITFIELD: Remembering the pain, sorrow and grief following the attacks of September 11th. Church bells ring today marking the third anniversary of the devastating hijackings. Ceremonies were held in New York for the World Trade Center victims, at Arlington National Cemetery for those killed at the Pentagon and in a remote field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Flight 93 crashed. The ceremonies overall were smaller and more subdued but still painfully poignant.
Many in the crowd at Ground Zero carried framed pictures of the loved ones they lost in the attacks. With voices breaking at times, as you heard, family members paid tribute to the more than 2,700 people who died when the twin towers fell. Our Alina Cho takes a closer look at the ceremony.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was painful to hear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: David D. Alger (ph).
CHO: Even more painful to read.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our son, Michael Bradley Finnigan (ph).
CHO: The ceremony marking the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks brought hundreds of family members to Ground Zero. There were photos and flowers, moments of silence, music and throughout, the names.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John A. Chrisci.
CHO: Leonard Chrisci's brother was a New York City firefighter.
LEONARD CHRISCI, VICTIM'S BROTHER: When my brother's name was read, and I felt the -- I just felt the chill going through my body.
CHO: Two thousand seven hundred forty-nine names in all. This year the parents and the grandparents of the victims did the honors. New York's mayor said it was they who suffered the greatest loss.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: It has been said that a child who loses a parent is an orphan, a man who loses his wife is a widower, a woman who loses her husband is a widow. There is no name for a parent who loses a child, for there are no words to describe this pain.
CHO: As the current mayor spoke, his more famous predecessor comforted those in need. While some sought relief in others, a few found solace in being alone. Nancy Brandamarty's (ph) son Nicky would have turned 25 this month.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God has you in his keeping. We have you in our hearts.
CHO: The Garcia family lost 21-year-old Marlene who died on the 100th floor of the north tower.
HECTOR GARCIA, VICTIM'S FATHER: She was my beautiful daughter. It's very hard for me to continue to see the light.
CHO (on camera): This is the last time that family members will have such close access to the World Trade Center site before significant reconstruction begins. Rebuilding is set to start on the memorial and the Freedom Tower, the building that will serve as the centerpiece of the New York skyline replacing the twin towers that fell exactly three years ago.
Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Striking a defiant note, President Bush recalled both the horror and the courage witnessed during those attacks, which he says forever altered the U.S. Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us with more on how the president marked this anniversary -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, President Bush has said all along that the September 11th attacks really changed the way that he sees the world. It has also altered and reshaped U.S. policy and really defines his presidency. Today President Bush used the anniversary of the September 11th attacks to make the case that under his watch; he has made this country safer.
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MALVEAUX (voice-over): President Bush marked the third anniversary of the September 11th tragedy with a prayer at St. John's Episcopal Church, followed by a silent tribute on the South Lawn at 8:46, signifying when the first plane hit the World Trade Center, then in a rare move from the Oval Office, Mr. Bush broadcast his weekly radio address live on television.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Three years ago the struggle of good against evil was compressed into a single morning. In the space of only 102 minutes, our country lost more citizens than were lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
MALVEAUX: Surrounded by 9/11 families, firefighters and first responders, he praised them for their courage.
BUSH: We remember the images of fire and the final calls of love and the courage of rescuers who saw death and did not flee.
MALVEAUX: Mr. Bush blamed the September 11th attacks to the broader war on terror.
BUSH: And our nation accepted a mission, we will defeat this enemy. The United States of America is determined to guard our homeland against future attacks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now President Bush is spending the rest of the day at Camp David. Both the president and Senator Kerry and his opponents saying that they are temporarily suspending their campaigning to commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. But Fred, back on Monday, President Bush will be back on the road campaigning, traveling to Nevada as well as Michigan and Colorado -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Suzanne, thanks so much from the White House.
Well, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld laid a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery in memory of the Pentagon victims. He and the others assembled there observed a moment of silence at 9:37 a.m. today. It was then three years ago that American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the Pentagon killing 184 people. Rumsfeld says the victims remain a testament to a country that is courageous and to a people that are resilient despite great loss.
Today in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed, a wreath laying ceremony there as well. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge told the victims' families -- quote -- "No words, no memorials, can ever replace all that they have lost." Two large bells rang as the names of the 40 passengers and crew killed on that flight were read aloud.
Mark Bingham was on Flight 93. You may recall that transcripts from phone calls and information from the flight's data recorders suggest he and other passengers took action against the hijackers, preventing that plane from hitting its intended target. Alice Hoglan is Bingham's mother and she's joining me from Pittsburgh today to talk about her son and an organization that is honoring his memory.
Good to see you, Miss Hoglan.
Thank you very much. It's good to be here.
WHITFIELD: Well, you were at the Shanksville ceremony. Describe what it was like for you.
ALICE HOGLAN, MOTHER OF FLIGHT 93 VICTIM: It was beautiful. Unlike a metropolitan area like the World Trade Center is surrounded by, Shanksville is a very placid, rolling hills. It's just lovely. It seems so ironic that such a blood-letting and devastating thing could happen in such a placid setting.
WHITFIELD: It would almost seem that healing three years later would be incomprehensible given the ceremonies and the constant reminders of what took place on September 11th. Are you finding that it is difficult to grasp your feelings and get a hold of them and be able to grieve?
HOGLAN: I think that the constant reminders, the constant expressions of love and condolence have actually helped me and my family through the grieving process. And I'm very grateful to have America remind us of September 11th, at least once a year like this because we cannot afford to become complacent about the lessons of September 11th.
There is a beautiful organization called One Day's Pay -- at OneDay'sPay.org -- that seeks to make September 11th a national day of volunteer service and I can't imagine a more lovely way to express your love of country and your fellow man than to volunteer in some small way to remember September 11th by doing something beautiful to offset the terror of that day.
WHITFIELD: And one way in which you and loved ones of Mark Bingham have been able to help express your love is a website in his honor, MarkBingham.org.
HOGLAN: Yes, that's true.
WHITFIELD: Explain to me how meaningful and how that has been part of the healing process for you as well.
HOGLAN: Well, my son was a real lover of life. He had friends from every walk of life. And after his death, Dan Chew created -- he was one of his fraternity buddies at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- created a website called MarkBingham.org to promote the Mark Bingham Leadership Fund and the various activities of people to keep the memory of Mark Bingham alive and the heroism of that day. I'm just delighted to visit the forum every once in a while.
WHITFIELD: You know I heard one sentiment earlier today during the ceremonies this morning expressing that this year, year three, is even more difficult than perhaps year one or two, particularly because it has given people a chance to really reflect and digest and realize the volume of what has happened and the loss that they have all experienced. Do you feel that way?
HOGLAN: Well, year three has given me a chance to regroup. I've passed the shock and terror now and I'm filled with resolve to deal with the issues -- aviation security, terrorism and homeland security, healing the rift between the Muslim world and the western world. And my son was a gay man, so I'm happy to speak out about gay issues. And last on my little laundry list is competitive sports and rugby. I noticed that -- I couldn't help but notice that the fellows that banded together on Flight 93 were all sportsmen and I really think that it was the competitive edge that they gained with their experience in competitive sports that made a difference for America because it was little band of guys that was able to pull it together and make a stand against terrorism that stopped terrorism on a day when nobody else in American could do it. The government had completely gone flat-footed. But it was up to a handful of guys on Flight 93 to save the capitol or the White House and many thousands of lives on the ground. And I'm just real grateful that Mark was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Tom Burnett, and Jeremy Glick and Todd Beamer and Richard Gracdagno (ph) and Alan Bevan and Donald Green and Lewis Knacky and do a really good job for America. If you have -- if I have to have lost my son, I'm grateful to him for going out in such an important way. WHITFIELD: Alice Hoglan, thanks so much for helping us to remember and honor your son, Mark Bingham, and thousands of others who lost their lives on that day. Thanks so much for joining us.
HOGLAN: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Now across America, 9/11 was remembered in different ways. At Dulles International Airport, more than 700 motorcyclists participated in the Second Annual Rattle the Runway. Federal authorities allow bikers to ride down a runway. Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon, took off from Dulles Airport on September 11th, 2001.
In Chicago, during a ceremony, Mayor Richard Daley said this day is a reminder that Americans must remain vigilant to prevent other such attacks.
And at sun rise in Los Angeles, several community groups began their annual memorial with a march against terrorism. Organizers say police sirens were activated just as was heard all over New York City three years ago today.
Still to come on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, Ivan is gaining strength and now residents of Cuba are bracing for the worst.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Susan Candiotti in Islamorada in the Florida Keys. How well are residents here preparing for Ivan and that includes creatures under the sea. I'll have a live report.
WHITFIELD: And later, recovering after 9/11, how the country remains faithful to moving forward.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Jamaica narrowly avoids taking a full frontal hill from Hurricane Ivan when a last minute wobble set the eye of the storm just south of the island. Ivan still ravaged the island with winds just slightly below 155 miles an hour and waves measuring 25 feet high. The storm is being blamed for seven deaths in Jamaica.
Well, Ivan's rain is still falling on the island and forecasters were now worried about the prospect of deadly flooding. Meanwhile, there are reports that gangs of looters are using the chaos of the storm for cover. CNN's Karl Penhaul joins us on the telephone from Kingston, Jamaica -- Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Afternoon, Fredricka, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson is currently giving a press conference and in that he's outlining the government's preliminary damage assessment caused by Hurricane Ivan. He's now confirmed to us 11 people -- at least 11 people have died as a direct result of the hurricane. He says he believes that figure could rise as the government regains contact with outlying parts of the country that currently have no phone contact with the capital. He says that most of the 11 deaths were either by drownings or were crushed when trees fell on their homes. But he says at least one woman has died in childbirth because storm conditions did not allow her to reach hospital in time.
In addition to those deaths, a number of people we understand are injured and hospitalized with injuries received as a result of flying debris. At least 87 major roads around the country are blocked as a result of landslides and flooding. And the capital, Kingston, according to Prime Minister Patterson, has been cut off from the north and the eastern parts of the country because high waves out to those sectors have been partially destroyed as a result of landslides.
About 12,000 people, he says, did take advantage of the offer to house themselves in government shelters while the storm passed. But he said that at least some of those who died were in low lying areas and had been urged before the arrival of the hurricane to move to higher ground. They had refused, however, and decided to stay in their homes with fatal consequences. That's what we're seeing now.
Now, of course, the other element that you mentioned not only are emergency services struggling to deal with the damage and victims caused by Hurricane Ivan, but gangs of looters have taken to the streets, particularly ransacking commercial centers and gas stations. We came across one such gang last night when we were making our way back to a safer position as the storm rolled in. That gang engaged in a gunfight with police but were later rested. But as a result of the increasing threaten and growing threat of looting, Prime Minister Patterson has said that he is ordered a curfew in many parts of Kingston, Montego Bay and other towns in Jamaica from tonight. That will be a dusk to dawn curfew and the main name there is to reign in what he calls unscrupulous people seeking to take full advantage of the situation -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, dangerous conditions on many levels out of Jamaica there. Thanks so much. Karl Penhaul joining us by phone from Kingston.
Well, Hurricane Ivan's westward shift may spare Florida from facing its third major hurricane in a matter of weeks, but officials are taking no chances. Governor Jeb Bush has already declared a state of emergency and people along the gulf coast are being told to either start packing or hunker down. Susan Candiotti joins us from Islamorada in the Florida Keys.
CANDIOTTI: Hello, Fredricka. Yes, I'm at Bud & Mary's Marina that was built around World War II. Now, normally on the weekends, you would see about 140 boats at this marina, but as you can see, the docks are now deserted. They have seen the destruction of what can happen when you leave boats and ships tied up to marinas, you remember from Hurricanes Frances and Charley on Florida's east and west coast. So a possible solution, they have moved most of the boats here to nearby mangroves where the vegetation is very thick, deep and tall. In fact, the boats are so well hidden that you cannot see them from the road. And it is there that many of these boats that are worth millions and millions of dollars will ride out the storm.
Now in the meantime, at a program in Key Largo, a dolphin program called Dolphins Plus where you can swim with the mammals, these mammals are remaining in their usual habitat in deep pens off a water way. They are expected to ride out the worst of Ivan way down below the surface. They are being fed a little more than usual. However, their trainers say that the dolphins can probably go as long as a week without being fed. They do have some fish, of course, in the pens there, so they might also be able to fend for themselves. However, trainers will remain on site just in case.
Now in the meantime, back here in Islamorada mostly, every one of the 100 or so trailer homes we saw at just one trailer park here has indeed cleared out. We did find some residents who refused to budge. They are, however, watching weather reports and promise that they will leave at the last minute if they really have to. However, for the most part, law enforcement officials are very pleased with the way many people have moved out of Ivan's way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. RAY BROOKS, MONROE COUNTY SHERRIF'S OFFICE: A lot of people took the warnings really serious and are -- have evacuated. A lot of old-timers who have never really done anything have really got their property prepared and are out of here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now here in the Florida Keys, emergency management officials and the transportation department has been tracking the movement of vehicles in and out of here. So far they figure at least 30,000 residents have cleared out and another at least 10,000 tourists before that. However, they are noting that the numbers seem to be evening out now and they're a little bit concerned about that, thinking perhaps some people might be waiting a bit too long as they watch Ivan track a little bit to the west. However, they say you cannot rely on that and they really wish people would pay attention to that evacuation order even more than already have -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Susan Candiotti, thanks very much from Islamorada in the Florida Keys.
Still to come on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, more on the track of Hurricane Ivan. We'll check in with Brad Huffines in our weather center in a few moments.
Also, is there a serial killer on the loose in Kansas City? Up next, the targets and the motives as we go inside the mind of a killer.
And later, behind the faces of the fallen in Iraq, who are they? How did they die? And who are the people they left behind?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Here is a quick look at what's happening now in the news. Hurricane Ivan intensifies to a category 5 storm with winds reaching 165 miles per hour. Ivan's center passed just to the south of Jamaica overnight bringing heavy rains and powerful winds. The storm is being blamed now for 11 deaths in Jamaica. Forecasters expect Ivan to hit the western end of Cuba, including Havana, by Monday. Many Cubans are trying to protect their windows and stocking up on food. But CNN Havana bureau chief Lucia Newman says many communities don't have hardware stores. Supply wood and even tape can be difficult to find.
A painful day for many across the nation, mourners gathered in New York to remember the victims of 9/11. Parents and grandparents of the victims read the names of those killed at the World Trade Center. Services were also held at Arlington National Cemetery and at the plane crash site in Pennsylvania.
In Kansas City, Missouri, residents are afraid a serial killer may be on the loose, six bodies have been found recently, four of them women. Police say they are trying to determine whether the deaths are linked to other crimes, including a series of arsons. Jennifer Parks of our affiliate WDAF reports now.
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JENNIFER PARKS, WDAF REPORTER (voice-over): Near 24th and Prospect, police cars race down the street. In the end, it was a shots fired call, but in the Prospect Corridor people are on high alert.
DIAMOND WARREN, OWNER, KC STORAGE: No one knows this guy look like, you know, and I'm pretty sure he's walking among us.
PARKS: Diamond Warren owns KC Storage. Just behind it was where police found the body of 25-year-old Darcy Williams.
WARREN: Like the torso was up here at the top.
PARKS: Warren says word on the street is that the killer is using drugs to get his victims.
WARREN: Gifts, drugs, and lure them in with drugs. And once they get distraught and not -- and incoherent, then he possibly attacks them.
PARKS: Warren also says two women escaped and now other women are leaving the area.
WARREN: They got everybody in fear.
PARKS: Warren installed surveillance equipment and has given tapes to police. The police response is they can't comment on any of this because it's part of the ongoing investigation. Warren says the fear is hurting his business.
WARREN: Murders, the fires, they have really hurt my business.
PARKS (on camera): The fires happened at dozens of vacant buildings, just weeks before the murders. Police won't say if the arsons in abandoned buildings are connected to this recent rash of killings. But neighbors will speculate. Many believe it's too much of a coincidence.
RICHARD TOLBERT, ACTIVIST: The fires were, you know, in the same vicinity where unfortunately the bodies have turned up.
PARKS (voice-over): Police say they're looking at all criminal activity in that area to see if anything connects.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: So what might investigators be learning about the killer by studying the remains of the victims? And at what point is a determination made that a serial killer is to blame? For that we turn to former FBI profiler Candace Delong. She joins us live from San Francisco.
Good to see you.
CANDACE DELONG, FORMER FBI PROFILER: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well, this is what we know so far of the six bodies found; four of them have been identified as women. Most having some sort of history with drug use or prostitution. What else do we know about the victims in terms of perhaps age or maybe even race? Are those important factors when determining whether they are victims of a serial killing?
DELONG: Those are important factors to determine. Often times serial killers target victims that are within just a few years of the killer -- years wise, age wise -- just a few years of the killer's own age, but not all the time. I don't know if the police have been able to identify these women yet and know exactly who they were and how old they were.
WHITFIELD: We know that the first body was found back in July and then most recently five were found on vacant lots or near vacant houses. What if anything is to be read into the location of where the bodies are found? What kind of common denominators are looked for?
DELONG: Well, the killer, one thing we look for is to see if it is a type of area that one would have to know their way around pretty well to inflict harm on someone or to deposit a body and not get caught. A gentleman earlier in the news clip said that he believes whoever it is is walking among them and he very well may be.
WHITFIELD: And isn't that usually the psyche of a serial killer, that there may be some joy that comes out of watching investigators try to put the puzzle pieces together?
DELONG: Yes, frequently the killer hangs around. Often times when the body is picked up and the ambulance is there and the crowd is gathering, often times the killer will be there too.
WHITFIELD: Now, we know also about some of these victims that apparently two of the bodies were so badly decomposed that they're unable to determine much about the identity, the race, or even ages of these victims. So does that raise a flag in any way about the amount of time that may have elapsed between the killings of the people whose remains they found versus the killing of those whose bodies are in tact enough to identify them?
DELONG: Well, it's my understanding that the -- someone, possibly the killer or someone working with the killer, after the first two bodies were found actually started calling the police and calling through 911 and telling the police exactly where to find other bodies. So in regards to your question, it is possible that the first two bodies became advanced -- into a state of advanced decomposition because they weren't found and the killer wants to have the bodies found for any number of reasons. But he's the one that called the police and told them where to find the bodies.
WHITFIELD: So regardless of the circumstances that are used in which to kill someone or the place, the age group, et cetera, does there seem to be a common denominator among serial killers in order to help make a determine whether indeed this person whose carrying out the killings can be labeled a serial killer?
DELONG: Well, I'm not so sure the actual label of serial killer is important at this point. Someone is killing women in Chicago and we know that someone called 911 to report the location of at least three or possibly four of the bodies. So I think it's safe to say someone is out there who is living out some kind of fantasy, killing one individual, he cools off for a period of time, and then he starts fantasizing about it again and he wants to go out and do it again and again. It becomes sequential.
WHITFIELD: Candace Delong, former FBI profiler, thanks so much for joining us from San Francisco.
DELONG: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Well still to come, getting to note fallen in Iraq, how they died and the sacrifices made.
And later, remembering the past and giving hope to the future. How America has bounced back after 9/11.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Across Iraq today, more violence. In Basra, two Iraqis working for an American security company were killed. A roadside bomb struck their vehicle according to British military officials. In the city of Baquba, 35 miles north of Baghdad, an Iraqi official was assassinated. Iraqi police say gunmen opened fire on a car carrying a general of the Iraqi National Guard. He and his driver were killed. The general's son and two officers were wounded. Meanwhile, another guard official's family was abducted near Baquba.
And the first military intelligence officer is sentenced in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal. Army specialist Armen Cruz pleaded guilty in the court martial but disagreed with the bad conduct discharge. A judge also sentenced Cruz to eight months confinement and demoted his rank. After 18 months of war, the U.S. death toll in Iraq passed the 1,000 mark this week. In our special segment, "On The Front Lines," we take a closer look at the heroic Americans behind the numbers. Here is CNN's Beth Nissen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the language of the military, they are the fallen warriors, the 1,000 U.S. troops who have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. More than 860 of them since May 1 of last year when major combat operations were declared at an end. Combat continued in the streets and alleys of Baghdad, in the hot dust of Fallujah and Ramadi, in the cemetery of Najaf. Troop deaths peaked this spring, 50 in March, 134 in April, the deadliest single month of the war, 81 in May.
How they died is not always clear. The Department of Defense releases or in the fog of war on the ground. At least 80 troops are listed simply as killed in enemy or hostile action. As many as one in five 5 died the way soldiers have in every modern war, shot in firefights, on patrol, by snipers. Another 125 were killed by rocket propelled grenades. Mortars, almost double that number have been killed by one of this war's greatest threats, IEDs, improvised explosive devices or homemade bombs. At least 237 U.S. troops have been killed by IEDs set along roads, thrown into vehicles, detonated on passing convoys.
Vehicles are dangerous places in Iraq even in the absence of enemy attack. At least 107 troops just over 10 percent of the war dead were killed in motor vehicle accidents. When their Humvees and Bradleys and trucks collided in dust storms, rolled over on Iraq's poor roads, went off road and tumbled into ravines and canals.
Helicopters and other vital means of transport and supply are also a constant danger. Eighty-three U.S. troops have died when their helicopters with shot down or crashed. Seventeen on one day alone last November 15 when two Blackhawk helicopters collided over Mosul.
In this war, in any war, there are accidents, non-combat deaths. In Iraq, at least 30 U.S. troops have died in accidental shootings often as they or their comrades cleaned their weapons. Some of these weapons discharges were not accidents. The Pentagon has confirmed that at least 26 Operation Iraqi Freedom troops have committed suicide.
Other deaths have been caused by the same kind of accidents that might befall a population of 137,000 anywhere. At least 16 U.S. military personnel have drowned in Iraq, crossing or swimming in rivers and canals. Seven were electrocuted. Troops in Iraq have also died of illnesses that claimed thousands of civilian lives each year. At least 13 have died of heart failure. Others suffered strokes, died of acute leukemia, cancer.
Who were these 1,000 Americans in uniform? The great majority, more than 720 were in the Army, the 101st Airborne, 1st Armored Division, 1st Infantry Division. Since April, when the Marines were replaced Army units in the explosive Al Anbar Province, a growing number of the dead have been Marines. More than 240 died in Iraq so far, 33 last month alone.
Every branch of the service has seen losses, the Navy, the Air Force, even the Coast Guard. Those fighting for the U.S. in Iraq and those who have died represent the American population in broad strokes. African-Americans accounted for an estimated 13 percent of the dead, Hispanics another 12 percent, 70 percent of the war dead were Caucasian, white men. Only 22 of the military fatalities have been women. Almost half of them killed when their convoys hit roadside bombs. The common denominator for most of these casualties is youth. Just over half of those killed in Iraq have been age 25 or younger. The youngest were 18, 19 years old. At least 77 were teenagers, the oldest, 51, 55, 59.
And unprecedented number of regular listees and reservists in the all-volunteer military are older, in their 30's and 40's and married. The Defense Department does not release information on families. But according to the Associated Press, and reports in obituaries in local newspapers, more than 400 of the troops killed in Iraq were married. A third had children, most of them young. At the least 389 children under the age of 12 have lost a father and five have lost a mother in Iraq.
The numbers say so much and so little. One thousand American lives lost. One thousand individuals who had middle names that someone proudly chose for them, who had pictures taken on the first day of kindergarten and at high school graduation, who had plans for the future to be a police officer or a college student or a dad for the third time, who wanted to serve their country and did at such great price.
Beth Nissen, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry remembered the 9/11 attacks with families of the Massachusetts victims. CNN's Dan Lothian has more on what senator Kerry said today. He joins us from Washington where Kerry will be addressing the Congressional black caucus later on -- Dan.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, Senator Kerry did take a break from his stump speeches today, as you mentioned, to remember some of the victims of 9/11 from the state of Massachusetts. Some 200 people from the state or with ties to the state died during the attacks. And remember, two of the airplanes involved in the crashes did take off from Boston. He began his day this morning in Boston at one of the 9/11 memorials at the Boston Public Garden where he laid some flowers wrapped in red, white and blue ribbons at the memorial. He did this at about the same time when the first plane hit the tower some three years ago. He then went up the street and met with some family members and friends, hundreds of family members and friends and victims from 9/11 who live in Massachusetts, the senator talking about how America has changed since those attacks and how -- quote -- "our love for America far outshines the darkness of those who hate."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: So while September 11th was the worst we have ever seen, it brought out the best in all of us. And we will always remember where we were on that day and we must always remember that we will only defeat those who sought to destroy us by standing together as one America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: Senator Kerry is now here in Washington, D.C. where, as you mentioned, he will be addressing the Congressional black caucus. Aides saying that he has participated in this event over the past couple of years, but they're pointing out that he continues to reach out to the African-American community. His themes tonight, some of those domestic themes he'll be focusing along with 9/11 -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Dan Lothian from Washington, thanks so much.
Well, the tragedy hit here at home but the pain is being felt worldwide. More on the various tributes to the 9/11 victims when we come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Today as we remember one of the darkest days in our nation's history, we're also reminded what America -- or what makes, rather, America such a great country. Here is CNN's Tom Foreman.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Almost any day for three years now, the reminders have been there: the attacks, the losses, the frightened faces. Since that September, it has seemed sometimes the world will never be quite right again. But painted by numbers, so much in America has been right. Twenty-five million planes have taken off and landed safely carrying a billion and a half passengers to every state and the world beyond. The world has come here too. More than a million legal immigrants have established American homes and hopes. Fourteen million people took wedding vows. Forty-nine million children attended public schools. Twelve million young Americans arrived who will one day say that day happened before they were born.
Inside and out, Americans reveled in their country. A quarter billion visits were paid to national monuments and parks. We strolled beaches, played games, ran through sunshine, walked in rain.
America sent young people off to war. Some came back...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you.
FOREMAN: ...some did not. We shared our burdens and our fears, our laughter, our tears. Americans have faced uncertainty before. In the early 1900s, anarchists believed working people were being victimized by the rising power of corporations. They called for violence and Americans feared chaos, the collapse of society. It did not happen then and it has not happened this time. Instead, 1,095 times the sun has risen and set. Twelve times the seasons have shifted. Three times the harvest has come. And once we thought our world would never change. We were wrong. And we were right.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And that's all we have time for this hour. I'll be back at 10:00 p.m. Eastern with where's Osama bin Laden, the latest efforts in fighting the war on terror.
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