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American Morning
Is Most Wanted Man in Iraq Asking for Help From Most Wanted Terrorist in the World? New Details on Crane Standoff in Georgia
Aired May 31, 2005 - 08:00 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: Is the most wanted man in Iraq asking new help from the most wanted terrorist in the world? A live report from the Pentagon is just ahead.
New details on that crane standoff in Georgia. The crisis negotiator tells his story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DETECTIVE VINCENT VELAZQUEZ, CRANE STAND-OFF NEGOTIATOR: He said he wanted to die, he wanted to jump. He just couldn't do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: What happened to end that stand-off?
And what could be the music event of the year? The sequel to Live AID. A major announcement coming this hour on 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: Good morning, everybody, on a Tuesday.
Good to have you along with us today.
In a moment here, the Michael Jackson trial going into its final stages. Closing arguments could begin as early as tomorrow in California.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Jeff Toobin will be there. He's going to be with us, though, in a few minutes to talk about what each side has to do.
HEMMER: Also, Jack Cafferty -- what's happening in "The File?"
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, coming up in "The Cafferty File," Charles Lindbergh the first to fly solo across the Atlantic. Wait until you find out what he was doing when he got to the other side.
The wedding pictures from a special ceremony in China.
And the answer to the burning question of how late late is.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
O'BRIEN: I like that.
HEMMER: First, the headlines, the top of the hour.
Back to Carol with those -- good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: That Lindbergh thing slayed me. It did.
Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, a CNN "Security Watch." Two U.S. citizens accused of conspiring to help al Qaeda are scheduled to be in court this morning. One of the men is a martial arts expert from New York. The other is a Florida doctor who allegedly pledged to host and treat injured militants. He's set to appear at a federal court in Florida two hours from now.
Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Police are trying to identify the bodies of six employees at a KFC restaurant in Karachi, Pakistan. An angry mob set fire to the restaurant, apparently in retaliation for Monday's attack on a mosque. These are pictures just coming in to us now. No word yet on the connection between the KFC and the mosque. One officer says protesters often attack symbols of the West during a rampage.
Investigators in Idaho are hoping updated photos will help them find the missing Groene kids. Dylan and Shasta Groene have been missing since May 16, when their mother and two other people were found dead in their home. The case was featured Saturday on the travel show, "America's Most Wanted."
Host John Walsh spoke with us last hour. He says he's hopeful the extra attention will help find these children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN WALSH, HOST, AMERICA'S MOST WANTED: We have 40 tips that we've turned over to police, not giving the people's names, respecting their anonymity. And we're hoping that it'll break this case. I am praying that these -- this little boy and this little girl are still alive and -- but this isn't strange. But I think there's more than one person. Somebody knows what happened there and I think it'll come to light pretty soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The official search will continue for six more days.
And the process of making Pope John Paul II a saint is officially underway. The Vatican has put out an edict inviting people to submit evidence about the late pope's virtues. It also wants any of Pope John Paul's writings submitted. Two weeks ago, Pope Benedict XVI waived a five year waiting period for the start of this process, and no one's campaigning.
HEMMER: Pretty much a fast track.
COSTELLO: Yes.
HEMMER: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
O'BRIEN: Well, intelligence experts are going over a new Internet message. It's said to be from Iraqi terrorist Abu Musab al- Zarqawi.
Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon this morning -- Barbara, good morning to you.
The message supposedly directed directly to Osama bin Laden.
Why would that be significant?
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, officials are still looking at this audiotape, trying to determine if it's genuine. But what they tell us, intelligence officials say they have never seen a fake Zarqawi tape. So their inclination is this one may well prove to be legitimate. And it is very interesting to them, indeed, that it is addressed to Osama bin Laden. What they tell us is that that would be another indicator of two way communication between Zarqawi and bin Laden and yet another indicator that al Qaeda is operating inside Iraq -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Barbara, a couple of quick questions for you.
We heard from the joint chiefs yesterday that he believes Zarqawi has been wounded.
Even if he were, would this change the military strategy at all, do you think?
STARR: It would not, according to Pentagon officials. They all agree they want to get Zarqawi, but it would not end the violence if they captured or killed him. Now, you mentioned General Richard Myers, chairman of the joint chiefs, saying yesterday that he tends to believe that Zarqawi is wounded. We've asked why General Myers comes to that assessment. What we're told is he bases it on three factors: the Web site statements over the last several days indicating that Zarqawi is wounded; interviews with a doctor in Iraq who says he treated Zarqawi; and, also, their own assessments from the military about some of the shootouts that they were involved in over the last three weeks or so, and an assessment, just an assessment, that maybe in one of those shootouts, Zarqawi might have been there, might have been wounded, and the U.S. simply didn't know it at that time.
All of that now an assessment from General Myers' own directorate of intelligence -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Barbara, a final question for u. You heard, obviously, on "LARRY KING" interviewing Vice President Dick Cheney, saying that the insurgency -- this is the vice president, of course -- saying the insurgency is in its last throes.
What does the Pentagon think of that assessment?
STARR: Well, I don't know of any military officer that would publicly disagree with the vice president of the United States. But what the military is generally saying is they are making no predictions anymore about the insurgency. They have been down this road many times, making predictions. And the insurgency, of course, continues to ebb and flow. Right now, a cycle of increased violence.
What top military officials say is they are making progress. But as one senior officer said to us just yesterday, in his words, don't confuse progress with success -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon this morning.
Barbara, thanks.
HEMMER: Despite the daily headlines, the military says it's making progress against the insurgency.
But as CNN's Bill Schneider reports this morning, public polling of that opinion seemed to think differently.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN ANALYST, (voice-over): More than 1600 Americans have been killed in Iraq, 139 in the war two years ago; even more since the January 30 elections in Iraq. Americans were encouraged by those elections.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will succeed because the Iraqi people value their own liberty, as they showed the world last Sunday.
SCHNEIDER: Iraq was getting a new government. The end was in sight. But the news since January has been discouraging.
O'BRIEN: That makes at least eight bombings since Sunday and at least 46 deaths.
SCHNEIDER: Just after the elections in early February, most Americans thought things were going well for the U.S. in Iraq. By early May the public's mood had soured, not just because of the losses, as one analyst predicted before the war.
STEVE KULL, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: The critical question in Americans' minds is not whether there are body bags or not, but whether the operation -- that the military operation in question makes sense to them and whether they think it's succeeding or not.
SCHNEIDER: The military says it's succeeding. GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: They keep going after what we in the military call these centers of gravity. They're not successful.
SCHNEIDER: Critics say there's no plan.
REP. STENY HOYER (D), MD: And they've failed to articulate a success strategy in Iraq.
SCHNEIDER: The president begs to differ.
BUSH: And our strategy is clear -- we will train Iraqi forces so they can take the fight to the enemy and defend their own country.
SCHNEIDER: The public appears to be losing confidence in that strategy. In early February, Americans were split over President Bush's handling of Iraq. By late May, the public's assessment had turned negative. What seems to be affecting public opinion are local news reports, which give the losses a face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gore was doing security work when the helicopter in which he was a passenger was shot down near Baghdad.
SCHNEIDER: And a family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A message is...
SCHNEIDER: Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HEMMER: Meanwhile in Baghdad, today is day three of Operation Lightning. That's that massive Iraqi led crackdown on insurgents in and around the capital city -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: In just about an hour, it is back to court for a Florida man who is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend. He's the same guy who climbed that crane in Atlanta last week. Forty-one-year- old Carl Edward Roland made a brief court appearance on Monday. A judge denied him bond. Roland, you'll recall, perched himself atop the 25-story crane, then stayed up there for 56 hours, with little food and sleep.
The man who negotiated Roland's capture tells what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELAZQUEZ: He said he wanted to die, he wanted to jump. He just couldn't do it. He asked for a gun. Of course, I told him that we couldn't do that. And then he made a comment that I was basically telling him the same thing everybody had been telling him all night. He said I was insulting his intelligence at first.
So I backed up. And at some point, I basically told him, I said, you know, I'm really running out of things to tell you, to be quite honest with you. I don't know what else to say except come down. And I suggested we just take a break.
So we just sat there without saying anything. And he appreciated that. So I think that was kind of the bridge right there that kind of -- that I think we coincide at that point.
And to be quite honest with you, I had never been that high. I've never climbed that high, personally. And the very first time going up the ladder, it was a little scary, to be honest with you. I had to -- it took me about five minutes to get my bearings once I got to the top, you know, just to feel comfortable, tether myself in with the safety line, because I didn't want him to know that I was nervous about being that high.
And probably within an hour I was pretty comfortable with it. So I definitely really was -- I got used to it rather quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Police say Roland finally gave in to thirst. And when he was offered a glass of water, Roland was tackled and tasered and handcuffed.
Negotiator Vincent Velazquez once again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELAZQUEZ: As he came over, basically, he just trusted us that he was going to be OK. He crawled over the tension cable and our plan was already, we were going to use the taser regardless. And the reason why is that platform where we were all standing, myself and three SWAT officers, was four feet by four feet. And with him on that platform. It was very unsafe if he had changed his mind at that point and decided he wasn't going to surrender, it would have been very dangerous for us to sit there and engage him, you know, manually or try to handcuff him.
So once we tased him, he completely submitted, said OK, OK. I'm OK. And we handcuffed him at that point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: After that, he was strapped to a stretcher, then lowered to the ground. He's being held while Florida authorities work out extradition arrangements. Roland also faces charges in Atlanta.
HEMMER: Eleven minutes now past the hour.
In the West, weather wise, residents in one of Utah's driest counties waking up to a big wet cleanup this morning. Overflow from a canyon west of Salt Lake turned streets into creeks. People spent Memorial Day scrambling to get sandbags in place to hold back the rushing water there. That's from Utah.
The rest of the country now, we're talking about Florida with Chad Myers, too.
Hey, Chad -- good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.
There are some roadways flooded this morning in Florida, from Orlando right on down even into Punta Gorda. Two to three inches per hour coming down in some of these storms.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: We're awaiting details about concert plans for Live Eight, a sequel to Live AID. That was held two decades ago. And Bob Geldof, a singer and activist, is back at it again, organizing what promises to be another star-studded lineup for this humanitarian event.
The goal is to raise money to fight famine and poverty on the continent of Africa. Singer Dave Matthews will be one of the performers for Live Eight. That's planned for Saturday, July 2. It originates in Hyde Park in London, but there will be shows in Berlin and Paris and Rome and all over the U.S., too.
So we'll talk to Dave Matthews. He'll be our guest next hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Looking forward to that, too.
O'BRIEN: And in this hour, they're going to make that announcement. We're going to bring it to you live when it happens.
Well, the Michael Jackson trial entering the stretch run. Closing arguments could start as soon as tomorrow.
Jeff Toobin tells us what each side needs to accomplish to win.
HEMMER: Also a bit later, back live to the USS John F. Kennedy. Meeting two Marines with an incredible story about rescue. Their close call in the battle of Falluja in a moment here, when we continue after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Closing arguments in Michael Jackson's case are expected tomorrow, on Wednesday. Jeff Toobin is going to be in the courtroom then.
He's here with me in studio now -- good morning to you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, sir.
HEMMER: One of the last things that the jurors heard was this piece of videotape. Two years ago the accuser telling police of potential abuse by Michael Jackson.
How strong would that evidence be for jurors as they head into that room? TOOBIN: I think the prosecution made a lot of mistakes in this case. That was not a mistake. That was very smart, ending with the accuser telling his own story in a sympathetic way, without cross- examination. That's why the defense objected, unsuccessfully, to this tape being introduced. But it was very powerful and it tells the jury, after all this complex evidence about conspiracy and the family, that this story is ultimately about this boy, was he molested or not.
HEMMER: Now, you were in the courtroom for opening statements.
TOOBIN: Yes.
HEMMER: And you were not impressed by the state's case?
TOOBIN: I was not impressed, A, by the state's case; and particularly by how it was presented by District Attorney Sneddon. Significantly, he will not be doing the closing argument. His colleague, Ron Zonen, will, who is a much, I think, better performer in the courtroom.
HEMMER: So let's line it up, then.
Prosecutors need to do what in closing arguments?
TOOBIN: You know, keep it simple. One thing you always want to say as a prosecutor is this is a simple case. It's tough here in a three month trial with 85 witnesses for the government to say it's simple. But you say if you believe this boy, there's nothing else you have to consider. That's what this case is about.
I think, you know, they should more or less pun on the conspiracy count, this count that says Jackson and his associates tried to keep the accuser's family captive. I think that's a total loser, a hopeless count. Keep it on the child molestation. That's the heart of the case.
HEMMER: You say pun on the conspiracy theory.
TOOBIN: No, I mean...
HEMMER: But that was a big part of their case, though.
TOOBIN: It was a big part of their case, but I think it is a count that they can't possibly win. I just don't think that's a winnable part of their case.
HEMMER: Does Mesereau do the closing arguments for Jackson, then?
TOOBIN: Yes. Absolutely.
HEMMER: And what is his objective, then, when he gets before that bank of jurors on Wednesday?
TOOBIN: Well, I think, to him, you have to say the conspiracy count is an integral part of the case because it shows what a fraud this case is, that this has been a shakedown operation from the beginning; that this case is about the accuser's family searching around for targets to get money, whether it's J.C. Penney and the lawsuit they filed, whether it's the husband, whether it's fundraising for his, the son's cancer; that Michael Jackson was nothing more than a mark for this family.
HEMMER: And they threw a net out in the water trying to catch as many fish as they could.
TOOBIN: And they tried to catch the biggest, richest fish of them all, Michael Jackson, yes.
HEMMER: There you go.
One of the things you said -- I think it was some comments last night to one of our producers -- you said prosecutors tend to talk too much and for too long.
TOOBIN: Judges say this all the time. They over try their cases. They call too many witnesses and they talk too long.
Basically, if you're trying to prove something beyond a reasonable doubt, you don't want to say this is an extremely complex, difficult case. You want to say hey, this is simple, A, B, C.
Prosecutors tend to get caught up in their own rhetoric. They want to refer to every piece of evidence in their case and they wind up confusing the jury. And I think that's a big risk in this case, when you have this very weak conspiracy count with stronger evidence of molestation.
HEMMER: And your theory is on what Michael Jackson is going to wear in court, closing arguments?
TOOBIN: I -- the only thing I'll bet you is it's an armband. He always wears an armband. And who knows why? Who knows why he does anything?
HEMMER: Travel safe, OK, Jeff?
TOOBIN: Thank you, sir.
All right.
HEMMER: Thank you.
Jeff Toobin, senior legal analyst here.
In a moment here, heading into summer now. Alarming new research revealing just how much damage just a few sunburns can do to the human body. We're paging the good doctor on that when we continue here in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I was around when CNN first got started. We kind of, in many ways, grew up together. I was very pleased always to be asked to be on CNN. I was a "Soviet expert." I taught at Georgetown University and my name began with A, which meant that when CNN needed such an expert, I often got called. So I am very grateful to CNN.
I think that generally CNN's coverage of events like the Gulf War -- I remember that as a very significant event, very detailed, good descriptions of what was going on at that time. And then every event, whether it was covering wars or in terms of explaining to people what was going on, but it's kind of a constant reminder to the viewer about the importance of news in our lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: We're celebrating CNN's 25th anniversary all week long on AMERICAN MORNING.
Tomorrow in prime time you can see a very special program. It's called "Defining Moments: 25 Stories That Touched Our Lives."
That begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.
HEMMER: Boy, a flood of memories watching that videotape there, too.
What's happening -- Jack?
CAFFERTY: President Bush facing the lowest poll numbers of his presidency. Few significant legislative victories to point to. Rumblings of those dreaded words lame duck can be heard around Washington, D.C. A "Washington Post" analysis this morning cites a number of domestic and foreign policy setbacks for the president.
When he won reelection, Mr. Bush declared that he had earned "plenty of political capital."
The question this morning is has President Bush lost his political capital?
Nathan in New Jersey: "No. Political capital is mostly a matter of perception. Any studies conducted by the "Washington Post" are likely to be skewed by the "Post's" obvious left-wing agenda. Therefore they are not worth the paper they're written on."
Marv in Michigan writes: "No landslide, no mandate, you can't lose what you never had."
Donna in Great Falls, Montana, which is where my dad was born: "President Bush is the best president this country has had in a long, long time. Funny how the country will slap a president on the back for having sex in the White House with a young intern, but now that we have a president that stands up for what this country was founded on in the first place, the media tries to put him down." And Lloyd in North Carolina writes: "Let's see, the president's out of touch with the general populace on Social Security reform and stem cell research. Quack. He tried to fool us about the end of hostilities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Quack, quack. The budget deficit has reached astronomical proportions and we remained handcuffed to our dependence on foreign oil. Quack, quack, quack. My Labrador thinks it's duck season."
O'BRIEN: I like the quacking. It's a nice little -- Thank you, Jack.
One Canadian woman has been crowned Miss. Universe. Natalie Glebova of Toronto was chosen over 80 other contestants last night. The contest was held in Bangkok, Thailand. Thai officials hope that they will get an economic boost from all the publicity. It's been only five months since the tsunami devastated the country's coast. Miss. Glebova says she always tries to maintain a positive outlook on life.
HEMMER: Even more reason to be positive today, too.
We are expecting a rather significant announcement from Sir Bob Geldof in about 20 minutes now, revealing details on his follow-up to the hugely successful Live AID concert. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We will watch the news out of places like Philly and also out of London when the news becomes official.
This was the scene two decades ago with Madonna on stage.
Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADONNA: ... spread the word. We're going to have a celebration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Get the latest news every morning in your e-mail. Sign up for AMERICAN MORNING "Quick News" at cnn.com/am.
Still to come this morning, Marines say they will not leave a comrade behind. Well, two Marines will tell us their personal experience of a dangerous rescue during the battle of Falluja.
That story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Good morning, everybody.
If you're just getting up, hope you had a good, long weekend, including here in New York.
O'BRIEN: But wait a minute. I don't have a long weekend.
HEMMER: I had a good long weekend.
O'BRIEN: But thanks for rubbing it in. I appreciate that.
HEMMER: You've got it.
Coming up here in a moment, we'll talk to two Marines on board the USS John F. Kennedy.
O'BRIEN: They are both members of Helicopter Squadron 263 and they have a pretty incredible story to tell about the battle of Falluja. One was shot down. The other came to his rescue. It was a really close call, a little too close. They're going to tell us about it, coming up in just a moment.
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Aired May 31, 2005 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Is the most wanted man in Iraq asking new help from the most wanted terrorist in the world? A live report from the Pentagon is just ahead.
New details on that crane standoff in Georgia. The crisis negotiator tells his story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DETECTIVE VINCENT VELAZQUEZ, CRANE STAND-OFF NEGOTIATOR: He said he wanted to die, he wanted to jump. He just couldn't do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: What happened to end that stand-off?
And what could be the music event of the year? The sequel to Live AID. A major announcement coming this hour on 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: Good morning, everybody, on a Tuesday.
Good to have you along with us today.
In a moment here, the Michael Jackson trial going into its final stages. Closing arguments could begin as early as tomorrow in California.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Jeff Toobin will be there. He's going to be with us, though, in a few minutes to talk about what each side has to do.
HEMMER: Also, Jack Cafferty -- what's happening in "The File?"
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, coming up in "The Cafferty File," Charles Lindbergh the first to fly solo across the Atlantic. Wait until you find out what he was doing when he got to the other side.
The wedding pictures from a special ceremony in China.
And the answer to the burning question of how late late is.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
O'BRIEN: I like that.
HEMMER: First, the headlines, the top of the hour.
Back to Carol with those -- good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: That Lindbergh thing slayed me. It did.
Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, a CNN "Security Watch." Two U.S. citizens accused of conspiring to help al Qaeda are scheduled to be in court this morning. One of the men is a martial arts expert from New York. The other is a Florida doctor who allegedly pledged to host and treat injured militants. He's set to appear at a federal court in Florida two hours from now.
Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Police are trying to identify the bodies of six employees at a KFC restaurant in Karachi, Pakistan. An angry mob set fire to the restaurant, apparently in retaliation for Monday's attack on a mosque. These are pictures just coming in to us now. No word yet on the connection between the KFC and the mosque. One officer says protesters often attack symbols of the West during a rampage.
Investigators in Idaho are hoping updated photos will help them find the missing Groene kids. Dylan and Shasta Groene have been missing since May 16, when their mother and two other people were found dead in their home. The case was featured Saturday on the travel show, "America's Most Wanted."
Host John Walsh spoke with us last hour. He says he's hopeful the extra attention will help find these children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN WALSH, HOST, AMERICA'S MOST WANTED: We have 40 tips that we've turned over to police, not giving the people's names, respecting their anonymity. And we're hoping that it'll break this case. I am praying that these -- this little boy and this little girl are still alive and -- but this isn't strange. But I think there's more than one person. Somebody knows what happened there and I think it'll come to light pretty soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The official search will continue for six more days.
And the process of making Pope John Paul II a saint is officially underway. The Vatican has put out an edict inviting people to submit evidence about the late pope's virtues. It also wants any of Pope John Paul's writings submitted. Two weeks ago, Pope Benedict XVI waived a five year waiting period for the start of this process, and no one's campaigning.
HEMMER: Pretty much a fast track.
COSTELLO: Yes.
HEMMER: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
O'BRIEN: Well, intelligence experts are going over a new Internet message. It's said to be from Iraqi terrorist Abu Musab al- Zarqawi.
Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon this morning -- Barbara, good morning to you.
The message supposedly directed directly to Osama bin Laden.
Why would that be significant?
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, officials are still looking at this audiotape, trying to determine if it's genuine. But what they tell us, intelligence officials say they have never seen a fake Zarqawi tape. So their inclination is this one may well prove to be legitimate. And it is very interesting to them, indeed, that it is addressed to Osama bin Laden. What they tell us is that that would be another indicator of two way communication between Zarqawi and bin Laden and yet another indicator that al Qaeda is operating inside Iraq -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Barbara, a couple of quick questions for you.
We heard from the joint chiefs yesterday that he believes Zarqawi has been wounded.
Even if he were, would this change the military strategy at all, do you think?
STARR: It would not, according to Pentagon officials. They all agree they want to get Zarqawi, but it would not end the violence if they captured or killed him. Now, you mentioned General Richard Myers, chairman of the joint chiefs, saying yesterday that he tends to believe that Zarqawi is wounded. We've asked why General Myers comes to that assessment. What we're told is he bases it on three factors: the Web site statements over the last several days indicating that Zarqawi is wounded; interviews with a doctor in Iraq who says he treated Zarqawi; and, also, their own assessments from the military about some of the shootouts that they were involved in over the last three weeks or so, and an assessment, just an assessment, that maybe in one of those shootouts, Zarqawi might have been there, might have been wounded, and the U.S. simply didn't know it at that time.
All of that now an assessment from General Myers' own directorate of intelligence -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Barbara, a final question for u. You heard, obviously, on "LARRY KING" interviewing Vice President Dick Cheney, saying that the insurgency -- this is the vice president, of course -- saying the insurgency is in its last throes.
What does the Pentagon think of that assessment?
STARR: Well, I don't know of any military officer that would publicly disagree with the vice president of the United States. But what the military is generally saying is they are making no predictions anymore about the insurgency. They have been down this road many times, making predictions. And the insurgency, of course, continues to ebb and flow. Right now, a cycle of increased violence.
What top military officials say is they are making progress. But as one senior officer said to us just yesterday, in his words, don't confuse progress with success -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon this morning.
Barbara, thanks.
HEMMER: Despite the daily headlines, the military says it's making progress against the insurgency.
But as CNN's Bill Schneider reports this morning, public polling of that opinion seemed to think differently.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN ANALYST, (voice-over): More than 1600 Americans have been killed in Iraq, 139 in the war two years ago; even more since the January 30 elections in Iraq. Americans were encouraged by those elections.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will succeed because the Iraqi people value their own liberty, as they showed the world last Sunday.
SCHNEIDER: Iraq was getting a new government. The end was in sight. But the news since January has been discouraging.
O'BRIEN: That makes at least eight bombings since Sunday and at least 46 deaths.
SCHNEIDER: Just after the elections in early February, most Americans thought things were going well for the U.S. in Iraq. By early May the public's mood had soured, not just because of the losses, as one analyst predicted before the war.
STEVE KULL, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: The critical question in Americans' minds is not whether there are body bags or not, but whether the operation -- that the military operation in question makes sense to them and whether they think it's succeeding or not.
SCHNEIDER: The military says it's succeeding. GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: They keep going after what we in the military call these centers of gravity. They're not successful.
SCHNEIDER: Critics say there's no plan.
REP. STENY HOYER (D), MD: And they've failed to articulate a success strategy in Iraq.
SCHNEIDER: The president begs to differ.
BUSH: And our strategy is clear -- we will train Iraqi forces so they can take the fight to the enemy and defend their own country.
SCHNEIDER: The public appears to be losing confidence in that strategy. In early February, Americans were split over President Bush's handling of Iraq. By late May, the public's assessment had turned negative. What seems to be affecting public opinion are local news reports, which give the losses a face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gore was doing security work when the helicopter in which he was a passenger was shot down near Baghdad.
SCHNEIDER: And a family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A message is...
SCHNEIDER: Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HEMMER: Meanwhile in Baghdad, today is day three of Operation Lightning. That's that massive Iraqi led crackdown on insurgents in and around the capital city -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: In just about an hour, it is back to court for a Florida man who is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend. He's the same guy who climbed that crane in Atlanta last week. Forty-one-year- old Carl Edward Roland made a brief court appearance on Monday. A judge denied him bond. Roland, you'll recall, perched himself atop the 25-story crane, then stayed up there for 56 hours, with little food and sleep.
The man who negotiated Roland's capture tells what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELAZQUEZ: He said he wanted to die, he wanted to jump. He just couldn't do it. He asked for a gun. Of course, I told him that we couldn't do that. And then he made a comment that I was basically telling him the same thing everybody had been telling him all night. He said I was insulting his intelligence at first.
So I backed up. And at some point, I basically told him, I said, you know, I'm really running out of things to tell you, to be quite honest with you. I don't know what else to say except come down. And I suggested we just take a break.
So we just sat there without saying anything. And he appreciated that. So I think that was kind of the bridge right there that kind of -- that I think we coincide at that point.
And to be quite honest with you, I had never been that high. I've never climbed that high, personally. And the very first time going up the ladder, it was a little scary, to be honest with you. I had to -- it took me about five minutes to get my bearings once I got to the top, you know, just to feel comfortable, tether myself in with the safety line, because I didn't want him to know that I was nervous about being that high.
And probably within an hour I was pretty comfortable with it. So I definitely really was -- I got used to it rather quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Police say Roland finally gave in to thirst. And when he was offered a glass of water, Roland was tackled and tasered and handcuffed.
Negotiator Vincent Velazquez once again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELAZQUEZ: As he came over, basically, he just trusted us that he was going to be OK. He crawled over the tension cable and our plan was already, we were going to use the taser regardless. And the reason why is that platform where we were all standing, myself and three SWAT officers, was four feet by four feet. And with him on that platform. It was very unsafe if he had changed his mind at that point and decided he wasn't going to surrender, it would have been very dangerous for us to sit there and engage him, you know, manually or try to handcuff him.
So once we tased him, he completely submitted, said OK, OK. I'm OK. And we handcuffed him at that point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: After that, he was strapped to a stretcher, then lowered to the ground. He's being held while Florida authorities work out extradition arrangements. Roland also faces charges in Atlanta.
HEMMER: Eleven minutes now past the hour.
In the West, weather wise, residents in one of Utah's driest counties waking up to a big wet cleanup this morning. Overflow from a canyon west of Salt Lake turned streets into creeks. People spent Memorial Day scrambling to get sandbags in place to hold back the rushing water there. That's from Utah.
The rest of the country now, we're talking about Florida with Chad Myers, too.
Hey, Chad -- good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.
There are some roadways flooded this morning in Florida, from Orlando right on down even into Punta Gorda. Two to three inches per hour coming down in some of these storms.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: We're awaiting details about concert plans for Live Eight, a sequel to Live AID. That was held two decades ago. And Bob Geldof, a singer and activist, is back at it again, organizing what promises to be another star-studded lineup for this humanitarian event.
The goal is to raise money to fight famine and poverty on the continent of Africa. Singer Dave Matthews will be one of the performers for Live Eight. That's planned for Saturday, July 2. It originates in Hyde Park in London, but there will be shows in Berlin and Paris and Rome and all over the U.S., too.
So we'll talk to Dave Matthews. He'll be our guest next hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Looking forward to that, too.
O'BRIEN: And in this hour, they're going to make that announcement. We're going to bring it to you live when it happens.
Well, the Michael Jackson trial entering the stretch run. Closing arguments could start as soon as tomorrow.
Jeff Toobin tells us what each side needs to accomplish to win.
HEMMER: Also a bit later, back live to the USS John F. Kennedy. Meeting two Marines with an incredible story about rescue. Their close call in the battle of Falluja in a moment here, when we continue after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Closing arguments in Michael Jackson's case are expected tomorrow, on Wednesday. Jeff Toobin is going to be in the courtroom then.
He's here with me in studio now -- good morning to you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, sir.
HEMMER: One of the last things that the jurors heard was this piece of videotape. Two years ago the accuser telling police of potential abuse by Michael Jackson.
How strong would that evidence be for jurors as they head into that room? TOOBIN: I think the prosecution made a lot of mistakes in this case. That was not a mistake. That was very smart, ending with the accuser telling his own story in a sympathetic way, without cross- examination. That's why the defense objected, unsuccessfully, to this tape being introduced. But it was very powerful and it tells the jury, after all this complex evidence about conspiracy and the family, that this story is ultimately about this boy, was he molested or not.
HEMMER: Now, you were in the courtroom for opening statements.
TOOBIN: Yes.
HEMMER: And you were not impressed by the state's case?
TOOBIN: I was not impressed, A, by the state's case; and particularly by how it was presented by District Attorney Sneddon. Significantly, he will not be doing the closing argument. His colleague, Ron Zonen, will, who is a much, I think, better performer in the courtroom.
HEMMER: So let's line it up, then.
Prosecutors need to do what in closing arguments?
TOOBIN: You know, keep it simple. One thing you always want to say as a prosecutor is this is a simple case. It's tough here in a three month trial with 85 witnesses for the government to say it's simple. But you say if you believe this boy, there's nothing else you have to consider. That's what this case is about.
I think, you know, they should more or less pun on the conspiracy count, this count that says Jackson and his associates tried to keep the accuser's family captive. I think that's a total loser, a hopeless count. Keep it on the child molestation. That's the heart of the case.
HEMMER: You say pun on the conspiracy theory.
TOOBIN: No, I mean...
HEMMER: But that was a big part of their case, though.
TOOBIN: It was a big part of their case, but I think it is a count that they can't possibly win. I just don't think that's a winnable part of their case.
HEMMER: Does Mesereau do the closing arguments for Jackson, then?
TOOBIN: Yes. Absolutely.
HEMMER: And what is his objective, then, when he gets before that bank of jurors on Wednesday?
TOOBIN: Well, I think, to him, you have to say the conspiracy count is an integral part of the case because it shows what a fraud this case is, that this has been a shakedown operation from the beginning; that this case is about the accuser's family searching around for targets to get money, whether it's J.C. Penney and the lawsuit they filed, whether it's the husband, whether it's fundraising for his, the son's cancer; that Michael Jackson was nothing more than a mark for this family.
HEMMER: And they threw a net out in the water trying to catch as many fish as they could.
TOOBIN: And they tried to catch the biggest, richest fish of them all, Michael Jackson, yes.
HEMMER: There you go.
One of the things you said -- I think it was some comments last night to one of our producers -- you said prosecutors tend to talk too much and for too long.
TOOBIN: Judges say this all the time. They over try their cases. They call too many witnesses and they talk too long.
Basically, if you're trying to prove something beyond a reasonable doubt, you don't want to say this is an extremely complex, difficult case. You want to say hey, this is simple, A, B, C.
Prosecutors tend to get caught up in their own rhetoric. They want to refer to every piece of evidence in their case and they wind up confusing the jury. And I think that's a big risk in this case, when you have this very weak conspiracy count with stronger evidence of molestation.
HEMMER: And your theory is on what Michael Jackson is going to wear in court, closing arguments?
TOOBIN: I -- the only thing I'll bet you is it's an armband. He always wears an armband. And who knows why? Who knows why he does anything?
HEMMER: Travel safe, OK, Jeff?
TOOBIN: Thank you, sir.
All right.
HEMMER: Thank you.
Jeff Toobin, senior legal analyst here.
In a moment here, heading into summer now. Alarming new research revealing just how much damage just a few sunburns can do to the human body. We're paging the good doctor on that when we continue here in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I was around when CNN first got started. We kind of, in many ways, grew up together. I was very pleased always to be asked to be on CNN. I was a "Soviet expert." I taught at Georgetown University and my name began with A, which meant that when CNN needed such an expert, I often got called. So I am very grateful to CNN.
I think that generally CNN's coverage of events like the Gulf War -- I remember that as a very significant event, very detailed, good descriptions of what was going on at that time. And then every event, whether it was covering wars or in terms of explaining to people what was going on, but it's kind of a constant reminder to the viewer about the importance of news in our lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: We're celebrating CNN's 25th anniversary all week long on AMERICAN MORNING.
Tomorrow in prime time you can see a very special program. It's called "Defining Moments: 25 Stories That Touched Our Lives."
That begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.
HEMMER: Boy, a flood of memories watching that videotape there, too.
What's happening -- Jack?
CAFFERTY: President Bush facing the lowest poll numbers of his presidency. Few significant legislative victories to point to. Rumblings of those dreaded words lame duck can be heard around Washington, D.C. A "Washington Post" analysis this morning cites a number of domestic and foreign policy setbacks for the president.
When he won reelection, Mr. Bush declared that he had earned "plenty of political capital."
The question this morning is has President Bush lost his political capital?
Nathan in New Jersey: "No. Political capital is mostly a matter of perception. Any studies conducted by the "Washington Post" are likely to be skewed by the "Post's" obvious left-wing agenda. Therefore they are not worth the paper they're written on."
Marv in Michigan writes: "No landslide, no mandate, you can't lose what you never had."
Donna in Great Falls, Montana, which is where my dad was born: "President Bush is the best president this country has had in a long, long time. Funny how the country will slap a president on the back for having sex in the White House with a young intern, but now that we have a president that stands up for what this country was founded on in the first place, the media tries to put him down." And Lloyd in North Carolina writes: "Let's see, the president's out of touch with the general populace on Social Security reform and stem cell research. Quack. He tried to fool us about the end of hostilities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Quack, quack. The budget deficit has reached astronomical proportions and we remained handcuffed to our dependence on foreign oil. Quack, quack, quack. My Labrador thinks it's duck season."
O'BRIEN: I like the quacking. It's a nice little -- Thank you, Jack.
One Canadian woman has been crowned Miss. Universe. Natalie Glebova of Toronto was chosen over 80 other contestants last night. The contest was held in Bangkok, Thailand. Thai officials hope that they will get an economic boost from all the publicity. It's been only five months since the tsunami devastated the country's coast. Miss. Glebova says she always tries to maintain a positive outlook on life.
HEMMER: Even more reason to be positive today, too.
We are expecting a rather significant announcement from Sir Bob Geldof in about 20 minutes now, revealing details on his follow-up to the hugely successful Live AID concert. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We will watch the news out of places like Philly and also out of London when the news becomes official.
This was the scene two decades ago with Madonna on stage.
Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADONNA: ... spread the word. We're going to have a celebration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Get the latest news every morning in your e-mail. Sign up for AMERICAN MORNING "Quick News" at cnn.com/am.
Still to come this morning, Marines say they will not leave a comrade behind. Well, two Marines will tell us their personal experience of a dangerous rescue during the battle of Falluja.
That story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Good morning, everybody.
If you're just getting up, hope you had a good, long weekend, including here in New York.
O'BRIEN: But wait a minute. I don't have a long weekend.
HEMMER: I had a good long weekend.
O'BRIEN: But thanks for rubbing it in. I appreciate that.
HEMMER: You've got it.
Coming up here in a moment, we'll talk to two Marines on board the USS John F. Kennedy.
O'BRIEN: They are both members of Helicopter Squadron 263 and they have a pretty incredible story to tell about the battle of Falluja. One was shot down. The other came to his rescue. It was a really close call, a little too close. They're going to tell us about it, coming up in just a moment.
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