Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Hostage Freed in Iraq; Survivor's Story; Envoy to Iraq

Aired June 15, 2005 - 09:01   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: From Canada to Mexico, the coast is clear after an earthquake and tsunami warning rattled the Pacific Seaboard. Obviously, those are not the pictures we're talking about. We've got a live report, though, on that story just ahead.
Also ahead this morning, a live interview with the Aruban security guards detained, now released in the Natalee Holloway case.

And one of the most controversial issues in the war on terror, senators debating the future of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

Those stories all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

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

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. Nine o'clock -- 9:02, in fact, here in New York City. More on this deadly attack that took place in Iraq today.

O'BRIEN: In fact, 23 Iraqi soldiers killed, it seems, by a suicide bomber who was somehow able to get on to an Iraqi military base. We've got a live report from Baghdad just ahead this morning.

HEMMER: That is one of our headlines. And the others with Carol Costello now.

Hey, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I have them right here. Good morning. Good morning to all of you.

Californians bracing for possible aftershocks following a major earthquake last night. The 7.0 quake struck about 90 miles off the coast of northern California. A tsunami warning for coastal areas issued shortly after the quake, but it was canceled about an hour later. No reports of damage or injuries.

The Guantanamo Bay prison camp takes center stage at a hearing on Capitol Hill. The Senate Judiciary Committee is focusing on the treatment of prisoners at Gitmo. The hearing comes a day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended the facility, saying it's implemented numerous reforms regarding the treatment of detainees. We'll take you live to Capitol Hill for more details about that hearing just ahead. Three young men still in custody in connection with the disappearance of an Alabama teenager. These are new pictures in to CNN, and the area searched on Tuesday. Authorities combed a mangrove swamp near a Marriott hotel, but that search didn't turn up any new leads.

In the meantime, Mickey John, a security guard formally held in connection with the case, says one of the three suspects told him they dropped Holloway off near that Marriott. We'll talk to John live in just a few minutes.

President Bush turning up the heat for Congress to act on an energy plan. The president says the U.S. needs a strategy to become less dependent on foreign oil. The House passed an energy bill earlier this year. The Senate began debate on its own energy bill this week.

And a man who deserted his Army unit in Korea 40 years ago says he's very happy to be home. Charles Jenkins is visiting his 91-year- old mother in North Carolina. He hasn't seen her since 1965.

Jenkins pleaded guilty to desertion and aiding the enemy last year. He does plan to return to Japan next week and never to return to the United States again.

O'BRIEN: Not exactly a warm welcome from folks in his hometown.

COSTELLO: No. His neighbors feel he's a traitor.

HEMMER: Thanks, Carol.

We are watching several stories developing now from Iraq. A very deadly suicide bombing.

Jennifer Eccleston live in Baghdad now.

And Jennifer, how many casualties in this suicide bombing?

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, Bill, we know that 23 Iraqi soldiers killed have been killed when a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt detonated his lethal package at a restaurant within an Iraqi army military base north of Baghdad, outside of the town of Baqubah. And as we said, we know 23 soldiers were killed, and upwards of 28 others were wounded.

It happened during the busy lunchtime period. And that is why we're such seeing high casualty tolls -- Bill.

HEMMER: There is good news to report today, too, and news that affects the folks back in Australia. Tell us about that, Jennifer.

ECCLESTON: That's right. Well, it was announced today from Australia's prime minister, John Howard, that one of their nationals, Douglas Wood, taken hostage six weeks ago here in Iraq, was freed from his captors by an Iraqi military operation which was conducting a routine search and cordon operation in northwest Baghdad when they came upon Wood.

A U.S. official tells CNN that the Iraqi operation met light resistance and several people have been detained. We also now know that he is in the hands of the Australian military, and he is said to be in good -- good health.

Of course, he's 63 years old. He was a contractor here in Iraq, worked for a year. He is a resident, a longtime resident of California. He has an American wife.

The last time we saw him was on an insurgent video on May 1, where he was pleading for his life. And he was also asking Australia's government to remove its some 1,400 troops from the country. Of course the Australian government did not give into the demands of the kidnappers, but they did send an emergency response team here to help secure his release. And we're expecting within this hour a press conference from one member of that emergency response team to give us the details of his relief -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thanks, Jennifer. Jennifer Eccleston from Baghdad -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Residents evacuated from a quiet Florida street could return home as early as today. They were forced form their homes on Monday when a cargo plane crash-landed in their neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale.

The vintage DC3 came down just after takeoff. Remarkably, all three men on board escaped.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Charles Riggs was the pilot. He's in Fort Lauderdale this morning.

It's nice to see you, Charles. Thanks for talking with us.

It's pretty much a miracle, I have to say, that nobody died in this crash, because when you look at the pictures of the wreckage that's left of this plane, it's pretty amazing to look at. When did you realize that you had a problem?

CHARLES RIGGS, PILOT: Well, absolutely immediately after takeoff, maybe 100 feet in the air.

O'BRIEN: What was wrong?

RIGGS: We started losing power on the left engine. And, you know, we had -- we had to work pretty quick because we were close to the ground. And we went through emergency procedures. They weren't, you know, working quite correctly, and so we had to pick a spot to land.

O'BRIEN: How did you pick where you were going to land? Because as we mentioned, we're not talking about the bunch of cornfields and you kind of have your choice; we're talking about neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale.

RIGGS: Right. Well, there was a major artery commercial boulevard close by, loaded with cars, and this was the next road that was available to us.

O'BRIEN: I've read that you said it wasn't just the cars or the lack of cars which made it a good spot, that also you saw a lot of trees. Why was that a good thing?

RIGGS: Well, trees will help slow the aircraft down, which is actually what happened, and we only, you know, rolled maybe 300 feet.

O'BRIEN: So you hit the ground, you roll 300 feet, and you are essentially on fire. How did you all get out?

RIGGS: Well, the impact caused the fire, and we opened an emergency escape hatch, and the cargo handler jumped out, and the copilot was next, and then I got out.

O'BRIEN: The people in the neighborhood said that it's no exaggeration to say they could lean out and touch the plane from their apartments practically, because you were that close to all the residences. You must have been very concerned about the people on the ground, of course.

RIGGS: Yes. After everything was over, you know, we were worried, and there was actually people trying to approach the aircraft while she was burning, and then she exploded a few times. We were, you know, happy that no one did get really hurt on the ground.

O'BRIEN: This was, I've read, was not your first rough landing, that you've actually had a fair amount of experience in non-optimal conditions for bringing a plane down. You were in Vietnam. Tell me a little bit about how that experience affected what you did in this incident.

RIGGS: Well, I think you just have to use everything you have in your brain to, you know, try and get the aircraft on the ground safely, and to preserve, you know, people's lives on the ground.

O'BRIEN: Did you feel like you'd flashed back to Vietnam or something?

RIGGS: Well, maybe after, but you're pretty busy when all that's happening.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I would bet you are.

At the end of the day when you look at some of these pictures and you sort of figure that's everybody's fine, thank God, do you feel like it was a matter of skill, or that this was just an out-and-out miracle that this all ended pretty well?

RIGGS: Well, we picked the spot, and I think, you know, God had a major part in it after that. And we -- the three of us, you know, hobbled and ran away. O'BRIEN: A little bit of both is what you're saying.

Charles Riggs, joining us from Fort Lauderdale. We are happy to see that you are alive and well, your team as well, and everybody on the ground, too. Thanks for talking with us.

RIGGS: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Job well done.

Ten minutes past the hour now. It's been hot in the Northeast. That will end today for many. Not for all, but for many.

Tuesday, temperatures soared past 90 -- 97 in Newark. The heat index was well over 100. Many schools let out early, and some will do the same today.

Just three weeks ago, the high temp here in New York was 53 degrees. On Tuesday, it was 91 degrees in Central Park, and a record- breaking 95 at Kennedy -- Kennedy's airport.

Summer's still about a week away, too. So as we zero in on that, we're also watching this cold front move in, too.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: In a moment here, an Aruban security guard detained and now released, and he's telling quite a story, too. We'll talk to him in a moment, his attorney, too, asking him who he thinks is behind the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

O'BRIEN: Later this morning, jurors said there was not enough evidence to convict Michael Jackson. So where did prosecutors go wrong? D.A. Tom Sneddon is our guest.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: A Republican fund-raiser got a little triple X action. Porn star Mary Carey attended a presidential fund-raiser Tuesday night in Washington, D.C. She says she's going to run for lieutenant governor of California next year.

OK. Carey also attended a lunch where presidential adviser Karl Rove spoke -- Bill.

HEMMER: There is a slate of new ambassadors to be voted on by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today, and among them, President Bush's nominee to be the next ambassador to Iraq. Now, he is a man who seems to easily straddle two worlds.

From the State Department, here's Andrea Koppel on that profile today. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His title since November 2003 has been U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan. But many say Zalmay Khalilzad's responsibilities went far beyond that.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: He's probably one of the most powerful ambassadors the United States has ever had in Afghanistan. Khalilzad is really regarded as being the power behind the throne.

KOPPEL: That's because the man sitting on that figurative throne, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and Khalilzad have a lot in common. Although he's now an American citizen, Khalilzad was born in Afghanistan in 1951 and is an ethnic Pashtun, the same tribe as President Karzai.

Back then, Afghanistan was a monarchy, and Khalilzad's father served as an aide to Afghanistan's king. Zalmay, meanwhile, attended an English language school in Kabul. While still in high school, he traveled to the U.S. as an exchange student, where he pursued his love of basketball.

After earning a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, Khalilzad quickly built the resume of a Washington insider, serving former U.S. presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, advising the U.S. government during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s and the Iran-Iraq war in the early '90s. During this period, Khalilzad worked closely with Paul Wolfowitz, the former deputy secretary of defense, and other key players in the current Bush administration.

BERGEN: He came with the -- with very good links to the Bush administration, with long service in the U.S. government, with long experience in Afghan politics, dealing with groups like the Taliban or oil companies who were trying to build oil pipelines through Afghanistan.

KOPPEL (on camera): In his native Pashtun dialect, Zalmay's name translates as "a very nice, brave man," qualities Khalilzad needed during his 18-month tenure in post-Taliban Afghanistan and will certainly need to draw upon during his next diplomatic change as the U.S. ambassador to Iraq.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, at the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Khalilzad also testified last week before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That nomination expected to win full Senate approval.

In a moment, we'll talk live to one of the first suspects in the Natalee Holloway case, now a free man. What does he think happened to that teenager?

Back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Back to the Natalee Holloway case now. Police in Aruba keeping quiet about what they found during a large-scale search on Tuesday. However, a spokesman for the island's government saying he heard through unofficial sources that no clues were found there on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, one of the released security guards is talking. Mickey John is his name, a security guard who is now free. He is live in Aruba, along with his attorney, Lorraina Peters (ph).

And we say good morning to both of you down there.

Mickey, it's my understanding on Sunday you had a conversation with one of these suspects while you both were in custody. Give me a sense for, was this a jail cell, was it a holding area? Or give me a sense of the atmosphere for where this conversation took place.

MICKEY JOHN, RELEASED SECURITY GUARD: Yes, it was -- I was closing (ph) in cell number 20, and he came into cell number 22, which was very close to me. So I decided to ask him a few (INAUDIBLE) we asked for, you know, introduction. "Who are you and what are you here for?"

He said his name was Depak.

HEMMER: How long did this conversation last then?

JOHN: It last more or less five, 10 minutes.

HEMMER: And it was only the one time, is that what you're saying?

JOHN: Excuse me?

HEMMER: It was only just that one time, that one conversation?

JOHN: We talked about -- we talked about other things, like life in general. But (INAUDIBLE) just this one conversation.

HEMMER: All right. Now, how did the whole issue of Natalee Holloway come up in that conversation?

JOHN: Yes, well, the guy entered a cell room. I asked him what was his name. He said his name was Depak.

I asked him, "What are you here for?" He said he was here for the missing girl case. So I decided to ask him a few questions, because I knew I was one of the suspects, so I have to get some information of what's taking place over there.

HEMMER: I would say, yes. What questions did you want to know?

JOHN: Because, in fact, I know I'm innocent. I asked him, "Do you look at the news?" He said, "Yes." I asked him, "You saw the guy on the news?" He said, "Yes." I asked him, "Where do you think the guy from?" He said he thinks the guy's from Grenada. So right away I knew he was talking about me.

HEMMER: But you have said, though, that he changed his story or that he was lying or had lied to police. Is that what you stand by?

JOHN: Yes, sir, because I ask him if it's true that they really dropped the guy off -- girl off at the Holiday Inn. And he said no.

He said all the story had been made up. He said the girl has never been dropped off at the Holiday Inn.

He said the truth, in fact, they took the girl -- he, his brother and the Dutch guy took the girl from Carlos 'N Charlie's, they went down to the California lighthouse. He didn't say what they did at the lighthouse.

On the way back, they dropped the Dutch girl -- the Dutch guy with the girl, close to the Marriott area. He went home, online, on his computer. And he said like an hour -- hour later, the guy sent him a text message on his cell phone, saying that when he got home, he would also go online with him, which apparently he had seen that the guy was still out at this time.

HEMMER: So this suspect and his brother drop off their friend, the young Dutch teenager, and Natalee Holloway, at this location near the Marriott. Do you believe that's why they're now searching this area, or were yesterday, anyway?

JOHN: I guess so. I suppose so.

HEMMER: That's just your hunch, but you're not quite sure, right?

JOHN: I'm not quite sure. But I assume that (INAUDIBLE) from my statement, they are searching that area.

HEMMER: Yes. And so are you able to fill in the pieces for us today as to what happened if the story is true? Because initially, we were told that she was dropped off at the Holiday Inn, but there's no evidence to suggest that that story's indeed the case.

What happened to Natalee Holloway and this young Dutch kid at the Marriott beach in the middle of the night some two weeks ago?

JOHN: I have no idea, sir. He didn't comment on that. I have absolutely no idea what took place there. All I can recall him saying, the girl was very, very intoxicated, she was very drunk. He told me that.

HEMMER: And were the others drunk, too? Were they drinking that night?

JOHN: He tell me they wasn't drunk, they were OK. He said the girl was very drunk. HEMMER: Now, there's another report that suggests that the three of these guys get together -- or got together the next morning, and they were sitting by a pool and put together this story about what they would tell police. Do you know anything about that?

JOHN: No, sir.

HEMMER: But at this point, you're a free man.

JOHN: Yes, sir.

HEMMER: How do you feel about that?

JOHN: I feel great to be back with my friends and family again.

HEMMER: Were you concerned for a while?

JOHN: Yes, I was concerned. But I know eventually I'd be out, because I was innocent from the start. So I knew it was just a matter of time, but I would be out.

HEMMER: Yes. Do you think police believed your story, Mickey?

JOHN: Yes, they believe me, because they know they had absolutely no evidence pointing towards me. They investigated me (INAUDIBLE) Sunday, took a statement on Monday, and that was it. I've been closed -- behind closed doors, and nobody came to see me again for the investigation.

HEMMER: Yes. Well, Mickey, thanks for your time. Do you think they'll ever -- I imagine if they've got questions, they'll come back to you, right?

JOHN: Of course, anytime.

HEMMER: All right.

JOHN: I'll do my best.

HEMMER: Good luck to you, Mickey.

JOHN: Thank you very much.

HEMMER: Mickey John, your attorney Lorraina Peters (ph) down there in Palm Beach, Aruba. Thanks -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, prosecutor Tom Sneddon tells us how Michael Jackson's accuser reacted to the verdict. That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired June 15, 2005 - 09:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: From Canada to Mexico, the coast is clear after an earthquake and tsunami warning rattled the Pacific Seaboard. Obviously, those are not the pictures we're talking about. We've got a live report, though, on that story just ahead.
Also ahead this morning, a live interview with the Aruban security guards detained, now released in the Natalee Holloway case.

And one of the most controversial issues in the war on terror, senators debating the future of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

Those stories all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

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

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. Nine o'clock -- 9:02, in fact, here in New York City. More on this deadly attack that took place in Iraq today.

O'BRIEN: In fact, 23 Iraqi soldiers killed, it seems, by a suicide bomber who was somehow able to get on to an Iraqi military base. We've got a live report from Baghdad just ahead this morning.

HEMMER: That is one of our headlines. And the others with Carol Costello now.

Hey, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I have them right here. Good morning. Good morning to all of you.

Californians bracing for possible aftershocks following a major earthquake last night. The 7.0 quake struck about 90 miles off the coast of northern California. A tsunami warning for coastal areas issued shortly after the quake, but it was canceled about an hour later. No reports of damage or injuries.

The Guantanamo Bay prison camp takes center stage at a hearing on Capitol Hill. The Senate Judiciary Committee is focusing on the treatment of prisoners at Gitmo. The hearing comes a day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended the facility, saying it's implemented numerous reforms regarding the treatment of detainees. We'll take you live to Capitol Hill for more details about that hearing just ahead. Three young men still in custody in connection with the disappearance of an Alabama teenager. These are new pictures in to CNN, and the area searched on Tuesday. Authorities combed a mangrove swamp near a Marriott hotel, but that search didn't turn up any new leads.

In the meantime, Mickey John, a security guard formally held in connection with the case, says one of the three suspects told him they dropped Holloway off near that Marriott. We'll talk to John live in just a few minutes.

President Bush turning up the heat for Congress to act on an energy plan. The president says the U.S. needs a strategy to become less dependent on foreign oil. The House passed an energy bill earlier this year. The Senate began debate on its own energy bill this week.

And a man who deserted his Army unit in Korea 40 years ago says he's very happy to be home. Charles Jenkins is visiting his 91-year- old mother in North Carolina. He hasn't seen her since 1965.

Jenkins pleaded guilty to desertion and aiding the enemy last year. He does plan to return to Japan next week and never to return to the United States again.

O'BRIEN: Not exactly a warm welcome from folks in his hometown.

COSTELLO: No. His neighbors feel he's a traitor.

HEMMER: Thanks, Carol.

We are watching several stories developing now from Iraq. A very deadly suicide bombing.

Jennifer Eccleston live in Baghdad now.

And Jennifer, how many casualties in this suicide bombing?

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, Bill, we know that 23 Iraqi soldiers killed have been killed when a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt detonated his lethal package at a restaurant within an Iraqi army military base north of Baghdad, outside of the town of Baqubah. And as we said, we know 23 soldiers were killed, and upwards of 28 others were wounded.

It happened during the busy lunchtime period. And that is why we're such seeing high casualty tolls -- Bill.

HEMMER: There is good news to report today, too, and news that affects the folks back in Australia. Tell us about that, Jennifer.

ECCLESTON: That's right. Well, it was announced today from Australia's prime minister, John Howard, that one of their nationals, Douglas Wood, taken hostage six weeks ago here in Iraq, was freed from his captors by an Iraqi military operation which was conducting a routine search and cordon operation in northwest Baghdad when they came upon Wood.

A U.S. official tells CNN that the Iraqi operation met light resistance and several people have been detained. We also now know that he is in the hands of the Australian military, and he is said to be in good -- good health.

Of course, he's 63 years old. He was a contractor here in Iraq, worked for a year. He is a resident, a longtime resident of California. He has an American wife.

The last time we saw him was on an insurgent video on May 1, where he was pleading for his life. And he was also asking Australia's government to remove its some 1,400 troops from the country. Of course the Australian government did not give into the demands of the kidnappers, but they did send an emergency response team here to help secure his release. And we're expecting within this hour a press conference from one member of that emergency response team to give us the details of his relief -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thanks, Jennifer. Jennifer Eccleston from Baghdad -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Residents evacuated from a quiet Florida street could return home as early as today. They were forced form their homes on Monday when a cargo plane crash-landed in their neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale.

The vintage DC3 came down just after takeoff. Remarkably, all three men on board escaped.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Charles Riggs was the pilot. He's in Fort Lauderdale this morning.

It's nice to see you, Charles. Thanks for talking with us.

It's pretty much a miracle, I have to say, that nobody died in this crash, because when you look at the pictures of the wreckage that's left of this plane, it's pretty amazing to look at. When did you realize that you had a problem?

CHARLES RIGGS, PILOT: Well, absolutely immediately after takeoff, maybe 100 feet in the air.

O'BRIEN: What was wrong?

RIGGS: We started losing power on the left engine. And, you know, we had -- we had to work pretty quick because we were close to the ground. And we went through emergency procedures. They weren't, you know, working quite correctly, and so we had to pick a spot to land.

O'BRIEN: How did you pick where you were going to land? Because as we mentioned, we're not talking about the bunch of cornfields and you kind of have your choice; we're talking about neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale.

RIGGS: Right. Well, there was a major artery commercial boulevard close by, loaded with cars, and this was the next road that was available to us.

O'BRIEN: I've read that you said it wasn't just the cars or the lack of cars which made it a good spot, that also you saw a lot of trees. Why was that a good thing?

RIGGS: Well, trees will help slow the aircraft down, which is actually what happened, and we only, you know, rolled maybe 300 feet.

O'BRIEN: So you hit the ground, you roll 300 feet, and you are essentially on fire. How did you all get out?

RIGGS: Well, the impact caused the fire, and we opened an emergency escape hatch, and the cargo handler jumped out, and the copilot was next, and then I got out.

O'BRIEN: The people in the neighborhood said that it's no exaggeration to say they could lean out and touch the plane from their apartments practically, because you were that close to all the residences. You must have been very concerned about the people on the ground, of course.

RIGGS: Yes. After everything was over, you know, we were worried, and there was actually people trying to approach the aircraft while she was burning, and then she exploded a few times. We were, you know, happy that no one did get really hurt on the ground.

O'BRIEN: This was, I've read, was not your first rough landing, that you've actually had a fair amount of experience in non-optimal conditions for bringing a plane down. You were in Vietnam. Tell me a little bit about how that experience affected what you did in this incident.

RIGGS: Well, I think you just have to use everything you have in your brain to, you know, try and get the aircraft on the ground safely, and to preserve, you know, people's lives on the ground.

O'BRIEN: Did you feel like you'd flashed back to Vietnam or something?

RIGGS: Well, maybe after, but you're pretty busy when all that's happening.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I would bet you are.

At the end of the day when you look at some of these pictures and you sort of figure that's everybody's fine, thank God, do you feel like it was a matter of skill, or that this was just an out-and-out miracle that this all ended pretty well?

RIGGS: Well, we picked the spot, and I think, you know, God had a major part in it after that. And we -- the three of us, you know, hobbled and ran away. O'BRIEN: A little bit of both is what you're saying.

Charles Riggs, joining us from Fort Lauderdale. We are happy to see that you are alive and well, your team as well, and everybody on the ground, too. Thanks for talking with us.

RIGGS: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Job well done.

Ten minutes past the hour now. It's been hot in the Northeast. That will end today for many. Not for all, but for many.

Tuesday, temperatures soared past 90 -- 97 in Newark. The heat index was well over 100. Many schools let out early, and some will do the same today.

Just three weeks ago, the high temp here in New York was 53 degrees. On Tuesday, it was 91 degrees in Central Park, and a record- breaking 95 at Kennedy -- Kennedy's airport.

Summer's still about a week away, too. So as we zero in on that, we're also watching this cold front move in, too.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: In a moment here, an Aruban security guard detained and now released, and he's telling quite a story, too. We'll talk to him in a moment, his attorney, too, asking him who he thinks is behind the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

O'BRIEN: Later this morning, jurors said there was not enough evidence to convict Michael Jackson. So where did prosecutors go wrong? D.A. Tom Sneddon is our guest.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: A Republican fund-raiser got a little triple X action. Porn star Mary Carey attended a presidential fund-raiser Tuesday night in Washington, D.C. She says she's going to run for lieutenant governor of California next year.

OK. Carey also attended a lunch where presidential adviser Karl Rove spoke -- Bill.

HEMMER: There is a slate of new ambassadors to be voted on by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today, and among them, President Bush's nominee to be the next ambassador to Iraq. Now, he is a man who seems to easily straddle two worlds.

From the State Department, here's Andrea Koppel on that profile today. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His title since November 2003 has been U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan. But many say Zalmay Khalilzad's responsibilities went far beyond that.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: He's probably one of the most powerful ambassadors the United States has ever had in Afghanistan. Khalilzad is really regarded as being the power behind the throne.

KOPPEL: That's because the man sitting on that figurative throne, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and Khalilzad have a lot in common. Although he's now an American citizen, Khalilzad was born in Afghanistan in 1951 and is an ethnic Pashtun, the same tribe as President Karzai.

Back then, Afghanistan was a monarchy, and Khalilzad's father served as an aide to Afghanistan's king. Zalmay, meanwhile, attended an English language school in Kabul. While still in high school, he traveled to the U.S. as an exchange student, where he pursued his love of basketball.

After earning a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, Khalilzad quickly built the resume of a Washington insider, serving former U.S. presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, advising the U.S. government during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s and the Iran-Iraq war in the early '90s. During this period, Khalilzad worked closely with Paul Wolfowitz, the former deputy secretary of defense, and other key players in the current Bush administration.

BERGEN: He came with the -- with very good links to the Bush administration, with long service in the U.S. government, with long experience in Afghan politics, dealing with groups like the Taliban or oil companies who were trying to build oil pipelines through Afghanistan.

KOPPEL (on camera): In his native Pashtun dialect, Zalmay's name translates as "a very nice, brave man," qualities Khalilzad needed during his 18-month tenure in post-Taliban Afghanistan and will certainly need to draw upon during his next diplomatic change as the U.S. ambassador to Iraq.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, at the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Khalilzad also testified last week before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That nomination expected to win full Senate approval.

In a moment, we'll talk live to one of the first suspects in the Natalee Holloway case, now a free man. What does he think happened to that teenager?

Back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Back to the Natalee Holloway case now. Police in Aruba keeping quiet about what they found during a large-scale search on Tuesday. However, a spokesman for the island's government saying he heard through unofficial sources that no clues were found there on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, one of the released security guards is talking. Mickey John is his name, a security guard who is now free. He is live in Aruba, along with his attorney, Lorraina Peters (ph).

And we say good morning to both of you down there.

Mickey, it's my understanding on Sunday you had a conversation with one of these suspects while you both were in custody. Give me a sense for, was this a jail cell, was it a holding area? Or give me a sense of the atmosphere for where this conversation took place.

MICKEY JOHN, RELEASED SECURITY GUARD: Yes, it was -- I was closing (ph) in cell number 20, and he came into cell number 22, which was very close to me. So I decided to ask him a few (INAUDIBLE) we asked for, you know, introduction. "Who are you and what are you here for?"

He said his name was Depak.

HEMMER: How long did this conversation last then?

JOHN: It last more or less five, 10 minutes.

HEMMER: And it was only the one time, is that what you're saying?

JOHN: Excuse me?

HEMMER: It was only just that one time, that one conversation?

JOHN: We talked about -- we talked about other things, like life in general. But (INAUDIBLE) just this one conversation.

HEMMER: All right. Now, how did the whole issue of Natalee Holloway come up in that conversation?

JOHN: Yes, well, the guy entered a cell room. I asked him what was his name. He said his name was Depak.

I asked him, "What are you here for?" He said he was here for the missing girl case. So I decided to ask him a few questions, because I knew I was one of the suspects, so I have to get some information of what's taking place over there.

HEMMER: I would say, yes. What questions did you want to know?

JOHN: Because, in fact, I know I'm innocent. I asked him, "Do you look at the news?" He said, "Yes." I asked him, "You saw the guy on the news?" He said, "Yes." I asked him, "Where do you think the guy from?" He said he thinks the guy's from Grenada. So right away I knew he was talking about me.

HEMMER: But you have said, though, that he changed his story or that he was lying or had lied to police. Is that what you stand by?

JOHN: Yes, sir, because I ask him if it's true that they really dropped the guy off -- girl off at the Holiday Inn. And he said no.

He said all the story had been made up. He said the girl has never been dropped off at the Holiday Inn.

He said the truth, in fact, they took the girl -- he, his brother and the Dutch guy took the girl from Carlos 'N Charlie's, they went down to the California lighthouse. He didn't say what they did at the lighthouse.

On the way back, they dropped the Dutch girl -- the Dutch guy with the girl, close to the Marriott area. He went home, online, on his computer. And he said like an hour -- hour later, the guy sent him a text message on his cell phone, saying that when he got home, he would also go online with him, which apparently he had seen that the guy was still out at this time.

HEMMER: So this suspect and his brother drop off their friend, the young Dutch teenager, and Natalee Holloway, at this location near the Marriott. Do you believe that's why they're now searching this area, or were yesterday, anyway?

JOHN: I guess so. I suppose so.

HEMMER: That's just your hunch, but you're not quite sure, right?

JOHN: I'm not quite sure. But I assume that (INAUDIBLE) from my statement, they are searching that area.

HEMMER: Yes. And so are you able to fill in the pieces for us today as to what happened if the story is true? Because initially, we were told that she was dropped off at the Holiday Inn, but there's no evidence to suggest that that story's indeed the case.

What happened to Natalee Holloway and this young Dutch kid at the Marriott beach in the middle of the night some two weeks ago?

JOHN: I have no idea, sir. He didn't comment on that. I have absolutely no idea what took place there. All I can recall him saying, the girl was very, very intoxicated, she was very drunk. He told me that.

HEMMER: And were the others drunk, too? Were they drinking that night?

JOHN: He tell me they wasn't drunk, they were OK. He said the girl was very drunk. HEMMER: Now, there's another report that suggests that the three of these guys get together -- or got together the next morning, and they were sitting by a pool and put together this story about what they would tell police. Do you know anything about that?

JOHN: No, sir.

HEMMER: But at this point, you're a free man.

JOHN: Yes, sir.

HEMMER: How do you feel about that?

JOHN: I feel great to be back with my friends and family again.

HEMMER: Were you concerned for a while?

JOHN: Yes, I was concerned. But I know eventually I'd be out, because I was innocent from the start. So I knew it was just a matter of time, but I would be out.

HEMMER: Yes. Do you think police believed your story, Mickey?

JOHN: Yes, they believe me, because they know they had absolutely no evidence pointing towards me. They investigated me (INAUDIBLE) Sunday, took a statement on Monday, and that was it. I've been closed -- behind closed doors, and nobody came to see me again for the investigation.

HEMMER: Yes. Well, Mickey, thanks for your time. Do you think they'll ever -- I imagine if they've got questions, they'll come back to you, right?

JOHN: Of course, anytime.

HEMMER: All right.

JOHN: I'll do my best.

HEMMER: Good luck to you, Mickey.

JOHN: Thank you very much.

HEMMER: Mickey John, your attorney Lorraina Peters (ph) down there in Palm Beach, Aruba. Thanks -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, prosecutor Tom Sneddon tells us how Michael Jackson's accuser reacted to the verdict. That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com