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CNN Live Today

Military Matters; Guarding a Dictator

Aired June 21, 2005 -   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, dramatic images of a fire burning furiously in Phoenix. It's near the Sunset Point area. Many highways are closed and traffic is jammed and riders rerouted. Take a look at these pictures. The wildfire has burned about 1,200 acres since Monday. It's said to be 40 percent contained.
President Bush says he has accepted an invitation to visit Vietnam, where he will attend next year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. Mr. Bush made the announcement this morning after meeting with the prime minister of Vietnam. The two leaders met at the White House, highlighting ten years since the U.S. and Vietnam normalized relations.

Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas have just wrapped up talks in Jerusalem today. It was their first meeting since the two leaders announced a ceasefire agreement in February. The summit focused on the Gaza pull-out, preventing attacks on Israel and Israelis and implementing previous agreements.

And the final resting place for Terri Schiavo. Michael Schiavo buried the ashes of his late wife in a Florida cemetery Monday, beneath a bronze grave marker that reads, quote, "I kept my promise." It lists February 25th, 1990, as the day she, quote, "departed this Earth." That's the day Terri Schiavo suffered brain damage. Schiavo's parents were not in attendance.

And now there's a whole new way to get your news on the Web, with free video at CNN.com. Just log on to our Web site and click onto "Watch" to check out the most popular stories. It's free video under your command, now at CNN.com.

Talking Iraq now and military might is the focus. Our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre joins us. And Jamie, you've got new information on troop strength and the strength of the vehicles they ride in?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Tony.

Lieutenant General John Vines, essentially the number two in command in Iraq, briefed reporters here at the Pentagon this morning via a live hookup with Baghdad. He noted that May was the deadliest month for attacks against the civilian population in Iraq since the end of major combat. He compared the foreign fighters to what he called a terrorist cruise missile, in that they can target a specific element without having to worry about their own survival. Because of that and other reasons he indicated, there's no thinking now about reducing the 138,000 U.S. troops that are still in Iraq.

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LIEUTENANT GENERAL JOHN VINES: Clearly, we know that insurgents will do everything they can to disrupt ratification of a constitution. To them, that's a terrifying event, that the government is established in Iraq. The decision ultimately of whether or not and when to draw down will not be made at my level. I will be a part of that recommendation.

At this point, I would not be prepared to recommend a drawdown prior to the election. Certainly not any significant numbers. It may be that some of the units that are here now we will not ask for replacements. And we continue to assess that and we're not at the point where we make that decision yet.

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MCINTYRE: The comments come as there were sharp questions today on Capitol Hill of the House Armed Services Committee about the failure of Marine leadership to act quickly enough to provide protection for humvees, used by U.S. Marines in Iraq. The chairman of the committee, Duncan Hunter, said that his own inspection revealed that some of the Marine NCOs had come up with short-term solutions that would have saved life and limb by protecting the undersides of these vulnerable humvees, but that the Marine Corps dragged its feet because of concerns about getting a better solution. That prompted this response from Chairman Hunter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DUNCAN HUNTER, (R) CALIFORNIA: This is a sad day for us. It's a sad day because we've got Marines out there in the theater who are fighting with a great sense of urgency for our country. And they take advantage of every opportunity to try to be creative, to try to be aggressive, to try to be courageous, to serve this country. The bureaucracy, gentlemen, that you head up back here, while it's done some good things -- it's made good contracts, you've got some humvees moving, you've got some armor moving -- is resistant to moving this thing with a sense of urgency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Now, two top Marine Corps generals conceded they could have done more to push a short-term contract to get steel to Marines in the field so they could armor those humvees, but they insisted that they were pursuing many options. And they say that now a special kit that armor the humvees, including the undersides and the sides, are in place and are providing protection as they examine options for the rest of the humvee fleet.

Interestingly, Tony, at this hearing, questions were raised about the utility of the humvee in the long term. Is it really a vehicle that is up to the threat that's being faced by U.S. troops in the field? And the consensus of the Marine Corps generals is maybe not.

HARRIS: CNN senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, for us. Jamie, thank you.

In Iraq today, another U.S. soldier is killed in a bomb attack. The soldier died after a bomb exploded during a combat logistics patrol. Another dozen people were killed in separate attacks on Iraqi security forces and civilians.

Meanwhile, in northwest England, police arrest a man in connection with suicide bomb attacks against coalition forces in Iraq. Police did not identify the man, but they assured residents of the neighborhood in Manchester that there's no threat to their immediate area.

We are learning more about deposed dictator Saddam Hussein from two of the U.S. troops who were assigned to guard him. CNN's Adaora Udoji reports on some of the surprising revelations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You'd never guess Saddam Hussein, the poster child for brutally violent dictator, has a soft spot for American junk food.

SEAN O'SHEA, FORMER HUSSEIN GUARD: So we gave him the Cheetos and he really liked them. And he would always ask for them. And we ran out of Cheetos, so we got him Doritos, and like that was just -- the Doritos were his favorite.

UDOJI: That's not all 20-year-old Specialist Sean O'Shea and 22- year-old Corporal Jonathan Reese learned guarding Hussein after his capture in Iraq.

The fallen leader hates Fruit Loops cereal, preferring Raisin Bran Crunch instead. Saddam also has a fondness for tattoos.

JONATHAN REESE, FORMER HUSSEIN GUARD: He actually has two of them, I do believe. The one is on his forearm right here and it's actually, it just looks like a stick figure. And he said it was from a gazelle, something. I think that's what he said. It was a gazelle, what he got when he was a young boy.

UDOJI: Guarding the notorious leader was O'Shea and Reese's first big assignment in the National Guard, coming straight from small town Pennsylvania. However unlikely over the course of 298 days, they got to know Saddam well.

(on camera): Did he treat you like sons?

O'SHEA: He actually referred to us as his sons. Actually, he invited us back once the war is over.

REESE: Yes.

O'SHEA: He says he's going to be president again.

UDOJI: What did he tell you about women? O'SHEA: He said, well, you have to find a woman. He goes, not too smart, not too dumb. He goes, in the middle, one that can cook and can clean.

UDOJI (voice-over): That's advice from an accused mass murderer. They say he spent his time writing poetry, tending to his flowers and smoking cigars. What's more, the man with a preference for perfectly tailored suits and uniforms was reduced to washing his own clothes by hand.

(on camera): He was very obsessed with cleanliness?

O'SHEA: We'd give him breakfast and, you know, he'd get his plastic fork and spoon, wipe it down and wipe -- he had a little table. He'd wipe that down, everything, his hands, wash them before and after he ate.

UDOJI (voice-over): Everything they learned was a secret. They couldn't tell their friends or family until they came home. A job of a lifetime, an intimate experience with a man the U.S. launched a war against, a man they will never see the same way again.

Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: As Saddam Hussein awaits his day in court, here in the U.S., it seems Americans are becoming more dissatisfied with the war in Iraq. That's according to the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll. Nearly six in 10 oppose the war in Iraq. That's a 12-percentage point jump since March. Thirty-nine percent of respondents now favor the war. Compare that with 47 percent in March, and 71 percent two years ago.

It's often one of the most difficult aspects of coping with cancer, dealing with the side effects of the treatments. If you or a loved one are facing this, stick around to see how it works and what you can do to make the process easier to live with.

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HARRIS: And this is video just in to CNN. This is of a helicopter crash. Take look at this, a helicopter crash in central Sweden. You can see the chopper there go down, tip to its side, on to its rotor blades and there it is. A helicopter crash in central Sweden. It went down in a small town, we understand, northwest of Stockholm. Six people on board that helicopter as it went down. And at this time, no immediate word of the conditions of the people onboard that helicopter.

Once again, pictures just in of a helicopter crash in central Sweden. We'll get the latest information and try to learn the conditions of the people onboard. Six people onboard that helicopter as it went down.

There is still more to come this hour, but first here's a preview of what's coming up in the noon hour on "YOUR WORLD TODAY."

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Jim Clancy.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Zain Verjee.

Coming up at the top of the hour, will fresh violence bulldoze hopes for productive talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders?

CLANCY: On the heels of election gains, Lebanon's anti-Syrian block loses another supporter in a fatal bombing.

And...

VERJEE: America through the eyes of Palestinians, how distrust is affecting efforts to win a lasting peace.

All that and more just ahead on CNN International.

CLANCY: YOUR WORLD TODAY, join us.

HARRIS: And in our "Daily Dose" of health news, coping with cancer treatments. A cancer diagnosis is devastating for patients and their families. But a new book tries to replace fear with facts and help patients understand their treatment options. The book is "Chemotherapy and Radiation for Dummies." Radiation oncologist Dr. Humberto Fagundes and reporter Patricia Corrigan are two of the authors, and they're with us form St. Louis, Missouri.

Good morning to both of you.

PATRICIA CORRIGAN, "ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH": Good morning.

DR. HUMBERTO FAGUNDES, RADIATION ONCOLOGIST: Good morning.

HARRIS: Hey, there is another co-author. What is his name?

CORRIGAN: Dr. Alan Lyss. He couldn't be with us this morning. He's busy saving people's lives.

HARRIS: Very good. But we want to certainly give him credit for his efforts on this book.

And, Patricia, let me start with you. As a cancer survivor, why do you feel this book was needed and necessary? What did you learn through the process and in the process of writing this book that might have been helpful as you were going through your own personal ordeal?

CORRIGAN: I wish I had had this book when I was going through chemotherapy and radiation, and having had those treatments, I had sort of an edge as a writer. I remembered so many tiny details, things that were difficult to deal with or just confusing to deal with. And I think what's in this book is, it's a map, actually; it's a step-by-step journey through the process, very easy to understand. Some of the information certainly is complicated, but it's very easy to understand. It's in that famous dummies format that leads you through one step at a time. HARRIS: Patricia, give us a couple examples of a couple of things you would have liked to have known.

CORRIGAN: Some of the side effects, I would have liked to have known different ways to handle side effects, and certainly I was in touch with my doctors at the time and my chemo nurse, and they were helpful. But I think Over time, I heard many, many people's stories, telling me what their experiences were, and of course I read about it as well. There are so many different things that happen to people that you just simply don't expect. And sometimes it's good not to know what to expect because not every person experiences every side effect certainly, but it's good to know.

HARRIS: And Dr. Fagundes, let me ask you what might appear to be a silly question. You're a doctor. You've got the expertise in this matter. Did you learn anything in the process of working on this book?

DR. HUMBERTO FAGUNDES, RADIATION ONCOLOGIST: Absolutely. I think a very important lesson to me is, number one, although we spend a great deal of time with patients during a consult, sometimes as much as an hour and a half or two, it is absolutely impossible to cover absolutely every single detail that patients go through, no matter how much or how detailed your initial consult is.

Reading this book, four, maybe five times in the process of writing it with Pat and Dr. Lyss, I learned that it's virtually impossible to cover all ends. So I think the book provides patients with a very detailed and understandable sequence of events while going through it.

Another issue that caught my eye as we completed the book -- I was asked a couple of times, so, doctor, when are we going to find the cure for cancer? And it dawned on me that we don't make it loud and clear enough to patients that we cure thousands of patients with the current modalities we have in place, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. So many, many patients -- they should be presented with that fact. Many, many, many patients with prostate cancer, breast cancer and other cancers are literally cured with the current modalities.

HARRIS: Wow. That information and more information can be found in the book "Chemotherapy and Radiation for Dummies." Patricia, Doctor, thank you both for taking the time to talk to us. We appreciate it.

CORRIGAN: Thank you so much.

FAGUNDES: Thank you.

And for your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical stories, special reports and a health library. The address is CNN.com/health.

We will be right back.

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HARRIS: And that's it for CNN LIVE TODAY. I'm Tony Harris, in for Daryn Kagan. International news is up next. Stay tuned for "YOUR WORLD TODAY" with Jim Clancy and Zain Verjee, after a quick break.

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