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American Morning

Border Troops; Immigration Battle; Toxic Backyards; Baghdad ER

Aired May 15, 2006 - 07:30   ET

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


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Top stories now.
President Bush to unveil a plan to send thousands of National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexican border to help stem the tide of illegal immigration. White House sources telling our Ed Henry fewer than 10,000 guard troops will be deployed and they will serve in support roles to the U.S. border patrol.

If you are eligible for that Medicare prescription drug plan and you have not sign up, you better get on the phone today. The deadline is midnight. About 42 million eligibles Americans have not yet signed up. If you have a question, call 1-800-633-4227. That's the number to sign up as well. The National Guard called out in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Heavy rains have washed out roads and are threatening homes. Half of New Hampshire's 10 counties have been under flood warnings.

Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

We've got some new information now on the president's plan for sending National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. CNN is learning that the troops would be involved only in surveillance and security. Wouldn't be expected to arrest anybody who's trying to cross the border illegally. Let's get right to CNN's Barbara Starr. She's live at the Pentagon for us.

Hey, Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

More information now about how all of this is expected to shape up. National Guard source tell CNN absolutely no arrests, no detention activities that they expect to be doing. In fact, they possibly could be largely out of sight in some cases. They will not conduct law enforcement. They will be backing up federal border patrol authorities. That is the plan at the moment.

What our sources are telling us is the National Guard is now talking to the governors of the four states involved in all of this and it is expected there will be separate agreements with each of the four states. The idea is that they will not be involved in law enforcement. Surveillance, security, that type of thing. They may not even be involved in detaining or holding people once they are arrested by the border patrol authorities. The National Guard says they are simply going to be in a support role. They already have about 350 National Good troops on that border. This will be a few thousand more but significantly less than 10,000 we are told.

Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes. How does that math work when you consider where other National Guard troops are right now? I mean will the National Guard be stretched too thin?

STARR: Well, what they are saying is absolutely not. Of course the National Guard's most significant commitment, if you will, in the field is to Iraq. Let's look at those numbers.

Back in March of '05, there were over 50,000 National Guard troops deployed to Iraq. It has gone down somewhat. Now about 23,000 National Guard troops in Iraq. And they expect to go down even further. Less troops in Iraq in the months ahead.

Of course, the National Guard expecting that it will be asked to participate if there's another significant hurricane in the United States and any follow up after that. They participate in forest fires. They say they have plenty of troops to do all of it.

Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us. Barbara, thank you.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: Now even though those National Guard troops are in a back-up role, as Barbara just mentioned, just the mention of U.S. soldiers along the border raises anger and concern in one small Texas town where one of their own was gunned down by U.S. Marines nine years ago. Ed Lavandera live now along the border in El Paso.

Good morning, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

Those lights you see in the distance behind me is Warez (ph), Mexico. The huge border city just across the border from El Paso. And around here, when, as you mentioned, when you do talk about bringing the military back to the border, people around here tend to remember when that experiment failed several years ago they say with deadly consequences.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA, (voice over): On a dusty hilltop overlooking Redford, Texas, a simple white cross marks the spot where 18-year-old Esequiel Hernandez was shot and killed nine years ago. But how he died is a story that still angers the 100 people who live in this far flung border town 200 miles east of El Paso. ENRIQUE MADRID, REDFORD, TEXAS, RESIDENT: He wasn't a criminal. He wasn't a drug trafficker. He wasn't a terrorist. He was a teenager. He was going to high school. He was herding goats.

LAVANDERA: Hernandez was carrying a low powered rifle, like many people do here, as the walked his goats near the Mexican border. But hiding in the low lying brush were four U.S. Marines who suspected he was a drug smugglers. The Marines were part of a military task force helping local law enforcement agencies fight the drug cartels.

But what exactly happened on May 20, 1997, has been disputed over the years. The Marines say Hernandez fired at them first. His family doubts that.

But what is certain is that a Marine fired one shot from almost 200 yards away and killed Hernandez. The Marines were cleared of wrongdoing, but the controversy forced the federal government to pull the troops out for good. The idea of bringing back the military does not sit well with people like Enrique Madrid who has lived here all his life.

MADRID: As sure as the sun rises and sets, they are going to kill more people on this border. And that is the danger when you bring troops to the border because you militarize an area and you make the people of that area the enemies of that military.

DEP. JOHNNY SCHULLER, HUDSPETH COUNTY, TEXAS, SHERIFF'S DEPT.: It's definitely a war. It definitely is.

LAVANDERA: About 100 miles west of Redford, a Hudspeth County sheriff's deputy is on night patrol. One of 12 deputy who patrol a 5,000-square mile chunk of west Texas. Twice this year, photographers have captured what the deputies say are images of well armed men dressed in Mexican military uniforms escorting drugs across the border. The Mexican government has denied any involvement.

Chief Deputy Mike Doyle (ph) says it's a reminder of how local law enforcement agencies along the southern boarder are outgunned by this criminals.

CHIEF DEPUTY MIKE DOYLE: You feel like you're the lone ranger on the frontier sometimes and there's no need for that when there's resources available. We just need them.

LAVANDERA: But in Redford, people look at this cross honoring Esequiel Hernandez and say, be careful what you wish for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: And those two instances there show the dilemma of what these border communities face. And Esequiel Hernandez's family, who I spoke with yesterday as well, is quick to point out that they remind people that President Bush was governor of Texas when 18-year- old Esequiel Hernandez was killed here and they hope that he remembers what happened here in 1997. Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: I'm sure he remembers the story. Ed Lavandera along the border, thank you very much.

A reminder to tune in to CNN 7 p.m. Eastern for coverage of the president's speech. It begins with "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer, and then, of course, the president's remarks at 8:00 Eastern. Lou Dobbs follows, 8:30 Eastern, 9:00 Larry King with more, and at 10:00 p.m. Anderson Cooper, even more.

Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: There are growing health concerns in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. This morning we take you back to Pearlington, Mississippi. You'll recall it's a town that we've been checking in on periodically. Families there are worried not only about rebuilding and recovery but also about some of the dangerous toxins right under their feet and in their water. It's a story you'll see only on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, (voice over): A day hunting Easter eggs should be relaxing, should be carefree. But parents here even worry about playing when their kids are surrounded by dirt and debris.

DENISE SWANSON, PEARLINGTON RESIDENT: This is just what they know. This is their life. They've been out in this little country and have always played barefoot.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: State and federal environmental agencies have tested the air and the water and the soil along Katrina's path for environmental hazards.

MARCUS PEACOCK, E.P.A. DEPUTY DIRECTOR: There were actually 13 facilities that the state and EPA decided to take a closer look at because of the risk that might be posed there. And in, at least at this point, none of the 13 sites have we found contamination which was beyond what it had been historically there.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: So that's pretty good news.

PEACOCK: That is good news.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: We've been checking in on Denise Swanson since Christmas when her five-year-old daughter Lisa (ph) gave us a tour of the cramped travel trailer.

All right. So you sleep down there. And then this is all your stuff.

Lisa and Darien (ph) and Destine (ph) and Carrie (ph) sleep there every night. They're surrounded by mold and debris, standing water and dirt. Shocking conditions, but typical of what many families face in Pearlington. Doctors from a Virginia-based medical group have been treating Pearlington's residents since the storm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you cough every day?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: They found infections and respiratory ailments. We tested the soil where the children play and found barium, lead, mercury and arsenic. The levels acceptable by government standards, but environmental activists who have done local testing, too, say those toxins could harm people already bombarded by so many pollutants.

BECKY GILETTE, SIERRA CLUB: Our results were not much different than the federal government. The difference was that we say, yeah, lead, mercury, dioxin, those things are bad for people.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: We tested the ditch water and sent it off to the local department of health. It showed traces of human and animal waste, fecal coliform and E. coli. It can cause nausea and diarrhea and gastrointestinal problems. The EPA says their test results leave them optimistic that the storm washed in and out but didn't leave behind deadly pollutants.

What's in the dirt that you're concerned about?

PEACOCK: The levels of -- that were found in the soil were not any different from what was there before the -- generally there before the hurricane. So we don't think the hurricane has caused any additional problems. So we can get back to the work of trying to actually improve the environment, rather than having to fight some new releases.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Colombia University studied nearly 700 Katrina families and found children plagued by respiratory problems, infections, injuries and illnesses.

DR. IRWIN REDLENER, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: This, in my estimation, the situation for children, is the biggest humanitarian crisis to face American children for at least 50 years.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Health workers on the ground question the government's optimism.

ANGELA COLE, PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE: There are very serious environmental concerns here.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: As for Denise and her family, they feel trapped in an environmental disaster with nowhere else to go.

LINDA MARTIN, PEARLINGTON RESIDENT: We don't know what we're going to do. I'm not worried about myself, but my grand kids and the younger ones is what worries me because they have a lifetime to live through this, you know, and they've got a long ways to go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN: In Indonesia, thousands are fleeing an erupting volcano. Scientists say Merapi could blow at any moment. One blast already sent ash six miles down the slope. Despite the danger, some are refusing to leave. They actually swept off the ash this morning and they reopened their shops.

Let's check the weather now. Jacqui Jeras in for Chad Myers.

Hello, Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer's "Minding Your Business" just ahead.

What are you looking at?

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, which country, once an arch enemy of the United States, is poised to become much closer to this country? We'll tell you coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: You know, Andy Serwer, this is a departure for you. Frequently we talk about Wal-Mart. We talk about corporate scandals. We talk about airlines in troubles. Vietnam?

SERWER: Vietnam.

MILES O'BRIEN: Vietnam.

SERWER: We talked about Vietnam a little bit because there have been more and more stories about them doing more and more business with the United States. And here's another step in that direction. A new trade agreement is set to be signed between Vietnam and the United States. And this is an important one because this really sets the stage for Vietnam to join the World Trade Organization, the WTO, and the country gets a lot of goodies doing that.

This particular agreement, which is set to be signed over the next couple of weeks, would lowers Vietnamese tariffs on all manner of industrial and farm products. It would also allow banks and telecoms and computer companies to come into this country to do a lot of leasing and that sort of thing. The U.S. is already Vietnam's top trading partner. That's right. They do more business with us than any other country when it comes to exports, $6.5 billion.

MILES O'BRIEN: Interesting turn of history, isn't it?

SERWER: It sure is. Diplomatic relations were established in 1995. There are 149 countries in the WTO. So Vietnam might be number 150 sometime later this year.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right. Andy, thank you.

SERWER: Thank you.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, we're going to tell you about this new documentary. It's on HBO. Takes viewers inside an U.S. combat hospital in Baghdad. It is so graphic the Pentagon's concerned how soldiers seeing it will react. We've got a preview just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: After three years of war in Iraq, it's still very hard to picture exactly what it is like for U.S. troops who are serving there. There's a new HBO documentary that allows us all to see a very personal side of what goes on in a Baghdad field hospital. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLONEL GASPER P. JONES III, CSH (ph): This is the 86th Combat Support Hospital. The tip of the spear for army medicine in Iraq. Here in the medical task force 86, we have over 700 soldiers. You can learn about war by walking through this facility. But we do our best, level best, to make sure our people survive and make it back to their homes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Jon Alpert is a co-director of "Baghdad ER." Paula Zwillinger's son spent his final moments there.

Good morning to both of you. I thank you for talking to us.

Jon, let's begin with you. Even in that short clip, I mean it's very clear, it's brutal. It's very graphic. It is very, very tough. Were you surprised at all the access that the military granted you? I mean you're clearly walking in through the doors and seeing everything.

JON ALPERT, CO-DIRECTOR, "BAGHDAD ER": Yes. I really was surprised. But the cooperation that I received from the soldiers there indicated that they wanted the American people to see both their heroism and the cost of this war. And they gave us total access. They never told us we couldn't film anything. I think this celebrates their heroism, but it also very, very clearly holds a mirror up to some of the things that are going on in Iraq that nobody has seen yet.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Did you have a good idea of what you were going to get when you started the project?

ALPERT: I didn't. We arrived at the combat support hospital and in the first two days I think we saw four soldiers getting amputations. And I've never seen anything like that before. We weren't prepared for it. And the soldiers that have to work in that hospital day in and day out, you know, the helicopters never stop. The wounded soldiers just keep coming in over and over. And they're there for a whole year. We were there for two months and it really shook us.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: The military has released a statement that I want to read to you. They say this. "Those who view this documentary may experience many emotions. If they have been station in Iraq, they may re-experience some of the sights and sounds when they were there. They may experience some symptoms of post-traumatic stress, such as flashbacks or nightmares."

They're saying this movie is so tough that some veterans might really have a hard time with it. Have you felt at all that there's been a pulling back of support from the military or do you still feel as supported as you did when you were first invited in?

ALPERT: Not from the soldiers in uniform. And, in fact, when we went to the Pentagon and we screened this for the top soldier in the Army and all his staff, they said that they felt this celebrated the Army, that it captured the soul of the Army and they wanted all Americans to see it and they also wanted everybody in the military to see it and they began programing this at bases all around the country.

At some point the office of the secretary at the Army, this is the civilian side, the guys that actually aren't over there fighting and doing this type of work, decided that Americans probably shouldn't see this and they actually tried to sensor the film and they called up HBO and asked if something couldn't be done so the American people wouldn't be able to see this. I think it's important that the American people see this and let them make up their own mind just like the soldiers who saw this and said that they liked the film.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Paula, your son is in this film. He's at the very end. And he comes in. He's been hit by an IED. You know, as a parent, I cannot imagine how horrible it must be to see on film the last moment of your young son's life. And at the same time, I guess I can understand how you'd want to be there and see every moment that you possibly could. What was it like for you to watch that?

PAULA ZWILLINGER, SON DIED IN IRAQ: It was emotional. But I looked a this film as a gift, to tell you the truth. It's not one that every parent is able to have, especially in a time of war. To actually be at my son's bedside with him when he came in through his injuries, during his final moments, that truly is a gift that not every parent gets, especially when your son is deployed overseas.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Has it been helpful for you? I mean, you know, you read this statement of warning from the military and it really is, honestly, a little bit scary. You know it could be so awful that even vets should not be watching it maybe is what the message is. What do you think? What would you advise people to do?

ZWILLINGER: Well, you know, the American public, what we see right now is just a blurb in a newspaper on page two. It's not even front line anymore. And what we get anymore is just, you know, a number of soldiers, if any are -- had a mishap, hit by an IED, if any were lost, you know, that type of thing.

This is very graphic. This is raw footage. There's no getting around it. But this is the truth. This is what our children are facing every, every day. And I think it's very important for the American public to really know what we're doing over there.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Paula Zwillinger's son died in Iraq and Jon Alpert is the co-director of "Baghdad ER." I thank you both for talking with us this morning. Appreciate it.

ZWILLINGER: Thank you.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: "Baghdad ER" premiers on HBO this coming Sunday, May 21st. A short break. We're back with a look at the morning's top stories in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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