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American Morning

Accusations in Iraq; Iran Nuke Talks

Aired June 02, 2006 - 07:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

New developments to get to this morning involving U.S. troops in Iraq. A source says that murder charges are likely to be filed against several Marines in the shooting death of an Iraqi civilian. That incident allegedly occurred on April 26th, west of Baghdad, near the city of Hamandiyah. This is independent, of course, of the investigations into the November deaths of 24 Iraqis who are allegedly killed by Marines in Haditha, and there's a report this morning of a third incident back in March, the killing of 11 Iraqis blamed on U.S. troops in Isaqi.

Let's get right to Kathleen Koch She's at the Pentagon.

Kathleen, good morning.

That's kind of a long list there. Let's talk first about the murder charges that are likely going to be filed today.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, what we're hearing, Soledad, from a source familiar with the investigation is that these murder charges could be filed, perhaps as soon as today, against seven Marines, seven Marines who right now are being held in the brig at Camp Pendleton in California.

The Associate Press is quoting the defense attorney of one of those Marines, as saying that, besides murder charges, that also, not only those seven Marines, but a sailor, could as well face kidnapping and conspiracy charges in this shooting death of an Iraqi civilian.

As you said, April 26th in the town of Hamandiyah. Now, according to reports, the man was allegedly dragged from his home and shot, and a weapon may have even been planted on him to make him appear to have been an insurgent. Now, it is important, though, Soledad, to point out that this is not related to the case of the 24 civilians who were killed in the incident in Haditha back in November.

S. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you about the incident Haditha. What's being alleged is that there was this cover story, that in fact those civilians died in an IED explosion and then the crossfire. Two months after "Time" magazine did their story is really only when the military started to seriously investigate it. How did this cover story -- I mean, look at the dates from the incident from November until now. How did that cover story hold up for so long? KOCH: Soledad, it was apparently because the Marines involved in this according to an unidentified Army official interviewed by "The Washington Post." These Marines gave false information, false statements to their superiors. The "Post" goes on then to report that those superiors, those officials in the chain of command, then didn't really scrutinize the information they were given, didn't really follow up and provide proper oversight in the weeks and the months afterwards.

Now, the "Post" is reporting that, according to a defense official whose familiar with the investigation, that right now investigators hoping to get permission to exhume some of those 24 bodies. Of course from them, they could get information important forensic information to give them clues as to just what happened and who may have been responsible -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Kathleen Koch at the Pentagon for us this morning. Kathleen, thanks.

There's a new investigation under way now into another alleged massacre. With that videotape to show you, it's the aftermath of 11 people who died in Isaqi on March 15th. Isaqi is just north of Baghdad. Some of the videotape is just far too disturbing to show you. And you can see here that it is pretty sanitized version of what the BBC has been showing as well. Iraqi police say that civilians were rounded up and killed by U.S. forces. Original reports from the military say that four people were killed in a building collapse in the incident.

The latest allegation as U.S. forces expected to become mandatory core values training into ethics on the battlefield. Ahead in the next hour, we're going to talk to a former Army colonel, who is a one- time core values trainer about what exactly that training involves -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, the ball is now in Iran's court. The U.S. and five other world powers have now come up with a package intended to persuade the country to stop making nuclear fuel.

Suzanne Malveaux live now at the White House with more.

Good morning, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

Senior administration officials are very pleased that it's now in Iran's hands to either abandon its nuclear ambitions or face those sanctions through the U.N. Security Council.

Now why the confidence here? Well, a senior administration official tells CNN that they are satisfied that the two permanent members, Russia and China, once reluctant to sanctions, are now on board. So you've got the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany, back from Vienna, of course, pushing for this offer to Iran carrots and sticks. Now they wait for Iran's response, but as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told our David Ensor, they will not wait long.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECY. OF STATE: I'm not one given to timetables, but I think we are talking about a matter of weeks here. Not -- we can't wait for months, while Iran, again, says on the one hand maybe they're interested in negotiating; on the other hand, maybe they're not. They need to make a choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Miles, they say they have a clear choice here, but they also want to be very careful not to rush Iran into a response. Usually when that happens, if there's too much pressure, they're prone to bluster, so they want to give Iran enough time to think this offer over very seriously -- Miles.

S. O'BRIEN: So, essentially, what we're talking about here, Suzanne, is a negotiation to decide whether there will be negotiations, right?

MALVEAUX: Well, absolutely. And at this point, they're just pleased that they've got an international coalition that is backing this process. As you remember, it was just a couple of weeks ago, there was a lot of doubt whether or not they'd have Russia and China on board. They feel very confident. They've got all of their members in place here, at least to push Iran to come to the table.

M. O'BRIEN: Do we have an idea what turned things around for Russia and China?

MALVEAUX: Well, certainly the fact that the United States decided that they would talk directly with Iran with those other European leaders. That was one of the one of the things that they were looking for, is some sort of sign from the United States that they were serious about these negotiations. That is the reason why, a big part of the reason why, the United States decided to join those talks.

M. O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thanks very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: We continue to follow this developing story out of Indianapolis this morning. Police are looking far 28-year-old man in the killing of four adults and three children. Their bodies were found in a home on the city's east side. There could be a second suspect, as well.

Reporter Russ McQuaid of CNN affiliate WXIN reports from the scene of the killings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSS MCQUAID, WXIN REPORTER (on camera): Indianapolis police are investigating the murders of seven people here on the city's east side. I'll step out of the way as you take a look at this house on Hamilton Avenue, where seven people, the Emma-Valdez (ph) family, ages 56 all the way down to five years old were found shot to death Thursday night. A witness tells me that at about 10:00 he saw a woman run up to the front porch of that house screaming. When she got to the front door, she was dragged inside that house by her assailant. Perhaps 10 or 12 gunshots rang out. That's when officers responded.

At this point, they know who they're looking for. They're looking for a man who literally grew up in this neighborhood. His name is Desmond Turner. We heard from Indianapolis Police Chief Mike Spears that he should be considered armed and dangerous.

CHIEF MICHAEL SPEARS, INDIANAPOLIS POLICE: It's helpful to get this out to the public. Someone knows where this man is, and we want to know. And I would suggest to anyone that knows where Mr. Turner is that they treat him as armed and dangerous.

MCQUAID: Chief Spears says investigators are also looking for a second suspect. We do not have his name yet at this time. It looks like this case started out as a home invasion robbery and became very violent, perhaps the most violent mass killing in the history of the city of Indianapolis.

I'm Russ McQuaid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Russ.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Hundreds of smart kids this morning getting a break from all that diligent dictionary reading. A new top speller has been crowned, and it is a she.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHARINE CLOSE, 2006 SPELLING BEE WINNER: Ursprache -- U-R-S-P- R-A-C-H-E -- Ursprache.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is correct.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Yes! Katharine, you go girl.

M. O'BRIEN: With a 'K' or a 'C?' 'K,' right?

O'BRIEN: 'K.'

She won. She's from New Jersey. She has walked away with the title, Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. She's the first girl to win since 1999. And Ursprache, of course, Miles...

M. O'BRIEN: Boy, I like the way you said that, Ursprache. S. O'BRIEN: You know when you don't know how to really pronounce something, you just kind of mumble it all together and hope for the best.

M. O'BRIEN: That's an anchor trip, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Ursprache means "apparent language."

M. O'BRIEN: Ah, $42,000 worth of cash and prizes, clothes and cigar. No, no, no cigars. We'll tell you what it's like to be a champion speller all the pressure, when we talk to Katharine Close next hour.

S. O'BRIEN: How do you prepare to...

M. O'BRIEN: You Read the dictionary, I think. That's what you do, right?

S. O'BRIEN: How do you get to "Ursprache," because that's at the end?

M. O'BRIEN: She started early. Maybe you don't start with 'a,' I don't know.

S. O'BRIEN: I'm dying to talk to this girl. That's ahead this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: A lot of questions we have for her.

S. O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the government slashed New York City's money for fighting terror, gave more money to smaller cities like Omaha. This morning we'll take look at the politics behind that decision.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello. The worst thing imaginable: a soldier's family talks about the attack that killed an Army captain and two CBS crew members.

M. O'BRIEN: And a little later, a college student who doesn't need a part-time job. She's made thousands of dollars from donating her eggs, but is that money worth the risks? We'll have a closer look later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: CBS reporter Kimberly dozier is on the mend, off the ventilator and talking to her family and doctors. She'll come home Sunday on a U.S. military flight from Landsthul, Germany. She remains in critical but stable condition this morning. Dozier wounded four days ago by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. Lots of progress there. The Army has released the name of the soldier who died along with Kimberly's cameraman and soundman.

Carol Costello now in the newsroom with more on that part of the story.

Carol, good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning, Miles. Good morning to all of you.

That car bombed killed cameraman Paul Douglas and soundman James Brolan, and of course seriously and injured reporter Kimberly Dozier.

Now as she recovers at a U.S. military hospital in Germany, we're learning more about the Army captain who died in that same insurgent attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER FUNKHOUSER, HUSBAND KILLED IN IRAQ: It's not something that I ever thought would happen, but it did. It did. And it's the worst thing imaginable.

COSTELLO (voice-over): The worst thing imaginable. It's happened so many times. This time, it's the family of Army Captain James Funkhouser Jr. mourning the loss.

JAMES FUNKHOUSER SR., SON KILLED IN IRAQ: Even knowing that he died doing what he loved to do, what he wanted to do, it doesn't take away the pain.

COSTELLO: On Monday, the 35-year-old Army captain was securing a location in Baghdad just across the river from the Green Zone. With them, a CBS news crew. Then it happened. A car bomb exploded. The blast killed Funkhouser, his Iraqi interpreter and two members of the CBS news crew.

Back home in Kilene (ph), Texas, Funkhouser's wife, Jennifer, got the news, in the kind of scene played out more than 2,000 times over the past three years.

JENNIFER FUNKHOUSER: I had two army officers come to my front door, and I thought it was a Memorial Day. They were handing out pamphlets, passing out information about soldiers. I opened the door, and I took one look at the major who was there, and you could tell his eyes were red, and he was trembling. It was hard for him to even speak. I knew -- I said, I just talked to him yesterday.

COSTELLO: Funkhouser had been in Iraq since December. His wife and family called him Alex. He was the father of two young girls, and the couple had just celebrated their sixth anniversary.

JENNIFER FUNKHOUSER: He always thought about me. He would write me all the time. This is Valentine's Day. And we just had our wedding anniversary a little over a week ago and he sent me flowers. And I haven't been able to throw them away yet. A T-shirt I was going to send to him for Father's Day. Big Texas man. Little Texas humor.

COSTELLO: Funkhouser was third generation military. His father and grandfather before him, James Sr., spent 31 years in the service.

JAMES FUNKHOUSER: When you lose a child it's always painful. And when you lose your only child, it is especially painful.

JENNIFER FUNKHOUSER: I just want his name out there. You know? he was -- he was wonderful. He was a great soldier, a great guy, a great father, a great husband.

COSTELLO: But the attention given to tragedy involving the CBS news crew and her husband is somehow bittersweet. Because so many others die in relative anonymity.

JENNIFER FUNKHOUSER: All of these soldier that is are injured, my husband had a lot of soldiers that were injured with him. They all have names. They all have stories. They're people. They're not just a soldier. They have a life. They have a family, family that mourns them, a family that hurts. Everyone needs to know.

COSTELLO: Jennifer says her husband was proud of what he was doing in Iraq, and now she will carry on.

JENNIFER FUNKHOUSER: I'm a strong army wife. My husband trained me to be one. I knew that I was marrying a soldier for life. And death. This is part of it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: James Funkhouser Jr. will be married in San Antonio, Texas with full military honors. His father says Alex didn't like tears, so they plan to celebrate his son's life with stories and with songs -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. His widow is so eloquent. I mean, really in voicing what every military spouse who's lost someone or mother or father, you know, says. That it's true, we report them sometimes as a soldier killed, and she says, you know, that one soldier killed is a life that's been ripped. So sad. Thank you, Carol. Nice story there.

Ahead this morning, we're talking to a scientist who's got a three-part plan, he says, to keep another disaster like Hurricane Katrina from ever happening again. We'll hear his story coming up.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATL. CORRESPONDENT: I'm bob Franken in Washington. D.C. and New York want more money, not less. So what's new about that? plenty. AMERICAN MORNING continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: CNN Security Watch this morning. Where's the money? That's what officials in New York and Washington, D.C. are saying about the new Homeland Security grants. Those cities are being cut back, while some others, like Omaha and Atlanta, are getting bigger pieces of the pie.

AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken is live for us in Washington, D.C.

Good morning, Bob.

FRANKEN: Good morning, Soledad.

You know how the war on terror can usually unite the country? Well, not this time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, SECY. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: The measure of protection for a community is not driven just by whether that community's politicians control the spending of money.

FRANKEN (voice-over): The political leaders of Washington, and particularly New York, are contemplating whatever pressure they can exert to reverse 40 percent cuts in anti-terrorism funds. What's perhaps most troubling to many New Yorkers was the conclusion by Homeland Security that the city had no national monuments or icons to protect.

REP. CAROL MALONEY (D), NEW YORK: I mean, have they been to Wall Street? Have they been to the financial district? Have they been to the -- all the important museums and national icons that we have in our city.

FRANKEN: Federal funds for the two September 11th targets, New York and Washington, are being cut back this year in favor of smaller cities.

CHERTOFF: Some communities are operating from the low level of preparedness. Those deserve extra weight.

FRANKEN: Communities like Omaha, Charlotte, Louisville and Orlando, which has a few icons of its own, that complained they've been overlooked until now.

SHERIFF KEVIN BEARY, ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA: I'm sure glad to be one of the 46 groups that got it. So, show me the money.

FRANKEN: But the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee is irate. Peter King, of New York, says he'll try and make someone very sorry.

CHERTOFF: I hope that we don't confuse disappointment with grants with a desire to exact retribution.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: Attacks, says Chertoff, can happen anywhere, not just Washington or New York, but that's probably where he's looking right now, Soledad, for any possible retribution, as he would call it.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, one would certainly think. Do you think there's any chance that, in fact, they can divvy up the money? I mean, homeland security would say, listen, New York is still getting almost 20 percent. There's just less money, so we're giving them a smaller piece, right?

FRANKEN: About as much chance of an umpire changing a call in a baseball game -- it's not going to happen.

S. O'BRIEN: I don't know much about baseball, but I know yes, that it doesn't happen very often.

FRANKEN: It's somewhere between a fat chance and an obese chance.

S. O'BRIEN: And no chance at all, right? All right, Bob, Franken for us this morning. Thanks, Bob.

(MARKET REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, a scientist who could say, I told you so. He predicted a disaster like Katrina, and now he says he has a plan to save New Orleans the next time. You'll meet him.

And later, a college graduate made big bucks by donating her eggs. We'll look at whether the cash is worth the risks ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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