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CNN Live Today

Iraqi Prime Minister Vows to Curb Violence; Remembering D-Day; Protecting the Villages of Afghanistan; Britain's Oldest Man Celebrates Birthday

Aired June 06, 2006 - 10:30   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In Iraq, more gruesome discoveries and a pledge to reign the violence earlier today. Iraqi prime minister Nouri al Maliki vowed to push ahead with efforts to curb the attacks. In a country torn by war, much of the horror is leashed by sectarian and militia rivalries.
Joining us with more is CNN's John Vause. And John, if you would, share with us some details of this new plan.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, unfortunately, Tony, the prime minister didn't outline the details. He just said he had a plan in place, it was ready to go. It would be implemented soon. He'll start with trying to restore war and order in the capital and from there, spread out to the outlying provinces.

He did, however, today blame some unnamed groups for stepping up their violent attacks; an attempt, he said, to try and bring down his National Unity Government. But today Sunni groups accused the Iraqi authorities of being involved in yesterday's mass kidnapping. The gunmen, dressed as Iraqi policemen, driving what looked like Iraqi police cars, kidnapped at least 50 people in broad daylight in downtown Baghdad.

Now, just hours before the prime minister was calling for national unity, talking about his plan for law and order, there was a roadside bomb which exploded in Baghdad. A U.S. military convoy was the target, but it killed an Iraqi woman. Mortars were fired at the ministry of the interior. They missed their mark, but they killed two Iraqi civilians.

In fact, the health ministry says May has been the worst month for the deaths of Iraqi civilians since the U.S.-led invasion back in 2003. They say 1,398 civilians have been taken to the morgue here in Baghdad. Now, that number does not include those who have been killed in bombs and other explosions, because, quite simply, those bodies never make it to the morgue -- Tony.

HARRIS: Boy. And John, this violence is getting more and more gruesome. Nine heads found along a road?

VAUSE: Yes. That happened just north of Baghdad, near the city of Baqubah. Police say they found these nine severed heads, wrapped in plastic bags, stuffed inside fruit boxes. And they made a similar discovery, too, on Saturday: eight severed heads inside fruit boxes, as well. The prime minister says he has a plan to try and curb the violence there as well. But you have to remember, Tony, this government has been in office little more than two weeks.

HARRIS: Yes, that's true. Boy. CNN's John Vause for us in Baghdad. John, we appreciate it. Thank you.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Tony, in the war in Afghanistan comes a battle for villages. U.S. and international forces are trying to protect communities terrorized by the Taliban, but reaching those remote areas, well, it's a battle in itself.

Brent Sadler reports now from the Zabol Province.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Armored humvees launch a crucial mission. Task Force Warrior, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment is heading to remote, southern Afghanistan. Everything these soldiers face is extreme: danger, heat and the terrain; precarious driving in six-ton vehicles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just go straight. There you go. Now go straight.

SADLER: Routes turn into rivers, slowing us down to a few miles an hour. Choking dust is a constant companion, thick enough to swallow the convoy. Hidden bombs can strike any time. And as I found out myself so can crippling illness from the dirt and flies.

But Task Force Warrior's orders are to endure and reach out to Afghan villages for vital support. That is not easy in the Arganda (ph) Valley, where opium poppies flourish and militants hold sway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ask him why is it every time Americans come into this valley we get shot at?

SADLER: This villager claims the Taliban are like shadows and he doesn't see them. The soldiers want these tough mountain people to help them track the movements of Taliban fighters.

CAPT. CHRIS WILKINSON, TASK FORCE WARRIOR: We know that one of the things that they do is try to tell the people that they are in control in this area.

SADLER: U.S. commanders think they can change that. A U.S. C- 130 sweeps low into this disputed valley, dropping supplies for Operation Mountain Thrust to win villagers' support and squeeze the Taliban.

But at dusk, the Taliban mounts an unseen attack, joint U.S. and Afghan troops into a firefight, so intense they need air support. An Air Force A-10 ends the combat with its heavy cannon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do not take your food and we do not shoot at you. We do everything we can to make sure you are safe.

SADLER: It's not easy selling that U.S. logic to these doubting minds. The elders lost one of their own in the fighting and seem to blame the U.S. as much as they blame the Taliban.

But the Americans have another card to play. They brought the district chief with them. Ismaff Ramadi (ph) is the first Kabul- appointed official to visit here in decades. The governor makes his pitch over sips of tea, offering security and aid in exchange for loyalty.

The elders are nervous because the Taliban killed collaborators.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you help the Taliban because you are scared and you help us for the hope of your future, then over time, you will see who is better.

SADLER: America's Afghan battles are fought on the ground and from the air, but it's here in these villages, say commanders, that the war will be won.

Brent Sadler, CNN, embedded with U.S. forces in Zabol Province, southern Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: We are going to take a break. When we come back, we will be rejoined by Susan Lisovicz. As a matter of fact, she's with us now with a look ahead to business news. Susan, good morning.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. Not a good morning for the bulls, however. They are still in hiding even after one of the worst sell-offs of the year. I'll have details when CNN LIVE TODAY continues.

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(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

NGUYEN: Well, a new warning for pregnant women out there about what they eat. Consumer advocates are going beyond government guidelines. The story's in the next hour of CNN LIVE TODAY.

HARRIS: And a forensic field trip becomes a real-life lesson for some Florida teenagers when they make an unexpected and grisly discovery. It's "CSI" high school coming up on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

NGUYEN: And we have Sean Callebs joining us all the way from New Orleans to talk about a museum that's back in action. Got some good stuff going on out there.

Hi, Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty and Tony.

Indeed a historic anniversary. We're here at the National World War II Museum. Until this past weekend, it was called the "D-Day Museum." We're going to take you to a shot overlooking this area. We'll tell you how important this is to New Orleans and Louisiana, and why this museum is here in the first place. That's coming up when LIVE TODAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, it happened 62 years ago today. Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy. The invasion of Europe was a turning point in World War II.

CALLEBS: And they're marking D-Day today in New Orleans to a city facing its own turning point after a battle with Hurricane Katrina.

Our Sean Callebs is at the National World War II Museum.

Good morning, Sean.

CALLEBS: Good morning to you guys.

Indeed, until this past weekend, it was actually called the National D-Day Museum, but it changed names. And the reason why, we'll take you to an overhead shot downstairs and let you look at exactly why.

See those large landing craft? Well, those were essential to the invasion of Normandy beaches, and they were invented and built here in New Orleans by Andrew Higgins, nicknamed the Higgins craft, the landing craft.

But then if you look down there as well, you'll see a lot of people gathering down there. It's going to be a very significant ceremony, about 15 or 20 minutes from now. One of the first paratroopers that dropped into France and liberated the town is actually going to be greeted by someone from that town, and he's going to present a check to this museum for $100,00.

Behind me, you see just some of the weapons that were used during World War II. Boy, we've all see these in "Saving Private Ryan" and "Band of Brothers," but when you get to look up close and you see the vets come through here, and you can just kind of see the wheels turn in their eyes as they look at these pictures. Very significant day here for -- Tony and Betty.

HARRIS: Hey, Sean, I have to ask you. Did the museum suffer much damage from Katrina?

CALLEBS: You know, it didn't get wind or water damage. A very large museum and once the power went out, huge doors shut up on the third -- second, third and fourth floors. But it did receive some looting. However, looters didn't go through some of the stuff that's irreplaceable. Like if you look at what troops had to jump with, the gas masks and then you look down here, shaving kit, things of that nature. Just some looting, basically in the gift shop. They took t- shirts, whatever they could get their hands on.

HARRIS: Why is it there, Sean? Why is it in New Orleans?

CALLEBS: Well, it's -- it is interesting, isn't it? Well I talked a bit about it ago. It's the Higgins landing craft, the thing that carried all of the troops to shore that day, some 20,000 of them built in three different industries here. Also, it wasn't just the troops who went in on that landing craft that day.

They also used these things. This is an old parachute. So they strapped this thing on the back. This was the main chute, and then they had to actually wear this thing on the front and top goes like this, even though it's the top upside down. But, you know, jumping from 700 feet, if that first cord didn't work, you didn't have much time for the reserve chute.

NGUYEN: Oh, yes. Hey, let me ask you this, though. On this anniversary, are you seeing old timers come through, any vets, at least any of their family members come through to honor this 62nd anniversary today?

CALLEBS: Yes, very much so. Indeed, out -- downstairs I think we have an overhead view. There's a choir gathering. There's going to be speeches given. There's a number of World War II veterans. You know, it's sad -- 62 years, we are losing this important link to our history. So on days like this, when people can come through and share these persona stories, it means so much.

And to see people come through, it's not so much, you know, the uniform, the hardware that they're interested in looking at. It's the little things, the notes that may have been saved over all those years or looking at General Eisenhower, remembering where or when -- where, you know, the people were on that day. Very significant. It's nice to hear the stories from these people. And, you know, they are called the greatest generation.

NGUYEN: They are. And they have so much history within them. I mean, there were people that filled those uniforms. And it's great to know that they're still sharing those stories. Thank you, Sean.

Well, the great war, the war to end all wars. There was there nothing to compare to World War I. Millions died in that battle.

HARRIS: But one British veteran is still alive today and there's nothing to compare to Henry Allingham. ITV reporter Philip Reay-Smith has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY ALLINGHAM, BRITAIN'S OLDEST MAN: I never thought this could happen to me.

PHILIP REAY-SMITH, ITV REPORTER (voice-over): As a young man, he knew the horror of the trenches at the Somme. In 1918, he became a founder member of the RAF. And today, Henry Allingham turns 110, so a mere birthday cake would hardly have been enough.

Instead, Britain's oldest man received a flight pass-by: two Tornados, and the Air Force's 31 squadron, and a visit from Gordon Brown at the Eastbourne hotel where he's celebrating his milestone.

ALLINGHAM: Thank you for coming to see me.

GORDON BROWN, BRITISH CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER: It's a great pleasure and congratulations on your birthday.

ALLINGHAM: I can't believe it.

REAY-SMITH: In the past, he's attributed his longevity to wild women and whiskey, but today he was rather more frank.

ALLINGHAM: People say what's the secret. I don't know I did so long. I don't know why.

CHRISTOPHER GRAY, ALLINGHAM'S GRANDSON: When the media's gone, he'll look at us and wink and he'll say, I don't know what the secret is. I'll tell them whatever they want to hear.

REAY-SMITH: For a man who retired in the '60s, Henry Allingham remains very active. Only last week, he was aboard HMS Belfast, commemorating the 19th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland, a battle of which he is the sole survivor. And last year he traveled to France to pay tribute to his World War I comrades who didn't come home.

Even a card from the queen hardly seems enough to acknowledge such a long life. Perhaps his 6-month-old great, great-great granddaughter is the best tribute.

Philip-Reay Smith, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: What a great story that is.

NGUYEN: Oh, yes. I want to be able to live so long and see much history.

HARRIS: Still ahead, it was supposed to be a mock mystery, but it turned into the real deal.

NGUYEN: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was the first time I've even seen a dead body, so I thought that was kind of crazy. And the smell I'll never forget. But this is a great experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Ahead, a forensic field trip that students will never forget, next on CNN LIVE TODAY.

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