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American Morning

Iraqi Official Abducted; Iraqi Rape Charge; Deadline Passes; Spain Subway Crash; Wheelchair Vet

Aired July 04, 2006 - 06:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Miles. And happy 4th of July to all of you. Welcome to a split edition of AMERICAN MORNING. Miles O'Brien is at the Kennedy Space Center. I'm Carol Costello in New York in for Soledad this week.
Of course the big story, will the shuttle Discovery make it into space? The man with the answers of course is Miles.

So will it?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's looking good right now, Carol. As a matter of fact, the weather forecast has been upgraded significantly this morning, 80 percent chance that the weather will be favorable for the launch of the space shuttle Discovery this afternoon, 2:38 p.m. Eastern Time. Talk about a fireworks display.

But remember yesterday, we probably wouldn't have predicted that right about this time as NASA engineers were assessing what the impact was of about a pencil long -- a crack about the length of a pencil way up high on the external fuel tank of the space shuttle Discovery that was discovered during a post-fueling inspection.

You'll remember over the weekend they tried to launch twice, fueled up that external tank twice, defueled it and, as a result in all that flexing, it caused a crack. Well the engineering team spent a lot of time trying to assess how much damage was caused, what the impact might be on flight, whether ice could build up on all of that and came to the conclusion late last night that they were good to go.

Let's listen to Bill Gerstenmaier who is one of the administrators here at NASA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM GERSTENMAIER, ASSOCIATE NASA ADMINISTRATOR: Are we doing something here, are we pushing too hard in trying to make this flight occur? And the answer is no. That the answer is we've laid out the data, we've looked at it calmly, we're ready to go fly because we're ready to go fly. We're not ready to go fly because of some launch window or some other condition. So I think we, the teams, have done a very good job of avoiding the tendency to try to get launch fever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: NASA says it's not go fever. We're going to be here all day today watching the weather. As we speak right now, Carol, they are fueling up the space shuttle Discovery, 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen. I haven't heard a single peep about a technical issue. The morning is young.

Back to you.

COSTELLO: I'll keep our fingers crossed.

Thank you, Miles.

Let's check -- actually, let's check more on the weather. Let's head to the Forecast Center and check in with Chad.

So, Miles says the weather looks good. What do you say?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It does. It does look good.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: In other news this morning, a bomb exploded this morning in Kabul, Afghanistan, just outside the Justice Ministry and only 200 yards from the presidential palace. A woman and three men were wounded, one of them seriously. No immediate claim of responsibility.

And in Iraq, the deputy ministry of electricity has been taken hostage. Police say he was abducted along with 19 bodyguards. Of course this has all kinds of implications.

CNN's Arwa Damon live in Baghdad for us.

Arwa, tell us more.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

What we know, and we know this from initial reports coming into Iraq's police force, is that he was actually kidnapped by gunmen wearing Iraqi Army uniforms. The incident happened in eastern Baghdad in an area known as Halibiya (ph), which is just outside of Sadr City, the predominately Shi'a area where over one million Shi'as live. It's known as being a very volatile area.

At this point, we are still waiting for more information. But the interesting thing in this kidnapping incident was that the individuals that apparently carried out this kidnapping were wearing Iraqi Army uniforms.

Now this follows a number of high-profile kidnappings, or abduction attempts, against government officials, members of Parliament. Just on Saturday, a female member of Parliament, Tayseer al-Mashhadani, was kidnapped when she was traveling to Baghdad from Diyala Province. On Sunday, there were two attacks against members of Parliament. And just yesterday morning, the house, one of the homes owned by Iraq's deputy minister of interior was attacked by armed gunmen. He was not at that location, but four of his bodyguards were kidnapped in that attack -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And, Arwa, this really highlights the problems there, because the government is expected to protect the people of Iraq, but it can't even protect its own.

DAMON: That's right, Carol. And that was actually brought up by a number of members of Parliament in Sunday's parliamentary session. They have been asking time and time again for more security, more guards, more of -- they've been asking, basically, for the government to protect them, like you just mentioned.

And this also highlights another problem that Iraq's government is facing and that is of armed groups, armed insurgents, dressing like Iraqi security forces. If you remember, Saddam's lawyer, when he was kidnapped just last week, Khamis al-Obaidi, was also kidnapped by gunmen that were wearing Iraqi police uniforms and, in fact, even carrying Iraqi police identification.

Now the government was meant to in June issue new hard-to-copy uniforms. That is what they have promised the Iraqi people. But yesterday we asked Iraq's National Security Adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubaie what was happening with these new uniforms. He said that so far they have only received 200 uniforms and that the others were expected to be along.

But at this point, if an armed group of insurgents wants to go and purchase a military or an Iraqi police uniform, it's fairly easy. They can basically just head to an area in Baghdad known as the thieves market, pay $20 and they are dressed exactly like Iraq security forces -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Arwa Damon reporting live for us from Baghdad this morning, thanks.

Also on the subject of Iraq, a former U.S. Army private is being held without bond after being accused of raping and killing a young Iraqi woman and other members of her family. The soldier has already been kicked out of the Army for a personality disorder. He's now charged for brutal acts while in Iraq.

AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken live in Charlotte, North Carolina to tell us more.

Good morning.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

It's one of several incidents of alleged violent abuse that the military is investigating. In this particular case, the defendant is being held, for the moment, here in the Mecklenburg County Jail while civilian and military authorities try to figure out who has jurisdiction and the investigation continues. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): He faces a possible death penalty. Twenty-one-year-old Steven Green accused of rape and murder. He's one of four investigators say participated in the brutal attack on an Iraqi woman and her family in Mahmudiyah just south of Baghdad on March 12.

Authorities say Green and three others conspired to rape the 20- year-old woman. And after a night of drinking, the four went to the family's home. It's alleged that Green shot dead the woman's relatives, including a 5-year-old girl.

According to an FBI affidavit, Green and another soldier then raped the woman. The affidavit -- quoting one of his comrades -- says, "Green then shot her to death."

To cover up their crimes, the four set the house and dead victims on fire.

According to the FBI, these latest accusations against members of the U.S. military in Iraq came to light just two weeks ago during a stress debriefing of soldiers. Those debriefings followed the brutal killings by Iraqi insurgents of two U.S. soldiers kidnapped from a checkpoint. They were members of the 101st Airborne Division, as was Green.

He was arrested in Marion, North Carolina. He was initially held here in Charlotte, processed in a civilian, not a military, court. Green had been honorably discharged from the Army in March. He had left the military, said the FBI investigator, due to personality disorder.

Private First Class Green was last stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, along with the others under investigation. Authorities plan to move him to Louisville, although they gave no timetable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

The plan is now for a hearing next Monday here in Charlotte, then a transfer to Louisville. The question becomes whether the military will reenlist him, in effect, then take jurisdiction once again or whether this will become and stay a civilian matter -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Curious about something, Bob, he was discharged because he had a personality disorder. Do we know anything more about that disorder?

FRANKEN: Just a few glimmers. They are saying that this is not a matter of psychosis. It may have been just a matter of somebody who was maladjusted. But obviously the details of all of this right now are being very closely held because of the sensitivities and also because they are right in the middle of an investigation, one that is complicated by this question of whether the civilian authorities or military will ultimately have responsibility for him.

COSTELLO: Bob Franken live in Charlotte this morning, thank you.

A deadline set by Palestinian militants believed to be holding an Israeli soldier has come and gone. Israel ignoring demands to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. So what's the fate of that Israeli soldier?

Paula Hancocks is in Gaza City for us this morning.

Hello, -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

Well no one knows the fate of that Israeli soldier. And the Palestinian militants that are holding this Israeli soldier, 19-year- old Corporal Gilad Shalit, have said now discussion is closed. They've also said that this Tuesday morning they will not tell the Israeli forces whether or not this soldier is dead or alive.

Now they have said that they would -- on Monday they have said that if their demands for prisoner releases were not met, then this case would be closed. And they have done exactly that. Now they also said that there would be future consequences, but they haven't specified what they would be.

Meanwhile, despite that deadline, the airstrikes and the shelling continued throughout the night and this Tuesday morning. We're hearing shelling in northern Gaza at the moment. We know certain troops and tanks have moved into northern Gaza, not the extensive military operation we had been promised or threatened by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, but a smaller contingency that's looking for tunnels and detonating explosive devices, clearing the way, really.

Now we know one Palestinian militant died overnight in a clash with Israeli forces and we know that three others were injured as well.

Now on another note, the settler, the 18-year-old settler that a militant group killed, just last Thursday his body was found, there have been three arrests in Ramallah. The -- our Israeli defense force is saying that they were hiding inside a police building, they called for them to come out. And after a two, three-hour standoff, the three people who they accuse of killing the settler have now been arrested -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Paula Hancocks live in Gaza City for us this morning, thanks.

A day of mourning in Valencia, Spain today. It was less than 24 hours ago that more than 40 people died in a horrific subway accident. Now investigators are trying to pinpoint exactly what went wrong.

CNN's Aneesh Raman live for us in Valencia.

Any clues?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, they're saying by all accounts this was an accident. The train was moving too fast. It then derailed after one of the wheels broke. Unclear at the moment is whether this was human error or mechanical error. Five minutes of silence has just ended here in the city of Valencia, also in the capital city of Madrid.

I am standing outside the city's main funeral home. This is where all of the 41 at least confirmed dead from yesterday's derailment, their bodies are coming here in individual rooms. Families are surrounding it, dealing with the grieving process. The mood, as you would imagine, incredibly somber inside. I've just returned outside.

Red Cross officials who are here helping with the psychological toll fear really for the families in the days and weeks ahead after this accident and the tragedy of its aftermath starts to sink in.

There will be a memorial service later today. That will be attended by the Royal Family here in Spain. In addition, Spain's prime minister, who was abroad on an official visit to India, has cut that trip short and will be back here.

So at least 41 confirmed dead after this accident. There are dozens of others wounded in this, a city that was celebrating, the pope set to arrive here on Saturday for a Catholic gathering of families, now dealing with tragedy -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Aneesh Raman live in Spain this morning, Valencia, Spain.

Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, more from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: It's the 4th of July. It's hard to imagine a more exciting fireworks display than this one. Of course NASA is not launching today because of that, they're launching in spite of some bad weather, although the forecast is looking much more promising today. We'll fill you in on all the details and the controversy that has led to this launch in just a little bit.

COSTELLO: Also, North Korea is talking tough again, but this time it's threatening nuclear war. How real is the threat?

Plus, an Iraq war vet who lost a lot on the battlefield but not his will to compete. His inspiring story just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Happening this morning.

No word on the fate of a kidnapped Israeli soldier right now. Palestinian militants holding that soldier. They say they will not give out any information now that their demands for prisoner releases has not been met. But Israel is now threatening Palestinian leaders that -- quote -- "the sky will fall on them if that soldier is harmed." A day of mourning in Valencia, Spain. People there pausing for five minutes of silence to honor the victims of yesterday's train derailment. Investigators right now are trying to pinpoint the cause of the accident which killed 41 people.

The shuttle Discovery is a go, a go for launch at 2:38 Eastern this afternoon. NASA has decided a small piece of insulation that cracked off the shuttle's fuel tank is not a safety concern.

But let's find out more from Miles.

O'BRIEN: Carol, thank you very much. That's exactly what we're looking at is foam, once again. Three-and-a-half years after the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated after a large piece of foam ruptured its heat shield shortly after launch. Foam remains an issue of discussion and concern for NASA engineers.

Let's walk you through the latest foam issue. It cropped up in the wake of those attempts to launch over the weekend. Engineers doing a post-tanking and de-tanking inspection first noticed a crack and then noticed a piece of foam on the mobile launch platform, the base of the launch pad.

Let's, first of all, tell you where on the orbiter this problem is. This is the location and it's a critical location, because, as you can see, it's sort of upstream of the orbiter and in a position where ever it would fall off of there could very well fall down and strike an important and sensitive part of the space shuttle.

Let's get a little bit more of a closeup and give you an idea of what we're talking about. The crack is not very big, about as long as a pencil. There it is. Highlight it there for you. And as you can see in this case, this is a later picture after the foam had cracked, it actually fell off and this little triangle of a piece fell off. The piece that fell off weighs little more than a penny. Not -- if it had happened in flight, it would not be considered a risk to the space shuttle or the crew.

Here's the earlier piece. Here's the earlier shot before that piece fell off. Got it a little bit out of order there. Then we'll show you a picture of the actual piece which was brought to a briefing last night by NASA officials. Now give you a sense of the scale here, and we're talking about four to five inches and very thin.

Through all the processes, they tried to make a decision as to whether it was safe to fly with that piece having flaked off and what implications would be. NASA managers say they fully involved the crew of seven.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERSTENMAIER: The crew reps were present in the meeting with us. We also had the crew tied in via telecon. They listened in via telecon and they heard the discussion. And really we didn't get any comments from them. I don't recall them making any comments or asking any questions during the review. (END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: The areas of concern were what, in fact, another large piece of foam could fall off and possibly strike the orbiter as it went to flight? The loss of foam, would that cause a problem for either heating or cooling, because it is, after all, there to insulate? And the possibility that a piece of ice could lodge in that spot. All those issues were dealt with last night and the engineers say they are comfortable with their decision to fly 2:38 p.m. Eastern Time here today.

Now you see those clouds here behind me, doesn't look so great right now. And by the way, that countdown clock doesn't match the actual time. There's a series of holds inside that countdown and it doesn't match chronological time until inside nine minutes.

But, Chad Myers, the weather folks here are as optimistic as they have been since this all began. They're saying only a 20 percent chance bad weather will get in the way of the launch.

MYERS: And that's a new update from you, Miles, because the computer that I've been going to, the Web site, their actual shuttle Web site still says 40 percent chance of a no go, but that's from yesterday morning. So that's new information that you've just picked up this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Back to you.

COSTELLO: You got that right.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: But if it rains tonight, most of those firework shows will be canceled.

MYERS: I know. We talked to Jason Alexander. He's doing that big PBS special tonight in D.C. I still -- I told him, I said don't wait too long. When it gets dark, fire those fireworks. But it does look like they'll be OK.

COSTELLO: You know I just, actually, I can't imagine being on the Mall with thousands and thousands of people when the heat index is going to be as high as it is.

MYERS: It's millions and millions. I've been there. And the heat index today will be 105, so they'll be selling water as fast as they can make it.

COSTELLO: Yes.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Thank you, -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Coming up, what is the busiest airport in the country? There is a new title holder.

Plus, the 25-year-old Army vet with an inspiring story. He lost a lot in Iraq, but his competitive edge is stronger than ever. His story ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Anchorage, Alaska is the site of the 26th National Veterans Wheelchair Games. Hundreds of disabled athletes are competing this week in what is the largest annual wheelchair sporting event in the world.

CNN's Jonathan Freed has one man's inspiring story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bryan Anderson will tell you...

BRYAN ANDERSON, WOUNDED IN IRAQ: OK, I'm dizzy.

FREED: ... he's a speed freak.

ANDERSON: Tough road, too.

FREED: The 25-year-old Army specialist lost both legs and his left arm while serving in Iraq when his vehicle was hit by an improvised bomb.

Some say what's remarkable about Bryan is not just how well he's recovered, physically and emotionally, but how quickly. The incident only happened last October.

ANDERSON: I'm looking at my hand. I'm looking at this hand and it's gone. And then I looked up and saw my legs were gone, and I was just like, wow.

FREED: Just five months later, others were saying wow as they watched Bryan skiing and rock climbing at a veteran's event in Colorado.

ANDERSON: That was really cool to see all those you know veterans you know how their you know spirit and attitudes are. It's just unbelievable.

FREED: That experience prompted Bryan to say yes to an invitation to the National Veterans Wheelchair Games being held this week in Alaska. We caught up with him as he was getting ready to make the trip.

ANDERSON: I could care less if I come in dead last you know as long as we have fun and you know and meet some cool people.

FREED: But he admits it's not always easy to stay motivated.

ANDERSON: It bothers me a little bit, but you know what, you have two options, roll over and die or get up and do what you need to do.

FREED (on camera): Does this chair let you express your true personality?

ANDERSON: Yes. You know get the independence of not having people to push you around. It's fast.

FREED (voice-over): Bryan is one of only four triple amputees to survive combat wounds in Iraq, something he reflects on regularly.

ANDERSON: There's nothing really to complain about. I'm here, I'm alive. I still have my family and my friends, you know, that's the most important thing.

FREED: Despite his sacrifice, Bryan says that people still serving overseas are the real heroes.

Jonathan Freed, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And the theme of this year's National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Alaska is "The Price of Freedom."

In a moment, we'll go back to Miles at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for today's shuttle countdown.

We'll also take you live to North Carolina where an ex-soldier stands accused of rape and murder in Iraq. Will he face the death penalty?

Plus, a new threat of nuclear war from North Korea and Kim Jong- Il. We'll look at how serious this is. That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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