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MLK Memorial; The Fight For Iraq; Congress Reconvenes

Aired November 13, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

OPRAH WINFREY: ... ground on this memorial today, we participate in an act of love, as well as a great civic ritual. One that powerfully connects us to the river of American history. And we take our place, along the generations before, who have recognized that in the midst of the churning drama of time there are some events and there are some people who we must not forget.
And so with this memorial, we ensure that the very soul of Martin Luther King, Jr., shall be inscribed in our hearts forever.

Martin Luther king, Jr., was a quintessential American, yes. But even more importantly perhaps, he was a quintessential human being. Where he saw America off track, he saw us off track not just in our politics, but also in our humanity. We needed, he said, not nearly a quantitative change in our circumstances, but a qualitative change in our souls. And it is time, he said, to inject a new dimension of love into the veins of human civilization. And so for this one simple, very radical idea, Martin Luther King, Jr., lived and he suffered and he died.

And in breaking ground here today, we give both past and the future gifts. Looking backwards we give the gift of honor to Martin Luther King, Jr., and all those who worked and struggled with him for the cause of human dignity and the cause of freedom. Yet we gift as well generations who will come after us. We gift them with this eternal reminder to pause, to think, to reflect, to pray, and most importantly, to always ask, have we yet become a nation blessed not only by the prosperity of our lives but by the brotherhood and love of our lives?

Long before the days of cell phones and Internet, Dr. King said that through our scientific genius we have made the world a neighborhood and now, through our moral and spiritual genius, we must make of it a brotherhood. For the desegregation of the American south, he said, was merely the political externalization of the goal of the civil rights movement. His ultimate goal was the establishment of a beloved community.

And so it is our hope and our prayer that this memorial be a living reminder of that intention, a possibility that we now claim with a faith as passionate as his own. That we, as a nation, might yet become a beloved community. May this inspired idea inspire each one of us and all who in the years to come shall enter this great memorial and shall stand in this place, for surely if America is to be a light unto the nations, we must first be lit from a light within us. A light that leads to freedom, yes, to liberty, yes, to justice, but above all else, to love.

It is not a luxury, but a necessity that we ponder this, for today Dr. King's words ring more hauntingly true than ever. We must learn, he said, to live together as brothers or we all will perish as fools. The cause of love was not easy in Dr. King's day, nor as we know is it easy in ours. There are, he said, finite disappoints that we must accept, but he reminded us that we must never lose infinite hope.

I am convinced, Dr. King said, that the universe is under the control of a loving purpose and that in the struggle for righteousness man has cosmic companionship. Behind the harsh appearance of the world, he said, there is a benign power. That benign power was a power in our hearts more powerful than bullets and it is that truth to which Dr. King awakened in this nation.

He embodied an even more -- he proved that love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. A man and a social movement who represented the least among us, he rose up to become the most powerful among us. A power so great that it tore down the mighty walls of institutionalized racism that kept not only black Americans but all Americans enslaved by the shackles of hate.

America's political crisis as we know has changed since the days of Martin Luther King, Jr., but their spiritual content has not. Still yet we all struggle with what it means to be great. How as a nation to walk justly and with love.

I, and millions like myself, are direct recipients of Dr. King's exhortation that America should be great not only materially but spiritually. One of my favorite quotes of Dr. King is, he says, not everybody can be famous, but everybody can be great because greatness is determined by service. And what I know for sure is that whatever is done from the paradigm of service, offers love and hope to those who are receiving.

So we are here today to thank him, and to repay him, to pay it forward through this memorial. Doing what we can to continue his dream -- within ourselves, within our country and within our world. To always repudiate the forces of hate and to embrace more fully the forces of love that all Americans some day, I do believe, all the world shall truly, on this earth and in our hearts, in our minds, be free.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Oprah Winfrey now offering her remarks on this wonderful day in Washington, D.C. The groundbreaking for the MLK Monument and Memorial.

Shirley Franklin is with us, mayor of Atlanta, on set and in studio with us.

A couple of things come to mind that I want to pick up on from Oprah's comments. First of all, August 28, 1963, the "I have a dream" speech. She talked about how important that moment was for her. She would never be unprepared again in her life. What was that day like for you, Mayor Franklin?

SHIRLEY FRANKLIN, MAYOR OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA: I was a high school -- I mean I had just graduated from high school. I was a freshman at Howard University. And my mother and my family and I marched in that march. And I was sitting there on the side of the reflecting pool and it was a very inspirational day. It was a wonderful day. In addition to being a great day, it was an inspiration to see the leadership of the civil rights movement come together because those of us who were outside of the movement really didn't know a lot about it. I didn't. And, therefore, I thought maybe there had been some fighting or infighting. But everyone came together and Martin King's speech capped it off at the end of the day and it was absolutely fabulous.

HARRIS: And President Bush has arrived.

FRANKLIN: Oh, that's wonderful.

HARRIS: And there's an embrace between presidents, past and present. And now greeting the family. And one other thought as we get close to the president's remarks, I'm wondering what it's been like for you all these years -- and we just saw a shot there of the family -- to work with the family on so many important occasions. Think about that for just a moment. And let's listen to the president.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm honored to join you today in today's ceremony. I'm proud to dedicate this piece of our nation's capital to the lasting memory of a great man. We have gathered in tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, to the ideals he held, and to the life he lived. Dr. King showed us that a life of conscious and purpose can lift up many souls. And on this ground, a monument will rise that preserves his legacy for the ages.

Honoring Dr. King's legacy requires more than building a monument. It requires the ongoing commitment of every American. So we will continue to work for the day when the dignity and humanity of every person is respected and the American promise is denied to no one.

This project has been over a decade in the making and I thank those who have worked to bring about this day. I particularly want to thank my predecessor, the man who signed the legislation to create this memorial, President Bill Clinton.

It sounds like to me they haven't forgotten you yet.

He's become, as you know, my fourth brother.

I want to thank Harry Johnson. I appreciate the members of my cabinet who are here. I welcome the members of Congress. I thank my mayor, Tony Williams, who is here. I'm proud to be with the members of the King family. I thank the representatives of the community and civil rights groups who have joined us. I thank the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial Project Foundation board members and executive cabinet. Most of all, thank you all for coming.

Our Declaration of Independence makes it clear that the human rights to dignity and equality is not a grant of government. It is the gift from the author of life. And Martin Luther King considered the declaration one of America's great, as he called it, charters of freedom. He called our founders words, "a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable right of liberty, life and the pursuit of happiness."

Throughout Dr. King's life, he continued to trust in the power of those words. Even when the practice of America did not live up to their promise. When Martin Luther King came to Washington, D.C., in the summer of 1963, he came to hold this nation to its own standards and to call its citizens to live up to the principles of our founding.

He stood not far from here, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. With thousands gathered around him, Dr. King looked out over the American capital and declared his famous words, "I have a dream." His dream spread a message of hope that echoed from his hometown of Sweet Auburn, Georgia, to the pulpit of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, to the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

A assassin's bullet could not shatter the dream. Dr. King's message of justice and brotherhood took hold in the hearts of men and women across the great land of ours. It continues to inspire millions across the world.

As we break ground, we give Martin Luther King his rightful place among the great Americans honored on our National Mall. The King Memorial will span a piece of ground between the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials. And by its presence in this place, it will unite the men who declared the promise of America and defended the promise of America with the man who redeemed the promise of America.

The memorial will reflect the arc of Dr. King's life, his search for justice, and the enduring beauty of his words. The memorial will include a wall where visitors can read passages from Dr. King's sermons and speeches through a stream of water. And on the banks of the Potomac, visitors will walk from the mountain of despairr to the stone of hope where Dr. King's image is rendered.

Today we see only these open acres, yet we know that when the work is done, the King Memorial will be a fitting tribute, powerful and hopeful, and poetic like the man it honors.

As we break ground, we remember the great obstacles that Dr. King overcame and the courage that transformed American history. The years of Martin Luther King's life were tumultuous, difficult and a heroic time in the life of our country. Across our nation, African-Americans faced daily cruelties and pervasive wrongs.

In 1955, a woman, Rosa Parks, challenged these wrongs on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, when she refuse a driver's order to give her seat to a white man. Her act of defiance inspired the young Baptist minister and changed our nation forever. Within days of Rosa Parks' lonely protest, Dr. King helped organize a boycott that captured the attention of our country. With Dr. King's leadership, the boycott forced America to confront the glaring contradiction between the sign on the bus and the words of our Declaration of Independence. And on this day exactly 50 years ago, the Supreme Court ruled the segregation of public buses unconstitutional. And so today we celebrate the courage that one victory and helped spark one of the greatest movements for equality and freedom in American history.

Eventually the civil rights movement would succeed in persuading Congress to pass sweeping legislation that represented a new founding for our nation. On July 2, 1964, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act at the White House. As of that day, no longer could weary travelers be denied a room in a hotel or a table at a restaurant on account of their race. And no longer could any American be forced to drink from a separate water fountain or sit at the back of the bus just because of their race.

Dr. King liked to say that our Civil Rights Act was written in the streets by citizens who marched for the idea that all men are created equal. He was right. Yet there is no doubting that the law came as it did when it did because of the courage and leadership of Martin Luther King.

As we break ground, we recognize our duty to continue the unfinished work of American freedom. America has come a long way since Dr. King's day, yet our journey to justice is not complete. There are still people in our society who hurt. Neighborhoods are too poor. There are still children who do not get the education they need to fulfill their God-given potential. There's still prejudice that holds citizens back. And there's still a need for all Americans to hear the words of Dr. King so we can hasten the day when his message of hope takes hold in every community across our country.

We go forward with the knowledge that the creator who wrote the desire for liberty in our hearts also gives us the strength and wisdom to fulfill it. We go forward with trust that God, who has brought us thus far on the way, will give us the strength to finish the journey. And we go forward with the confidence that no matter how difficult the challenge, if we remain true to our founding principles, America will overcome.

Dr. King was on this earth just 39 years, but the ideas that guided his work and his life are eternal. Here in this place, we will raise a lasting memorial to those eternal truths. So in the presence of his family, his co-workers in freedom's cause and those who carry on his legacy today, I'm proud to dedicate this ground on behalf of the American people as the site of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial. And may God bless you all.

HARRIS: The president of the United States, George W. Bush.

Shirley Franklin with us in studio and on set. Strong comments from the president.

FRANKLIN: Very strong, very sincere.

HARRIS: Yes. That was really good. That was good.

Shirley, let me just ask you one final question. Thanks for your time.

FRANKLIN: Certainly.

HARRIS: Thanks for all of your time this morning.

I'm thinking about the family. Everyone has mentioned the family. It's appropriate. Talk to us about the children of Dr. King, as the president shakes hands again, and what it's been like for you to work with the King children on so many important tasks here in the city. What might they be thinking on a day like today?

FRANKLIN: Well, this is a wonderful day for all of us and a special day for the family of Dr. King, including his children, his sister and his nephews and all of the relatives. This is a chance for them to share Dr. King in a brand new way. To instill kind of a sense of pride of what Georgia -- what was born in Georgia and really reached out to change the entire country. So, they are, I am sure, full of pride and excitement about today.

And I have spoken with them on occasion in recent months about their father's legacy. And to see all of this come together, the King papers in Atlanta, the memorial in Washington, the continuing appreciation by the top people in the country, the president of the United States, we see the secretary of state there, Condoleezza Rice, the former president, all of those folks coming together to say that this is a legacy that we will work towards. It's a terrific day for America.

HARRIS: Mayor Franklin, can't thank you enough for your time. Very generous with your time this morning as you sort of guided us through a portion of the proceedings. We will continue to watch the ceremony throughout the morning. But thank you for your time.

FRANKLIN: Thank you.

HARRIS: Thank you.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead in the NEWSROOM now, keeping an eye on Iraq. We are live from Baghdad coming up next.

And coming home. From guarding a convoy, to caring for children. The nightmares of war lingers. One woman's story.

Plus, capital punishment. The lame duck's limp back to Washington. We'll have that. You are in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Civil rights in the United States on this day and concerns about civil war in Iraq and a nuclear threat in Iran. President Bush embarks on a very busy day of events. On the agenda, the Iraq study group. The much awaited bipartisan group is working on recommendations on how to bring peace to Iraq. Then back at the White House, the president meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The men are expected to discuss Iran's nuclear ambitions. And you just heard the president speaking at the MLK Memorial.

Meanwhile, a new week, another surge in violence in Iraq. A suicide bomber blew himself up on a bus in Baghdad today. The blast killed at least 10 people and wounded more than a dozen others. That bombing just one of several attacks today across the Iraqi capital.

As the violence spiked, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East arrived in Baghdad to meet with the country's prime minister. CNN's Arwa Damon is in Baghdad.

Arwa, tell us the latest about that meeting between General John Abizaid and Prime Minister Maliki.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, what we do know is that General Abizaid met the prime minister here in Baghdad. They discussed a number of issues. The information that we have, though, is only coming out of the prime minister's office. They are being very tight lipped at this point.

But what we do know is that the two discussed a number of things. General Abizaid reaffirmed to Nuri al-Maliki President Bush's commitment to Iraq, his commitment to developing the political process here. Also emphasizing the continual need to train up Iraqi security forces and the U.S. efforts on that end.

Also the two men spoke about the impact that neighboring countries to Iraq are having on the conflict here. The main two there being Syria and Iran. General Abizaid also met with Iraqi Minister of Interior Jawad Bolani again to discuss moving forward and the development of the Iraqi security forces.

This is a time when a lot is being debated, both in Washington and here on the ground in Iraq when it comes to policies on the ground, to try to bring an end to this violence. The Iraqi prime minister himself yesterday asking parliament, asking the political blocks here for permission to change up some of his ministers. He is looking to shake up his cabinet.

He says, according to one of his close advisers, National Security Adviser Muwafaq al-Rubaie, feels at this point that some of his ministers are not entirely on board with his national reconciliation plan. So he is looking for permission to shake that up. All of this, of course, in an effort to bring some sort of end to the violence here.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Arwa, any idea how Iraqis are actually reacting to that shake up?

DAMON: Well, Heidi, it really depends on who you speak with. If you speak with ordinary Iraqi civilians that are living with this violence every day -- just today a suicide bomber killed 10 Iraqis in the capital, yesterday violence in just five hours claimed the lives of 50. When you speak with the Iraqis that are trying to live with this every day, they have heard their prime minister speak before. They've heard words come out of his mouth, obviously. But what they're looking to see is action. They're looking to see those words translate into action.

Shias are saying this is the prime minister's way of putting a stamp on his government. Sunni politicians are wary at this stage. They say that the problems here are so utterly complex that just hanging out a few ministers isn't really going to solve the violence. And they fear, too, that these moves by the prime minister might create a false sense of hope among the Iraqi people, that this violence is actually coming to an end.

COLLINS: All right. Arwa Damon coming to us live from Baghdad.

Arwa, thank you for the update.

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: Well, it's back to work today for Congress. Big changes, of course, since lawmakers left town. They return to unfinished business in their final weeks of Republican rule and the shift of power to the Democrats. Live to CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash now who is presumed -- we're talking about Nancy Pelosi here. We've learned a little bit over the weekend about who she is going to be supporting by way of the majority leader in the new Congress.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Heidi.

She stepped off the sidelines, surprised many by doing it so publicly, and said she is going to back John Murtha for her number two for the next majority leader. Now many of our viewers probably first became familiar with the name John Murtha about a year ago because he was one of the first hawkish congressmen, especially Democrats, somebody with strong military ties, to come out and say, look, it's time for us to get out of Iraq. And now that is precisely why Nancy Pelosi publicly is saying she thinks that it is important for him to be rewarded with the number two slot in the new Democratic majority in the House.

In a letter she released last night to John Murtha, she said, "with respect to Iraq in particular, I salute your courageous leadership that changed the national debate and helped make Iraq the central issue of this historic election. It was surely a dark day for the Bush administration when you spoke truth to power."

Now that is not exactly a welcome statement for Steny Hoyer. He is currently the number two to Nancy Pelosi. Somebody who has been working for months and months to try to secure the slot, secure enough votes from his Democratic colleagues to become the next majority leader. But Hoyer and Pelosi, you see them there in the Oval Office last week, they actually have quite -- are known to have quite a frosty relationship. Meanwhile, though, Pelosi is very, very close and has been for some 20 years with John Murtha. And so many say that she has made this decision out of personal loyalty to John Murtha. And, in fact, in Steny Hoyer's statement in response to his last night, he said, "Nancy told me some time ago that she would personally support Jack. I respect her decision as the two are very close."

Now, Hoyer is still considered to be the front runner, but this particular move does a couple of things. One is, it shows that the Democratic leadership is definitely still shaking out. Some are not very happy about the fact that as they're trying to be unified, there is division at the top ranks of the Democratic Party in the House. But also it is, perhaps, a signal in terms of where the new House majority is going in terms of Iraq. The fact that Nancy Pelosi is making it very clear not only does she personally have respect and admiration for Jack Murtha, but she also is making it clear that she believes that the thing that took the Democrats into power, Iraq, should stay front and center in terms of the policy and political debate as they govern.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, it's very interesting, learning that over the weekend. Dana will continue to follow that one.

Also happening today, talk to us about Carl Levin. He's going to be laying out his agenda, if you will. He is the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. What are the policy changes that we might see here, Dana?

BASH: Well, the policy changes, that's an interesting question because, you know, when it comes to Democratic control of the House and the Senate, they certainly have a lot of say in terms of the debate, every in control of the Senate, though, and the House, it's not necessarily clear they can make that much of a difference when it comes to the Iraq policy. What Senator Levin said over the weekend, and we expect him to say in about is that he does want to keep pressing for redeployment or for troops to start coming home from Iraq in four to six months, and that that should be tagged to Iraq's political development, I should say.

But even Democratic leadership aide I just talked to just a short while ago said say the bottom line is we really don't have that much leverage. We can ask for a seat at the table. We can be more powerful in terms of our rhetoric, but whether we can change policy, they're looking a lot to what's happening at the White House right now with the Iraq Study Group.

COLLINS: All right, understood. A lot of people very much awaiting to find out what is in that thing. All right, Dana Bash, live from Capitol Hill this morning. Thanks.

HARRIS: Well, with the power shift comes the committee switch, and that means Democrats will control investigations in the new Congress.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick takes a look at what you can expect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to launching specific investigations, if the Democrats know the target they're not saying. At least not exactly. But they have made it clear there will be a lot more oversight. As powerful committees move to re-examine choices made under Republican leaders, look for fraud in waste and, where necessary, hold people accountable.

SEN. HARRY REID (D), MINORITY LEADER: Let's find out what's going on with the war in Iraq, the different large federal agencies we have. There simply has been no oversight in recent years. And I don't want to frighten anyone about investigations. Congressional oversight is not a negative.

FEYERICK: Topping the list, Iraq, including prewar intelligence, how it was gathered, and how the money is being spent.

A.B. STODDARD, "THE HILL" NEWSPAPER: There obviously has been some controversy over the rebuilding and the reconstruction efforts in Iraq, particularly the question of contracts, and those, I imagine, will come under close scrutiny.

FEYERICK: There's Hurricane Katrina and how money may have been squandered. And homeland security. One Senate staffer telling CNN, a bloated contracting system may have benefited the private sector, not security. The probable chair of energy and commerce has said he is likely to investigate the Energy Policy Act, as well as the nuclear waste program and possible abuse.

STODDARD: We know, for instance, they're going to examine the subsidies that large oil companies, energy companies received.

FEYERICK: Expected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said there are no plans to impeach the president, and that subpoenas will only be used as a last resort.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: Would hope there would be cooperation from the executive branch in terms of investigating the prewar intelligence. I don't know what those -- those decisions will be made by our caucus with the wisdom of the committees of jurisdiction.

FEYERICK: Political watchers say when the Republicans took control in mid '90s, they issued about 1,000 subpoenas, a move that looked both like a fishing expedition and political vendetta. Insiders say that's why Democrats will pick their investigations carefully.

JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC POL. STRATEGIST: With this new Congress, I think you're going to see Democrats who actually want to open up the entire Pandora's Box of what's been happening in government. But there's going to be a real political imperative to make sure we continue to look forward in terms of what we need to do in Congress, as well as make sure there's accountability for all the mistakes that have been made over the last six years.

FEYERICK: A strategy which could well position Democrats for 2008.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Want to get to this information now coming in to us here at CNN. Betty Nguyen is working on this. Some big news here in the Michael Skakel case.

Fill us in, Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, today the Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel, who is currently serving a prison term of at least 20 years. See, the justice has declined to take Skakel's appeal of his conviction in the beating death of his Greenwich, Connecticut neighbor Martha Moxley. She was 15 years old at the time. The murder actually occurred 31 years ago when the two were just teenagers.

As you know, Skakel is the nephew of Ethel Kennedy. He was convicted in 2002. And here is where the rub was. Skakel's lawyer argues that the deadline for prosecuting Skakel passed 19 years before he was arrested in January of 2000. At the time, in 1975, when the murder occurred, Connecticut had a five year statute of limitations. Well, the following year, they reversed that, and said there would be no statute of limitations. So that's where a lot of the argument came.

And today the Supreme Court has upheld this murder conviction. Skakel has been serving time since he was sentenced, and he is doing 20 years to life in prison.

Back to you.

COLLINS: All right. Betty Nguyen, thanks so much for that.

(MARKET REPORT)

COLLINS: And later in the NEWSROOM, we focus on medical news, and this one will hit you in the gut. Have you heard of it? Celiac Disease -- pain, gas, cramps, but it is more than all of that. Could lead to malignancies, osteoporosis, anemia, and maybe even some neurological complications. About three million Americans now live with Celiac Disease. Most of them don't know too much about it. Some physicians don't know too much about it. So we will be talking in our 11:00 hour with the leading doctor in Celiac Disease, and we want to answer your questions about it. Go ahead and send them in to CNNnewsroom@cnn.com. We're getting quite a few of them folks, so we will get to them in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Back to Washington D.C. now and the MLK Memorial groundbreaking ceremonies today in Washington. Let's go ahead and listen to Senator Barack Obama.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: ... was not a president of the United States. At no time in his life did he hold public office. He was not a hero of foreign wars. He never had much money. And while he lived, he was reviled at least as much as he was celebrated. By his own accounts, he was a man frequently wracked with doubt, a man not without flaws, a man who, like Moses before him more than once questioned why he had been chosen for so arduous a task, the task of leading a people to freedom, a task of healing the festering wounds of the nation's original sin.

And yet lead a nation he did. Through words he gave voice to freedom. A task of healing the festering wounds of a nation's original sin. And yet lead a nation he did. Through words, he gave voice to the voiceless. Through deeds, he gave courage to the faint of heart. By vision and determination and most of all faith in the redeeming power of love, he endured the humiliation of arrest, the loneliness of a prison cell, the constant threats to his life. Until he finally inspired a nation to transform itself and begin to live up to the meaning of its creed.

Like Moses before him, he would never live to see the promised land. But from that mountaintop, he pointed the way for us. A land no longer torn asunder with racial hatred and ethnic strife. A land that measured itself by how it treats the least of these. A land in which strength is defined not simply by the capacity to wage war, but by the determination to forge peace. A land in which all of god's children might come together in the spirit of brotherhood.

We have not yet arrived at this longed-for place. For all the progress that we have made, there are times when the land of our dreams recedes from us. When we are lost, wandering spirits, content with our suspicions and our angers, our long-held grudges, and petty disputes, our frantic diversions, our tribal allegiances, and yet by erecting this monument, we are reminded that this different, better place, beckons us. That we will find it not across distant hills or within some hidden valley, but rather we will find it somewhere in our hearts.

In the book of Micah, Chapter 6, Verse 8, the prophet says that God has already told us what is good. What doth the Lord require of thee? The verse tells us, but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God. The man we honor today did what God required. In the end, that is what I will tell my daughters. I will leave it to their teachers and their history books to tell them the rest, but just as Dr. King once said to be remembered, I will tell them that this man gave his life serving others. I will tell them that this man tried to love somebody. I will tell them that because he did these things, they live today with a freedom God intended. Their citizenship unquestioned. Their dreams unbounded. I will tell them that they, too, can love, that they too, can serve, and that each generation is beckoned anew to fight for what is right and to strive for what is just. And to find within itself the spirit, the sense of purpose, that can remake a nation and transform a world. Thank you very much.

COLLINS: Words from Senator Barack Obama today. Once again, you are looking at live pictures from the groundbreaking ceremony for the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial. It is a beautiful project, several dignitaries there today. We heard from President Bush, former president Bill Clinton, and our own Soledad O'Brien is there introducing some of the people and serving as emcee. So, it is a wonderful day. We will continue to watch this as it goes on.

COLLINS: American troops in Iraq. They live with the fear of death every single day. But what about after the battle when a soldier goes home. CNN's Randi Kaye reminds us emotional wounds could linger long after the fight is over.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For more than a year Keri Christensen hauled tanks up and down the dangerous roads of Iraq.

KERI CHRISTENSEN, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: It was very scary. You always had to be on alert. You were always thinking, you know, is this going to be my last mission? Am I going to make it home?

KAYE: Today this mother of two from Illinois is back behind the wheel of her mini-van hauling her most precious cargo, four-year-old Olivia and eight-year-old Madison. But from the drivers seat, what Carrie sees, most other moms would never even want to imagine.

CHRISTENSEN: Trash bags, like if they're laying in the middle of the road or on the side of the road, to me, they could be IEDs.

KAYE: Since returning home, Keri says she sleeps an average of four hours a night and takes both sleeping pills and anti-depressants.

KAYE (on-camera): Had you ever experienced depression before in your life?

CHRISTENSEN: Not major depression like this, no.

KAYE: Keri says she's had imaginary conversations with her husband and dropped and rolled at the sound of a neighbor's nail gun.

CHRISTENSEN: To me, it sounded like a machine gun and I initially just got down on the ground.

KAYE (on-camera): Keri says she was diagnosed in Iraq with post- traumatic stress disorder. Trauma specialists say one in seven soldiers suffers returning from Iraq suffers from PTSD. But there are no statistics on how many are women, the caregivers in most families.

KAYE: Did you even have it in you to nurture your children when you got back, when really you were the one who needed the nurturing?

CHRISTENSEN: Not really, no. I know that's horrible to say, but I was so lost.

KAYE: At any point did you seriously consider taking your own life?

CHRISTENSEN: When I got home, yes.

KAYE: She says she was already experiencing anxiety or mild depression when she was reassigned to duty at the Kuwait airport because of a non-combat injury. She says that only made her feel worse.

CHRISTENSEN: Every day I had to walk pass the mortuary, and they had coffins stacked up that were empty, but you know, they were just waiting for bodies to come in. And we would see coffins being placed into a trailer that was a cooler and waiting for the next flight to come in to have the bodies shipped on the plane and taken home.

KAYE: Carrie says she also had been dealing with sexual harassment. The military tells CNN it found her allegation to have no merit. Then while in Kuwait, Carrie was arrested by military police for wrongfully consuming alcohol. She says she was just groggy from taking prescription medicine. A court Marshall found her guilty and she was reprimanded, an ordeal she says, intensified her inner trauma.

CHRISTENSEN: Amazing! My mother knows French.

KAYE: Carrie has decided to leave the military. In the year she's been home, she says there's been little improvement in her condition. There are still the nightmares and the phobias. No way to live for this suburban mom whose war at home, just like the one in Iraq, has no end in sight.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Oakwood Hills, Illinois.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Okay. Let's take you back to Washington, D.C. Now, the ground-breaking ceremony for the memorial for Martin Luther, King, Jr., and you are listening to Yolanda King, the first born daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr.

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YOLANDA KING, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR'S DAUGHTER: ... Not the kind who made me a princess, but one who made me a peacemaker. For he taught us that love is the ultimate healer and where love abides, there you will also find peace. Thank you, God, for our father. And thank God to all of you who have joined us, who have come together during this momentous time. At this time, I would like to welcome and present my first born -- the first born son of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King, a champion for freedom and justice in his own right, my brother, Martin Luther King III.

HARRIS: And once again, the children of Dr. King taking their turns to speak -- son Martin. I guess we will hear at some point from son Dexter and then Bernice, the baby sibling, Bernice King, as well. What a huge day in Washington, D.C. Now, so many dignitaries who have taken their time and have offered inspiring remarks today. President Bush, former president Clinton and it is a program that is hosted by our very own AMERICAN MORNING host, Soledad O'Brien. We will follow the proceedings throughout the morning.

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HARRIS: And still to come this morning, going to the gallows. We'll take you to one place in America where hanging is still an option. You are in the NEWSROOM.

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HARRIS: You're with CNN -- you're informed. Good morning everyone, I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins. Developments keep coming into the NEWSROOM on this Monday, November 13th. Here's what's on the rundown: The American and Israeli leaders together at the White House this hour. Iran's nuclear program high on their agenda.

HARRIS: Presidents, celebrities, VIPs -- groundbreaking ceremonies this hour for Martin Luther King, Jr. and the memorial being built in Washington.

COLLINS: And skip the cupcakes. You probably know someone with Celiac disease -- problem is they may not know it. We're going to be talking with an expert about this under-diagnosed illness. And glutten, yes glutten.

HARRIS: Glutten.

COLLINS: And answer all your e-mails too, right here in the NEWSROOM.

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