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Bush Still On Message On Iraq; Insurgents Use Chlorine in Attacks; Anti War Rally at Pentagon

Aired March 17, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning, and welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM on this St. Patrick's Day, Saturday, the 17th day of March.
Good morning, everybody.

I'm Betty Nguyen.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm T.J. Holmes.

Next in THE NEWSROOM, suicide bombers use chlorine gas in Iraq, sickening U.S. soldiers and more than 300 Iraqis.

Plus, we've got this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. YAHYA JAMMEH, GAMBIA: I'm cured at this moment.

JEFF KOINANGE, AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: What, you don't have any HIV symptoms?

JAMMEH: I -- no, I don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Is there really a cure for AIDS or is this herbal mixture just a failed concoction of an African medicine man?

We'll explore it.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, ATS METEOROLOGIST: Wintry weather is still pounding parts of the Northeast. In fact, one city had to postpone its St. Patrick's Day celebration. Find out where, coming up.

HOLMES: A troubling tactic in Iraq -- chlorine gas attacks in Anbar Province have killed two people and sickened hundreds more. Suicide bombers detonated chlorine-filled trucks at three locations in the province. Three hundred and fifty Iraqis and six coalition members were treated for exposure.

There have been several chlorine gas attacks in Anbar Province since late January. U.S. military officials have called the tactic "a crude attempt to raise the terror level."

Our Kyra Phillips is in Baghdad. KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's a fairly new tactic, these chlorine-filled trucks, that I'm told. And now we're seeing three bombings coming forward through U.S. military information. Suicide bombers, we are told, detonated three chlorine-filled trucks in the Anbar Province, killing two police officers and sickening about 350 Iraqis and six coalition force members.

I can tell you that the bombings occurred at three separate places. One, a checkpoint just north of Ramadi. A number of these checkpoints are not safe. You don't know if there are good guys or bad guys manning these checkpoints.

Today is proof that they are not completely safe, even though it appears to be manned by police or military.

The other one happened in Amiriyah. That's about 10 miles south of Fallujah. And then also in the Albu-Issa region just south of Fallujah.

Now, why chlorine?

Well, it causes difficulty in breathing, coughing, vomiting. It causes burning to the skin, also in the nose, throat, in the eyes. It's very common to find chlorine here in the Iraq -- in the country of Iraq. It's used to purify the water, also to deal with the sewage, and, also, believe it or not, to clean the chicken, one of the main staples here in Baghdad and throughout the region.

I'm being told that suicide bombers have used this tactic, this chlorine, against Iraqis in Sunni-dominated Anbar Province region a total of five times since the end of January.

Kyra Phillips, CNN, Baghdad.

NGUYEN: All right, so let's talk to Professor Leonard Cole of Rutgers University about this.

He has written extensively about biological and chemical terror.

He joins us by phone.

Professor, the first thing I want to know is what are the immediate signs and symptoms of chlorine gas?

LEONARD COLE, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Oh, you'd have little trouble understanding that you've been poisoned with something. Burning of the eyes, burning upon breathing. If you inhale a proper dose of it, it can start actually searing your lungs. It's a very, very ghastly kind of poisonous, toxic material.

NGUYEN: We understand some 350 people are being treated for exposure.

What kind of treatments are they seeking at this time?

COLE: Well, if you have a moderate exposure, and especially if it's on your skin and begins to burn, you can wash it immediately, if that's possible. In terms of taking care of something that's inhaled, that's far more difficult. There's no way that you can treat somebody whose lungs have been seriously burned or seared. You just have to hope that there's enough natural capability of the body to respond if it hasn't been an overwhelming dose of the material.

NGUYEN: And as for long-term effects, say, many of these folks are expected to survive this, which, at this point, it doesn't seem like they're not, what kind of long-term effects could they have?

COLE: Well, if there has been some injury to the lungs and/or to the bronchial tree, that is the -- your whole respiratory system. If there has been serious injury where there is scarring, then you can have a permanent damage. If it's only modest or moderate, people can recover.

I don't know if you have mentioned it previously on your broadcast, but a couple of years ago there was an accident in one of our Southern cities, a railroad train that had many, many chlorine tanks -- were -- where chlorine was released, caused several injuries and about a half a dozen deaths, as well.

So it is a toxic material. It's something not to be happy about, certainly, by any means, though many people do recover after exposure.

NGUYEN: Well, there is some concern because in Iraq they are finding that insurgents are using chlorine as a method of attack, chlorine gas, that is.

COLE: Yes.

NGUYEN: And with that being the case, and as we're seeing these occur, I want to ask you how readily available is it?

COLE: I'm sorry to say that it's very simple to find the ingredients that would go into making chlorine gas. There's no sense in my spelling them out for you here. But it is not difficult. It's not technically difficult.

One thing that I don't like about this is that once you begin to see the use of a poison gas of this nature, then it almost opens the gateway to an interest in more toxic materials, like mustard or even nerve agents. And if any person is willing to use chlorine against somebody to cause injury and death, I have no doubt that they would be even more interested in finding other more lethal materials.

NGUYEN: You know, that's really a frightening statement there. But as you mentioned, if people are being able to get their hands on this and many other materials, in this case, they were dealing with dump trucks that were carrying chlorine gas.

And so in this instance, and in the fact that we're seeing this, is there any way for people to protect themselves?

COLE: Not really on the spot. I mean if you were exposed to a toxic agent, chlorine or some others, and you had access to a handkerchief and perhaps even a moist handkerchief, you might be able to give yourself some moderate protection if you held a handkerchief over your face, as if you were wearing a mask.

But there -- and that would act as a filter.

But there isn't any -- any major effort. You know, you can't walk around with any special apparatus that is going to protect you, unless you're going to wear a gas mask all the time, and that's not going to happen.

NGUYEN: Yes.

Professor Leonard Cole of Rutgers University, thanks so much for your insight this morning.

We really appreciate it.

HOLMES: And as Monday's the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War approaches, a weekend of protests getting underway. It began last night with prayers for peace at Washington's National Cathedral, followed by a march to the White House. There were arrests on a sidewalk in front of the White House. Police say protesters broke a law requiring people on that sidewalk to keep moving.

NGUYEN: President Bush discussed the Iraq War today during his weekly radio address.

And CNN's Kathleen Koch joins us live -- the first thing we want to know, Kathleen, is what did the president say?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, first of all, President Bush started out talking about the troop increase in Iraq, his new plan that he pointed out is still in its early stages. But the president said he is seeing signs of progress, hopeful signs of progress.

But the president really, in his radio address, focused on coming down quite hard on the U.S. Congress. Next week, it's scheduled to begin debating an emergency war funding bill and President Bush urged Congress very forcefully to make that a clean emergency spending bill.

Right now, the measure, as it stands, includes funding for what President Bush called unrelated programs like NASA, peanut storage, even the Foreign Service Agency, not that the president has anything against funding those items, but just does not believe that they belong in this emergency war spending bill.

The president also objects to certain benchmarks and conditions that the measure would set, keeping U.S. troops in Iraq for the -- for funding Iraqi troops and for the conduct of the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The bill would impose arbitrary and restrictive conditions on the use of war funds and require the withdrawal of forces by the end of this year if these conditions are not met.

These restrictions would handcuff our generals in the field by denying them the flexibility they need to adjust their operations to the changing situation on the ground. And these restrictions would substitute the mandates of Congress for the considered judgment of our military commanders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, the radio address comes as thousands of anti-war protests converged in Washington this weekend, as T.J. already reported. Many of them praying at National Cathedral before coming here to the White House.

Some 222 protesters were arrested here just outside the White House gates in last night's protest.

Now, right now the schedule for the protesters, today, the demonstrators marking, again, the fourth anniversary, the upcoming fourth anniversary of the Iraq War, is to begin their protests at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. They have a permit for some 30,000 demonstrators to converge there.

Before then, heading on to the Pentagon. And important to point out that President Bush is not going to be witnessing any of these protests. He is spending the weekend at the presidential retreat at Camp David -- back to you.

NGUYEN: Kathleen, thank you.

KOCH: You bet.

HOLMES: Well, no murder conviction for a U.S. Army sergeant accused of ordering troops to kill three Iraqi detainees in Samarra. A military panel at Kentucky's Fort Campbell has found Staff Sergeant Ray Girouard not guilty of premeditated murder, convicting him, instead, of lesser charges, including negligent homicide. The sentencing portion begins on Monday. Girouard was the highest ranking soldier to face trial for the deaths, which took place last May.

Kidnapping, torture, murder -- that's happening this weekend on an all new CNN Special Investigations Unit. They're going to be talking about the brutality of rogue Shia militias secretly operating within the Iraqi government's security forces.

Are they putting U.S. troops in danger and can they be stopped?

Don't miss an all new CNN SIU "Death Squads."

That's tonight and Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern.

Well, careless and reckless -- that's how Valerie Plame Wilson describes the White House and the State Department. She testified on Capitol Hill and angrily accused the Bush administration of leaking her identity as a CIA operative for political purposes. She says the administration was trying to discredit her husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, who was a critic of its Iraq policy.

An investigation into the leak of Plame Wilson's identity led to charges against Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Plame Wilson says Libby's trial was an eye-opener.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIE PLAME WILSON, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: In the course of the trial, Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, "Scooter" Libby, I was shocked by the evidence that emerged. My name and identity were carelessly and recklessly abused by senior government officials in both the White House and the State Department.

All of them understood that I worked for the CIA and having signed oaths to protect national security secrets, they should have been diligent in protecting me and every CIA officer. The CIA goes to great lengths to protect all of its employees, providing at significant taxpayers' expense, painstakingly devised and creative covers for its most sensitive staffers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Lewis Libby was convicted last week of obstructing the leak investigation.

Meanwhile Plame Wilson's husband spoke to Anderson Cooper and Joseph Wilson directed much of his anger toward President Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "ANDERSON COOPER 360")

JOSEPH WILSON, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR: Neither she nor I can understand that Karl Rove continues to have a security clearance. And, of course, today the big news, in addition to Valerie's testimony, was the White House testimony -- testimony of the White House official that no investigation was even done.

Now, in our own collective 43 years of government service, we know that there -- when there are security violations, they're routinely investigated by security officers. This was not done in the White House. That's an outrage.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: You've said all along that your wife's name was leaked to discredit you. But we now know that Richard Armitage first leaked your wife's name to Robert Novak and people say he was against the war.

WILSON: Well, you know, Rich Armitage is a good friend of Karl Rove's. We don't know exactly what his motivations were, which is one of the reasons why he is party to the civil suit that we have launched.

We also know that whatever Rich Armitage may or may not have said, that Mr. Libby and Mr. Rove were engaged in parallel, if not coordinated, operations to do the same thing.

So whether Rich Armitage was just loose lips sink ships, just sloppy handling of classified material, doesn't negate the fact that Mr. Libby and Mr. Rove were actively engaged in pushing my wife's name on selected reporters around town.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The Wilsons' civil suit against several administration officials continues to move forward. Arguments are set for May 17th in U.S. District Court.

Meanwhile, back to the weather now. Spring may be half a week away, but winter is not going quietly. A major storm is dumping snow on the Northeast. Nearly a foot of snow was reported in some parts of Connecticut. Officials say roads are slippery, but all state highways remain open.

The storm dropped about a foot of snow in the Albany, New York area. The Albany airport reopened at about 9:00 this morning, but there are still some delays and cancellations. The mayor says they had to cancel the St. Patrick's Day parade, but things could be worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR GERALD JENNINGS, ALBANY, NEW YORK: All reports are good. I mean the plan we've implemented seems to have worked very well and it's unfortunate we had to cancel the parade today. But public safety is the issue here and what we've done is we've made sure that all the streets are passable, the main thoroughfares are very, very clean, you know, because the storm just ended a couple of hours ago and our men and women have worked very, very hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: All right, so let's get the latest now on this weather outside. It's supposed to be spring.

Bonnie Schneider is watching all of it.

What happened -- Bonnie.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, ATS METEOROLOGIST: We're getting there, Betty.

You know, actually, spring begins March 21st, so it's just around the corner.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Well, should he stay or should he go?

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and President Bush have a lot to consider in the face of a growing controversy.

NGUYEN: A nation's leader says he has found the cure for AIDS.

So why are world health officials saying that this so-called cure could actually be very dangerous?

We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Happening right now, six coalition troops, 350 Iraqi civilians all sickened by chlorine gas. Insurgents exploded three trucks carrying chlorine near the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi on Friday. The suicide attacks killed two police officers.

HOLMES: Prosecutors -- you're fired. The White House now playing for time and shifting the story a bit in the blow up centering on Alberto Gonzales, the attorney general. Democrats charge he fired eight U.S. attorneys late last year for political reasons. To show otherwise and get to the bottom of all of this, the administration promised to turn over more documents to Congress Friday.

Instead, it's now going to be on Monday.

Also, the White House now says it's not sure that former Counsel Harriet Miers got the ball rolling on those dismissals.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow citing hazy memories.

Well, comedians, politicians, other public figures sometimes they can't figure out when to get off that stage. For now, the attorney general hanging on.

But for how long?

Here now, senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): How long can President Bush hold out in defending his attorney general?

STEPHEN HESS, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Well, what we're talking about is a person who has become a liability to the president, but the president cares about him deeply. So that's the equation.

Do you throw him overboard?

The president has done it before with Harriet Miers.

SCHNEIDER: Like Miers, Gonzales is not a favorite of conservatives, who regard him as wobbly on abortion. But he's a personal friend of President Bush. If President Bush's job rating were high, that might be enough to save Gonzales. But it's not.

So Republicans are asking, is Gonzales becoming a political liability for us?

REP. JOHN SUNUNU (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: Many Republican senators have expressed these concerns on the record and, quite frankly, there are a lot of others that talk very frankly in private conversations.

SCHNEIDER: The president has the right to fire federal prosecutors. It's usually done after the president is reelected.

So what's the problem?

HESS: It's a scandal because it was handled so badly from the get go, not because there's anything illegal about it.

SCHNEIDER: Had President Bush fired the attorneys when he began his second term in 2005, with a Republican Congress, he might have avoided a scandal. But he did it at the worst possible time politically -- just after the Democrats took over Congress.

HESS: It was out of sync to propose this and then to do this after another election in which they had lost control of the Congress. It was -- if not suicidal, it was amateurish.

SCHNEIDER: Now, the Democrats have subpoena power and they intend to look into whether there was improper political interference and whether Justice Department officials deliberately misled Congress.

When will Republicans start clamoring openly for Gonzales to go?

When they feel the scandal has become politically threatening to them.

(on camera): Many Republicans have bad memories of the Donald Rumsfeld case. They defended the defense secretary and paid a bitter price for it, only to see the president get rid of him after the damage was done.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

NGUYEN: OK, so have you ever wondered, just for once, what would $206 million look like in just one big pile?

There you go.

Mexican agents seized the cash stash from a network trafficking of pseudoephedrine. Look at all that money.

You probably know the drug as a primary ingredient in cold medicine, but it's also needed to make meth. Authorities say the cash was hidden inside a villa in an upscale area of Mexico City. It was stashed in suitcases, closets, even inside walls. And in addition to the Ben Franklins, agents say they found similar amounts of Euros and even pesos.

HOLMES: All right, we want to turn back to talking about some other things happening in the news now, including this major story we've been keeping an eye on for some time now. It's the shooting of a New York bridegroom the night before his wedding. It caused a storm of controversy. We'll have the latest on the case against several police officers coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, it's an anxious weekend in New York. A grand jury has been investigating the police shooting death of a bridegroom on his wedding day. Indictments are to be announced on Monday, but attorneys have already been saying that three officers will face charges.

CNN's senior correspondent, Alan Chernoff, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The grand jury that met right here is going to be handing up three indictments against the three police officers who took the most shots at the car of Sean Bell, the man who was to be married later that day.

The indictments to be handed up -- Detective Michael Oliver, 31 shots taken; Detective Gescard Isnora, 11 shots; and Detective Marc Cooper, four shots.

The exact charges are to be revealed on Monday. But the head of the detectives' union said this decision will have a chilling effect on the New York City Police Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL PALLADINO, DETECTIVES' ENDOWMENT ASSOCIATION: The message that's being sent now is that even though you're acting in good faith and pursuant to your lawful duties, there is no room, no margin for error. And they want to indict our officers and they have done that. And I firmly disagree with it.

But let me just say this. The only thing that's been done today is they have been indicted. They have been convicted of nothing. They have simply been indicted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: Indeed, one of the attorneys pointed out this is only the very beginning of the legal process. The detectives will plead not guilty and these cases will most definitely go to court, so a jury would have to convict.

So, of course, again, the beginning of the entire legal process. The exact charges to be revealed Monday morning, 11:00. District Attorney Richard Brown will have the details then.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

NGUYEN: And former federal prosecutor Kevin Coffey will join us next hour with his insight on this case. HOLMES: Now, let's take you to Savannah, Georgia, where the St. Patrick's Day festivities are going strong this morning. This is their annual St. Patrick's Day parade. They're expecting some 700,000 people to attend this parade and to participate in the festivities there. This is a long tradition there in Savannah, Georgia.

NGUYEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HOLMES: I think 183 years, something like that, they've been doing this.

NGUYEN: Yes, it is quite a party. In fact, it started in 1813, with a private gathering of Irish Protestants there in Savannah. And the first parade was then launched some five years later.

But over the past 190 years, Savannah has attracted visitors from around the world. And as we've been doing some research this morning on this, outside of New York and Dublin, Savannah is the world's largest.

And you can see people have definitely turned out. Unfortunately for you and me, T.J. one, we're not there. Two, we're not even wearing green.

HOLMES: No.

NGUYEN: We totally missed the boat on this one this year.

HOLMES: But the...

NGUYEN: The day is not over.

HOLMES: It's not. We'll get there.

NGUYEN: Yes, we will.

HOLMES: We've just got to get to noon.

NGUYEN: All right, and some more serious news we want to tell you about.

After nearly four years of war, ahead in THE NEWSROOM, a reality check on where things stand for the U.S. in Iraq.

HOLMES: Also, has one country found a cure for AIDS? Or are many patients just being led astray?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, it is going to be a weekend of protests leading up to the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War, which happens on Monday. Tens of thousands are expected for a demonstration in Washington this morning. More than 200 people were arrested last night after a peace march from Washington's National Cathedral. Police say protesters broke a law that requires pedestrians to keep moving in front of the White House. HOLMES: Well, how do you make things better in Iraq four years later? That's the question, big question in Washington. The one they're facing there, and, hey, Joshua Levs has the answer. Washington, hey, they just need to come to Atlanta and talk to Josh. He's got the answer.

JOSHUA LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is that the theory?

HOLMES: A lot of pressure on you. Sorry.

LEVS: Hey, I'm working on one. That's right. I thought I had one, but apparently it hasn't worked out yet. Hey, everybody. Yes. You know, this is what happened. Everybody thinks they have an answer. I mean, he's on to something here. Everybody thinks they have an answer.

The Democrats certainly thought they had one last week in Congress when they were trying to push through a plan to withdraw the U.S. from Iraq. Didn't work out, didn't happen. One of the biggest reasons, the Bush administration fought it.

But check this out. The Bush administration praised the British withdrawal from Iraq. So what we're looking at today is this. Are there mixed messages coming from the White House?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're taking sides in a civil war.

LEVS (voice-over): The Democratic effort to pass a resolution setting a timetable for withdrawal failed with no small push from the Bush administration.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So let me say that a precipitous American withdrawal from Iraq would be a disaster for the United States, and the entire Middle East.

LEVS: But last month, when Britain announced its withdrawal plans, Vice President Cheney praised it as a sign things are moving forward. Huh? Here's the explanation. Britain has focused primarily on a section of southern Iraq where U.S. officials say Iraqi forces seem to be taking control.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The British have done what is really the plan for the country as a whole.

LEVS: But Britain could have moved forces to some place racked by heavy violence. Many lawmakers in Britain do not see the pullout as a sign of the war's success.

DAVID CAMERON, CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADER: There have been many, many bad mistakes. Isn't it essential that we learn the lessons of those mistakes?

LEVS: Senator Barack Obama says Britain's pullout really shows Iraq's problems can't be solved militarily.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now if Tony Blair can understand that, then why can't George Bush and Dick Cheney understand that?

LEVS: Praising Britain's pullout is not the only move by this administration that makes it tougher to argue for thousands more U.S. troops to be sent to Iraq. There is also the fact that President Bush previously argued against it.

GEORGE W. BUSH. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sending more Americans would undermine our strategy of encouraging Iraqis to take the lead in this fight. And sending more Americans would suggest that we intend to stay forever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEVS: Now, the president did also say even back then that if military commanders were to come along and say we need more troops, he would send more troops. But that's not what happened. What happened here was the November elections.

It gave Democrats control and took Republicans out of control of Congress and that sent President Bush looking for a new plan for Iraq, which he ultimately said should include sending more troops and now he has military commanders who are new who also agree with that. And this, guys, means the biggest political battle of his entire presidency.

NGUYEN: It continues.

HOLMES: I thought you had an answer, Josh.

LEVS: Maybe next week I'll come up with a solution for Iraq.

NGUYEN: All right. You need to work on that, talk to your people.

HOLMES: A lot of pressure.

NGUYEN: Get back with us, OK?

LEVS: My people call your people.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Thanks, Josh.

NGUYEN: Well, if it is true, it could be one of the biggest medical discoveries of the century.

HOLMES: Yes. An African medicine man says he has a cure for AIDS and says he can prove it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OUSMAN SOW, AIDS PATIENT: I am cured at this moment.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: What, you don't have any HIV symptoms?

SOW: No, I don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Health officials say the treatment does more harm than good. We're going to give you that story next here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Take another live look here at the St. Patrick's Day parade happening in Savannah, Georgia, one of the largest in the country, in fact, even in the world. And this has been happening in Savannah, Georgia, the second-largest in the country. Expecting some 700,000 people to attend. This is one of many St. Patrick's Day celebrations happening around the country, and certainly one of the largest. This is the second-largest behind New York. One of many festivities happening around the country today on this St. Patrick's Day -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, around the world, sub-Saharan Africa, home to about two-thirds of the world's HIV patients. And this man right here is a politician, not a doctor. But he says that he can cure AIDS with a homemade concoction. Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange reports from Gambia, a small sliver of a country on the Atlantic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOINANGE (voice-over): Three- year-old Suleiman (ph) is getting his daily dose of a concoction of herbs and roots.

This bottle that once contained an Aunt Jemima pancake syrup mix now contains seven herbs and spices. And a spoonful a day, he's told, will make him better. His mother, Fatuma, does the same for herself, as do several dozen other patients here, all guinea pigs in an experiment that is as controversial as it is unconventional.

It started when this man, a 41-year-old former army colonel, now the country's president, announced to foreign diplomats two months ago that he, personally, would begin treating AIDS patients with the mixture of plants told to him in a dream by his ancestors.

The president, who insists on wearing all-white robes and always carries a copy of the Koran, has no formal medical training. But he does claim his family has a tradition of healing people through traditional African medicine.

The president says he can only heal AIDS patients on Mondays and Thursdays, while he heals asthma and bronchitis patients only on Wednesdays. Friday is a day of prayer in this mostly Muslim nation of 1.5 million people.

Two weeks into her treatment, Fatuma swears she's fast regaining her appetite, feels strong enough to run a mile, and has nothing but good things to say about her healer president. Nothing can convince her that his powers are anything short of supernatural.

"It's incredible," she says. "I thought I was going to die. Now I feel like I have been reborn."

Ousman Sow says he's been HIV-positive since 1996, and had been taking antiretrovirals for the last four years, until he volunteered for this program. Four weeks later, he says, he's gained 30 pounds and feels like a new person.

SOW: I am cured at this moment.

KOINANGE (on camera): What, you don't have any HIV symptoms?

SOW: No, I don't. As I stand, I honestly tell you that I have ceased to have any HIV symptoms.

KOINANGE: It's the same reaction we get with patient after patient here. None of them appear as if they have been coached or coaxed into telling us how they feel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm jumping. I'm running. I eat fine. I drink water plenty. I'm happy now.

SOW: I give 100 percent credit to this treatment, yes, 100 percent credit.

KOINANGE (voice-over): It's difficult to verify the authenticity of their testimony. Though the government says it has scientific evidence, it did not provide any to CNN.

(on camera): We came to the Gambia at the specific request of the office of the president. We figured he was ready to tell his story to the world.

We have been here five days now. And, every time we make an attempt to call the president's office, we're given one excuse or another. Then we tried the next best thing, trying to get medical records of the so-called AIDS patients to prove they are indeed on the mend.

That, too, has not been forthcoming.

(voice-over): One man who's willing to put his medical license on the line in defense of his president's so-called herbal cure is, not surprisingly, the country's health minister. A trained physician, Tamsir Mbowe boasts degrees from medical universities in Ireland and the Ukraine.

DR. TAMSIR MBOWE, GAMBIAN HEALTH MINISTER: I can swear, 100 percent, that this medical -- this herbal medication His Excellency is using is working. It has the potency to treat and cure patients infected with the HIV virus.

KOINANGE (on camera): Because there are people who are going to watch this interview and say, come on, man, you guys must be kidding.

What do you tell them?

MBOWE: I will tell them that, as a Western medical trained doctor, I have seen His Excellency, my leader, coming up with medical herbal -- with herbal medications that are able to treat and cure patients infected with HIV virus.

PROFESSOR JERRY COOVADIA, SOUTH AFRICAN MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL: And it makes you wonder what motivates such people.

KOINANGE (voice-over): But not everyone is convinced a medicine man with a bunch of plants has been able to find a cure for a disease that has wiped out entire generations across Africa.

In fact, some, like professor Jerry Coovadia of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, insists what the Gambian president is doing is both misleading and damaging, to not only the patients, but the health profession as well.

COOVADIA: But, when someone like the president of a country in Africa comes up publicly with a suggestion which is certainly not rooted in any credible experiments or any credible proof, then one is especially worried.

KOINANGE: Gambia's health minister welcomes any and all so- called doubters.

MBOWE: Any scientist, any professional, any medical doctor who wants to verify whether the treatment is effective or not, you are welcome.

KOINANGE: A spokeswoman for the United Nations based in the Gambia who spoke out against the president's so-called cure found herself in deep trouble, kicked out of the country within 48 hours.

No one around here dares question a man whose face appears just about everywhere in this tiny nation, a nation so impoverished and underdeveloped, it has been ranked among the world's poorest. Experts say it's in places like the Gambia that the poor and desperate will latch on to anything resembling hope, in this case, hope provided by a man who claims he has healing powers.

Jeff Koinange, CNN, Banjul, in the Gambia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And up next, find out how cnn.com can help you stay on top of the controversy surrounding those fired U.S. attorneys.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It is time for us now to see what people are looking at online. And Veronica De La Cruz shows us how to controversy or over firing U.S. attorneys is playing out on cnn.com.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The recent firing of eight U.S. attorneys has critics accusing the administration of playing politics with law enforcement, putting Attorney General Alberto Gonzales under severe scrutiny. You can get the latest at cnn.com.

First take a look at this interview. Although Gonzales admits that he has made mistakes in connection with the firings, he currently has no plans to step down from his position as attorney general. Democrats from the House and Senate are calling for Gonzales' resignation, accusing him of an unprecedented abuse of power and misuse of the Justice Department.

This gallery profiles the eight dismissed federal prosecutors with excerpts of their past performance reviews and reasons for their ouster. There are 93 U.S. attorneys in the United States and its territories. They are the country's top prosecutors. You can read this explainer for more.

And share your own thoughts on the controversy and whether or not you think Alberto Gonzales should resign. We will get the latest at cnn.com/law.

For the ".com Desk," I'm Veronica De La Cruz.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, the NEWSROOM does continue at the top of the hour with Fredricka Whitfield. She joins us now with a look at what's coming up.

Hi there.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see both of you. Well, coming up in the noon Eastern hour, a lot is riding on the criminal case involving the New York Police officers who are accused of killing that unarmed groom-to-be, Sean Bell. Former U.S. attorney Kendall Coffee will be joining us to give us an idea of at least what is at stake and who might be at stake as well.

And also we're going to continue to follow the developments of this terror threat involving school buses. I know this is not what any parent wants to hear about whether their kids are safe as they get on the school buses. And our Kelli Arena goes into the investigation of what federal investigators and intelligence officers have uncovered.

NGUYEN: Kind of eye-opening and shocking at the same time. Fred, looking forward to it. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Good to see both of you.

NGUYEN: I want to talk about some faint humor now. Because when bad things happen to famous people, well, you know, the jokes keep coming and we have those details ahead in the NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, are you ready to party? Because they have already beat you to the punch there in Savannah, Georgia, today. It is St. Paddy's Day. Yes, look, got the skirts out.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE) skirts, come on.

NGUYEN: Well, you know. The question is -- well, no, I won't even go there. But this is the second-largest parade in the U.S., some 700,000 people will be attending today, and they are just having a blast. And of course, we hope you enjoy today because, as you know, it is St. Patrick's Day.

HOLMES: All right. Of course, one more thing we want to leave you here with. When the going gets tough for a lot of people -- many famous people, at least, they keep it going with a joke.

Our Jeanne Moos has this story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Never mind the cane, if you're a former president eager to show you've recovered from a fainting spell, try a little faint humor.

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, 41ST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I was on the floor and the ugliest part was my dear friend from Las Vegas, Sig Rogich, was giving me mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

(LAUGHTER)

G.H.W. BUSH: And I had about six beautiful girls there and there was Sig doing his part.

MOOS: Here's a guy that likes to prove he's spry by jumping out of planes even when he famously lost his lunch at a state dinner in Japan. He didn't lose his sense of humor. And when talk show host Regis Philbin announced Monday he needs an immediate heart bypass, he knew better than to bypass the jokes, pulling out his nitroglycerin.

REGIS PHILBIN, CO-HOST, "LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY": And when I get stressed, I've got to put one under my tongue. Excuse me.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS: Members of the audience laughed along, but they weren't laughing after the show.

:UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE I thought it was horrible. I hate that something -- that he's sick. He didn't look very bad at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was pretty shocked, because usually celebrities, you see them as perfect. MOOS: Unless you're a celeb yourself.

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW": Our good friend Regis Philbin, this morning on his show, announced that he is going in for heart bypass surgery. You know what that means? Facelift.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS: Letterman can joke. After all, Regis welcomed Dave back from his own bypass surgery.

PHILBIN: It's good to have the big man back, isn't it?

(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)

MOOS: Though even funny men get serious when their lives are at stake.

LETTERMAN: These men and women right here saved my life.

MOOS: And Regis spoke from his heart about he felt 14 years ago being wheeled in in a gurney to have balloon angioplasty.

PHILBIN: I wish I had been a better person, a better father, better husband, better everything, better talk show host.

MOOS: For now, substitute co-hosts are filling in. But it was Kelly Ripa that got the last laugh with Regis, saying her new job would be...

KELLY RIPA, CO-HOST, "LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY": Your sponge bath nurse.

MOOS (on camera): Next thing you know, co-host Kelly is already in her nurse's outfit, the nurse-y pin-up in the pages of The New York Post.

(voice-over): The moral of the story, there's nothing like a healthy sense of humor to nurse you through bad health.

PHILBIN: Why don't you give me a quick dip before I go.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: I don't know about sponge bath nurse, but if you ever get sick, I'll call a doctor for you, T.J.

HOLMES: That was kind of a nasty image there. We are going to have to head to the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. And it begins right now.

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