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Pentagon Plans Overhaul of Iraq War Strategy; Body Believed to Be Missing U.S. Soldier Discovered in Iraq; Bomb Explodes in Town Outside Beirut; Children of War; Pricey Gas

Aired May 23, 2007 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, how about this? It's an amazing feat, a hole in one. Everyone agrees on that one.
So, be prepared to be amazed as you watch this. A news crew captures Jacqueline Gagne in Palm Springs, California, sinking her 11th hole in one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's in the cup!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Not amazing enough? Well, she's made them all in just the last four months. And she was pretty thrilled about this one, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SCREAMING)

JACQUELINE GAGNE, GOLFER: Did we get it out? Oh.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See?

GAGNE: There it is. See, it does happen. And you're the first to get it on tape. Holy!

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: She is sharp. A college statistician did the math on the odds. And they're astronomical, something like 12-septillion-to- 1. That's 12 with 24 zeros behind it.

The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Fore!

Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Kyra Phillips is away.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Don Lemon.

The pain of not knowing -- 11 days into the search for three ambushed soldiers in Iraq, a body turns up in a river.

WHITFIELD: Confirming or disproving a connection depends on identification. For now, the waiting and the searching goes on.

You're in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: All right, this just in to the CNN Center -- check out this new video coming to us from Lebanon. It -- it is in Beirut, or near Beirut. An explosion occurred in a town called Allay (ph). It is northwest of Beirut. And this happened on Wednesday night. Of course, it's night there. That's according to Lebanese internal security forces.

It's an area primarily known as the Druze. Details were not immediately available on exactly why this explosion. But this is brand-new video coming into the CNN Center. We're trying to get our Paula Newton on the line. She's going to join us to tell us about this information.

But, of course, you know, earlier in the week, we were reporting, Tripoli, that refugee camp there, fighting broke out on Monday -- broke out, actually, over the weekend. And we were reporting it all day on Monday, a place where some 40,000 people live in that area.

So, again, this is new video in, another explosion. It occurred in Allay (ph), a town northwest of Beirut. We're working on the all the details on this developing story. And we will bring them to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: Well, confirmation at the Pentagon today that commanders are working on an overhaul of the war plan currently in place in Iraq, new sets of goals, military and political.

And CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has been watching all the developments -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, that's right, new goals and new strategy, an overhaul, to be blunt -- officials very familiar with this work confirming to CNN the details of this effort that is under way.

General David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker have the plan in hand. They are expected to sign off on the recommendations by the end of this month.

Officials familiar with it say it's basically called this: the joint campaign plan redesign team. So, focus on that key word, Fred, "redesign." That means an overhaul.

Here are some of the key elements. They're going to try and tweak things, so they better identify what they call the reconcilables and the irreconcilables, the elements of the Shia militias, the Sunni extremists, the insurgents that they can bring to the table and that they can work with.

Make no mistake, al Qaeda, determined suicide bombers, if they don't want to give up, the military still will go after them. But they will try and work much more closely with those who have committed violence and are now ready to work within the system.

They hope that will lead to negotiated local power -- power- sharing agreements and localized cease-fire arrangements. As one official said, you're not going to see an end to the violence. But they hope they will begin to establish pockets of stability.

Why are they doing this? Well, there's an acknowledgment that they can't keep the troop levels at these higher levels in Iraq through much past the springtime of next year. They have got to get the troop levels down.

As one official said -- quote -- "We have been focused too long on defeating the enemy. We need to bring them to the negotiating table."

You know, that's really an acknowledgment that Iraq may be more of a civil war than an insurgency, because, of course, in a civil war, you often work with those who are your enemies, and try and bring them to the negotiating table, whereas, in an insurgency, you just try and capture or kill your enemy forces -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Barbara Starr from the Pentagon, thanks for that update.

LEMON: A body found in a river near Baghdad today, Iraqi police believe it's one of three missing American soldiers. The U.S. military has the body now and is trying to identify it.

It's been 11 days since an army unit came under fire south of Baghdad, and four U.S. soldiers were killed. A huge search has been under way ever since.

And CNN's Arwa Damon is embedded with the U.S. search teams.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. military sent a representative down to Iskandaria air base to try to positively identify a body believed to be that of one of the three kidnapped soldiers.

The body was recovered from the Euphrates River by Iraqi police some 18 miles south of where the attack took place -- the U.S. military telling us the body was bloated and disfigured. There are a certain number of tests that can be run in country to try to positively identify the body, but it's highly likely that it will be sent on to Dover Air Base for further DNA testing.

The name of the deceased will not be released until the family has been notified. But this has been a very difficult day here for the men of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment. This was one of their soldiers, as they always say, one of their brothers. These men have a bond that they equate to being a bond stronger than family.

The troops here have been conducting relentless searches for the last 12 days, since the attack that took place that left four soldiers dead, one Iraqi soldier dead, and those three soldiers kidnapped.

They have been conducting around-the-clock missions, doubling up, in fact, sometimes even tripling up, on normal operations that they would be conducting -- everyone here trying to keep a strong face, but this news is really deeply impacting this entire unit.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Yusufiyah, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And the military reports, nine more U.S. troops killed in roadside bombings and gun battles across Iraq. That raises this month's death toll for American forces there to 81. The total number of U.S. service members killed in the war so far now stands at 3,423.

WHITFIELD: And here's a new step in the immigration bill process, a lot of back and forth. Right now, the latest is, the Senate has decided to make some changes as it pertains to the guest- worker program.

Instead of 400,000 guest workers in this country, they have made an amendment to this proposal to now 200,000 guest workers. The Senate has voted on this proposal.

And, of course, when we get any more information about any other developments or votes on amendments, we will be able to bring that to you. But that's the latest on this immigration bill as it stands right now.

The bitter fruits of a broken immigration system, a bumper crop of California fruits and vegetables, and not nearly enough workers to harvest them.

CNN's Chris Lawrence explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): California's cherries are blushing red.

BRUCE FRY, RANCHER: These are ready. That's ready.

LAWRENCE: But Bruce Fry worries whether enough workers will show up to pick them.

FRY: And you get half the crew, you get half the cherries.

LAWRENCE: California harvests about half the nation's fruits and vegetables. And, every summer, farmers need half-a-million workers to pick those crops.

But the crackdown on illegal immigrants is keeping workers out of their fields, leaving unpicked fruit left to rot.

HENRY VEGA, FARM LABOR CONTRACTOR: They're definitely worried about being raided and -- and deported.

LAWRENCE: Henry Vega not only grows his own crops; he contracts out labor to other farmers, as well.

VEGA: We're really, really behind the eight ball right now, because we're so short of workers.

LAWRENCE: Vega says, a lot of illegal immigrants left agriculture during the real estate boom. Now they have moved on to better-paying construction jobs in places like Nevada. Critics say, farmers themselves are to blame, because they have become so dependent on cheap labor.

JACK MARTIN, IMMIGRATION REFORM ADVOCATE: It is like an addiction.

LAWRENCE: Jack Martin's group is a leading opponent of an immigration bill that would let more than a million illegal farm workers stay in the country. The Senate's proposal addresses the worker shortage, but Martin says, it's ripe for cheaters.

MARTIN: You will have all sorts of people claiming to have been working in agriculture, and they will have pieces of paper that will show that, but, in fact, they will simply be taking advantage of our gullibility.

LAWRENCE: Meantime, "Help Wanted" signs are going up for the summer harvest.

VEGA: We can grow, you know, good fruit. We can -- you can put plenty of water and fertilizer, but, when you don't have the labor, it's -- it just -- it breaks your heart.

LAWRENCE (on camera): Farmers say, if this keeps up, you may not see the selection you are used to at your local grocery store. And, when I asked them, "Why can't you just pay these workers more?" they said, they would have to pass the cost on to consumers. And, honestly, they don't feel anyone will pay more for a California strawberry, as opposed to one that's just as good coming from, say, Argentina.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Santa Paula, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, it's happened to probably all of us. Storms roll in, and your flight is delayed. It happened to most of us, as I said.

But federal aviation experts have to plan to reduce the time you sit at the airport. I certainly want to hear about this one. So, let's check in now with CNN's Kathleen Koch. She is in Washington with the very latest.

This is good news, if it works, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, Don.

And it's going to be very important, because it looks like air travelers will have to pack a lot of patience this summer. The FAA says that this year could top last year in delays. And 2006 was the worst year ever -- among the problems, a long-range forecast for a hot summer, with lots of thunderstorms, and more flights on the schedule this year than last.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARION BLAKEY, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATOR: We're doing everything we can to keep delays from increasing this summer. But I think the traveling public needs to know that we're braced up, because we do fear that we will see a more delayed summer this year than last.

It's partially a function of the fact that traffic is up, particularly traffic from airports that are dealing with international destinations and some of our very large airports.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: The FAA is trying to counter delays by expanding a program it tried in seven Northeastern cities last year.

The so-called airspace flow program basically changed the rules. It gave planes the option of taking a longer route and flying around storms, instead of shutting down an entire airport, an entire region, and keeping all the flights on the ground. Now, that cut delays in those areas by 9 percent. So, this summer, 11 cities in the South and the Midwest will try that program.

Another change, the FAA is rolling out new software to ensure that the slots that are left open by canceled or delayed flights are automatically filled by the next available flight.

And, Don, the agency hopes that that will help speed things along as well.

LEMON: There's almost nothing worse, too, because you're -- you -- you feel helpless.

KOCH: You do.

LEMON: Is there anywhere passengers, though, themselves can turn, Kathleen, to help with avoiding delays? What can we -- what can we do ourselves?

KOCH: Well, Don, something very good to check out is a Web site that's run by the air traffic controllers. It's www.avoiddelays.com. And one section has some very useful and new tips from controllers about specific airports, like, Denver, for instance. The advice there is to avoid late-afternoon and evening flights that are often delayed by summer thunderstorms.

In Indianapolis, passengers are warned away from taking the last flights of the night. Controllers say that those are often delayed by inbound Federal Express flights, since Indianapolis is the package shippers' second largest U.S. hub -- so, a bit of trivia there for you -- Don.

LEMON: Oh, good. And thank you. I'm going to write that site down and go check it out soon.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: All right -- as we much as we travel, Kathleen.

Thank you very much...

KOCH: Absolutely.

LEMON: ... for that report.

KOCH: Good luck. Mm-hmm.

LEMON: Also on our air radar today, testing for liquid explosives -- the Transportation Security Administration has been reviewing technology that screens sealed bottles. The scanners already are in place at at least five of the nation's major airports.

WHITFIELD: Under oath and off the hook -- Monica Goodling, former Justice Department liaison with the White House, is appearing under a grant of immunity before the House Judiciary Committee, investigating the U.S. attorney general -- or, rather, the U.S. attorney purge.

Goodling has admitted asking job applicants how they voted. And she has accused one of her former bosses of misleading Congress. But she insists she wasn't the one who decided which federal prosecutors should go and which ones should stay, or why.

As for her role in screening job applicants, Goodling won't admit to anything criminal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ROBERT C. SCOTT (D), VIRGINIA: Was it against the law to political -- take those political considerations into account?

You have got civil service laws. You have got obstruction of justice. Were there any laws that you could have broken by taking political considerations into account -- quote -- "on some occasions"?

MONICA GOODLING, FORMER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT WHITE HOUSE LIAISON: The best I can say is that I know I took political considerations into account on some occasions.

SCOTT: Was that legal?

GOODLING: Sir, I'm not able to answer that question. I know I crossed the line.

SCOTT: What line? Legal?

GOODLING: I crossed the line of the civil service rules.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Goodling testified she doesn't believe Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty was, in her words, -- quote -- "fully candid" when he testified before Congress. McNulty has said that Goodling and others gave him incomplete information before he testified under oath.

LEMON: The Coast Guard class of '07 gets a send-off from President Bush. But why was Osama bin Laden a key feature of his commencement address? Well, we will fill in the blanks straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And some economists believe the impact of higher gas prices will be fairly limited. What? You believe that?

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Say what?

WHITFIELD: An investment expert weighs in.

(LAUGHTER)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Seventeen minutes after the hour. Here are three of the stories we're working on for you in the NEWSROOM.

The military is working to identify a body found in Iraq that may be one of those three missing U.S. soldiers. Iraqi civilians discovered the body today in the Euphrates River.

CNN has confirmed that a team of military and State Department officials are working on a redesign of the war plan in Iraq. The plan is said to contain both political and military elements.

And cleanup efforts are under way today in Denver, where a train derailed before dawn. Thirty-four cars, some of them filled with beer, crashed into a pair of parked locomotives. No one was injured.

LEMON: Well, for two years, some key intelligence reports on Iraq, Osama bin Laden, and al Qaeda have remained sealed. But all of that changed within 24 hours, within the last 24 hours, when President Bush used the contents today to fire back at critics of the Iraq war as he gave a commencement speech at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

White -- White House correspondent Elaine Quijano has the details for us from New London, Connecticut.

Hi, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Don.

That's right, President Bush, in particular, using some intelligence from 2005, sharing that during that commencement address here at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut -- the president trying to bolster his assertion that, if the United States leaves Iraq too soon, he believes al Qaeda will use that country to try to launch attacks against the United States.

Now, President Bush said, in 2005, Osama bin Laden planned to do just that, saying that the al Qaeda leader was working to set up a unit inside Iraq to focus on terror attacks outside of that country. Now, the president's revelation of this two-year-old intelligence comes as the White House and lawmakers are trying to reach an agreement over war funding.

It also comes amid calls, continued calls, from some Democrats for U.S. troops to leave Iraq.

And, on that point, President Bush today rejected any comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The enemy in Vietnam had neither the intent, nor the capability to strike our homeland. The enemy in Iraq does. Nine-eleven taught us that, to protect the American people, we must fight the terrorists where they live, so that we don't have to fight them where we live.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, asked about the declassification and the timing of that declassification on the intelligence on Osama bin Laden, White House aides pushed back against any notion that it was done merely for political purposes, saying, essentially, the president could have done that sooner.

As for the war funding bill, as continuing talks go on, a White House spokesman says that officials are cautiously optimistic that President Bush will have a bill on his desk, one that he can sign, by the end of the week -- Don.

LEMON: Elaine Quijano in New London, Connecticut, thank you for your report.

It was a day for hot-button issues for the administration, the war in Iraq and the firing of U.S. attorneys. And joining us in the NEWSROOM to talk about them, David Gergen, adviser to four presidents, and professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

OK, David, thank you, first of all.

So, the White House is saying, no, it's not politically motivated.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Other people are saying yes.

Here's a question. Why, as a commencement, instead of when people are criticizing him about, you know, not having a connection between the war on terror and Osama -- and Saddam Hussein, why now, or Osama bin Laden?

DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: It's unclear why now, except that, I think, that we can brush off this assertion that it's not being done for political purposes.

Of course they're releasing it to bolster their case with the public and in Congress, that -- that, if you leave Iraq, it could become a safe -- a safe haven for terrorists who will try to strike the United States.

I mean, that's been the essence of what the president has been arguing for a long time. Now he's got a -- a document that helps to -- to prove his case.

LEMON: But why -- why do you -- why prove your case, though -- this is the thing -- at a commencement ceremony, instead of more formal surroundings?

GERGEN: I'm not sure there's an obvious answer to that.

I -- I -- I would imagine that they were scratching around in the White House, looking for what they were going to say at the commencement ceremony. And there were probably some people up at the NSC who said, you know, this is something we have been wanting to get out here. And -- and we have got this -- we still haven't settled with Congress exactly how this bill is going to work out. We do need some help up -- you know, with the public.

And, so, because it's the Coast Guard, because it's -- it has this military setting, I think, is a perfectly appropriate place to put it out.

If it -- if it had been another university, say, this -- the University of Oklahoma, I think that might -- we might have had more questions about it.

LEMON: OK.

Monica Goodling, what does she... GERGEN: Sure.

LEMON: Does she have anything to do with this?

GERGEN: Does she have anything to do with this?

LEMON: To do with...

(CROSSTALK)

GERGEN: Oh, I see. Well, you mean are they trying to...

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Rallying support, yes.

GERGEN: Are they trying to -- to -- to step on the Monica Goodling story?

LEMON: Right.

GERGEN: Well, you know, I -- they have got -- they have had so many different fronts on which they are getting in trouble, I -- it's possible that somebody thought of this in that way, because they're -- they're trying to protect Gonzales.

I -- I -- you know, the immigration story and where the -- is a so much bigger story anyway, and the finding that body in -- in the -- in the river.

LEMON: Right.

GERGEN: I don't think they -- they -- I don't think they got much out of this.

I think it does go to this issue, if -- whenever you start selectively declassifying, and the way they do it, it allows the other side to say, wait a minute. You're only telling us a piece of the story. You did this once before on a national intelligence estimate, telling us that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. That proved to be false.

You know, you're -- you're -- you're not only selectively declassifying, but, when you come after anybody on Capitol Hill for leaking anything, you go crazy; national security is imperiled; my God, the Republican might fall. And here you do, hypocritically, you know, put this stuff out.

So, they're -- this adds to a lot of political fodder. Frankly, it adds to frustration...

LEMON: Right.

GERGEN: ... on the part of the -- of the out party every time this ever happens.

LEMON: Yes. Yes. You're -- and you're right about that, and, obviously, because you have worked for four administrations.

So, then, my question is, who ultimately decides what information is declassified, and what will be released, and what will be talked about?

GERGEN: Sure.

Well, they have to take this to the president. And the speechwriting team would work with Mr. Hadley, the NSC adviser, and they -- they go to the president and say, Mr. President, we would like to -- we would like to recommend, sir, that you put this in your speech.

And then he has to sign off.

LEMON: All right.

GERGEN: You -- you can't get -- you can't do this at a staff level. It has to be the commander in chief.

LEMON: OK.

David Gergen, thank you...

GERGEN: Thank you.

LEMON: ... for clarifying...

GERGEN: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: ... this for us. We appreciate you joining us.

GERGEN: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Maybe we will get clarification of another sort coming up.

LEMON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: From Venezuela to Hollywood, Hugo Chavez is getting into filmmaking. And he has one high-profile American star already on board. That's coming up in the NEWSROOM.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange.

When NEWSROOM returns, I will tell you about an ultra-discount airline in which it may be cheaper to fly than to drive -- details next.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So, imagine this. An airline with tickets for just $10? And it says it wants them to be even cheaper?

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with details on that.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Some economists believe the impact of higher gas prices will be fairly limited.

Ahead in the NEWSROOM, an investment expert weighs in.

WHITFIELD: Their country, their former lives and, in some cases, their bodies torn apart by war. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, why some say children pay the heaviest price in Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Reports out of Lebanon indicate several people hurt in a nighttime explosion northeast of Beirut. The blast follows three days of heavy attacks by the Lebanese military on Islamic militants holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli.

CNN's Paula Newton joins us with an update on that -- Paula.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Don, at this hour, authorities say that five people were lightly wounded. The size of the explosion, though, Don, was quite large. It was a sophisticated operation.

We're told it was a bag left in the entrance of a building. Certainly lots of flying glass and debris. Again, quite a large explosion meant to send a very pointed message.

You know, Beirut, this entire country on edge right now because of the events in Tripoli. We have seen things quiet down in Tripoli, but again, what people are worried about here, Don, is this triggering of cells throughout Lebanon. And these are meant to take a message to the Lebanese army to show some restraint in the operation in Tripoli.

What the Fatah al-Islam, those Islamic radicals now holed up in Tripoli, want is they want to be left alone, to stay in the camp and conduct their operations from there. The Lebanese government says there is no way that we will allow a terrorist organization like that to basically call that camp home.

And so, they're basically trying to set up for a showdown. They've been trying to evacuate as many civilians as possible from that camp, trying to basically isolate and encircle those militants. And the meantime, this is the third explosion that we've had go off in Lebanon -- Don.

LEMON: All right. CNN's Paula Newton.

Thank you for your report. WHITFIELD: The search for missing U.S. troops in Iraq goes on, but so do military efforts to identify a body found today in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad. A U.S. military spokesman briefed reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: Iraqi police did find the body of a man whom they believe may be one of our missing soldiers. We have received the body, and we will work diligently to determine if he is, in fact, one of our missing soldiers. We have not made any identification yet.

If appropriate, we will first notify the families of the results of that identification process. We are making every effort we can to ensure that the families of our soldiers are the first to receive accurate information. We all would expect, I believe, nothing less.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meantime, the military reports nine more U.S. troops killed in roadside bombings and gun battles across Iraq. That raises this month's death toll for American forces there to 81. The total number of U.S. service members killed in the war so far now stands at 3,423.

LEMON: Let's talk now about the children of war. They've lost limbs, they've lost parents, brothers and sisters. But they refuse to lose hope.

CNN's Cal Perry has the story of one Iraqi boy who is not whole, but he's not defeated either.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PERRY (voice over): Boys being boys, playing soccer. But these teenagers in Falluja are the lucky ones. Though, on this pitch, "luck" is relative.

Twelve-year-old Mohammed can no longer play his favorite sport. He lost his leg to a car bomb. His seven-year-old cousin lost her life. The two were together, preparing for Friday prayers last October when, in an instant, their lives changed forever.

"I don't remember anything," Mohammed says, "because I fainted and was taken to hospital. Before that I remember everything going pitch black. My cousin died instantly. I still hear her screams before she became a martyr."

Now Mohammed is learning how to negotiate the streets of his war- torn neighborhood on one leg, learning to walk all over again. He visits his cousin Hajr's (ph) grave every other day, watering the flowers, keeping her memory alive. Mohammed's way of dealing with his loss.

"This is my cousin's grave," he says. "She died a martyr in the incident. I come here always and give her water, water her."

Every other day I visit her. I feel pain when I think of her. Every time I remember her we cry."

PERRY: As he makes his way from the cemetery to school, he hobbles through piles of devastation, an everyday struggle to persevere in the hope of a better tomorrow.

"Despite all that happened to me," he says, "no matter what happens, I will never leave my school. I will never leave school and, God willing, I will continue my education and become an architect and build all schools."

Mohammed prays for a better day.

(on camera): Mohammed is one of the lucky ones. Thousands of children have been killed in this war, and with the ongoing violence and chaos overwhelming both security forces and health workers, there is no telling how this war really affects the children of Iraq.

Cal Perry, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: In this country, high gas prices, is it a lack of refineries, too much demand and not enough supply? Are the oil companies to blame, or is it OPEC's fault?

You've got questions and we want answers about the high price of gas. So we're putting an oil expert in the hot seat next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, it sort of created a controversy when she, you know, said that she was pregnant, she was with child, Mary Cheney. Well, CNN just got news that she gave birth to her child, Samuel David Cheney, born in Washington to Mary Cheney.

This is Dick and Lynne Cheney's sixth grandchild. So the Cheneys are grandparents now, and Mary Cheney is a mother to Samuel David Cheney. Don't the weight and all of that or how long, but there you have it.

WHITFIELD: But the good news, the family is expanding and everybody's doing well.

LEMON: There you go.

WHITFIELD: All right.

The gas prices are expanding, too, these days -- $3.22 the national average is for a gallon of self-serve regular gas. Still tough getting used to that, and it's not even Memorial Day, people.

Can anything relieve these gas pains? Or are we doomed for the rest of the summer? Joining us with some perspective, Steven Leeb, author of "The Oil Factor" and president of Leeb Capital Management.

Good to see you.

STEPHEN LEEB, AUTHOR, "THE OIL FACTOR": Well, thank you so much, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, before we talk about whether these kinds of gas prices are here to stay, who do we blame? Because there are a whole lot of folks out there who are angry.

I think you blame governments going back at least 30 or 40 years. You just blame a very, very poor energy policy in this country.

WHITFIELD: What do you mean?

LEEB: Basically, there's just a mismatch, Fredricka, in this world between oil supply and oil demand. Countries like China and India are, you know, developing almost insatiable thirst for oil. And our ability to supply it, or rather the ability of those who have it to supply it, like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, is limited.

So you have higher oil prices. And at the heart of the gasoline problem, that really is it. It's just higher oil prices.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

LEEB: And I don't see much hope of them going down any time soon.

WHITFIELD: And so we Americans, we have an insatiable appetite for oil, for gas. We love our SUVs and all that, as well, even though you've got public transportation. But then a lot of folks here at home are saying, wait a minute, if an answer is rely less on foreign imports, why don't we have more refineries? Why don't we update the refineries that we have?

Is that even plausible?

LEEB: Well, of course it's plausible. And part of the reason gas is at, let's say, $3.20 rather $2.90 right now is refining problems.

We've had a number of refinery outages. And that certainly is contributing. But at the heart of it -- and it would be a terrible mistake to believe that it's just refineries. That's just the icing on the cake.

WHITFIELD: Oh.

LEEB: I mean, the real reason we have high gasoline prices in this country today and gasoline prices that are, in my opinion, almost a sure bet to continue to rise, not just this summer, but for unfortunately many summers thereafter, is, again, this worldwide, not just U.S., but worldwide mismatch between supply and demand for oil. It's oil that makes gasoline, and if you don't have enough oil, you're going to have ever-higher gasoline prices.

WHITFIELD: So we have some countries like, say, Brazil, which are really I guess being trailblazers when it comes to, you know, biodegradable fuels, the use of sugar cane, and even talk of ethanol in this country. Is that movement toward ethanol perhaps a greater deterrent for this country to say, OK, well, let us do something about our refineries? Even though I know you say that's a very small part of the equation.

LEEB: I think it's a terrible policy. I really do.

I hope I'm dead wrong, and I hope someone sees something that I don't see. But, you know, with ethanol, you're basically substituting one resource for another. You're getting a product which is not even cleaner than gasoline which is very energy intensive and actually discourages the building of refineries.

If you're an oil company today, why build a refinery if you think ethanol...

WHITFIELD: Right.

LEEB: ... is going to be running future automobiles? And the prices that you're going to pay for that are much higher food prices in the form of corn and everything else.

It's just not good policy. But there are good policies out there, Fredricka, and that's what's so frustrating about this.

WHITFIELD: OK. And back to your, forgive me, but rather depressing forecast, which is gas prices are likely to go up, is there any coincidence with the fact that here we are all getting ready for our summer travels, it means a lot more folks are hitting the roads, and here we are now dealing with higher gas prices that are only going to go up?

LEEB: No, I don't think it's a coincidence at all. I mean, this is the time when demand for gasoline starts rising. And speculators and investors start anticipating it, and they start buying gasoline, as do oil companies, because they need it in anticipation of much greater demand during the summer months.

No, it's not coincidence at all. There's no conspiracy. It's just the way it works.

Again, it's just plain old supply and demand. After September, even if oil...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEEB: ... were to go to, let's say, $80 or $85 a barrel, gasoline prices would likely fall because demand for gasoline would be -- would diminish. But then demand for heating oil should shoot up dramatically.

WHITFIELD: Oh boy. All right. Well, painful for all of us. "The Oil Factor" is the book. Steven Leeb, the expert.

Thanks so much.

LEEB: Thank you so much, Fredricka.

LEMON: From Venezuela to Hollywood, Hugo Chavez is getting into filmmaking. And he has one high-profile American star already on board.

That's coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras in the severe weather center because now we're talking tornado warnings.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Michael Moore may have some new competition in the field of Bush-bashing cinema. Hugo Chavez, the fiery leftist president of Venezuela, is getting into filmmaking, and he's already signed his first Hollywood star.

CNN's Carol Costello explains that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hugo Chavez does it again, using his country's money to add a little Hollywood razzle- dazzle to his insistent effort to influence American culture. His lethal weapon? Actor Danny Glover.

DANNY GLOVER, ACTOR, "LETHAL WEAPON 3': And I would not make a stupid mistake.

COSTELLO: That's right. The star of "Lethal Weapon" and dozens of other films is taking $18 million from Chavez' Venezuela to make two movies.

The first about Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture. That's him. He led a slave uprising in Haiti in the 18th century.

And that's Danny Glover at a news conference in Washington today talking about debt relief for Africa. We tried to ask him about his partnership with Chavez, but we got very little.

GLOVER: I have no comment.

GLOVER: We wanted to know why any American would take so much money from a country whose leader has called President Bush "an ex- alcoholic," "sick," "dangerous," "a menace," "a threat against life on the planet," and, oh, yes...

HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I think he's the devil. GLOVER: But Glover wasn't talking.

Of course this isn't the first time Chavez has tried to influence American culture. Former representative Joe Kennedy's Citizens Energy gets oil from a subsidiary of Venezuela's national oil company and sells it at a discounted price to poor Americans. Kennedy says the benefits outweigh anything political, like Chavez's close relationship with communist Cuba's Fidel Castro.

Chavez has been keeping in touch with the ailing American foe.

As for Glover, he's long been a political activist. That's him being serenaded by admirers as he was arrested for disorderly conduct at a Darfur protest in Washington.

(on camera): So, what do we make of an actor-activist, a Haitian slave and Hugo Chavez? Well, as the British newspaper "The Guardian" put it, "It adds up to a movie that will mobilize world opinion against western oppression."

Carol Costello, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street all straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: The closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.

LEMON: Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at the trading day.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

LEMON: All right. That's it for us.

Time now for "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.

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