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Lewis 'Scooter' Libby Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison; Guantanamo Detainees: Judges Dismiss to Cases in Setback for Washington

Aired June 05, 2007 - 11:59   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. And Jeffrey, stick with us as we are rounding the top of the hour here.
Just want to remind everyone in case they are just now joining us that we have just learned, CNN has confirmed, the sentence of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, of course the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

He was sentenced to 30 months in prison. This is for the obstruction to justice allegation against him -- count against him, I should say. And also a $250,000 fine.

We are talking here now with Jeffrey Toobin about the plans to appeal.

Which, Jeffrey, you say you don't have much confidence in that. But the pardon becoming a bigger issue.

And you know what else, Jeffrey? When we talked earlier today, before we knew the sentence, you and I were discussing what sort of precedent this sets, because we weren't quite sure if he was going to get time behind bars or if he was going to get probation.

Back then, you were telling me that, boy, you know, this is a federal case, and this was an obstruction of justice on a federal level. So it is a very, very serious crime. Thirty months now is what we're learning.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: And certainly Judge Walton thought so. You know, judges who deal with people testifying under oath every day in their courtrooms tend to take the crime of perjury very seriously.

And, you know, his supporters had pointed out and his lawyer pointed out that, you know, this was an investigation about the leak of a CIA agent, Valerie Plame's identity. And they pointed out, he was never charged with the substantive offense, he was never charged with leaking classified information.

COLLINS: Right.

TOOBIN: All he was charged with was obstructing the investigation. They said that makes this a somewhat lesser crime. But apparently Judge Walton completely disagreed with that analysis. And I was reading his comments as, you know, our colleagues inside the courtroom were, you know, typing them in their BlackBerrys.

And Judge Walton said, look, you know, you have obviously led a very distinguished life. You could have made a lot more money in the private sector, but you chose to engage in public service -- he's saying to Scooter Libby -- and that's to be commended and admired. But you had a choice of telling the truth or lying under oath, and you chose to lie under oath. And I take that very seriously.

And, you know, he hit Scooter Libby with a two-by-four.

COLLINS: Yes. And quickly, Jeffrey, you also mentioned before, you know, part of the problem for Lewis "Scooter" Libby was the fact that he had not really expressed any sort of remorse. Now that we know the sentence, do you think that really played a role?

TOOBIN: Probably, because, you know, one of the things that judges look for is defendants coming to them at the time of sentencing saying, look, you know, I did it and I was wrong, and I apologize. Scooter Libby never admitted to this day that he lied under oath.

And I followed this trial very closely. And it was very obvious to me that he was guilty, that he did lie under oath, that he did know about Valerie Plame's identity a lot sooner than he said he did. And that, you know, he discussed it with person after person in the government, and then went in the grand jury and denied -- denied knowing anything.

That was something the judge apparently was looking for some remorse on. Libby showed no remorse, and the judge punished him for it.

COLLINS: Yes. And, you know, just getting some more information here. People wondering a lot about -- and you kind of already mentioned this -- whether or not he'll be posting bail and what that will mean for how quickly he will then actually be behind bars.

TOOBIN: Well, this is a huge, huge issue in white collar cases in particular, because, you know, oftentimes judges give bail pending appeal. That means that the person can stay out on bail until their appeals are resolved.

In a case like that -- like this, this could easily take a year. But if Judge Walton denies bail pending appeal, basically it's a matter of a few weeks until he goes to prison.

So, the difference between going to prison in a few weeks and going in another year is huge. And that's the matter in front of the court right now. And that also has a big implication for whether -- whether a pardon comes from President Bush.

COLLINS: Sure. All right.

TOOBIN: Because, you know, as long as the appeals are pending and he's out of jail, there won't be that much pressure for a pardon. But if he's about to go to prison, that's when the issue will come to a head. COLLINS: Yes, exactly. All right.

CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.

So glad you were there when we got the news to break it all down for us.

Thanks so much, Jeff.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And let's get you back to Washington, D.C., now and the federal courthouse building.

Brianna Keilar is there.

Brianna, if you would, just sort of walk us back through this, and the moment in some of your reporting to us when it became clear that the judge was going to take a very harsh line in this sentencing hearing.

KEILAR: That's right. This was arguments early on today about the sentencing guidelines, what Judge Reggie Walton should consider, should not consider when handing down this sentence. And in the arguments about the obstruction charge, which is the charge that this 30-month sentence was handed down on, this is when it became apparent that Libby would be serving some prison time.

The prosecution argued that Libby had gotten in the way, he had obstructed this federal investigation of the leak of Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA operative. And they said, because of his obstruction, there were ramifications in this investigation, or we would never know perhaps what would come out of that investigation because of his obstruction.

Now, the defense said that Libby wasn't charged for this leak, that no one was charged in this investigation, nor did they plead guilty. And so this shouldn't be treated -- this obstruction shouldn't be treated with such weight. But Judge Reggie Walton made it very clear that he agreed with the prosecution, and from that point on it became clear that Libby was going to be facing some prison time -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Brianna, the judge, federal Judge Reggie Walton, he considered letters. Talk to us about the letters that were presented to the court today.

KEILAR: Yes. There were more than 160 letters that were sent to Judge Walton, some of them on behalf of Scooter Libby, some of them not. Some were sent -- one actually signed by an angry citizen.

Let me see. Here's one from Henry Kissinger on behalf of Scooter Libby.

And Kissinger said, "I was deeply impressed by his dedication, seriousness, patriotism and essential decency. He is a man of strong views, some of which I do not share, but in my observations he pursued his objectives with integrity and a sense of responsibility." And we heard in some of these letters which were just released during this hearing that he was a selfless friend, that he was a distinguished public servant. But in the end, Judge Walton saying that if public officials are going to step over the line, there are consequences. And he certainly delivered that in this 30-month sentence and this $250,000 fine -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Brianna, if you would, I know that our Brian Todd is in the courtroom. We are expecting -- maybe you have a better sense of this -- are we expecting to hear form -- you know, before I ask you that, I'm very curious about the proceeding. Did Scooter Libby at any point speak on his own behalf before the judge? And do we have any idea what he might have said?

KEILAR: He did speak. Mostly what he did say, Tony, was just that he really appreciated all of the consideration.

He took note of the fact that he has spent so many hours in this courtroom throughout this trial and throughout these proceedings. And he said he really appreciated all of the consideration that he got from the judge, just from people being polite to him and that kind of thing -- Tony.

HARRIS: Any remorse?

KEILAR: No. We haven't heard that from him. We didn't hear that from Libby after he was convicted. And that's something that really came up.

The prosecution telling Judge Walton in court documents filed recently to consider that, that he hasn't taken responsibility for the charges he was convicted on and he hasn't expressed any remorse. And as we just heard from Jeffrey Toobin, of course that's something that he believes Judge Walton would have taken into consideration in handing down this somewhat stern -- this stern sentence -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. Talking about the stern sentence, it seems as though Judge Walton took a very heavy line with the obstruction charge and the obstruction conviction. In part, saying that the special prosecutor couldn't get to the bottom of the case because he wasn't getting truthful information.

Is that at the heart of it?

KEILAR: No, that's exactly right. And he didn't necessarily say that there would have been anything at the bottom of that investigation.

HARRIS: Sure.

KEILAR: But the point being we'll never know because of this obstruction. That was the case that the prosecution made today as they were arguing -- as they were arguing their side, and Judge Walton was inclined to agree with them and not the defense.

Now, at this point, Tony, we are waiting to see a very interesting issue, if it's going to be resolved, whether Libby will be free pending these appeals, or if he's at some point going to begin serving time soon. Of course, we heard from Jeffrey Toobin that's really the big issue.

If he can stay out of jail as the appeals process drags on, it's possible that this could go for quite some time. If he were to get a pardon from President Bush at the end of his term, perhaps he could avoid jail time altogether. But that's still to be seen and that's something that we're waiting for.

HARRIS: And Brianna, I'll tee this up for you and let you finish it. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, sentenced today to 30 months in prison for lying to investigators about what he told reporters about CIA operative Valerie Plame.

But there's more to this.

KEILAR: Sorry, Tony. I didn't understand you.

HARRIS: No, I was just sort of going through the sentencing again. Just the fact that the judge has come back with a very tough sentence here, that Scooter Libby has been fined $250,000, in addition to 30 months in prison.

What we will do now is allow you to get more information from Brian Todd and others in the courtroom and we will come back to you shortly.

Thank you, Brianna.

COLLINS: And Tony, as we remind everybody what those charges are -- excuse me, what the sentence is, we should also note that inside that courtroom -- this is, of course, the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. -- we do know that right about now attorneys are sort of discussing one of the matters, and that is whether or not Scooter Libby will surrender immediately or whether some time might be allowed before he must begin this sentence. And once again, that sentence is, we have just now learned and confirmed here at CNN, 30 months in prison, two years probation, $250,000 in fines, and then $400 in court costs. This is all by Judge Reggie Walton today.

So want to take a moment to head out to John King. He is standing by in New Hampshire for those debates tonight.

I wonder, John, as we get this information on a day when the Republicans are going to be facing off, what the political ramifications might be.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, some will say this is a case about the conduct of one man and whether he did something illegal and whether he should serve time in jail about it. But step back and remember what this case is about.

It was about a White House political operation trying to rebut the critics who said that the president had misled the nation into war, that he had hyped the intelligence about the Iraqi threat, overstated Saddam Hussein's case, if you will, the threat. And that is the very issue that still dominates our politics today, four and a half years into this war.

So, you will have 10 Republican candidates on stage tonight, and you can bet they will be asked, should President Bush pardon Scooter Libby, or if you were president of the United States would you pardon Scooter Libby?

The Iraq war is the biggest cloud over our politics right now, and this is a case that reminds us not just about the questions of what Scooter Libby did or didn't do, what else was going on inside the White House, but the whole reasons we went to war in the first place. It is the war that divides the country, we saw that in the Democratic debate. It will be an issue in the Republican debate tonight. And you can be sure now that this particular case, and especially the issue of a presidential pardon, will be part of the political debate here tonight.

COLLINS: So, John, you actually are saying you think that some questions may come directly from what we have just learned here about Scooter Libby tonight in the debate.

KING: Absolutely, Heidi, because, again, what are the Democratic candidates arguing about? How to get the country out of Iraq. There's a debate among the Democratic candidates.

The Republican candidates so far are largely united in saying that President Bush made mistakes in managing the war, we could go back and have the whole debate about were there weapons of mass destruction, should we have gone to war in the first place? But the Republicans say, looking forward, they support the president's policy, the troops should stay there. And in some cases, like Senator McCain, even more troops should go if necessary.

So, Iraq is already a big part of the debate. But you can be certain now because of the fascinating political implications of this one case, should President Bush pardon -- and remember who Scooter Libby was. He was not just vise president's chief of staff, he was also his national security adviser. He was in all of the sensitive meetings about the decisions to go to war in Iraq.

He had access to all of the intelligence before the war. And the country is still involved in this political debate, again, four years later, four years plus after the war started. Not only about what's going on in Iraq and is there any hope that the Iraqi government can provide the political and the security situation to allow U.S. troops to eventually begin leaving, but why we went to war in the first place is still a debate going on in this country. And that is at the heart of the case against Scooter Libby.

So, you know the pardon question will come up, and the bigger Iraq debate will also be a factor in this debate tonight, without a question.

COLLINS: All right. It could be a whole other element that we perhaps have not really expected to hear about tonight. That is for certain.

CNN's national correspondent, John King, live for us in New Hampshire today.

All right, John. Thanks for that.

HARRIS: And Dan, if you would, let's put up the graphic again on the sentence for Lewis "Scooter" Libby. The news coming down just a short time ago, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, sentenced today to 30 months in prison for lying to investigators about what he told reporters about CIA operative Valerie Plame. He's also fined $250,000.

More on this coming up at the top of the hour in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And also, CNN International, we join them now in progress. Want to let you know we will certainly interrupt that coverage should any of the attorneys or perhaps Scooter Libby himself come to the microphone. Don't expect that.

We will bring it to you if it happens.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And a warm welcome back to CNN International, and to our viewers in the United States who have just joined us.

This is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, they've been watching that news on Scooter Libby, who's been sentenced to 30 months, two and a half years, in jail over that leaking case involving Valerie Plame, the CIA operative.

Also, Jeffrey Toobin has been on CNN USA. We're going to be talking to him in a moment about a completely different issue, and that involves this story -- military judges at Guantanamo Bay dismissing charges against two terror suspects, a bit of a blow to the Bush administration.

CHURCH: That's right. Now, one of the detainees says he was a driver for Osama bin Laden. The other was alleged to have killed a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.

HOLMES: Now, some observers are saying that these judges' actions amount to throwing up roadblocks to Washington's efforts to try terror suspects in military courts. Others say that they were following the letter of the law as it was set up.

Details now from Bill Gillespie.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL GILLESPIE, REPORTER (voice over): Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay. This is where an estimated 400 Muslim men the U.S. military has called the most dangerous killers in the world mark time. For most of the five years he spent here, Canadian Omar Khadr has been Guantanamo's youngest prisoner. But Omar Khadr, who sat in silent defiance inside the military commission room today, looked nothing like the much-publicized photograph of the timid 15-year-old child.

He wore his beige prison uniform instead of the civilian clothes offered by the court. He stared straight ahead. And when the military judge entered the room, he refused to stand.

His lawyers had said Khadr was convinced the military commission was a kangaroo court, that the decision to find him guilty had already been made. But then a surprise from Judge Colonel Peter Brownback.

Brownback told the lawyers the Military Commission Act gives him jurisdiction to try alien unlawful enemy combatants. But the charge sheet against Khadr referred to him simply as an "enemy combatant". Brownback ruled that the omission of the word "unlawful" put Khadr outside his jurisdiction. He dismissed all the charges.

The military prosecutors are considering an appeal, but one of the military commission defense lawyers says the Khadr ruling puts the future of the entire commission process in doubt.

COL. DWIGHT SULLIVAN, CHIEF DEFENSE ATTORNEY: And the experience of the military commission system demonstrates that it's a failure. So rather than trying to revive these charges, it seems time for the United States to take a new look and find a different way to deal with these cases.

GILLESPIE: The Bush administration invented these military commissions to ensure accused terrorists could not use the more rigorous U.S. federal court system.

The American Civil Liberties Union maintains now is the time for the White House to use the system it should have used in the first place.

JAMEL JAFFER, ATTORNEY, ACLU: If the Bush administration had only used ordinary civilian courts or even courts martial to try these prisoners -- and I think that's exactly what should happen now.

GILLESPIE (on camera): But even though the criminal charges against Omar Khadr have been dismissed, he won't be getting out of prison anytime soon. The U.S. military still believes he's a dangerous terrorist, a threat to public safety. And like the 400 or so other prisoners here, he'll be staying in Guantanamo indefinitely.

Bill Gillespie, CBC News, Guantanamo Bay.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now, for more on the military judge's decision, let's go to our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, from Manchester, New Hampshire.

Let's move you off Scooter Libby for a while and talk about this one. You've had a busy day.

Now, this seems really on the face of it to be rather extraordinary. It's a technicality, it's a glitch, or is this a blunder?

TOOBIN: Michael, the administration's legal policy on Guantanamo has been a wall-to-wall disaster for years.

In 2003, the United States Supreme Court threw out the administration's plan, said they were a violation of the prisoner's rights. The administration went back to the drawing board.

In 2005, the Supreme Court said the same thing -- start over. No good. This time with Congress.

Now Congress has stepped in, and it appears that the current system is not going to work for any of the prisoners now, in effect. It does look like, however, that no one is going to get released. They will try, yet again, to indict, charge, try these people, but it will be more delays and more embarrassment for the American government.

HOLMES: This has been five years in the works. A lot of people are going to be stunned that they haven't been able to get it right. The critics certainly are going to be emboldened, those who believe that this whole process lacks legitimacy on an international law level.

TOOBIN: Well, this is the problem when you set up a new system from scratch. You know, we have a judicial system in the United States which charges criminals. We have a system called courts martial involving military justice.

What the administration had tried to do is set up a separate system for these prisoners in Guantanamo, which, clearly, gives them fewer rights than they would have under other systems. And so far both the courts and now even the military judges have said the system doesn't work and they're going to have to start again.

I mean, one of the many peculiarities about this latest ruling yesterday is that the government will want to appeal. But there's no appeals process that's yet been defined, and no appeals court and no appeals judges. So it just underlines the chaos of this system and the fact, as you point out, that it's been five years for a lot of these defendants. And they still haven't had their day in court.

HOLMES: Yes. More than 300 people without charges laid against them.

Tell me this -- what are the government's options, Jeff? What's the broader impact of this in terms of the entire military proceedings against Guantanamo Bay inmates?

TOOBIN: Well, I think they basically have two options. One is to recharge all of these people, to begin the legal process against all of the 400 remaining again, using the rules put forth by this judge. The alternative is change the rules, as they have changed them many times in the process.

Neither, frankly, makes the system look very good. But the one thing we know for sure is that the administration has called a lot of these people the worst of the worst, and they are not simply going to give them bus fare from Guantanamo and say, you know, have a nice day. You know, you're free to go. That's just not going to happen.

HOLMES: No, no. But I suppose the critics are saying, well, charge them with something as well.

Jeffrey Toobin, our senior legal analyst joining us there from New Hampshire.

A busy day for you. Thanks for that, Jeff.

TOOBIN: OK, Michael.

CHURCH: It certainly is.

All right. We're going to take a short break now. We'll be back, though, with a look at the financial news.

HOLMES: Yes. Later, we're going to mark the 40th anniversary of the six-day war as well. We'll bring you the story of two men with almost nothing in common except they were both born during the 1967 War, a war that still dominates their lives 40 years later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Israel succeeded to change our struggle from people struggling for their freedom and justice and self-determination to the struggle to remove (INAUDIBLE) to get our salaries paid, and to get food.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: The U.S. president is on his way to Germany now. One of the major issues on Mr. Bush's agenda at the G-8 summit is the U.S. missile defense system. He discussed it with Czech leaders today and it's expected to come up again during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The issue has driven a wedge between the U.S. and Russia, while putting the Czech Republic and Poland in a particularly difficult position.

Isha Sesay has some insight.

ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One nation is offering reassurance. Another is issuing threats. Where does that leave the Czech Republic and Poland? They're caught in the middle of a potential new cold war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATS: The Cold War is over. It ended. The people of the Czech Republic don't have to choose between being a friend to the United States or a friend with Russia. You can be both. We don't believe in a zero-sum world.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRES. (through translator): A new deployment area in Poland, a radar in the Czech Republic? What are we supposed to did? We can not just observe all of this or forgo our agreements unilaterally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: The U.S.'s requests to build part of its missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic and Russia's fierce opposition have put the two countries in a bind. If they refuse the plan, they risk alienating an important Western ally. If they accept, they risk Russia's wrath, and becoming a potential target for retaliatory Russian missiles is only part of it. Poland is already banned from exporting meat through Russia, a move that Warsaw says is politically motivated. And the Czech republic is heavily dependent on Russian energy, the same energy that Russia has shut off, or threatened to do so, to other former Soviet republics whose moves have displeased Moscow.

Poland's prime minister says Russia's objections are less about missiles than a desire to regain influence over his country. It's a sentiment echoed by the Czech Republic, whose prime minister calls Russia's threats blackmail. Both countries say they have the right to enter into agreements whether Russia favor them or not. But is it a risk worth taking? Czech and Police citizens who demonstrated over the missile-defense plan remain divided.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): What's in it for us? It is to secure America. There's nothing in it for us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm for the American radar. Nowadays the world is very unstable and people who think that they need to be neutral and kind have the wrong perception.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I don't agree with it. We managed to get rid of one army. Why should we let another one come in now? I don't think we should.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: If the Czech Republic and Poland refuse the U.S. missile- defense plan, Washington simply says it will look to locate its components elsewhere. But the U.S. has pointed out the strategic and economic benefits of agreeing to the plan, and it's suggesting that as NATO members and participants in the U.S.-led war on terror, the two have a responsibility to assume certain risks.

CHURCH: So, Isha, it's pretty incredible, isn't it, watching this relationship between the U.S. and Russia. Where's it going? SESAY: Well, certainly it's deteriorating quite quickly. Many would agree with that. And you know, it's just over six years ago that Bush and Putin met for the first time, if you remember, and President Bush said he looked into the eyes of Putin and got a sense of his soul, I mean, as you remember. And a lot has changed since then. I mean, these two sides today at loggerheads over a number of issues, and it's not just this missile-defense plan. The U.S. administration has been increasingly critical of democracy and the state of human rights in Russia. They also want Russia to put more pressure on Iran to hold its nuclear program, as well as the issue over Russia failing to support Kosovo's bid for independence.

Meanwhile, what we're seeing is that Russia has increasingly hardened its stance on these issues, and the rhetoric coming out of Moscow has grown increasingly harsh, particularly in recent days.

And, really, We have to wait and see if this upcoming July visit -- indeed, Putin's coming to bush's retreat in Maine, and we'll see whether it will warm up those chilly relations as yet we wait and see.

CHURCH: It will certainly be chilly, at the start at least.

Now, the situation, too, for Poland and the Czech Republic, they're being put in a very difficult position with Russia. But where does it leave Russia and E.U. relations?

SESAY: Well, Russia's relations with the E.U. are also at a low ebb. I fact, back in April the E.U. Trade Commissioner Pete Mandelson said that trust levels between the E.U. and Russia had reached its lowest levels since the end of the Cold War. An he said that was said partly due to energy. Because what we've seen in recent months and recent years, we've seen rows (ph) with Russia and its former Soviet states. They've rowed (ph) over energy costs, and they've disrupted the supply of energy to Western Europe, and that's led to accusations that Russia is using its energy as a political weapon.

In the meantime, Russia is also arguing that, you know, the E.U. is just creating an insecurity about demand. So yes, basically, Russia and E.U. relations Are at an all-time low there. It's not good all around.

CHURCH: Indeed. All right, Isha Sesay, thank you so much for that insight -- Michael.

HOLMES: Now to the war in Iraq and the U.S. troop surge. Is it working? Well, the top U.S. commander there says it is too early to know for sure. David Petraeus is also urging patience, as the administration has for some time, despite the increasing number of U.S. casualties.

Our Hala Gorani talked with him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A ceremony at Balad Airbase in Iraq honoring 12 U.S. service members. In attendance, the top commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus.

GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, CMDR., MULTINATIONAL FORCES IN IRAQ: It's what's called the fallen angel radio call. And when that goes out, it's pretty chilling to hear that on the radio.

GORANI: Last January 20th, the 12 men provided cover and engaged insurgents on the ground after a fellow Blackhawk helicopter was shot down.

MAJ. GEN. JAMES SIMMONS, U.S. SR. AVIATOR IN IRAQ: That day 12 soldiers gave their lives for all Americans.

GORANI: The senior aviator in Iraq, Major General James Simmons, pins medals on the men, including a silver star for Chief Warrant Officer Jerry Sartin.

That day in January, 12 soldiers died and there were no survivors from the Blackhawk.

And the number of U.S. military deaths has not let up since. Last month, one of the bloodiest for U.S. soldiers and Marines since the war began. Fourteen were killed this weekend alone.

The American strategy to increase troops has not reduced the number of U.S. casualties. Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's happening in part because we are going into areas that the enemy has had -- has sanctuaries for quite some time. The surge has enabled us to go into these areas and to take them back from the enemy, and the enemy is not going to allow us to do that without a fight.

GORANI (on camera): And should Americans expect a bloody summer because of this or a deadly summer for the troops in Iraq?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think all the commanders on the ground have said, for quite some time, that this will be harder before it gets easier.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief, Warrant Officer 2, Thomas Schroeder.

GORANI (voice-over): One of those honored at the ceremony, Chief Warrant Officer Thomas Schroeder was friendly with some of the men he tried to rescue last January.

THOMAS SCHROEDER, U.S. ARMY CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER: It's a double-edged sword. I did know all four of them personally.

GORANI: At the ceremony indoors, the focus is recognizing combat achievement. Outside, with the increase in American troops now almost in place in the country, the question remains -- will more boots on the ground make a real difference in Iraq?

(on camera): And that is the question many people are asking. Those who support this surge of extra troops on the ground and those who are critical of the strategy, General David Petraeus telling me that it is too early to judge, that the fifth and final battalion of men is only now entering the theater of operations. He is due to report to Congress and to Washington on the success or otherwise of this strategy in September --Michael?

HOLMES: All right, Hala, thanks. Hala Gorani, in Baghdad.

CHURCH: All right, we do want to go to our Susan Candiotti who's in Port of Spain in Trinidad. She has some developments on that plot against JFK Airport.

Susan, what are you hearing there?

VOICE OF SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Rosemary.

Abdul Nahr (ph), age 57, he is the fourth suspect charged in the alleged plot of the JFK terror plot, has turned himself in. This is according to a law enforcement source here in Trinidad. Mr. Nahr is said to have turned himself in to authorities here in Port of Spain. And no further details are available at this time other than he is expected to be making a first court appearance before a magistrate here in Port of Spain this afternoon.

This would make all four suspects now being held in custody, having turned himself in. And the other two made a court appearance yesterday before the chief federal magistrate here. They are currently being held on provisional warrants and a bail hearing is scheduled next week for the two that made their court appearance yesterday.

Presumably, that is the same thing that will happen with Mr. Nahr while U.S. authorities turn over topical (ph) evidence and information they have as part of the extradition process to attempt to bring these men to the United States for trial.

CHURCH: Now, Susan, as you say, there's not a lot more detail than that, that he has turned himself in. But just give us an idea of how extensive that search was, that he was pushed to this point that he would have basically handed himself over to authorities.

CANDIOTTI: Yes, Mr. Nahr has been apparently in hiding for several days now. You recall the announcement being made over the weekend of the criminal charges against him in the United States. And there has been an all-out manhunt for him. His face, as a matter of fact, is on the front page of today's newspapers here in Port of Spain, saying wanted. They have been looking for this 57-year-old man and believed he was still in country, turns out to be the case. And they weren't sure whether he had attempted to leave under an assumed name or a fake passport. Apparently, that's not true either.

So, finally, with the help, we are told, of the FBI, the authorities here in Trinidad were able to -- well, apparently not able to locate him. He turned himself in. But perhaps they had developed intelligence. Naturally, those are some of the details we hope to learn this afternoon from authorities when he makes his court appearance. CHURCH: All right. Susan Candiotti in Port of Spain in Trinidad there, reporting that the fourth suspect in the JFK Airport plot has turned himself in to authorities there in Trinidad. That means all four suspects are now in custody and that fourth who turned himself in will appear in court this afternoon as we heard from Susan.

We'll take a short break here on YOUR WORLD TODAY. Do stay with us.

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HOLMES: Remembering a war that forever changed the Middle East. Tower of Leagues' (ph) Secretary General Hannan Russa (ph) leads one- minute silence for the victims of the Six-Day War of 1967. It ended, of course, with Israel's capture of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, parts of Syria and Egypt. Russa called on Israel to change its negative policy towards peace and accept an Arab initiative to end the violence.

CHURCH: And with the anniversary of the Arab-Israeli War, we look at both sides of the conflict.

HOLMES: Right, Atika Shubert now taking a look at the war as seen through the eyes of two men, one Israeli, one Palestinian, who came into the world as it changed forever.

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ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eyal Rothschild was born near Tel Aviv on June 5, 1967, just as the Six-Day War broke out. Today, with his wife and five children, he lives an idyllic life in Yakia (ph), an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, part of the territory captured in that war.

EYAL ROTHSCHILD, WEST BANK RESIDENT: If I won't sit here, the Palestinian won't sit here ...

SHUBERT: George Abu Zoulouf was also born in June 1967 near Bethlehem in what is also now the occupied West Bank. He and Eyal Rothschild live just 30 miles from each other and worlds apart.

GEORGE ABU ZOULOUF: It is one to impose a solution from one side. They want to give us -- to put us in a big prison, (INAUDIBLE), isolated, (INAUDIBLE), to be easily controlled.

SHUBERT: Eyal says he became politically aware at 17 during religious study in the biblical town of Shiloh. For the first time, Eyal encountered his Palestinian neighbors.

ROTHSCHILD: On one hand, you could go to a walk around the -- around Shiloh and see Palestinian in the field raising up and waving you with their hands to say hello. And everything seemed nice and quiet and, on the other hand, the day after, you could go with a bus on the way to Shiloh and someone was throwing stones at you. So, suddenly you became very aware of the complexity of the situation. SHUBERT: George Abu Zoulouf has different memories. At the age of 14, he joined his brother and friends at a demonstration against Israeli authority. He was arrested.

ZOULOUF: They beated me severely, and they blindfolded -- I was handcuffed and blindfolded.

SHUBERT: After that, George says he didn't attend any more demonstrations, but it didn't stop the arrests.

ZOULOUF: I began to say, yes, if the Israelis told me, we will not leave you, why to be always avoid them? Why to get afraid with them? No, I have to confront. I have to say to them, no. They are my occupiers. They are my oppressors.

SHUBERT: In and out of prison, it took George ten years to get a university degree. Now, he is a lawyer for children's rights. The view from his new home is the snaking line of Israel's separation barrier and behind it, an Israeli settlement. Israel plans to extend that barrier to protect Eyal's settlement. But his decision to settle here, he says, was not political.

ROTHSCHILD: This place is Israel as much as any other place, I think. It's a magnificent place. And more than that, it's a place where you can feel the Bible from every stone and tree.

SHUBERT: Eyal says he will give up his home and disputed territory only as a last resort.

ROTHSCHILD: If the price of solving problems and having real peace (INAUDIBLE) will be losing my home, I guess with a lot of sorrow I will pay the price.

SHUBERT: But George explains the Palestinian struggle is no longer simply about land, but how Palestinian life is so thoroughly controlled by the Israeli occupation that is now 40-years-old.

ZOULOUF: Occupation is not soldier and the gun. Occupation is a system designed to control our lives. The Israelis succeeded to change our struggle from people struggling for their freedom and justice and self-determination to that struggle to remove this checkpoint to get our salaries paid and to get food.

SHUBERT: George and Eyal don't know each other. It's unlikely they will ever meet. But since they were born, their lives, like that of many Palestinians and Israelis, have become intertwined with conflict. And as both turn 40, neither has any solutions.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone. The G-8 summit is set to begin on Wednesday, the oldest seaside resort in Germany. CHURCH: that's right, now the site is located in what used to be East Germany and it has a long history as a vacation destination.

Frederik Pleitgen gives us a tour.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Germans call it the White City, Heiligendamm, the venue for this year's G-8 summit. On the coast of the Baltic Sea, it's Germany's oldest seaside resort. From the air, Heiligendamm gleams, but it didn't always look this majestic.

When it was in communist East Germany, Heiligendamm was a run- down sanitorium for workers. Nowadays, after investors have spent millions refurbishing the resort, it's a luxurious retreat.

(on camera): Heiligendamm is one of the oldest and most exclusive resorts in Germany. It was built in the late 18th century, and today, it's one of the most expensive five-star hotels in this country.

(voice-over): The man who first made it fashionable, the Grand Duke of Mechlenberg (ph), the first in a line of German royals who came here for summer vacations. Much later, Adolf Hitler often visited the resort in summer. In fact, until earlier this year, he was still an honorary citizen of the district.

Heiligendamm also has its own steam train, locals call it the Mulli (ph) train. But this week, the Mulli train goes past a fence with barbed wire on its way to Heiligendamm . Authorities here have erected an eight-mile long barrier around the G-8 venue to keep protesters out.

More than 16,000 police officers will be on duty during the summit, including hundreds on boats patrolling the coast to protect world leaders as they meet. President Bush has been to this area before in 2006. Chancellor Angela Merkel invited Bush to her home district, (INAUDIBLE), for a casual meeting and a picnic, where the two leaders ate wild boar together.

Not much casual about the place this week. Heiligendamm has been transformed from a luxury retreat into a high-security zone. Even local residents can't enter.

Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Heiligendamm.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: All right, that's it for this hour. I'm Rosemary Church.

HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes, this is CNN.

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