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Fort Hood Working on Healing; Senate to Vote on Health-Care Bill; Florida Braces for Tropical Storm Ida
Aired November 09, 2009 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go straight to Fort Hood, Tony, where they are beginning a live conference on that shooting last week.
LT. GEN. ROBERT CONE, COMMANDING GENERAL, FORT HOOD: ... who are now out of the hospital and will be -- I think the majority of them will be present at tomorrow's memorial ceremony, and many of them will have their families in town to go to this event.
In regard to the investigation, I have nothing to add at this time in regard to that. And we're working very hard to get an update to you from the criminal investigating division sometime later today.
I think we're entering a new phase here. And this is where I'm most concerned as a commander at Fort Hood. And that has to do with this healing phase that we're in. And I think what's absolutely critical is that we understand the nature of what has happened here. And you know, there are probably about 600 people who are somehow directly touched by this incident. And that would be a combination of the soldiers that were passing through the SRP site, many of the civilians who were at the SRP site, the first responders and many of the great folks that were working at the hospitals.
And so our initial focus in these last three days has really been working on getting them the kind of behavioral assessments and behavioral counseling for the kinds of traumatic stress incidents they've been through. And we are working that very hard as it becomes appropriate in terms of the soldiers' protocol of care.
And then, in regard to the other larger populations, I had a very good session yesterday with the -- with the civilian personnel and the soldiers who worked at the soldier readiness site and had a good opportunity to address their concerns. And, again, they began their -- their processing through this critical incident debrief process.
We are working very hard on some other populations, as well. And I think the thing you need to understand is the person who is most prepared to deal with this are the soldiers who are, to some extent, because of their training, have had some degree of stress training before this. So you saw a very quick return in many cases of soldiers.
This is what we do. Many of us are used to being in theater. And something like this happens, and we come back right away. We get on with the mission, memorial service, send our comrades home. And then we move on with the mission. And again, those are not the people -- I mean, I think that's the easiest population, in many ways, to deal with. The real challenge that we have has to do with the other folks that are here at Fort Hood, the civilians that were -- that were working and became a part of this. And when you look at the families here at Fort Hood, who had always previously considered this to be a safe place, the children that are here. And, again, many of whom were locked down in schools. So we are right now in the process of executing a comprehensive program to address the needs of all of these populations.
There's another population I would also mention. And that is we realize that there are other soldiers that have had behavioral problems, post-traumatic stress disorder, those types of things, in the past. And we don't really know what the impact of something like this is on them. So we are pushing across the board to try and help that -- to try and address these issues.
When you look at it, and you look at the amount of resources that are currently mobilized here at Fort Hood -- for instance we have some 27 family -- military family life consultants, some 18 combat stress control teams on the ground, some 41 behavioral health specialists and some 57 ministry support teams. And again, we have additional resources coming in as we need it. General Casey tells me the entire resources of the United States Army are at the disposal of Fort Hood and its -- and its population to help deal with the impact of this event.
We have a number of services available. The survivor outreach center. We have the Resiliency Campus. And then we have the Families Assistance Center. And we are also operating a family assistance hotline so we can align these resources against where the need is. Right now we deem that need to be sufficient, but this will be a long- term process in terms of applying these resources against the need.
Again, for many of you who have any background in this, you realize it's -- the problems from this don't occur in the days right after the incident. They tend to happen down the road, 30, 60, 90 days. And that's really what we're concerned about.
In regard to other events happening here at Fort Hood, as many of you have figured out, we'll have a memorial service here tomorrow. We will open the gates here at 10 a.m. And the service will be at 1300 hours. There will be a 1300 start. As you also may know, the president will attend. And then our other very special guests will be the families of the 13 soldiers that passed and the civilian family members, as well, and as well as many of the wounded soldiers' families are in town. And again, they will be featured. This ceremony is focused on them and the Fort Hood community in terms of the grieving process and addressing the grieving process.
So with that, I'll take your questions. Yes, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: I think General Casey, as you've heard him talk, has taken this on directly. And we are going to take a very hard look at ourselves and look at anything that might have been done to have prevented this.
And I think what's really important is that Hasan was a soldier. And we have other soldiers that, you know, that might have some of the same stress and indicators that he has. And we have to look across our entire formation, not just in a medical community but look hard to our right and left. And that's the responsibility for everybody from the top to the bottom to make sure we're taking care of our own.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Well, there will be a series -- I think an investigation is what the chief staff of the Army -- I'm not exactly sure what form that will take. But I think it's going to be, certainly, a longitudinal look, a big look. Whereas, at Fort Hood here, what I'm directing commanders to do is immediately take a hard look and make sure, if there's anybody out there struggling, that we're going to address their issues.
Yes, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: That is -- I cannot comment on Major Hasan investigation at this time.
Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Right. Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: I'm not aware of that. And I haven't even heard that at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Again, I need to stay away from Major Hasan.
Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Right. As you know, in this combat stress detachment was scheduled to be deploying. And we're taking a hard look and making sure that they have everything they need. And, again, they may be delayed in regard to additional personnel being brought in. But they will be ready, and they will have personnel that are prepared to go to Afghanistan when they leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) CONE: Well, we know the importance of these combat stress detachments. That's one of the reasons we brought so many in here. And the fact is, certainly, the ones that have had the casualties will need to be reconstituted before we can -- before we can deploy them. But again, that -- I think that's the important part, is understanding the importance of this behavioral health and understanding this is -- this is something that we take an active posture on in terms of helping treat soldiers with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Say again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: No. I'm not certain -- I've heard a number of reports in terms of where he was supposed to be deploying to, but I cannot confirm directly that he was -- had a relationship with the unit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: I'll have to get that for you. I don't have it off the top of my head.
Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: It's huge. And this is a process that we as soldiers go through. Many of our families have been a part of this. The ceremony that we do tomorrow will be our traditional memorial service. And so it will be familiar and comfortable to many of our soldiers.
The added benefit, of course, is the significance of having the president of the United States here and all that that represents in terms of the importance of the Fort Hood community, our mission and the importance of our families and these families of the fallen soldiers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: I hope so. No, I think -- you know, obviously we're creating a venue back there that is somewhat private. And, again, you know, clear of observation. And I think they're part of the strategy.
And again, our intent is to get as many folks here from Fort Hood who desire to come. As I said earlier, I'm not sure what the impact of this incident has been into the larger Fort Hood population. So one way to help them with the grieving process would be to invite as many folks as we can. That's why we created this venue. We estimate that we could get a pretty good number of people inside the boxed off area.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: It's a security issue and privacy, as well. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: It's -- does somebody have the program? It's very standard. It will start off sort of with a prologue. It will have, essentially, some prayers. It will have some speakers. It will have some -- some Bible verses. And then it will have a short sermon, and it will conclude with some music and then the traditional roll call of the names of the dead, and it will have a 21-gun salute.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Right now we believe he will attend and speak.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: It could be. The target population that I'm looking at, essentially the people I'm concerned about, of course, are the people who are directly affected by this incident and their family members. And when you extend that out, I mean extended family also. It's soldiers and their buddies, in many cases because their families aren't here.
It would be about -- we think about 3,000 folks that are certainly -- I think we have a seating capacity in there of about 2,000. And we'll expand outward from there in standing room, extensive standing room around the backside of this. And so hopefully, as I say, we'll have a good crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Well, I think the concern is, and this is what I've heard. And again, I've been out talking to a number of people. I'll be having a town hall meeting tonight. The concern is little things. Like the sirens that are going all the time on post. And we're going to be working on that. The kinds of things that, when people are locked down and told that they have to stay there because something dangerous is happening, what tends to happen is they tend to magnify what potential fears.
And then anything that happens that brings it up, things like the sirens going off, and police cars rushing around, tends to bring some of that back. And those are the kinds of little things that we have to -- basically to reassure the people of Fort Hood that this is a safe place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Well, as far as soldiers are concerned, there are people that are authorized to have weapons on this post. In regard to people coming off -- coming from off post that are not authorized to be on post, of course their vehicles are searched. And that is -- that's key. The point is soldiers do, in fact, have registered weapons on post and we've taken a look at that to make sure that all the weapons, the people that have weapons have the weapons, in fact, registered here on Fort Hood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: I'm not sure at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: I do not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Yes. That is something that we're working through right now. Right now we have elevated security measures, largely as a means of reassurance to our population. As we continue to examine the threat we will keep appropriate security measures in place.
One of the things that we want to avoid, we have a tremendous relationship with the Central Texas region. For years the people of Central Texas have come on Fort Hood for events on a regular basis. We were opening this post from 10 to 2 every day. And we had very positive feedback in terms of the development of this relationship that we had.
Right now we've suspended that, but we will examine that to make sure that we are doing the right kinds of searches or some sort of a pass that says, "You're here frequently. We know who you are and that you can come on post. Our intent is not to isolate ourselves from this great local community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Yes. And I had a good discussion yesterday with the personnel there. And, again, they are -- they are dealing with a lot of issues over there, and I completely understand it.
They will always have security. We're looking at limiting access to the facilities. And right now, obviously, we are not going to go back into the building where the majority of the shooting took place. We'll set up other arrangements and facilities.
But their security is a key concern of mine. And again, I think it's entirely fair that their -- the concerns that they voiced to me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Right. Well, that's -- that's an interesting question. I can tell you that I personally received messages of support from the local Muslim community, expressing condolence and support.
I believe that we have well over 100 Muslim soldiers, and they are valued members of our team. And we are working -- I've asked the chain of command to make sure that we are giving them special attention to make sure that they are being given every consideration and that we are vigilant to any kind of reaction that might take place.
Again, I can't speak for them but I think they should. They're part of our team.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: He's had a number of different roles. I think he initially started worked at the R&R center and then was basically writing psychological profiles here in the last several months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: I'm not -- I can't say for sure. I can refer you to the doctors to answer that question. I believe he did, but he didn't have an extensive role in counseling soldiers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Yes. The crime scene investigation continues. Governor Rick Perry was there last night. Again, with his Texas Rangers. So we've had tremendous support from the local community. And we continue to process the evidence at the crime scene.
And, again, as you know, with the forensic capabilities that exist today, we had an FBI collection team assisting us. And I think that is going very well. Tremendous cooperation between all the agency involved: the criminal investigating division, the FBI and the Texas Rangers, who are all working together at this -- at this crime scene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Right. Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: No. I don't -- I created the national training center for -- I employed over 250 Iraqi and Afghan role players that played an invaluable role in preparing our soldiers for combat. And again, they're all vetted. Most are American citizens. And they will be treated with the same dignity and respect of every American citizen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Right. I'm not sure. I'll think about that. We've looked at, again, what the appropriate security measures are here on post. And what we want to do is make sure that -- this cannot become, you know, a -- you know, a battlefield. And again, we will provide the right kind of security measures here on post to make sure that it doesn't.
Again, I believe this was an isolated incident, a very unfortunate isolated incident.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: Well, there are a lot of things that could be done. I mean, we have different levels of search and different levels of activity in terms of number of armed guards we have present, et cetera, et cetera. But I think that's a fair question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: It's really for the Fort Hood family and invited guests. We've invited a significant number of off-post personnel to attend. Again, our key partners in the local communities have been invited to attend.
But really my target population is the Fort Hood community. And, again, many of them -- you've got to remember 70 percent of my soldiers live in Killeen, Harper Heights, Coppers Cove. And they're invited to come, because they're part -- because they're part of this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: I don't know. Does anybody here...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONNER: Not that I'm aware of at this point. Let me go to you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: My understanding is there's a media pool, but that is not really my bailiwick. And we'll get somebody to answer that.
Ben, you can take that on here in a few minutes.
I'll take one more. Yes, ma'am? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: I think what we're looking for are people with sort of overwhelming personal problems and patterns of behavior that are not at all related to religion. Not at all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: It will be a televised town hall meeting at -- I think it's at 1700 -- 7 p.m. tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CONE: No, it was a previously scheduled -- I do town-hall meetings. Actually, this is my first one as commander. But my predecessor did them on a regular basis. And I will do my first one tonight.
And really, that's going to be a presentation, largely, of information pertaining to a lot of the services that I talked about for behavioral health assessments and then presentation of information in regard to how to get to the event tomorrow and all the details of that.
Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
PHILLIPS: Fort Hood's commanding general, Lieutenant General Robert Cone. (AUDIO GAP) ... that they're safe on his grounds. Cone says he's doing everything possible to help victims, their families, everyone else impacted by last week's shooting. He wants them all to be able to heal in their own time. He's doing everything he can to provide services to those right there on his ground and even the rest of the community surrounding Fort Hood. Behavioral health now the center of attention for this commanding general.
And tomorrow we learned a memorial service at Ford Hood. And President Barack Obama will be there.
Here's everything that we know right now to this point. Major and Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan, the suspected gunman, is said to be awake now and talking at a military hospital in San Antonio. It's not clear if he's talked to investigators. And so far no charges have been filed.
Hasan's back story is front and center in this probe right now. Connections, acquaintances that may have led him to a radical view of Islam.
Senator Joe Lieberman says that he'll call a hearing into whether the Fort Hood attack was terrorism. But Army Chief of Staff George Casey warns against speculation right now, fearing a tremendous backlash against Muslim soldiers.
Now, we're going to talk more about that later this hour. You're actually going to meet a Muslim-American vet who says he suffered personal and degrading attacks at the hands of his comrades. And after that, former military intelligence officer Ken Robinson will join me live to talk about military culture and a danger that cuts both ways.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Dead on arrival. Fighting words from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham against the health-care reform bill that narrowly passed the House this weekend. House members also had strong words for and against.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. EDWARD MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: You know, the GOP used to stand for "grand old party." Now it stands for "grandstand, oppose and pretend."
They grandstand with phony claims about nonexistent debt panels. They oppose any real reform, and with this substitute, they pretend to offer a solution while really doing nothing.
REP. JOHN SHADEGG (R), ARIZONA: But most of all, Matty says, "Don't tax me to pay for health care that you guys want. If you want health care, pay for it yourselves. Because it's not fair to pass your health=care bills on to me and my grandchildren.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gentleman's time has expired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The baby always makes people look.
Now the battles shifts to the Senate. Key issue: a government option in the House measure. Congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar joins us live from the Hill. She's not holding a baby, but she is going to tell us what's next and what's the best guess for a Senate vote.
Right, Brianna?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And you know, we were here all day Saturday. So I guess, at least, there was some entertainment for us as we spent hours and hours here.
But yes, next step is the Senate. And Kyra, we're expecting this to take weeks. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is looking for the next step right now, which is getting some numbers crunched, trying to figure out -- we're also waiting for this -- trying to figure out exactly how much his bill costs, whether it will add to the deficit or not. Democrats say it's not going to. And how many Americans it's going to cover. So that's really the next step. And we're hearing from sources that we could get those numbers towards the end of this week.
But then a bill needs to go to the floor for debate. And then there needs to be a vote. And while yesterday -- while on Saturday, we saw three hours -- or I think four hours of debate on that House bill, we're looking at as many as three to four weeks of debate in the Senate. So this is going to take some time. That definitely takes us into December for a vote in the Senate.
And then, of course, that's not the last step. The Senate and the House have to hash out the differences, and how they vote on the final bill that they agree on.
PHILLIPS: And with all -- within all of that, the one question that I probably asked you probably more than a dozen times, the differences between the House bill and the Senate version, where we stand right now?
KEILAR: Yes. And there are some big differences.
Let's start first with a public option. That -- that bill that passed in the House on Saturday includes that government-run insurance plan, that public option. And the Senate bill, Harry Reid says that the bill that he puts on the floor will include a public option. But it's a little weaker. What it would do is it would allow states to opt out.
It's also, though, unclear whether this will have the support to pass the Senate. There's a number of moderate Democrats who have an issue with the public option. And Senator Harry Reid needs to hold on to all 60 of the Democrats, as well as two independents, in order to hit that 60-vote threshold. And Joe Lieberman, one of those independents, has said, if there is a public option, he's not going to support it. So big problem for Harry Reid.
Also, let's talk about how you pay for overhauling health-care reform. Big price tag here in the Senate. We're looking at, you know, it's under a trillion dollars in the Senate. It's under $800 billion -- that's still a lot that has to be paid for -- in the House.
They were looking at that tax, an additional tax on wealthy Americans. In the Senate, they are looking at a tax on those Cadillac plans, those high-end health insurance plans.
And I made a mistake, Kyra, under 900 billion in the Senate.
You can just see these big differences. They need to be worked out. And that's a step that's going to be coming here in several weeks, and it's going to take some more time.
PHILLIPS: Brianna Keilar, thanks so much.
It was the first hurricane to threaten the U.S. Gulf Coast this year. It's not a hurricane anymore, but Ida, now a tropical storm, is still a serious flood threat.
Storm watches and warnings span from Louisiana's southeastern coast to the Florida Panhandle. Florida declaring a state of emergency this morning. And Louisiana making the declaration yesterday.
Now last hour, Governor Bobby Jindal told us how Louisiana is getting ready.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: The Guard has activated its joint operations center to 24 operations -- 24-hour operations, as well as its tactical awareness center. They've got teams of people that mobilize, and have ready to mobilize both people and equipment. For example, engineer, assessment and work teams that could help with utility restoration, 10 boat teams, high water and search and rescue teams in helicopters. They've also got a 40-man special reaction team to help law enforcement if needed.
And again, these are assets that have been -- some of these assets have been pre-deployed. But these are personnel and resources that are ready to go.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Severe weather expert Chad Myers on top of that storm, too.
Chad, are we still looking at a potential overnight landfall, you think, for Ida?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I think so. It could slow down. It would be probably 6 a.m. tomorrow morning. But if it doesn't, if it keeps going on current path, significantly in the dark hours or somewhere 6 a.m. Depending how far it turns to the right. And if it turns to the right, that's going to take it farther and farther away from where it is now, compared to the coast. So it's a longer distance, so it will be a later hour.
A couple things I want to talk to you about. It is not a hurricane anymore. And it's really losing an awful lot of its punch. There's been a little bit of a flare-up in the past couple of hours. And Ida is still a dangerous 70-mile-per-hour storm.
Now, anybody that was in Florida or has for a long time, especially the Keys, will tell you, "Hey, we can deal with 70." But 70 would still take shingles off, still blow things around. You don't want to be on the beach. You don't want to be outside when this thing does make landfall. It will probably make landfall, as you said, after dark tonight, after midnight but before the morning hours.
See this turn -- big turn it could make? That's the problem. If it makes a straight line, that's a pretty short distance. If it does that, you have to think about having to go all around the circumference of a half a circle. That will take it later in the period. So, it will get later for you.
If you would like to track it yourself, go to CNN.com/hurricane. You can do the plots, you can do the radar, you can do the satellite, you can do the track. All the things. You can be your own meteorologist right at home.
Listening to Governor Jindal talking about Louisiana, the biggest threat, I believe, will be the wind coming in. The same way Katrina brought all the wind into the St. Bernard Parish in areas east of New Orleans. But not as significant enough to pile all the water up to Lake Pontchartrain and flood New Orleans. That just does not look likely at all. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. We'll keep tracking it. Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: You got it.
PHILLIPS: Well, it was the ultimate sign of the times when it went up and when it came down. How the times changed right before our eyes. We'll take a look at Berlin where Germans and the rest of the world are marking the fall of the Wall.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: CNN and Oprah team up for the biggest Oprah Book Club event ever. The book is "Say You're One of Them." For special online content, go to CNN.com/Oprahbookclub. You can read excerpts from the book, watch Oprah's video blogs, file an iReport and share your thoughts about "Say You're One of Them."
Plus, make sure you register for the Oprah Book Club event, then join the event on the new CNN.com tonight 9:00, 8:00 Central. A pretty special connection we've made with Oprah here at CNN.
Well, the three American hikers held in Iran now facing espionage charges. The new move by an Iranian prosecutor might mean the government plans to put them on trial. Here they are in obviously happier times in an amateur video. They were actually seized on the border in Iraq in July, then charged with illegally entering the country. Their families say they were hiking and accidentally strayed across the unmarked border. There's growing speculation Iran may use the Americans as bargaining chips in a dispute with the U.S. over its nuclear program.
Children sent to prison for life, no chance for parole. It happens in the U.S., sometimes in cases that do not involve murder. But should it? It's a sensitive question, to say the least. And the Supreme Court is taking it up today. Our Kate Bolduan is taking a trip to Pennsylvania, home to one of the highest numbers of juvenile lifers in this country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This park, just one block from Dawn and Daryl's Romig's (ph) house in Allentown, Pennsylvania, serves as a constant reminder of a horrific February day six years ago.
(on camera): Does it ever easier to see this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not really. I even go past where she was actually found. I go past that every day. So it's never any easier.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): The Romig's (ph) 12-year-old daughter Dani left home to play with friends, but never returned. She was brutally beaten, raped and killed by a 17-year-old neighbor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had a written plan on paper that they found in his school bag. Twenty-three things to do to a girl in the woods, and he did it all.
BOLDUAN: Brian Barr was convicted as an adult and is serving life in prison with no chance of getting out. Dawn Romig says that's exactly where he belongs, despite recent action in Pennsylvania and across the country to end what some view as sentences too harsh for young people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't get her back if he can get his freedom back. He needs -- they need to serve their sentences. Fully carried out.
BOLDUAN: That is the controversial question now before the high court. Is life without parole cruel and unusual punishment for juvenile criminals? Human Rights Watch estimates more than 2,500 juvenile offenders are currently serving life without parole in the U.S. Forty-four states allow for these sentences, including more than a dozen states for criminals as young as 13.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The male role models out here are the male role models on the corners, and that what's we looked up to.
BOLDUAN: Edwin Desemore (ph) has lived both sides of this debate. Convicted of murder at 16, he was paroled after eight years behind bars. Desemore has since returned to the same rough Philadelphia neighborhood where he grew up, forming a nonprofit group to help keep kids out of trouble.
EDWIN DESEMORE, FOUNDER OF YOUTH NONPROFIT: The message I'm trying to say is that you're capable of so much, but we can skip the prison part. A lot of our kids just believe the system's a part of their lives. They believe they have to go through that or that's a part of life because they see it so much.
BOLDUAN: Desemore argues the courts should consider age and environment when dealing with juvenile criminals. By and large, he says, they deserve a second chance.
DESEMORE: I'm dealing with kids out here today where they're living in rough conditions. They're in a home where they're being abused physically, mentally, and it's an issue. It's rough..
BOLDUAN: But still, you think if they commit the crime they can turn around and live a good life like you?
DESEMORE: Most definitely. Most definitely. I turned it around.
BOLDUAN: The specific case before the high court deals with two non-murder crimes. The issues are wide-ranging and give the justices an opportunity to rule narrowly or cause sweeping change throughout the juvenile justice system.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: The Supreme Court turned him down once today. So, it's like looking this for John Allen Muhammad's last full day in this world. The man better known as D.C. Sniper set to die by lethal injection tomorrow in Virginia.
Just a short time ago, we actually learned that the Supreme Court ahs refused to block that execution. This is Muhammad's penalty for shooting and killing a man at a gas station. But he and his young accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, as you may rememeber, were linked to ten killings in the D.C. area over a three-week period back in 2002. Malvo is serving life in prison right now.
For people in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, it three terrifying weeks of watching their backs. Tonight, "Anderson Cooper 360" takes you through the timeline of terror and trail of clues that led to the snipers. A 360 special investigation tonight, 10:00 Eastern only on CNN.
Timeline in Orlando, Florida, about a minute. A witness says that's how long that shooting rampage lasted at the office building on Friday. One person was killed, five others hurt. The accused gunman, Jason Rodriguez now charged with first-degree murder with more charges to come. He used to work at that firm inside the building. His lawyer says Rodriguez is mentally ill and has a slew of personal and financial problems.
A Muslim American soldiers goes to war for his adopted country and finds battle, enemy, hardships he never expected.
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PHILLIPS: More celebrations happening in Berlin right now. Can you believe it's been 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall? Twenty years since the band Jesus Jones wrote "We were watching the world wake up from history." German chancellor Angela Merkel, Berlin's mayor and the leaders of the four nations that once occupied the city speak at a ceremony just a few minutes from now. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton represents the U.S., and also next hour, display that's full of symbolism. Plastic Dominoes along the wall's old path will be knocked over. The Wall's fall had its own domino effect on the Iron Curtain and Cold War.
One thing Berliners have today they didn't 20 years ago, the Internet. Let's see what messages people are putting on the walls of CNN.com. Josh Levs, what do you see?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well put, because we actually have a wall for the Berlin Wall anniversary on CNN.com. Let's zoom in. I want everyone to see this interactive we've got set up today. People all over the world, including in Berlin, are weighing in.
Here you go. This is it right here. All you do is click on any one of the pictures. In fact, we can take a look at the full wall just by starting over. Take a look. Everywhere you see one of those little magnifying glass symbols, you click on it, open up. You see a picture someone has sent us along with a story. Their memories, their thoughts about the fall of the Wall, about what it meant to them, how it affected their life when it was there. That's a really interesting thing.
But we're reaching out in every possible way. Another way we're reaching out is having our producers talk to people on the streets all over the world. Take a look.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throughout my life, we were always told that the Iron Curtain, the Berlin wall was something that was impenetrable. And that the East and the West were divided. And there was a moment in our history where we saw graphically how it was an illusion. It was a social construction. So, it was an amazing moment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My mom (INAUDIBLE) told us many stories of living in Russia under the communists. She believed it would disappear someday. She passed away in '87, so she couldn't see it.
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LEVS: We've been doing that hroughout this day, bringing you voices all over the world.
Yet another way going. I want you to see this now before I disappear. That's iReport.com. Let's zoom in really quickly. You were just hearing about Dominoes. One of our iReporters, Marcu Pelton (ph) sent us this, which shows us some of the activities that's been going on where these dominoes are. Obviously, we'll be following that. It happens with the dominoes, including the fall.
Let me go to this graphic. I can show you where to weigh in, where to get links to everything you were just seeing. You go me on blog, CNN.com/josh. Also, Facebook and Twitter. JoshlevsCNN. Kyra, we are seeing so many people from so many countries share their memories today. There are very few events in world history that people remember the way they do this wall.
PHILLIPS: Can we go online and learn more about the dominoes? It's more than just symbolism. But artists from all around the world painted them, right?
LEVS: They painted them and each one is unique. You can actually get closeups. Go to CNN.com or ireport.com, we actually show you, I believe all of them, pretty up close. You can see what they all look like. And then, with the fall, we'll have video of that as well. Yes, it will all be updated, CNN.com.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Josh.
LEVS: You got it. Thanks.
PHILLIPS: A Muslim-American soldier goes to war for his adopted country. He finds battles, enemies, hardships that he never expected.
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PHILLIPS: Well, four days after the horrors at Fort Hood, the wounded suspect is said to be awake and talking. But whether he's talking to investigators isn't yet clear. Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan was shot in the abdomen by police in Thursday's rampage. Before that, more than two dozen others were hurt, 12 soldiers and one civilian killed.
Now, Hasan's connections to, or sympathy toward, Islamic extremism are being explored, including on Capitol Hill. Back at Fort Hood, the commanding general briefed reporters just moments ago.
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LT. GEN. ROBERT CONE, COMMANDING GENERAL, FORT HOOD: I think what's really important is that Hasan was a soldier. And we have other soldiers that might have some of the same stress and indicators that he has. And we have to look across our entire formation, not just in a medical community but really look hard to our right and left That's the responsibility of everybody from top to bottom to make sure we're taking care of our own.
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PHILLIPS: Muslim in the military. Long before the shootings, Major Nidal Halik -- well, I apologize. Major Nidal Hasan was said to feel conflicted, alienated, out of place and unwanted. Adam Hattani knows what unwanted feels like, even though as a U.S. soldier, fluent in Arabic, his skills and dedication were and are sorely needed. CNN's Don Lemon has his story.
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DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Graduation day for Adam Hattani.
ADAM HATTANI, FORMER U.S. SOLDIER: I was proud to wear the uniform. I felt now I am an American. I'm a real, pure, pure American.
LEMON: Adam Hattani grew up in Morocco. At age 20, he came to the U.S. as a tourist. He fell in love with the country and a woman. And Adam Hattani became a citizen. He drove a taxi, worked in retail and eventually opened a small meat market.
But in 2007, Adam Hattani's life took a major turn. The U.S. was sending more troops to Iraq. The Army desperately needed more interpreters.
HATTANI: They were looking for people who speaks Arabic. (INAUDIBLE) I jumped right away and did it.
LEMON: Hattani enlisted at age 40. HATTANI: Because I love this country. That's number one. The second thing is I want to fight, and I want everybody to know there are Muslims who are not terrorists.
LEMON: After basic training, he deployed in the surge, only to find he was reviled by many Iraqis.
HATTANI: They hate us . They hate us as translators. I tell you the truth. They hate us because to their eyes, we are the traitor. We're no good. We help the Americans.
LEMON: Adam was assigned to a special forces commando team.
HATTANI: We've been attacked with mortars, we've been attacked with rackets (ph). We've been exposed to a lot of things. Yes, absolutely.
LEMON: There were some in the group whose dedication to American values was inspiring.
HATTANI: I have a lot of respect for them. They were very respectful, they were very, very good people.
LEMON: But before long, Hattani says he was fighting a second war -- with other men in his unit.
HATTANI: I was called terrorist, I was called a lot of names. I was made fun of us. They insult my prophet Muhammad. They said F- word. "F your Muhammed." I cannot say it in the camera. And they say, "F you, Allah."
LEMON: Hattani says the ridicule was relentless, complete with this pamphlet in his team's office.
HATTANI: They say "Private Hattani was born the son of the monkey. Breed (ph) in the street of Morocco in the summer of 1942."
LEMON: It continues with a string of cultural insults and anti- gay slurs.
HATTANI: A lot of people has this paper, and I look at it and I was shocked. I just had tears in my eyes and I say, "Is that what I deserve?".
LEMON: Over time, he became despondent and saw no way out.
HATTANI: You get to the point, enough is enough. I don't want to live anymore. Too many times I would felt to do stupid things. So many times, I was going to get a grenade and blow up everybody and blow up myself. (INAUDIBLE0 I get to the point -- I was betrayed by my own people. I was betrayed by the people I fought for, the people I won with to fight for the country.
LEMON: An Army record describes Hattani's translation work as "indispensable." But after seven months, he came home with PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. Hattani filed a formal complaint with the Army and the response left him stunned. "Numerous soldiers from outside the detachment do not substantiate your claims. No witnesses stated you were singled out for harassment." The only thing that happened to the men in Hattani's unit? They were to attend a refresher course on the Army's equal opportunity policy.
HATTANI: As much as I want to be a pure American, as much as they push me down and make me look like I don't belong in this country anymore. What all I did -- they made me feel like, you know what? You're an outsider.
LEMON: Even so, Hattani has no sympathy for Major Nidal Malik Hasan at Fort Hood. Only for his victims.
HATTANI: What he did, I disagree with him 100 percent. He shouldn't do what he did. They are innocent people who he killed, and he shouldn't do what he did.
LEMON: The Army says one of its strengths is the diversity of its men and women. A spokesman told us that training emphasizes tolerance of diverse backgrounds. Even so, Adam Hattani regrets his decision to enlist.
HATTANI: If I knew what I knew now, I would never go, no.
LEMON: Today, Hattani says he spends much of his time as a shut- in. Unable to work, fighting depression and anxiety. There's a battalion of pills to keep the enemy at bay.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: We want to push forward now on what can be a delicate, even dangerous relationship. Muslims in the military waging war in Muslim lands. Ken Robinson, former special ops and military intelligence officer, is now a media consultant in L.A. He still advises top brass on military culture.
You know Adam, you know his story. We saw how Hasan came forward and talked about being harassed. Are there more of these instances out there, Ken?
KEN ROBINSON, MEDIA CONSULTANT: Certainly there are, Kyra. But these are incidences of personal failure on the part of individuals. This isn't policy. This isn't something that's tolerated by the chain of command. This is something that is overlooked by individuals within a chain of command that need to be held accountable.
The commanding general at Fort Hood said it best when he said that everyone need to be looked at from the left and the right, not just the medical community. He said it right that the Army is examining itself from top to bottom. It's a huge organization. It's a huge institution, and it's very hard to effect change within it. But it is trying, especially in the area of culture.
PHILLIPS: And we've talked so much about PTSD, depression, suicide, all these behavioral issues, mental health issues that the military hasn't wanted to address. Then these stories come forward, and it sort of forced the military to deal with it, and this is quite a unique situation. Because we need Muslims in the military.
But at the same time, the Army put together in 24 hours a dossier that went back on Hasan for years and years that he was against this war, that he argued with patients, that he had poor performance. And yet he was put at Fort Hood, major mobilization place for soldiers. It's like a promotion that he was put there.
ROBINSON: Well, it looks like somebody had a real tin ear for them to know that much about his background and send him to one of the most critical deployment places within the Army. I get that. There is personal failure on the part of people in this specific case. I'm not apologizing for that. It's a huge tragedy.
But what I am saying is that the other part of the Army -- and the Army's like a hydra -- the other part of the Army is desperately and rapidly trying to effect change in the area of changing culture. They're doing a lot on cutting-edge science in that regard.
PHILLIPS: There's a huge concern now about backlash against other Muslims. You know, I know, we've seen them in country, we've seen them out of country. Muslims are a very important part of our military right now. We need them for so many reasons because we're involved in two wars in the Middle East. So, how do you prevent this fear that is circulating about not trusting Muslims in the military?
ROBINSON: It's a chain of command issue. It's going to be a leadership issue. It has to start with the chief of staff of the Army. It has to be reflected all the way down to every squad leader in the Army. Every person in the Army that is a leader typically doesn't supervise more than four people. And so, it's allegedly easy to have that type of accountability.
What this takes is a zero-tolerance policy. And it takes involvement by the entire chain of command. The Army culture efforts that are being made at Fort Wachuka in Arizona right now are part of that process. They are creating video films that describe and make people understand the differences between our cultures and theirs and how to interact with them. And those are being distributed and are being shown to every soldier who's traveling overseas.
There is some real sensitivity issues that need to be fixed. But you can't paint an entire class of people by the misbehavior of one individual. It is tragic.
PHILLIPS: It is tragic. My final question to you, Ken, we've seen our own men and women snap because of these wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, specifically Iraq. Now we are seeing Muslim-Americans snap. What does this tell us about these wars?
ROBINSON: In every war that goes on for this long, that's a huge strain that occurs on the human body. Within the brain, when you are at war, you excrete cortizol, an adrenaline, and you stay in what's known as a fight-or-flight type of activity within your body. That takes a huge toll on the human body.
That is one of the things, one of the projects -- programs the Army is working on right now to help soldiers readjust, realign themselves, kind of reboot themselves, if you will, mentally. Taking the best of peer-reviewed science, taking the best of meditation and taking the best of just plain-old bootstrap leader and buddy-teaming with other soldiers, what they call battle buddies, to make soldiers take responsibility for their own brain the same way they clean a weapon. And also to work with the individual on your left and your right, to find where the problems are, identify them quickly and bring them to the attention of the chain of command.
Clearly in this case, a failure occurred. But also in every failure that occurs, whether it's in the aviation industry, the auto industry, they're always written in blood. This one at Ft. Hood is now another failure written in blood from which they'll take decisive action, and you'll see change within the next 24, 48 hours.
Moreso, we're paying attention to it in the media. And they're paying attention to it more as an large institution because it's been written in blood.
PHILLIPS: Ken Robinson, always good to talk to you. Appreciate it.
ROBINSON: Thank you.
