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Holiday Doorbuster Deals; Getting More Boots on the Ground in Afghanistan; First Family's First Tree
Aired November 27, 2009 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITEFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The CNN NEWSROOM continues with a grinning and very happy Tony Harris. That's every day.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, thank you, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Every day.
HARRIS: And are you going to shop a little bit?
WHITFIELD: No.
HARRIS: No?
WHITFIELD: No.
HARRIS: You are so -- are you going wait for CyberMonday?
WHITFIELD: Oh, should I do that? OK, I should do that, yes.
HARRIS: Have a good weekend, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Take care.
HARRIS: All right. Let's get going here.
It is November 27, 2009, and here are the top stories for you in the CNN NEWSROOM for this Friday morning.
Ready, set, save. Doorbuster deals lure large Black Friday crowds. Retailers are hoping holiday shoppers open their wallets, and wide.
It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The Obama family first Christmas at the White House, and the big Christmas tree arriving today.
And the troop buildup in Afghanistan. President Obama is looking for a sizeable NATO contribution. Will America's allies deliver?
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Wow. So here's the deal -- shoppers got started at midnight at some stores, and they're still at it. It is Black Friday, the day retailers supposedly reach profitability for the year. But this is no ordinary year. CNN's Adriana Hauser is at Macy's flagship store there in Manhattan.
And Adriana, what time did the doors open there at Macy's? And if you would, describe the scene over the last few hours.
ADRIANA HAUSER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've been here, Tony, since much earlier than the doors opened. The doors opened at 5:00 a.m., and at that point that we could see, at the entrances where we could see, we saw hundreds of people waiting to come in.
Macy's CEO, Terry Lundgren, estimates that it was 5,000 people waiting to make their way in. And since that moment, it's been a steady flow of people.
I'm thinking you can probably see -- right there we have revolving doors, and people are constantly coming in. The crowd is picking up. It's getting more and more crowded. People are starting to bump into one another. Everyone here waiting for the deals.
We have Ashley (ph) here visiting from Iowa.
And Ashley (ph) is here doing what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are out shopping for Black Friday, just out for the great deals. My brother is in town from Iowa, so we're just out having a good time.
HAUSER: What time did you get here? And have you been finding what you came to look for?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We actually got a little bit of a late start. We started at 8:00 this morning, but we did come for -- we found what we came for -- a great coat, great boots. So it's been successful.
HAUSER: Have the deals been impressive?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very impressive, yes. We found 30, 40, 50 percent off everything. So it's been great.
HAUSER: Thank you so much for being with us, Ashley (ph).
Well, Tony, this is an important Black Friday. We're still in the middle of recession.
According to the National Retail Federation, they expect that 16 percent more shoppers will hit the stores, but they're still waiting for -- they're estimating a one percent decline in the overall sales. This is for the entire holiday shopping season. This, in comparison to last year, it's slightly better.
They registered a 3.4 percent decline in sales last year. So they are hoping for a stronger season.
Consumers are still cautious. They plan to spend less. They are thinking maybe 3.2 percent less money than they spent in previous years.
HARRIS: Got you.
HAUSER: Stores have actually managed to -- in anticipation of a slow or weak holiday season, they have cut inventories, they've started their sales earlier. So we'll see what happens after the real numbers come.
HARRIS: Love it.
HAUSER: We'll see if the numbers in fact turn from red to black -- Tony.
HARRIS: So, Adriana, what I hear folks saying is more shoppers, but just spending less. And that one woman you were speaking to talking about discounts of 30, 40, 50 percent, maybe what you should do here -- if I can plan your next live shot -- is send your producer out and find some of those great deals and share them with us on the air when we talk to you next hour.
All right? Is that a deal?
Oh, Adriana can't hear.
Yes, Adriana, I'm sorry. And I had an entire plan for her.
OK. Let's get to some of the other day's big stories on the CNN wire.
Stock markets are taking a bit of a hit this morning because Dubai can't pay its bills. Yes, that's right.
As you can see, the Down Jones Industrial Average down 109 points but off of session lows. The sell-off began in Asia. Europe tumbled, but has mostly recovered. The Persian Gulf emirate told creditors it can't make payments on its $60 billion debt for at least six months.
Glamorous maybe, but no threat. The Secret Service says the Virginia couple that crashed a state dinner did not pose a danger to the president, but, still, the agency says it is looking into a possible criminal investigation. Meantime, records show aspiring reality stars Michaele and Tareq Salahi have spent quite a bit of time in court, named in 16 different civil suits in Virginia either as plaintiffs or defendants.
After an 11-day mission, the Space Shuttle Atlantis made a perfect landing this morning in Florida. The weather at the Kennedy Space Center was sunny and clear.
Take a look at these pictures. Pretty dramatic stuff. Beautiful, in fact.
The crew delivered key spare parts to prolong the life of the International Space Station.
Getting more boots on the ground in Afghanistan. NATO is apparently willing to beef up its forces once President Obama lays out his plan for a troop surge. That is according to NATO's secretary- general, speaking to CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: It's too early to speak about concrete troop numbers, but I feel confident that all allies will step up to the plate and follow suit once President Obama has made his announcement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: That announcement comes on Tuesday.
CNN's Elaine Quijano is at the Pentagon with what we can expect once the president reveals his plan.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Tony, we now know that the first wave of additional U.S. forces to Afghanistan is set to deploy in late December, according to a U.S. military official. Shortly after President Obama makes his announcement on his new Afghanistan strategy on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to receive paperwork to deploy some 1,000 Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Now, those Marines will be the first of what's expected to be roughly 34,000 additional U.S. troops to be sent to Afghanistan over the next year.
Now, it's going to take some time though for those forces to get there. Why? A number of reasons, particularly the tough conditions on the ground there.
Afghanistan is very remote terrain. There is a lack of roads there, a lack of infrastructure. And so the U.S. very much relies on helicopters to move both people and equipment around.
On top of that, there is a very brutal winter in Afghanistan that forces are going to have to contend with. And so, for all of those reasons, it's going to take a while for forces to actually get into the country.
Once they do get there, an immediate priority is going to be securing population centers, particularly in the south and in the east. That is where a lot of the fighting has been. It will be military's goal, really, to try and take back some of these Taliban strongholds like the city of Kandahar in southeastern Afghanistan.
Another priority for the military is going to be ramping up training of Afghan security forces, Tony, so that one day Afghans themselves will be able to assume security responsibilities -- Tony.
HARRIS: Elaine, appreciate it. Thank you.
The president will make his strategy speech regarding Afghanistan next Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. CNN's special coverage starts at 7:00 Eastern, and we will carry it for you live, right here on CNN. And we would like to make a personal appeal to you to watch the speech and share your thoughts with us. After the speech Tuesday, you can go to my blog, CNN.com/Tony, leave us your thoughts there, or you can send us an iReport. That address is CNN.com/ireport.
A large portion of our newscast Wednesday will be devoted to your reaction to the president's decision.
The tree fit for a president. The Obamas get ready to welcome their first White House Christmas tree. Whoa.
And Jacqui Jeras is tracking weather for us for those out and about in stores today. She will have the shopping forecast with a Vikings Christmas tree there.
And take a look at where we are -- the New York Stock Exchange, the Big Board. The Dow down 89 points, and that represents, my friends, a bit of a rally.
We will get the latest numbers and follow these numbers throughout the day until the markets close at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Oh Tannenbaum time for the Obamas. The first family's first White House Christmas tree is arriving this afternoon.
CNN White House Correspondent Dan Lothian following the festivities.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIC SUNDBACK, CHRISTMAS TREE GROWER: This is the baby here now. We've got to figure out how we're going to get this loaded.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Eric and Gloria Sundback, this is a holiday tradition. Growing a Christmas tree fit for a president.
E. SUNDBACK: You're helping make a Christmas for the whole country.
LOTHIAN: The West Virginia couple, both in their 80s, have grown four presidential Christmas trees. One for Jimmy Carter, two for Ronald Reagan, and now this 18.5 foot Douglas fir destined for the Obama White House.
E. SUNDBACK: What we really like this year is that it's going to a family. The children are there, the family is well-knit.
LOTHIAN: To provide the White House tree, a farmer has to be crowned by the National Christmas Tree Association. Then White House officials make a visit.
GLORIA SUNDBACK, CHRISTMAS TREE GROWER: They're looking for trees that have good form and for trees that have stronger branches, because they use a lot of decorations.
LOTHIAN: And it takes a lot of hard work to grow that perfect presidential tree. Careful pruning, experimenting to get the right mix of characteristics, and a little tough love.
E. SUNDBACK: She had a word with the seed bed, you know, when she get up in the morning, get out see how things are going, well, fellas, do you want to be a Christmas tree now or you go wait until later and be toilet paper? And then that gets the tree growing.
LOTHIAN: These college sweetheart who've been growing trees for 50 years are hoping to shake the Obamas' hands when they drop off this holiday gift. But then it's back to work.
E. SUNDBACK: You don't want to let it go to your head, because you've got to come back out and work again.
G. SUNDBACK: That's right. You're right in the season.
LOTHIAN: But they say they're happy, knowing their gift will bring joy to the first family.
E. SUNDBACK: We open they enjoy it as much as we've enjoyed Christmas as kids. So if the tree is good and they enjoy it, that's what it's about.
LOTHIAN (on camera): The tree will be decorated and displayed in the blue room, where it will take center stage to a host of White House holiday celebrations.
Dan Lothian, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And how about this? A Georgia man finds himself in a pretty tough spot. He tells CNN affiliate WSB he went to the bank to cash his paycheck and got 600 bucks in bogus $50 bills.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM HUFF, GIVEN COUNTERFEIT MONEY: Now I'm behind on my child support, my power bill. Stuff I wrote checks for, I don't know if they're going to bounce or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Now he says the bank won't take the fake money back.
We are embedded with troops in Afghanistan. Their mission: to clear roadside bombs. Enough said.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: President Obama is expected to announce a huge infusion of U.S. forces to Afghanistan. His speech Tuesday will instantly set the military in motion to deploy the troops.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen looks at the challenges by revisiting a unit in the Afghan city of Kandahar.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A little more than six months ago, we were with the 4th Engineer Battalion when they first touched down in Kandahar, airlifted directly from Iraq to southern Afghanistan to help bolster the war effort against the resurgent Taliban.
One of those making the move, Private First Class Kimble Han.
(on camera): What's your family say?
PFC. KIMBLE HAN, DIED IN ROADSIDE BOMB: My family, they're supportive. You know, when you make the decision to join the Army, especially a time of war, you know, they support it and they know that we're doing the right thing.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Kimble Han was killed on October 23rd when a roadside bomb struck his vehicle. His was not the only casualty this unit has suffered.
(on camera): In all, the unit has already lost 11 men in just over six months here in Afghanistan, most of them to improvised explosive devices.
(voice-over): Seventeen soldiers have suffered so-called life- changing injuries, like losing limbs.
PFC. MATTHEW STAMFORD, U.S. ARMY MALE: Not only mentally, but physically. It's very exhausting to know that somebody that you were working with went down and there was nothing you could really do about it.
PLEITGEN: One thing they can do, train new arrivals on how to evacuate the wounded after an IED strike. The hidden devices are now the number one killer of American soldiers in Afghanistan. And some of those in this unit that hunts IEDs say the only way to change that is by putting more boots on the ground.
SGT. BOBBY MARTIN, U.S. ARMY: I think we could use a lot more -- more presence, routes a lot safer. They don't have enough time to place big IEDs.
PLEITGEN: The bomb that killed Kimble Han was a charge packed with several hundred pounds of explosives.
HAN: But I think we've been prepared. I think we've all done the training that's necessary to accomplish the mission that we have. PLEITGEN: But making that mission less treacherous will be a challenge, one of the most critical challenges in this eight-year-long war.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kandahar, Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Let's get you caught up on our top stories now.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency scolded Iran today. Members called on Iran to stop work immediately at this nuclear site. The vote, a day after the agency's director said Iran was stonewalling. Mohamed ElBaradei says a military angle to Iran's nuclear program can't be ruled out.
A massive manhunt for a suspected killer this morning. A Thanksgiving gathering at this home in Jupiter, Florida, ended with four people dead last night. Police say two of the dead are the suspect's twin sisters. A 6-year-old girl and a 76-year-old woman were also killed.
The obesity epidemic will feed an explosion of diabetes in the next 25 years. That conclusion in a study today from the University of Chicago. It predict the number of Americans with diabetes will almost double to 44 million. The cost of treating the disease will triple.
Your money in the markets and at t he malls. We get the latest from London on an overseas debt crisis sending shock waves through Wall Street.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Black Friday is in full swing right now coast to coast. Stores are luring shoppers with deep discounts this season, hoping to rebound after last year's disappointing sales. The National Retail Federation predict 134 million people, more than a third of the country, will shop this weekend. For some, the day is as much a tradition as leftover turkey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got here at, like, 2:00 a.m. So, she wanted to bring us out here. You know, big old Black Friday for her.
She never misses. It's the third one in a row. And I'm just trying to get a jacket and she wants to buy everything in there. So...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A diamond bracelet is what we're hoping to find. That's worth the effort.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For $99. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're looking for shoes, handbags, clothes. And we're just here for the excitement of the atmosphere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You know, the uncertainty of the global financial crisis has made consumers a bit skittish. That was brought home today when the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai told creditors, hey, we can't pay our bills, give us six more months. Investors fear the debt may lead banks exposed to another round of losses.
CNN's Richard Quest -- let's bring Richard in here from London.
Richard, good to see you, Doctor.
So, what do we have here? The Dubai miracle built on shifting sand imploding a bit here. But Richard, isn't this the latest example of greed and excess run amuck?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.
HARRIS: OK.
QUEST: I couldn't have -- I mean, I'm seriously concerned when I'm agreeing with you in such terms, Tony.
The reality is Dubai spent and built. It spent and built. It continued to spend.
It spent money it didn't have. But as long as it was perceived to be backed by Abu Dhabi and the oil wealth of the UAE, people were happy to lend them money.
Fast forward -- and some extraordinary technological feats were built. The Palm Jumeirah, the big building, the -- it's even got the largest building in the world now. The Burj Dubai is going up.
Of course, eventually, it came to grief. And what we saw in the last 24 hours, 48 hours, is the government of Dubai saying to all its little children subsidiaries -- in this case, Nakheel and Dubai World -- we're not going to bail you out. We're not going to provide the money you need.
HARRIS: So, Richard, in the grand scheme of things here, the Dubai mess -- and it's a mess -- but isn't this really just a financial blip that -- let's be honest here -- that we're making a huge deal of it because we're in the holiday slow news cycle? If it's more than that, explain it to me.
QUEST: Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. Once again, you've managed to go off here, Tony.
The markets in Asia, Europe and the United States have been looking for a reason to correct. We've seen that. We've seen edging up, edging down, but there's been an unease that something had to give. Dubai has given it that reason to correct. And that is why we only saw one day of falls in Europe. And today, Europe is pretty much flat or up just a tad.
What it does mean, where this is serious is for Dubai. This is a thumping, great big reputational crisis for Dubai which the emirate will have to deal with.
What it did -- let me just very briefly say, what it did was it basically said on the eve before a holiday, hey, guys, we're not going to pay debts of $60-odd billion. We want to extend that. We would like you to take a debt moratorium for six months, and we'll see you next week.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
QUEST: That you cannot do if you have aspirations to be a world class financial center.
HARRIS: Well, wait a minute here, Richard. So, what about Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UA? Could Dubai's problems soon be Abu Dhabi's problem?
QUEST: Well, the relationship between the two is fundamentally fascinating. Yes, Abu Dhabi is ultimately going to have to foot the bill here.
What's worrying about the way this incident was handled is that we have been led to believe Abu Dhabi would bail them out again and again. Abu Dhabi's -- Great Uncle Abu Dhabi up the road -- they were going to pay the bills. They were going to take errant the teenager's credit card, rip it up, but still pay off the debt. This has been lead to markets. When they didn't do this, that's when we got this hiccup and storm in the tea cup.
But I have little doubt whether it is Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, or whichever other gulf country comes to the rescue, they will not going to let Dubai go under. The amount of shame and embarrassment that would cause would be so huge. And that's why people are saying this isn't Lehman brothers all over again. You and I are not going to find our ATM's stopped working. This is a nasty gulf reputational crisis issue.
HARRIS: As always, Richard, it's good to see you. Happy holidays my friend. Richard Quest.
QUEST: And to you. And to you. We have much to be thankful for.
HARRIS: We do. Great point.
Investors here in the United States aren't so pleased with what they're hearing either. Stocks on Wall Street followed the lead of Asian markets. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with Wall Street's morning sell-off.
And Alison, look, we expected a sell-off but stocks have rebounded a bit and are now off session lows.
ALISON KOSIK, NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE CORRESPONDENT: They have. They had. They are off session lows, Tony. And I tell you what, the day after Thanksgiving is typically a slow one on Wall Street where, you know, all we talk about is shopping on Black Friday. I'll tell you what, not been the case so much with world markets.
We are seeing a sharp sell-off here at the NYSE. The Dow is down in triple digits. Investors not so happy with what they hear out of Dubai. It is really is a big shock to confidence on Wall Street, especially if you consider that the market has really been able to shrug off any negative news we've gotten over the last few weeks.
And despite current sell-off, one analyst tells CNNMoney.com that Dubai's world impact on the market is actually not so huge but that it's good to have a wake-up call that there is a certain level of risk involved in any investment. A good lesson to all of us who have investments.
Let's take a check on numbers now. The Dow industrials down 138 points. The Nasdaq off about 26. We have just 90 minutes left in the trading day. The market closes at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time for a shortened session today - Tony.
HARRIS: Hey, Alison, just how big a blow is this Dubai issue? I mean, does it have potential to impact the U.S. recovery?
KOSIK: We still could see more reaction to come in the next couple days and analysts say that it could take a couple days for the U.S. market to digest this still called Dubai debacle -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right. Alison Kosik of course from the New York Stock Exchange, it's always good to see you.
KOSIK: Thank you.
HARRIS: So, eat too much turkey and fixings yesterday? Don't worry, we have just what you need to get back on track. Find out how to make your weight loss someone else's gain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Say you need some motivation to lose weight after the holidays? CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta checks out an innovative program where your loss is someone else's gain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rosemary Barresi never considered herself obese.
ROSEMARY BARRESI, LOSE FOR GOOD LEAD VOLUNTEER: I battled always weight but not -- I never thought it was a significant amount of weight. Maybe, five, ten.
GUPTA: But when a neighbor mistakenly called her pregnant, she immediately decided to join Weight Watchers and became a lifetime member. Now 12 years later, 31 pounds lighter and Weight Watchers meeting leader herself, Rosemary and the entire weight watcher family are starting to give back in a meaningful but somewhat ironic way.
BARRESI: We ask our members, if you have lost a pound, you bring in a pound of food to symbolize that weight loss. And what we do in turn is turn it over to city harvest which in turn donates to the ten or 12 groups in our local area.
GUPTA: The lose for good campaign as it is being called is now in the second year and delivering some remarkable results.
DAVID KIRCHHOFF, CEO, WEIGHT WATCHERS: This year in seven weeks members have lost over 400 million pounds of weight. They've contributed over two million pounds of food.
GUPTA: It's an astounding amount of food but for Rosemary it is just simply makes sense.
BARRESI: We have opposite ends of the same rainbow. We're be dealing with obesity and these people are dealing with oh my, how will I going to pull a meal together with what I have in the cabinets.
GUPTA: And for the organizations receiving the food, it's a very welcome helping hand in a difficult economy.
JILLY STEPHENS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CITY HARVEST: We can pick it up in the morning and it will be on someone's table this evening so really that's an immediate result and we can't ask for anything better during this time.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: "Killings at the Canal, The Army Tapes" -- coming up, the exclusive investigation into the deaths of four Iraqi detainees and three U.S. soldiers who were charged with the murders. It is a story you'll see only on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. Checking at our top stories now, Iran's nuclear defines prompting a censor from the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog group. The International Atomic Energy as you can see demanding Tehran immediately halt construction of its recently disclosed nuclear facility. A defiant Iran says it won't respond due to pressure.
A government official in the Philippines tells CNN, 100 more suspects including police officers could face arrest in the killings of 57 unarmed civilians. The alleged architect of Monday's massacre was charged today. Officials suspect the murders were politically motivated.
It's a story about what can happen in war and the difficult decisions soldiers are forced to make every single day. It's about three decorated Army sergeants who killed four Iraqis execution style on the battlefield. They were convicted of premeditated murder. They are all serving long sentences at Fort Leavenworth but as you see in war nothing is cut and dry and opinions vary widely on what the soldiers did, why they did it and whether the price they're paying for is fair.
You'll have a chance to decide for yourself. Was this a case of battlefield justice or cold blooded murder? CNN exclusively obtained 23 1/2 hours of Army interrogation videotapes with a confession and details of the killings.
Here's Abbie Boudreau of our Special Investigations Unit with part one of our reports, "Killings at the Canal, The Army Tapes."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABBIE BOUDREAU, SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The Army does not want you to see this.
MICHAEL LEAHY, CONVICTED SOLDIER: I know when I shot the first guy, I turned.
BOUDREAU: In hours and hours of videotape obtained by CNN, you'll see how Army interrogators carefully coax out a confession. The tapes part of the case that convicted three Army sergeants of murder on the battlefield.
Private First Class Joshua Hartson was there that day. He was not charged with the crime. The Army only prosecuted the three sergeants for murder though Hartson believes their actions were justified.
PFC. JOSHUA HARTSON, U.S. ARMY: Nobody knows what we've all been through. Watching people die. I think people should show respect to these guys to anybody that serves over there. Just they are American heroes. And nobody will ever understand it unless they've been there with them.
BOUDREAU: This is the canal in Baghdad where it all happened, and nine months later, this is part of Sergeant Michael Leahy's confession.
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INTERROGATOR: Where did you shoot him?
LEAHY: It was in the back of the head.
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INTERROGATOR: How many times did you fire?
LEAHY: I fired twice.
(GUNSHOTS)
BOUDREAU: It was March 2007 in Iraq. First Sergeant John Hatley was the trusted leader of Alpha Company 118. It was his third combat deployment. On this particular day, Sergeant First Class Joseph Mayo and Sergeant Michael Leahy, both now 28, were helping lead what began as a routine mission.
HARTSON: Clear sky. No clouds. Sun was right on top of everybody.
BOUDREAU: Joshua Hartson was 19 when he served under First Sergeant Hatley whom he considered a father figure. That day he says they were on patrol here when someone started shooting at them. That's when they found four suspects, four Iraqi men. Nearby, they found a small cache of weapons.
HARTSON: There were rifles, machine guns, aka-47s, night vision goggles, duffel bags filled with ammunition and a lot.
BOUDREAU (on camera): And did you think these were the men firing upon you?
HARTSON: Yes.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): By all accounts the soldiers blindfolded the Iraqis. Zip tied their hands and loaded them into the back of a Bradley fighting vehicle.
(on camera): And it was just you and them.
HARTSON: Yes.
BOUDREAU: Did any of them speak English?
HARTSON: The one on my right did.
BOUDREAU: So, did you try talking to him?
HARTSON: I talked to him.
BOUDREAU: What did you say?
HARTSON: I asked him if he killed Americans, made bombs and he laughed about the questions.
BOUDREAU: What did that tell you?
HARTSON: Yes, he did. And apparently it's funny. He enjoys it.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): The Army has the strict policy on detainees. At the time the rules called for soldiers to drop off detainees at the detainee housing area or the DEHA but that didn't happen.
HARTSON: My first sergeant comes up to me and pulls me away from everybody and he asked me if we take them to the detainee facility, the DEHA, and they'll be right back on the streets doing the same thing in a matter of weeks. He asked if I had a problem if we took care of them and I told him no.
BOUDREAU (on camera): And what did you think he meant by that?
HARTSON: To kill him.
BOUDREAU: How could you be OK with that?
HARTSON: They were bad guys. If we would have let them go or take them in we risk the chance of them getting out and killing us, killing other people.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): So in a convoy of three vehicles, 13 soldiers holding four Iraqi detainees headed down this dusty road leading to the canal. First Sergeant John Hatley was in charge.
At the edge of this canal the soldiers lined up men in their custody. The three leaders, Sergeant Hatley, Mayo and Leahy put their nine millimeters pistols at the back of the detainees' heads and shot and killed them. They left their bodies in the canal. A year later, divers could not find the bodies.
For nine months, the soldiers kept the murders a secret. But in time the truth came out. Earlier this year First Sergeant Hatley, Sergeant First Class Mayo and Sergeant Leahy would be convicted of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder. All three are in prison at Fort Leavenworth.
This is part of Sergeant Michael Leahy's taped confession.
LEAHY: I fired twice. I fired and like this other guy fell back on me. And when he fell back on me, I don't know why I fired again.
BOUDREAU: The tapes also show the Army knew this could become a pr nightmare.
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INTERROGATOR: We got a hell of a lot of pretty damn concerned high-level people way the hell above my pay grade that are grabbing their ankles and bracing for what's bound to be an ugly damn mess if this becomes a big drawn out, public knife fight.
BOUDREAU: The murders at the canal also shine a light on that Army policy on what to do with detainees. Some say it lead to the murders. Months after the convictions, Private First Class Joshua Hartson left the Army still certain they did the right thing but he remains haunted, few people really understand.
HARTSON: Family doesn't really know about it. I would like to explain to them like why it happened but nobody can understand unless you were actually there.
BOUDREAU (on camera): Did your mom, did your dad know about this?
HARTSON: My dad served in Vietnam. I'm sure he experienced his own stuff. And when everything first started happening was a week after, I think, maybe a week or two weeks after he passed away. That's when I was first approached for it. It would have been nice to have him to fall back on but --
BOUDREAU: The support.
HARTSON: Uh-huh.
BOUDREAU: He would have understood?
HARTSON: He would have.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Wow. Our special investigation into the "Killings at the Canal" now continues. Coming up, a soldier convicted of murder. You will hear why and how he and two other Army sergeants gunned down four Iraqi detainees in Baghdad. The victims shot execution style.
And here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. We will break down the global impact of Dubai's debt problems with CNN, our Richard Quest and we'll take a look at where things stand with Iran after the head of the U.N. nuclear agency says efforts to determine if Tehran's nuclear program is peaceful are at a dead end.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Confessions of a soldier convicted of murder in his own words. You will hear why and how he and two other Army sergeants gunned down four Iraqi detainees in Baghdad, the victims shot execution style.
The Americans charged with the crime have all been found guilty, but some believe they should be praised, not punished. As our special report continues, we will let you be the judge. CNN exclusively obtained the 23.5 hours of interrogation tapes, which include the confession you are about to see for the first time, and only on CNN.
Was it murder, or was it justice? Here is Abbie Boudreau of our Special Investigations Unit with "Killings at the Canal, The Army Tapes."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOUDREAU (voice-over): You're watching an interrogation.
M. LEAHY: I'm not sure that is what happened.
BOUDREAU: It would take hours and yield a chilling murder confession. In time, three U.S. Army sergeants, including this man, Sergeant Michael Leahy, would be found guilty of premeditated murder in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INTERROGATOR: After you fired the two shots and you shot them, how did you feel at that point in time?
M. LEAHY: Scared. I made a huge mistake in my life that I know I have to accept the consequences for it. BOUDREAU: Michael Leahy married Jamie in a hasty civil ceremony between his deployments to Iraq, but they wanted a traditional ceremony and set a date. Jamie bought a dress.
(on camera): Oh, wow, do you love it?
JAMIE LEAHY, WIFE OF MICHAEL LEAHY: I do. It was the most beautiful thing that I had seen and it just looked wonderful on.
BOUDREAU: Did you ever have the ceremony and the reception yet?
J. LEAHY: We haven't yet because our plans were in February 2008. So -- but the investigation started in January. So -
M. LEAHY: I said, "Honey, I'm going to tell you something and I understand if you don't forgive me, but I'm not a good person because I murdered someone in Iraq. I killed someone in Iraq."
BOUDREAU (voice-over): As the investigation broadened, more and more men were interviewed. This man never charged. Interrogators knew the murders would grow into a scandal.
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INTERROGATOR: I don't know about you, but I wasn't at Abu Ghraib. But I can tell you half the time I'm walking down the streets, that's what people think when they're looking at us. Oh, there's those are the damn Americans that abused those poor prisoners. The frat boys get abused worse during pledge week in college than that crap. But it's what the media made of it. What the hell you think they're going to make of this? This is going to be ugly. Because it is.
BOUDREAU: And this is how it all emerged. A platoon was on patrol. Someone in this neighborhood was shooting at them. They took four suspects into custody. And instead of following Army rules for detainees, 13 of the soldiers brought them to this canal, three of them, three sergeants, then executed them.
For months, the killings at the canal were a secret. Then one of the 13 talked. The investigation began. At this point in the interrogation, Leahy had already admitted he murdered one detainee. But listen closely, he also admits he shot two times.
M. LEAHY: I fired twice, I fired and like this other guy fell back on me and when he fell back on me, I don't know why I fired again, it wasn't at him like my arm went up to the night and fired again. I'm pretty sure it didn't hit anybody but I'm not going to say that because I don't know for sure. I wasn't even looking when I shot the second time. My arm just went up to the night.
BOUDREAU: The interrogator pushes. Something isn't right. Remember, four Iraqis were murdered, so what really happened if Leahy shot twice?
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INTERROGATOR: No reasonable person is going to believe that you shot and then fell back on you and your arm went at this angle. If you shot this dude, just say you shot him. M. LEAHY: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INTERROGATOR: Just be honest about it, OK?
LEAHY: This guy did fall and my arm.
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INTERROGATOR: No, I don't doubt that the guy fell on you, but if you purposely shot this guy, Mike, just say it. You've already manned up. You've already shown us what you're made of. I know it's hard. But -- I know that's what happened, dude. You weren't having so many questions in your mind right now if you didn't know what happened. And I know it's hard.
M. LEAHY: You're right. And it...
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INTERROGATOR: Just tell us what happened, Mike.
M. LEAHY: I'm, like, 80 percent sure I turned and shot this guy, but I'm not 100 percent sure I turned on and shot this guy.
BOUDREAU: Why would Sergeant Leahy admitted to one murder but be unsure if he shot a second man as well? Was he hiding something? Trying to protect someone?
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INTERROGATOR: You're not a killer. You are not a (expletive deleted) murderer. You are acted way out of character and shot somebody. Something that you would have never, ever done. It's something you'll never do again. And you would have never done it without that influence. That's something that's extraordinary in your life. It's something that will never happen again.
M. LEAHY: I say, yes, I shot. I shot the other guy.
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INTERROGATOR: OK.
All right, well, talk to me about exactly how it happened. What you remember?
M. LEAHY: I shot. The guy did fall and I did turn and the other guy was right there in front of me and I shot again, and that guy, he didn't -- that guy didn't die right away. The guy fell down and he was still -- I don't want to say crying. He was making noises.
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INTERROGATOR: Gurgling?
M. LEAHY: And I hate to point other fingers, but...
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. ARMY INTERROGATOR: Dude, say it. You're not pointing fingers.
M. LEAHY: I know, later on, later on, the first sergeant came and shot that guy in the chest. Now, that's what I know about the situation. BOUDREAU: Leahy is saying he actually did shoot a second detainee, but the man did not die. Leahy was trying not to reveal that the Sergeant John Hatley then shot the Iraqi in the chest.
(on camera): Did you think your husband was capable of killing like this?
J. LEAHY: No, I don't. That's why I'm trying to understand what was going on in his head. What was going on around him? That could bring him to something, a situation like that.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): Her husband, Sergeant Michael Leahy, and First Sergeant John Hatley, were sentenced to life in prison. Sergeant First Class Joseph Mayo pleaded guilty and got 35 years. Earlier this year, all three were granted clemency, their sentences reduced. Michael Leahy is now serving a 20-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth.
(on camera): What do you want people to know?
J. LEAHY: That Michael is a good person. That he has done a lot of good, he will continue to do a lot of good, no matter what happens to him in this life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Three decorated sergeants convicted of murder on the battlefield. In the next hour of "CNN NEWSROOM" meet the one soldier who revealed their secret. Listen to his explanation and then decide for yourself. Did he do the right thing?
If you want to see more on this special report or others like it, just go to CNN.com/specials.
