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CNN Live Saturday

Three Detainees at Guantanamo Bay Commit Suicide; A Look at the Place where Al Zarqawi was Killed; Protests Underway at Camp Pendleton in Support of Troops Under Investigation; First Tropical Storm of Season Could Strike Cuba; A Look at Osama Bin Laden's Before and After Life of Terror

Aired June 10, 2006 - 18:00   ET

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

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And are your bosses spying on you? Well, there's a good chance they could be. And your e-mails are the primary target. We're going to show you. But first here's what's happening right now in the news.
The navy is investigating the apparent suicides of three detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The bodies of all three were found in their cells today. U.S. military said they all died by hanging. A live update in two minutes.

And U.S. military medical examiners are autopsying the body of terrorist mastermind Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. The military says it is well aware of cultural concerns over the autopsy. The work is expected to be finished tonight. More on the story in 15 minutes.

And a homemade bomb killed a U.S. soldier just west of Kirkuk, Iraq today. And another soldier was wounded in the blast. Wolf Blitzer is going to look at the fighting in Iraq, A Week at War tonight at 7:00 eastern.

In the meantime, forecasters are keeping an eye on the first tropical depression of the 2006 hurricane season. It's formed in the northwest Caribbean sea. We're going to have a live update on where the storm is heading in seven minutes.

FEMA's former director is on the defensive once again. Michael Brown says that emails shows the Bush administration was pleased he took the flack for a slow response to Katrina. Brown says he wants to set the record straight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BROWN, FORMER FEMA DIRECTOR: It's time to stop this issue about Mike Brown when it comes to what needs to be done with FEMA. Let's deal with the facts and the policies that need to be corrected.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: U.N. team investigating the assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister wants to keep working. It's asking for a one year extension. So far four Lebanese generals have been arrested, several senior level Syrian officials have also been implicated. Rafik Hariri was killed in a bombing back in February of 2005.

Now to our top story, the suicide of three prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, they hung themselves. Just in the last hour we heard a live briefing that was hastily put together by telephone, about 100 different reporters on the line with the commander down at Guantanamo Bay, as well as the commander at the southern command. More details now coming right now as I've just gotten them.

Apparently all three hung themselves with fabricated nooses made out of clothing and their bed sheets. The military is calling this a planned event and that all three left suicide notes in Arabic. Details now that the directors at Guantanamo are now taking things away like bed sheets in the morning and then giving them back to the prisoners at nighttime. And the military is defiant about the more than 400 prisoners still being held at Guantanamo Bay, saying that they are all dangerous men committed to killing Americans on the battlefield. We've got more, though, lots of implications about these suicides, surrounding these suicides. We're going to go to the White House right now. Our Elaine Quijano is live there. Elaine?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Carol of course President Bush has been notified of these developments. But as you noted just a short time ago, U.S. military officials wrapped up a briefing at U.S. southern command in Florida giving out more details of exactly how things transpired in their view. We understand that these discoveries were apparently made shortly after midnight last night and the discoveries were made within minutes of each other. Let's now take a listen to Rear Admiral Harry Harris for more information on how things transpired.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

REAR ADM. HARRY HARRIS, CMDR., JOINT TASK FORCE GUANTANAMO: An alert, professional guard noticed something out of the ordinary in the cell of one of the detainees. The guard's response was swift, professional, to secure the area and check on the status of the detainee. When it was apparent that the detainee had hung himself, the guard force and medical teams reacted quickly to attempt to save the detainee's life. The detainee was unresponsive and not breathing. A medical team and the guard force began to check on health and welfare of other detainees. Two detainees in their cells had also hung themselves.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

QUIJANO: And, Carol, what I can tell you is that we understand from military officials that all three apparently participated at some point in hunger strikes at Guantanamo. Officials, when asked about what, in fact, these men may have been accused of, said that they were enemy combatants taken off of the battlefield. And they, again, believed this was a planned event, not an act of desperation. Now, it should be noted that a group representing about 200 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, the Center for Constitutional Rights, says that their lawyers do not even know at this point whether or not one of their clients may have been in fact one of these three men. They believe that in fact these were acts that these detainees were driven to. But, again, the U.S. military saying they don't believe it was an act of desperation.

We should also tell you that the military is taking pains to explain that the remains of these detainees are being handled with respect. We understand that the State Department, in fact -- we learned just a short time ago -- has in fact been contacted regarding what the next steps are. We know that these detainees were two Saudis and a Yemeni. We also understand that one of the detainees apparently is described by U.S. military officials as a mid to high level operative in Al Qaeda. Again, military officials adamantly saying that these were dangerous men. Enemy combatants they say. Carol?

LIN: Alright Elaine, thank you very much.

Now the apparent suicides will no doubt fuel the debate over holding detainees at Gitmo. Earlier today CNN spoke with Joshua Denbeaux, he's an attorney representing two Guantanamo prisoners and he commented on security at the facility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSHUA DENBEAUX, ATTORNEY: The hunger strikes have been going on for some time, and so have the suicide attempts. I'm still surprised that given the -- given how closely these men are watched day and night and how awfully they're held -- I'm still surprised they managed to kill themselves.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Glimpses behind the barbed wire at Gitmo are rare. Rare but not unprecedented. In July of last year, CNN's Ben Wedeman was granted a tour of Guantanamo Bay by the U.S. military and this is what he found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Our military escorts took us to camps 1 and 4, set aside for so-called compliant detainees, those who obey the camp's posted rules and regulations. The most compliant are given white clothing and deck shoes, plus playing cards, books, chess, backgammon and checker boards, even access to books. The somewhat less cooperative are given tan outfits and some of the least compliant out of sight behind this fence wear orange uniforms, they're only permitted diversion, the Koran. And across the board, flat denials prisoners have ever been abused.

COL. MICHAEL BUMGARNER, U.S. ARMY: The policy here is no abuse. I can't state any stronger that that is not allowed and that is not part of our procedures here.

WEDEMAN: According to Amnesty International American authorities are holding around 70,000 detainees at facilities outside the United States as part of the so-called global war on terror. Only around 520 are held behind the wires here at Camp Delta in Guantanamo Bay. Nonetheless, this facility has become the focal point for international criticism. General Jay Hood, commander of the joint task force that runs Camp Delta, told me he wants to clean up Guantanamo's image.

GEN. JAY HOOD, CMDR. JOINT TASK FORCE DELTA: In the aftermath of Abu Ghraib we have attempted to be far more open and transparent into how we do our custody mission here and into one degree or another the intelligence gathering mission.

WEDEMAN: But that commitment to more openness collides with the military's perceived need for operational secrecy. There are reports that foreign -- I wouldn't call them delegations but representatives of foreign intelligence agencies have taken part in interrogations here. Has that ever happened?

HOOD: I'm not going to discuss the -- any operational aspects associated with the integrations or any other individuals who may have been brought here.

WEDEMAN: The role of foreign interrogators.

HOOD: I'm not going to discuss --

WEDEMAN: The identity of high value detainees elicited the same response.

HOOD: I'm not going to discuss that.

WEDEMAN: Being fluent in Arabic, I was hoping to have some sort of contact with the detainees, but that's strictly forbidden. I was able to overhear snippets of conversations in Arabic. I heard two inmates say they missed each other in Arabic, with heavy gulf accents.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Alright, that was Ben Wedeman reporting from Guantanamo Bay.

Our other big story today, trouble in the Caribbean. Just 10 days into the hurricane season and tropical depressions are already beginning to brew, at least just one. Let's get straight to meteorologist Jacqui Jeras live at the CNN weather center for more. Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: The island nation of Cuba has been preparing for the storm. In fact, it's already getting some rain. Not just some rain, 20 inches of rain so far. CNN's Morgan Neill live in Havana with the latest. Morgan.

MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, Cuba's Forecast Center has issued a tropical storm warning. They say steady, heavy rain will continue to batter the western part of the island well into Sunday. There has been some evacuation ordered in the coastal area of Havana province. Now here in Havana proper, in the capital, steady rain has continued throughout the day. This is rain that started last night and hasn't let up. A lot of people have simply shut themselves in to avoid the weather. But, by far, the hardest hit areas have been in the western part of the island where some flooding has already been reported, Carol.

LIN: Thanks very much, Morgan. Now, think before you type. We're going to show you how easy it is for the bosses to track your company email. What's left? Our own John Vause is going to give you a tour of the bombed-out home where Al Zarqawi spent his final moments.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kareen Wynter live at Camp Pendleton where there's a passionate protest underway. I'll show you what drew this small army of supporters when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: The United States could finish an autopsy tonight on the body of slain terrorist Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, and it's being done to end the confusion over exactly how he died because there are even questions about that. CNN's John Vause has been to the place where Al Zarqawi was killed and he filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is all that's left of Zarqawi's safe house, a house made of concrete and steel. All of this destruction caused by two 500-pound bombs. The impact from the blast was so powerful, we're told by the U.S. military, that initially this hole in the ground, about 35, maybe 40 feet deep. Now, the day after the air strike, the rubble around the area was mostly cleared and bulldozed into that crater. It's still more than 10 feet deep as well. It was an incredibly powerful blast. Rubble is strewn around this area. 600 feet, maybe even 1,000 feet away.

And signs of the people who once lived in this house. Over here is a towel left behind thrown clear as part of the debris. Just over here as well, we can see a pillow and just next to it a blanket as well. They say this was a safe house in an isolated area. And, indeed, it was very isolated. Take a look at the trees, the palm trees and the date trees which surround this area. At the time of the air strike, a top level Al Qaeda meeting was underway. Zarqawi and five others, including his spiritual adviser, the man who was traced to this house and ultimately led to Zarqawi's downfall. And after this powerful blast, we're told somehow Zarqawi managed to survive, if only for a few moments. John Vause, CNN, near the city of Baqubah.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: In less than 50 minutes Wolf Blitzer hosts Iraq, a week at war. CNN correspondents around the world bring you an in-depth look at the latest major events in the war on terror. Now this week, the death of Al Zarqawi and the foiled terror plot in Canada.

And on "CNN SATURDAY NIGHT," I'll talk to the father of slain American journalist Daniel Pearl. His reaction to Al Zarqawi's death, that's tonight at 10:00 eastern.

For now at least the death of Al Zarqawi has eclipsed allegations of abuse by U.S. troops but today in California a show of support for a group of marines, they are suspected of killing an Iraqi civilian and then planting a weapon on him. CNN's Kareen Wynter live from Camp Pendleton there. Kareen?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol you know it doesn't get more patriotic than this. In this military town in southern California you can probably hear the honks all around me, the chants behind me. You're seeing off into the distance a few dozen supporters. Well they've been out here all day at the base of Camp Pendleton. Now they say they're protesting what they're calling unfairly harsh treatment of seven marines as well as a navy corpsman being held here in solitary confinement. Now they're facing possible murder charges and that's for the death of an Iraqi civilian in the town of Hamandiya, Iraq in April. They're also being investigated Carol for a possible cover-up. Now it's important to add here no charges have been filed against them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you're innocent until proven guilty, and, um, we got to give our guys -- start giving them a little bit more benefit of the doubt, you know. They're in a bad situation.

CHRISTINE BRUCE, PROTEST ORGANIZER: There has been no charges filed, and in my opinion, they are innocent until proven guilty and I'm here to show my support for them and to ask that the shackles be taking off. They're being treated worse than prisoners in Guantanamo.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WYNTER: This is what protesters say have really enraged them, the fact that the eight servicemen who are being held in a brig here must wear handcuffs as well as leg cuffs. And this is whenever they leave their cells Carol, they're also allowed just one hour outside of their cells each day. Now, this incident is separate from another case that's also currently being investigated here at Camp Pendleton that also involves military -- possible military misconduct and that's in the town of Haditha stemming from last November. Military's not releasing much details on this as well, except to say that those marines, those servicemen who are being held here, they're not being confined to a brig, they're not in any sort of prison capacity. But however, they are restricted to the base. Carol.

LIN: Kareen, a personal observation from you. You have worked this story for the last week. And it was nearly impossible to get anybody down there at Camp Pendleton to talk on behalf of these marines. What do you account for the timing of this? And why in a military town aren't there more people out?

WYNTER: That's really a great question. We spent all of last Saturday going door to door, even Sunday trying to get reaction from local businesses here where you can see of course the American flag outside the windows, clearly in support of the military. And they said that they're really upset by what they're calling this negative publicity, that they feel that it's been unbalanced. And we countered by saying well tell us what you're thinking here? What would you like us to put on the air for viewers to hear? And they said, we're too afraid, that we don't think that our men are being treated fairly, we don't want to jeopardize that. So we were quite surprised when we saw this showing here behind me, albeit just a small one, just about a couple dozen. But these people are very vocal and they said they really couldn't stand by much longer. They wanted to make sure that their voices were being heard. Carol?

LIN: That's interesting that people would feel in a military town that by speaking out they would be taking, you know, personal risk. Kareen thank you very much.

Well he took the heat for the government's failures after hurricane Katrina, now Michael Brown is firing back once again. His ammunition, a revealing email from the White House. That's 10 minutes away.

And next, the world's most wanted man. We'll give you a look inside the life of Osama Bin Laden.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Fierce fighting in southern Afghanistan this week, 14 Taliban militants were killed in a battle with coalition troops and Afghan forces. Another battle that included Canadian troops wiped out about 30 insurgents.

Turning now to the front lines of war on terror and the world's most wanted man, Osama Bin Laden. CNN's Jonathan Mann takes a look at Bin Laden before and after he adopted a life of terror.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Osama Bin Laden's journey towards jihad and global terrorism began in Saudi Arabia in 1957. He was the 17th of more than 50 children of a self-made billionaire. His father was from Yemen. But by the time Osama was born, he was head of what would be the largest construction firm in Saudi Arabia, a friend of the royal family. Mohammed Bin Laden would die in a plane crash when Osama was 10.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: As a teenager Bin Laden was religiously quite devout, according to both family members and also people who knew him.

MANN: It was in his late teens that Osama Bin Laden married the first of his four wives, a Syrian born cousin. Then, in 1979, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden, like many young Muslim men of his generation, found his calling. Joining the Mujahideen, the holy warriors, who were helping the Afghans fight against the communists, influenced in part by one of his professors, Sheik Abdallah Azam, who would become his mentor during the Afghan struggle.

Bin Laden first helped with money using it to set up a series of guest houses for the Mujahideen coming to Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan from around the Arab world. He also obtained construction equipment from Saudi Arabia and used skills he had learned working in the family business.

BERGEN: He applied the lessons he learned from the demolition side the business to building crude shelters in the mountains of Afghanistan.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And that is just the beginning. The rest of "The World's Most Wanted" special airs tonight and tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern. CNN correspondents from around the globe explored the lives of the most notorious terrorists. It's a "CNN PRESENTS" you don't want to miss.

New details in the Duke lacrosse rape investigation. Is a crucial witness changing her story?

And trouble in the Caribbean. We're going to have the latest on a strengthening storm that could be eyeing Florida.

And pointing fingers over the government's response to hurricane Katrina. FEMA's former director releases an email that could prove embarrassing for President Bush. That story in just three minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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