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CNN Live Saturday

Military Searches for Two Missing Soldiers; Lawyer for Marines Accused in Haditha Massacre Makes Their Defense

Aired June 17, 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 at least 36 people were killed today in six separate explosions in Baghdad. The worst was at a police checkpoint where 12 Iraqis died.
And another show of support for marines accused of killing an Iraqi man. For the second week in a row, demonstrators rallied outside Camp Pendleton. That's where the accused marines are being held.

Achieving peace in Iraq. The theme of President Bush's radio address. He says his surprise trip to Baghdad demonstrated U.S. commitment to the Iraqi people and their government.

Now, you can send us your questions about President Bush's trip to Iraq. E-mail weekend@cnn.com, because I've got CNN's senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, who's going to be with me tonight. He's going to answer your questions in 30 minutes.

Enron's former president Jeffrey Skilling tells "The Wall Street Journal" he considered suicide after the company's collapse. Skilling was convicted last month on charges of fraud, conspiracy and insider trading.

All systems go. NASA says the space shuttle Discovery is ready to return to space. A launch is scheduled for July 1st.

And mama mia, the U.S. held Italy to a 1-1 tie in the World Cup action today. That means the U.S. could still move into the second round. We're going to have a full report later this hour.

Still no sign of the two U.S. missing soldiers who went missing from a traffic checkpoint outside of Baghdad last night. There was gunfire. We've got a general who is going to explain what is happening to search for those missing soldier.

In the meantime, they did find one dead U.S. soldier at the scene. Coalition forces have conducted several raids to gather information on the missing troops. And that is going to play a big part into whether they find them.

In the meantime, the mother of an American soldier knows all too well what it's like to learn that your child has gone missing in battle. Carolyn Maupin's son, Sergeant Keith Matthew Maupin went missing near Baghdad airport about two years ago. Well, she talked to CNN earlier about what keeps her going.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CAROLYN MAUPIN, SON MIA IN IRAQ: I believe that that is what keeps us lifted every day is the support from not only the military families but our community and surrounding areas and even the country, as a matter of fact, that everyone is there with us praying and hoping for Matt. And now I'm sure for the two of today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: The military says it is using every means at its disposal to search for the missing soldiers. Our Sumi Das takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the search for two American soldiers every military resource is called to action.

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, COALITION FORCES IN IRAQ: Dive teams are on-site working the canal and river. There is cross coordination amongst adjacent units to develop actionable intelligence on our soldiers' whereabouts.

DAS: Three were stationed at a checkpoint by the Euphrates River near Yusufiya that was attacked Friday night. According to sources a mechanical bridge near the checkpoint had failed and the soldiers were warning others that it not be used.

Military officials say the troops at a nearby checkpoint heard an explosion and small arms fire. U.S. forces arrived on the scene 15 minutes later to find one soldier killed and two missing. Since the incident four raids were carried out on what the military is calling suspected possible locations. Sources say the military is considering all possible avenues and all possible outcomes.

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, U.S. ARMY (RET): They will take advantage of all intelligence sources that's indigenous as well as U.S. as well as coalition. And then they will take advantage of all military power that's available so they can do reconnaissance and then they can react as appropriate and escalate if they need to to the highest levels.

DAS: The search brings back painful memories for the mother of Army Sergeant Matt Maupin, the only American soldier with the status missing, captured in Iraq. His unit came under attack near Baghdad Airport more than two years ago.

MAUPIN: It's like reliving our first notice of when Matt's whereabouts unknown. So I can relate to the parents and I've been praying for them, that hopefully they will find them very, very soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DAS (on camera): Once a week, the U.S. military updates Maupin's mother about the ongoing efforts to find her son. Military officials say the search for missing soldiers does not end until the status of that soldier is determined once and for all. Carol?

LIN: Sumi, thank you so much.

Now, we want to bring the audience into this investigation. How do they go about finding these U.S. soldiers? Earlier I spoke with CNN military analyst retired army Brigadier General Spider Marks and he told me what the military is doing right now to find them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIG. GEN. SPIDER MARKS, U.S. ARMY (RET): Well, initially you have to assess what's going on and you've got to give the unit on the ground an opportunity to report what they know and then what they assess. So you can't immediately -- you can't be in a hurry to go launching in the wrong direction. You've got tolet the situation develop a little bit. But you have to stay very, very focused. And you can never -- you can never give up eyes on the target and the fact that you've got to generate every piece of intelligence that's available to you to develop the situation further.

LIN: And something happens. Something happened. They raided four locations. Based on what?

MARKS: It's based on intelligence that you get that in many cases could be very perishable but it's developed almost instantaneously from sources on the ground, the soldiers that are on the ground that report back. Then there's a relationship that exists. That unit was there and that unit had a relationship with Iraqi units that had been on the ground. And so they've been working together for some amount of time. So there's a lot of trust and there's communication that takes place horizontally.

LIN: Potentially getting tips from civilians on the ground, then?

MARKS: It becomes a crime scene. It's forensics. So you get tips from the local citizens. You get the Iraqi units that have inroads that the U.S. military won't have ever, ever, no matter how long we're there. And so you start to develop that situation and you always keep available to you-all forms of intelligence collection.

LIN: They were able to search the river and several canals. That's not just an ordinary crime scene. This is called the Triangle of Death. A very dangerous situation taking many forces.

MARKS: Absolutely, Carol. I need to tell you there is no cost that the military won't take on to try to rescue and determine the status of missing soldiers or, in this case, soldiers that are duty status, whereabouts unknown.

LIN: If they're out there somewhere, what are the chances they can survive on their own in this area described as the Triangle of Death? What are the chances there are friendlies on the ground willing to help them?

MARKS: Friendlies on the ground will -- those that are in cooperation and have coordinated with the U.S. forces that are in this area will reach out. We've reached that level of maturity in local areas.

LIN: So it's possible they could get help on the ground? Possible.

MARKS: Absolutely. There could be and that's based on the local situation, the trust that exists between Iraqi units, U.S. units and then the local governance teams, the local Iraqi leaders, how well do they trust both the Iraqi and U.S. units. And in many cases you will see, Carol, that they will reach out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, U.S. Army spokesperson says that troops will not stop searching until they find the missing soldiers. And Spider also told me that they| essentially have 10 days for this intensive search before the status of those missing soldiers may change.

In the meantime, CNN senior Arab affairs editor Octavia Nasr knows the insurgent and Web sites better than anybody. She joins me now on the telephone. Octavia, I know you're monitoring the situation. Have you seen any Internet traffic on the status of these U.S. soldiers?

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not really, Carol. At this point we're monitoring about a dozen Web sites, al Qaeda in Iraq being one of them. Of course there are other insurgency Web sites we monitor and also Web sites that usually post messages from the various groups inside Iraq. Nothing at this point. But this doesn't mean we won't hear anything in the future.

The way things operate, we have different options. Sometimes insurgents will go on the Web sites and announce that they captured someone or they killed someone or they carried out an attack. And they will post video later.

And sometimes it takes a few days to post material. But at this point, everyone I spoke with is saying that this is good news for the two soldiers missing if we didn't hear anything on any Web sites at this point, Carol.

LIN: Good. Octavia, what do you make of what General Spider Marks told me, that there are potentially friendlies on the ground? It is conceivable that these soldiers could get help from local Iraqis.

NASR: Everyone I speak with on a regular basis, including former hostages that came out alive, they say the same thing. They say that there are some good Samaritans on the ground in Iraq. Not everybody, obviously, is a terrorist. Not everybody is an insurgent. But the likelihood of any Iraqi at this point stepping up and helping a U.S. soldier endangers the life of that person and their families and everyone that they relate to.

We've seen some horrible images out of Iraq that the insurgency has committed, beheadings and basically in order to teach people lessons there were scenes of people being killed in the middle of the street in front of everybody while cars are passing by.

So this insurgency in Iraq is pretty deadly. It's very dangerous. And anyone offering any help for U.S. soldiers or anybody that deals with U.S. soldiers is definitely endangering their life when it comes to the insurgency. But it is good to hear the general say that.

It is also good to hear my contacts on the ground and other contacts saying that there are good people in Iraq that might be able to give shelter to these soldiers if they run into them.

LIN: Octavia, thank you so much. Keep monitoring those Web sites. Let us know if you see any traffic at all. Appreciate it.

NASR: Absolutely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY MYERS, ATTORNEY FOR HADITHA MARINE: The rules of engagement are the license to do what they did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: He's defending one of the marines accused of killing Iraqi civilians at Haditha. Up next, a CNN exclusive interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are very stupid in this country. Very stupid. This is spoon feeding criminals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Online predators going after your personal information. Tonight, we show you just how easy it is.

You're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Our "World Wrap" tonight.

U.S. officials are calling it a provocative action. They're warning North Korea against testing a long range missile they say could reach parts of the U.S. The U.S. says satellite pictures prove it. North Korea says it's not true.

Sri Lanka unrest. At least eight sailors and 20 Tamil Tigers killed in land and sea battles today. The U.S. considers the Tamil Tigers a terrorist group. Well, today the group threatened to plunge the country into a fatal war.

An Islamic faction now controls the capital of Somalia. Last week the Islamists defeated a U.S.-backed coalition of Somali warlords. Two of those warlords have reportedly fled to a ship in the Indian Ocean.

And retaliation in Gaza. Israel confirms it attacked members of Islamic Jihad and at least one militant was killed in an air strike, three were wounded. Thursday Palestinian militants fired five rockets into Israel.

Haditha was not a massacre. That's what Gary Myers says. He is the defense attorney representing one of the marines involved in the alleged killing spree in Iraq. His client is facing some tough questions and Myers answered a few more from our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was no crime to cover up, according to the attorney representing one of the marines who was involved in several of the shootings that resulted in the deaths of 24 Iraqis including women and children, last year in Haditha.

MYERS: The rules of engagement are the license to do what they did. And as long as they followed those rules of engagement, I believe they have a defense. Justifiable homicide on the one hand, and perhaps self-defense on the other. In every particular, this fails as evidence.

MCINTYRE: After viewing the videotape of the victims and the aftermath, shot by an aspiring Iraqi journalist, Myers insisted it would not stand up in court.

MYERS: It proves nothing, other than that there were people killed who died violently and who bled profusely. And all those things are regrettable. But none of them serves to prove murder.

MCINTYRE: What about the pictures taken by the U.S. military, seen by CNN, that appear to show victims shot at close range?

MYERS: It will be a Herculean effort on the part of the government to muster enough competent evidence to demonstrate that anything criminal occurred. And if all they've got are pictures that were taken after the events, it will be a very difficult thing.

MCINTYRE: Myers argues everything he believes the marines did that day, from shooting what turned out to be unarmed men in a taxi, to firing into buildings without knowing who was inside, can be defended as justified under the rules in effect at the time.

MYERS: There was a good faith belief that fire was coming from those buildings. These marines followed the rules of engagement. And if the rule of engagement at the time was, as I believe it to be with respect to the taxi, that when an IED went off, if people were seen running from the scene, they were considered insurgents and one had a right to fire.

MCINTYRE: Myers insists Haditha was not a massacre. And that comes from an attorney who successfully defended a company commander who was at My Lai, the notorious massacre of Vietnam.

MYERS: My Lai was a massacre. Men, women, babies and children were put into a trench and they were fired upon by American soldiers.

MCINTYRE (on camera): How could it be that marines could kill young children, a mother, appeared to be in their bed, and they just followed the rules? How can that be? MYERS: Because they're not required to inquire, under the circumstances. They're not required to inquire. If they believe they were threatened, they can use deadly force. And that's what they did.

MCINTYRE (voice-over): Military experts tell CNN two principles should guide the use of lethal force -- proportionality and necessity. That is, how important is on the objective, and does it warrant the risk of innocent lives? And that is likely to be at the heart of this case.

(on camera): The U.S. military has announced that a separate investigation into whether there was a cover-up has been completed and is being reviewed by a three-star general in Iraq. Defense attorneys for some of the Haditha marines, meanwhile, tell CNN that an initial press release that inaccurately attributed some of the civilian deaths to a roadside bomb was not based on any information that came from their clients. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: So should a surprise visit to Iraq help the president in the polls? Now, we want to know what you think. E-mail us at weekend@cnn.com. But throw us some questions, because we're getting plenty of opinions. But we want Bill to be able to answer some of your questions. He's going to be on hand shortly.

And a tough weekend for tiger woods at the U.S. Open. We're live with the very latest when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Checking the most popular stories on our Web site now.

Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her 80th birthday again. She celebrates it twice a year, once on April 21st, her actual birthday, and the official celebration, which is this weekend.

Now, wreckage of a ship found in the Gulf of Thailand may be a navy submarine from World War II. The navy says the sub did not return from its mission in 1945.

And actress Angelina Jolie says giving birth was terrifying. The 31- year-old mother of three adopted her two older children. She says all she could think about while delivering baby Shiloh Novelle (ph) by caesarean section was that she wanted her daughter to breathe. Read more about it at cnn.com. Click on the "most popular" tab.

Well it's been a few weeks since actress and ambassador Angelina Jolie had her baby Shiloh. She sat down with CNN's Anderson Cooper for her first exclusive U.S. interview about her daughter and also wanted to share what it was like on her first visit to a refugee camp in Sierra Leone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Had you ever seen anything like that before?

ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS: I hadn't seen anything like that. It was one of those things where - in so many ways I was so grateful to have had that experience. And I knew I was changing as a person and I was learning so much about life. So in some ways it was the best moment of my life because it changed me for the better and I was never going to be -- never going to want for more in my life.

COOPER: How did it change you?

JOLIE: I was young and I grew up in Los Angeles and I'm an actor so everything is focused on certain things in life. And then suddenly you see these people who are really fighting something, who are really surviving, who have so much pain and loss and things that you have no idea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: You can watch Anderson Cooper's exclusive two hour chat with Angelina Jolie Tuesday night beginning at 10:00 Eastern. It's part of CNN's coverage of World Refugee Day. We'll see you then.

Maybe some of us when we were children imagined what it would be like to swap our parents. Well, apparently late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is entertaining the thought. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, TALK SHOW HOST: There's one more shopping day until Father's Day. My dad lives in Arizona. You know, he's a good father. But I always felt like I could do better.

And then one day I was watching CNN and I saw Wolf Blitzer. Now, Wolf Blitzer looks a lot like my dad. This is my dad right here. And this is Wolf Blitzer. So I started thinking, maybe he is my dad. Maybe I'm not Jimmy Kimmel. Maybe I'm Jimmy Blitzer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: This just in.

Coming up next, you have to see what happens when Jimmy Kimmel, Papa Kimmel and Wolf Blitzer get together for a little pop quiz. The man that scores highest gets to be Jimmy's dad.

Also, can almost anyone pull your personal information off the Internet? And this woman is out to prove that you can. We're going to show you how to protect yourself.

Don't forget our e-mail question on President Bush in Iraq. E-mail us at weekend@cnn.com. Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider standing by and joining us next to answer your questions.

It is definitely something to sing about here. A musical milestone of sorts for former Beatle Paul McCartney. Details ahead when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Now in the news, the military says it is doing everything it can to find two U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq. They went missing from an Iraqi checkpoint that was attacked by insurgents. A third soldier died at the scene.

Now, President Bush used his weekly radio address to validate the coalition's war in Iraq. Mr. Bush says the United States won't abandon the Iraqi people after more than three years of blood shed.

Six separate explosions, though, rocked the Iraqi capital today. The deadliest at a police checkpoint where 12 people were killed. In all, 36 people were killed by insurgent attacks, 113 others were hurt.

Today NASA announced the long awaited launch date for space shuttle Discovery. It's set for takeoff in July, actually July 1st, two weeks from today.

When I'm 64, former Beatles front man, Paul McCartney, probably wasn't thinking of his own birthday when he wrote that song. McCartney's 64th birthday is tomorrow.

Now apparently Namibia isn't the place for celebrity moms to give birth. Britney Spears' publicist denies reports that the singer would follow in Angelina Jolie's footsteps. Spears is pregnant with her second child.

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