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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
D.C. Bank Robbery Caught on Tape; Saddam Hussein is now in Iraqi Hands
Aired June 29, 2004 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from Baghdad. I'm Anderson Cooper.
Saddam Hussein gets ready for the mother of all perp walks.
360 starts now.
Saddam Hussein delivered into Iraqi hands. Will justice be served for Iraq's former dictator?
A U.S. Marine under the sword. The Pentagon now confirms he's captured, while his family begs for his release.
Under 21. They represent half the population. But does the new Iraq give them reason to live or leave?
The alleged crime was videotaped. Why couldn't the jury agree on a verdict?
And as the heist goes down, the camera is rolling. The D.C. bank robbers strike again.
ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360, with Anderson Cooper in Iraq and Heidi Collins in New York.
COOPER: Good evening again.
It is early on the morning of June 30, the day that sovereignty was supposed to be handed over to Iraqis. Now, that, of course, already happened about 40 hours ago.
And on the streets of Baghdad, you can't tell that much has changed. This is still a very violent, dangerous place. Three U.S. Marines were killed in a roadside explosion in Baghdad, while other attacks happened across the country. From Mosul and Kirkuk in the north to Karbala and Baghdad, a variety of assaults again focused on police and local officials. At least seven were killed.
There was a glimpse of the future in Iraq today, however, a future that can only begin by dealing with the country's brutal past. We're talking, of course, about Saddam Hussein.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COOPER (voice-over): The new government wasted no time asserting its authority over Iraq's former dictator, announcing plans to haul him into court on Thursday. The U.S. turns over legal custody tomorrow.
AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We Iraqis believe, to truly be in control of our own affairs and own future, we must be in control of the discipline of the people we believe responsible for so much of the suffering the Iraqi people endured over the past 35 years.
COOPER: Saddam Hussein and 11 other top members of the former regime will face a variety of charges -- genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
ALLAWI: The cause will be just cause. There will be definitely proof and evidence, and it will be a full legal proceeding. We don't think that there will be -- they will be able to stage a propaganda coup, but it will be an open trial, it will be in open court. And he is entitled to any representation.
COOPER: Allawi says the trial will be later this year, and the U.S. will hold him until then.
The new U.S. ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte, was in Baghdad touring the planned site of the new embassy and presenting his credentials to the country's interim president.
And while there were scenes of Iraqis celebrating their new responsibilities, the security problem continues to be paramount -- three U.S. Marines killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad, continued questions about the fate of Specialist Matt Maupin, reported killed on Arab TV, though unconfirmed by the Pentagon, and concerns about Marine Wassef Hassoun, also apparently held by insurgents and threatened with death.
SAMI HASSOUN, MARINE'S BROTHER: I would like to call on all the ambassadors in the whole countries around the world and especially around Iraq. Please help us, please help us in our case with our brother. He's with the Marines, who was doing his job. We never hurt nobody in our whole life. He is a very innocent person.
COOPER: The one bright spot today, three Turkish citizens who had also had been taken hostage and threatened with death were released by their captors.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, sadly, it is now official, Marine Corporal Wassef Hassoun no longer listed as missing. As we've known from the videotape, he has been captured. His story really is dizzying. A family comes to the U.S. from the Middle East, a son joins the American military and ends up a pawn in the game against America, held hostage by fellow Muslims in Iraq, with his brother, who's still in the Middle East, pleading for his life.
CNN's Ed Lavandera has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. military now agrees that it is Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun who appears blindfolded in the videotape broadcast on Arab television.
But military officials say how he disappeared is still under investigation. Officials say Hassoun might have voluntarily walked away from a U.S. base near Fallujah. On the videotape, the captor's voice is heard saying Hassoun was lured away. And U.S. officials say they are looking into whether family problems might have played a role in the 24-year-old Marine's disappearance.
Military officials say they currently think he might have been trying to get to Lebanon on an unauthorized leave. But no matter how it happened, the Marine's family hopes his captors will spare a fellow Muslim's life.
HASSOUN: The way Muslims like they are, it is not possible that Islam says to kill these people. And there is no religion in the whole world that supports a kidnapper and a killer.
LAVANDERA: Corporal Hassoun's, brother speaking from Lebanon, is calling on Middle East authorities to step in and help save his brother. Islamic militants are threatening to kill Corporal Hassoun if all Iraqi prisoners are not released.
HASSOUN: Just release him. It is not his mistake that he is down in Iraq. It is not his mistake that the whole thing happened. He is just a soldier doing his job, like any other person. Please leave him, for the sake of God.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Three U.S. Marines are here in West Jordan, Utah, standing by Corporal Hassoun's family and giving them whatever information they can. But the family still insists that they will not speak publicly until Corporal Hassoun's fate has been resolved.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, West Jordan, Utah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, "TIME" magazine reporter Michael Ware has spent time with insurgents, and he says that many of those foreign fighters here in Iraq want to create an Islamic state and turn this country into a terrorist haven. His views on where the world stands now range from sobering to outright terrifying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL WARE, "TIME" MAGAZINE: We've inspired a generation of jihadis. Osama has opened a Pandora's box. He opened it a crack and let it come out. It then sought a place to settle. Well, here in Iraq, we of the West, the coalition, has opened that Pandora's box. We gave them the place where they could come and blood themselves. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, Michael Ware talks about the new jihad and the man looking to lead it, terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. That is later tonight on 360.
A question for you. Do you have any time left on the time that you promised the military when you signed up? Tonight, it turns out, if you do, and your particular skill is needed, you may find yourself serving again, whether you want to or not.
CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr now explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the Army called up thousands of people to duty who never expected to hear from Uncle Sam.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many of you are -- don't want to be back here?
STARR: Now, 13 years later, because of the pressures of Iraq and a force stretched thin, it is happening again. The Army shortly will begin notifying 5,600 members of the so-called Individual Ready Reserve that they are headed to Iraq or Afghanistan later this year for up to 18 months of duty, and it is not voluntary.
This reserve force, headed for the combat zone, is made up of people who had left the military but still owe the Army some part of their eight-year service obligation. They will serve as truck drivers, engineers, military police, and in other support jobs, in National Guard and reserve units headed overseas. Most of the troops are expected to come from California, Texas, New York, and Delaware.
The Army has used individuals from the reserve in recent years to fill particular jobs. But this deployment of such a large number indicates a long-term problem, experts say, in finding more troops to fill the rotation requirement overseas.
In Washington, the national security adviser for the Kerry campaign expressed concern, saying, "This is troubling news, and an unusual step to take."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: Now, Anderson, Army officials say they know that people taken from their civilian lives and sent over to Iraq or Afghanistan are going to be very unhappy about it, but they say they have no choice, given the requirements in these combat zones, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thanks, Barbara.
Air Force One touched down at Andrews Air Force Base a few minutes before we went on air this evening, bringing the president back down to earth, literally. He lands to find his approval ratings back down to earth as well, at their lowest level ever, that, after protests in Istanbul, where Mr. Bush spoke with NATO leaders about trying to get their countries to help with the rebuilding of Iraq and the training of its military.
CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash now has more on the president's dramatic ups and downs over the last couple of days.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Turkey, the president stood at the symbolic crossroads of Europe and the Mideast to declare Iraq and its day-old sovereign government a shining example.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The historic achievement of democracy in the broader Middle East will be a victory shared by all.
BASH: The president exited the world stage, his last overseas trip until election day, hoping the transfer of power in Iraq and modest new support he won from NATO there will help turn around warning signs on the campaign trail.
A CBS-"New York Times" poll taken just before the handover shows just 42 percent approve of the job Mr. Bush is doing, the lowest in this survey since he took office. And while most voters say it is important for troops to stay in Iraq for now, 60 percent say the war that has come to define the Bush presidency was not worth the cost.
Ceding political control while nearly 140,000 troops remain does pose some risk for Mr. Bush. Although unwilling to appear on camera for fear of angering the White House, several Republican pollsters told CNN they're skeptical the handover will help the president politically. What matters most to voters, they said, is whether Americans in Iraq continue to die.
Republicans inside and outside the White House do agree, Iraq is critical, but it is the ultimate wild card.
SCOTT REED, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: This handoff has been important. But Iraq is still an unknown and will continue to be right up to November.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Despite shrinking public support on Iraq, Bush campaign aides say they take solace in several polls over the past month that show in a head-to-head matchup between President Bush and John Kerry, the president shows slight improvement, Anderson.
COOPER: Dana, thanks very much for that.
The dark days are not over here in Iraq. Most Iraqis face rolling blackouts every day. A look at the effort to bring back the lights, that's later on 360. Plus, teen life in Baghdad, new freedoms, yet also new fears. We're going to have that and more coming up as we continue live from Baghdad.
But right now, news happening elsewhere in America and around the world. For that, let's go back to New York and my buddy Heidi Collins. Hey, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Anderson. Thanks so much.
The U.S. kicks out two Iranian security guards. That tops our look at global stories in the uplink tonight. At the U.N., confirmation the two men were assigned to the Iranian mission. They had been observed videotaping and photographing New York City subways, buses, and tunnels on three separate occasions. They were expelled last weekend.
In the West African nation of Sierra Leone, 24 people were killed when their helicopter crashed into a heavily wooded hillside. Many of the people on board were United Nations employees. No word on what caused the accident.
Headed to Cuba for a quick visit? Well, hundreds of Cuban- Americans a day before a tough new travel restriction takes effect. The new rules from Bush administration officials prohibit visits to the communist nation once every three years and for up to two weeks. It is part of an effort to hasten the downfall of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
In London, the European Court of Human Rights says governments can ban Muslim women from wearing head scarves in school. The court said the ban is not an infringement on the students' freedom of religion.
And in London's Hyde Park, the British government unveiled its first permanent memorial to the late Princess Diana. The water sculpture will double as a children's water park.
And that's tonight's uplink.
360 next, a prosecution bombshell in the Scott Peterson case fizzles under cross-examination. Find out why one detective on the stand is taking all the heat.
Plus, bank robbery caught on tape. The getaway car up in flames. We have the video.
And a middle-school teacher busted for allegedly having sex with a 14-year-old student. How did she get away with it for so long? We'll take a closer look at the case that is raising parents' eyebrows.
But first, your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: I'm Anderson Cooper, live in Baghdad. Coming up, jihad in Iraq. A look at the killer who may be pulling the strings. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: For days, Mark Geragos has challenged witnesses on the stand to try and show someone other than Scott Peterson murdered his wife and unborn child. It is a strategy the prosecution is well aware of. And today they attempted to put an end to those theories with a very unique approach.
CNN's Ted Rowlands has the latest from the courthouse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prosecutor Rick Distaso started the day with what seemed like a bombshell. Detective Al Brocchini testified about a tip that he had received the day after Scott Peterson was arrested, from someone who claimed that years ago, Peterson described the perfect way to get rid of a dead body, using duct tape and cement.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Mark Geragos established that the tip was from an unreliable source. Legal observers say while the story may not have been legitimate, telling it to the jury was a good idea. It is a technique they say Geragos has been using since the trial started.
DEAN JOHNSON, LEGAL ANALYST: Distaso is finally, finally taking advantage of that on the part of the prosecution and bringing in anything and everything he can, including some very powerful evidence for the prosecution.
ROWLANDS: Also today, the court released a number of photographs from inside the Peterson home, including photos of the Petersons' washing machine with dirty rags on top, a mop and bucket, which were taken in as potential evidence that Peterson may have cleaned up to cover his tracks, and there is a shot of the inside of the nautical- themed nursery Laci and Scott Peterson had prepared for their first child.
(on camera): After five days on the stand, Modesto Police Detective Al Brocchini finished testimony today. The prosecution finished with testimony from a former employee of Scott Peterson's who was with Peterson the day he met the woman that would eventually introduce him to Amber Frey.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And covering the Peterson case for us is Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom.
Lisa, got to ask you immediately, right away, about this bombshell that Ted was just talking about. Scott Peterson describing what he would do to get rid of a dead body. How big of a bombshell is that?
LISA BLOOM, COURT TV ANCHOR: Well, initially, it seemed like a bombshell. Back in 1995, a friend says that Scott Peterson said, Hey, if I ever needed to dispose of a dead body, I know exactly how I would do it. I would put a plastic bag over the head, duct tape around the neck, I would weigh it down with anchors, and throw it in the ocean. Fish would eat the hands and the head, and therefore the body couldn't be identified. No fingerprints and no teeth, no dental match.
Now, of course, nine years later, we have DNA. Well, that's eerily similar to the way that Laci Peterson was killed. So it really seemed shocking, I think, in the courtroom.
COLLINS: But shortly after that, in looking at the timeline of when that call came in, the defense quickly discredited this, this story.
BLOOM: The call came in, right, right after Scott Peterson was arrested. And the detective himself, Brocchini, on the stand said, I didn't find it credible because of that, because somebody could have made up that story knowing how Laci was killed.
COLLINS: All right. Now, there are also several photos that were mentioned in this piece. Now, one of the photos that was taken was of a phone book open on the counter of the Peterson home. How damaging is that, I mean?
BLOOM: Now, I think that's big. The phone book -- this is on December 24, the same day Laci goes missing, before anybody called Scott Peterson a suspect. The phone book is open to the attorney ads, a big color ad for a murder criminal defense attorney who specializes in domestic violence and homicide cases, with a photo of a man in handcuffs being led away from a crime scene.
COOPER: This can't look good for Scott Peterson.
BLOOM: Why was Scott Peterson doing that? Now, the only possible defense theory is maybe a police setup, maybe they opened it to that page and took a picture. But there's no evidence of that yet.
COOPER: All right. Lisa Bloom, thanks so much.
BLOOM: Thank you.
COLLINS: Appreciate it.
And just one day after the Supreme Court said detainees in Cuba are entitled to have their day in court, the Pentagon announced it has set up its first military tribunal. That story tops our look at news cross-country.
In Guantanamo, a military tribunal will begin hearing evidence against three detainees. The Supreme Court ruling Monday is considered a major blow against President Bush's policy of jail for terror suspects with no judicial review.
A new CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll shows Senator John Edwards is the most popular candidate to John Kerry on the Democratic ticket. Congressman Dick Gephardt is a distant second in the popularity contest, with retired general Wesley Clark coming in third.
In Washington, the Supreme Court shut -- won't let a federal law restricting Internet pornography take effect. The justices sent a lawsuit concerning the Child Online Protection Act back to a lower court for a full trial. Until the dispute is decided, the Justice Department cannot use the law to prosecute Internet porn distributors.
In Eagle, Colorado, the judge in the Kobe Bryant trial is in hot water with his bosses. The Colorado Supreme Court wants him to explain why he has threatened media organizations with contempt if they publish documents in the case that were accidentally leaked. The justices gave the judge until next week to reply to their request.
That's a look at stories cross-country tonight.
Now back to Anderson Cooper in Baghdad. Anderson?
COOPER: Thanks, Heidi.
360 next, seeing the light in Baghdad, literally. Iraqis trying to put the dark days behind them as the U.S. tries to turn on the power.
Also tonight, car bombs and hostage taking, an inside look at Iraq's number one terror suspect with "TIME" magazine's Michael Ware.
And a little later, is the insurgency here morphing, changing into part of a global jihad? And how does America fight back? General David Grange joins us live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Understandably U.S. officials like to talk about what they've been able to accomplish, changing the political and economic system, opening schools, improving health care. But often it is the little things that many Iraqis judge the U.S. by -- gas lines, power outages, electricity may not make headlines, but the problems with it here continue, and so do the promises.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): With Saddam gone, Iraqis hoped the dark days would be over. But with routine power outages for Ali Zuher (ph) and his family, the days and nights still seem pretty dark.
"The power only comes on for two hours," he says. "And it cuts off for four hours. You see, we have children and old sick men. The temperature is so high during the summer, and in the coming months, it is only going to get hotter."
Earlier in the occupation, the U.S. said restoring electricity was a priority, a benchmark of America's commitment and capabilities. One-point-four billion dollars was quickly spent to improve the power grid. And last fall, Ambassador Paul Bremer heralded the first progress achieved.
AMB. PAUL BREMER, FORMER U.S. ADMINISTRATOR: We have made considerable progress here in Baghdad in the six months since liberation. Electricity is back at prewar levels.
COOPER: Bremer pledged electrical output would be up another 50 percent by June 1. But that hasn't happened.
After security threats, German and Russian engineers abandoned Baghdad's largest power plant. Then came months of sabotage, no maintenance, few spare parts. The day before we visited the plant, the last of the four turbines broke down.
BASHIR KHALAF OMIN, POWER PLANT MANAGER: One year ago, at least we have two units is running at this -- at the -- I mean, June of -- the last June, two units are running. And now, no one running.
COOPER: The coalition blames part of the problem, at least, on increased demand. It is up 30 percent, they say, a sign of growing prosperity. A demand at another plant, the coalition has installed new $130 million turbines supposed to increase electrical output by 10 percent this fall.
But on the streets of Baghdad, Iraqis are coming up with their own power solutions, sharing generators. Not an option for Ali Zuher. Unemployed, he can't afford it. His family will just have to wait for the lights to go back on, and for the promises of progress to be fulfilled.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, the next chapter in the history of this country will be written by the one half of this country's population that are under the age of 21, young people who right now may be choosing between a future as members of an insurgency, or something less dangerous but perhaps just as uncertain.
Here's CNN's Aneesh Raman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A pool hall in Baghdad on Saturday night. It is one of the few places the city's youth, like 24-year-old Rammi Falah, can go to enjoy themselves.
RAMMI FALAH, IRAQI YOUTH: I think it is difficult now, and difficult before to have fun, to live as other people my age.
RAMAN: Just out of college, Rammi is part of a generation of Iraqis growing up in volatility, caught between new freedoms and new fears, with very few places to just hang out.
FALAH: We don't have any public places for fun. All the places of fun have been taken from the American Army.
RAMAN (on camera): The future of Iraq is hugely dependent on the future of its youth. Iraqis under 21 make up roughly half of the population. And while happy to be free from Saddam in this new world, they want more.
(voice-over): During the daytime, you'll find constant crowds at Baghdad gyms, among them, 20-year-old Hayder Rasheed. For him, the ouster of Saddam was welcome.
"Our generation of the '80s and '90s saw only war," he says, "four wars under Saddam Hussein." But since Saddam's removal, war remains a fact of life, giving many, including Rammi, a reason to leave. He hopes to get a job abroad, returning only if things improve.
FALAH: I feel sad for my country, for my Iraq, for -- not for me, just for me. You know, I hope that things become better. I hope they will.
RAMAN: For Iraq's youth, growing up while their country does the same, hope is all they have.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: 360 next, live from Baghdad, why are intelligence experts calling this man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most dangerous terrorist in the world? "TIME" magazine's Michael Ware went inside the insurgency and tells me what he saw. That ahead.
Plus, an amazing escape caught on tape. A bank robbery on live television. You will not believe these images.
And later, mistrial, the stunning conclusion to a trial where three boys stood accused of raping a young woman. But it is not over yet. Details when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Live from Baghdad, I'm Anderson Cooper.
Coming up, they say they're fighting a global never-ending jihad in Iraq. Up next, the man the U.S. calls public enemy number one. I'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: I'm Anderson Cooper. Welcome back to 360 from Baghdad.
One day after the handover of power from the Coalition Provisional Authority to an interim Iraqi government, and one day before another possible handover of the one-time dictator Saddam Hussein to the people that he oppressed for so long.
He's expected to face his first day in court on Thursday. We'll see him for the first time in months on the mother of all perp walks.
The handover's happened, but, of course, the violence continues. Three American Marines died in a roadside bomb blast in Baghdad today. And another Marine, once listed as missing, is now officially listed as captured.
As for where Iraq and the U.S. and the rest of the world currently stand in the war against terrorism, I had an eye-opening talk yesterday with "TIME" magazine's Michael Ware. Ware has spent a great deal of time looking into the insurgency here and believes it is changing into something much more dangerous than it was initially, dangerous because groups that once fought separately and for different reasons seem to be coming together under the banner of a global jihad. More of our conversation now, I asked first about the man said now to be the mastermind of the insurgency here in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WARE: He sits in a very senior position, almost at the pinnacle of a pyramid. Not -- you must remember -- the insurgency is any way structured, it remains amorphous. But he is at the peak where he can whisper in the ears of the most senior sheikhs and emirs who are leading the resistance. He can influence them with money. He can influence them, according to some of the men, with his sheer charisma. They say some sheikhs walk in, all they need to do is sit with him and they walk away and they're ready to do anything he wants. Through this, he is able to suggest, cajole, badger, influence. And from what I was told, the events of last Thursday, the uprising across four or five cities very much comes back to him, to his energy, to his concept which the others are on (ph) board with.
COOPER: So, if the U.S. or the new Iraqi government is somehow able to kill or capture Zarqawi, does the violence end, does the violence drastically reduce?
WARE: Ask yourself, if we kill or capture Osama bin Laden, will that end the jihad that he's inspired?
It's not about one man. We have inspired a generation of jihadis. Osama has opened a Pandora's box. He opened it a crack and let it come out. It then sought a place to settle. Well here in Iraq, we of the West, the coalition has opened that Pandora's box. We gave them the place where they could come and blood themselves, say I am jihadi.
COOPER: So, this is a generational war. This is not about Iraq. This is a worldwide, generational global war.
WARE: In some ways, September 11 was almost a bookend to the real al Qaeda experience.
COOPER: The taking of hostages, these videotapes that we keep seeing, the idea behind them is what?
I mean, certainly they don't believe that their demands are going to get met, that within 72 hours people are going to pull out of Iraq. WARE: Essentially, they make ludicrous demands about releasing all prisoners. They know it will not be met in 72 hours. Their full intention is to execute. Now, there is a point to this. It is all about the political gain, the perception. There is a military war and a political war. By doing this, and taping it, and broadcasting it, all those elements, it sends a message to us, to foreign companies, to individuals seeking to come here that don't, it is dangerous, we will kill you. There is no negotiation.
But there is a second motive. The Wahhabi money, the jihad money that floats around the world, it's an open market. You must compete for it. The money follows the trend. Right now Iraq is the trend. So anyone who wants to donate or fight, you come here, you're not going to Chechnya anymore right now. You must compete on the market. So, say, Zarqawi needs men taping it and putting themselves out there, they're badging themselves. We are the performers, look at us, send us your money. Not to them. Not to them. We do it.
COOPER: How do these guys defend the killing of civilians, of Muslims?
WARE: This was a thing that many of these Iraqi nationalists wouldn't bear or tolerate last year. And during one argument I was in with -- they said to me, one Iraqi is not worth the death of one American. The contrary view at that time was presented by the Fedayeen leader, who said to me, no, no, I'll kill 10 Iraqis just to get to an American. That was not the general view of the Iraqi guerrilla movement. With the jihad, that's changed. Suicide bombing is now more tolerated to the Iraqi jihad psyche than it ever was before. I have some videos and documents that these new jihadi groups have produced, and they address some of this. And essentially what they say is that mistakes are made in jihad. Look back at the ancient Salafin writers, they will explain this to you. And the innocent victims, whilst we regret it, we cannot apologize because they go straight to paradise.
COOPER: You go out among these people who are mass murderers, who are killers, who have beheaded people, and they could turn on you just as soon as give you an interview.
Why do this?
WARE: I've seen the flashes come into their faces on different occasions. And I know that it can change in a heartbeat. But there's ways for me to minimize these risks, to make it more calculated, and I do what I can do. But if we're not out there, if we're not looking for these answers, who is our enemy?
What is it that is motivating them?
What is it that is driving them?
What are they looking for?
This tells us a lot about who they are, what they will do, what they will not do. It tells us what is at stake here. Know thy enemy. Well, we don't.
COOPER: Michael Ware, thank you very much.
WARE: My pleasure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: That was "Time" magazine's Michael Ware. It is likely that the first thing on the new Iraqi government to do list is increasing security for the general public, after all, it is hard to rebuild a country when you got to worry about car bombs and the like. But the big stick in Iraq security is the U.S. Military and a major question revolves around their new role going forward and just who will tell them what to do.
I'm joined now with -- by retired Army Brigadier General David Grange. General, thanks very much for being with us.
I want to ask first about the command and control structure. We are told that if necessary the U.S. Military will act on their own to protect their own interests.
How does that work on the ground for commanders?
It's got to make it more confusing.
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It does -- it can be confusing, but you to make it understandable to your troops. And the bottom line is if a coalition troop is threatened or he perceives a threat as outlined in the use of force, then he can take that force to protect -- they can protect themselves or facilities or their current operations. So I think it is explained all they way down through the chain of command.
COOPER: General, I don't know if you heard some of that interview with Michael Ware of "Time" magazine, it's the second part of the interview we've done. He really is saying that insurgency here has changed fundamentally, that these Saddam Fedayeen, these Ba'athist elements that started off the insurgency are now increasingly linking, perhaps not across the board, but in many spots linking with global jihadists, these foreign fighters who have come in. And it has become more of an Islamic jihadist insurgency.
How do you fight against that?
GRANGE: Well, first of all, you just can't throw up your hands. I mean, it is a monumental task. You have to take it on. What he's talking about, I believe, is what many call fourth generation warriors. In other words, they're not state actors, that come together for a common cause even if it is unlawful, if it is cruel. They look upon America and other coalition forces as a common enemy. It is sort of like a international drug or arms cartel. They have no loyalty to any state. They have loyalty only to a power base, by certain leaders, using religion as an excuse to conduct operations. And they're headed by a couple of really bad leaders that motivate these people to do what they're doing right now in Iraq and other places in the world.
COOPER: But you know better than most, from everything I've read, I mean, guerrilla war is one of the toughest to combat against, to counter. And yet, this is -- sort of seems even more difficult on top of that because it's an urban guerrilla war. It's being fought in cities and towns, not in jungles where the enemy is isolated. You know, there are reports even in Baghdad every day, you know, of people roaming around in cars threatening to kidnap people or plant explosive devices. For an army of a large military force, that's a tough thing to combat.
GRANGE: Very tough. I mean, jungles are tough, too. But urban warfare, as I would say, the hardest. And it is really kind of gangs on -- in different neighborhoods. And they support each other even maybe indirectly against the -- in this case, the coalition forces. And they camouflage and cover themselves within a civilian population. So who is the bad guy, who is the good guy? It is very hard to understand. It's police information. It's neighborhood watch. It is very difficult to put your hand on. There's no borders. The borders of Iraq are irrelevant to these people. And so, yes, it's very difficult. But someone got to draw the hard line and take them on. And in this case, it is the United States of America and the coalition.
COOPER: And they're doing that, I've been out on patrol a couple of times with numerous different units and doing a remarkable job. Just every day, day in, day out, you know, doing the work in 110 degree heat at times. At times they say, you know, it's incredibly boring but they're still out there. And this thing can change on a dime, they'll tell you. You know, all of a sudden it will be boring for a month in a row and then all of a sudden there's an ambush and they got ti be ready for it.
Brigadier General David Grange, thank you very much.
GRANGE: My pleasure.
COOPER: Today's "Buzz" question is this. What do you think? Do you think Saddam Hussein will ever stand trial? They say it's going to happen. There's going to be a perp walk on Thursday. Logon to cnn.com/360. Cast your vote, we'll have results at the end of the program tonight. Coming up later on 360, live from Baghdad, taxicab confessions Iraqi style.
Right now, let's check back in with Heidi Collins in New York -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Thanks, Anderson.
The jury has spoken in the trial of three men accused of raping a teenage girl. Just ahead, why its decision only adds to the frustration and uncertainty for the defendants and their alleged victim.
Also tonight, sex scandal. A teacher charged with crossing the line with a child. And a little later. On the loose, armed, and dangerous. Bank robbers stealing money and burning cars.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: In California tonight, the Orange County district attorney said he will retry three young men accused of raping a teenage girl. The decision comes after jurors in the first trial said they were hopelessly deadlocked. CNN's Miguel Marquez reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A mistrial for three teens accused of raping and sexually penetrating a 16-year-old girl with a pool cue, a bottle, a can, and a lit cigarette. They even made a 21-minute videotape of it all -- the video shown to a jury of eight men and four women multiple times.
JOHN BARNETT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It is a graphic video which can cause emotions to cloud reason.
MARQUEZ: The alleged sexual assault occurred two years ago at the upscale oceanside home of now 19-year-old Gregory Haidl. His father, a top ranking official in the Orange County sheriff's office wasn't home at the time. Prosecutors announced today the case will be retried.
SUSAN KANG-SCHROEDER, DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The videotape I've seen is extremely disturbing. It shows a Jane Doe that looks like she is out.
MARQUEZ: Prosecutors relying heavily on the video told jurors the woman was possibly drugged and unconscious when the three boys allegedly took advantage. The defense portrayed the accuser as an aspiring porn actress and a liar. They also brought in experts who testified the woman was alert during the sexual incident.
MYRNA RAEDER, SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW: Seeing is not always believing. In addition to that, the question is: What are the elements of the case?
MARQUEZ: An important element of this case, says Myrna Raeder, a law professor specializing in evidence, is that the defendants knew the accuser.
RAEDER: It is much more difficult to gain a conviction in an acquaintance rape situation.
MARQUEZ: Prosecutors say next time around each defendant may be tried separately. Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: From Irvine, California tonight is Tony Rackauckas. He is the Orange County district attorney. And from Los Angeles tonight, Pete Scalisi, the defense lawyer for Greg Haidl, one of the defendants.
Gentlemen, thanks for being with us tonight.
Mr. Scalisi, let's talk about the alleged victim for just a moment. You portrayed her as a lying, promiscuous, aspiring porn star. Do you have any regrets in the way that she was portrayed? Do you think it was fair?
PETE SCALISI, ATTORNEY FOR GREG HAIDL: I think it was very fair. I don't have any regrets whatsoever in terms of how she was portrayed to the jury and how she was portrayed during the trial. The way she was portrayed is the way she truly is and that's the way she lived her life two years ago in July of 2002. So no regrets whatsoever.
COLLINS: And Mr. Rackauckas, obviously we have been talking about this tape, apparently this alleged crime was caught on videotape, seems kind of like a home run. Do you think it is possible that you overestimated the impact of that tape?
TONY RACKAUCKAS, ORANGE COUNTY D.A.: No, I don't think so. I saw the tape, and it is very clear what is happening on the tape. This young lady is unconscious, she is flopping around out of control, being manipulated by these three individuals and that's very clear. So I don't think it was overestimated. I think that we -- we had a trial that we're going to have to review and look and analyze and see what happened and what adjustments have to be made and then try the case again.
COLLINS: Mr. Scalisi, does your side believe that the woman was unconscious?
SCALISI: Absolutely not. Our side -- our position in the case is that Jane Doe was not unconscious. We called one of the top neurologists in the United States, Dr. Fiske (ph). Dr. Fiske reviewed the tape and he was quite clear in his testimony that Jane Doe was alert, and that Jane Doe had the presence of mind to say no or to say yes, and in this case she said yes, and that Jane Doe was able to exercise reasonable judgment during the time that that film was made.
So our position has always been that Jane Doe was alert during the time that the tape was made, and science and medicine backs this up.
COLLINS: Mr. Rackauckas, you know, obviously this woman has been through quite a bit over the last two years. In fact, in the beginning, she really didn't even want to press charges. Do you have any concerns that she might actually not want to be a very big part in this next trial?
RACKAUCKAS: No concern at all. She has shown a lot of resolve in this situation. She of course has gone through a great deal. She went through quite an ordeal in her trial. She went through a tremendous ordeal. She's put up with all of this name calling and harassment by the defense. Yet she tells us that she is resolved to continue on and to do whatever it takes to bring these three to justice, and she wants to see that it happens. COLLINS: Mr. Scalisi, back to you for just a moment. Let's talk about the defendants if we could. All three of them stuck together throughout this ordeal and obviously were tried together. Quickly tell us if you think there is any concern if they are tried separately that they could turn on each other.
SCALISI: I don't think there is any concern about that whatsoever. Greg Haidl, Kyle Nachreiner, and Keith Spann, the three teenage boys in this case, they are all three innocent of the charges in this case. And there is no possible way for any of them to turn on the other boys. The boys would have to lie. They would have to make a story up to turn on one another.
So I don't see that ever happening in this case. All three are innocent. And the acquittal yesterday or the 11 to 1 for acquittal yesterday I think was a very, very strong statement from the jury that there is something terribly wrong with the government's case.
COLLINS: All right. To the both of you tonight, we certainly appreciate your time, and we of course will have to watch what happens with this one.
Peter Scalisi, attorney for Greg Haidl, and Tony Rackauckas, the Orange County D.A. Thanks again, gentlemen.
360 next, a brazen robbery caught on tape in the nation's capital. We'll show you the amazing video next on 360.
Plus, teacher in trouble, facing sex charges and stunning accusations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Some bank robberies seem more like a movie than the real thing.
Remember this? Incredible video from 1997 of two heavily armed bank robbers unloading a barrage of gunfire through a crowded neighborhood in Los Angeles. That image, that fear may be playing in the minds of some people in the Washington, D.C. area who, today, came face to face with masked men carrying AK-47s in their bank today.
National correspondent Gary Tuchman explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A TV news photographer visiting a Washington, D.C. firehouse heard word there was a crime in progress across the street. He positioned his camera in this spot and shot video we rarely see: the aftermath of a bank robbery.
This innocent bystander realized something was wrong and quickly darted out of the way. The photographer then sees a hooded gunman who was in the getaway van, but gets out in an apparent effort to see what happened to his counterparts at this SunTrust bank in northwest Washington.
Seconds later, two bank robbers run out of the bank with the loot. One of their exits not particularly graceful. Jump in the van after firing shots inside the bank. Police believe they are serial bank robbers.
Authorities say these men have robbed at least six banks in Washington and its Maryland suburbs since January. On one occasion, they fired a shot at a police officer, narrowly missing her. At this robbery in May, a bank employee was pistol whipped, and customers were understandably shaken up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did they say, anything?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody get on the floor, and that's exactly what I did.
TUCHMAN: In each of the robberies, the criminals getaway vehicle was stolen. Minutes after they pulled away from this most recent robbery, the vehicle was found ablaze about a mile-and-a-half from the bank. The suspects have torched their getaway vehicles three times in an effort to destroy evidence. But now, police have this unique piece of video to work with, evidence these men did not anticipate.
Gary Tuchman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Unbelievable.
A 23-year-old Florida middle-school teacher has been arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious battery. She's accused of seducing a 14-year-old student in her class.
CNN's Brian Todd has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her marriage and career just beginning, this 23-year-old remedial reading teacher is now at the center of a sordid case that swept through a huge Florida community.
Debra Beasley Lafave faces five counts in connection with her alleged relationship with a 14-year-old boy.
SUSAN LIVOTT, MARION COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: All the contact has been sexual in nature.
TODD: Police and sheriff's officers in two counties tell CNN Lafave met the boy at the school where she teaches, Greco Middle School in Temple Terrace, a suburb of Tampa. They say the boy was not her student, but she approached him at various school events and, earlier this month, they began having sex, first at her apartment, then inside her portable classroom with the middle school.
Then, authorities say, the boy went on vacation at the home of his cousin, north of Tampa in Ocala, Florida, and Lafave followed him.
LIVOTT: And the teacher traveled to Ocala from her home and met with the student and also his cousin. And some of these activities took place in front of the cousin.
TODD: The activities in question, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office, sex in the backseat of an SUV on at least two occasions while the boy's 15-year-old cousin was driving. Police back in Temple Terrace were notified after the 14-year-old told his parents of the alleged encounters. Temple Terrace Police contacted the Marion County Sheriff's Office, and Debra Lafave has now been booked on four counts of lewd and lascivious battery and one count of lewd and lascivious exhibition. She's been released on bond from both counties.
Her attorney spoke to reporters this week.
JOHN FITZGIBBONS, DEBRA LAFAVE'S ATTORNEY: There is a presumption of innocence in this country for anyone charged with a crime. And we hope that everyone would listen to that.
TODD (on camera): In the Marion County Sheriff's probable cause affidavit, the boy told detectives that Lafave was, quote, "Turned on by the fact that having sex with him was not allowed." Hillsborough County school officials tell CNN Debra Lafave is now on administrative leave with pay.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Now back to Anderson Cooper in Baghdad -- Anderson?
COOPER: Hey, Heidi. Next on "360," taxicab confessions Baghdad style. But first, today's "Buzz": Do you think Saddam Hussein will ever stand trial? They say it's going to happen; what do you think? Log on to CNN.COM/360. Cast your vote now; results when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time now for "The Buzz." Earlier we asked you: Do you think Saddam Hussein will ever stand trial? More than 16,000 of you voted, here's what you had to say: 69% of you said yes; 31% no. Not a scientific poll, but it is your "Buzz." Thanks for voting.
Tonight, taking a symbol to "The Nth Degree." This one has countless dents, but its owner believes there is life left in it yet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Salah Zaydan thinks Iraq is an awful lot like his taxi: beat-up and battered, barely holding together, but somehow still moving forward.
"Iraqis always renew themselves," he says, "like this car. It's old, but I can always repair it, make it work once again." He's driven a cab through the dark days of Saddam, but now he's never felt more in danger. Daily, in Baghdad, explosives hidden on streets kill and maim Iraqis just trying to go about their lives.
Salah keeps a prayer on his dashboard; his faith he puts in God and Iraq's new government, but he doesn't want U.S. troops to leave anytime soon.
"For the new government and the new president of Iraq," he says, "the ball is in their court. If they work hard to establish security and stability and reorganize the police, I think they'll succeed."
Salah's succeeding. He says business is good, despite his doubts, despite the dangers.
"I'm optimistic about the future," he says. "Iraqi people are used to passing through different crises because of the dictatorial regime. But they can restart and rebuild their life once again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): Optimism in Baghdad.
Thanks for watching. I'm Anderson Cooper, live from Baghdad. "PAULA ZAHN NOW" is next.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 29, 2004 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from Baghdad. I'm Anderson Cooper.
Saddam Hussein gets ready for the mother of all perp walks.
360 starts now.
Saddam Hussein delivered into Iraqi hands. Will justice be served for Iraq's former dictator?
A U.S. Marine under the sword. The Pentagon now confirms he's captured, while his family begs for his release.
Under 21. They represent half the population. But does the new Iraq give them reason to live or leave?
The alleged crime was videotaped. Why couldn't the jury agree on a verdict?
And as the heist goes down, the camera is rolling. The D.C. bank robbers strike again.
ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360, with Anderson Cooper in Iraq and Heidi Collins in New York.
COOPER: Good evening again.
It is early on the morning of June 30, the day that sovereignty was supposed to be handed over to Iraqis. Now, that, of course, already happened about 40 hours ago.
And on the streets of Baghdad, you can't tell that much has changed. This is still a very violent, dangerous place. Three U.S. Marines were killed in a roadside explosion in Baghdad, while other attacks happened across the country. From Mosul and Kirkuk in the north to Karbala and Baghdad, a variety of assaults again focused on police and local officials. At least seven were killed.
There was a glimpse of the future in Iraq today, however, a future that can only begin by dealing with the country's brutal past. We're talking, of course, about Saddam Hussein.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COOPER (voice-over): The new government wasted no time asserting its authority over Iraq's former dictator, announcing plans to haul him into court on Thursday. The U.S. turns over legal custody tomorrow.
AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We Iraqis believe, to truly be in control of our own affairs and own future, we must be in control of the discipline of the people we believe responsible for so much of the suffering the Iraqi people endured over the past 35 years.
COOPER: Saddam Hussein and 11 other top members of the former regime will face a variety of charges -- genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
ALLAWI: The cause will be just cause. There will be definitely proof and evidence, and it will be a full legal proceeding. We don't think that there will be -- they will be able to stage a propaganda coup, but it will be an open trial, it will be in open court. And he is entitled to any representation.
COOPER: Allawi says the trial will be later this year, and the U.S. will hold him until then.
The new U.S. ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte, was in Baghdad touring the planned site of the new embassy and presenting his credentials to the country's interim president.
And while there were scenes of Iraqis celebrating their new responsibilities, the security problem continues to be paramount -- three U.S. Marines killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad, continued questions about the fate of Specialist Matt Maupin, reported killed on Arab TV, though unconfirmed by the Pentagon, and concerns about Marine Wassef Hassoun, also apparently held by insurgents and threatened with death.
SAMI HASSOUN, MARINE'S BROTHER: I would like to call on all the ambassadors in the whole countries around the world and especially around Iraq. Please help us, please help us in our case with our brother. He's with the Marines, who was doing his job. We never hurt nobody in our whole life. He is a very innocent person.
COOPER: The one bright spot today, three Turkish citizens who had also had been taken hostage and threatened with death were released by their captors.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, sadly, it is now official, Marine Corporal Wassef Hassoun no longer listed as missing. As we've known from the videotape, he has been captured. His story really is dizzying. A family comes to the U.S. from the Middle East, a son joins the American military and ends up a pawn in the game against America, held hostage by fellow Muslims in Iraq, with his brother, who's still in the Middle East, pleading for his life.
CNN's Ed Lavandera has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. military now agrees that it is Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun who appears blindfolded in the videotape broadcast on Arab television.
But military officials say how he disappeared is still under investigation. Officials say Hassoun might have voluntarily walked away from a U.S. base near Fallujah. On the videotape, the captor's voice is heard saying Hassoun was lured away. And U.S. officials say they are looking into whether family problems might have played a role in the 24-year-old Marine's disappearance.
Military officials say they currently think he might have been trying to get to Lebanon on an unauthorized leave. But no matter how it happened, the Marine's family hopes his captors will spare a fellow Muslim's life.
HASSOUN: The way Muslims like they are, it is not possible that Islam says to kill these people. And there is no religion in the whole world that supports a kidnapper and a killer.
LAVANDERA: Corporal Hassoun's, brother speaking from Lebanon, is calling on Middle East authorities to step in and help save his brother. Islamic militants are threatening to kill Corporal Hassoun if all Iraqi prisoners are not released.
HASSOUN: Just release him. It is not his mistake that he is down in Iraq. It is not his mistake that the whole thing happened. He is just a soldier doing his job, like any other person. Please leave him, for the sake of God.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Three U.S. Marines are here in West Jordan, Utah, standing by Corporal Hassoun's family and giving them whatever information they can. But the family still insists that they will not speak publicly until Corporal Hassoun's fate has been resolved.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, West Jordan, Utah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, "TIME" magazine reporter Michael Ware has spent time with insurgents, and he says that many of those foreign fighters here in Iraq want to create an Islamic state and turn this country into a terrorist haven. His views on where the world stands now range from sobering to outright terrifying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL WARE, "TIME" MAGAZINE: We've inspired a generation of jihadis. Osama has opened a Pandora's box. He opened it a crack and let it come out. It then sought a place to settle. Well, here in Iraq, we of the West, the coalition, has opened that Pandora's box. We gave them the place where they could come and blood themselves. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, Michael Ware talks about the new jihad and the man looking to lead it, terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. That is later tonight on 360.
A question for you. Do you have any time left on the time that you promised the military when you signed up? Tonight, it turns out, if you do, and your particular skill is needed, you may find yourself serving again, whether you want to or not.
CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr now explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the Army called up thousands of people to duty who never expected to hear from Uncle Sam.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many of you are -- don't want to be back here?
STARR: Now, 13 years later, because of the pressures of Iraq and a force stretched thin, it is happening again. The Army shortly will begin notifying 5,600 members of the so-called Individual Ready Reserve that they are headed to Iraq or Afghanistan later this year for up to 18 months of duty, and it is not voluntary.
This reserve force, headed for the combat zone, is made up of people who had left the military but still owe the Army some part of their eight-year service obligation. They will serve as truck drivers, engineers, military police, and in other support jobs, in National Guard and reserve units headed overseas. Most of the troops are expected to come from California, Texas, New York, and Delaware.
The Army has used individuals from the reserve in recent years to fill particular jobs. But this deployment of such a large number indicates a long-term problem, experts say, in finding more troops to fill the rotation requirement overseas.
In Washington, the national security adviser for the Kerry campaign expressed concern, saying, "This is troubling news, and an unusual step to take."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: Now, Anderson, Army officials say they know that people taken from their civilian lives and sent over to Iraq or Afghanistan are going to be very unhappy about it, but they say they have no choice, given the requirements in these combat zones, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thanks, Barbara.
Air Force One touched down at Andrews Air Force Base a few minutes before we went on air this evening, bringing the president back down to earth, literally. He lands to find his approval ratings back down to earth as well, at their lowest level ever, that, after protests in Istanbul, where Mr. Bush spoke with NATO leaders about trying to get their countries to help with the rebuilding of Iraq and the training of its military.
CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash now has more on the president's dramatic ups and downs over the last couple of days.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Turkey, the president stood at the symbolic crossroads of Europe and the Mideast to declare Iraq and its day-old sovereign government a shining example.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The historic achievement of democracy in the broader Middle East will be a victory shared by all.
BASH: The president exited the world stage, his last overseas trip until election day, hoping the transfer of power in Iraq and modest new support he won from NATO there will help turn around warning signs on the campaign trail.
A CBS-"New York Times" poll taken just before the handover shows just 42 percent approve of the job Mr. Bush is doing, the lowest in this survey since he took office. And while most voters say it is important for troops to stay in Iraq for now, 60 percent say the war that has come to define the Bush presidency was not worth the cost.
Ceding political control while nearly 140,000 troops remain does pose some risk for Mr. Bush. Although unwilling to appear on camera for fear of angering the White House, several Republican pollsters told CNN they're skeptical the handover will help the president politically. What matters most to voters, they said, is whether Americans in Iraq continue to die.
Republicans inside and outside the White House do agree, Iraq is critical, but it is the ultimate wild card.
SCOTT REED, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: This handoff has been important. But Iraq is still an unknown and will continue to be right up to November.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Despite shrinking public support on Iraq, Bush campaign aides say they take solace in several polls over the past month that show in a head-to-head matchup between President Bush and John Kerry, the president shows slight improvement, Anderson.
COOPER: Dana, thanks very much for that.
The dark days are not over here in Iraq. Most Iraqis face rolling blackouts every day. A look at the effort to bring back the lights, that's later on 360. Plus, teen life in Baghdad, new freedoms, yet also new fears. We're going to have that and more coming up as we continue live from Baghdad.
But right now, news happening elsewhere in America and around the world. For that, let's go back to New York and my buddy Heidi Collins. Hey, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Anderson. Thanks so much.
The U.S. kicks out two Iranian security guards. That tops our look at global stories in the uplink tonight. At the U.N., confirmation the two men were assigned to the Iranian mission. They had been observed videotaping and photographing New York City subways, buses, and tunnels on three separate occasions. They were expelled last weekend.
In the West African nation of Sierra Leone, 24 people were killed when their helicopter crashed into a heavily wooded hillside. Many of the people on board were United Nations employees. No word on what caused the accident.
Headed to Cuba for a quick visit? Well, hundreds of Cuban- Americans a day before a tough new travel restriction takes effect. The new rules from Bush administration officials prohibit visits to the communist nation once every three years and for up to two weeks. It is part of an effort to hasten the downfall of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
In London, the European Court of Human Rights says governments can ban Muslim women from wearing head scarves in school. The court said the ban is not an infringement on the students' freedom of religion.
And in London's Hyde Park, the British government unveiled its first permanent memorial to the late Princess Diana. The water sculpture will double as a children's water park.
And that's tonight's uplink.
360 next, a prosecution bombshell in the Scott Peterson case fizzles under cross-examination. Find out why one detective on the stand is taking all the heat.
Plus, bank robbery caught on tape. The getaway car up in flames. We have the video.
And a middle-school teacher busted for allegedly having sex with a 14-year-old student. How did she get away with it for so long? We'll take a closer look at the case that is raising parents' eyebrows.
But first, your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: I'm Anderson Cooper, live in Baghdad. Coming up, jihad in Iraq. A look at the killer who may be pulling the strings. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: For days, Mark Geragos has challenged witnesses on the stand to try and show someone other than Scott Peterson murdered his wife and unborn child. It is a strategy the prosecution is well aware of. And today they attempted to put an end to those theories with a very unique approach.
CNN's Ted Rowlands has the latest from the courthouse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prosecutor Rick Distaso started the day with what seemed like a bombshell. Detective Al Brocchini testified about a tip that he had received the day after Scott Peterson was arrested, from someone who claimed that years ago, Peterson described the perfect way to get rid of a dead body, using duct tape and cement.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Mark Geragos established that the tip was from an unreliable source. Legal observers say while the story may not have been legitimate, telling it to the jury was a good idea. It is a technique they say Geragos has been using since the trial started.
DEAN JOHNSON, LEGAL ANALYST: Distaso is finally, finally taking advantage of that on the part of the prosecution and bringing in anything and everything he can, including some very powerful evidence for the prosecution.
ROWLANDS: Also today, the court released a number of photographs from inside the Peterson home, including photos of the Petersons' washing machine with dirty rags on top, a mop and bucket, which were taken in as potential evidence that Peterson may have cleaned up to cover his tracks, and there is a shot of the inside of the nautical- themed nursery Laci and Scott Peterson had prepared for their first child.
(on camera): After five days on the stand, Modesto Police Detective Al Brocchini finished testimony today. The prosecution finished with testimony from a former employee of Scott Peterson's who was with Peterson the day he met the woman that would eventually introduce him to Amber Frey.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And covering the Peterson case for us is Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom.
Lisa, got to ask you immediately, right away, about this bombshell that Ted was just talking about. Scott Peterson describing what he would do to get rid of a dead body. How big of a bombshell is that?
LISA BLOOM, COURT TV ANCHOR: Well, initially, it seemed like a bombshell. Back in 1995, a friend says that Scott Peterson said, Hey, if I ever needed to dispose of a dead body, I know exactly how I would do it. I would put a plastic bag over the head, duct tape around the neck, I would weigh it down with anchors, and throw it in the ocean. Fish would eat the hands and the head, and therefore the body couldn't be identified. No fingerprints and no teeth, no dental match.
Now, of course, nine years later, we have DNA. Well, that's eerily similar to the way that Laci Peterson was killed. So it really seemed shocking, I think, in the courtroom.
COLLINS: But shortly after that, in looking at the timeline of when that call came in, the defense quickly discredited this, this story.
BLOOM: The call came in, right, right after Scott Peterson was arrested. And the detective himself, Brocchini, on the stand said, I didn't find it credible because of that, because somebody could have made up that story knowing how Laci was killed.
COLLINS: All right. Now, there are also several photos that were mentioned in this piece. Now, one of the photos that was taken was of a phone book open on the counter of the Peterson home. How damaging is that, I mean?
BLOOM: Now, I think that's big. The phone book -- this is on December 24, the same day Laci goes missing, before anybody called Scott Peterson a suspect. The phone book is open to the attorney ads, a big color ad for a murder criminal defense attorney who specializes in domestic violence and homicide cases, with a photo of a man in handcuffs being led away from a crime scene.
COOPER: This can't look good for Scott Peterson.
BLOOM: Why was Scott Peterson doing that? Now, the only possible defense theory is maybe a police setup, maybe they opened it to that page and took a picture. But there's no evidence of that yet.
COOPER: All right. Lisa Bloom, thanks so much.
BLOOM: Thank you.
COLLINS: Appreciate it.
And just one day after the Supreme Court said detainees in Cuba are entitled to have their day in court, the Pentagon announced it has set up its first military tribunal. That story tops our look at news cross-country.
In Guantanamo, a military tribunal will begin hearing evidence against three detainees. The Supreme Court ruling Monday is considered a major blow against President Bush's policy of jail for terror suspects with no judicial review.
A new CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll shows Senator John Edwards is the most popular candidate to John Kerry on the Democratic ticket. Congressman Dick Gephardt is a distant second in the popularity contest, with retired general Wesley Clark coming in third.
In Washington, the Supreme Court shut -- won't let a federal law restricting Internet pornography take effect. The justices sent a lawsuit concerning the Child Online Protection Act back to a lower court for a full trial. Until the dispute is decided, the Justice Department cannot use the law to prosecute Internet porn distributors.
In Eagle, Colorado, the judge in the Kobe Bryant trial is in hot water with his bosses. The Colorado Supreme Court wants him to explain why he has threatened media organizations with contempt if they publish documents in the case that were accidentally leaked. The justices gave the judge until next week to reply to their request.
That's a look at stories cross-country tonight.
Now back to Anderson Cooper in Baghdad. Anderson?
COOPER: Thanks, Heidi.
360 next, seeing the light in Baghdad, literally. Iraqis trying to put the dark days behind them as the U.S. tries to turn on the power.
Also tonight, car bombs and hostage taking, an inside look at Iraq's number one terror suspect with "TIME" magazine's Michael Ware.
And a little later, is the insurgency here morphing, changing into part of a global jihad? And how does America fight back? General David Grange joins us live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Understandably U.S. officials like to talk about what they've been able to accomplish, changing the political and economic system, opening schools, improving health care. But often it is the little things that many Iraqis judge the U.S. by -- gas lines, power outages, electricity may not make headlines, but the problems with it here continue, and so do the promises.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): With Saddam gone, Iraqis hoped the dark days would be over. But with routine power outages for Ali Zuher (ph) and his family, the days and nights still seem pretty dark.
"The power only comes on for two hours," he says. "And it cuts off for four hours. You see, we have children and old sick men. The temperature is so high during the summer, and in the coming months, it is only going to get hotter."
Earlier in the occupation, the U.S. said restoring electricity was a priority, a benchmark of America's commitment and capabilities. One-point-four billion dollars was quickly spent to improve the power grid. And last fall, Ambassador Paul Bremer heralded the first progress achieved.
AMB. PAUL BREMER, FORMER U.S. ADMINISTRATOR: We have made considerable progress here in Baghdad in the six months since liberation. Electricity is back at prewar levels.
COOPER: Bremer pledged electrical output would be up another 50 percent by June 1. But that hasn't happened.
After security threats, German and Russian engineers abandoned Baghdad's largest power plant. Then came months of sabotage, no maintenance, few spare parts. The day before we visited the plant, the last of the four turbines broke down.
BASHIR KHALAF OMIN, POWER PLANT MANAGER: One year ago, at least we have two units is running at this -- at the -- I mean, June of -- the last June, two units are running. And now, no one running.
COOPER: The coalition blames part of the problem, at least, on increased demand. It is up 30 percent, they say, a sign of growing prosperity. A demand at another plant, the coalition has installed new $130 million turbines supposed to increase electrical output by 10 percent this fall.
But on the streets of Baghdad, Iraqis are coming up with their own power solutions, sharing generators. Not an option for Ali Zuher. Unemployed, he can't afford it. His family will just have to wait for the lights to go back on, and for the promises of progress to be fulfilled.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, the next chapter in the history of this country will be written by the one half of this country's population that are under the age of 21, young people who right now may be choosing between a future as members of an insurgency, or something less dangerous but perhaps just as uncertain.
Here's CNN's Aneesh Raman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A pool hall in Baghdad on Saturday night. It is one of the few places the city's youth, like 24-year-old Rammi Falah, can go to enjoy themselves.
RAMMI FALAH, IRAQI YOUTH: I think it is difficult now, and difficult before to have fun, to live as other people my age.
RAMAN: Just out of college, Rammi is part of a generation of Iraqis growing up in volatility, caught between new freedoms and new fears, with very few places to just hang out.
FALAH: We don't have any public places for fun. All the places of fun have been taken from the American Army.
RAMAN (on camera): The future of Iraq is hugely dependent on the future of its youth. Iraqis under 21 make up roughly half of the population. And while happy to be free from Saddam in this new world, they want more.
(voice-over): During the daytime, you'll find constant crowds at Baghdad gyms, among them, 20-year-old Hayder Rasheed. For him, the ouster of Saddam was welcome.
"Our generation of the '80s and '90s saw only war," he says, "four wars under Saddam Hussein." But since Saddam's removal, war remains a fact of life, giving many, including Rammi, a reason to leave. He hopes to get a job abroad, returning only if things improve.
FALAH: I feel sad for my country, for my Iraq, for -- not for me, just for me. You know, I hope that things become better. I hope they will.
RAMAN: For Iraq's youth, growing up while their country does the same, hope is all they have.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: 360 next, live from Baghdad, why are intelligence experts calling this man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most dangerous terrorist in the world? "TIME" magazine's Michael Ware went inside the insurgency and tells me what he saw. That ahead.
Plus, an amazing escape caught on tape. A bank robbery on live television. You will not believe these images.
And later, mistrial, the stunning conclusion to a trial where three boys stood accused of raping a young woman. But it is not over yet. Details when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Live from Baghdad, I'm Anderson Cooper.
Coming up, they say they're fighting a global never-ending jihad in Iraq. Up next, the man the U.S. calls public enemy number one. I'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: I'm Anderson Cooper. Welcome back to 360 from Baghdad.
One day after the handover of power from the Coalition Provisional Authority to an interim Iraqi government, and one day before another possible handover of the one-time dictator Saddam Hussein to the people that he oppressed for so long.
He's expected to face his first day in court on Thursday. We'll see him for the first time in months on the mother of all perp walks.
The handover's happened, but, of course, the violence continues. Three American Marines died in a roadside bomb blast in Baghdad today. And another Marine, once listed as missing, is now officially listed as captured.
As for where Iraq and the U.S. and the rest of the world currently stand in the war against terrorism, I had an eye-opening talk yesterday with "TIME" magazine's Michael Ware. Ware has spent a great deal of time looking into the insurgency here and believes it is changing into something much more dangerous than it was initially, dangerous because groups that once fought separately and for different reasons seem to be coming together under the banner of a global jihad. More of our conversation now, I asked first about the man said now to be the mastermind of the insurgency here in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WARE: He sits in a very senior position, almost at the pinnacle of a pyramid. Not -- you must remember -- the insurgency is any way structured, it remains amorphous. But he is at the peak where he can whisper in the ears of the most senior sheikhs and emirs who are leading the resistance. He can influence them with money. He can influence them, according to some of the men, with his sheer charisma. They say some sheikhs walk in, all they need to do is sit with him and they walk away and they're ready to do anything he wants. Through this, he is able to suggest, cajole, badger, influence. And from what I was told, the events of last Thursday, the uprising across four or five cities very much comes back to him, to his energy, to his concept which the others are on (ph) board with.
COOPER: So, if the U.S. or the new Iraqi government is somehow able to kill or capture Zarqawi, does the violence end, does the violence drastically reduce?
WARE: Ask yourself, if we kill or capture Osama bin Laden, will that end the jihad that he's inspired?
It's not about one man. We have inspired a generation of jihadis. Osama has opened a Pandora's box. He opened it a crack and let it come out. It then sought a place to settle. Well here in Iraq, we of the West, the coalition has opened that Pandora's box. We gave them the place where they could come and blood themselves, say I am jihadi.
COOPER: So, this is a generational war. This is not about Iraq. This is a worldwide, generational global war.
WARE: In some ways, September 11 was almost a bookend to the real al Qaeda experience.
COOPER: The taking of hostages, these videotapes that we keep seeing, the idea behind them is what?
I mean, certainly they don't believe that their demands are going to get met, that within 72 hours people are going to pull out of Iraq. WARE: Essentially, they make ludicrous demands about releasing all prisoners. They know it will not be met in 72 hours. Their full intention is to execute. Now, there is a point to this. It is all about the political gain, the perception. There is a military war and a political war. By doing this, and taping it, and broadcasting it, all those elements, it sends a message to us, to foreign companies, to individuals seeking to come here that don't, it is dangerous, we will kill you. There is no negotiation.
But there is a second motive. The Wahhabi money, the jihad money that floats around the world, it's an open market. You must compete for it. The money follows the trend. Right now Iraq is the trend. So anyone who wants to donate or fight, you come here, you're not going to Chechnya anymore right now. You must compete on the market. So, say, Zarqawi needs men taping it and putting themselves out there, they're badging themselves. We are the performers, look at us, send us your money. Not to them. Not to them. We do it.
COOPER: How do these guys defend the killing of civilians, of Muslims?
WARE: This was a thing that many of these Iraqi nationalists wouldn't bear or tolerate last year. And during one argument I was in with -- they said to me, one Iraqi is not worth the death of one American. The contrary view at that time was presented by the Fedayeen leader, who said to me, no, no, I'll kill 10 Iraqis just to get to an American. That was not the general view of the Iraqi guerrilla movement. With the jihad, that's changed. Suicide bombing is now more tolerated to the Iraqi jihad psyche than it ever was before. I have some videos and documents that these new jihadi groups have produced, and they address some of this. And essentially what they say is that mistakes are made in jihad. Look back at the ancient Salafin writers, they will explain this to you. And the innocent victims, whilst we regret it, we cannot apologize because they go straight to paradise.
COOPER: You go out among these people who are mass murderers, who are killers, who have beheaded people, and they could turn on you just as soon as give you an interview.
Why do this?
WARE: I've seen the flashes come into their faces on different occasions. And I know that it can change in a heartbeat. But there's ways for me to minimize these risks, to make it more calculated, and I do what I can do. But if we're not out there, if we're not looking for these answers, who is our enemy?
What is it that is motivating them?
What is it that is driving them?
What are they looking for?
This tells us a lot about who they are, what they will do, what they will not do. It tells us what is at stake here. Know thy enemy. Well, we don't.
COOPER: Michael Ware, thank you very much.
WARE: My pleasure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: That was "Time" magazine's Michael Ware. It is likely that the first thing on the new Iraqi government to do list is increasing security for the general public, after all, it is hard to rebuild a country when you got to worry about car bombs and the like. But the big stick in Iraq security is the U.S. Military and a major question revolves around their new role going forward and just who will tell them what to do.
I'm joined now with -- by retired Army Brigadier General David Grange. General, thanks very much for being with us.
I want to ask first about the command and control structure. We are told that if necessary the U.S. Military will act on their own to protect their own interests.
How does that work on the ground for commanders?
It's got to make it more confusing.
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It does -- it can be confusing, but you to make it understandable to your troops. And the bottom line is if a coalition troop is threatened or he perceives a threat as outlined in the use of force, then he can take that force to protect -- they can protect themselves or facilities or their current operations. So I think it is explained all they way down through the chain of command.
COOPER: General, I don't know if you heard some of that interview with Michael Ware of "Time" magazine, it's the second part of the interview we've done. He really is saying that insurgency here has changed fundamentally, that these Saddam Fedayeen, these Ba'athist elements that started off the insurgency are now increasingly linking, perhaps not across the board, but in many spots linking with global jihadists, these foreign fighters who have come in. And it has become more of an Islamic jihadist insurgency.
How do you fight against that?
GRANGE: Well, first of all, you just can't throw up your hands. I mean, it is a monumental task. You have to take it on. What he's talking about, I believe, is what many call fourth generation warriors. In other words, they're not state actors, that come together for a common cause even if it is unlawful, if it is cruel. They look upon America and other coalition forces as a common enemy. It is sort of like a international drug or arms cartel. They have no loyalty to any state. They have loyalty only to a power base, by certain leaders, using religion as an excuse to conduct operations. And they're headed by a couple of really bad leaders that motivate these people to do what they're doing right now in Iraq and other places in the world.
COOPER: But you know better than most, from everything I've read, I mean, guerrilla war is one of the toughest to combat against, to counter. And yet, this is -- sort of seems even more difficult on top of that because it's an urban guerrilla war. It's being fought in cities and towns, not in jungles where the enemy is isolated. You know, there are reports even in Baghdad every day, you know, of people roaming around in cars threatening to kidnap people or plant explosive devices. For an army of a large military force, that's a tough thing to combat.
GRANGE: Very tough. I mean, jungles are tough, too. But urban warfare, as I would say, the hardest. And it is really kind of gangs on -- in different neighborhoods. And they support each other even maybe indirectly against the -- in this case, the coalition forces. And they camouflage and cover themselves within a civilian population. So who is the bad guy, who is the good guy? It is very hard to understand. It's police information. It's neighborhood watch. It is very difficult to put your hand on. There's no borders. The borders of Iraq are irrelevant to these people. And so, yes, it's very difficult. But someone got to draw the hard line and take them on. And in this case, it is the United States of America and the coalition.
COOPER: And they're doing that, I've been out on patrol a couple of times with numerous different units and doing a remarkable job. Just every day, day in, day out, you know, doing the work in 110 degree heat at times. At times they say, you know, it's incredibly boring but they're still out there. And this thing can change on a dime, they'll tell you. You know, all of a sudden it will be boring for a month in a row and then all of a sudden there's an ambush and they got ti be ready for it.
Brigadier General David Grange, thank you very much.
GRANGE: My pleasure.
COOPER: Today's "Buzz" question is this. What do you think? Do you think Saddam Hussein will ever stand trial? They say it's going to happen. There's going to be a perp walk on Thursday. Logon to cnn.com/360. Cast your vote, we'll have results at the end of the program tonight. Coming up later on 360, live from Baghdad, taxicab confessions Iraqi style.
Right now, let's check back in with Heidi Collins in New York -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Thanks, Anderson.
The jury has spoken in the trial of three men accused of raping a teenage girl. Just ahead, why its decision only adds to the frustration and uncertainty for the defendants and their alleged victim.
Also tonight, sex scandal. A teacher charged with crossing the line with a child. And a little later. On the loose, armed, and dangerous. Bank robbers stealing money and burning cars.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: In California tonight, the Orange County district attorney said he will retry three young men accused of raping a teenage girl. The decision comes after jurors in the first trial said they were hopelessly deadlocked. CNN's Miguel Marquez reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A mistrial for three teens accused of raping and sexually penetrating a 16-year-old girl with a pool cue, a bottle, a can, and a lit cigarette. They even made a 21-minute videotape of it all -- the video shown to a jury of eight men and four women multiple times.
JOHN BARNETT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It is a graphic video which can cause emotions to cloud reason.
MARQUEZ: The alleged sexual assault occurred two years ago at the upscale oceanside home of now 19-year-old Gregory Haidl. His father, a top ranking official in the Orange County sheriff's office wasn't home at the time. Prosecutors announced today the case will be retried.
SUSAN KANG-SCHROEDER, DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The videotape I've seen is extremely disturbing. It shows a Jane Doe that looks like she is out.
MARQUEZ: Prosecutors relying heavily on the video told jurors the woman was possibly drugged and unconscious when the three boys allegedly took advantage. The defense portrayed the accuser as an aspiring porn actress and a liar. They also brought in experts who testified the woman was alert during the sexual incident.
MYRNA RAEDER, SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW: Seeing is not always believing. In addition to that, the question is: What are the elements of the case?
MARQUEZ: An important element of this case, says Myrna Raeder, a law professor specializing in evidence, is that the defendants knew the accuser.
RAEDER: It is much more difficult to gain a conviction in an acquaintance rape situation.
MARQUEZ: Prosecutors say next time around each defendant may be tried separately. Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: From Irvine, California tonight is Tony Rackauckas. He is the Orange County district attorney. And from Los Angeles tonight, Pete Scalisi, the defense lawyer for Greg Haidl, one of the defendants.
Gentlemen, thanks for being with us tonight.
Mr. Scalisi, let's talk about the alleged victim for just a moment. You portrayed her as a lying, promiscuous, aspiring porn star. Do you have any regrets in the way that she was portrayed? Do you think it was fair?
PETE SCALISI, ATTORNEY FOR GREG HAIDL: I think it was very fair. I don't have any regrets whatsoever in terms of how she was portrayed to the jury and how she was portrayed during the trial. The way she was portrayed is the way she truly is and that's the way she lived her life two years ago in July of 2002. So no regrets whatsoever.
COLLINS: And Mr. Rackauckas, obviously we have been talking about this tape, apparently this alleged crime was caught on videotape, seems kind of like a home run. Do you think it is possible that you overestimated the impact of that tape?
TONY RACKAUCKAS, ORANGE COUNTY D.A.: No, I don't think so. I saw the tape, and it is very clear what is happening on the tape. This young lady is unconscious, she is flopping around out of control, being manipulated by these three individuals and that's very clear. So I don't think it was overestimated. I think that we -- we had a trial that we're going to have to review and look and analyze and see what happened and what adjustments have to be made and then try the case again.
COLLINS: Mr. Scalisi, does your side believe that the woman was unconscious?
SCALISI: Absolutely not. Our side -- our position in the case is that Jane Doe was not unconscious. We called one of the top neurologists in the United States, Dr. Fiske (ph). Dr. Fiske reviewed the tape and he was quite clear in his testimony that Jane Doe was alert, and that Jane Doe had the presence of mind to say no or to say yes, and in this case she said yes, and that Jane Doe was able to exercise reasonable judgment during the time that that film was made.
So our position has always been that Jane Doe was alert during the time that the tape was made, and science and medicine backs this up.
COLLINS: Mr. Rackauckas, you know, obviously this woman has been through quite a bit over the last two years. In fact, in the beginning, she really didn't even want to press charges. Do you have any concerns that she might actually not want to be a very big part in this next trial?
RACKAUCKAS: No concern at all. She has shown a lot of resolve in this situation. She of course has gone through a great deal. She went through quite an ordeal in her trial. She went through a tremendous ordeal. She's put up with all of this name calling and harassment by the defense. Yet she tells us that she is resolved to continue on and to do whatever it takes to bring these three to justice, and she wants to see that it happens. COLLINS: Mr. Scalisi, back to you for just a moment. Let's talk about the defendants if we could. All three of them stuck together throughout this ordeal and obviously were tried together. Quickly tell us if you think there is any concern if they are tried separately that they could turn on each other.
SCALISI: I don't think there is any concern about that whatsoever. Greg Haidl, Kyle Nachreiner, and Keith Spann, the three teenage boys in this case, they are all three innocent of the charges in this case. And there is no possible way for any of them to turn on the other boys. The boys would have to lie. They would have to make a story up to turn on one another.
So I don't see that ever happening in this case. All three are innocent. And the acquittal yesterday or the 11 to 1 for acquittal yesterday I think was a very, very strong statement from the jury that there is something terribly wrong with the government's case.
COLLINS: All right. To the both of you tonight, we certainly appreciate your time, and we of course will have to watch what happens with this one.
Peter Scalisi, attorney for Greg Haidl, and Tony Rackauckas, the Orange County D.A. Thanks again, gentlemen.
360 next, a brazen robbery caught on tape in the nation's capital. We'll show you the amazing video next on 360.
Plus, teacher in trouble, facing sex charges and stunning accusations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Some bank robberies seem more like a movie than the real thing.
Remember this? Incredible video from 1997 of two heavily armed bank robbers unloading a barrage of gunfire through a crowded neighborhood in Los Angeles. That image, that fear may be playing in the minds of some people in the Washington, D.C. area who, today, came face to face with masked men carrying AK-47s in their bank today.
National correspondent Gary Tuchman explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A TV news photographer visiting a Washington, D.C. firehouse heard word there was a crime in progress across the street. He positioned his camera in this spot and shot video we rarely see: the aftermath of a bank robbery.
This innocent bystander realized something was wrong and quickly darted out of the way. The photographer then sees a hooded gunman who was in the getaway van, but gets out in an apparent effort to see what happened to his counterparts at this SunTrust bank in northwest Washington.
Seconds later, two bank robbers run out of the bank with the loot. One of their exits not particularly graceful. Jump in the van after firing shots inside the bank. Police believe they are serial bank robbers.
Authorities say these men have robbed at least six banks in Washington and its Maryland suburbs since January. On one occasion, they fired a shot at a police officer, narrowly missing her. At this robbery in May, a bank employee was pistol whipped, and customers were understandably shaken up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did they say, anything?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody get on the floor, and that's exactly what I did.
TUCHMAN: In each of the robberies, the criminals getaway vehicle was stolen. Minutes after they pulled away from this most recent robbery, the vehicle was found ablaze about a mile-and-a-half from the bank. The suspects have torched their getaway vehicles three times in an effort to destroy evidence. But now, police have this unique piece of video to work with, evidence these men did not anticipate.
Gary Tuchman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Unbelievable.
A 23-year-old Florida middle-school teacher has been arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious battery. She's accused of seducing a 14-year-old student in her class.
CNN's Brian Todd has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her marriage and career just beginning, this 23-year-old remedial reading teacher is now at the center of a sordid case that swept through a huge Florida community.
Debra Beasley Lafave faces five counts in connection with her alleged relationship with a 14-year-old boy.
SUSAN LIVOTT, MARION COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: All the contact has been sexual in nature.
TODD: Police and sheriff's officers in two counties tell CNN Lafave met the boy at the school where she teaches, Greco Middle School in Temple Terrace, a suburb of Tampa. They say the boy was not her student, but she approached him at various school events and, earlier this month, they began having sex, first at her apartment, then inside her portable classroom with the middle school.
Then, authorities say, the boy went on vacation at the home of his cousin, north of Tampa in Ocala, Florida, and Lafave followed him.
LIVOTT: And the teacher traveled to Ocala from her home and met with the student and also his cousin. And some of these activities took place in front of the cousin.
TODD: The activities in question, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office, sex in the backseat of an SUV on at least two occasions while the boy's 15-year-old cousin was driving. Police back in Temple Terrace were notified after the 14-year-old told his parents of the alleged encounters. Temple Terrace Police contacted the Marion County Sheriff's Office, and Debra Lafave has now been booked on four counts of lewd and lascivious battery and one count of lewd and lascivious exhibition. She's been released on bond from both counties.
Her attorney spoke to reporters this week.
JOHN FITZGIBBONS, DEBRA LAFAVE'S ATTORNEY: There is a presumption of innocence in this country for anyone charged with a crime. And we hope that everyone would listen to that.
TODD (on camera): In the Marion County Sheriff's probable cause affidavit, the boy told detectives that Lafave was, quote, "Turned on by the fact that having sex with him was not allowed." Hillsborough County school officials tell CNN Debra Lafave is now on administrative leave with pay.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Now back to Anderson Cooper in Baghdad -- Anderson?
COOPER: Hey, Heidi. Next on "360," taxicab confessions Baghdad style. But first, today's "Buzz": Do you think Saddam Hussein will ever stand trial? They say it's going to happen; what do you think? Log on to CNN.COM/360. Cast your vote now; results when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time now for "The Buzz." Earlier we asked you: Do you think Saddam Hussein will ever stand trial? More than 16,000 of you voted, here's what you had to say: 69% of you said yes; 31% no. Not a scientific poll, but it is your "Buzz." Thanks for voting.
Tonight, taking a symbol to "The Nth Degree." This one has countless dents, but its owner believes there is life left in it yet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Salah Zaydan thinks Iraq is an awful lot like his taxi: beat-up and battered, barely holding together, but somehow still moving forward.
"Iraqis always renew themselves," he says, "like this car. It's old, but I can always repair it, make it work once again." He's driven a cab through the dark days of Saddam, but now he's never felt more in danger. Daily, in Baghdad, explosives hidden on streets kill and maim Iraqis just trying to go about their lives.
Salah keeps a prayer on his dashboard; his faith he puts in God and Iraq's new government, but he doesn't want U.S. troops to leave anytime soon.
"For the new government and the new president of Iraq," he says, "the ball is in their court. If they work hard to establish security and stability and reorganize the police, I think they'll succeed."
Salah's succeeding. He says business is good, despite his doubts, despite the dangers.
"I'm optimistic about the future," he says. "Iraqi people are used to passing through different crises because of the dictatorial regime. But they can restart and rebuild their life once again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): Optimism in Baghdad.
Thanks for watching. I'm Anderson Cooper, live from Baghdad. "PAULA ZAHN NOW" is next.
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