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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Tulia Prisoners Released; U.S. Troops Carry Out Nighttime Raids in Iraq; Mideast Negotiations Continue

Aired June 16, 2003 - 22:00   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.


AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again.
We admit as a viewer accused us of today a fascination with the events four years ago in Tulia, Texas. Nearly 10 percent of the town's black population was arrested on drug charges, all on the say of one undercover officer who had no wiretaps, no drugs, according to the reports, simply his word. His word is not worth a whole lot today. He's charged with perjury and a dozen people finally walked out of prison free.

There are other chapters in the Tulia story to write but none as compelling as the first. How could this happen? It's in Tulia we begin the whip. Ed Lavandera is there, Ed a headline from you.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Aaron.

One defense attorney described that what happened here today in Tulia, Texas was a symbolic gesture of forgiveness, not just for the 12 people who walked free today but for all 46 people who were arrested on drug charges almost four years ago -- Aaron.

BROWN: Ed, thank you, back to you at the top tonight.

To Iraq now and the latest on Operation Desert Scorpion, U.S. troops trying to stop the attacks against them, Ben Wedeman in Baghdad for us, Ben a headline.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Aaron, American troops have carried out a series of nighttime raids in Baghdad, Ramadi, Fallujah, and other Iraqi cities wielding a stick by night and a carrot by day. But despite these new tactics, attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq appear to be on the rise.

BROWN: Ben, thank you.

And, to the Middle East now where things stand in the effort to try and stop the latest round of violence between Israel and Hamas, Matthew Chance in Jerusalem, Matthew the headline.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Aaron.

Another difficult but crucial day for peace here in the Middle East, negotiations intensive and are continuing to try and get the main Palestinian militant groups to abandon their campaign of violence against Israelis. It may be the last chance for the U.S.-backed road map towards peace. We'll have all the details for you in a moment.

BROWN: Matthew, thank you, back to you and the rest coming up shortly.

Also coming up tonight on NEWSNIGHT, a different kind of scandal involving the priest abuse story, we'll look at what the lay Catholic leader Frank Keating, the former governor of Oklahoma had to say about the church and the mob.

And, the war in Iraq did not end on May the 1st for families with loved ones still there and still in danger, Brian Cabell tonight with the families of Fort Stewart, home to the Army's 3rd Infantry Division.

We'll also hear what it's like for some of the American troops on the ground in the strange position of being both warrior and nation building.

And, the road to Baghdad, some remarkable images of the war captured as it happened by the photographers of "Time" magazine. Leon Panetta joins us to talk about the shakeup on the lay board dealing with the priest abuse scandal.

And, the lawyers for the undercover officer whose cases were thrown out in Tulia will join us to talk about their client, all of that in just an hour imagine that, finally back to normal.

We begin in Tulia and something one of a dozen people released had to say today. "I've got something to smile about." It's remarkable any of them could even form a smile at this point. All tolled decades of freedom were stolen from the mostly black people sent to jail, convicted on the word, and pretty much nothing else, of a former undercover agent that one judge called the most devious witness this court has ever witnessed.

Once again, here's CNN's Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over): For four years, family and friends of the Tulia defendants looked up to the heavens asking God to bring them home. Today, they only had to look up to the courthouse's third floor to see their prayers answered, 12 of them walking out the door to freedom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, good.

LAVANDERA: Joe Moore was the first Tulia defendant convicted in 1999. Moore was found guilty of selling drugs to an undercover agent he says he never met, his sentence 90 years. For a 60-year-old man, Moore says it was like a death sentence but faith in God and a few lawyers kept his hopes up. JOE MOORE, DEFENDANT: I never doubted it. I never doubted it. I believed it was going to happen.

LAVANDERA: Tom Coleman was the undercover agent who brought the cases against 46 people in July of 1999, most of them African- American. At the trials, he brought few notes, no surveillance video or wiretaps, but juries convicted anyway.

Then the cases started falling apart. Billy Wafer (ph) was at work the day he was accused of selling drugs to Coleman. Tanya White wasn't even in Texas when the drug deal she was accused of supposedly happened. Freddie Brookins who had never been in legal trouble is at a loss for words.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, why do you think that you guys ended up in prison to begin with?

FREDDIE BROOKINS, DEFENDANT: I wondered the same thing. I wondered the same thing.

LAVANDERA: For the last four years, the only time Kizzie White has seen her two children was during prison visits. Her kids are too young to understand what the concrete walls and bars of prison mean.

KIZZIE WHITE, DEFENDANT: I don't think I really have explained it to them yet but (unintelligible).

LAVANDERA: They'll have a lot of time to talk and catch up when they take long walks around Tulia, Texas together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: There are four Tulia defendants still sitting in prison. Lawyers will continue to work to try to get them out. Meanwhile, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the Texas Parole Board are reviewing these cases, and defense attorneys say it will still take several more months before all of their names are cleared -- Aaron.

BROWN: What -- to the extent you can answer this, what is your impression that the rest of Tulia thinks of all of this the White population of Tulia, others?

LAVANDERA: Aaron, I don't think I could put too fine a point on this but there is a huge portion of this community that is extremely anxious to get all of this behind them. The fact that we're here talking about this bothers a lot of people, quite frankly, and as soon as all of this is wrapped up they'll be a lot happier.

BROWN: So, OK, but that doesn't answer the question necessarily. I understand they want all the trucks and all the attention to go away. Do they believe that a miscarriage of justice has occurred in their town?

LAVANDERA: That's a little bit harder to pinpoint because I think at this point if you ask that question pointedly, there are a lot of people who are very hesitant to answer.

When these cases originally came forward, a lot of defense attorneys just believed that the juries in these cases convicted -- the seven or eight cases that went to trial because they wanted to believe an officer that, you know, we're all ingrained to think that officers are up there telling the truth. But to really get an answer to that question, it's very difficult in this town these days.

BROWN: Ed, thank you very much, Ed Lavandera in Tulia, Texas tonight.

We'll have more on the Tulia story in a bit with two of the lawyers for the former undercover agent in this case Tom Coleman. That's coming up a little bit later.

First, on to Phoenix and the latest body blow to the Catholic Church, if you will. The picture is depressing enough, the bishop of Phoenix, Thomas O'Brien in police custody.

The back story worse, the bishop is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal hit and run accident over the weekend. Pictures of his car showed a large crack on the windshield. Police say witnesses put the car at the scene of the accident.

But, as we said, that's only a part of it. The accident came just two weeks after Bishop O'Brien cut a deal with prosecutors in connection with the cases of priest sex abuse in his diocese. He got immunity from prosecution in part in exchange for admitting that for decades he covered up allegations of abuse.

And, it was stonewalling like that that especially bothered the former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, so much so that he spoke out last week in less than diplomatic language about the church's tendency to circle the wagons.

Governor Keating heads a lay commission looking into priest sex abuse, though not for much longer. He is stepping down in a storm of controversy over what he said, reporting the story for us CNN's Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A spokesman says Frank Keating doesn't regret what he said. The former Oklahoma governor leading the Catholic Church's effort to better deal with sex abuse charges had said getting information from bishops was like dealing with the mob.

He told the "Los Angeles Times": "I certainly have concluded that a number of serious officials in my faith have very clay feet to act like La Cosa Nostra and hide and suppress, I think is very unhealthy."

As chairman of the Catholic Church's National Review Board, Keating was surveying bishops to see how bad the sex abuse problem really is but a Keating spokesman says a few bishops were stonewalling including Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles and Cardinal Edward Eagan of New York, leaders of the nation's two largest archdiocese. Mahoney had legal concerns about the review board survey and called Keating's comment irresponsible, so did one of Keating's fellow board members.

PAMELA HAYES, NATIONAL REVIEW BOARD: I thought it was inappropriate. I thought it was inappropriate because I can't say with any certainty that they had been stalling and acting in secret. For the most part, the bishops have been cooperating.

CARROLL: A spokesman tells CNN Keating "still feels tough language was needed to deal with the crisis." Keating is resigning but insists he had planned to do so anyway. One group of lay Catholics in Boston, the epicenter of the church crisis, says his resignation sends the wrong message.

JIM POST, VOICE OF THE FAITHFUL: I think this is going to backfire on the bishops. I think that now they're going to have an even more difficult time convincing the public that they are not trying to suppress information.

CARROLL: The bishops had asked the board to study the scope of abuse when they created it at their meeting last year. That's when the bishops adopted a tougher national policy in dealing with abusive priests. They also named former FBI official Kathleen McChesney to head a new Office of Child and Youth Protection to help diocese implement the new policy.

KATHLEEN MCCHESNEY, OFFICE OF CHILD AND YOUTH PROTECTION: The National Review Board is like a freight train going down the track and one person jumping off isn't going to affect the direction and the speed with which that train is going.

CARROLL (on camera): McChesney says she hopes Keating's comments don't undermine her work. She'll give the bishops a progress report at their national conference on Thursday.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Joining us tonight from Monterey, California again is Leon Panetta. Mr. Panetta is a member of the Catholic National Review Board and we turned to him before on questions like this, good to see you again.

LEON PANETTA, CATHOLIC NATIONAL REVIEW BOARD: Nice to be with you.

BROWN: We just heard Ms. McChesney say she hopes that Mr. Keating's remarks don't create problems for the process. I would think it's the other way around that the resignation of Governor Keating might create an impression that the bishops are the boss here and they'll do what they want.

PANETTA: I don't think so, Aaron. I think that the reality is that the more public awareness on what's going on with the review committee and the information that we're supposed to obtain from all the diocese, I think the greater the pressure is on the bishops and the diocese to present the information that they themselves said they wanted to present as a result of their meeting in Dallas.

So, I think the reality is this is not a problem that's going away. It can't be hidden. It's a major scandal that affected the church and the reality is that everyone is going to work to make sure that this information is made public.

BROWN: Someone suggested today that Governor Keating's resignation was in effect the Catholic Church's version of Nixon's Saturday night massacre which did not end very well for the late president. Is this a big deal or a small deal being made into a big deal?

PANETTA: Well, you know, I think that Governor Keating resigned and had intended to relinquish his chairmanship after a year. There's no question that there have been some controversial statements. Those have diverted attention away from the main mission here.

But, I think in the end if the bishops or anyone else draws the conclusion that somehow there's going to be less of an effort to get this information, they're badly mistaken.

On the contrary, I think the review committee is now fully committed and always has been fully committed to making sure that every diocese responds to the survey request, that we get the auditing that is required of every diocese to ensure that they're putting in place steps to ensure that this does not happen again.

And we're going to proceed with that report and we're going to proceed with that information. This is about the credibility and trust of the church and, very frankly, you can't restore that credibility and trust unless we get all the information.

BROWN: Let me ask you, I guess this is a philosophical question, if a big corporation, if a company like Dow or Phillip Morris uses every legal device it can in defense of itself, you go well it's, you know, it's protecting the shareholders. It's well within its rights.

Is the Catholic Church in its response to this issue being -- does it need to be held to a different standard than any other large corporation that faces jeopardy?

PANETTA: You know whether it's a corporation or whether it's the Catholic Church or whether it's a politician who faces a scandal, the fact is you can't handle the distrust that's created by that kind of scandal by hiding it from the public. You've got to be open. You've got to be transparent. We've got to determine what the full scope of this scandal is all about.

This has done tremendous damage to the church and to the trust of the faithful in the church and I think for bishops and the hierarchy and for all Catholics it is absolutely essential that the information now be provided as to what the scope of this is and what can be done to ensure that it never happens again.

BROWN: Mr. Panetta, as always, good to talk to you. Thank you, sir.

PANETTA: Good to talk to you, Aaron.

BROWN: Leon Panetta in Monterey, California tonight.

Ahead on an hour-long version of NEWSNIGHT for a Monday, U.S. troops in action again in Iraq. We'll take a look at Operation Desert Scorpion.

And, Segment 7 tonight, a look back at the road to Baghdad through the eyes of the photographers of "Time" magazine.

From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: In a speech to business leaders today, President Bush got big applause when he said Saddam Hussein is no longer a threat to the United States. That said, Iraqis still loyal to Saddam Hussein certainly pose a threat to U.S. forces in Iraq.

Over the weekend, at least ten soldiers were hurt in a pair of ambushes outside Baghdad, attacks coming as the military launched a new operation with the tough job of rooting out resistance without making new enemies, reporting tonight CNN's Ben Wedeman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): In full combat gear, America's fighting men prepare for a different kind of mission, making Fallujah beautiful, clearing away the rubbish and rubble littering a vacant lot.

It's a charm offensive intended to soothe the sting of Operation Desert Scorpion, America's latest attempt to crack down on persistent armed Iraqi resistance. Residents had mixed feelings about the neighborhood clean up.

"These projects are great" says driver Mohammed Ali Hussein. "We all benefit from them but we want more. We want them to fix the water, the electricity."

Several said they suspected the true purpose of this clean up was to search for buried illegal weapons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll do a water project at this location here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WEDEMAN: Back at the mayor's office, army engineers and municipal officials work on plans to repair the sewage system, fix up schools, clean up the city, all projects with a message. CAPT. KEVIN JACKSON, 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION: We have to secure the place and we have to sit on these people and make sure that any threat that's out there, which we believe is among minorities, to make sure that they understand that we're here to stay and we're here to help these people.

WEDEMAN: By day the carrot, by night the stick. On the first night of Operation Desert Scorpion, U.S. troops arrested 38-year-old Firas Ahmed (ph). Firas was one of several men rounded up for suspicion of involvement in anti-American attacks. He and his extended family have been sleeping in the garden trying to get relief from the oppressive Iraqi summer heat.

His mother, Nashima (ph) says Firas is handicapped and could hardly have been involved in any attacks on the Americans. His uncle, Jasim (ph) is bitter about the stick and has yet to see the carrot.

"I was one of the people who swore as soon as the Americans came I would invite them into my home" he says. "Now, we're already to become Saddam's Fedayeen."

The outcome of America's proverbial battle (unintelligible) rocks heart and mind is still very uncertain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN: So far, Operation Desert Scorpion has netted about 350 suspects who may have been involved in attacks on U.S. personnel, Aaron, but it remains to be seen whether this carrot and stick approach is going to bear fruit.

BROWN: Quickly, where are these people taken and will we ever, in fact, know whether they are involved in some bad stuff or not?

WEDEMAN: Well, Aaron, basically they're brought into bases, for instance, around Fallujah those who were netted there and they will move on to Baghdad for further interrogation.

We've seen in previous operations that the percentage of people are held and really something comes out of their interrogation is fairly small, possibly maybe just ten percent.

BROWN: Ben, thank you very much, Ben Wedeman who is in Baghdad tonight.

We move on to the Israeli-Palestinian problem where the emphasis tonight is not on the road map to peace just finding a road map back to the road map for peace would be good enough for now. That means getting Hamas and other groups to stop bombing Israelis and persuading the Israelis to stop assassinating Hamas leaders but after a weekend and a day of talking, neither side tonight seems ready to budget.

Here again, CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHANCE (voice-over): The road map was meant to end all the terror but the suicide attacks on Israelis have continued as have killings of Palestinians in the occupied territories. More than 50 people were killed last week alone. The result, pressure has intensified on both sides for cease-fire and public vote neither Palestinian militants nor Israel seems ready.

ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Israel insists on its right to live in peace and quiet and security and will never, never renounce these rights.

MAHMOUD ZAHAR, HAMAS SPOKESMAN: Up to this moment we give no answer. WE are going to discuss, to study, and to give our answer at the proper time.

CHANCE: Into the fray, the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas now in Gaza to urge the militants towards a truce. (AUDIO GAP) There's been talk of an Israeli withdrawal from areas of Gaza and a suspension of Israel's policy of (AUDIO GAP) from Israel. They may not listen.

(AUDIO GAP) in their talks with the militants without apparent breakthrough, and on Tuesday Washington's envoy, John Wolf, will meet Palestinian factions himself.

JOHN WOLF, U.S. ENVOY: Our task is to work with the parties to try to realize division that President Bush, Prime Minister Sharon, and Prime Minister Abbas discussed and on which they committed at Aqaba.

CHANCE: Behind the scenes, sources do suggest there is reason for hope of a deal but in this conflict no one is ruling out more bloodshed either.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: Well, Aaron, privately both Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two main militant groups here in Gaza, are saying that they will consider, so they are considering some kind of truce but only if they receive concrete guarantees from Israel that their leaders will no longer be targeted for assassination.

And, what's not clear to any of us here on the ground is whether Abu Mazen, Mahmoud Abbas the Palestinian prime minister who's come to Gaza to meet with the Palestinian factions has those kind of concrete guarantees from Israel to offer the militants -- Aaron.

BROWN: Those meetings will take place today?

CHANCE: Today local time certainly there will be meetings between Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister and the heads of Hamas and Islamic Jihad as well as other Palestinian factions. We also understand that John Wolf, the U.S. envoy to the region, will be meeting with various Palestinian factions here in Gaza today as well.

BROWN: So, we'll see what the day brings. Matthew, thank you very much, Matthew Chance tonight.

Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, we go back to Tulia, Texas. We'll talk to the lawyers for the undercover officer whose testimony may have sent innocent people to jail.

We take a break first, around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: More now on the story of Tulia, Texas and the view of the former undercover officer whose testimony sent dozens of people to jail, to prison for a long time on drug charges. Now it is that former undercover agent, Tom Coleman, who has problems with the law. He's been indicted on perjury charges.

We're joined from Dallas tonight by two of his lawyers, Cindy Ermatinger and Bill Scott and we're glad to have you both with us. Does Mr. Coleman tonight stand by his testimony in every one of those cases?

CINDY ERMATINGER, ATTORNEY FOR TOM COLEMAN: Yes, sir, he does.

BROWN: And does he -- how does he explain those cases where people clearly were in other places, they were on the job, they were in other states, they could not have been where he said they were?

ERMATINGER: Well, in the trial, the jurors believed Mr. Coleman's statement and obviously didn't believe the defendants and found them guilty.

BROWN: Mr. Scott, in the review of, and I think you know what's coming here, in the review of these cases Judge Chapman said about your client that he was the most devious, non-responsive witness the court had witnessed in 25 years, that he committed blatant perjury. This is a judge who said it, not a defense lawyer. How do you explain that?

BILL SCOTT, ATTORNEY FOR TOM COLEMAN: Well, I wasn't involved in that trial; however, it's my opinion that Tom Coleman was in that trial without a lawyer in his side. We're going to go forward and present the evidence as it should be presented.

BROWN: Well, I'm not sure I -- I'm not trying to beat you up here. I'm just not sure I understood the answer. He goes into this hearing, correct, and he does testify in this hearing that's the review before Judge Chapman, the review of all these cases, and the judge upon hearing this characterizes his testimony as I described it. How do you explain that?

SCOTT: Cindy.

ERMATINGER: Well, I'd like to answer that.

BROWN: OK.

ERMATINGER: Judge Chapman was not the trial judge. The trial judges were in the trials. They listened to Tom Coleman's testimony. Obviously, the state brought the cases forward. They believed they could prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Tom was a credible witness. The jurors believed him. The jurors found the defendants guilty and at that point Judge Chapman wasn't part of that so he didn't hear anything about the trial court or what went on and what the testimony was.

BROWN: But he did hear what went on in his courtroom, right?

ERMATINGER: Are you talking about the habeas corpus?

BROWN: Right.

ERMATINGER: Yes, sir.

BROWN: It is there he had trouble with Mr. Coleman's testimony.

ERMATINGER: That's my understanding.

BROWN: And why -- how, how can that be that a judge of some experience could hear your client, and describe him as the most devious, non responsive witness the court had ever seen?

ERMATINGER: I don't know. That's it is judge's opinion.

BROWN: What do you think happened here?

Let me try this in a different direction.

ERMATINGER: OK.

BROWN: How is it that all these people were ultimately released?

The 12 people released today.

What happened in your view or in your client's view?

ERMATINGER: I don't think it has anything to do with my client. I think there's other force at work. And if people want to let them off, you know, tonight in Tulia, you know, there's a lot of happy people. I know the families are happy and I believe there is probably a lot of the community in Tulia that realize there are drug dealers back on the streets.

BROWN: What are these other forces?

ERMATINGER: The other forces?

The people that helped. The defendants, and work on the cases to get them off.

BROWN: But -- the people work on cases -- I mean, lawyers work on cases on appealing cases all the time. And 99 percent of the time nothing happens. Here there was -- and 99 percent of the time nothing happens. So what made these cases different from literally thousands of other cases where nothing happens?

ERMATINGER: I can't answer that right now. And I think today, -- it was 13 people went home?

BROWN: I am sorry?

ERMATINGER: Was it 13 people that went home today?

BROWN: Twelve people went home today. Yes.

ERMATINGER: OK.

BROWN: Well, that's a lot of people.

ERMATINGER: It's a fair amount of people.

BROWN: Your client intends to fight personally charges against him no doubt?

ERMATINGER: Yes, sir, we will be.

BROWN: It'll be an interesting case to watch. I appreciate you both joining us tonight.

ERMATINGER: Thank you so much.

BROWN: Thank you. Thank you.

One more story from Texas, excuse me, to lead off the national roundup tonight, authorities in Houston say they have arrested the ringleader of an immigrant smuggling operation that ended with 19 people dead in the sweltering trailer last month. You remember this. Carla Chavez is a legal resident of the United States. She was arrested on Friday and trying to enter Guatemala. She faces a bail hearing. She has already been brought to the United States on Thursday.

Victoria Clark was the civilian voice of Pentagon during the war with Iraq is now leaving after two years in that post. The Defense Department spokes woman says she wants to spend more time with her family. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, who is also leaving his post to return to private life, said today, the White House will miss her. I will miss her, and the president will miss her.

And on a day when Gregory Peck was remembered in Los Angeles, another great actor has died, Hume Cronyn. His career on Broadway and in Hollywood span more than six decades and his partnership lasted as long as with his great wife, the great actress Jessica Tandy. Mr. Cronyn was 91.

Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT. With American troops still in Iraq, we will hear what some of our family members think about their long wait for delayed homecoming, from New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

BROWN: And as NEWSNIGHT continue, the war may be over but the wait for the homecoming is not. We will take a short break first. This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: There's a lot of talk today about Private Jessica Lynch and the intense fight over which news outlet will be the first to get an interview with her. No one is fighting the interview -- no one is fighting too interview the average soldier still on the ground in Iraq, but what those soldiers have to say is awfully important. They can speak to the fact that winning this war means winning the peace as well. No easy task they will tell you and something not all of them bargain for. We recently spoke with some soldiers with the 3rd Infantry in Fallujah, where two skills are necessities, flexibility and patients.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PFC SETH LAKEN, ALPHA COMPANY, 164 ARMOR: We've been in Iraq for about 64 days, and 180 days also in Kuwait puts us up to 264 days away from the United States.

STAFF SGT. JOSEPH SZARFANSKI, CHARLIE COMPANY, 3RD BATTALION, 5TH INFANTRY: We are the fighting force that caused the fall of this regime. And that's still in our mind set. We're still ready to fight. We are not ready to be the humanitarian helpers right now.

SPECIALIST POWERS, BRAVO COMPANY, 264 SUPPORT BATTALION: Once we got into Baghdad International, we were under the impression we were going to go home in a couple of weeks.

SZARFANSKI: I've been in it for 17 years. I have dealt with a lot of soldiers. The biggest problem we see right now is the fall promises, and the emptiness coming from the leadership. They are doing their best to make living standards here acceptable for us. We don't expect them to be perfect, but we expect them to be acceptable. A lot of the soldiers think that because they are giving these empty promises that the leadership really is not even in control of what's going on. It's a transition for them, and if they don't make the transition, to their happening, then they will wind up getting out of the military.

LAKEN: Where we are at in Fallajah, it's a Sunni Muslim stronghold. So got a lot of work to do here yet. I guess that's our job.

POWERS: We were on this mission because they felt we were the best people to take care of this mission. And to see this mission through. So I think it gave us a sense of pride also.

CAPTAIN ANDY HILMES, COMPANY COMMANDER, ALPHA COMPANY, 164 ARMOR: It was a huge blow when we found out we were going to receive a follow on our mission, and that was again, one of the hardest orders I have ever had to give to my guys. But I think, you know, that's the true measure of a good unit is how they receive that news. And I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to sugar coat anything the guys were devastated. But all of us understand this is the army, this is what we do, this what we signed up for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Troops on the ground are facing danger, anxiety and clearly is monotony. For the families back home, this is fear whenever news on attack when U.S. forces comes to light. More of the families are coping at Fort Stewart, Georgia, home of the 3rd Infantry Division. Here is CNN's Brian Cabell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On May 1st, the hostilities seemed to be over. Not quite. Iraq is still a dangerous place for the more than 100,000 American troops that remain behind. Deadly attacked occur almost daily. In fact, since the president declared victory, more than 40 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq. Some on accidents, some in combats. Including Army Major Matthew Shremm (ph), killed when his convoy was attacked May 26. And Army Private Kenny Nally (ph), also killed May 26 in a vehicle accident in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His favorite thing was, "mom, you don't understand." And I'm not understanding this right now.

CABELL: It's difficult to understand for anyone whose loved one remains behind in Iraq, several weeks after the fighting seemingly ended. These women from Fort Stewart, Georgia, who don't wish to be identified, say they dread hearing news from Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know it's sill going on, and I don't need to know any more, you know. They are still over there, and to hear them say, the war is over, everything's fine, and then to turn around and watch the news that it's not OK, kind of contradicts everything.

CABELL: Fort Stewart, home to the 3rd Infantry Division, is mostly empty these days. The 3rd ID, which suffered about half of the Army's combat deaths during the war, hasn't come home yet. Plans to bring the troops back from Iraq this month were suddenly changed, angering and frustrating the families who were already making plans for a homecoming.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like, you know, taking that away from you. Taking something you're so looking forward to away from you. It just blows your mind. You can't handle that.

CABELL (on camera): Frustration among families here at Fort Stewart is widespread. Officials here recently met with hundreds of wives wondering why their spouses are still in Iraq. And from Iraq itself, a CNN crew reports a serious morale problem within the 3rd ID. Disillusioned, junior officers rethinking their plans for an Army career.

(voice-over): The garrison commander here says he understands the frustration.

COL. JOHN KIDD, GARRISON COMMANDER, FORT STEWART: They're disappointed. Disillusioned. Well, there may be some. I don't know. But I am not sure what they would be disillusioned about, because the Army is pretty much an upfront organization what you are signing up for.

CABELL: Not much consolation to their wives who want their men home, or to the soldiers, who heard the war supposedly ended weeks ago, but know that danger can still lurk around every corner.

Brian Cabell, CNN, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, the road to Baghdad through the lenses of the "Time" magazine photographers. This is a cool piece. Stay with us. This is NEWSNIGHT from New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: During the war in Iraq, NEWSNIGHT tried to bring you the work of all different still photographers working in the country. There were, by their nature, slices of what was happening, the travels and impressions of one photographer seeing the war through one lens and one moment. Now, "Time" magazine has brought together the slices of all its photographers working in the region, a vision of 21 remarkable days on the road to Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The book is called "21 Days to Baghdad." From the day of the first bomb dropping, to the day that the statue fell, that was the measurement. And it's "Time" magazine's report and very heavily illustrated with our photographers' pictures. We had 10 photographers directly in the region that were on assignment for "Time."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Regiment of the Marines. This was a way to wake up in the morning, go through the entire day, see the planning, hear the intelligence briefings, and know what to expect. Never have we been able to do that. At least with American troops. You really don't know what's going to happen, and have to constantly look away from the picture that you're trying for to make sure you're not in the way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was embedded with the 101st Airborne. (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It was about 1:40 in the morning and everyone thought it was a gas attack or wasn't really sure. So we were all running, trying to put your gas masks on. There were two subsequent blasts, and finally getting out there with my camera, realizing that that was the only thing I can do is take pictures while everyone else defended the perimeter against what they thought was a terrorist attack. It was kind of an automatic response for me.

That, for me, was, like, the first start of hostilities. That's where I actually saw death and blood for the first time here.

We left the camp two days later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The most interesting part of being with troops is how do they react to that situation? It has to be from a good leader and good reaction.

If you do run into a situation with -- loaded with drama and violence, and obviously that's the reason you're there, you want to be able to capture that -- the essence of that time, that moment, and record it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before the war, we talked about where do we need to have somebody? We had to figure out where do we want to place everybody? And we wanted to make sure that we had the entire region covered. In the north, you know, where the Kurds are, they were just cowering in fear. One of Kate's (ph) strongest pictures were these refugees crouched into a tarp, you know, in the mountains. And you could see the face of a woman, a child, and they're under a green tarp, you know, in this craggy mountain hillside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have been primarily working in northern Iraq. Once the war began, the U.S., with Kurdish forces, began targeting Ansar al-Islam, this group that has links to al Qaeda. And that particular picture was taken on a day when I found a battle in the mountains, and special forces with Kurdish forces were fighting Ansar. When you take a photograph that captures a moment in history, or someone's emotions, or a political situation, very often there doesn't need to be words, and very often there doesn't need to be sound.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in the downtown of Baghdad. I tried to get to the places which were destroyed by rockets. I tried to get to the houses, and to move as much as possible. It was hard. The officials, Iraqi officials, they tried to keep us in one place. Tried to get to the hospital where I could see the victims of the war, and I was really, really impressed when I saw this boy, you know, with white wings instead of his arms. This boy was look around right, and left, just trying to understand what happened. But he didn't realize what was happening with him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People mark historical milestones in their lives by minutes (ph) that they remember.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cheering from the Iraqis was behind there. I looked around, and they were climbing on the statue of Saddam trying to pull it down. This was a Baathist neighborhood, and you could tell by the small size of the crowd that things, even with the statue down, things were not going to be right. No way did you hear all weapons going down and everyone applauding. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once the statue in Baghdad fell, after three weeks of war, we knew that the northern cities were going to fall within a couple of days. Kirkuk fell the next day and Mosul fell the day after. Tikrit was taken four days after that.

The day the statue in Baghdad fell, everybody in Kurdistan in the big cities were out in streets celebrating, cheering, holding up signs and flag, and there was a feeling that it was almost over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not sure that the war is over. I'm war photographer, I'm a news photographer, and I follow the news. It's my life, you know? It's my style of life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The difficulty is always to get a rounded picture, an equal view of it. The best still image would be where people can climb from their couches into that still image.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: "Time" magazine's still photographers. That was put together by Amanda Townsend (ph). The NEWSNIGHT staff who put together most if not all of the packages of still photographers that we ran during the war. That was terrific. Morning papers. Why not? OK? Morning papers, tomorrow's news tonight. Coming up next. There is one story that is spectacular, OK? We'll take a break first. This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: OK, don't you hate it when I just amuse myself up here? Time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world. It seems like the program is ending early tonight, doesn't it? It does to me. Anyway, here we go. "The New York Times," a couple of stories on the front page of "The Times" I like a lot. Over here, "Tales of Despair From Guantanamo." We hear so little -- there we go -- about what it is like for the detainees as they're called down in Guantanamo. Those who have been released have talked to "The New York Times" and we get a preview.

And then, right next to it, "In Stores: Private Handcuffs for Sticky Fingers." It's a very cool piece by Andrea Elliot (ph) on what it's like in the rooms where they take shoplifters in Macy's. Not bad. "New York Times." By the way, there is one great story coming up, but not yet. Though this is a pretty good one.

In the "Miami Herald," that would be Miami, Florida, as opposed to Miami, Ohio. "Pie-Eyed in the Sky: More Pilots Drunk and FAA Responds." Now, what is that about? If you're flying airplanes, please, don't be drinking, OK?

"The Amarillo Globe News." Amarillo, Texas. What do you think the lead us? You're right. "Tulia Defendants Released." Amarillo not far from Tulia. Their whole front page is local. I like to see that. That's pretty cool.

I am told there is a minute left, is that right? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BROWN: OK. I told you there was a great story, and here it is. It comes from the "Washington Times," or as people refer to it, the other paper in Washington, right? Down here. "Name Won't Fly If You Are David Nelson." It turns out that if your name is David Nelson, you're getting pulled off airplanes, turned into the FBI, searched, because somewhere out there, there apparently is a single terrorist named David Nelson. And so every other David Nelson that tries to get on an airplane is getting nailed.

Is that a great story or what? "The Gazette of Charleston," West Virginia, I am pretty sure. "One Right After the Other," two days of flooding there. That's pretty cool picture on the front page. Well, it's not cool if you are living in it, but you know what I mean.

And here, just a thought. There's not a single car story on the "Detroit News." Go figure? What kind of a day is that?

That's morning papers. That's the program. We'll see you tomorrow. Good night for all of us.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Raids in Iraq; Mideast Negotiations Continue>


Aired June 16, 2003 - 22:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again.
We admit as a viewer accused us of today a fascination with the events four years ago in Tulia, Texas. Nearly 10 percent of the town's black population was arrested on drug charges, all on the say of one undercover officer who had no wiretaps, no drugs, according to the reports, simply his word. His word is not worth a whole lot today. He's charged with perjury and a dozen people finally walked out of prison free.

There are other chapters in the Tulia story to write but none as compelling as the first. How could this happen? It's in Tulia we begin the whip. Ed Lavandera is there, Ed a headline from you.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Aaron.

One defense attorney described that what happened here today in Tulia, Texas was a symbolic gesture of forgiveness, not just for the 12 people who walked free today but for all 46 people who were arrested on drug charges almost four years ago -- Aaron.

BROWN: Ed, thank you, back to you at the top tonight.

To Iraq now and the latest on Operation Desert Scorpion, U.S. troops trying to stop the attacks against them, Ben Wedeman in Baghdad for us, Ben a headline.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Aaron, American troops have carried out a series of nighttime raids in Baghdad, Ramadi, Fallujah, and other Iraqi cities wielding a stick by night and a carrot by day. But despite these new tactics, attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq appear to be on the rise.

BROWN: Ben, thank you.

And, to the Middle East now where things stand in the effort to try and stop the latest round of violence between Israel and Hamas, Matthew Chance in Jerusalem, Matthew the headline.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Aaron.

Another difficult but crucial day for peace here in the Middle East, negotiations intensive and are continuing to try and get the main Palestinian militant groups to abandon their campaign of violence against Israelis. It may be the last chance for the U.S.-backed road map towards peace. We'll have all the details for you in a moment.

BROWN: Matthew, thank you, back to you and the rest coming up shortly.

Also coming up tonight on NEWSNIGHT, a different kind of scandal involving the priest abuse story, we'll look at what the lay Catholic leader Frank Keating, the former governor of Oklahoma had to say about the church and the mob.

And, the war in Iraq did not end on May the 1st for families with loved ones still there and still in danger, Brian Cabell tonight with the families of Fort Stewart, home to the Army's 3rd Infantry Division.

We'll also hear what it's like for some of the American troops on the ground in the strange position of being both warrior and nation building.

And, the road to Baghdad, some remarkable images of the war captured as it happened by the photographers of "Time" magazine. Leon Panetta joins us to talk about the shakeup on the lay board dealing with the priest abuse scandal.

And, the lawyers for the undercover officer whose cases were thrown out in Tulia will join us to talk about their client, all of that in just an hour imagine that, finally back to normal.

We begin in Tulia and something one of a dozen people released had to say today. "I've got something to smile about." It's remarkable any of them could even form a smile at this point. All tolled decades of freedom were stolen from the mostly black people sent to jail, convicted on the word, and pretty much nothing else, of a former undercover agent that one judge called the most devious witness this court has ever witnessed.

Once again, here's CNN's Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over): For four years, family and friends of the Tulia defendants looked up to the heavens asking God to bring them home. Today, they only had to look up to the courthouse's third floor to see their prayers answered, 12 of them walking out the door to freedom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, good.

LAVANDERA: Joe Moore was the first Tulia defendant convicted in 1999. Moore was found guilty of selling drugs to an undercover agent he says he never met, his sentence 90 years. For a 60-year-old man, Moore says it was like a death sentence but faith in God and a few lawyers kept his hopes up. JOE MOORE, DEFENDANT: I never doubted it. I never doubted it. I believed it was going to happen.

LAVANDERA: Tom Coleman was the undercover agent who brought the cases against 46 people in July of 1999, most of them African- American. At the trials, he brought few notes, no surveillance video or wiretaps, but juries convicted anyway.

Then the cases started falling apart. Billy Wafer (ph) was at work the day he was accused of selling drugs to Coleman. Tanya White wasn't even in Texas when the drug deal she was accused of supposedly happened. Freddie Brookins who had never been in legal trouble is at a loss for words.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, why do you think that you guys ended up in prison to begin with?

FREDDIE BROOKINS, DEFENDANT: I wondered the same thing. I wondered the same thing.

LAVANDERA: For the last four years, the only time Kizzie White has seen her two children was during prison visits. Her kids are too young to understand what the concrete walls and bars of prison mean.

KIZZIE WHITE, DEFENDANT: I don't think I really have explained it to them yet but (unintelligible).

LAVANDERA: They'll have a lot of time to talk and catch up when they take long walks around Tulia, Texas together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: There are four Tulia defendants still sitting in prison. Lawyers will continue to work to try to get them out. Meanwhile, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the Texas Parole Board are reviewing these cases, and defense attorneys say it will still take several more months before all of their names are cleared -- Aaron.

BROWN: What -- to the extent you can answer this, what is your impression that the rest of Tulia thinks of all of this the White population of Tulia, others?

LAVANDERA: Aaron, I don't think I could put too fine a point on this but there is a huge portion of this community that is extremely anxious to get all of this behind them. The fact that we're here talking about this bothers a lot of people, quite frankly, and as soon as all of this is wrapped up they'll be a lot happier.

BROWN: So, OK, but that doesn't answer the question necessarily. I understand they want all the trucks and all the attention to go away. Do they believe that a miscarriage of justice has occurred in their town?

LAVANDERA: That's a little bit harder to pinpoint because I think at this point if you ask that question pointedly, there are a lot of people who are very hesitant to answer.

When these cases originally came forward, a lot of defense attorneys just believed that the juries in these cases convicted -- the seven or eight cases that went to trial because they wanted to believe an officer that, you know, we're all ingrained to think that officers are up there telling the truth. But to really get an answer to that question, it's very difficult in this town these days.

BROWN: Ed, thank you very much, Ed Lavandera in Tulia, Texas tonight.

We'll have more on the Tulia story in a bit with two of the lawyers for the former undercover agent in this case Tom Coleman. That's coming up a little bit later.

First, on to Phoenix and the latest body blow to the Catholic Church, if you will. The picture is depressing enough, the bishop of Phoenix, Thomas O'Brien in police custody.

The back story worse, the bishop is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal hit and run accident over the weekend. Pictures of his car showed a large crack on the windshield. Police say witnesses put the car at the scene of the accident.

But, as we said, that's only a part of it. The accident came just two weeks after Bishop O'Brien cut a deal with prosecutors in connection with the cases of priest sex abuse in his diocese. He got immunity from prosecution in part in exchange for admitting that for decades he covered up allegations of abuse.

And, it was stonewalling like that that especially bothered the former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, so much so that he spoke out last week in less than diplomatic language about the church's tendency to circle the wagons.

Governor Keating heads a lay commission looking into priest sex abuse, though not for much longer. He is stepping down in a storm of controversy over what he said, reporting the story for us CNN's Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A spokesman says Frank Keating doesn't regret what he said. The former Oklahoma governor leading the Catholic Church's effort to better deal with sex abuse charges had said getting information from bishops was like dealing with the mob.

He told the "Los Angeles Times": "I certainly have concluded that a number of serious officials in my faith have very clay feet to act like La Cosa Nostra and hide and suppress, I think is very unhealthy."

As chairman of the Catholic Church's National Review Board, Keating was surveying bishops to see how bad the sex abuse problem really is but a Keating spokesman says a few bishops were stonewalling including Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles and Cardinal Edward Eagan of New York, leaders of the nation's two largest archdiocese. Mahoney had legal concerns about the review board survey and called Keating's comment irresponsible, so did one of Keating's fellow board members.

PAMELA HAYES, NATIONAL REVIEW BOARD: I thought it was inappropriate. I thought it was inappropriate because I can't say with any certainty that they had been stalling and acting in secret. For the most part, the bishops have been cooperating.

CARROLL: A spokesman tells CNN Keating "still feels tough language was needed to deal with the crisis." Keating is resigning but insists he had planned to do so anyway. One group of lay Catholics in Boston, the epicenter of the church crisis, says his resignation sends the wrong message.

JIM POST, VOICE OF THE FAITHFUL: I think this is going to backfire on the bishops. I think that now they're going to have an even more difficult time convincing the public that they are not trying to suppress information.

CARROLL: The bishops had asked the board to study the scope of abuse when they created it at their meeting last year. That's when the bishops adopted a tougher national policy in dealing with abusive priests. They also named former FBI official Kathleen McChesney to head a new Office of Child and Youth Protection to help diocese implement the new policy.

KATHLEEN MCCHESNEY, OFFICE OF CHILD AND YOUTH PROTECTION: The National Review Board is like a freight train going down the track and one person jumping off isn't going to affect the direction and the speed with which that train is going.

CARROLL (on camera): McChesney says she hopes Keating's comments don't undermine her work. She'll give the bishops a progress report at their national conference on Thursday.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Joining us tonight from Monterey, California again is Leon Panetta. Mr. Panetta is a member of the Catholic National Review Board and we turned to him before on questions like this, good to see you again.

LEON PANETTA, CATHOLIC NATIONAL REVIEW BOARD: Nice to be with you.

BROWN: We just heard Ms. McChesney say she hopes that Mr. Keating's remarks don't create problems for the process. I would think it's the other way around that the resignation of Governor Keating might create an impression that the bishops are the boss here and they'll do what they want.

PANETTA: I don't think so, Aaron. I think that the reality is that the more public awareness on what's going on with the review committee and the information that we're supposed to obtain from all the diocese, I think the greater the pressure is on the bishops and the diocese to present the information that they themselves said they wanted to present as a result of their meeting in Dallas.

So, I think the reality is this is not a problem that's going away. It can't be hidden. It's a major scandal that affected the church and the reality is that everyone is going to work to make sure that this information is made public.

BROWN: Someone suggested today that Governor Keating's resignation was in effect the Catholic Church's version of Nixon's Saturday night massacre which did not end very well for the late president. Is this a big deal or a small deal being made into a big deal?

PANETTA: Well, you know, I think that Governor Keating resigned and had intended to relinquish his chairmanship after a year. There's no question that there have been some controversial statements. Those have diverted attention away from the main mission here.

But, I think in the end if the bishops or anyone else draws the conclusion that somehow there's going to be less of an effort to get this information, they're badly mistaken.

On the contrary, I think the review committee is now fully committed and always has been fully committed to making sure that every diocese responds to the survey request, that we get the auditing that is required of every diocese to ensure that they're putting in place steps to ensure that this does not happen again.

And we're going to proceed with that report and we're going to proceed with that information. This is about the credibility and trust of the church and, very frankly, you can't restore that credibility and trust unless we get all the information.

BROWN: Let me ask you, I guess this is a philosophical question, if a big corporation, if a company like Dow or Phillip Morris uses every legal device it can in defense of itself, you go well it's, you know, it's protecting the shareholders. It's well within its rights.

Is the Catholic Church in its response to this issue being -- does it need to be held to a different standard than any other large corporation that faces jeopardy?

PANETTA: You know whether it's a corporation or whether it's the Catholic Church or whether it's a politician who faces a scandal, the fact is you can't handle the distrust that's created by that kind of scandal by hiding it from the public. You've got to be open. You've got to be transparent. We've got to determine what the full scope of this scandal is all about.

This has done tremendous damage to the church and to the trust of the faithful in the church and I think for bishops and the hierarchy and for all Catholics it is absolutely essential that the information now be provided as to what the scope of this is and what can be done to ensure that it never happens again.

BROWN: Mr. Panetta, as always, good to talk to you. Thank you, sir.

PANETTA: Good to talk to you, Aaron.

BROWN: Leon Panetta in Monterey, California tonight.

Ahead on an hour-long version of NEWSNIGHT for a Monday, U.S. troops in action again in Iraq. We'll take a look at Operation Desert Scorpion.

And, Segment 7 tonight, a look back at the road to Baghdad through the eyes of the photographers of "Time" magazine.

From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: In a speech to business leaders today, President Bush got big applause when he said Saddam Hussein is no longer a threat to the United States. That said, Iraqis still loyal to Saddam Hussein certainly pose a threat to U.S. forces in Iraq.

Over the weekend, at least ten soldiers were hurt in a pair of ambushes outside Baghdad, attacks coming as the military launched a new operation with the tough job of rooting out resistance without making new enemies, reporting tonight CNN's Ben Wedeman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): In full combat gear, America's fighting men prepare for a different kind of mission, making Fallujah beautiful, clearing away the rubbish and rubble littering a vacant lot.

It's a charm offensive intended to soothe the sting of Operation Desert Scorpion, America's latest attempt to crack down on persistent armed Iraqi resistance. Residents had mixed feelings about the neighborhood clean up.

"These projects are great" says driver Mohammed Ali Hussein. "We all benefit from them but we want more. We want them to fix the water, the electricity."

Several said they suspected the true purpose of this clean up was to search for buried illegal weapons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll do a water project at this location here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WEDEMAN: Back at the mayor's office, army engineers and municipal officials work on plans to repair the sewage system, fix up schools, clean up the city, all projects with a message. CAPT. KEVIN JACKSON, 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION: We have to secure the place and we have to sit on these people and make sure that any threat that's out there, which we believe is among minorities, to make sure that they understand that we're here to stay and we're here to help these people.

WEDEMAN: By day the carrot, by night the stick. On the first night of Operation Desert Scorpion, U.S. troops arrested 38-year-old Firas Ahmed (ph). Firas was one of several men rounded up for suspicion of involvement in anti-American attacks. He and his extended family have been sleeping in the garden trying to get relief from the oppressive Iraqi summer heat.

His mother, Nashima (ph) says Firas is handicapped and could hardly have been involved in any attacks on the Americans. His uncle, Jasim (ph) is bitter about the stick and has yet to see the carrot.

"I was one of the people who swore as soon as the Americans came I would invite them into my home" he says. "Now, we're already to become Saddam's Fedayeen."

The outcome of America's proverbial battle (unintelligible) rocks heart and mind is still very uncertain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN: So far, Operation Desert Scorpion has netted about 350 suspects who may have been involved in attacks on U.S. personnel, Aaron, but it remains to be seen whether this carrot and stick approach is going to bear fruit.

BROWN: Quickly, where are these people taken and will we ever, in fact, know whether they are involved in some bad stuff or not?

WEDEMAN: Well, Aaron, basically they're brought into bases, for instance, around Fallujah those who were netted there and they will move on to Baghdad for further interrogation.

We've seen in previous operations that the percentage of people are held and really something comes out of their interrogation is fairly small, possibly maybe just ten percent.

BROWN: Ben, thank you very much, Ben Wedeman who is in Baghdad tonight.

We move on to the Israeli-Palestinian problem where the emphasis tonight is not on the road map to peace just finding a road map back to the road map for peace would be good enough for now. That means getting Hamas and other groups to stop bombing Israelis and persuading the Israelis to stop assassinating Hamas leaders but after a weekend and a day of talking, neither side tonight seems ready to budget.

Here again, CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHANCE (voice-over): The road map was meant to end all the terror but the suicide attacks on Israelis have continued as have killings of Palestinians in the occupied territories. More than 50 people were killed last week alone. The result, pressure has intensified on both sides for cease-fire and public vote neither Palestinian militants nor Israel seems ready.

ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Israel insists on its right to live in peace and quiet and security and will never, never renounce these rights.

MAHMOUD ZAHAR, HAMAS SPOKESMAN: Up to this moment we give no answer. WE are going to discuss, to study, and to give our answer at the proper time.

CHANCE: Into the fray, the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas now in Gaza to urge the militants towards a truce. (AUDIO GAP) There's been talk of an Israeli withdrawal from areas of Gaza and a suspension of Israel's policy of (AUDIO GAP) from Israel. They may not listen.

(AUDIO GAP) in their talks with the militants without apparent breakthrough, and on Tuesday Washington's envoy, John Wolf, will meet Palestinian factions himself.

JOHN WOLF, U.S. ENVOY: Our task is to work with the parties to try to realize division that President Bush, Prime Minister Sharon, and Prime Minister Abbas discussed and on which they committed at Aqaba.

CHANCE: Behind the scenes, sources do suggest there is reason for hope of a deal but in this conflict no one is ruling out more bloodshed either.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: Well, Aaron, privately both Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two main militant groups here in Gaza, are saying that they will consider, so they are considering some kind of truce but only if they receive concrete guarantees from Israel that their leaders will no longer be targeted for assassination.

And, what's not clear to any of us here on the ground is whether Abu Mazen, Mahmoud Abbas the Palestinian prime minister who's come to Gaza to meet with the Palestinian factions has those kind of concrete guarantees from Israel to offer the militants -- Aaron.

BROWN: Those meetings will take place today?

CHANCE: Today local time certainly there will be meetings between Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister and the heads of Hamas and Islamic Jihad as well as other Palestinian factions. We also understand that John Wolf, the U.S. envoy to the region, will be meeting with various Palestinian factions here in Gaza today as well.

BROWN: So, we'll see what the day brings. Matthew, thank you very much, Matthew Chance tonight.

Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, we go back to Tulia, Texas. We'll talk to the lawyers for the undercover officer whose testimony may have sent innocent people to jail.

We take a break first, around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: More now on the story of Tulia, Texas and the view of the former undercover officer whose testimony sent dozens of people to jail, to prison for a long time on drug charges. Now it is that former undercover agent, Tom Coleman, who has problems with the law. He's been indicted on perjury charges.

We're joined from Dallas tonight by two of his lawyers, Cindy Ermatinger and Bill Scott and we're glad to have you both with us. Does Mr. Coleman tonight stand by his testimony in every one of those cases?

CINDY ERMATINGER, ATTORNEY FOR TOM COLEMAN: Yes, sir, he does.

BROWN: And does he -- how does he explain those cases where people clearly were in other places, they were on the job, they were in other states, they could not have been where he said they were?

ERMATINGER: Well, in the trial, the jurors believed Mr. Coleman's statement and obviously didn't believe the defendants and found them guilty.

BROWN: Mr. Scott, in the review of, and I think you know what's coming here, in the review of these cases Judge Chapman said about your client that he was the most devious, non-responsive witness the court had witnessed in 25 years, that he committed blatant perjury. This is a judge who said it, not a defense lawyer. How do you explain that?

BILL SCOTT, ATTORNEY FOR TOM COLEMAN: Well, I wasn't involved in that trial; however, it's my opinion that Tom Coleman was in that trial without a lawyer in his side. We're going to go forward and present the evidence as it should be presented.

BROWN: Well, I'm not sure I -- I'm not trying to beat you up here. I'm just not sure I understood the answer. He goes into this hearing, correct, and he does testify in this hearing that's the review before Judge Chapman, the review of all these cases, and the judge upon hearing this characterizes his testimony as I described it. How do you explain that?

SCOTT: Cindy.

ERMATINGER: Well, I'd like to answer that.

BROWN: OK.

ERMATINGER: Judge Chapman was not the trial judge. The trial judges were in the trials. They listened to Tom Coleman's testimony. Obviously, the state brought the cases forward. They believed they could prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Tom was a credible witness. The jurors believed him. The jurors found the defendants guilty and at that point Judge Chapman wasn't part of that so he didn't hear anything about the trial court or what went on and what the testimony was.

BROWN: But he did hear what went on in his courtroom, right?

ERMATINGER: Are you talking about the habeas corpus?

BROWN: Right.

ERMATINGER: Yes, sir.

BROWN: It is there he had trouble with Mr. Coleman's testimony.

ERMATINGER: That's my understanding.

BROWN: And why -- how, how can that be that a judge of some experience could hear your client, and describe him as the most devious, non responsive witness the court had ever seen?

ERMATINGER: I don't know. That's it is judge's opinion.

BROWN: What do you think happened here?

Let me try this in a different direction.

ERMATINGER: OK.

BROWN: How is it that all these people were ultimately released?

The 12 people released today.

What happened in your view or in your client's view?

ERMATINGER: I don't think it has anything to do with my client. I think there's other force at work. And if people want to let them off, you know, tonight in Tulia, you know, there's a lot of happy people. I know the families are happy and I believe there is probably a lot of the community in Tulia that realize there are drug dealers back on the streets.

BROWN: What are these other forces?

ERMATINGER: The other forces?

The people that helped. The defendants, and work on the cases to get them off.

BROWN: But -- the people work on cases -- I mean, lawyers work on cases on appealing cases all the time. And 99 percent of the time nothing happens. Here there was -- and 99 percent of the time nothing happens. So what made these cases different from literally thousands of other cases where nothing happens?

ERMATINGER: I can't answer that right now. And I think today, -- it was 13 people went home?

BROWN: I am sorry?

ERMATINGER: Was it 13 people that went home today?

BROWN: Twelve people went home today. Yes.

ERMATINGER: OK.

BROWN: Well, that's a lot of people.

ERMATINGER: It's a fair amount of people.

BROWN: Your client intends to fight personally charges against him no doubt?

ERMATINGER: Yes, sir, we will be.

BROWN: It'll be an interesting case to watch. I appreciate you both joining us tonight.

ERMATINGER: Thank you so much.

BROWN: Thank you. Thank you.

One more story from Texas, excuse me, to lead off the national roundup tonight, authorities in Houston say they have arrested the ringleader of an immigrant smuggling operation that ended with 19 people dead in the sweltering trailer last month. You remember this. Carla Chavez is a legal resident of the United States. She was arrested on Friday and trying to enter Guatemala. She faces a bail hearing. She has already been brought to the United States on Thursday.

Victoria Clark was the civilian voice of Pentagon during the war with Iraq is now leaving after two years in that post. The Defense Department spokes woman says she wants to spend more time with her family. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, who is also leaving his post to return to private life, said today, the White House will miss her. I will miss her, and the president will miss her.

And on a day when Gregory Peck was remembered in Los Angeles, another great actor has died, Hume Cronyn. His career on Broadway and in Hollywood span more than six decades and his partnership lasted as long as with his great wife, the great actress Jessica Tandy. Mr. Cronyn was 91.

Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT. With American troops still in Iraq, we will hear what some of our family members think about their long wait for delayed homecoming, from New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

BROWN: And as NEWSNIGHT continue, the war may be over but the wait for the homecoming is not. We will take a short break first. This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: There's a lot of talk today about Private Jessica Lynch and the intense fight over which news outlet will be the first to get an interview with her. No one is fighting the interview -- no one is fighting too interview the average soldier still on the ground in Iraq, but what those soldiers have to say is awfully important. They can speak to the fact that winning this war means winning the peace as well. No easy task they will tell you and something not all of them bargain for. We recently spoke with some soldiers with the 3rd Infantry in Fallujah, where two skills are necessities, flexibility and patients.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PFC SETH LAKEN, ALPHA COMPANY, 164 ARMOR: We've been in Iraq for about 64 days, and 180 days also in Kuwait puts us up to 264 days away from the United States.

STAFF SGT. JOSEPH SZARFANSKI, CHARLIE COMPANY, 3RD BATTALION, 5TH INFANTRY: We are the fighting force that caused the fall of this regime. And that's still in our mind set. We're still ready to fight. We are not ready to be the humanitarian helpers right now.

SPECIALIST POWERS, BRAVO COMPANY, 264 SUPPORT BATTALION: Once we got into Baghdad International, we were under the impression we were going to go home in a couple of weeks.

SZARFANSKI: I've been in it for 17 years. I have dealt with a lot of soldiers. The biggest problem we see right now is the fall promises, and the emptiness coming from the leadership. They are doing their best to make living standards here acceptable for us. We don't expect them to be perfect, but we expect them to be acceptable. A lot of the soldiers think that because they are giving these empty promises that the leadership really is not even in control of what's going on. It's a transition for them, and if they don't make the transition, to their happening, then they will wind up getting out of the military.

LAKEN: Where we are at in Fallajah, it's a Sunni Muslim stronghold. So got a lot of work to do here yet. I guess that's our job.

POWERS: We were on this mission because they felt we were the best people to take care of this mission. And to see this mission through. So I think it gave us a sense of pride also.

CAPTAIN ANDY HILMES, COMPANY COMMANDER, ALPHA COMPANY, 164 ARMOR: It was a huge blow when we found out we were going to receive a follow on our mission, and that was again, one of the hardest orders I have ever had to give to my guys. But I think, you know, that's the true measure of a good unit is how they receive that news. And I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to sugar coat anything the guys were devastated. But all of us understand this is the army, this is what we do, this what we signed up for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Troops on the ground are facing danger, anxiety and clearly is monotony. For the families back home, this is fear whenever news on attack when U.S. forces comes to light. More of the families are coping at Fort Stewart, Georgia, home of the 3rd Infantry Division. Here is CNN's Brian Cabell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On May 1st, the hostilities seemed to be over. Not quite. Iraq is still a dangerous place for the more than 100,000 American troops that remain behind. Deadly attacked occur almost daily. In fact, since the president declared victory, more than 40 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq. Some on accidents, some in combats. Including Army Major Matthew Shremm (ph), killed when his convoy was attacked May 26. And Army Private Kenny Nally (ph), also killed May 26 in a vehicle accident in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His favorite thing was, "mom, you don't understand." And I'm not understanding this right now.

CABELL: It's difficult to understand for anyone whose loved one remains behind in Iraq, several weeks after the fighting seemingly ended. These women from Fort Stewart, Georgia, who don't wish to be identified, say they dread hearing news from Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know it's sill going on, and I don't need to know any more, you know. They are still over there, and to hear them say, the war is over, everything's fine, and then to turn around and watch the news that it's not OK, kind of contradicts everything.

CABELL: Fort Stewart, home to the 3rd Infantry Division, is mostly empty these days. The 3rd ID, which suffered about half of the Army's combat deaths during the war, hasn't come home yet. Plans to bring the troops back from Iraq this month were suddenly changed, angering and frustrating the families who were already making plans for a homecoming.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like, you know, taking that away from you. Taking something you're so looking forward to away from you. It just blows your mind. You can't handle that.

CABELL (on camera): Frustration among families here at Fort Stewart is widespread. Officials here recently met with hundreds of wives wondering why their spouses are still in Iraq. And from Iraq itself, a CNN crew reports a serious morale problem within the 3rd ID. Disillusioned, junior officers rethinking their plans for an Army career.

(voice-over): The garrison commander here says he understands the frustration.

COL. JOHN KIDD, GARRISON COMMANDER, FORT STEWART: They're disappointed. Disillusioned. Well, there may be some. I don't know. But I am not sure what they would be disillusioned about, because the Army is pretty much an upfront organization what you are signing up for.

CABELL: Not much consolation to their wives who want their men home, or to the soldiers, who heard the war supposedly ended weeks ago, but know that danger can still lurk around every corner.

Brian Cabell, CNN, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, the road to Baghdad through the lenses of the "Time" magazine photographers. This is a cool piece. Stay with us. This is NEWSNIGHT from New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: During the war in Iraq, NEWSNIGHT tried to bring you the work of all different still photographers working in the country. There were, by their nature, slices of what was happening, the travels and impressions of one photographer seeing the war through one lens and one moment. Now, "Time" magazine has brought together the slices of all its photographers working in the region, a vision of 21 remarkable days on the road to Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The book is called "21 Days to Baghdad." From the day of the first bomb dropping, to the day that the statue fell, that was the measurement. And it's "Time" magazine's report and very heavily illustrated with our photographers' pictures. We had 10 photographers directly in the region that were on assignment for "Time."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Regiment of the Marines. This was a way to wake up in the morning, go through the entire day, see the planning, hear the intelligence briefings, and know what to expect. Never have we been able to do that. At least with American troops. You really don't know what's going to happen, and have to constantly look away from the picture that you're trying for to make sure you're not in the way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was embedded with the 101st Airborne. (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It was about 1:40 in the morning and everyone thought it was a gas attack or wasn't really sure. So we were all running, trying to put your gas masks on. There were two subsequent blasts, and finally getting out there with my camera, realizing that that was the only thing I can do is take pictures while everyone else defended the perimeter against what they thought was a terrorist attack. It was kind of an automatic response for me.

That, for me, was, like, the first start of hostilities. That's where I actually saw death and blood for the first time here.

We left the camp two days later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The most interesting part of being with troops is how do they react to that situation? It has to be from a good leader and good reaction.

If you do run into a situation with -- loaded with drama and violence, and obviously that's the reason you're there, you want to be able to capture that -- the essence of that time, that moment, and record it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before the war, we talked about where do we need to have somebody? We had to figure out where do we want to place everybody? And we wanted to make sure that we had the entire region covered. In the north, you know, where the Kurds are, they were just cowering in fear. One of Kate's (ph) strongest pictures were these refugees crouched into a tarp, you know, in the mountains. And you could see the face of a woman, a child, and they're under a green tarp, you know, in this craggy mountain hillside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have been primarily working in northern Iraq. Once the war began, the U.S., with Kurdish forces, began targeting Ansar al-Islam, this group that has links to al Qaeda. And that particular picture was taken on a day when I found a battle in the mountains, and special forces with Kurdish forces were fighting Ansar. When you take a photograph that captures a moment in history, or someone's emotions, or a political situation, very often there doesn't need to be words, and very often there doesn't need to be sound.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in the downtown of Baghdad. I tried to get to the places which were destroyed by rockets. I tried to get to the houses, and to move as much as possible. It was hard. The officials, Iraqi officials, they tried to keep us in one place. Tried to get to the hospital where I could see the victims of the war, and I was really, really impressed when I saw this boy, you know, with white wings instead of his arms. This boy was look around right, and left, just trying to understand what happened. But he didn't realize what was happening with him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People mark historical milestones in their lives by minutes (ph) that they remember.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cheering from the Iraqis was behind there. I looked around, and they were climbing on the statue of Saddam trying to pull it down. This was a Baathist neighborhood, and you could tell by the small size of the crowd that things, even with the statue down, things were not going to be right. No way did you hear all weapons going down and everyone applauding. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once the statue in Baghdad fell, after three weeks of war, we knew that the northern cities were going to fall within a couple of days. Kirkuk fell the next day and Mosul fell the day after. Tikrit was taken four days after that.

The day the statue in Baghdad fell, everybody in Kurdistan in the big cities were out in streets celebrating, cheering, holding up signs and flag, and there was a feeling that it was almost over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not sure that the war is over. I'm war photographer, I'm a news photographer, and I follow the news. It's my life, you know? It's my style of life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The difficulty is always to get a rounded picture, an equal view of it. The best still image would be where people can climb from their couches into that still image.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: "Time" magazine's still photographers. That was put together by Amanda Townsend (ph). The NEWSNIGHT staff who put together most if not all of the packages of still photographers that we ran during the war. That was terrific. Morning papers. Why not? OK? Morning papers, tomorrow's news tonight. Coming up next. There is one story that is spectacular, OK? We'll take a break first. This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: OK, don't you hate it when I just amuse myself up here? Time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world. It seems like the program is ending early tonight, doesn't it? It does to me. Anyway, here we go. "The New York Times," a couple of stories on the front page of "The Times" I like a lot. Over here, "Tales of Despair From Guantanamo." We hear so little -- there we go -- about what it is like for the detainees as they're called down in Guantanamo. Those who have been released have talked to "The New York Times" and we get a preview.

And then, right next to it, "In Stores: Private Handcuffs for Sticky Fingers." It's a very cool piece by Andrea Elliot (ph) on what it's like in the rooms where they take shoplifters in Macy's. Not bad. "New York Times." By the way, there is one great story coming up, but not yet. Though this is a pretty good one.

In the "Miami Herald," that would be Miami, Florida, as opposed to Miami, Ohio. "Pie-Eyed in the Sky: More Pilots Drunk and FAA Responds." Now, what is that about? If you're flying airplanes, please, don't be drinking, OK?

"The Amarillo Globe News." Amarillo, Texas. What do you think the lead us? You're right. "Tulia Defendants Released." Amarillo not far from Tulia. Their whole front page is local. I like to see that. That's pretty cool.

I am told there is a minute left, is that right? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BROWN: OK. I told you there was a great story, and here it is. It comes from the "Washington Times," or as people refer to it, the other paper in Washington, right? Down here. "Name Won't Fly If You Are David Nelson." It turns out that if your name is David Nelson, you're getting pulled off airplanes, turned into the FBI, searched, because somewhere out there, there apparently is a single terrorist named David Nelson. And so every other David Nelson that tries to get on an airplane is getting nailed.

Is that a great story or what? "The Gazette of Charleston," West Virginia, I am pretty sure. "One Right After the Other," two days of flooding there. That's pretty cool picture on the front page. Well, it's not cool if you are living in it, but you know what I mean.

And here, just a thought. There's not a single car story on the "Detroit News." Go figure? What kind of a day is that?

That's morning papers. That's the program. We'll see you tomorrow. Good night for all of us.

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Raids in Iraq; Mideast Negotiations Continue>