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Minnesota Bridge Collapse; Kentucky Bomb Scare; President Bush and President Karzai Meet

Aired August 06, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sad truth is that many in the region will have to fend for themselves for some time yet. CNN, Atlanta.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning again, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed. I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins. Developments are coming into the "CNN NEWSROOM." Here's what's on the rundown now.

Divers comb concrete and steel for victims of the Minneapolis bridge disaster. Live this hour, the man in charge of California's bridges.

HARRIS: Also live this hour, the presidents of the United States and Afghanistan talk with reporters at Camp David. The war and resurging radicals.

COLLINS: And new information expected in just minutes on a South Carolina explosive scare. Bomb or no bomb? You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Happening in Minneapolis this morning, treacherous waters. A solemn mission, divers going back into the water. Another search for victims of the bridge collapse. Those who died and those still missing being remembered in hearts and prayers. Live to our Susan Roesgen in Minneapolis. Susan, it sounds like help is on the way. Navy divers, Army divers, FBI divers, clearly now help is on the way.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly that's the case, Tony. Just a few minutes ago I got some more information about why those other divers are being brought in here. Apparently the situation is that they will arrive, the FBI divers and the Navy divers will arrive at about the same time that the heavy equipment gets here to start moving the biggest pieces of the collapsed bridge. Again, I called it debris; you can call it debris or potential evidence. When the heavy equipment comes in to start moving these big pieces, the FBI divers and the Navy divers are specialized in body retrieval.

Basically the sheriff's office divers have done what they can to check the cars that were not crushed, to check the cars that were not pinned under larger pieces of concrete. Now it's time for the divers who are specially trained in body retrieval to come in and try to work with the crews that are moving the large chunks out of the way and then look for the bodies. I also asked the sheriff, why don't you just drain the river at this point? You can stop the river at the dam; stop the flow of water completely. He said, yes, we could do that. We've been asked about that.

But he says that would only give us about two hours tops. The dam cannot hold the mighty Mississippi back any longer than that. He said that would not be enough time to do what we need to do. So that's why Tony as I told you in the last hour, they've continued to lower the level of the river to just seven or eight feet to try to give the divers some help. They don't have to go down so far but they just can't clear it completely to get it dry where they could look at it that way.

HARRIS: Susan, just a quick question. Is there any sense of mounting frustration that this is - well, we're coming up on a week come Wednesday. And we still have the bodies of eight people yet to be recovered. Any sense of frustration that the recovery effort is perhaps moving too slowly?

ROESGEN: No, I don't think so, Tony. I think instead of frustration it's really just sorrow for the families of these people and for the people who know them. Over the weekend, they were allowed for the first time to get much closer than we've been. You know the bridge is way far behind me. Much closer than our cameras have been allowed to get in there. They let the families of the eight missing people go down, actually walk along the riverbanks and see why it's taking so long. Look at why the divers have such a big job. So those families said they were grateful for that. And they mentioned earlier today they actually asked the Minneapolis police, Tony, to release their loved ones names because they wanted to share their stories and let people know about them.

HARRIS: CNN's Susan Roesgen for us in Minneapolis. Susan, great to see you. Thank you.

COLLINS: Happening now in Louisville, Kentucky, a search for suspects from a bloody bank robbery. Police say two people were shot during this morning's holdup. One victim in serious condition, the other suffered non-life threatening injuries. Police say the gunmen in their teens or early 20s burst into the bank and demanded money and they fired off a couple of shots. Police have found their getaway car and are using dogs now to hunt down the fugitives. We will continue to watch this story for you as we look at live pictures coming in from our affiliate WAVE, Louisville, Kentucky.

Also this hour, new details expected on an explosive scare. It involves two men arrested this weekend in Goose Creek, South Carolina. CNN's Rusty Dornin is in Charleston for us now. Rusty, there's been a lot of confusion about this story, whether or not there were actually explosives found or a bomb found or whatever it was and really a lot of questions at this point.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the confusion is still there, Heidi, because there's going to be a press conference in just about a half hour with the local officials here in Monk's Corner, South Carolina. Now the conflicting reports are that local law enforcement officials say that a bomb and bomb-making materials were found in this car driven by two men, Yousef Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed. They are not U.S. citizens. Apparently they are students at the University of South Florida. Now t they were driving away from the Goose Creek naval weapons facility.

On Saturday night they were pulled over and something was found in the car that they found were suspicious. They took it out of the car and detonated it. Now local officials are saying it was a bomb but FBI and federal sources are telling CNN those familiar with the case, that no bomb was found in the car. And so far in their investigation, there is no link to terrorism. But obviously we're going to be finding out a lot more when this press conference takes place in just about a half hour. We do understand the ATF is not participating in this press conference; however, there may be FBI officials here.

Otherwise it will be the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department here in South Carolina that will be leading off this press conference. The two men are being held in Monk's Corner and they're expected to be charged with some kind of explosives charges and some immigration charges may be pending sometime this morning. And obviously they may be outlining that for us as well. Heidi.

COLLINS: Wow. It's just such a weird story. Can't seem to get agreement on whether or not there was really a bomb. What sort of activity do you see around you? I mean do you see people kind of really working on this? Or -- I can't imagine the scene.

DORNIN: No. What we're actually at the sheriff's department where they're going to be having the press conference. So we've got some other reporters here, of course, who are awaiting the press conference. And we'll just have to see. They're being held about two miles away from here. And they were actually pulled over in a different town from Monk's Corner. So it will be interesting to see what develops.

COLLINS: Well, if ever before we needed a press conference I think it would be today on this story. Thanks so much, Rusty Dornin coming to us from Charleston, South Carolina. Thanks Rusty.

HARRIS: Emergency measures in place in Montana. Wildfires raging across much of that state. Firefighters hoping the weather will help them get the upper hand. Right now one blaze near Missoula is dangerously close to home. Residents have been evacuated, at least one house destroyed. Evacuation orders are in place in other parts of Montana as well. The state's governor urging people in threatened areas to head to safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR BRIAN SCHWEITZER, MONTANA: Pack up, get out. It's time. We're serious this time. We've pulled the ground crews off at this moment. You need to evacuate. And everybody in Montana say a prayer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Some of the fires in Montana are burning near popular tourist spots, including Glacier National Park.

COLLINS: A deadly flood in the desert southwest. Heavy rain in the Tucson area, a torrent of water. Look at this, rushed over a waterfall and through a narrow canyon in a recreation area. Two hikers were swept to their deaths. Their bodies now recovered and identified. The flooding also closed roads and prompted evacuations.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Still ahead this morning, a deadly collapse. Now bridges across the country are under scrutiny. We'll take a closer look.

HARRIS: Also, desperate for a normal life, a social club giving Iraqi families a place to escape the daily violence.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Bush wraps up a visit with a critical ally in the U.S.'s war on terror. I'm Elaine Quijano live at the White House. I'll have more on that Camp David summit with Afghanistan's president coming up in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And surviving the Dead Sea. A young boy found after floating alone for hours. His amazing story ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And welcome back everyone into the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris. A Monday morning bank holdup, two people shot, two suspects still on the loose; a developing story, we're following out in Kentucky.

COLLINS: Hi everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. A meeting of presidents, a sharing of common ground. We'll hear from them this hour, Afghanistan and the United States. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Afghanistan, sometimes called the forgotten war. This hour, it tops President Bush's agenda. He is meeting with Afghan ally, Hamid Karzai. We will be hearing from him -- both of them, actually within just a few minutes. White House correspondent, Elaine Quijano, is here now to set the stage for us as we look at the podium there. Boy, there's an awful lot to talk about today between the two of these leaders, Elaine.

QUIJANO: Well that's right. And topping the agenda, of course, Afghanistan has been dealing with the resurgence of the Taliban. So no doubt that is at the very top of their agenda, along with concerns about what is happening in neighboring Pakistan. That has set the scene a little bit more for you of course; President Karzai arrived at Camp David last night. The two delegations, the U.S. and the Afghan delegations then had dinner. And then this morning, according to a spokesman, President Bush actually asked for a one-on-one meeting with President Karzai. They spent about an hour or so in the president's cabin talking and we're likely going to hear about that today in just a little while. And then the delegations, of course, the larger delegations met afterwards.

Certainly when it comes to Afghanistan and Pakistan, there has been a great deal of distrust between those two countries. They have long accused each other of not doing enough to fight terrorists. President Karzai, for his part is looking for signs from President Bush that he can count on his support essentially, as that security situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate. Now, President Bush simply by extending this invitation to Camp David, to President Karzai trying to send a message of his own, trying to re-assure President Karzai that he can count on U.S. support going forward but a number of issues on the agenda. Heidi, you mentioned the resurgence of the Taliban, the Pakistan concerns as well, as well as the fate of those 21 south Koreans being held hostage by the Taliban. Heidi.

COLLINS: OK. I was just going to mention that. We're looking at some of the pictures right now of them. All right, Elaine, we will continue to watch this story. Should be coming to the microphones in ten minutes or so. We will bring that to our viewers live. Elaine Quijano, thanks so much for that. Once again, remind you about that live news conference between President George Bush and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan. Again scheduled for 11:25. We'll bring it to you live.

HARRIS: Bridge safety. Well, since last week's disaster in Minneapolis, cities across the country are talking about it this morning. We're talking to the Director of the California Department of Transportation, Will Kimpton. He's with us from Sacramento. Will, good to see you. I just want to give you a heads up. We may not be able to talk very long. We understand the president and the President Karzai are going to be speaking shortly. But let me ask you very quickly, there is a quote of yours in one of the newspapers that says there is no bridge in our system that is in danger. As a matter of fact, Will, let me just sort of apologize to you at this time. Maybe we'll get back to you in just a couple of minutes if you can stick around.

Let's take everyone to Camp David now as we watch the president of the United States and Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai walking toward the microphones there in Camp David in Maryland. The two have a lot to talk about this morning, certainly the concerns after six years of the Karzai government in Afghanistan, what steps are being made there in that country to better secure it and what steps are being taken by President Karzai to work with his neighbors in Pakistan. Let's listen in.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning. Thank you. Be seated. Welcome.

Appreciate a man I've come to admire, President Karzai, for joining us. Laura and I had the honor of hosting the president for dinner last night. He and I spent a lot of this morning just sitting down, alone, talking about our common interests, common concerns.

President Karzai is an optimistic man. He's watched his country emerge from the days of darkness to days of hope.

HAMID KARZAI, AFGHANISTAN PRESIDENT: Absolutely.

BUSH: I appreciate your stewardship. I appreciate your commitment to empowering your people. I appreciate your strong stance for freedom and justice. And I'm proud to call you an ally in this war against those who would wreak havoc in order to deny people a chance to live in peace.

We're working closely together to help the people of Afghanistan prosper. We work together to give the people of Afghanistan a chance to raise their children in a hopeful world. And we're working together to defeat those who would try to stop the advance of a free Afghan society.

Spent a fair amount of time talking about our security strategy.

You might remember, it was last winter that people were speculating about the Taliban spring offensive and about how the Taliban had regrouped and were going to go on the attack inside Afghanistan.

Well, there was a spring offensive, all right. It was conducted by U.S., NATO and, equally importantly, Afghan troops. And we went on the offense, because we understand that it is in our mutual interest to deny extremists the opportunity to derail this young democracy.

There's still a fight going on, but I'm proud to report to the American people that the Afghan army is in the fight. The government's in the fight, and the army's in the fight.

Afghan national security forces are increasing in strength. There's about 110,000 Afghans now defending their nation. And more Afghans are stepping up to serve.

And it's in the interest of the United States to help you develop that national army and local police that will send a clear message to the people of Afghanistan that the governments can help provide an opportunity for people to raise their children in a peaceful world.

There's a lot of forces there in Afghanistan supporting this government. And our 23,500 troops are proud to stand side by side with 26,000 troops from other nations. And we applaud those countries who have committed their troops to help Afghanistan succeed.

We've committed more than $23 billion since 2001 to help rebuild the country. I think our citizens will be interested to know, for example, that 7,000 community health care workers have been trained, that provide about 340,000 Afghan men, women and children a month with good health care.

I remember talking a lot about how the Taliban prevented young girls from going to school in Afghanistan. American citizens recall with horror to think about a government that would deny a young child the opportunity to have the basics necessary to succeed in life.

Today there are nearly 5 million students going to school in Afghanistan, a third of whom are girls. Still work to be done. Don't get me wrong.

But progress is being made, Mr. President, and we're proud of you, proud of the work you're doing.

We talked about the need to stem the narcotics trade. I'm sure the president will comment on this. He understands that it's very important for farmers to be incented to grow crop other than poppy and that he knows full well the United States is watching, measuring and trying to help eradicate poppy cultivation.

We spend more than a fair amount of time on it. We spend a lot of time on it. And it's important that we get this right.

Mr. President, I appreciate your commitment to not only dealing with the poppy growers and the poppy crop, but also dealing with corruption. It's very important that our societies emerge in such a way that the people have confidence in the capacity of government to conduct the affairs -- conduct their affairs in a way that's above board and honest and transparent.

And finally, I do want to congratulate you on the joint jirga that's coming up.

This is a meeting between President Karzai, President Musharraf and representative elements from parts of their respective countries, all coming together to talk about reconciliation and how we can work together -- how you can work together -- to achieve a -- to achieve common solutions to problems.

And the main problem is to fight extremism; to recognize that history has called us into action, and by fighting extremists and radicals, we help people realize dreams. And helping realize -- people realize dreams helps promote peace. That's what we want.

You come from a part of the world, Mr. President, where there's a long history of violence and a long history of people seeking freedom. It's in the interest of the United States to be on the -- tip the scales of freedom your way.

We can only do so with strong leadership, and I appreciate the leadership you're providing.

So welcome to Camp David.

KARZAI: Thank you very much.

Smilah rahman rahim (ph).

Thank you very much, Mr. President, for receiving me in Camp David. You and the first lady are generous and kind hosts. And thank you very much for that.

Mr. President, I'm here today to, once again, thank you and the American people for all that you have done for Afghanistan: for our liberation first and then for our stability and prosperity. We have gone a long way.

I've been here many times before in America, thanking the American people for what they have given to Afghanistan. I've spoken of roads. I've spoken of schools. I've spoken of clinics. I've spoken of health services. I've spoken of education. I've spoken of agriculture. I've spoken of lots of achievements. I've also had requests for help that you have delivered to us.

But today I'm going to speak about only one achievement that means so much for the Afghan people and surely to you and the rest of the world. That is that Afghanistan today, with the help that you have provided and our other allies have provided, can save, is saving the life of at least 50,000 infants after they are born and the life of 85,000 children under 5.

Mr. President, when you and I begin to think of the mothers who can have their babies safe today, then we know the value and the importance of this achievement. And thank you very, very much for this tremendous help. Afghanistan will have not have not had 85,000 children living today had you not been there to help us, with the rest of the world.

BUSH: Thank you, sir.

KARZAI: That's a massive achievement.

KARZAI: And I'm happy about it. I'm sure you are too. And so are women and mothers around the world.

Mr. President, as we have gone a long way, progress has been made. We will still continue to fight terrorism. Our enemy is still there, defeated but still hiding in the mountains. And our duty is to complete the job, to get them out of their hideouts in the mountains and to bring justice to the people of Afghanistan, to the people of America, and to the people around the world who are threatened by these terrorists.

One of the significant steps that we have taken together with Pakistan to have an effective fight against terrorism, an effective fight against extremism and radicalism, was discussed during the dinner that you kindly hosted for me and President Musharraf. And the result of that is going to be seen in two days from today, the 9th of August, where, in Kabul, we will have the joint Pakistan-Afghanistan jirga.

I hope very much that this jirga will bring to us what we need, which I think it will. And thank you very much for this opportunity you caused us to have, the meeting, and to have a result of that.

Mr. President, we have a long journey ahead of us. But what we have travelled so far has given us greater hope for a better future, for a better life.

The Afghans are still suffering, but there are millions of Afghans who are enjoying a better and more secure life, who can send their children to school and who can work in their fields. And thank you very much for that.

Yes, we do have the problem of poppies and narcotics in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is committed to fighting it, because this evil is first hurting us, and then youth in the rest of the world. So this is for Afghanistan to work against and for the rest of us to work against.

We are committed. It will take time. We are realistic about that. But the fight is there and I hope your assistance will continue to be delivered to Afghanistan to fight narcotics.

We have raised our army, indeed. We are working on our police. Our police needs a lot of improvement. And I'm glad that you have committed to helping us with the raising of a better police in Afghanistan.

The fight against corruption is going on. We have developed a mechanism, worked through a commission headed by the chief justice of Afghanistan, that will be ready in two months from now and will announced to the Afghan people on hows and measures and the time frame that we will need to have an effective fight against corruption in Afghanistan.

The rest, life is going on well with a lot of folk. We have a better administration, more capabilities.

KARZAI: We can do lots of things on our own. And I'm sure your continued assistance will make life better for us.

And thank you very much, Mr. President. Nice of you to receive me here.

(CROSSTALK)

BUSH: Thanks for coming.

A couple of questions.

QUESTION: Mr. President, if you had actionable intelligence about the whereabouts of top Al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan, would you wait for Musharraf's permission to send in U.S. forces, even if it meant missing an opportunity to take him out? Or have you and Musharraf worked out some deal about this already?

And, President Karzai, what will be your top concern when you meet with Musharraf later this week?

BUSH: I'm confident that with actionable intelligence we will be able to bring top Al Qaeda to justice.

We're in constant communications with the Pakistan government. It's in their interest that foreign fighters be brought to justice.

After all, these are the same ones who are plotting to kill President Musharraf. We share a concern.

And I'm confident, with real, actionable intelligence, we will get the job done.

KARZAI: When President Musharraf visits Afghanistan on the 9th of August to inaugurate the joint Pakistan-Afghanistan convention, or jirga, together with me, we will be discussing further improvements in relations between the two countries.

The two countries are neighbors. They've been having extensive relationships with each other. And we'll be discussing improvement of those relations, on all aspects of them.

We'll also be discussing the possible outcome of the joint jirga between the two countries and how effectively, then, we can carry on the fight against terrorism in both countries and in the region, as a result of that jirga.

So, It's going to be, I'm sure, a good meeting, ma'am.

Afghan press?

QUESTION: I will ask in Pashtun and then I will translate my question. My question is for Mr. Karzai.

(SPEAKING IN PASHTUN)

I will repeat in English, too, that four years ago in a press conference Mr. President Karzai said Taliban do not pose any threat to Afghan people. So who do you think supported Taliban to threaten the security by doing kidnappings and attacking the government officials and why?

KARZAI: Four years ago I did say that, and I continue to say that.

The Taliban do pose dangers to our innocent people, to children going to school, to our clergy, to our teachers, to our engineers, to international aid workers. They're not posing any threat to the government of Afghanistan. They're not posing any threat to the institutions of Afghanistan or to the buildup of institutions of Afghanistan.

It's a force that's defeated. It's a force that is frustrated. It's a force that is acting in cowardice by killing children going to school.

Who's supporting them is a question that we have been working on for a long time and since then.

KARZAI: And I hope that the jirga between us and Pakistan will give us solutions to some of the questions that we have.

BUSH: Yes. One thing is for certain: We know the vision -- their vision of how to govern. They've been in power. I mean, they've had the opportunity to show the world how they think and what they do.

I mean, it's instructive for people to speak to, you know, a mother of a young girl about what life was like under the Taliban.

These are brutal, cold-blooded killers.

KARZAI: Yes.

BUSH: That's what they are. And the fundamental question facing those of us who believe in freedom is whether or not we confront them and whether or not it's worth it, the effort, to spread an alternative to their hateful vision.

And we've come to the conclusion it is. And that's why President Karzai stands right here at Camp David discussing common concerns, common opportunities, about how to defeat a vision of darkness.

That's what they are. They just don't believe in freedom. They don't believe it's possible to live in a society where people are allowed to express themselves in free fashion.

And it's -- this is really, they're part of an ongoing challenge that the free world faces. And the real question is whether or not those of us who have the blessings of liberty will continue to pursue policies -- foreign policy, security policy -- aimed at not only protecting our homeland, but aimed at laying a condition for peace to prevail.

QUESTION: President Karzai said yesterday that he believed Iran was playing a helpful role in Afghanistan. Was he able to convince you, in your meetings, that that was the case, or do you still have concerns about Iran's role?

And I have a question for President Karzai as well.

I'm just wondering if the president was able to give you the assurances that you sought about the effort to reduce civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

BUSH: Let me comment on the civilian casualties, if I might.

First, I fully understand the angst, the agony and the sorrow that Afghan citizens feel when an innocent life is lost. I know that must cause grief in villages and heartbreak in homes.

Secondly, I can assure the Afghan people, like I assured the president, that we do everything that we can to protect the innocent, that our military operations are mindful that innocent life might be exposed to danger.

And we adjust accordingly.

Thirdly, it is the Taliban who surround themselves with innocent life as human shields. The Taliban are the cold-blooded killers. The Taliban are the murderers. The Taliban have no regard for human life. And, therefore, we spent some time talking about -- the president rightly expressed his concerns about civilian casualty. And I assured him we share those concerns.

Secondly, it's up to Iran to prove to the world that they're a stabilizing force as opposed to destabilizing force.

After all, this is a government that has proclaimed its desire to build a nuclear weapon. This is a government that's in defiance of international accord, a government that seems to be willing to thumb its nose at the international community, and at the same time a government that denies its people a rightful place in the world and denies its people the ability to realize their full potential.

So I believe that it's in the interests of all of us that we have an Iran that tries to stabilize, not destabilize; an Iran that gives up its weapons ambitions. And therefore we're working to that end.

The president knows best about what's taking place in his country. And, of course, I'm willing to listen.

But from my perspective, the burden of proof is on the Iranian government to show us that they're a positive force.

And I must tell you that this current leadership there is a -- is a big disappointment to the people of Iran.

I mean, the people of Iran could be doing a lot better than they are today. But because of the actions of this government, this country is isolated.

And we will continue to work to isolate it. Because they're not a force for good, as far as we can see. They are a destabilizing influence, wherever they are now.

The president will talk to you about Afghanistan. But I would be very cautious about whether or not the Iranian influence there in Afghanistan is a positive force. And, therefore, it's going to be up to them to prove to us and prove to the government that they are.

KARZAI: I had a good discussion with President Bush on civilian casualties. I'm very happy to tell you that President Bush felt very much with Afghan people, that he calls the Afghan people allies in the war against terror, and friends, and that he is as much concerned as I am, as the Afghan people are. I was very happy with that conversation.

QUESTION: Mr. Karzai, avino (ph). Can I ask my question in Dari first?

KARZAI: Please, yes.

QUESTION: (SPEAKING IN DARI)

You have recently become a father, and also you have recently pardoned a teenage who suicide himself, and you said he was brainwashed.

KARZAI: Brainwashed, yes.

QUESTION: Yes. What do you think about the future of Afghanistan in view of this problem?

KARZAI: Well, ma'am, the man -- the boy, I should say -- that I pardoned was a 14-year-old boy from Pakistan's South Waziristan agency. He was sent by his father to a madrassa to get education because he could not anymore afford to have him in school, because his mother had a heart ailment and they had to spend money on her treatment.

Having sent the boy to a madrassa, he disappeared from there.

After a few months his father heard that he was arrested in Afghanistan, and then he came to Afghanistan. And having seen that this was a teenage -- rather legally underage innocent boy, used by terrorists to kill himself and to kill other innocent people, I felt that it was the right decision to pardon him, to give him a new opportunity for education and a new life, and to send a message to his mother that, "Your child is going to be back with you."

I'm very glad I did that.

But this gives us a lesson about those who are the enemies of all of us, the enemies of people, who use young children, who brainwashes them and who forces them to kill themselves.

The message should be clear to the rest of the world about the evil that we are fighting, the heartless people that we are fighting, who don't even have any feeling for young children, for babies, for teenagers.

Most of that we know today that the terrorists are buying and selling suicide bombers. We have received calls in our government offices by handlers of suicide bombers that they want to sell them to us.

So it's become a trade -- a mean trade. Merchants of death are around there. So it's our job to get rid of them.

BUSH: Thank you very much.

KARZAI: Thank you very much. Thank you.

BUSH: Good job.

HARRIS: And there you have it, President Bush and Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai. You heard there a question in the question- and-answer portion of the news conference that you're going to be hearing a lot in the days ahead, it seems to me. The president was asked, if you had actionable intelligence of top al Qaeda leaders would you launch an attack? The president said they -- meaning, I guess, NATO forces, U.S. forces, Pakistani forces -- would bring top al Qaeda leaders to justice. Now, you'll recall that just months ago the president was asked that same question by our Wolf Blitzer. Here is the question -- If had you good actionable intelligence in Pakistan where they were, would you give the order to kill him? Talking about Osama bin Laden and others, or capture him and go into Pakistan. The president at that time said, this is September 20th of 2006, OK, so farther back than I thought. September 20th, 2006, the president's response was absolutely, absolutely. Even though the Pakistanis -- this is Wolf Blitzer -- says that they're a sovereign country. The president absolutely we would take the action necessary to bring him, Osama bin Laden, and by extension, others, other top leaders of al Qaeda, to justice.

So clearly the president is backing away from that earlier statement, and as you know, for its part, the government in Pakistan has said if you have actionable intelligence about Osama bin Laden or others, just give it to us and we will act on it. So the president sounding closer to the view today of the Pakistani government and its efforts to go after al Qaeda leadership. We'll have much more on this, reaction to some of the comments from the president and President Karzai certainly in the situation room this afternoon and in the NEWSROOM at 1:00 this afternoon as well.

COLLINS: Let's take a closer look at Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai is the first democratically elected president of that country. He's led Afghanistan since December of 2001. That's two months after the U.S. launched its post-9/11 invasion. Today nearly six years later, there are still 25,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. More than 640 coalition troops, most of them Americans, have been killed.

I want to get you to a story back here in the U.S., Huntington, Utah, a pretty disturbing story that we're learning about right now, getting a few details in, about a coal mine that collapsed because of a 4.0 earthquake. This was about 20 miles away or so where the earthquake happened, then forced the mine to collapse. We are also hearing from the sheriff's office. That would Emery County Sheriff's Office, saying at least six miners are trapped inside the mine in Utah. We know that a rescue team and some heavy equipment are being brought in to try and help them out in anyway possible. This is known as the Genwal Mine, again, in central Utah. This information coming to us out of Huntington, Utah. We will continue to watch for any new developments that come in.

But right now we are getting word, six miners are trapped in a collapsed mine in Utah. We'll watch this one for you very closely.

HARRIS: Three friends killed execution style. Now the hunt for suspects in New Jersey.

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HARRIS: We are getting information, very disturbing information, too, about six miners that are trapped in central Utah. You see the dot there on the map. Huntington, Utah. It's known as the Genwal Mine. Apparently there was an earthquake that measured 4.0 magnitude- wise. And about 20 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake is this mine, that about an hour after the earthquake gave way and collapsed. We are hearing from the sheriff there, Emery County sheriff telling us six miners are inside. They are trapped at this time.

A lot of people, I'm sure, rushing to that scene, trying to get them out and trying to do anything they can. But that is all we know at this point. We will continue to watch it for you. Apparently the earthquake happened at about 3:00 this morning. And then about an hour later, as I said, the mine collapsed. We will watch that for you, bring you any new information.

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COLLINS: Surviving the Dead Sea. A young boy found after floating alone for hours. You won't believe the story, coming up after a break.

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COLLINS: We give you a little more information now as we are just getting it in here to CNN, regarding this mine collapse that happened in Huntington, Utah. Central Utah. Apparently there was an earthquake, about a 4.0 magnitude quake that happened, about 3:00 in the morning. And then just an hour later, the mine collapsed. It's known as the Genwal Mine.

The worst part of this story coming to us from the Emery County Sheriff's Office, that apparently there are six miners inside, six miners inside trapped inside this collapsed mine. We know that rescue workers are on the scene. I can only imagine what it must look like there trying their best to get them freed. We are going to watch it for you. We also know there's a command center that was being set up. So hopefully we'll get more information for you coming up just as soon as possible.

HARRIS: I want to share this story with you as well -- an 8- year-old Israeli boy survives a long ordeal in the Dead Sea. He spent six hours floating at night in the water. The boy had been there with his father, two brothers and several other people when currents pulled him out to sea. Searchers found him early Friday about two miles from shore. They had all but given up hope. He was dehydrated, but otherwise OK. One rescuer says the mineral-rich water helped keep him afloat.

COLLINS: What was going on before the bridge in Minneapolis went down? The investigation of a deadly collapse intensifying now this morning.

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COLLINS: Once again happening right now, information coming in, pretty disturbing out of Huntington, Utah, central Utah, an earthquake has caused a mine to collapse. About 20 miles away from the epicenter of this 4.0-magnitude earthquake that happened really early in the morning, about 3:00 a.m. or so, a mine collapse. It happened about an hour after. They immediately started getting reports, officials there, of six people, six miners, inside the Genwal Mine that caved in just an hour after the earthquake. We are certain that rescue workers are on the scene trying to help them out. We will continue to follow that story, if any information comes to us out of Huntington, Utah, we will bring it to you directly.

COLLINS: CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now. I'm Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home. Have a great afternoon. I'm Tony Harris.

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