Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
General Petraeus Continues Iraq War Report Before Congress; Six West Virginians Arrested on Charges of Alleged Torture
Aired September 11, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: On this date, 2001, September 11 became 9/11 and America became a very different nation. Today, the nation remembers.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And Congress takes stock of a bitter and bloody war and a general's campaign to rally support on the home front.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Live now to Capitol Hill -- for the top U.S. commander in Iraq, the end, it is in sight, not for the war or U.S. involvement in it, but of marathon hearings by four congressional committees.
As we speak, General David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker are in their second day of testimony before lawmakers, who range from warmly supportive to openly combative.
Watching it all. CNN congressional correspondent Jessica Yellin -- Jessica.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, it has been a long day for both these men. We understand Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus took a brief coffee break in between the two hearings and got coffee actually out of the machine in the anteroom there. That's all they have had today and a few sandwiches.
It has been a grueling day of testimony and tough questioning, as you pointed out, from some of the Republicans in particular. This hearing started off with a moment of relief, when John McCain, one of the strongest supporters of the surge, backed up General Petraeus, and had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No one can be certain of success. We can be sure, however, that should the United States Congress succeed in legislating a date for withdrawal, and thus surrender, then we will fail for certain.
(END VIDEO CLIP) YELLIN: But he certainly was one of the exceptions today. Most of the folks here and especially the Republicans -- or, notably, the Republicans -- were very sharp and critical in their statements about the war and expressed deep doubt about the strategy.
Here's Senator Chuck Hagel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), NEBRASKA: Are we going to continue to invest American blood and treasure at the same rate we are doing now, for what? The president said let's buy time. Buy time? For what?
Every report I have seen, and I assume both of you agree with this, there's been, really, very little, if any, political process that is the ultimate core issue, political reconciliation in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: So, there is a ton of buzz on Capitol Hill today about meetings coming up between Democrats and moderate Republicans to see if in the coming days they can fashion some sort of compromise that would lead to a drawdown beyond pre-surge levels. But first both these men have to get through more testimony today. And among those who will be questioning them later on is Senator and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton -- Don.
LEMON: CNN congressional correspondent Jessica Yellin -- thank you, Jessica.
PHILLIPS: In West Virginia this hour, six people are in jail and facing potential hate crime charges after they allegedly kidnapped and tortured a 20-year-old woman. All the suspects are white. The victim is black. What these people are accused of doing is just unbelievable.
CNN's Kathleen Koch joins us live from Washington with more -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, this story is simply horrific.
Six West Virginians, a mother and son, mother and daughter, and two men are in custody in West Virginia's Southwestern Regional Jail. Among the charges, they are facing kidnapping, torture, sexual assault.
Now, the criminal complaint alleges that, for a week, 20-year-old Megan Williams of Charleston, West Virginia, was held against her will by the six. Now, the complaint alleges she was sexually assaulted, stabbed in the leg, choked, beaten, forced to eat rat and dog feces, lick up blood, and drink from a toilet.
Now, deputies discovered Williams Saturday after getting an anonymous tip that a woman was being held in a Big Creek mobile home against her will. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
W.E. HUNTER, LOGAN COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, SHERIFF: Upon approaching the place, deputies found Frankie Brewster sitting on the front porch, got to talk to her. She got up and walked toward the door. And a young black lady came to the door and said, "Please help me."
She had two black eyes. Part of her hair had been pulled out. She had lacerations on her legs, marks on her neck. And she had been physically, mentally, and sexually abused.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This just sounds like a horrific crime.
HUNTER: It is out of a horror movie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: The complaint further alleges that the suspects uttered racial slurs while assaulting the victim. So, the FBI this afternoon is meeting with local authorities to determine whether or not this was a hate crime. For now, the suspects are all being held on $100,000 bond each. And they all have a long list of prior arrests. And law enforcement says that they are very well known to them.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Well, hopefully, they will be held accountable for this. We will follow it. Kathleen Koch, thank you.
KOCH: Right. You bet.
LEMON: Bagpipes and bells a slow procession, a reading of names, flowers and a reflecting pool, and silence, this is how New York City honored victims of 9/11. The ceremony was held outside ground zero for first time.
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani talked about the day that put him in on a national stage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: On this day, six years ago, and on the days that followed, in the midst of our great grief and turmoil, we also witnessed uncompromising strength and resilience as a people. It was a day with no answers, but with an unending line of those who came forward to try to help one another.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Giuliani's successor, Michael Bloomberg, led the ceremony. Family members and friends read the names of the victims.
PHILLIPS: At the Pentagon, where Defense Secretary Robert Gates helped lay a wreath, the ceremony began at 9:37 minutes a.m., six years to the minute after American Flight 77 crashed into the building and killed 184 people. It was an emotional day, even for a general.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENERAL PETER PACE, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: We cannot touch our loved ones today, those who were lost here. Therefore, we ask God to hug them for us, that they might know we love them and we miss them and we will serve this nation in their honor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And, across the Potomac, President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and other officials gathered on the White House South Lawn for a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. That's when the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center.
LEMON: And dozens of people gathered near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to honor the victims of United Flight 93. Forty passengers and crew died when that plane crashed into a field, the passengers famously ensuring the hijackers would not hit their target.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff spoke at the ceremony.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Some people ask the question, do we have 9/11 fatigue? Has the time come to move on?
I will tell you that, as long as I draw breath, I will not move on. And neither will the 208,000 people in my department or anybody else who is serving at every level of government protecting the people of this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Also this morning, the New York Stock Exchange went quiet for a moment out of respect important the victims. It closed for several days after the attacks.
And CNN decided to ask what you think of 9/11 remembrances. Our CNN.com Quick Vote question is this: Is it time to scale back the large annual observances on the anniversary? So far, response is 50/50.
Go to CNN.com to cast your vote.
PHILLIPS: Welles Crowther was a 24-year-old equities trader on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center's south tower. He also was a volunteer. On September 11, 2001, he led several people to safety before he was killed in the collapse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALISON CROWTHER, MOTHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: Welles was a very special soul. From the time he was a small child, he was a great adventurer. He loved action. He seemed to have a special way of caring about people, being concerned for their safety and their feelings, which we thought was quite wonderful for young man.
The victims who Welles saved, the women we have spoken to, when they are asked, what made you follow him, what made you listen to him, they said he was very much in command. It was his voice. It was his eyes. We just knew we could follow him.
And that was our Welles.
What is it in the human nature that can cause one human being or several human beings to wreak such destruction and havoc on other human beings?
JEFF CROWTHER, FATHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: My son would say, Dad, take your right foot, put in front of your left foot. Now take the left and put it in front of the right foot. You keep going forward. You don't live in the past. You live in the present and you live for the future. But never, ever forget the past.
I weep every day, believe me, every day. But he would want me being productive and going about my life's work. And that's what I do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, Last year, Crowther's parents accepted an award making him an honorary New York City firefighter, his life's dream.
LEMON: An increase in Iraqi detainees -- U.S. troops watching over crowded detention centers trying to change the culture inside. Anderson Cooper reports -- straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Big storms rolled through New York City an hour ago, really wrecked the air traffic in that area. Let me tell you, it is a mess if you are trying to fly out of New York City. Still some storms in the Northeast right now and more to come, even for the Southeast, where it has not rained in three weeks -- that forecast coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Video just into us -- the president of the United States was meeting with a number of leaders today, bipartisan leaders, talking about Iraq, of course, the day that General David Petraeus, the head of all operations there in Iraq, is testifying before Congress with his report.
Also, he paid tribute, we are told, to Congressman Paul Gillmor of Ohio. You know that he passed recently after a fall that he took in his apartment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I thank the leadership of the Congress for joining us here to discuss the testimony delivered by General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker.
For some, this isn't the first moment they have been in the White House today.
And I want to thank the leaders for joining Laura and me and the vice president and his wife, Lynne, as we commemorated a day that really helped -- or did define our nation, which is 9/11, 2001. We also had a church service earlier, and I thank particularly the speaker and the leader for being there as well.
Secondly, all of us around this table, you know, are saddened by the loss of Congressman Paul Gillmor. Congressman Boehner has just come from his memorial service. All of us offer our prayers to the Gillmor family during this difficult time.
And finally I have asked the leadership to come and share their thoughts about Iraq. As I mentioned, we have had a series of hearings where our commander on the ground and ambassador in Iraq have talked about a way forward. I think it's very important before I make up my mind that I consult with the leaders of the House and the Senate. I thank the members for coming and giving me their honest appraisal of whether they think we can find common ground or not or how they think we ought to proceed.
So thank you for coming. Appreciate you being here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Fifteen past the hour. Three of the stories we are working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A helicopter crashes into the Gulf of Mexico near Sarasota, Florida. Two people were killed, one seriously hurt. The people on the chopper reportedly worked for a boat magazine and were doing a photo shoot when it crashed.
Well, if the charges are true, what happened in this West Virginia home is the stuff of horror movies. Six people, all white, are accused of kidnapping a black woman, sexually assaulting her, and torturing her for at least a week. A tip led authorities to her. The suspects could face hate crime charges, among many others.
And here's something you don't see every day, outsiders inside North Korea. A delegation of nuclear experts from the U.S., China, Russia arriving in Pyongyang today to figure out ways to disable North Korea's nuclear facilities.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Well, we have heard from the general. We have heard from the ambassador. But what do soldiers who fought in Iraq have to say about the war and the current strategy? We will hear from some veterans straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BUSINESS REPORT) LEMON: Remembering the victims of 9/11 by reading their names.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Felicia Gail Dunn-Jones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The family of Felicia Jones had to fight for years to get her name read at today's ceremony. We will talk with her husband about why it was such a battle -- straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Resistance today on Capitol Hill to the case being made for the surge in Iraq.
The senior U.S. commander there, General David Petraeus, is spending the day before a pair of Senate committees, committees that came well prepared to challenge what Petraeus told House members yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: Let's look at the poll both of you tried to discredit yesterday. ABC, BBC, a Japanese station, 42 percent of Iraqis say their children will have a worse life, 25 percent say it will be no better, that; 67 percent say that their kid's life will not be better than their own; 70 percent say the surge is making matters worse.
Is that what our troops are dying for?
I ask you to take off your rosy glasses. You had them on in '05. I believed you. I thought for sure we were going to see the Iraqis take over their own defense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Oh, we have heard from the general, the ambassador, dozens of members of Congress. But none of those people has the ground-level perspective on the war in Iraq that U.S. veterans have.
Today, on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," our John Roberts talked with four Iraq war vets about the war, the surge, and the prospects for peace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. ROSE FORREST, VOTEVETS.ORG: The surge is a military solution. I was stationed in Ramadi, capital of al Anbar, just this previous year. And I saw the big improvements that took place in al Anbar. And those were diplomatic changes. Those were changes with the Army and the Marines working with local leaders, building a local police force. It had nothing to do with the surge. So I don't think that the surge had anything to do with the substantial improvements that were made in al Anbar.
ROBERTS: So has the surge actually done anything then?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I doubt it.
ROBERTS: That's a long pause before an answer!
STAFF SGT. DAVID BELLAVIA, FOUGHT IN THE BATTLE FOR FALLUJAH: I don't mean to jump on what you were saying, but I think it's, without a doubt, that the surge has accomplished something. I mean, the point of the matter is Rumsfeld was all about the DOD having the end all solution to what was wrong with Iraq.
And today we're seeing the Department of Labor coming in, Agriculture coming in. People understand that the key to Iraq might not be -- you know, obviously, it's instability, but it's also -- they don't have a central bank. And when a soldier wants to cash a check, he's got to go and hitchhike and go home to Mosul or Kirkuk. And these are all issues. But centrally, when you look at the surge, you're seeing bad guys getting blown up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
CAPT. VERNICE ARMOUR, MARINE CORPS HELICOPTER PILOT: Well, that's the infrastructure you're talking about.
(CROSSTALK)
ARMOUR: But if the military power and the policing power isn't there to get the political, it goes back to what you said, the chicken or the Egypt -- where do we start and how do we get there?
SGT. KAYLA WILLIAMS, SERVED WITH 101ST AIRBORNE: I thought Ambassador Crocker made really good points, too, about how Saddam completely destroyed of all the institutions, all of the organizations other than the Baath Party and what the military presence hopefully is doing is allowing some of those institutions to take root.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, a side-effect of the so-called surge is a dramatic increase in the number of Iraqi detainees.
CNN's Anderson Cooper takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): They arrive at Baghdad's Camp Cropper disoriented, blindfolded -- Iraqi detainees, mostly Sunnis, rounded up in raids by the U.S. military.
Cropper is home to more than 4,000 detainees, the smaller of two such facilities run by American forces.
(on camera): Since the so-called surge began, the number of Iraqis detained in U.S. custody has grown dramatically. This is another busload being brought in right now. Every day, about 60 detainees are taken into U.S. custody. And U.S. facilities are almost at capacity. There's more than 24,000 detainees being held right now.
(voice-over): Some are al Qaeda operatives, Islamic extremists; others, Iraqi teenagers accused of helping build or plant deadly IEDs.
At the request of the military, we agreed not to show their faces or speak with any of them.
MAJOR GENERAL DOUGLAS STONE, DETAINEE OPERATIONS: Today, we're on top.
COOPER: Major General Douglas Stone is in charge of all detainees in Iraq. He is attempting to wage a counterinsurgency inside the detention centers, which in past years were prime recruiting grounds for extremists.
STONE: We're not warehousing. Now we're fighting the battle -- battlefield -- in the battlefield of the brain. We're working to help them -- help the moderates get stronger and isolate and separate the -- the most -- the most extreme.
COOPER: The most extreme detainees have recently been moved to a separate unit so they can't influence the moderate ones. Guarding them is one of the toughest jobs at Camp Cropper.
(on camera): Detainees are constantly making crude weapons to fight against other detainees or to attack the guards with. Here are some of the ones the guards have recently taken. There's like some crude knives made out of barbed wire. Here's another knife. Someone's watch rigged up with a knife in it. These are also very common. These are slingshots. And they get a piece of rock. They make the slingshot out of plastic and rebar. They can take out a guard's eye with this.
STONE: The moderates are, with the programs, taking charge of their compounds, ejecting the extremists, shoving them out -- sometimes physically -- and creating a compound where it is quiet, docile.
COOPER: You really see this as a battle of the brain?
STONE: This is a battle of the brain. This -- what -- this is where the idea of al Qaeda will be beaten. This is where the idea of extremism will be beaten.
COOPER (voice-over): More than 800 of the detainees here are juveniles. Mostly illiterate, unemployed, they're easy recruits for insurgents.
STONE: The insurgency starts right here. And if we clip this off, then we can knock the knees off. COOPER: General Stone has started civics classes for them. And a moderate Islamic cleric teaches a class challenging the extremist ideology, pointing out the Koran does not permit suicide attacks or crimes against civilians.
All the detainees here will have their cases reviewed. Most will get released in under a year.
STONE: When we determine they're no longer a security risk, they go back. So they're not prisoners, they're detainees.
COOPER: General Stone hopes that when do return home, they retain the lessons they have learned here. The problem is, there is not much waiting for them outside these walls -- few jobs, little hope, and the persistent pressure to once again take up arms.
Anderson Cooper, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Our coverage on the Iraq progress report continues from Baghdad with Anderson Cooper live in Iraq, keeping them in honest, tonight, 10:00 p.m..
LEMON: And this just into the CNN NEWSROOM.
Following General David Petraeus' testimony yesterday announcing that there will be a troop reduction, CNN is just learning this. This is according to the Associated Press.
President Bush will tell the nation this week he plans to reduce the American troop presence in Iraq by 30,000 by next summer. But it will be on the condition that those further cuts on continued progress in Iraq. That's -- again, that's according to the Associated Press.
Now, here's how it's going to go down, according to the Associated Press, in a prime time television address, which will probably happen on Thursday. The president will endorse the recommendation of his top general and top diplomat in Iraq, followed by their appearance at two days of hearings yesterday and then also today. That is according to an unnamed administration official. But, again, that's according to the Associated Press.
We are checking in with our White House folks and the White House unit. They're looking into this and we hope to have more for you within the hour.
But, again, this just out. According to the Associated Press, the president this week, according to them, on Thursday, will announce a significant reduction in troops -- 30,000 by next summer. Details to come in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Three months ago, terrorists slammed into the Glasgow Airport in Scotland, their cars bursting into flames. And what happened next has turned a baggage handler who happened to be on a cigarette break into a CNN Hero.
Meet John Smeaton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN SMEATON, CNN HERO: Well, I seen a four by four. Well, it crashed into the side of the door in the terminal building. And I'm thinking to myself, well, that's a bad accident.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: We've got some breaking news. A car on fire has been driven into the Glasgow Airport in Scotland.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is being treated as a terrorist incident.
SMEATON: It was just, ah, that couldn't be. It was unfathomable.
I was in this area here. And I seen a gentleman coming from the passenger side of the vehicle. And the police officer came from across the road and the guy just started punching the policeman. And all I could think of doing was going to help.
I ran up and I try to kick the guy, and a man, Michael, he had done the exact same thing as me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I couldn't just stand there so I just went and punched and kicked him and I ended up breaking my leg in the (INAUDIBLE).
SMEATON: He was lying on the ground.
I was really worried about an explosion from the vehicle and I thought, we need to get Michael and myself away from the situation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I could see the flames in the car and as I'm sitting here, the driver of the car, he throws out petrol. And that's when John Smeaton starts pulling me back. John Smeaton saved my life.
SMEATON: My life has changed from one extreme to another. I enjoy my quiet mundane, happy life.
This is my uniform. This is my T-shirt, my trousers.
I'm a supervisor in the baggage sortation area. When you check your bag in, I'm on the other end of the conveyor belt.
You know, it really does bewilder me why everybody thinks I've done such a big thing.
But at that time I just thought it was my duty.
Democracy is all about compromise and getting on with things. You should be brought up to treat people as they come. And if these people think they're going to keep the British people down, then they've got another thing coming.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, John Smeaton is just one example of an every day superhero -- the people whose spontaneous acts of courage saves lives. And to check out other incredible stories, visit CNN.com/heroes, where you can also nominate your own CNN Hero.
Remember, you've got until September 30th to get your nominations in. Selected winners will be honored during a special live global broadcast December 6th, hosted by our own Anderson Cooper.
LEMON: New developments, Kyra, in a new story coming out of Detroit.
T.J. Holmes working the details for you us -- what do you have, T.J. ?
HOLMES: Well, we've got a stinging defeat here for the mayor of Detroit and a lawsuit against him. And the City of Detroit has ruled now -- a jury there has ruled that the mayor was guilty of some wrongdoing and has awarded $6.5 million to two ex-police officers who had brought this whistleblower suit against the mayor.
What these two officers said was that they were unfairly retaliated against and forced out of their jobs because they raised questions about some of the goings on in the mayor's inner circle. They were investigating things that were happening in his inner circle and said they were retaliated against for that.
So now a jury has awarded $3.6 million to one officers, $2.9 million to the other officer.
And that's the mayor you're seeing there, Kwame Kilpatrick, mayor of Detroit. He has come out -- this is a press conference he held a short time ago, in which he said the city will, in fact, appeal this decision. This money, $6.5 million, would have to come out of the city's bank account. And he says he does not believe the city should pay these men anything. He does not agree at all with this decision. He said he was blown away by the decision.
It was a unanimous decision by the jury there and it took them under three hours to come to that decision today. And that decision read not too long ago. The plaintiffs certainly were pleased. They made some comments after the verdict was announced, as well, and said this kind of confirms what they were saying, that there is an air of corruption surrounding Mayor Kilpatrick.
But at this point, no money going to be paid out any time soon, it appears, because, in fact, the mayor says they will appeal this decision. But kind of a stinging defeat today against the mayor of Detroit -- Don.
LEMON: All right, T.J. , thank you very much for that.
Earning money versus making money -- sometimes there is a big difference between the two. The police have a suspect and a slew of big bills to help illustrate. This story, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Reading the names of 9/11 victims has been a tradition since the attacks. One family fought for years for their moment at the ceremonies to hear the name of their wife and mother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Felicia Gail Dunn-Jones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: On September 11, 2001, Felicia Gail Dunn-Jones was an attorney whose office was one block from the World Trade Center. As the towers were coming down, she and thousands of others were trying to escape. Felicia made it home, but the dust she breathed that day ended up taking her life five months later. But she was not officially declared a victim of 9/11 until this year.
Felicia's husband, Joseph Jones, was at today's ceremony.
Earlier in the NEWSROOM, I spoke with him about the significance of today for him and his family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSEPH JONES, WIDOWER OF 9/11 VICTIM: We think her name is the first acknowledgement that a person actually died from the dust, that's correct.
LEMON: So, yes. So this is a milestone. You're making a difference here. How do you think and do you think it will help other people who died from 9/11 -- from the dust?
JONES: Well, we think, you know, it will probably help carry some historic significance. But just as you pointed to, we hope the major impact will be that it's going to help others get recognition, or at least get consideration, if upon, you know, review and everything, that at least their families could be added to the list, you know, if it's deemed necessary, that they died from the situation that happened that day.
LEMON: All right, sir, it's obvious that you're making a difference here and I'm sure thousands of people -- thousands of families appreciate what you're doing.
I want to ask you about your family, in the last couple of years. You had an aspiring career. Your wife, as well. You were doing very well. You have you two children, a teenage daughter and also a son who has special needs. The last few years for you...
JONES: That's correct.
LEMON: I understand that you had to take a leave from your job. JONES: Well, that's correct. I still haven't returned to work. So, currently I'm devoted, I guess, a full-time father, seeing my daughter through school, hopefully into college, and just attending to the special needs of my son, Joseph.
LEMON: What do you want people to know? And, you know, everyone -- a lot of people have answered this question, but what do you want people to know about the folks who suffer tragedies from 9/11 and how your life has changed over the past couple of years, especially with...
JONES: Well...
LEMON: ...obviously, without your wife.
JONES: Well, one thing is that (INAUDIBLE) that persons who were in the area that day, if they have become ill, there are agencies that they can go to get help. It's our hope that this also will lead to the reopening of the 9/11 fund.
LEMON: Do you...
JONES: I think there is legislation being presented today, I think, in the House requesting that the 9/11 fund be reopened. It's my belief it was -- this work is unfinished. It was closed off prematurely.
LEMON: I have to ask you really quickly, do you think Felicia is smiling down on you after hearing her name today and the work you've done?
JONES: I'm pretty sure she is looking down on us. And if the roles were reversed, she would be doing the same thing for me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Out of the chaos, death and insanity of September 11, 2001 is the peace, the honor and the undying reverence of September 11th, 2007. This is how a nation remembers one of the worst days in its history, from Manhattan to the Pentagon to Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: New Yorkers rushed to the site, not knowing which place was safe or if there was more danger ahead. They weren't sure of anything except that they had to be here. Six years have passed and our place is still by your side.
DAVID JONES, LOST BROTHER ON 9/11: I feel like it just happened yesterday. I've still got these jitters and just -- it's just a numb feeling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael Ernest Beakman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maria A. Behr. VIRGINIA MCDERMOTT, LOST FATHER ON 9/11: It's hard to believe he's still -- every time we come down here and see these buildings, it's hard to believe that those two buildings aren't here. It's very hard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kevin James Hannifin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Lawrence Hannan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And my son, New York City Fire Department captain, Vincent Francis Giammona, Ladder Five. Vinnie -- mom, pop, your brother and your two sisters, your four daughters, uncle Al, who's in the hospital, relatives and friends are celebrating your birthday today. Happy birthday in heaven. We love you. We miss you. Until we meet again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, new information in to CNN. It's an update on what we told you about the president. CNN has confirmed that the president will announce, when he addresses the nation this week, a cut in troop levels. Thirty thousand troops out of Iraq by next summer. That will reduce the level back to the pre-surge levels by next summer.
Again, CNN has confirmed this. The president expected to address the nation. Of course, General Petraeus has been say this yesterday and today, as well, as he addresses those joint sessions on Congress and Capitol Hill today.
PHILLIPS: Let's check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
LEMON: Let's see what's coming up at the top of the hour in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, guys, very much.
I'll be speaking about what you just reported with the U.S. senator and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. He chaired one of today's contentious sessions with General Petraeus and the U.S. ambassador, Ryan Crocker.
We're also paying very close attention to questions being asked by the other 2008 presidential candidates.
And we have an eye-opening new poll that we're going to be releasing. Just wait until you see how much former Senator Fred Thompson is now shaking up the presidential race for the GOP nomination.
All that, guys, coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM".
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Wolf. Well, a Georgia man probably feels like a million dollars right now -- a million fake dollars. Police outside Atlanta say that he ran a counterfeiting business out of a storage unit -- of all places. And business apparently was pretty good. He allegedly was putting $10,000 of real cash into his bank account per day, selling stacks of bogus bills for $1,000 apiece. Investors say that Conrad Maier-Sogheg used laser templates, alcohol and powder to make some of the best fakes they've ever seen. He's free on $150,000 bond.
LEMON: The closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.
PHILLIPS: The sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
LEMON: Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at the trading day.
And as I think we're hearing here, two people will be ringing the closing bell that have a lot to do with 9/11.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra and Don. It's always a very emotional day here at the New York Stock Exchange. After all, we're literally just a couple of blocks from where the Twin Towers stood, just a couple of blocks from where today's emotional ceremonies were held.
And, yes, among those on the platform where the closing bell will be rung is New York City mayor, Mike Bloomberg; the New York City police commissioner, Ray Kelly; and representatives from the September Concert, which is a group that performs music as a way to unite people around the world every September 11th.
After the closing bell rings, they will sing "God Bless America." And I'm sure that more than a few tears will be shed, as they usually are, on September 11th.
But, you know, the folks here, who suffered so greatly six years ago today, felt the best way they could honor the people who died that day was to simply get back to work. It was a war zone, after all. There were people who I remember wearing surgical masks as they traded on the floor in the weeks after September 11th. It was just so intense, the fumes coming from Ground Zero.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Let's take it now to Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
