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Air Travel Still Feeling Effects of Volcano; Goldman Sachs Faces Backlash Overseas; Survivors, Family of Oklahoma City Victims Share Stories

Aired April 19, 2010 - 13:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And Don Lemon will have more from the Oklahoma City survivors in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, which begins right now with Ali Velshi.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Tony. Good to see you. Have a great afternoon.

I'm Ali Velshi. I'll be with you for the next two hours, today and these two hours every weekday as I try and take every important topic we cover and break it down for you. I'm going to try and give you a level of detail that will help you make important decisions about where you travel, how you spend and how you vote.

Let's get started. I've got a rundown in front of me that talks about that volcano, still spewing ash. Flights across Europe still grounded. Might be some hope that some of them are opening up. Vacationers are still stranded and losing their time off from work. Airlines desperately trying to get back in the air while bleeding money each and every day. Who pays for all of this chaos? We'll dig into it.

Plus, today, happy Patriots Day. It's Patriots Day today. Also the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, as you just saw on Tony's show. We'll hear from more survivors who were just kids on that tragic day 15 years ago.

And new polls say four out of five Americans do not trust the government. If you're one of them, what do you do? Support a candidate? Attend a rally? Join a militia? How about this: vote?

All right, still canceled. Those are the words passengers trying to catch European flights are hearing for yet another day as that volcano in Iceland continues to boil over.

We're also hearing that some countries might start opening air space tomorrow. Germany is now giving Lufthansa permission to fly 50 planes back home with about 15,000 people on board.

It's been five days since that massive cloud of volcanic ash you see here closed down airports across European air space. Again, that volcano is still erupting, but the ash isn't as dense as it was this past weekend. Here's Flight Tracker. About 8 to 9 -- normally Chad's got this. He'll be with us in a minute. But normally -- right now you'll see about 8 to 9,000 flights expecting to take off today in European air space. Normally, 28,000 flights happen on a normal Monday.

And you can see where they're concentrated. There are still places where there aren't any flights around.

Now, financially, $200 million a day. That's the amount European airlines say that they are losing in total each day.

Let's go to Richard Quest. He's following this very closely. He's joining us from JFK International Airport.

Richard, you've been getting all of those e-mails, as I have, sort of every few minutes, news that there might be more air space opening between now and this time tomorrow. So there's some hope that stranded travelers might get home.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The situation tonight is looking considerably better than it did just 24 hours ago. Bit by bit, different airports are announcing that they are going to resume flying.

For instance, Lufthansa is a German airline. It's going to bring planes into Frankfurt and is hoping to start some form of flying day tomorrow afternoon. Brussels Airport will start flying. Brussels Airport will open up. Even British Airways is saying that it's getting permission to start flying tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening from London Heathrow.

Now, what all these announcements have a caveat at the bottom of the sentence, of course, is that the flying will only continue or start if conditions allow. But what they believe -- and this is for B.A., Brussels, Lufthansa, and many other airlines -- is that by the time we get to tomorrow afternoon, conditions will allow them to start a limited service, Ali, on these corridors that are being identified and are being believed to be totally safe.

VELSHI: And the idea of the corridors is that's where the heavy traffic can go. They can get people between major hubs. I saw a very extensive release from British Airways this morning, including comments from the CEO, saying, "We have flown a test flight. We took pictures. We did studies of the plane before it went in. We flew it. We took pictures and studied it afterwards. Our engineers looked at it. No risk out there. Lift the ban and let us fly."

QUEST: Absolutely. Excuse me. The airlines want to fly, and the airlines believe that there are modalities and corridors that can allow for flow management that would allow them to fly safely.

It is the authorities that are saying, "We are not going to let you get in the air until we're absolutely sure that it is safe."

And in between the devil and the deep blue sea of those two positions is where we stand at the moment. Now, bit by bit, incrementally the flying is going to start again over the next 24 hours. But we are talking about small number of flights, and there are a large number of stranded passengers.

And that is why, Ali, that I would say to any passengers stranded do not immediately rush to the airport because you believe your airline is back in the air.

VELSHI: Right.

QUEST: It is going -- the airlines are still saying, check the Web sites, call the call centers and wait. Well, I can tell you, because I'm now one of the stranded passengers, you've got time to get married and divorced before some of these come to -- come to fruition. But basically, you do know, you will get home at some point.

VELSHI: All right. Let's answer this, then. You're a business guy. We're business guys. People are missing their vacation. They have to be compensated for it. Flights, the airlines say they're losing $200 million a day collectively. Does anybody pay for this? The airlines are asking for compensation. Is that a non-starter?

QUEST: No, I think it's very much a starter. Just as the airlines in 9/11 in the United States got paid by the U.S. government, they were compensated, so the airlines are seeking compensation from national governments, and from the European Union. And I think that that might very well actually be a runner, as they say.

As for insurance, well, people like myself, we do have these multi -- multi-trip policies that will pay a fixed amount if you are stranded. What I haven't looked up, because I can't bear to look at the small print, is whether -- certainly I know weather is covered. What I don't know whether, act of god from volcanic eruption is covered. Something tells me that at the bottom of paragraph 14, subparagraph 6, section 3 --

VELSHI: There's an exclusion.

QUEST: -- there's an exception.

VELSHI: Yes. All right. Well, you let me know when you find out about that. We love having you here in the United States, so stay as long as you like. I've got a place in Manhattan unoccupied if you need it any time soon. Richard Quest, host of "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" on CNN International.

It's not only vacationers and business travelers who are being hampered by this ash cloud. Barbara Starr looks at the hurdles that the U.S. military faces, flying wounded troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: As we cover the people stranded because of this volcano, and the ash all over Europe, you see people in airports wanting to get home from vacation, wanting to get to vacation. But there are a lot of people who actually need to fly around and don't have an alternative.

Let's go to our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, who can tell us a bit about what happens to wounded troops, people who need to get back stateside from Iraq and Afghanistan because they fly through that air space.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Ali, as you say, a lot of folks stuck, the military, just like everybody else. Europe is a major hub for the U.S. military.

And you know the Pentagon: whenever they have a mess they have to deal with, they like to name it. So this now has a military code name, Ali. This is now called Operation E-15. E for the first letter of the volcano, 15 for the 15 letters following that. I won't even try and pronounce it. We'll just call it -- it's Operation E-15.

What are we really talking about? There are four major air fields, if you will, in Europe now shut down because of all this. Even if they reopen, they've been shut down for days now.

Two, first off, in the U.K.: RAF Mildenhall, RAF Lakenheath, and then down in Germany, Spangdahlem and Ramstein. And Ramstein is the one, of course, we want to pay a little attention to right now, because Ramstein is where the U.S. military for years now, they have flown medevac flights from Ramstein over to the war zone in Afghanistan, picked up the wounded, and brought them back to Germany for initial treatment.

But with German air space shut down, let's take a look at the next map. You'll see the alternative that's been developed here. What they are now doing is flying a southern route. They're bringing the medevac crews out of Rota, Spain, well south of the ash cloud, flying them into Afghanistan, picking up the wounded, or anybody who needs medical evacuation out of the war zone, and then flying them all the way back directly to Andrews Air Force Base here in Washington, D.C.

Another one of those flights expected to land today. Families of the wounded being notified that this is where their loved ones are going to arrive.

The military says they're coping with this as best they can. They can move a lot of things around, but, you know, it is having an impact. General McChrystal, the commander of the war in Afghanistan, he's been in Europe on a visit that was long arranged sometime back. He's been stuck. The head of NATO military operations, he's been stuck in Washington. A lot of people moving around troops just like everyone else, trying to get where they're supposed to be -- Ali.

VELSHI: I know our -- our intrepid traveler, Richard Quest, when he's actually stuck somewhere, because he usually knows how to get in and out of places -- if he can't get out, I know it's pretty serious.

I like this E-15 business, because as you'll notice as we report this story, we always refer to that volcano and that ash flying over Europe. None of us are prepared to say the name of this volcano. So E-15 does answer that question, Barbara.

STARR: Absolutely. The Pentagon is not prepared to learn how to pronounce it either, it looks like.

VELSHI: Yes. Barbara, thanks very much. Good to see you. Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.

Let's bring Chad Myers in. We've talked about the airlines and the money and the Pentagon, the military and the soldiers. I actually want to know what's going on with this -- with this cloud. Is it dissipating? I heard rumors that it's -- some of it's kicking backwards and heading into Canada. What's going on?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is going to Canada. It is settling.

VELSHI: Yes.

MYERS: You know, these ash particles have -- have mass. So they will eventually be pulled back into the earth's atmosphere, and they will land in the ocean or land on the ground.

But the reds and the blues here showing where the flight levels have now settled down to a point where, unfortunately, now the ash is near the surface.

VELSHI: OK.

MYERS: So a lot of these -- we're talking about air space opening up. And air space is beginning to open up. But the problem is, it is not opening up -- go to this, Radar 24.

It is not opening up to be able to take off from there, or to be able to take off from here. These flights are able to fly at 35,000 feet, over the air space, in the air space.

VELSHI: Right.

MYERS: But not get into that ash cloud and not get down to the ground.

VELSHI: I see. OK. That's interesting. I was wondering, where are these flights going, if that ash cloud's still there? So they can get -- they can get above it before it -- before they hit it, and they can get down afterwards?

MYERS: Correct. And I don't believe -- I don't know if you've ever flown into John Wayne out west?

VELSHI: Yes, yes.

MYERS: You know what that landing is like? That's what all these planes are going to be like. They're going to be at 30,000 feet.

VELSHI: And then they're going to... MYERS: And they're going to go right as quickly through the ash cloud as they possibly can...

VELSHI: Yes.

MYERS: ... to get down there. Because we do know that a couple places did have ash deposits in the test flights.

VELSHI: Right.

MYERS: I know B.A. didn't. But in Finland, they flew an F-18. It not only found ash, but it did find that melted ash...

VELSHI: Yes. So you talked about that.

MYERS: ... that obsidian glass.

VELSHI: Yes.

MYERS: They found it in the jet engine there. So they are -- the air space there is done. They're not flying anymore through.

Something else of big interest. At Frankfurt -- I know it's only 500 people, but I think if it would be you.

VELSHI: Yes.

MYERS: People have been flying from Asia or from Africa either to America or somewhere else that did not get Europe visas passed.

VELSHI: Yes.

MYERS: They can't even get out of the airport. They can't leave to go to a hotel. They have taken, at Frankfurt Airport, they have taken a corral, literally, on the tarmac so that people can at least walk outside in this corral and get some fresh air. So there are personal stories.

VELSHI: Wow. Did you see that movie where the guy who lived in an airport for a long time?

MYERS: Tom Hanks.

VELSHI: Tom Hanks. That's right. Exactly.

It's good to see you, Chad. All right. We'll keep you posted on this. And as I said, we're getting news every few minutes that some -- there are some developments, there will be some air space opening up very shortly.

All right. When the United States charged Goldman Sachs with fraud, the world took notice. The fallout from this case is rippling across the globe, one nation accusing the bank of moral bankruptcy. Where does this case go next, and how does it affect you? I'll talk with Christine Romans about it on the other side of the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Let's go right to New York to talk more about this Goldman Sachs charge of fraud that we first saw on Friday, with charismatic Christine.

Christine, I love it in these things, when you're reading a complaint and an alleged villain gives himself a nickname, in this case a guy named Fabulous Fab, Fabrice Tourre, a vice president of Goldman Sachs. I bet you it looks funny at the time and he must be sitting here and thinking, "Boy, I just wish I'd never written 'Fabulous Fab' in what turns out to be a potentially incriminating e- mail."

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I know. That e-mail and the SEC complaint from this 30-something trader who helped devise this instrument, this investment vehicle that now is at the center of all of this. And he famously wrote in an e-mail, "The whole world is burning down, and the only one who's going to come out unscathed is me, the Fabulous Fab." So it gives you a little sense of the personalities behind this.

So let's talk about the personalities.

VELSHI: Yes.

ROMANS: First, John Paulson, Paulson and Company, billionaire hedge fund. This guy is No. 45 on the billionaire -- "Forbes" Billionaire List. Very smart businessman who decided in 2005, 2006, that look, this housing bubble was a bubble, and he needed to find a way to invest against it. So he was betting on the failure of risky mortgages. He -- his firm, rather, helped hand-pick securities for Goldman Sachs to package up in a vehicle to sell to other investors. And he made $1 billion in profit from this transaction.

Goldman is the other player.

VELSHI: By the way, this Paulson has nothing to do with Henry Paulson, the treasury secretary...

ROMANS: Yes.

VELSHI: ... who was also an executive at Goldman Sachs. Totally different Paulson.

ROMANS: No. No, totally different. They're not related. In fact, this Paulson has actually criticized the other Paulson in the past for -- for some of his rescue efforts in the treasury. But you're right: completely different people.

So then you've got, in the middle, Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs is literally the middleman here. So they have a big client, Paulson, who says, "I need to -- I need to have an investment vehicle that I can sell short so that I can make money, because I think mortgages are going to go south. And let's put all these crappy mortgages in there." Goldman packages it all up and doesn't reveal that Paulson has this conflicting interest and is actually helping make this vehicle. And Goldman made $15 million in fees for putting this whole thing together to sell to investors.

Then, Ali, you've got the investors...

VELSHI: Yes.

ROMANS: ... who didn't know that Paulson had asked for this new vehicle to be created so that he could sell mortgages. And they're buying it. One would think they're buying it, because they think that -- that they're looking for return on some of these mortgages.

VELSHI: Right. And that was still -- that was a possible bet. Right? I mean, Paulson was betting...

ROMANS: Right.

VELSHI: ... that people were not going to pay -- pay their mortgages, and the value of those mortgages would go down.

There were other investors who were betting the economy might be OK. People will pay their mortgages. That part's still OK. You can still bet against something or in favor of something.

The question is, did Goldman, who was in the middle of this thing, play fairly with its two clients who had competing interests?

ROMANS: That's absolutely right. Now, Goldman in its defense, it points out that it actually lost $90 million on this deal, too, that they had Goldman money on the investor side, as well. We don't know all the details of that. But that's what they -- that's what they said in their response to this SEC suit, that they also lost money.

So they made $15 million on fees to create this crappy, you know, this product that they sold that wasn't -- it was great for Paulson. He made a lot of money on it. But those of those other investors, they didn't. So that is the one transaction at the heart of this fraud charge.

VELSHI: And the SEC is looking into whether there are others at other companies.

Christine, here's an opportunity for us to tell our viewers who follow us on Facebook, whether it's Christine's page or mine, tell us what you don't understand or what you want to know more about with this. Because Christine and I are talking to people and reading and studying. We want to know what you want to know, and we will bring you those answers right here. Or you can watch us on "YOUR $$$$$," Saturdays at 1 p.m. Eastern or Sundays at 3 p.m. Eastern. I suspect this story will be with us for some time.

Christine, thank you. We will thank to you later. Christine Romans. ROMANS: Just getting started, Ali.

VELSHI: Just getting started. That's right.

Let me bring you up to speed on some of the top stories we're following here on CNN. Remembering the 168 people killed in the Oklahoma City bombing. Survivors and family members of the victims gathered at the site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building to mark the 15th anniversary of the attack. More than 600 other people were wounded. Timothy McVeigh was convicted of the attack and executed in 2001.

In Iraq, the two most senior leaders of the group al Qaeda in Iraq have been killed in a joint U.S./Iraqi operation. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says Abu Ali -- Abu Al-Masri and Abu Al-Baghdadi were killed in a nighttime raid on a safe house yesterday north of Baghdad. Al Qaeda in Iraq has been blamed for countless terrorist attacks across the country.

Massachusetts and Maine, two only two states officially celebrating Patriots Day, but activists in all 50 states are using the occasion to speak out against the federal government. They say the government is meddling in their lives: for example, trying to take away their right to own guns, limiting their freedom of speech, and using their money to bail out banks.

All right. As I just told you, today marks the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, which claimed so many lives and broke the hearts of so many more. The few child survivors are growing up. Their stories and struggles, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: On this day 15 years ago, 168 lives were tragically cut short in the Oklahoma City bombing. Nineteen of those victims were children. Only six of them survived. CNN's Don Lemon talked with some of those fortunate few who are now in their teens and their 20s.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a day care which was located in the federal building. At 9 in the morning you can imagine that it was probably pretty full.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How could anyone, especially a child, survive this? But somehow, six children did, one of them 18-month-old P.J. Allen.

DELORIS WATSON (ph), GRANDMOTHER: His lungs were severely damaged. It was touch-and-go with P.J. for a long time.

LEMON: This is 15 years later.

P.J. ALLEN, SURVIVOR OF OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING: I'm P.J. Allen. I'm 16 years old. I survived the Oklahoma City bombing. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We mentioned to you earlier the little girl. They had not been able to connect had her with her parents. We understand the little girl's name is Rebecca. Her 3-1/2-year-old brother, Brandon, blue eyes, reddish-blond hair, he is still missing.

LEMON: Parents, like the Dennys, were helpless.

JIM DENNY, FATHER OF REBECCA AND BRANDON: I really didn't think our children survived. How could they? It was gone.

CLAUDIA DENNY, MOTHER OF REBECCA AND BRANDON: Her whole left side was just a piece of raw meat.

REBECCA DENNY, OKLAHOMA CITY SURVIVOR: I had 240 stitches in my face.

LEMON: Fifteen years later...

R. DENNY: All right. My name is Rebecca Denny. I'm 17 years old, and I survived the Oklahoma City bombing.

LEMON: Two hundred and forty stitches for Rebecca. But her 3- year-old brother Brandon suffered severe brain injuries.

C. DENNY: First of all, they said he might not live. And second of all, if he does live, he will never walk or talk again.

LEMON: Brandon proved them wrong.

BRANDON DENNY, OKLAHOMA CITY SURVIVOR: I am Brandon Denny, and I'm 18 years old.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here you see yet another child being carried away.

THU NGUYEN, FATHER OF CHRIS NGUYEN: I stopped by the 7-Eleven on the way to downtown, and I bought some plastic bag, with the intent to pick up my son's body.

CHRIS NGUYEN, SURVIVOR OF OKLAHOMA CITY: I'm Chris Nguyen. I'm 20 years old, and I survived the Oklahoma City bombing.

LEMON: They are the youngest survivors of the deadliest act of home-grown terror on U.S. soil. Children, now young adults, who tell us time heals some, but not all wounds.

R. DENNY: When you go through something like this, it just doesn't go away, like the next day or the next year. It affects you for your whole life.

LEMON (on camera): Do you remember anything from the bombing?

B. DENNY: No.

LEMON: Not much?

B. DENNY: No. Nothing at all.

LEMON (voice-over): Brandon is a man of few words. He and his sister are both juniors in high school and are getting on with their lives.

(on camera) Do you ever wonder why you survived?

R. DENNY: Yes, a lot. I wonder. But I don't know, I guess I have something important to do.

LEMON (voice-over): That same pressure is shared by child survivor Chris Nguyen, now a sophomore at Oklahoma University.

C. NGUYEN: I'm feeling like it's a gift, you would say. And if I don't make something of my life to succeed -- and I want to make a difference of some kind -- then I would have wasted my life. That dishonors those who died, because who knows what they could have done with their lives. But they don't have that chance.

LEMON (on camera): Do you ever feel guilty because you're here and others aren't?

NGUYEN: Sometimes. Yes, I think about the other parents, all the other day care children and families who have lost someone. I feel guilty almost that Brandon, Rebecca, P.J. and I, we get to live our lives, get to fulfill our lives. And the other people, they don't get that opportunity.

LEMON (voice-over): And 16-year-old P.J. Allen is making the most of his life. Every week he works with a tutor and hopes to study mechanical engineering at MIT.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Looks like you're doing -- you're doing good.

LEMON: He loves anything to do with sports.

(on camera) You want to play competitively, right?

ALLEN: Yes.

LEMON: But you can't?

ALLEN: Right.

LEMON: Why not?

ALLEN: Because my asthma stops me from running all the time, like constantly running. Sometimes coaches wouldn't want to play, because I might get hurt.

LEMON: But there isn't one time where you go, "Why me"?

ALLEN: No, I don't do that.

LEMON: You've never done it? ALLEN: No.

LEMON: Why not?

ALLEN: Because to me, this is normal. Since as far as I remember, this has been what my life has been like.

LEMON: But there is nothing normal about the pain suffered by each of these young survivors.

Don Lemon, CNN, Oklahoma City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: CNN tonight beginning at 8:00 Eastern, the "Oklahoma City Bombing: 15 Years Later." We talk to the survivors and at 10:00, "Unanswered Questions About the Bombing: Lessons Learned." Again, tonight, beginning at at 8:00 Eastern.

We're waiting for Vice President Biden to speak at the daily White House briefing. We'll go to that as soon as it starts. In the meantime, stick with us. We've got more news on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Cameras on the White House. We are waiting for Vice President Biden to speak at the daily White House briefing. We'll go to that as soon as it happens.

We have been telling you a lot about the impact that the volcanic ash cloud is having around the world on travelers, on airlines, on businesses who depend on cargo planes to get products to consumers. There's another important issue here. The impact of the ash on your health, if you're caught in that ash zone. Chad was telling us it comes down in the rain.

First, a bit of good news. Britain's health protection agency said the concentration of ash particles that may reach the ground is likely to be low and shouldn't cause serious harm. The agency also says that effects you do feel are likely to be minor. Those in the ash zone may experience lung, eye and minor skin irritation. Those who have preexisting respiratory problems could develop bronchitis or asthma-type symptoms.

There is this caveat, the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network says long-term exposure to fine volcanic ash can lead to ause serious lung disease.

Well, they should have been home by now, but the space shuttle crew is cruising around the planet for a fifteenth day today. We'll see what the delay is all about when we come back.

And we're keeping an eye on the White House. The vice president expected to speak there momentarily at the White House briefing. We'll get to that as soon as it starts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Still waiting for Vice President Biden to show up at the White House briefing. Running a few minutes late. We understand he's going to speak at the top of the briefing. So, we've got our cameras there. We're ready to go to see what it is he's got to say.

Meanwhile, let me give you a check of the top stories here at CNN.

The crew of the space shuttle Discovery is getting a few extra orbits in. Rain and heavy clouds convinced NASA to postpone the shuttle's return this morning. Discovery will now look to land at Kennedy Space Center tomorrow if the weather actually allows for it.

Seventeen years ago, near Waco, Texas, the government raid on the Branch Dividion compound came to a fiery end. The 51-day standoff began when federal agents tried to arrest the group's leader, David Karesh, on weapons charges. Karesh and more than 80 members of his sect died inside the compound April 19, 1993. Arson experts found fires were deliberately set by sect members as federal agents prepared to breach the builds.

President Obama is working on Wall Street this week. He'll head to New York for a speech, pushing for speedy Senate action on financial regulatory reform. We may hear about that from the Vice President. Let's listen in. He's just arrived at the White House.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Earlier this morning on -- early in the morning October 18th (sic), Iraqi security forces, with the support of U.S. forces, killed the two most senior leaders of Al Qaida Iraq during a series of joint security operations near Tikrit.

Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the former leaders of AQI, are the ones who plotted, planned and executed terrorist attacks against the Iraqis in the recent past, as well as against Americans.

Their deaths are potentially devastating blows to Al Qaida Iraq.

But equally important, in my view, is this action demonstrates the improved security, strength and capacity of Iraqi security forces. The Iraqis led this operation, and it was based on intelligence the Iraqi security forces themselves developed following their capture of a senior AQI leader last month.

In short, the Iraqis have taken the lead in securing Iraq and its citizens by taking out both of these individuals.

This counterterrorism operation is the culmination of a lot of cooperation and very hard work by Iraqi and U.S. forces to degrade AQI over the past several months and years.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the U.S. soldier who was killed by supporting this assault.

I apologize. I hate to mention the death of an individual American without mentioning their name, because I don't want it to sound like it's just a line. But the family has not been informed yet and that's the only reason I'm not releasing the name of this young hero.

We also commend all the troops and civilians serving in Iraq who continue to put themselves in harm's way in service of our country and in the service of a secure and peaceful Iraq.

To consolidate these security gains and to honor the sacrifice that so many have made, it's now incumbent upon Iraqi political leaders to take the next and important necessary step to form an inclusive and representative government that meets the needs and aspirations of the Iraqi people.

We remain committed to end our combat mission in Iraq this summer by the end of August 2010 and, in accordance with the U.S.-Iraqi security agreement that was signed a couple of years ago, to remove all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011.

As we complete this security transition, we will continue to work to build a lasting partnership with the Iraqi people and their government, based on the many shared interests we have that go beyond the military cooperation we have had of late, including the economy, education, cultural exchanges and the development of a strong economy for Iraq.

For today, I want to mark this important milestone, as the Iraqi people stand up to those who would deny them peace, freedom, as well as security.

There will be more difficult days ahead. But this operation is evidence, in my view, that the future of Iraq will not be shaped by those who seek to destroy that country, but belongs to those who are building a strong and unified Iraq, as I'm confident the Iraqis will do.

Thank you very much.

VELSHI: All right. Vice President Biden, quick comments on Iraq. The capture of two leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq. Lauding that capture, handing it over to Robert Gibbs, the press secretary for the president, who will take over the briefing. We'll hear from Ed Henry later about on whether anything comes out of the briefing that's beginning now.

Why is April 19th such a critical day in American history, and why is trust in our government at a 50-year low? And how, by the way, are those two questions related? We'll put it all together for you after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: At the risk of telling you something you probably already know, today, April 19th, is a huge and complicated in American history. On this date in 1775 came the shot heard around the world. The start of the Revolutionary War. It was a holiday in Massachusetts and Maine, and if you happened to have a gripe against the government, it's a great day for a protest, no matter where you are.

This is also the date in 1993, when the government standoff with the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas, came to its deadly, explosive conclusion, after 51 days.

Two years later, April 19th, saw the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. 168 people were killed. Many more wounded.

I bring that all up as a back drop to a divided, unsettled America today, April 19th, 2010. In Washington today, there's not one, but two rallies advocating gun rights. But in both cases, the grievances and causes go way beyond guns. Actually, one of those rallies is just outside Washington, so participants can legally pack heat while they attend.

And then we have the militias, which you could argue take us right back to where we started. I'm guessing your state has at least one, and if you think it's a band paranoid zealots preparing for Armageddon, you may be right. But maybe not. CNN's Ed Lavandera spent time with a Michigan militia that takes itself and its role in civil society very seriously.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Michigan. We're entering a gathering of the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia. This is a story about preconceived notions, what do you think about when you hear the word militia? How do militia members describe themselves?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (via intercom): Welcome to the picnic (INAUDIBLE), Tea Party, all that blast.

LAVANDERA: We're about to meet a man by the name of Jeff Kindy.

JEFF KINDY, SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN VOLUNTEER MILITIA: We're trying to just show the public who we are.

LAVANDERA: Oh, good throw.

KINDY: We're families, we're brothers, we're sisters, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters. We're just normal folks that believe in the Constitution and our God-given rights in this country. And just want to be pro-active in that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not extremists. We're camouflaged up, holding guns, running through the woods -- might seem extreme to some. But I don't count as being extremist.

LAVANDERA: Do you feel like you're fighting that image of what a lot of this country thinks the militia is, especially in Michigan?

KINDY: It's usually the extreme ones one way or the other showing off how stupid they are. That's what grabs everybody's attention. We're open to any religion, or lack thereof. We're open to any race, sex, sexuality. It doesn't matter. We're Americans.

We don't want anybody that's racist. We don't want Nazis, we don't want extreme Christians or the opposite, you know, extreme anarchists. We're open to anybody come train with us, as long as they don't start spouting out their extreme views. Then, you know, you would probably be asked to leave.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got tax forms to shoot. We've got tea bags to shoot.

LAVANDERA: Tom, you've been in the militia for a year now?

TOM M., MILITIA MEMBERYes, sir.

LAVANDERA: What's that year been like?

TOM M.Because they saw I had military experience, they automatically made me a team leader, so I've been setting up the training regimens and stuff like that.

LAVANDERA: Do you think it was fair to say that your initial interest was spurred on by political concerns?

TOM M.: Yes. Oh, yes. I don't like the direction that this country's going to. And I don't think the direction's being propagated by the people. The direction is being propagated by people in power.

KINDY: We don't want to instill fear.

LAVANDERA: Do you think people are still scared of what you guys are doing out here?

TOM M.: Yes. But we don't have anything to hide. We don't do anything illegal.

LAVANDERA: You wouldn't have joined this group had you not been worried about something, though, right?

JIM GULLIKSEN, LENAWEE COUNTY VOLUNTEER MILITIA: Some of it is a lot of the liberties taken away with the Patriot Act. We're getting away from the Constitution. I'd like to see us get back to it. I don't think it's anywhere near the point where you need to take physical action. But you've got to take action.

KEN FELLOWS, CAPITOL CITY MILITIA: I figure it like this. If you don't have the training, how can you defend anybody? How can you defend yourself, your neighborhood, your community or whoever if you don't have the training to actually do it? As a civilian, this is a good place to get the training.

LAVANDERA: Do you think every American should be in the militia?

KINDY: You are a part of the militia, and the government expects you -- is supposed to expect us to train and to do this stuff. It's our responsibility and our duty as American citizens. Something happens in our community, hopefully we can stand up as leaders and help the people in our community take care of the situation. Okay? We're not going to run together and hide in the woods somewhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need two first shooters. Let me get the two youngest. There you go!

Put the dot on there, and then pull the trigger.

LAVANDERA: This militia used to train on a huge farm belonging to one of its members. But he died a few months ago, and his family cut off the militia's access to the property. Now they do a lot of their training on public state parks. And they even use a public gun range for weapons training.

Kind of interesting to see you guys mixed in with the --

UNIDENTFIED MALE: The normal, average folks? That's what we are, you know?

LAVANDERA: What's expected of someone to join the militia?

KINDY: You have to own a rifle. You have to know how to take the rifle apart in the field to clean it. Then you have to be able to shoot nine-inch paper plate at 100 yards eight out of ten times.

LAVANDERA: So, that's my target right there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is your target right here.

LAVANDERA: Do you want to draw a smiley face on it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can if you want.

Trigger, magazine goes in here. Semiautomatic, so every time you pull the trigger, it's going to shoot a bullet downrange. Pull that out; it's ready to go.

LAVANDERA: Looks like you can reuse that paper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can reuse it. Like I said, I think the gun is sighted in for 50 yards.

LAVANDERA: I'm pro-paper. I don't like to kill paper. (LAUGHTER)

LAVANDERA: Thanks for letting us spend a couple days with you guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, absolutely. Glad to have you out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: He's pro-paper.

OK. In just a minute, we'll get out of the woods and into the polls. Discontent is running high from sea to shining sea. I'll be joined by our senior political analyst, David Girkin - Gergen -- and Michael Democh of the Pew Research Center. We'll get the story behind his mindblowing numbers about how many of you are dissatisfied with government when we come back.

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VELSHI: I promised you polls, I promised you discont, I've got them. A sweeping new survey from the Pew Center finds a scant 3 percent of Americans trust the federal government to do the right thing, quote, just about always. Nineteen percent trust the feds most of the time. Sixty-five percent trust the government, sixty -- some of the time. Eleven percent, never trust Washington to do the right thing.

Asked about gut feelings toward government, 19 percent say they are basically content. Fifty-six percent are frustrated. Twenty-one percent are angry.

Joining me with insights is Michael Dimock. He's the associate director of research at the Pew Research Center, and David Gergen. He's an adviser, has been an adviser to numerous presidents. Now a senior political analyst at CNN.

Gentlemen, welcome. Thanks for coming on the show. Michael, remarkable research. Give me an overall sense of this, in light of the fact that Pew does this research regularly. So, what's the trend? What has changed?

MICHAEL DIMOCK, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, PEW RESEARCH CENTER: The core question about trusting government has been asked for over 50 years now, and we're at historic low levels at this point. The only time in the last 50 years the public has been this distrusting of government was in the beginning of the Clinton administration in the late Bush years, from about '92 through '94, is the last time we saw the public this unhappy and distrustful of government.

VELSHI: There are some remarkable distinctions, though, in your survey. One of them is that distrust for elected officials is particularly high. Distrust for federal government institutions is less high. And there's a pretty high distrust for large institutions that have nothing to do with the government, including the media or labor unions and things like that. Banks.

DIMOCK: Yes. Everything is looking pretty bad right now. And I think one of the big contextual factors there is the economy. When the economy goes negative, the public gets skeptical about government and the effectiveness of government and dealing with those problems. But the public right now is not trusting big business or corporations. It doesn't feel good about a lot of the institutions right now.

VELSHI: David, the public doesn't distrust the president as much as they distrust Congress, according to this poll. And that jives with some of the other polls we've seen.

Here is the interesting thing, David. This study indicates that people think government is ineffective. There are not as many people who dislike the direction in which government is going, they just think that Washington and Congress and government and big institutions are ineffective. What does the White House do about that?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, right now, it has to wait for unemployment to go down and jobs to go up. That will help a lot, be a ton for these polls. It is important, Ali, to see this in a larger context, and historically, Americans have been very distrustful of government. It goes back to our Revolution. And we have always disliked large institutions, powerful institutions. Americans believe very strongly in the power of the individual, power of the individual to make a difference, and they don't like to have individuals controlled by large institutions.

The one period when we know from polling that we had a huge rise and trust in government, started with Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s and went up to about the 1960s - mid-1960s. We had a period of about 40 years when the trust in government went way up, and that was because of the Roosevelt years dealing with the Depression, and then very importantly, the Second World War.

And it was really Vietnam and Watergate that broke the back and we started in this downward cycle that we have never really recovered from. And as Michael said, whenever we have hard times, things start going down. And now there is this sense of people being scared, they're insecure, and they're getting angry as a result. And they're taking their anger out on people they see spending a ton of money when they're not seeing a lot of results in their personal lives.

VELSHI: OK. Both of you just stay right with us. Michael Dimock, associate director of research with Pew Research, and David Gergen, CNN political analyst. We're not done yet. After the break, we talk about what's driving these dismal views of government, and what it might mean for November and the presidential election in 2012. Stay with us.

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