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Surprise Memorial Day Visit to Troops in Afghanistan; Gunman Opens Fire On Small College Town in California; Pope Francis on Historic Three Day Tour Through the Holy Land; Ukraine to the Polls to Elect New President

Aired May 25, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And these stories are topping our news this hour. On the eve of Memorial Day, President Barack Obama make as surprise visit to the U.S. troops in Afghanistan. A short time ago he landed at Bagram air field along with his national security advisor Susan Rice and senior advisor John Podesta.

The president also brought along a guest, a surprise guest, country music star Brad Paisley who gave a concert for some 32,000 troops there. Mr. Obama talked to the troops about what they have achieved in Afghanistan and what the future may hold for them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And once Afghanistan has sworn in its new president, I'm hopeful we'll sign a bilateral security agreement that let us move forward. And with that bilateral security agreement, assuming it is signed, we can plan for a limited military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014. Because after all of the sacrifices we have made, we want to make preserve the gains that you, have helped to win. And we are going to make use that Afghanistan can never again, ever be used again to launch an attack against our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And this is the president's fourth trip to Afghanistan as president.

So this trip comes on the Memorial Day weekend but also comes a few days before President Obama lays out his foreign policy agenda. It also comes just ahead of the next round of Afghan elections. The White House is hoping to work out a new security agreement with the country's next president as you heard him outline.

Let's bring in Barbara Starr now at the Pentagon. So why now is the president there?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well -- HI, Fred.

Well, you know, next month in Afghanistan, they are going to have the runoff election for president in that country. Both candidates have said that they will sign a security agreement with the United States which the current city President Hamid Karzai has not signed. That is crucial right now for U.S. troops to be able to stay in Afghanistan after the end of the year. So this is a time in which the president wanted to go and thank the troops clearly on this Memorial Day weekend and their families for the sacrifices that they make. Remind the U.S. that there are 30,000 troops still serving in that country, but also get an crucial update from his commanders on the ground.

Because now, if the new president does go ahead and signed that agreement, President Obama has to very quickly make a decision about how many troops he does want to leave in Afghanistan to conduct training and advising for the Afghan forces. Folks say the options are on the table ranging between 3,000 and 10,000 roughly. The president though has to make a decision. So this trip also gave him an opportunity, talk to his top commanders face-to-face and get an idea of what may be needed -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Barbara, the number is still to be determined, 3,000 to 10,000 as you put them. What is the limited role? When we heard the president said a limited troop presence after 2014, what would their role be?

STARR: Well, I mean, there's no question that combat forces will be out of Afghanistan by the end of the year. That's even a NATO agreement at this point. The president is talking about a responsible end to the war in Afghanistan. That is really the U.S. role ending in the war in Afghanistan, something President Obama had promised as a candidate that he would do, bring the war to an end. Does it change the security situation perhaps right away? Those U.S. troops that would be left behind I if there is an agreement will have the job of helping train, advise, and assist Afghan forces to make sure that they can really take over.

Afghan military forces doing pretty well. Most people will tell you Afghan police forces, those in those remote villages, towns, cities across Afghanistan. Still, a lot of corruption, a lot of misconduct and it's the stability on the local level in Afghanistan that is really going to be crucial to keeping the Taliban and Al Qaeda at bay and right now that's very problematic, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And Barbara, people always find it fascinating that the president, this president or any other president can do this, you know, and in the cloak of darkness, surprise visit to a place that is still in the face of danger and how they are able to execute this even though this has been something in the planning for a couple of months. But is there any way of detailing, you know, how does the president descend into an area like this, remain their safely. Now that the world knows it, we're seeing live pictures as opposed to publicizing it once the president has already left the area?

STARR: Well, you know, we saw this with President George W. Bush going several times to Iraq, Afghanistan president, President Obama. Something historically that presidents still do. Let me note in history, President Lyndon Johnson went to South Vietnam at the time to visit the troops there. It's such an important of the commander in chief to be seen with his troops. The secret service does a lot for weeks ahead of time. Any time the president leaves the country but especially when they go to a war zone. Between the secret service and the U.S. military, there's a very good understanding of what needs to be done to keep the air space safe, the area around the president safe.

But make no mistake, he landed in darkness, he will leave in darkness. He goes to one location. The very large base which they can completely control who goes in and who goes out. This is not a country where any president of the United States is getting ready to start moving around any time soon, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Barbara Starr. Appreciate it from the Pentagon.

And while the president was embarking on this trip, he was also briefed on that rampage taking place in California. Six men and women were killed during Friday's murder spree near the university of Santa Barbara campus. A White House spokesman says quote "the president's and first lady's thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends who lost a loved one as a result of the horrific shooting," end quote. The president, of course, will be getting continuous updates throughout his trip.

All right. New insight into what motivated the man behind that deadly rampage in California. There was a key warning just moments before he opened fire, a manifesto more than 100 pages long. The chilling details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Today, a college California town is in mourning.

This community of Isla Vista is struggling to come to grips with Friday's murder's rampage by a mentally disturbed young man bent on revenge, 22-year-old college student Elliot Rodger. Six people were killed during his murder spree during the university of Santa Barbara campus Friday.

One f the first people to be gunned down, 22-year-old Catherine Cooper, was a UC student. She studied art history and archeology. Cooper was shot and killed outside of a sorority house near campus. She was with 19-year-old Veronika Weiss who was also shot and killed outside the sorority house. Weiss was a graduate of West Lake High school from thousand Oaks, California. And 20-year-old Christopher Martinez was in a nearby deli when Rodger walked in and shot him dead. Martinez was also a UC Santa Barbara student.

Rodger's first victims were his roommates who he stabbed to death at their apartment in Isla Vista. Authorities say the men were stabbed repeatedly with all they are saying right now, sharp objects.

In addition to the six deaths, 13 other victims were hurt, most of them were shot, four were hit by the suspect's car. Authorities are revealing more now about Elliot Rodger and his murderous plots. Here's what we know right now. We have just learned that authorities are conducting searching today at the homes of Rodger's parents. They are looking for more information about his gun and where he went to practice shooting. The sheriff's office says Rodger apparently shot himself in the head after fleeing from police and crashing his car.

Three handguns in all were found in his wrecked car, all bought legally in three different cities. He also had more than 400 rounds of ammunition. Authorities say Rodger had been planning this killing spree for at least a year. They say he was suffering from an undisclosed mental illness and was under the care of mental health professionals. Rodger left evidence behind, including a seven-minute You Tube video. And, in it, Rodger rants about being rejected by girls all of his life. He announces his intent in that video to commit mass murder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLIOT RODGERS, 22-YEARS-OLD: Tomorrow is the day of retribution. The day in which I will have my revenge against humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That disturbing You Tube video wasn't the only warning sign. Rodger also e-mailed a 140-page manifesto to his parents and at least one of his therapists before the shootings took place. And we've also learned that his parents were frantically trying to find him when they heard of someone opening fire.

Pamela Brown is live for us now in Santa Barbara, California with exclusive new insight into this tragedy.

Pamela, tell us more.

PAMELA BROW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a representative with the sheriff's office just walked out not long ago and said that any moment now we'll learn the identities of the three people stabbed to death inside Elliot Rodger's apartment. Of course, we'll bring you that information as soon as we get it.

And Fredricka, we've been speaking to a close friend of the Rodger family by the name of Simon Astaire and he walked us through in great detail what Elliot Rodger's family went through before and during that shooting rampage.

He says that on Thursday Elliot apparently spoke to his father and said that he was looking forward to seeing his family this weekend. And then Friday night, at 9:17 p.m., pacific time, mother received this e-mail with the manifesto attached to this 140 pages attached and she was one of a couple of dozen people that Elliot Rodger had sent this manifesto to. And the mother instinctively, as soon as she read the first line, she instinctively looked to his You Tube page because she knew he liked to put videos on there. And that's when she came across the retribution video where he talks about slaughtering women at the local sorority house. According to the family friend, the mother called 911, alerted the father to what was going on and they were on their way to Santa Barbara when they found out about the shooting and learned that their son, their 22-year-old son was behind it.

And Fredricka, of course, now we're looking at whether red flags were missed, whether anything fell through the cracks. And we know that there was a welfare check by the police back in April. They went to home of Elliot Rodger to check on him because the mother grew concern. She couldn't reach him, she saw that he posted some troubling videos on You Tube so she alerted the therapist who then called this mental health hot line, police were alerted. But they say they didn't find anything to indicate her was a danger to himself or others.

However, his family views this was a pivotal moment and they view this as a missed opportunity. And Elliot spoke about that moment and this chilling manifest and here's what he said.

As soon as I saw the cops, the biggest fear I ever had in my life overcame me. I had this striking and devastating fear that someone has somehow discovered what I was planning to do and reported me for it. If that was the case, the police would have searched my room and found all of my guns and weapons along with my writings about what I plan to do with them. I would have been thrown in jail and denied the chance to exact revenge on my enemies. That would have been a hell. I can't imagine a hell darker than that.

Fredricka, this is clearly a young man who had history of mental health issue and clearly very disturbed.

WHITFIELD: And if I can, what more do we know about his mental health history?

BROWN: Well, according to this family friend, Simon Astaire, we learned that he's been seeing a therapist on and off since he was 8- years-old. In fact, in high school, he apparently saw a therapist just about every day. At the time of the rampage, had he been seeing two therapists. We learned that they had been implied over the years that he suffered from Asperger's, but, that there was no official diagnosis. But the friend says that he was reserved to a daunting degree. He was always as seen someone for care. And of course, this is a difficult for his parents are going through indescribable grief. They said -- the friend says they really cared about the health of their son. They felt like he was in good hands and, of course, now in light of what happened, they are asking themselves that question, could they have done more?

WHITFIELD: I can't imagine the anguish of those parents.

All right. Thank you so much, Pamela Brown.

Part of Elliot Rodger's shooting spree and stabbing spree was actually captured on a surveillance camera at one of our crime scenes.

Our Kyung Lah is live for us now in Isla Vista, California. So Kyung, what does this video show? And this was video that was captured after the stabbing of the people -- his roommates, right? So this involves mostly the shootings?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're right about that. It's what people are referring to as the third scene and it is here. It's the IV Deli mart. The manager here, the owner says he had seen gunman before. He was a customer. He had come here, he had shopped. But on Friday night he came here with a gun and he began firing inside. He did not step inside the store. He was shooting from outside. It was all caught on the store's surveillance tape. It was obtained exclusively by CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (voice-over): A normal Friday night at the IV Deli Mart checkout line when suddenly --

MIKE HASSAN, IV DELI OWNER: I'm scared just looking at the cameras. I was like, oh, my God.

LAH: Mike Hassan surveillance camera is capturing the moment at his store. Customers ducking. A glass door shattering while people run. One woman tries to reach out to a victim and calls 911 as bullets fly overhead. The gunman is just outside, mere feet away, intent on killing.

HASSAN: There's two bullets that came in through the counter down here.

LAH: You can actually see through.

Holes punctured the walls, riddle the glass, chunks of counter missing.

That's a bullet fragment.

HASSAN: Yes.

LAH: Where did that come from.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The back.

LAH: And the worst of it is two gruesome to show. Christopher Ross Martinez was heading to the deli to get something to eat. The surveillance video shows him running inside, bullet hit him twice. UCSB student bleeds to death on the floor as his friends try to keep him alive by giving him CPR.

HASSAN: It was very horrible. I saw some of it and I couldn't finish. You cannot see the whole movie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Multiple gunshot victims in front of the IV deli.

LAH: From the deli, the gunman drove to this apartment complex where Ellen Cotton recorded the barrage of bullets on her iphone.

ELLEN COTTON, WITNESS: It was horrible, sad, I'm still like in shock that this happened here. It was so random.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: The video that we have that we can't show you shows when Chris Martinez was shot. And the thing that's remarkable about this is you see his friends trying to give him CPR. You see them comforting him. We also referred to that woman calling 911 on the cell phone. All of this is happening while the bullets are flying overhead. Such bravery, Fredricka, even in the face of such horror -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: My God. That's heartbreaking. And so, seeing people are coming in and out of the shop behind you there, what is happening there today? Yesterday we saw, you know, a cordoned off area. You saw number of police officers and their vehicles, very different scene today, right?

LAH: They are trying to get back to normal. But you know, it's such a short period of time since this happened. And if you look over here, you can see that people are stopping here at a memorial site. They've placed some candles. There are some pictures. A lot of flowers.

And it's not just here. That is really something that we should point out. This entire community is affected. We've seen this type of memorial outside of the sorority house. We have seen it at various trees., along the rampage route. So, this community is trying to mark and honor the people were injured and killed, but also as you see these people walk into the store, trying to get back to normal -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. That's going to be a tough road ahead for sure.

Kyung Lah, thank you so much. A very poignant moment there. That memorial is being set up makeshift right there in Isla Vista, California.

All right. Overseas, Pope Francis and an historic trip to the Middle East. He says it's purely religious. But in a minute, we'll look at why it may have some political overtones.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Pope Francis is continuing his historic trip through the holy land. The Pope kicked off his trip in Jordan yesterday by meeting with king Abdullah II. And today, on a visit to the west bank, the Pope made a dramatic gesture towards moving the Middle East process forward. He invited the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian authority to come to the Vatican for peace talks. This trip has been characterized by the Vatican as a strictly religious one. The Pope is also scheduled to meet with the leader of the orthodox Christian church. So what should we take away from this historic trip? Joining me now is father Edward Beck. He is priest and religious commentator. Good to see you.

So in this three-day visit to the Middle East, Pope Francis is hoping to encourage interfaith dialogue, straighten relations, and ways to go peaceful. Has he already done that, in your view, just by the look of the huge crowds that have turned out?

FATHER EDWARD BECK, CNN RELIGIOUS COMMENTATOR: Well, Fredricka, what has been so interesting to me is what has been in detailed as the religious visit, has thus far in the first two days, that been largely political. So Pope Francis chose unlike the three previous Popes who have come to the Middle East, Pope Francis enters first into Palestine, not into Israel. He enters in to Palestine. He greets the Palestinian president first and today that striking image was stands at that separation wall and he touches it and prays there. He doesn't say anything.

I had a Palestinian friend of mine say that he was hoping for a Reagan Gorbechov moment. That the pope would actually say, please take down this wall. Now, that did happen, but the symbolism of what Pope Francis has done thus far says that this cannot stand, this separation, this oppression of the Palestinian people cannot stand. And so, again, unscripted moment there.

Second unscripted moment, he invites both presidents Abbas and Peres to Rome, to the Vatican on June 6th to pray for peace. So, who know what is will come out of the mouth of the Pope next. But these two things really have been in the most striking images thus far of this trip.

WHITFIELD: Well, very significant. And then, like you said, the symbolism speaks volumes, you know. It may speak louder than any spoken word. So what do you suppose provoked the Pope to do this now on this 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI embarking on a very similar journey?

BECK: Well, interestingly enough, the word pontiff or (INAUDIBLE) in the Latin means bridge builder. So you have the bridge builder of the church standing at that wall, saying that walls, we need to build bridges and he's going now to speak to the patriarch of the Orthodox Church.

Remember, 1054 (ph) at the church split, east and west, it was only 50 years ago with Pope Paul VI visit to the patriarch, the orthodox patriarch there in Jerusalem that they began a (INAUDIBLE) that hasn't happened in 900 years.

So this is an anniversary to commemorate that. So this Pope will pray at the holy (INAUDIBLE) with the current patriarch and then going to sign a document that says they are going to work for further unity, building bridges, not walls that divide. And so I think what is very interesting is he's living up to his name. He's saying that we are about peace, reconciliation, healing, building bridges and he's doing it politically. And we are going to see tomorrow, he is going to also be doing it religiously. WHITFIELD: And in your view, you know, you talk about the political message that he's been sending from the very beginning. How about the choice, I guess he made to also travel with a rabbi and with the sheikh, both of whom he had known from his days in Argentina. So he, really, is sending the message that this is not some, you know, a new epiphany. This is something I have been leaving for very long time. How powerful is that in your view?

BECK: Yes. Well, he was known for his interreligious dialogue in Argentina and both of these men were friends with him in Argentina. He invited them to accompany him. By the way, this has never happened before with previous popes. So he is traveling (INAUDIBLE) of peace, is traveling together. And just there being together, the three monotheistic religions, he is saying that we have to work together. This is one God. We worship one God. We need to come together as communities of faith. And so, it's very powerful because these are friends of his. And he's breaking down walls, again, that say unity is his voice.

WHITFIELD: Father Edward Beck, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

BECK: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, next, President Obama's surprise visit to Afghanistan. What he told the troops there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Obama is spending part of this Memorial Day weekend in Afghanistan. The president surprised thousands of troops stations with unscheduled visit. There he is, thanking them for their service. Talking about the mission and what will happen after most of these troops leave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Once Afghanistan has sworn in its new president, I'm hopeful that we'll sigh a bilateral security agreement that will help us move forward. And with that bilateral security agreement, assuming it is signed, we can plan for a limited military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014. Because after all of the sacrifices that you have made, we want to preserve the gains that you have held to win. Now, we are going to make sure that Afghanistan can never again, ever, be used again to launch an attack against our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The president's visit comes right as so much is at stake in Afghanistan and here at home.

Joining me now to talk about it is CNN military analyst retired General James "spider" Marks. He is on the phone from Bloomington, Indiana.

All right, general, glad you could be with us. We have seen these kinds of unexpected visits before whether be with President Obama or his predecessor, President Bush. What does this do for troop morale? Why is it so important that a commander in chief does this.

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST (via phone): Well, Fredricka, that's a great question. Not only is this time of year significant and certainly on a Memorial Day weekend, is this significant. But it's always important for the commander in chief, the individual charged with leading our military, to lead from the front. And, in fact, he has lift troops in their missions in Afghanistan and that means the world to these folks.

But at the end of the day, still they have a mission to perform. So it is for morale. They certainly understand the support of the nation and the support of the commander in chief and the administration. But they also at the end of the day need, they have to make sure that they can execute their missions and get that jobs to do.

So, it's sovereign, it is uplifting, but it is also -- it allows you to keep for just a second a sense of accomplishment. But you also have to keep your eye on the ball and make sure you don't (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: Absolutely. And you know, of course, the president got huge, you know, cheers when he said for many of the troops, this would be their last deployment in Afghanistan with this war winding down by the end of the year. But then, how do you reconcile that with him also saying that the U.S. does plan to keep some troops in Afghanistan after combat missions have ended?

MARKS: Well, you know, you look at it -- Fred, I'm smiling because you look at it from several perspectives. So from the perspective of the soldier when your boss' boss says this is your last tour. That's an opportunity to do a chills life and kind of a high-five your buddies.

But at the same time what the United States has to try and do is to establish a bilateral security agreement or what's called that so far status of forces agreement that allows U.S. forces to remain in Afghanistan, to continue the good, hard work, the sacrifices of so many so that the United States has a presence and can be there and can assists with the Afghan government as it continues in its fits and starts (ph) and its marched toward democracy at some point. It doesn't look like anything that we recognize. But at least, they are moving down a path and there had been election and there will be a runoff here in June.

So, it's important for the United States not to do what it didn't in Iraq, which is not establish a status force agreement and have walk out of Iraq. We're certainly there in Iraq but we are not there in any sort of official capacity and we need to make sure that we can do that in Afghanistan.

WHITFIELD: Major General James "Spider" Marks, thank you so much. Always appreciate your perspective.

All right, on the west coast in California, a community is still reeling after the mass murder in that college town and it's generated a lot of comments from social media as well. What are people saying, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Many people can't stop talking about the mass killing in Isla Vista, California. Police are searching the homes of the suspect' mother and father, now. Meanwhile, a large crowd attended a quiet yet public vigil. They came to remember the six victims who died and those who were injured.

And images including one of the killer's bullet riddled car led to a blizzard of comments on social media. They are trying to make sense out of America's newest mass murder.

Our Nick Valencia is here with the sampling of what people are saying and thinking and really no one can make sense of what took place.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. The theme is sadness, it is confusion. I read a post just before and coming up here, Fred. And it was you read about these shootings at or near campus shootings but you never think that it will happen to you.

And I want to share with you just a sample of some the reaction on social media. Let's start on twitter from Sarah Luther, whose friend Nick Psichuks is one of those that was shot and injured in Friday night's shooting saying, please pray for Nick and all of those harmed by the UCSB shooting.

I want to show you a photo of Nick. It has not yet been seen on CNN. Of course, he's still recovering at a Santa Barbara hospital. His friend Thomas Evington (ph) posting this photo of Nick who goes by Cheeks saying praying for Cheeks, the legend. Get better, kid.

I spoke to Thomas just a little while ago and he couldn't say enough nice things about Nick. So we're hoping that he gets better.

Now, this post, Fred on Facebook, from a man offering condolences for a friend's family. Chris Michael Martinez was one of the six killed at the hands of the shooter on Friday night. He posted life is but a vapor. We don't know how many days or hours we have with our loved ones. We are grieving with a friend the loss of her son and the Isla Vista rampage from last night. Our hearts are broken.

Another post on facebook coming from a Santa Barbara resident, mourning the loss of friend, saying, my heartaches deeply for Isla Vista, where I spent five years of my life. I have close friends who lost their friends that night.

Twitter, this comes from Andrea Marie Keys who says this is my home. She's just still shocked by what happened, Fred. He said he came into my home and hurt innocent people. I'm tired of people not respecting this place where I live. This place I love.

And finally on Instagram, you're talking about the candlelight vigil, that very dramatic photo here that I believe that we have. But Leo M. posted the Instagram photo saying 4,000 united and standing strong, standing not only as students of UCSB and SBCC, that community college that was also there in Isla Vista, but as a community and family at this candlelight vigil, pray for IV, pray for UCSB.

And this is just a sample, as I mentioned, of the so many reaction. You're looking at the photo there. And if you have tweets to add to our conversation, you could tweet, Fred or myself @CNN Valencia and we'll try to get your comments on the air.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Not enough can be said about the kind of grief, you know, and shock that so many people are still going through.

VALENCIA: Yes, it is unthinkable. It's truly unthinkable.

WHITFIELD: It really is. So sad. Thank you so much, Nick.

VALENCIA: You bet. Thanks, Fred,

WHITFIELD: All right, of course, we'll have more on the mass murder coming up and the investigation that continues.

Also straight ahead, Ukraine appears to have a new president. He's known as the chocolate king. But is he really the people's choice? We're live in Ukraine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Voters in Ukraine went to the poll today to elect a new president. And a billionaire candy tycoon has declared himself the winner after exit polls show him with more than 50 percent of the vote. He's known as the chocolate king and he's an experienced politician. He has served as Ukraine's foreign minister and economy minister and he has said that he wants to unite Ukrainians and ethnic Russians.

But today's vote may not represent all Ukrainians. In some areas, most polling stations weren't even open.

Nick Paton Walsh joins me now from one of those areas in Donetsk.

So Nick, what was Election Day like there?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A climate, really, of fear and intimidation imposed by those who don't want to see this part of Ukraine stay part of Ukraine and declared its owns separate state. And many of the polling station who went there are closed. The best that local officials compared on turn out here to say about a quarter of polling stations are opened and only one in ten people were able to actually cast vote who could have at those places. And we saw today, really how many people is simply struggle to get an opportunity anywhere to cast their vote.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice-over): This is what voters got in Donetsk city, a closed door at polling stations. This is what people power look like at a pro-Russian valley in the very city center and it sounds like this.

Dozens of separatist militants on truck but one truck was different. Full of gunmen from Chechnya. What you're about to hear is a startling insight into how involved Russia may be here. These men are not only Chechen but one said he was a Russian policeman.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WALSH: Vladimir Putin says that these elections should be respected. But it is hard to imagine how are former armed men got here without Putin's government knowing about it.

Near Donetsk, people tried to vote but the ballot papers who have been burned by separatists earlier. With the police guarding these polling stations saying that during the course of the morning, about 20 people have come here and tried to vote but obviously they are unable to do anything here. The polling booths are not ready and the ballot papers burn outside. There would be no replacements sent.

The allegiances are changing fast. This the home of a steel magnet billionaire, (INAUDIBLE), a local power broker, besieged by protesters who wanted handed over to separatists. Militants here, not taking the house, but protecting the people from danger they claim.

(INAUDIBLE) pockets are deep but his influence waning. So few pro- Ukrainian voices now heard. The ground upon which any new Ukrainian president could take a stand shrinking fast.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: Very unenviable job, really to (INAUDIBLE). He tries to keep Ukraine together. He said his first trip will be here to the east. He said he will talk to separatists perhaps. But that nobody with blood on their hands. He said he's an experienced politician. He has known in the past to have good links with Moscow and needs all of his diplomatic and negotiating skill to try and bridge the huge differences here and the still outstanding question of what do all these men, these pro-Russian, pro-separatists militants from gang have actually end up doing it. They are not going to be taught out of that situation here --Fred.

WHITFIELD: Tenure situation. Thank you so much, Nick Paton Walsh. Appreciate it in Donetsk.

All right. Back here in the U.S., firefighters are getting better control over a wildfire in Arizona today. But it could still double in size before they'll be able to fully contain it. The fire near Sedona has already burned more than 13,000 acres and people living nearby are ready to evacuate at a moment's notice.

And overseas, Pope Francis is wrapping up the second day of his historic trip to the Middle East. On a visit to the West Bank, the Pope made a dramatic gesture toward moving the Middle East peace process forward. He invited the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian authority to come to the Vatican for peace talks. He ends the day in Jerusalem and then tomorrow he spends time meeting with political and religious leaders including Israel's prime minister.

For a Pope who prides himself on being accessible, this trip was a huge security challenge for Israeli.

Here's Ivan Watson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The holy city is getting ready. Jerusalem is winding alley ways festooned with the yellow and white flags of the Vatican and its leader Pope Francis. And as always, for the visit of a head of state, security is a major concern.

MICKEY ROSENFELD, ISRAEL POLICE SPOKESMAN: Our units and representatives will be fully manned here. More than 20 officers watching.

WATSON: Mickey Rosenfeld gives me a tour of the command center of the Israeli police in Jerusalem. With more than 320 cameras posted around the old city, the police can closely monitor the Pope's every step.

ROSENFELD: And we are capable of seeing every different area if we focused it to a specific individual.

WATSON: Rosenfeld says the main threat to the Pope comes from Israeli extremists.

ROSENFELD: Our units dealing with criminal incidents with motives. Price tags as they're known. The majority of incidents over the last few weeks have been against Israeli Arabs, one or two, unfortunate incidents against churches.

WATSON: This month, the Catholic Church in Jerusalem expressed alarm about the recent upsurge of acts of vandalism known as price tags. Hebrew Graffiti with anti-Christian slurs.

As an added security measure, ahead of the Pope Francis' visit on Sunday, some shopkeepers in Jerusalem's old city tell us they have been ordered to close the businesses from Saturday night until Monday.

ADNAN DAKAK, OLD CITY SHOP OWNER: It's always the big issue of security. Everything goes back to security now. They could make security with shops open but don't want to do it, you know. It's easier to ask us to close, you know.

WATSON: The Palestinian authority's ambassador to the Vatican fears the stringent security measures may turn the old city into a ghost town.

ISSA KASSISSIEH, PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE VATICAN: I cannot understand to the Holy Father from his complications. I cannot understand to see the streets of Jerusalem empty.

WATSON: For the purposes of crowd control, Israeli security prevented many Christians from attending Easter services at their church at the holy simple last month. Some Christians here expect the same could happen when the Pope arrives in Jerusalem on Sunday. GEORGE SANDROUM, AMERICAN POTTERY MAKER: When someone like the Pope comes, you expect -- you expect to be on the streets and to be able to have visual contact with him. And for faithful people and people of -- that love to see the Pope, I mean, that's very important and that's frustrating when this does not happen.

WATSON: Despite frustration, there's also pride here. And hope that Pope Francis can bring support to this ancient city's dwindling community of Palestinian Christians.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And on Thursday, a new series from executive producers Tom Hanks and Gary Getsman "the sixties." It is the decade that changed the world and reshaped American lives in ways that still affect us today. Remember Carol Burnett?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On my show, I would do prat falls and jump out of windows and pies in the face and it was heaven.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's gone -- oh God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I still -- I see a rerun of "Carol Burnett show" and say, goddamn, they're funny.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was great in bed, too, remember that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop. You never went to bed with --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not supposed to curtsey. You're supposed to bow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get dizzy when I bend over.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When Tim Conway came on, this goal in life was to destroy Harvey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: They were all so funny. Watch our set your DVR for "the Sixties" premier Thursday night 9:00 eastern and pacific on CNN.

All right. President Obama taking this Memorial Day message to Afghanistan, honoring the men and women in uniform with a surprise visit. What he said in a live report at the top of the hour.

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