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CNN Live Saturday

Federal Prosecutors Question Cheney; CPA: Truce Takes Hold in Najaf

Aired June 05, 2004 - 14:30   ET

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

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Former President Reagan's health is taking a turn for the worse. Sources say the White House has been told Reagan's death could come in weeks or months. The 93-year- old former president was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease a decade ago.
Federal prosecutors questioned Vice President Dick Cheney about the leak that revealed the identity of a CIA operative. Her husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, was critical of the Bush administration's Iraq policy. Wilson maintains Cheney's office is the likely source of the leak. The White House has denied involvement.

The Coalition Provisional Authority says a truce seems to be taking hold in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf. Fighters loyal to Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have disappeared from the streets. U.S. forces withdrew to the outskirts of the town to allow Iraqi security forces to police Najaf.

President Bush is in Paris now for talks with French President Jacques Chirac. The French president was among the harshest critics of President Bush's Iraq war policy. Their meeting focused on a new U.N. resolution endorsing Iraqi sovereignty.

Washington is still grappling with CIA Director George Tenet's sudden resignation. Some suspect the decision could be linked to the upcoming reports on the spy agency failure on pre-9/11 and Iraq intelligence. CNN Congressional Correspondent Joe Johns previews one of the reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Senate report is being called a stinging indictment of CIA failures. So harsh, as seen by some senators, as one reason George Tenet resigned. Publicly the Intelligence Committee chairman calls it unflattering.

SEN. PAT ROBERTS, (R), INTELLIGENCE CMTE. CHAIRMAN: I think the community has been somewhat in denial over the full extent, and I emphasize full extent, of the shortcoming of its work on Iraq.

JOHNS: The report is especially critical of the October 2002 national intelligence estimate detailing evidence the CIA said showed Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological weapons and was trying to rebuild its nuclear weapons program. Among the findings, committee sources say, claims were based on unfounded assumptions. Multiple names were used for the same source making the evidence look stronger than it was. U.S. intelligence never interviewed sources who said Iraq had mobile weapons labs. And warnings one of the sources was a fabricator were ignored.

That intelligence about mobile labs, now apparently wrong, was touted by Secretary of State Powell at the United Nations.

ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: Sometimes in terrorism if there's an eminent threat you take unsourced information and disseminate it. But something to justify a preemptive war is totally unacceptable.

JOHNS: The CIA which is adding its remarks to the report and taking out classified material had no comment.

Before George Tenet's resignation Chairman Roberts suggested intelligence failures were so serious someone should be fired or disciplined.

(on camera): Roberts expects to release the report publicly as early as this month. Then the economy works on what could be an equally damaging report and focusing on the policy makers and whether they hyped the threat of weapons of mass destruction to make the case for war.

Joe Johns, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Last weekend an unlikely two-some were honorary grand marshal in a World War II Memorial Parade. Brittany and Robbie Bergquist of Norwell, Massachusetts are just 12 and 13 years old. They were honored for their efforts in raising money so U.S. soldiers in Iraq can phone home without breaking the bank.

The program is called Cell Phones for Soldiers, and co-founder Brittany Bergquist is in Boston to give us an update on how things are going.

And so sorry your brother couldn't be with us. I understand he's not feeling good today. So you are going to hold down the fort for us, right?

BRITTANY BERGQUIST, CO-FOUNDER, CELL PHONES FOR SOLDIERS: Yep.

WHITFIELD: How is the project going?

BERGQUIST: It's actually going really well. We raised over $100,000, not including the amount of money that is from the cell phones and the prepaid phone cards. As we're really hoping that more companies will be able to join in and become drop off sites so people can drop off cell phones and prepaid phone cards.

WHITFIELD: So, Brittany, let's back track on how you and your brother came up with this idea. What brought you to the attention that there were so many soldiers abroad who were calling home, or wanted to call home, and the cell phone bills were just really piling up?

BERGQUIST: Well, the reason why we started Cell Phones for Soldiers was because we heard about Brian Fletcher (ph), a soldier from Nydeck (ph), who actually stationed in Kuwait right now, who was in Iraq, who had an over $7,000 cell phone bill. And through doing research we found out that more soldiers were having difficulty calling home and at first we were just going to try to help him Brian Fletcher (ph), pay off his bill.

But then T-Mobil, the cell phone company that he had service with, decided that they are going to waive the rest of his bill, because he had already paid half of it. And we had the money that we had already raised and we decided that we would try to help out the other soldiers.

WHITFIELD: So you all kind of broadened your scope. You decided to start raising more money, also get people to donate their unused minutes on their cell phones, is that how it works?

BERGQUIST: Well people can donate their old cell phones because when you switch cell phone companies now you can keep your number, but you still can't keep your cell phone. So people probably have cell phones just lying around home.

And we would appreciate it if people would donate those so that we could recycle them. And we can use them from recycling companies to buy new cell phones and satellite phones for the soldiers. And we're hoping that we can create satellite phone banks for the soldiers that are outside of large bases where there are landline phone banks.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Have you actually heard from any of these soldiers to get a sense to what a difference you all have made in their lives?

BERGQUIST: Well, we have heard from some soldiers that are stationed in Iraq right now. As well as hearing from veterans and other people. And they are all really happy that we're doing this. They are really proud of us. They can't wait for the cell phones to come over to them because they want to call home so badly.

WHITFIELD: When do you think you're going to be able to ship them off?

BERGQUIST: Actually next week we're going to be sending prepaid phone cards over to Iraq or Afghanistan, or maybe even both. And but that will be really expensive. So we're hoping there are going to be more donations.

On Wednesday, we had an assembly in school where we gave prepaid phone cards to the 42nd Division of Artillery of the Massachusetts National Guard. And we are able to supply 400 soldiers with prepaid phone cards.

WHITFIELD: Quickly, Brittany, before I let you go, you want to make any recommendations to people who may want to make some donations? How's the best way to go about it.

BERGQUIST: They can go to cellphoneforsoldiers.com. There's a list of over 2,000 drop off sites for cell phones, prepaid phone cards, and money donations.

WHITFIELD: Excellent. Brittany Bergquist, thanks very much. Appreciate it and our regards to Robbie and hope he feels better soon.

BERGQUIST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Take care.

The president isn't the only administration official visiting allies overseas. We'll tell you why the Defense secretary is touring Asia.

Plus a status report on America's readiness in case of another terrorist attack. One doctor says the nation is woefully unprepared.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: At the French Open, Anastasia Myskina became Russia's first women's Grand Slam champ. The tennis title was bound to go to a Russian, both finalists are from there. Myskina beat Elena Dementieva, 6/1, 6/2. The two are almost like sisters. They grew up together and trained together, but it was the most one-sided final since Steffi Graf's victory back in 1988, they say.

Here's some other news around the world. Pope John Paul II is on the road again. He arrived in Switzerland earlier today. John Paul II is spending a day and a half in Bern. He'll attend a rally tonight and lead a Sunday mass expected to draw thousands.

It's not a peace deal but Sudanese officials and southern rebels signed a declaration restating their commitment to a peace accord. The ceremony was hosted by the president of Kenya. The signing launches the final phase of talks aimed at ending a 21-year long civil war in Sudan.

And Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told a conference in Singapore the U.S. and its allies are winning some battles on the war on terrorism. But he warns them that Islamic extremists may be recruiting and training new terrorists faster than the U.S. can capture or kill them.

Experts are split over an important part of America's current ability to respond to an act of terrorism. Some say important progress has been made since 9/11. But as Suzanne Kelly reports others say planning has passed over one place that may be needed most.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE KELLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It is just a drill, a dirty bomb explodes in the middle of a major U.S. city. But if a real attack were launched how ready are we to respond? DR. CHARLES A. SCHABLE, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: I think the major lesson that we learn from 9/11 is that the nation is prepared to deal with these events but it is much better prepared to deal with the events post 9/11 than it was before then.

KELLY: Dr. Charles Schable from the Centers For Disease Control in Atlanta, says progress has been made when it comes to communication between agency and first responders. And in the important task of getting information out to the public, should an attack occur.

He even testified last month before a congressional committee saying every state has developed an emergency preparedness and response plan. And nearly 90 percent of states have trained public health practitioners in responding to terrorism.

But where do we stand when it comes to one place you will likely need the most in the immediate moment after a terror attack?

SCHABLE: Is every single hospital in the united states perfectly prepared? I would be silly if I said yes.

DR. ARTHUR KELLERMAN, ER PHYSICIAN: The public should not only be concerned, they should be damn angry about this.

KELLY: Dr. Arthur Kellerman is on the front line, a prominent ER physician. He says too little attention is being paid to hospital emergency rooms. The first place victims would go for help.

KELLERMAN: We simply don't have the resources to meet this threat, not at this time. In fact, I would argue we are less prepared today than we were on September 11, 2001, to respond to any form of terrorist attack much less about a terror attack.

KELLY: The doctor cites a number of problems, lack of funding, inadequate facilities, inadequate training of hospital staff and no proper measures to keep the staff safe as they attend potential victims. He predicts if an attack happened today emergency services, including ambulances, ER care, and trauma care would all be completely overwhelmed.

KELLERMAN: We have better information technology in your typical Wal-Mart or grocery store than we have in a typical U.S. hospital.

KELLY: As a member of the Board of American College of Emergency Medicine, he says there's a problem echoed across the country. Even with the enhanced level of national preparation.

He remains committed to try to make sure that in light of a potential terror attack, one catastrophe isn't followed by another.

Suzanne Kelly, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. Justice Department tries to make its case against Jose Padilla and the Scott Peterson murder trial begins. It's been a busy week for the nation's legal docket. Analysis coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well now to legal briefs. There are three big cases out this week, the Scott Peterson murder trial under way in California; the Supreme Court considers the civil rights of suspected terrorist Jose Padilla, in the nation's capital; and new developments in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case in Colorado.

Here to talk about all of that. Avery Friedman and Richard Herman.

Good to see you guys this weekend, as usual.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi, Fredricka.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good afternoon, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Let's begin with the Scott Peterson case. So he's a liar, so he's a cheat, says the defense, but the question is Richard, how will the prosecution most likely and effectively layout that he's a murder, too?

HERMAN: You know, Fredricka, on this the eve of the O.J. Simpson case as Yogi Berra once said, "It is deja vu all over again." You've got a perfect recipe going right now, unprepared prosecutors, shoddy police work, you looking at a hung jury here or an acquittal.

It's outrageous that the first three witnesses that the prosecution put on, on this case get totally destroyed on cross examination and turned into defense witnesses. It's outrageous. That coupled with a four and a half hour opening, which was just preposterous.

WHITFIELD: Avery, what were your observations? Do you think it started out with folks dragging their feet? Is it taking too long already?

FRIEDMAN: Not really. I think whatever crystal ball Richard is looking into is a little fogged up. I don't care if Mark Geragos resurrects Clarence Darrow, as co-counsel, one thing the defense cannot get around is motive and opportunity.

The prosecution has 100 witnesses, the defense according to Geragos has about 18. And I frankly think it's way too early to predict. Right now, the prosecution, I think, is on its way toward a very strong case.

(CROSS TALK)

WHITFIELD: Go ahead.

FRIEDMAN: Fredricka, the prosecution has listed 500 witnesses. And you talk about motive, the entire motive of the prosecution in this case is because Scott Peterson wanted to have a relationship with this masseuse, who he met twice before Laci disappeared. That is supposed to be the motive for him to kill his wife, his pregnant wife?

(CROSS TALK)

HERMAN: He met her on the day she was murdered. Holy smokes!

FRIEDMAN: He met her two times. What kind of -- what kind of masseuse is she? Two days before -- two dates before. That's it. That's the whole motive?

WHITFIELD: So beside motive now, the method of death, particularly of the baby, is at issue. Was the baby expelled from the body of Laci Peterson? Or did perhaps the baby, you know, have a normal vaginal birth before being killed?

HERMAN: Fredricka, the prosecution's own medical examiner has stated in hearings that the baby was born full term. In addition to that, the defense examiner is going to testify not only was the baby born full term, that the baby lived up until February 20th.

Now the prosecution says the baby died on December 23rd. But now in addition to that, Geragos' experts are going to testify that not only that, the umbilical cord was severed properly, in addition to that there was twine and rope in knots around the baby's head.

FRIEDMAN: These are obfuscations. These are efforts to get away from the key issues of motive and opportunity. There's no defense that can overcome it.

HERMAN: What's the motive? What's the motive, Avery?

FRIEDMAN: The motive is clearly he was having a relationship with someone. He made remarks to other people about the relationship he had, and this case is way, too early to make that kind of final judgment.

HERMAN: Two dates, that's it. Two dates.

(CROSS TALK)

WHITFIELD: So, Avery, then why should perhaps the defense apparently really needs to stay away from at first it was touting there were other murders out there. Now apparently there is some legal advice out there, outside the courtroom, saying, you know what, definitely Mark Geragos needs to stay away from that notion of trying to point out other murders because then it's in the defense's hands to try to figure out who did it.

FRIEDMAN: That is exactly right. And the reality is this satanic murder, satanic cult that was involved in this. That was going nowhere. It was an experiment. It's not going to work. The fact is what Mark Geragos has to focus in on is inconsistencies with the prosecution.

And, again, we're so early. We're right after opening statements. This is a six-month trial. We're way too early.

HERMAN: Fredricka? It's reasonable doubt. Every chance Geragos has to show shoddy police work, as the very first witness.

(CROSS TALK)

FRIEDMAN: That goes without saying.

WHITFIELD: We got some other cases to try to get too real quick. Let's talk about Kobe Bryant real quick. The defense wins a minor victory. This accuser cannot be called a victim in court. Is this unprecedented? How much of a victory is this, Richard, for the defense?

HERMAN: I don't think it has any bearing on the case, to be honest with you.

WHITFIELD: Really?

HERMAN: I don't think so.

WHITFIELD: Richard, do you think the jurors will even notice?

HERMAN: I don't think they are going to notice. He's sitting there, he's the named defendant in this case. Obviously she is the alleged victim. They are going to have to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The extrinsic factor here is the jury pool where this case is going to be tried. I don't believe there will be one black on this jury. That spells disaster for Kobe.

WHITFIELD: Avery, the argument was calling her a victim that was prejudicial?

FRIEDMAN: That's what the argument was. I think the judge was sensitive. He's trying to make this case bulletproof. He's looking for a way to make sure that whatever happens here it can't be reversed on appeal. I think it was smart for the judge to do that. But the fact that it's victim or alleged victim is not going to make any difference, ultimately.

WHITFIELD: Jose Padilla case, still has not been indicted yet. The feds come out and let's paint a picture of the allegation we pinned on this guy. Avery, what is going on here? How long can they hold him in custody without any charges?

FRIEDMAN: Well, as far as the government is concerned, forever. What is very interesting, no one has talked about this, you will no longer see John Ashcroft speaking for the administration. You now have superstar Jim Comey who -- ironically, was the U.S. attorney in Manhattan ready to prosecute Padilla until the Defense Department pulled him away and threw him in the brig for two years.

Comey knows the Supreme Court is likely to say they violated his constitutional rights. He put his best spin on it. Right now, I think, he's trying to explain it away. I don't think Jim Comey, the deputy assistant attorney general even believes what he was saying.

WHITFIELD: Richard, what do you think?

HERMAN: I'm surprised at my friend Avery, a civil rights litigator and professor, you know, if you closed your eyes and listened to this fact pattern and you kept the United States out of the equation, if you didn't know what countries were involved you would think it would be some Communist regime.

FRIEDMAN: I don't disagree with that.

(CROSS TALK)

HERMAN: It's outrageous this guy's civil rights are being violated. They can't hold him forever. This is all from the Bush administration and the reaction to 9/11. We are the United States.

WHITFIELD: All right. We're out of time. Thanks very much. Richard and Avery, as always, love hearing from you guys.

FRIEDMAN: We'll see you soon.

HERMAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well he helped celebrate the greatest generation on the big screen in "Saving Private Ryan", actor Tom Hanks talks to CNN from Normandy, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Much of our focus this hour has been on the events taking place this weekend, in France, marking the 60th anniversary of D-Day. A big promoter of the veterans who took part in that invasion to liberate Europe is in Normandy for the ceremonies, actor and producer Tom Hanks, who starred in "Saving Private Ryan" spoke with Christiane Amanpour a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM HANKS, ACTOR, PRODUCER: What Stephen did with "Saving Private Ryan", which we were all a part of, was we just kind of like opened up this time capsule in a very tactile way. And said, don't think that just because of these black and white images or the countless movies that have sort of come and gone about the event, turn it into something that is inhuman. That is no longer part of the human experience.

When "Saving Private Ryan" came along and we were talking to everybody about it and sort of entered into the national consciousness, what astounded me more than anything else about the experience was how many times a young person, or a wife, would come up to me and say, my husband never talked about the war. Or kids coming up and say my dad would wake up screaming in the middle of the night and I knew my mom was trying to put him back to sleep.

This was a generation who lived with, I think, two great understandings. One is that they were all in this together, they couldn't win without each other. Two, that there were huge sacrifices that everybody made because there was a war going on.

I think that is an extraordinary testament to the obviously the unique aspects of what the Second World War was, too, but certainly about the -- not nearly -- I'm an American so I'll say it, from the American consciousness, that says, hey, there is a job to do and we have something to do in it.

Without "Saving Private Ryan" and "Band of Brothers", not to clap anybody on the back, I think the 60th anniversary might not be as important to so many generations.

Let me tell you briefly, we were in Washington, D.C., last week for the dedication for the World War II Memorial there. We went to a restaurant afterwards, myself and my wife and two of our kids. This restaurant, every booth was jammed with grandparent, parents and grandkids. There was that older generation, an old man, with those goofy hats on that say their unit and medals and T-shirts that said where they were and what they were doing. But there was also their wives, there were also their kids, there were also the grandkids. And they were all celebrating the thing that Grandpa did or that Grandpa did and he can't be here tone joy it. It's an important, because if we don't remember our history we won't know where we are going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And you can here more from Christine Amanpour interview with Tom Hanks at 6:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN LIVE TODAY. Thanks for join us.

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Aired June 5, 2004 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Former President Reagan's health is taking a turn for the worse. Sources say the White House has been told Reagan's death could come in weeks or months. The 93-year- old former president was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease a decade ago.
Federal prosecutors questioned Vice President Dick Cheney about the leak that revealed the identity of a CIA operative. Her husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, was critical of the Bush administration's Iraq policy. Wilson maintains Cheney's office is the likely source of the leak. The White House has denied involvement.

The Coalition Provisional Authority says a truce seems to be taking hold in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf. Fighters loyal to Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have disappeared from the streets. U.S. forces withdrew to the outskirts of the town to allow Iraqi security forces to police Najaf.

President Bush is in Paris now for talks with French President Jacques Chirac. The French president was among the harshest critics of President Bush's Iraq war policy. Their meeting focused on a new U.N. resolution endorsing Iraqi sovereignty.

Washington is still grappling with CIA Director George Tenet's sudden resignation. Some suspect the decision could be linked to the upcoming reports on the spy agency failure on pre-9/11 and Iraq intelligence. CNN Congressional Correspondent Joe Johns previews one of the reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Senate report is being called a stinging indictment of CIA failures. So harsh, as seen by some senators, as one reason George Tenet resigned. Publicly the Intelligence Committee chairman calls it unflattering.

SEN. PAT ROBERTS, (R), INTELLIGENCE CMTE. CHAIRMAN: I think the community has been somewhat in denial over the full extent, and I emphasize full extent, of the shortcoming of its work on Iraq.

JOHNS: The report is especially critical of the October 2002 national intelligence estimate detailing evidence the CIA said showed Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological weapons and was trying to rebuild its nuclear weapons program. Among the findings, committee sources say, claims were based on unfounded assumptions. Multiple names were used for the same source making the evidence look stronger than it was. U.S. intelligence never interviewed sources who said Iraq had mobile weapons labs. And warnings one of the sources was a fabricator were ignored.

That intelligence about mobile labs, now apparently wrong, was touted by Secretary of State Powell at the United Nations.

ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: Sometimes in terrorism if there's an eminent threat you take unsourced information and disseminate it. But something to justify a preemptive war is totally unacceptable.

JOHNS: The CIA which is adding its remarks to the report and taking out classified material had no comment.

Before George Tenet's resignation Chairman Roberts suggested intelligence failures were so serious someone should be fired or disciplined.

(on camera): Roberts expects to release the report publicly as early as this month. Then the economy works on what could be an equally damaging report and focusing on the policy makers and whether they hyped the threat of weapons of mass destruction to make the case for war.

Joe Johns, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Last weekend an unlikely two-some were honorary grand marshal in a World War II Memorial Parade. Brittany and Robbie Bergquist of Norwell, Massachusetts are just 12 and 13 years old. They were honored for their efforts in raising money so U.S. soldiers in Iraq can phone home without breaking the bank.

The program is called Cell Phones for Soldiers, and co-founder Brittany Bergquist is in Boston to give us an update on how things are going.

And so sorry your brother couldn't be with us. I understand he's not feeling good today. So you are going to hold down the fort for us, right?

BRITTANY BERGQUIST, CO-FOUNDER, CELL PHONES FOR SOLDIERS: Yep.

WHITFIELD: How is the project going?

BERGQUIST: It's actually going really well. We raised over $100,000, not including the amount of money that is from the cell phones and the prepaid phone cards. As we're really hoping that more companies will be able to join in and become drop off sites so people can drop off cell phones and prepaid phone cards.

WHITFIELD: So, Brittany, let's back track on how you and your brother came up with this idea. What brought you to the attention that there were so many soldiers abroad who were calling home, or wanted to call home, and the cell phone bills were just really piling up?

BERGQUIST: Well, the reason why we started Cell Phones for Soldiers was because we heard about Brian Fletcher (ph), a soldier from Nydeck (ph), who actually stationed in Kuwait right now, who was in Iraq, who had an over $7,000 cell phone bill. And through doing research we found out that more soldiers were having difficulty calling home and at first we were just going to try to help him Brian Fletcher (ph), pay off his bill.

But then T-Mobil, the cell phone company that he had service with, decided that they are going to waive the rest of his bill, because he had already paid half of it. And we had the money that we had already raised and we decided that we would try to help out the other soldiers.

WHITFIELD: So you all kind of broadened your scope. You decided to start raising more money, also get people to donate their unused minutes on their cell phones, is that how it works?

BERGQUIST: Well people can donate their old cell phones because when you switch cell phone companies now you can keep your number, but you still can't keep your cell phone. So people probably have cell phones just lying around home.

And we would appreciate it if people would donate those so that we could recycle them. And we can use them from recycling companies to buy new cell phones and satellite phones for the soldiers. And we're hoping that we can create satellite phone banks for the soldiers that are outside of large bases where there are landline phone banks.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Have you actually heard from any of these soldiers to get a sense to what a difference you all have made in their lives?

BERGQUIST: Well, we have heard from some soldiers that are stationed in Iraq right now. As well as hearing from veterans and other people. And they are all really happy that we're doing this. They are really proud of us. They can't wait for the cell phones to come over to them because they want to call home so badly.

WHITFIELD: When do you think you're going to be able to ship them off?

BERGQUIST: Actually next week we're going to be sending prepaid phone cards over to Iraq or Afghanistan, or maybe even both. And but that will be really expensive. So we're hoping there are going to be more donations.

On Wednesday, we had an assembly in school where we gave prepaid phone cards to the 42nd Division of Artillery of the Massachusetts National Guard. And we are able to supply 400 soldiers with prepaid phone cards.

WHITFIELD: Quickly, Brittany, before I let you go, you want to make any recommendations to people who may want to make some donations? How's the best way to go about it.

BERGQUIST: They can go to cellphoneforsoldiers.com. There's a list of over 2,000 drop off sites for cell phones, prepaid phone cards, and money donations.

WHITFIELD: Excellent. Brittany Bergquist, thanks very much. Appreciate it and our regards to Robbie and hope he feels better soon.

BERGQUIST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Take care.

The president isn't the only administration official visiting allies overseas. We'll tell you why the Defense secretary is touring Asia.

Plus a status report on America's readiness in case of another terrorist attack. One doctor says the nation is woefully unprepared.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: At the French Open, Anastasia Myskina became Russia's first women's Grand Slam champ. The tennis title was bound to go to a Russian, both finalists are from there. Myskina beat Elena Dementieva, 6/1, 6/2. The two are almost like sisters. They grew up together and trained together, but it was the most one-sided final since Steffi Graf's victory back in 1988, they say.

Here's some other news around the world. Pope John Paul II is on the road again. He arrived in Switzerland earlier today. John Paul II is spending a day and a half in Bern. He'll attend a rally tonight and lead a Sunday mass expected to draw thousands.

It's not a peace deal but Sudanese officials and southern rebels signed a declaration restating their commitment to a peace accord. The ceremony was hosted by the president of Kenya. The signing launches the final phase of talks aimed at ending a 21-year long civil war in Sudan.

And Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told a conference in Singapore the U.S. and its allies are winning some battles on the war on terrorism. But he warns them that Islamic extremists may be recruiting and training new terrorists faster than the U.S. can capture or kill them.

Experts are split over an important part of America's current ability to respond to an act of terrorism. Some say important progress has been made since 9/11. But as Suzanne Kelly reports others say planning has passed over one place that may be needed most.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE KELLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It is just a drill, a dirty bomb explodes in the middle of a major U.S. city. But if a real attack were launched how ready are we to respond? DR. CHARLES A. SCHABLE, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: I think the major lesson that we learn from 9/11 is that the nation is prepared to deal with these events but it is much better prepared to deal with the events post 9/11 than it was before then.

KELLY: Dr. Charles Schable from the Centers For Disease Control in Atlanta, says progress has been made when it comes to communication between agency and first responders. And in the important task of getting information out to the public, should an attack occur.

He even testified last month before a congressional committee saying every state has developed an emergency preparedness and response plan. And nearly 90 percent of states have trained public health practitioners in responding to terrorism.

But where do we stand when it comes to one place you will likely need the most in the immediate moment after a terror attack?

SCHABLE: Is every single hospital in the united states perfectly prepared? I would be silly if I said yes.

DR. ARTHUR KELLERMAN, ER PHYSICIAN: The public should not only be concerned, they should be damn angry about this.

KELLY: Dr. Arthur Kellerman is on the front line, a prominent ER physician. He says too little attention is being paid to hospital emergency rooms. The first place victims would go for help.

KELLERMAN: We simply don't have the resources to meet this threat, not at this time. In fact, I would argue we are less prepared today than we were on September 11, 2001, to respond to any form of terrorist attack much less about a terror attack.

KELLY: The doctor cites a number of problems, lack of funding, inadequate facilities, inadequate training of hospital staff and no proper measures to keep the staff safe as they attend potential victims. He predicts if an attack happened today emergency services, including ambulances, ER care, and trauma care would all be completely overwhelmed.

KELLERMAN: We have better information technology in your typical Wal-Mart or grocery store than we have in a typical U.S. hospital.

KELLY: As a member of the Board of American College of Emergency Medicine, he says there's a problem echoed across the country. Even with the enhanced level of national preparation.

He remains committed to try to make sure that in light of a potential terror attack, one catastrophe isn't followed by another.

Suzanne Kelly, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. Justice Department tries to make its case against Jose Padilla and the Scott Peterson murder trial begins. It's been a busy week for the nation's legal docket. Analysis coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well now to legal briefs. There are three big cases out this week, the Scott Peterson murder trial under way in California; the Supreme Court considers the civil rights of suspected terrorist Jose Padilla, in the nation's capital; and new developments in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case in Colorado.

Here to talk about all of that. Avery Friedman and Richard Herman.

Good to see you guys this weekend, as usual.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi, Fredricka.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good afternoon, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Let's begin with the Scott Peterson case. So he's a liar, so he's a cheat, says the defense, but the question is Richard, how will the prosecution most likely and effectively layout that he's a murder, too?

HERMAN: You know, Fredricka, on this the eve of the O.J. Simpson case as Yogi Berra once said, "It is deja vu all over again." You've got a perfect recipe going right now, unprepared prosecutors, shoddy police work, you looking at a hung jury here or an acquittal.

It's outrageous that the first three witnesses that the prosecution put on, on this case get totally destroyed on cross examination and turned into defense witnesses. It's outrageous. That coupled with a four and a half hour opening, which was just preposterous.

WHITFIELD: Avery, what were your observations? Do you think it started out with folks dragging their feet? Is it taking too long already?

FRIEDMAN: Not really. I think whatever crystal ball Richard is looking into is a little fogged up. I don't care if Mark Geragos resurrects Clarence Darrow, as co-counsel, one thing the defense cannot get around is motive and opportunity.

The prosecution has 100 witnesses, the defense according to Geragos has about 18. And I frankly think it's way too early to predict. Right now, the prosecution, I think, is on its way toward a very strong case.

(CROSS TALK)

WHITFIELD: Go ahead.

FRIEDMAN: Fredricka, the prosecution has listed 500 witnesses. And you talk about motive, the entire motive of the prosecution in this case is because Scott Peterson wanted to have a relationship with this masseuse, who he met twice before Laci disappeared. That is supposed to be the motive for him to kill his wife, his pregnant wife?

(CROSS TALK)

HERMAN: He met her on the day she was murdered. Holy smokes!

FRIEDMAN: He met her two times. What kind of -- what kind of masseuse is she? Two days before -- two dates before. That's it. That's the whole motive?

WHITFIELD: So beside motive now, the method of death, particularly of the baby, is at issue. Was the baby expelled from the body of Laci Peterson? Or did perhaps the baby, you know, have a normal vaginal birth before being killed?

HERMAN: Fredricka, the prosecution's own medical examiner has stated in hearings that the baby was born full term. In addition to that, the defense examiner is going to testify not only was the baby born full term, that the baby lived up until February 20th.

Now the prosecution says the baby died on December 23rd. But now in addition to that, Geragos' experts are going to testify that not only that, the umbilical cord was severed properly, in addition to that there was twine and rope in knots around the baby's head.

FRIEDMAN: These are obfuscations. These are efforts to get away from the key issues of motive and opportunity. There's no defense that can overcome it.

HERMAN: What's the motive? What's the motive, Avery?

FRIEDMAN: The motive is clearly he was having a relationship with someone. He made remarks to other people about the relationship he had, and this case is way, too early to make that kind of final judgment.

HERMAN: Two dates, that's it. Two dates.

(CROSS TALK)

WHITFIELD: So, Avery, then why should perhaps the defense apparently really needs to stay away from at first it was touting there were other murders out there. Now apparently there is some legal advice out there, outside the courtroom, saying, you know what, definitely Mark Geragos needs to stay away from that notion of trying to point out other murders because then it's in the defense's hands to try to figure out who did it.

FRIEDMAN: That is exactly right. And the reality is this satanic murder, satanic cult that was involved in this. That was going nowhere. It was an experiment. It's not going to work. The fact is what Mark Geragos has to focus in on is inconsistencies with the prosecution.

And, again, we're so early. We're right after opening statements. This is a six-month trial. We're way too early.

HERMAN: Fredricka? It's reasonable doubt. Every chance Geragos has to show shoddy police work, as the very first witness.

(CROSS TALK)

FRIEDMAN: That goes without saying.

WHITFIELD: We got some other cases to try to get too real quick. Let's talk about Kobe Bryant real quick. The defense wins a minor victory. This accuser cannot be called a victim in court. Is this unprecedented? How much of a victory is this, Richard, for the defense?

HERMAN: I don't think it has any bearing on the case, to be honest with you.

WHITFIELD: Really?

HERMAN: I don't think so.

WHITFIELD: Richard, do you think the jurors will even notice?

HERMAN: I don't think they are going to notice. He's sitting there, he's the named defendant in this case. Obviously she is the alleged victim. They are going to have to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The extrinsic factor here is the jury pool where this case is going to be tried. I don't believe there will be one black on this jury. That spells disaster for Kobe.

WHITFIELD: Avery, the argument was calling her a victim that was prejudicial?

FRIEDMAN: That's what the argument was. I think the judge was sensitive. He's trying to make this case bulletproof. He's looking for a way to make sure that whatever happens here it can't be reversed on appeal. I think it was smart for the judge to do that. But the fact that it's victim or alleged victim is not going to make any difference, ultimately.

WHITFIELD: Jose Padilla case, still has not been indicted yet. The feds come out and let's paint a picture of the allegation we pinned on this guy. Avery, what is going on here? How long can they hold him in custody without any charges?

FRIEDMAN: Well, as far as the government is concerned, forever. What is very interesting, no one has talked about this, you will no longer see John Ashcroft speaking for the administration. You now have superstar Jim Comey who -- ironically, was the U.S. attorney in Manhattan ready to prosecute Padilla until the Defense Department pulled him away and threw him in the brig for two years.

Comey knows the Supreme Court is likely to say they violated his constitutional rights. He put his best spin on it. Right now, I think, he's trying to explain it away. I don't think Jim Comey, the deputy assistant attorney general even believes what he was saying.

WHITFIELD: Richard, what do you think?

HERMAN: I'm surprised at my friend Avery, a civil rights litigator and professor, you know, if you closed your eyes and listened to this fact pattern and you kept the United States out of the equation, if you didn't know what countries were involved you would think it would be some Communist regime.

FRIEDMAN: I don't disagree with that.

(CROSS TALK)

HERMAN: It's outrageous this guy's civil rights are being violated. They can't hold him forever. This is all from the Bush administration and the reaction to 9/11. We are the United States.

WHITFIELD: All right. We're out of time. Thanks very much. Richard and Avery, as always, love hearing from you guys.

FRIEDMAN: We'll see you soon.

HERMAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well he helped celebrate the greatest generation on the big screen in "Saving Private Ryan", actor Tom Hanks talks to CNN from Normandy, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Much of our focus this hour has been on the events taking place this weekend, in France, marking the 60th anniversary of D-Day. A big promoter of the veterans who took part in that invasion to liberate Europe is in Normandy for the ceremonies, actor and producer Tom Hanks, who starred in "Saving Private Ryan" spoke with Christiane Amanpour a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM HANKS, ACTOR, PRODUCER: What Stephen did with "Saving Private Ryan", which we were all a part of, was we just kind of like opened up this time capsule in a very tactile way. And said, don't think that just because of these black and white images or the countless movies that have sort of come and gone about the event, turn it into something that is inhuman. That is no longer part of the human experience.

When "Saving Private Ryan" came along and we were talking to everybody about it and sort of entered into the national consciousness, what astounded me more than anything else about the experience was how many times a young person, or a wife, would come up to me and say, my husband never talked about the war. Or kids coming up and say my dad would wake up screaming in the middle of the night and I knew my mom was trying to put him back to sleep.

This was a generation who lived with, I think, two great understandings. One is that they were all in this together, they couldn't win without each other. Two, that there were huge sacrifices that everybody made because there was a war going on.

I think that is an extraordinary testament to the obviously the unique aspects of what the Second World War was, too, but certainly about the -- not nearly -- I'm an American so I'll say it, from the American consciousness, that says, hey, there is a job to do and we have something to do in it.

Without "Saving Private Ryan" and "Band of Brothers", not to clap anybody on the back, I think the 60th anniversary might not be as important to so many generations.

Let me tell you briefly, we were in Washington, D.C., last week for the dedication for the World War II Memorial there. We went to a restaurant afterwards, myself and my wife and two of our kids. This restaurant, every booth was jammed with grandparent, parents and grandkids. There was that older generation, an old man, with those goofy hats on that say their unit and medals and T-shirts that said where they were and what they were doing. But there was also their wives, there were also their kids, there were also the grandkids. And they were all celebrating the thing that Grandpa did or that Grandpa did and he can't be here tone joy it. It's an important, because if we don't remember our history we won't know where we are going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And you can here more from Christine Amanpour interview with Tom Hanks at 6:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN LIVE TODAY. Thanks for join us.

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