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Connect the World

What Cease-Fire?; Pope Visits Cuba; Tiger Woods Tell-All; Survivors of Afghan Villages Attacked By US Soldier Speak Out; Accused Soldier Robert Bale's Attorney Says Client Doesn't Remember Night of Attack; Pentagon Officials Still Investigating But Believe Bales Acted Alone; Afghans Believe Multiple Attackers Participated in Massacre; Party Prince May Be Settling Down; Parting Shots of Pasty Controversy

Aired March 28, 2012 - 00:16   ET

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

BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Tonight on CONNECT THE WORLD, cease-fire -- what cease-fire?

(VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Just a day after Syria's president agreed to a plan for peace, the story on the streets suggests his promises ring hollow.

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.

ANDERSON: Tonight, as regional players meet in Baghdad to step up the pressure on Syria, how some Iraqi tribal leaders are taking matters into their own hands.

Also this hour...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: One entered the room and the others were standing in the yard, holding lights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The victims of Afghanistan's massacre speak out, raising fresh questions over just how many American soldiers were involved.

And the newlyweds get a new neighbor.

So is this a sign that the party price is finally just settling down?

Promising peace but intensifying attacks, the Syrian regime accused of failing to honor its commitments just a day after it signed onto a U.N.- backed peace plan.

Well, activists say at least 26 people were killed in violence across the country today. They say security forces fired mortars and rockets, carried out raids and clashed with rebel fighters. The peace plan brokered by Special Envoy Kofi Annan, calls for an immediate end to all violence and requires that the regime pull back troops and heavy weapons from populated areas.

Well, Russia urging the Syrian opposition to -- and I quote -- "follow the example of the regime and accept" that peace plan.

Of course, the opposition believes it's not much of an example at all. Opposition groups are now focused on unifying their ranks, making progress toward that goal at a conference in Istanbul.

Let's bring in CNN's Ivan Watson for details.

He's in Turkey, near the Syrian border.

What do we know at this point -- Ivan?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are no signs so far, Becky, that the cycle of carnage is letting up inside Syria. And we've gotten reports from opposition activists inside that (AUDIO GAP) Syrian security forces continue the shelling the town of Saraqib in Northern Idlib Province and that they shelled Qufarbatiq (ph) and then raided it.

Meanwhile, Turkish authorities here in Turkey, they say that in the last 24 hours, more than 360 Syrians fled across the border to escape their own government joining more than 17,000 Syrian refugees who are currently residing in camps -- in a network of camps along the border.

The Turks say that more than 7,000 have come within the last month alone to escape their own security forces -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Ivan, fleshing out tonight, of course, the regional context for the story, we had a guest on yesterday who very clearly spelled out the difficulties in ending this Syrian crisis, even with Kofi Anan's peace plan.

Listen to what a spokesman for the Syrian National Council told us just 24 hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUSAMA MONAJED, SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL: Annan's mission is to stop the killing. Our mission is to topple this regime and get rid of Bashar al-Assad and have a free democratic Syria afterward. And Assad's mission and objective is to stay in power.

So we have three different points of reference here. That's why Annan's plan may not be perfect, although we -- the SNC will back it, will see how we can expose the Syrian regime in -- in front of their allies, the Russians and the Chinese, to say we've fulfilled our part, despite the fact that we do not think this is going to bear any fruit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Ausama Monajed from the Syrian National Council, Ivan, speaking to us here on the show last night.

You've been covering this story for nigh on the year in and out of Syria on a sort of almost regular basis.

When you hear what he says and you listen to what we're hearing from the Syrian government and you listen to what the U.N. special envoy has to say, what are your thoughts at this point?

WATSON: It's hard to see how you can bridge the gulf between the government of Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian opposition, particularly when the United Nations says the death toll has now gone to more than 9,000 people killed.

And one of the demands that the various opposition factions, including the SNC, made when they were gathering in Istanbul this week, ahead of an international summit on Syria, the Friends of Syria meeting, that's going to start on Sunday in Istanbul.

One of their demands was that Bashar al-Assad must go. And that, as you just heard, is not being requested in that six point Kofi Anan peace plan.

The skepticism or -- or even outrage that has -- the plan has been met with from opposition groups has also been shared by some Western diplomats that we've been talking to. Various voices saying that this is just an example of the Syrian government playing for more time.

What is pretty much clear is that the -- the violence is continuing inside and we're seeing that some neighboring countries, like Turkey, are continuing (AUDIO GAP) pressure against the Syrian government despite this latest diplomatic initiative. The Turks shutting their embassy in Damascus, cutting flights to Syria, as well, and promising to step up non- lethal aid to the Syrian opposition -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Ivan Watson in Turkey for you this evening.

Ivan, thank you for that.

Well, the Arab League adding to growing pressure on Syria to implement a peace agreement. But at a summit in Iraq tomorrow, the League will not call on Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, to resign. Iraq's foreign minister made that statement after an advanced meeting today.

He also says the League will steer clear of calls by some members to arm the Syrian rebels.

Have a listen to what he said earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOSHYAR ZEBARI, IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We reaffirm our full support for the aspirations and legitimate demands of the Syrian people for freedom and democracy, their right in drawing their own future, choosing their leaders and official transfer of authority, condemning acts of violence and killing and stopping the bloodshed and adhering to the political solution and national dialogue and rejecting foreign intervention in the Syrian crisis to preserve the unity of Syria and for the safety of its people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: It's important to note here the Iraq's Shia-led government may not support arming the Syrian rebels, but some Sunni tribal leaders in Iraq feel they can no longer just sit back and watch as their Sunni brothers across the border are killed by the Assad regime.

As CNN's Arwa Damon now reports, they are taking matters into their own hands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraq's badlands -- rugged, harsh, dotted with smuggling routes to and from Syria. Sunni tribes that straddle the border, their loyalty cemented by decades of intermarriage. Among the most powerful, Sheik Abu Ahmed's tribe, the Dulaim. And he's angered by what's happening in Syria.

SHEIK ABU AHMED, SUNNI TRIBAL LEADER (through translator): You've all seen what the Syrian government is doing. It's time to return our debt. It's our duty.

DAMON: He doesn't want his identity disclosed, but he's sending money and weapons to rebels across the border. He claims that he's sent over $300,000, 35 heavy machine guns, hundreds of AK-47s and around 30 fighters into the Syrian province of Datazur, including expert bomb makers and ambush specialists.

The Sheikh says Syrian members of the Dulaim tribe came to help them when U.S. Forces began their offensive against the Sunni stronghold of Fallujah back in 2004.

"Some of them died, some of them carried out suicide attacks against U.S. Forces," he says.

Now it's his men's turn to help.

Some are hardened fighters, but there are also people who don't have experience, youth who didn't fight in Fallujah, who are sitting around unemployed. So we train and send them over.

The Sheikh's claims are impossible to verify. There are no accurate estimates about how many guns or fighters are being smuggled across the 600 kilometer border into Syria. And not all the sheikhs here believe in arming the Syrian rebels.

Sheikh Al Hammad Al-Shalal of the prominent Al-Mahamda tribe is keeping a close eye on events in Syria.

"We support the Syrian revolution," he says. But he doesn't believe in arming the opposition. Instead, he and other leaders organize demonstrations, like this one last month in Fallujah, with people declaring their support for various cities under siege, offering sanctuary in Iraq and rallying to collect food and other humanitarian aid.

Years on, scars remain from the insurgents' pitched battles with the Americans. The people of Fallujah know only too well what war brings. And they know the uprising in Syria, with similar sectarian and tribal fault lines, could drag Iraq back into a state of war.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Our top story this evening, the Syrian president accepts a peace plan, but on the streets, the violence continues as regional players meet in Baghdad to talk the talk.

And what should happen next?

A year on, it's still unclear who's really prepared to walk the walk for a settled Syria in the future.

You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD live from London.

You're here with me, Becky Anderson.

Still to come, a young Afghan survivor describes what she saw the night her village became the scene of a massacre.

Then, the pope meets one of the world's most famous communist crusaders. We're going to take you live to Cuba.

This is CONNECT THE WORLD.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Now just a few hours ago, Pope Benedict XVI and Cuba's revolutionary former president, Fidel Castro, sat down face-to-face in Havana. The meeting happened shortly after the pontiff celebrated mass in Cuba's capital city.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann is there and joins us now live -- Patrick, how has the pope's visit changed things, if at all?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, I was in the plaza this morning with thousands and thousands of Cubans. And I'll give you one very real example. I was talking to people who traveled across the island to be here today. And they felt that the pope's visit reaffirmed their faith, but also showed the Cuban authorities that -- that open -- openness of religion, that the -- the new space that the Catholics have found here is the best (INAUDIBLE), as they felt that their religion is not going to be taken away from them.

Catholics here have had a tough road over the years, Becky. And they felt that the pope coming here is showing them that the eyes of the world and the eyes of the Vatican remain on Cuba -- Becky.

ANDERSON: All right. Fascinating.

Patrick, thank you for that.

Your correspondent there in Cuba.

A look at some of the other stories that are connecting the world this evening.

And a potentially explosive gas leak threatening a drilling rig in the North Sea. Energy giant Total is trying to cap the flow at its Elgin platform off the coast of Scotland, about 240 kilometers east of Aberdeen. Now, the company says all of the workers have been evacuated and for the moment, the winds are blowing the gas cloud away from the rig's flare.

Jenny Harrison, though, joining us live from the World Weather Center -- Jen, what is the latest?

And I guess the more important question, what's the forecast at this point?

JENNY HARRISON, ATS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, the forecast a bit changeable, Becky. And, actually, I have to say, I find it fascinating that the gas cloud, of course, is below away from the flare. I would imagine the winds are blowing the flare, but I'm not sure. So you can imagine everything blowing in the same direction. So that's why the gas is blowing away.

Just to show you the location, you just mentioned it, Becky, how far away, 241 kilometers to the east of Aberdeen.

Right now, the winds are not as strong as they were, coming in from the northwest. This hasn't changed at all in the last sort of 10 hours.

And the conditions improved. It was actually quite misty. But for the most part, it is just fairly windy.

Now, what is going to change is the strength of those winds, and, to a certain extent, the direction, as well. High pressure that has been so much in control, this is going to push out toward the west. So then what's going to happen, we're going to have this system come down from the north and the northeast. And this is what will certainly bring the chance of some showers, but also the winds. So more or less the same direction on Wednesday.

By Thursday, actually coming from a more northerly direction and actually stronger winds, as well.

This shows you the next 48 hours. So the bigger the arrows, the darker the arrows, the stronger the winds. And you can see that they do become darker in the next 48 hours.

And this is pretty much the direction. So you can imagine the -- the oil rig is about here. Then the winds, as you can say, coming from that west, northwesterly direction and then eventually -- and we look at this in 24 hours time -- they should be coming much more from the north.

So that means that everything that is there right now should be blowing in the same direction. But the winds are going to be stronger. That means the seas will be rougher. And as long as they still stay at the same -- in the same direction, things should, perhaps, remain fairly unchanged with relation to the actually gas cloud.

Now, of course, the strong winds may well help to disperse and break up this cloud of gas. At the same time, there is a sheen of oil on the surface of the sea, stretching right now about 11 kilometers. That, again, will be broken up more if the winds do increase.

This is the forecast as we go through the next few days. You can see that the winds generally from the same direction, but they are set to increase again as we head into Saturday.

And just very beautiful, Becky, the winds in the North Sea actually generally weakening this time of year, spring into summer, winds not as strong as they could be in the winter months. Predominantly always from the west and the northwest.

ANDERSON: Yes. Good, Jen.

Thank you for that.

Jenny Harrison on the story for you this evening.

Thanks, Jen.

Well, the JetBlue captain whose erratic behavior prompted an emergency landing on Tuesday has been suspended.

(VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god. (INAUDIBLE). Oh, my god. We've got Israel. We've got Iraq.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got Israel. We've got Iraq.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to get (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, that was Captain Clayton Osbon, seen yelling as crew members and passengers tried to subdue him. The co-pilot locked him out of the cockpit and landed the plane with help from the off-duty pilot. JetBlue said it's not aware of any flight cancellations following what looks like a pretty frightening incident there.

Well, a 37 -year-old man in the U.S. has received what doctors call the most extensive face transplant ever. In an operation lasting 36 hours, doctors rebuilt the face of Richard Lee Norris, which included a new jaw, a full set of teeth, tongue and cheeks. Norris lost his lips, nose and parts of his mouth after gunshot wounds. Six days after the surgery, Norris is able to shave and brush his teeth. That's remarkable stuff.

We're going to take a short break now.

When we come back, Tiger Woods's former coach writes a tell-all book. My colleague Don Riddell with the details and your sports update, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN, live from London.

Welcome back.

I'm Becky Anderson.

Now, Tiger Woods' former coach has written what is a tell-all book about his time with, arguably, the world's greatest ever. Controversial because it breaches the unwritten code of confidentiality between player and coach.

But as Don Riddell, I'm sure, is going to tell us, it's been a pretty interesting read.

And I know you've just put the book down. I've been in the Caribbean tanning for a couple of weeks, so I haven't had a chance.

So go on. Tell us all.

DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'll get it into the post to you, Becky.

Yes, I really couldn't put it down. I was up very late last night reading it. And that's not just because I was speaking to the -- the coach, Hank Haney, today. It was -- it was just a really good read and quite incredible. I mean it -- you really got a sense of Tiger's obsession, his determination and his single-mindedness. You really got the sense, at times, that he wasn't a particularly happy individual. You really got the sense that he didn't really have that many friends either, or at least not that many people that were close to him.

It was really interesting, as well. There was a -- there was a segment in there where he appeared on "South Park." He was being lampooned for all those extramarital affairs. And Tiger Woods apparently found that funny, which was something that surprised me when I read it.

But I think one of the biggest revelations was that he actually wanted to be in the army.

Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK HANEY, TIGER WOODS' FORMER COACH: Isn't there an age limit on the Navy SEALs?

Isn't it 28 years old?

Aren't you too old?

And he said, no, they're going to make an exception for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: That's right, Navy SEALs there, not even the Army, much more intense than the Army.

Tiger Woods was spending a lot of time doing kind of practice drills and spending a lot of time with the Navy SEALs. Of course, it would have seemed, at the time, at the expense of his golf career. And Hank Haney had to give him a big talking to.

ANDERSON: Yes, fascinating, the stuff. He wouldn't have been the first sportsman to join up, but amazing.

All right.

Big night in the European Champion's League. I know you've left us to live Stateside, but you'll be -- you'll be monitoring this, I know.

(LAUGHTER)

RIDDELL: Yes.

ANDERSON: With one eye, at least.

RIDDELL: I'll prob -- I'll probably get to watch more games over here than I would have done if I was still in the UK.

ANDERSON: Yes.

RIDDELL: But a huge night in the Champions League quarterfinal action. The tie of the round is between AC Milan and Barcelona. We're currently 10 minutes from the end of the first leg of that tie. It is goalless at the San Siro. And if it stays that way, a great result for Milan going into the second leg next week.

Bayern Munich, a 2-0 up on Marseille. Mario Gomez has scored his tenth goal in five games.

ANDERSON: Good stuff.

Thank you, sir.

Speak to you tomorrow.

Don Riddell at CNN Center for you with the sports view.

Still to come on CONNECT THE WORLD, and, of course, on back at half past 10 London time, in about an hour, with "WORLD SPORT."

Still to come this half hour here on CONNECT THE WORLD, Afghan survivors describe the massacre in their village. The first Western reporter to view the scene has an in-depth report for you.

And a royal arrival -- Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine welcome a famous new neighbor. I'm going to tell you who that is a little later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: A very warm welcome to our viewers across Europe.

Just before half past nine in London.

I'm Becky Anderson.

These are the latest world headlines from CNN.

World leaders calling on Syria to honor its commitment to a peace deal. Opposition activists say at least 26 people were killed across the country today when security forces kept up shelling and mortar attacks.

Pope Benedict XVI met face-to-face a short time ago with Cuba's revolutionary former president, Fidel Castro. The communist crusader stepped down from power, of course, six years ago due to illness, but requested today's meeting with the pontiff.

Earlier, the pope celebrated mass in Havana. He praised religious freedom, but made no political statements.

The U.S. confirmed it's suspended food aid to North Korea, as Pyongyang plans for a ballistic missile launch. A bill to resume the aid to the impoverished country came earlier this month, but a U.S. official says that agreement was then suspended when North Korea said it planned to launch a missile in April.

Human Rights Watch calling for international pressure against Afghanistan. The group says the Afghan government should release hundreds of women and girls imprisoned for what they call moral crimes. Often, that means fleeing forced marriage or domestic abuse.

Those are your headlines this hour.

Well, just over two weeks ago, in the dead of the night, 17 Afghan civilians were killed in their villages outside Kandahar. Now, the U.S. military says one man is responsible, Army sergeant -- the staff sergeant, Robert Bales, who's being held at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas on 17 charges of premeditated murder. He's not entered a plea, and Bales's attorney says he doesn't remember everything that happened that night.

The survivors of the attack say Bales wasn't alone. Yalda Hakim of Australia's SBS network is the first Western journalist to visit the villages and talk to survivors of that attack, and she also talked to the Afghan guards who were on duty at Camp Belambi that night. This is her account of that journey and what she was told.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He died.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD (through translator): He died?

YALDA HAKIM, SBS NETWORK, AUSTRALIA: How did he die?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD (through translator): The Americans.

HAKIM (voice-over): Violence is nothing new in this country, but no one was prepared for what happened here on the night of March 11.

MOHAMMAD WAZIR (through translator): They came into my room and they killed my family. My two sons, my nephew, and my mother, who were also sleeping in that room, were also killed.

MULLAH BARRAAN (through translator): When they screamed, the small children were very scared, especially the six-month old. When the child screamed, the American put his pistol in the child's mouth.

HAKIM: The massacre of 17 Afghan civilians has unleashed a wave of grief and outrage. A US soldier is now in custody, charged with the murders. But what really happened here? Did this man act alone? Or were others involved as he walked from house to house, shooting men, women, and children in their beds?

I wanted to find out more about this atrocity and to see for myself where the killings took place.

I traveled to the Panjwai district, an hour's drive from Kandahar. It's a treacherous journey in the heart of Taliban country.

When investigators first visited the scene of the killings, they were attacked by the Taliban. An Afghan National Army soldier was killed.

(GUNSHOTS)

HAKIM: At a base near the villages, I'm told the area is now laced with Taliban mines, too dangerous to visit.

HAKIM (on camera, through translator): What about the house and the village?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's impossible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We would have assisted you if possible, but because of the danger, we are not allowed in there.

HAKIM (through translator): What is your plan now to clear up the landmines?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): An extensive operational plan, a big one. With the recent events, the people hate us. Because they hate Americans, they also hate us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Can you repeat? What's going on at Camp Belambi?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (on radio, through translator): The border police are here and were attacked en route to the village. The enemy has gathered here. Advise those coming to stop.

HAKIM (voice-over): I'm turned back to the relative safety of Kandahar.

The next day, an Afghan police team picks a path for me through the booby-trapped roads and fields. I follow the steps of the man who came here on the night of March 11th. I'm the first Western journalist to make it here.

The massacre took place 20 kilometers southwest of Kandahar. The special forces base of Camp Belambi is close to the villages of Alkozai and Najeeba. Investigators believe the gunman left the camp that night armed with an automatic rifle and a pistol.

He walked to Alkozai, less than a kilometer away, entered two houses, and opened fire.

HAMIM (on camera): It's taken us two days to get to the village of Alkozai, and after questions about IEDs, mines, and booby traps, we finally managed to arrive.

HAKIM (voice-over): Inside one of the houses, I find evidence of just how terrifying that night must have been, the fears the people inside must have felt as one after the other, they were targeted and shot.

UNIDEITNFIED MALE (through translator): They ran from over there and came to hide here. Then he came and shot them here. Some were shot in the yard, and some here.

HAKIM (on camera, through translator): How many people were killed here?

UNIDEITNFIED MALE (through translator): Fifteen to sixteen were killed or wounded in this area. These are the bullet marks.

HAKIM (through translator): They ran away and came here?

UNIDEITNFIED MALE (through translator): Yes, the ran here, but some were killed in the yard, and some here.

HAKIM (through translator): Where are all those people from this village now?

UNIDEITNFIED MALE (through translator): They went everywhere, or to the city.

HAKIM (through translator): After the incident?

UNIDEITNFIED MALE (through translator): Yes. People are frightened.

HAKIM (through translator): They don't want to be here?

UNIDEITNFIED MALE (through translator): No, they don't.

HAKIM (voice-over): Suspicion that there was more than one killer is now a view widely held in Afghanistan, spurred by comments from the president himself.

HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN: In four rooms, people were killed, children and women were killed. And then, they were all brought together in one room, and then put on fire. That one man cannot do.

GENERAL KARIMI, CHIEF INVESTIGATOR: I'm guessing, assumption, that he was helped by somebody. One person or two persons.

HAKIM: Hamid Karzai's personally appointed chief investigator, General Karimi, tells me that village elders claim several soldiers took part, and they've told him there's evidence to prove it.

KARIMI: What they claim is that there were boot prints in the area. In some areas, they see the kneeling position of three, four individuals, and also they claim that the helicopters were there to support the operations.

Of course, I told them that helicopters weren't -- when the guy was started missing to give to search, and they said no. The men said the helicopters were from the very beginning, when the shooting started. So, that means there were many Americans, they were supporting this issue, they were doing this deliberately. It's not one individual. So, that's the claim of the people.

HAKIM: I wanted to ask survivors of the attack what they had seen, but I was blocked by the US military. The survivors were children, I was told, and the Americans now treating them said they didn't want them traumatized by my questions.

It was only after personal intervention by President Karzai himself that I was finally granted permission to see the survivors and to hear the chilling accounts of what they'd been through.

SEDIQULLAH (through translator): The bullet hit my ear like this and went through here and scraped here and came out here. When my father came out, he shot my father. Then he entered our room. We ran from that room to the other room. He came and shot us in that room, and then he left.

NOORBINAK (through translator): He was shooting. He shot my father's dog first, and then he shot my father in the foot. Then he dragged my mother by the hair. My mother was screaming, and he held a gun to her. And my father said, "Leave her alone." And then he shot him right here. One entered the room, and the others were standing in the yard, holding lights.

HAKIM: I'm struck by her reference to more than one soldier being involved, a claim repeated by the brother of one of the victims.

BARRAAN (through translator): The Americans left the room. My brother's children say they saw in the yard many Americans with lights on their heads. And they had lights on the ends of their guns, as well. They don't know whether there were 15 or 20, or however many there were.

HAKIM: Staff Sergeant Bales left the scene of the killings in Alkozai village and walked in the darkness back to the base. It was 1:30 AM when he arrived. He was spotted by Naimatullah, an Afghan guard on duty at the base that night.

NAIMATULLAH (through translator): I asked him to stop. he spoke but I did not understand what he said. He spoke in his own language and entered.

HAKIM (on camera, through translator): You cocked your gun?

NAIMATULLAH (through translator): Yes, but I didn't fire.

HAKIM: Naimatullah alerted a fellow Afghan soldier, who tried to get a message to the Americans.

HAKIM (on camera, through translator): After that, what did you do?

NAIMATULLAH (through translator): I called out to the duty officer. The duty officer ran up to me. I told him that an American had just entered the base. He went to the interpreter to notify the foreign forces.

HAKIM (voice-over): President Karzai's investigator is now trying to piece together what happened next. He's suspicious that Bales was able to come and go without his fellow Americans noticing.

KARIMI: How come he leaves at night and nobody is aware? I mean, every time we have weapon accountability, you have an individual, personal accountability. So if this were -- by where this young man was not there, somebody must have known, his friend, his room-mate, and must have reported that this guy's missing.

HAKIM: Bales then spent a full hour back at the base. At 2:30 AM, he left Camp Belambi a second time. He headed to the village of Najeeba to the south, about 1.5 kilometers from the base. He was spotted by another Afghan guard as he walked into the night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He had an M4 gun, a helmet and his bulletproof vest. He started to walk off. I called a patrol and told them that an American has left the base. The patrol called the platoon commander.

HAKIM (on camera, through translator): Did you know the soldier?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): No.

HAKIM (through translator): You'd never seen him before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They all look the same inside the base. We noticed he was American.

HAKIM (through translator): You are angry?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Shouldn't I be? He killed Afghans.

HAKIM (voice-over): The soldier entered the house of this farmer, Mohammad Wazir. Eleven family members were asleep inside.

WAZIR (through translator): They attacked during the night. They knocked on the door. When they knocked on the door, my elderly mother came out, and she was shot and killed at the door. They went into my room and killed my family in that room.

And then they brought all the bodies and put them into one room. They took linen and the blankets from the cupboard and put them on top of the bodies and set them alight.

HAKIM: Bales was spotted once more by an Afghan guard as he walked back to the base from the village.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We told the foreign forces someone was coming. We were told not to shoot because he was one of theirs. I didn't go back outside. They searched him outside. They took off his clothes and brought him in his underwear.

HAKIM: Investigator General Karimi is angry that Bales is no longer in Afghanistan to be questioned over the massacre, as he hears claims from villagers that Bales had recently threatened to kill them in revenge for a recent attack.

KARIMI: Three days, four days, that's what they said. Before this incident, one of the US vehicles was hit by mine, in a village called Mokhoyan, which is in that vicinity, in that area. One of the American soldiers lost his leg. He was amputated.

This guy happens to be a very close friend to this individual, Robert Bales. Close friend to this guy. And he had called the people, he had gone to the village and told the people that he will revenge his friend, he will shoot everybody and he will revenge his friend. That's another issue that the people claim.

HAKIM: I traveled back to the city of Kandahar, where I want to speak to one more survivor. Aminea, not her real name, now lives here with her six children in a mud hut with no electricity.

AMINEA (through translator): As I was dragging him to the house, his brain fell into my hand. I put it in a clean handkerchief. There was so much blood, as if three sheep had been slaughtered.

HAKIM: Of all the stories I heard on this trip, hers was the most wrenching account of how the killings have changed this country, and how Afghan people now fear the soldiers who had promised to help them and protect them.

AMINEA (through translator): I had no feeling other than, if I could lay my hands on them, if I could lay my hands on those infidels, I'd rip them apart with my bare hands.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Telling last words. Well, John King talked to Bales's attorney about the allegation that Bales made two trips off the base that night. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KING, HOST, "JOHN KING USA": There are some new accounts coming out that, according to the military investigation, your client is alleged to have twice left the base. Gone out from the base, committed some of these murders, come back to the base, and then after some period of time, gone back out again. What does your client say happened that night?

JOHN HENRY BROWNE, ROBERT BALES'S ATTORNEY: That is an allegation, of course. It's certainly not proof of anything. And obviously, John, I can't tell you what my client remembers or don't remember, other than telling you that he has some memory problems about everything that happened that night.

KING: Has the military shown you any evidence that he left the base once or twice or more that night?

BROWNE: No. No. Actually, there's a defense -- part of our defense team is on the ground in Afghanistan right now, and we are gathering information and interviewing witnesses and getting information from the military prosecutors, but I haven't had a chance to look at that yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: All right. Well, that's the story as we know it so far. We want to look at how much weight is being given to the villagers' and guards' allegations there. We're going to hear from Sara Sidner, who is your correspondent in Kabul this evening.

First, though, Barbara Starr has what the Pentagon says about this case, and do they believe there's anything new in this, or are they sticking with what -- by what they originally said, this is one man, and one man's work only?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, here at the Pentagon, at least -- I'll leave Sara to discuss her side of it -- officials say they are looking at everything but, as of now, they believe that Bales acted alone, that only he went outside the base with a weapon and shot and killed these Afghan civilians.

They say they have come to this conclusion in two ways. The surveillance videos, the cameras that ring the base that take video of people of coming and going, and interviews that they have conducted with other troops.

But during this period of time that Bales returned back to the base in between his two times outside the base, he apparently was in contact with other troops. He might have spoken to them about what had happened.

So, one of the key questions is, what do other people on the base know about what went on that night? That is a matter for the investigation, still. But they are insistent, they believe very strongly he acted alone. Becky?

ANDERSON: And Barbara, that investigation, of course, continues. Thank you for that. Let's get you to Kabul and to Sara Sidner. You've seen the report, Sara, and you've heard, amongst others, President Karzai's assertions in that report.

How are residents of Kabul and those elsewhere in Afghanistan dealing with this story at this point? Do they buy the -- what some people will call a conspiracy theory? What's their sense in Afghanistan at this point?

SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, really, the sense is coming from the people who live in the Panjwai district who over, and over, and over again have said "We believe" --

And I think the word "believe" is important here, because we heard many interviews. We sent out our local fixer who went out to the area. They kept saying "We believe this could not have been done by one person."

But the word "believe" is important because we couldn't find not one person who could say that there was more than one soldier firing at them. They all talked about hearing, they thought, other boots on the ground. They talked about seeing imprints of boots, more than one person's boots.

But not one of the people that we were able to get in contact with actually said they saw someone else doing the firing and going into the houses. So, that's an important point to make.

Plus, we did see and talk to a young victim who said there was only one man, he was an American. And then, the adult said, "No, but we believe this is not possible."

So, there's this general sense that this was a conspiracy, that if this person was actually acting alone, that he was doing it on some sort of orders. And so, that's what you have here. There is conspiracy theory, there are people who just do not believe that this person could have acted on his own. Becky?

ANDERSON: A story that will, let me tell you, run and run. Sara, thank you for that. Your correspondent in Kabul this evening, and Barbara Starr in Washington, both of you, we appreciate it.

You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. He's a party-loving British prince, but is Harry trying to settle down? We're going to reveal all after this.

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ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN. I'm Becky Anderson. Now, they say two's company, three's a crowd. But that doesn't seem to have put off Britain's Prince Harry. The 27-year-old has moved in with his brother, Prince William and his wife, Catherine.

They've got a new London Home, it's called Kensington Palace, just newly refurbished, in fact. And that move could be a sign that the onetime party-loving royal, well, he may be putting his slightly wild days behind him. Our royal correspondent Max Foster with this special report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He is the soldier prince, the dashing army officer with a twinkle in his eye and a nose for mischief. But this year, as his grandmother celebrates 60 years on the throne, her Diamond Jubilee, Prince Harry is emerging as a man of duty.

A recent trip to the Caribbean saw the 27-year-old cement his position as one of the most popular royals, and his family, according to royal sources, was very pleased and proud of the way he came across during his travels.

And central to everything is his military background, according to a colleague who trained with him.

KAYON MILLS, LIEUTENANT, JAMAICA DEFENSE FORCE: He has always been a serious military man. Contrary to what other people might say, he's always been serious and dedicated and devoted to whatever he puts his mind to.

It's not just being the royalty. It's not just being there as part of the royal family. He is an office, and he has gotten my respect during the training and during the course. He is a soldier at heart. He loves his troops, he commands well, and I appreciate him for that.

FOSTER: Lieutenant Mills reveals that fellow soldiers call the young prince Harry Potter. As well as his slightly predictable but affectionate nickname, a few other details of Prince Harry's private life have emerged of late.

Royal sources say that at last, he's moved out of home and into an apartment at Kensington Palace nearer his brother, William, and Catherine, strengthening what is already the firmest of friendships.

ROYA NIKKHAH, "SUNDAY TELEGRAPH": When you talk to anyone who knows them, particularly aids who work with them, they will always say that William and Harry are fantastic and professional on their own, but together, they're a real tour de force.

FOSTER: Prince Harry is expected to return to the front lines in Afghanistan now that he's finished training to qualify as a front line Apache attack helicopter pilot. He spent about ten weeks as an infantry soldier in Helmand in 2008.

Royal sources say no special provision will be made to safeguard him with the army and the palace both believing the military will offer more than adequate security. His profile isn't seen as an added threat to him or his regiment because his position as a helicopter pilot is an anonymous role.

Ironically, it is in this environment that Prince Harry seems to thrive the most, the warrior prince.

Max Foster, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: And Max provides us a revealing look at the third in line to the British throne in a CNN special presentation, "The Royals, Harry: The Soldier Prince." That premiers Friday, 4:30 in the afternoon London, right here on CNN. Do stick with us for that.

Well, in tonight's Parting Shots just before we go, given the current climate, you'd think that the political debate in the UK would be about slowing growth, GDP, or the eurozone crisis. Wrong. The debate these days is about the humble pasty, and it's the center of a crusty controversy.

If you've never had a pasty, well, it's basically savory pastry filled with meat or veg. It was ye olde fare for miners and fishermen in days of yore, a portable meal long before what we call the takeaway these days. Well, tonight, it's got the British government in a bit of a stew.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, the controversy, or "Pastygate," as it's known here in the UK, is all about the fact that George Osborne, the chancellor of the Exchequer, decided to slap a 20 percent tax on hot pasties like this, the sort of food that keeps a lot of us going in the less-wealthy parts of the country.

And that has got the tabloid press in a frenzy. "Pie and dry. Upper- crust George in steak bake shame," says the "Daily Mirror." And the "Sun" fury at chancellor, "Let them eat cold pasty. Osborne tells skint Brits to shun hot food." So, what do the man and woman on the streets here in London think of this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's outrageous. We pay enough tax, and it's about time that they started looking at reducing tax and not punishing working people.

ANDERSON: Good, all right. Do you eat pasties?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do, absolutely.

ANDERSON: Do you love them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely love them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't really go for pasties myself, so it's not going to affect me at all.

ANDERSON: What's wrong with the pasty?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's full of fat, truth is. I've got to watch my waistline.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to pay more for food. It's already expensive.

ANDERSON: Well, to add insult to injury, when George Osborne was asked in parliament when last he'd eaten a pasty, he said he couldn't remember. The prime minister tried to help him out somewhat.

DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: I'm a pasty-eater myself. I get a cold one on holiday. And I love a hot pasty. I think the last one I bought was from the West Cornwall Pasty Company.

ANDERSON: The response from the British public, well, it seems is simply this. Go eat humble pie, guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson, that was delicious, and that was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching. The world news headlines up after this short break. Don't go away.

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