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CNN Live At Daybreak

Battle Between U.S. Forces, Insurgents in Najaf; Arrests of Alleged Terrorists in Turkey Planning to Bomb Upcoming NATO Summit

Aired May 03, 2004 - 06:00   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Thank you for joining us this morning.

We have breaking news out of Najaf, Iraq.

We want to head there right now.

Live on the phone, Jane Arraf. She's right in the middle of a battle between U.S. forces and insurgents within the holy city of Najaf -- Jane, bring us up to date.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I've got to make clear first, we're well away from the holy shrines at the U.S. base. Now, this base is in the middle of Najaf, inside the city limits. But it's well clear of those holy sites, which is something that they've been very careful to stay away from. U.S. soldiers do not go anywhere near there.

But here, as -- in recent days, the members of this banned militia have brought the fight here, to this base. They've attacked the base with mortar rounds, with rocket propelled grenades and with a barrage of gunfire.

Now, obviously they have fought, the U.S. soldiers here, along with Salvadorian troops who are with the coalition, have remained with the coalition, have been fighting back. That was just another mortar round over in the direction of a hospital that was hit just a while ago by mortar. That was an unused hospital. There's nobody in it. But it is part of this U.S. compound.

But the American soldiers have been fighting back with sniper rifles, obviously a very targeted way to fight back in the densely populated city. And tanks have just been rolled out. They are rolling out tanks, as well, to counter this -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jane, we're going to break away. And just so people out there know, there have been no reports of American injuries.

We want to give you the latest headlines now.

The U.S. Army has reprimanded six officers in connection with abuse of Iraqi prisoners. A seventh officer received a lesser letter of admonishment. He is free this morning and he is on his way to Germany. Thomas Hamill, a contractor for a Halliburton subsidiary, escaped from his Iraqi captors over the weekend.

In Turkey, CNN Turk reports police have foiled a bomb plot targeting a NATO summit in Istanbul next month. President Bush and other Western leaders were to attend that summit. In fact, they still are. Police have arrested 16 Islamic militants and seized training instructions from al Qaeda.

The highest ranking member of al Qaeda in U.S. custody before 9/11 is being sentenced today for stabbing a corrections officer. Mamdouh Mahmud Salim is expected to get more than 20 years in prison.

To the forecast center now and Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: New this morning for you, reprimands for six senior U.S. military officers all connected in some way to the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

To Baghdad now and Ben Wedeman with more. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The American military has issued six letters of reprimand and one letter of admonishment, which is considered somewhat lighter, to those involved in the abuse incidents of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib Prison. Now, the United States spokesman here in Baghdad have consistently condemned this incident. They say there is a criminal investigation ongoing.

Now, I've had the chance to speak with people who claim to have been abused in one way or the other by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib Prison.

This is what one prisoner told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): They would put the plastic cuffs on someone and leave them outside for hours in the rain, in the cold. They would humiliate them. And this was just punishment for simple things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: Today, Iraqi newspapers did publish, for the first time on their front pages, pictures of that alleged abuse. Those pictures likely to stir emotions against the United States even more.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Baghdad.

COSTELLO: And for more on the prisoner abuse story, be sure to catch Seymour Hersh of the "New Yorker" magazine. He will be on CNN's "American Morning." That, of course, comes your way at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. More than three weeks after being kidnapped in Iraq, escaped American hostage Thomas Hamill is beginning a trip that will eventually bring him back home.

Live now to CNN's Bill Prasad.

He's in Washington -- Bill, tell us more.

BILL PRASAD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Thomas Hamill is expected to arrive in Germany today. He had gone to work in Iraq because his family needed the money, but it almost cost him his life. This weekend, he apparently outfoxed his captors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRASAD (voice-over): A wife and the city of Macon, Mississippi, one big family welcoming good news. Forty-three-year-old Thomas Hamill is safe.

KELLIE HAMILL, WIFE: He said that he is doing great. He misses the family. We also want to thank everybody for their prayers, their support.

PRASAD: Hamill was driving a truck for a subsidiary of Halliburton. His convoy was attacked April 9. Later, he was seen on Arab TV, his captors heard threatening to kill him unless U.S. soldiers withdrew from Fallujah. At home, residents prayed and a family pleaded.

HAMILL: Our hopes are that you will release him unharmed and as soon as possible.

PRASAD: Hopes faded April 14, when insurgents killed an Italian hostage. Four other Halliburton contract workers had also been found dead. But 23 days after his capture, on Sunday morning, military officials had surprising news.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: He came out of a building, identified himself to American soldiers.

PRASAD: Hamill said he pried open doors of a house where he was being held, ran a half mile, then found U.S. troops.

HAMILL: I'm excited. I want to go see my husband.

PRASAD: Thomas Hamill worked in Iraq in part to help raise money for his wife's heart surgery. But the trip almost broke her heart. Soon, she and her husband will be together again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PRASAD: Hamill is recovering from an infected gunshot wound he reportedly got when the convoy was attacked. Doctors say he'll be OK. He will probably be even better once he gets home -- Carol. COSTELLO: Oh, I bet so, Bill.

Now, we know he's on his way to Germany to Ramstein Air Base.

What will happen there?

PRASAD: Well, they will make sure that he's checked out for any kind of physical problems. They will debrief him. He possibly will meet with his wife there, although it's not clear. The latest word that we got was that she was being flown to Houston and then she'll be briefed there as to exactly when and where the very happy reunion will take place.

COSTELLO: And one more question. They did arrest two Iraqis right after Thomas Hamill escaped and then he brought this American troops back to the building where he was being held. Two Iraqis were there.

Do we know anything more about them?

PRASAD: Well, they did detain two Iraqis. One of them was armed with an AK-47 rifle. They're being questioned, but at this point they haven't been accused of the actual kidnapping.

COSTELLO: Bill Prasad reporting live for us from Washington, D.C. this morning.

Thomas Hamill's friends and family will be guests tonight on CNN's "Larry King Live." You can catch that at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

Turkish police say they've broken up a plot to bomb the NATO summit in Istanbul next month. Now, President Bush is among those planning to attend that summit. Sixteen suspected Islamic militants have now been detained.

Our Alphonso Van Marsh joins us live on the phone from Istanbul with more on this story -- good morning.

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

We're getting more details now about exactly the circumstances behind the determination, as you mentioned, of those 16 suspects terrorists. The detainment took place in Bursa. That's a town about three hours north of Istanbul here. And according to our sister network, CNN Turk, they're telling us that government officials say that the 16 detainees were planning to bomb the NATO summit.

As you mentioned, U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to be there.

Now, officials are saying that this was a year long investigation that led to these detainments earlier on today. Part of what was found when they detained them, according to Turkish officials, 4,000 CD-ROMS that contain what police say are terror training materials. Now, that may seem like a high amount of information, a high amount of CDs, but Turkish officials are saying that the suspected terrorists actually used pirated CD and music sales to raise money to make these CDs, which officials are saying they used to distribute.

They also found three guns, as well as a number, Turkish officials say, a number of completed pipe bombs -- Carol.

COSTELLO: That's just bizarre, Alphonso.

Are these militants linked to al Qaeda in any way? Do we know?

VAN MARSH: Well, the details are still being determined. What Turkish officials are telling CNN Turk at this point is that the 16 detainees are linked to Ansar al-Islam. Now that organization has what some would call loose links to al Qaeda. But at this point it's not clear if there's a direct al Qaeda link. Either way, Turkish officials are saying that it's important that people know that they foiled what they call a suspected bomb plot, a plot to bomb the NATO summit, which would have had the U.S. president, George W. Bush, here at the time.

COSTELLO: Certainly so.

Alphonso Van Marsh live on the phone from Istanbul, Turkey.

Let's head to Israel now. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he will not step down despite his own party's rejection of his Gaza withdrawal plan, a plan that would endorsed by the United States.

Matthew Chance live in Jerusalem to give us more -- good morning, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, thanks.

And a humiliating defeat for the Israeli prime minister. Along with his plans to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, 60 percent of members of his Likud Party who actually voted in the referendum here on Sunday about this disengagement plan rejected it outright, really delivering a powerful political blow to the Israeli prime minister about this disengagement plan, a plan which he'd personally sold to President Bush when he was on his trip to Washington last month and on which he staked a great deal of his own personal credibility.

As a result, it became clear Mr. Sharon said that he would respect the decision of his party. But he also indicated that he might not yet be ready to drop his plans. Remember, the Israeli prime minister is now in a very unique position of failing to have got the support of his own party, but still being prime minister of a country which, if you believe the opinion polls, strongly supports his plans to withdraw from the Gaza Strip. Quite simply, many Israelis believe that these remote Jewish settlements in the occupied Gaza Strip are just too difficult to defend, too provocative towards Palestinians to be maintained.

So he still has a lot of support in the country, if not in his own party -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Matthew Chance live from Jerusalem this morning. Still to come on DAYBREAK -- abused behind bars. More on the allegations of prisoner abuse and the political fallout that could follow.

And then, prayers answered -- a small town's hopes are fulfilled. What is next for Thomas Hamill and his family?

Plus, swept away -- a look at the weekend of flooding and rescues for one part of this country.

This is DAYBREAK for Monday, May 3.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.

It is 6:14 Eastern.

Here's what's all new this morning.

Kellie Hamill says she will leave her Mississippi hometown this morning to be reunited with her husband. Her husband, of course, contractor Thomas Hamill. He escaped his Iraqi kidnappers and he's now on a plane heading to Germany, as we suspect his wife is.

The U.S. Army has reprimanded six senior officers in connection with the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. The action follows an investigation of incidents at the Abu Ghraib Prison. That just happened this morning.

In money news, the grocery chain Winn Dixie, coming off a disappointing quarterly report, says it's closing 156 stores and cutting about 10,000 jobs. That's about 10 percent of its workforce.

In the world of sports, the Philadelphia Flyers are one win away from the NHL Eastern Conference finals, led by its captive's hat trick. The Flyers beat Toronto 7-2.

And in culture, girl power rules -- make that mean girl power rules. "Mean Girls," the movie about high school cliques, was the weekend's top earning movie, pulling in $25 million -- Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.

Time to pump up the volume right now with our hot talker of the morning. Every few days we like to tune the radio down to see what's being said over the airwaves.

Today, this morning, we are tuned into WBAL Radio in Baltimore.

Chip Franklin, a libertarian talk radio host, with us this morning. Good morning, Chip.

CHIP FRANKLIN, WBAL RADIO HOST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Hey, let's start with the reports of alleged abuse of the Iraqi prisoners at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib Prison by U.S. soldiers.

One of the soldiers facing criminal charges, Staff Sergeant Ivan "Chip" Frederick, kept a journal of his duty in Iraq that his family has released to news organizations. In one entry, he questioned the treatment of Iraqi prisoners. He says, "Leaving inmates in their cell with no clothes or in female underpants, handcuffing them to the door of their cell, I questioned this and the answer I got was, 'This is how military intelligence wants it done.'"

How big a scandal will this get?

FRANKLIN: Well, it's huge. I mean, first of all, on a -- on the lighter side of that, why would you put somebody named Ivan in running a prison these days?

Look, they're repugnant acts. But look at what was going on at the time just for a second. We have Iraqi prisoners who were either directly or indirectly involved in murdering U.S. soldiers. And even while the interrogations were occurring, there was gunfire and mortars landing all around them. These were, you know, brutal actions in a brutal place in an election year.

I mean we've been watching this and of course the "Daily Mirror," which is anti-Blair, has printed photos of British soldiers abusing Iraqis that people have called into question.

There's a lot of propaganda on both sides taking place. I mean no doubt.

COSTELLO: So what specifically are you saying?

FRANKLIN: Well, I think...

COSTELLO: That these pictures should not have been released, that we shouldn't know, that these soldiers shouldn't be punished?

FRANKLIN: It's a war, Carol. I mean I know it's a horrible thing to see, but it is a war. I mean we saw the photos of body parts hanging from bridges in Fallujah and we know what the people are capable of. We have young men and women right in the middle of that in chaos. I mean I'm not even beginning to try to excuse what they did. Of course not.

COSTELLO: But that's what it sounds like you're doing, Chip.

FRANKLIN: Well, I'm just trying to give perspective to it. You're not going to get perspective -- does anybody believe for a moment that CBS or any news agency doesn't understand the political implications of these photographs? There's a lot we can show and we've chosen right now to show, you know, to focus on this. The "New York Times" is going to have a story of sexual abuse of the prisoners over there.

Look, there's a lot of horrible things there. I'm not doubting that. I'm just saying that perspective would be nice, and I don't plan on seeing anything...

COSTELLO: Yes, but what exact perspective are we to have? Do we just need to know a little tiny bit or should the information not be out there at all...

FRANKLIN: Well, what do we need to know...

COSTELLO: ... so that people can decide for themselves what's going on?

FRANKLIN: Carol, how can people over here sitting in their armchairs with a cup of coffee looking at a newspaper have any idea what's going on over there? We can't. There's no way.

COSTELLO: Chip Franklin, WBAL Radio.

I'm sure your show will be very interesting this morning.

I only wish I could listen the whole day. Lots of arguments there.

Coming up on DAYBREAK, it's a word that's come up more than once since the war in Iraq started -- the draft. We'll tell you about some changes one reported recommended to relieve part of the military's burden. Ooh, you won't believe it.

And our DAYBREAK Photo of the Day. What is it? We'll be back with the answer, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Fierce flooding in Texas tops our look at stories making headlines across America.

Seven people are dead as a result of that flooding. The flash flooding was caused by heavy thunderstorms over the weekend. Four of the victims are children under the age of three.

Tomorrow, one of the key people in the Martha Stewart trial will be sentenced in New York. Doug Faneuil pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge. He's accused of taking payoffs to conceal information about her stock transactions from investigators.

Hollywood writers and producers say they will resume contract talks on Wednesday. The two sides exchanged proposals yesterday, a day after their current contract expired. The writers are looking for a bigger share of DVD profits, which have become a major source of revenue in the industry.

And a very interesting story about a possible draft.

MYERS: Selective service. COSTELLO: Selective service. The chief of the selective system presented this plan to Congress and the Pentagon in case a draft was reimplemented.

MYERS: Correct.

COSTELLO: And it came up with some new ideas.

MYERS: Correct. And it was made public by the Freedom of Information Act. Somebody went out there and got it and wrote it down. And some of the things there are quite interesting. They're raising the age all the way to 35 if necessary, but they want you if you have skills.

COSTELLO: Yes. Yes.

MYERS: Unlike the old draft, where they really didn't want you, or if you were in college or things you just...

COSTELLO: Well, if you were in college you were deferred, right?

MYERS: Right. But if you have certain skills, what are -- maybe meteorologists, I mean, because there's obviously a lot of that in war -- you have a better chance of being selected than...

COSTELLO: Computer skills a big one.

MYERS: And women, too.

COSTELLO: Women between the ages of 25 and 34. And if you're skilled in computers or meteorology or anything...

MYERS: Sure. Absolutely.

COSTELLO: ... you're, you may be more prone to be drafted.

Of course, this is just a proposal and an idea.

MYERS: A proposal, of course. Of course.

COSTELLO: And everybody so far has come out and said they're against implementing a draft.

MYERS: The thing is you have to, they will make you, or they'll ask you to -- if you have more and you get new and information and new skills along the way, after you've already registered to put those skills in there, as well. So if you go to a community college and you learn something, so on and so on and so on.

COSTELLO: It just makes me happy I'm old.

MYERS: You have to keep updating your resume.

COSTELLO: Let's take a look at the DAYBREAK Photo of the Day.

Did you guess what it was? MYERS: I couldn't even tell. It looked like something from outer space, but get rid of that pixelization and zoom out a little bit and it's the air show all the way down there, way down in Fort Lauderdale. It was just a great air show. Zarrella was down there this weekend. It was just phenomenal.

COSTELLO: Oh, I saw his report.

MYERS: Just phenomenal some of the stuff.

COSTELLO: This is the U.S. Army...

MYERS: There was some tragedy down there, as well. But it was just obviously a phenomenal air show.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes.

Well, this is one of the happy times.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: This is the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team.

MYERS: Clearly, the parachutes are not opened yet, but they all opened.

COSTELLO: But they opened and they're safe.

MYERS: They sure did.

COSTELLO: All right, here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.

What went on behind the walls of this prison? We'll go live to the Pentagon to find out how the military is reacting to the allegations of Iraqi prisoner abuse. We have new information for you this morning.

Plus, breaking free -- an American escapes his captors. We're going to take you live to the Mississippi town where plans for his welcome home party are under way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A grateful wife, a thankful community -- now that the pain is finally over, they can plan a homecoming.

And good morning to you.

From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Let me bring you up to date.

Former hostage Thomas Hamill arrives in Germany today. He is on the plane. It is the first leg of his trip home from Iraq. Hamill was recovered yesterday after escaping from his captors near Tikrit. Military officials say six American soldiers have been severely reprimanded for their part in the alleged abuse at an Iraqi prison. A seventh soldier was given a more lenient reprimand. Six others face criminal charges.

A terrorist attack in Pakistan. Three Chinese nationals are dead following a car bombing. Eleven other people were injured in that blast.

And Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is ready to unveil a report today that could bring back the death penalty after 20 years. Reports say the guidelines depend heavily on DNA evidence.

To the forecast center now and Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right, we had breaking news to tell you about earlier out of Najaf, Iraq.

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Aired May 3, 2004 - 06:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Thank you for joining us this morning.

We have breaking news out of Najaf, Iraq.

We want to head there right now.

Live on the phone, Jane Arraf. She's right in the middle of a battle between U.S. forces and insurgents within the holy city of Najaf -- Jane, bring us up to date.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I've got to make clear first, we're well away from the holy shrines at the U.S. base. Now, this base is in the middle of Najaf, inside the city limits. But it's well clear of those holy sites, which is something that they've been very careful to stay away from. U.S. soldiers do not go anywhere near there.

But here, as -- in recent days, the members of this banned militia have brought the fight here, to this base. They've attacked the base with mortar rounds, with rocket propelled grenades and with a barrage of gunfire.

Now, obviously they have fought, the U.S. soldiers here, along with Salvadorian troops who are with the coalition, have remained with the coalition, have been fighting back. That was just another mortar round over in the direction of a hospital that was hit just a while ago by mortar. That was an unused hospital. There's nobody in it. But it is part of this U.S. compound.

But the American soldiers have been fighting back with sniper rifles, obviously a very targeted way to fight back in the densely populated city. And tanks have just been rolled out. They are rolling out tanks, as well, to counter this -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jane, we're going to break away. And just so people out there know, there have been no reports of American injuries.

We want to give you the latest headlines now.

The U.S. Army has reprimanded six officers in connection with abuse of Iraqi prisoners. A seventh officer received a lesser letter of admonishment. He is free this morning and he is on his way to Germany. Thomas Hamill, a contractor for a Halliburton subsidiary, escaped from his Iraqi captors over the weekend.

In Turkey, CNN Turk reports police have foiled a bomb plot targeting a NATO summit in Istanbul next month. President Bush and other Western leaders were to attend that summit. In fact, they still are. Police have arrested 16 Islamic militants and seized training instructions from al Qaeda.

The highest ranking member of al Qaeda in U.S. custody before 9/11 is being sentenced today for stabbing a corrections officer. Mamdouh Mahmud Salim is expected to get more than 20 years in prison.

To the forecast center now and Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: New this morning for you, reprimands for six senior U.S. military officers all connected in some way to the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

To Baghdad now and Ben Wedeman with more. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The American military has issued six letters of reprimand and one letter of admonishment, which is considered somewhat lighter, to those involved in the abuse incidents of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib Prison. Now, the United States spokesman here in Baghdad have consistently condemned this incident. They say there is a criminal investigation ongoing.

Now, I've had the chance to speak with people who claim to have been abused in one way or the other by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib Prison.

This is what one prisoner told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): They would put the plastic cuffs on someone and leave them outside for hours in the rain, in the cold. They would humiliate them. And this was just punishment for simple things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: Today, Iraqi newspapers did publish, for the first time on their front pages, pictures of that alleged abuse. Those pictures likely to stir emotions against the United States even more.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Baghdad.

COSTELLO: And for more on the prisoner abuse story, be sure to catch Seymour Hersh of the "New Yorker" magazine. He will be on CNN's "American Morning." That, of course, comes your way at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. More than three weeks after being kidnapped in Iraq, escaped American hostage Thomas Hamill is beginning a trip that will eventually bring him back home.

Live now to CNN's Bill Prasad.

He's in Washington -- Bill, tell us more.

BILL PRASAD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Thomas Hamill is expected to arrive in Germany today. He had gone to work in Iraq because his family needed the money, but it almost cost him his life. This weekend, he apparently outfoxed his captors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRASAD (voice-over): A wife and the city of Macon, Mississippi, one big family welcoming good news. Forty-three-year-old Thomas Hamill is safe.

KELLIE HAMILL, WIFE: He said that he is doing great. He misses the family. We also want to thank everybody for their prayers, their support.

PRASAD: Hamill was driving a truck for a subsidiary of Halliburton. His convoy was attacked April 9. Later, he was seen on Arab TV, his captors heard threatening to kill him unless U.S. soldiers withdrew from Fallujah. At home, residents prayed and a family pleaded.

HAMILL: Our hopes are that you will release him unharmed and as soon as possible.

PRASAD: Hopes faded April 14, when insurgents killed an Italian hostage. Four other Halliburton contract workers had also been found dead. But 23 days after his capture, on Sunday morning, military officials had surprising news.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: He came out of a building, identified himself to American soldiers.

PRASAD: Hamill said he pried open doors of a house where he was being held, ran a half mile, then found U.S. troops.

HAMILL: I'm excited. I want to go see my husband.

PRASAD: Thomas Hamill worked in Iraq in part to help raise money for his wife's heart surgery. But the trip almost broke her heart. Soon, she and her husband will be together again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PRASAD: Hamill is recovering from an infected gunshot wound he reportedly got when the convoy was attacked. Doctors say he'll be OK. He will probably be even better once he gets home -- Carol. COSTELLO: Oh, I bet so, Bill.

Now, we know he's on his way to Germany to Ramstein Air Base.

What will happen there?

PRASAD: Well, they will make sure that he's checked out for any kind of physical problems. They will debrief him. He possibly will meet with his wife there, although it's not clear. The latest word that we got was that she was being flown to Houston and then she'll be briefed there as to exactly when and where the very happy reunion will take place.

COSTELLO: And one more question. They did arrest two Iraqis right after Thomas Hamill escaped and then he brought this American troops back to the building where he was being held. Two Iraqis were there.

Do we know anything more about them?

PRASAD: Well, they did detain two Iraqis. One of them was armed with an AK-47 rifle. They're being questioned, but at this point they haven't been accused of the actual kidnapping.

COSTELLO: Bill Prasad reporting live for us from Washington, D.C. this morning.

Thomas Hamill's friends and family will be guests tonight on CNN's "Larry King Live." You can catch that at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

Turkish police say they've broken up a plot to bomb the NATO summit in Istanbul next month. Now, President Bush is among those planning to attend that summit. Sixteen suspected Islamic militants have now been detained.

Our Alphonso Van Marsh joins us live on the phone from Istanbul with more on this story -- good morning.

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

We're getting more details now about exactly the circumstances behind the determination, as you mentioned, of those 16 suspects terrorists. The detainment took place in Bursa. That's a town about three hours north of Istanbul here. And according to our sister network, CNN Turk, they're telling us that government officials say that the 16 detainees were planning to bomb the NATO summit.

As you mentioned, U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to be there.

Now, officials are saying that this was a year long investigation that led to these detainments earlier on today. Part of what was found when they detained them, according to Turkish officials, 4,000 CD-ROMS that contain what police say are terror training materials. Now, that may seem like a high amount of information, a high amount of CDs, but Turkish officials are saying that the suspected terrorists actually used pirated CD and music sales to raise money to make these CDs, which officials are saying they used to distribute.

They also found three guns, as well as a number, Turkish officials say, a number of completed pipe bombs -- Carol.

COSTELLO: That's just bizarre, Alphonso.

Are these militants linked to al Qaeda in any way? Do we know?

VAN MARSH: Well, the details are still being determined. What Turkish officials are telling CNN Turk at this point is that the 16 detainees are linked to Ansar al-Islam. Now that organization has what some would call loose links to al Qaeda. But at this point it's not clear if there's a direct al Qaeda link. Either way, Turkish officials are saying that it's important that people know that they foiled what they call a suspected bomb plot, a plot to bomb the NATO summit, which would have had the U.S. president, George W. Bush, here at the time.

COSTELLO: Certainly so.

Alphonso Van Marsh live on the phone from Istanbul, Turkey.

Let's head to Israel now. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says he will not step down despite his own party's rejection of his Gaza withdrawal plan, a plan that would endorsed by the United States.

Matthew Chance live in Jerusalem to give us more -- good morning, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, thanks.

And a humiliating defeat for the Israeli prime minister. Along with his plans to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, 60 percent of members of his Likud Party who actually voted in the referendum here on Sunday about this disengagement plan rejected it outright, really delivering a powerful political blow to the Israeli prime minister about this disengagement plan, a plan which he'd personally sold to President Bush when he was on his trip to Washington last month and on which he staked a great deal of his own personal credibility.

As a result, it became clear Mr. Sharon said that he would respect the decision of his party. But he also indicated that he might not yet be ready to drop his plans. Remember, the Israeli prime minister is now in a very unique position of failing to have got the support of his own party, but still being prime minister of a country which, if you believe the opinion polls, strongly supports his plans to withdraw from the Gaza Strip. Quite simply, many Israelis believe that these remote Jewish settlements in the occupied Gaza Strip are just too difficult to defend, too provocative towards Palestinians to be maintained.

So he still has a lot of support in the country, if not in his own party -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Matthew Chance live from Jerusalem this morning. Still to come on DAYBREAK -- abused behind bars. More on the allegations of prisoner abuse and the political fallout that could follow.

And then, prayers answered -- a small town's hopes are fulfilled. What is next for Thomas Hamill and his family?

Plus, swept away -- a look at the weekend of flooding and rescues for one part of this country.

This is DAYBREAK for Monday, May 3.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.

It is 6:14 Eastern.

Here's what's all new this morning.

Kellie Hamill says she will leave her Mississippi hometown this morning to be reunited with her husband. Her husband, of course, contractor Thomas Hamill. He escaped his Iraqi kidnappers and he's now on a plane heading to Germany, as we suspect his wife is.

The U.S. Army has reprimanded six senior officers in connection with the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. The action follows an investigation of incidents at the Abu Ghraib Prison. That just happened this morning.

In money news, the grocery chain Winn Dixie, coming off a disappointing quarterly report, says it's closing 156 stores and cutting about 10,000 jobs. That's about 10 percent of its workforce.

In the world of sports, the Philadelphia Flyers are one win away from the NHL Eastern Conference finals, led by its captive's hat trick. The Flyers beat Toronto 7-2.

And in culture, girl power rules -- make that mean girl power rules. "Mean Girls," the movie about high school cliques, was the weekend's top earning movie, pulling in $25 million -- Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.

Time to pump up the volume right now with our hot talker of the morning. Every few days we like to tune the radio down to see what's being said over the airwaves.

Today, this morning, we are tuned into WBAL Radio in Baltimore.

Chip Franklin, a libertarian talk radio host, with us this morning. Good morning, Chip.

CHIP FRANKLIN, WBAL RADIO HOST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Hey, let's start with the reports of alleged abuse of the Iraqi prisoners at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib Prison by U.S. soldiers.

One of the soldiers facing criminal charges, Staff Sergeant Ivan "Chip" Frederick, kept a journal of his duty in Iraq that his family has released to news organizations. In one entry, he questioned the treatment of Iraqi prisoners. He says, "Leaving inmates in their cell with no clothes or in female underpants, handcuffing them to the door of their cell, I questioned this and the answer I got was, 'This is how military intelligence wants it done.'"

How big a scandal will this get?

FRANKLIN: Well, it's huge. I mean, first of all, on a -- on the lighter side of that, why would you put somebody named Ivan in running a prison these days?

Look, they're repugnant acts. But look at what was going on at the time just for a second. We have Iraqi prisoners who were either directly or indirectly involved in murdering U.S. soldiers. And even while the interrogations were occurring, there was gunfire and mortars landing all around them. These were, you know, brutal actions in a brutal place in an election year.

I mean we've been watching this and of course the "Daily Mirror," which is anti-Blair, has printed photos of British soldiers abusing Iraqis that people have called into question.

There's a lot of propaganda on both sides taking place. I mean no doubt.

COSTELLO: So what specifically are you saying?

FRANKLIN: Well, I think...

COSTELLO: That these pictures should not have been released, that we shouldn't know, that these soldiers shouldn't be punished?

FRANKLIN: It's a war, Carol. I mean I know it's a horrible thing to see, but it is a war. I mean we saw the photos of body parts hanging from bridges in Fallujah and we know what the people are capable of. We have young men and women right in the middle of that in chaos. I mean I'm not even beginning to try to excuse what they did. Of course not.

COSTELLO: But that's what it sounds like you're doing, Chip.

FRANKLIN: Well, I'm just trying to give perspective to it. You're not going to get perspective -- does anybody believe for a moment that CBS or any news agency doesn't understand the political implications of these photographs? There's a lot we can show and we've chosen right now to show, you know, to focus on this. The "New York Times" is going to have a story of sexual abuse of the prisoners over there.

Look, there's a lot of horrible things there. I'm not doubting that. I'm just saying that perspective would be nice, and I don't plan on seeing anything...

COSTELLO: Yes, but what exact perspective are we to have? Do we just need to know a little tiny bit or should the information not be out there at all...

FRANKLIN: Well, what do we need to know...

COSTELLO: ... so that people can decide for themselves what's going on?

FRANKLIN: Carol, how can people over here sitting in their armchairs with a cup of coffee looking at a newspaper have any idea what's going on over there? We can't. There's no way.

COSTELLO: Chip Franklin, WBAL Radio.

I'm sure your show will be very interesting this morning.

I only wish I could listen the whole day. Lots of arguments there.

Coming up on DAYBREAK, it's a word that's come up more than once since the war in Iraq started -- the draft. We'll tell you about some changes one reported recommended to relieve part of the military's burden. Ooh, you won't believe it.

And our DAYBREAK Photo of the Day. What is it? We'll be back with the answer, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Fierce flooding in Texas tops our look at stories making headlines across America.

Seven people are dead as a result of that flooding. The flash flooding was caused by heavy thunderstorms over the weekend. Four of the victims are children under the age of three.

Tomorrow, one of the key people in the Martha Stewart trial will be sentenced in New York. Doug Faneuil pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge. He's accused of taking payoffs to conceal information about her stock transactions from investigators.

Hollywood writers and producers say they will resume contract talks on Wednesday. The two sides exchanged proposals yesterday, a day after their current contract expired. The writers are looking for a bigger share of DVD profits, which have become a major source of revenue in the industry.

And a very interesting story about a possible draft.

MYERS: Selective service. COSTELLO: Selective service. The chief of the selective system presented this plan to Congress and the Pentagon in case a draft was reimplemented.

MYERS: Correct.

COSTELLO: And it came up with some new ideas.

MYERS: Correct. And it was made public by the Freedom of Information Act. Somebody went out there and got it and wrote it down. And some of the things there are quite interesting. They're raising the age all the way to 35 if necessary, but they want you if you have skills.

COSTELLO: Yes. Yes.

MYERS: Unlike the old draft, where they really didn't want you, or if you were in college or things you just...

COSTELLO: Well, if you were in college you were deferred, right?

MYERS: Right. But if you have certain skills, what are -- maybe meteorologists, I mean, because there's obviously a lot of that in war -- you have a better chance of being selected than...

COSTELLO: Computer skills a big one.

MYERS: And women, too.

COSTELLO: Women between the ages of 25 and 34. And if you're skilled in computers or meteorology or anything...

MYERS: Sure. Absolutely.

COSTELLO: ... you're, you may be more prone to be drafted.

Of course, this is just a proposal and an idea.

MYERS: A proposal, of course. Of course.

COSTELLO: And everybody so far has come out and said they're against implementing a draft.

MYERS: The thing is you have to, they will make you, or they'll ask you to -- if you have more and you get new and information and new skills along the way, after you've already registered to put those skills in there, as well. So if you go to a community college and you learn something, so on and so on and so on.

COSTELLO: It just makes me happy I'm old.

MYERS: You have to keep updating your resume.

COSTELLO: Let's take a look at the DAYBREAK Photo of the Day.

Did you guess what it was? MYERS: I couldn't even tell. It looked like something from outer space, but get rid of that pixelization and zoom out a little bit and it's the air show all the way down there, way down in Fort Lauderdale. It was just a great air show. Zarrella was down there this weekend. It was just phenomenal.

COSTELLO: Oh, I saw his report.

MYERS: Just phenomenal some of the stuff.

COSTELLO: This is the U.S. Army...

MYERS: There was some tragedy down there, as well. But it was just obviously a phenomenal air show.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes.

Well, this is one of the happy times.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: This is the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team.

MYERS: Clearly, the parachutes are not opened yet, but they all opened.

COSTELLO: But they opened and they're safe.

MYERS: They sure did.

COSTELLO: All right, here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.

What went on behind the walls of this prison? We'll go live to the Pentagon to find out how the military is reacting to the allegations of Iraqi prisoner abuse. We have new information for you this morning.

Plus, breaking free -- an American escapes his captors. We're going to take you live to the Mississippi town where plans for his welcome home party are under way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A grateful wife, a thankful community -- now that the pain is finally over, they can plan a homecoming.

And good morning to you.

From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Let me bring you up to date.

Former hostage Thomas Hamill arrives in Germany today. He is on the plane. It is the first leg of his trip home from Iraq. Hamill was recovered yesterday after escaping from his captors near Tikrit. Military officials say six American soldiers have been severely reprimanded for their part in the alleged abuse at an Iraqi prison. A seventh soldier was given a more lenient reprimand. Six others face criminal charges.

A terrorist attack in Pakistan. Three Chinese nationals are dead following a car bombing. Eleven other people were injured in that blast.

And Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is ready to unveil a report today that could bring back the death penalty after 20 years. Reports say the guidelines depend heavily on DNA evidence.

To the forecast center now and Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right, we had breaking news to tell you about earlier out of Najaf, Iraq.

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