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Live From...
Bush Apologizes for Iraqi Prisoner Treatment; New Book Celebrates Black WWII Unit
Aired May 06, 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The president of the United States shaking hands with King Abdullah of Jordan after addressing reporters there in the Rose Garden. A pretty remarkable moment. Why? Because the world was waiting for this apology that you're going to hear right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I've told His Majesty as plainly as I could that the wrongdoers will be brought to justice and that the actions of those folks in Iraq do not represent the values of the United States of America.
I told him I was sorry for the humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation suffered by their families.
I told him I was equally sorry that the -- that people would see those pictures, didn't understand the true nature and heart of America. I assured him that Americans like me didn't appreciate what we saw, and it made us sick to our stomachs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And of course, we're talking about those pictures that we've seen for days now on the alleged abuses that took place at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq.
Dana Bash on the White House lawn. She's been monitoring the conversation between these two leaders. Now, Dana, he apologized to the king. Is he apologizing to the entire Arab world?
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Clearly that seems to be the message he's trying to send. Obviously there was criticism both here at home and in the Arab world after the president went on Arab television yesterday and talked about the acts being abhorrent but didn't actually say, I'm sorry. There were questions about why he didn't say that.
Today you heard him say it twice. Sorry for the humiliation to the prisoners and sorry that the pictures gave the wrong signal to what Americans stand for. So that was clearly a message that the president today wanted to get out.
Yesterday aides said that he wasn't asked, he wasn't asked today, but he wanted to make it clear that he was sorry. The damage control continues. The other obviously interesting thing out of this was the fact that the president said he told his defense secretary in a private meeting in the Oval Office yesterday that he was upset, that he wasn't informed about the fact that there were pictures of these abuses and he didn't get information about a report cataloging those abuses. He said he should have known.
But he did have a pretty strong defense of his defense secretary, saying that he does a good job, he led the nation through two wars and that he's a good defense secretary. Clearly trying to reject criticism and growing calls for the defense secretary to resign over this issue.
And lastly, it is important to point out the symbolism of having the president with an Arab leader in the Rose Garden talking about this issue as this is being perceived in quite a negative way in the Arab world. And having an assist, if you will, from King Abdullah, essentially saying that people should realize that this is not what America stands for. America stands for justice and it doesn't reflect, he said, the morals and values of America.
That is a message that certainly the White House understands is going to be much more important and that it will penetrate much more when the president himself says it because it is coming from an Arab leader -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Dana Bash live from the White House.
Now over to our Washington bureau. Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider. Bill, I want to direct the question with regard to the future of Donald Rumsfeld. Let's just roll that sound from the president when he was asked by reporters about the future of his position.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Secretary Rumsfeld is a really good secretary of defense. Secretary Rumsfeld has served our nation well. Secretary Rumsfeld has been the secretary during two wars and he's an important part of my Cabinet and he'll stay in my Cabinet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Bill, did he come forward and say that basically to save Donald Rumsfeld's position?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, he's clearly defending his secretary of defense. There's only really one test for whether Donald Rumsfeld can survive. And that is the political damage to the president. if it looks like this statement has not stanched the bleed, that there is continuing political damage to the president both domestically and internationally, that the controversy is not subdued, that there is continuing political damage here in the United States, that it may eventually be true that Rumsfeld will have to go. But this was clearly a move to try to stop the bleeding. PHILLIPS: So you are saying the administration now will follow the polls, watch the polls closely. And if indeed the president's ratings begin to drop, Rumsfeld could go?
SCHNEIDER: Yes. That's exactly right, because the last thing a cabinet secretary can do is damage to the president. And there's a particular danger here with respect to the investigation. Namely, there is no issue likely to excite a populist reaction in the United States more than seeing ordinary soldiers, in this case reserve soldiers, taking the rap for a policy that was set on high.
Americans don't like to see these soldiers, who certainly did terrible things, punished while those higher up get off. It looks like they're being made the fall guys. The question about this was it a violation of policy or was it a policy? And Americans want to know how high did this go? And if higher ups are at responsible for even countenancing such a policy, they want to see more people punished than just the soldiers in those pictures. And so that would be very damaging as well.
PHILLIPS: So Bill, now we've seen generals apologize. We've seen the president of the United States apologize. Tomorrow at the Senate hearing, does Donald Rumsfeld need to apologize?
SCHNEIDER: He very well may need to apologize to the Congress for not having informed the Congress, as it is his responsibility to do, about this information when it first came out, having withheld it from Congress because he was, after all, confirmed as a member of the cabinet by the United States Congress.
I think Congress demands an explanation and they may also want an apology. But certainly they want to get to the bottom of this. When did they know about it, how early did they know, how much did they know? If they had that thick report that Rumsfeld said he didn't read, why didn't he read it? All of those things he's going to have take responsibility for.
PHILLIPS: All right, our Bill Schneider, thanks so much, Bill.
Now for the Arab side of things, Octavia Nasr once again joining us, the head of Arab affairs here. And you've been watching the newscast as this has all been going down. I want to know what you're monitoring, first of all, is it Al-Arabiya, Al Jazeera?
OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR ARAB AFFAIRS: This was Al-Arabiya this time around for the simple reason that this was on when I sat down. So we stayed on it. They took the press conference live with a simultaneous translation into Arabic. And they had a little wrap at end of it, just like we did, I guess. And then they spoke with their White House correspondent.
And the question was, was there anything new that the president of the United States has said today? And she said, yes. And we will get back to that if you want later, but one thing that when you're talking about the apology, did he say, I'm sorry, and was it for everybody, or who was it addressed to. If we take Al-Arabiya as an example, if we look at their coverage to check and see if that apology was for everybody, it seems like it was.
They took it throughout the press conference as soon as he said it and they put it up there. We saw two quotes as a matter of fact. "I'm sorry for the humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and their families. Those responsible will be punished." And the other one, "I'm upset by the mistreatment of prisoners and the wrongdoers will be tried - will be brought to justice," as a matter of fact.
So they took it as an apology. And that stayed up there the whole time they were speaking. They talked about Iraq, they talked about security, they talked about other issues. These two quotes were up all the time.
PHILLIPS: All right, so let me ask you the same question that I asked Dana Bash, and that is, he apologized, the president of the United States apologized to King Abdullah of Jordan. Was that an apology to the entire Arab region?
NASR: Very interesting because his words were, "I've told his majesty that I was sorry for the humiliation of the Iraqi prisoners." On Al-Arabiya it was, "Bush: 'I am sorry for the humiliation of the prisoners and their families.'" Meaning they took it as an apology, a straightforward apology. I think the Arab media covered the story so much, they were -- it seems like, from this coverage, it seems like they were waiting for these magical words, "I am sorry."
Whether he said them to the King of Jordan or whether he said them to an interviewee, they were looking for these two words and they got them and they played them throughout the press conference.
PHILLIPS: And will the networks be running this testimony by Donald Rumsfeld tomorrow?
NASR: Judging by the history, yes. They're very interested in anything at the level of Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Powell, the president, General Kimmitt and so forth. Usually they take them live, and they have commentary afterwards, then they build entire shows around them. And they analyze them to the bone.
PHILLIPS: Octavia Nasr, as usual, thank you so much.
And we want to remind our viewers that of course tomorrow when Donald Rumsfeld does testify about the Iraqi prisoner abuse before the Senate Armed Services Committee, we will take that live, 11:45 Eastern time. You will not want to miss it.
We're going to take a quick break, more LIVE FROM... right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABAN ELIAS, HOSTAGE: My name is Aban Elias of Denver, Colorado. I'm a civil engineer, I worked a year in Baghdad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: This video aired today on Arab television. Aban Elias was apparently abducted on Monday, although U.S. authorities tell CNN they don't have any information about him. Elias' family is pleading for his return now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAZWAN ELIAS, BROTHER OF ABAN ELIAS: I'm calling upon all the Islamic organizations to free him. He's a Muslim. He's his mom's Muslim. He's got three little kids, one younger kid is 1 year old, his youngest. And then he's got a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old. And we're waiting. His wife is crying, his mom is crying. I mean, this is just insane to just have him captured like this. I don't know what kind of relation he's got with anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Al-Arabiya says it was given the tape from a group that's been off the radar until now. It calls itself the Islamic Anger Brigade. No word on the demands for Elias' release.
Well, it has been a deadly day in Baghdad where more -- or over the past 24 hours, rather, at least 19 people have been killed. Among the dead, an American soldier killed in a suicide car bombing.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Baghdad now with the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF: The suicide car bomb shook Baghdad at 7:30 a.m. this morning at a U.S.-manned checkpoint outside the so-called Green Zone. That's where the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority is headquartered. Seven people were killed in the blast including five Iraqi civilians, one U.S. soldier and the suicide bomber himself.
Now the bomb went off right next to a line of Iraqi workers who were waiting to get to their jobs inside the Green Zone. In addition to that, 25 people were wounded, including three Iraqi policemen and two U.S. soldiers. According to coalition officials, the bomb contained artillery rounds which threw fragments or shrapnel all over the area where the bomb went off.
According to the same coalition officials, this blast bears all the hallmarks of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian national they believe has been behind a series of car bombs in Iraq. They also believe he has ties with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. A claim for responsibility for the bombing has been posted on an Internet Web site by a shadowy group that claims Zarqawi as its emir or leader.
The statement indicated that the bomber came not from Iraq, but from Saudi Arabia and that the car was packed with more than 600 kilos or 1300 pounds of TNT. This was the first car bomb to go off in Baghdad since March 17 when a blast killed seven people in a Baghdad hotel. I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: A hellish fight in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf today. U.S. forces make a bold move to seize the governor's office. And our own Jane Arraf was there. Pretty amazing pictures. That was Jane Arraf just hours ago inside the governor's compound as bombs blasted and bullets flew just outside of it.
American troops took that office without resistance but were later fired on by insurgents believed to be loyal to controversial Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. U.S. forces had sat on the outskirts of the besieged city for weeks before deciding to make the move. Elsewhere in Najaf, U.S. soldiers say more than 20 insurgents were killed in another firefight.
Straight ahead, he rewrote the NBA record books with the help of his patented skyhook. Now basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has written a different sort of book about some American heroes you'll definitely want to hear about. We'll talk with the hoops legend turned author when LIVE FROM... rebounds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: With the nation at war, we look to those forgotten heroes of the past conflict of World War II, the best-known African- American heroes of that war are Tuskegee airmen. But another group of black fighters are now being recognized by this man, Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, six-time NBA Most Valuable Player, and co-author of a new book. "Brothers in Arms" tells the epic story of the 761st Tank Battalion, a battalion that General Patton at first said was not competent because of their color. But he soon changed his mind. General Patton told the all-black battalion of tankers that "their race is looking forward to their success." Basketball great and author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar here to talk about that success.
What a pleasure to have you.
KAREEN ABDUL-JABBAR, CO-AUTHOR, "BROTHERS IN ARMS": A pleasure to be here, Kyra, thank you.
PHILLIPS: And it's a wonderful story, too. Before we talk about the battalion and your dad's friend, Smitty, I want to talk about Ferdinand and Cora, your dad was in the military. Did he talk to you about his experiences and blacks in the military, and what do you remember?
ABDUL-JABBAR: My dad would talk to me. And he would always be bitter about his experience in the Army. He was trained as an artilleryman over at Fort Bragg. And he was ready to go fight. He was on the boxing team. He was ready. And they just let them chase their tails more or less, they could train, but they weren't going to be given the opportunity to fight. So he eventually gave into the inevitable and joined a band unit and spent his whole tour of duty here in the States. PHILLIPS: Well, he definitely -- one blessing, we have a picture of your mom and dad. He met Cora.
ABDUL-JABBAR: Right.
PHILLIPS: So that was a good thing.
ABDUL-JABBAR: That was a good thing. They met at the Savoy Ballroom in New York when he was home on leave one day.
PHILLIPS: OK. So there was a good thing that came out of the military. But another good thing, he me Smitty. Let's talk about Leonard Smith, your dad's good friend, and how he pretty much inspired you to do this book, right?
ABDUL-JABBAR: Well, I've known Smitty since I was nine or 10 years old. I only knew him as another cop with my dad. My dad and he were -- joined the police force in New York in the mid '50s. And they were pioneers in that effort. And he was just a funny guy that hung out with my dad and was another police officer.
I'd see him, you know, sometimes when I would be in the subway. I had no idea of what he had done. In 1992, they did a documentary on this unit. And at the premiere of the documentary, I attended this because by then I'd become interested in black military subjects. And I'm going to my seat, and there's Smitty.
And I found out at that point that he was in the unit, then I watched the film and see that he was involved in the liberation of some of the concentration camps, they fought in the Battle of the Bulge, one of the first units into Germany, most definitely Patton's best tank unit. No question about that.
PHILLIPS: That's pretty amazing. So you sat down with Smitty, you're hearing these stories. Tell me more about the 761st Tank Battalion. We're looking at a picture actually of all of them now getting ready to head out. Tank Commander Harvey Woodard, did he tell you what it was like kind of from the beginning when they were told you can't deploy, blacks aren't competent, they can't be in combat, and then all of a sudden there they were on the front lines and Patton's saying, your race is depending on you?
ABDUL-JABBAR: Well, it was kind of a schizophrenic thing. After D-Day, as the Allies pushed into Europe, the German tanks and tankers were much more experienced and they had better equipment. And they really devastated the Allied tanks and tankers. And by October of 1944, Patton was in desperate need of competent tankers. And these were the only -- the 761st was the only tank unit left that had been trained well that was on the board. There was nothing else. So it was part desperation and part curiosity, Patton called them over to Europe to fight. And they got over there and immediately started doing extraordinary things.
PHILLIPS: Has the legacy of this battalion made an impact on other African-American men and women that have joined the military, as Smitty told you, oh, boy, through the years I've had young people come up to me and say "you're the man."
ABDUL-JABBAR: No, they're so unknown that people don't understand what they did, and the innovations that they did in the field, and what they did in terms of race relations, very few people are aware of it.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about that. You've mentioned a couple of the amazing things they did on the battlefield. Let's talk about race relations.
ABDUL-JABBAR: Well, I'm sure that their success and the success, let's say, of the Tuskegee airmen, was one of the bases for Truman to integrate the military services in 1948. That was something that he had agitated for, along with Eleanor Roosevelt, during the war years, both as a senator from Missouri and as Roosevelt's vice president.
So at a certain point he was in the driver's seat. And he said, you know what, I'll just write an executive order and integrate the services. And certainly what these men learned in terms of organization and determination and focus that they got from their military experience helped start the civil rights movement. I'm positive of that.
PHILLIPS: Wow, that's a pretty incredible statement. We just showed a picture, I don't know if we can show it again, of General Patton. Actually he was giving -- and remind me of this picture, I have it written down, a silver star to Private Ernest Jenkins. When you talk to these guys that are still here to tell us about these experiences, what do they tell you about General Patton, what it was like to come face-to-face with this man and just the interaction?
ABDUL-JABBAR: Well, General Patton has always been a very exciting figure because he's just -- he was out of the box a lot of the times. The first speech that he gave to them really inspired them. Everybody knew who he was and here he is giving them a pep talk before they go into battle on their first day of battle outside of Nantes (ph), France. And they were just in awe of him.
There's one part in the book here where I talk about him, as the Army crossed into Germany, Patton stopped his jeep on the middle of the Rhine River, on a pontoon bridge and urinated in the river and said, you know, I've been waiting to do that for several years now. Just a very funny...
PHILLIPS: He was a little whacky, wasn't he?
ABDUL-JABBAR: Yes, he was. But he -- how can you have fun at war, but somehow he managed to do that.
PHILLIPS: Kareem, you mentioned that speech, I'm assuming -- stop me if I'm wrong, if this was it: "Men you are first negro tankers to ever fight in the American Army. I would never have asked for you if you weren't good. I have nothing but the best in my Army, I don't care what color you are as long as you go up there and kill those sons of bitches. Everyone has their eyes on you and is expecting great things, most of all, your race is looking for your success. Don't let them down and, damn you, don't let me down."
ABDUL-JABBAR: That's a direct quote. That's a direct quote.
PHILLIPS: How does that make you feel?
ABDUL-JABBAR: It really gives me a clear picture of what Patton was all about. A very complex man. And he appreciated competent military people no matter what color they were, but he still was a southerner. The same day that he gave that speech, he wrote in his diary that he talked to the this black tank unit, but he didn't really have a whole lot of respect for their fighting abilities. That remained to be seen.
PHILLIPS: Well, that changed, didn't it? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, what a different side to you, very impressive, thank you so much.
ABDUL-JABBAR: I've got a present for you here, for your book accessories.
PHILLIPS: Look at that.
ABDUL-JABBAR: This is the book pouch, you can get it at bookpouch.com.
PHILLIPS: He's got his own merchandise, look at this.
ABDUL-JABBAR: Put your -- I signed that for you.
PHILLIPS: You did?
ABDUL-JABBAR: Yes. And you get it at bookpouch.com. And for all your reading accessories, people like you who read all the time, you want to keep your keys and stuff.
PHILLIPS: There you go, we're addicted (ph). Thank you so much.
ABDUL-JABBAR: My pleasure.
PHILLIPS: What a pleasure, Kareem.
ABDUL-JABBAR: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: We should play some hoop, too, I need some help.
ABDUL-JABBAR: You've got to give me a call.
PHILLIPS: You've got a deal.
ABDUL-JABBAR: All right.
PHILLIPS: We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MARKET REPORT) KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to LIVE FROM...
I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Let's check the headlines.
Saying he's sorry, President Bush today offered apologies for the humiliation suffered by Iraqi prisoners. Mr. Bush made those remarks at a Rose Garden event a short while ago with Jordan's King Abdullah.
Mr. Bush had faced some criticism for not issuing a formal apology yesterday when he was interview about the scandal on Arabic language TV.
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry speaking out about Iraqi prisoner abuse. At a campaign stop in California just a short while ago, Kerry said...
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 6, 2004 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The president of the United States shaking hands with King Abdullah of Jordan after addressing reporters there in the Rose Garden. A pretty remarkable moment. Why? Because the world was waiting for this apology that you're going to hear right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I've told His Majesty as plainly as I could that the wrongdoers will be brought to justice and that the actions of those folks in Iraq do not represent the values of the United States of America.
I told him I was sorry for the humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation suffered by their families.
I told him I was equally sorry that the -- that people would see those pictures, didn't understand the true nature and heart of America. I assured him that Americans like me didn't appreciate what we saw, and it made us sick to our stomachs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And of course, we're talking about those pictures that we've seen for days now on the alleged abuses that took place at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq.
Dana Bash on the White House lawn. She's been monitoring the conversation between these two leaders. Now, Dana, he apologized to the king. Is he apologizing to the entire Arab world?
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Clearly that seems to be the message he's trying to send. Obviously there was criticism both here at home and in the Arab world after the president went on Arab television yesterday and talked about the acts being abhorrent but didn't actually say, I'm sorry. There were questions about why he didn't say that.
Today you heard him say it twice. Sorry for the humiliation to the prisoners and sorry that the pictures gave the wrong signal to what Americans stand for. So that was clearly a message that the president today wanted to get out.
Yesterday aides said that he wasn't asked, he wasn't asked today, but he wanted to make it clear that he was sorry. The damage control continues. The other obviously interesting thing out of this was the fact that the president said he told his defense secretary in a private meeting in the Oval Office yesterday that he was upset, that he wasn't informed about the fact that there were pictures of these abuses and he didn't get information about a report cataloging those abuses. He said he should have known.
But he did have a pretty strong defense of his defense secretary, saying that he does a good job, he led the nation through two wars and that he's a good defense secretary. Clearly trying to reject criticism and growing calls for the defense secretary to resign over this issue.
And lastly, it is important to point out the symbolism of having the president with an Arab leader in the Rose Garden talking about this issue as this is being perceived in quite a negative way in the Arab world. And having an assist, if you will, from King Abdullah, essentially saying that people should realize that this is not what America stands for. America stands for justice and it doesn't reflect, he said, the morals and values of America.
That is a message that certainly the White House understands is going to be much more important and that it will penetrate much more when the president himself says it because it is coming from an Arab leader -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Dana Bash live from the White House.
Now over to our Washington bureau. Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider. Bill, I want to direct the question with regard to the future of Donald Rumsfeld. Let's just roll that sound from the president when he was asked by reporters about the future of his position.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Secretary Rumsfeld is a really good secretary of defense. Secretary Rumsfeld has served our nation well. Secretary Rumsfeld has been the secretary during two wars and he's an important part of my Cabinet and he'll stay in my Cabinet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Bill, did he come forward and say that basically to save Donald Rumsfeld's position?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, he's clearly defending his secretary of defense. There's only really one test for whether Donald Rumsfeld can survive. And that is the political damage to the president. if it looks like this statement has not stanched the bleed, that there is continuing political damage to the president both domestically and internationally, that the controversy is not subdued, that there is continuing political damage here in the United States, that it may eventually be true that Rumsfeld will have to go. But this was clearly a move to try to stop the bleeding. PHILLIPS: So you are saying the administration now will follow the polls, watch the polls closely. And if indeed the president's ratings begin to drop, Rumsfeld could go?
SCHNEIDER: Yes. That's exactly right, because the last thing a cabinet secretary can do is damage to the president. And there's a particular danger here with respect to the investigation. Namely, there is no issue likely to excite a populist reaction in the United States more than seeing ordinary soldiers, in this case reserve soldiers, taking the rap for a policy that was set on high.
Americans don't like to see these soldiers, who certainly did terrible things, punished while those higher up get off. It looks like they're being made the fall guys. The question about this was it a violation of policy or was it a policy? And Americans want to know how high did this go? And if higher ups are at responsible for even countenancing such a policy, they want to see more people punished than just the soldiers in those pictures. And so that would be very damaging as well.
PHILLIPS: So Bill, now we've seen generals apologize. We've seen the president of the United States apologize. Tomorrow at the Senate hearing, does Donald Rumsfeld need to apologize?
SCHNEIDER: He very well may need to apologize to the Congress for not having informed the Congress, as it is his responsibility to do, about this information when it first came out, having withheld it from Congress because he was, after all, confirmed as a member of the cabinet by the United States Congress.
I think Congress demands an explanation and they may also want an apology. But certainly they want to get to the bottom of this. When did they know about it, how early did they know, how much did they know? If they had that thick report that Rumsfeld said he didn't read, why didn't he read it? All of those things he's going to have take responsibility for.
PHILLIPS: All right, our Bill Schneider, thanks so much, Bill.
Now for the Arab side of things, Octavia Nasr once again joining us, the head of Arab affairs here. And you've been watching the newscast as this has all been going down. I want to know what you're monitoring, first of all, is it Al-Arabiya, Al Jazeera?
OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR ARAB AFFAIRS: This was Al-Arabiya this time around for the simple reason that this was on when I sat down. So we stayed on it. They took the press conference live with a simultaneous translation into Arabic. And they had a little wrap at end of it, just like we did, I guess. And then they spoke with their White House correspondent.
And the question was, was there anything new that the president of the United States has said today? And she said, yes. And we will get back to that if you want later, but one thing that when you're talking about the apology, did he say, I'm sorry, and was it for everybody, or who was it addressed to. If we take Al-Arabiya as an example, if we look at their coverage to check and see if that apology was for everybody, it seems like it was.
They took it throughout the press conference as soon as he said it and they put it up there. We saw two quotes as a matter of fact. "I'm sorry for the humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and their families. Those responsible will be punished." And the other one, "I'm upset by the mistreatment of prisoners and the wrongdoers will be tried - will be brought to justice," as a matter of fact.
So they took it as an apology. And that stayed up there the whole time they were speaking. They talked about Iraq, they talked about security, they talked about other issues. These two quotes were up all the time.
PHILLIPS: All right, so let me ask you the same question that I asked Dana Bash, and that is, he apologized, the president of the United States apologized to King Abdullah of Jordan. Was that an apology to the entire Arab region?
NASR: Very interesting because his words were, "I've told his majesty that I was sorry for the humiliation of the Iraqi prisoners." On Al-Arabiya it was, "Bush: 'I am sorry for the humiliation of the prisoners and their families.'" Meaning they took it as an apology, a straightforward apology. I think the Arab media covered the story so much, they were -- it seems like, from this coverage, it seems like they were waiting for these magical words, "I am sorry."
Whether he said them to the King of Jordan or whether he said them to an interviewee, they were looking for these two words and they got them and they played them throughout the press conference.
PHILLIPS: And will the networks be running this testimony by Donald Rumsfeld tomorrow?
NASR: Judging by the history, yes. They're very interested in anything at the level of Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Powell, the president, General Kimmitt and so forth. Usually they take them live, and they have commentary afterwards, then they build entire shows around them. And they analyze them to the bone.
PHILLIPS: Octavia Nasr, as usual, thank you so much.
And we want to remind our viewers that of course tomorrow when Donald Rumsfeld does testify about the Iraqi prisoner abuse before the Senate Armed Services Committee, we will take that live, 11:45 Eastern time. You will not want to miss it.
We're going to take a quick break, more LIVE FROM... right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABAN ELIAS, HOSTAGE: My name is Aban Elias of Denver, Colorado. I'm a civil engineer, I worked a year in Baghdad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: This video aired today on Arab television. Aban Elias was apparently abducted on Monday, although U.S. authorities tell CNN they don't have any information about him. Elias' family is pleading for his return now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAZWAN ELIAS, BROTHER OF ABAN ELIAS: I'm calling upon all the Islamic organizations to free him. He's a Muslim. He's his mom's Muslim. He's got three little kids, one younger kid is 1 year old, his youngest. And then he's got a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old. And we're waiting. His wife is crying, his mom is crying. I mean, this is just insane to just have him captured like this. I don't know what kind of relation he's got with anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Al-Arabiya says it was given the tape from a group that's been off the radar until now. It calls itself the Islamic Anger Brigade. No word on the demands for Elias' release.
Well, it has been a deadly day in Baghdad where more -- or over the past 24 hours, rather, at least 19 people have been killed. Among the dead, an American soldier killed in a suicide car bombing.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Baghdad now with the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF: The suicide car bomb shook Baghdad at 7:30 a.m. this morning at a U.S.-manned checkpoint outside the so-called Green Zone. That's where the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority is headquartered. Seven people were killed in the blast including five Iraqi civilians, one U.S. soldier and the suicide bomber himself.
Now the bomb went off right next to a line of Iraqi workers who were waiting to get to their jobs inside the Green Zone. In addition to that, 25 people were wounded, including three Iraqi policemen and two U.S. soldiers. According to coalition officials, the bomb contained artillery rounds which threw fragments or shrapnel all over the area where the bomb went off.
According to the same coalition officials, this blast bears all the hallmarks of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian national they believe has been behind a series of car bombs in Iraq. They also believe he has ties with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. A claim for responsibility for the bombing has been posted on an Internet Web site by a shadowy group that claims Zarqawi as its emir or leader.
The statement indicated that the bomber came not from Iraq, but from Saudi Arabia and that the car was packed with more than 600 kilos or 1300 pounds of TNT. This was the first car bomb to go off in Baghdad since March 17 when a blast killed seven people in a Baghdad hotel. I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: A hellish fight in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf today. U.S. forces make a bold move to seize the governor's office. And our own Jane Arraf was there. Pretty amazing pictures. That was Jane Arraf just hours ago inside the governor's compound as bombs blasted and bullets flew just outside of it.
American troops took that office without resistance but were later fired on by insurgents believed to be loyal to controversial Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. U.S. forces had sat on the outskirts of the besieged city for weeks before deciding to make the move. Elsewhere in Najaf, U.S. soldiers say more than 20 insurgents were killed in another firefight.
Straight ahead, he rewrote the NBA record books with the help of his patented skyhook. Now basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has written a different sort of book about some American heroes you'll definitely want to hear about. We'll talk with the hoops legend turned author when LIVE FROM... rebounds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: With the nation at war, we look to those forgotten heroes of the past conflict of World War II, the best-known African- American heroes of that war are Tuskegee airmen. But another group of black fighters are now being recognized by this man, Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, six-time NBA Most Valuable Player, and co-author of a new book. "Brothers in Arms" tells the epic story of the 761st Tank Battalion, a battalion that General Patton at first said was not competent because of their color. But he soon changed his mind. General Patton told the all-black battalion of tankers that "their race is looking forward to their success." Basketball great and author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar here to talk about that success.
What a pleasure to have you.
KAREEN ABDUL-JABBAR, CO-AUTHOR, "BROTHERS IN ARMS": A pleasure to be here, Kyra, thank you.
PHILLIPS: And it's a wonderful story, too. Before we talk about the battalion and your dad's friend, Smitty, I want to talk about Ferdinand and Cora, your dad was in the military. Did he talk to you about his experiences and blacks in the military, and what do you remember?
ABDUL-JABBAR: My dad would talk to me. And he would always be bitter about his experience in the Army. He was trained as an artilleryman over at Fort Bragg. And he was ready to go fight. He was on the boxing team. He was ready. And they just let them chase their tails more or less, they could train, but they weren't going to be given the opportunity to fight. So he eventually gave into the inevitable and joined a band unit and spent his whole tour of duty here in the States. PHILLIPS: Well, he definitely -- one blessing, we have a picture of your mom and dad. He met Cora.
ABDUL-JABBAR: Right.
PHILLIPS: So that was a good thing.
ABDUL-JABBAR: That was a good thing. They met at the Savoy Ballroom in New York when he was home on leave one day.
PHILLIPS: OK. So there was a good thing that came out of the military. But another good thing, he me Smitty. Let's talk about Leonard Smith, your dad's good friend, and how he pretty much inspired you to do this book, right?
ABDUL-JABBAR: Well, I've known Smitty since I was nine or 10 years old. I only knew him as another cop with my dad. My dad and he were -- joined the police force in New York in the mid '50s. And they were pioneers in that effort. And he was just a funny guy that hung out with my dad and was another police officer.
I'd see him, you know, sometimes when I would be in the subway. I had no idea of what he had done. In 1992, they did a documentary on this unit. And at the premiere of the documentary, I attended this because by then I'd become interested in black military subjects. And I'm going to my seat, and there's Smitty.
And I found out at that point that he was in the unit, then I watched the film and see that he was involved in the liberation of some of the concentration camps, they fought in the Battle of the Bulge, one of the first units into Germany, most definitely Patton's best tank unit. No question about that.
PHILLIPS: That's pretty amazing. So you sat down with Smitty, you're hearing these stories. Tell me more about the 761st Tank Battalion. We're looking at a picture actually of all of them now getting ready to head out. Tank Commander Harvey Woodard, did he tell you what it was like kind of from the beginning when they were told you can't deploy, blacks aren't competent, they can't be in combat, and then all of a sudden there they were on the front lines and Patton's saying, your race is depending on you?
ABDUL-JABBAR: Well, it was kind of a schizophrenic thing. After D-Day, as the Allies pushed into Europe, the German tanks and tankers were much more experienced and they had better equipment. And they really devastated the Allied tanks and tankers. And by October of 1944, Patton was in desperate need of competent tankers. And these were the only -- the 761st was the only tank unit left that had been trained well that was on the board. There was nothing else. So it was part desperation and part curiosity, Patton called them over to Europe to fight. And they got over there and immediately started doing extraordinary things.
PHILLIPS: Has the legacy of this battalion made an impact on other African-American men and women that have joined the military, as Smitty told you, oh, boy, through the years I've had young people come up to me and say "you're the man."
ABDUL-JABBAR: No, they're so unknown that people don't understand what they did, and the innovations that they did in the field, and what they did in terms of race relations, very few people are aware of it.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about that. You've mentioned a couple of the amazing things they did on the battlefield. Let's talk about race relations.
ABDUL-JABBAR: Well, I'm sure that their success and the success, let's say, of the Tuskegee airmen, was one of the bases for Truman to integrate the military services in 1948. That was something that he had agitated for, along with Eleanor Roosevelt, during the war years, both as a senator from Missouri and as Roosevelt's vice president.
So at a certain point he was in the driver's seat. And he said, you know what, I'll just write an executive order and integrate the services. And certainly what these men learned in terms of organization and determination and focus that they got from their military experience helped start the civil rights movement. I'm positive of that.
PHILLIPS: Wow, that's a pretty incredible statement. We just showed a picture, I don't know if we can show it again, of General Patton. Actually he was giving -- and remind me of this picture, I have it written down, a silver star to Private Ernest Jenkins. When you talk to these guys that are still here to tell us about these experiences, what do they tell you about General Patton, what it was like to come face-to-face with this man and just the interaction?
ABDUL-JABBAR: Well, General Patton has always been a very exciting figure because he's just -- he was out of the box a lot of the times. The first speech that he gave to them really inspired them. Everybody knew who he was and here he is giving them a pep talk before they go into battle on their first day of battle outside of Nantes (ph), France. And they were just in awe of him.
There's one part in the book here where I talk about him, as the Army crossed into Germany, Patton stopped his jeep on the middle of the Rhine River, on a pontoon bridge and urinated in the river and said, you know, I've been waiting to do that for several years now. Just a very funny...
PHILLIPS: He was a little whacky, wasn't he?
ABDUL-JABBAR: Yes, he was. But he -- how can you have fun at war, but somehow he managed to do that.
PHILLIPS: Kareem, you mentioned that speech, I'm assuming -- stop me if I'm wrong, if this was it: "Men you are first negro tankers to ever fight in the American Army. I would never have asked for you if you weren't good. I have nothing but the best in my Army, I don't care what color you are as long as you go up there and kill those sons of bitches. Everyone has their eyes on you and is expecting great things, most of all, your race is looking for your success. Don't let them down and, damn you, don't let me down."
ABDUL-JABBAR: That's a direct quote. That's a direct quote.
PHILLIPS: How does that make you feel?
ABDUL-JABBAR: It really gives me a clear picture of what Patton was all about. A very complex man. And he appreciated competent military people no matter what color they were, but he still was a southerner. The same day that he gave that speech, he wrote in his diary that he talked to the this black tank unit, but he didn't really have a whole lot of respect for their fighting abilities. That remained to be seen.
PHILLIPS: Well, that changed, didn't it? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, what a different side to you, very impressive, thank you so much.
ABDUL-JABBAR: I've got a present for you here, for your book accessories.
PHILLIPS: Look at that.
ABDUL-JABBAR: This is the book pouch, you can get it at bookpouch.com.
PHILLIPS: He's got his own merchandise, look at this.
ABDUL-JABBAR: Put your -- I signed that for you.
PHILLIPS: You did?
ABDUL-JABBAR: Yes. And you get it at bookpouch.com. And for all your reading accessories, people like you who read all the time, you want to keep your keys and stuff.
PHILLIPS: There you go, we're addicted (ph). Thank you so much.
ABDUL-JABBAR: My pleasure.
PHILLIPS: What a pleasure, Kareem.
ABDUL-JABBAR: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: We should play some hoop, too, I need some help.
ABDUL-JABBAR: You've got to give me a call.
PHILLIPS: You've got a deal.
ABDUL-JABBAR: All right.
PHILLIPS: We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MARKET REPORT) KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to LIVE FROM...
I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Let's check the headlines.
Saying he's sorry, President Bush today offered apologies for the humiliation suffered by Iraqi prisoners. Mr. Bush made those remarks at a Rose Garden event a short while ago with Jordan's King Abdullah.
Mr. Bush had faced some criticism for not issuing a formal apology yesterday when he was interview about the scandal on Arabic language TV.
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry speaking out about Iraqi prisoner abuse. At a campaign stop in California just a short while ago, Kerry said...
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