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U.S. Confirms Body Found ID'd as Man Named on Web Site Showing Beheading

Aired May 11, 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: Well, there's a grim new development linked to the Iraqi prison abuse sand scandal. It's one that we took special care checking and vetting before we went to air with it. It's a video clip right here on an Islamic Web site linked to al Qaeda and related groups showing the beheading of this man who identifies himself as an American, Nick Berg from Philadelphia.
His killers say they're aiming to redeem the dignity of Muslim men and women in Abu Ghraib. And they claim that they attempted to exchange their prisoner for some in Abu Ghraib, but the U.S. administration refused. We have no way of confirming that right now, nor the claim that the execution was carried out personally by Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the Jordanian terror instigator who claimed responsibility for numerous attacks in post-Saddam Iraq.

But earlier today the U.S. State Department did identify the body of an American found dead in Baghdad yesterday as Nicholas Berg of Pennsylvania. We're continuing to work this story. We'll bring you more as soon as we have it.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib will undeniably haunt the U.S. military. But friends and family of the soldiers accused of abuse argue a double standard is at play. They even describe some of the soldiers in those disturbingly infamous photos as clean as wholesome. Our Brian Todd explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seven names, faces, stories, whether guilty or innocent, certainly notorious, moving through the public consciousness and the military court system with mind-numbing speed.

First on the docket, Specialist Jeremy Sivits, charged with four counts, including cruelty and maltreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. Half a world away, in southwestern Pennsylvania, the father of the girl Sivits took to his high school prom, speaks of a double standard.

MIKE FLEEGLE, FRIEND OF ACCUSED SOLDIER: Bring him home. Let's pin a medal on him and have a parade. They drug our kids through the streets behind jeeps. They burn them. They hung them from a bridge. And why are we held higher standards than they are?

TODD: Three women are among those facing courts-martial, the best known, Private Lynndie England, a 21-year-old West Virginia native. Among the charges against her, assaulting a prisoner and indecent exposure. Her families and attorney say, even in these picture, she is being set up.

ROSE MARY ZAPOR, ATTORNEY FOR PFC. ENGLAND: That leash being handed to our client and saying, stand there while we take this picture. That is staged. That is not a picture of our client abusing a prisoner in any way.

TODD: England's family said she is pregnant by another soldier charged in the Abu Ghraib case. Specialist Charles Graner Jr., formerly a prison guard in Pennsylvania, whose attorney says the pictures do not tell the story.

GUY WOMACK, ATTORNEY FOR SPECIALIST CHARLES GRANER: I have only seen seven photos. And those were ones that he was ordered to have taken or be involved in.

TODD: Two other women facing military trial, Specialist Megan Ambuhl, described by her attorney in media reports as a clean and wholesome girl who studied biology in college; and 26-year-old Specialist Sabrina Harman of Alexandria, Virginia, shown here smiling over a pile of naked detainees.

In an e-mail to "The Washington Post," Harman said this was part of her job, to -- quote -- "keep them awake, make it hell so they would talk."

(on camera): That defense, just following orders, is consistent among the families of the accused. The fathers of the Sergeant Javal Davis and Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick speak of their sons as unfailingly loyal.

JONATHAN DAVIS, FATHER OF SGT. JAVAL DAVIS: I have a good son. I have a good son. He's a good father. He's a good provider. And he's a good soldier. And good soldiers do what good soldiers do, what they are told.

IVAN FREDERICK, FATHER OF STAFF SGT. IVAN FREDERICK: That is one thing they teach you in basic training is the senior officer gives you a command, you will do it or you are subject to court-martial or you may wish you had of.

TODD: As for some senior officers Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, commander of Abu Ghraib at the time of the alleged abuse, is no longer in charge of the prison and could face disciplinary action. Nine others including at least three officers also face possible discipline.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: There is some uplifting news about America's troops. For hundreds coming home from the war, there's a special welcome committee the first time they touched down on American soil. PHILLIPS: And these boots may be made for walking, but keep them off Madonna's land. The Material Girl versus the ramblers.

O'BRIEN: Betting on the ramblers.

And view it or lose it. Disposable DVDs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, wherever she goes, Madonna makes news. Time for a little update for you. I know you've been waiting for it. Guy Raz with the particulars on a turf war between the Material Girl and those who'd like to tell her to take a hike.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Springtime in the English countryside. The flora, the fauna and legal action by Madonna.

The Material Girl and her husband Guy Ritchie filed a petition to keep ramblers from wandering too close to their estate. But this is a country where public foot paths are protected by common law dating back a thousand years. Madonna's now fighting a battle hundreds of others have lost before.

(on camera): Just beyond the tree line there is where Madonna and Guy Ritchie had their country house. We're now standing on a foot path which runs right through their property. And no one, not even Madonna, can keep anyone from using it.

(voice-over): Why? because Britain's politically powerful Ramblers' Association is vigilant when it comes to defending the public's right to use foot paths. But wandering off the path is a gray area. So all Madonna can do is try to prevent walkers from straying off to Wessex Way, the 4,000-year-old foot path that runs right through her land.

JACQUETTA FEWSTER, RAMBLERS' ASSOCIATION: She needn't had bought a house in that place. She could have bought one somewhere else that wouldn't be subjective to these laws.

RAZ: According to the Ramblers' Association, British land owners have been trying to keep ramblers off their land for centuries, even going so far as to obstruct the footpaths.

PAULA, RAMBLER: Mind you, we have walked where there's barbed wire and we just couldn't get through at all. They just to stop you. Quite a few land owners do that.

RAZ: Thousands of these yellow signs designate public foot paths in Britain. While all ramblers regard these signs as an unassailable license to roam, some are, nevertheless, sympathetic to England's newest country lady.

MICHAEL MCCLURE-WILLIAMS, RAMBLER: But I quite understand that that good woman that lives down there, Madonna, doesn't like everyone cruising all over their land because that's not a public right of way, this is.

RAZ: And so, until the issue is resolved, Madonna and her brood may have to suffer her views occasionally obstructed by the passing and vigilant ramblers.

Guy Raz, CNN, Wiltshire in Southern England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: More now on the developing story that we've been following about the video clip on Islamic Web site linked to al Qaeda showing the beheading of an American, a man overseas. The White House now responding. Suzanne Malveaux traveling with the president there in Van Buren, Arkansas. What do you know, Suzanne?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Just moments ago Scott McClellan issued a statement. He was asked about that murder of Nick Berg of West Chester, Pennsylvania, the 26-year-old civilian apparently being shown on a video beheaded. McClellan saying that thoughts and prayers are with the victim and his family at this time.

He goes on to say as well that this reflects the true nature of those who are opposed to freedom and democracy in the region, those who carried out this crime. He also says as well that they will be pursued and brought to justice.

As you know, Kyra, of course, this being just the kind of thing that Americans and administrations feared, perhaps retribution or revenge for what we're seeing with the Iraqi prisoners. Of course the administration saying that reflects the acts of those who are opposed to the mission inside of Iraq. And they will certainly be brought to justice -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux there with reaction from the White House in Van Buren, Arkansas. Thank you very much. We'll continue to follow this story. We are working it and trying to get as much information as possible straight to you.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Need to clean the kitchen floor? Buy a disposable mop. Got dust on the coffee table? Disposable swipe. Have a child that's not potty trained? Grab a disposable diaper. But is America ready for disposable DVDs? Our John Zarrella looks at this new self- destruct option from movie rentals.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bella Gonzalez is a movie fanatic. Every weekend she leaves Blockbuster with an armful of rental DVDs. Like many people, the only thing she doesn't care for is making sure the movies get back on time and who in the family is going to take them.

BELLA GONZALEZ, VIDEO CUSTOMER: We'll sit around the table, who is going to return them back this time? Mostly it's always me bringing them back. But if I let someone else, that's when I get charged with the late fee.

ZARRELLA: Now for Gonzalez and everyone who would prefer a toothache to a late fee, there's an alternative. Playing at select convenience stores and pizza deliveries outlets, the EZ-D, the no return disposable DVD.

Distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, part of Disney, it is being test marketed across Florida and several other cities around the country.

ALAN BLAUSTEIN, CEO, FLEXPLAY: The consumer will find the product in this type of package. When they remove it from this package the disk will be red. After 48 hours, the disk will have turned black. Once the disk is black, the DVD player will no longer play the disk. It is that simple from a consumer standpoint.

ZARRELLA: The disposable DVDs cost $5.99 compared to $3.99 for a rental. The number of titles is still limited. About 45 have been released so far.

Rental giant Blockbuster doesn't see the disposable DVD as much of a threat to its market. With the EZ-D, Blockbuster officials say, you don't get what they offer. "You don't get the director's cuts or the deleted scenes or interviews with the stars, those added features that you get if you were purchasing or renting the product."

For movie buff Dave Aneckstein, these are the added extras he enjoys.

DAVE ANECKSTEIN, VIDEO CUSTOMER: Alternate endings, director's cuts. We like seeing some of those extra things on the DVDs. And I think for the price, it just wouldn't be worth it for me.

ZARRELLA: At this point, the EZ-D is not a threat to run rental companies out of their $9 billion a year business. Just an alternative for consumers who like one-stop shopping and don't like playing beat the clock to the drop box.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(MARKET UPDATE)

PHILLIPS: The Army general who first investigated prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib is testifying on Capitol Hill today. Headlines at the top of the hour.

O'BRIEN: Waiting with open arms. A special welcoming committee for U.S. troops the moment they touch down on American soil.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The first U.S. soil American soldiers often touch when they return from Iraq or Afghanistan is Bangor, Maine. When each planeload comes in a handful of residents there to say, "Welcome home, soldier." CNN's Frank Buckley was there as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The planes pull up in Bangor, Maine, to refuel. For the soldiers, it's the first time their boots are on the ground in America, on their way home from war.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

BUCKLEY: Every time, it's a celebration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome back to the States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

BUCKLEY: The Mainers are strangers to these Marines, but troop greeters like Elaine Greene and Joanne Miller (ph) say it's their duty to say thanks.

ELAINE GREENE, MAINE TROOP GREETER: He's why we're here. They deserve to have this country telling them how much they care.

BUCKLEY: It's enough to make a tough-as-nails Marine major with 19 years in the Corps choke up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just never really had a welcome home.

BUCKLEY: A local cell phone company donates phones and minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you, Mama! I miss you!

BUCKLEY: The greeters, many of them veterans themselves, trade stories with the troops or just listen. For Donna Sorkin, it's a chance to be Mom. She's got a son, that little boy in the picture, Chris, greeting a soldier. That was in 1991. Today Chris is a soldier himself in Iraq. Being a surrogate mother for the other soldiers helps Sorkin get through it.

DONNA SORKIN, MAINE TROOP GREETER: If their mother can't be here when they first step foot on U.S. soil, it's nice to be here and be a mother for a while.

BUCKLEY (on camera): The troop greetings began here in 1991, during Operation Desert Storm. A year ago, they resumed. Since then, more than 460 planes and 82,000 U.S. service members have been greeted in Bangor, Maine.

(voice-over): And at the head of the line for each flight that passes through, 82-year-old Bill Knight. BILL KNIGHT, MAINE TROOP GREETER: Welcome home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir.

KNIGHT: Welcome home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

KNIGHT: Welcome home.

BUCKLEY: Knight was Army Air Corps during World War II. Later he was Navy. Hours before each plane comes in...

KNIGHT: That plane will be in at 2:15 today.

BUCKLEY: ... Mr. Knight works the phones to get the greeters to the airport. He's determined to prevent what happened to some soldiers of an unpopular war called Vietnam.

KNIGHT: The only thing I would rather be doing is I'd rather be back in the service, doing my time with these boys.

BUCKLEY: And occasionally, one of those boys sees not a stranger's face but the mom who lived across the street when he was a kid. Sergeant 1st Class John Leclair was welcomed home by Dee Winthrop Denning (ph). Dee still lives in Maine. In some ways, so does John.

SGT. JON LECLAIR, 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION: I'm proud to be from here. Everywhere I go, I'm from Maine, even though I've lived around the world.

BUCKLEY: For most of these soldiers, though, Maine is just a refueling stop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a few more hours. Just a few more hours.

BUCKLEY: They're headed home. Maine, a memory of war.

Frank Buckley, CNN, Bangor, Maine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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 11, 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: Well, there's a grim new development linked to the Iraqi prison abuse sand scandal. It's one that we took special care checking and vetting before we went to air with it. It's a video clip right here on an Islamic Web site linked to al Qaeda and related groups showing the beheading of this man who identifies himself as an American, Nick Berg from Philadelphia.
His killers say they're aiming to redeem the dignity of Muslim men and women in Abu Ghraib. And they claim that they attempted to exchange their prisoner for some in Abu Ghraib, but the U.S. administration refused. We have no way of confirming that right now, nor the claim that the execution was carried out personally by Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the Jordanian terror instigator who claimed responsibility for numerous attacks in post-Saddam Iraq.

But earlier today the U.S. State Department did identify the body of an American found dead in Baghdad yesterday as Nicholas Berg of Pennsylvania. We're continuing to work this story. We'll bring you more as soon as we have it.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib will undeniably haunt the U.S. military. But friends and family of the soldiers accused of abuse argue a double standard is at play. They even describe some of the soldiers in those disturbingly infamous photos as clean as wholesome. Our Brian Todd explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seven names, faces, stories, whether guilty or innocent, certainly notorious, moving through the public consciousness and the military court system with mind-numbing speed.

First on the docket, Specialist Jeremy Sivits, charged with four counts, including cruelty and maltreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. Half a world away, in southwestern Pennsylvania, the father of the girl Sivits took to his high school prom, speaks of a double standard.

MIKE FLEEGLE, FRIEND OF ACCUSED SOLDIER: Bring him home. Let's pin a medal on him and have a parade. They drug our kids through the streets behind jeeps. They burn them. They hung them from a bridge. And why are we held higher standards than they are?

TODD: Three women are among those facing courts-martial, the best known, Private Lynndie England, a 21-year-old West Virginia native. Among the charges against her, assaulting a prisoner and indecent exposure. Her families and attorney say, even in these picture, she is being set up.

ROSE MARY ZAPOR, ATTORNEY FOR PFC. ENGLAND: That leash being handed to our client and saying, stand there while we take this picture. That is staged. That is not a picture of our client abusing a prisoner in any way.

TODD: England's family said she is pregnant by another soldier charged in the Abu Ghraib case. Specialist Charles Graner Jr., formerly a prison guard in Pennsylvania, whose attorney says the pictures do not tell the story.

GUY WOMACK, ATTORNEY FOR SPECIALIST CHARLES GRANER: I have only seen seven photos. And those were ones that he was ordered to have taken or be involved in.

TODD: Two other women facing military trial, Specialist Megan Ambuhl, described by her attorney in media reports as a clean and wholesome girl who studied biology in college; and 26-year-old Specialist Sabrina Harman of Alexandria, Virginia, shown here smiling over a pile of naked detainees.

In an e-mail to "The Washington Post," Harman said this was part of her job, to -- quote -- "keep them awake, make it hell so they would talk."

(on camera): That defense, just following orders, is consistent among the families of the accused. The fathers of the Sergeant Javal Davis and Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick speak of their sons as unfailingly loyal.

JONATHAN DAVIS, FATHER OF SGT. JAVAL DAVIS: I have a good son. I have a good son. He's a good father. He's a good provider. And he's a good soldier. And good soldiers do what good soldiers do, what they are told.

IVAN FREDERICK, FATHER OF STAFF SGT. IVAN FREDERICK: That is one thing they teach you in basic training is the senior officer gives you a command, you will do it or you are subject to court-martial or you may wish you had of.

TODD: As for some senior officers Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, commander of Abu Ghraib at the time of the alleged abuse, is no longer in charge of the prison and could face disciplinary action. Nine others including at least three officers also face possible discipline.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: There is some uplifting news about America's troops. For hundreds coming home from the war, there's a special welcome committee the first time they touched down on American soil. PHILLIPS: And these boots may be made for walking, but keep them off Madonna's land. The Material Girl versus the ramblers.

O'BRIEN: Betting on the ramblers.

And view it or lose it. Disposable DVDs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, wherever she goes, Madonna makes news. Time for a little update for you. I know you've been waiting for it. Guy Raz with the particulars on a turf war between the Material Girl and those who'd like to tell her to take a hike.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Springtime in the English countryside. The flora, the fauna and legal action by Madonna.

The Material Girl and her husband Guy Ritchie filed a petition to keep ramblers from wandering too close to their estate. But this is a country where public foot paths are protected by common law dating back a thousand years. Madonna's now fighting a battle hundreds of others have lost before.

(on camera): Just beyond the tree line there is where Madonna and Guy Ritchie had their country house. We're now standing on a foot path which runs right through their property. And no one, not even Madonna, can keep anyone from using it.

(voice-over): Why? because Britain's politically powerful Ramblers' Association is vigilant when it comes to defending the public's right to use foot paths. But wandering off the path is a gray area. So all Madonna can do is try to prevent walkers from straying off to Wessex Way, the 4,000-year-old foot path that runs right through her land.

JACQUETTA FEWSTER, RAMBLERS' ASSOCIATION: She needn't had bought a house in that place. She could have bought one somewhere else that wouldn't be subjective to these laws.

RAZ: According to the Ramblers' Association, British land owners have been trying to keep ramblers off their land for centuries, even going so far as to obstruct the footpaths.

PAULA, RAMBLER: Mind you, we have walked where there's barbed wire and we just couldn't get through at all. They just to stop you. Quite a few land owners do that.

RAZ: Thousands of these yellow signs designate public foot paths in Britain. While all ramblers regard these signs as an unassailable license to roam, some are, nevertheless, sympathetic to England's newest country lady.

MICHAEL MCCLURE-WILLIAMS, RAMBLER: But I quite understand that that good woman that lives down there, Madonna, doesn't like everyone cruising all over their land because that's not a public right of way, this is.

RAZ: And so, until the issue is resolved, Madonna and her brood may have to suffer her views occasionally obstructed by the passing and vigilant ramblers.

Guy Raz, CNN, Wiltshire in Southern England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: More now on the developing story that we've been following about the video clip on Islamic Web site linked to al Qaeda showing the beheading of an American, a man overseas. The White House now responding. Suzanne Malveaux traveling with the president there in Van Buren, Arkansas. What do you know, Suzanne?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Just moments ago Scott McClellan issued a statement. He was asked about that murder of Nick Berg of West Chester, Pennsylvania, the 26-year-old civilian apparently being shown on a video beheaded. McClellan saying that thoughts and prayers are with the victim and his family at this time.

He goes on to say as well that this reflects the true nature of those who are opposed to freedom and democracy in the region, those who carried out this crime. He also says as well that they will be pursued and brought to justice.

As you know, Kyra, of course, this being just the kind of thing that Americans and administrations feared, perhaps retribution or revenge for what we're seeing with the Iraqi prisoners. Of course the administration saying that reflects the acts of those who are opposed to the mission inside of Iraq. And they will certainly be brought to justice -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux there with reaction from the White House in Van Buren, Arkansas. Thank you very much. We'll continue to follow this story. We are working it and trying to get as much information as possible straight to you.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Need to clean the kitchen floor? Buy a disposable mop. Got dust on the coffee table? Disposable swipe. Have a child that's not potty trained? Grab a disposable diaper. But is America ready for disposable DVDs? Our John Zarrella looks at this new self- destruct option from movie rentals.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bella Gonzalez is a movie fanatic. Every weekend she leaves Blockbuster with an armful of rental DVDs. Like many people, the only thing she doesn't care for is making sure the movies get back on time and who in the family is going to take them.

BELLA GONZALEZ, VIDEO CUSTOMER: We'll sit around the table, who is going to return them back this time? Mostly it's always me bringing them back. But if I let someone else, that's when I get charged with the late fee.

ZARRELLA: Now for Gonzalez and everyone who would prefer a toothache to a late fee, there's an alternative. Playing at select convenience stores and pizza deliveries outlets, the EZ-D, the no return disposable DVD.

Distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, part of Disney, it is being test marketed across Florida and several other cities around the country.

ALAN BLAUSTEIN, CEO, FLEXPLAY: The consumer will find the product in this type of package. When they remove it from this package the disk will be red. After 48 hours, the disk will have turned black. Once the disk is black, the DVD player will no longer play the disk. It is that simple from a consumer standpoint.

ZARRELLA: The disposable DVDs cost $5.99 compared to $3.99 for a rental. The number of titles is still limited. About 45 have been released so far.

Rental giant Blockbuster doesn't see the disposable DVD as much of a threat to its market. With the EZ-D, Blockbuster officials say, you don't get what they offer. "You don't get the director's cuts or the deleted scenes or interviews with the stars, those added features that you get if you were purchasing or renting the product."

For movie buff Dave Aneckstein, these are the added extras he enjoys.

DAVE ANECKSTEIN, VIDEO CUSTOMER: Alternate endings, director's cuts. We like seeing some of those extra things on the DVDs. And I think for the price, it just wouldn't be worth it for me.

ZARRELLA: At this point, the EZ-D is not a threat to run rental companies out of their $9 billion a year business. Just an alternative for consumers who like one-stop shopping and don't like playing beat the clock to the drop box.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(MARKET UPDATE)

PHILLIPS: The Army general who first investigated prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib is testifying on Capitol Hill today. Headlines at the top of the hour.

O'BRIEN: Waiting with open arms. A special welcoming committee for U.S. troops the moment they touch down on American soil.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The first U.S. soil American soldiers often touch when they return from Iraq or Afghanistan is Bangor, Maine. When each planeload comes in a handful of residents there to say, "Welcome home, soldier." CNN's Frank Buckley was there as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The planes pull up in Bangor, Maine, to refuel. For the soldiers, it's the first time their boots are on the ground in America, on their way home from war.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

BUCKLEY: Every time, it's a celebration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome back to the States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

BUCKLEY: The Mainers are strangers to these Marines, but troop greeters like Elaine Greene and Joanne Miller (ph) say it's their duty to say thanks.

ELAINE GREENE, MAINE TROOP GREETER: He's why we're here. They deserve to have this country telling them how much they care.

BUCKLEY: It's enough to make a tough-as-nails Marine major with 19 years in the Corps choke up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just never really had a welcome home.

BUCKLEY: A local cell phone company donates phones and minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you, Mama! I miss you!

BUCKLEY: The greeters, many of them veterans themselves, trade stories with the troops or just listen. For Donna Sorkin, it's a chance to be Mom. She's got a son, that little boy in the picture, Chris, greeting a soldier. That was in 1991. Today Chris is a soldier himself in Iraq. Being a surrogate mother for the other soldiers helps Sorkin get through it.

DONNA SORKIN, MAINE TROOP GREETER: If their mother can't be here when they first step foot on U.S. soil, it's nice to be here and be a mother for a while.

BUCKLEY (on camera): The troop greetings began here in 1991, during Operation Desert Storm. A year ago, they resumed. Since then, more than 460 planes and 82,000 U.S. service members have been greeted in Bangor, Maine.

(voice-over): And at the head of the line for each flight that passes through, 82-year-old Bill Knight. BILL KNIGHT, MAINE TROOP GREETER: Welcome home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir.

KNIGHT: Welcome home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

KNIGHT: Welcome home.

BUCKLEY: Knight was Army Air Corps during World War II. Later he was Navy. Hours before each plane comes in...

KNIGHT: That plane will be in at 2:15 today.

BUCKLEY: ... Mr. Knight works the phones to get the greeters to the airport. He's determined to prevent what happened to some soldiers of an unpopular war called Vietnam.

KNIGHT: The only thing I would rather be doing is I'd rather be back in the service, doing my time with these boys.

BUCKLEY: And occasionally, one of those boys sees not a stranger's face but the mom who lived across the street when he was a kid. Sergeant 1st Class John Leclair was welcomed home by Dee Winthrop Denning (ph). Dee still lives in Maine. In some ways, so does John.

SGT. JON LECLAIR, 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION: I'm proud to be from here. Everywhere I go, I'm from Maine, even though I've lived around the world.

BUCKLEY: For most of these soldiers, though, Maine is just a refueling stop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a few more hours. Just a few more hours.

BUCKLEY: They're headed home. Maine, a memory of war.

Frank Buckley, CNN, Bangor, Maine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com