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Live From...
Pentagon Reviews Interrogation Practices; Abu Ghraib Courts Martial to Begin Next Week
Aired May 14, 2004 - 13:58 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.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sean Callebs in Washington. Plea bargains and fingerpointings as the deadline for the first of court martials draws close in Baghdad. I'll have that story coming up.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And when it comes to Iraq there, at least one thing Bush and Kerry agree on, we're talking politics later this hour.
Ford is about to step into hybrid territory, will it be a hit?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As long as I remember being an adult, I remember being (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Height, spiders, flying, are you living with any phobias? The answer to your worse nightmare may lie in a pill. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will tell you if this is an option for you.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM... begins right now.
Up first this hour, Sivits for the prosecution, the first GI to face court martial next week in the prison abuse debacle in Iraq has been cooperating with government investigators and faces lesser charges as an apparent result. Details of that cooperation have come to light in the form of quotes alleging harsh mistreatment of prisoners by fellow MPs without the knowledge of higher ups. We get the latest from CNN's Sean Callebs in Washington -- Sean.
CALLEBS: Hi, Fredricka. Indeed, expect to hear a lot about Corporal Charles Graner over the next few days. Graner is seen in a number of the abuse photos that have made their way into the public sector. As you said, another ex-guard at the prison, Specialist Jeremy Sivits is expected to plead guilty at his court martial next week. And he is cooperating with officers.
Earlier today military officials in Baghdad announced Graner is facing a genera; court martial and detailed the criminal charges filed against Graner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: The charges were referred against Specialist Charles A. Graner to a general court martial. The seven charges against Specialist Graner are conspiracy to maltreat detainees, dereliction of duty for willfully failing to protect detainees from abuse, cruelty and maltreatment, maltreatment of detainees, assaulting detainees, committing indecent acts, adultery and obstruction of justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: Now Graner has hired a Houston defense attorney. Graner was charged after another soldier implicated in the scandal agreed to that plea agreement. In that plea, Sivits, who told digital photos at the prison, has told investigators U.S. troops at Abu Ghraib laughed as they joked and beat prisoners as the detainees were stripped and forced into humiliating poses.
In speaking specifically about Graner, Sivits charges that, according to her, Graner punched the detainee with a closed fist so hard in the temple that it knocked the detainee unconscious. And in copies of Sivits' statements obtained by CNN, the specialist went on to say, "as the abuse went on, he," Graner, "was joking laughing like he enjoyed it."
Graner is an Army reservist and before coming to Iraq was serving as a corrections officer at a Pennsylvania prison. Graner's attorney, Guy Womack, is defending his client, saying Sivits cut a plea in an effort to save himself. Womack says, and I'm quoting here: "Anyone would try and deflect blame rather than accept responsibility for what he is doing." Graner and two other soldiers, Staff Sergeant Ivan "Chip" Davis (sic), and Sergeant Javal Davis are facing courts martial next week -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And Sean, I understand General Janis Karpinski is back in the news. She was in charge of the prison at one time. What's going on with her now?
CALLEBS: Exactly. She was in charge of the prison at the time that the abuse took place. And General Karpinski says that military and civilian leaders ignored her request for more troops to guard the detainees at Abu Ghraib. Karpinski told the Associated Press that she'd made numerous pleas for additional personnel and really what critics are saying, this is more of the finger-pointing that has characterized the investigation so far -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Sean Callebs in Washington, thanks very much.
Well, in the next hour of LIVE FROM..., I'll interview the lawyer for accused GI Charles Graner who claims Sivits is only deflecting the blame. That's at 3:00 Eastern, noon Pacific right here on CNN.
Well, one day after his colleagues in Congress, Democratic presidential hopeful and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry saw the Pentagon's unreleased photos and videos from Abu Ghraib. Coming out, Kerry simply nodded when reporters asked whether he considered the images outrageous.
And the scene of those alleged crimes is minus more than 300 security detainees, as the coalition moves to cut Abu Ghraib's population almost in half, CNN's Ben Wedeman spent the day there and filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The first large batch of prisoners was released from Abu Ghraib today, a total of 315, according to a senior coalition source. Now they left -- the first bus left Abu Ghraib prison at about 9:20 in the morning local time. Rather than stopping outside the gates of the prison, however, it headed east towards Baghdad, much to the disappointment of hundreds of people who had assembled outside the prison, having heard rumors that there would be a prisoner release. In total, five buses left the prison. One apparently heading towards Fallujah. Three to the northwest of Baghdad.
Now already from those who have emerged from the prison, reports that they were abused, humiliated, and mistreated. At this point, it is difficult to confirm those stories, but what seems to be clear is that those coming out are bringing with them a good deal of resentment against the U.S.-led coalition.
I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Back in the United States, a private memorial is set to begin next hour for Nicholas Berg, the American beheaded in Iraq. His loved ones will gather at a synagogue in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Berg's grisly killing at the hands of terrorists in Iraq was videotaped and posted on a Web site this week.
The CIA says the man who beheaded Berg was probably Abu Musab al- Zarqawi. He's the leader linked to a group to Osama bin Laden. But it appears it wasn't the first time Berg encountered someone associated with al Qaeda. Sources say there is a connection between Berg and accused terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui.
CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The ties between Nicholas Berg and Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the U.S. in connection to 9/11, traced back to Oklahoma.
MICHAEL BERG, NICHOLAS BERG'S FATHER: Nick went to Oklahoma University and he was taking the course that was in a remote campus and you're on a bus. That remote campus was near the airport where some terrorists, people who non one knew were terrorists at the time, they were just fellow students, were also taking that bus and someone asked him how they -- how to -- asked them basically to let him use his computer and he did. ARENA: U.S. officials say Berg shared his computer and his password with one individual. And that password somehow ended up in Moussaoui's possession.
BERG: It turned out that this guy was a terrorist and that he used my son's e-mail, amongst many other people's e-mail who he did the same thing to.
ARENA: The FBI tracked down Berg and his father said his son cooperated fully. Michael Berg said the incident happened several years ago. Moussaoui took flight lessons in Oklahoma in 2001.
(on camera): It's a curious twist, and some suggest a possibly reason the FBI felt compelled to interview Berg three times in Iraq before clearing him for release.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: In both Iraq and Afghanistan the "help wanted" sign is still out and the line of applicants stretches all the way to the United States. Thousands of civilians are signing up for a year-long tour of duty in the danger zones.
CNN's Susan Candiotti spoke to some of those who are shipping out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another day, another bus load of civilian workers getting ready to leave for a year of living dangerously in Iraq. The last thing each is given on the way out the door? A bulletproof vest. For labor foreman Kevin Kibideau (ph), a stark reminder four colleagues at Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root already have been killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:: I'm sorry that it's happened. And there will be others. I just hope I'm not one of them.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Kevin, why did you decide to take the job?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, there is money in it. I've missed some work. The economy has been bad.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The money is good. So are the death benefits: lifetime payments for surviving spouses.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): How do you plan to protect yourself?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay with a lot of people, I believe, and pray. You know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Things are going to happen. I mean it's a war. You know? People are fighting. It's a danger. And that's the risk that you take when you go over there.
CANDIOTTI: The numbers are staggering. At least 500 people come through this facility each week. So far this year, 8000 have left for Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Mideast. Halliburton has almost 25,000 civilian workers over there now.
(voice-over): Right behind them, two more classes going through survival training. This day's lesson, gas masks, and chemical suits.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never been separated like this before.
CANDIOTTI: But for Virgie (ph), no protection from heartache.
(on camera): When she came to you and said, I'm going, what did you say?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you're not. I'll kidnap you. I'll lock you up.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Outside, two buses are waiting. One for Iraq, another for Afghanistan. It will be four months before this couple sees each other again. From Virgie, one promise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll be back.
CANDIOTTI: Susan Candiotti, CNN, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: A new SUV is about to hit American roadways, a hybrid version of the one just like this one. Will it set new standards for American drivers? We'll have a preview.
A glimpse to the future. Robots, invisibility coats. Sounds unreal, doesn't it? You better believe it. We're taking you live to NextFest.
And curing your fears with one simple pill. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a prescription. All that ahead on CNN's LIVE FROM...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: News across America now. Another player is cleared in the University of Colorado football scandal. Police say DNA evidence exonerated a second player in an alleged sexual assault linked to the UC recruiting scandal. The alleged victim was one of at least eight women who say they were raped by football players or recruits since 1997.
And forget the Hippocratic Oath. A doctor in Columbus, Ohio, has sent a letter to dozens of trial attorneys saying he won't treat them or their families. Dr. William Morris (ph) is taking issue over malpractice insurance rates. The Ohio State Medical Board does not advocate Morris' decision.
Well, if it's broke, don't fix it. Gas prices are at record highs. But a Kentucky gas station has pumps that won't go higher than $1.99 a gallon. The gas station's owner says the pumps are old and they are being adjusted.
And a road becomes a river in Texas. Parts of the state got more than 17 inches of rain in nine hours causing major flooding. At one point yesterday, half of one county was under water.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Posting the beheading of Nicholas Berg on a Web site is yet another indication of how al Qaeda and its allies use the Internet to spread their messages. At least one man is trying to stem the tide. But he's run up against one of the world's largest Internet companies.
CNN's Anderson Cooper has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When he's not running his homeless shelter in Albuquerque, New Mexico, or his radio talk show, Jeremy Reynalds is on the Internet hunting al Qaeda.
JEREMY REYNALDS, INTERNET ACTIVIST: There is a war actually pro- terror being waged on the Internet by radical Islamics.
COOPER: He says he started trying to take down al Qaeda Web sites after 9/11, complaining to the ISPs, the Internet service providers that hosted them.
REYNALDS: I've spoken over the past 2 1/2 years to scores of ISPs. Most of them, once they understand that they host a terrorist- related site, it comes right down.
COOPER: Reynalds recently found a message board called Global Islamic Media, which experts say is the real deal where al Qaeda supporters and their sympathizers posted propaganda and information.
PAUL EEDLE, AL QAEDA EXPERT: The Global Islamic Media e-mail list is our most credible source for al Qaeda strategy and thinking.
COOPER: Reynalds also found out that Global Islamic Media was being hosted by Internet giant Yahoo!. He says he complained to the company, sending them a message headlined "Do you Yahoo!? Al Qaeda does," and asking them to take the site down. He says that it violated the company's terms of service which prohibit, among other things, content that's threatening, hateful, or otherwise objectionable.
REYNALD: I'm seeing that Yahoo! is being irresponsible by allowing these groups and such people to pass out these thoughts on a mass basis on the Internet.
COOPER: He says he didn't get a response at first. And Yahoo! declined CNN's request for an interview. But several weeks after Reynalds first complained, and after we called, the site was taken down.
Reynalds' victory was short-lived. Not only did al Qaeda sympathizers find other message boards to use, but Global Islamic Media slightly changed its name and managed to reappear days later again on Yahoo!.
After Nicholas Berg was beheaded, you could find links to the video posted there.
(on camera): Once again, Jeremy Reynalds complained to Yahoo!, asking the company to take the site down. And once again, we called Yahoo! for a response. They didn't respond.
Anderson Cooper, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: News from around the world now. The editor of Britain's mass circulation "Daily Mirror" newspaper resigned. Piers Morgan quit after the paper admitted it published fake pictures of prisoners being tortured in Iraq. The "Mirror" apologized and said it was the victim of a calculated and malicious hoax.
Cuban President Fidel Castro leads a massive anti-American protest in Havana. Hundreds of thousands took part in the demonstration today. The Cuban leader ridiculed President Bush, saying he was fraudulently elected and trying to impose a world tyranny.
In Gaza, Israeli troops demolished a number of Palestinian buildings they say were used by militants. Two Israel soldiers and a Palestinian were killed in heavy fighting. Other Israeli troops and Palestinians were wounded in the latest Gaza clashes.
Forty-seven days to hand over in Iraq. So how do you pick an exit strategy that will not lead to civil war and chaos? And how will it play in the presidential election? A dose of politics is heading your way later this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: To the Pentagon now where there is new information on interrogation rules. Let's go to Barbara Starr -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, CNN has now learned from two senior Pentagon officials that General Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq, this week has completed a review of the approved interrogation practices for detainees in Iraq. This has been a very controversial matter since the detainee abuse scandal erupted. There is an approved list of interrogation techniques. But growing criticism that those U.S.- approved techniques may be in violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Now the United States military says it has been in compliance with the Geneva Conventions, but sources tell CNN, General Sanchez has these items under what one source said was continuous review. But that he has completed a fresh review this week. And they tell us that at least one or more items have now been removed from that list of approved interrogation techniques. This was so controversial, it came up on Capitol Hill just yesterday when top officials were pressed on whether or not the U.S. was in compliance.
Let's listen to what one official had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JACK REED (D-RI), ARMED SERVICES CMTE.: General Pace, if you were shown a video of a United States Marine or an American citizen in the control of a foreign power, in a cell block, naked, with a bag over their head, squatting with their arms uplifted for 45 minutes, would you describe that as a good interrogation technique or a violation of the Geneva Convention?
GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS VICE CHMN.: I would describe it as a violation, sir.
REED: As I read General Sanchez's guidance -- well, let me ask another question. Would your conclusion be different if it was ordered by a high ranking officer of that foreign power?
PACE: No, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Be clear, Fredricka, we are not being told yet which approved interrogation techniques General Sanchez may have now this week removed from the approved list for U.S. soldiers. But that list has included items such as putting prisoners in stress positions for up to 45 minutes, sensory deprivation for 72 hours, and changing sleep patterns for 72 hours.
On the other hand, the Geneva Convention says, quoting: "No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure information from them of any kind whatsoever."
So what is unfolding here is a change in U.S. interrogation practices in Iraq. But the Pentagon continuing to insist that they are and continue to be in compliance with the Geneva Conventions -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: But Barbara, still the question remains, who approved the list in the first place?
STARR: That is a question we continue to ask senior officials all week long. And there appears to be continuing confusion about who put this list together. However, General Sanchez, the command out in Iraq, has an approved list. It has now been reviewed, we are told, this week, and changes are being made. We expect to hear more about this, I must tell you, from the Pentagon in the immediate hours and days ahead -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thanks very much.
Well, looking back now, it was 50 years ago the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling making school segregation unconstitutional. The Brown V. Board of Education decision promised to put white and African-American students on equal education footing. But has it? That's the focus of a "CNN PRESENTS" documentary airing this week.
Our Dan Lothian has a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF: While Juwan Minor (ph) gets ready for school his single mother is already working a 4:30 a.m. shift at the Post Office. Juwan, a star athlete, will soon graduate with a B-plus average. Twice a month he dresses up to help lead the Minority Achievement Committee, the MAC scholars. The MAC scholars are high achieving black seniors who mentor younger peers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to know from your point of view, what does average mean?
LOTHIAN: They are fighting a national problem. The national average SAT score for black students is more than 200 points below the average for white students. And even where the parents make $100,000, and finish graduate school, the gap is still 141 points.
ABIGAIL THERNSTROM, CO-AUTHOR, "NO EXCUSES": We're not going to close the earnings gap in America. We're not going to have racial equality without closing the educational gap. It really is that simple.
LOTHIAN: Every day the MAC scholars see black adolescents facing the same teenage turbulence as their white classmates, but with an added twist. For those who think getting good grades means they're acting white, rap music's gangsters and thugs offer an alternative to be authentically black.
JOCK WILLIAMS, SHAKER HEIGHTS SENIOR: A lot of black students do want to be athletes and rappers because we only see that sweet part. We are seeing the cars, the houses, the girls, the money, the clothes. We are seeing all that good stuff.
LOTHIAN: The MAC scholars are trying to change the mindset of fellow students.
WINSTON WEATHERSPOON, SHAKER HEIGHTS SENIOR: At Shaker, a lot of times African-Americans don't see school as a means to an end to success. They don't take it as seriously. And they might think, oh, all white kids, they are just going to be starter than me.
LOTHIAN: Ironically, a generation of parents raised on the optimism of the civil rights movement may inadvertently be raising their children with pessimism.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have seen, among middle class blacks, what I describe as integration fatigue. A family will come home for dinner, and sit around the dinner table and talk about how tough it was at work, how the man was keeping them from being able to get ahead at work. Well, Junior is sitting there, or Missy is sitting there listening to this kind of conversation. And can draw some conclusions that would say, why do I want to do that? I'm going to become a rapper. And rappers don't have to study.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Dan Lothian's full report is called "The Gap: 50 Years After Brown V. Board of Education." It's this weekend's "CNN PRESENTS," and it airs Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern. And our in-depth look at the 50th anniversary of that landmark Supreme Court ruling continues Monday with a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT," it airs at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, that's on Monday.
(MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired May 14, 2004 - 13:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sean Callebs in Washington. Plea bargains and fingerpointings as the deadline for the first of court martials draws close in Baghdad. I'll have that story coming up.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And when it comes to Iraq there, at least one thing Bush and Kerry agree on, we're talking politics later this hour.
Ford is about to step into hybrid territory, will it be a hit?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As long as I remember being an adult, I remember being (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Height, spiders, flying, are you living with any phobias? The answer to your worse nightmare may lie in a pill. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will tell you if this is an option for you.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM... begins right now.
Up first this hour, Sivits for the prosecution, the first GI to face court martial next week in the prison abuse debacle in Iraq has been cooperating with government investigators and faces lesser charges as an apparent result. Details of that cooperation have come to light in the form of quotes alleging harsh mistreatment of prisoners by fellow MPs without the knowledge of higher ups. We get the latest from CNN's Sean Callebs in Washington -- Sean.
CALLEBS: Hi, Fredricka. Indeed, expect to hear a lot about Corporal Charles Graner over the next few days. Graner is seen in a number of the abuse photos that have made their way into the public sector. As you said, another ex-guard at the prison, Specialist Jeremy Sivits is expected to plead guilty at his court martial next week. And he is cooperating with officers.
Earlier today military officials in Baghdad announced Graner is facing a genera; court martial and detailed the criminal charges filed against Graner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: The charges were referred against Specialist Charles A. Graner to a general court martial. The seven charges against Specialist Graner are conspiracy to maltreat detainees, dereliction of duty for willfully failing to protect detainees from abuse, cruelty and maltreatment, maltreatment of detainees, assaulting detainees, committing indecent acts, adultery and obstruction of justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: Now Graner has hired a Houston defense attorney. Graner was charged after another soldier implicated in the scandal agreed to that plea agreement. In that plea, Sivits, who told digital photos at the prison, has told investigators U.S. troops at Abu Ghraib laughed as they joked and beat prisoners as the detainees were stripped and forced into humiliating poses.
In speaking specifically about Graner, Sivits charges that, according to her, Graner punched the detainee with a closed fist so hard in the temple that it knocked the detainee unconscious. And in copies of Sivits' statements obtained by CNN, the specialist went on to say, "as the abuse went on, he," Graner, "was joking laughing like he enjoyed it."
Graner is an Army reservist and before coming to Iraq was serving as a corrections officer at a Pennsylvania prison. Graner's attorney, Guy Womack, is defending his client, saying Sivits cut a plea in an effort to save himself. Womack says, and I'm quoting here: "Anyone would try and deflect blame rather than accept responsibility for what he is doing." Graner and two other soldiers, Staff Sergeant Ivan "Chip" Davis (sic), and Sergeant Javal Davis are facing courts martial next week -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And Sean, I understand General Janis Karpinski is back in the news. She was in charge of the prison at one time. What's going on with her now?
CALLEBS: Exactly. She was in charge of the prison at the time that the abuse took place. And General Karpinski says that military and civilian leaders ignored her request for more troops to guard the detainees at Abu Ghraib. Karpinski told the Associated Press that she'd made numerous pleas for additional personnel and really what critics are saying, this is more of the finger-pointing that has characterized the investigation so far -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Sean Callebs in Washington, thanks very much.
Well, in the next hour of LIVE FROM..., I'll interview the lawyer for accused GI Charles Graner who claims Sivits is only deflecting the blame. That's at 3:00 Eastern, noon Pacific right here on CNN.
Well, one day after his colleagues in Congress, Democratic presidential hopeful and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry saw the Pentagon's unreleased photos and videos from Abu Ghraib. Coming out, Kerry simply nodded when reporters asked whether he considered the images outrageous.
And the scene of those alleged crimes is minus more than 300 security detainees, as the coalition moves to cut Abu Ghraib's population almost in half, CNN's Ben Wedeman spent the day there and filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The first large batch of prisoners was released from Abu Ghraib today, a total of 315, according to a senior coalition source. Now they left -- the first bus left Abu Ghraib prison at about 9:20 in the morning local time. Rather than stopping outside the gates of the prison, however, it headed east towards Baghdad, much to the disappointment of hundreds of people who had assembled outside the prison, having heard rumors that there would be a prisoner release. In total, five buses left the prison. One apparently heading towards Fallujah. Three to the northwest of Baghdad.
Now already from those who have emerged from the prison, reports that they were abused, humiliated, and mistreated. At this point, it is difficult to confirm those stories, but what seems to be clear is that those coming out are bringing with them a good deal of resentment against the U.S.-led coalition.
I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Back in the United States, a private memorial is set to begin next hour for Nicholas Berg, the American beheaded in Iraq. His loved ones will gather at a synagogue in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Berg's grisly killing at the hands of terrorists in Iraq was videotaped and posted on a Web site this week.
The CIA says the man who beheaded Berg was probably Abu Musab al- Zarqawi. He's the leader linked to a group to Osama bin Laden. But it appears it wasn't the first time Berg encountered someone associated with al Qaeda. Sources say there is a connection between Berg and accused terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui.
CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The ties between Nicholas Berg and Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the U.S. in connection to 9/11, traced back to Oklahoma.
MICHAEL BERG, NICHOLAS BERG'S FATHER: Nick went to Oklahoma University and he was taking the course that was in a remote campus and you're on a bus. That remote campus was near the airport where some terrorists, people who non one knew were terrorists at the time, they were just fellow students, were also taking that bus and someone asked him how they -- how to -- asked them basically to let him use his computer and he did. ARENA: U.S. officials say Berg shared his computer and his password with one individual. And that password somehow ended up in Moussaoui's possession.
BERG: It turned out that this guy was a terrorist and that he used my son's e-mail, amongst many other people's e-mail who he did the same thing to.
ARENA: The FBI tracked down Berg and his father said his son cooperated fully. Michael Berg said the incident happened several years ago. Moussaoui took flight lessons in Oklahoma in 2001.
(on camera): It's a curious twist, and some suggest a possibly reason the FBI felt compelled to interview Berg three times in Iraq before clearing him for release.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: In both Iraq and Afghanistan the "help wanted" sign is still out and the line of applicants stretches all the way to the United States. Thousands of civilians are signing up for a year-long tour of duty in the danger zones.
CNN's Susan Candiotti spoke to some of those who are shipping out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another day, another bus load of civilian workers getting ready to leave for a year of living dangerously in Iraq. The last thing each is given on the way out the door? A bulletproof vest. For labor foreman Kevin Kibideau (ph), a stark reminder four colleagues at Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root already have been killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:: I'm sorry that it's happened. And there will be others. I just hope I'm not one of them.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Kevin, why did you decide to take the job?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, there is money in it. I've missed some work. The economy has been bad.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The money is good. So are the death benefits: lifetime payments for surviving spouses.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): How do you plan to protect yourself?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay with a lot of people, I believe, and pray. You know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Things are going to happen. I mean it's a war. You know? People are fighting. It's a danger. And that's the risk that you take when you go over there.
CANDIOTTI: The numbers are staggering. At least 500 people come through this facility each week. So far this year, 8000 have left for Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Mideast. Halliburton has almost 25,000 civilian workers over there now.
(voice-over): Right behind them, two more classes going through survival training. This day's lesson, gas masks, and chemical suits.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never been separated like this before.
CANDIOTTI: But for Virgie (ph), no protection from heartache.
(on camera): When she came to you and said, I'm going, what did you say?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you're not. I'll kidnap you. I'll lock you up.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Outside, two buses are waiting. One for Iraq, another for Afghanistan. It will be four months before this couple sees each other again. From Virgie, one promise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll be back.
CANDIOTTI: Susan Candiotti, CNN, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: A new SUV is about to hit American roadways, a hybrid version of the one just like this one. Will it set new standards for American drivers? We'll have a preview.
A glimpse to the future. Robots, invisibility coats. Sounds unreal, doesn't it? You better believe it. We're taking you live to NextFest.
And curing your fears with one simple pill. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a prescription. All that ahead on CNN's LIVE FROM...
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WHITFIELD: News across America now. Another player is cleared in the University of Colorado football scandal. Police say DNA evidence exonerated a second player in an alleged sexual assault linked to the UC recruiting scandal. The alleged victim was one of at least eight women who say they were raped by football players or recruits since 1997.
And forget the Hippocratic Oath. A doctor in Columbus, Ohio, has sent a letter to dozens of trial attorneys saying he won't treat them or their families. Dr. William Morris (ph) is taking issue over malpractice insurance rates. The Ohio State Medical Board does not advocate Morris' decision.
Well, if it's broke, don't fix it. Gas prices are at record highs. But a Kentucky gas station has pumps that won't go higher than $1.99 a gallon. The gas station's owner says the pumps are old and they are being adjusted.
And a road becomes a river in Texas. Parts of the state got more than 17 inches of rain in nine hours causing major flooding. At one point yesterday, half of one county was under water.
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WHITFIELD: Posting the beheading of Nicholas Berg on a Web site is yet another indication of how al Qaeda and its allies use the Internet to spread their messages. At least one man is trying to stem the tide. But he's run up against one of the world's largest Internet companies.
CNN's Anderson Cooper has the story.
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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When he's not running his homeless shelter in Albuquerque, New Mexico, or his radio talk show, Jeremy Reynalds is on the Internet hunting al Qaeda.
JEREMY REYNALDS, INTERNET ACTIVIST: There is a war actually pro- terror being waged on the Internet by radical Islamics.
COOPER: He says he started trying to take down al Qaeda Web sites after 9/11, complaining to the ISPs, the Internet service providers that hosted them.
REYNALDS: I've spoken over the past 2 1/2 years to scores of ISPs. Most of them, once they understand that they host a terrorist- related site, it comes right down.
COOPER: Reynalds recently found a message board called Global Islamic Media, which experts say is the real deal where al Qaeda supporters and their sympathizers posted propaganda and information.
PAUL EEDLE, AL QAEDA EXPERT: The Global Islamic Media e-mail list is our most credible source for al Qaeda strategy and thinking.
COOPER: Reynalds also found out that Global Islamic Media was being hosted by Internet giant Yahoo!. He says he complained to the company, sending them a message headlined "Do you Yahoo!? Al Qaeda does," and asking them to take the site down. He says that it violated the company's terms of service which prohibit, among other things, content that's threatening, hateful, or otherwise objectionable.
REYNALD: I'm seeing that Yahoo! is being irresponsible by allowing these groups and such people to pass out these thoughts on a mass basis on the Internet.
COOPER: He says he didn't get a response at first. And Yahoo! declined CNN's request for an interview. But several weeks after Reynalds first complained, and after we called, the site was taken down.
Reynalds' victory was short-lived. Not only did al Qaeda sympathizers find other message boards to use, but Global Islamic Media slightly changed its name and managed to reappear days later again on Yahoo!.
After Nicholas Berg was beheaded, you could find links to the video posted there.
(on camera): Once again, Jeremy Reynalds complained to Yahoo!, asking the company to take the site down. And once again, we called Yahoo! for a response. They didn't respond.
Anderson Cooper, CNN, New York.
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WHITFIELD: News from around the world now. The editor of Britain's mass circulation "Daily Mirror" newspaper resigned. Piers Morgan quit after the paper admitted it published fake pictures of prisoners being tortured in Iraq. The "Mirror" apologized and said it was the victim of a calculated and malicious hoax.
Cuban President Fidel Castro leads a massive anti-American protest in Havana. Hundreds of thousands took part in the demonstration today. The Cuban leader ridiculed President Bush, saying he was fraudulently elected and trying to impose a world tyranny.
In Gaza, Israeli troops demolished a number of Palestinian buildings they say were used by militants. Two Israel soldiers and a Palestinian were killed in heavy fighting. Other Israeli troops and Palestinians were wounded in the latest Gaza clashes.
Forty-seven days to hand over in Iraq. So how do you pick an exit strategy that will not lead to civil war and chaos? And how will it play in the presidential election? A dose of politics is heading your way later this hour.
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WHITFIELD: To the Pentagon now where there is new information on interrogation rules. Let's go to Barbara Starr -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, CNN has now learned from two senior Pentagon officials that General Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq, this week has completed a review of the approved interrogation practices for detainees in Iraq. This has been a very controversial matter since the detainee abuse scandal erupted. There is an approved list of interrogation techniques. But growing criticism that those U.S.- approved techniques may be in violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Now the United States military says it has been in compliance with the Geneva Conventions, but sources tell CNN, General Sanchez has these items under what one source said was continuous review. But that he has completed a fresh review this week. And they tell us that at least one or more items have now been removed from that list of approved interrogation techniques. This was so controversial, it came up on Capitol Hill just yesterday when top officials were pressed on whether or not the U.S. was in compliance.
Let's listen to what one official had to say.
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SEN. JACK REED (D-RI), ARMED SERVICES CMTE.: General Pace, if you were shown a video of a United States Marine or an American citizen in the control of a foreign power, in a cell block, naked, with a bag over their head, squatting with their arms uplifted for 45 minutes, would you describe that as a good interrogation technique or a violation of the Geneva Convention?
GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS VICE CHMN.: I would describe it as a violation, sir.
REED: As I read General Sanchez's guidance -- well, let me ask another question. Would your conclusion be different if it was ordered by a high ranking officer of that foreign power?
PACE: No, sir.
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STARR: Be clear, Fredricka, we are not being told yet which approved interrogation techniques General Sanchez may have now this week removed from the approved list for U.S. soldiers. But that list has included items such as putting prisoners in stress positions for up to 45 minutes, sensory deprivation for 72 hours, and changing sleep patterns for 72 hours.
On the other hand, the Geneva Convention says, quoting: "No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure information from them of any kind whatsoever."
So what is unfolding here is a change in U.S. interrogation practices in Iraq. But the Pentagon continuing to insist that they are and continue to be in compliance with the Geneva Conventions -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: But Barbara, still the question remains, who approved the list in the first place?
STARR: That is a question we continue to ask senior officials all week long. And there appears to be continuing confusion about who put this list together. However, General Sanchez, the command out in Iraq, has an approved list. It has now been reviewed, we are told, this week, and changes are being made. We expect to hear more about this, I must tell you, from the Pentagon in the immediate hours and days ahead -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thanks very much.
Well, looking back now, it was 50 years ago the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling making school segregation unconstitutional. The Brown V. Board of Education decision promised to put white and African-American students on equal education footing. But has it? That's the focus of a "CNN PRESENTS" documentary airing this week.
Our Dan Lothian has a preview.
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DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF: While Juwan Minor (ph) gets ready for school his single mother is already working a 4:30 a.m. shift at the Post Office. Juwan, a star athlete, will soon graduate with a B-plus average. Twice a month he dresses up to help lead the Minority Achievement Committee, the MAC scholars. The MAC scholars are high achieving black seniors who mentor younger peers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to know from your point of view, what does average mean?
LOTHIAN: They are fighting a national problem. The national average SAT score for black students is more than 200 points below the average for white students. And even where the parents make $100,000, and finish graduate school, the gap is still 141 points.
ABIGAIL THERNSTROM, CO-AUTHOR, "NO EXCUSES": We're not going to close the earnings gap in America. We're not going to have racial equality without closing the educational gap. It really is that simple.
LOTHIAN: Every day the MAC scholars see black adolescents facing the same teenage turbulence as their white classmates, but with an added twist. For those who think getting good grades means they're acting white, rap music's gangsters and thugs offer an alternative to be authentically black.
JOCK WILLIAMS, SHAKER HEIGHTS SENIOR: A lot of black students do want to be athletes and rappers because we only see that sweet part. We are seeing the cars, the houses, the girls, the money, the clothes. We are seeing all that good stuff.
LOTHIAN: The MAC scholars are trying to change the mindset of fellow students.
WINSTON WEATHERSPOON, SHAKER HEIGHTS SENIOR: At Shaker, a lot of times African-Americans don't see school as a means to an end to success. They don't take it as seriously. And they might think, oh, all white kids, they are just going to be starter than me.
LOTHIAN: Ironically, a generation of parents raised on the optimism of the civil rights movement may inadvertently be raising their children with pessimism.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have seen, among middle class blacks, what I describe as integration fatigue. A family will come home for dinner, and sit around the dinner table and talk about how tough it was at work, how the man was keeping them from being able to get ahead at work. Well, Junior is sitting there, or Missy is sitting there listening to this kind of conversation. And can draw some conclusions that would say, why do I want to do that? I'm going to become a rapper. And rappers don't have to study.
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WHITFIELD: Dan Lothian's full report is called "The Gap: 50 Years After Brown V. Board of Education." It's this weekend's "CNN PRESENTS," and it airs Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern. And our in-depth look at the 50th anniversary of that landmark Supreme Court ruling continues Monday with a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT," it airs at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, that's on Monday.
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