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IGC Nominates Allawi for Interim Iraqi PM; WWII Memorial Set for Dedication Tomorrow
Aired May 28, 2004 - 12:59 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our government and our coalition will transfer full sovereignty, complete and full sovereignty to a Iraqi government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thirty-three days until the handover. President Bush says the U.S. and Iraq will be ready.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The man nominated to lead Iraq is this Shiite physician, ready for one of the toughest jobs on the planet.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Sean Callebs in Washington. And estimated 150,000 people expected for the dedication of the World War II Memorial. We'll tell you about security concerns and give you an up-close look.
O'BRIEN: And who needs a batboy when you have this retriever. He's the major league hot dog in the minor leagues. We'll fetch that one for you this hour.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, in a room full of news hounds, I'm Miles O'Brien. Kyra Phillips is off today.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.
O'BRIEN: He is an M.D. on the IGC, a long-time exile and founder of a movement made up of military defectors. He is Iyad Allawi, and the Iraqi Governing Council says his promotion to Iraqi prime minister, done deal. Others say it's a nomination only with the final say belonging to the United Nations special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi. CNN's Harris Whitbeck is following these and some other developments in Baghdad today. He joins us now live with the latest -- Harris.
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello. U.N. special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi says he respects the Iraqi Governing Council's decision to nominate Iyad Allawi as Iraq's interim prime minister, who will take control of the Iraqi government after June 30. The Iraqi Governing Council had made his name public after an hours-long meeting that was attended in part by Mr. Brahimi and by U.S. administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer. The U.S.-led coalition spokesman Dan Senor said the U.N. will continue to be involved in the process of putting together a new interim government. And it is expected that the decision -- that the announcement on the names of those who will be in the new government will be made later -- early next week.
Iyad Allawi is a former Iraqi dissident who spent years in exile during the Saddam Hussein regime. He founded the Iraqi National Accord, an opposition political group that was made up in part by military defectors. Allawi is known to have close ties to U.S. and British intelligence, and he was at one point a member of the Baathist Party, but in 1996 he tried to stage a coup against Saddam Hussein. He is a secular Shiite, and is very well-known in Iraq for his political activities.
Meanwhile, on the military front here, U.S. military officials are still holding out hope for the sustaining of a cease-fire in embattled the holy city of Najaf. This despite skirmishes between radical militias and U.S. forces that left several people dead and wounded. And the base that houses the U.S. military outside of Najaf was hit by several mortar rounds this morning. There was also a skirmish in the nearby city of Kufa.
Another prisoner release to report this morning from Abu Ghraib, about 600 prisoners, detainees were released from that prison. That release went relatively well. Early this morning when it started, however, one convoy of 13 buses was attacked by small arms gunfire. U.S. forces who were escorting that convoy responded, and the convoy was able to make it safely to its final destination.
Now, we do have the deaths of two journalists to report today, two Japanese freelance journalists who were traveling from the south to Baghdad were attacked. The car they were traveling in was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, and a doctor at the hospital near the site of the attack said that the charred bodies of two Japanese were in the hospital's morgue. The Japanese government has confirmed that the attack did take place. The attack happened on a highway where several attacks on journalists and Westerners have taken place in recent months.
Back to you.
O'BRIEN: Harris, a final thought here. Have you had a chance to get a sense from the very factions there in Iraq as to whether this particular person is the right choice to lead this interim government come June 30?
WHITBECK: Well, CNN did go out to speak to some people shortly after the name was made public. And their initial reaction was that as long as this person is Iraqi, and as long as this person works for the benefit of the Iraqi people, we will support him. Some question, the degree of power and independence that he would have, however. But again, the general sense is that as long as this person is from Iraq, they will support him.
O'BRIEN: All right. Harris Whitbeck in Baghdad, thank you very much.
KIA to POW, but still, a casualty of war. The Pentagon is rewriting history in the case of U.S. Army Sergeant Donald Waters, part of the unit that was stranded and ambushed in Nasiriyah just days into the war. Among Walters' comrades in the 507th Maintenance Company was Private First Class Jessica Lynch. It was first thought Walters was killed in the initial firefight, but a deeper investigation, prompted by Walters' parents, found he was captured first, killed later.
Norm Walters says his son was shot in the back and stabbed in the stomach.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NORM WALTERS, FATHER OF SLAIN POW: As far as we're concerned, n, we're still not relieved. We're extremely upset because of what was done to him. It's just not the -- it's against all the rules of war. So one way, yes, we're relieved, but we're still faced with a lot of frustration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Walters' family believes he was the G.I. who fired on his company's attackers until his ammo ran out, an act of bravery attributed to but later denied by Lynch. In March, the Army bestowed on Walters the Silver Star, Bronze Star as well as the Purple Heart.
WHITFIELD: Iraq was high among the talking points for President Bush in the visiting prime minister of Denmark today. CNN's Frank Buckley reports on that from the White House.
And did the two leaders, Frank, see eye to eye on the commitment to Iraq?
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, at least publicly, we hear that yes, they did see eye to eye. One question that was on the table, Fredricka, was, would the 500 soldiers from Denmark who are on the ground in Iraq right now stay in Iraq. And as they appeared in the Rose Garden this afternoon, the president -- President Bush and Prime Minister Rasmussen, the prime minister answering that, yes, the 500 troops would stay on the ground. The Danish parliament still to formally vote on the extension. President Bush and the prime minister also spoke briefly about their meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I told the prime minister that our government and our coalition will transfer full sovereignty, complete and full sovereignty to a Iraqi government that will be picked by Mr. Brahimi of the United Nations. He said, do you mean full sovereignty? I said, I mean full sovereignty.
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, PRIME MINISTER OF DENMARK: We have a lot of negative news from Iraq. What we need now is some positive news. And I welcome the efforts to achieve consensus in the U.N. Security Council on a new Security Council resolution which can pave the way for the building of a democratic society in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: Neither leader addressed the selection by the Iraqi Governing Council of Iyad Allawi as the next prime minister in the interim government by the Iraqi Governing Council. But White House spokesman Scott McClellan said -- characterized the selection earlier as one of many ideas being put forward as one of the people who would be involved in the interim government. Lakhdar Brahimi, he said, will have the final say. But as you heard Harris Whitbeck say earlier, Lakhdar Brahimi says he "respects the Governing Council's decision" -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Frank Buckley at the White House, thanks very much.
Well, day in and day out, the war in Iraq is big news pretty much everywhere in America, if not the world. One American community is watching developments hour by hour, and reacting with despair, relief, excitement, fear, and sometimes all at once.
Here's CNN's Chris Lawrence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dearborn, Michigan, is a long way from Baghdad or Basra, but only if you're talking miles, not the hearts and minds of those who live here.
HUSHAM AL HUSAINY, DEARBORN, MICHIGAN, IMAM: The Iraqi people here in Dearborn, Michigan, they are really disappointed.
LAWRENCE: Which is a huge change from just a year ago, when Iraqi-Americans celebrated as American troops invaded Baghdad. The imam of a powerful mosque, Husham al Husainy says many have lost faith in President Bush's rebuilding plan.
AL HUSAINY: No jobs. No economy. No life. It's a disaster.
LAWRENCE: But in a community this big, some are more optimistic than others.
MAHIR AWRAHIM, IRAQI-AMERICAN: It's not going to be like that forever.
LAWRENCE: Mahir al-Rahim went to college in Iraq and earned his engineering masters in Michigan. Now a family man in your average American suburb, Mahir still has a home and business in Mosul, where he hoped it would be safe enough to be working by now.
(on camera): Do you wish you could go back to help?
AWRAHIM: I wish every day. I wish every day. And I was planning to go to Iraq this June. Unfortunately I've been told by friends from back there, from Mosul, do not stop by, do not come over. It's not secure. LAWRENCE (voice-over): Most want their fellow Iraqis to enjoy the same security they have here. But they're divided on whether the transfer of power will mean anything.
AL HUSAINY: This is a joke. June 30 is just no more than a number.
AWRAHIM: It will be OK. Everything will be fine.
LAWRENCE: They both hope Iraq will be better one day. What they can't agree on is how it will get there, and how long it will take.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Dearborn.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: With the nation at war, we are once again reminded Memorial Day weekend is much more than an excuse to barbecue or hit the beach. This year, we are reminded of the cost of war even more, though, as we arrive at the long awaited -- actually make that very long awaited dedication of the first national monument to the greatest generation, the fighters of World War II. CNN's Sean Callebs joining us right now from the National Mall in Washington at that beautiful new memorial - Sean.
CALLEBS: It really is stunning, Miles. And behind me you just see just legions chair for the 150,000 or so people they expect to show up this weekend for the dedication. Without question, it is very heart-felt for these veterans, many now in their 80s, and many have been waiting a lifetime for this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS (voice-over): Eleven years after President Clinton authorized construction, nearly three times as long as U.S. involvement in the war, World War II veterans are embracing a memorial they proudly call their own.
FRED WOLFF, WWII VETERAN: Everybody else is screaming, we want a memorial for this, memorial for that. And I thought it was about time that the guys got a break.
CALLEBS: Friedrich St. Florian's design was selected from 400 entries. At each end, large granite arches, one reads "Pacific," the other, "Atlantic." They denote the two theaters of U.S. involvement. Fifty-six smaller pillars ring the plaza, one for all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. Bronze wreaths, one oak, the other wheat, are meant to symbolize U.S. agricultural and industrial strength. Beyond the civic plaza, a wealth of subtle touches to inform and inspire.
Many veterans like John Nicholas have heard complaints about the design, where some see a bland structure, he finds grandeur.
JOHN NICHOLAS, WWII VETERAN: It can bring tears for those who aren't here. CALLEBS: One item decided early on, any memorial had to be built around a refurbished rainbow pool. Still for all the planning and the $195 million in donations that rolled in, construction was a battle of a different kind. Critics filed legal challenges, upset the sprawling structure would break up the sweeping Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: The memorial actually sits down in a recessed area, so a lot of people say it doesn't take away from the aesthetic beauty, but rather enhances this vista. There are going to be a number of law enforcement officers out here this weekend, Miles, an estimated at least thousands, as well as the number of rapid response teams are in the area as well ready to go. And a lot of medical personnel as well. There will be a great number of elderly people here this weekend. The National Park Service says it wants to do everything it can to make them feel welcome, and of course, comfortable.
Back to you.
O'BRIEN: And of course, as you know, Washington this time of year can be awfully warm. Is there some concern the weather will be adverse for all those elderly folks there in the sun?
CALLEBS: You know, I think the heavens are smiling on the greatest generation. It is expected to be in the upper 70s. And for those who have spent any amount of time in the summer here in Washington, you know that is a break. If it holds up like it is now, heavy cloud cover over, it is going to be very comfortable. And we've been watching people rehearse for the last couple of hours. We're getting a temporary break from the swing music, but I think they're going to be transported back in time once this ceremony starts.
O'BRIEN: Swing music, and temperatures in the 70s, I suspect you'll see a little jitterbugging there perhaps, who know? Sean Callebs, thank you very much. You can find an interactive guide to the World War II Memorial at cnn.com. It includes a 360-degree image of the site, quite impressive. You also find a wealth of details about the ceremonies.
And stay with CNN for the live coverage of the World War II Memorial Dedication Ceremony. Paula Zahn will lead our extensive coverage, beginning tomorrow 2:00 p.m. Eastern, 11:00 Pacific.
WHITFIELD: Warnings of a possible terror attack, is al Qaeda poised for another strike in the United States? Is it organized for that? We'll talk about it with a terror expert later this hour.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kathleen Koch in Baltimore, Maryland, where there has been a break in a brutal decapitation case of three young children. I'll be back with more on that when LIVE FROM... continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Two men in Baltimore are under arrest for a crime so horrifying even a veteran cop says he's never seen anything like this. The victims, three children found dead inside a first-floor apartment. Two of them were partially beheaded. The third was decapitated. Our Kathleen Koch joins us from Baltimore with the latest on the arrests -- Kathleen.
KOCH: Fredricka, indeed, police are calling these the most brutal and gruesome crimes that have ever occurred in this city. And under arrest right now are 22-year-old Policarpio Espinosa and his cousin, 17-year-old Adan Espinosa Canela.
And police believe they may be the uncles of the three children who were so brutally murdered. Those children being 10-year-old Alexis Quesada, her 9-year-old brother Lucero, and another 9-year-old boy, Ricardo Espinosa, who police believe were sharing this apartment in a very quiet northwestern Baltimore neighborhood that experiences very little crime.
Now, it was indeed one of the mothers of these children that found their nearly decapitated and decapitated bodies last night around 5:20 p.m. She obviously screamed. Neighbors called police for help. And police indeed do say that the suspects who they have in custody today have so far shared no motive for the brutal crimes they're charged with.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH BLACKWELL, DEP. POLICE COMDR., BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: The two individuals who seemed to be emotionless last night, certainly have provided a little bit of information. That's where Chief Williams and his crew comes in, because they're working very feverishly on dealing with this particular issue. We said last night that this was an act of someone who obviously has no conscience, a very unconscionable act, despicable act, in an area where it's very uncustomary for these types of incidents to occur.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: A police spokesman this morning told me that officers here went above and beyond the usual crime scene search, and that they indeed do have what he says is "a lot of evidence."
Now, a key piece of that being what police announced today is a very long butcher knife with a blade some 10 to 12 inches long that was found outside the apartment, that they do indeed believe was the murder weapon. It's still undergoing forensics testing right now for fingerprints and DNA.
But appearing right now outside the apartment, as you can see over my shoulder, are balloons, flowers and notes, sort of a mini memorial, impromptu memorial that has been developing for these three brutally murdered children -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: I can't believe it, that's absolutely horrible to even envision. You mentioned there were fingerprints at the scene. Is that what helped lead police to the suspects, or was there something else? even eyewitness accounts?
KOCH: Police are being very quiet about that right now. We were asking them, were there eyewitnesses, what led you to these two young men, because there was a report last night that they did have a person of interest in custody. They say they still have that person of interest in custody. But they are not calling him a suspect. So we don't know if this person then pointed to the other two. But we're hoping to hear more from police a little bit later this afternoon. They said they would let us know if they had any new breaks in the case.
WHITFIELD: Kathleen Koch in Baltimore, thanks very much, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Checking some other stories we are watching today across America, sadly, they all involve children in peril as well. In Miami, investigators are trying to find the parents of this 3-year-old boy. He was abandoned last night in front of a McDonald's restaurant, clutching his birth certificate and medical records. Police say the boy is bewildered but otherwise shows no signs of abuse.
In Hillsboro, Oregon, this photo evidence is part of an investigation into vicious dog attacks on a young boy and his sister. Get this, police say the parents routinely allowed it to happen, though both have pleaded innocent to the 10 counts against them. Investigators say the dog bit off part of the boy's ear. The girl needed stitches to close puncture wounds in her arms.
And back now to Baltimore. DNA test results are expected back today in the case of this 3-year-old girl abandoned earlier this month. Investigators are trying to determine whether a man and a woman fighting for custody are her real parents.
And now the Michael Jackson molestation case. Arguments over his bail and trial date happening today. A report from the courthouse a little later on LIVE FROM...
Is it smooth sailing or rough waters for the boating business, as summer vacation gets started? We'll float that one straight ahead.
And of fungos and Fido. For this dog, his bark is worse than his bat. We're having a doggone good time playing fetch. Later on LIVE FROM... we've got more of these, don't worry. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Well, if you are like me, you may spend a little bit of time this Memorial Day weekend skimming the water in your boat. About 72 million people went boating last year. The luckiest, cruising on luxury yachts. CNN's Louise Schiavone has more on the business of big-time floating and how it managed to stay afloat when the economy had sprung a leak.
Hello, Louise.
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles. Well, I'm aboard the USS Sequoia which is a national historic landmark. And this boat was made in 1925. And in its day, it was really quite the vessel. Its top speed is 10 knots, but the power of this boat was not in the engine room, but the people who were on it.
It was President Hoover who put the USS Sequoia on the map as a Presidential Yacht. And he liked it so much he put a picture of the USS Sequoia on his Christmas card.
This is the boat where John F. Kennedy spent his last birthday. Here he is in the aft salon opening up some presents. And you can see one of the gifts to him actually was a little model boat.
This is also the boat where Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev worked out the details of the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty.
And if you look at the table right in front of where I'm sitting, you'll see a mark on the table. And this mark is said to have been put here by Harry Truman in a fit of rage during a poker game.
But one of the most precious pictures on this boat is this picture of Franklin D. Roosevelt fishing off the stern. He loved this boat. And this picture, I think, Miles, captures the pleasure of luxury boating, not just then, but also in the 21st century.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHIAVONE (voice-over): Almost 18 million recreational boats are on U.S. waters, most of them modest outboards. But nothing says luxury like a seven-figure yacht.
JOHN CHARRINGTON, DETTLING YACHT COMPANY: When you're on a yacht, you're on your own little island or own little country. You're self-contained on a boat like this. You can spend weeks at a time anchored out without ever going ashore.
SCHIAVONE: For the Dettling Yacht Company, this has been an interesting year. Built on Maryland's Eastern Shore over about 13 months, this fully equipped 51-foot yacht goes for $1.6 million. Thereafter, annual costs can run 10 percent of a yacht's price.
LISA VERBIT, BOFA PRIVATE BANK: There's dockage, there's fuel, there's cleaning the boat, there's repairs of the engine and other components of the boat, electronics. And then if you have a large yacht, there are captains and crew to be paid.
SCHIAVONE: The clientele is affluent and generally can swing the purchase without financing. Last year about 3600 yachts 41 feet and up were sold in the U.S., up about 100 from the previous year. Prices run from about $380,000 on the low end to about $3 million and more on the higher end. But except for the now-defunct luxury tax of the early '90s, the luxury boating business has held its own in economic downturns.
GARTH HICHENS, PRES., ANNAPOLIS YACHT SALES: When the stock market went down two or three years ago, we did very well. A lot of people found buying a boat was a better investment than being in the diminishing stock market. SCHIAVONE: Annapolis Yacht Sales seeks to capture a piece of the $2 billion that boaters spend in Maryland every year. His business this year is up 20 percent. Bankers recommend that be bought for pleasure, not as a business investment. For the very rich, no problem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHIAVONE: Miles, there's so much history in this room. And I know we're tight on time. But it was in this place that Harry Truman played his piano. That piano is now at the Smithsonian. Richard Nixon also enjoyed playing the piano here. And the story goes that he sat in the room, darkened, with a bottle of scotch, and played God bless America over and over again the night that he decided to resign. Lots of history on this yacht, as I'm sure there is personal history on those personal luxury yachts -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. If the decks could talk, what a story they would tell, Louise Schiavone, thank you very much.
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 28, 2004 - 12:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our government and our coalition will transfer full sovereignty, complete and full sovereignty to a Iraqi government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thirty-three days until the handover. President Bush says the U.S. and Iraq will be ready.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The man nominated to lead Iraq is this Shiite physician, ready for one of the toughest jobs on the planet.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Sean Callebs in Washington. And estimated 150,000 people expected for the dedication of the World War II Memorial. We'll tell you about security concerns and give you an up-close look.
O'BRIEN: And who needs a batboy when you have this retriever. He's the major league hot dog in the minor leagues. We'll fetch that one for you this hour.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, in a room full of news hounds, I'm Miles O'Brien. Kyra Phillips is off today.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.
O'BRIEN: He is an M.D. on the IGC, a long-time exile and founder of a movement made up of military defectors. He is Iyad Allawi, and the Iraqi Governing Council says his promotion to Iraqi prime minister, done deal. Others say it's a nomination only with the final say belonging to the United Nations special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi. CNN's Harris Whitbeck is following these and some other developments in Baghdad today. He joins us now live with the latest -- Harris.
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello. U.N. special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi says he respects the Iraqi Governing Council's decision to nominate Iyad Allawi as Iraq's interim prime minister, who will take control of the Iraqi government after June 30. The Iraqi Governing Council had made his name public after an hours-long meeting that was attended in part by Mr. Brahimi and by U.S. administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer. The U.S.-led coalition spokesman Dan Senor said the U.N. will continue to be involved in the process of putting together a new interim government. And it is expected that the decision -- that the announcement on the names of those who will be in the new government will be made later -- early next week.
Iyad Allawi is a former Iraqi dissident who spent years in exile during the Saddam Hussein regime. He founded the Iraqi National Accord, an opposition political group that was made up in part by military defectors. Allawi is known to have close ties to U.S. and British intelligence, and he was at one point a member of the Baathist Party, but in 1996 he tried to stage a coup against Saddam Hussein. He is a secular Shiite, and is very well-known in Iraq for his political activities.
Meanwhile, on the military front here, U.S. military officials are still holding out hope for the sustaining of a cease-fire in embattled the holy city of Najaf. This despite skirmishes between radical militias and U.S. forces that left several people dead and wounded. And the base that houses the U.S. military outside of Najaf was hit by several mortar rounds this morning. There was also a skirmish in the nearby city of Kufa.
Another prisoner release to report this morning from Abu Ghraib, about 600 prisoners, detainees were released from that prison. That release went relatively well. Early this morning when it started, however, one convoy of 13 buses was attacked by small arms gunfire. U.S. forces who were escorting that convoy responded, and the convoy was able to make it safely to its final destination.
Now, we do have the deaths of two journalists to report today, two Japanese freelance journalists who were traveling from the south to Baghdad were attacked. The car they were traveling in was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, and a doctor at the hospital near the site of the attack said that the charred bodies of two Japanese were in the hospital's morgue. The Japanese government has confirmed that the attack did take place. The attack happened on a highway where several attacks on journalists and Westerners have taken place in recent months.
Back to you.
O'BRIEN: Harris, a final thought here. Have you had a chance to get a sense from the very factions there in Iraq as to whether this particular person is the right choice to lead this interim government come June 30?
WHITBECK: Well, CNN did go out to speak to some people shortly after the name was made public. And their initial reaction was that as long as this person is Iraqi, and as long as this person works for the benefit of the Iraqi people, we will support him. Some question, the degree of power and independence that he would have, however. But again, the general sense is that as long as this person is from Iraq, they will support him.
O'BRIEN: All right. Harris Whitbeck in Baghdad, thank you very much.
KIA to POW, but still, a casualty of war. The Pentagon is rewriting history in the case of U.S. Army Sergeant Donald Waters, part of the unit that was stranded and ambushed in Nasiriyah just days into the war. Among Walters' comrades in the 507th Maintenance Company was Private First Class Jessica Lynch. It was first thought Walters was killed in the initial firefight, but a deeper investigation, prompted by Walters' parents, found he was captured first, killed later.
Norm Walters says his son was shot in the back and stabbed in the stomach.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NORM WALTERS, FATHER OF SLAIN POW: As far as we're concerned, n, we're still not relieved. We're extremely upset because of what was done to him. It's just not the -- it's against all the rules of war. So one way, yes, we're relieved, but we're still faced with a lot of frustration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Walters' family believes he was the G.I. who fired on his company's attackers until his ammo ran out, an act of bravery attributed to but later denied by Lynch. In March, the Army bestowed on Walters the Silver Star, Bronze Star as well as the Purple Heart.
WHITFIELD: Iraq was high among the talking points for President Bush in the visiting prime minister of Denmark today. CNN's Frank Buckley reports on that from the White House.
And did the two leaders, Frank, see eye to eye on the commitment to Iraq?
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, at least publicly, we hear that yes, they did see eye to eye. One question that was on the table, Fredricka, was, would the 500 soldiers from Denmark who are on the ground in Iraq right now stay in Iraq. And as they appeared in the Rose Garden this afternoon, the president -- President Bush and Prime Minister Rasmussen, the prime minister answering that, yes, the 500 troops would stay on the ground. The Danish parliament still to formally vote on the extension. President Bush and the prime minister also spoke briefly about their meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I told the prime minister that our government and our coalition will transfer full sovereignty, complete and full sovereignty to a Iraqi government that will be picked by Mr. Brahimi of the United Nations. He said, do you mean full sovereignty? I said, I mean full sovereignty.
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, PRIME MINISTER OF DENMARK: We have a lot of negative news from Iraq. What we need now is some positive news. And I welcome the efforts to achieve consensus in the U.N. Security Council on a new Security Council resolution which can pave the way for the building of a democratic society in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: Neither leader addressed the selection by the Iraqi Governing Council of Iyad Allawi as the next prime minister in the interim government by the Iraqi Governing Council. But White House spokesman Scott McClellan said -- characterized the selection earlier as one of many ideas being put forward as one of the people who would be involved in the interim government. Lakhdar Brahimi, he said, will have the final say. But as you heard Harris Whitbeck say earlier, Lakhdar Brahimi says he "respects the Governing Council's decision" -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Frank Buckley at the White House, thanks very much.
Well, day in and day out, the war in Iraq is big news pretty much everywhere in America, if not the world. One American community is watching developments hour by hour, and reacting with despair, relief, excitement, fear, and sometimes all at once.
Here's CNN's Chris Lawrence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dearborn, Michigan, is a long way from Baghdad or Basra, but only if you're talking miles, not the hearts and minds of those who live here.
HUSHAM AL HUSAINY, DEARBORN, MICHIGAN, IMAM: The Iraqi people here in Dearborn, Michigan, they are really disappointed.
LAWRENCE: Which is a huge change from just a year ago, when Iraqi-Americans celebrated as American troops invaded Baghdad. The imam of a powerful mosque, Husham al Husainy says many have lost faith in President Bush's rebuilding plan.
AL HUSAINY: No jobs. No economy. No life. It's a disaster.
LAWRENCE: But in a community this big, some are more optimistic than others.
MAHIR AWRAHIM, IRAQI-AMERICAN: It's not going to be like that forever.
LAWRENCE: Mahir al-Rahim went to college in Iraq and earned his engineering masters in Michigan. Now a family man in your average American suburb, Mahir still has a home and business in Mosul, where he hoped it would be safe enough to be working by now.
(on camera): Do you wish you could go back to help?
AWRAHIM: I wish every day. I wish every day. And I was planning to go to Iraq this June. Unfortunately I've been told by friends from back there, from Mosul, do not stop by, do not come over. It's not secure. LAWRENCE (voice-over): Most want their fellow Iraqis to enjoy the same security they have here. But they're divided on whether the transfer of power will mean anything.
AL HUSAINY: This is a joke. June 30 is just no more than a number.
AWRAHIM: It will be OK. Everything will be fine.
LAWRENCE: They both hope Iraq will be better one day. What they can't agree on is how it will get there, and how long it will take.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Dearborn.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: With the nation at war, we are once again reminded Memorial Day weekend is much more than an excuse to barbecue or hit the beach. This year, we are reminded of the cost of war even more, though, as we arrive at the long awaited -- actually make that very long awaited dedication of the first national monument to the greatest generation, the fighters of World War II. CNN's Sean Callebs joining us right now from the National Mall in Washington at that beautiful new memorial - Sean.
CALLEBS: It really is stunning, Miles. And behind me you just see just legions chair for the 150,000 or so people they expect to show up this weekend for the dedication. Without question, it is very heart-felt for these veterans, many now in their 80s, and many have been waiting a lifetime for this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS (voice-over): Eleven years after President Clinton authorized construction, nearly three times as long as U.S. involvement in the war, World War II veterans are embracing a memorial they proudly call their own.
FRED WOLFF, WWII VETERAN: Everybody else is screaming, we want a memorial for this, memorial for that. And I thought it was about time that the guys got a break.
CALLEBS: Friedrich St. Florian's design was selected from 400 entries. At each end, large granite arches, one reads "Pacific," the other, "Atlantic." They denote the two theaters of U.S. involvement. Fifty-six smaller pillars ring the plaza, one for all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. Bronze wreaths, one oak, the other wheat, are meant to symbolize U.S. agricultural and industrial strength. Beyond the civic plaza, a wealth of subtle touches to inform and inspire.
Many veterans like John Nicholas have heard complaints about the design, where some see a bland structure, he finds grandeur.
JOHN NICHOLAS, WWII VETERAN: It can bring tears for those who aren't here. CALLEBS: One item decided early on, any memorial had to be built around a refurbished rainbow pool. Still for all the planning and the $195 million in donations that rolled in, construction was a battle of a different kind. Critics filed legal challenges, upset the sprawling structure would break up the sweeping Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: The memorial actually sits down in a recessed area, so a lot of people say it doesn't take away from the aesthetic beauty, but rather enhances this vista. There are going to be a number of law enforcement officers out here this weekend, Miles, an estimated at least thousands, as well as the number of rapid response teams are in the area as well ready to go. And a lot of medical personnel as well. There will be a great number of elderly people here this weekend. The National Park Service says it wants to do everything it can to make them feel welcome, and of course, comfortable.
Back to you.
O'BRIEN: And of course, as you know, Washington this time of year can be awfully warm. Is there some concern the weather will be adverse for all those elderly folks there in the sun?
CALLEBS: You know, I think the heavens are smiling on the greatest generation. It is expected to be in the upper 70s. And for those who have spent any amount of time in the summer here in Washington, you know that is a break. If it holds up like it is now, heavy cloud cover over, it is going to be very comfortable. And we've been watching people rehearse for the last couple of hours. We're getting a temporary break from the swing music, but I think they're going to be transported back in time once this ceremony starts.
O'BRIEN: Swing music, and temperatures in the 70s, I suspect you'll see a little jitterbugging there perhaps, who know? Sean Callebs, thank you very much. You can find an interactive guide to the World War II Memorial at cnn.com. It includes a 360-degree image of the site, quite impressive. You also find a wealth of details about the ceremonies.
And stay with CNN for the live coverage of the World War II Memorial Dedication Ceremony. Paula Zahn will lead our extensive coverage, beginning tomorrow 2:00 p.m. Eastern, 11:00 Pacific.
WHITFIELD: Warnings of a possible terror attack, is al Qaeda poised for another strike in the United States? Is it organized for that? We'll talk about it with a terror expert later this hour.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kathleen Koch in Baltimore, Maryland, where there has been a break in a brutal decapitation case of three young children. I'll be back with more on that when LIVE FROM... continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Two men in Baltimore are under arrest for a crime so horrifying even a veteran cop says he's never seen anything like this. The victims, three children found dead inside a first-floor apartment. Two of them were partially beheaded. The third was decapitated. Our Kathleen Koch joins us from Baltimore with the latest on the arrests -- Kathleen.
KOCH: Fredricka, indeed, police are calling these the most brutal and gruesome crimes that have ever occurred in this city. And under arrest right now are 22-year-old Policarpio Espinosa and his cousin, 17-year-old Adan Espinosa Canela.
And police believe they may be the uncles of the three children who were so brutally murdered. Those children being 10-year-old Alexis Quesada, her 9-year-old brother Lucero, and another 9-year-old boy, Ricardo Espinosa, who police believe were sharing this apartment in a very quiet northwestern Baltimore neighborhood that experiences very little crime.
Now, it was indeed one of the mothers of these children that found their nearly decapitated and decapitated bodies last night around 5:20 p.m. She obviously screamed. Neighbors called police for help. And police indeed do say that the suspects who they have in custody today have so far shared no motive for the brutal crimes they're charged with.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH BLACKWELL, DEP. POLICE COMDR., BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: The two individuals who seemed to be emotionless last night, certainly have provided a little bit of information. That's where Chief Williams and his crew comes in, because they're working very feverishly on dealing with this particular issue. We said last night that this was an act of someone who obviously has no conscience, a very unconscionable act, despicable act, in an area where it's very uncustomary for these types of incidents to occur.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: A police spokesman this morning told me that officers here went above and beyond the usual crime scene search, and that they indeed do have what he says is "a lot of evidence."
Now, a key piece of that being what police announced today is a very long butcher knife with a blade some 10 to 12 inches long that was found outside the apartment, that they do indeed believe was the murder weapon. It's still undergoing forensics testing right now for fingerprints and DNA.
But appearing right now outside the apartment, as you can see over my shoulder, are balloons, flowers and notes, sort of a mini memorial, impromptu memorial that has been developing for these three brutally murdered children -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: I can't believe it, that's absolutely horrible to even envision. You mentioned there were fingerprints at the scene. Is that what helped lead police to the suspects, or was there something else? even eyewitness accounts?
KOCH: Police are being very quiet about that right now. We were asking them, were there eyewitnesses, what led you to these two young men, because there was a report last night that they did have a person of interest in custody. They say they still have that person of interest in custody. But they are not calling him a suspect. So we don't know if this person then pointed to the other two. But we're hoping to hear more from police a little bit later this afternoon. They said they would let us know if they had any new breaks in the case.
WHITFIELD: Kathleen Koch in Baltimore, thanks very much, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Checking some other stories we are watching today across America, sadly, they all involve children in peril as well. In Miami, investigators are trying to find the parents of this 3-year-old boy. He was abandoned last night in front of a McDonald's restaurant, clutching his birth certificate and medical records. Police say the boy is bewildered but otherwise shows no signs of abuse.
In Hillsboro, Oregon, this photo evidence is part of an investigation into vicious dog attacks on a young boy and his sister. Get this, police say the parents routinely allowed it to happen, though both have pleaded innocent to the 10 counts against them. Investigators say the dog bit off part of the boy's ear. The girl needed stitches to close puncture wounds in her arms.
And back now to Baltimore. DNA test results are expected back today in the case of this 3-year-old girl abandoned earlier this month. Investigators are trying to determine whether a man and a woman fighting for custody are her real parents.
And now the Michael Jackson molestation case. Arguments over his bail and trial date happening today. A report from the courthouse a little later on LIVE FROM...
Is it smooth sailing or rough waters for the boating business, as summer vacation gets started? We'll float that one straight ahead.
And of fungos and Fido. For this dog, his bark is worse than his bat. We're having a doggone good time playing fetch. Later on LIVE FROM... we've got more of these, don't worry. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Well, if you are like me, you may spend a little bit of time this Memorial Day weekend skimming the water in your boat. About 72 million people went boating last year. The luckiest, cruising on luxury yachts. CNN's Louise Schiavone has more on the business of big-time floating and how it managed to stay afloat when the economy had sprung a leak.
Hello, Louise.
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles. Well, I'm aboard the USS Sequoia which is a national historic landmark. And this boat was made in 1925. And in its day, it was really quite the vessel. Its top speed is 10 knots, but the power of this boat was not in the engine room, but the people who were on it.
It was President Hoover who put the USS Sequoia on the map as a Presidential Yacht. And he liked it so much he put a picture of the USS Sequoia on his Christmas card.
This is the boat where John F. Kennedy spent his last birthday. Here he is in the aft salon opening up some presents. And you can see one of the gifts to him actually was a little model boat.
This is also the boat where Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev worked out the details of the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty.
And if you look at the table right in front of where I'm sitting, you'll see a mark on the table. And this mark is said to have been put here by Harry Truman in a fit of rage during a poker game.
But one of the most precious pictures on this boat is this picture of Franklin D. Roosevelt fishing off the stern. He loved this boat. And this picture, I think, Miles, captures the pleasure of luxury boating, not just then, but also in the 21st century.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHIAVONE (voice-over): Almost 18 million recreational boats are on U.S. waters, most of them modest outboards. But nothing says luxury like a seven-figure yacht.
JOHN CHARRINGTON, DETTLING YACHT COMPANY: When you're on a yacht, you're on your own little island or own little country. You're self-contained on a boat like this. You can spend weeks at a time anchored out without ever going ashore.
SCHIAVONE: For the Dettling Yacht Company, this has been an interesting year. Built on Maryland's Eastern Shore over about 13 months, this fully equipped 51-foot yacht goes for $1.6 million. Thereafter, annual costs can run 10 percent of a yacht's price.
LISA VERBIT, BOFA PRIVATE BANK: There's dockage, there's fuel, there's cleaning the boat, there's repairs of the engine and other components of the boat, electronics. And then if you have a large yacht, there are captains and crew to be paid.
SCHIAVONE: The clientele is affluent and generally can swing the purchase without financing. Last year about 3600 yachts 41 feet and up were sold in the U.S., up about 100 from the previous year. Prices run from about $380,000 on the low end to about $3 million and more on the higher end. But except for the now-defunct luxury tax of the early '90s, the luxury boating business has held its own in economic downturns.
GARTH HICHENS, PRES., ANNAPOLIS YACHT SALES: When the stock market went down two or three years ago, we did very well. A lot of people found buying a boat was a better investment than being in the diminishing stock market. SCHIAVONE: Annapolis Yacht Sales seeks to capture a piece of the $2 billion that boaters spend in Maryland every year. His business this year is up 20 percent. Bankers recommend that be bought for pleasure, not as a business investment. For the very rich, no problem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHIAVONE: Miles, there's so much history in this room. And I know we're tight on time. But it was in this place that Harry Truman played his piano. That piano is now at the Smithsonian. Richard Nixon also enjoyed playing the piano here. And the story goes that he sat in the room, darkened, with a bottle of scotch, and played God bless America over and over again the night that he decided to resign. Lots of history on this yacht, as I'm sure there is personal history on those personal luxury yachts -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. If the decks could talk, what a story they would tell, Louise Schiavone, thank you very much.
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