Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Bush Commencement Speech Doesn't Outline Many Details of Current War Strategy

Aired June 02, 2004 - 14:32   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: The goal of this generation is the same. We will secure our nation and defend the peace through the forward march of freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The commander in chief salute salutes America's next generation of warriors facing the battlefront in Iraq and the war on terror.

WHITFIELD: Missing -- two tanker trucks full of liquid propane. Have they fallen into the wrong hands? The FBI wants you to be on the lookout.

PHILLIPS: And how do you get David Letterman to do this? Just leave your opponents in the dust. Letterman pal and Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice revs up on LIVE FROM... this hour .

WHITFIELD: And word to the wise. This is the National Spelling Bee time. We'll take you inside the pressure cooker competition.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.

WHITFIELD: Hundreds of graduating Air Force Academy cadets are hearing firsthand what they may be fighting for. President Bush spoke to graduates of the U.S. Air Force Academy in a speech you may have just heard here on CNN just a short time ago. Mr. Bush outlined his ideologies to war to those who may soon be sent off to battle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Like enemies of the past, the terrorists underestimate the strength of free peoples. The terrorists believe that free societies are essentially corrupt and decadent and with a few hard blows will collapse in weakness and in panic.

The enemy has learned that America is strong and determined, because of the steady resolve of our citizens and because of the skill and strength of the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and the United States Air Force.

We bring more than a vision to this conflict. We bring a strategy that will lead to victory. And that strategy has four commitments.

First, we are using every available tool to dismantle, disrupt and destroy terrorists and their organizations.

With all the skill of our law enforcement, all the stealth of our special forces and all the global reach of our air power we will strike the terrorists before they can strike our people. The best way to protect America is to stay on the offensive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Bush likened the war on terror to World War II. Both, he said, are clashes between tyranny and freedom -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Joining us now for a reaction to the speech, retired Army Lieutenant Colonel James Carafano. He's a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

Now, Jim, you graduated from West Point. You didn't have a president giving your commencement speech. What do you think? It will definitely be a memorable one for these men and women.

LT. COL. JAMES CARAFANO (RET.), SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: It wasn't an inside the Beltway, Washington kind of policy oriented speech where we got a lot of specific details on things.

But you know it's probably the right speech for this audience. I mean the protracted war on terrorism is a long and difficult struggle. These men and women are just not going to be pilots and lieutenants, they're going be majors and captains and colonels and maybe generals in this struggle.

So what you really saw the president do is to really kind of make an argument for the kind of speech that Franklin Roosevelt and Reagan did so well. An argument about why are we doing this? Why we fighting. And to really give context and look beyond kind of maybe some of the things that caught the headlines the last couple of weeks and months.

PHILLIPS: Critics of the Bush administration say that the president's problem is he hasn't been laying out details. He really didn't lay out any details in this speech. As you were pointing out, it was more of an inspirational speech quoting Eisenhower and that the soldiers of that time were the eyes of the world -- or the eyes of the world are upon them.

Did he get his point across? Did the graduates listen? Do you think America was listening to this?

CARAFANO: I mean I think he really did do an important thing in a sense. He really did paint the big picture which a lot of times the complaints about specifics and people being caught up in the moment and deciding foreign policy on what they said on the TV or listen to radio when they wake up in the morning really kind of missing the point.

I thought one of the most interesting parts of this speech was his description about post war Europe. I mean people think that things going on in Iraq now are difficult, there's casualties and losses, that we must have done something terribly wrong or the planning must have been really terribly off.

I mean look at post war Europe which we look back and reflect now as a great triumph of democracy and reconstruction. But there were terrible times years into the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. The civil war in Greece that the president mentioned, conditions in Germany.

You know it wasn't until 1948 that Europeans in Germany and Austria didn't list physical security as their No. 1 concern. So the notion that somehow Iraq should have been a simple, easy thing and that because it's not, things are going terribly wrong.

I think it was good for the president to remind people that this is the nature of war.

PHILLIPS: And, Jim, the last speech that the president made about Iraq, the world, of course, was listening and paying attention. Republicans said he's going to talk about victory. He's got to lay out a victory speech. Democrats are saying, no, you got to talk about an exit strategy and how he's going to get America out of this war.

Well, in this speech, you heard victory, victory, victory. You think it was effective?

CARAFANO: Well, I mean I think he's talking about Iraq. I mean this is not -- this piece is not a war fighting piece. I mean the war's been won. I mean we went there to dispose the regime of Saddam Hussein, that's done, the war is over.

This is about meeting the obligations as an occupying power. And I think the president went back and reflected on the principles which are the basic things you have to do. I mean we have averted a humanitarian crisis there, the political process is moving forward, setting up the government, setting up the security forces.

These are the key tasks that have to be done. I think the president reminded people of that. That is really what needs to be said.

I think that where he could have done a much better job is I think the U.N. resolution, the United States sees as, as an important piece to this. I think he could have done, perhaps, a better job of laying out why we need the resolution, why it's the right thing and what are the essential pieces of that that we need to move forward in the process.

PHILLIPS: And finally, Jim, he never mentioned anything about the troops being out by 2005.

CARAFANO: No, he didn't. I think, though, that he was very clear, for example, where he talked about returning over full sovereignty to the Iraqi government. And I think those kinds of assurances that we're turning over sovereignty, that we're turning the country back over, to that our troops are going to leave, that these are important not just to reassure the Iraqi people but to really fight the notion that the United States is trying to take over the Middle East or something, and really combat terrorism on a psychological level as well as physically achieving what we need to do.

PHILLIPS: James Carafano. Thanks, Jim.

CARAFANO: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: Encrypted cable, intercepted messages and a broken code. New details are emerging about a tip that Iraqi leader Ahmad Chalabi allegedly gave to Iran betraying U.S. intelligence. The charge has left Chalabi on the outs with the Bush administration. CNN national security correspondent David Ensor is sorting it all out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Knowledgeable sources confirm Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi emigre leader, told an Iranian official that the U.S. had cracked a secret communications code used by Iranian intelligence. U.S. officials asked some news organizations not to report the development about ten days ago since it appeared that the Iranians were continuing to use the codes anyway. Apparently the Iranians didn't believe Chalabi, a source tells CNN.

Over the last few days, reports had appeared in "The New Yorker," "The New York Times" and on CBS. And the general charge that Chalabi had provided Iran with critical intelligence information was first reported last month after the Bush administration cut off U.S. funding for his organization.

Sources say that an Iranian official in Baghdad sent a cable to Tehran using the broken code and detailing his conversation with Chalabi and the Iraqi's warning that the code had been compromised. That allowed the U.S. to know that the valuable intelligence breakthrough had been compromised and who had done so.

The FBI has launched an intensive espionage investigation into who might have given Chalabi that information. "The New York Times" reports that the cable from the Iranian in Baghdad says that Chalabi had said the American who told him about the secret code was, quote, "drunk."

The coded cable traffic that the U.S. has had access to could have provided U.S. intelligence with valuable information about Iranian operations both inside Iraq and around the world. So this could be a very serious compromise of U.S. national security.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is not discussing the details of that investigation. But Rice tells our Judy Woodruff what's important to focus on now is the perception of Chalabi in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: It's no secret that the relationship with Ahmad Chalabi has been somewhat strained of late. But it doesn't matter what his relationship is to us. What matters is what is his relationship to the Iraqi people. We've always said we had no candidate, no horse, so to speak in this race. The president said it on the day of -- shortly after liberation.

And whatever Ahmad Chalabi is going to do in Iraq will be because he's convinced the Iraqi people that he should be a part of their future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And you can hear all of Judy Woodruff's interview with Dr. Rice today on "INSIDE POLITICS" in about 90 minutes.

PHILLIPS: Saudi Arabia says it is taking new steps to block the flow of money to terrorist organizations. It's freezing assets and dissolving all Saudi charities that do business overseas. In their place will be a new government-sponsored charity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI FOREIGN AFFAIRS ADVISER: We are setting up one entity to be called the Saudi National Entity for Charitable Work Abroad. This entity will be the sole vehicle through which all private Saudi donations will go to help those in need. The existing entities that used to operate abroad, before we froze external charitable work a year ago, will be dissolved or will have their assets folded into this new entity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: One Saudi charity group in question is the al-Haramain Islamic Foundation. It's suspected of funneling money to al Qaeda.

More trouble in the Saudi kingdom. Two U.S. Army officers came under fire today. American officials say the attack happened in capital Riyadh as the two left a residential compound in separate cars. One of them suffered minor injuries. A driver was also slightly injured.

Near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi officials say their security forces killed two suspected militants following a day-long standoff. Interior ministry officials say that the suspects were, quote, "related to the terror attacks on oil workers in Khobar." They did not however say if the two militants were among the three who escaped over the weekend.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead on LIVE FROM..., there's been a lot in the news lately about teenagers and depression. Does medication help or hurt? A new study has some interesting results now.

And you know late night comedian David Letterman got's a need for speed. Well, meet his new Indy 500 hero when racer Buddy Rice drops by LIVE FROM...

And getting Fallujah back on its feet. A Navy admiral helping to make that happen will be here with his real life account.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The murder case and the mistress. Scott Peterson's defense attorney is making his opening statements today. He admits his client had an affair. But Mark Geragos says that Peterson didn't kill his wife. Our David Mattingly is in Redwood City for the second day of the trial -- David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, Mark Geragos is in front of the jury at this hour doing what he can to disperse that cloud of suspicion that is around Scott Peterson.

Right away he took the jury back to early in the investigation when investigators were looking at the house of Scott Peterson and his warehouse. Remember all those bags of evidence they collected? Well, Geragos posed the question to the jury, what did they find? And then he answered saying, zip, nothing, nada, not a thing.

Geragos today describing Peterson as a life-long and avid fisherman. He says he plans to take the jury to the Berkeley Marina where Peterson put his boat in the water that day he went fishing. He told the jury that Peterson's boat is small, too small to conceal the body of a woman who was eight months pregnant.

He also earlier, just a short time ago, in fact, showed the autopsy photos of Laci's baby. At that time, Laci's mother and father had to leave the courtroom. Geragos again arguing that the baby was born alive and then dumped into the water separately saying there's no way Scott Peterson, who he described as an excited father-to-be, could have done such a thing.

Geragos, as expected, giving us a much more favorable representation of Scott Peterson today, calling him a loving husband and cooperative with investigators early on.

He also apparently plans to hold the investigators' feet to the fire for their pursuit of Scott Peterson. Right now he's showing the jury a map in the neighborhood in Modesto where the Petersons lived showing different all of the Laci sightings in the neighborhood that day that Laci was reported missing -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: David Mattingly from Redwood City, thank you -- Fredricka. WHITFIELD: Well there's been a shake-up in the penalty phase of another high-profile case. A judge has replaced the jury foreman and another juror in the Terry Nichols trial. That jury is now weighing whether Nichols should be executed or sentenced to life for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing. Our Susan Candiotti is in McAllister, Oklahoma. What now, Susan?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's a good question, Fredricka. More trouble yet for the Oklahoma jury trying to decide whether Terry Nichols should live or die.

As you indicated, the judge this day dismissed two more jurors including the foreman. For now, the judge will not explain why. And this means no more alternate jurors are left. All this happening as prosecutors are winding down their case, trying to urge a jury to put Terry Nichols to death.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Now twice a convicted killer, Terry Nichols is facing a jury, which will decide whether he should live or die. Prosecutors called on victim's families and survivors to describe the horror of the Oklahoma City bombing.

REGINA BONNY, BOMBING SURVIVOR: And I stood up. Heard the explosion, after that I was like I was asleep and woke up.

CANDIOTTI: Survivor Regina Bonny was working on the ninth floor with the DEA task force. Five other co-workers, including a pregnant drug agent were killed. Ironically, a fate Bonny does not want for Terry Nichols.

BONNY: I know that's what a lot of people want, I just think that that's just too easy for him. I think that's just a chicken way out.

CANDIOTTI: Rudy Guzman is against a life sentence.

RUDY GUZMAN, VICTIM'S BROTHER: I want Mr. Nichols to pay the ultimate price and I want the death penalty for him. He deserves it.

CANDIOTTI: Guzman's brother Randy was a Marine recruiter. At first, Guzman did not know it was his brother's building that was bombed.

GUZMAN: I shuffled through my wallet and pulled out Randy's card, I looked that address. and it just matched the address and I knew.

CANDIOTTI: Roy Sells, who lost his wife also wants Nichols executed.

ROY SELLS, VICTIM'S HUSBAND: I think I could rest a lot easier and feel a lot better about it when he's no longer breathing our clean air.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Now once the state rests its case, Nichols' defense team goes to work trying to dissuade a jury from putting Terry Nichols to death.

And now that there are no more alternate jurors left, if something else happens to one of the remaining 12 jurors, this would mean that the judge would take over the sentencing phase. And according to Oklahoma law, the death penalty would be off the table. This is something that would be upsetting to some victims' families.

The judge expects the case to go to the jury some time next week -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Now, Susan, the replacement of the two jurors, does that in any way put the defense in a position for an appeal just on the conviction?

CANDIOTTI: Well, certainly that could be a possibility. But because there is a gag order right now, the defense won't say exactly what this means. I can tell you that the judge warned the jury not to let this latest dismissal affect them in any way in their deliberations.

WHITFIELD: Susan Candiotti from McAllister, Oklahoma. Thanks very much.

CANDIOTTI: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Remembering Fallujah? I'm sure you remember it well. The hot spot in Iraq not too long ago. Who picks up the pieces after the raging battle? Admiral Chuck Cubic (ph) is back. He'll tell us what's going on there right now in terms of reconstruction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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 June 2, 2004 - 14:32   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: The goal of this generation is the same. We will secure our nation and defend the peace through the forward march of freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The commander in chief salute salutes America's next generation of warriors facing the battlefront in Iraq and the war on terror.

WHITFIELD: Missing -- two tanker trucks full of liquid propane. Have they fallen into the wrong hands? The FBI wants you to be on the lookout.

PHILLIPS: And how do you get David Letterman to do this? Just leave your opponents in the dust. Letterman pal and Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice revs up on LIVE FROM... this hour .

WHITFIELD: And word to the wise. This is the National Spelling Bee time. We'll take you inside the pressure cooker competition.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Miles O'Brien.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.

WHITFIELD: Hundreds of graduating Air Force Academy cadets are hearing firsthand what they may be fighting for. President Bush spoke to graduates of the U.S. Air Force Academy in a speech you may have just heard here on CNN just a short time ago. Mr. Bush outlined his ideologies to war to those who may soon be sent off to battle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Like enemies of the past, the terrorists underestimate the strength of free peoples. The terrorists believe that free societies are essentially corrupt and decadent and with a few hard blows will collapse in weakness and in panic.

The enemy has learned that America is strong and determined, because of the steady resolve of our citizens and because of the skill and strength of the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and the United States Air Force.

We bring more than a vision to this conflict. We bring a strategy that will lead to victory. And that strategy has four commitments.

First, we are using every available tool to dismantle, disrupt and destroy terrorists and their organizations.

With all the skill of our law enforcement, all the stealth of our special forces and all the global reach of our air power we will strike the terrorists before they can strike our people. The best way to protect America is to stay on the offensive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Bush likened the war on terror to World War II. Both, he said, are clashes between tyranny and freedom -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Joining us now for a reaction to the speech, retired Army Lieutenant Colonel James Carafano. He's a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

Now, Jim, you graduated from West Point. You didn't have a president giving your commencement speech. What do you think? It will definitely be a memorable one for these men and women.

LT. COL. JAMES CARAFANO (RET.), SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: It wasn't an inside the Beltway, Washington kind of policy oriented speech where we got a lot of specific details on things.

But you know it's probably the right speech for this audience. I mean the protracted war on terrorism is a long and difficult struggle. These men and women are just not going to be pilots and lieutenants, they're going be majors and captains and colonels and maybe generals in this struggle.

So what you really saw the president do is to really kind of make an argument for the kind of speech that Franklin Roosevelt and Reagan did so well. An argument about why are we doing this? Why we fighting. And to really give context and look beyond kind of maybe some of the things that caught the headlines the last couple of weeks and months.

PHILLIPS: Critics of the Bush administration say that the president's problem is he hasn't been laying out details. He really didn't lay out any details in this speech. As you were pointing out, it was more of an inspirational speech quoting Eisenhower and that the soldiers of that time were the eyes of the world -- or the eyes of the world are upon them.

Did he get his point across? Did the graduates listen? Do you think America was listening to this?

CARAFANO: I mean I think he really did do an important thing in a sense. He really did paint the big picture which a lot of times the complaints about specifics and people being caught up in the moment and deciding foreign policy on what they said on the TV or listen to radio when they wake up in the morning really kind of missing the point.

I thought one of the most interesting parts of this speech was his description about post war Europe. I mean people think that things going on in Iraq now are difficult, there's casualties and losses, that we must have done something terribly wrong or the planning must have been really terribly off.

I mean look at post war Europe which we look back and reflect now as a great triumph of democracy and reconstruction. But there were terrible times years into the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. The civil war in Greece that the president mentioned, conditions in Germany.

You know it wasn't until 1948 that Europeans in Germany and Austria didn't list physical security as their No. 1 concern. So the notion that somehow Iraq should have been a simple, easy thing and that because it's not, things are going terribly wrong.

I think it was good for the president to remind people that this is the nature of war.

PHILLIPS: And, Jim, the last speech that the president made about Iraq, the world, of course, was listening and paying attention. Republicans said he's going to talk about victory. He's got to lay out a victory speech. Democrats are saying, no, you got to talk about an exit strategy and how he's going to get America out of this war.

Well, in this speech, you heard victory, victory, victory. You think it was effective?

CARAFANO: Well, I mean I think he's talking about Iraq. I mean this is not -- this piece is not a war fighting piece. I mean the war's been won. I mean we went there to dispose the regime of Saddam Hussein, that's done, the war is over.

This is about meeting the obligations as an occupying power. And I think the president went back and reflected on the principles which are the basic things you have to do. I mean we have averted a humanitarian crisis there, the political process is moving forward, setting up the government, setting up the security forces.

These are the key tasks that have to be done. I think the president reminded people of that. That is really what needs to be said.

I think that where he could have done a much better job is I think the U.N. resolution, the United States sees as, as an important piece to this. I think he could have done, perhaps, a better job of laying out why we need the resolution, why it's the right thing and what are the essential pieces of that that we need to move forward in the process.

PHILLIPS: And finally, Jim, he never mentioned anything about the troops being out by 2005.

CARAFANO: No, he didn't. I think, though, that he was very clear, for example, where he talked about returning over full sovereignty to the Iraqi government. And I think those kinds of assurances that we're turning over sovereignty, that we're turning the country back over, to that our troops are going to leave, that these are important not just to reassure the Iraqi people but to really fight the notion that the United States is trying to take over the Middle East or something, and really combat terrorism on a psychological level as well as physically achieving what we need to do.

PHILLIPS: James Carafano. Thanks, Jim.

CARAFANO: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: Encrypted cable, intercepted messages and a broken code. New details are emerging about a tip that Iraqi leader Ahmad Chalabi allegedly gave to Iran betraying U.S. intelligence. The charge has left Chalabi on the outs with the Bush administration. CNN national security correspondent David Ensor is sorting it all out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Knowledgeable sources confirm Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi emigre leader, told an Iranian official that the U.S. had cracked a secret communications code used by Iranian intelligence. U.S. officials asked some news organizations not to report the development about ten days ago since it appeared that the Iranians were continuing to use the codes anyway. Apparently the Iranians didn't believe Chalabi, a source tells CNN.

Over the last few days, reports had appeared in "The New Yorker," "The New York Times" and on CBS. And the general charge that Chalabi had provided Iran with critical intelligence information was first reported last month after the Bush administration cut off U.S. funding for his organization.

Sources say that an Iranian official in Baghdad sent a cable to Tehran using the broken code and detailing his conversation with Chalabi and the Iraqi's warning that the code had been compromised. That allowed the U.S. to know that the valuable intelligence breakthrough had been compromised and who had done so.

The FBI has launched an intensive espionage investigation into who might have given Chalabi that information. "The New York Times" reports that the cable from the Iranian in Baghdad says that Chalabi had said the American who told him about the secret code was, quote, "drunk."

The coded cable traffic that the U.S. has had access to could have provided U.S. intelligence with valuable information about Iranian operations both inside Iraq and around the world. So this could be a very serious compromise of U.S. national security.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is not discussing the details of that investigation. But Rice tells our Judy Woodruff what's important to focus on now is the perception of Chalabi in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: It's no secret that the relationship with Ahmad Chalabi has been somewhat strained of late. But it doesn't matter what his relationship is to us. What matters is what is his relationship to the Iraqi people. We've always said we had no candidate, no horse, so to speak in this race. The president said it on the day of -- shortly after liberation.

And whatever Ahmad Chalabi is going to do in Iraq will be because he's convinced the Iraqi people that he should be a part of their future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And you can hear all of Judy Woodruff's interview with Dr. Rice today on "INSIDE POLITICS" in about 90 minutes.

PHILLIPS: Saudi Arabia says it is taking new steps to block the flow of money to terrorist organizations. It's freezing assets and dissolving all Saudi charities that do business overseas. In their place will be a new government-sponsored charity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI FOREIGN AFFAIRS ADVISER: We are setting up one entity to be called the Saudi National Entity for Charitable Work Abroad. This entity will be the sole vehicle through which all private Saudi donations will go to help those in need. The existing entities that used to operate abroad, before we froze external charitable work a year ago, will be dissolved or will have their assets folded into this new entity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: One Saudi charity group in question is the al-Haramain Islamic Foundation. It's suspected of funneling money to al Qaeda.

More trouble in the Saudi kingdom. Two U.S. Army officers came under fire today. American officials say the attack happened in capital Riyadh as the two left a residential compound in separate cars. One of them suffered minor injuries. A driver was also slightly injured.

Near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi officials say their security forces killed two suspected militants following a day-long standoff. Interior ministry officials say that the suspects were, quote, "related to the terror attacks on oil workers in Khobar." They did not however say if the two militants were among the three who escaped over the weekend.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead on LIVE FROM..., there's been a lot in the news lately about teenagers and depression. Does medication help or hurt? A new study has some interesting results now.

And you know late night comedian David Letterman got's a need for speed. Well, meet his new Indy 500 hero when racer Buddy Rice drops by LIVE FROM...

And getting Fallujah back on its feet. A Navy admiral helping to make that happen will be here with his real life account.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The murder case and the mistress. Scott Peterson's defense attorney is making his opening statements today. He admits his client had an affair. But Mark Geragos says that Peterson didn't kill his wife. Our David Mattingly is in Redwood City for the second day of the trial -- David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, Mark Geragos is in front of the jury at this hour doing what he can to disperse that cloud of suspicion that is around Scott Peterson.

Right away he took the jury back to early in the investigation when investigators were looking at the house of Scott Peterson and his warehouse. Remember all those bags of evidence they collected? Well, Geragos posed the question to the jury, what did they find? And then he answered saying, zip, nothing, nada, not a thing.

Geragos today describing Peterson as a life-long and avid fisherman. He says he plans to take the jury to the Berkeley Marina where Peterson put his boat in the water that day he went fishing. He told the jury that Peterson's boat is small, too small to conceal the body of a woman who was eight months pregnant.

He also earlier, just a short time ago, in fact, showed the autopsy photos of Laci's baby. At that time, Laci's mother and father had to leave the courtroom. Geragos again arguing that the baby was born alive and then dumped into the water separately saying there's no way Scott Peterson, who he described as an excited father-to-be, could have done such a thing.

Geragos, as expected, giving us a much more favorable representation of Scott Peterson today, calling him a loving husband and cooperative with investigators early on.

He also apparently plans to hold the investigators' feet to the fire for their pursuit of Scott Peterson. Right now he's showing the jury a map in the neighborhood in Modesto where the Petersons lived showing different all of the Laci sightings in the neighborhood that day that Laci was reported missing -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: David Mattingly from Redwood City, thank you -- Fredricka. WHITFIELD: Well there's been a shake-up in the penalty phase of another high-profile case. A judge has replaced the jury foreman and another juror in the Terry Nichols trial. That jury is now weighing whether Nichols should be executed or sentenced to life for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing. Our Susan Candiotti is in McAllister, Oklahoma. What now, Susan?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's a good question, Fredricka. More trouble yet for the Oklahoma jury trying to decide whether Terry Nichols should live or die.

As you indicated, the judge this day dismissed two more jurors including the foreman. For now, the judge will not explain why. And this means no more alternate jurors are left. All this happening as prosecutors are winding down their case, trying to urge a jury to put Terry Nichols to death.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Now twice a convicted killer, Terry Nichols is facing a jury, which will decide whether he should live or die. Prosecutors called on victim's families and survivors to describe the horror of the Oklahoma City bombing.

REGINA BONNY, BOMBING SURVIVOR: And I stood up. Heard the explosion, after that I was like I was asleep and woke up.

CANDIOTTI: Survivor Regina Bonny was working on the ninth floor with the DEA task force. Five other co-workers, including a pregnant drug agent were killed. Ironically, a fate Bonny does not want for Terry Nichols.

BONNY: I know that's what a lot of people want, I just think that that's just too easy for him. I think that's just a chicken way out.

CANDIOTTI: Rudy Guzman is against a life sentence.

RUDY GUZMAN, VICTIM'S BROTHER: I want Mr. Nichols to pay the ultimate price and I want the death penalty for him. He deserves it.

CANDIOTTI: Guzman's brother Randy was a Marine recruiter. At first, Guzman did not know it was his brother's building that was bombed.

GUZMAN: I shuffled through my wallet and pulled out Randy's card, I looked that address. and it just matched the address and I knew.

CANDIOTTI: Roy Sells, who lost his wife also wants Nichols executed.

ROY SELLS, VICTIM'S HUSBAND: I think I could rest a lot easier and feel a lot better about it when he's no longer breathing our clean air.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Now once the state rests its case, Nichols' defense team goes to work trying to dissuade a jury from putting Terry Nichols to death.

And now that there are no more alternate jurors left, if something else happens to one of the remaining 12 jurors, this would mean that the judge would take over the sentencing phase. And according to Oklahoma law, the death penalty would be off the table. This is something that would be upsetting to some victims' families.

The judge expects the case to go to the jury some time next week -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Now, Susan, the replacement of the two jurors, does that in any way put the defense in a position for an appeal just on the conviction?

CANDIOTTI: Well, certainly that could be a possibility. But because there is a gag order right now, the defense won't say exactly what this means. I can tell you that the judge warned the jury not to let this latest dismissal affect them in any way in their deliberations.

WHITFIELD: Susan Candiotti from McAllister, Oklahoma. Thanks very much.

CANDIOTTI: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Remembering Fallujah? I'm sure you remember it well. The hot spot in Iraq not too long ago. Who picks up the pieces after the raging battle? Admiral Chuck Cubic (ph) is back. He'll tell us what's going on there right now in terms of reconstruction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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