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Bush Meets with Pope; D-Day Commemorations Set to Begin

Aired June 04, 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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In Europe to remember a war past. President Bush gets an earful about the current war in Iraq while protestors swarm downtown Rome. Pope John Paul II alludes to what he calls deplorable events in Baghdad.
CNN's John King is traveling with the president -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, an interesting day here for the president here in Rome. As you noted, he was at the Vatican to see Pope John Paul II.

First about a 30-minute private meeting with the pope, the president pausing to greet John Paul II in his study at the Vatican as he came in, again, about 25 to 35 minutes in private there, then a public session where both leaders developed public statements.

Now the pope is 84 years old. He has Parkinson's disease, so his speech is halting. Sometimes he was slurring his words but a very clear message to the president. He said there was grave unrest in Iraq. He said the Vatican's opposition to the war in Iraq was unequivocal.

He also spoke of the "deplorable" abuse of the prisoners at the Abu Ghraib Prison. Mr. Bush sitting by listening to all of this. There were a few things the president did like to hear. The pope also said there should be a speedy return of sovereignty in Iraq and said it was an encouraging step that an interim leadership was appointed this week.

Mr. Bush, of course, very much...

PHILLIPS: Apologize for that. We lost our signal with John King who is traveling with the president there in Rome. Sort of tough to keep that going at times because of weather. We will try and get John back. He is back, John, can you hear me OK? There we go, John, are you with me?

KING: Hello, Kyra, I think we're back. Technical gremlins resolved.

PHILLIPS: That's all right. We were talking, I was explaining the technical difficulties there. You are far, far away from us here in Atlanta. What is taking place between the pope and the president? How significant this trip is, John, please continue.

KING: If I'm going to lose the satellite feed, Kyra, this is the city to do it in. Obviously a very important meeting for the president, he's hoping by being seen with the pope in an election year it helps perhaps with Catholic voters back home. The pope denouncing the war in Iraq, again, as I said, but also saying that he was encouraged by the interim government in Iraqi government this week. That was something the president wanted to hear.

Mr. Bush, in his public remarks, steering clear of controversy at all. He delivered a Presidential Medal of Freedom to the pope and saluted the pontiff in his brief public statement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will work for human liberty and human dignity in order to spread peace and compassion. That we appreciate the strong symbol of freedom that you have stood for. And we recognize the power of freedom to change societies and to change the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: The Iraq war coming up in the meeting with the pope, also on visible display, the opposition to the Iraq war here in Rome. And across Europe, of course, the war is unpopular. Protesters by the thousands taking to the streets here today, saying that -- to voice their opposition to Mr. Bush's policy in Iraq. Police were deployed, Kyra, some 10,000 by the Italian government. They were afraid of violent protests. Quite a good number of protestors in the streets today. But overwhelmingly these demonstrations against the war in Iraq and against President Bush were quite peaceful -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: John, I am told, too, we're possibly seconds away from some remarks the president made there in Rome also about U.S. job growth.

KING: Just moments ago, Kyra, the president did deliver a statement to reporters. He's overseas but, of course, kept apprised of developments back in the United States. The administration encouraged from an economic standpoint and a political standpoint with the new unemployment report today showing nearly 250,000 jobs created in the United States last month. That is three or four consecutive months of relatively strong jobs growth.

The president told reporters, and we'll have that tape in a little bit, we don't have it at the moment, he said that the economy was strong and getting stronger and the president, who, of course, is a candidate for reelection, said the reason in his view for that are his tax cuts and other Bush economic policies that the president insists are now working -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Perfect timing, John. We're going to those comments now that are on tape. We've just turned it around from Rome. Here's the president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUSH: Today's job report shows that the American economy is strong and it's getting stronger. Two hundred forty-eight thousand jobs for last month is good for the American workers. It shows that our economy is vital and growing. We've added 900,000 jobs over the last three months and 1.4 million jobs since last August. Policies in place are working. Entrepreneurial spirit is strong. The small business sector of our economy is vibrant. And I'm pleased that the American worker is doing their job.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Once again, the president of the United States while visiting with the pope in Rome, taking a few minutes to speak with reporters, talking about job growth and a strong economy -- Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Iraqi police have arrested a man who is believed to be a top aide to al Qaeda operatives, Abu Musab al- Zarqawi. For more on why this arrest may be very significant, let's go to CNN's Barbara Starr live at the pentagon.

Barbara, what do you know about this man?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, very few details are being made public at this hour, but Iraqi police and coalition authorities in Baghdad do confirm that they have a man in custody that they believe is a close associate of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, the associate of the al Qaeda, one of the ringleaders, they believe, of some of the attacks in Iraq in recent months.

Few details but it apparently happened on Sunday. The man taken into custody is named Umar Baziyani. According to a statement from the coalition, he is a known terrorist and murder suspect believed to be a member at one point of Ansar al-Islam, that group in Iraq that was affiliated with Zarqawi.

Baziyani remains in detention. He is being questioned. And, according to a statement from the coalition, they say that his capture, quote, "removes one of Zarqawi's most valuable officers from his network.

Now let's bring you up to date also on another matter. Very little noticed, but there has been a major firefight in Afghanistan overnight. U.S. Marines encountered in a place called Qalat (ph), which is northeast of Kandahar in southeastern Afghanistan, over 100 anti-coalition forces, believed to be remnants of the Taliban. That would be one of the largest groupings of anti-coalition forces in one place in recent months.

The Marines got into a firefight with them. It got to the point where the Marines called in Cobra gunships, Harrier aircraft attacked targets from the air and ground. No word on how many enemy forces might have been wounded or killed. But according to U.S. military officials, three Marines wounded in that major firefight overnight in Afghanistan -- Carol.

LIN: Barbara, getting you back to the news out of Iraq, I'm wondering, how important is this arrest? Is it important in the sense that it may actually lead to al-Zarqawi or is it important because of the crimes this man has already committed? STARR: Well, both points, indeed, that you make are very key to all of this. If it proves that -- as they believe, if it proves he is a close associate, he may have information, of course, on Zarqawi's whereabouts. That remains to be seen as he is interrogated.

But also clearly what they will talk to him about is a number of event attacks, see what he knows about them, whether he will give them any information about who has been behind some of that. According to the coalition, they believe that he has been involved in some of the recent attacks against Iraqi civilians and Iraqi targets. So that will be a major effort of the questioning of this man.

LIN: All right, thank you very much. Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: The Iraqi people heard today from the man who is about to become their prime minister. He called on the nation to come together and fight extremists.

CNN's Harris Whitbeck has more now from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iraq's interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi delivered his first televised address to the Iraqi people Friday afternoon, asking them for unity and for support. Allawi said he envisions a strong and more democratic Iraq after June 30, but he said foreign troops will have to remain in Iraq under U.S. command for some time in order to stabilize the country and to deal with serious security issues.

He called for an end to the insurgent attacks that have, he said, affected Iraq's economic infrastructure. And he reminded Iraqis that coalition forces have also died as a result of the terrorist attacks that are designed to force them out of the country. Just this Friday, an attack on a U.S. military convoy left at least four soldiers dead and five wounded. Eyewitnesses said a military Humvee was attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade.

But in the embattled holy city of Najaf, the provisional governor said U.S. military operations will be reduced. The governor said U.S. patrols will be replaced by the Iraqi national police. And the governor said both U.S. military forces and Shiite militias have agreed to withdraw from both Najaf and the nearby city of Kufa where intense fighting has been raging for several weeks.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Chilling audio from the last minutes of life. That is what relatives of 9/11 victims on four doomed planes will hear today. It's part of two Justice Department briefings designed to answer family members' lingering questions. Our Maria Hinojosa is in Princeton, New Jersey, where one of the briefings is being held.

Maria, how much are we really going to be able to learn from what the families are actually going to hear?

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we won't be able to learn hardly anything because they have had to -- the family members of those who died on these four flights have had to sign nondisclosure agreements before they went into this private confidential briefing. And that's because the information that they are going to be hearing perhaps for the first time taped conversations from these planes to the ground, could all be used in the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, the alleged September 11 co-conspirator whose trial has been indefinitely postponed.

So these families won't be able to come out and tell us what they will have just heard. In fact, they are in the briefing room now hearing this information from these investigators. We are thinking, though, that perhaps there's a good chance that they may be able to hear for the first time a 23-minute long conversation from flight attendant Betty Ong.

She called from the American Airlines Flight 11 that crashed into the North Tower 23 minutes where she debriefed people on the ground about what was happening in that plane. Family members had been asking for more information about what happened in these last minutes of these flights and this is how the investigators were able to respond.

We know that in January, the September 11 Commission released a statement where they spoke of 11 phone calls that were made, 11 phone calls from these planes that were important to the investigation. But we haven't been told which of those were taped and which of those might be heard.

Not a lot of family members turning out here. A small group. We have heard that a total of 170 have signed up to come to this briefing and one next month in Boston. Many of them who have turned out here are from -- survivors from Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania, even though they had already been briefed by the cockpit voice recording from that flight, one of the men who lost his father and his stepmother, Hamilton Peterson, said that it was important for him to be here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAMILTON PETERSON, SON OF FLIGHT 93 PASSENGER: It's extremely emotional and the opportunity to learn what the good fruits and efforts are of this long-term investigation I'm sure will be compelling. We've been advised that it will be detailed and potentially disturbing. And the government is providing counselors, psychological, religious and opportunities for any relief anyone may need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HINOJOSA: So a very solemn day here in Princeton, New Jersey, where the family members will be briefed until about 2:30, and then they will come out and speak to us. But again, they won't be able to tell us much of what they were able to hear from these phone conversations from these flights to the ground -- Carol.

LIN: Maria, I'm not really surprised that family members -- not a lot of family members turned out at today's session because what really can they get out of it except to relive the worst day of their life?

HINOJOSA: You know, Carol, when you talk to the family members, one of them just said to me, you know, people have different ways of healing. There are some people who want to not relive this by coming to a confidential briefing like this, but there are others who we spoke to today who said they still need to know everything that they possibly can even though this is difficult for them. They want to know every single last detail. So those are the ones who are here today in Princeton.

LIN: All right. We'll see what the families tell you once they get out of that hearing. Thanks very much, Maria Hinojosa, live in Princeton -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: A day at the beach that forever changed the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I stepped in the water over my head. It was a bomb crater, and the guys helped me out of the water and we got out of the water and I could move and, the hell with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Gripping stories from the men who lived to tell about D-Day.

America's top spy leaving the top job. Who should be at the helm of the CIA now?

Jobs and gender, what positions are more likely to pay women the same as men? Checking the W-2s later on LIVE FROM...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: D-Day is forever etched into America's conscience as a symbol of sacrifice and pride. It's also an indelible memory for the veterans who bravely rushed into battle 60 years ago. Peter Thomas Sr. (ph), himself a veteran of the Normandy invasion, brings us one soldier's story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER THOMAS SR. (ph), (voice-over): As the landing craft headed for shore, Len Lomell focused on his mission ahead, the destruction of five giant 155 cannons atop the 100 foot Point Duhac (ph)..

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, HISTORIAN: Point Duhac is a cliff that juts out into the ocean. so from German guns placed up there you could cover all the beaches along there. And it's a very hard place to take over. THOMAS: Until the Rangers knocked out those big German guns, Allied warships and their vital cannons would stay 12 miles offshore out of effective shooting range. As the Rangers made landfall, a German machine gunner made it clear, Lomell was well within range.

LEN "BUD" LOMELL, 2ND BATTALION: I could see the machine gun bullets in my ride side, it burned like the dickens but I didn't have time to think about it. The boat leader goes off first. Straight away off the ramp. I did, the minute I stepped off the ramp I went out of sight. I stepped into water over my head. It was a bomb crater and the guys helped me out of the water and we got out of the water and I could move, and the hell with it, we just went to the ropes and started climbing.

WALTER CRONKITE, WORLD WAR II CORRESPONDENT: Our Rangers went up by ropes that were shot up there by artillery pieces and dangled down. They climbed up these ropes with the German shooting, really, fish in a barrel, our troops in a barrel.

LOMELL: It hits all around you. They were shooting at you. The bullets hitting on right within inches of you. You can see it hit. We got up to the top, went through the Germans that were there over to the three gun positions that were our original objective, and...

(AUDIO GAP)

LOMELL: ... we then, to our horror and anger, discovered none of the guns were there. And here we are in the middle a hornet's nest of Germans and we've got to go looking for them.

THOMAS: The Rangers found the German guns about a mile inland. Lomell and another soldier crept up to the cannons and destroyed them with silent incendiary grenades.

LOMELL: Well, the Germans came within 20 feet of us. That's how we were in the midst of them. And we're trying to sneak in on this gun position and destroy the guns. And now, people think, well, you were lucky. Yes, we were lucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And that was just a taste. Be sure to watch the rest of CNN's D-Day special. It airs Sunday night at 7:00 Eastern on a special edition of "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" called "D-Day: A Call to Courage."

PHILLIPS: The 60th anniversary of the bloody day is time to pause and remember all those who put their life on the line. Our Kimberly Osias joins us now from Seattle and the site of a special exhibit honoring D-Day vets -- Kimberly.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra. We are at the Seattle Museum of Flight. And this exhibit is called the Personal Courage exhibit. It doesn't actually open until Sunday but we can give a special sneak peek ahead. Of course it's dedicated to these extraordinary men and women who dedicated themselves to a number of heroic activities.

And take a look at these planes here. There are a number of them from both World War I and World War II that were critical in actually helping the Allied troops gain the unique advantage, the air supremacy that helped the Allied troops to win the war.

When you think about aviation and certainly when you think about World War II, you don't necessarily think about women. And although General Eisenhower wouldn't let women fight overseas, on the domestic front women certainly played a role. And joining me now is Marjory Munn who was a pilot.

And what made you decide to fly? It's pretty amazing and iconoclastic.

MARJORY MUNN, WORLD WAR II PILOT: I started flying in Miami where there was really some flying going on. The Navy and the Air Force were -- Army Air Corps was there. And I started flying privately, Piper Cubs on floats, and just recognized the fact that there was something available for women to do, an experimental program for women, to see if women could fly in the military. So I applied for the service and fortunately I was able to become a member.

OSIAS: And you got in. It was a select group of you all. Tell me what you did actually to help in the efforts, how you did that.

MUNN: Actually, we were chosen to do routine kind of jobs so that men could go out to fight the battle. We couldn't go outside of the United States. So all of our flying was in -- based at various places throughout the United States. And we did whatever routine kind of job was available for us to do, like towing targets, testing aircraft, moving people around, instructing, and ferrying aircraft. We were busy all the time.

OSIAS: I'm sure you were. Now I have to talk about this, you all had some unique uniforms. Tell me a little bit about how they played a role.

MUNN: In training we had a men's overhaul suit. And we called them zoot suits. But then we finally got some uniforms and our uniforms, we had the Eisenhower jacket with slacks. We had shirts with ties, and then we had a suit that we wore over that that was our flying suit. It had pockets for maps and so forth. And it also had a drop seat which was very convenient that we appreciated.

OSIAS: I bet. Thank you so much, Marjory Munn.

And back to you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Hey Kimberly, quick question, is Marjory still there? Is she next to you?

OSIAS: Yes she is, yes she is. Can you hear Kyra from Atlanta?

PHILLIPS: She can't hear me. Marjory, you can hear me OK? All right. You might have to repeat it, Kimberly. Ask her if she ever had any dangerous incident or if all her flying was just perfect? I'm just curious if she ever had to get herself out of maybe a scary or dangerous position while flying?

OSIAS: Did you ever have anything dicey happen?

MUNN: Oh, in training I was landing in a PT-17, which is an open cockpit airplane, and another plane landed on top of me. The propeller hit behind my head. And in front of my seat and went through the wing. But I wasn't touched. So that was fine. And then I had a forced landing when I was -- an instrument landing, flying. The plane lost a rod, it went through the engine head. So we had to land in a cow pasture, and that worked out fine.

OSIAS: And you are still with us. Thank you, my goodness. Tough, tough. Well she also -- actually, Marjory was married for 47 years to a bomber pilot as well. They met in the Korean War. So a neat marriage.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Kimberly, thanks so much. True aviator, definitely. What a role model.

OSIAS: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Carol.

LIN: She just talks about it, like, oh, it's no big deal.

PHILLIPS: It's no big deal.

LIN: Exactly.

PHILLIPS: That's a true aviator.

LIN: All right. We're also going to be talking about history repeating itself in another memorable spot, Tiananmen Square. We're going to show you what happened during today's commemorations in Hong Kong.

And Smarty is ready to party. Will he be able to gallop in the history books tomorrow? We're going to take you to the track, later on LIVE FROM...

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Aired June 4, 2004 - 12:59   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In Europe to remember a war past. President Bush gets an earful about the current war in Iraq while protestors swarm downtown Rome. Pope John Paul II alludes to what he calls deplorable events in Baghdad.
CNN's John King is traveling with the president -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, an interesting day here for the president here in Rome. As you noted, he was at the Vatican to see Pope John Paul II.

First about a 30-minute private meeting with the pope, the president pausing to greet John Paul II in his study at the Vatican as he came in, again, about 25 to 35 minutes in private there, then a public session where both leaders developed public statements.

Now the pope is 84 years old. He has Parkinson's disease, so his speech is halting. Sometimes he was slurring his words but a very clear message to the president. He said there was grave unrest in Iraq. He said the Vatican's opposition to the war in Iraq was unequivocal.

He also spoke of the "deplorable" abuse of the prisoners at the Abu Ghraib Prison. Mr. Bush sitting by listening to all of this. There were a few things the president did like to hear. The pope also said there should be a speedy return of sovereignty in Iraq and said it was an encouraging step that an interim leadership was appointed this week.

Mr. Bush, of course, very much...

PHILLIPS: Apologize for that. We lost our signal with John King who is traveling with the president there in Rome. Sort of tough to keep that going at times because of weather. We will try and get John back. He is back, John, can you hear me OK? There we go, John, are you with me?

KING: Hello, Kyra, I think we're back. Technical gremlins resolved.

PHILLIPS: That's all right. We were talking, I was explaining the technical difficulties there. You are far, far away from us here in Atlanta. What is taking place between the pope and the president? How significant this trip is, John, please continue.

KING: If I'm going to lose the satellite feed, Kyra, this is the city to do it in. Obviously a very important meeting for the president, he's hoping by being seen with the pope in an election year it helps perhaps with Catholic voters back home. The pope denouncing the war in Iraq, again, as I said, but also saying that he was encouraged by the interim government in Iraqi government this week. That was something the president wanted to hear.

Mr. Bush, in his public remarks, steering clear of controversy at all. He delivered a Presidential Medal of Freedom to the pope and saluted the pontiff in his brief public statement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will work for human liberty and human dignity in order to spread peace and compassion. That we appreciate the strong symbol of freedom that you have stood for. And we recognize the power of freedom to change societies and to change the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: The Iraq war coming up in the meeting with the pope, also on visible display, the opposition to the Iraq war here in Rome. And across Europe, of course, the war is unpopular. Protesters by the thousands taking to the streets here today, saying that -- to voice their opposition to Mr. Bush's policy in Iraq. Police were deployed, Kyra, some 10,000 by the Italian government. They were afraid of violent protests. Quite a good number of protestors in the streets today. But overwhelmingly these demonstrations against the war in Iraq and against President Bush were quite peaceful -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: John, I am told, too, we're possibly seconds away from some remarks the president made there in Rome also about U.S. job growth.

KING: Just moments ago, Kyra, the president did deliver a statement to reporters. He's overseas but, of course, kept apprised of developments back in the United States. The administration encouraged from an economic standpoint and a political standpoint with the new unemployment report today showing nearly 250,000 jobs created in the United States last month. That is three or four consecutive months of relatively strong jobs growth.

The president told reporters, and we'll have that tape in a little bit, we don't have it at the moment, he said that the economy was strong and getting stronger and the president, who, of course, is a candidate for reelection, said the reason in his view for that are his tax cuts and other Bush economic policies that the president insists are now working -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Perfect timing, John. We're going to those comments now that are on tape. We've just turned it around from Rome. Here's the president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUSH: Today's job report shows that the American economy is strong and it's getting stronger. Two hundred forty-eight thousand jobs for last month is good for the American workers. It shows that our economy is vital and growing. We've added 900,000 jobs over the last three months and 1.4 million jobs since last August. Policies in place are working. Entrepreneurial spirit is strong. The small business sector of our economy is vibrant. And I'm pleased that the American worker is doing their job.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Once again, the president of the United States while visiting with the pope in Rome, taking a few minutes to speak with reporters, talking about job growth and a strong economy -- Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Iraqi police have arrested a man who is believed to be a top aide to al Qaeda operatives, Abu Musab al- Zarqawi. For more on why this arrest may be very significant, let's go to CNN's Barbara Starr live at the pentagon.

Barbara, what do you know about this man?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, very few details are being made public at this hour, but Iraqi police and coalition authorities in Baghdad do confirm that they have a man in custody that they believe is a close associate of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, the associate of the al Qaeda, one of the ringleaders, they believe, of some of the attacks in Iraq in recent months.

Few details but it apparently happened on Sunday. The man taken into custody is named Umar Baziyani. According to a statement from the coalition, he is a known terrorist and murder suspect believed to be a member at one point of Ansar al-Islam, that group in Iraq that was affiliated with Zarqawi.

Baziyani remains in detention. He is being questioned. And, according to a statement from the coalition, they say that his capture, quote, "removes one of Zarqawi's most valuable officers from his network.

Now let's bring you up to date also on another matter. Very little noticed, but there has been a major firefight in Afghanistan overnight. U.S. Marines encountered in a place called Qalat (ph), which is northeast of Kandahar in southeastern Afghanistan, over 100 anti-coalition forces, believed to be remnants of the Taliban. That would be one of the largest groupings of anti-coalition forces in one place in recent months.

The Marines got into a firefight with them. It got to the point where the Marines called in Cobra gunships, Harrier aircraft attacked targets from the air and ground. No word on how many enemy forces might have been wounded or killed. But according to U.S. military officials, three Marines wounded in that major firefight overnight in Afghanistan -- Carol.

LIN: Barbara, getting you back to the news out of Iraq, I'm wondering, how important is this arrest? Is it important in the sense that it may actually lead to al-Zarqawi or is it important because of the crimes this man has already committed? STARR: Well, both points, indeed, that you make are very key to all of this. If it proves that -- as they believe, if it proves he is a close associate, he may have information, of course, on Zarqawi's whereabouts. That remains to be seen as he is interrogated.

But also clearly what they will talk to him about is a number of event attacks, see what he knows about them, whether he will give them any information about who has been behind some of that. According to the coalition, they believe that he has been involved in some of the recent attacks against Iraqi civilians and Iraqi targets. So that will be a major effort of the questioning of this man.

LIN: All right, thank you very much. Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: The Iraqi people heard today from the man who is about to become their prime minister. He called on the nation to come together and fight extremists.

CNN's Harris Whitbeck has more now from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iraq's interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi delivered his first televised address to the Iraqi people Friday afternoon, asking them for unity and for support. Allawi said he envisions a strong and more democratic Iraq after June 30, but he said foreign troops will have to remain in Iraq under U.S. command for some time in order to stabilize the country and to deal with serious security issues.

He called for an end to the insurgent attacks that have, he said, affected Iraq's economic infrastructure. And he reminded Iraqis that coalition forces have also died as a result of the terrorist attacks that are designed to force them out of the country. Just this Friday, an attack on a U.S. military convoy left at least four soldiers dead and five wounded. Eyewitnesses said a military Humvee was attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade.

But in the embattled holy city of Najaf, the provisional governor said U.S. military operations will be reduced. The governor said U.S. patrols will be replaced by the Iraqi national police. And the governor said both U.S. military forces and Shiite militias have agreed to withdraw from both Najaf and the nearby city of Kufa where intense fighting has been raging for several weeks.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Chilling audio from the last minutes of life. That is what relatives of 9/11 victims on four doomed planes will hear today. It's part of two Justice Department briefings designed to answer family members' lingering questions. Our Maria Hinojosa is in Princeton, New Jersey, where one of the briefings is being held.

Maria, how much are we really going to be able to learn from what the families are actually going to hear?

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we won't be able to learn hardly anything because they have had to -- the family members of those who died on these four flights have had to sign nondisclosure agreements before they went into this private confidential briefing. And that's because the information that they are going to be hearing perhaps for the first time taped conversations from these planes to the ground, could all be used in the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, the alleged September 11 co-conspirator whose trial has been indefinitely postponed.

So these families won't be able to come out and tell us what they will have just heard. In fact, they are in the briefing room now hearing this information from these investigators. We are thinking, though, that perhaps there's a good chance that they may be able to hear for the first time a 23-minute long conversation from flight attendant Betty Ong.

She called from the American Airlines Flight 11 that crashed into the North Tower 23 minutes where she debriefed people on the ground about what was happening in that plane. Family members had been asking for more information about what happened in these last minutes of these flights and this is how the investigators were able to respond.

We know that in January, the September 11 Commission released a statement where they spoke of 11 phone calls that were made, 11 phone calls from these planes that were important to the investigation. But we haven't been told which of those were taped and which of those might be heard.

Not a lot of family members turning out here. A small group. We have heard that a total of 170 have signed up to come to this briefing and one next month in Boston. Many of them who have turned out here are from -- survivors from Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania, even though they had already been briefed by the cockpit voice recording from that flight, one of the men who lost his father and his stepmother, Hamilton Peterson, said that it was important for him to be here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAMILTON PETERSON, SON OF FLIGHT 93 PASSENGER: It's extremely emotional and the opportunity to learn what the good fruits and efforts are of this long-term investigation I'm sure will be compelling. We've been advised that it will be detailed and potentially disturbing. And the government is providing counselors, psychological, religious and opportunities for any relief anyone may need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HINOJOSA: So a very solemn day here in Princeton, New Jersey, where the family members will be briefed until about 2:30, and then they will come out and speak to us. But again, they won't be able to tell us much of what they were able to hear from these phone conversations from these flights to the ground -- Carol.

LIN: Maria, I'm not really surprised that family members -- not a lot of family members turned out at today's session because what really can they get out of it except to relive the worst day of their life?

HINOJOSA: You know, Carol, when you talk to the family members, one of them just said to me, you know, people have different ways of healing. There are some people who want to not relive this by coming to a confidential briefing like this, but there are others who we spoke to today who said they still need to know everything that they possibly can even though this is difficult for them. They want to know every single last detail. So those are the ones who are here today in Princeton.

LIN: All right. We'll see what the families tell you once they get out of that hearing. Thanks very much, Maria Hinojosa, live in Princeton -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: A day at the beach that forever changed the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I stepped in the water over my head. It was a bomb crater, and the guys helped me out of the water and we got out of the water and I could move and, the hell with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Gripping stories from the men who lived to tell about D-Day.

America's top spy leaving the top job. Who should be at the helm of the CIA now?

Jobs and gender, what positions are more likely to pay women the same as men? Checking the W-2s later on LIVE FROM...

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LIN: D-Day is forever etched into America's conscience as a symbol of sacrifice and pride. It's also an indelible memory for the veterans who bravely rushed into battle 60 years ago. Peter Thomas Sr. (ph), himself a veteran of the Normandy invasion, brings us one soldier's story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER THOMAS SR. (ph), (voice-over): As the landing craft headed for shore, Len Lomell focused on his mission ahead, the destruction of five giant 155 cannons atop the 100 foot Point Duhac (ph)..

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, HISTORIAN: Point Duhac is a cliff that juts out into the ocean. so from German guns placed up there you could cover all the beaches along there. And it's a very hard place to take over. THOMAS: Until the Rangers knocked out those big German guns, Allied warships and their vital cannons would stay 12 miles offshore out of effective shooting range. As the Rangers made landfall, a German machine gunner made it clear, Lomell was well within range.

LEN "BUD" LOMELL, 2ND BATTALION: I could see the machine gun bullets in my ride side, it burned like the dickens but I didn't have time to think about it. The boat leader goes off first. Straight away off the ramp. I did, the minute I stepped off the ramp I went out of sight. I stepped into water over my head. It was a bomb crater and the guys helped me out of the water and we got out of the water and I could move, and the hell with it, we just went to the ropes and started climbing.

WALTER CRONKITE, WORLD WAR II CORRESPONDENT: Our Rangers went up by ropes that were shot up there by artillery pieces and dangled down. They climbed up these ropes with the German shooting, really, fish in a barrel, our troops in a barrel.

LOMELL: It hits all around you. They were shooting at you. The bullets hitting on right within inches of you. You can see it hit. We got up to the top, went through the Germans that were there over to the three gun positions that were our original objective, and...

(AUDIO GAP)

LOMELL: ... we then, to our horror and anger, discovered none of the guns were there. And here we are in the middle a hornet's nest of Germans and we've got to go looking for them.

THOMAS: The Rangers found the German guns about a mile inland. Lomell and another soldier crept up to the cannons and destroyed them with silent incendiary grenades.

LOMELL: Well, the Germans came within 20 feet of us. That's how we were in the midst of them. And we're trying to sneak in on this gun position and destroy the guns. And now, people think, well, you were lucky. Yes, we were lucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And that was just a taste. Be sure to watch the rest of CNN's D-Day special. It airs Sunday night at 7:00 Eastern on a special edition of "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" called "D-Day: A Call to Courage."

PHILLIPS: The 60th anniversary of the bloody day is time to pause and remember all those who put their life on the line. Our Kimberly Osias joins us now from Seattle and the site of a special exhibit honoring D-Day vets -- Kimberly.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra. We are at the Seattle Museum of Flight. And this exhibit is called the Personal Courage exhibit. It doesn't actually open until Sunday but we can give a special sneak peek ahead. Of course it's dedicated to these extraordinary men and women who dedicated themselves to a number of heroic activities.

And take a look at these planes here. There are a number of them from both World War I and World War II that were critical in actually helping the Allied troops gain the unique advantage, the air supremacy that helped the Allied troops to win the war.

When you think about aviation and certainly when you think about World War II, you don't necessarily think about women. And although General Eisenhower wouldn't let women fight overseas, on the domestic front women certainly played a role. And joining me now is Marjory Munn who was a pilot.

And what made you decide to fly? It's pretty amazing and iconoclastic.

MARJORY MUNN, WORLD WAR II PILOT: I started flying in Miami where there was really some flying going on. The Navy and the Air Force were -- Army Air Corps was there. And I started flying privately, Piper Cubs on floats, and just recognized the fact that there was something available for women to do, an experimental program for women, to see if women could fly in the military. So I applied for the service and fortunately I was able to become a member.

OSIAS: And you got in. It was a select group of you all. Tell me what you did actually to help in the efforts, how you did that.

MUNN: Actually, we were chosen to do routine kind of jobs so that men could go out to fight the battle. We couldn't go outside of the United States. So all of our flying was in -- based at various places throughout the United States. And we did whatever routine kind of job was available for us to do, like towing targets, testing aircraft, moving people around, instructing, and ferrying aircraft. We were busy all the time.

OSIAS: I'm sure you were. Now I have to talk about this, you all had some unique uniforms. Tell me a little bit about how they played a role.

MUNN: In training we had a men's overhaul suit. And we called them zoot suits. But then we finally got some uniforms and our uniforms, we had the Eisenhower jacket with slacks. We had shirts with ties, and then we had a suit that we wore over that that was our flying suit. It had pockets for maps and so forth. And it also had a drop seat which was very convenient that we appreciated.

OSIAS: I bet. Thank you so much, Marjory Munn.

And back to you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Hey Kimberly, quick question, is Marjory still there? Is she next to you?

OSIAS: Yes she is, yes she is. Can you hear Kyra from Atlanta?

PHILLIPS: She can't hear me. Marjory, you can hear me OK? All right. You might have to repeat it, Kimberly. Ask her if she ever had any dangerous incident or if all her flying was just perfect? I'm just curious if she ever had to get herself out of maybe a scary or dangerous position while flying?

OSIAS: Did you ever have anything dicey happen?

MUNN: Oh, in training I was landing in a PT-17, which is an open cockpit airplane, and another plane landed on top of me. The propeller hit behind my head. And in front of my seat and went through the wing. But I wasn't touched. So that was fine. And then I had a forced landing when I was -- an instrument landing, flying. The plane lost a rod, it went through the engine head. So we had to land in a cow pasture, and that worked out fine.

OSIAS: And you are still with us. Thank you, my goodness. Tough, tough. Well she also -- actually, Marjory was married for 47 years to a bomber pilot as well. They met in the Korean War. So a neat marriage.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Kimberly, thanks so much. True aviator, definitely. What a role model.

OSIAS: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Carol.

LIN: She just talks about it, like, oh, it's no big deal.

PHILLIPS: It's no big deal.

LIN: Exactly.

PHILLIPS: That's a true aviator.

LIN: All right. We're also going to be talking about history repeating itself in another memorable spot, Tiananmen Square. We're going to show you what happened during today's commemorations in Hong Kong.

And Smarty is ready to party. Will he be able to gallop in the history books tomorrow? We're going to take you to the track, later on LIVE FROM...

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