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Crowds Gather in D.C. for Reagan Procession; General Advises Changes in Military Sexual Assault Policy
Aired June 09, 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush calling on allies for more help in Iraq. We're live from the gathering of world leaders on the Georgia coast.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Explosion at a main oil pipeline, was it in response to something the interim prime minister said?
O'BRIEN: Remembering Ronald Reagan. His casket aboard a plane being flown to Washington right now. This hour, Reagan's White House photographer will share some candid moments.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elaine Quijano in Washington live outside the West Front Entrance to the Capitol Building where for hours people have been lined up, waiting for the change to pay their respects to Ronald Reagan. I'll have more on that coming up.
O'BRIEN: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. It is Wednesday, June 9. CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.
O'BRIEN: In flight, a final journey begins. The remains of Ronald Reagan on their way across the country to the nation's capital where he was such a huge presence for so many years. Nancy Reagan and the president's three living children gathered in California for an emotional sendoff. They are accompanying the flag-draped coffin to the U.S. Capitol where Mr. Reagan's body will lie in state.
Despite hot and humid weather in Washington, people began lining up before dawn, about 16 hours before the public viewing begins. As many as 5,000 are expected to pass by every hour through Friday morning to pay their respects. We'll have much more from Capitol Hill and from Simi Valley in just a few moments.
PHILLIPS: We move on from remembering Ronald Reagan to the rising oil prices and democracy in the Middle East. Those are just some of today's topics at the G-8 summit in Sea Island, Georgia. But it is Iraq that's again weighing heavily on the minds of the world leaders just three weeks before the scheduled transfer of power. CNN's Dana Bash is live from Savannah with more.
Hi, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. And the president is still basking in the glow of his victory last night at the U.N. Security Council, where they got a unanimous vote on a new Iraq resolution. He is hoping that it will have the desired effect here at the G-8 summit, which is to continue to smooth over differences between allies over the war in Iraq.
And Mr. Bush met this morning with his partner in that war, Tony Blair. And the two discussed a host of issues, particularly how to get the new Iraqi security forces up to speed, what a multinational force would look like. And also Mr. Bush suggested that NATO could have an involvement on the ground in Iraq, perhaps some kind of involvements, but acknowledged that it is hard for a NATO country to send troops because they are already overstretched. White House aides saying that perhaps if NATO were to be involved, that it would be in a training capacity, to help train the Iraqi forces.
But to keep the Iraq momentum going, Kyra, the president is having a highly symbolic meeting later today. He is going to meet with the interim Iraqi president, that is going to be a one-on-one meeting, essentially to make the case to show that Iraq is moving towards democracy. And expanding democratic reforms is pretty much number one on the official agenda here at the summit today, and it's about a new Mideast initiative to try to broaden reforms, try to broaden a democratic change in Mideast countries.
You see there, some Arab leaders are here, leaders from Yemen, Bahrain and Jordan, all here to unveil that plan. Some declined an invitation, like leaders from Egypt and Saudi Arabia. And the White House officials concede that they are reluctant to endorse some of the reforms that the White House and other G-8 countries are pushing. But what the White House says is that in this document they simply state the fact that they think that some of these Arab countries have used the Arab-Israeli conflict -- the Palestinian-Israeli as an excuse and this simply states that won't be acceptable any more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: In our view, people will sometimes say, well, if only we could resolve the Israeli- Palestinian issue, then reform would be possible. Reform also has its own dynamic, its own importance, its own future. And without reform in the Middle East, you're going to continue to have the ideologies of hatred coming out of that region that fueled September 11.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: But there was a concession in the document that will be unveiled later today, and that is, it does mention the fact it is important to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. That was at the request of some of the Arab leaders. So that is one of the many things on the agenda here, Kyra, but certainly there is some resistance. And the White House says that they certainly understand there's resistance to them pushing reforms. And this is something that the White House had planned on after they finish with the war in Iraq. The whole goal, they said, was to create more democratic reforms in the greater Middle East, and that is what this is about today -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Dana Bash, LIVE FROM... the G-8 summit there in Savannah, Georgia. Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Despite diplomatic progress, there is more violence on the ground in Iraq. Someone blew up a section of the main pipeline between Kirkuk and Turkey. The fire forced a temporary power cut. Fourth attack on an Iraqi oil pipeline in three days. It came after the incoming prime minister promised Iraqi oil would be back in the hands of Iraqis soon.
A coalition supply convoy set on fire today in the capital. It was reportedly hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. Two civilian drivers were wounded. Witnesses report a second convoy was attacked in another Baghdad neighborhood. And a former Iraq hostage, so grateful to be back home on U.S., he kissed the flag in an emotional welcome at Rome airport. Three Italians are back with their families a day after being rescued by the coalition. They'd been held by insurgents since April. A fourth Italian was killed not long after they were captured.
PHILLIPS: Now in just a few hours, at around 5:00 p.m. Eastern, Ronald Reagan's flag-draped coffin is expected to arrive in Washington. His remains are to lie in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. Mourners are already there. Some lining up in the nearby U.S. Botanical Gardens since the wee hours of the morning. CNN's Elaine Quijano has been there since the same time. She give us more.
Hi, Elaine.
QUIJANO: Good afternoon, Kyra. I can tell you that as this day has gone on, the heat certainly has intensified, but really not affecting the mood of the folks who have traveled from many places to be here, including the folks who have join me now. We are talking to the Rivers (ph) family. And they were actually here on vacation.
Is that correct?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's correct.
QUIJANO: And the news of President Reagan's death changed your vacation plan. Tell me a little bit about that, Debra (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We toured the nation's capital Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and we heard about the death and decided we would stay on until today, extend our vacation, and see a little bit of history, be a part of it. We thought it was important for our daughter to be a part of history.
QUIJANO: I was going to ask you about that. You said this was chance really to get a civics lesson firsthand for your daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it is.
QUIJANO: And the idea that this is obviously a situation where a lot of people are expected to come. You were out here, I know, quite early. You, Mr. Rivers, were not, however.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... busy getting the car loaded
QUIJANO: Well, tell me about why you felt it was important for you and your family to be here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just to be a part of this historic event, to honor such a great man.
QUIJANO: What was it about President Reagan specifically that drew you here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His honesty, integrity, being a great president.
QUIJANO: And what sort of lessons are you learning by being here, Michelle (ph)? You know, this is a situation where you're actually not the only young person in the crowd. There are other young folks too who are in the same position, obviously, too young to really remember first hand. But what are you sort taking away from this experience, I know you've been here a few hours yourself?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just -- you know, history. I wasn't -- I was like maybe six months old when he ended his term so I didn't really get to experience his presence, but knowing that he was a man of great honesty and just knowing that I'm part of it and it's something to share with my grandkids. So I think it's very worthwhile to stand here in the line and wait.
QUIJANO: All right. Well, thank you very much for joining us. Did you want to add something, Debra?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have another daughter, Stephanie (ph) who is actually interning here, is who we came to see this summer. And she's -- I'm proud that she's going to be a part of this also.
QUIJANO: She's planning on joining you later?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, later on this evening.
QUIJANO: All right. The Rivers family from Georgia, thank you so much.
Now they are actually the second set of people in line. I don't know if you can actually take a look. We've got quite a bit of media here. But the line itself has grown quite a bit since the early morning hours, when Mrs. Rivers, Debra Rivers here, first got in line. We saw just a handful of folks throughout the morning. Now I would say that number has grown anywhere from 50 to about 100 people so far.
You can tell quite a bit of media here as well, covering this event. The folks that I talked to have traveled, some of them, specifically for this event. It is interesting to note the dedication with which they have come out here. The temperatures here in Washington, D.C. hovering in the 90s we are told. The humidity very high. In fact just a short time ago, we saw the Capitol Police handing out bottles of water. But the spirits, nevertheless, remaining high, people here wanting to do their part and pay their respects -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Elaine Quijano, we'll continue to check in with you, thank you -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Meanwhile, in Simi Valley, California, more than 100,000 well-wishers streamed through the Reagan Presidential Library to pay their respects. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is there -- Thelma.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, it is pretty amazing, especially when you consider that organizers had expected initially 45,000 people to show up. The number, of course, double that amount. Of the 105,000 mourners who stood in those very long lines, we met one who said that he had a very personal reason for being here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): It was a test of patience.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No cameras, folks.
GUTIERREZ: And endurance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No water, no cameras.
GUTIERREZ: For two military men who met in this line, none of it mattered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You really got up close and personal --
GUTIERREZ: Not the lines, not the crowds, nor the three, four, or five-hour wait.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got wonderful memories of him.
GUTIERREZ: For 25-year-old Second Lieutenant Shawn Heinze (ph), it was a chance to pay his respects to a former president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was an honest and trustworthy man.
GUTIERREZ: For 61-year-old retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Robert Lazaro (ph), it was a chance to say good-bye to a commander-in- chief he knew.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would get the president where he wanted to be safely and on time.
GUTIERREZ: For 5 1/2 years, Lazaro was a pilot aboard Air Force One. In 1981, he flew the president from California to Washington for his inauguration. Lazaro remembers his last flight before he retired.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in command of the airplane and he knew it was my last trip because they'd had my going away party the week before that. And he came up to the cockpit, shook my hand. And he said, I understand you're leaving us. I said, that's right, Mr. President, I'm going to retire. He said, that's great, so now you can go ride horses. I have to come here now to tell him that he can ride horses again.
GUTIERREZ: For this Vietnam veteran and former Reagan pilot, the walk through this line was full of nostalgic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you saw him in front of the camera, it made you happy and proud to be an American because you -- the way he handled himself made you feel good about yourself.
GUTIERREZ: He said this moment captured the essence of the relationship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just adored Nancy Reagan. And the way she took care of him, the way she looked after him.
GUTIERREZ: After four hours, they finally boarded the bus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a final good-bye, and something I've kind of known was coming.
GUTIERREZ: Nearly five hours later, they have neared the end of their journey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Certainly had a good life. A lot of people going to remember him. Just sad. Sad. Two more flights. He's got to fly to Washington, he has to fly back. Then he can rest.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUTIERREZ: Lieutenant Colonel Lazaro said that he felt honored that he was able to salute his commander-in-chief for a final time. He also noted that Air Force One, the 707 that was nicknamed the "Spirit of America," that he had flown for 5 1/2 years, is also up here, at the library. It will be on display and then open to the public -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Thelma Gutierrez in Simi Valley. Thank you very much. Log on to cnn.com for an interactive map of the funeral procession and a detailed schedule of the services being held for Ronald Reagan in Washington.
PHILLIPS: Candid moments with Ronald Reagan. The photographer who snapped some of the most famous shots shares his memories and the story behind a picture he thought was going to cost him his job.
Sexual assault in the U.S. military. How's the Pentagon responding to recommendations on what to do about it? That's straight ahead.
And Howard Stern, at the center of a reported deal between a radio giant and the FCC. We'll push all the buttons on that one, just ahead on LIVE FROM...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Imagine being sexually assaulted and having nowhere to go, no one to trust, and feeling completely isolated. Well, that's how hundreds women in the military have described their experience with sexual misconduct while being deployed in the combat zones like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait. Now after numerous hearings and a task force report, the Pentagon has new marching orders. Sexual assault must be dealt with. Retired Army General Pat Foote has been watching developments in this scandal with great interest. She's a Vietnam War vet who has testified before Congress on issues of equality within the military. She joins us from Washington.
General, it's an absolute pleasure.
GEN. PAT FOOTE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Thank you, my pleasure to be here.
PHILLIPS: Well, I've got to ask you, for a number of years it has been obvious that rape has not been treated as a serious crime. Why is that?
FOOTE: I think it is viewed as a serious crime, but I don't think the military, any of the services to now, have come up with the proper way to handle it. Because, you know, in many respect, Kyra, when you look at the military as a revolving door through which people are constantly flowing in and out, and leaderships are changing at the very top, at least every four years, and within units, at least every 18 months to two years, that nothing ever seems to gel. The intent is to solve the problem, but the people who had that intent move on to other things.
So we have not institutionalized an approach to very effectively deal with this. Secondly, we have not -- I don't think we have treated sexual assault with the absolute seriousness that it should be treated. It's a crime. The people who do this are criminals, and they should be dealt with as criminals.
PHILLIPS: Well, you bring up a very strong point, something we've heard from a number of women in the military, testifying in these hearings. Here is one former Army captain, Jennifer Machmer, let's listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER MACHMER, MILITARY SEX ASSAULT VICTIM: I made myself vulnerable to this man without realizing what his intentions were. This became a full blown sexual abuse and it went on for four months. I felt very betrayed, very embarrassed, and very trapped as well.
PHILLIPS: General, for 30 years, you've mentored women in the military. What do you say to the Jennifer Machmers? Do you say, hey, we have got to be more like a man, we have got to suck it up, we've got to, you know, blend with the crowd. I'm taking it you never said that before.
FOOTE: Absolutely, I would not say that. You know, I think, one of the big problems that we continue as women to face in the military is that many of the men in the military have yet to view us as a partner in service. In other words, we still have many men who marginalize or trivialize the contributions that women make to the military. That they're not as much as a soldier or sailor or airman as I am.
And as long as we have that mindset, then we're not going to solve this problem. I believe seriously that we have to institutionalize as the absolute foundation of all military readiness, readiness of the human dimension. We haven't done that yet. It has been proposed on numerous occasions.
But until we get serious about taking care of the people who take care of the missions, these types of crimes are going to continue to happen. And if we're going to institutionalize, respect and dignity, as a given, it has to start at the top.
We've changed the Army's culture in more than one time, in terms of integration and in other capacities when we increase the utilization of women. We have got to change it at the top to say that behaviors such as rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, abuse, are nonstarters, and any soldier, any person guilty of this conduct has just lost his job, and hopefully, if it's sexual abuse, is on his way to Leavenworth.
PHILLIPS: Well, you mentioned changes at the top. Let's listen real quickly to David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, and what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CHU, UNDERSECRETARY OF DEFENSE: In the long term our most important objective is prevention. I think all of this discussion underscores once a crime is committed, there's a huge price paid by everyone, a huge loss to the individuals involved, a huge loss to the institution. So above all, we seek to preclude this from happening in the first place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right. So General, now we're hearing from the readiness perspective, also this report that came out, it's making recommendations about education and training, on where to report, how to support a victim, how do you protect a victim of sexual assault. Now my question to you is, what's the reality that this is really going to happen, and that something will be implemented soon, and I want your opinion about this Lieutenant General Franklin Hagenback with the Army who has been appointed to handle this. We tried to get an interview with him. It was denied. I want to know if he's going to do something about it, if you think he'll do something about it and what the chances are that we are going to see a change soon?
FOOTE: Kyra, I have no doubt in my mind that leaders at every level would really like to solve the problem. But whether or not they are going to succeed to me is very debatable. One thing that I've thought about, and of course Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, with whom you have spoke, I saw her last night at a reception, I know is thinking about -- she is thinking about proposing legislation to put some real teeth into treating these types of crimes as what they are, serious crimes, but at the same time, hopefully getting the Department of Defense and all the military branches to perhaps look at the thought of having an independent body to which women can go in the case of sexual abuse, and report their problems.
Let me tell you, based on my experience, soldiers are very reluctant to register a complaint because more often than not, they themselves become victims of that crime in more than one ways. Their own troops might -- their own fellow troops might turn on them as being not loyal to the unit and trying to get some guy or some gal. This is not working. The Army's equal opportunity program looks great on paper, has for years, but it has not been an effective deterrent or an effective way through which soldiers can communicate valid complaints.
We need a dedicated body of experts who know how to administer rape kits, who know how to take DNA samples. We need DNA forensic support to help them get quick results out of this. And will we get it within Department of Defense? I don't see how we can because everyone, every service, is stretched to its very limits to answer the call of today's various wars and deployments. We don't have the right people in the right place to do it.
Now, General Hagenback is one heck of a great soldier. And he is the Army's chief of personnel. I'm sure he's going to do everything he can. But I hope, with all my heart, that he does not order another study because studies are nothing but vehicles for institutional inertia and women in the military have been studied every which way but loose for the past 60 years. We don't need studies. We need action, and we need commonsense applications of ways to stop this.
PHILLIPS: General, you're absolutely right, a moral tone and a sense of respect has got to be instilled in every single soldier, male and female.
FOOTE: Absolutely, yes.
PHILLIPS: Retired Army General Pat Foote, what a pleasure. We're going to ask you to stay on the story with us and definitely invite you back.
FOOTE: Thank you very much.
PHILLIPS: Thank you, general.
FOOTE: My pleasure.
O'BRIEN: An Icon is going to court. Find out why Mel Gibson's company is "passionate" about taking legal action on his very famous and controversial film.
And still passionate at the age of 93. You'll meet the oldest protester demonstrating for her cause at the G-8 summit.
And sweet tribute. More on this and more on the next steps for honoring President Reagan, ahead on LIVE FROM...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Shock jock Howard Stern and other radio personalities could cost Clear Channel Communications almost 2 million bucks. Clear Channel and the FCC ready to settle numerous complains that the company aired indecent material. Under the deal, Clear Channel would pay a record $1.75 million. That would be on top of the $750.000 they already agreed to pay.
A legal battle brewing over Mel Gibson's controversial film "The Passion of the Christ." Gibson's movie distribution company, Icon productions, suing the Regal Entertainment Group, Icon claims Regal, the largest movie chain in the country, is holding back millions of dollars in movie revenue. It is suing regal for at least $40 million. Regal has not commented on this matter.
PHILLIPS: Well, is the confusion worth the savings? The soaring cost of prescription drugs is the reason the government is offering drug discount cards to Medicare recipients now. But as it turns out, the savings is just adding to the confusion.
CNN's Ed Lavandera has a fact check on the program, just a week after it went into effect.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I got a handful here.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senior citizens at this AARP meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas, are looking for help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can the cost of those be included in out- of-pocket expense?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will the drugstore help you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Special help for people with low incomes.
LAVANDERA: Informational sessions like this about the new Medicare prescription drug discount cards are taking place all over the country. The prescription cards have reaped confusion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of this is just a big joke.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't see that it's helped me.
LAVANDERA: There are about 70 different discount cards. The number available depends on where you live. Each card offers different discounts on different drugs and not all pharmacies accepts every card.
REP. MARION BERRY (D), ARKANSAS: You're like a pig in a poke, you don't know what you're really getting, you have no idea or no guarantee that what you thought you bought is going to be the same way a month from now. LAVANDERA: Medicare recipients can only sign up for one card and the companies can change prices or coverage at any time during the year.
(on camera): Critics also say that prescription drug prices have gone up so much in the last year that any savings the card could provide have already evaporated. But Medicare officials say that's not true. They expect the card to provide millions of dollars in savings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to shop around for your best deal. It all depends -- there is no one best card. It depends on your particular situation. What medications you take and other factors.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Medicare tries to make it easy to find the best deal, offering Internet and telephone help, but many seniors are overwhelmed by the choices and the process.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here is the prescription.
LAVANDERA: Anne Jackson (ph) has a lot of homework to do. She takes nine medicine a day. To find the best deal, she'll have to compare discounts for each of those medications on more than 30 different cards.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And It is very complicated you'll have to admit, because there's so many choices.
LAVANDERA: Medicare says almost 3 million people have the cards, but 2.3 million of those were automatically enrolled, which means only about 600,000 have signed up voluntarily. Medicare insists people will take advantage of the card.
MARK MCCLELLAN, FDA COMMISSIONER: The time it takes to make a call to us and think about comparing your -- the prices that you're paying now to the savings that you can get on the drug card, it means that you're leaving money on the table if you don't take those few minutes to find out about this program.
LAVANDERA: Anne Jackson and others to figure this out. In 2006 a different prescription drug plan goes into effect and then it will time for senior citizens to learn a new deal all over again.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Little Rock, Arkansas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Still ahead on LIVE FROM..., Washington, D.C. awaits the return of the nation's 40th president. Ronald Reagan's body to arrive at the Capitol today. We'll go live to Washington.
And through the eyes of a White House photographer, intimate photos of Ronald Reagan before and after his presidency, Reagan's official photographer, Michael Evans, joining us live.
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Aired June 9, 2004 - 12:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush calling on allies for more help in Iraq. We're live from the gathering of world leaders on the Georgia coast.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Explosion at a main oil pipeline, was it in response to something the interim prime minister said?
O'BRIEN: Remembering Ronald Reagan. His casket aboard a plane being flown to Washington right now. This hour, Reagan's White House photographer will share some candid moments.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elaine Quijano in Washington live outside the West Front Entrance to the Capitol Building where for hours people have been lined up, waiting for the change to pay their respects to Ronald Reagan. I'll have more on that coming up.
O'BRIEN: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. It is Wednesday, June 9. CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.
O'BRIEN: In flight, a final journey begins. The remains of Ronald Reagan on their way across the country to the nation's capital where he was such a huge presence for so many years. Nancy Reagan and the president's three living children gathered in California for an emotional sendoff. They are accompanying the flag-draped coffin to the U.S. Capitol where Mr. Reagan's body will lie in state.
Despite hot and humid weather in Washington, people began lining up before dawn, about 16 hours before the public viewing begins. As many as 5,000 are expected to pass by every hour through Friday morning to pay their respects. We'll have much more from Capitol Hill and from Simi Valley in just a few moments.
PHILLIPS: We move on from remembering Ronald Reagan to the rising oil prices and democracy in the Middle East. Those are just some of today's topics at the G-8 summit in Sea Island, Georgia. But it is Iraq that's again weighing heavily on the minds of the world leaders just three weeks before the scheduled transfer of power. CNN's Dana Bash is live from Savannah with more.
Hi, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. And the president is still basking in the glow of his victory last night at the U.N. Security Council, where they got a unanimous vote on a new Iraq resolution. He is hoping that it will have the desired effect here at the G-8 summit, which is to continue to smooth over differences between allies over the war in Iraq.
And Mr. Bush met this morning with his partner in that war, Tony Blair. And the two discussed a host of issues, particularly how to get the new Iraqi security forces up to speed, what a multinational force would look like. And also Mr. Bush suggested that NATO could have an involvement on the ground in Iraq, perhaps some kind of involvements, but acknowledged that it is hard for a NATO country to send troops because they are already overstretched. White House aides saying that perhaps if NATO were to be involved, that it would be in a training capacity, to help train the Iraqi forces.
But to keep the Iraq momentum going, Kyra, the president is having a highly symbolic meeting later today. He is going to meet with the interim Iraqi president, that is going to be a one-on-one meeting, essentially to make the case to show that Iraq is moving towards democracy. And expanding democratic reforms is pretty much number one on the official agenda here at the summit today, and it's about a new Mideast initiative to try to broaden reforms, try to broaden a democratic change in Mideast countries.
You see there, some Arab leaders are here, leaders from Yemen, Bahrain and Jordan, all here to unveil that plan. Some declined an invitation, like leaders from Egypt and Saudi Arabia. And the White House officials concede that they are reluctant to endorse some of the reforms that the White House and other G-8 countries are pushing. But what the White House says is that in this document they simply state the fact that they think that some of these Arab countries have used the Arab-Israeli conflict -- the Palestinian-Israeli as an excuse and this simply states that won't be acceptable any more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: In our view, people will sometimes say, well, if only we could resolve the Israeli- Palestinian issue, then reform would be possible. Reform also has its own dynamic, its own importance, its own future. And without reform in the Middle East, you're going to continue to have the ideologies of hatred coming out of that region that fueled September 11.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: But there was a concession in the document that will be unveiled later today, and that is, it does mention the fact it is important to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. That was at the request of some of the Arab leaders. So that is one of the many things on the agenda here, Kyra, but certainly there is some resistance. And the White House says that they certainly understand there's resistance to them pushing reforms. And this is something that the White House had planned on after they finish with the war in Iraq. The whole goal, they said, was to create more democratic reforms in the greater Middle East, and that is what this is about today -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Dana Bash, LIVE FROM... the G-8 summit there in Savannah, Georgia. Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Despite diplomatic progress, there is more violence on the ground in Iraq. Someone blew up a section of the main pipeline between Kirkuk and Turkey. The fire forced a temporary power cut. Fourth attack on an Iraqi oil pipeline in three days. It came after the incoming prime minister promised Iraqi oil would be back in the hands of Iraqis soon.
A coalition supply convoy set on fire today in the capital. It was reportedly hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. Two civilian drivers were wounded. Witnesses report a second convoy was attacked in another Baghdad neighborhood. And a former Iraq hostage, so grateful to be back home on U.S., he kissed the flag in an emotional welcome at Rome airport. Three Italians are back with their families a day after being rescued by the coalition. They'd been held by insurgents since April. A fourth Italian was killed not long after they were captured.
PHILLIPS: Now in just a few hours, at around 5:00 p.m. Eastern, Ronald Reagan's flag-draped coffin is expected to arrive in Washington. His remains are to lie in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. Mourners are already there. Some lining up in the nearby U.S. Botanical Gardens since the wee hours of the morning. CNN's Elaine Quijano has been there since the same time. She give us more.
Hi, Elaine.
QUIJANO: Good afternoon, Kyra. I can tell you that as this day has gone on, the heat certainly has intensified, but really not affecting the mood of the folks who have traveled from many places to be here, including the folks who have join me now. We are talking to the Rivers (ph) family. And they were actually here on vacation.
Is that correct?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's correct.
QUIJANO: And the news of President Reagan's death changed your vacation plan. Tell me a little bit about that, Debra (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We toured the nation's capital Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and we heard about the death and decided we would stay on until today, extend our vacation, and see a little bit of history, be a part of it. We thought it was important for our daughter to be a part of history.
QUIJANO: I was going to ask you about that. You said this was chance really to get a civics lesson firsthand for your daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it is.
QUIJANO: And the idea that this is obviously a situation where a lot of people are expected to come. You were out here, I know, quite early. You, Mr. Rivers, were not, however.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... busy getting the car loaded
QUIJANO: Well, tell me about why you felt it was important for you and your family to be here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just to be a part of this historic event, to honor such a great man.
QUIJANO: What was it about President Reagan specifically that drew you here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His honesty, integrity, being a great president.
QUIJANO: And what sort of lessons are you learning by being here, Michelle (ph)? You know, this is a situation where you're actually not the only young person in the crowd. There are other young folks too who are in the same position, obviously, too young to really remember first hand. But what are you sort taking away from this experience, I know you've been here a few hours yourself?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just -- you know, history. I wasn't -- I was like maybe six months old when he ended his term so I didn't really get to experience his presence, but knowing that he was a man of great honesty and just knowing that I'm part of it and it's something to share with my grandkids. So I think it's very worthwhile to stand here in the line and wait.
QUIJANO: All right. Well, thank you very much for joining us. Did you want to add something, Debra?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have another daughter, Stephanie (ph) who is actually interning here, is who we came to see this summer. And she's -- I'm proud that she's going to be a part of this also.
QUIJANO: She's planning on joining you later?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, later on this evening.
QUIJANO: All right. The Rivers family from Georgia, thank you so much.
Now they are actually the second set of people in line. I don't know if you can actually take a look. We've got quite a bit of media here. But the line itself has grown quite a bit since the early morning hours, when Mrs. Rivers, Debra Rivers here, first got in line. We saw just a handful of folks throughout the morning. Now I would say that number has grown anywhere from 50 to about 100 people so far.
You can tell quite a bit of media here as well, covering this event. The folks that I talked to have traveled, some of them, specifically for this event. It is interesting to note the dedication with which they have come out here. The temperatures here in Washington, D.C. hovering in the 90s we are told. The humidity very high. In fact just a short time ago, we saw the Capitol Police handing out bottles of water. But the spirits, nevertheless, remaining high, people here wanting to do their part and pay their respects -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Elaine Quijano, we'll continue to check in with you, thank you -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Meanwhile, in Simi Valley, California, more than 100,000 well-wishers streamed through the Reagan Presidential Library to pay their respects. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is there -- Thelma.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, it is pretty amazing, especially when you consider that organizers had expected initially 45,000 people to show up. The number, of course, double that amount. Of the 105,000 mourners who stood in those very long lines, we met one who said that he had a very personal reason for being here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): It was a test of patience.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No cameras, folks.
GUTIERREZ: And endurance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No water, no cameras.
GUTIERREZ: For two military men who met in this line, none of it mattered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You really got up close and personal --
GUTIERREZ: Not the lines, not the crowds, nor the three, four, or five-hour wait.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got wonderful memories of him.
GUTIERREZ: For 25-year-old Second Lieutenant Shawn Heinze (ph), it was a chance to pay his respects to a former president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was an honest and trustworthy man.
GUTIERREZ: For 61-year-old retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Robert Lazaro (ph), it was a chance to say good-bye to a commander-in- chief he knew.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would get the president where he wanted to be safely and on time.
GUTIERREZ: For 5 1/2 years, Lazaro was a pilot aboard Air Force One. In 1981, he flew the president from California to Washington for his inauguration. Lazaro remembers his last flight before he retired.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in command of the airplane and he knew it was my last trip because they'd had my going away party the week before that. And he came up to the cockpit, shook my hand. And he said, I understand you're leaving us. I said, that's right, Mr. President, I'm going to retire. He said, that's great, so now you can go ride horses. I have to come here now to tell him that he can ride horses again.
GUTIERREZ: For this Vietnam veteran and former Reagan pilot, the walk through this line was full of nostalgic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you saw him in front of the camera, it made you happy and proud to be an American because you -- the way he handled himself made you feel good about yourself.
GUTIERREZ: He said this moment captured the essence of the relationship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just adored Nancy Reagan. And the way she took care of him, the way she looked after him.
GUTIERREZ: After four hours, they finally boarded the bus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a final good-bye, and something I've kind of known was coming.
GUTIERREZ: Nearly five hours later, they have neared the end of their journey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Certainly had a good life. A lot of people going to remember him. Just sad. Sad. Two more flights. He's got to fly to Washington, he has to fly back. Then he can rest.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUTIERREZ: Lieutenant Colonel Lazaro said that he felt honored that he was able to salute his commander-in-chief for a final time. He also noted that Air Force One, the 707 that was nicknamed the "Spirit of America," that he had flown for 5 1/2 years, is also up here, at the library. It will be on display and then open to the public -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Thelma Gutierrez in Simi Valley. Thank you very much. Log on to cnn.com for an interactive map of the funeral procession and a detailed schedule of the services being held for Ronald Reagan in Washington.
PHILLIPS: Candid moments with Ronald Reagan. The photographer who snapped some of the most famous shots shares his memories and the story behind a picture he thought was going to cost him his job.
Sexual assault in the U.S. military. How's the Pentagon responding to recommendations on what to do about it? That's straight ahead.
And Howard Stern, at the center of a reported deal between a radio giant and the FCC. We'll push all the buttons on that one, just ahead on LIVE FROM...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Imagine being sexually assaulted and having nowhere to go, no one to trust, and feeling completely isolated. Well, that's how hundreds women in the military have described their experience with sexual misconduct while being deployed in the combat zones like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait. Now after numerous hearings and a task force report, the Pentagon has new marching orders. Sexual assault must be dealt with. Retired Army General Pat Foote has been watching developments in this scandal with great interest. She's a Vietnam War vet who has testified before Congress on issues of equality within the military. She joins us from Washington.
General, it's an absolute pleasure.
GEN. PAT FOOTE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Thank you, my pleasure to be here.
PHILLIPS: Well, I've got to ask you, for a number of years it has been obvious that rape has not been treated as a serious crime. Why is that?
FOOTE: I think it is viewed as a serious crime, but I don't think the military, any of the services to now, have come up with the proper way to handle it. Because, you know, in many respect, Kyra, when you look at the military as a revolving door through which people are constantly flowing in and out, and leaderships are changing at the very top, at least every four years, and within units, at least every 18 months to two years, that nothing ever seems to gel. The intent is to solve the problem, but the people who had that intent move on to other things.
So we have not institutionalized an approach to very effectively deal with this. Secondly, we have not -- I don't think we have treated sexual assault with the absolute seriousness that it should be treated. It's a crime. The people who do this are criminals, and they should be dealt with as criminals.
PHILLIPS: Well, you bring up a very strong point, something we've heard from a number of women in the military, testifying in these hearings. Here is one former Army captain, Jennifer Machmer, let's listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER MACHMER, MILITARY SEX ASSAULT VICTIM: I made myself vulnerable to this man without realizing what his intentions were. This became a full blown sexual abuse and it went on for four months. I felt very betrayed, very embarrassed, and very trapped as well.
PHILLIPS: General, for 30 years, you've mentored women in the military. What do you say to the Jennifer Machmers? Do you say, hey, we have got to be more like a man, we have got to suck it up, we've got to, you know, blend with the crowd. I'm taking it you never said that before.
FOOTE: Absolutely, I would not say that. You know, I think, one of the big problems that we continue as women to face in the military is that many of the men in the military have yet to view us as a partner in service. In other words, we still have many men who marginalize or trivialize the contributions that women make to the military. That they're not as much as a soldier or sailor or airman as I am.
And as long as we have that mindset, then we're not going to solve this problem. I believe seriously that we have to institutionalize as the absolute foundation of all military readiness, readiness of the human dimension. We haven't done that yet. It has been proposed on numerous occasions.
But until we get serious about taking care of the people who take care of the missions, these types of crimes are going to continue to happen. And if we're going to institutionalize, respect and dignity, as a given, it has to start at the top.
We've changed the Army's culture in more than one time, in terms of integration and in other capacities when we increase the utilization of women. We have got to change it at the top to say that behaviors such as rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, abuse, are nonstarters, and any soldier, any person guilty of this conduct has just lost his job, and hopefully, if it's sexual abuse, is on his way to Leavenworth.
PHILLIPS: Well, you mentioned changes at the top. Let's listen real quickly to David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, and what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CHU, UNDERSECRETARY OF DEFENSE: In the long term our most important objective is prevention. I think all of this discussion underscores once a crime is committed, there's a huge price paid by everyone, a huge loss to the individuals involved, a huge loss to the institution. So above all, we seek to preclude this from happening in the first place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right. So General, now we're hearing from the readiness perspective, also this report that came out, it's making recommendations about education and training, on where to report, how to support a victim, how do you protect a victim of sexual assault. Now my question to you is, what's the reality that this is really going to happen, and that something will be implemented soon, and I want your opinion about this Lieutenant General Franklin Hagenback with the Army who has been appointed to handle this. We tried to get an interview with him. It was denied. I want to know if he's going to do something about it, if you think he'll do something about it and what the chances are that we are going to see a change soon?
FOOTE: Kyra, I have no doubt in my mind that leaders at every level would really like to solve the problem. But whether or not they are going to succeed to me is very debatable. One thing that I've thought about, and of course Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, with whom you have spoke, I saw her last night at a reception, I know is thinking about -- she is thinking about proposing legislation to put some real teeth into treating these types of crimes as what they are, serious crimes, but at the same time, hopefully getting the Department of Defense and all the military branches to perhaps look at the thought of having an independent body to which women can go in the case of sexual abuse, and report their problems.
Let me tell you, based on my experience, soldiers are very reluctant to register a complaint because more often than not, they themselves become victims of that crime in more than one ways. Their own troops might -- their own fellow troops might turn on them as being not loyal to the unit and trying to get some guy or some gal. This is not working. The Army's equal opportunity program looks great on paper, has for years, but it has not been an effective deterrent or an effective way through which soldiers can communicate valid complaints.
We need a dedicated body of experts who know how to administer rape kits, who know how to take DNA samples. We need DNA forensic support to help them get quick results out of this. And will we get it within Department of Defense? I don't see how we can because everyone, every service, is stretched to its very limits to answer the call of today's various wars and deployments. We don't have the right people in the right place to do it.
Now, General Hagenback is one heck of a great soldier. And he is the Army's chief of personnel. I'm sure he's going to do everything he can. But I hope, with all my heart, that he does not order another study because studies are nothing but vehicles for institutional inertia and women in the military have been studied every which way but loose for the past 60 years. We don't need studies. We need action, and we need commonsense applications of ways to stop this.
PHILLIPS: General, you're absolutely right, a moral tone and a sense of respect has got to be instilled in every single soldier, male and female.
FOOTE: Absolutely, yes.
PHILLIPS: Retired Army General Pat Foote, what a pleasure. We're going to ask you to stay on the story with us and definitely invite you back.
FOOTE: Thank you very much.
PHILLIPS: Thank you, general.
FOOTE: My pleasure.
O'BRIEN: An Icon is going to court. Find out why Mel Gibson's company is "passionate" about taking legal action on his very famous and controversial film.
And still passionate at the age of 93. You'll meet the oldest protester demonstrating for her cause at the G-8 summit.
And sweet tribute. More on this and more on the next steps for honoring President Reagan, ahead on LIVE FROM...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Shock jock Howard Stern and other radio personalities could cost Clear Channel Communications almost 2 million bucks. Clear Channel and the FCC ready to settle numerous complains that the company aired indecent material. Under the deal, Clear Channel would pay a record $1.75 million. That would be on top of the $750.000 they already agreed to pay.
A legal battle brewing over Mel Gibson's controversial film "The Passion of the Christ." Gibson's movie distribution company, Icon productions, suing the Regal Entertainment Group, Icon claims Regal, the largest movie chain in the country, is holding back millions of dollars in movie revenue. It is suing regal for at least $40 million. Regal has not commented on this matter.
PHILLIPS: Well, is the confusion worth the savings? The soaring cost of prescription drugs is the reason the government is offering drug discount cards to Medicare recipients now. But as it turns out, the savings is just adding to the confusion.
CNN's Ed Lavandera has a fact check on the program, just a week after it went into effect.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I got a handful here.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senior citizens at this AARP meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas, are looking for help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can the cost of those be included in out- of-pocket expense?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will the drugstore help you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Special help for people with low incomes.
LAVANDERA: Informational sessions like this about the new Medicare prescription drug discount cards are taking place all over the country. The prescription cards have reaped confusion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of this is just a big joke.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't see that it's helped me.
LAVANDERA: There are about 70 different discount cards. The number available depends on where you live. Each card offers different discounts on different drugs and not all pharmacies accepts every card.
REP. MARION BERRY (D), ARKANSAS: You're like a pig in a poke, you don't know what you're really getting, you have no idea or no guarantee that what you thought you bought is going to be the same way a month from now. LAVANDERA: Medicare recipients can only sign up for one card and the companies can change prices or coverage at any time during the year.
(on camera): Critics also say that prescription drug prices have gone up so much in the last year that any savings the card could provide have already evaporated. But Medicare officials say that's not true. They expect the card to provide millions of dollars in savings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to shop around for your best deal. It all depends -- there is no one best card. It depends on your particular situation. What medications you take and other factors.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Medicare tries to make it easy to find the best deal, offering Internet and telephone help, but many seniors are overwhelmed by the choices and the process.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here is the prescription.
LAVANDERA: Anne Jackson (ph) has a lot of homework to do. She takes nine medicine a day. To find the best deal, she'll have to compare discounts for each of those medications on more than 30 different cards.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And It is very complicated you'll have to admit, because there's so many choices.
LAVANDERA: Medicare says almost 3 million people have the cards, but 2.3 million of those were automatically enrolled, which means only about 600,000 have signed up voluntarily. Medicare insists people will take advantage of the card.
MARK MCCLELLAN, FDA COMMISSIONER: The time it takes to make a call to us and think about comparing your -- the prices that you're paying now to the savings that you can get on the drug card, it means that you're leaving money on the table if you don't take those few minutes to find out about this program.
LAVANDERA: Anne Jackson and others to figure this out. In 2006 a different prescription drug plan goes into effect and then it will time for senior citizens to learn a new deal all over again.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Little Rock, Arkansas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Still ahead on LIVE FROM..., Washington, D.C. awaits the return of the nation's 40th president. Ronald Reagan's body to arrive at the Capitol today. We'll go live to Washington.
And through the eyes of a White House photographer, intimate photos of Ronald Reagan before and after his presidency, Reagan's official photographer, Michael Evans, joining us live.
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