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American People Skeptical of U.S. Policy After Iraq Handover; Peterson Judge Angry at Violation of Gag Order
Aired June 28, 2004 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We pledged to end a dangerous regime, to free the oppressed, and to restore sovereignty. We have kept our word.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Handover in Iraq, two days early. Can Iraqis keep control? We're LIVE FROM... Baghdad, Istanbul and Cairo with reaction to the Monday surprise.
PHILLIPS: Missing American Marine in the hands of Iraqi insurgents threatening to kill him. Reaction from his family.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Bob Franken at the Supreme Court. Hugely significant rulings concerning the rights of a president in wartime with enemy combatants and the relationship between the courts and the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is just so unpatriotic that they would actually go out of their way to rip off a yellow ribbon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: A thief shocks a soldier's waiting family until they figure out who the culprit is.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is on assignment, CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.
It's a new day in Iraq, two days ahead of expectations. In a surprise low-key mid-morning ceremony in Baghdad, the U.S. civil administrator handed over sovereignty to the newly minted Iraqi interim government, then got on a plane. Officials wouldn't say precisely where Paul Bremer is headed, but U.S. and Iraqi leaders say Iraq is headed firmly in the right direction. CNN's Brent Sadler joins me now live with the details -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Kyra. This really was all over in a flash. In fact, it was over before it was officially announced. What a few select group of observers, including our own Christiane Amanpour, saw were from the top Iraqi officials, from the president, Ghazi al-Yawar, to the prime minister, Iyad Allawi, and the deputy prime minister, Baram Saleh, alongside the chief justice, accept the instrument of sovereignty; the legal document that had been signed by the former administrator, Paul Bremer, who left the country within a couple of hours after attending that ceremony.
Very quickly after that, though, Iraqis did get to see on live television broadcasts throughout this country a swearing-in ceremony of the 26 ministers who will form this new interim government. Now, the interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, has been sounding pretty tough on the security front, and he said that it's up to Iraqis to unite against foreign militants creating havoc in this country.
This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I call on all the heroes of the past, all the regions in Iraq, and the sons of all Iraq and arouse their efforts to eradicate the foreign terrorists that are killing our people, and destroying our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SADLER: Now, one of the most important jobs they'll have to do within the next few days, according to coalition and Iraqi officials, is to take over the legal control of former President Saddam Hussein and as many as 12 of his top lieutenants who have been held for many, many months now; Saddam Hussein since last December when he was captured. Legal responsibility, we're told in the next few days, will become Iraq's prime concern. But the physical security of Saddam Hussein in prison will remain the responsibility of the United States, of the coalition forces, because the Iraqis admit they do not have the wherewithal to do it themselves -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Brent Sadler, live in Baghdad.
A brief whisper, a coy smile and a handshake. President Bush's way of discreetly telling his leading coalition partner that Iraq is no longer at least technically an occupied country. The setting was a NATO summit in Turkey. That's where we find CNN's Frank Buckley.
Hi, Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra. That whisper, smile, handshake, the first hint that we had that a handover had taken place. It occurred during the morning meeting of the NATO session that President Bush was attending. It happened to get under way at precisely the same time that the handover was taking place. But virtually none of us in that room at the time knew that the handover was taking place.
We did see President Bush receive a note, though, handed to him from Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the secretary of defense. The president read it. He checked his watch, and then he whispered to British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The two men then shook hands. Again, none of us knew the significance at the time, until later when it was revealed by administration officials that President Bush was acknowledging the handover to Prime Minister Blair.
And now we have the actual note, and it was written by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. It says: "Mr. President, Iraq is sovereign. Letter was passed from Bremer at 10:26 a.m. Iraq time. Condi." And then written right here is the scribbled response of President Bush. It says: "Let freedom reign!" A different take on the familiar let freedom ring. The president saying, "let freedom reign."
President Bush and Prime Minister Blair later appeared at a news conference together to talk about various issues from coalition troops and how long they would stay in Iraq, to other matters. Here's what President Bush had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Earlier today, 15 months after the liberation of Iraq, and two days ahead of schedule, the world witnessed the arrival of a free and sovereign Iraqi government. Iraqi officials informed us that they are ready to assume power. And Prime Minister Allawi believes that making this transition now is best for his country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: And we also now have the letter, also released by the White House, that was sent from President Bush to the new prime minister of the Republic of Iraq. He talks about the U.S. support for this new sovereign nation. He says in this letter, it is my honor to propose the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Iraq with permanent missions effective immediately upon the assumption of sovereign authority by the Iraqi interim government -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, our Frank Buckley live from Turkey. You had better go for the original of that letter, Frank.
Well, we're going to go in-depth on the handover at cnn.com with profiles of the key players in the new government, and analysis of the surprise early handover. Just log on to cnn.com any time.
A state of war is not a blank check for the president. The final word on the legal rights of so-called enemy combatants held by U.S. authorities. And it comes from the highest court in the land. In a pair of complicated rulings, justices found the government may hold terror suspects, foreigners and Americans alike without filing charges. But it can't keep them locked away from lawyers and courts. CNN's Bob Franken is outside the Supreme Court for the whys and the wherefores.
Bob, let's talk about what the court is saying here. We've been confused all morning, so lay it out.
FRANKEN: Well, first of all, the lawyers rule of final words is, there never is a final word. What the court has said is, is that the administration's position that it has the absolute authority to determine the treatment and terms of confinement for enemy combatants designated by the president, the court ruled against that, saying that there is the necessity for judicial review.
In the case of Guantanamo Bay, they said that the jurisdiction of the courts can under many circumstances extend beyond the national boundaries of the United States. Guantanamo Naval Base is where of course 600-plus detainees are held. It is in sovereign Cuba even though it is a base controlled by the United States. Because of the fact that the United States has such control, potential permanent control, the justices are saying that there has to be the availability of some proceeding, so the detainees can argue that they don't belong there.
In the case of Jose Padilla, that was the case that everybody was watching so closely; the one involving a U.S. citizen captured in the United States, in O'Hare Airport. Question, could that happen, could the president declare somebody an enemy combatant and put them in the brig and keep him away from his lawyers? The court said, we don't know, because it was in the wrong court. But in the case of Yasser Hamdi, who is a U.S. citizen, he could be held -- he could not be held without the availability of a lawyer -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Bob, let's talk about the practicality with regard to the detainees at Gitmo.
FRANKEN: The practicality is nobody knows exactly what form this review process is going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE). The justices explicitly said they were not here to come up with a procedure. So you know there's going to be a lot of pushing and shoving about that. It certainly means, however, that each and every one of them is probably going to want to have a lawyer and is going to want to be heard.
PHILLIPS: Our Bob Franken right there, below the steps of the Supreme Court. Thank you so much. Straight ahead, an Arab television network reports that he's a hostage. But the American military won't confirm the capture of a Marine shown with Iraqi insurgents. His family in America speaks out ahead on LIVE FROM...
The handover in Iraq has happened. Will it help America win friends in the Arab world? We're LIVE FROM... Cairo.
And later, to catch a thief. A soldier's family stunned when yellow ribbons honoring him kept disappearing. Wait until you hear how they nabbed the grabber.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Iraq's new rulers say they will soon take custody of Saddam Hussein and 11 of his high-level regime cronies. It will come over the next few days according to the director of the Iraqi special tribunal. Salem Chalabi says that details are still being ironed out, but he says U.S. authorities holding Saddam and the others will transfer custody to Iraqi officials. Chalabi says that there has been no date set for a trial for the former Iraqi president.
In the Arab world, it's wait and see. Many Arab analysts say that they welcome the power shift in Iraq, but some say they will wait to see how things really unfold after elections next year. Gauging the Arab view for us, CNN bureau chief Ben Wedeman in Cairo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF: March 2003, Egyptians protest the invasion of Iraq by American and British forces. Since then, Arabs have watched as the U.S. and its allies struggled to wrest order from chaos, fight a bloody war against the increasingly effective foes, try to establish an Iraqi government that is both legitimate and effective.
With Monday's early handover of sovereignty, a government is now in place. The American occupation is over. Iraq is independent. That's the theory. But in the eyes of many Arabs, the new government is made up of leaders tainted by their ties with the Americans.
RISHAM QASIM, NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER: Even though some of them might be great people who are doing a very important thing for the future of their country, but it is easy to see them branded as collaborators with an invasion.
WEDEMAN: "The new government has no future or legitimacy," says journalist Halid Inwaqdeni (ph). "They were appointed by the Americans. They're American agents." While Saddam Hussein and his regime are gone, the new Iraq hardly seems to some like a vast improvement.
YASMINE AL-SHADIRI: Look at what's happening in Iraq right now. All the chaos. I don't think it has been a success.
WEDEMAN: And in a region where direct colonialism was followed by indirect and rarely subtle rule by the same European powers, the continued presence of nearly 150,000 foreign troops in Iraq looks bitterly familiar to many Arabs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: Now, Kyra, many Arab observers are saying that, really, the first major challenge that the new Iraqi government is going to face is to show many Arabs throughout the region that they are not -- this new government is not simply an Iraqi facade for a continuation of American occupation -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Ben, we've talked so much about the president, the prime minister, even looking through the minister of defense, minister of interior. But what about the rest of the cabinet, unique positions in health, communication, housing, labor, culture, women's affairs. When will we start to hear about the other members of this cabinet and what they're doing in Iraq?
WEDEMAN: Well, certainly everything -- the people who make up this government, and what they do are going to be watched very carefully from here in Egypt and throughout the Arab world. But the impression of many people here is that despite what these people are doing, and many of them have a very good track record in terms of opposition to Saddam Hussein in terms of advocacy for democracy, but many people will tell you simply by taking part in this government, which has been essentially appointed by the United States, they are crippling their long-term political prospects in playing a role in rebuilding Iraq politically, as well as economically and socially -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Ben Wedeman, LIVE FROM... Cairo following the developments of the handover, thank you.
Well, how far can the White House go in the war on terror? A Supreme Court rule affects hundreds of nationals held at Gitmo. We're going to talk about it with legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rusty Dornin in Redwood City, California, where the Peterson judge is hopping mad over what he says is a violation of the gag order. More coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Shoddy police work, omitted evidence and overlooked clues. The defense in the Scott Peterson murder trial is saying that, and more, as it attacks the prosecution's star witness. Our Rusty Dornin is in Redwood City, California, where the detective who handed prosecutors a setback last week returns to the stand -- Rusty.
DORNIN: Well, it's a big controversy, Kyra, over a possible violation -- or a violation, really, of the gag order. Last week Detective Al Brocchini admitted on the stand that he left out a key piece of an interview that he did in the case. That was seen as a setback for the prosecution. But on Friday, a Modesto police spokesman told reporters that that part of his interview was really in another detective's report, and the defense had it all along and they were doing their own spin on the case.
Well, Judge Al Delucchi was very angry about that statement that was made by the Modesto Police Department. He chastised the department, saying they had better get their act together and discipline people not to talk about this case. And he cautioned everyone on both sides not to say anything about this case in the public and to the media.
Meantime, the cross-examination of Detective Al Brocchini does continue. And again defense attorney Mark Geragos is able to take a prosecution witness and get them to really key in his own defense theme, that being that Scott Peterson told the truth to police on the night that his wife disappeared and the days following. He was able this morning to get the Detective Al Brocchini to admit that Scott Peterson told, "a lot of truths." This cross-examination is expected to continue through this morning, and another lead investigator is expected to take the stand later -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Rusty Dornin, Redwood City, we'll continue to check in with you.
Other news across America begins on a somber note in Maryland. Friends and family are remembering Mattie Stepanek today, the 13-year- old poet died last week from complications of muscular dystrophy. Former President Jimmy Carter delivered his eulogy.
Flooded roadways and miserable conditions, soggy weather is socking it to Denver, Colorado. More thunderstorms and possible hail are forecast today.
In South Carolina, Midland residents feel much of the same pain. Powerful rains have flooded streets and homes, leaving thousands of people without power. Flooding forced some 40 people out of their homes.
Burning up at the box office. Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" takes top honors with weekend moviegoers. It earned $21.8 million in its first three days, even with its modest opening in just 868 theaters. It's the first documentary to debut at No. 1.
(MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Top stories right now. Today's early handover in Iraq means that Paul Bremer is out, John Negroponte is in as the top U.S. official in Baghdad. Negroponte, who arrived today, becomes the new U.S. ambassador, heading up the largest U.S. embassy in the world. Bremer has already left the country.
Sources in Saudi Arabia say a senior member of al Qaeda has surrendered. The suspect is on the Saudi's list of most wanted militants. Last week amnesty was offered to militants who turn themselves in within 30 days. Officials say those who wait too long will be hunted down and brought to justice.
Well, what about the political impact here in the U.S. from today's handover in Iraq? Consider this from a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll: 60 percent of Americans surveyed say the transfer of power is a sign that U.S. policy is failing. Let's go to a couple of experts on the political fallout. Peter Beinart of "The New Republic" joins us from Washington. CNN contributor and former Republican Congressman Bob Barr is with us here in Atlanta.
Gentlemen, thanks for being with me. Let's talk about that CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll. What do you think, is U.S. policy failing in Iraq since the handover? Let's go ahead and start with you, Peter.
PETER BEINART, "THE NEW REPUBLIC": Well, clearly we have left Iraq with far -- with having done much less in terms of implanting democratic institutions in that country than we had hoped. And we have left Iraq much more unpopular, I think, than we had imagined. It's still possible that Allawi and his government will be able to build something in Iraq. But I think most Americans are right in imagining that the chances for a stable, democratic government in Iraq are now certainly less than 50/50.
PHILLIPS: Bob, what do you think about that number, 60 percent of Americans in this poll saying the U.S. policy is failing. Bob, can you hear me OK? All right. We're having an issue with audio right now, or with the IFB situation. Bob cannot hear us. We are going to take a quick break, and try to come back with this debate right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to try it again. Peter Beinart of "The New Republic" joins us now from Washington. CNN contributor and former Republican Congressman Bob Barr with me here in Atlanta.
Bob, can you hear me?
BOB BARR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I can hear you fine.
PHILLIPS: There we go. Now you probably didn't hear a thing that Peter said. So peter, why don't you give a quick recap about this poll that we were talking about, 60 percent of Americans since the handover feeling that U.S. policy in Iraq is failing. Give us a tidbit again of what you had to say so I can let Bob respond fairly.
BEINART: I think the American people are right by and large. The security situation is terrible. America is much less popular in Iraq than we had imagined. And we have not created a very good foundation for building democratic institutions in that country. So it's understandable that the American people are pessimistic.
PHILLIPS: Do you agree, Bob?
BARR: Well, of course, Iraq is a country that has never enjoyed democracy or anything approaching it. They were under foreign rule. They were under an artificial monarchy for a while. And then they've been under military dictatorship since 1958. So this is a country that has never had any experience in this area. It has been a very rough couple of months from a security standpoint. So I think the poll really reflects more than anything else a great deal of uncertainty on the part of the American public, and on the part of our government with regard to where we go from here.
PHILLIPS: All right. Gentlemen, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt had this to say after the handover. I want to get you both to respond to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: It's a day that 800-plus American soldiers have died to see. And I know that every one of these soldiers, were they here, would say I understand what we were doing, and this is what we fought and died for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Two quick questions regarding this statement. First of all, if you look back at the president coming on board the USS Abraham Lincoln saying, combat is over, we completed the mission. Well, we saw what happened after that; it ended up being a security nightmare, with regard to extremist. Is Kimmitt coming forward a little bit too soon and saying this is what we fought and died for, it's all over, and now things will be great, Peter?
REINART: Absolutely, yes, I think that's a baffling statement, to be honest. We went to Iraq to make sure the country would never threaten the United States again, and to make sure the people would have a better life and create a democracy that might spillover throughout the region. We have accomplished neither of those things. We may in the future, but right now we have an interim government elected by nobody, with real questions about whether they'll be able to hold elections, and a terrible security situation where there is clearly a strong al Qaeda presence in the country now, stronger than there was under Saddam Hussein. So to say we have achieved our objective, as General Kimmitt, seems to me absurd.
Bob, is this a little too much? Is this a little too soon? Is it fair to say that this is what the soldiers fought and died for?
BARR: I don't think it's really an accurate statement. First of all, you'd think we'd learn not to make these grandiose statements. They backfired on us before, and this one may backfire as well. So our public officials, I think, would be well advised to tone it down a little bit and make more realistic statements as opposed to these very broad optimistic statements.
And secondly, our fighting forces died to protect America, and America's interest. And to say that 800 of our men and women have died over the past year since major warfare over there was ended to make sure that this very tentative interim step to possible democracy really denigrates the reasons that those men and women really have fought and died.
PHILLIPS: You lead us into a good point, Bob. Peter, I'll get you to respond. I mean, isn't this about weeding out terrorism around the world? Isn't this about getting the insurgents and the extremism, just to be completely taken out of just world functions? It's not just about a new government.
REINART: No, and I think there is a connection between the two, to be fair. The idea that we have an Iraqi government that is credible with its people, that is representative and Democratic, then that will be a very good way of stopping terrorism in Iraq, and potentially even stopping it throughout the Middle East. But we are very, very far from that right now. We have -- Iyad Allawi seems like a vigorous guy, not elected by anyone, however, and without any security forces to battle these terrorists, it seems to me tremendously premature to suggest to me that we've achieved our mission there.
PHILLIPS: There's got to be something positive to talk about. Bob, with regard to the ministries, I mean, 26 ministries put into place, leaders, even the rest of this cabinet, from justice to planning to trade to sport and youth, there's got to be a segment that you can pull out and say, OK, this is positive, this is going to work, it's going in the right direction, even though elections have not happened.
BARR: Well, I think one positive thing that can be said is the timing of the handover was very, very well orchestrated by the Bush administration, coming two days early. I think it really kept the opposition off guard, and perhaps at least minimized some of the security problems that we would have had if we had waited another two days.
But other than that, this is a very, very unsettled situation. The entire credibility and future of this arrangement in Iraq depends entirely on U.S. security and the U.S. military. So it's hard to say that this is really a major step at this point.
PHILLIPS: Peter, final thought with regard to Saddam Hussein -- and Bob, if we have time, you can respond to this -- the handover of Saddam Hussein, that could really affect a public opinion.
REINART: Yes. And, look, it's a good idea to give the Iraqi interim government as much authority as we possibly can. On the other hand, imagine if Saddam Hussein were to escape, or to be set free by these insurgents, or if his case were to be so bungled that he was clearly not getting a fair trial. Those would be disastrous outcomes. And it shows that we don't have a fully functioning Iraqi government yet. We have something very embryonic, something we can not fully rely on yet, and that's why most Iraqis realize that America will be, in a sense, pulling the strings in that country for months, if not years to come.
PHILLIPS: Bob, do you think that's what Americans are looking at? Do you think that's Iraqis are looking at is what will happen to Saddam Hussein? I mean, the reputation of the new Iraqi government, in addition to the reputation of Operation Iraqi Freedom, really does sort of rest on what happens to Saddam Hussein, and that could be a matter of days.
BARR: This is a very, very serious question. The United States is not going to turn over Saddam Hussein to the Iraqis anytime soon. Even if it appears that way on the surface, it's not going to be that way in fact. And this illustrates, I think, perhaps more than anything else, the dilemma that we're in. It's important to go through with these indices of sovereignty to the Iraqi people and this new government, but we cannot afford, because of the security situation and the fact that our prestige is at stake, to go very far.
O'BRIEN: CNN contributor, former Republican congressman Bob Barr, also Peter Reinart of "The New Republic," joining me from Washington.
Gentlemen, thank you.
Straight ahead, the early handover wasn't the only surprise this morning. Next more on the Supreme Court decision that could give terror detainees a way out of Gitmo.
A community brought together by the thieving ways of a squirrel. That's right. True tales from the heartland, when LIVE FROM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired June 28, 2004 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We pledged to end a dangerous regime, to free the oppressed, and to restore sovereignty. We have kept our word.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Handover in Iraq, two days early. Can Iraqis keep control? We're LIVE FROM... Baghdad, Istanbul and Cairo with reaction to the Monday surprise.
PHILLIPS: Missing American Marine in the hands of Iraqi insurgents threatening to kill him. Reaction from his family.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Bob Franken at the Supreme Court. Hugely significant rulings concerning the rights of a president in wartime with enemy combatants and the relationship between the courts and the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is just so unpatriotic that they would actually go out of their way to rip off a yellow ribbon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: A thief shocks a soldier's waiting family until they figure out who the culprit is.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Miles is on assignment, CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.
It's a new day in Iraq, two days ahead of expectations. In a surprise low-key mid-morning ceremony in Baghdad, the U.S. civil administrator handed over sovereignty to the newly minted Iraqi interim government, then got on a plane. Officials wouldn't say precisely where Paul Bremer is headed, but U.S. and Iraqi leaders say Iraq is headed firmly in the right direction. CNN's Brent Sadler joins me now live with the details -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Kyra. This really was all over in a flash. In fact, it was over before it was officially announced. What a few select group of observers, including our own Christiane Amanpour, saw were from the top Iraqi officials, from the president, Ghazi al-Yawar, to the prime minister, Iyad Allawi, and the deputy prime minister, Baram Saleh, alongside the chief justice, accept the instrument of sovereignty; the legal document that had been signed by the former administrator, Paul Bremer, who left the country within a couple of hours after attending that ceremony.
Very quickly after that, though, Iraqis did get to see on live television broadcasts throughout this country a swearing-in ceremony of the 26 ministers who will form this new interim government. Now, the interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, has been sounding pretty tough on the security front, and he said that it's up to Iraqis to unite against foreign militants creating havoc in this country.
This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I call on all the heroes of the past, all the regions in Iraq, and the sons of all Iraq and arouse their efforts to eradicate the foreign terrorists that are killing our people, and destroying our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SADLER: Now, one of the most important jobs they'll have to do within the next few days, according to coalition and Iraqi officials, is to take over the legal control of former President Saddam Hussein and as many as 12 of his top lieutenants who have been held for many, many months now; Saddam Hussein since last December when he was captured. Legal responsibility, we're told in the next few days, will become Iraq's prime concern. But the physical security of Saddam Hussein in prison will remain the responsibility of the United States, of the coalition forces, because the Iraqis admit they do not have the wherewithal to do it themselves -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Brent Sadler, live in Baghdad.
A brief whisper, a coy smile and a handshake. President Bush's way of discreetly telling his leading coalition partner that Iraq is no longer at least technically an occupied country. The setting was a NATO summit in Turkey. That's where we find CNN's Frank Buckley.
Hi, Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra. That whisper, smile, handshake, the first hint that we had that a handover had taken place. It occurred during the morning meeting of the NATO session that President Bush was attending. It happened to get under way at precisely the same time that the handover was taking place. But virtually none of us in that room at the time knew that the handover was taking place.
We did see President Bush receive a note, though, handed to him from Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the secretary of defense. The president read it. He checked his watch, and then he whispered to British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The two men then shook hands. Again, none of us knew the significance at the time, until later when it was revealed by administration officials that President Bush was acknowledging the handover to Prime Minister Blair.
And now we have the actual note, and it was written by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. It says: "Mr. President, Iraq is sovereign. Letter was passed from Bremer at 10:26 a.m. Iraq time. Condi." And then written right here is the scribbled response of President Bush. It says: "Let freedom reign!" A different take on the familiar let freedom ring. The president saying, "let freedom reign."
President Bush and Prime Minister Blair later appeared at a news conference together to talk about various issues from coalition troops and how long they would stay in Iraq, to other matters. Here's what President Bush had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Earlier today, 15 months after the liberation of Iraq, and two days ahead of schedule, the world witnessed the arrival of a free and sovereign Iraqi government. Iraqi officials informed us that they are ready to assume power. And Prime Minister Allawi believes that making this transition now is best for his country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: And we also now have the letter, also released by the White House, that was sent from President Bush to the new prime minister of the Republic of Iraq. He talks about the U.S. support for this new sovereign nation. He says in this letter, it is my honor to propose the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Iraq with permanent missions effective immediately upon the assumption of sovereign authority by the Iraqi interim government -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, our Frank Buckley live from Turkey. You had better go for the original of that letter, Frank.
Well, we're going to go in-depth on the handover at cnn.com with profiles of the key players in the new government, and analysis of the surprise early handover. Just log on to cnn.com any time.
A state of war is not a blank check for the president. The final word on the legal rights of so-called enemy combatants held by U.S. authorities. And it comes from the highest court in the land. In a pair of complicated rulings, justices found the government may hold terror suspects, foreigners and Americans alike without filing charges. But it can't keep them locked away from lawyers and courts. CNN's Bob Franken is outside the Supreme Court for the whys and the wherefores.
Bob, let's talk about what the court is saying here. We've been confused all morning, so lay it out.
FRANKEN: Well, first of all, the lawyers rule of final words is, there never is a final word. What the court has said is, is that the administration's position that it has the absolute authority to determine the treatment and terms of confinement for enemy combatants designated by the president, the court ruled against that, saying that there is the necessity for judicial review.
In the case of Guantanamo Bay, they said that the jurisdiction of the courts can under many circumstances extend beyond the national boundaries of the United States. Guantanamo Naval Base is where of course 600-plus detainees are held. It is in sovereign Cuba even though it is a base controlled by the United States. Because of the fact that the United States has such control, potential permanent control, the justices are saying that there has to be the availability of some proceeding, so the detainees can argue that they don't belong there.
In the case of Jose Padilla, that was the case that everybody was watching so closely; the one involving a U.S. citizen captured in the United States, in O'Hare Airport. Question, could that happen, could the president declare somebody an enemy combatant and put them in the brig and keep him away from his lawyers? The court said, we don't know, because it was in the wrong court. But in the case of Yasser Hamdi, who is a U.S. citizen, he could be held -- he could not be held without the availability of a lawyer -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Bob, let's talk about the practicality with regard to the detainees at Gitmo.
FRANKEN: The practicality is nobody knows exactly what form this review process is going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE). The justices explicitly said they were not here to come up with a procedure. So you know there's going to be a lot of pushing and shoving about that. It certainly means, however, that each and every one of them is probably going to want to have a lawyer and is going to want to be heard.
PHILLIPS: Our Bob Franken right there, below the steps of the Supreme Court. Thank you so much. Straight ahead, an Arab television network reports that he's a hostage. But the American military won't confirm the capture of a Marine shown with Iraqi insurgents. His family in America speaks out ahead on LIVE FROM...
The handover in Iraq has happened. Will it help America win friends in the Arab world? We're LIVE FROM... Cairo.
And later, to catch a thief. A soldier's family stunned when yellow ribbons honoring him kept disappearing. Wait until you hear how they nabbed the grabber.
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PHILLIPS: Iraq's new rulers say they will soon take custody of Saddam Hussein and 11 of his high-level regime cronies. It will come over the next few days according to the director of the Iraqi special tribunal. Salem Chalabi says that details are still being ironed out, but he says U.S. authorities holding Saddam and the others will transfer custody to Iraqi officials. Chalabi says that there has been no date set for a trial for the former Iraqi president.
In the Arab world, it's wait and see. Many Arab analysts say that they welcome the power shift in Iraq, but some say they will wait to see how things really unfold after elections next year. Gauging the Arab view for us, CNN bureau chief Ben Wedeman in Cairo.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF: March 2003, Egyptians protest the invasion of Iraq by American and British forces. Since then, Arabs have watched as the U.S. and its allies struggled to wrest order from chaos, fight a bloody war against the increasingly effective foes, try to establish an Iraqi government that is both legitimate and effective.
With Monday's early handover of sovereignty, a government is now in place. The American occupation is over. Iraq is independent. That's the theory. But in the eyes of many Arabs, the new government is made up of leaders tainted by their ties with the Americans.
RISHAM QASIM, NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER: Even though some of them might be great people who are doing a very important thing for the future of their country, but it is easy to see them branded as collaborators with an invasion.
WEDEMAN: "The new government has no future or legitimacy," says journalist Halid Inwaqdeni (ph). "They were appointed by the Americans. They're American agents." While Saddam Hussein and his regime are gone, the new Iraq hardly seems to some like a vast improvement.
YASMINE AL-SHADIRI: Look at what's happening in Iraq right now. All the chaos. I don't think it has been a success.
WEDEMAN: And in a region where direct colonialism was followed by indirect and rarely subtle rule by the same European powers, the continued presence of nearly 150,000 foreign troops in Iraq looks bitterly familiar to many Arabs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: Now, Kyra, many Arab observers are saying that, really, the first major challenge that the new Iraqi government is going to face is to show many Arabs throughout the region that they are not -- this new government is not simply an Iraqi facade for a continuation of American occupation -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Ben, we've talked so much about the president, the prime minister, even looking through the minister of defense, minister of interior. But what about the rest of the cabinet, unique positions in health, communication, housing, labor, culture, women's affairs. When will we start to hear about the other members of this cabinet and what they're doing in Iraq?
WEDEMAN: Well, certainly everything -- the people who make up this government, and what they do are going to be watched very carefully from here in Egypt and throughout the Arab world. But the impression of many people here is that despite what these people are doing, and many of them have a very good track record in terms of opposition to Saddam Hussein in terms of advocacy for democracy, but many people will tell you simply by taking part in this government, which has been essentially appointed by the United States, they are crippling their long-term political prospects in playing a role in rebuilding Iraq politically, as well as economically and socially -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Ben Wedeman, LIVE FROM... Cairo following the developments of the handover, thank you.
Well, how far can the White House go in the war on terror? A Supreme Court rule affects hundreds of nationals held at Gitmo. We're going to talk about it with legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rusty Dornin in Redwood City, California, where the Peterson judge is hopping mad over what he says is a violation of the gag order. More coming up.
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PHILLIPS: Shoddy police work, omitted evidence and overlooked clues. The defense in the Scott Peterson murder trial is saying that, and more, as it attacks the prosecution's star witness. Our Rusty Dornin is in Redwood City, California, where the detective who handed prosecutors a setback last week returns to the stand -- Rusty.
DORNIN: Well, it's a big controversy, Kyra, over a possible violation -- or a violation, really, of the gag order. Last week Detective Al Brocchini admitted on the stand that he left out a key piece of an interview that he did in the case. That was seen as a setback for the prosecution. But on Friday, a Modesto police spokesman told reporters that that part of his interview was really in another detective's report, and the defense had it all along and they were doing their own spin on the case.
Well, Judge Al Delucchi was very angry about that statement that was made by the Modesto Police Department. He chastised the department, saying they had better get their act together and discipline people not to talk about this case. And he cautioned everyone on both sides not to say anything about this case in the public and to the media.
Meantime, the cross-examination of Detective Al Brocchini does continue. And again defense attorney Mark Geragos is able to take a prosecution witness and get them to really key in his own defense theme, that being that Scott Peterson told the truth to police on the night that his wife disappeared and the days following. He was able this morning to get the Detective Al Brocchini to admit that Scott Peterson told, "a lot of truths." This cross-examination is expected to continue through this morning, and another lead investigator is expected to take the stand later -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Rusty Dornin, Redwood City, we'll continue to check in with you.
Other news across America begins on a somber note in Maryland. Friends and family are remembering Mattie Stepanek today, the 13-year- old poet died last week from complications of muscular dystrophy. Former President Jimmy Carter delivered his eulogy.
Flooded roadways and miserable conditions, soggy weather is socking it to Denver, Colorado. More thunderstorms and possible hail are forecast today.
In South Carolina, Midland residents feel much of the same pain. Powerful rains have flooded streets and homes, leaving thousands of people without power. Flooding forced some 40 people out of their homes.
Burning up at the box office. Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" takes top honors with weekend moviegoers. It earned $21.8 million in its first three days, even with its modest opening in just 868 theaters. It's the first documentary to debut at No. 1.
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PHILLIPS: Top stories right now. Today's early handover in Iraq means that Paul Bremer is out, John Negroponte is in as the top U.S. official in Baghdad. Negroponte, who arrived today, becomes the new U.S. ambassador, heading up the largest U.S. embassy in the world. Bremer has already left the country.
Sources in Saudi Arabia say a senior member of al Qaeda has surrendered. The suspect is on the Saudi's list of most wanted militants. Last week amnesty was offered to militants who turn themselves in within 30 days. Officials say those who wait too long will be hunted down and brought to justice.
Well, what about the political impact here in the U.S. from today's handover in Iraq? Consider this from a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll: 60 percent of Americans surveyed say the transfer of power is a sign that U.S. policy is failing. Let's go to a couple of experts on the political fallout. Peter Beinart of "The New Republic" joins us from Washington. CNN contributor and former Republican Congressman Bob Barr is with us here in Atlanta.
Gentlemen, thanks for being with me. Let's talk about that CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll. What do you think, is U.S. policy failing in Iraq since the handover? Let's go ahead and start with you, Peter.
PETER BEINART, "THE NEW REPUBLIC": Well, clearly we have left Iraq with far -- with having done much less in terms of implanting democratic institutions in that country than we had hoped. And we have left Iraq much more unpopular, I think, than we had imagined. It's still possible that Allawi and his government will be able to build something in Iraq. But I think most Americans are right in imagining that the chances for a stable, democratic government in Iraq are now certainly less than 50/50.
PHILLIPS: Bob, what do you think about that number, 60 percent of Americans in this poll saying the U.S. policy is failing. Bob, can you hear me OK? All right. We're having an issue with audio right now, or with the IFB situation. Bob cannot hear us. We are going to take a quick break, and try to come back with this debate right after this.
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PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to try it again. Peter Beinart of "The New Republic" joins us now from Washington. CNN contributor and former Republican Congressman Bob Barr with me here in Atlanta.
Bob, can you hear me?
BOB BARR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I can hear you fine.
PHILLIPS: There we go. Now you probably didn't hear a thing that Peter said. So peter, why don't you give a quick recap about this poll that we were talking about, 60 percent of Americans since the handover feeling that U.S. policy in Iraq is failing. Give us a tidbit again of what you had to say so I can let Bob respond fairly.
BEINART: I think the American people are right by and large. The security situation is terrible. America is much less popular in Iraq than we had imagined. And we have not created a very good foundation for building democratic institutions in that country. So it's understandable that the American people are pessimistic.
PHILLIPS: Do you agree, Bob?
BARR: Well, of course, Iraq is a country that has never enjoyed democracy or anything approaching it. They were under foreign rule. They were under an artificial monarchy for a while. And then they've been under military dictatorship since 1958. So this is a country that has never had any experience in this area. It has been a very rough couple of months from a security standpoint. So I think the poll really reflects more than anything else a great deal of uncertainty on the part of the American public, and on the part of our government with regard to where we go from here.
PHILLIPS: All right. Gentlemen, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt had this to say after the handover. I want to get you both to respond to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: It's a day that 800-plus American soldiers have died to see. And I know that every one of these soldiers, were they here, would say I understand what we were doing, and this is what we fought and died for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Two quick questions regarding this statement. First of all, if you look back at the president coming on board the USS Abraham Lincoln saying, combat is over, we completed the mission. Well, we saw what happened after that; it ended up being a security nightmare, with regard to extremist. Is Kimmitt coming forward a little bit too soon and saying this is what we fought and died for, it's all over, and now things will be great, Peter?
REINART: Absolutely, yes, I think that's a baffling statement, to be honest. We went to Iraq to make sure the country would never threaten the United States again, and to make sure the people would have a better life and create a democracy that might spillover throughout the region. We have accomplished neither of those things. We may in the future, but right now we have an interim government elected by nobody, with real questions about whether they'll be able to hold elections, and a terrible security situation where there is clearly a strong al Qaeda presence in the country now, stronger than there was under Saddam Hussein. So to say we have achieved our objective, as General Kimmitt, seems to me absurd.
Bob, is this a little too much? Is this a little too soon? Is it fair to say that this is what the soldiers fought and died for?
BARR: I don't think it's really an accurate statement. First of all, you'd think we'd learn not to make these grandiose statements. They backfired on us before, and this one may backfire as well. So our public officials, I think, would be well advised to tone it down a little bit and make more realistic statements as opposed to these very broad optimistic statements.
And secondly, our fighting forces died to protect America, and America's interest. And to say that 800 of our men and women have died over the past year since major warfare over there was ended to make sure that this very tentative interim step to possible democracy really denigrates the reasons that those men and women really have fought and died.
PHILLIPS: You lead us into a good point, Bob. Peter, I'll get you to respond. I mean, isn't this about weeding out terrorism around the world? Isn't this about getting the insurgents and the extremism, just to be completely taken out of just world functions? It's not just about a new government.
REINART: No, and I think there is a connection between the two, to be fair. The idea that we have an Iraqi government that is credible with its people, that is representative and Democratic, then that will be a very good way of stopping terrorism in Iraq, and potentially even stopping it throughout the Middle East. But we are very, very far from that right now. We have -- Iyad Allawi seems like a vigorous guy, not elected by anyone, however, and without any security forces to battle these terrorists, it seems to me tremendously premature to suggest to me that we've achieved our mission there.
PHILLIPS: There's got to be something positive to talk about. Bob, with regard to the ministries, I mean, 26 ministries put into place, leaders, even the rest of this cabinet, from justice to planning to trade to sport and youth, there's got to be a segment that you can pull out and say, OK, this is positive, this is going to work, it's going in the right direction, even though elections have not happened.
BARR: Well, I think one positive thing that can be said is the timing of the handover was very, very well orchestrated by the Bush administration, coming two days early. I think it really kept the opposition off guard, and perhaps at least minimized some of the security problems that we would have had if we had waited another two days.
But other than that, this is a very, very unsettled situation. The entire credibility and future of this arrangement in Iraq depends entirely on U.S. security and the U.S. military. So it's hard to say that this is really a major step at this point.
PHILLIPS: Peter, final thought with regard to Saddam Hussein -- and Bob, if we have time, you can respond to this -- the handover of Saddam Hussein, that could really affect a public opinion.
REINART: Yes. And, look, it's a good idea to give the Iraqi interim government as much authority as we possibly can. On the other hand, imagine if Saddam Hussein were to escape, or to be set free by these insurgents, or if his case were to be so bungled that he was clearly not getting a fair trial. Those would be disastrous outcomes. And it shows that we don't have a fully functioning Iraqi government yet. We have something very embryonic, something we can not fully rely on yet, and that's why most Iraqis realize that America will be, in a sense, pulling the strings in that country for months, if not years to come.
PHILLIPS: Bob, do you think that's what Americans are looking at? Do you think that's Iraqis are looking at is what will happen to Saddam Hussein? I mean, the reputation of the new Iraqi government, in addition to the reputation of Operation Iraqi Freedom, really does sort of rest on what happens to Saddam Hussein, and that could be a matter of days.
BARR: This is a very, very serious question. The United States is not going to turn over Saddam Hussein to the Iraqis anytime soon. Even if it appears that way on the surface, it's not going to be that way in fact. And this illustrates, I think, perhaps more than anything else, the dilemma that we're in. It's important to go through with these indices of sovereignty to the Iraqi people and this new government, but we cannot afford, because of the security situation and the fact that our prestige is at stake, to go very far.
O'BRIEN: CNN contributor, former Republican congressman Bob Barr, also Peter Reinart of "The New Republic," joining me from Washington.
Gentlemen, thank you.
Straight ahead, the early handover wasn't the only surprise this morning. Next more on the Supreme Court decision that could give terror detainees a way out of Gitmo.
A community brought together by the thieving ways of a squirrel. That's right. True tales from the heartland, when LIVE FROM continues.
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