Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Two More Abu Ghraib Reports to be Released; Updates on Najaf Fighting; Peterson Trial Updates; Dementia, Diabetes, and Women
Aired August 24, 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Gitmo justice: Osama bin Laden's alleged bodyguard facing a military commission. We're live from Cuba.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Getting personal with Amber Frey: Scott Peterson's defense attorney challenging the star witness in his murder trial.
PHILLIPS: Diabetes and dementia: A new study on women, sugar, and the risk of mental decline.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More medals, more controversy at Athens 2004. We're going to take a look at the controversy. It happened in men's gymnastics. It involved one of the U.S. stars in that field.
O'BRIEN: A picture-perfect live shot from Michael Holmes -- a little later this hour.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: Thank goodness, Miles is finally back. And I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
O'BRIEN: Up first this hour, another round of blame for Abu Ghraib. Months after graphic photos of inmate abuse and humiliation shocked the world, two more reports from two more investigative panels about to be made public.
The first comes out in just an hour. And sources say it'll point fingers at the highest levels of the Pentagon. CNN's Barbara Starr is there. She joins us with more -- Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Miles. As you say, two reports in the next two days. First up, about one hour from now, a report from the former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger. He's -- you see him here. He served in this building about 30 years ago. He's been heading an advisory panel for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the prison abuse situation, how it happened, how it may have all unfolded.
According to all accounts, the Schlesinger Advisory Report, advisory though it is, will be very critical of top commanders in Baghdad -- top officials here saying that they simply did not pay enough attention to what was going on in what became a huge prison system in Iraq that the U.S. military was running, holding thousands of Iraqis in detention. Now, these top officials, by all accounts, will not be held legally accountable for what happened there, but there will be criticism directed at them nonetheless. The next report -- tomorrow. That will have legal teeth. That is the so-called Fay Report, an Army report into questionable intelligence and interrogation practices at the Abu Ghraib Prison.
Our understanding of that report is some two dozen people will be named, many of them military intelligence personnel, some of them private contractors. They are all possibly headed for additional administrative or legal action.
It is the understanding that the highest named official for legal action, possible legal action, we should emphasize, in that report will be a Colonel Thomas Pappas, head of the military intelligence brigade. Higher officials, such as Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, may come in for additional criticism in that report tomorrow, but they will not be held accountable, per se.
They will be criticized, again, for a poor command climate, for confusing direction and policies. But neither of these reports has actually been seen by the public yet, so it remains to be seen exactly what they say -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Well, we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, Barbara. But when you talk about that second report, specifically, there is that perception out there that the scapegoats are the lower rungs of the command chain.
What's the Pentagon doing about that perception, at least?
STARR: Well, let's be very clear. What people may be held -- may be held legally accountable for is breaking the law. There is no indication, at this point, that top officers ordered the type of abuse that was seen in those pictures shown around the world.
Every indication is that that clearly is against military law. There was no written directive that indicated that was acceptable behavior.
So, those people, if it is proven that they broke the law, they certainly will be held accountable. But in most of these questions of military justice, what you do eventually get to is the question of command climate. Were the commanders paying attention? Did they allow things to happen because there was not enough attention, not enough personnel, not enough resources?
It appears, at least at this point, that that's what's emerging -- that the top commanders in Baghdad, the top commanders at the Pentagon were so involved in fighting the insurgency and fighting the war in Iraq that the command climate became lax, that they didn't have the kind of clear, precise policies and direction in place that they might have had.
And the question now is going to be whether that squishiness, if you will, in the command climate, is something that defense attorneys will be able to take advantage of when these legal matters come before courts martial or other military legal proceedings.
Will they be able to point to something and say, "My client was told it was OK, there was confusion in the policies, nobody really understood what was going on?"
So, all of this still remains to be seen in the weeks and months ahead -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. The so-called Schlesinger Commission will present its findings to reporters about an hour from now, and of course, you'll see it live right here on CNN.
PHILLIPS: In Germany, meanwhile, an accused MP cops a plea, or plans to anyway. The U.S. Army Staff Sergeant, former Abu Ghraib guard, Ivan Frederick won't say which charges he's agreed to admit to and which will be dismissed.
CNN's Chris Burns via videophone now from Mannheim.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Another guilty plea in the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal. Sergeant Ivan Frederick's lawyer says that he will plead guilty to a number of unspecified charges. And the charges he faces right now include assault, maltreatment, indecent acts, dereliction of duty, and conspiracy.
GARY MEYER, FREDERICK'S ATTORNEY: He is taking responsibility for certain acts. He could not, in good conscience, continue a plea of not guilty where there was not sufficient evidence, as a matter of law, to mount that defense for specific acts.
BURNS: By pleading guilty in the case, it is believed that Frederick could become a prosecution witness in the case against other defendants. However, defense lawyers are also rubbing their hands together, saying that Frederick could also be very important for their case, pointing to, they believe, the orders having come from above, orders to those military police to commit what they did at the prison.
Meanwhile, lawyers for Sergeant Javal Davis are saying that Donald Rumsfeld, the secretary of defense, should be questioned in this case. The lawyer is saying that Rumsfeld, among others, applied pressure on commanders inside Iraq to crackdown, to be tougher on the prisoners in the Iraqi prisons to provide more intelligence information aimed at preventing more attacks or killing more U.S. soldiers back last fall.
The judge said he didn't buy it. He said, however, if there's new evidence that points in that direction that he would be willing to reconsider that motion. Chris Burns, CNN, Mannheim, Germany.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Now, before we move on, we want to make a note to watch CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" for a live interview with the former commander of the MP brigade at the heart of the prison abuse scandal. That's at 7:00 a.m. Eastern, 4:00 Pacific tomorrow, right here on CNN.
O'BRIEN: Now, to Najaf, where yet another ultimatum has given rise to another promise to negotiate while ever present U.S. and Iraqi forces inch ever closer to a shrine turned fortress.
CNN's Matthew Chance is in the thick of it. He joins us on the line now from Najaf. Matthew, what are you seeing and hearing? Matthew Chance?
All right, obviously a difficult connection there in Najaf. As soon as we can raise Matthew, we'll bring him to you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, let's work another interview here. U.S. forces, as you know, are fighting, waiting, and watching as the Najaf ordeal drags on, but they're not calling the shots -- not when it comes to deadlines or overall strategy.
Karl Vick with "The Washington Post" is in Najaf. He's embedded with the Marines, and we'll have him on the phone later in the show.
O'BRIEN: All right, angry Athenians and other fans of gymnastics vent their emotions at the men's gymnastics event. At the center of the drama, the man there pleads for calm. We're live from Athens a little later on LIVE FROM, we hope.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rusty Dornin in Redwood City, where Amber Frey remains on the stand for more cross- examination. More coming up.
O'BRIEN: And true prairie home companions -- find out why Garrison is printing up the "Run, Al, run" bumper stickers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: In Iraq, we've been telling you about U.S. forces fighting, waiting, and watching as the Najaf ordeal drags on, but they're not calling the shots. There's a new command that's in order right now when it comes to the deadlines and overall strategy.
Karl Vick with "The Washington Post" is in Najaf. He's embedded with the Marines. We've got him on the phone now.
Karl, you were telling me that you've actually gone to places where other embedded reporters have not been able to go. Set the scene for us.
KARL VICK, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, most of the reporters are embedded with the Marines and the First Cavalry -- one battalion in the First Cavalry. But most of the fighting, actually, except for the cemetery, which is both the Marines and the First Cav., is the Seventh Cavalry Regiment of the First Cav., and they've been enforcing this cordon around the shrine.
And like 10 or 12 days ago when they first sort of set it up, it was way out on the edge of the old city. It's now right within a few hundred yards of the shrine. And a lot of it they had to fight their way out of there. They've been having combat every day for most of the last two weeks. And it's sort of steady state -- mortars, and RPGs, and small arms fire.
And I was on the scene (INAUDIBLE) in a hotel, sort of using it as a sniper platform -- loud, clattering AK-47 fire directed right at the building from directly across the street. These guys don't even flinch. I mean, they didn't even look up. A guy kept stroking his chin and saying, "That guy's getting on my nerves." It's really quite -- they're really battle hardened by now, these guys.
PHILLIPS: It's interesting you're talking about the tactics, like the use of snipers. Obviously, the Marines can't go charging into this shrine. They've got to respect this area from a religious standpoint. It's got to be frustrating. What are they saying to you? What are you witnessing?
VICK: Well, it's very -- it is frustrating. It's frustrating when they take casualties from mortars that are fired from the shrine area, and they cannot answer that. If they fire from anywhere else, they can call in an air strike or a helicopter strike.
So, they do rely on snipers to a really extraordinary amount. All the high buildings are claimed by one side or the other in this section of town.
There is something in the scores of snipers, U.S. snipers here. I mean, anybody who can be spared from anywhere in Iraq is here and is on station, you know, in long, 12-hour shifts. So, yes, it's a real sniper battle, in a unique way, because they can't risk imprecise fire in the vicinity of this holy site.
PHILLIPS: You've talked about the change of command. It's changed quite a bit since the power's been handed over to the Iraqis. No longer are U.S. forces calling all the shots. Tell us how it works now. Does it start with the prime minister of Iraq and move its way down to the generals?
VICK: You know, I get the feeling that there's a certain amount of delegation on both sides. The prime minister tells his defense and interior minister what the broad guidelines are. Those two ministers sit in a planning room, in a war planning room not far from here, with senior American officers -- explain what the rules are, what can and can't be done.
The Americans come up with a plan. They then brief their own commanders and the Iraqi politicians on that. And eventually, then, they get a thumb up or a thumb down from Allawi.
And several times in the last couple weeks I've been here, I've been -- you know, we're all geared up and ready to go on what's supposed to be a great big operation, and we literally get to the front gate and word comes over the radio it's a political (INAUDIBLE).
Everyone turns around, goes back. Soldiers are flexible, they're used to it. But it's just a lot more tactical involvement by politicians than they're accustomed to. So, it seems everyone's pretty much on the balls of their feet all the time.
PHILLIPS: You've talked about the political tactics. What about the tactics with regard to the Iraqis? How well are the Iraqis working with U.S. forces? Do you see Iraqi soldiers doing well in the battle?
VICK: Well, they haven't really been much in the battle up to now. The Iraqi police have been, but not in close quarters and not in coordination with the U.S. forces who really sort of have their communications and their own finance structure, and are quite on their own.
Today, for the first time, a battalion of the Iraqi Army showed up in this border of the old city I'm talking about with the Seventh Cavalry Regiment. And they're going to work -- they've sort of made a show of being at the frontlines, so they're basically going to work at the rear, helping to clear these city blocks of buildings that they don't want to have to worry about -- the Americans don't want to have to worry about their flanks.
They're also going to work with the, you know, with Iraqi residents and the Najaf residents who continue to stay there and live, or are coming back to some of the more peaceful areas. So, they're making use of them both as sort of a show to show that there's an Iraqi face on this operation, but also as a practical way on the rear.
Then, if there is an assault -- let's just say that if there is an assault on the mosque later on, anybody who would go inside would be an Iraqi, probably, commando, not the guys who arrive today, but another unit that's being held in reserve.
PHILLIPS: Karl Vick right there on the frontlines, right inside the fighting in Najaf. He writes for The Washington Post. Thanks, Karl. We'll check in with you -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: In Redwood City, California, Scott Peterson's former mistress is back on the stand -- more cross-examination.
CNN's Rusty Dornin live with the latest from the courthouse. Mark Geragos, you said, would go easy on her. Actually, he tried a joke to start things off, saying, "No questions." That's just a joke.
But nonetheless, he still is doing what Geragos does best -- trying to find those holes in her testimony.
DORNIN: Very persistent, very -- just keeps pushing and pushing, treading very lightly, but really pushing. And she has been very clear and saying she doesn't know things and all that, but there's a little bit of hostility in her voice, and she's being evasive about some of the questions.
Now, if you remember last week, there was an abrupt delay called to the proceedings that had to do with the defense request to play additional tapes the prosecution had not played.
The judge approved that, provided that Amber Frey answer the question relating to those conversations. Now, that's what's going on now. You have Mark Geragos playing these additional tapes that are highlighting conversations that the jury hasn't heard before -- things like Scott Peterson talking how many times he said that he was innocent, how he was trying to find Laci Peterson -- also highlighting the fact of how coached she was by the Modesto Police Department, and that she really kept doing that, kept being coached, kept trying to incriminate Scott Peterson.
We're getting towards the end where she's talking about this last conversation that the cops actually told her, "Look, let's end this, you shouldn't talk to Scott Peterson anymore." So, they're talking about that final conversation. So, I have a feeling we are nearing the end of this cross-examination -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Rusty, when all is said and done, do you think the Amber Frey testimony is going to be a bit of a sideshow to the whole meat of the matter here?
DORNIN: Well, I mean, the point is that in none of the tapes is there really any incriminating evidence about Scott Peterson murdering his wife. Yes, it proves that he was a liar; yes, it proves he was a philanderer, and not a whole lot more.
O'BRIEN: And we hear there might be kind of a Perry Mason moment here, a witness changing their testimony. Tell me about that.
DORNIN: And it could be critical to the prosecution. The witness, Karen Service, who's a next door neighbor of Scott Peterson, a source close to the case is telling us that she is now telling prosecutors that her recollection of the timeline -- remember, she's the one who found the dog roaming in the street very shortly after Scott Peterson said he left.
She's saying that her memory didn't serve her right. The timeline might not be right. We don't know whether it's going to serve the prosecution or the defense.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right, Rusty Dornin watching it all for us in Redwood City, appreciate it. News across America now -- a possible new lead in the shooting deaths of two camp counselors to tell you about. California newspaper reporting Sonoma police want to talk to a Wisconsin man seen in the area around the time of the killings. The victims, who were engaged to be married, were found dead in their sleeping bags last week.
An endorsement from the prairie -- Garrison Keillor urging fellow radio personality Al Franken to go ahead with a Senate bid from their native Minnesota. Keillor tells Salon.com that Franken is patriotic and passionate about justice, and would be a natural on the stump. Franken is considering running against incumbent Norm Coleman in 2008.
And the concert announcer known for the line "Elvis has left the building" has died. The line was Al Dvorin's way of telling disappointed fans there would be no more encores. It became a cultural catch phrase, of course. Dvorin died in a car crash over the weekend. He was 81. PHILLIPS: Next on LIVE FROM, silent scream: After a brazen heist at gunpoint, no sign of the missing masterpiece. The latest on grand theft artwork. And later on LIVE FROM...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY THURLOW, SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH: We were under no fire from either bank.
JIM RASSMANN, KERRY SUPPORTER: And had he not come out on that bow like that, I'd be dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Swift boat fact check: What's really in John Kerry's war record?
And tomorrow, the man with the golden touch, legendary gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi on judges, medals, and making an Olympic champion.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: News around the world now -- Parisians step back in time, remembering the city's liberation from the Nazis. Special celebrations are planned across the city tomorrow to mark the 60th anniversary. American and French forces marched into the city as two million cheered in the streets in 1944.
Japan deporting former chess champ Bobby Fischer. Authorities arrested him last month. Fischer is wanted in the U.S. for violating U.S. sanctions by playing in a tournament in Yugoslavia in 1992. He beat Boris Spassky.
Screaming for Madonna -- in Norway, the Edvard Munch museum opened, but it's missing two masterpieces, its most famous paintings, "The Scream" and "Madonna." Police are conducting a massive search for armed robbers who stole the priceless paintings while museum visitors just watched in disbelief.
Health news now, and a possible new danger connected to diabetes. CNN medical correspondent Holly Firfer now live with the latest on that. What do you know?
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, you know, too much sugar can cause tooth decay. Well now, researchers say that too much sugar may cause brain decay. According to a study from the University of California in San Francisco, diabetes may cause a decline in mental function for women who suffer from the disease.
Now, looking at over 7,000 elderly women over four years, doctors found those with diabetes, or those with pre-diabetes, did poorly on cognitive tests. They scored lower than those without the disease. Now, doctors say what's important to note is even these women with pre-diabetes, early signs of the disease are at risk of developing mild cognitive impairment or even dementia.
And this is the first time they've looked at this subset of women, those with early signs of the disease.
PHILLIPS: What's the connection? Why is it happening?
FIRFER: You know, doctors don't really know. There are a lot of theories, but they're not quite sure. They say there could be several reasons.
One, typical complications of diabetes that we are used to hearing about, like kidney or heart disease, stroke or high blood pressure, they can lead to poor mental performance. Another -- diabetics often have atherosclerosis or clogged arteries, and that may cause indirect damage to small and large blood vessels in the brain.
And doctors also say an enzyme that helps breakdown sugar in the body, which is deficient in many diabetics, may also have an adverse effect on mental ability. There are many theories, but whatever it may be, doctors say this study that was done on such a large group of women is further evidence that the mind and the body are strongly connected.
And it's important for doctors to know that when patients come in with something physically wrong. They may want to go ahead and test cognitive ability too because there is such a connection.
PHILLIPS: So, what can you do about it?
FIRFER: The $64,000 question, which many people do not want to hear the answer to. You know what we know? What's good for the heart is good for the head, so you've got to eat well, exercise regularly, stay healthy, keep your blood pressure and cholesterol down, and this one -- use your brain. Exercise your brain as well. Give yourself daily mental tasks or routines, but stay active.
And if you are a post-menopausal woman, have regular screenings. Go to your doctor to have a cognitive test done. If you have a parent or a spouse who seems to be exhibiting sings of early dementia, get them to the doctor right away. And some of the doctors we spoke to said, "We don't do enough cognitive testing. We treat the body, but not the brain, and it's just as important."
PHILLIPS: All right, Holly Firfer, thanks.
FIRFER: Sure.
PHILLIPS: All right, we're getting word another airline could be on the brink of bankruptcy. We're going to talk more about that in business, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Let's check business...
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 24, 2004 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Gitmo justice: Osama bin Laden's alleged bodyguard facing a military commission. We're live from Cuba.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Getting personal with Amber Frey: Scott Peterson's defense attorney challenging the star witness in his murder trial.
PHILLIPS: Diabetes and dementia: A new study on women, sugar, and the risk of mental decline.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More medals, more controversy at Athens 2004. We're going to take a look at the controversy. It happened in men's gymnastics. It involved one of the U.S. stars in that field.
O'BRIEN: A picture-perfect live shot from Michael Holmes -- a little later this hour.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: Thank goodness, Miles is finally back. And I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
O'BRIEN: Up first this hour, another round of blame for Abu Ghraib. Months after graphic photos of inmate abuse and humiliation shocked the world, two more reports from two more investigative panels about to be made public.
The first comes out in just an hour. And sources say it'll point fingers at the highest levels of the Pentagon. CNN's Barbara Starr is there. She joins us with more -- Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Miles. As you say, two reports in the next two days. First up, about one hour from now, a report from the former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger. He's -- you see him here. He served in this building about 30 years ago. He's been heading an advisory panel for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the prison abuse situation, how it happened, how it may have all unfolded.
According to all accounts, the Schlesinger Advisory Report, advisory though it is, will be very critical of top commanders in Baghdad -- top officials here saying that they simply did not pay enough attention to what was going on in what became a huge prison system in Iraq that the U.S. military was running, holding thousands of Iraqis in detention. Now, these top officials, by all accounts, will not be held legally accountable for what happened there, but there will be criticism directed at them nonetheless. The next report -- tomorrow. That will have legal teeth. That is the so-called Fay Report, an Army report into questionable intelligence and interrogation practices at the Abu Ghraib Prison.
Our understanding of that report is some two dozen people will be named, many of them military intelligence personnel, some of them private contractors. They are all possibly headed for additional administrative or legal action.
It is the understanding that the highest named official for legal action, possible legal action, we should emphasize, in that report will be a Colonel Thomas Pappas, head of the military intelligence brigade. Higher officials, such as Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, may come in for additional criticism in that report tomorrow, but they will not be held accountable, per se.
They will be criticized, again, for a poor command climate, for confusing direction and policies. But neither of these reports has actually been seen by the public yet, so it remains to be seen exactly what they say -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Well, we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, Barbara. But when you talk about that second report, specifically, there is that perception out there that the scapegoats are the lower rungs of the command chain.
What's the Pentagon doing about that perception, at least?
STARR: Well, let's be very clear. What people may be held -- may be held legally accountable for is breaking the law. There is no indication, at this point, that top officers ordered the type of abuse that was seen in those pictures shown around the world.
Every indication is that that clearly is against military law. There was no written directive that indicated that was acceptable behavior.
So, those people, if it is proven that they broke the law, they certainly will be held accountable. But in most of these questions of military justice, what you do eventually get to is the question of command climate. Were the commanders paying attention? Did they allow things to happen because there was not enough attention, not enough personnel, not enough resources?
It appears, at least at this point, that that's what's emerging -- that the top commanders in Baghdad, the top commanders at the Pentagon were so involved in fighting the insurgency and fighting the war in Iraq that the command climate became lax, that they didn't have the kind of clear, precise policies and direction in place that they might have had.
And the question now is going to be whether that squishiness, if you will, in the command climate, is something that defense attorneys will be able to take advantage of when these legal matters come before courts martial or other military legal proceedings.
Will they be able to point to something and say, "My client was told it was OK, there was confusion in the policies, nobody really understood what was going on?"
So, all of this still remains to be seen in the weeks and months ahead -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. The so-called Schlesinger Commission will present its findings to reporters about an hour from now, and of course, you'll see it live right here on CNN.
PHILLIPS: In Germany, meanwhile, an accused MP cops a plea, or plans to anyway. The U.S. Army Staff Sergeant, former Abu Ghraib guard, Ivan Frederick won't say which charges he's agreed to admit to and which will be dismissed.
CNN's Chris Burns via videophone now from Mannheim.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Another guilty plea in the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal. Sergeant Ivan Frederick's lawyer says that he will plead guilty to a number of unspecified charges. And the charges he faces right now include assault, maltreatment, indecent acts, dereliction of duty, and conspiracy.
GARY MEYER, FREDERICK'S ATTORNEY: He is taking responsibility for certain acts. He could not, in good conscience, continue a plea of not guilty where there was not sufficient evidence, as a matter of law, to mount that defense for specific acts.
BURNS: By pleading guilty in the case, it is believed that Frederick could become a prosecution witness in the case against other defendants. However, defense lawyers are also rubbing their hands together, saying that Frederick could also be very important for their case, pointing to, they believe, the orders having come from above, orders to those military police to commit what they did at the prison.
Meanwhile, lawyers for Sergeant Javal Davis are saying that Donald Rumsfeld, the secretary of defense, should be questioned in this case. The lawyer is saying that Rumsfeld, among others, applied pressure on commanders inside Iraq to crackdown, to be tougher on the prisoners in the Iraqi prisons to provide more intelligence information aimed at preventing more attacks or killing more U.S. soldiers back last fall.
The judge said he didn't buy it. He said, however, if there's new evidence that points in that direction that he would be willing to reconsider that motion. Chris Burns, CNN, Mannheim, Germany.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Now, before we move on, we want to make a note to watch CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" for a live interview with the former commander of the MP brigade at the heart of the prison abuse scandal. That's at 7:00 a.m. Eastern, 4:00 Pacific tomorrow, right here on CNN.
O'BRIEN: Now, to Najaf, where yet another ultimatum has given rise to another promise to negotiate while ever present U.S. and Iraqi forces inch ever closer to a shrine turned fortress.
CNN's Matthew Chance is in the thick of it. He joins us on the line now from Najaf. Matthew, what are you seeing and hearing? Matthew Chance?
All right, obviously a difficult connection there in Najaf. As soon as we can raise Matthew, we'll bring him to you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, let's work another interview here. U.S. forces, as you know, are fighting, waiting, and watching as the Najaf ordeal drags on, but they're not calling the shots -- not when it comes to deadlines or overall strategy.
Karl Vick with "The Washington Post" is in Najaf. He's embedded with the Marines, and we'll have him on the phone later in the show.
O'BRIEN: All right, angry Athenians and other fans of gymnastics vent their emotions at the men's gymnastics event. At the center of the drama, the man there pleads for calm. We're live from Athens a little later on LIVE FROM, we hope.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rusty Dornin in Redwood City, where Amber Frey remains on the stand for more cross- examination. More coming up.
O'BRIEN: And true prairie home companions -- find out why Garrison is printing up the "Run, Al, run" bumper stickers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: In Iraq, we've been telling you about U.S. forces fighting, waiting, and watching as the Najaf ordeal drags on, but they're not calling the shots. There's a new command that's in order right now when it comes to the deadlines and overall strategy.
Karl Vick with "The Washington Post" is in Najaf. He's embedded with the Marines. We've got him on the phone now.
Karl, you were telling me that you've actually gone to places where other embedded reporters have not been able to go. Set the scene for us.
KARL VICK, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, most of the reporters are embedded with the Marines and the First Cavalry -- one battalion in the First Cavalry. But most of the fighting, actually, except for the cemetery, which is both the Marines and the First Cav., is the Seventh Cavalry Regiment of the First Cav., and they've been enforcing this cordon around the shrine.
And like 10 or 12 days ago when they first sort of set it up, it was way out on the edge of the old city. It's now right within a few hundred yards of the shrine. And a lot of it they had to fight their way out of there. They've been having combat every day for most of the last two weeks. And it's sort of steady state -- mortars, and RPGs, and small arms fire.
And I was on the scene (INAUDIBLE) in a hotel, sort of using it as a sniper platform -- loud, clattering AK-47 fire directed right at the building from directly across the street. These guys don't even flinch. I mean, they didn't even look up. A guy kept stroking his chin and saying, "That guy's getting on my nerves." It's really quite -- they're really battle hardened by now, these guys.
PHILLIPS: It's interesting you're talking about the tactics, like the use of snipers. Obviously, the Marines can't go charging into this shrine. They've got to respect this area from a religious standpoint. It's got to be frustrating. What are they saying to you? What are you witnessing?
VICK: Well, it's very -- it is frustrating. It's frustrating when they take casualties from mortars that are fired from the shrine area, and they cannot answer that. If they fire from anywhere else, they can call in an air strike or a helicopter strike.
So, they do rely on snipers to a really extraordinary amount. All the high buildings are claimed by one side or the other in this section of town.
There is something in the scores of snipers, U.S. snipers here. I mean, anybody who can be spared from anywhere in Iraq is here and is on station, you know, in long, 12-hour shifts. So, yes, it's a real sniper battle, in a unique way, because they can't risk imprecise fire in the vicinity of this holy site.
PHILLIPS: You've talked about the change of command. It's changed quite a bit since the power's been handed over to the Iraqis. No longer are U.S. forces calling all the shots. Tell us how it works now. Does it start with the prime minister of Iraq and move its way down to the generals?
VICK: You know, I get the feeling that there's a certain amount of delegation on both sides. The prime minister tells his defense and interior minister what the broad guidelines are. Those two ministers sit in a planning room, in a war planning room not far from here, with senior American officers -- explain what the rules are, what can and can't be done.
The Americans come up with a plan. They then brief their own commanders and the Iraqi politicians on that. And eventually, then, they get a thumb up or a thumb down from Allawi.
And several times in the last couple weeks I've been here, I've been -- you know, we're all geared up and ready to go on what's supposed to be a great big operation, and we literally get to the front gate and word comes over the radio it's a political (INAUDIBLE).
Everyone turns around, goes back. Soldiers are flexible, they're used to it. But it's just a lot more tactical involvement by politicians than they're accustomed to. So, it seems everyone's pretty much on the balls of their feet all the time.
PHILLIPS: You've talked about the political tactics. What about the tactics with regard to the Iraqis? How well are the Iraqis working with U.S. forces? Do you see Iraqi soldiers doing well in the battle?
VICK: Well, they haven't really been much in the battle up to now. The Iraqi police have been, but not in close quarters and not in coordination with the U.S. forces who really sort of have their communications and their own finance structure, and are quite on their own.
Today, for the first time, a battalion of the Iraqi Army showed up in this border of the old city I'm talking about with the Seventh Cavalry Regiment. And they're going to work -- they've sort of made a show of being at the frontlines, so they're basically going to work at the rear, helping to clear these city blocks of buildings that they don't want to have to worry about -- the Americans don't want to have to worry about their flanks.
They're also going to work with the, you know, with Iraqi residents and the Najaf residents who continue to stay there and live, or are coming back to some of the more peaceful areas. So, they're making use of them both as sort of a show to show that there's an Iraqi face on this operation, but also as a practical way on the rear.
Then, if there is an assault -- let's just say that if there is an assault on the mosque later on, anybody who would go inside would be an Iraqi, probably, commando, not the guys who arrive today, but another unit that's being held in reserve.
PHILLIPS: Karl Vick right there on the frontlines, right inside the fighting in Najaf. He writes for The Washington Post. Thanks, Karl. We'll check in with you -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: In Redwood City, California, Scott Peterson's former mistress is back on the stand -- more cross-examination.
CNN's Rusty Dornin live with the latest from the courthouse. Mark Geragos, you said, would go easy on her. Actually, he tried a joke to start things off, saying, "No questions." That's just a joke.
But nonetheless, he still is doing what Geragos does best -- trying to find those holes in her testimony.
DORNIN: Very persistent, very -- just keeps pushing and pushing, treading very lightly, but really pushing. And she has been very clear and saying she doesn't know things and all that, but there's a little bit of hostility in her voice, and she's being evasive about some of the questions.
Now, if you remember last week, there was an abrupt delay called to the proceedings that had to do with the defense request to play additional tapes the prosecution had not played.
The judge approved that, provided that Amber Frey answer the question relating to those conversations. Now, that's what's going on now. You have Mark Geragos playing these additional tapes that are highlighting conversations that the jury hasn't heard before -- things like Scott Peterson talking how many times he said that he was innocent, how he was trying to find Laci Peterson -- also highlighting the fact of how coached she was by the Modesto Police Department, and that she really kept doing that, kept being coached, kept trying to incriminate Scott Peterson.
We're getting towards the end where she's talking about this last conversation that the cops actually told her, "Look, let's end this, you shouldn't talk to Scott Peterson anymore." So, they're talking about that final conversation. So, I have a feeling we are nearing the end of this cross-examination -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Rusty, when all is said and done, do you think the Amber Frey testimony is going to be a bit of a sideshow to the whole meat of the matter here?
DORNIN: Well, I mean, the point is that in none of the tapes is there really any incriminating evidence about Scott Peterson murdering his wife. Yes, it proves that he was a liar; yes, it proves he was a philanderer, and not a whole lot more.
O'BRIEN: And we hear there might be kind of a Perry Mason moment here, a witness changing their testimony. Tell me about that.
DORNIN: And it could be critical to the prosecution. The witness, Karen Service, who's a next door neighbor of Scott Peterson, a source close to the case is telling us that she is now telling prosecutors that her recollection of the timeline -- remember, she's the one who found the dog roaming in the street very shortly after Scott Peterson said he left.
She's saying that her memory didn't serve her right. The timeline might not be right. We don't know whether it's going to serve the prosecution or the defense.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right, Rusty Dornin watching it all for us in Redwood City, appreciate it. News across America now -- a possible new lead in the shooting deaths of two camp counselors to tell you about. California newspaper reporting Sonoma police want to talk to a Wisconsin man seen in the area around the time of the killings. The victims, who were engaged to be married, were found dead in their sleeping bags last week.
An endorsement from the prairie -- Garrison Keillor urging fellow radio personality Al Franken to go ahead with a Senate bid from their native Minnesota. Keillor tells Salon.com that Franken is patriotic and passionate about justice, and would be a natural on the stump. Franken is considering running against incumbent Norm Coleman in 2008.
And the concert announcer known for the line "Elvis has left the building" has died. The line was Al Dvorin's way of telling disappointed fans there would be no more encores. It became a cultural catch phrase, of course. Dvorin died in a car crash over the weekend. He was 81. PHILLIPS: Next on LIVE FROM, silent scream: After a brazen heist at gunpoint, no sign of the missing masterpiece. The latest on grand theft artwork. And later on LIVE FROM...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY THURLOW, SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH: We were under no fire from either bank.
JIM RASSMANN, KERRY SUPPORTER: And had he not come out on that bow like that, I'd be dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Swift boat fact check: What's really in John Kerry's war record?
And tomorrow, the man with the golden touch, legendary gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi on judges, medals, and making an Olympic champion.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: News around the world now -- Parisians step back in time, remembering the city's liberation from the Nazis. Special celebrations are planned across the city tomorrow to mark the 60th anniversary. American and French forces marched into the city as two million cheered in the streets in 1944.
Japan deporting former chess champ Bobby Fischer. Authorities arrested him last month. Fischer is wanted in the U.S. for violating U.S. sanctions by playing in a tournament in Yugoslavia in 1992. He beat Boris Spassky.
Screaming for Madonna -- in Norway, the Edvard Munch museum opened, but it's missing two masterpieces, its most famous paintings, "The Scream" and "Madonna." Police are conducting a massive search for armed robbers who stole the priceless paintings while museum visitors just watched in disbelief.
Health news now, and a possible new danger connected to diabetes. CNN medical correspondent Holly Firfer now live with the latest on that. What do you know?
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, you know, too much sugar can cause tooth decay. Well now, researchers say that too much sugar may cause brain decay. According to a study from the University of California in San Francisco, diabetes may cause a decline in mental function for women who suffer from the disease.
Now, looking at over 7,000 elderly women over four years, doctors found those with diabetes, or those with pre-diabetes, did poorly on cognitive tests. They scored lower than those without the disease. Now, doctors say what's important to note is even these women with pre-diabetes, early signs of the disease are at risk of developing mild cognitive impairment or even dementia.
And this is the first time they've looked at this subset of women, those with early signs of the disease.
PHILLIPS: What's the connection? Why is it happening?
FIRFER: You know, doctors don't really know. There are a lot of theories, but they're not quite sure. They say there could be several reasons.
One, typical complications of diabetes that we are used to hearing about, like kidney or heart disease, stroke or high blood pressure, they can lead to poor mental performance. Another -- diabetics often have atherosclerosis or clogged arteries, and that may cause indirect damage to small and large blood vessels in the brain.
And doctors also say an enzyme that helps breakdown sugar in the body, which is deficient in many diabetics, may also have an adverse effect on mental ability. There are many theories, but whatever it may be, doctors say this study that was done on such a large group of women is further evidence that the mind and the body are strongly connected.
And it's important for doctors to know that when patients come in with something physically wrong. They may want to go ahead and test cognitive ability too because there is such a connection.
PHILLIPS: So, what can you do about it?
FIRFER: The $64,000 question, which many people do not want to hear the answer to. You know what we know? What's good for the heart is good for the head, so you've got to eat well, exercise regularly, stay healthy, keep your blood pressure and cholesterol down, and this one -- use your brain. Exercise your brain as well. Give yourself daily mental tasks or routines, but stay active.
And if you are a post-menopausal woman, have regular screenings. Go to your doctor to have a cognitive test done. If you have a parent or a spouse who seems to be exhibiting sings of early dementia, get them to the doctor right away. And some of the doctors we spoke to said, "We don't do enough cognitive testing. We treat the body, but not the brain, and it's just as important."
PHILLIPS: All right, Holly Firfer, thanks.
FIRFER: Sure.
PHILLIPS: All right, we're getting word another airline could be on the brink of bankruptcy. We're going to talk more about that in business, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Let's check business...
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
